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LIBRARY 

OF   THE 

Theological   S,e  m  i  n  a  r  y , 

PRINCETON,    N.  J. 


BV  4253  .S3  S8  1812   V.2 
Saurin,  Jacques,  1677-1730. 
Sermons  translated  from  the 
original  French  of  the  late 


i^  0 


.SERMONS 

■  (I 

i 
1 
TRANSLATED  FROM  THE  ORIGINAL  FRENCH 

\'. 

"I 

OP  1 

1 

THE  LATE  REV.  JAMES    SAURIN,        i 

■j 

i 

PASTOR  OF  THE  FRENCH  CHURCH  A*  THE  HAGUEp 


BY  ROBERT  ROBINSON. 


VOLUME  II. 
ON  THE  TRUTH  OF  REVELATION. 

THE    FIFTH    EDITION. 


LONDON: 

Printed  by  R.  Edwards,  Crane  Court,  Fleet  Street, 

FOR    W.    BAYNES,    54,    PATERNOSTER    ROW. 

1812. 


PREFACE. 


nPHAT  aplrlc  of  inquiry  which  produced  the 
-■-  Reformation,  operated  in  France,  as  in  ali 
other  countries,  and  gave  being  to  an  endless 
variety  of  different  sentiments  of  rehgion.  All 
the  reformers,  hov^ever,  agreed  in  one  grand  ar- 
ticle, that  is,  in  substituting  the  authority  of 
the  holy  scriptures  in  the  place  of  the  infallibi- 
lity of  the  Bishop  of  Rome. 

The  elevation  of  an  obscure  bookj  (for  such^ 
to  the  shame  of  Popery,  the  Bible  had  been,) 
to  the  dignity  of  a  supreme  judge,  whose  deci- 
sions were  final,  and  from  which  there  lay  no 
appeal,  naturally  excited  the  attention  of  some 
who  were  capable,  and  of  many  who  thought 
themselves  so,  to  examine  the  authenticity  of 
so  extraordinary  a  book.  At  the  Reformation, 
the  infallibility  of  the  Pope  was  the  popular  in- 
quiry ;  and,  after  it,  the  inf^illibility  of  Jesus 
(Christ  came  under  consideration.  Curiosity  and 
conscience  concurred  to  search,  and  several  cir- 
cumstances justified  the  inquiry. 

Many  sptu-ious  books  had  been  propagated 
in  tlie  vvorid  :  the  Jewish  nation,  and  the  Ro- 
mish church,  paid  as  much  regard  to  tradition 

Vol.  II.  A  as 


ii  PREFACE. 

as  to  the  holy  scriptures  :  Protestants  derived 
different,  and  even  contrary  doctrines,  from  the 
same  scriptures  ;  the  authenticity  of  some  books 
of  both  testaments  had  never  been  universally 
acknov^ledged ,  and  the  points  in  litigation  vvrere 
of  the  last  importance.  These  considerations 
excited  the  industry  of  a  multitude  of  critics. 
One  examined  the  chronology  of  the  Bible,  a- 
nother  the  geography  of  it,  a  third  its  natural 
philosophy,  a  fourth  its  history ;  one  tried  its 
purity  by  the  rules  of  grammar,  another  mea- 
sured its  style  by  the  laws  of  rhetoric ;  and  a 
most  severe  scrutiny  the  book  underwent. 

Nothing  came  to  pass  in  this  inquiry  but 
what  might  have  been  expected.  Some  defend- 
ed the  book  by  solid,  and  some  by  silly  argu- 
ments ;  while  others  reprobated  it,  as  void  of 
any  rational  proof  at  all.  There  are  certain  pre- 
requisites essential  to  the  investigation  of  truth, 
and  it  is  hardly  credible,  that  all  who  examin- 
ed, or  who  pretended  to  examine,  the  divinity 
of  the  christian  canon,  possessed  them. 

No  sooner  had  Charles  IX.  published  the  first 
edict  of  pacification  in  France,  in  ]  562,  than 
there  appeared  at  Lyons,  along  with  many  other 
sects,  a  party  who  called  themselves  Deists. 
The  edict  provided,  that  no  person  should  be 
prosecuted  on  account  of  matters  of  conscience, 
and  this  sect  claimed  the  benefit  of  it. 

Deists  differ  so  much  from  one  another,  that 
it  is  hard  to  define  the  term  Deism^  and  to  say 
precisely  w^hat  the  w^ord  stands  for.  Dr  Clarke 
takes  the  denomination  in  the  most  extensive 
signification,  and  distinguishes  Deists  into  four 
sorts.  "  The 


PREFACE.  iii 

"  The  Jirst  class  believe  the  existence  of  aSu- 
"  preme  Being,  who  made  the  world,  but  who 
*'  does  not  at  all  concern  himself  in  the  manage- 
"  ment  of  it. 

"  The  second  consists  of  those  who  believe, 
"  not  only  the  being,  but  also  the  providence  of 
"  God  with  respect  to  the  natural  world ;  but 
"  who,  not  allowing  any  difference  between  mo- 
"  ral  good  and  evil,  deny  that  God  takes  any 
"  notice  of  the  morally  good  or  evil  actions  of 
"  men  ;  these  things  depending,  as  they  ima- 
**  gine,  on  the  arbitrary  constitutions  of  human 
'Maws. 

"  The  third  sort,  having  right  apprehensions 
''  concerning  the  natural  attributes  of  God,  and 
*'  his  all-gdverning  Providence,  and  some  no- 
*'  tion  of  his  moral  perfections  also,  yet  being  pre- 
"  judised  against  the  notion  of  the  immortality 
"  of  the  human  soul,  believe  that  men  perish  en- 
"  tircly  at  death,  and  that  one  generation  shall 
"  perpetually  succeed  another,  without  any  fu- 
"  ture  restoration,  or  renovation  of  things. 

"  The  fourth  consists  of  those  who  believe 
"  the  existence  of  a  Supreme  Being,  together 
"  with  his  providence  in  the  government  of  the 
*'  world,  as  also  the  obligations  of  natural  reli- 
"  gion :  but  so  far  only  as  these  things  are  dis- 
"  coverable  by  the  light  of  nature  alone,  with 
"  out  believing  any  divine  revelation.  These 
"  last  are  the  only  true  Deists." 

The  rise  of  the  Deists,  along  with  that  of  other 
sects  and  parties  among  the  reformed  churches, 
seemed  to  confirm  one  argument  of  the  Roman 
catholics  against  the  Reformation.     When  the 

A  -2  re- 


iv  PRE  FA  C  E. 

reformers  had  pleaded  for  the  sufficiency  of  re- 
velation, and  for  the  private  right  of  judging 
of  its  meaning,  the  divines  of  the  church  of 
Rome  had  always  replied,  that  unanimity  in 
the  faith  is  the  test  of  the  true  church  of  Christ ; 
that  the  church  of  Rome  had  aKvays  enjoyed 
such  an  unity  ;  that  the  allowance  ot  liberty  of 
conscience  would  produce  innumerable  opi- 
nions ;  that  people  of  the  same  sentiments  w^ould 
associate  for  the  support  and  propagation  of 
their  pretended  faith  ;  and  that,  consequently, 
religious  parties  w^ould  counteract  one  another, 
to  the  entire  subversion  of  Christianity  itself. — 
Hence  they  inferred  the  absurdity  of  that  prin- 
ciple on  which  protestantism  stood,  and  the 
absolute  necessity  of  a  living  infallible  judge 
of  religious  truths.  The  event  above-mention- 
ed seemed  to  confirm  this  reasoning. 

When  these  ideas  entered  the  mind  of  a  man 
of  fruitful  genius  in  the  church  of  Rome,  they 
operated  in  the  most  eccentric  manner  imagin- 
able. A  popular  orator,  or,  who  did  ten  times 
more  mischief,  a  court-chaplain,  v^rould  collect 
a  few  real  improprieties  among  protestants, 
subjoin  a  thousand  more  irregularities  of  his 
o"wn  invention,  mere  creatures  of  his  supersti- 
tious fancy,  paint  them  in  colours  the  most; 
.  frightful,  exhibit  them  to  public  view  under 
images  the  most  tragical,  ascribe  them  all  to 
that  horrid  monster  the  right  of  private  judg- 
ment, and  by  these  means  endeavour  to  estab- 
lish the  old  system,  that  destroyed  men's  lives, 
on  the  ruins  of  that  new  one,  which  benevo- 
lently proposed  to  save  them. 

The 


PREFACE.  V 

The  weaker  protestants  were  intimidated  by 
this  vile  bombast ;  and  the  wiser,  who  had  been 
educated  papists,  that  is  to  say,  whose  tender 
minds  had  been  perverted  with  a  bad  philo- 
sophy, and  a  worse  divinity,  were  hard  pressed 
with  this  idle  argument.  The  famous  Peter 
Viret,  who  was  pastor  of  the  reformed  church 
at  Lyons,  at  this  first  appearance  of  the  deists, 
not  only  wrote  against  chem  ;  but,  we  are  sorry 
to  say,  he  did  more,  he  joined  with  the  arch- 
bishop's vicar  in  persecuting  them.  What  a 
motley  figure  !  The  voice  of  Jacob,  and  the 
hands  of  Esau  1 

Some  of  the  more  candid  protestants  content- 
ed themselves  with  making  two  observations, 
which  they  thought  were  sufficient  to  answer 
the  objections  of  Rome  on  this  article.  First, 
they  said,  It  is  not  true  chat  there  are  no  reli- 
gious controversies  in  the  church  of  Rome  ; 
there  are  two  hundred  and  thirtyrseven  con- 
trarieties of  doctrine  among  the  Romish  divines. 
Secondly,  if  it  were  true,  the  quiet  of  the  mem- 
bers of  that  church  would  not  prove  their  unity 
in  the  faith.  A  negative  unanimity,  that  is,  a: 
freedom  from  religious  differences,  may  pro- 
ceed from  ignorance,  neghgence,  or  fear :  the 
two  first  resemble  the  quiet  of  night,  when  all 
^re  asleep ;  or  the  stillness  of  a  church-yard, 
where  all  are  dead  ;  and  the  last  is  the  tacitur- 
nity of  a  slave  under  a  tyrant's  rod.  These 
observations  were  not  impertinent,  for  although 
none  of  our  disputes  are  managed  without 
humbling  marks  of  human  infirmity,  yet,  on  a 
cool  balance  of  accounts,  it  will   appear,   that 

the 


vi  P  R  E  FA  C  E. 

the  moral  good  produced  by  liberty  of  con- 
science is  far  greater  than  the  moral  evil  suf- 
fered. Peevish  tempers,  and  puerile  mistakes, 
mix  with  free  inquiry  ;  but  without  inquiry 
fair  and  free  we  should  have  no  religion  at  all. 

Had  the  Protestants  done  only  that  with  the 
writings  of  Moses  and  Paul,  which  they  did 
with  the  writings  of  Homer  and  Tacitus,  had 
they  fetched  them  out  of  dusty  holes  in  libra- 
ries, exposed  them  to  public  view,  and  left  theni 
to  shift  for  themselves,  their  authenticity,  we 
presume,  would  have  shined  with  inimitable 
lustre ;  for  fewer  objections  have  lain  against 
the  book,  than  against  the  niethods  that  have 
been  used  to  enforce  it.  But  that  fatal  notion 
of  uniformity,  this  absurd  dogma,  unity  in  the 
faith  is  the  test  of  a  true  church,  misled  those 
worthy  men,  and  they  adopted  the  spirit  of 
persecution,  that  child  of  the  mother  of  abomi- 
nations^ Rev.  :svii.  5.  whom  folly  had  produced, 
and  whom  cruelty  had  hitherto  maintained. 

In  order  to  vie  with  the  church  of  Rome  in 
point  of  uniformity,  and  to  excel  it  in  point  of 
truth,  the  reforipers  extracted,  what  they  sup- 
posed, the  sense  of  scripture ;  not  on  plain,  ob- 
vious, essential  truths;  but  ondoctrines  extreme- 
ly perplexed  and  difficult ;  these  extracts  they 
called  Confessions  of  Faith,  these  they  signed ; 
and  all  who  refused  to  sign  them  they  dis- 
owned, and  persecuted  out  of  their  communi- 
ties. 

Having  done  these  things,  not  according  to 
ike  pattern  shewed  hy  their  divine  Master,  in  his 
plain  and   peaceful   sermon  on   the  mount  of 

Olives, 


PRE  FA  C  I.  vii 

Olives,  Heb.  viii.  5.  but  according  to  the  arca- 
na imperii  of  the  woman ^  who  sitteth  on  seven 
mountains^  and  who  reigneth  ot^er  the  kings  of 
the  earth,  Rev.  xvii.  9.  1 8.  they  boasted  of  en- 
joying as  good  an  vmiformity  as  that  of  which 
the  catholic  church  vaunted. 

If  they,  who  first  prosecuted  these  unrighte- 
ous measures  in  the  protestant  chvirches,  could 
have  foreseen  the  dismal  consequences  of  them, 
surely  they  must  have  lain  in  sackcloth  and 
ashes,  to  lament  their  antichristian  zeal,  which, 
by  importing  exotics  from  Rome,  by  planting 
them  in  reformed  churches,  and  by  flattering 
the  magistracy  into  the  dirty  work  of  cultiva- 
ting them,  spoiled  the  growth  of  reason  and  re- 
ligion, and  cherished,  under  their  deleterious 
shade,  nothing  but  that  unprofitable  weed,  m- 
plicit  faith. 

Let  a  dispassionate  spectator  cast  his  eye  on 
the  christian  world,  and,  when  he  has  seen  the 
rigorous  measures  that  have  been  used  to  esta- 
blishy  as  it  is  called,  xht  faith  of  the  Reformers,  let 
him  turn  his  eye  to  the  church  of  Rome  on  the 
one  hand,  and  to  sectaries  on  the  other,  and  at- 
tend to  the  consequences  of  these  measures 
among  both.  Catholics  laugh  at  Protestant  ar- 
guments against  the  infallibility  of  the  Bishop 
of  Rome.  See,  say  they,  mutant  clypeos^  the 
reformed  have  destroyed  one  Pope  to  create  an 
hundred.  Calvin  is  infallible  at  Geneva,  Lu- 
ther in  Germany,  in  England  Cranmer,  and  in 
Scotland  Knox !  How  wise  the  doctrine  of  in- 
fallibility !  how  just  and  necessary  the  practice 
of  the  Inquisition  !  The  pretended  Protestants 

have 


viii  PREFACE. 

have  tried  in  vain  to  govern  churches  without 
severity  ;  they  themselves,  who  have  exclaimed 
the  most  violently  against  it,  have  been  obliged 
to-  adopt  it.  Sectaries,  on  the  other  hand,  avail 
themselves  of  these  practices,  and,  not  distin- 
guishing between  Christianity  itself  and  the  pro- 
fessors of  it,  charge  that  on  the  laws  of  our 
prince,  which  is  chargeable  only  on  the  inad- 
vertency of  his  subjects. 

Other  times,  other  manners  !  Whether  the 
reproaches  of  the  papists,  the  increase  of  learn- 
ing, piety,  and  experience,  or  whatever  else 
have  meliorated  the  reformed  churches,  the 
French  protestants  rarely  persecute  ;  and  when 
they  do,  it  is  plain,  they  do  that  as  a  body  in 
a  synod,  which  not  one  of  chem  would  dare  to 
avow  as  a  private  divine.  Dangerous  distinc- 
tion !  Should  an  upright  man  vote  for  a  mea- 
sure y^^'hich  he  would  blush  to  enforce  ?  Should 
he  not  endeavour  to  abrogate  canons,  which, 
for  the  soul  of  him,  he  has  not  impiety  enough 
to  execute  ?  Shall  protestants  renounce  that  iner- 
chavdise  of  Rome,  which  consist  of  odours,  and 
ointment Sy  and  chariots,  and  purple^  and  silk,  and 
scarlet^  and  continue  that  more  scandalous  traf- 
fic which  consists  of  slaves  and  souls  of  men? 
Rev.  xviii.  12,  15. 

If  a  counsel,  or  a  work,  be  of  God,  ye  cannot 
overthrow  it^  Acts  v.  58,  59.  is  one  of  the  surest 
axioms  in  the  vyorld  ;  and  if  there  be  such  a 
thing  in  the  world  as  dignity,  that  is,  proprie- 
ty of  character,  it  must  be  in  that  christian, 
who,  disdaining  every  carnal  v/eapon,  maintains 
the  truth  of  his  religion  by   placid  reasoning, 

and 


PREFACE.  ix 

and  by  a  holy  life.  Other  influence  is  unscrip- 
tural,  and  unnatural  too.  We  may  admire 
the  genius  of  a  deist,  avail  ourselves  of  his 
learning,  and  lament  his  abuse  of  both :  but 
we  may  not  touch  his  person,  his  property,  his 
liberty,  his  character,  his  peace.  To  his  own 
Master  he  standeth  or  falleth^  Rom.  xiv.  4. 

We  beg  leave  to  subjoin  three  observations 
in  regard  to  deism.  Deists  are  not  so  numer- 
ous as  some  have  imagined.  Real  christians 
have  occasioned  violent  prejudices  against 
Christianity.  Very  few  deists  have  taken  up 
the  argument  on  its  true  grounds  ;  and  they, 
who  have,  could  not  support  it. 

Deists  are  not  so  niuncrous  as  some  have  ima^ 
gined.  Mons.  de  Voltaire  has  thought  proper 
to  inform  his  countrymen,  in  his  Additions  to 
his  General  History^  that  *'  Deism,  which 
*'  Charles  II.  seemed  openly  to  profess,  became 
'*  the  reigning  religion"  in  England  :  that  "  the 
*'  sect  is  become  very  numerous  :"  and  that 
*'  a  number  of  eminent  writers  have  made 
"  open  profession  of  deism."  How  this  agree- 
able French  writer  came  to  know  this,  who 
can  tell,  if,  as  he  afErms  a  little  lower, 
**  Deists  allow  a  diversity  of  opinions  in 
*' others,  and  seldom  discover  their  own;" 
*'  and,  if  deists  have  only  a  private  form  of 
*'  worship,  each  worshipping  God  in  his  own. 
"  house,  and  assisting  without  scruple  at  all 
**  public  ceremonies?"  Surely  Mons.  Voltaire 
mistook,  he  meant  to  describe  a  hypocrite,  and 
not  a  deist. 

If  a  deist  be  one  who,  having  examined  the 

reli- 


X  PREFACE. 

religion  of  nature,  and  the  religion  of  scrip- 
ture, gives  the  preference   to  the  former,  and 
rejects  the   latter,  it  may  be  affirmed,  I  think, 
that  the  number  of  Deists  is  very  small.     In  a 
comparative  view,  the  number  is  too  inconsi- 
derable to  be  mentioned.     The  rank  of  a  Her- 
bert,  the  wit  of  a  Shaftesbury,  the  style  of  a 
Bolingbroke,  the   scurrilous  buffoonery  of  a 
Woolston,  along  with  the  wisdom  and  piety  of 
the  Lockes,  and  Lelands,  and  Lardners,  who 
have  opposed  them,  have  given  a  name  to  de- 
ism ;  but  the  number  of  its  professors  is  trif- 
ling, and  of  no  account.     If  Mons.  de  Voltaire 
meant  to  relate  an  historical  fact,  he  ought  to 
have  enumerated  the  numerous  professors  of 
Christianity,  and  the  eminent  writers  in  defence 
of  it,  and  then  the  numerous  professors  of  deism 
would  have  diminished  and  disappeared.     If 
he  meant  to  give  a  sanction  to  deism  on  ac- 
count of  its  numerous  defenders,  he  is  a  fresh 
example  of  that  weakness,  to  which  great  phi- 
losophers are  sometimes  subject,  the  weakness 
of  sacrificing  a  sound  logic  to  a  silly  prejudice. 
Two  sorts  of  people  are  fond  of  mvilti plying 
Deists  ;  Bigots,  and  Deists  themselves.     Deists 
take  the  liberty  of  associating  with  themselves 
Confucius,  Zoroaster,  Socrates,  and  all  the  an- 
cient   philosophers.     They  first  suppose    that 
these  philosophers  would  have  rejected  revela- 
tion, had  it  been  proposed  to  them,  and   then 
they  speak  of  them  as  if  they  had  actually  re- 
jected it*     But,  if  the  gospel  be  not  a  system 
of  absurdity,  adapted  to  credulity,   the  proba- 
bility is  greater  that  they  would  have  received, 

than 


PREFACE.  xi 

than  that  they  would  have  rejected  it ;  and  if, 
as  Lord  BoUngbroke  says.  "  it  must  be  admit- 
"  ted,  that  Plato  insinuates,  in  many  places,  the 
**  want,  or  the  necessity  of  a  divine  revelation, 
"  to  discover  the  external  service  God  requires, 
"  and  the  expiation  for  sin,  and  to  give  strong- 
**  er  assurances  of  the  rewards  and  punish- 
**  ments  that  await  men  in  another  world  ;"  it 
becomes  highly  probable,  that  Plato  would 
have  embraced  the  christian  revelation  ;  and 
were  the  testimony  of  Jesus  Christ  admissible, 
it  is  absolutely  certain,  that,  if  the7nighty  works^ 
which  were  done  in  Judea,  had  been  done  among 
the  heathens,  many  heathens  would  have  repent^ 
ed  of  Paganism  in  sackcloth  and  ashes.  Matt.  xi. 
21,  &c.  To  the  army  of  philosophers  they  add 
all  those  christians,  who  do  not  understand,  or 
who  do  not  practise,  the  dictates  of  Christiani- 
ty. With  this  hypothetical  reasoning  they  at- 
tack Christianity,  and  boast  of  numbers,  while 
all  their  votaries  are  so  few^  that  a  child  may 
write  them  Bigots^  who  make  scripture,  and 
their  sense  of  it,  the  same  thing,  practise  the 
same  pious  fraud,  and  turn  over  all  those  to  the 
deistical  party,  who  do  not  allow  their  doctrines. 
Hence  the  popular  notion  of  the  multiplicity  of 
Deists. 

From  the  charge  of  deism  first,  the  populace 
ought  to  be  freed.  Too  many  of  them  live 
without  any  religion.  The  religion  of  nature  is 
as  unknown  to  them  as  the  religion  of  scripture. 
When  they  think  of  religion,  their  error  is  cre- 
dulity, and  their  spiritual  guides  soon  find,  that 
the  believing  of  too  much,  and  not  the  belie- 
ving 


3di  preface: 

ving  of  too  little,  is  their  mistake.  Tliey  are 
wicked  :  but  they  are  not  deists  ;  for  the  term 
deis7n  surely  stands  for  admitting  the  religion 
of  nature,  as  well  as  for  the  renouncing  of  re- 
velation. But  of  both,  in  general,  they  are 
alike  ignorant. 

Thei/f  who  renounce  popular  doctrines,  are  not 
therefore  deists.  The  learned  and  pious  Dr 
Bekker,  one  of  the  pastors  at  Amsterdam,  re- 
nounced the  popular  opinion  of  the  power  of 
the  devil,  and  published  a  book  against  it  in 
1()91.  He  seemed  to  doubt  also  of  the  eter- 
nity of  hell- torments.  He  was  reputed  a 
deist,  and  the  consistory,  the  classes,  and  the 
synods,  proceeded  against  him,  suspended  Iiiin 
first  from  the  communion,  and  deposed  him 
at  last  from  the  office  of  a  minister.  Yet  - 
Dr  Bekker  was  a  fast  friend  of  revelation,  and 
all  his  crime  lay  in  expounding  some  literal 
passages  of  revelation  allegorically.  Not  the 
book ;  but  the  received  meaning  of  it,  he  de- 
nied. 

The  deists  ought  not  to  claim  them,  who  af- 
firm^  that  it  is  not  the  property  of  the  truths  of 
revelation  to  square  with  philosophy.  Mons. 
Voltaire  takes  Pomponatius  for  a  deist.  Pom- 
ponatius  denied  the  natural  immortality  of  the 
soul ;  he  affirmed,  that  it  could  not  be  proved 
by  principles  of  philosophy  :  but  he  believed, 
and  maintained  the  immortality  of  the  soul  on 
the  testimony  of  revelation.  This  learned  Italian 
philosopher  was  persecuted  by  the  monks  ;  his 
book,  it  is  said,  was  burnt  by  the  Venetians  ; 

and 


PREFACE,  xill 

aiid  the  modern  deists  have  adopted  him ;  yet 
Pomponatius  was  a  beUever  of  revelation,  and, 
by  believing  the  immortality  of  the  soul  on  the 
testimony  of  scripture,  he  discovered  the  most 
profound  veneration  for  it,  a  deference  exactly 
similar  to  that  which  trinitarians  pay  to  its  tes- 
timony concerning  the  nature  of  God. 

What  Pomponatius  aflfirmed  of  the  immor- 
tality of  the  soul,  Bayle  affirmed  of  all  the  mys- 
^teries  of  the  gospel ;   but  we  do  not  allow  that 
Bayle  v/as  therefore  a  deist.     Thus  he  writes  : 
"  If  one   of  the  apostles,  St  Paul  for  instance, 
"  when  among  the  Athenians,  had  besought 
"  the   Areopagus   to   permit  him  to  enter  the 
"  lists  against  all  philosophers  ;  had  he  offered 
"to  maintain  a  disputation  upon  the  three  per- 
"  sons,  who  are  but  one  God  ;  and  if,  before  he 
"  began  the  disputation,  he  had  acknowledged 
*'  the  truth  of  the  rules  laid  down  by  Aristotle 
"  in   his   logic,  whether,  with   regard  to  the 
"  terms  of  opposition,  or  the  characteristics  of 
"  the  premises  of  a  demonstrative   syllogism, 
"  &c. :  lastly,  if,  after  these  preliminaries  were 
"  well  settled,  he  had  answered,  that  our  rea- 
"  son  is  too  weak  to  ascend  to  the  knowledge 
'*  of  the  mysteries  in  opposition  to  which  ob- 
"  jections  were   proposed  to  him  ;  in  such  a 
*'  case,  he  would  have  suffered  as  much  shame, 
'*  as  it  is  possible  for  a  defeated  opponent  to 
*'  meet  with.     The  Athenian  philosophers  must 
*'  have  gained  a  compleat  victory ;  for  he  wou!d 
''  have  been  judged  and  condemned  agreeably 
''  to  the  maxims,  the   truth  of  which  he  had 

"  ac- 


xiv  PRE  FA  C  E. 

*'  acknowledged  before.  But  had  the  philoso- 
*'  phers  employed  those  maxims  in  attacking 
*'  him,  after  he  had  informed  them  of  the 
*'  foundation  of  his  faith,  he  might  have  oppo- 
*'  sed  the  following  barrier  to  them ;  that  h\& 
**  doctrines  were  not  within  the  cognizance  of 
**  reason }  that  they  had  been  revealed  by  hea- 
'^  ven  ;  and  that  mankind  must  believe  them, 
*'  tho'  they  could  not  comprehend  them.  The 
*'  disputation,  in  order  for  its  being  carried  on 
*'  in  a  regular  manner,  must  not  have  turned 
*'  upon  the  following  question,  whether  these 
*'  doctrines  were  repugnant  to  the  rules  of  lo- 
"  gic  and  metaphysics  :  but  on  the  question, 
*'  whether  they  had  been  revealed  by  heaven. 
"  It  would  have  been  impossible  for  St  Paul  to 
'*  have  been  defeated,  except  it  could  have  been 
**  proved  to  him,  that  God  did  not  require  those 
*'  things  to  be  believed  *."  This  reasoning  does 
not  appear  to  favour  deism ;  it  seems  to  place 
the  mysteries  of  Christianity  on  their  true  base. 

Neither  are  those  to  be  reputed  Deists,  who 
doubt^  or  deny^  the  inspiration  of  some  books  which 
are  usually  accounted  sacred.  Luther  denied  the 
inspiration  of  the  Epistle  of  St  James ;  Gro- 
tius  that  of  the  Song  of  Solomon  ;  and  Diony- 
sius,  Bishop  of  Alexandria,  denied  that  the 
Apocalypse  was  written  by  the  Apostle  John ; 
yet  no  one  of  these  was  a  Deist. 

Nor  ought  the  Deist  to  claim  those  learned 
critics^  who  allow  that  the  scriptures  have  un- 
dergone the  fate  of  all  other  books,  and  who 

therefore 

*  Gen.  Diet.  vol.  x.  Illustration  upon  the  Manichees. 


P  R  E  FA  C  E.  XV 

therefore  expose  and  amend  the  errors  of  co- 
pyists,, expunge  interpolations,  restore  mutila- 
ted passages,  and  deal  with  the  writings  of 
vSt  Paul  as  they  do  with  the  writings  of  Thu~ 
cydides.  The  chronology,  the  geography,  the 
history,  the  learning  of  the  Bible,  (if  the  ex- 
pression be  not  improper)  must  necessarily 
submit  to  a  critical  investigation,  and  upright 
critics  have  self-evident  rules  of  trial.  The 
most  severe  piece  of  criticism  on  revelation  is 
at  the  same  time  one  of  the  most  excellent  de- 
fences of  it.  One  single  rule,  had  it  been 
thought  worthy  of  that  attention  which  it  me- 
rits, would  have  spared  the  writing  of  many  a 
folio,  and  have  freed  some  christians  from  ma- 
ny a  religious  reverie  '^.  Yet  the  author  of  this 
piece  of  criticism,  the  great  Le  Clerc,  has  been^ 
by  some  of  his  bigotted  countrymen,  accounted! 
a  Deist. 

Finally,  we  cannot  resign  those  brightest  or- 
nameots  of  the  christian  church,  whose  sense: 
and  grace  will  not  allow  them  to  be  dogmati- 
cal, and  who  hesitate  about  some  doctrines  gene" 
rally  received  by  their  own  comnunities.  The 
celebrated  Philip  Melancthon  has  been  taxed 
with  scepticism :  but  far  be  the  imputation 
from  him !  "  He  was  one  of  the  wisest  and 
"  best  men  of  his  age,  (says  a  certain  historian  ;) 
"  he  was  of  a  sweet,  peaceful  disposition,  had  a 
*'  great  deal  of  vv^it,  had  read  much,  and  his 

'*  know- 

*  I\Ions.  Le  Clerc  eKpresses  this  rule  thus  •,  Multa  liideri  in  ver- 
^ionibus  emphaticOy  qua  iu  i[isis  fonttbus  null  am  emjihasin  hahent. — 
Ars  Crit.  torn.  i.  p.  2.  s.  i.  c.  4.  This  rule  of  interpretation,  which 
regards  the  idiom  of  a  language,  deserves  more  attention,  it  should 
.«:eem,  than  hath  been  usually  paid  to  it. 


Xvi  PREFACE. 

*'  knowledge  was  very  extensive.  The  combio 
*'  nation  of  such  quaUties,  natural  and  acquired, 
**  is  ordinarily  a  foundation  for  diffidence. 
"  Melancthonwas  by  nomeans free  from  doubts, 
*'  and  there  were  abundance  of  subjects,  upon 
*'  which  he  durst  not  pronounce  this  is  so,  and 
*'  it  canndt  be  Gtherwise.  He  lived  among  a  sect 
"  of  people,  who  to  him  appeared  passionate, 
**  and  too  eager  to  mix  the  arts  of  human  po- 
**  licy,and  the  authority  of  the  secular  arm,  with 
*^  the  affairs  of  the  church.  His  tender  con- 
"  science  made  him  afraid  that  this  might  be  a 
**  mark  of  reprobation.  i\l though  he  drew  up 
*'  the  Augsburg  confession,  yet  he  hated  disputes 
"  in  religion,  and  when  his  mother  asked  him 
*'  how  she  should  conduct  her  belief  amidst  so 
**  many  controversies,  Continue,  answered  he, 
**  to  believe  and  pray  as  you  have  hitherto  done, 
*'  and  let  these  wars  of  controversy  give  you  no 
**  manner  of  trouble.'*  This  is  the  Melancthon 
who  was  suspected  of  deism  ! 

Several  more  classes  might  be  added  to  these  : 
but  these  are  sufficient  to  prove  that  real  deists 
are  not  by  far  so  numerous  as  reputed  ones. 
The  cause  of  deism,  unsupported  by  reason,  may 
magnify  its  little  all :  but  the  cause  of  revelation 
has  little  to  fear  from  the  learning  less  from 
the  morality,  and  nothing  from  the  number  oi 
its  opponents. 

When  some  atheists  appeared  in  the  Jewish 
church,  and  attacked  the  knowledge  and  wor- 
ship of  God,  the  people  of  God  were  intimida- 
ted :  but,  the  royal  Psalmist  justly  observes,  thejj 
were  in  great  fear ^  whoe  nojcar  icas^  Psal.  liii, 

5. 


PREFACE.  xvli 

5.     Similar  events  have  produced  similar  fears 
ill  the  christian   church,  and  to  these  honest, 
but  ignorant  fears,  we  ascribe  the  much  greater 
part  of  those  pious  frauds  with  which  christians 
have  disgraced  the  cause  of  God.     Most  of  the 
fathers,  most  of  the  church  of  Rome,  and  some 
protestant  churches,  have  treated  Christianity 
hke  an  old  crazy  palace,  which  requires  props 
or  supporters  on  every  side  ;   and  they  have 
manifested  great  injudiciousness  in  the  choice 
of  supporters.    The  gospel  stands  like  a  stately, 
sturdy  oak,  defying  the  attack  of  every  storm: 
but  they,  who  had  pitched  their  tent  beneath 
its  shade,  heard  a  rustUng  among  the  leaves, 
trembled  for  the  fate  of  the  tree,  and,  to  secure 
it,   surrounded  it  with  a  plantation  of  oziens 
To  this  ignorant  timidity,  and  not  to  the  base 
tricks  of  knavery,  the  sordid  arts  of  a  sorry 
avarice,  or  the  barbarous  pleasure  of  shedding 
human  blood,  we  charitably  attribute  the  great- 
est absurdities  in  the  christian  church. 

These  absurdities,  however,  have  produced 
very  bad  effects,  and  they  oblige  us  to  own,  that 
real  christians  have  occasioned  violent  prejudices 
against  Christianity. 

Some  christians  have  endeavoured  to  sup- 
port the  cause  of  Christianity  by  spurious  books  ; 
some  by  juggling  tricks,  called  Miracles  ;  some 
by  the  imposition  of  superstitious  ceremonies  j 
some  by  the  propagation  of  absurd  doctrines ; 
some  have  pretended  to  explain  it  by  a  wretched 
philosophy ;  others  have  exposed  it  to  derision 
under  pretence  of  adorning  it  with  allegory  i 
some  have  pleaded  for  it  by  fines,  and  fires,  and 
Vol.  II,  B  swords  5 


xviii  P  R  E  FA  C  E. 

swords ;  others  have  incorporated  it  with  civil 
interests ;  most  have  laid  down  false  canons  of 
interpretation,  and  have  resembled  that  synod 
which  condemned  the  aforementioned  Dr  Bek- 
ker,  because  he  "  had  explained  the  holy  scriptures 
"  so  as  to  make  them  contrary  ^o  fAe  catechism, 
''  and  particularly  to  the  articles  of  faith 
^'  which  he  had  himself  sub  scribed^  Above  all, 
the  loose  lives  of  the  professors  of  Christianity, 
and  particularly  of  some  of  the  ministers  of  it, 
have  covered  the  daughter  of  Sion  with  a  cloud, 
and  have  cast  down  from  heaven  iinto  the  earth 
the  beauty  of  Israel^  Lam.  ii.  1. 

Involve  Christianity  in  all  these  thick  mists, 
surround  it  with  all  these  phenomena,  call  a 
weak  eye,  or  a  wicked  heart,  to  contemplate  it, 
and,  without  a  spirit  of  prophecy,  the  discovery 
may  be  foretold  ;  the  observer  will  become  a 
reasoner     ....     a  philosopher      .     .     . 

a  DEIST. 

These  are  the  topics,  and  not  the  gospel  it- 
self, which  most  deists  have  attacked :  but  if 
we  agree  to  exonerate  Christianity  of  all  these 
incumbrances  ;  what  have  deists  to  answer  ? 
Very  few  of  them  have  taken  up  the  argument 
oji  its  true  grounds,  and  they^  who  have  could  not 
suppoH  it. 

When  a  Frenchman  undertakes  to  attack 
Christianity,  the  disputes  of  his  countrymen 
afford  him  an  ample  supply  ;  he  borrows  arms 
of  every  party  of  christians,  he  conquers  pQ^- 
pery  with  protestant  weapons,  opposes  the 
visions  of  quietism  with  the  subtleties  of  Jan- 
senism, the  mysteries  of  Jansenius    with  the 

laws 


PREFACE.  Xix 

Jaws  of  good  sense ;  and,  having  defeated  ab- 
surdity, he  vainly  imagines  he  has  obtained  a 
victory  over  Christianity.  EngUsh  deists  have 
taken  the  same  method,  and  as  our  country 
has  the  same  excesses,  they  have  an  ample 
field  of  glory  before  them.  Christianity  has 
nothing  to  do  w^ith  the  errors  of  St  Austin,  or 
the  dreams  of  Madam  Bourignon ;  but  it  is 
founded  on  a  few  facts,  the  evidence  of  which 
can  never  be  disproved.  The  knowledge  of 
these  is  a  preservative  against  deism. 

To  establish  these  facts  was  the  original  de- 
sign of  Mons.  Saurin  in  the  following  sermons, 
as  it  is  mine  in  endeavouring  to  translate  them. 
Those,  who  are  acquainted  with  his  sermons^ 
well  know,  that  there  are  in  the  twelve  volumes 
many  more  on  the  same  topics  :  but,  as  it  was 
impossible  to  put  them  all  into  one  volume,  I 
have  been  obliged  to  make  the  best  choice  in 
my  powder,  and  have  arranged  them  in  the  fol- 
lowing order : 

The  first  sermon  contains  a  set  of  rules  es- 
sentially necessary  to  the  investigating  of  truth^ 
and  a  few  reasons  to  enforce  the  practice  of 
them.  The  second  proposeth  an  examination 
of  the  truths  of  Christianity^  and  settles  rules  of 
disputation  peculiar  to  this  controversy.  The 
facts  follow  in  the  succeeding  sermons,  the 
birth,  the  ministry,  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christy  &c.  Four  of  the  last  discourses  expose 
injldelitij  and  recoimnend  chistianity ;  and  the 
last  of  all  is  an  exhortation  to  him  who  is  sup- 
posed to  have  found  the  gospel  of  Christ,  to 
hold  it  fast,  as  a  system  of  truth,  and  to  avoid 

B  2  those 


XX  PRE  FA  C  £. 

those  snares,  into  which  christians  are  Uable  to 
be  drawn. 

May  our  readers  have  these  things  alvjays  in 
remeinbrance  s  for-  we  have  not  foUowed  cunningly 
devised  fables^  2  Pet.  i.  15.  &c.  but  a  sure  word 
of  prophecy,  history  and  precept,  which  holy  men 
of  God  spakCy  as  they  were  moved  by  the  Holy 
Ghost. 


CONTENTS 


CONTENTS 

OF    THE 

SECOJVD    VOLUME. 

SERMON   L 

Tlie  Price  of  Truth, 

Proverbs  xxiii.  23- 


Page  25 


SERMON   II. 

The  Enemies  and  the  jirms  of  Christianity, 
Ephesians  vi.  II,  12,  13. 


Page  55 


SERMON   IIL 

The  Birth  of  Jesus  Christ. 
Isaiah  ix.  6,  7. 


Page  81 


SERMON   IV. 

The  Variety  of  Opinions  about  Christ, 

Matthew  xvi.  13,  14,  15,  I6,  I7. 


Page  105 


iixii  CONTENTS, 

SERMON  y. 
The  little  Success  of  ChrisVs  Ministry, 


Romans  x.  21. 

SERMON   VI. 

Christianity  not  seditioits. 
Luke  xxiii.  5- 

SERMON  VII. 

Christ  the  King  of  Truth. 

John  xviii.  36,  37,  38. 


Page  129 


Page  159 


Page  183 


SERMON   VIII. 
The  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ 

Psalm  cxviii.  15,  I6. 

Page  207 

SERMON  IX. 

'phe  Effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

Acts  ii.  37. 

Page  233 

SERMON   X. 

The  Sufficiency  of  Revelation. 

Luke  xvi.  27,  28,  29,  30,  31. 

Page  255 


CONTENTS.  xxiii 

SERMON  XI. 

The  Advantages  of  Revelation, 
1  Corinthians  i.  23. 


/age  289 


SERMON  XII. 

The  superior  Evidence  and  Influence  of 
Christianity. 

]  John  iv.  4. 

Page  32s 

SERMON   XIII. 

The  Absurdity  of  Libertinism  and  Injideliiy. 

Psalm  xciv.  7,  8,  9,  10. 

Page  347 

SERMON   XIV. 

The   Sale   of  Truth. 
Proverbs  xxiii.  23- 


Page  371 


SERMON 


26 


3SS 


SERMON    I. 

The  Price  of  Truth 


Proverbs  xxiii.  23. 
Buy  the  Truth, 


ff. 


'HAT  is  truth  P  John  xviij.  38.     This  question 
Pilate  formerly  put  to  Jesus   Christ,  and  there 
are  two  things,  my  brethren,  in  the  scripture  account 
of  this  circumstance  very  surprizing.  It  seems  strange 
that  Jesus  Christ  should  not  answer  Pilate's  question ; 
and  it  seems  equally  strange  that  Pilate  should  not  re- 
peat the  question  till  he  procured  an  answer  from  Jesus 
Christ.     One  principal  design  of  the  Son  of  God,  in 
becoming  incarnate,  was  to  dissipate  the  clouds  with 
which  the  enemy  of  mankind  had  obscured  the  truth  ; 
to  free  it  from  the  numberless  errors,  with  which  the 
spirit  of  falsehood  had  adulterated  it  among  the  misera- 
ble posterity  of  Adam;  and  to  make  thefluctuatingcon- 
jecturesof  reason  subside  to  the  demonstrative  evidence 
of  revelation.  Jesus  Christhimself  had  just  before  said, 
to  this  end  was  I  born,  and  for  this  cause  came  Unto  the 
'world,  that  I  should  hear  witness  unto  the  truth,  ver.  37» 
yet,  here  is  a  man  lying  in  the  dismal  night  of  pagan- 
ism ;  a  man  born  in  darkness,  having  no  hope,  and  being 
without  God  in  the  world,  Eph.  v.  8.  and  ii.  12.  here  is  a 
man,  who,  from  the  bottom  of  that  abyss  in  which  he 
Jzes,  implores  the  rays  of  that //^^^  zvhich  lighteth  every 

man 


26  The  Price  of  Truth. 

ma?i  that  cometh  into  the  world,  John  i.  Q.  and  asks 
Jesus  Christ,  What  is  truth  P  and  Jesus  Christ  reiu- 
seth  to  assist  his  inquiry,  he  doth  not  even  condescend 
to  answer  this  wise  and  interesting  question.  Is  not 
this  very  astonishing  ?  Is  not  this  a  land  of  miracle  ? 

But,  if  Jesus  Christ's  silence  be  surprizing,  is  it  not 
equally  astonishing  that  Pilate  should  not  repeat  the 
question,  and  endeavour  to  persuade  Jesus  Christ  to 
give  him  an  answer.  A  man,  who  had  discovered  the 
true  grounds  of  the  hatred  of  the  Jews ;  a  man,  who 
knew  that  the  virtues  of  the  illustrious  convict  had 
occasioned  their  accusations  against  him ;  a  man,  who 
could  not  be  ignorant  of  the  fame  of  his  miracles ;  a 
man,  who  was  obliged,  as  it  were,  to  become  the  apo- 
logist of  the  supposed  culprit  before  him,  and  to  use 
this  -^[tdi^ifitid  in  hirji  no  fault  at  all;  which  condemned 
the  pleader,  v.  hile  it  justified  him  for  whose  sake  the 
/plea  was  made;  this  man  only  glances  at  an  opportu- 
niiy  of  knowing  the  truth.  He  asks,  What  is  truth  P 
BuL  it  does  not  much  signify  to  him,  whether  Jesus 
Christ  answer  the  question  or  not.  Is  not  this  very 
astonishmg  .^  Is  not  this  also  a  kind  of  miracle  ? 

My  brethren,  one  of  these  wonders  is  the  cause  of 
the  other,  and,  if  you  consider  them  in  connection, 
your  astonishment  will  cease.  On  the  one  hand,  Jesus 
Christ  did  not  answer  Pilate's  question,  because  he  saw 
plainly,  that  his  iniquitous  judge  had  not  such  an 
ardent  love  of  truth,  such  a  spirit  of  disinterestedness 
and  vehement  zeal,  as  truth  deserved.  On  the  other, 
Pilate,  who  perhaps  might  have  liked  well  enough  to 
"have  known  truth,  if  a  simple  wish  could  have  ob^ 
tained  it,  gave  up  the  desire  at  the  first  silence  of  Jesus 
Christ.  He  did  not  think  truth  deserved  to  be  in- 
quired after  twice. 

The  conduct  of  Jesus  Christ  to  Pilate,  and  the  con- 
duct of  Pilate  to  Jesus  Christ,  is  repeated  every  day. 
Our  assiduity  at  church,  our  attention  to  the  voice  of 
the  servants  of  God,  our  attachment  to  the  sacred 

books 


The  Frice  of  Truth.  27 

books  in  which  truth  is  deposited ;  all  these  dispo- 
sitions, and  all  these  steps  in  our  conduct,  are,  in  a 
manner,  so  many  repetitions  of  Pilate's  question,  What 
is  truth  P  What  is  moral  truth  P  What  is  the  doctrinal 
truth  of  a  future  state,  of  judgment,  of  heaven,  of  hell? 
But  how  often,  content  with  the  putting  of  these 
questions,  do  we  refuse  that  assiduous  application  of 
mind,  that  close  attention  of  thought,  which  the  an- 
swers to  our  questions  would  require  ?  Hov/  often  are 
we  in  pain,  lest  the  light  of  the  truth,  that  is  shining 
around  us,  should  force  us  to  discover  some  objects, 
of  which  we  choose  to  be  ignorant.  Jesus  Christ, 
therefore,  often  leaves  us  to  wander  in  our  own  miser- 
able dark  conjectures.  Hence  so  many  prejudices, 
hence  so  many  erroneous  opinions  of  religion  and  mo- 
rality, hence  so  many  dangerous  delusions,  which  we 
cherish,  even  while  they  divert  our  attention  from  the 
great  end,  to  which  we  ought  to  direct  all  our  thoughts, 
designs,  and  views. 

I  would  fain  shew  you  the  road  to  truth  to-day, 
my  brethren  ;  open  to  you  the  path  that  leads  to  it ; 
and  by  motives  taken  from  the  grand  advantages  that 
attend  the  knowledge  of  it,  animate  you  to  walk  in  it. 

I.  We  will  examine  what  it  costs  to  know  truth. 

II.  What  truth  is  worth. 

Our  text  is,  buy  the  truth  ;  and  the  title  of  cur  ser- 
mon shall  be,  the  Christian's  Logic.  Doubtless,  the 
greatest  design  that  an  immortal  mind  can  revolve,  is] 
that  of  knowing  truth  one's  self:  and  the  design^ 
which  is  next  to  the  former  in  importance,  and  which 
surpasseth  it  in  difficulty,  is  that  of  imparting  it  to 
others.  But  if  a  love  of  truth  ;  if  a  desire  of  impart- 
ing it  to  a  people,  whom  I  bear  alwa3's  on  my  heart : 
if  ardent  prayers  to  the  God  of  truth  ;  if  these  dis- 
positions can  obtain  the  knowledge  of  truth,  and  the 
power  of  imparting  it,  we  may  venture  to  hope,' that 

Vv'e 


28  The  Price  of  Truth. 

we  shall  not  preach  in  vain.  May  God  himself  crown 
our  hopes  with  success  I 

I.  We  are  to  inquire  for  the  road  that  leads  to 
truth  ;  or,  to  use  the  ideas  of  our  tex-t,  we  are  to  tell 
you  what  it  costs  to  know  truth. 

Before  we  enter  on  this  inquiry,  it  is  necessary  to 
determine  what  we  mean  by  truth.  If  there  be  an 
equivocal  word  in  the  world,  either  in  regard  to  human 
sciences,  or  in  regard  to  religion,  it  is  this  word  truth. 
But,  not  to  enter  into  a  metaphysical  dissertation  on 
the  different  ideas  that  are  affixed  to  the  term,  we  will 
content  ourselves  with  indicating  the  ideas  which  we 
affix  to  it  here. 

Truth  ought  not  to  be  considered  here  as  subsisting 
in  a  subject,  independently  on  the  reflections  of  an  in- 
telligence that  considers  it.  I  do  not  affirm  that  there 
is  not  a  tj^uth  in  every  object  which  subsists,  whether 
we  attend  to  it  or  not :  but  I  say,  that  in  these 
phrases,  to  search  truth,  to  love  truth,  to  buy  truth,  the 
term  is  relative,  and  expresseth  a  harmony  between 
the  object  and  the  mind  that  considers  it,  a  conformity 
between  the  object  and  the  idea  '-ve  have  of  it.  To 
search  after  truth,  is  to  endeavour  to  obtain  adequate 
ideas  of  the  object  of  our  reflections ;  and  to  buy  truth, 
is  to  make  all  the  sacrifices  which  are  necessary  for 
the  obtaining  of  such  ideas  as  are  proportional  to  the 
objects  of  which  our  notions  are  the  images.  By 
truth,  then,  we  mean,  an  agreement  between  an  object 
and  our  idea  of  it. 

But  we  may  extend  our  meditation  a  little  farther. 
The  term  truth,  taken  in  the  sense  we  have  now  given 
it,  is  one  of  those  abstract  terms,  the  precise  meaning 
of  which  can  never  be  ascertained,  without  determin- 
ing the  object  to  which  it  is  attributed.  There  is  a 
truth  in  every  art  and  science.  There  is  a  truth 
in  the  art  of  rising  in  the  world ;  a  certain  choice  of 
means ;  a  certain  dexterous  application  of  circum- 

stances  ; 


The  Price  of  TrutL  29 

stances ;  a  certain  promptitude  at  seizing  an  oppor- 
tunity. The  courtier  bup  this  truth,  by  his  assiduity 
at  court,  by  his  continual  attention  to  the  looks,  the 
features,  the  gestures,  the  will,  the  whimsies,  of  his 
prince.  The  merchant  buys  this  truth  at  the  expence 
of  his  rest  and  his  health ;  sometimes  at  the  expence 
of  his  life,  and  often  at  that  of  his  conscience  and  hi  •: 
salvation.  In  like  manner,  there  is  a  truth  in  the 
sciences.  A  mathematician  racks  his  invention,  spends- 
whole  nights  and  days,  suspends  the  most  lawful  plea- 
sures, and  the  most  natural  inclinations,  to  find  th^ 
solution  of  a  problem  in  a  relation  of  figures,  in  a  com- 
bination of  numbers.  These  are  not  the  truths  which 
the  wise  man  exhorts  us  to  Z>?/y.  They  have  their  value, 
I  own,  but  how  seldom  are  they  worth  what  they 
cost  to  obtain  ?  ~ 

What  then  is  Solomon's  idea  ?  Doth  he  mean  only 
the  truths  of  religion,  and  the  science  of  salvation  ? 
There,  certainly,  that  which  is  truth  by  excellence 
may  be  found  ;  nor  can  it  be  bought  too  dear.  I  do 
not  think,  however,  that  it  would  comprehend  the 
precise  meaning  of  the  wise  man  to  understand  by  truth 
here  the  science  of  salvation  alone.  His  expression 
is  vague,  it  comprehends  all  truths,  it  offers  to  the 
mind  a  general  idea,  the  idea  of  universal  truth.  Buy 
the  truth. 

But  v/hat  is  this  general  idea  of  truth  /  What  is 
universal  truth  F  Does  Solomon  mean,  that  we  should 
aim  to  obtain  adequate  ideas  of  all  beings,  that  we 
should  try  to  acquire  the  perfection  of  all  arts,  that 
we  should  comprehend  the  mysteries  of  all  sciences  ? 
Who  is  equal  to  this  undertaking  ? 

It  seems  to  me,  my  brethren,  that  when  he  exhorts 
us  here  to  buy  the  truth,  in  this  vague  and  indeter- 
minate sense,  he  means  to  excite  us  to  endeavour  to 
acquire  that  happy  disposition  of  mind  which  makes 
us  give  to  every  question,  that  is  proposed  to  us,  the 
.time  and  attention  which  it  deserves  ;  to  each  proof 
its  evidence ;  to  each  difficulty  its  weight ;  to  every 

good 


50  The  Price  of  Truth. 

good  its  real  value.  He  means  to  inspire  us  with  that 
accuracy  of  discernment,  that  equity  of  judgment, 
which  w^ould  enable  us  to  consider  a  demonstration 
as  demonstrative,  and  a  probability  as  probable  only, 
what  is  worthy  of  a  great  application  as  worthy  of  a 
great  application,  w^iat  deserves  only  a  moderate  love 
as  vrorthy  of  only  a  moderate  love,  and  what  deserves 
im  infinite  esteem  as  worthy  of  an  infinite  esteem  ;  and 
so  on.  This,  I  think,  my  brethren,  is  the  disposition 
of  mind  with  which  Solomon  means  to  inspire  us. 
This,  if  I  may  be  allowed  to  say  so,  is  an  aptness  to 
universal  truth.  With  this  disposition,  we  may  go  as 
far  in  the  attainment  of  particular  truths  as  the  mea- 
sure of  the  talents,  which  we  have  received  of  God, 
and  the  various  circumstances,  in  Avhich  Providence 
hath  placed  us,  will  allow.  Especially,  by  this  dis- 
position, w^e  shall  be  convinced  of  this  principle,  to 
which  Solomon's  grand  design  was  to  conduct  us ; 
that  the  science  of  salvation  is  that,  which,  of  all 
others,  deserves  the  greatest  application  of  our  minds 
and  hearts  ;  and  with  this  disposition  we  shall  make 
immense  advances  in  the  science  of  salvation. 

But  neither  this  universal  truth,  nor  the  disposition  of 
mind  which  conducts  us  to  it,  can  be  acquired  with- 
out labour  and  sacrifice.  They  must  be  bought.  Bui^ 
the  truth.  And,  to  confine  myself  to  some  distinct 
ideas,  universal  truth,  or  the  disposition  of  mind,  which 
leads  to  it,  requires  the  sacrifice  o^  dissipation  ;  the  sa- 
crifice o^  indolence  \  the  sacrifice  o^precipitajicy  of  judg- 
ment ;  the  sacrifice  o^prejudice ;  the  sacrifice  oiohstinacy : 
the  sacrifice  of  curiositi/  ;  the  sacrifice  of  the  passio?ts. 
We  comprise  the  matter  in  seven  precepts. 

1.  Be  attentive. 

2.  Do  not  be  discouraged  at  labour, 

3.  Suspend  your  judgment. 

4.  Let  prejudice  yield  to  reason. 

5.  Be  teachable. 

G.  Restrain  your  avidity  of  knowing. 
7.  In  order  to  edify  your  mind,  subdue  your  heart. 

This 


The  Price  of  Truth  31 

This  is  the  price  at  which  God  hath  put  up  this 
universal  truth,  and  the  disposition  that  leads  to  it.  If 
you  cannot  resolve  on  making  all  these  sacrifices,  you 
]nay,  perhaps,  arrive  at  some  particular  truth  :  but  you 
can  never  obtain  universal  truth.  You  may,  perhaps, 
become  famous  mathematicians,  or  geometers,  judi- 
cious critics,  or  celebrated  officers;  but  you  can  never 
become  real  disciples  of  truth. 

1.  The  sacrifice  of  dissipation  is  the  first  price  we 
must  pay  for  the  trutL  Be  attentive  is  the  first  pre- 
cept, which  we  must  obey,  if  we  would  know  it.  A 
modern  philosopher  *  hafj  carried,  I  think,  this  precept, 
too  far.  He  pretends,  that  the  mind  of  man  is  united 
to  two  very  diflferent  beings :  first  to  the  portion  of 
matter,  which  constitutes  his  body,  and  next,  to  God, 
to  eternal  wisdom,  to  universal  reason.  He  pretends, 
that,  as  the  emotions,  which  are  excited  in  our  brain 
are  the  cause  of  our  sentiments,  effects  of  the  union 
of  the  soul  to  the  body  ;  so  attention  is  the  occasional, 
cause  of  our  knowledge,  and  of  our  ideas,  efiects  of 
the  union  of  our  mind  to  God,  to  eternal  wisdom,  to 
universal  reason.  The  system  of  this  philosopher  on 
this  subject  hath  been,  long  since,  denominated  a 
philosophical  romance.  It  includes,  however,  the 
necessity,  and  the  advantage,  of  attention,  which  is  of 
the  ]ast  importance.  Dissipation  is  a  turn  of  mind, 
which  flakes  us  divide  our  mind  among  various  ob- 
jects, at  a  time  when  wx  ought  to  fix  it  wholly  on 
one.  Attention  is  the  opposite  disposition,  which  col- 
lects, and  fixes  our  ideas  on  one  object.  Two  reflec- 
tions w^ill  be  sufficient  to  prove  that  truth  is  unattain- 
able without  the  sacrifice  of  dissipation,  and  the  ap- 
plication of  a  close  attention. 

The  first  reflection  is  taken  from  the  nature  o^  \h^ 
human  mind,  which  is  finite,  and  contracted  within  a 
narrow  sphere.  We  have  only  a  portion  of  genius. 
If,  while  we  are  examining  a  compound  proposition, 

v/e 

*  Malbrancbe,  in  his  Search  after  Truth.     Book   111.  chap.  6. 


32  The  Price  of  Truth. 

we  do  not  proportion  our  attention  to  the  extent  of 
the  proposition,  we  shall  see  it  only  in  part,  and  we 
shall  fall  into  error.  The  most  absurd  propositions 
have  some  motives  of  credibility.  If  we  consider 
only  two  motives  of  credibility  in  a  subject  which 
hath  two  degrees  of  probability,  and  if  we  consider 
three  degrees  of  probability  in  a  subject  which  hath 
only  four,  this  last  will  appear  more  credible  to  us 
than  the  first. 

The  second   reflection   is  taken   from   experience. 
Every    one   who   hath   made  the  trial,  knows,  that 
things  have  appeared  to  him  true  or  false,  probable  or 
certain,  according  to  the  dissipation  which  divided, 
or  the  attention  which  fixed,  his  mind  in  the  examina- 
tion.    Whence  is  it,  that  on  certain  days  of  retire^ 
ment,  recollection,  and  meditation,  piety  seems  to  be 
the  only  object  worthy  of  our  attachment,  and,  with  a 
mind  fully  convinced,  we  say.  My  portion^  0  Lord,  is 
to  keep  thy  words  P  Psal.  cxix.  57-  Whence  is  it,  that, 
in  hearing  a  sermon,  in  which  the  address  of  the  preacher 
forceth  our   attention  in  a  manner  in  spite  of  our- 
selves, we  exclaim,  as  Israel  of  old  did.  All  that  the 
Lord  hath  spoken,  we  will  do  P  Exod.  xix.  8.  Whence 
is  it,  that,  on  a  death-bed,  we  freely  acknowledge  the 
solidity  of  the  intructions  that  have  been  given  us  on 
the  emptiness  of  Worldly  possessions,  and  readily  join 
our  voices  to  all  those  that  cry,  Vanity  of  vanities ,  all 
is  vanity,  and  vexation  of  spirit  P  Eccles.  i.  2.  Whence 
is  it,  on  the  contrary,  that  in  the  gaiety  of  youth,  and 
in  the  vigour  of  health,  the  same  objects  appear  to  us 
substantial  and  solid,  which  seem  void  and  vexatious 
when  we  come  to  die  ?   How  comes  it  to  pass,  that 
a  commerce  with  the  world  subverts  all  the  systems 
of  piety,  v/hich  we  form  in  our  closets  ?  How  is  it. 
that  demonstrations  expire  when  sermons  end,  and  that 
all  we  have  felt  in  the  church  ceaseth  to  affect  us 
when  we  go  out  of  the  gate  ?  Is  there,  then,  nothing 
sure  in  the  nature  of  beings  ?  Is  truth  nothing  but  an 
exterior  denomination,  as  the  schools  term  it,  nothing 

but 


^/le  Price  of  Truth.  33 

but  a  creature  of  reason,  a  manner  of  conceiving  ? 
Doth  our  mind  change  its  nature,  as  circumstances 
change  the  appearance  of  things  ?  Doth  that,  which 
was  true  in  our  closets,  in  our  churches,  in  a  calm  of 
our  passions,  become  false  when  the  passions  are  ex- 
cited, when  the  church-doors  are  shut,  and  the  w^orld 
appears  ?  God  forbid  I  It  is  because,  in  the  first  cir- 
cumstances, we  are  all  taken  up  with  studying  the  truth  ; 
whereas  health,  the  world,  the  passions,  disperse,  (so  to 
speak,)  our  attention,  and  by  dissipating,  weaken  it. 

I  add  further,  Dissipation  is  one  ordinary  source, 
not  only  of  errors  in  judgement,  but  also  of  criminal 
actions  in  practice.  We  declaim,  perhaps  too  much, 
against  the  malice  of  mankind.  Perhaps  men  may 
not  be  so  wicked  as  we  imagine.  When  Ave  can  obtain 
their  attention  to  certain  truths,  we  find  them  affected 
with  them ;  we  find  their  hearts  accessible  to  motives 
of  equity,  gratitude,  and  love.  If  men  seem  averse 
to  these  virtues,  it  is  sometimes  because  they  are  taken 
up  with  a  circle  of  temporal  objects ;  it  is  because 
their  attention  is  divided,  and  dissipated  among  them  ; 
it  is  because  the  hurry  of  the  world  incessantly  deafens 
them.  Ignorance  and  error  are  inseparable  from  dis- 
sipation. Be  attejitive,  then,  is  the  first  precept  we 
give  you.  The  sacrifice  of  dissipation,  then,  is  ne- 
cessary, in  order  to  our  arrival  at  the  knowledge  of 
truth. 

But,  if  truth  can  be  obtained  only  by  observing  this 
precept,  and  by  making  this  sacrifice,  let  us  inge- 
nuously own,  truth  is  put  up  at  a  price,  and  at  a  great 
price.  The  expression  of  the  wise  man  is  just,  the 
truth  must  be  bought.  Buy  the  truth.  Our  minds, 
averse  from  recollection  and  attention,  love  to  rove 
from  object  to  object;  they  particularly  avoid  those 
objects  which  are  intellectual,  and  which  have  nothing 
to  engage  the  senses,  of  which  kind  are  the  truths  of 
r«ligion.  The  majesty  of  an  invisible  God  who  hideth 
himself,  cannot  captivate  them ;  and  as  they  are  usually 
Vol.  II.  C  employed 


34  The  Price  of  Ti^th. 

employed  about  earthly  things,  so  terrestrial  ideas 
generally  involve  them.  Satan,  who  knows  that  a 
believer,  studious  of  the  truth,  is  the  most  formidable 
enemy  to  his  empire,  strives  to  divert  him  from  it. 
As  soon  as  Abraham  prepares  his  offering,  the  birds 
of  prey  interrupt  his  sacrifice  :  a  disciple  of  truth 
drives  such  birds  away.  Among  various  objects, 
amidst  numerous  dissipations,  in  spite  of  opposite 
ideas,  which  resist  and  combat  one  another,  he  ga- 
thers up  his  attention,  and  unreservedly  turns  his  soul 
to  the  study  of  truth. 

2.  The  second  sacrifice  is  that  of  indolence,  or 
slothfulnessof  mind;  and,^^'  not  discouraged  at  labour, 
is  the  second  precept,  which  must  be  observed  if  you 
would  obtain  the  knowledge  of  truth.  This  article 
is  connected  with  the  preceding.  The  sacrifice  of 
dissipation  cannot  be  made,  without  making  this  of 
indolence,  or  sluggishness  of  mind.  Attention  is 
labour ;  it  is  even  one  of  the  most  painful  labours. 
The  labour  of  the  mind  is  often  more  painful  than 
that  of  the  body ;  and  the  greatest  part  of  mankind 
have  less  aversion  to  the  greatest  fatigues  of  the  body, 
than  to  the  least  application  of  mind.  The  military 
life  seems  the  most  laborious  ;  yet,  what  an  innume- 
rable multitude  of  men  prefer  it  before  the  study  of 
the  sciences  I  This  is  the  reason,  the  study  of  the 
sciences  requires  a  contention,  which  costs  our  indo- 
lence more  than  the  military  life  would  cost  it. 

Although  the  labour  of  the  mind  is  painful,  yet  it 
is  surmountable,  and  it  is  formed  in  the  same  manner 
in  which  fatigue  of  body  is  rendered  tolerable.  A. 
man  who  is  accustomed  to  ease  and  rest ;  a  man, 
who  hath  been  delicately  brought  up,  cannot  bear  to 
pass  days  and  nights  on  horseback,  to  have  no  settled 
abode,  to  be  continually  in  action,  to  waste  away  by 
the  heat  of  the  day,  and  the  inclemency  of  the  night. 
Nothing  but  use  and  exercise  can  harden  a  man  to 
these  fatigues.    In  like  manner,  a  man,  who  hath  been 

accustomed 


The  Price  of  Truth.  35 

accustomed  to  pass  his  days  and  nights  on  horse- 
back, to  have  no  settled  abode,  to  be  continually  in 
action,  to  wear  himself  out  with  the  heat  of  the  day, 
and  the  cold  of  the  night ;  a  man  whose  body  seems 
to  have  changed  its  nature,  and  to  have  contracted 
the  hardness  of  iron,  or  stone ;  such  a  man  cannot 
bear  the  fatigue  of  attention.  It  is  then  necessary  to 
accustom  the  mind  to  labour,  to  inure  it  to  exercise, 
to  render  it  apt,  by  habit  and  practice,  to  make  those 
efforts  of  attention,  w^hich  elevate  those,  who  are 
capable  of  them,  to  ideas  the  most  sublime,  and  to 
mysteries  the  most  abstruse. 

They,  whom  Providence  calls  to  exercise  mechani- 
cal arts,  have  reason  to  complain ;  for  every  thing, 
that  is  necessary  to  discharge  the  duties  of  their  cal- 
ling, diverts  their  attention  from  what  we  are  now 
recommending,  and  absorbs  their  minds  in  sensible 
and  material  objects.  God,  however,  will  exercise 
his  equitable  mercy  towards  them,  and  their  cases 
afford  us  a  presumptive  proof  of  that  admirable  diver- 
sity of  judgment,  which  God  will  observe  at  the  last 
day.  He  will  make  a  perfect  distribution  of  the  va- 
rious circumstances  of  mankind ;  and  to  whom  he  hath 
committed  much,  of  him  he  will  ask  the  more,  Luke  xii.  48. 

Let  no  one  abuse  this  doctrine.  Every  mechanic 
is  engaged,  to  a  certain  degree,  to  sacrifice  indolence 
and  dulness  of  mind.  Every  mechanic  hath  an  im- 
mortal soul.  Every  mechanic  ought  to  Buy  the  truth 
by  labour  and  attention.  Let  every  one  of  you,  then, 
make  conscience  of  devoting  a  part  of  his  time  to  re- 
collection and  meditation.  Let  each,  amidst  the 
meanest  occupations,  accustom  himself  to  think  of  a 
future  state.  Let  each  endeavour  to  surmount  the 
reluctance,  which,  alas  I  we  all  have,  to  the  study  of 
abstract  subjects.  Be  not  disheartened  at  labour,  is  our 
second  precept.  The  sacrifice  of  indolence  and  slug- 
gishness of  mind,  is  the  second  sacrifice  which  truth 
demands. 

C  ^  3.  It 


36  The  Price  of  Truth. 

3.  It  requires,  in  the  next  place,  that  we  should 
sacrifice  precipitancy  of  judgment.  Few  people  are 
capable  of  this  sacrifice :  indeed,  there  are  but  few 
who  do  not  consider  suspension  of  judgment  as  a  weak- 
ness, although  it  is  one  of  the  noblest  efforts  of  genius 
and  capacity.  In  regard  to  human  sciences,  it  is 
thought  a  disgrace  to  say,  I  cannot  determine  such, 
or  such  a  question  :  the  decision  of  it  would  require 
so  many  years  study  and  examination.  I  have  been 
but  so  many  years  in  the  world,  and  I  have  spent  a 
part  in  the  study  of  this  science,  a  part  in  the  pursuit 
of  that ;  one  part  in  this  domestic  employment,  and 
another  in  that.  It  is  absurd  to  suppose  that  I  have 
been  able  to  examine  all  the  principles,  and  all  the 
consequences,  all  the  calculations,  all  the  proofs,  and 
all  the  difficulties,  on  which  the  ecclaircissement  of 
this  question  depends.  Wisdom  requires,  that  my 
mind  should  remain  undetermined  on  this  question  ; 
that  I  should  neither  affirm,  nor  deny,  any  thing  of 
a  subject,  the  evidences,  and  the  difficulties  of  which 
are  alike  unknown  to  me. 

In  regard  to  religion,  people  usually  make  a  scruple 
of  conscience  of  suspending  their  judgments  ;  yet,  in 
our  opinion,  a  Christian  is  so  much  the  more  obliged 
to  do  this,  by  how  much  more  the  truths  of  the  gospel 
surpass  in  sublimity  and  importance  all  the  objects  of 
human  science.  I  forgive  this  folly  in  a  man  edu- 
cated in  superstition,  who  is  threatened  with  eternal 
damnation,  if  he  renounce  certain  doctrines,  which  not 
only  he  hath  not  examined,  but  which  he  is  forbidden 
to  examine  under  the  same  penalty.  But  that  casuists, 
who  are,  or  who  ought  to  be,  men  of  learning  and 
piety,  should  imagine  they  have  obtained  a  signal 
victory  over  infidelity,  and  have  accredited  religion, 
when,  by  the  help  of  some  terrific  declam.ations,  they 
have  extorted  a  catechumen's  consent ;  this  is  what  we 
could  have  scarcely  believed,  had  we  not  seen  number- 
less examples  of  it.    And  that  you,  my  brethren,  who 

are 


The  Price  of  Truth.  37 

are  a  free  people,  you  who  are  spiritual  men,  and  ought 
to  judge  ail  things,  1  Cor.  ii.  15.  that  you  should  at  any 
time  submit  to  such  casuists ;  this  is  what  we  could 
have  hardly  credited,  had  not  experience  afforded  us 
too  many  mortifying  proofs. 

Let  us  not  incorporate  our  fancies  with  rehgion. 
The  belief  of  a  truth,  without  evidence,  can  render  us 
no  more  agreeable  to  God  than  the  belief  of  a  falsehood. 
A  truth,  received  without  proof,  is,  in  regard  to  us, 
a  kind  of  falsehood.  Yea,  a  truth,  received  without 
evidence,  is  a  never-failing  source  of  many  errors ; 
because  a  truth,  received  without  evidence,  is  founded, 
in  regard  to  us,  only  on  false  principles.  And  if,  by 
a  kind  of  hazard,  in  which  reason  hath  no  part,  a  false 
principle  engage  us  to  receive  a  truth  on  this  occa- 
sion, the  same  principle  will  engage  us  to  receive  an 
error  on  another  occasion.  We  must  then  suspend  our 
judgments,  whatever  inclination  we  may  naturally  have 
to  determine  at  once,  in  order  to  save  the  attention  and 
labour,  which  a  more  ample  discussion  oi truth  would 
require.  By  this  mean,  we  s^hall  not  attain,  indeed,  all 
knowledge ;  but  we  shall  prevent  all  errors.  The 
goodness  of  God  doth  not  propose  to  enable  us  to 
know  all  truth  ;  but  it  proposeth  to  give  us  all  needful 
help  to  escape  error.  It  is  conformable  to  his  good- 
ness, that  we  should  not  be  obliged,  by  a  necessity  of 
nature,  to  consent  to  error ;  and  the  help  needful  for 
the  avoiding  of  falsehood  he  hath  given  us.  Every 
man  is  entirely  free  to  withhold  his  consent  from  a 
.subject  which  he  hath  not  considered  in  every  point 
of  view. 

4.  The  fourth  sacrifice,  which  truth  demands,  is  that 
of  prejudice  ;  and  the  fourth  precept  is  this,  Let  pre- 
judice  yield  to  reason.  This  precept  needs  explanation. 
The  term  prejudice  is  equivocal.  Sometimes  it  is  em- 
ployed to  signify  a  proof,  vdiich  hath  not  a  full  evi- 
dence, but  which,  however,  hath  some  weight :  so 
that  a  great  number  of  prejudices,  which,  taken  sepa- 

r,atiely, 


38  The  Price  of  Truth. 

rately,  could  not  form  a  demonstration,  taken  together 
ought  to  obtain  an  assent.  But,  sometimes  the  word 
prejudice  hath  an  odious  meaning,  it  is  put  for  that  im- 
pression, which  a  circumstance,  foreign  from  the  pro- 
position, makes  on  the  mind  of  him,  who  is  to  deter- 
mine, whether  the  proposition  ought  to  be  received 
or  rejected.  In  this  sense  we  use  the  word,  when  we 
say  a  man  is  full  oi prejudice,  in  order  to  describe  that 
disposition,  which  makes  him  give  that  attention  and 
authority  to  false  reasonings,  which  are  due  only  to 
solid  arguments. 

Our  fourth  precept  is  to  be  taken  in  a  different 
sense,  according  to  the  different  meaning  which  is 
given  to  this  term.  If  the  word  prejudice  be  taken  in 
the  first  sense,  when  we  require  you  to  make  prejudice 
yield  to  reason,  we  mean,  that  you  should  give  that 
attention,  and  authority,  to  a  presumption,  or  a  pro- 
bability, which  presumptive  or  probable  evidence  re- 
quires. We  mean,  that  demonstrative  evidence  should 
always  prevail  over  appearances.  The  equity  of  this 
precept  is  self-evident ;  yet,  perhaps,  it  may  not  be 
improper  to  shew  the  necessity  of  obeying  it,  in  order 
to  engage  our  conduct  the  more  closely  to  it.  I  said 
just  now,  that  men  were  enemies  to  that  labour,  which 
the  finding  out  of  truth  requires.  Yet  men  love 
knowledge.  From  the  combination  of  these  two  dis- 
positions ariseth  their  propensity  to  prejudice.  A  man, 
who  yields  to  prejudice,  frees  himself  from  that  labour, 
which  a  search  after  truth  would  require ;  and  thus 
gratifies  his  indolence.  He  flatters  himself  he  hath 
obtained  truth,  and  so  he  satisfies  his  desire  of  know- 
ledge. We  must  guard  against  this  temptation.  This 
is  the  first  sense  of  the  precept,  Let  prejudice  yield  to 
reason. 

When,  in  the  second  sense,  which  Vv^e  have  given  to 
the  word  prejudice,  we  require  him.,  who  would  be  a 
disciple  of  truth,  to  make  prejudice  yield  to  reason, 
we  mean,  that  whenever  he  examines  a  question,  he 

should 


The  Price  of  Truth.  39 

should  remove  every  thing  that  is  not  connected  with 
it.  Prejudice,  in  our  first  sense,  sometimes  conducts 
to  truth  ;  hut  prejudice,  of  the  second  kind,  always 
leads  us  from  it.  What  idea  would  you  form  of  a 
man,  who,  in  examining  this  question,  Is- there  apart 
of  the  world  called  America  P  should  place  among  the 
arguments,  which  determine  him  to  affirm,  or  to  deny 
the  question,  this  consideration;  The  sun  shines  to-day  in 
all  its  splendour;  or  this,  The  sun  is  concealed  behind  thick 
clouds.^  Who  does  not  see,  that  these  middle  terms, 
by  which  the  disputant  endeavours  to  decide  the 
point,  have  no  concern  with  the  solution  of  the  ques- 
tion ?  This  example  I  use  only  for  the  sake  of  con- 
veying my  meaning,  and  I  do  not  design  by  it  to 
guard  you  against  this  particular  error.  None  of 
you,  in  examining  the  question,  which  'we  just  now 
mentioned,  hath  ever  regarded,  either  as  proofs,  or  as 
objections,  these  considerations,  The  sun  shines  to-day 
in  all  its  splendour.  The  sun  is  hidden  to-day  behind  the 
clouds.  However,  it  is  too  true,  that  in  questions  of 
far  greater  importance,  we  often  determine  our  opi- 
nions by  reasons,  which  are  as  foreign  from  the 
matter  as  those  just  now  mentioned.  For  example, 
it  is  a  question,  either  whether  such  a  man  be  an 
accurate  reasoner,  or  whether  he  express  a  matter 
clearly,  or  whether  his  evidence  deserve  to  be  recei- 
ved  or  rejected.  What  can  be  more  foreign  from 
any  of  these  questions,  than  the  habit  he  wears,  the 
number  of  servants  that  wait  on  him,  the  equipage 
he  keeps,  the  tone  in  which  he  reasons,  the  dog- 
matical air  with  which  he  decides  ?  And,  yet,  how 
often  does  a  dogmatical  decision,  a  peculiar  tone,  a 
pompous  equipage,  a  numerous  retinue,  a  certain 
habit,  how  often  does  each  of  these  become  a  motive 
to  mankind  to  receive  the  testimony  of  such  a  man, 
and  to  engage  them  to  resign  their  reason  to  him  ?  In 
like  manner,  a  man  may  understand  all  history,  an- 
cient and  modern,  he  may  possess  all  the  oriental  lan- 
guages, he  may  know  the  customs  of  the  most  remote 

and 


40  Thi  Price  of  Truth. 

and  barbarous  nations,  and  he  may  be,  all  the  time^ 
a  bad  logician :  for  what  relation  is  there  between 
the  knowledge  of  customs,  tongues,  and  histories,  an- 
cient and  modem,  and  an  accurate  habit  of  reasoning? 
And  yet,  how  often  does  the  idea  of  a  man,  bustling 
with  science  of  this  kind,  impose  on  our  minds  ? 
How  often  have  we  imagined  that  a  man,  who  knew 
what  the  soul  was  called  in  thirty  or  forty  different 
languages,  knew  its  nature,  its  properties,  and  its  du- 
ration, better  than  he  who  knew  only  what  it  was 
called  in  his  own  mother  tongue  ?  The  term  prejudice 
(we  repeat  it  again)  which  sometimes  signifies  a  pro- 
bability, is  sometimes  put  for  that  impression,  which 
a  circumstance,  foreign  from  the  question  under  ex- 
amination, makes  on  the  mind.  When  v/e  demand 
the  sacrifice  oi prejudice,  in  this  latter  sense,  we  mean 
to  induce  you  to  avoid  all  motives  of  credibility,  ex- 
cept those  which  have  some  relation,  near,  or  remote, 
to  the  subject  in  hand. 

This  precept  will  appear  more  important  to  you,  if 
you  apply  it  to  a  particular  subject.  We  will  mention 
a  famous  example,  that  will  prove  the  necessity  of 
sacrificing  prejudice,  in  both  the  senses  we  have  men- 
tioned. There  is  a  case,  in  which  the  great  number 
of  those  who  adhere  to  a  communion  forms  a  prejudice 
in  its  favour.  One  communion  is  embraced  by  a 
multitude  of  scholars,  philosophers,  and  fine  ge- 
niusses :  another  communion  hath  but  few  partizans 
of  these  kinds :  hence  ari&eth  a  probability,  a  pre- 
sumption, a  prejudice,  in  favour  of  the  first,  and 
against  the  last  of  these  communities.  It  is  probable, 
that  the  community,  which  hath  the  greatest  number 
of  fine  geniusses,  philosophers,  and  scholars,  is  more 
rational  than  that  which  hath  the  least.  Hov/ever, 
this  is  only  a  probability,  this  is  not  a  demonstration. 
The  most  elevated  minds  are  capable  of  the  greatest 
extravagances,  as  the  highest  saints  are  subject  to  the 
lowest  falls.  If  you  can  demonstrate  the  truth  of  that 

religion, 


The  Price  of  Truth.  41 

religion,  which  the  multitude  of  great  men  condemn, 
the  probability,  which  ariseth  from  the  multitude, 
ought  to  yield  to  demonstration.  Sacrifice  prejudice 
in  this  first  sense. 

But  there  is  a  case,  in  which  a  great  number  of  par- 
tizans  do  not  form  even  a  probability  in  favour  of 
the  doctrine  they  espouse.  For  example.  The  church 
of  Rome  perpetually  urges  the  suffrage  of  the  multi- 
tude in  its  favour.  And  we  reply,  That  the  multi- 
tude of  those,  who  adhere  to  the  Roman  church,  does 
not  form  even  a  presumption  in  their  favour,  and^  we 
prove  it. 

If  you  affirm  that  a  multitude  forms  a  probability  in 
favour  of  any  doctrine,  it  must  be  supposed  that  this 
multitude  have  examined  the  doctrine  which  they 
profess,  and  profess  only  what  they  believe.  But  we 
must,  first,  object  against  that  part  of  the  multitude, 
which  the  church  of  Rome  boasts  of,  which  is  composed 
of  indolent  members,  who  continue  in  the  profession 
of  their  ancestors  by  chance,  as  it  were,  and  without 
knowing  why.  We  must  object,  next,  against  an 
infinite  number  of  ignorant  people  in  that  community, 
who  actually  know  nothing  about  the  matter.  We 
must  object  against  whole  provinces,  and  kingdoms, 
w^here  it  is  hardly  known  that  there  is  a  divine  book, 
on  which  the  faith  of  the  church  is  founded.  We 
must  object  against  that  army  of  ecclesiastics,  who  are 
not  wiser  than  the  common  people,  on  account  of  their 
being  distinguished  from  them  by  a  particular  habit, 
and  who  waste  their  lives  in  eternal  idleness,  at  least 
in  exercises  which  have  no  relation  to  an  inquiry  after 
truth.  We  must  object,  further,  against  all  those 
zealous  defenders  of  the  church,  who  are  retained  in 
it  by  the  immense  riches  they  possess  there,  who  judge 
of  the  weiglit  of  an  argument  by  the  advantages 
which  it  procures  them,  and  who  actually  reason 
thus  :  The  church  in  which  ministers  are  poor,  is 
8,  bad  church  ;  that  w^hich  enriches  them  is  a  good 

church : 


42  The  Frice  of  Truth, 

church  :  but  this  church  enriches  its  ministers,  and 
that  suffers  them  to  be  poor ;  the  latter,  therefore,  is 
a  bad  church,  and  the  former  is  the  only  good  one. 
We  must  object,  finally,  against  all  those  callous  souls, 
who  hold  the  truth  in  unrighteousness,  Rom.  i.  18.  and 
who  oppose  it  only  in  a  party  spirit.  If  you  pursue 
this  method,  you  will  perceive,  that  the  multitude, 
which  alarmed  you,  wdll  be  quickly  diminished  ;  and 
that  this  argument,  so  often  repeated  by  the  members 
of  the  church  of  Rome,  doth  not  form  even  a  proba- 
bility in  favour  of  that  communion. 

5.  The  fifth  sacrifice,  which  truth  demands,  is  that 
of  obstinacy;  and  the  fifth  precept  which  you  must 
obey,  if  you  mean  to  attain  it,  is  this.  Be  teachable. 
This  maxim  is  self-evident.  What  can  be  more  ir- 
rational, than  a  disposition  to  defend  a  proposition, 
only  because  we  have  had  the  rashness  to  advance  it, 
and  to  choose  to  heap  up  a  number  of  absurdities 
rather  than  to  relinquish  one,  which  had  escaped  with- 
out reflection  or  design  ?  What  can  be  more  absurd, 
than  that  disposition  of  mind,  which  makes  us  prefer 
falling  a  thousand  times  into  falsehood,  before  saying, 
for  once,  I  mistake  ?  Had  we  not  some  knowledge  of 
mankind,  were  we  to  form  a  system  of  morality  on 
metaphysical  ideas,  it  would  seem  needless  to  prescribe 
docility,  and  one  w^ould  think  every  body  would  be 
naturally  inclined  to  practise  this  virtue.  But  what 
seems  useless  in  speculation  is  very  often  essential  in 
practice.  Let  us  guard  against  obstinacy.  Let  us  al- 
ways consider  that  the  noblest  victory,  which  w^e  ob- 
tain over  ourselves.  Let  each  of  us  say,  when  truth 
requires  it,  I  have  erred,  I  consecrate  the  remainder 
of  my  life  to  publish  that  truth,  which  I  have  hitherto 
misunderstood,  and  which  I  opposed  only  because  I 
had  the  misfortune  to  misunderstand  it.  / 

6.  Truth  requires  the  sacrifice  of  curiosity,  and  the 
sixth  precept,  which  is  proposed  to  us,  is,  Restrain  your 
avidity  of  knowing.     This  is  a  difficult  sacrifice,  the 

precept 


The  Price  of  Truth,  43 

precept  is  even  mortifying.  Intelligence  is  one  of  the 
noblest  prerogatives  of  man.  The  desire  of  knowledge 
is  one  of  the  most  natural  desires.  We  do  not,  there- 
fore, condemn  it,  as  bad  in  itself:  but  we  wish  to 
convince  you,  that,  to  give  an  indiscreet  scope  to  it, 
instead  of  assisting  in  the  attainment  of  truth,  is  to 
abandon  the  path  that  leads  to  ^t ;  and  by  aspiring  to 
the  knowledge  of  objects  above  our  reach,  and  which 
would  be  useless  to  us  during  our  abode  in  this  world, 
and  destrustive  of  the  end  for  which  God  hath  placed 
us  here,  we  neglect  others  that  may  be  discovered,  and 
Xvhich  have  a  special  relation  to  that  end.  We  ought 
then  to  sacrifice  curiosity,  to  refrain  from  an  insatiable 
desire  of  knowing  every  thing,  and  to  persuade  our- 
selves, that  some  truths,  which  are  often  the  objects  of 
our  speculations,  are  beyond  the  attainment  of  finite 
minds,  and,  particularly,  of  those  finite  minds,  on 
which  God  hath  imposed  the  necessity  of  studying 
other  truths,  and  of  practising  other  duties. 

7.  But,  of  all  the  sacrifices  which  truth  requires, 
that  of  the  Passions  is  the  most  indispensible.  We 
have  proved  this  on  another  occasion  *,  and  we  only 
mention  it  to-day. 

Such  are  the  sacrifices  which  truth  requires  of  us, 
such  are  the  precepts  which  we  must  practise  to  obtain 
it,  and  the  explication  of  these  may  account  for  some 
sad  phoenomena.  Why  are  so  many  people  deceived  ? 
Why  do  so  many  embrace  the  grossest  errors  ?  Why 
do  so  many  people  admit  the  most  absurd  propositions 
as  if  they  were  demonstrations  ?  Why,  in  one  word, 
are  most  men  such  bad  reasoners  ?  It  is  because  recti- 
tude of  thought  cannot  be  acquired  without  pains 
and  labour  ;  it  is  because  truth  is  put  up  at  a  price  ; 
it  is  because  it  costs  a  good  deal  to  attain  it,  and  be- 
cause few  people  value  it  so  as  to  acquire  it  by  mak- 
ing the  sacrifices  which,  we  have  said,  the  truth  de- 
mands. 

II.  Let 

*  Serm.  Toin.  IT.  Ser.  neiivieme.     Sur  /es  passions. 


44  The  Price  of  Truth. 

II.  Let  us  proceed  to  inquire  the  worth  of  truth ; 
for,  however  great  the  sacrifices  may  be,  which  the 
attainment  of  truth  requires,  they  bear  no  proportion 
to  the  advantage  which  truth  procures  to  its  ad- 
herents. 1.  Truth  will  open  to  you  an  infinite  source 
of  pleasure.  2.  It  will  fit  you  for  the  various  em- 
ployments, to  which  you  may  be  called  in  society. 
3.  It  will  free  you  from  many  disagreeable  doubts 
about  reHgion.  4.  It  will  render  you  intrepid  at  the 
approach  of  death.  The  most  rapid  inspection  of 
these  four  objects  will  be  sufficient  to  convince  you, 
that,  at  whatever  price  God  hath  put  up  truth,  you 
cannot  purchase  it  too  dearly.     Buy  the  truth, 

1.  Truth  will  open  to  you  an  infinite  source  of 
pleasure.  The  pleasure  of  knowledge  is  infinitely 
superior  to  the  pleasures  of  sense,  and  to  those  v/hich 
are  excited  by  the  turbulent  passions  of  the  heart.  If 
the  knowledge  of  truth  be  exquisitely  pleasing  when 
human  sciences  are  the  objects  of  it,  what  delight  is  it 
not  attended  with,  when  the  science  of  salvation  is  in 


view : 


My  brethren,  forgive  me,  if  I  say,  the  greater  part 
of  you  are  not  capable  of  entering  into  these  reflections. 
As  you  usually  consider  religion  only  in  a  vague  and 
superficial  manner ;  as  you  know  neither  the  beauty  nor 
the  importance  of  it ;  as  you  see  it  neither  in  its  princi- 
ples nor  in  its  consequences,  so  it  is  a  pain  to  you  to  con- 
fine yourselves  to  the  study  of  it.  Reading  tires  you  ; 
meditation  fatigues  you  ;  a  sermon  of  an  hour  wearies 
you  quite  out ;  and,  judging  of  others  by  yourselves, 
you  consider  a  man,  who  employs  himself  silently  in 
the  closet  to  study  religion,  a  man,  whose  soul  is  in 
an  extacy  when  he  increaseth  his  knowledge,  and  re- 
fines his  understanding ;  you  consider  him  as  a  melan- 
choly kind  of  man,  whose  brain  is  turned,  and  whose 
imagination  is  become  mid,  through  some  bodily 
disorder.  To  study,  to  learn,  to  discover  ;  in  your 
opinions,  what  pitiable  pursuits  I    The  elucidation  of 

a  period  ! 


Tke  Price  of  Truth.  45 

a  period  I  The  cause  of  a  phoenomenon  I  The  ar- 
rangement of  a  system  I  There  is  far  more  greatness 
of  soul  in  the  design  of  a  courtier,  who,  after  he  hath 
languished  many  hours  in  the  antichamber  of  a  prince, 
at  length  obtains  one  glance  of  the  prince's  eye.  There 
is  much  more  solidity  in  the  projects  of  a  gamester, 
who  proposes,  in  an  instant,  to  raise  his  fortune  on 
the  ruin  of  that  of  his  neighbour.  There  is  much 
more  reality  in  the  speculations  of  a  merchant,  who 
discovers  the  w^orth  of  this  thing,  and  the  value  of 
that ;  who  taxes,  if  I  may  be  allowed  to  speak  so, 
heaven,  and  earth,  and  sea,  all  nature,  and  eacn  of  its 
component  parts. 

But  you  deceive  yourselves  grossly.  The  study  of 
religion,  as  we  apply  to  it  in  our  closets,  is  very  dif- 
ferent from  that  which  you  exercise  under  a  sermon, 
sometimes  not  well  preached,  and  often  badly  heard  ; 
and  from  that  which  you  exercise  in  the  hasty  reading 
of  a  pious  book.  As  we  meditate,  we  learn ;  and  as 
we  learn,  the  desire  of  learning  increaseth.  In  our 
studies,  we  consider  religion  in  every  point  of  light. 
There,  we  compare  it  with  the  dictates  of  conscience, 
with  the  desires  of  the  human  heart,  and  with  the 
general  concert  of  all  creatures.  There,  we  admire 
to  see  the  God  of  nature  in  harmony  with  the  God  of 
religion ;  or  rather,  we  see  religion  is  the  renovation 
and  embellishment  of  nature.  There,  we  compare  au- 
thor with  author,  oeconomy  with  oeconomy,  prophecy 
with  event,  event  w4th  prophecy.  There,  we  are  de- 
lighted to  find,  that,  notv/iths  tan  ding  diversities  ot 
times,  places,  conditions,  and  characters,  the  sacred 
authors  harmonize,  and  prove  themselves  animated  by 
one  Spirit :  a  promise  made  to  Adam  is  repeated  to 
Abraham,  confirmed  by  Moses,  published  by  the  pro  - 
phets,  and  accomplished  by  Jesus  Christ.  There,  we 
consider  religion  as  an  assemblage  of  truths,  which 
afford  one  another  a  mutual  support ;  and,  when  we 
make  some  new  discovery,  when  we  meet  with  seme 

proof, 


46  The  Price  of  Iruth 

proof,  of  which  we  had  been  ignorant  before,  we  arc 
involved  in  pleasures,  far  more  exquisite  than  those 
which  you  derive  from  all  your  games,  from  all  your 
amusements,  from  all  the  dissipations,  which  consume 
your  lives.  We  enjoy  a  satisfaction  in  advancing  in 
this  delightful  path,  infinitely  greater  than  that  which 
you  taste,  when  your  ambition,  or  your  avarice,  is  grati- 
fied :  we  look,  like  the  cherubim^,  to  the  mystical  ark, 
and  <i?^j-iy<?  thoroughly  to  know  all  its  contents,  1  Pet.i.l2. 

A  Christian,  who  understands  how  to  satiate  his  soul 
with  these  sublime  objects,  can  always  derive  pleasure 
from  its  fountain.  Ifys  continue  in  my  word,  said  the 
Saviour  of  the  world,  ye  shall  know  the  truth,  and  the 
truth  shall  make  you  free,  John  viii.  31, 32.  This  saying 
is  true  in  many  respects,  and  perhaps  it  may,  not  im- 
properly, be  applied  to  our  subject.  A.  man,  who  hath 
no  relish  for  truth,  is  a  slave,  leisure-time  is  a  burden 
to  him.  He  must  crawl  to  every  inferior  creature, 
prostrate  himself  before  it,  and  humbly  intreat  it  to 
free  him  from  that  listlessness  which  dissolves  and  de- 
stroys him  ;  and  he  must  by  all  means  avoid  the  sight 
of  himself,  which  would  be  intolerable  to  him.  But  a 
Christian,  who  knows  the  truth  and  loves  it,  and  who 
endeavours  to  make  daily  advances  in  it,  is  dehvered 
from  this  slavery  :  The  truth  hath  made  him  free.  In  re- 
tirement, in  his  closet,  yea,  in  a  desert,  his  meditation 
supplies  the  place  of  the  whole  world,  and  of  all  its 
delights. 

2.  Truth  will  fit  you  for  the  employments  to  which 
you  are  called  in  society.  Religion,  and  Solomon,  the 
herald  of  it,  had  certainly  a  view  more  noble  and  sub- 
lime than  that  of  preparing  us  for  the  exercise  of  those 
arts  which  employ  us  in  the  world.  Yet,  the  ad- 
vantages of  truth  are  not  confined  to  religion.  A 
man,  who  hath  cultivated  his  mind,  will  distinguish 
himself  in  every  post  in  which  Providence  may  place 
him.  An  irrational,  sophistical,  turn  of  mind,  inca- 
pacitates  all  who  do  not  endeavour  to  correct   it. 

Rectitude 


The  Price  of  Truth  47 

Rectitude  of  thought,  and  accuracy  of  reasoning,  are 
necessary  every  where.  How  needful  are  they  m  a  poli- 
tical conference  ?  What  can  be  more  intolerable  th^i 
the  harangues  of  those  senators,  who,  while  they 
should  be  consulting  measures  for  the  relieving  of 
public  calamities,  never  understand  the  state  of  a 
question,  nor  ever  come  nigh  the  subject  of  deli- 
beration ;  but  employ  that  time  in  vain  declamations, 
foreign  from  the  matter,  which  ought  to  be  devoted 
to  the  discussion  of  a  particular  point,  on  which  the 
fate  of  a  kingdom  depends  ?  How  needful  is  such  a 
rectitude  of  thought  in  a  council  of  war  ?  What,  pray, 
is  a  General,  destitute  of  this  ?  He  is  an  arm  without 
a  head :  he  is  a  madman,  who  may  mow  dov/n  ranks 
on  his  right  hand,  and  cover  the  field  with  carnage  on 
the  left ;  but  who  will  sink  under  the  weight  of  his 
own  valour,  and,  for  want  of  discernment,  will  render 
his  courage  often  a  burden,  and  sometimes  a  ruin  to 
his  country.  This  article  of  my  discourse  addresseth 
itself  principally  to  you  who  are  heads  of  families. 
It  is  natural  to  parents  to  wish  to  see  their  children 
attain  the  most  eminent  posts  in  society.  If  this  desire 
be  innocent,  it  will  engage  you  to  educate  your 
children  in  a  manner  suitable  to  their  destination. 
Cultivate  their  reason,  regard  that,  as  the  most  ne- 
cessary science,  which  forms  their  judgments,  and 
which  renders  their  reasoning  powers  exact. 

This  is  particularly  necessary  to  those  whom  God 
calls  to  officiate  in  the  church.  What  can  be  more 
unworthy  of  a  minister  of  truth,  than  a  sophistical 
turn  of  mind  ?  What  more  likely  method  to  destroy 
religion,  than  to  establish  truth  on  arguments  which 
would  establish  falsehood  ?  What  can  be  more  un- 
reasonable, than  that  kind  of  logic  which  serves  to 
reason  with,  if  I  may  be  allowed  to  speak  so,  only  from 
hand  to  mouth  ;  which  pulls  down  with  the  one  hand 
what  it  builds  with  the  other  ;  which  abandons,  in 
disputing  with  adversaries  of  one  kind,  the  principles, 

it 


48  The  Price  of  Truth. 

it  had  established,  in  disputing  with  adversaries  of 
another  kmd  ?  What  sad  effects  does  this  method,  too 
often  practised  by  those  who  ought  to  abhor  it,  produce 
in  the  church  ?  Are  we  called  to  oppose  teachers,  who 
carry  the  free  agency  of  man  beyond  its  due  bounds  ? 
Man  is  made  a  trunk,  a  stone,  a  being  destitute  of  in- 
telligence and  will.  Are  we  called  to  oppose  people, 
who,  under  pretence  of  defending  the  perfections  of 
God,  carry  the  slavery  of  man  beyond  its  due  bounds  ? 
Man  is  made  a  seraphical  intelHgence  ;  the  properties 
of  disembodied  spirits  are  attributed  to  him  ;  he  is  re- 
presented capable  of  elevating  his  meditations  to  the 
highest  heavens,  and  of  attaining  the  perfections  of 
angels  and  cherubims.  Are  we  called  to  oppose  ad- 
versaries, who  carry  the  doctrine  of  good  works  too 
far  ?  The  necessity  of  them  is  invalidated ;  they  are 
said  to  be  suited  to  the  condition  of  a  Christian,  but 
they  are  not  made  essential  to  Christianity ;  the  essence 
of  faith  is  made  to  consist  in  a  bare  desire  of  being 
saved,  or,  if  you  will,  of  being  sanctified,  a  desire,  into 
which  enters,  neither  that  knowledge  of  the  heart, 
nor  that  denial  of  self,  nor  that  mortification  of  the 
passions,  without  which  every  desire  of  being  sanctified 
is  nothing  but  an  artifice  of  corruption,  which  turns 
over  a  work  to  God  that  he  hath  imposed  on  man. 
Are  we  called  to  oppose  people,  who  enervate  the 
necessity  of  good  works  ?  The  Christian  vocation  is 
made  to  consist  in  impracticable  exercises,  in  a  degree 
of  holiness  inaccessible  to  frail  men.  The  whole  ge- 
nius of  religion,  and  of  all  its  ordinances,  is  destroyed  ; 
the  table  of  the  Lord  is  surrounded  with  devils,  and 
fires,  and  flames,  and  is  represented  rather  as  a  tri- 
bunal where  God  exerciseth  his  vengeance ;  as  a  mount 
Ebal,  from  whence  he  crieth.  Cursed  be  the  7na?i,  Cursed 
be  the  man  ;  than  as  a  throne  of  grace,  to  which  he  in- 
viteth  penitent  sinners,  and  imparteth  to  them  all  the 
riches  of  his  love.  Are  we  called  to  oppose  men, 
who  would  make  God  the  author  of  sin,  and  who, 

from 


The  Price  of  Truth.  49 

from  the  punishments,  which  he  inflicts  on  sinners, 
derive  consequences  injurious  to  his  goodness  and 
mercy  ?  All  the  reiterated  declarations  of  scripture  l^e 
carefully  collected,  all  the  tender  expostulations,  all 
the  attracting  invitations,  which  demonstrate  that  man 
is  the  author  of  his  own  destruction,  and  that  God  will 
have  all  men  to  be  saved  ^  and  to  come  to  the  knowledge  of  the 
truth,  1  Tim.  ii.  4-  Are  we  called  to  resist  adversaries, 
who  weaken  the  empire  of  God  over  his  creatures?  God 
is  made,  I  do  not  say  an  inexorable  master,  I  do  not  say 
a  severe  king  ;  but,  O  horrid  I  he  is  made  a  tyrant,  and 
worse  than  a  tyrant.  It  has  been  seriously  affirmed  thai- 
he  formed  a  great  part  of  mankind  with  the  barbarous 
design  of  punishing  them  for  ever  and  ever,  in  order  to 
have  the  cruel  pleasure  of  she  wing  how  far  his  avenging 
justice  and  his  flaming  anger  can  go.  It  hath  been  affirm- 
ed, that  the  decree,  pronounced  against  the  reprobate 
before  his  birth,  not  only  determines  him  to  punishment 
after  the  commission  of  sin,  but  infallibly  inclines  him 
to  sin ;  because  that  is  necessary  to  the  manifestation  ot 
divine  justice,  and  to  the  felicity  of  the  elect ;  who  will 
be  much  happier  in  heaven,  if  there  be  thousands  and 
millions  of  miserable  souls  in  the  flames  of  hell,  than 
if  all  mankind  should  enjoy  the  felicity  of  paradise. 

O,  my  God  I  if  any  among  us  be  capable  of  form- 
ing  ideas  so  injurious  to  thy  perfections,  impute  it  not 
to  the  whole  society  of  Christians  ;  and  let  not  all  our 
churches  suffer  for  the  irregularities  of  some  of  our 
members  !  One  single  altar  prepared  for  idols,  one 
single  act  of  idolatry,  was  formerly  sufficient  to  pro- 
voke thy  displeasure.  Jealous  of  thy  glory,  thou  didst 
inflict  on  the  republic  of  I'  ael  thy  most  terrible 
chastisements,  when  they  associated  false  gods  with 
thee.  Hence  those  dreadful  calamities,  hence  those 
eternal  banishments,  hence  heaven  and  earth  employed 
to  punish  the  guilty.  But  if  Jews  experienced  such  a 
rigorous  treatment  for  attributing  to  false  gods  the 
perfections  of  the  true  God,  what  punishments  will 

Vol.  ii.  D  not 


50  riw  Price  of  Truth. 

not  you  suffer,  Christians,  if,  in  spite  of  the  light  of  the 
gospel,  which  shineth  around  you,  you  tax  the  true 
GW  with  the  vices  of  false  gods :  if,  by  a  theology 
unworthy  of  the  name,  you  attribute  to  a  holy  God  the 
cruelty,  the  injustice,  and  the  falsehood,  of  those  idols 
to  which  corrupt  passions  alone  gave  a  being,  as  well 
as  attributes  agreeable  to  their  own  abominable  wishes? 
That  disposition  of  mind,  which  conducts  to  universal 
truths  frees  a  man  from  these  contradictions,  and  har- 
monizes the  pastor  and  the  teacher  with  himself. 

3.  Truth  will  deliver  you  from  disagreeable  doubts 
about  religion.  The  state  of  a  mind,  which  is  carried 
about  with  every  wind  of  doctrine,  Eph.  iv.  I4.  to  use 
an  expression  of  St  Paul,  is  a  violent  state ;  and  it  is 
very  disagreeable,  in  such  interesting  subjects  as  those 
of  religion,  to  doubt  whether  one  be  in  the  path  of 
truth,  or  in  the  road  of  error  ;  whether  the  worship, 
that  one  renders  to  God,  be  acceptable,  or  odious,  to 
him  ;  whether  the  fatigues,  and  sufferings,  that  are 
endured  for  religion,  be  punishments  of  one's  folly, 
or  preparations  for  the  reward  of  virtue. 

But  if  this  state  of  mind  be  violent,  it  is  difficult  to 
free  one's  self  from  it.  There  are  but  two  sorts  of 
men,  who  are  free  from  the  disquietudes  of  this  state  : 
they,  who  live  without  reflection,  and  they,  who  have 
seriously  studied  religion ;  they  are  the  only  people 
who  are  free  from  doubts. 

We  see  almostaninnumerable  variety  of  sects,  which 
are  diametrically  opposite  to  one  another.  How  can 
we  flatter  ourselves,  that  we  belong  to  the  right  com- 
munity, unless  we  have  profoundly  applied  ourselves 
to  distinguish  truth  from  falsehood  ? 

We  hear  the  partisans  of  these  different  religions 
anathematize  and  condemn  one  another.  How  is  it, 
that  we  are  not  afraid  of  their  denunciations  of  wrath  ? 

We  cannot  doubt  that,  among  them,  who  embrace 
systems  opposite  to  ours,  there  is  a  great  number, 
who   have  more   knowledge,  more  erudition,  more 

genius, 


The  Price  of  Truth.  51 

genius,  more  penetration,  than  we.  How  is  it  that 
we  do  not  fear,  that  these  adversaries,  who  have  had 
better  opportunities  of  knowing  the  truth  than  we, 
actually  do  know  it  better ;  and  that  they  have  em- 
ployed more  time  to  study  it,  and  have  made  a  greater 
progress  in  it  ? 

We  acknowledge,  that  there  are,  in  the  religion 
we  profess,  difficulties  which  we  are  not  able  to  solve  ; 
bottomless  depths,  mysteries,  which  are  not  only  above 
our  reason,  but  which  seem  opposite  to  it.  How  is 
it,  that  we  are  not  stumbled  at  these  difficulties  ?  How 
is  it,  that  we  have  no  doubt  of  the  truth  of  a  religion, 
which  is,  in  part,  concealed  under  impenetrable  veils  ? 

We  are  obliged  to  own,  that  prejudices  of  birth, 
and  education,  are  usually  very  influential  over  our 
minds.  Moreover,  we  ought  to  remember,  that  no- 
thing was  so  carefully  inculcated  on  our  infant  minds 
as  the  articles  of  our  faith.  How  can  we  demonstrate, 
that  these  articles  belong  to  the  class  of  demonstrative 
truths,  and  not  to  that  of  the  prejudices  of  education? 

We  know,  by  sad  experience,  that  we  have  often 
admitted  erroneous  propositions  for  incontestable  prin- 
ciples ;  and  that  when  we  have  thought  ourselves  in 
possession  of  demonstration,  we  have  found  ourselves 
hardly  in  possession  of  probability.  How  is  it,  that 
we  do  not  distrust  the  judgments  of  minds  so  subject 
to  illusion,  and  which  have  been  so  often  deceived  ? 

From  these  different  reflections  ariseth  a  mixture  of 
light  and  darkness,  a  contrast  of  certainty  and  doubt, 
infidelity  and  faith,  scepticism  and  assurance,  which 
makes  one  of  the  most  dreadful  states  in  which  an  in- 
telligent soul  can  be.  If  men  are  not  a  constant  prey 
to  the  gloomy  thoughts  that  accompany  this  state,  it 
is  because  sensual  objects  fill  the  whole  capacity  of 
their  souls :  but  there  are  certain  moments  of  reflection 
and  self-examination,  in  which  reason  will  adopt  these 
distressing  thoughts,  and  oblige  us  to  suflTer  all  their 
exquisite  pain. 

I)  2  A  man. 


;V2  The  Price  of  Truth. 

A  man,  who  is  arrived  at  the  knowledge  of  the  truths 
a  man,  who  hath  made  all  the  sacrifices  necessary  to 
ajR-ive  at  it,  is  superior  to  these  doubts  :  not  only  be- 
cause truth  hath  certain  characters,  which  distinguish 
it  from  falsehood,  certain  rays  of  light,  which  strike 
the  eye,  and  which  it  is  impossible  to  mistake ;  but 
also  because  it  is  not  possible,  that  God  should  leave 
those  men  in  capital  errors,  whom  he  hath  enabled 
to  make  such  grand  sacrifices  to  truth.  If  he  do  not 
discover  to  them  at  first  all  that  may  seem  funda- 
mental in  religion,  he  will  communicate  to  them  all 
that  is  fundamental  in  effect.  He  will  bear  with  them, 
if  they  embrace  some  circumstantial  errors,  into  which 
they  fall  only  through  a  frailty  inseparable  from  hu- 
man nature. 

4.  Finally,  consider  the  value  of  truth  in  regard  to 
the  calm  which  it  procureth  on  a  death-bed.  Truth 
will  render  you  intrepid  at  the  sight  of  death.  Cato 
of  Utica,  it  is  said,  resolved  to  die,  and  not  being  able 
to  survive  the  liberty  of  Rome,  and  the  glory  of 
Pompey,  desired,  above  all  things,  to  convince  himself 
of  the  truth  of  a  future  state.  Although  he  had  me- 
ditated on  this  important  subject  throughout  the  whole 
course  of  his  life,  yet  he  thought  it  was  necessary  to  re- 
examine it  at  the  approach  of  death.  For  this  pur- 
pose, he  withdrew  from  society,  he  sought  a  solitary 
retreat,  he  read  Plato's  book  on  the  immortality  of 
the  soul,  studied  the  proofs  with  attention,  and,  con- 
vinced of  this  grand  truth,  in  tranquillity  he  died. 
Methinks  I  hear  him  answering,  persuaded  of  his 
immortality,  all  the  reasonings  that  urge  him  to  con- 
tinue in  life.  If  Cato  had  obtained  only  uncertain  con- 
jectures on  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  he  would  have 
died  with  regret ;  if  Cato  had  known  no  other  world, 
he  would  have  discovered  his  weakness  in  quitting 
this.  But  Plato  gave  Cato  satisfaction.  Cato  was 
persuaded  of  another  life.  The  sword,  with  which  he 
destroyed  his  natural  life,  could  not  touch  his  im- 
mortal 


The  Price  of  Tmth.  53 

mortal  soul.  The  soul  of  Cato  saw  another  Rome, 
another  republic,  in  which  tyranny  should.be  no  more 
on  the  throne,  in  which  Pompey  would  be  defeated, 
and  Caesar  would  triumph  no  more  "*. 

How  pleasing  is  the  sight  of  a  heathen,  persuading 
himself  of  the  immortality  of  the  soul  by  the  bare 
light  of  reason  !  And  how  painful  is  the  remembrance 
of  his  staining  his  reflections  with  suicide  I  But  I  find 
in  the  firmness,  which  resulted  from  his  meditations, 
a  motive  to  obey  the  precept  of  the  wise  man  in  the 
text.  While  the  soul  floats  in  uncertainty,  while  it 
hovers  between  light  and  darkness,  persuasion  and 
doubt ;  while  it  hath  only  presumptions  and  proba- 
bilities in  favour  of  religion  ;  it  will  find  it  impossible 
to  view  death  without  terror :  but,  an  enlightened, 
established  Christian,  finds  in  his  religion  a  sure  refuge 
against  all  his  fears. 

If  a  Pagan  Cato  defied  death,  what  cannot  a  Christian 
Cato  do?  If  a  disciple  of  Plato  could  pierce  through 
the  clouds,  which  hid  futurity  from  him,  what  cannot 
a  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ  do  ?  If  a  few  proofs,  the 
dictates  of  unassisted  reason,  calmed  the  agitations  of 
Cato ;  what  cannot  all  the  luminous  proofs,  all  the 
glorious  demonstrations  do,  which  ascertain  the  evi- 
dence of  another  life  ?  God  grant  we  may  know  the 
truth  by  our  own  experiences  !  To  him  be  honour 
and  glory  for  ever.     Amen. 


*  Plutarch  M.  Cato  Min. 


SERMON 


55 


SERMON     II. 

The  Enemies  and  the  Arms  of  Christianity, 

t 

PREACHED     ON     EASTER    DAY. 


Ephesians  yL  11,  12,  13. 

Put  on  the  whole  armour  of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able  to 
stand  against  the  wiles  of  the  deviL  For  we  wrestle 
not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  principalities^ 
against  powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of 
this  world,  against  spiritual  wickedness  in  high 
places.  Wherefore  take  unto  you  the  whole  armour 
of  God,  that  ye  may  be  able  to  withstand  in  the  evil 
day,  and,  having  done  all,  to  stand, 

IT  is  a  very  remarkable  circumstance  of  the  life  of 
Jesus  Christ,  my  brethren,  that  while  he  was  per- 
forming the  most  public  act  of  his  devotedness  to  the 
willof  God,  and  while  God  was  giving  the  most  glorious 
proofs  of  his  approbation  of  him,  Satan  attacked  him 
with  his  most  violent  assaults.  Jesus  Christ,  having 
spent  thirty  years  in  meditation  and  retirement,  pre- 
paratory to  the  important  ministry  for  which  he  came 
into  the  world,  had  just  entered  on  the  functions  of 
it.  He  had  consecrated  himself  to  God  by  baptism ; 
the  Holy  Spirit  had  descended  on  him  in  a  visible  form; 
a  heavenly  voice  had  proclaimed  in  the  air.  This  is  my 
beloved  Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased,  Matt.  iii.  17* 
and  he  was  going  to  meditate  forty  days  and  nights 

on 


56  The  Enemies  and  the  Arms  of  Christianity. 

on  the  engagements  on  which  he  had  entered,  and 
which  he  intended  to  fulfil.  These  circumstances,  so 
proper,  in  all  appearance,  to  prevent  the  approach  of 
Satan,  are  precisely  those,  of  which  he  availed  himself 
to  thwart  the  design  of  salvation,  by  endeavouring  to 
produce  rebellious  sentiments  in  the  Saviour's  mind. 

My  brethren,  the  conduct  of  this  wicked  spirit  to 
the  author  and  finisher  of  our  faith,  Heb.  xii.  2.  is  a 
pattern  of  his  conduct  to  all  them  who  fight  under 
his  banners.  Never  doth  this  enemy  of  our  salvation 
more  furiously  attack  us,  than  when  v/e  seem  to  be 
most  sure  of  victory.  You,  my  brethren,  will  ex- 
perience his  assaults  as  well  as  Jesus  Christ  did. — 
Would  to  God,  we  could  assure  ourselves,  that  it 
would  be  glorious  to  you,  as  it  was  to  the  divine 
Redeemer  I  Providence  unites  to-day  the  two  festi- 
vals of  Easter,  and  the  Lord's  supper.  In  keeping 
the  first,  we  have  celebrated  the  anniversary  of  an 
event,  without  which  our  preaching  is  vain,  your  faith 
is  vain,  and  ye  are  yet  in  your  sins,  1  Cor.  xv.  14j  17» 
I  mean  the  resurrection  of  the  Saviour  of  the  world. 
In  celebrating  the  second,  you  have  renewed  your 
professions  of  fidelity  to  that  Jesus,  who  was  declared, 
with  so  much  glory,  to  be  the  Son  of  God,  by  the  resur- 
rection of  the  dead,  Rom.  i.  4.  It  is  precisely  in  these 
circumstances,  that  Satan  renews  his  efforts  to  obscure 
the  evidences  of  your  faith,  and  to  weaken  your  fide- 
lity to  Christ.  In  these  circumstances  also,  w^e  double 
our  efforts  to  enable  you  to  defeat  his  assaults,  in 
which,  alas !  many  of  us  choose  rather  to  yield  than 
to  conquer.  The  strengthening  of  you  is  our  design ; 
my  dear  brethren,  assist  us  in  it. 

And  thou,  O  great  God,  who  callest  us  to  fight 
with  formidable  enemies,  leave  us  not  to  our  own 
weakness  :  teach  our  hands  to  war,  and  our  fingers  to 
fight,  Psal.  cxlvi,  1.  Cause  us  always  to  triumph  in 
Christ,  2  Cor.  ii.  I4.  Make  us  more  than  conquerors 
through  him  that  loved  us,  Rom.  viii,  37-  Our  ene- 
mies 


The  Enemies  and  the  Arms  of  Christianity.  57 

mies  are  thine  :  arise,  0  God,  let  thine  enemies  be  scat- 
tered, let  them  that  hate  thee  flee  before  thee  I  Amen. 
Psal.  Ixviii.  1. 

All  is  metaphorical  in  the  words  of  my  text.  St  Paul 
represents  the  temptations  of  a  Christian  under  the 
image  of  a  combat,  particularly  of  a  wrestling.  In 
ordinary  combats  there  is  some  proportion  between 
the  combatants;  but  in  this,  which  engageth  the 
Christian,  there  is  no  proportion  at  all.  A  Christian, 
who  may  be  said  to  be,  more  properly  than  his  Re- 
deemer, despised  and  rejected  of  men,  Isa.  liii.  3.  a  man^ 
who  is  the  filth  of  the  world,  and  the  offscouring  of  all 
things,  1  Cor,  iv.  I3.  is  called  to  resist,  not  ov\j  flesh 
and  blood,  feeble  men  like  himself ;  but  men,  before 
whom  imagination  prostrates  itself;  men,  of  whom 
the  Holy  Spirit  says,  Te  are  gods,  Psal.  Ixxxii.  6.  that 
is,  potentates  and  kings.  We  wrestle  not  against  flesh 
and  blood,  hut  against  principcdities,  against  powers, 
against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of  this  world. 

Moreover,  a  Christian,  who,  whatever  degree  of  light 
and  knowledge  grace  hath  bestowed  on  him,  whatever 
degree  of  steadiness  and  resolution  he  hath  acquired  in 
Christianity,  always  continues  a  man,  is  called  to  resist 
a  superior  order  of  intelligences,  whose  power  we 
cannot  exactly  tell,  but  who,  the  scripture  assures  us, 
can,  in  some  circumstances,  raise  tempests,  infect  the 
air,  and  disorder  all  the  elements  ;  I  mean  devils. 
We  wrestle  against  spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places. 

As  St  Paul  represents  the  temptations  of  a  Christian 
under  the  notion  of  a  zvar,  so  he  represents  the  dis- 
positions, that  are  necessary  to  overcome  them,  under 
the  idea  of  arm.our.  In  the  words,  which  follov/  the 
text,  he  carries  the  metaphor  further  than  the  genius 
of  our  language  will  allow.  He  gives  the  Christian. 
a  military  belt,  and  shoes,  a  helmet,  a  sword,  a  shield,  a 
buckler^  with  which  he  resisteth  all  the  fiery  darts  of  the 
wicked.  But  I  cannot  discuss  all  these  articles  without 
diverting  this  exercise  from  its  chief  design.     By 

laying 


58   The  Enemies  and  the  Arms  of  Christianity, 

laying  aside  the  figurative  language  of  the  apostle,  and 
by  reducing  the  figures  to  truth,  I  reduce  the  temp- 
tations, with  which  the  devil  and  his  angels  attack  the 
Christian,  to  two  general  ideas.  The  first  are  sophisms, 
to  seduce  him  from  the  evidence  of  truth  ;  and  the 
second  are  inducements,  to  make  him  desert  the  domi- 
nion of  z/Zr/?/^.  The  Christian  is  able  to  overcome  these 
two  kinds  of  temptations.  The  Christian  remains  victo- 
rious after  a  war,  which  seems  at  first  so  very  unequal. 
This  is  precisely  the  meaning  of  the  text :  We  wrestle 
not  against  flesh  and  blood,  but  against  principalities, 
against  powers,  against  the  rulers  of  the  darkness  of 
this  world,  against  spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places. 
Wherefore  take  unto  you  the  whole  armour  of  God,  that 
ye  may  be  able  to  withstand  in  the  evil  day,  and,  ha- 
ving done  all,  to  stand, 

I.  The  first  artifices  of  Satan  are  intended  to  seduce 
the  Christian  from  the  truth,  and,  we  must  own,  these 
darts  were  never  so  poisonous  as  they  are  now.  The 
emissaries  of  the  devil,  in  the  time  of  St  Paul ;  the 
heathen  philosophers,  the  scribes  and  pharisees,  were 
but  scholars  and  novices  in  the  art  of  colouring  false- 
hood, in  comparison  of  our  deists  and  sceptics,  and 
other  antagonists  of  our  holy  religion.  But,  however 
formidable  they  may  appear,  we  are  able  to  make  them 
lick  the  dust,  Micah  vii.  I7.  and  as  the  art  of  disguising 
error  was  never  carried  so  far  before,  so,  thanks  be  to 
God,  my  brethren,  that  of  unmasking  falsehood,  and  of 
displaying  truth  in  all  its  glory,  has  extended  with  it. 
The  Christian  knows  how  to  disentangle  truth  from  six 
artifices  of  error.  There  are  six  sophisms,  that  prevail 
in  those  wretched  productions,  which  our  age  hath 
brought  forth  for  the  purpose  of  subverting  the  truth. 

1.  The  first  artifice  is  the  confounding  of  those 
matters,  which  are  proposed  to  our  discussion  ;  and 
the  requiring  of  metaphysical  evidence  of  facts  which 
are  not  capable  of  it. 

2.  The  second  artifice  is  the  opposing  of  possible 

circumstances 


The  Enemies  and  the  Arms  of  Christianity^  59 

circumstances  against  other  circumstances,  which  are 
evident  and  sure. 

3.  The  next  artifice  pretends  to  weaken  the  evi- 
dence of  known  things,  by  arguments  taken  from 
things  tha,t  are  unknown. 

4.  The  fourth  artifice  is  an  attempt  to  render  the 
doctrines  of  the  gospel  absurd  and  contradictory, 
under  pretence  that  they  are  obscure. 

5.  The  fifth  artifice  proposeth  arguments  foreign 
from  the  subject  in  hand. 

6.  The  last  forms  objections,  which  derive  their 
weight,  not  from  their  own  intrinsic  gravity ;  but 
from  the  superiority  of  the  genius  of  him  who  pro- 
poseth them. 

1.  The  matters^  which  are  proposed  to  our  dis- 
cussion, are  confounded  ;  and  metaphysical  evidence  of 
facts  is  required,  which  are  not,  in  the  nature  of  them, 
capable  of  this  kind  of  evidence.  We  call  that  meta- 
physical evidence  ^^hich.  is  founded  on  a  clear  idea  of 
the  essence  of  a  subject.  For  example,  we  have  a 
clear  idea  of  a  certain  number :  if  we  affirm,  that  the 
number,  of  which  we  have  a  clear  idea,  is  equal,  or 
unequal,  the  proposition  is  capable  of  metaphysical 
evidence  :  But  a  question  of  fact  can  only  be  proved 
by  an  union  of  circumstances,  no  one  of  which,  taken 
apart,  would  be  sufficient  to  prove  the  fact,  but  which, 
taken  all  together,  make  a  fact  beyond  a  doubt.  As 
it  is  not  allowable  to  oppose  certain  circumstances 
against  a  proposition  that  hath  metaphysical  evidence, 
so  it  is  unreasonable  to  require  metaphysical  evidence 
io  prove  a  matter  of  fact.  I  have  a  clear  notion  of  a 
given  number ;  I  conclude  from  this  notion,  that  the 
number  is  equal  or  unequal,  and  it  is  in  vain  to  object 
to  me,  that  all  the  world  does  not  reason  as  I  do.  Let 
it  be  objected  to  me,  that  they,  who  affirm  that  the 
number  is  equal  or  unequal,  have  perhaps  some  in- 
terest in  affirming  it.  Objections  of  this  kind  are 
nothing  to  the  purpose,  they  are  circumstances  which 

do 


60  The  Enemies  and  the  Arms  of  Christianity, 

do  not,  at  all,  affect  the  nature  of  the  number,  nor 
the  evidence  on  which  I  affirm  an  equality,  or  an  in- 
equality, of  the  given  number ;  for  I  have  a  clear  idea 
of  the  subject  in  hand.  In  like  manner,  I  see  an  union 
of  circumstances,  which  uniformly  attest  the  truth  of 
a  fact  under  my  examination ;  I  yield  to  this  evidence, 
and  in  vain  is  it  objected  to  me,  that  it  is  not  meta- 
physical evidence,  the  subject  before  me  is  not  capable 
of  it. 

We  apply  this  maxim  to  all  the  facts  on  which 
the  truth  of  religion  turns,  such  as  these  :  There  was 
such  a  man  as  Moses,  who  related  what  he  saw,  and 
who  himself  wrought  several  things  which  he  recorded. 
There  were  such  men  as  the  prophets,  who  wrote  the 
books  that  bear  their  names,  and  who  foretold  many 
events  several  ages  before  they  came  to  pass.  Jesus, 
the  son  of  Mary,  was  born  in  the  reign  of  the  emperor 
Augustus,  preached  the  doctrines  which  are  recorded 
in  the  gospel,  and  by  crucifixion  was  put  to  death. 
We  make  a  particular  application  of  this  maxim  to 
the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  which  we  this  day 
commemorate,  and  it  forms  a  shield  to  resist  all  the 
fiery  darts  that  attack  it.  The  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ  is  a  fact,  which  we  ought  to  prove ;  it  is  an  ex- 
traordinary fact,  for  the  demonstration  of  which,  we 
allow,  stronger  proofs  ought  to  be  adduced,  than  for 
the  proof  of  a  fact  that  comes  to  pass  in  the  ordinary 
course  of  things.  But,  after  all,  it  is  a  fact;  and,  in 
demonstrating  facts,  no  proofs  ought  to  be  required, 
but  such  as  establish  facts.  We  have  the  better  right 
to  reason  thus  with  our  opponents,  because  they  do 
not  support  their  historical  scepticism  without  re- 
strictions. On  the  contrary,  they  admit  some  facts, 
which  they  believe  on  the  evidence  of  a  very  few  cir- 
cumstances. But  if  a  few  circumstances  demonstrate 
some  facts,  why  doth  not  an  union  of  all  possible  cir- 
cumstances demonstrate  other  facts  ? 

2,  The  second  artifice  v^the  opposing  of  possible  cir- 
cumstances 


The  Enemies  and  tlie  Arms  of  Christianity.  61 

cumstances  which  may  or  may  not  be,  against  other 
circumstances  'which  are  evident  and  sure.  All  argu- 
ments, that  are  founded  on  possible  circumstances, 
are  only  uncertain  conjectures,  and  groundless  suppo- 
sitions. Perhaps  there  may  have  been  lioods,  perhaps 
fires,  perhaps  earthquakes,  which,  by  abolishing  the 
memorials  of  past  events,  prevent  our  tracing  things 
back  from  age  to  age  to  demonstrate  the  eternity  of 
the  world,  and  our  discovery  of  monuments  against 
religion.  This  is  a  strange  way  of  reasoning  against 
men,  who  are  armed  with  arguments,  which  are  taken 
from  phoenomena  avowed,  notorious,  and  real.  When 
we  dispute  against  infidelity ;  when  we  establish  the 
existence  of  a  Supreme  Being ;  w^hen  we  affirm  that 
the  Creator  of  the  universe  is  eternal  in  his  duration, 
wise  in  his  designs,  powerful  in  his  executions,  and 
magnificent  in  his  gifts ;  we  do  not  reason  on  proba- 
bilities, nor  attempt  to  estabUsh  a  thesis  on  a  may -be. 
We  do  not  say.  Perhaps  there  may  be  a  firmamenL 
that  covers  us ;  perhaps  there  may  be  a  sun,  which 
enlightens  us ;  perhaps  there  m.ay  be  stars,  which  shine 
in  the  firmament ;  perhaps  the  earth  may  support  us ; 
perhaps  aliment  may  nourish  us ;  perhaps  we  breathe  ; 
perhaps  air  may  assist  respiration ;  perhaps  there  may 
be  a  symmetry  in  nature,  and  in  the  elements.  We 
produce  these  phoenomena,  and  we  make  them  the 
basis  of  our  reasoning,  and  of  our  faith. 

3.  The  third  artifice  consisteth  in  the  weakening  of 
the  evidence  of  known  things,  by  arguments  taken  frzm 
things  which  are  unknown.  This  is  another  source  of 
sophisms  invented  to  support  infidelity.  It  grounds  a 
part  of  the  diificulties,  which  are  opposed  to  the  system 
of  religion,  not  on  what  is  known,  but  on  what  is  not 
known.  Of  what  use  are  all  the  treasures,  which  are 
concealed  in  the  depths  of  the  sea  ?  Why  are  so  many 
metals  buried  in  the  bowels  of  the  earth  ?  Of  what 
use  are  so  many  stars,  which  glitter  in  the  firmament? 
Why  are  there  so  many  deserts  uninhabited,  and  unin- 

liabitable  ? 


62    The  Enemies  and  the  Arms  of  Christianity. 

habitable?  Why  so  many  mountains  inaccessible? 
Why  so  many  insects,  which  are  a  burden  to  nature, 
and  which  seem  designed  only  to  disfigure  it  ?  Why 
did  God  create  men,  who  must  be  miserable,  and  whose 
misery  he  could  not  but  foresee  ?  Why  did  he  confine 
revelation  for  so  many  ages  to  one  single  nation,  and, 
in  a  manner,  to  one  single  family  ?  Why  doth  he  still 
leave  such  an  infinite  number  of  people  to  sit  in  dark- 
ness and  in  the  shadow  of  death  P  Hence  the  infidel  con- 
cludes, either  that  there  is  no  God,  or  that  he  hath 
not  the  perfections  which  we  attribute  to  him.  The 
Christian,  on  the  contrary,  grounds  his  system  on  prin- 
ciples that  are  evident  and  sure. 

We  derive  our  arguments,  not  from  what  we  know 
not,  but  from  what  we  do  know.  We  derive  them 
from  characters  of  intelligence,  which  fall  under  our 
observation,  and  which  we  see  with  our  own  eyes. 
We  derive  them  from  the  nature  of  finite  beings. 
We  derive  them  from  the  united  attestations  of  all 
mankind.  We  derive  them  from  miracles,  which 
were  wrought  in  favour  of  religion.  We  draw  them 
from  our  own  hearts,  which  evince,  by  a  kind  of  rea- 
soning superior  to  all  argument,  superior  to  all  scho- 
lastic demonstrations,  that  religion  is  made  for  man, 
that  the  Creator  of  man  is  the  author  of  religion. 

4.  The  fourth  article  is  an  attempt  to  prove  a  doctrine 
contradictory  and  absurd^  because  it  is  obscure.  Some 
doctrines  of  religion  are  obscure  ;  but  none  are  con- 
tradictory. God  acts  towards  us  in  regard  to  the  doc- 
trines of  faith,  as  he  doth  in  regard  to  the  duties  of 
practice.  When  he  giveth  us  laws,  he  giveth  them 
as  a  master,  not  as  a  tyrant.  Were  he  to  impose  laws 
on  us,  which  are  contrary  to  order,  v/hich  would 
debase  our  natures,  and  which  would  make  innocence 
productive  of  misery ;  this  would  not  be  to  ordain  laws 
as  a  master,  but  as  a  tyrant.  Then  our  duties  would 
be  in  direct  opposition.  That,  which  would  oblige  us 
to  obey,  would  oblige  us  to  rebel.    It  is  the  eminence 

of 


The  Enemies  and  the  Arms  of  Christianity.  65 

of  the  perfections  of  God,  which  engageth  us  to  obey 
him:  but  his  perfections  would  be  injured  by  the 
imposition  of  such  laws  as  these,  and  therefore  we 
should  be  instigated  to  rebellion. 

In  like  manner,  God  hath  characterized  truth  and 
error.  Were  it  possible  for  him  to  give  error  the 
characters  of  truth,  and  truth  the  characters  of  error, 
there  would  be  a  direct  opposition  in  our  ideas ;  and 
the  same  reason,  which  would  oblige  us  to  believe, 
would  oblige  us  to  disbelieve :  because  that,  which 
engageth  us  to  believe,  when  God  speaks,  is,  that  he 
is  infallibly  true.  Now,  if  God  were  to  command  us 
to  believe  contradictions,  he  would  cease  to  be  infal- 
libly true  ;  because  nothing  is  more  opposite  to  truth 
than  self-contradiction.  This  is  the  maxim,  which 
we  admit,  and  on  which  we  ground  our  faith  in  the 
mysteries  of  religion.  A  wise  man  ought  to  know 
his  own  weakness  ;  to  convince  himself  that  there  are 
questions,  which  he  hath  not  capacity  to  answer  ;  to 
compare  the  greatness  of  the  object  with  the  littleness  of 
the  intelligence,  to  which  the  object  is  proposed ;  and 
to  perceive  that  this  disproportion  is  the  only  cause  of 
some  difficulties,  which  have  appeared  so  formidable 
to  him. 

Let  us  fonn  grand  ideas  of  the  Supreme  Being. 
What  ideas  ought  we  to  form  of  him  ?  Never  hath  u 
preacher  a  fairer  opportunity  of  giving  a  scope  to  hir- 
meditation,  and  of  letting  his  imagination  loose,  than 
when  he  describes  the  grandeur  of  that  which  is  mosi 
grand.  But  I  do  not  mean  to  please  your  fancies  b^ 
pompous  descriptions  ;  but  to  edify  your  minds  by 
distinct  ideas.  God  is  an  infinite  Being.  In  an  infi- 
nite Being  there  must  be  things  which  infinitely  sur 
pass  finite  understanding ;  it  would  be  absurd  to  sup- 
pose otherwise.  As  the  scripture  treats  of  this  infi- 
nite God,  it  must  necessarily  treat  of  subjects  which 
absorb  the  ideas  of  a  finite  mind. 

5.  The  fifth  article  attacks  the  truth  by  arguments' 

foreign 


64  The  Enemies  and  the  Arms  of  Christianity, 

foreign  from  the  subject  under  consideration.  To  propose 
arguments  of  this  kind  is  one  of  the  most  dangerous 
tricks  of  error.  The  most  essential  precaution,  that 
we  can  use,  in  the  investigating  of  truth,  is  to  distin- 
guish that  which  is  foreign  from  the  subject  from  that 
which  is  really  connected  with  it;  and  there  is  no  ques- 
tion in  divinity,  or  philosophy,  casuistry,  or  policy, 
which  could  afford  abstruse  and  endless  disputes,  were 
not  every  one,  who  talks  of  it,  fatally  ingenious  in  the 
art  of  incorporating  in  it  a  thousand  ideas,  which  are 
foreign  from  it. 

You  hold  such  and  such  doctrines,  say  some  :  and 
yet  Luther,  Calvin,  and  a  hundred  celebrated  divines 
in  your  communion,  have  advanced  many  false  argu- 
ments in  defence  of  it.  But  what  does  this  signify  to 
me  I  The  question  is  not  whether  these  doctrines  have 
been  defended  by  weak  arguments  ;  but  whether  the 
arguments,  that  determine  me  to  receive  them,  be 
conclusive,  or  sophistical  and  vague. 

You  receive  such  a  doctrine :  but  Origin,  Tertul- 
lian,  and  St  Augustine,  did  not  believe  it.  And  what 
then  I  Am  I  inquiring  what  these  fathers  did  believe, 
or  what  they  ought  to  have  believed  ? 

You  believe  such  a  doctrine ;  but  very  few  people 
believe  it  beside  yourself :  The  greatest  part  of  Eu- 
rope, almost  all  France,  all  Spain,  all  Italy,  whole 
kingdoms  disbelieve  it,  and  maintain  opinions  diame- 
trically opposite.  And  what  is  all  this  to  me  I  Am  I 
examining  what  doctrines  have  the  greatest  number 
of  partisans,  or  what  doctrines  ought  to  have  the  most 
universal  spread  ? 

You  embrace  such  a  doctrine  :  but  many  illustrious 
persons,  cardinals,  kings,  emperors,  triple-crowned 
heads,  reject  what  you  receive.  But  what  avails  this 
reasoning  to  me  !  Am  I  considering  the  rank  of  those 
who  receive  a  doctrine,  or  the  reasons  which  ought  to 
determine  them  to  receive  it?  Have  cardinals,  have 
kings,  have  emperors,  haye  triple-crowned  heads,  the 

clearest 


and  the  Arms  of  Christianity,  65 

clearest  ideas  ?  Do  they  labour  more  than  all  other 
men  ?  Are  they  the  most  indefatigable  inquirers  after 
truth  ?  Do  they  make  the  greatest  sacrifices  to  order  ? 
Are  they,  of  all  mankind,  the  first  to  lay  aside  those 
prejudices  and  passions,  which  enyelop  and  obscure 
the  truth  ? 

6.  The  last  artifice  is  this  :  Objections,  which  are 
made  against  the  truth,  derive  their  force,  not  from  their 
own  reasonableness,  but  from  the  superiority  of  the  genius 
of  him  who  proposeth  them.  There  is  no  kind  of  truth^ 
which  its  defenders  would  not  be  obliged  to  renounce, 
were  it  right  to  give  up  a  proposition,  because  we 
could  not  answer  all  the  objections  which  were  formed 
against  it.  A  mechanic  could  not  answer  the  argu- 
ments, that  I  could  propose  to  him,  to  prove,  when 
he  walks,  that  there  is  no  motion  in  nature,  that  it  is 
the  highest  absurdity  to  suppose  it.  A  mechanic  could 
not  answer  the  arguments,  that  I  could  propose  to 
him,  to  prove  that  there  is  no  matter,  even  while  he 
felt  and  touched  his  own  body,  which  is  material.  A 
mechanic  could  not  answer  the  argum^its,  that  I 
could  propose  to  him,  when  he  had  finished  his  day's 
work,  to  prove  that  I  gave  him  five  shillings,  even 
when  I  had  given  him  but  three.  And  yet,  a  mecha- 
nic hath  more  reason  for  his  assertions,  than  the  greatest 
geniusses  in  the  universe  have  for  their  objections, 
when  he  affirms  that  I  gave  him  but  three  shillings, 
that  there  is  motion,  that  there  is  a  mass  of  matter,  to 
which  his  soul  is  united,  and  in  which  it  is  but  too 
often,  in  a  manner,  buried  as  in  a  tomb. 

You  simple,'but  sincere  souls:  you  spirits  of  the  lowest 
class  of  mankind,  but  often  of  the  highest  at  the  tri- 
bunal of  reason  and  good  sense,  this  article  is  intended 
for  you.  Weigh  the  words  of  the  second  corftmand- 
ment,  Thou  shalt  not  make  unto  thee  any  graven  image, 
thou  shalt  not  how  down  thyself  to  them.  You  have  more 
reason  to  justify  j^our  doctrine  and  worship,  than  all  the 
doctors  of  the  universe  have  to  condemn  them,  by 

Vol.  it.  £  tjieir 


66  The  Ene?mes 

their  most  specious,  and,  in  regard  to  you,  by  their 
most  indissoluble  objections.  Worship  Jesus  Christ  in 
imitation  of  the  angels  of  heaven,  to  whom  God  said, 
Let  all  the  angels  of  God  worship  him,  Keb.  u  6.  Pray 
to  him,  after  the  example  of  St  Stephen,  and  say  unto 
him,  as  that  holy  martyr  said,  in  the  hour  of  death, 
Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit.  Acts  vii.  59.  Believe  on 
the  testimony  of  the  inspired  writers,  that  he  is  eternal, 
as  his  Father  is ;  that,  with  the  Father,  he  is  the 
Creator  of  the  world ;  that,  like  the  Father,  he  is 
Almighty ;  that  he  hath  all  the  essential  attributes  of 
the  Deity,  as  the  Father  hath.  You  have  more  reason 
for  these  doctrines,  and  for  this  worship  than  the  most 
refined  sophists  have  for  all  their  most  specious  objec- 
tions, even  for  those  which,  to  you,  are  the  most 
unanswerable.  "  Hold  that  fast  which  ye  have,  lei 
"  no  man  take  your  crown,"  Rev.  iir.  11. 

II.  We  have  seen  the  darts  which  Satan  shoots  at 
lis,  to  subdue  us  to  the  dominion  of  error  :  let  us  now 
examine  those  with  which  he  aims  to  make  us  submit 
to  the  empire  of  vice:  But,  lest  we  should  overcharge 
youT  memories  with  too  many  precepts,  we  will  take  a 
method  different  from  that  which  we  have  followed 
in  the  former  part  of  this  discourse  ;  and,  in  order  to 
give  you  a  more  lively  idea  of  that  steadiness,  with 
which  the  Apostle  intended  to  animate  us,  we  willshew 
it  you  reduced  to  practice ;  we  will  represent  such  a 
christian,  as  St  Paul  himself  describes  in  the  text,  zvrest- 
ling  againstjleshand  blood,  against  principalities,  against 
powers,  against  ^he  riders  of  the  darkness  of  this  worlds 
against  spiritual  wickedness  in  highplaces.  We  will  shew 
you  the  christian  resisting  four  sorts  of  the  fiery  darts 
of  the  wicked.  The  false  m.axims  of  the  world.  The 
pernicious  examples  of  the  multitude.  Threatnings 
and  persecutions.  And  the  snares  of  sensual  pleasures. 
1.  Satan  attacks  the  cTiristian  v^\\h  false  maxims  of 
the  world.     These  are  some  of  them.    Christians  are 

not 


and  the  Arms  of  Christianity.  67 

not  obliged  to  practise  a  rigid  morality.  In  times  of 
persecution,  it  is  allowable  to  palliate  our  sentiments, 
and,  if  the  heart  be  right  with  God,  there  is  no  harm 
in  a  conformity  to  the  w^orld.  The  God  of  religion 
is  the  God  of  nature  and  it  is  not  conceivable,  that 
religion  should  condemn  the  feelings  of  nature ;  or, 
that  the  ideas  of  fire  and  brimstone,  with  which  the 
scriptures  are  filled,  should  have  any  other  aim,  than 
to  prevent  men  from  carrying  vice  to  extremes  :  they 
cannot  mean  to  restrain  every  act  of  sin.  The  time  of 
youth  is  a  season  of  pleasure.  We  ought  not  to  aspire 
at  saintship.  We  must  do  as  other  people  do.  It  is 
beneath  a  man  of  honour  to  put  up  an  affront ;  a 
gentleman  ought  to  require  satisfaction.  No  reproof 
is  due  to  him  who  hurts  nobody  but  himself.  Time 
must  be  kifled.  Detraction  is  the  salt  of  conversation. 
Impurity,  indeed,  is  intolerable  in  a  woman ;  but  it  is 
very  pardonable  in  men.  Human  frailty  excusetb 
the  greatest  excesses.  To  pretend  to  be  perfect  in 
virtue,  is  to  subvert  the  order  of  things,  and  to  meta- 
morphose man  into  a  pure  disembodied  intelligei>ce. 
My  brethren,  how  easy  it  is  to  make  proselytes  to  a 
religion  so  exactly  fitted  to  the  depraved  propensities 
of  the  human  heart  I 

These  maxims  have  a  singular  character,  they  seem 
to  unite  that  which  is  most  irregular  wdth  that  which 
is  most  regular  in  the  lieart ;  and  they  are  the  more 
likely  to  subvert  our  faith,  because  they  seem  to  be 
consistent  with  it.  However,  all  that  they  aim  at  is, 
to  unite  heaven  and  hell,  and,  by  a  monstrous  assem- 
blage of  heterogeneous  objects,  they  propose  to  make 
us  enjoy  the  pleasures  of  sin  and  the  joys  of  heaven 
If  Satan  Vv'ere  openly  to  declare  to  us,  that  we  must 
proclaim  war  with  God  ;  that  we  must  make  an  al- 
liance with  him  against  the  divine  power ;  that  we 
must  oppose  his  majesty  :  reason  and  conscience  would 
reject  propositions  so  detestable  and  gross.  But,  when 
he  attacks  us  by  such  motives  as  we  have  related  ; 

E  2  -when 


68  The  Enemies 

when  he  tells  us,  not  that  we  must  renounce  the  hopes 
of  heaven,  but  that  a  few  steps  in  an  easy  path  will 
conduct  us  thither.  When  he  invites  us,  not  to  deny 
religion,  but  to  content  ourselves  with  observing  a  few 
articles  of  it.  When  he  doth  not  strive  to  render  us 
insensible  to  the  necessities  of  a  poor  neighbour,  but 
to  (ionyince  us  that  we  should  first  take  care  of  our- 
selves, for  charity,  as  they  say,  begins  at  home  :— do 
you  not  conceive,  my  brethren,  that  there  is  in  this 
morality  a  secret  poison,  which  slides  insensibly  into 
the  heart,  and  corrodes  all  the  powers  of  the  soul. 

The  Christian  is  not  vulnerable  by  any  of  these 
maxims.  He  derives  help  from  the  religion,  which 
he  professeth,  against  all  the  efforts  that  are  employed 
to  divert  him  from  it ;  and  he  conquers  by  resisting 
Satan  as  Jesus  Christ  resisted  him,  and,  like  him,  op- 
poseth  maxim  against  maxim,  the  maxims  of  Christ 
against  the  maxims  of  the  world.  Would  Satan  per- 
suade us,  that  we  follow  a  morality  too  rigid  ?  It  is 
written,  We  must  enter  in  at  a  strait  gate ^  Matt.  vii.  I3. 
pluck  out  the  right  eye,  cut  off  the  right  hand,  chap.  v.  20. 
30. ;  deny  ourselves,  take  up  our  cross,  and  follow  Christ, 
chap.  xvi.  24.  Does  Satan  say  it  is  allowable  to  conceal 
our  religion  in  a  time  of  persecution  ?  It  is  written,  We 
must  confess  Jesus  Christ;  whosoever  shall  deny  him  he- 
fore  men,  him  will  he  deny  before  his  Father  who  is  in 
heaven^  he  who  loveth father  or  mother  more  than  him, 
is  not  worthy  of  him,  chap.  x.  32,  33,37-  Would  Sa- 
tan inspire  us  with  revenge  ?  It  is  written.  Dearly  be- 
loved,  avenge  not  yourselves,  Rom.  xii.  19.  Doth  Satan 
require  us  to  devote  our  youthful  days  in  sin  ?  It  is 
written.  Remember  thy  Creator  in  the  days  of  thy  youth  ^ 
Eccles.  xii.  1*  Does  Satan  tell  us  that  we  must  not 
aspire  to  be  saints  ?  It  is  written.  Be  ye  holy,  for  I  am 
holy,  1  Pet.  i.  I6.  Would  Satan  teach  us  to  dissipate 
time?  It  is  written,  We  laxi^redeem  time,  Eph.  v.  16. 
we  must  number  our  days,  in  order  to  apply  our  hearts 
unto  wisdom,  Psal.  xc.  i2.     Would  Satan  encourage 

us 


and  the  Arms  of  Christianity.  69 

us  to  slander  our  neighbour  ?  It  is  written,  Revilers 
shall  not  inherit  the  kingdom  of  God,  1  Cor.  vi.  10.  Doth 
Satan  tell  us  we  deserve  no  reproof  when  we  do  no  harm? 
It  is  written,  We  are  to  i^x^ciis^what soever  things  are 
pure,  whatsoever  constitute  virtue,  whatsoever  things 
are  worthy  o^ praise ^  Phil.  iv.  8.  Would  Satan  tempt 
us  to  indulge  impurity  ?  It  is  written,  Our  bodies  are  the 
members  of  Christ,  and  it  is  a  crime  to  make  them  the 
members  of  a  harlot,  1  Cor.  vi.  15.  Would  Satan  unite 
heaven  and  earth?  It  is  written.  There  is  no  concord  be- 
tween Christ  and  Belial,  no  communion  between  light  and 
darkness,  2  Cor.  vi.  14, 15. ;  no  man  can  serve  two  mas^ 
ters.  Matt.  vi.  24.  Doth  Satan  urge  the  impossibility 
of  perfection  ?  It  is  written.  Be  ye  perfect^  as  your  Fa- 
ther, who  is  in  heaven,  is  perfect,  chap.  v.  48.^ 

2.  There  is  a  difference  between  those  who  preach 
the  maxims  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  those  who  preach  the 
maxims  of  the  world.  The  former,  alas !  are  as  frail 
as  the  rest  of  mankind,  and  they  themselves  are  apt  to 
violate  the  laws  which  they  prescribe  to  others ;  so 
that  it  must  be  sometimes  said  of  them,  What  they  bid 
you  observe,  observe  and  do  ;  but  do  not  ye  after  their 
works.  Matt,  xxiii.  3.  They  who  preach  the  maxims 
of  the  world,  on  the  contrary,  never  fail  to  confirm 
the  pernicious  maxims,  which  they  advance  by  their 
own  examples :  and  hence  a  second  quiver  of  those 
darts,  with  which  Satan  attempts  to  destroy  the  vir- 
tues of  Christianity  ;  I  mean//^^  examples  of  bad  men. 

Each  order  of  men,  each  condition  of  life,  each 
society,  hath  some  peculiar  vice,  and  each  of  these  iii 
so  established  by  custom, that  we  cannot  resist  it,  with- 
out being  accounted,  according  to  the  usual  phrase, 
men  of  another  world.  Vicious  men  are  sometimes 
respectable  persons.  They  are  parents,  they  are  mini~ 
sters,  they  are  magistrates.  We  bring  into  the  world 
with  us  a  turn  to  imitation.  Our  brain  is  so  formed 
as  to  receive  impressions  from  all  exterior  objects,  and, 
if  I  may  be  allowed  to  speak  so,  to  take  the  form  of 

every 


70  The  Enemies 

every  thing  that  affecteth  it.  How  difficult  is  it,  my 
brethren,  to  avoid  contagion,  when  we  breathe  an  air 
so  infected  I  The  desire  of  pleasing  often  prompts 
us  to  that  which  our  inclinations  abhor,  and  very  few 
people  can  bear  this  reproach :  you  are  unfashionable 
and  unpolitel  How  much  harder  is  it  to  resist  a  torrent, 
when  it  falls  in  with  the  dispositions  of  our  own  hearts  I 
The  Christian,  however,  resolutely  resisteth  this  attack, 
and  opposeth  model  to  model,  the  patterns  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  of  his  associates,  to  the  examples  of  an 
apostate  world. 

The  first,  the  great  model,  the  exemplar  of  all  others, 
is  Jesus  Christ,  ^aith,  which  always  fixeth  the  eyes 
of  a  Christian  on  his  Saviour,  incessantly  contemplate^ 
his  virtues,  and  also  inclines  him  to  holiness  by 
stirring  up  his  natural  propensity  to  imitation.  Jesus 
Christ  reduced  every  virtue,  which  he  preached,  to 
practice.  Did  he  preach  a  detachment  from  the 
world  ?  And  could  it  be  carried  further  than  the  di- 
vine Saviour  carried  it  ?  He  was  exposed  to  hunger, 
and  to  thirst ;  to  the  inclemency  of  seasons,  and  to  the 
contempt  of  mankind  :  he  had  no  fortune  to  recom- 
mend him  to  the  world,  no  great  office  to  render  him 
conspicuous  there.  Did  he  preach  zeal  ?  He  passed 
the  day  in  the  instructing  of  men,  and,  as  the  saving 
of  souls  filled  up  the  day,  the  night  he  spent  in  praying 
to  God.  Did  he  preach  patience  ?  When  he  was  re- 
viled, he  reviled  not  again,  1  Pet.  ii.  23.  Did  he  preach 
love }  Greater  love  than  he  had  no  man,  for  he  laid 
down  his  life  for  his  friends,  John  xv.  1.3.  His  incar- 
nation, his  birth,  his  life,  his  cross,  his  death,  are  so 
many  voices,  each  of  which  cries  to  us.  Behold  how 
he  loved  you,  chap.  xi.  36. 

Had  Jesus  Christ  abne  practised  the  virtues  which 
he  prescribed  to  us,  it  might  be  objected,  that  a  man 
must  be  conceived  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  Mat.  i.  20.  to  resist 
the  force  of  custom.  But  we  have  s<?en  many  Christians, 
who  have  walked  in  the  steps  of  their  master.  The  pri- 
mitive > 


and  the  Anns  of  Christianity,  7i 

mitiye  church  was  compassed  about  with  a  happy  ^qciq- 
ty,  a  great  cloud  of  witnesses ^  Heb.  xii.  1.  Kven  now 
in  spite  of  the  power  of  corruption,  we  have  many  il- 
lustrious examples ;  we  can  shew  magistrates,  who 
are  accessible  ;  generals,  who  are  patient ;  merchants, 
who  are  disinterested ;  learned  men,  who  are  teach 
able ;  and  devotees,  who  are  lowly  and  meek. 

If  the  believer  could  find  no  exemplary  characters 
on  earth,  he  could  not  fail  of  meeting  with  such  in 
heaven.  On  earth,  it  is  true,  haughtiness,  sensuaHty, 
and  pride,  are  in  fashion.  But  the  believer  is  not  on 
earth.  He  is  reproached  for  being  a  man  of  anothei 
world.  He  glories  in  it,  he  is  a  man  of  another  world  ^ 
he  is  a  heavenly  man,  he  is  a  citizen  of  heaven,  Phil 
iii.  20.  His  heart  is  with  his  treasure,  and  his  soul, 
transporting  itself  by  faith  into  the  heavenly  regions, 
beholds  customs  there  different  from  those  whicL^ 
prevail  in  this  world.  In  heaven,  it  is  the  fashion  to 
bless  God,  to  sing  his  praise,  to  cry  Hohj^  holy,  holy  is 
the  Lord  of  hosts,  Isa.  vi.  3.  to  animate  one  another  ir 
celebrating  the  glory  of  the  great  Supreme,  who  reign^' 
and  fills  the  place.  On  earth,  fashion  proceeds  from 
the  courts  of  kings,  and  the  provinces  are  polite  when 
they  imitate  them.  The  believer  is  a  heavenly  cour- 
tier ;  he  practiseth,  in  the  midst  of  a  crooked  and  per- 
verse nation,  the  customs  of  the  court  whence  he  came, 
and  to  which  he  hopes  to  return. 

3.  Satan  assaults  the  christian  with  the  threatnings 
of  the  world,  and  with  the  persecutions  of  those  who 
are  in  power.  Virtue,  I  own,  hath  a  venerable  aspect, 
which  attracts  respect  from  those  who  hate  it :  bui, 
after  all,  it  is  hated.  A  beneficent  man  is  a  trouble- 
some object  to  a  miser :  The  patience  of  a  believer 
throws  a  shade  over  the  character  of  a  passionate  man : 
and  the  men  of  the  world  will  always  persecute  those 
virtues,  which  they  cannot  resolve  to  practise. 

Moreover,  there  is  a  kind  of  persecution,  which 
approacheth  to  madness,  when,  to  the  hatred,  which 

our 


72  The  Enemies 

our  enemies  naturally  have  against  us,  they  add  sen- 
timents of  superstition ;  when,  under  pretence  of  reli- 
gion, they  avenge  their  own  cause ;  and,  according  to 
the  language  of  scripture,  think  that  to  kill  the  saints 
is  to  render  service  to  God,  John  x.  2.  Hence  so  many 
edicts  against  primitive  Christianity,  and  so  many  cruel 
laws  against  christians  themselves.  Hence  the  filling 
of  a  thousand  deserts  with  exiles,  and  a  thousand  pri- 
sons with  confessors.  Hence  the  letting  loose  of  bears, 
and  bulls,  and  lions,  on  the^aints,  to  divert  the  inhabi- 
tants of  Rome.  Hence  the  applying  of  red  hot  plates 
of  iron  to  their  flesh.  Hence  iron  pincers  to  prolong 
their  pain  by  pulhng  them  piecemeal.  Hence  caldrons 
of  boiling  oil,  in  which,  by  the  industrious  cruelty  of 
their  persecutors,  they  died  by  fire  and  by  water  too. 
Hence  burning  brazen  bulls,  and  seats  of  fire  and  flame. 
Hence  the  skins  of  wild  beasts,  in  which  they  were 
wrapped,  in  order  to  be  torn  and  devoured  by  dogs, 
And  hence  those  strange  and  nameless  punishments, 
which  would  seem  to  have  rather  the  air  of  fables 
than  of  historical  facts,  had  not  christian  persecutors, 
(good  God  I  must  these  two  titles  go  together  I)  had 
not  christian  persecutors  .....  Let  us  pass 
this  article,  my  brethren,  let  us  cover  these  bloody 
objects  with  a  vail  of  patience  and  love. 

Ah !  how  violent  is  this  combat  I  Shall  I  open  the 
wounds  again,  which  the  mercy  of  God  hath  closed  ? 
Shall  I  recall  to  your  memories  the  falls  of  some  of  you  ? 
Give  glory  to  God,  Josh.  vii.  IC),  Cast  your  eyes  for 
a  moment  on  that  fatal  day,  in  which  the  violence  of 
persecution  wrenched  from  you  a  denial  of  the  Sa- 
viour of  the  world,  whom  in  your  souls  you  adored ; 
made  you  sign  with  a  trembling  hand,  and  utter  with  a 
faultering  tongue,  those  base  words  against  Jesus  Christ, 
I  do  not  know  the  man,  Matt.  xxvi.  72.  Let  us  own, 
then,  that  Satan  is  infinitely  formidable,  when  he 
strikes  u^  with  the  thunderbolts  of  persecution. 

A  new 


and  the  Arms  of  Christianity.  75 

A  new  combat  brings  on  a  new  victory,  and  the 
constancy  of  the  christian  is  displayed  in  many  a  tri- 
umphant banner.  Turn  over  the  annals  of  the  church, 
and  behold  how  a  fervid  faith  hath  operated  in  fiery 
trials.  It  hath  inspired  many  Stephens  with  mercy, 
who,  while  they  sank  under  their  persecutors,  said. 
Lord,  lay  not  this  sin  to  their  charge.  Acts  vii.  60.  Many, 
wish  St  Paul,  have  abounded  in  patience,  and  have 
said,  Being  reviled,  we  bless,  being  defamed,  we  intreat^ 
1  Cor.  iv.  12, 13.  It  has  filled  a  Barlaam  with  praise, 
who,  while  his  hand  was  held  over  the  fire  to  scatter 
that  incense,  which,  in  spite  of  him,  his  persecutors  had 
determined  he  should  offer,  sang,  as  well  ^s  he  could, 
Blessed  be  the  Lord,  who  teacheth  my  hands  to  war^ 
and  my  fingers  to  fight,  Psal.  cxliv.  1.  It  transported 
that  holy  woman  with  joy,  who  said,  as  she  was  going 
to  suffer.  Crowns  are  distributed  to  day,  and  I  am  going 
to  receive  one.  It  inspired  Mark,  bishop  of  Arethusa, 
with  magnanimity,  who,  according  to  Theodoret,  after 
he  had  been  mangled  and  slashed,  bathed  in  a  liquid,  of 
which  insects  are  fond,  and  hung  up  in  the  sun  to  be 
devoured  by  them,  said  to  the  spectators,  I  pity  you, 
ye  people  of  the  w^orld,  I  am  ascending  to  heaven, 
while  ye  are  crawling  on  earth.  And  how  many  Marks 
of  Arethusa,  how  many  Barlaams,  how  many  Stephens, 
and  Pauls,  have  we  known  in  our  age,  whose  memories 
history  will  transmit  to  the  most  distant  times  I 

4.  But  how  formidable  soever  Satan  may  be,  when 
he  shoots  the  fiery  darts  of  persecution  at  us,  it  must 
be  granted,  my  brethren,  he  dischargeth  others  far 
more  dangerous  to  us,  when,  having  studied  our  pas- 
sions, he  presenteth  those  objects  to  our  hearts  which 
they  idolize,  and  gives  us  the  possession,  or  the  hope 
of  possessing  them.  The  first  ages  of  Christianity,  in 
which  religion  felt  all  the  rage  of  tyrants,  were  not  the 
most  fatal  to  the  church.  Great  tribulations  produced 
great  virtues,  and  the  blood  of  the  martyrs  was  the 
seed  of  the  church.  But  when,  under  christian  empe- 
rors. 


74  The  Enemies 

rors,  believers  enjoyed  the  privileges  of  the  world,  and 
the  profession  of  the  faith  was  no  obstacle  to  worldly 
grandeur,  the  church  became  corrupt,  and,  by  sharing 
the  advantages,  partook  of  the  vices  of  the  world. 

Among  the  many  diiferent  objects,  which  the  world 
offers  to  our  view,  there  is  always  one,  there  are  often 
more,  which  the  heart  approves.  The  heart,  which 
doth  not  glow  at  the  sight  of  riches,  may  sigh  after 
honours.  The  soul  that  is  insensible  to  glory,  may 
be  enchanted  with  pleasure.  The  demon  of  concu- 
piscence, revolving  for  ever  around  us,  will  not  fail 
to  present  to  each  of  us  that  enticement,  which  of  all 
others  is  the  most  agreeable  to  us.  See  his  conduct 
to  David.  He  could  not  entice  him  by  the  idea  of  a 
throne  to  become  a  parricide,  and  to  stain  his  hands 
with  the  blood  of  the  anointed  of  the  Lord :  but,  as 
he  was  inaccessible  one  way,  another  art  must  be  tried. 
He  exhibited  to  his  view  an  object  fatal  to  his  inno- 
cence :  the  prophet  saw,  admired,  was  dazzled,  and 
inflamed  with  a  criminal  passion,  and,  to  gratify  it,  be- 
gan in  adultery,  and  murder  closed  the  scene. 

My  brethren,  you  do  not  feel  these  passions  now, 
your  souls  are  attentive  to  these  great  truths,  and, 
while  you  hear  of  the  snares  of  concupiscence,  you 
discover  the  vanity  of  them.  But  if,  instead  of  our 
voice,  Satan  were  to  utter  his ;  if,  instead  of  being 
confined  within  these  walls,  you  were  transported  to 
the  pinnacle  of  an  eminent  edifice ;  were  he  there  to 
shew  you  all  the  kingdoms  cf  the  worlds  and  the  glory 
of  them^  Matt.  iv.  8.  and  to  say  to  each  of  you.  There, 
you  shall  content  your  pride  :  here,  you  shall  satiate 
your  vengeance :  yonder,  you  shall  roll  in  voluptu- 
ousness :  I  fear,  I  fear,  my  brethren,  very  few  of  us 
would  say  to  such  a  dangerous  enemy,  Satan^  get  thee 
hence ^  ver.  10. 

This  is  the  fourth  assault,  which  the  demon  of  cu- 
pidity makes  on  the  christian  ;  this  is  the  last  triumph 
of  christian  constancy  and  resolution.  In  these  assaults 

the 


and  the  Arms  of  ChrisUcmity.  75 

ihe  christian  is  firm.  The  grand  ideas,  which  he  forms 
of  God,  make  him  fear  to  irritate  the  Deity,  and  to 
raise  up  such  a  formidable  foe.  They  fill  him  with 
a  just  apprehension  of  the  folly  of  that  man,  who  will 
be  happy  in  spite  of  God.  For  self-gratification,  at 
the  expence  of  duty,  is  nothing  else  but  a  determina- 
tion to  be  happy  in  opposition  to  God.  This  is  the 
utmost  degree  of  extravagance :  Do  we  provoke  the 
Lord  tojealousyP  Are  we  strojiger  than  heP  1  Cor.  x.  22. 

Over  all,  the  christian  fixeth  his  eyes  on  the  im- 
mense rewards,  which  God  reserveth  for  him  in  ano- 
ther world.     The  good  things  of  this  world,  we  just 
now  observed,  have  some  relation  to  our  passions  :  but, 
after  all,  can  the  world  satisfy  them  ?  My  passions  are 
infinite,    every   finite  object  is  inadequate  to  them. 
My  ambition,  my  voluptuousness,  my  avarice,    are 
only  irritated,  they  are  not  satisfied,  by  all  the  ob- 
jects w^hich  the  present  world  exhibits  to  my  view- 
Christians,  we  no  longer  preach  to  you  to  limit  you!" 
dersires.     Expand  them,  be  ambitious,  be  covetous, 
be  greedy  of  pleasure  :  but  be  so  in  a  supreme  degree 
Jerusalem,  enlarge  the  place  of  thy  tent,  stretch  fort^. 
the  curtains  of  thine  habitations^  spare  not,  lengthen  tl^ 
cords,  and  strengthen  thy  stakes,  Isa.  liv.  2.   The  thron* 
of  thy  sovereign,  the  pleasures  that  are  at  his  rigb 
hand,  the  inexhaustible  mines  of  his  happiness,  wi! 
quench  the  utmost  thirst  of  thy  heart. 

From  what  hath  been  said,  I  infer  only  two  conse 
quences,  and  them,  my  brethren,  I  would  use,  to  con- 
vince you  of  the  grandeur  of  a  christian,  and  of  th^ 
grandeur  of  an  intelligent  soul. 

1.  Let  us  learn  to  form  grand  ideas  of  a  christian. 
The  pious  man  is  often  disdained  in  society  by  men 
of  the  world.  He  is  often  taxed  with  narrowness  of 
genius,  and  meanness  of  soul.  He  is  often  dismissed 
to  keep  company  with  those,  whom  the  world  calls 
good  folks.  But  what  unjust  appraisers  of  things  are 
mankind !  How  little  doth  it  become  them  to  pretend 


76  The  Enemies 

to  distribute  glory  I  Christian  is  a  grand  character. 
A  Christian  man  unites  in  himself  what  is  most  grand, 
both  in  the  mind  of  a  philosopher,  and  in  the  heart 
of  a  hero. 

The  unshaken  steadiness  of  his  soul  elevates  him 
above  whatever  is  most  grand  in  the  mind  of  a  phi- 
losopher. The  philosopher  flatters  himself,  that  he  is 
arrived  at  this  grandeur ;  but  he  only  imagines  so  ;  it 
is  the  Christian  who  possesseth  it.  He  alone  knows 
how  to  distinguish  the  true  from  the  false.  The 
Christian  is  the  man,  who  knoweth  how  to  ascend  to 
heaven,  to  procure  wisdom  there,  and  to  bring  it 
down  and  to  diffuse  it  on  earth.  It  is  the  Chi'islian, 
who,  having  learned,  by  the  accurate  exercise  of  his 
reason,  the  imperfection  of  his  knowledge,  and  having 
supplied  the  want  of  perfection  in  himself,  by  sub- 
mitting to  the  decisions  of  an  infallible  Being,  steadily 
resisteth  all  the  illusions,  and  all  the  sophism.s  of  error 
and  falsehood. 

And,  as  he  possesseth,  as  he  surpasseth,  whatever  is 
most  grand  in  the  mind  of  a  philosopher,  so  he  possesseth 
whatever  is  most  grand  in  the  heart  of  a  hero.  That 
grandeur,  of  which  the  worldly  hero  vainly  imagines 
himself  in  possession,  the  Christian  alone  really  enjoys. 
It  is  the  Christian  who  first  forms  the  heroical  design 
of  taking  the  perfections  of  God  for  his  model,  and 
then  surmounteth  every  obstacle  that  opposeth  his 
laudable  career.  It  is  the  Christian  who  hath  the 
courage,  not  to  rout  an  army,  neither  to  cut  a  way 
through  a  equadron,  nor  to  scale  a  wall ;  but  to  stem 
an  immoral  torrent,  to  free  himself  from  the  maxims 
of  the  world,  to  bear  pain,  and  to  despise  shame,  and, 
what  perhaps  may  be  yet  more  magnanimous,  and 
more  rare,  to  be  impregnable  against  whole  armies 
of  valuptuous  attacks.  It  is  the  Christian,  then,  who 
is  the  only  true  philosopher,  the  only  real  hero.  Let 
us  be  well  persuaded  of  this  truth  ;  if  the  world  despise 
us,  let  us,  in  our  turn,  despise  the  world  ;  let  us  be 

highly 


and  the  Arms  of  Christianity.  77 

highly  satisfiea  with  that  degree  of  elevation,  to  which 
grace  hath  raised  us.     1  his  is  the  first  consequence. 

2.  We  infer  from  this  subject  the  excellence  of  your 
souls.  Two  mighty  powers  dispute  the  sovereignty 
over  them,  God  and  Satan.  Satan  employs  his  sub- 
tilty  to  subdue  you  to  him:  he  terrifies  you  with 
threatnings,  he  enchants  you  with  promises,  he  en- 
deavours to  produce  errors  in  your  minds,  and  pas- 
sions in  your  hearts. 

On  the  other  hand,  God,  having  redeemed  you  with 
the  purest  and  most  precious  blood,  having  ^iiaken,  in 
your  favour,  the  heavens^  and  the  earthy  the  sea,  a?id  the 
dry  land.  Hag.  ii.  6.  still  continues  to  resist  Satan  for 
you,  to  take  away  his  prey  from  him;  and  from  the 
highest  heaven,  to  animate  you  with  these  grand  mo- 
tives, which  we  have  this  day  been  proposing  to  your 
meditation.  To-day  God  would  attract  you,  by  the 
most  affecting  means,  to  himself. 

While  heaven  and  earth,  God  and  the  world,  en- 
deavour to  gain  your  souls,  do  you  alone  continue  in- 
dolent ?  Are  you  alone  ignorant  of  your  own  worth  ? 
Ah  I  learn  to  know  your  own  excellence,  triumph 
over  liesh  and  blood,  trample  the  world  beneath  your 
feet,  go  from  conquering  to  conquer.  Listen  to  the 
voice  that  crieth  unto  you,  "  To  him  that  overcom- 
eth,  will  I  grant  to  sit  with  me  in  my  throne,  even  as 
I  also  overcame,  and  am  set  down  with  my  Father  in 
his  throne,"  Rev.  iii.  21.  Continue  in  the  faith, 
•'  hold  that  fast  which  thou  hast,  that  no  man  take 
thy  crown,  ver.  11.  Having  fought  through  life,  re- 
double your  believing  vigour  at  the  approach  of  death. 

All  the  wars  which  the  world  makes  on  your  faith, 
should  prepare  you  for  the  most  great,  the  most  for- 
midable attack  of  all.  The  last  enemy  that  shall  he 
destroyed,  is  death,  1  Cor.  xv.  26.  *The circumstances 
of  death  are  called  an  agony,  that  is,  a  wrestling.  In 
effect,  it  is  the  mightiest  effort  of  Satan,  and  therefor^ 
our  faith  should  redouble  its  vigorous  acts. 

Then, 


78  2"he  Enemies 

Then  Satan  will  attack  you  with  cuttmg  griefs, 
and  doubts,  and  fears ;  then  will  he  present  to  you  a 
deplorable  family,  whose  cries  and  tears  will  pierce 
your  hearts,  and  who,  by  straitening  the  ties  that 
bind  you  to  the  earth,  will  raise  obstacles  to  prevent 
the  ascent  of  your  souls  to  God.  He  will  alarm  you 
with  the  idea  of  divine  justice,  and  will  terrify  you 
with  that  of  consuming  lire,  which  must  devour  the 
adversaries  of  God.  He  will  paint,  in  the  most  dismal 
colours,  all  the  sad  train  of  your  funerals,  the  mourn- 
fully nodding  hearse,  the  torch,  the  shroud,  the  cof- 
fin, and  the  pall ;  the  frightful  solitude  of  the  tomb, 
or  the  odious  putrefaction  of  the  grave.  At  the  sight 
of  these  said  objects,  flesh  complains,  nature  mur- 
murs, religion  itself  seems  to  totter  and  shake :  but, 
fear  not ;  your  faith,  your  faith  will  support  you. 
Faith  will  discover  those  eternal  relations  into  which 
you  are  going  to  enter ;  the  celestial  armies,  that  will 
soon  be  your  companions ;  the  blessed  angels,  who 
wait  to  receive  your  souls,  and  to  be  your  convoy 
home.  Faith  will  shew  you  that  in  the  tomb  of  Jesus 
Christ  v/hich  will  sanctify  yours  ;  it  will  remind  you 
of  that  blessed  death,  which  renders  yours  precious  in 
the  sight  of  God ;  it  will  assist  your  souls  to  glance 
into  eternity ;  it  will  open  the  gates  of  heaven  to  you ; 
it  will  enable  you  to  behold,  without  murmuring,  the 
earth  sinking  away  from  your  feet ;  it  will  change 
your  death-beds  into  triumphal  chariots,  and  it  will 
make  you  exclaim,  amidst  all  the  mournful  objects 
that  surround  you,  0  grave,  where  is  thy  victory  P  0 
death,  where  is  thy  sting  F     1  Cor.  xv.  55. 

My  brethren,  our  most  vehement  desires,  our  pri- 
vate studies,  our  public  labours,  our  vows,  our  wishes, 
and  our  prayers,  we  consecrate  to  prepare  you  for 
that  great  day.  *'  For  this  cause,  I  bow  my  knees  un- 
"  to  the  Father  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  that  he 
"  would  grant  you,  according  to  the  riches  of  his 
"  glory,  to  be  strengthened  with  might  by  his  Spirit 

"in 


and  the  Arms  of  Christianity.  79 

'"  iu  the  inner  man ;  that  Christ  may  dwell  in  your 
"  hearts  by  failh;  that  ye,  being  rooted  and  grounded 
'*  in  Jove,  maybe  able  to  comprehend  with  all  saints^ 
"  what  is  the  breadth,  and  length,  and  depth,  and 
*'  height ;  and  to  know  the  love  of  Christ,  which  pas- 
"  seth  knowledge,  that  ye  might  be  filled  with  all  the 
"  fulness  of  God.  Now,  unto  him  that  is  able  to  do 
**  exceeding  abundantly  abo\^e  all  that  we  ask  or 
"  think,  according  to  the  power  that  worketh  in  us, 
"  unto  him  be  glory  in  the  church  by  Christ  Jesus, 
"  throughout  all  ages,  v/orld  Vvdthout  end."  Amen, 
Eph.  iii.  14,  16,  9A. 


SERMON 


81 


SERMON    III. 

The  Birth  of  Jesus  Christ 


Isaiah,  ix.  6,  7- 

Unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a  son  is  given  ;  and  the 
government  shall  he  upon  his  shoulder  :  and  his  name 
shall  be  called,  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  The  mighty  God, 
The  everlasting-  Fat  her ,  The  Prince  of  Peace,  Of  the 
increase  of  his  government  and  peace  there  shall  be  no 
end,  upon  the  throne  of  David,  and  upon  his  kingdom, 
to  order  it,  and  to  establish  it  with  judgment  and  with 
justice,  fi^om  henceforth,  even  for  ever, 

T  Anticipate  the  festival  which  the  goodness,  or  ra- 
ther the  magnificence,  of  God  invites  you  to  cele- 
brate  on  Wednesday  next.  All  nature  seems  to  take 
part  in  the  memorable  event,  which  on  that  day  we 
shall  commemorate,  I  mean  the  birth  of  the  Saviour 
of  the  world.  Herod  turns  pale  on  his  throne  ;  the 
devils  tremble  in  hell ;  the  wise  men  of  the  East  sus- 
pend all  their  speculations,  and  observe  no  sign  in  iiie 
firmament,  except  that  which  conducts  them  to  the 
place  where  lies  the  incarnate  Word,  God  manifest  in 
the  flesh,  1  Tim.  iii.  l6. ;  an  angel  from  heaven  is  the 
herald  of  the  astonishing  event,  and  tells  the  shepherds. 
Behold  I  bring  you  good  tidings  of  great  joy. ^  which  shall 
be  to  all  people,  for  unto  you  is  born  this  day,  in  the  city 
of  David,  a  Saviour,  which  is  Christ  the  Lord,  Luke 
ii.  10,  11.  the  multitude  of  the  heavenly  host  eagerly  dc- 
Vol.  ii.  F  scend 


82  The  Birth  of  Christ, 

scend  to  congratulate  men  on  the  Word's  assumption 
of  mortal  flesh,  on  his  dwell i/ig  among  men,  in  order 
to  enable  them  to  "  behold  his  glory,  the  glory  of  the 
"  only  begotten  of  the  Father,  full  of  grace  and  truth," 
John  i.  14. ;  they  make  the  air  resound  with  these  ac- 
clamations, '^  Glory  to  God  in  the  highest,  and  on  earth 
"  peace,  good  will  towards  men,"  Luke  ii.  I4. 

What  think  ye  ?  Does  this  festival  require  no  pre- 
paration of  you  ?  Do  you  imagine,  that  you  shall  cele- 
brate it  as  you  ought,  if  you  content  yourselves  with 
attending  on  a  few  discourses,  during  which,  perhaps, 
wirile  you  are  present  in  body,  you  may  be  absent  in 
spirit ;  or  with  laying  aside  your  temporal  cares,  and 
your  most  turbulent  passions,  at  the  church-gates,  in 
order  to  take  them  up  again  as  soon  as  divine  service 
ends  ?  The  king  Messiah  is  about  to  make  his  trium- 
phant entry  among'you.  With  w^hat  pomp  do  the  chil- 
dren of  this  world,  who  are  wise, and, wemay add, magni- 
iicent  in  their  generation,  Luke  xvi.  8.  celebrate  the 
entries  of  their  princes  ?  They  strew  the  roads  wdth 
flow^ers,  they  raise  triumphal  arches,  they  express  their 
joy  in  shouts  of  victory,  and  in  songs  of  praise.  Come, 
then,  my  brethren,  let  us  to-day  ^?r/)cr^  the  way  of  the 
Lord,  and  make  his  paths  straight^  Matt.  iii.  3. ;  let  us  he 
joyful  together  before  the  Lord,  let  us  make  a  joyful  7ioise 
before  the  Lord  the  King  for  he  cometh  to  judge  the  earth  .\ 
Psal.  xcviii.  6,  Q. ;  or,  to  speak  in  a  more  intelligible, 
and  in  a  more  evangelical  manner,  Come  ye  miserable 
sinners,  loaden  with  the  insupportable  burdens  of  your 
sins  ;  Come  ye  troubled  consciences,  uneasy  at  the  re- 
membrance of  your  many  idle  words,  many  criminal 
thoughts,  many  abominable  actions ;  Come  ye  poor 
mortals,  tossed  with  tempests  and  not  ccinforted,  Isa.  liv. 
IL  condemned  first  to  bear  the  infirmities  of  nature, 
the  caprices  of  society,  the  vicissitudes  of  age,  the 
turns  of  fortune,  and  then  the  horrors  of  death,  and 
the  frightful  night  of  the  tomb ;  Come  behold  Tlie 
Wonderful,  The  Counsellor,  The  mighty  God,  The  ever- 
-'  lasting 


The  Birth  of  CkrisL  85 

lasting  Father^  the  Prince  of  Peace :  take  him  into  your 
arms,  learn  to  desire  nothmg  more,  when  you  possess 
him.  May  God  enable  each  of  you,  in  transports  of 
joy,  to  say,  Lord,  now  lettest  thou  thy  servant  depart  in 
peace,  for  mine  eyes  have  seen  thy  salvation.  Amen. 
You  have  heard  the  prophecy,  on  which  our  medi- 
tations in  this  discourse  are  to  turn.  "  Unto  us  a  child 
"  is  born,  unto  us  a  son  is  given  ;  and  the  government 
"  shall  be  upon  his  shoulder :  and  his  name  shall  be 
"  called,  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  The  mighty  God, The 
"  everlasting  Father,  The  Prince  of  Peace.  Of  the  in- 
^'  crease  of  his  government  and  peace  there  shall  be  no 
"  end,  upon  the  throne  of  David,  and  vipon  his  king- 
"  dom,  to  order  it,  and  to  establish  it,  with  judgment 
"  and  with  justice,  from  henceforth,  even  for  ever." 
These  words  are  more  dazzling  than  clear  :  let  us  fix 
their  true  meaning  ;  and,  in  order  to  ascertain  that, 
let  us  divide  this  discourse  into  two  parts. 

I.  Let  us  explain  the  prediction. 

II.  Let  us  shew  its  accomplishment. 

In  the  first  part,  we  will  prove,  that  the  prophet; 
had  the  Messiah  in  view  :  and,  in  the  second,  that 
our  Jesus  hath  fully  answered  the  design  of  the  pro- 
phet, and  hath  accomplished,  in  the  most  just  and 
sublime  of  all  senses,  the  Avhole  prediction  :  Unto  us  a 
child  is  horn,  and  so  on. 

I.  Let  us  explain  the  prophet's  prediction,  and  let  us 
fix  on  the  extraordinary  child,  to  whom  he  gives  the 
magnificent  titles  in  the  text.  Indeed,  the  grandeur 
of  the  titles  sufficiently  determines  the  meaning  of  tho 
prophet;  for  to  whom,  except  to  the  Messiah,  can  these 
appellations  belong,  The  Wonderful,  The  Counsellor,  The 
mighty  God,  The  Prince  ofPeace,  The  everlasting  Father  '^ 
This  natural  sense  of  the  text,  is  supported  by  the 
authority  of  an  inspired  writer,  and  what  is,  if.not  oi 
any  great  weight  in  point  of  argument,  at  least  very 
singular  as  an  historical  fact,  it  is  supported  by  the 

F  2  authority 


84  The  Birth  of  Christ, 

authority  of  an  angel.  The  inspired  writer  whom  we 
mean  is  St.  Matthew,  who  manifestly  alludes  to  the 
words  of  the  text,  by  quoting  those  which  precede  them, 
which  are  connected  with  them,  and  which  he  applies 
to  the  times  of  the  Messiah  :  for,  having  related  the  im- 
prisonment of  John,  and,  in  consequence  of  that,  the 
retiring  of  Jesus  Christ  into  Galilee,  he  adds,  that  the 
divine  Saviour  "  came  and  dwelt  in  Capernaum,  which 
•'  is  upon  the  sea-coast,  in  the  borders  of  Zabulon  and 
"  Nephthalim  :  that  it  might  be  fulfilled,  which  was 
*'  spoken  by  Esaias  the  prophet,  saying,  The  land  of 
"  Zabulon,  and  the  land  of  Nephthalim,  by  the  way  of 
"  the  sea,  beyond  Jordan,  Galilee  of  the  Gentiles  :  the 
"  people  which  sat  in  darkness  saw  great  light ;  and  to 
*'  them  which  sat  in  the  region  and  shadow  of  death 
"  light  is  sprung  up,"  Matt.  iv.  12.  The  angel  of 
whom  I  spoke  is  Gabriel ;  who,  when  he  declared  to 
Mary  the  choice  which  God  had  made  of  her  to  be  the 
mother  of  the  Messiah,  applied  to  her  Son  the  charac- 
ters by  which  Isaiah  describes  the  child  m  the  text, 
and  paints  him  in  the  same  colours  :  *'  Thou  shalt  con- 
"  ceive  in  thy  womb,  and  bring  forth  a  son,  and  shalt 
"  call  his  name  Jesus.  He  shall  be  great,  and  shall  be 
"  called  the  Son  of  the  Highest ;  and  the  Lord  God  shall 
"  give  unto  him  the  throne  of  his  father  David.  And 
**  he  shall  reign  over  the  house  of  Jacob  for  ever  ;  and 
"  of  his  kingdom  there  shall  be  no  end,"  Luke  i.  3I. 
How  conclusive  soever  these  proofs  may  appear  in 
favour  of  the  sense  we  have  given  of  the  prophecy, 
they  do  not  satisfy  this  intractable  age,  which  is  al- 
ways ready  to  embrace  sny  thing  that  seems  likely  to 
enervate  the  truths  of  religion.  Sincerity  requires  us 
to  acknowledge,  that  although  our  prophecy  is  clear 
of  itself,  yet  there  ariseth  some  obscurity  from  the  or- 
der in  which  it  is  placed,  and  from  its  connection  with 
the  foregoing  and  following  verses.  On  each  we  will 
endeavour  to  throw  some  light,  and,  for  this  purpose, 
we  will  go  back,  and  analyze  this,  and  the  two  pre- 
ceding chapters.  When 


The  Birth  of  Christ.  85 

When  Isaiah  delivered  this  prophecy,  Ahaz  reigned 
over  the  kingdom  of  Judah,  and  Pekah,  the  son  of  Re- 
mahah,  over  that  of  Israel.  You  cannot  be  ignorant 
of  the  mutual  jealousy  of  these  two  kingdoms.  There 
is  often  more  hatred  between  two  parties,  whose  reli- 
gion is  almost  the  same,  than  between  those  whose  doc- 
trines are  in  direct  opposition.  Each  considers  the  other 
as  near  the  truth :  each  is  jealous  lest  the  other  should 
obtain  it :  and,  as  it  is  more  likely  that  tjtiey,  who  hold 
the  essential  truths  of  religion,  should  surpass  others 
sooner  than  they  who  rase  the  very  foundations  of  it, 
the  former  are  greater  objects  of  envy  tharfthe  latter. 
The  kingdoms  of  Israel  and  Judah  were  often  more 
envenomed  against  one  another  than  against  foreigii- 
ers.  This  was  the  case  in  the  reign  of  Ahaz,  king  of 
Judah.  Pekah,  king  of  Israel,  to  the  sham^  of  the 
ten  tribes,  discovered  a  disposition  like  that,  which 
hath  sometimes  made  the  christian  world  blush;  I 
mean,  that  a  prince,  who  worshipped  the  true  God,  in 
order  to  destroy  his  brethren,  made  an  alliance  with  an 
idolater.  He  allied  himself  to  Rezin,  a  Pagan  prince, 
who  reigned  over  that  part  of  Syria,  which  constitut- 
ed the  kingdom  of  Damascus.  The  kingdom  of  Ju- 
dah had  often  yielded  to  the  forces  of  these  kings, 
even  when  each  had  separately  made  war  with  it.  Now 
they  were  united ;  and  intende4  jcdntly  to  fall  on  the 
Jews,  and  to  overwhelm,  rather  than  to  besiege,  Jeru- 
salem. Accordingly,  the  consternation  was  so  great 
in  the  holy  city,  that,  the  scripture  says,  "  The  heart 
''  of  Ahaz  was  moved,  and  the  heart  of  his  people,  as 
"  the  trees  of  the  wood  are  moved  with  the  wind," 
Isa.  vii.  2. 

Although  the  kingdom  of  Judah  had  too  well  de- 
served the  punishments  which  threatened  it ;  and  al- 
though a  thousand  outrages,  with  which  the  inhabi- 
tants had  insulted  the  Majesty  of  heaven,  seemed  to 
guarantee  their  country  to  the  enemy,  yet  God  came 
to  their  assistance.     He  was  touched,  if  not  with  the 

sincerity 


$6  Tlie  Birth  of  Christ. 

sincerity  of  their  repentance,  at  least  with  the  excess 
of  their  miseries.  He  commanded  Isaiah  to  encourage 
their  hopes.  He  even  promised  them,  not  only  that 
all  the  designs  of  their  enemies  should  be  rendered 
abortive ;  but  that  the  two  confederate  kingdoms,  with- 
in threescore  and  Jive  years,  ver.  8.  should  be  entirely 
destroyed.  Moreover,  he  gave  Ahaz  the  choice  of  a 
sign  to  convince  himself  of  the  truth  of  the  promise. 
Ahaz  was  one  of  the  most  wicked  kings  that  ever  sat 
on  the  throne  of  Judah :  so  that  the  scripture  could 
give  no  worse  character  of  this  prince,  nor  describe 
his  perseverance  in  sin  more  fully,  than  by  saying  that 
he  was  always  Ahaz  *.  He  refused  to  choose  a  sign, 
not  because  he  felt  one  of  those  noble  emotions,  which 
makes  a  man  submit  to  the  testimony  of  God  without 
any  more  proof  of  its  truth  than  the  testimony  itself; 
but  because  he  was  inclined  to  infidelity  and  ingra- 
titude ;  and,  probably,  because  he  trusted  in  his  ally, 
the  king  of  Assyria.  Notwithstanding  his  refusal, 
God  gave  him  signs,  and  informed  him,  that  before 
the  prophet's  two  children,  one  of  whom  v/as  already 
born,  and  the  other  would  be  born  shortly,  should 
arrive  at  years  of  discretion,  the  two  confederate  kings 
should  retreat  from  Judea,  and  be  entirely  destroyed. 

Of  the  first  child,  see  what  the  seventh  chapter  of 
the  Revelations  of  our  prophet  says.  We  are  there 
told,  that  this  son  of  the  prophet  was  named  Shear- 
jashub,  that  is,  the  remnant  shall  return,  ver.  3.  a  name 
expressive  of  the  meaning  of  the  sign,  which  de- 
clared that  the  Jews  should  return  from  their  rebel- 
lions, and  that  God  would  return  from  his  anger. 
The  other  child,  then  unborn,  is  mentioned  in  the 
eighth  chapter,  where  it  is  said  the  prophetess  bare  a 
son,  ver.  3. 

God  commanded  the  prophet  to  take  the  first  child, 

and 

*  2  Chron.  xxviii.  22.     This  is  that  king  Ahax.     Eng.  Version. 
C'estoit  toujours  le  roi  Jchaz.  Fr.  Idem  erat  rex  Achaz.  Jun.  Tremel. 


The  Birth  of  Christ.  87 

and  to  carry  him  to  that  pool,  or  piece  of  water,  which 
was  formed  by  the  waters  of  Siloah,  which  supplied 
the  stream  known  by  the  name  of  The  fuller's  co?iduit, 
2  Kings  xvjii.  17.  and  which  was  at  the  foot  of  the  east-. 
ern  wall  of  Jerusalem.  The  prophet  was  ordered  to 
produce  the  child  in  the  presence  of  all  the  affrighted 
people,  and  to  say  to  them,  "  Before  this  child  shall  know 
"  to  refuse  the  evil,  and  choose  the  good,  the  land  that 
"  thou  abhorrest  shall  be  forsaken  of  both  her  kings,'* 
Isa.  vii.  16.  If  this  translation  be  retained,  the  land  sig- 
nifies the  kingdom  of  Israel,  and  that  of  Syria,  from 
which  the  enemy  came,  and  which,  on  account  of  their 
coming,  the  Jews  abhorred.  I  should  rather  render  the 
words,  tlfe  land  for  which  thou  art  afraid,  and  by  the 
land  understand  Judea,  which  was  then  in  a  very  dan- 
gerous state.  But  the  prophecy  began  to  be  accom- 
plished in  both  senses  about  a  year  after  it  was  uttered. 
Tiglath  Pileser,  king  of  Assyria,  not  only  drew  off  the 
forces  of  Rezin  and  Pekah  from  the  siege  of  Jerusalem, 
but  he  drave  them  also  from  their  own  countries.  He 
first  attacked  Damascus.  Rezin  quitted  his  intended 
conquest,  and  returned  to  defend  his  capital,  where  he 
was  slain  ;  and  all  his  people  were  carried  into  capti- 
vity, 2  Kings  xvi.  9.  Tiglath  Pileser  then  marched 
into  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  and  victory  marched  along 
with  him  at  the  head  of  his  army,  1  Chron.  v.  26. 
He  subdued  the  tribes  of  Reuben  and  Gad,  and  the 
half  tribe  of  Manasseh,  all  the  inhabitants  of  Galilee, 
and  the  tribe  of  Nephthalim,  and  carried  them  cap- 
tives beyond  Euphrates;  and  sixty  five-years  after, 
that  is,  sixty -five  years  after  the  prediction  of  the 
total  ruin  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel  by  the  prophet 
Amos,  the  prophecy  was  fulfilled  by  Salmanassar, 
chap.  vii.  11.  according  to  the  language  of  our  pro- 
phet, within  threescore  and  five  years  shall  Ephraim  be 
broken,  that  it  be  not  a  people,  Isa.  vii.  8.  Thus  was 
this  prophecy  accomplished,  "  before  this  child  shall 
"  know  to  refuse  the  evil,  and  choose  the  good,  the  land, 

"for 


88  The  Birth  of  Christ. 

'^  for  which  thou  art  afraid,  shall  be  forsaken  of  both 
'*  her  kings." 

God  determined  that  the  prophet's  second  child  should 
also  be  a  sign  of  the  truth  of  the  same  promise.  He  as- 
sured Isaiah,  that  before  the  child,  who  should  short- 
ly be  born,  could  learn  to  articulate  the  first  sounds, 
which  children  were  taught  to  pronounce  ;  before  the 
child  should  have  knowledge  to  cry,  My  father,  and  my 
mother,  the  riches  of  Damascus,  and  the  spoil  of  Samaria^ 
that  is,  of  the  kingdom  of  Israel,  should  he  taken  away 
by  the  king  of  Assyria,  chap.  viii.  4.  This  is  the  same 
promise  confirmed  by  a  second  sign.  God  usually 
giveth  m_ore  than  one,  when  he  confirmeth  any  very 
interesting  prediction,  as  we  see  in  the  history  of  Pha- 
raoh, and  the  patriarch  Joseph,  Gen.  xli.  1,  &c. 

But  as  all  the  mercies  that  were  bestowed  on  the 
Jews,  from  the  time  of  Abraham,  were  grounded  on 
the  covenant  which  God  had  made  with  that  patriarch, 
their  common  father  and  head  ;  or  rather,  as,  since  the 
fall,  men  could  expect  no  favour  of  God  but  in  virtue 
of  the  Mediator  of  the  church  ;  it  is  generally  to  be 
observed  in  the  prophecies,  that  when  God  gave  them 
a  promise,  he  directed  their  attention  to  this  grand 
object.  Either  the  idea  of  the  covenant,  or  the  idea 
of  the  Mediator,  was  a  seal,  which  God  put  to  his 
promises,  and  a  bar  against  the  unbelief  and  distrust 
of  his  people.  Every  thing  might  be  expected  from 
a  God,  whose  goodness  was  so  infinite,  as  to  prepare 
such  a  noble  victim  for  the  salvation  of  mankind. 
He,  who  would  confine  Satan  in  everlasting  chains, 
and  vanquish  sin  and  death,  was  fully  able  to  deliver 
his  people  from  the  incursions  of  Rezin,  and  Pekah, 
the  son  of  Remaliah.  To  remove  the  present  fears  of 
the  Jews,  God  reminds  them  of  the  wonders  of  his 
love,  which  he  had  promised  to  display  in  favour  of  his 
church  in  ages  to  come  :  and  commands  his  prophet 
to  say  to  them,  "  Ye  trembling  leaves  of  the  wood, 
shaken  with  every  wind,  peace  be  to  you  I  Ye  timo- 

rou${ 


The  Birth  of  Christ.  89 

rous  Jews,  cease  your  fears !  let  not  the  greatness  of 
this  temporal  deliverance,  which  I  now  promise  you, 
excite  your  doubts  I  God  hath  favours  incomparably 
greater  in  store  for  you,  they  shall  be  your  guarantees 
for  those  which  ye  are  afraid  to  expect.  Ye  are  in 
covenant  with  God.  Ye  have  a  right  to  expect  those 
displays  of  his  love  in  your  favour,  which  are  least 
credible.  Remember  the  blessed  seed,  which  he  pro- 
mised to  your  ancestors,  Gen.  xxii.  18.  '  Eehold  !  a 
virgin  shall  .conceive  and  bear  a  son,  and  call  his 
name  Immanuel,*  Isa.  vii:  I4.  The  spirit  of  prophesy, 
that  animates  me,  enables  me  to  penetrate  through  all 
the  ages  that  separate  the  present  moment  from  that 
in  which  the  promise  shall  be  fulfilled.  I  see  the  di- 
vine child,  my  *  faith  is  the  substance  of  things  hoped 
for,  the  evidence  of  things  not  seen,'  Heb.  xi.  1.  and 
grounded  op  the  word  of  that  God,  '  who  changeth 
not,'  Mai.  iii.  6.  who  '  is  not  a  man  that  he  should  lie, 
neither  the  son  of  man  that  he  should  repent,'  Num. 
xxiii.  19.  I  dare  speak  of  a  miracle,  which  will  be 
wrought  eight  hundred  years  hence,  as  if  it  had  been 
wrought  to-day,  '  Unto  us  a  child  is  bom,  unto  us  a 
son  is  given,  and  the  government  shall  be  upon  hi§ 
shoulder :  and  his  name  shall  be  called.  Wonderful, 
Counsellor,  The  mighty  God,  the  everlasting  Father, 
The  Prince  of  Peace." 

This,  my  brethren,  is  the  prophet's  scope  in  the 
three  chapters  which  we  have  analyzed,  and  parti- 
cularly in  the  text.  But,  if  any  one  of  you  receive 
our  exposition  without  any  farther  discussion,  he  will 
discover  more  docility  than  we  require,  and  he  would 
betray  his  credulity  without  proving  his  conviction. 
How  often  doth  a  commentator  substitute  his  own 
opinions  for  those  of  his  author,  and,  by  forging,  if  I 
may  be  allowed  to  speak  so,  a  new  text,  elude  the 
difficulties  of  that  w^hich  he  ought  to  explain  ?  Let  us 
act  more  ingenuously.  There  are  two  difficulties, 
which  attend  our  comment ;  one  is  a  particular,  the 
other  is  a  general  difficulty. 

The 


90  The  Birth  of  Christ 

ThQ particular  difficulty  is  this  :  We  have  supposed, 
that  the  mysterious  child,  spoken  of  in  our  text,  is  the 
same  of  whom  the  prophet  speaks,  when  he  says,  A 
virgin  shall  conceive  and  bear  a  son ,  and  shall  call  his  name 
Immanuel ;  and  that  this  child  is  different  from  that 
wdiom  Isaiah  gave  for  a  sign  of  the  present  temporal 
deliverance,  and  of  whom  it  is  said,  '*  Before  the  child 
shall  know  to  refuse  the  evil  and  choose  the  good,  the 
land  that  thou  abhorrest  shall  be  forsaken  of  both  her 
kings."  This  supposition  does  not  seem  to  agree  with 
the  text :  read  the  following  verses,  which  are  taken 
from  chap.  vii.  "  Behold  !  a  virgin  shall  conceive,  and 
bear  a  son,  and  shall  call  his  name  Immanuel :  Butter 
and  honey  shall  he  eat,  that  he  may  know  to  refuse 
the  evil  and  choose  the  good.  But  before  the  child 
shall  know  to  refuse  the  evil  and  choose  the  good,  the 
land  that  thou  abhorrest  shall  be  forsaken  of  both  her 
kings,"  ver.  I4, 15,  I6.  Do  not  the  last  words,  "  before 
the  child  shall  know  to  refuse  the  evil  and  choose  the 
good,"  seem  to  belong  to  the  words  which  immediately 
precede  them,  "  Behold  !  a  virgin  shall  conceive  and 
bear  a  son  ?"  Immanuel,  then,  who  was  to  be  born  of 
a  virgin^  could  not  be  the  Messiah  :  the  prophet  must 
mean  the  child,  of  whom  he  said,  "  Before  he  know 
to  refuse  the  evil  and  choose  the  good,"  Judea  shall 
be  delivered  from  the  two  confederate  kings. 

How  indissoluble  soever  this  objection  may  appear, 
it  is  only  an  apparent  difficulty,  and  it  lies  less  in  the 
nature  of  the  thing  than  in  the  arrangement  of  the 
terms.  Represent  to  yourselves  the  prophet  executing 
the  order  which  God  had  given  him,  as  the  third  verse 
of  the  seventh  chapter  relates  :  "  Go  forth  now  to  meet 
Ahaz,  thou,  and  Shearjashub  thy  son,  at  the  end  of 
the  conduit  of  the  upper  pool."  Imagine  Isaiah,  in  the 
presence  of  the  Jews,  holding  his  son  Shearjashub  in 
his  arms,  and  addressing  them  in  this  manner :  The 
token  that  God  gives  you,  of  your  present  deliver- 
ance, that  he  is  still  your  God,  and  that  ye  are   still 

his 


The  Birth  of  Christ  91 

his  covenant  people,  is  the  renewal  of  the  promise  to 
you  which  he  made  to  your  ancestors  concerning  the 
Messiah :  to  convince  you  of  the  truth  of  what  1  assert, 
I  discharge  my  commission,  "  Behold  I  a  vn'gin  shall 
"  conceive,  and  bear  a  son,  and  shall  call  his  name  Im- 
"  manuel,"  that  is,  God  with  us.  He  shall  be  brought  up 
like  the  ctiildren  of  men, "  butter  and  honey  shall  he  eat, 
"  until  he  know^  to  refuse  the  evil,  and  choose  the  good," 
that  is,  until  he  arrive  at  years  of  maturity.  In  virtue 
of  this  promise,  which  will  not  be  ratified  till  some  ages 
have  expired,  behold  what  I  promise  you  now  ;  before 
the  child,  not  before  the  child,  whom,  I  said  just  now, 
a  virgin  should  bear :  but  before  the  child  in  my  arms, 
(the  phrase  may  be  rendered  before  this  child,^  before 
Shearjashub,  w^hom  I  now  lift  up,  *'  shall  know  to  refuse 
*'  the  evil,  and  choose  the  good,  the  land,  for  which  ye 
*'  are  in  trouble,  shall  be  forsaken  of  both  her  kin^s." 
You  see,  my  brethren,  the  child,  whom,  the  prophet 
said,  a  virgin  should  conceive,  could  not  be  Shearja- 
shub, who  was  actually  present  in  his  father's  arms. 
The  difficulty,  therefore,  is  only  apparent,  and,  as  I 
observed  before,  it  lay  in  the  arrangement  of  the  terms, 
and  not  in  the  nature  of  the  thing.  This  is  our  an- 
swer to  what  I  called  a  particular  difficulty. 

K general  objection  may  be  made  against  the  manner 
in  which  we  have  explained  these  chapters,  and  in 
which,  in  general,  we  explain  other  prophecies.  Allow 
me  to  state  this  objection  in  all  its  force,  and,  if  I  may 
use  the  expression,  in  all  its  enormity,  in  order  to  shew 
you,  in  the  end,  all  its  levity  and  folly. 

The  odious  objection  is  this  :  An  unbeliever  would 
say,  The  three  chapters  of  Isaiah,  of  which  you  have 
given  an  arbitrary  analysis,  are  equivocal  and  obscure, 
like  the  greatest  part  of  those  compilations,  which 
compose  the  book  of  the  visionary  flights  of  this  pro- 
phet, and  like  all  the  writings,  that  are  called  predic- 
tions, prophecies,  revelations.  Obscurity  is  the  grand 
character  of  them,  even  in  the  opinion  of  those  who 

have 


92  The  Birth  of  Christ. 

have  given  sublime  and  curious  explanations  of  them.. 
Tney  are  capable  of  several  senses.  Who  hath  re- 
ceived authority  to  develop  those  ambiguous  writings, 
to  determine  the  true  meaning,  among  the  many  dif- 
ferent ideas  which  they  excite  in  the  reader,  and  to 
each  of  which  the  terms  are  alike  applicable  ?  During 
seventeen  centuries,  christians  have  racked  their  in- 
vention to  put  a  sense  on  the  writings  of  the  prophets 
advantageous  to  Christianity,  and  the  greatest  geniusses 
have  endeavoured  to  interpret  them  in  favour  of  the 
christian  religion.  Men,  who  have  been  famous  for 
their  eruditio^i  and  knowledge,  have  taken  the  most 
laborious  pains  to  methodize  these  writings ;  one  ge^ 
neration  of  great  men  have  succeeded  another  in  the 
undertaking ;  it  is  astonishing  that  some  degree  of  suc- 
cess hath  attended  their  labours,  and  that,  by  dint  of 
indefatigable  industry,  they  have  rendered  those  pro- 
phecies venerable,  which  would  have  been  accounted 
dark  and  void  of  design,  if  less  pains  had  been  taken 
to  adapt  a  design,  and  less  violence  had  been  used  in 
arranging  them  in  order. 

This  is  the  objection  in  all  its  force,  and,  as  I  said 
before,  in  all  its  enormity.  Let  us  inquire  whether 
we  can  gvvG^  a  solution  proportional  to  this  boasted  ob- 
jection of  infidelity.  Our  answer  will  be  comprised  in 
a  chain  of  propositions,  which  will  guard  you  against 
those  who  find  mystical  meanings  where  there  are 
none,  as  well  as  against  those  who  disown  them  where 
they  are.  To  these  purposes  attend  to  the  following 
propositions : 

1.  They  were  not  the  men  of  our  age  who  forged 
the  book,  in  which,  we  imagine,  we  discover  such  pro- 
found knowledge  :  we  know,  it  is  a  book  of  the  most 
venerable  antiquity,  and  we  can  demonstrate,  that  it  ^ 
the  most  ancient  book  in  the  world. 

2.  This  venerable  antiquity,  however,  is  not  the 
chief  ground  of  our  admiration :  the  benevolence  of 
its  design  3  the  grandeur  of  its  ideas ;  the  sublimity  of 

its 


The  Birth  of  Christ.  95 

Its  doctrines ;  the  holiness  of  its  precepts  ;  are,  accor- 
ding to  our  notion  of  things,  if  not  absolute  proofs  of 
its  divinity,  at  least  advantageous  presumptions  in  its 
favour. 

3.  Among  divers  truths  which  it  contains,  and 
which  it  may  be  supposed  some  superior  geniusses 
might  have  discovered,  I  meet  with  some,  the  attain* 
ment  of  which  I  cannot  reasonably  attribute  to  the 
human  mind  :  of  this  kind  are  some  predictions,  ob- 
scure I  grant,  to  those  to  whom  they  were  first  de- 
livered, but  rendered  very  clear  since  by  the  events. 
Such  are  these  two,  among  many  others.  The  peo- 
ple, who  are  in  covenant  with  God,  shall  be  excluded  ; 
and  people  who  are  not  shall  be  admitted.  I  see  the 
accomplishment  of  these  predictions  with  my  own 
eyes,  in  the  rejection  of  the  Jews,  and  in  the  calling 
of  the  Gentiles. 

4.  The  superior  characters  which  signalize  these 
books,  give  them  the  right  of  being  mysterious  in 
some  places,  without  exposing  them  to  the  charge  of 
being  equivocal,  or  void  of  meaning ;  for  some 
works  have  acquired  this  right.  When  an  author 
hath  given  full  proof  of  his  capacity  in  some  propo- 
sitions, which  are  clear  and  intelligible  ;  and  when 
he  expresseth  himself,  in  other  places,  in  a  manner 
obscure,  and  hard  to  be  understood,  he  is  not  to  be 
taxed,  all  on  a  sudden  with  writing  irrationally.  A 
meaning  is  to  be  sought  in  his  expressions.  It  is  not 
to  be  supposed,  that  geniusses  of  the  highest  order 
sink  at  once  beneath  the  lowest  minds.  Why  do  we 
not  entertain  such  notions  of  our  prophets  ?  Why  is 
not  the  same  justice  due  to  the  extraordinary  men, 
whose  respectable  writings  we  are  pleading  for ;  to 
our  Isaiahs,  and  Jeremiahs,  which  is  allowed  to  Ju- 
venal and  Virgil  ?  What  I  shall  some  pretty  thought  of 
the  latter,  shall  some  ingenious  stroke  of  the  former, 
conciliate  more  respect  to  them,  than  the  noble  sen. 
timents  of  God,  the  sublime  doctrines,  and  the  vir.. 

tuou§ 


yi  The  BirtkofChrisL 

tuous  precepts  of  the  holy  scriptures,  can  obtain  tor 
the  writers  of  the  Bible  ? 

5.  We  do  not  pretend,  however,  to  abuse  that  re- 
spect,  which  it  would  be  unjust  to  w^ithhold  from 
our  authors.  We  do  not  pretend  to  say  that  qvery 
obscure  passage  contains  a  mystery,  or  that,  whenever 
a  passage  appears  unintelligible,  we  have  a  right  to 
explain  it  in  favour  of  the  doctrine  w^hich  we  profess: 
but  we  think  it  right  to  consider  any  passage -m  these 
books  prophetical  when  it  has  the  three  following  marks : 

The  first  is  the  insufficieiicy  of  the  literal  meaning. 
1  mean,  a  text  must  be  accounted  prophetical,  when 
it  cannot  be  applied,  without  offering  violence  to 
the  language,  to  any  event  that  fell  out  when  it  w^as 
spoken,  or  to  any  then  present  or  past  object. 

2.  The  second  character  of  a  prophesy,  is  an  in- 
fallible coinmentary.  I  mean,  w^hen  an  author  of 
acknowledged  authority  gives  a  prophetical  sense  to 
a  passage  under  consideration,  we  ought  to  submit  to 
his  authority  and  adopt  his  meaning. 

3.  The  last  character  is  a  perfect  conformity  between 
the  prediction  and  the  event,  I  mean,  when  prophe- 
sies, compared  wdth  events,  appear  to  have  been  com- 
pletely accomplished,  several  ages  after  they  had 
been  promulged,  it  cannot  be  fairly  urged  that  the 
conforitiity  was  a  lucky  hit :  but  it  ought  to  be  ac- 
knowledged, that  the  prophecy  proceeded  from  God, 
who,  being  alooe  capable  of  foreseeing  what  w'ould 
happen,  w^as  alone  capable  of  foretelling  the  event,  in 
a  manner  so  circumstantial  and  exact.  All  these 
characters  unite  in  favour  of  the  text  w  hich  w^e  have 
been  explaining,  and  in  favour  of  the  three  chapters 
which  we  have  in  general  expounded. 

The  first  character,  that  is,  the  insufxiciency  of  a 
iitv^.ral  sense,  agrees  with  our  explication.  Let  any 
event  in  the  time  of  Isaiah  be  named,  any  child  born 
then,  or  soon  after,  of  whom  the  prophet  could  reason- 
ably afdrm  what  he  does  in  our  text,  and  in  the  other 

verse 


The  Birth  of  Christ  95 

verse,  which  we  have  connected  with  it.  "A  virgin  shall 
''  conceive,  and  bear  a  son,  and  shall  call  hisnamelmma- 
''  nuel.  Unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a  son  is  given  : 
'*  and  the  government  shall  be  upon  his  shoulder:  and 
"  his  name  shall  be  called,  Wonderful,  Counsellor,  The 
"  mighty  God,  The  everlasting  Father,  The  Prince  of 
''  Peace." 

The  second  distinguishing  aiark,  that  is,  an  infal- 
lible commentary,  agrees  with  our  explication.  Our 
evangelists  and  apostles,  those  venerable  men,  whose 
mission  comes  recommended  to  us  by  the  most  glo- 
rious miracles,  by  the  healing  of  the  sick,  by  the  ex- 
pulsion of  demons,  by  the  raising  of  the  dead,  by  a 
general  subv-ersion  of  all  nature,  our  evangelists  and 
apostles  took  these  passages  in  the  same  sense  in 
w^hich  we  take  them,  they  understood  them  of  the 
Messiah,  as  we  have  observed  before. 

The  third  character,  that  is,  a  perfect  conformity 
between  event  and  prediction,  agrees  also  with  our  ex- 
plication. We  actually  find  a  child,  some  ages  after 
the  time  of  Isaiah,  who  exactly  answ^ers  the  description 
of  him  of  w^hom  the  prophet  spoke.  The  features 
are  similar,  and  w^e  own  the  likeness.  Our  Jesus  was 
really  born  of  a  virgin  :  he  was  truly  Immanuel,  God 
with  us:  in  him  are  really  united,  all  the  titles,  and 
all  the  perfections,  of  the  "V/onderful,  The  Counsellor, 
"  The  mighty  God,  the  everlasting  Father;"  as  we  will 
presently  prove.  Can  we  help  giving  a  mysterious 
meaning  to  these  passages  ?  Can  we  refuse  to  acknow- 
ledge, that  the  prophet  intended  to  speak  of  the  Mes- 
siah ?  These  are  the  steps,  and  this  is  the  end  of  our 
meditation  in  favour  of  the  mystical  sense,  which  we 
have  ascribed  to  the  words  of  the  text. 

Would  to  God  the  enemies  of  our  mysteries  would 
open  their  eyes  to  these  objects,  and  examine  the 
w^cight  of  these  arguments  I  Would  to  God  a  love,  I 
had  almost  said  a  rage,  for  independency,  for  a  system 
that  indulges,  and  inflames  the  passions,  had  not  put 

some 


m  The  Birth  of  Christ. 

some  people  on  opposing  these  proofs  I  Infidelity  and 
scepticism  would  have  made  less  havoc  among  us, 
and  would  not  have  decoyed  away  so  many  disciples 
from  truth  and  virtue  I  And  would  to  God  also. 
Christian  ministers  would  never  attempt  to  attack  the 
systems  of  infidels  and  sceptics  without  the  armour 
of  demonstration  I  Would  to  God  love  of  the  mar- 
vellous may  no  more  dazzle  the  imaginations  of  those 
who  ought  to  be  guided  by  truth  alone  I  And  would 
to  God  the  simplicity  and  the  superstition  of  the  peo- 
ple may  never  more  contribute  to  support  that  au- 
thority, which  some  rash  and  dogmatical  geniusess 
usurp  !  Truth  should  not  borrow  the  arms  of  false-^ 
hood  to  defend  itself;  nor  virtue  those  of  vice.  Ad- 
vantages should  not  be  given  to  unbelievers  and  here- 
tics, under  pretence  of  opposing  heresy  and  unbelief. 
We  should  render  to  God  a  reasonable  service,  Rom. 
xii.  1.  we  should  be  all  spiritual  men,  judging  all  things, 
1  Cor.  ii.  15.  according  to  the  expression  of  the  apostle. 
But  I  add  no  more  on  this  article. 

Hitherto  we  have  spoken,  if  I  may  say  so,  to  reason 
only,  it  is  time  now  to  speak  to  conscience.  We  have 
been  preaching  by  arguments  and  syllogisms  to  the 
understanding,  it  is  time  now  to  preach  by  sentiments 
to  the  heart.  Religion  is  not  made  for  the  mind  alone, 
it  is  particularly  addressed  to  the  heart,  and  to  the 
heart  I  would  prove,  that  our  Jesus  hath  accomplish- 
ed, in  the  most  sublime  of  all  senses,  this  prophecy 
in  the  text:  "  Unto  us  a  child  is  born,  unto  us  a  son 
•*  is  given,"  and  so  on.    This  is  our  second  part. 

IL  The  terms  throne,  kingdom,  government,  are 
metaphorical,  when  they  are  applied  to  God,  to  his 
Messiah,  to  the  end,  which  religion  proposeth,  and 
to  the  felicity  which  it  procures.  They  are  very  im- 
perfecta and  if  I  may  venture  to  say  so,  very  low  '^nA 
mean,  when  they  are  used  to  represent  objects  of  such 
infinite  grandeur.     No,  there  is  nothmg  sufficiently 

noble 


105 

M>M     I        fll  ll— — i— iMi— —       I     II       I  I  I  — — .i^MaWM. 

SERMON    IV. 

The  Variety  of  Opinions  about  Christ,     - 

Matthew  xvi.  13,  14,  15,  l6,  IT- 

Wheji  Jesus  came  into  the  coasts  of  Cesar ea  Philippic  he 
asked  his  disciples^  saying,  Who  do  men  say  that  /, 
the  Son  of  man,  am?  And  they  said.  Some  say  that 
thou  art  John  the  Baptist ;  some  Elias,  and  others 
Jeremias,  or  one  of  the  prophets.  He  saith  unto  them. 
But  who  say  ye  that  I  am  P  And  Simon  Peter  an- 
swered  and  said.  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the 
livi?ig  God,  And  Jesus  answered  and  said  unto 
him,  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Barjona  ;  forjlesh  and 
blood  hath  not  revealed  it  utito  thee,  but  my  Father 
who  is  in  heaven, 

IF  any  prejudice  be  capable  of  disconcerting  a  man's 
peace,  it  is  that  which  ariseth  from  observing 
the  various  opinions  of  mankind.  We  do  not  mean 
those  which  regard  uninteresting  objects.  As  we  may 
mistake  them  without  danger,  so  we  may  suppose, 
either  that  men  have  not  sufficiently  considered  them, 
or  that  the  Creator  may,  without  injuring  the  perfec- 
tions of  his  nature,  refuse  those  assistances  which  are 
necessary  for  the  obtaining  of  a  perfect  knowledge  of 
them.  But  how  do  the  opinions  of  mankind  vary 
about  those  subjects,  which  our  whole  happiness  is 
concerned  to  know  ?  One  affirms,  that  the  works  of 
nature  are  the  productions  of  chance  :  Another  attri- 
butes them  to  a  first  cause,  who  created  matter,  regu- 
lated its  form,  and  directed  its  motion.     One  says, 

that 


106     The  Variety  of  Opinions  about  Christ. 

that  there  is  but  one  God,  that  it  is  absurd  to  suppose 
a  plurality  of  Supreme  Beings,  and  that  to  prove 
there  is  one,  is  thereby  to  prove  that  there  is  but  one: 
another  says,  that  the  Divine  Nature  being  infinite, can 
communicate  itself  to  many  to  an  infinity,  and  form 
many  infinites,  all  real  perfect  in  their  kind.  More- 
over, among  men  who  seem  to  agree  in  the  essential 
points  of  religion,  among  Christians  who  bear  the  same 
denomination,  assemble  in  the  same  places  of  worship,, 
and  subscribe  the  same  creeds,  ideas  of  the  same  articles 
very  different,  sometimes  diametrically  opposite,  are 
discovered.  As  there  are  numerous  opinions  on  mat- 
ters of  speculation,  so  there  are  endless  notions  about 
practice.  One  contents  himself  with  half  a  system, 
containing  only  some  general  duties  which  belong 
to  worldly  decency  :  another  insists  in  uniting  virtue 
with  every  circumstance,  every  transaction,  every 
instant,  and,  if  I  may  be  allowed  to  speak  so,  every 
indivisible  point  of  life.  One  thinks  it  lawful  to  asso- 
ciate the  pleasures  of  the  world  with  the  practice  of 
piety  ;  and  he  pretends  that  good  people  differ  from 
the  wicked  only  in  some  enormities,  in  which  the 
latter  seem  to  forget  they  are  men,  and  to  transform 
themselves  into  wild  beasts  :  another  condemns  him- 
self to  perpetual  penances  and  mortifications,  and  if 
at  any  time  he  allow  himself  recreations,  they  are  ne- 
ver such  a  saviour  of  the  spirit  of  the  times,  because 
they  are  the  livery  of  the  world. 

I  said,  my  brethren,  that  if  any  prejudices  make 
deep  impressions  on  the  mind  of  a  rational  man,  they 
are  those  v^hich  are  produced  hy  a  variety  of  opinions. 
They  sometimes  drive  men  into  a  state  of  uncertainty 
and  scepticism,  the  worst  disposition  of  mind,  the  most 
opposite  to  that  persuasion,  without  which  there  is  no 
pleasure,  and  the  most  contrary  to  the  grand  design  of 
religion,  v/hich  is  to  establish  our  consciences,  and  to 
enable  us  to  reply  to  every  enquirer  on  these  great 
subjects,  I  know,  and  am  persuaded.  Rom.  xiv.  I4. 

Against 


The  Variety  of  Opinions  about  Christ     107 

Against  this  temptatiGii  Jesus  Christ  guarded  h_b 
disciples.  Never  was  a  question  more  important, 
never  were  the  minds  of  men  more  divided  about 
any  question,  than  that  whicn  related  to  the  person 
of  our  Saviour.  Some  considered  him  as  a  politician, 
who,  under  a  veil  of  humility,  hid  the  most  ambitious 
designs ;  others  took  him  for  an  enthusiast.  Some 
thought  him  an  emissary  of  the  devil :  others  an  envoy 
from  God.  Even  among  them  who  agreed  in  the  lat- 
ter, "  some  said  that  he  was  Elias,  some  John  the  Bap- 
"  list,  and  others  Jeremias,  or  one  of  the  prophets.'' 
The  faith  of  the  apostles  was  in  danger  of  being  sha- 
ken by  these  divers  opinions.  Jesus  Christ  comes  to 
tbeir  assistance,  and  having  required  their  opinions  oxi 
a  question  which  divided  all  Judea,  having  received 
from  Peter  the  answer  of  the  w^hole  apostolical  col- 
lege, he  praiseth  their  faith,  and,'by  praising  it,  gave 
it  a  firmer  establishment.  - 

My  brethren,  may  the  words  of  Jesus  Christ  make- 
everlasting  impressioss  on  you  I  May  those  of  you 
who,  because  you  have  acted  rationally,  by  embracing 
ilie  belief,  and  by  obeying  the  precepts  of  the  gospel, 
are  sometimes  taxed  with  superstition,  sometimes  with 
infatuation,  and  sometimes  with  melancholy,  learn 
from  the  reflections  that  we  shall  make  on  the  text, 
to  rise  above  the  opinions  of  men,  to  be  firm  and  im- 
moveable amidst  temptations  of  this  kind,  always  faith- 
fully to  adhere  to  truth  and  virtue,  and  to  be  the  disci- 
ples only  of  them.  Grant,  O  Lord  I  that  they  who  like 
St  Peter  have  said  to  Jesus  Christ,  Thou  art  the  Christ 
the  Son  of  the  living  God,  may  experience  such  pleasure 
as  the  answ^er  of  the  divine  Saviour  gave  to  the  apos- 
tle's soul,  when  he  said, "  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bar- 
*'  jona ;  for  flesh  and  blood  hath  not  revealed  it  unto 
"  thee,  but  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven."     Amen. 

The  questions  and  the  answers  which  are  related 
in  the  text  will  be  our  only  divisions  of  this  discourse. 

Jesus  Christ  was  travelling  from  Bethany  to  Cesarea, 

not 


108     The  Variety  of  Opinions  about  Christ. 

not  to  that  Gesarea  which  was  situated  on  the  Medi- 
terranean sea,  at  first  called  the  tower  of  Strato,  and 
afterwards  Gesarea,  by  Herod  the  Great,  in  honour  of 
the  emperor  Augustus  ;  but  to  that  which  was  situa- 
ted at  the  foot  of  Mount  Lebanon,  and  which  had  been 
repaired  and  embellished  in  honour  of  Tiberius,  by 
Philip  the  Tetrarch,  the  son  of  Herod. 

Jesus  Ghrist,  in  his  way  to  this  city,  put  this  question 
to  his  disciples,  "  Who  do  men  say  that  I,  the  Son  of 
*'  man,  am  ?"  or,  as  it  may  be  rendered,  "  Who  do 
"  men  say  I  am  ?  Do  they  say  I  am  the  Son  of  man  ?" 

We  will  not  enter  into  a  particular  examination  of 
the  reasons  which  determined  the  Jews  of  our  Saviour's 
time,  and  the  inspired  writers  \vith  them,  to  distinguish 
the  Messiah  by  the  title  Son  of  Man,  Were  we  to  de- 
termine any  thing  on  this  subject,  we  should  give  the 
preference  to  the  opinion  of  those  who  think  the  phrase 
Son  of  Man f  means  man  by  excellence.  The  Jews  say 
son  of  man,  to  signify  a  man.  Witness,  among  many 
other  passages,  this  well-known  saying  of  Balaam  ; 
*'  God  is  not  a  man  that  he  should  lie,  neither  the 
the  son  of  Man  that  he  should  repent,"  Numb,  xxiii. 
19.  The  Messiah  is  called  the  Man,  or  the  Son  of 
Man,  that  is,  the  Man  of  whom  the  prophecies  had 
spoken,  the  Man  whose  coming  was  the  object  of  the 
desires  and  prayers  of  the  whole  church. 

It  is  more  important  to  inquire  the  design  of  Jesus 
Christ,  in  putting  this  question  to  his  disciples.  Who 
do  me?i  saij  that  I  am  ?  It  is  one  of  those  questions, 
the  meaning  of  which  can  be  determined  only  by  the 
character  of  him  who  proposeth  it ;  for  it  may  be 
put  from  many  different  motives. 

Sometimes /^r/f/c^  puts  this  question.  There  are  some 
people  who  think  of  nothing  but  themselves,  and  who 
imagine  all  the  world  think  about  them  too  :  they 
suppose  they  are  the  subject  of  every  conversation  : 
and  fancy  every  wheel  which  moves  in  society  hath 
some  relation  to  them  ;  if  they  be, not  the  principal 

spring 


The  Variety  of  Opinions  abaiU  Christ.     109 

spring  of  it.  People  of  this  sort  are  very  desirous  of 
knowing  what  is  said  about  them,  and,  as  they  have 
no  conception  that  any  but  glorious  things  are  said  of 
them.,  they  are  extremely  solicitous  to  know  them,  and 
often  put  this  question,  /F/^G  do  men  say  that  I  amP 
Would  you  know  what  they  say  of  you  ?  Nothing 
at  all.  They  do  not  know  you  exist,  and,  except  a 
few  of  your  relations,  nobody  in  the  world  knows 
you  are  in  it. 

The  question  is  sometimes  put  by  curiosity,  and  this 
motive  deserves  commendation,  if  it  be  accompanied 
with  a  desire  of  reformation.  The  judgment  of  the 
public  is  respectable,  and,  to  a  certain  degree,  it  ought 
to  be  a  rule  of  action  to  us.  It  is-necessary  sometimes 
to  go  abroad,  to  quit  our  relations,  and  acquaintances, 
who  are  prejudiced  in  our  favour,  and  to  inform  our- 
selves of  the  opinions  of  those  who  are  more  impartial 
on  our  conduct.  I  wish  some  people  would  often  put 
this  question.  Who  do  7nen  say  that  I  am?  The  an- 
swers they  would  receive  would  teach  them  to  en- 
tertain less  flattering,  and  more  just  notions  of  them- 
selves. Who  do  men  say  that  I  am  F  They  say,  you 
are  haughty,  and  proud  of  your  prosperity ;  that  you 
use  your  influence  only  to  oppress  the  weak ;  that 
your  success  is  a  public  calamity  ;  and  that  you  are  a 
tyrant  whom  every  one  abhors.  Who  do  men  say  that 
I  am?  They  say,  you  have  a  serpent's  tongue,  that 
the  poison  of  adders  is  under  your  lips,  Psal.  cxl.  3.  that 
you  inflame  a  whole  city,  a  whole  province,  by  the 
scandalous  tales  you  forge,  and  which,  having  forged, 
you  industriously  propagate  ;  they  say,  you  are  infer- 
nally diligent  in  sowing  discord  betw^een  wife  and 
husband,  friend  and  friend,  subject  and  prince,  pas- 
tor and  flock.  Who  do  men  say  that  I  am?  They 
say,  you  are  a  sordid,  covetous  wretch  ;  that  mammon 
is  the  God  you  adore  ;  that,  provided  your  coffers 
fill,  it  is  a  matter  of  indifference  to  you,  whether  it 
])e  by  extortion,  or  by  just  acquisition,  whether  it 

be 


110     The  Variety  of  Opinions  about  Christ. 

be  by  a  lawful  inheritance,  or  by  an  accursed  patri- 
mony. 

Revenge  may  put  the  question,  Who  do  men  say  that 
I  am  P  We  cannot  but  know  that  some  reports,  which 
are  spread  about  us,  are  disadvantageous  to  our  repu- 
tation. We  are  afraid,  justice  should  not  be  done  to 
us,  we  therefore  wish  to  know  our  revilers,  in  order  to 
mark  them  out  for  vengeance.  The  inquiry  in  this 
disposition  is  certainly  blameable.  Let  us  live  up- 
rightly, and  let  us  give  ourselves  no  trouble  about 
what  people  say  of  us.  If  there  be  some  cases  in  which 
it  is  useful  to  know  the  popular  opinion,  there  are 
others  in  which  it  is  best  to  be  ignorant  of  it.  If  reli- 
gion forbids  us  to  avenge  ourselves,  prudence  requires 
us  not  to  expose  ourselves  to  the  temptation  of  doing 
it.  A  heathen  hath  given  us  an  illustrious  example 
of  this  prudent  conduct,  which  I  am  recommending  to 
you :  I  speak  of  Pompey  the  Great.  He  had  defeated 
Perpenna,  and  the  traitor  offered  to  deliver  to  him  the 
papers  of  Sertorius,  among  which  were  letters  from 
several  of  the  most  powerful  men  in  Rome,  who  had 
promised  to  receive  Sertorius  into  Italy,  and  to  put  all 
to  death  w^ho  should  attempt  to  resist  him.  Pompey 
took  all  the  papers,  burnt  all  the  letters,  by  that  mean 
prevented  all  the  bloody  consequences  which  would 
have  followed  such  fatal  discoveries,  and,  along  with 
them,  sacrificed  that  passion,  which  many,  who  are 
called  Christians,  find  the  most  diflUcult  to  sacrifice,  I 
mean  Revenge. 

But  this  question,  Who  do  men  say  that  I  aviP  may 
be  put  by  benevolence.  The  good  of  society  requireis 
each  member  to  entertain  just  notions  of  some  persons. 
A  magistrate,  who  acts  disinterestedly  for  the  good  of 
the  state,  and  for  the  support  of  religion,  would  be  often 
distressed  in  his  government,  if  he  were  represented  as  a 
man  devoted  to  his  own  interest,  cruel  in  his  measures, 
and  governed  by  his  own  imperious  tempers.  A 
pastor,  who  knoweth  and  preacheth  the  truth,  who 

hath 


The  Variety  of  Opinions  about  Christ      111 

hath  the  power  of  alarming  hardened  sinners,  and  of 
exciting  the  fear  of  hell  in  them,  in  order  to  prevent 
their  falling  into  it,  or,  shall  I  rather  say,  in  order  to 
draw  them  out  of  it :  such  a  pastor  will  discharge  the 
duties  of  his  office  with  incomparably  more  success,  if 
the  people  do  him  justice,  than  if  they  accuse  him  of 
fomenting  errors,  and  of  loving  to  surround  his  pul- 
pit with  devouring  Jire  and  everlasting  burnings,  Isa. 
xxxiii.  14.  Benevolence  may  incline  such  persons  to 
inquire  what  is  said  of  them,  in  order  to  rectify  mis- 
takes, which  may  be  very  injurious  to  those  who  be- 
lieve  them.  In  this  disposition  Jesus  Christ  proposed 
the  question  in  the  text  to  his  disciples.  Benevolence 
directed  all  the  steps  of  our  Saviour,  it  dictated  all  his 
language,  it  animated  all  his  emotions  ;  and,  when 
we  are  in  doubt  about  the  motive  of  any  part  of  his 
conduct,  we  shall  seldom  run  any  hazard,  if  we  attri- 
bute it  to  his  benevolence.  In  our  text  he  established 
the  faith  of  his  disciples  by  trying  it.  He  did  not 
want  to  be  told  the  public  opinions  about  himself,  he 
knew  them  better  than  they  of  whom  he  inquired : 
but  he  required  his  disciples  to  relate  people's  opi- 
nions, that  he  might  give  them  an  antidote  against 
the  poison  that  was  inveloped  in  them. 

The  disciples  answered  ;  Some  say  that  thou  art  John 
the  Baptist  ;  some  Elias  ;  and  others  Jeremias^  or  one  of 
the  prophets.  They  omitted  those  odious  opinions, 
which  were  injurious  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  refused  tc 
defile  their  mouths  with  the  execrable  blasphemies, 
which  the  malignity  of  the  Jews  uttered  against  him « 
But  with  what  shadow  of  appearance  could  it  be 
thought  that  Jesus  Christ  was  John  the  Baptist  ?  You 
may  find,  in  part,  an  answer  to  this  question  in  the 
fourteenth  chapter  of  this  Gospel,  ver.  1, — 10.  It  is 
there  said,  that  Herod  Antipas,  called  the  Tetrarch, 
that  is,  the  king  of  the  fourth  part  of  his  father's  ter- 
ritories, beheaded  John  the  Baptist  at  the  request  of 
Herodias. 

Every 


112      The  Variety  of  Opinions  about  Chrid, 

Every  body  knows  the  cause  of  the  hatred  of  that 
fury  against  the  holy  man.  John  the  Baptist  held  an 
opinion,  which  now-a-days  passeth  for  an  error  in- 
jurious to  the  peace  of  society,  that  is,  that  the  high 
rank  of  those  who  are  guilty  of  some  scandalous  vices, 
ought  not  to  shelter  them  from  the  censures  of  the  mi- 
nisters of  the  living  God ;  and  that  they  who  commit, 
and  not  they  who  reprove  such  crimes,  are  responsible 
for  all  the  disorders  which  such  censures  may  pro- 
duce in  society.  A  bad  courtier,  but  a  good  servant 
of  him,  who  hath  sent  him  to  prepare  the  way  of  the 
Lord,  and  to  make  his  paths  straight,  Luke  iii.  4.  he  told 
the  incestuous  Herod,  without  equivocating,  It  is  not 
lawful  for  thee  to  have  thy  brother  Philip's  wife,  Matt, 
xiv.  4.  Herodius  could  not  plead  her  cause  with  equity, 
and  therefore  she  pleaded  it  with  cruelty.  Her  daughter 
Salome  had  pleased  Herod  at  a  feast,  which  was  made 
in  the  castle  of  Macheron,  on  the  birth-day  of  the  king. 
He  shew  the  same  indulgence  to  her,  that  Flaminius 
the  Roman  shew  to  a  court-lady,  who  requested  that 
consul  to  gratify  her  curiosity  with  the  sight  of  be- 
heading a  m^n.  An  indulgence,  certainly  less  shock- 
ing in  a  heathen,  than  ma  prince  educated  in  the  know- 
ledge of  the  true  God.  It  was  a  common  opinion  a- 
mong  the  Jews,  that  the  resurrection  of  the  martyrs 
was  anticipated.  Many  thought  all  the  prophets  were 
to  be  raised  from  the  dead  at  the  coming  of  the  Messiah, 
and  some  had  spread  a  report,  which  reached  Herod, 
that  John  the  Baptist  enjoyed  that  privilege. 

The  same  reasons,  which  persuaded  some  Jews  to 
believe  that  he,  whom  they  called  Jesus,  was  John 
the  Baptist  risen  from  the  dead,  persuaded  others  to 
believe,  that  he  was  some  one  of  the  prophets ,  who,  like 
John,  had  been  put  to  a  violent  death,  for  having 
spoken  with  a  similar  courage  against  the  reigning 
vices  of  the  times  in  which  they  lived.  This  wa^ 
particularly  the  case  of  Jeremiah.  When  this  prophet 
was  only  fourteen  years  of  age,  and,  as  he  said  of  him- 
self, 


The  Varieti)  of  Opinions  about  Christ,       115 

self,  when  he  could  not  speak,  because  he  was  a  child, 
Jer.  i.  6.  he  delivered  himself  with  a  freedom  of  speech 
that  is  hardly  allowable  in  those  who  are  grown  grey  in 
a  long  discharge  of  the  ministerial  office.  He  censured, 
without  distinction  of  rank  or  character,  the  vices  of 
all  the  Jews,  and  having  executed  this  painful  function 
from  the  reign  of  Josiah  to  the  reign  of  Zedekiah,  he 
was,  if  we  believe  a  tradition  of  the  Jews,  which  Tertul- 
lian,  St  Jerom,  and  many  fathers  of  the  church  have 
preserved, stoned  to  death  atTahapanes  in  Egypt,by  his 
countrymen  :  there  he  fell  a  victim  to  their  rage  against 
his  predictions.  The  fact  is  not  certain  ;  however,  it 
is  admitted  by  many  Christians,  who  have  pretended 
that  St  Paul  had  the  prophet  Jeremiah  particularly  in 
view,  when  he  proposed,  as  examples  to  Christians, 
some  who  were  stoned,  Heb.  xi.  37.  whom  he  placeth 
among  the  cloiid  of  witnesses,  or,  as  the  words  are  in  the 
original,  among  the  cloud  of  martyrs,  ver.  1.  However 
uncertain  this  history  of  the  prophet's  iapidation  may 
be,  some  Jews  beheved  it,  and  it  was  sufficient  to  per- 
suade them  that  Jesus  Christ  was  Jeremiah. 

As  Elias  w^as  translated  to  heaven  without  dying, 
the  opinions,  of  which  we  have  been  speaking,  were 
not  sufficient  to  persuade  other  Jews  that  Jesus  Christ 
was  Elias  ;  but  a  mistaken  passage  of  Malachi  was  the 
ground  of  this  notion.  It  is  the  passage  which  con- 
cludes the  writings  of  that  prophet ;  "  Behold,  I  will 
"  send  you  Elijah  the  prophet,  before  the  coming  of 
*'  the  great  and  dreadful  day  of  the  Lord,"  Mai.  iik.  5. 
This  prophecy  was  perfectly  plain  to  the  disciples  of 
Jesus  Christ,  for  in  liim,  and  in  John  the  Baptist,  they 
saw  its  accomphshment.  But  the  Jews  understood  it 
literally.  They  understand  it  so  still,  and,  next  to  the 
coming  afthe  Messiah,  that  of  Elias  is  the  grand  ob- 
ject of  their  hopes.  It  is  Elias,  according  to  them, 
who  will  "  turn  the  heart  of  the  fathers  to  the  child- 
ren, and  the  heart  of  the  children  to  their  fathei-s," 
ver.  6:  It  is  Elias  who  will  prepare  the  ways  of  the 
Messiah,  will  be  his  forerunner,  and  wiU  anoint  him- 

Vol.  II.  H  withr- 


114      The  Variety  of  Opinions  about  Christ, 

with  holj  oil.  It  is  Elias,  who  will  answer  all 
questions,  and  solve  all  difficulties.  It  is  Elias,  who 
will  obtain  by  his  prayers  the  resurrection  of  the  just. 
It  is  Ehas,  who  will  do  for  the  dispersed  Jews  what 
Moses  did  for  the  Israelites  enslaved  in  Egypt ;  he  will 
march  at  their  head,  and  conduct  them  to  Canaan. 
All  these  expressions  are  taken  from  the  Rabbies, 
whose  names  I  omit,  as  well  as  the  titles  of  the  books 
from  which  I  have  quoted  the  passages  now  men- 
tioned. 

Such  were  the  various  opinions  of  the  Jews  about 
Jesus  Christ ;  and  each  continued  in  his  ov/n  preju- 
dice without  giving  himself  any  further  trouble  about 
it.  But  hov/  could  they  remain  in  a  state  of  tranquil- 
lity, while  questions  of  such  importance  remained 
in  dispute  ?  All  their  religion,  all  their  hopes,  and  all 
their  happiness,  depended  on  the  ecclaircissement  of 
this  problem  :  Who  is  the  man  about  whom  the  opi- 
nions of  mankind  are  so  divided?  The  questions,  strictly 
speaking,  were  these :  Is  the  Redeemer  of  Israel  come  ? 
Are  the  prophecies  accomplished  ?  Is  the  Son  of  God- 
among  us,  and  hath  he  brought  with  him  peace,  grace^ 
and  glory  ?  What  kind  of  beings  were  the  Jews, 
who  left  these  great  questions  undetermined,  and 
lived  without  elucidating  them  ?  Are  you  surprised 
at  these  things,  my  brethren  ?  Your  indolence  on  ques- 
tions of  the  same  kind  is  equally  astonishing  to  consi- 
derate men.  The  Jews  had  business,  they  must  have 
neglected  it ;  they  loved  pleasures  and  amusements. 
they  must  have  suspended  them  ;  they  were  stricken 
with  whatever  concerned  the  present  life,  and  they 
must  have  sought  after  the  life  to  come,  they  must 
have  shaken  off  that  idleness  in  which  they  spent  their 
lives,  and  have  taken  up  the  cross  and  followed  Jesus 
Christ.  These  were  the  causes  of  t4iat  indolence, 
which  surpriseth  you,  and  these  were  the  causes  of"* 
that  ignorance  which  concealed  Jesus  Christ  from 
them,  till  he  made  himself  known  to  them  by  the  just, 
though  bloody  calamities,  which  he  inflicted  on  their 

n  a  tier. 


The  Fariety  of  Opinions  about  Christ.      115 

nation.  And  these  are  also  the  causes  of  that  igno- 
rance, in  which  the  greater  part  of  you  are  involved, 
in  regard  to  many  questions  as  important  as  those  which 
were  agitated  then.  Will  a  few  acts  of  faith  in  God, 
and  of  love  to  him,  assure  us  of  our  salvation,  or  must 
these  acts  be  continued,  repeated,  and  established? 
Doth  faith  consist  in  barely  believing  the  merit  of 
the  Saviour,  or  doth  it  include  an  entire  obedience 
to  his  laws  ?  Is  the  fortune,  that  I  enjoy  with  ^o  much 
pleasure,  display  with  so  Aiuch  parade,  or  hide  with 
so  much  niggardliness,  really  mine,  or  doth  it  be- 
long to  my  country,  to  my  customers,  to  the  poor,  or 
to  any  others,  whom  my  ancestors  hath  deceived, 
from  whom  they  have  obtained,  and  from  whom  I 
Avithhold  it?  Doth  my  course  of  life  lead  to  heaven, 
or  to  hell  ?  Shall  I  be  numbered  with  the  spirits  of  just 
men  made  perfect,  Heb.  xii.  23  after  I  have  finished  my 
short  life,  or  shall  I  be  plunged  with  devils  into  eternal 
flames  ?  My  God  I  how  is  it  possible  for  men  quietly  to 
eat,  drink,  sleep,  and,  as  they  call  it,  amuse  themselves, 
while  these  important  questions  remain  unanswered ! 
But,  as  I  said  of  the  Jews,  we  must  neglect  our  busi- 
ness ;  suspend  our  pleasures  ^  cease  to  be  dazzled  with 
the  present,  and  employ  ourselves  about  the  future 
world  :  perhaps  also  we  must  make  a  sacrifice  of  some 
darling  passion ,  abjure  some  old  opinion ;  or  restore  some 
acquisition,  which  is  dearer  to  us  than  the  truths  of 
religion,  and  the  salvation  of  our  souls.  Wo  be  to  us  ! 
Let  us  no  more  reproach  the  Jews;  the  causes  of  their 
indolence  are  the  causes  of  ours.  Ah  I  let  us  take  care, 
lest,  like  them,  we  continue  in  ignorance,  till  thq., ven- 
geance of  God  command  death,  and  devils,  and  hell,  to 
awake  us  with  them  to  everlaUing  shame,  Dan.  xii.  2. 
Jesus  Christ,  having  heard  from  the  mouths  of  his 
apostles  what  people  thought  of  him,  desired  also  to 
hear  from  their  own  mouths,  (we  have  assigned  the 
reasons  before,)  what  they  themselves  thought  of  him. 
"He  saith  unto  them,  But  who  say  yc  that  I  am  P  Pet^r 

H  2  instantly 


116      The  Variety  of  Opinions  about  Christ. 

instantly  replied  for  himself,  and  for  the  whole  apos- 
tolical college,  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  ii- 
ving  God, 

'  St  Peter  was  a  man  of  great  vivacity,  and  people  of 
this  cast  are  subject  to  great  mistakes :  as  ready  to 
speak  as  to  think*;  they^often  fall  into  mistakes,  through 
the  same  principle  that  inclines  them  to  embrace  the 
truth,  and  to  maintain  it.  St  Peter's  history  often  ex- 
emplifies this  remark.  Doth  he  hear  Jesus  Christ 
speak  of  his  approaching  death  ?  Lord,  says  he,  spa7'e 
thyself  this  shall  not  be  to  thee,  Matt.  xvi.  ^2.  .Dotti  he 
see  a  few  rays  of  celestial  glory  on  the  holy  mount  ? 
He  is  stricken  with  their  splendour,  and  exclaims, 
Lord,  it  is  good  for  us  to  be  here,  chap.  xvii.  4.  Doth  he 
perceive  Jesus  Christ  in  the  hands  of  his  enemies :"" 
He  draws  a  sword  to  deliver  him,  and  cuts  off  the  ear 
ofMalchus.  But,  if  this  vivacity  expose  a  man  to 
great  inconveniences,  it  is  also  accompanied  with  some 
fine  advantages.  When  a  man  of  this  disposition  at- 
tends to  virtue,  he  makes  infinitely  greater  proficiency 
in  it  than  those  slow  men  do,  who  pause,  and  weigh, 
and  argue  out  all  step  by  step :  the  zeal  of  the  former 
is  more  ardent,  their  flames  are  more  vehement,  and 
after  they  are  become  wise  by  their  mistakes,  they 
are  patterns  of  piety.  St  Peter,  on  this  occasion. 
proves  beforehand  all  we  have  advanced.  He  feels 
himself  animated  v;ith  a  holy  jealousy,  in  regard  to 
them  who  partake  with  him  the  honour  of  apostle- 
ship,  and  it  would  mortify  him,  could  he  think,  that 
any  one  of  the  apostolical  college  hath  more  zeal  for  a 
master,  to  whom  he  hath  devoted  his  heart,  and  his 
life,  all  his  faculty  of  loving,  and  all  the  powers  of  his 
soul :  he  looks,  he  sparkles,  and  he  repHes,  Thoif  art 
the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God. 

Thou  art  the  Christ,  or,  thou  art  tlie  Messiah,  tlie 
king  promised  to  the  church.  He  calls  thl^  king  the 
Son  of  God :  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living 
God.     The  Jews  -gave  the   ivlessiah  this  title^  which 

was 


The  Varietij  of  Opinions  aboiit  Christ,     117 

was  an  object  of  their  hopes.  Under  this  idea  the  pro- 
phecies had  promised  liim, "  the  Lord  hath  said  unto  me, 
*'  Thou  art  my  Son;  this  day  have  1  begotten  thee," 
Psal.  ii.  7.  God  himself  conferred  this  title  on  Jesus 
Christ  from  heaven,  This  is  mij  beloved  Son^  Matt.  iii.  I7. 
Under  this  idea  the  angel  promised  him  to  his  holy  mo- 
ther, "  Thou  slialt  brmg  forth  a  Son,  he  shall  be  great, 
"  and  shall  be  called,  The  Son  of  the  Highest,"  Luke  i. 
31,  32.  They  are  tvyo  very  ditferent  questions,  I  grant, 
Whether  the  Jeviash  church  acknowledged  that  the 
Messiah  should  be  the  i*^/!  o/*G£>ti;  and  whether  they 
knew  all  the  import  of  this  august  title.  It  cannot,  how- 
ever, be  reasonably  doubted,  methinks,  whether  they 
discovered  his  dignity,  although  they  might  not  know 
the  doctrine  of  Christ's  divinity  so  clearly,  nor  receive 
it  with  so  much  demonstration,  as  christians  have  re- 
ceived it.  I  should  digress  too  f^r  from  my  subject,  were 
I  to  quote  all  the  passages  from  the  writings  of  the 
Jews  which  learned  men  have  collected  on  this  article. 
Let  it  suffice  to  remark,  that  if  it  could  be  proved,  that 
the  Jewish  church  affixed  only  confused  ideas  to  ttie 
:  title  Son  of  God,  which  is  given  to  the  Messiah,  it  is  be- 
yond a  doubt,  I  think,  that  the  apostles  affixed  clear 
ideas  to  the  terms,  and  that,  in  their  style,  God  and 
Son  of  God  are  synonimous  :  witness,  among  many 
other  passages,  St  Thomas's  adoration  of  Jesus  Christy 
expressed  in  these  words.  My  Lord  and  my  God. 

Let  us  not  engage  any  further  in  this  controversy 
now  ;  let  us  improve  the  precious  moments  which  re- 
main to  the  principal  design  that  we  proposed  in  the 
choice  of  the  subject,  that  is,  to  guard  you  against  the 
temptations  which  arise  from  that  variety  of  opinions 
which. are  received,  both  in  the  world  and  in  the 
church,  on  the  most  important  points  of  religion. 
The  comparison  we  are  going  to  make  of  St  Peter's 
confession  of  faith,  with  the  judgment  of  Jesus  Christ 
on  it,  will  conduct  us  to  this  end. 

Jesus 


118     The  Variety  of  Opinions  about  Christ. 

Jesus  Christ  assured  St  Peter,  that  the  confession  of 
-faith,  which  he  then  made, "  Thou  art  the  Christ,  the 
"  Son  of  the  living  God,  was  not  a  production  of  frail 
and  corrupted  nature,  or,  as  he  expresseth  it,  That 
**  flesh  and  blood  had  not  revealed  these  things  unto 
him.'*  Flesh  and  blood  mean  here,  as  in  many  other 
passages  we  have  quoted  at  other  times,  frail  and  cor^ 
rupted  nature.  Jesus  Christ  assured  St  Peter,  that 
this  confession  was  a  production  of  grace,  which  had 
Operated  in  him,  and  which  would  conduct  him  to  the 
supreme  good.  This  is  the  meaning  of  these  words, 
"  My  Father,  who  is  in  heaven,  hath  revealed  these 
things  unto  thee."  What  characters  of  the  faith  of  St. 
Peter  occasioned  the  judgment  that  Jesus  Christ  made 
of  it?  and  how  may  we  know  whether  our  faith  be  of 
the  same  divine  original  ?  Follow  us  in  these  reflections : 
Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Barjona,  flesh  and  blood  hath  not 
pro4uced  the  faith  that  thou  hast  professed,  but  my  Fa- 
ther, who  is  in  heaven,  hath  revealed  it  to  thee.  In  order 
to  convince  thee  of  the  truth  of  my  assertions,  consider, 
first,  the  circumstances  which  Providence  hath  impro- 
ved to  produce  thy  faith :  secondly,  the  efforts  which 
preceded  it :  thirdly,  the  evidence  that  accompanies  it : 
fourthly,  the  sacrifices  which  seal  and  crown  it :  and, 
lastly,  thp  nature  of  the  very  frailties  which  subsists 
with  it — Let  us  explain  these  five  characters,  and  let 
us  make  an  application  of  them.  Let  us  know  St  Pe- 
ter ;  or,  rather,  let  us  learn  to  know  ourselves.  With 
this,  the  most  important  pointy  we  will  conclude  this 
discourse. 

1.  Let  us  attend  to  the  circumstances  which  Provi- 
dence  had  improved  to  the  producing  of  St  Peter's 
faith.  There  are,  in  the  lives  of  Christians,  certain 
signal  circumstances,  in  which  we  cannot  help  per- 
ceiving a  particular  hand  of  Providence  working  for 
their  salvation.  Mistakes  on  this  article  may  produce, 
and  foment,  superstitious  sentiments.  We  have,  in 
general,  a  secret  bias  to  fanaticism.     We  often  meet 

with 


The  Variety  of  Opinions  abmit  Christ      119 

with  people  who  imagine  themselves  the  central  points 
of  all  the  designs  of  God ;  they  think,  he  watcheth  only 
over  them,  and  that,  in  all  the  events  in  the  universe, 
he  hath  only  their  feUcity  in  view.  Far  from  us  be 
such  extravagant  notions.  It  is,  however,  strictly  true, 
that  J;here  are  in  the  lives  of  christians  some  signal  cir-. 
cumstances,  in  which  we  cannot  help  seeing  a  particu- 
lar providence  working  for  their  salvation.  Of  whom 
can  this  be  affirmed  more  evidently  than  of  the  apostles  ? 
They,  by  an  inestimable  privilege,  were  not  only  wit- 
nesses of  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ,  hearers  of  his  doctrine, 
and  spectators  of  his  miracles  :  but  they  were  admitted 
to  an  initmacy  with  him;  they  had  liberty  at  all  times^ 
and  in  all  places,  to  converse  with  him,  to  propose  their 
.doubts,  and  to  ask  for  his  instructions ;  they  were  at 
the  source  of  wisdom,  truth,  and  life.  Si  Peter  had 
these  advantages  not  only  in  commpn  with  the  rest  of 
the  apostles:  but  he,  with  James  and  John,  were  cho- 
sen from  the  rest  of  the  apostles  to  accompany  the  Sa- 
viour, when,  on  particular  occasions,  he  laid  aside  the 
vails  which  concealed  him  from  the  rest,  and  when  he 
displayed  his  divinity  in  its  greatest  glory.  A  faith 
produced  in  such  extraordinary  circumstances,  was 
not  the  work  of  flesh  and  blood,  it  was  a  production  of 
that  almighty  grace,  that  ineffable  love,  which  wrought 
the  salvation  of  St  Peter. 

My  brethren,  ahhough  we  have  never  enjoyed  the 
same  advantages  with  St  Peter  :  yet,  it  seems  to  me, 
those  whom  God  hath  established  in  piety,  may  recol- 
lect the  manner  in  which  he  hath  improved  some 
circumstances  to  form  the  dispositions  in  them  that 
constitute  it.  Let  each  turn  his  attention  to  the  dit-- 
ferent  conditions  through  which  God  hath  been 
pleased  to  conduct  him.  Here  I  was  exposed  to  such 
or  such  a  danger,  and  delivered  from  it  by  a  kind  of 
miracle ;  there,  I  fell  into  such  or  such  a  temptation, 
from  which  I  was  surprizingly  recovered ;  in  such  a 
year,  I  was  connected  with  a  baneful  company,  from 

whicli 


120     The  Variety  oj  Opinions  about  Christ. 

which  an  unexpected  event  treed  me  ;  at  another  time, 
I  met  with  a  faithful  friend,  the  most  valuable  of  all 
acquisitions,  whose  kind  advice  and  assistance,  recom- 
mended by  his  own  example,  were  of  inlinite  use  to  me : 
some  of  these  dangerous  states  would  have  ruined  me, 
if  the  projects,  on  which  1  was  most  passionately  bent, 
]iad  succeeded  according  to  my  wishes;  for  they  were 
excited  by  worldly  objects,  and  I  was  infatuated  with 
then*  glory  ;  and  others  w^ouid  have  produced  the  same 
effect,  if  my  adverse  circumstances  had  either  increased 
or  continued.  I  repeat  it  again,  my  brethren,  each  of 
us  may  recollect  circumstances  in  his  life  in  which  a 
kind  providence  evidently  mierposed,  and  made  use  of 
them  to  tear  him  from  the  world,  and  thereby  enabled 
him  to  adopt  this  comfortable  declaration  of  Jesus  Christ, 
"  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Earjona  ;  for  flesh  and  blood 
*■*  hath  not  revealed  it  u^ito  thee,  but  my  Father,  which 
"  is  in  heaven." 

2.  Let  us  remark  the  efforts  which  preceded  faith. 
God  hath  been  pleased  to  conceal  the  truth  under 
veils,  in  order  to  excite  our  arduous  industry  to  dis- 
cover it.  The  obscurity,  that  involves  it  for  "a  time,  is 
not  only  agreeable  to  the  general  plan  of  providence,  but 
it  is  one  of  the  mxost  singularly  beautiful  dispensations 
of  it.  If,  then,  you  have  attended  to  the  truth  only  in 
a  careless,  indolent  manner,  instead  of  studying  it  with 
avidity,  it  is  to  be  feared  you  have  not  obtained  it ; 
at  least,  it  may  be  presumed,  your  attachment  to  it  is 
less  th^  work  of  heaven  than  oi  the  world.  But  if  you 
can  attest  you  have  silenced  prejudice  to  hear  reason, 
you  have  consulted  nature  to  know  tlie  God  of  na- 
ture ;  that,  disgusted  with  the  little  progress  you 
could  make  in  that  w^ay,  you  have  had  recourse  to 
revelation  ;  that  you  have  stretched  your  meditation, 
not  only  to  ascertain  the  truth  of  the  gospel,  but  to  ob- 
tain a  deep,  thorough  knowledge  of  it ;  that  you  have 
considered  this  as  the  most  important  work  to  which 
your  attention  could  be  directed ;  that  you  have  sin- 
cerely 


Tkc  Variety  of  Opinions  about  Christ.      121 

cerelj  and  ardently  implored  the  assistance  of  God  to 
enable  you  to  succeed  in  your  endeavours  ;  that  you 
have  often  knocked  at  the  door  of  mercy  to  obtain  it; 
and  that  you  have  often  adopted  the  sentiments,  with 
the  prayer  of  David,  and  said,  Lord!  openthou  mine  eyes^ 
that  I  may  behold  wondrous  things  out  of  thy  law!  PsaL 
cxix.  18.  If  you  can  appeal  to  heaven  for  the  truth  of 
these  practices,  be  you  assured,  your  faith,  like  St  Pe- 
ter's, is  not  a  production  of  flesh  and  blood,  but  a  work 
of  that  grace  which  never  refuseth  itself  to  the  sighs 
of  a  soul  seeking  it  with  so  much  vehement  desire. 

3.  The  evidence  that  accompanies  faith  is  our  next 
article.  People  may  sincerely  deceive  themselves ; 
indeed  erroneous  opinions  are  generally  received  on 
account  of  some  glimmerings  that  hover  around  them, 
and  dazzle  the-  beholders.  The  belief  of  an  error 
seems,  in  some  cases,  to  be  grounded  on  principles  as 
clear  as  those  of  truth.  It  is  certain,  however,  that 
truth  hath  a  brightness  peculiar  to  itself;  an  evidence, 
that  distinguisheth  it  from  whatever  is  not  true.  The 
persuasion  of  a  man,  who  rests  on  demonstration,  is 
altogether  different  from  that  of  him  who  is  seduced 
by  sophisms.  Evidence  hath  its  prerogatives  and  its 
rights.  Maintain  who  will,  not  only  v/ith  sincerity, 
but  with  all  the  positiveness  and  violence  of  which  he 
is  capable,  that  there  is  nothing  certain ;  I  am  fully 
persuaded  that  I  have  evidence,  incomparably  clearer, 
of  the  opposite  opinion.  In  like  manner,  when  I  af- 
firm that  I  have  an  intelligent  soul,  and  that  I  animate 
a  material  body  ;  when  I  maintain  that  I  am  free,  that 
the  Creator  hath  given  ipe  the  power  of  turning  my 
eyes  to  the  east,  or  to  the  west;  that  while  the  Supreme 
Being,  on  whom  I  own  I  am  entirely  dependant,  shall 
please  to  continue  me  in  my  present  stale,  I  may  look 
to  the  east  or  to  the  west,  as  I  choose,  without  being 
forced  by  any  superior  power  to  turn  my  eyes  toward 
one  of  these  points,  rather  than  towards  the  other : 
when  I  admit  these  propositions,  I  find  myself  guided 

by 


J22     The  Variety  of  Opinions  about  Christ 

by  brightness  of  evidence,  which  it  is  impossible  to 
find  m  the  opposite  propositions.  A  sophist  may  in- 
vent some  objections,  which  I  cannot  answer ;  but  he 
can  never  produce  reasons,  that  counterbalance  those 
which  determine  me  :  he  may  perplex,  but  he  can  ne- 
ver persuade  me.  In  like  manner,  an  infidel  may  unite 
every  argument  in  favour  of  a  system  of  infidelity ;  a 
Turk  may  accumulate  all  his  imaginations  in  support 
of  Mohammedism ;  a  Jew  may  do  the  same  for  Ju- 
daism ;  and  they  may  silence  me,  but  they  can  never 
dissuade  me  from  Christianity.  The  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ  hath  peculiar  proof.  The  brightness  of  that 
evidence,  which  guides  the  faith  of  a  christian,  is  a 
guarantee  of  the  purity  of  the  principle  from  which  it 
proceeds.     ' 

4.  Observe  the  sacrifices  that  crown  the  faith  of  a 
christian.  There  are  two  sorts  of  these  :  the  one  com^ 
prebends  some  valuable  possessions  ;  the  other  some 
tyrannical  passions.  Religion  requires  sacrifices  of  the 
first  kind  in  times  of  persecution,  when  the  most  indis«- 
pensible  duties  of  a  christian  are  punished  as  atrocious 
crimes ;  when  men,  under  pretence  of  religion,  let 
loose  their  rage  against  them  who  sincerely  love  reli- 
gion, and  when,  to  use  our  Saviour's  style,  they  think 
to  do  service  to  God,  John  xvi.  2.  by  putting  the  disci- 
ples of  Christ  to  death.  Happy  they !  who,  among 
you,  my  brethren,  have  been  enabled  to  make  sacri- 
fices of  this  kind !  You  bear,  I  see,  the  marks  of  the 
disciples  of  a  crucified  Saviour ;  I  respect  the  cross  you 
carry,  and  I  venerate  your  wounds.  Yet  these  are 
doubtful  evidences  of  that  faith  which  the  grace  of 
our  heavenly  Father  produceth.  Sometimes  they 
even  proceed  from  a  disinclination  to  sacrifices  of  the 
second  kind.  Infatuation  hath  made  confessors ;  vain 
glory  hath  produced  'martyrs ;  and  there  is  a  pheno- 
menon in  the  church,  the  cross  of  casuists,  and  the 
most  insuperable  objection  against  the  doctrines  of  as- 
surance and  perseverance ;  that  is,  there  are  men,  who, 

after 


The  Variety  of  Opinions  abvut  Christ.      123 

<ifter  they  have  resisted  the  greatest  trials,  yield  to  the 
least ;  men  who,  having  at  first  fought  like  heroes, 
at  last  fly  like  cov^^ards ;  who,  after  they  have  prayed 
for  their  persecutors,  for  those  who  confined  them  in 
dungeons,  who,  to  use  the  Pssalmist's  language,  plow^ 
ed  upon  their  backs,  mid  made  long  their  furrows,  JPsal. 
cxxix.  3.  could  not  prevail  with  themselves  on  the  eve 
of  a  Lord's-supper-day  to  forgive  a  small  offence  com- 
mitted bj  a  brother,  by  one  of  the  household  of  faith. 
There  have  been  men  who,  after  they  had  resisted  the 
tortures  of  the  rack,  fell  into  the  silly  snares  of  volup- 
tuousness. There  have  been  men  who,  after  they  had 
forsaken  all  their  ample  fortunes,  and  rich  revenues, 
were  condemned  for  invading  the  property  of  a  neigh- 
bour, for  the  sake  of  a  trifling  sum,  that  bore  no  pro- 
portion to  that  which  they  had  quitted  for  the  sake 
of  religion.  O  thou  deceitful,  and  desperately  wicked 
heart  of  man  !  O  thou  heart  of  man  !  who  can  know 
thee !  Jer.  xvii.  §.  Yet  study  thy  heart,  and  thou 
wilt  know  it.  Search  out  the  principle  from  which, 
thine  actions  flow  :  Content  not  thyself  with  a  super- 
ficial self-examination ;  and  thou  wilt  find,  that  want 
of  courage  to  make  a  sacrifice  of  the  last  kind  is  some-- 
times  that  wliich  produceth  a  sacrifice  of  the  first. 
One  passion  indemnifies  us  for  the  sacrifice  of  another. 
But  to  resign  a  passion,  the  resignation  of  w^hich  no 
other  passion  requires ;  to  become  humble  without  in- 
demnifying pride  by  courting  the  applause  that  men 
sometimes  give  to  humility  ;  to  renounce  pleasure 
without  any  other  pleasure  than  that  of  pleasing  the 
Creator;  to  make  it  our  meat  and  drink,  according  to 
the  language  of  scripture,  "  to  do  the  will  of  God ;  to 
"  deny  one's  self;  to  crucify  the  flesh,  with  the  affec- 
**  tions  and  lusts  ;  to  present  the  body  a  living  sa- 
"  orifice,  holy,  acceptable  to  God,"  John  iv.  34.  Matt, 
xvii.  24.  Gal.  v.  24.  Rom.  xii.  1.  these  arc  the  charac- 
ters of  that  faith  w^hich  flesh  cannot  produce ;  that 
which  is  born  of  the  flesh  is  flesh,  Johniii.  6.  but  a  faith, 

which 


124       The  Variety  of  Opmions  about  Christ. 

which  sacrifice th  the  flesh  itself,  is  a  production  of  the 
grace  of  the  Father  which  is  in  heaven, 

5.  To  conclude,  St  Peter's  faith  hath  a  fifth  cha- 
racter,, which  he  could  not  well  discover  in  himself, 
before  he  had  experienced  his  own  frailty,  but  which 
we,  who  have  a  complete  history  of  his  life,  may  very 
clearly  discern.  I  ground  the  happiness  of  St  Peter, 
and  the  idea  I  form  of  his  faith,  on  the  very  nature 
of  his  fall.  Not  that  we  ought  to  consider  sin  as  an 
advantage,  nor  that  we  adopt  the  maxim  of  those  who 
put  sin  among  the  all  things  which  work  together  for 
good  to  them  that  love  God^  Rom.  viii.  28.  Ah  I  if  sin 
be  an  advantage,  may  1  be  for  ever  deprived  of  such 
an  advantage  I  May  a  constant  peace  between  my 
Creator  and  me  for  ever  place  me  in  a  happy  inca- 
pacity of  knowing  the  pleasure  of  reconciliation  with 
him  I  It  is  true,  however,  that  we  may  judge  by  the 
nature  of  the  falls  of  good  men  of  the  sincerity  of 
their  faith,  and  that  the  very  obstacles  vvhich  the  re- 
mainder of  corruption  in  them  opposeth  to  their  hap- 
piness, are,  properly  understood,  proofs  of  the  un- 
changeableness  of  their  felicity. 

St  Peter  fell  into  great  sin  after  he  had  made  the 
ooble  confession  in  the  text.  He  committed  one  of 
those  atrocious  crimes  which  terrify  the  conscience, 
trouble  the  joy  of  salvation,  and  which,  sometimes, 
confound  the  elect  with  the  reprobate.  Of  the  same 
Jesus,  to  whom  St  Peter  said  in  the  text,  Thou  art  the 
Christ,  the  Son  of  the  living  God  ;  and  elsewhere.  We  be- 
lieve, and  are  sure,  that  thou  art  that  Christ,  the  Son 
of  the  living  God  ;  of  the  same  Jesus  he  afterward  said, 
I  know  not  the  man,  John  yi.  6().  Matt.  xxvi.  72. 
Ye  know  not  the  man  I  And  who,  then,  did  you 
say,  had  the  words  of  eternal  life  P  Ye  know  not  the 
man  I  And  with  w^hom,  then,  did  you  promise  to  go 
to  prison  and  to  death  P  Ye  know  not  the  man  !  And 
whom  have  you  followed,  and  whom  did  you  declare 
to  be  the  Son  of  the  living  GodP  Notwithstanding  this 

flagrant 


The  Variety  of  Opinions  about  Christ.     125 

flagrant  crime ;  notwithstanding  this  denial,  the  scan- 
dal ot  ail  ages,  and  an  eternal  monument  of  human 
weakness  ;  in  spite  of  this  crime,  the  salvation  of  St 
Peter  was  sure  ;  he  was  the  object  of  the  promise, 
"  Simon,  Simon,  behold  Satan  hath  desired  to  have 
"■  you,  that  he  may  sift  you  as  wheat :  but  1  have  pray- 
"  ed  for  thee,  that  thy  faith  fail  not,"  Luke  xxii.  31,  32. 
And  "  Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Barjona,"  was  not  only 
true,  but  infallible.  The  very  nature  of  his  fall  proves 
it.  Certain  struggles,  which  precade  the  commission 
of  sin  ;  a  certain  infelicity,  that  is  fell:  during  the  com- 
mission of  it;  above  all,  certain  horrors  which  follow; 
an  inward  voice,  that  cries,  Miserable  wretch  1  what 
hast  thou  done  ?  A  certain  hell,  if  I  may  venture  so  to 
express  myself,  a  certain  hell,  the  flames  of  which  di- 
vine love  alone  can  kindle,  characterize  the  falls  of 
which  I  speak. 

This  article  is  for  you,  poor  sinners  !  who  are  so 
hard  to  be  persuaded  of  the  mercy  of  God  towards 
you ;  v/ho  imagine  the  Deity  sits  on  a  tribunal  of 
vengeance,  surrounded  with  thunder  and  lightning, 
ready  to  strike  your  guilty  heads.  Such  a  faith  as  St 
Peter's  never  fails.  When,  by  examining  your  own 
hearts,  and  the  histories  of  your  own  lives,  you  discover 
the  characters  which  vv^e  have  described,  you  may 
assure  yourselves,  that  all  the  powers  of  hell  united 
against  your  salvation  can  never  prevent  it.  Cursed 
be  the  mxan  who  abuse th  this  doctrine  I  Cursed  be  the 
man  who  poisoneth  this  part  of  christian  divinity  I 
Cursed  be  the  man  who  reasoneth  in  this  execrable 
manner  !  St  Peter  committed  an  attrocious  crime,  in 
an  unguarded  moment,  when  reason,  troubled  by  a 
revolution  of  the  senses,  had  lost  the  power  of  reflec- 
tion :  I  therefore  risque  nothing  by  cotrimitting  sin 
coolly  and  deliberately.  St  Peter  disguised  his  Chris- 
tianity for  a  moment,  when  the  danger  of  losing  his 
life  made  him  lose  sight  of  the  reasons  that  induce 
;)eople  to  confess  their  Christianity;  then  I  may  dis- 
guise 


1 26    The  Varietjj  of  Opinions  about  Christ 

guise  mine  for  thirty  or  forty  years  together,  and  teach 
my  family  to  act  the  same  hypocritical  part ;  then  I 
may  live  thirty  or  forty  years,  without  a  church,  without 
sacraments,  without  public  worship :  when  I  have  an 
opportunity,  1  may  loudly  exclaim.  Thou  art  the  Christy 
the  Son  of  the  living  God ;  and  when  that  confessioij 
would  injure  my  interest,  or  hazard  my  fortune,  or 
my  life,  I  may  hold  myself  always  in  readiness  to  cry 
as  loudly,  I  know  not  the  man  ;  I  may  abjure  that  re- 
ligion which  Jesus  Christ  preached,  which  my  fathers 
;;ealed  with  their  blood,  and  for  which  a  cloud  of  w^it- 
iiesses,  Heb.  xii.  i.  my  contemporaries,  and  my  breth- 
ren, went,  some  into  banishment,  others  into  dungeons, 
some  to  the  gaUies,  and  others  to  the  stake.  Cursed 
be  the  man  w^ho  reasoneth  in  this  execrable  manner-; 
"  Ah  !  how  shall  1  bless  whom  God  hath  not  blessed  I" 
I  repeat  it  again,  such  a  faith  as  St  Peter's  never 
faik,  and  the  very  nature  of  the  falls  of  such  a  be- 
liever proves  the  sincerity  and  the  excellence  of  his 
faith.  We  would  not  v»'ish  to  have  him  banish  en- 
tirely from  his  soul  that  fear  which  the  Scriptures 
praise,  and  to  v/hich  they  attribute  grand  effects.  A 
christian,  an  established  clyistian  I  mean,  ought  to  live 
in  perpetual  vigilance,  he  ought  always  to  have  these 
passages  in  his  mind,  "  Be  not  high-minded,  but  fear. 
*'  Hold  that  fast  w^hich  thou  hast,  that  no  man  take 
"  thy  crown.  When  the  righteous  turneth  away  from 
''  his  righteousness  shall  he  live  ?  All  his  righteous- 
**  ness  that  he  hath  done  shall  not  be  mentioned,  in 
'*  his  sin  he  shall  die,'*  Rom.  xii.  20.  Rev.  iii.  11.  and 
Ezek.  xviii.  24.  From  these  scriptures,  such  a  chris- 
tian as  I  have  described  w^iil  not  infer  consequences 
against  the  certainty  of  his  salvation  ;  but  conse- 
quences directly  contrary ;  and  there  is  a  degree  of 
perfection  w^hich  enables  a  christian  soldier,  even  in 
spite  of  some  momentary  repulses  in  war,  to  sing  this 
triumphant  song,  "  Who  shall  separate  me  from  the 
''  ^  love   of  Christ  ?    In  all  things,   I   am   more   than 

conqueror. 


The  Variety  of  Opinions  about  Christ.      12T 

*'  conqueror,  through  him  that  loved  me  I  Thanks  be 
"  unto  God,  who  always  causcth  me  to  triumph  in 
"  Christ  I"  Rom.  viii.  35,  37-  and  2  Cor.  ii.  I4. 

O  !  how  amiable,  my  brethren,  is  Christianity  I  How 
proportional  to  the  wants  of  men  I  O  1  how  delightful 
to  recollect  its  comfortable  doctrines,  in  those  sad  mo- 
ments, in  which  sin  appears,  after  we  have  fallen  into 
it,  m  all  its  blackness  and  horror  I  How  delightful  to 
recollect  its  comfortable  doctrines  in  thofie  distressing 
periods,  in  which  a  guillv  conscience  driveth  us  to  the 
verge  of  hell,  lioldeth  us  on  the  brink  of  the  precipice, 
and  obligeth  us  to  hear  those  terrifying  exclamations 
v/hich  arise  from  the  bottom  of  the  abyss:  *'  The  fear- 
"  ful,  the  unbelieving,  the  abominable,  whoremongers, 
*'  and  all  liars,  shall  have  their  part  in  the  lake  which 
**  burneth  with  fire  and  brimstone  1"  Rev.  xxi.  8. 
How  happy  then  to  be  able  to  say,  I  have  sinned  in- 
deed !  I  have  repeatedly  committed  the  crimes  which 
plunge  men  into  the  lake  that  hiirneth  with  fire  and 
brimstone  !  I  have  repeatedly  been  fearful  and  unclean  ! 
perhaps  I  may  be  so  again  I  Perhaps  I  may  forget  all 
the  resolutions  1  have  made  to  devote  myself  for  ever 
to  God  I  Perhaps  I  may  violate  my  solemn  oaths  to 
my  sovereign  Lord  I  Perhaps  I  may  again  deny  my 
Redeemer !  Perhaps,  should  I  be  again  tried  with  the 
sight  of  scaffolds  and  stakes,  I  might  again  say,  I  know 
not  the  man  I  But  yet,  I  know  I  love  him  I  Nothing,, 
I  am  sure,  will  ever  be  able  to  eradicate  my  love  to 
him  I  I  know,  if  I  love  him,  it  is  because  he  first  lovt^d 
vie,  1  John  iv.  I9. ;  and  I  know,  that  he,  having  loved 
his  own  who  are  in  the  worlds  loved  the^n  unto  the  end 
John  xiii.  i. 

O  my  God  I  What  would  become  of  us  without  a 
religion  that  preached  such  comfortable  truths  to  us  ? 
Let  us  devote  ourselves  for  ever  to  this  religion,  m; 
brethren.  The  more  it  strengthens  us  against  the 
horrors  which  sin  inspires,  the  more  let  us  endea- 
vour to  surmount  them  by  resisting  sin.    May  you  be 

adorne :! 


128     The  Variety  of  Opinions  about  Christ. 

adorned  with  these  holy  dispositions,  my  brethien ! 
May  you  be  admitted  to  the  eternal  pleasures  which 
they  procure,  and  may  each  of  you  be  able  to  apply 
to  himself  the  declaration  of  Jesus  Christ  to  St  Peter, 
Blessed  art  thou,  Simon  Bcirjona  ;  for  flesh  and  blood  hath 
not  revealed  it  unto  thee,  hut  my  Father,  who  is  in  hea- 
ven. God  grant  you  these  blessings  I  To  him  be  ho- 
nour and  glory  for  ever.    Amen. 


SERMON 


129 

SERMON    V. 

The  little  Success  of  Christ's  Ministry, 

Romans  x.  21. 

All  day  long  I  have  stretched  forth  viif  hands  unto  a 
disobedient  and  gainsaying  people. 

'X^HE  object  that  St  Paul  presents  to  our  view  in 
the  text,  makes  very  difterent  impressions  on  the 
raind,  according  to  the  different  sides  on  which  it  is 
viewed.  If  we  consider  it  in  itself,  it  is  a  prodigy,  a 
prodigy  which  confounds  reason,  and  shakes  faith. 
Yes,  when  we  read  the  history  of  Christ's  ministry ; 
when  the  truth  of  the  narrations  of  the  Evangelists  is 
proved  beyond  a  doubt ;  when  we  transport  ourselves 
back  to  the  primitive  ages  of  the  church,  and  see, 
with  our  own  eyes,  the  virtues,  and  the  miracles,  of 
Jesus  Christ ;  we  cannot  believe  that  the  Holy  Spirit 
put  the  words  of  the  text  into  the  mouth  of  the  Sa- 
viour of  the  world  :  All  day  long  I  have  stretched  forth 
my  hands  unto  a  disobedient  and  gainsaying  people.  It 
should  seem,  if  Jesus  Christ  had  displayed  so  many 
virtues,  and  operated  so  many  miracles,  there  could 
not  have  been  one  inlidel;  not  one  Jew,  who  could 
have  refused  to  embrace  Christianity,  nor  one  liber- 
tine, who  could  have  refused  to  have  become  a  good 
man :  one  would  think,  all  the  synagogue  must  have 
faMen  at  the  foot  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  have  desired  an 
admission  into  his  ::hurch. 

But  when,  aft^r  we  have  considered  the  unsuccess- 
Vol.  II.  1  fulness 


150     21ie  little  Success  of  Clunst's  Ministry. 

fulness  of  Christ's  ministry  in  itself,  we  consider  it  in 
relation  to  the  ordinary  conduct  of  mankind,  we  find 
nothing  striking,  nothing  astonishing,  nothing  con- 
trary to  the  common  course  of  events.  An  obstinate 
resistance  of  the  strongest  motives,  the  tenderest  in- 
vitations, interests  the  most  important,  and  demon- 
strations the  most  evident,  is  not,  we  perceive,  an  un- 
heard-of thing  :  and,  instead  of  breaking  out  into  vain 
exclamations,  and  crying,  0  times  !  0  manners  I  We 
say  with  the  wise  man,  That  which  is  done,  is  that 
ivhlch  shall  be  done  :  and  there  is  no  new  thing  under 
the  sun,  EccL  i.  p. 

I  have  insensibly  laid  out,  my  brethren,  the  plan  of 
this  discourse.  I  design,  first,  to  shew  you  the  unsuc- 
cessfulness  of  Christ's  ministry  as  a  prodigy,  as  an 
eternal  opprobrium  to  that  nation  in  which  he  exer- 
cised it.  And  I  intend,  secondly,  to  remove  your  as- 
tonishm^ent,  after  I  have  excited  it ;  and,  by  making 
a  few  reflections  on  you  yourselves,  to  produce  in  you 
a  conviction,  yea,  perhaps  a  preservation,  of  a  certain 
uniformity  of  corruption,  which  we  cannot  help  attri- 
buting to  all  places,  and  to  all  times. 

O  God  I  by  my  description  of  the  infidelity  of  the 
ancient  Jews  to-day,  confirm  us  in  the  faith !  May 
the  portraits  of  the  depravity  of  our  times,  which  I 
shall  be  obliged  to  exhibit  to  this  people,  in  order  to 
verify  the  sacred  history  of  the  past,  inspire  us  with 
as  much  contrition  on  account  of  our  own  disorders, 
as  astonishment  at  the  disorders  of  the  rest  of  man- 
kind I  Great  God  I  animate  our  meditations  to  this 
end  wdth  thy  Holy  Spirit.  May  this  people,  whom 
thou  dost  cultivate  in  the  tenderest  manner,  be  an  ex- 
ception to  the  too  general  corruption  of  the  rest  of 
the  w^orld  I  Amen. 

I.  Let  us  consider  the  unbelief  of  the  Jews  as  a 
prodigy  of  hardness  of  heart,  an  eternal  shame  and 
opprobrium  to  the  Jewish  nation,  and  let  us  spend  a 

few 


The  little  Success  of  ChrisVs  Ministyy,     131 

few  moments  in  lamenting  it.  We  have  supposed, 
that  the  text  speaks  ot  their  infidehty.  Christians  who 
regard  the  authority  of  St  Paul,  will  not  dispute  it ; 
for  the  apostle  employs  three  whole  chapters  of  his 
epistle  to  the  Romans,  the  ninth,  the  tenth,  and  the 
eleventh,  to  remove  the  objections  which  the  casting 
off  of  the  Jews  might  raise  against  Christianity,  among 
those  of  that  nation  who  had  embraced  the  gospel. 

One  of  the  most  weighty  arguments  which  he  useth 
to  remove  this  stumbling-block  is,  the  prediction  of 
their  unbelief  in  their  prophecies ;  and  among  the 
other  prophecies,  which  he  alledgeth  is  my  text, 
quoted  from  the  sixty-fifth  of  Isaiah. 

It  is  worthy  of  observation,  that  all  the  other  pas- 
sages, which  the  apostle  cites  on  this  occasion  from  the 
prophets,  were  taken  by  the  ancient  Jews  in  the  same 
sense  that  the  apostle  gives  them.  This  may  be 
proved  from  the  Talmud.  I  do  not  know  a  more 
absurd  book  than  the  Talmud :  but  one  is,  in  some 
sort,  repaid  for  the  fatigue  of  turning  it  over  by  an 
important  discovery,  so  to  speak,  which  every  page  of 
that  book  makes ;  that  is,  that  whatever  pains  the 
Jews  have  been  at  to  enervate  the  arguments  which 
we  have  taken  from  the  theology  of  their  ancestors,, 
they  themselves  cannot  help  preserving  proofs  of  their 
truth.  I  would  compare,  on  this  article,  the  Talmud 
of  the  Jews  with  the  mass-book  of  the  church  of 
Rome.  Nothing  can  be  more  opposite  to  the  doctrine 
of  the  gospel,  and  to  that  of  the  reformation,  than  the 
Romish  missal:  yet  we  discover  in  it  some  traces  of 
the  doctrine  of  the  primitive  church  ;  and  although 
a  false  turn  is  given  to  much  of  the  ancient  phrase- 
ology, yet  it  is  easy  to  discover  the  primitive  divinity 
in  this  book,  so  that  some  authors  have  thought 
the  missal  the  most  eligible  refutation  of  the  worship 
prescribed  by  the  missal  itself.  We  consider  the 
Talmud,  and  other' writings  of  the  modern  Jews,  in 
the  same  light.     The  ancient  Jews,  we  see,  took  the 

1  2  prophecies. 


132     The  little  Success  of  Christ's  Ministry. 

prophecies  which  St  Paulalledgeth,  in  the  three  chap- 
ters that  1  have  quoted,  in  the  same  sense  in  which 
the  apostle  took  them,  and,  like  him,  understood 
them  of  the  inlidelity  of  the  Jews  in  the  time  of  the 
Messiah. 

St  Paul,  in  Rom.  ix.  25.  quotes  a  prophecy  from 
Hosea,  I  will  call  them  my  people,  which  were  not  7?uj 
people.  The  ancient  Jews  took  this  prophecy  in  the 
apostle's  sense,  and  we  have  this  gloss  on  the  words 
of  Hosea  still  in  the  Talmud  :  The  time  shall  come, 
Vjherein  they,  who  were  not  my  people,  shall  turn  unto 
the  Lord,  and  shall  become  my  people,  chap.  ii.  23- 

St  Paul,  in  Rom  ix.  23.  cites  a  prophecy  from  Isaiah, 
Behold,  I  lay  in  Sion  a  sturjibling-stone,  chap.  viii.  14. 
The  ancient  Jews  took  this  prophecy  in  the  same  sense, 
and  we  have  still  this  gloss  in  the  Talmud  ;  When  the 
Son  of  David  shall  come,  that  is  to  say,  in  the  time  of 
the  Messiah,  the  two  houses  of  the  fathers,  that  is,  the 
kingdom  of  Israel,  and  that  of  Judah,  (these  two  king- 
doms included  the  whole  nation  of  the  Jews)  "  the  two 
*'  houses  of  the  fathers  shall  be  cast  off,  according  as  it 
"  is  written,  Behold,  I  lay  in  vSion  a  stumbling-stone." 

The  apostle,  in  Rom.  x.  I9.  alledgeth  a  passage  from 
Deuteronomy  ;  /  will  provoko-  ijoii  to  jealousy  by  them 
that  are  no  people,  chap,  xxxii.  21.  The  Jews,  both 
ancient  and  modern,  take  this  prophecy  in  the  same 
sense,  and  one  of  their  books,  entitled,  The  book  by 
excellence,  explains  the  w^hole  chapter  of  the  time  of 
the  Messiah. 

Our  text  is  taken  by  St  Paul  from  Isaiah's  prophe- 
cy, All  day  long  I  have  stretched  forth  my  hands  unto 
a  disobedient  and  gainsaying  people.  The  ancient  Jews 
took  the  w^ords  in  the  same  sense,  as  we  can  prove  by 
the  waitings  of  the  modern  Jews.  Aben  Ezra  quotes 
an  ancient  Rabbi,  who  explains  the  prophecy  more 
-like  a  christian  than  a  Jev/.  These  are  his  words  :  "  I 
*'  have  found  the  nations  which  crJled  not  on  me  :  but, 
''  as  formy  people,  in  vain  have  Istretched  out  my  hands 

"  unto 


The  little  Success  of  Christ'' s  Ministry.     153 

*'  unto  them."  St  Paul  proves  that  the  hardness  of 
lieart  of  the  Jewish  nation  was  foretold  by  the  prophets, 
and  the  Jews,  in  like  manner,  have  preserved  a  tradi- 
tion of  the  infidelity  of  their  nation  m  the  time  of  the 
Messiah :  hence  this  sayilig  of  a  Rabbi,  "  God  abode 
*'  three  years  and  a  half  on  Mount  Olivet  in  vain ;  in 
"  vain  he  cried.  Seek  ye^-the  Lord  I  and  therefore  am 
"  I  found  of  them  who  sought  me  not." 

We  have,  then,  a  right  to  say,  that  my  text 
speaks  of  the  unbelief  of  the  Jews  in  the  time  of  the 
Messiah.  This  we  were  to  prove,  and  to  prove  this 
infidelity  is  to  exhibit  a  prodigy  of  hardness  of  heart, 
the  eternal  opprobrium  and  shame  of  the  Jewish  na- 
tion. This  is  the  first  point  of  light  in  which  we  are 
to  consider  unbelief,  and  the  smallest  attention  is  suf-- 
ficient  to  discover  its  turpitude. 

Consider  the  pains  that  Jesus  Christ  took  to  con- 
vince, and  to  reform  the  Jews.  To  them  he  con- 
secrated the  first  functions  of  his  ministry  ;  he  never 
went  out  of  their  towns  and  provinces  ;  he  seemed  to 
have  come  only,  for  them,  and  to  have  brought  a  gos- 
pel formed  on  the  plan  of  the  law,  and  restrained  to 
the  Jewish  nation  alone.  Thq  Evangelists  have  re- 
marked ihese  things,  and  he  himself  said, /a/zz  not  sent 
but  unto  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel^  Matt.  xv.  24- 
When  he  sent  his  apostles,  he  expresvsly  commanded 
them  *'  not  to  go  into  the  way  of  the  Gentiles^  and  into 
"  any  city  of  the  Samaritans  to  enter  not,"  chap,  x  5. 
And  the  apostles,  after  his  ascension,  began  to  exercise 
their  ministry  after  his  example,  by  saying  to  the 
Jews,  Unto  you  first,  God  sent  his  Son  Jesus  to  bless  you. 
Acts  iii.  26. 

Consider,  further,  the  means  which  Jesus  Christ 
employed  to  recover  this  people.  Here  a  boundless 
field  of  meditation  opens  :  but  the  limits  of  these  ex- 
ercises forbid  my  enlarging,  and  I  shall  only  indicate 
the  principal  articles. 

What  proper  mean  of  conviction  did  Jesus  omit  in 

the 


154     The  little  Success  of  ChrisVs  Mmistrj/, 

the  course  of  his  ministry  among  this  people  ?  Are  mi- 
racles proper?  Tho^  ye  believe  not  me^  believe  the  works ^ 
John  X.  32.  Were  extraordinary  discourses  proper?  Iff 
had  not  come  and  spoken  unto  them,  thetj  had  not  had  sin  : 
but  now  they  have  no  clokefor  their  sin,  ch.  xv.  22.  Is 
innocence  proper  ?  Which  of  you  convinceth  me  of  sin  P 
ch.  viii.  46.  Is  the  authority  of  the  prophets  necessary  ? 
Search  the  Scriptures,  for  they  are  they  that  testify  of  me, 
ch.  V.  39.  Is  it  proper  to  reason  with  people  on  their 
own  principles  ?  "  Had  ye  believed  Moses,  ye  would 
"  have  believed  me,  ver.  4G.  Is  it  not  written  in  your 
*'  law,  I  said,  Ye  are  Gods  ?  If  he  called  them  Gods, 
*'  unto  whom  the  word  of  God  came  ;  say  ye  of  him, 
*'  whom  the  Father  hath  sanctified,  and  sent  into  the 
'*  world,  Thou  blasphemest ;  because  I  said  I  am  the 
''  Son  of  God,"  ch.  x.  34- 

Consider  again,  the  different  forms,  if  I  may  be 
allowed  to  speak  so,  which  Jesus  Christ  put  on  to  in- 
sinuate himself  into  their  minds.  Sometimes  he  ad- 
dressed them  by  condescension,  submitting  to  the  rites 
of  the  law,  receiving  circumcision,  going  up  to  Jeru- 
salem, observing  the  sabbath,  and  celebrating  their 
festivals.  At  other  times  he  exhibited  a  noble  liberty, 
freeing  himself  from  the  rites  of  the  law,  travelling  on 
gabbath-days,  and  neglecting  their  feasts.  Sometimes 
he  conversed  familiarly  with  them,  eating  and  drinking 
with  them,  mixing  himself  in  their  entertainments,  and 
assisting  at  their  marriage  feasts.  At  other  times  he 
put  on  the  austerity  of  retirement,  fleeing  from  their 
societies,  retreating  into  the  deserts,  devoting  himself 
for  whole  nights  to  meditation  and  prayer,  and  for 
whole  weeks  to  praying  and  fasting.  Sometimes  he 
addressed  himself  to  them  by  a  graceful  gentleness : 
"  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour,  and  are  heavy 
*'  laden,  and  I  will  give  you  rest.  Learn  of  me,  for 
"  I  am  meek,  and  lowly  in  heart.  O  Jerusalem,  Je- 
"  rusalem  I  thou  that  killest  the  prophets,  and  stonest 
^*  them  which  are  sent  unto  thee,  how  often  would  I 

"  have 


The  little  Success  of  Christ's  Ministry.    135 

"  have  gathered  thy  children  together,  even  as  a  hen , 
"  gathereth  her  chickens  under  her  wings,  and  ye 
"  would  not  I"  Mat.  xi.  ^8,  ^Q.  and  xxiii.  37-  At  other 
times  he  tried  them  by  severity,  he  drove  them  from 
the  temple,  he  denounced  the  judgments  of  God 
against  them  ;  he  depicted  a  future  day  of  vengeance, 
and,  shewing  Jerusalem  covered  wdth  the  carcases  of 
the  slain,  the  holy  mountain  flowing  with  blood,  and 
the  temple  consuming  in  flames,  he  cried  Wo,  wo  to 
the  Pharisees  I  Ho  to  the  Scribes  I  Wo  to  ail  the  doc- 
tors of  the  law  1  ver.  13,  &c. 

Jesus  Christ,  in  the  whole  of  his  advent,  answered 
the  characters  by  which  the  prophets  had  described 
the  Messiah.  What  characters  do  you  Jews  expect 
in  a  Messiah,  which  Jesus  Christ  doth  not  bear  ?  Born 
of  your  nation, — in  your  country,— of  a  virgin,— of 
the  family  of  David, — of  the  tribe  of  Judah,— in  Beth- 
lehem—after the  seventy  wrecks,— at  the  expiration  of 
your  grandeur,  and  before  the  departure  of  your  scep- 
tre. On  one  hand,  "  despised  and  rejected  of  men,  a 
"  man  of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  grief;  stricken, 
"  smitten  of  God,  and  afflicted  ;  wounded  for  your 
*'  transgressions,  bruised  for  your  iniquities,  brought 
*'  as  a  lamb  to  the  slaughter,  cut  off  from  the  land  of 
"  the  living,"  as  your  prophets  had  foretold,  Isa.  liii. 
3, — 8.  But  on  the  other  hand,  glorious  and  magna- 
nimous, "  prolonging  his  days,  seeing  his  seed,  the 
''  pleasure  of  the  I^ord  prospering  in  his  hand,  justi- 
"  fying  many  by  his  knowledge,  blessed  of  God,  gird- 
"  ing  his  sword  upon  his  thigh,  and  riding  prosper- 
'^  ousiy  on  the  word  of  his  truth,"  as  the  same  pro- 
phets had  taught  you  to  hope,  ver.  10,  11.  and  Psal. 
-xlv.  2,  3.  What  Messiah,  then,  do  you  wait  for  ?  If 
you  require  another  gospel,  produce  us  another  law. 
If  you  reject  Jesus  Christ,  reject  Moses.  If  you  want 
other  accomplishments,  shew  us  other  prophecies.  If 
you  wdll  not  receive  our  apostles,  discard  your  ow^n 
prophets. 

Such  v^^as  the  conduct  of  Jesus  to  the  Jews.    What 

success 


136     The  little  Success  of  Christ's  Ministry. 

success  had  he  ?  What  effects  were  produced  by  all 
his  labour,  and  by  all  his  love ;  by  so  many  conclusive 
sermons,  and  so  many  pressing  exhortations ;  by  so 
much  demonstrative  evidence,  by  so  many  exact  cha- 
racters, and  so  many  shining  miracles  ;  by  so  much 
submission,  and  so  much  elevation  ;  by  so  much  hu- 
mility, and  so  much  glory  ;  and,  so  to  speak,  by  so 
many  different  forms,  which  Jesus  Christ  took  to  in- 
sinuate himself  into  the  minds  of  this  people  ?  You 
hear  in  the  words  of  the  text :  "  All  day  long  I  have 
*'  stretched  forth  my  hands  unto  a  disobedient  and 
'^  gainsaying  people."  The  malice  of  this  people  pre- 
vailed over  the  mercy  of  God,  and  mercy  was  useless 
except  to  a  few.  The  ancient  Jews  were  infidels,  and 
most  of  the  modern  Jews  persist  in  infidelity.  Is  not 
this  a  prodigy  of  hardness  ?  Is  not  this  an  eternal  re- 
proach and  shame  to  the  Jewish  nation  1 

II.  But  we  have  pursued  the  unbelief  of  the  Jews 
far  enough  in  the  first  point  of  view  ;  let  us  proceed 
to  consider  it  with  a  view  to  whatvve  proposed  in  the 
second  place.  We  will  shew  that  men's  obstinate  re- 
sistence  of  the  most  pressing  rngtives,  the  most  im- 
portant interests,  and  the  most  illustrious  examples,  is 
not  an  unheard-of  thing :  and  we  will  prove,  that  all 
which  results  from  the  example  of  the  unbelieving 
Jews,  is  a  proof  of  the  uniformity  of"  the  depravity 
of  mankind  ;  that  they  who  lived  in  the  times  of  the 
first  planters  of  Christianity,  resembled  the  greatest 
part  of  those  who  lived  before  them,  and  of  those 
who  have  lived  since.  Would  to  God  this  article 
were  less  capable  of  evidence  I  But,  alas  I  we  are  go- 
ing to  conduct  you  step  by  step  to  demonstration. 

First,  We  will  take  a  cursory  view  of  ancient  his- 
tory, and  we  will  shew  you,  that  the  conduct  of  the  un- 
believing Jews  presents  nothing  new,  nothing  that  had 
not  been  done  before,  nothing  contrary  to  the  univer- 
sal practice  of  mankind  from  Adam  to  Jesus  Christ. 

Secondly,  We  will  go  a  step  further,  and  shew  you 

a 


The  little  Success  of  Christ's  Ministry.     137 

a  whole  community,  who,  amidst  the  light  of  the  gos> 
pel,  reject  the  doctrines  of  the  gospel,  for  the  same 
theological  reasons  for  which  the  Jews  rejected  it. 

Thirdly,  We  will  produce  a.i  object  yet  more 
astonishing:  a  multitude  of  christians,  whom  the  hght 
of  the  reformation  hath  freed  from  the  superstition  that 
covered  the  church,  guilty  of  the  very  excesses  which 
we  lament  in  the  Jews  and  in  superstitious  christians. 

Fourthly,  We  will  go  further  still,  we  will  suppose 
this  congregation  in  the  place  of  the  ancient  Jews, 
and  we  will  prove,  that,  had  you  been  in  their  places, 
you  would  have  done  as  they  did. 

The  last  is  only  supposition,  w^e  will,  therefore,  in 
the  Fifth  place,  reahze  it,  and  shew  you,  not  that  you 
would  have  acted  like  the  Jews,  had  you  been  in  their 
circumstances;  but  that  you  really  do  act  so  ;  and  we 
will  shew  you  an  image  of  yourselves  in  the  conduct 
of  the  ancient  Jews. 

1.  The  infidelity  of  those  who  heard  the  sermons  of 
the  first  heralds  of  religion,  might  surprize  us,  if  truth 
and  virtue  had  always  been  embraced  by  the  greatest 
number,  and  if  the  multitude  had  not  always  taken 
the  side  of  vice  and  falshood.  But  survey  the  principal 
periods  of  the  church  from  the  beginning  of  the  world 
to  that  time,  and  you  will  see  a  very  different  conduct. 

When  there  was  only  one  man  and  one  woman  in 
the  world,  and  when  these  two,  who  came  from  the 
imjnediate  hand  of  God,  could  not  question  either  hi.^ 
existence  or  his  perfections,  they  both  preferred  the 
direction  ofthe  Devil  before  that  of  the  Supreme  Being, 
who  had  just  brought  them  into  existence,  Gen.  iii. 

Did  God  give  them  a  posterity }  The  children 
w'alked  in  the  criminal  steps  of  their  parents.  The 
fear,  and  the  worship,  of  the  true  God  were  confined 
to  the  family  of  Seth,  to  a  small  number  of  believers, 
whom  the  scripture  calls  Sons  of  God,  chap.  vi.  2.  while 
the  Sons  of  Men  acknowledged  no  other  religion  but 
their  own  fancies,  no  other  law  but  their  own  lust. 

Did 


138     The  little  Success  of  Christ* s  Ministry, 

Did  mankind  multiply  ?  Errors  and  sins  multi- 
plied with  them.  The  scripture  saith,  All  flesh  had 
corrupted  its  way  upon  the  earth.  The  Lord  repented 
that  he  had  made  man  on  the  earthy  ver.  12,  6.  and  by 
an  universal  deluge  exterminated  the  whole  impious 
race,  except  eight  persons^  1  Pet.  iii.  20. 

Were  these  eight  persons  freed  from  the  general 
flood  ?  They  peopled  a  new  world  with  a  succession 
as  wicked  as  that  which  inhabited  the  old  world,  and 
which  was  drowned  in  the  flood.  They  conspired 
together  against  God,  and  left  to  future  ages  a  monu- 
ment of  their  insolent  pride,  a  tower ^  the  top  of  which, 
they  said  should  reach  to  heaven^  Gen.  xi.  4. 

Were  these  sons  of  presumption  dispersed  ?  Their 
depravity  and  their  idolatry  they  carried  with  them, 
and  with  both  they  infected  all  the  places  of  their 
exile.  Except  Abraham,  his  family,  and  a  small 
number  of  believers,  nobody  worshipped,  or  knew  the 
true  God. 

Were  the  descendents  of  this  patriarch  multiplied 
into  a  nation,  and  loaden  with  the  distinguishing- 
blessings  of  God  ?  They  distinguished  themselves  also 
by  their  excesses.  Under  the  most  august  legislation, 
and  against  the  clearest  evidence,  they  adopted  notions 
the  most  absurd,  and  perpetrated  crimes  the  most 
unjust.  They  carried  the  tabernacle  of  Moloch  in 
the  wilderness ;  they  proposed  the  stoning  of  Moses 
and  Aaron ;  they  preferred  the  slavery  of  Egypt  before 
the  liberty  of  the  sons  of  God. 

Were  these  people  conducted  by  a  train  of  miracles 
to  the  land  of  promise  ?  The  blessings,  that  God  be- 
stowed so  liberally  on  them,  they  generally  turned  into 
weapons  of  war  against  their  benefactor.  They  vihook 
off  the  gentle  government  of  that  God  who  had  chosen 
them  for  his  subjects,  for  the  sake  of  submitting  to 
the  iron  rods  of  such  tyrants  as  those  who  reigned 
over  neighbouring  nations. 

Did  God  exceed  their  requests ;  did  he  give  them 

princes, 


The  little  Success  of  Christ's  Ministry.     159 

princes,  who  were  willing  to  support  religion  ?  They 
rebelled  against  them;  they  made  a  scandalous  schism, 
and  rendered  that  supreme  worship  to  images  which 
was  due  to  none  but  to  the  supreme  God. 

2.  The  people,  of  whom  we  have  been  speaking, 
lived  before  the  time  of  Jesus  Christ :  but  I  am  to 
shew  you,  in  the  second  place,  a  whole  community, 
enlightened  by  the  gospel,  retaining  the  same  prin- 
ciple, w^hich  was  the  chief  cause  of  the  infidelity  of 
the  Jews ;  I  mean  a  blind  submission  to  ecclesiastical 
rulers. 

The  Jewish  doctors,  who  were  contemporary  with 
Jesus  Christ,  assumed  a  sovereign  power  over  the  peo- 
ple's minds ;  and  the  Rabbles,  who  have  succeeded 
them,  have  done  their  utmost  to  maintain,  and  to  ex- 
tend it.  Hence  the  superb  titles,  PVise  man^  Father^ 
Frince^  King,  yea  God.  Hence  the  absolute  tyranny 
of  decisions  of  what  is  true,  and  what  is  false  ;  what 
is  venial,  and  what  is  unpardonable.  Hence  the  se- 
ditious maxims  of  those  of  them,  who  affirm  that  they, 
who  violate  their  canons,  are  worthy  of  death.  Hence 
those  blasphemous  declarations,  which  say,  that  they 
have  a  right  of  giving  what  gloss  they  please  to  the 
law,  should  it  be  even  against  the  law  itself;  on  con- 
dition, however,  of  their  affirming,  that  they  were 
assisted  by,  I  know  not  what,  supernatural  aid,  which 
they  call  Bath-col,  that  is,  the  daughter  of  a  mice. 

Now,  my  brethren,  when  an  ecclesiastic  hath  ar^ 
rived  at  a  desire  of  domination  over  the  minds  of  the 
people,  and  when  the  people  are  sunk  so  low  as  to 
suffer  their  ecclesiastics  to  exercise  such  a  dominion, 
there  is  no  opinion  too  fantastic,  no  prepossession  too 
absurd,  no  doctrine  too  monstrous,  to  become  an  ar- 
ticle of  faith.  It  hath  been  often  objected  against  lis, 
that,  to  allow  every  individual  the  liberty  of  examin- 
ing religion  for  himself,  is  to  open  a  door  to  heresy. 
But  if  ever  recrimination  were  just,  it  is  proper  here. 
To  givefaUible  men  the  power  of  finally  determining 

matters 


140     Tlie  little  Success  of  Christ^s  Ministiy. 

mutters  of  faith  is  to  throw  open  flood-gates  to  the 
most  palpable  errors.  Thou  eternal  trutji  I  Thou 
sovereign  teacher  of  the  church  I  Thou  high  priest  of 
the  new  covenant  I  Thou  aione  hast  a  right  to  claim  a 
tacit  submission  of  reason,  an  implicit  obedience  of 
faith.  And  thou,  sacred  book  I  Thou  authentic  gift 
of  heaven  !  When  my  faith,  and  my  rehgion  are  in 
question,  thou  art  the  only  tribunal  at  which  I  stand  ! 
But  as  for  the  doctrine  of  blind  submission,  I  repeat  it 
again,  it  will  conduct  us  to  the  most  palpable  errors. 

Vv^ith  the  help  of  implicit  faith,  I  could  prove  that 
a  priest  hath  the  power  of  deposing  a  king,  and  of 
transmitting  the  supreme  power  to  a  tyrant. 

With  this  principle,  1  could  prove  that  a  frail  man 
can  call  down  the  Saviour  of  the  world  at  his  will, 
place  him  on  an  altar,  or  confine  him  in  a  box. 

With  this  principle,  I  could  prove  that  what  my 
smell  takes  for  bread  is  not  bread  ;  that  what  my  eyes 
take  for  bread  is  not  bread ;  that  what  my  taste  takes 
for  bread  is  not  bread :  and  so  on. 

With  this  principle,  I  could  prove  that  a  body, 
which  is  all  in  one  place,  is  at  the  same  time  all  in 
another  place  ;  all  at  Rome,  and  all  at  Constantinople  ; 
yea  more,  all  entire  in  one  host,  and  all  entire  in 
another  host ;  yea  more  astonishing  still,  all  entire  in 
one  host,  and  all  entire  in  ten  thousand  hosts^;  yea 
more  amazing  still,  all  entire  in  ten  thousand  hosts, 
and  all  entire  in  each  part  of  these  ten  thousand  hosts  ; 
all  entire  in  the  first  particle,  all  entire  in  the  second, 
and  so  on  without  number  or  end, 

With  this  principle,  I  could  prove,  that  a  penitent 
is  obliged  to  tell  me  all  the  secrets  of  his  heart ;  and 
that,  if  he  conceal  any  of  its  recesses  from  me,  he  is, 
on  that  very  account,  excluded  from  all  the  privileges 
of  penitence. 

With  this  principle,  I  could  prove,  that  money  given 
to  the  church  delivereth  souls  from  purgatory  ;  and 
that,  according  to  the  Bishop  of  Meaux,  always  when 

the 


The  little  Success  of  Christ's  Ministry.     141 

the  souls  in  that  prison  hear  the  sound  of  the  sums 
which  are  given  for  their  freedom,  they  iiy  towards 
heaven. 

3.  You  have  seen  a  whole  community  professing 
chrisiianity,  and  yet  not  believing  the  doctrines  of 
Christ,  through  the  prevalence  of  the  same  principle, 
which  render  the  ancient  Jews  infidels.  We  proceed 
now  to  shew  you  something  more  extraordinary  still ; 
a  multitude  of  christians,  instructed  in  the  truths  of 
the  gospel,  freed  by  the  light  of  the  reformation  from 
the  darkness  with  which  superstition  had  covered  the 
gospel ;  and  yet  seducing  themselves  like  the  ancient 
Jews,  because  their  unworthy  passions  have  rendered 
their  seduction  necessary. 

Recall,  my  dear  fellov/  countrymen,  the  happy  days 
in  which  you  were  allowed  to  make  an  open  profession 
of  your  religion  in  the  place  of  your  nativity.  Amidst 
repeated  provocations  of  the  divine  patience,  which, 
at  last,  drew  down  the  anger  of  God  on  our  unhappy 
churches,  there  was  one  virtue,  it  must  be  owned,  that 
shone  with  peculiar  glory,  I  mean,  zeal  for  public 
worship.  Whether  mankind  have  in  general  more 
attachment  to  the  exterior  than  to  the  inward  part  of 
divine  worship  ;  or  whether  the  continual  fear  of  the 
extinction  of  that  light,  v/hich  we  enjoyed,  contributed 
to  render  it  sacred  to  us  ;  or  whatever  were  the  cause, 
our  ancient  zeal  for  the  public  exterior  worship  of  our 
religion  may  be  equalled,  but  it  can  never  be  exceeded. 

Ye  happy  inhabitants  of  these  provinces  !  We  are 
ready  to  yield  to  you  the  pre-eminence  in  all  other 
virtues :  This  only  we  dispute  with  you.  The  sing- 
ing of  a  psajm  was  enough  to  fire  that  vivacity, 
which  is  essential  to  our  nation.  Neither  distance  of 
place,  nor  inclemency  of  v/eather,  could  dispense  with 
our  attendance  on  '^  religious  exercise.  Long  and 
w^earisome  journeys,  through  frosts  and  snov^^s,  we 
.took  to  come  at  those  churches  whicli  were  allowed 
us  for  public  worship.  Communion-days  were  tri- 
umphant days,  v/hich  all  were  determined  to  share. 

Our 


142   The  little  Success  of  ClirisVs  Ministri/. 

Our  churches  were  washed  with  penitential  teary:  and 
when,  on  days  of  fasting  and  prayer,  a  preacher  desir- 
ed to  excite  extraordinary  emotions  of  grief,  he  was  sure 
to  succeed,  if  he  cried,  "  God  will  take  away  his  candle- 
*'  stick  from  you,  God  will  deprive  you  of  the  churches, 
"  in  w^hich  ye  form  only  vain  designs  of  conversion.'* 
Suppose,  amidst  a  large  concourse  of  people,  assem- 
bled to  celebrate  a  solemn  fea&t,  a  preacher  of  falshood 
had  ascended  a  pulpit  of  truth,  and  had  affirmed  these 
propositions:  *'  External  worship  is  not  essential  to  sal- 
"  vation.  They,  who  diminish  their  revenues,  or  re- 
'' nounce  the  pleasures  of  life,  for  the  sake  of  liberty 
"  of  conscience,  do  not  rightly  understand  the  spirit  of 
*'  Christianity.  The  Lord's  supper  ought  not  to  be  neg- 
*'  lected,  whenitcan  be  administered  without  peril:  but 
"  we  ought  not  to  expose  ourselves  to  danger  for  the 
"  sake  of  a  sacrament,  which  at  most  is  only  a  seal  of 
"  the  covenant,  but  not  the  covenant  itself."  In  what 
light  wovdd  such  a  preacher  have  been  considered  ? 
The  whole  congregation  would  have  unanimously 
cried,  ^war/with  him  I  Away  with  him  1  Numb,  xxv. 
Many  a  Phineas,  many  an  Eleazar  would  have  been 
instantly  animated  with  an  impetuosity  of  fervour  and 
zeal,  which  it  would  have  been  necessary  to  restrain. 
'  O  God  I  What  are  become  of  sentiments  so  pious, 
and  so  worthy  of  Christianity  I  This  article  is  a  source 
of  exquisite  grief.  In  sight  of  these  sad  objects  we 
cry,  0  wall  of  the  daughter  ofZion  !  let  tears  run  down 
like  a  river  day  and  nighty  Lam.  ii.  18.  Here  the  sor- 
rowful Rachel  mourneth  for  her  children;  she  uttereth 
the  voice  ofla?nentation  and  bitter  weeping,  refusing  to  he 
comforted  for  her  children,  because  they  are  not,  Jer.  xxxi. 
15.  Go,  go  see  those  degenerate  sons  of  the  reforma- 
tion !  Go,  try  to  communicate  a  brisker  motion  to  that 
reformed  blood,  which  still  creeps  slowly  in  their 
vains.  Arouse  them,  by  urging  the  necessity  of  that 
external  worship  of  which  they  still  retain  some 
grand  ideas.  Alarm  their  ears  with  the  thundering 
voice  of  the  Son  of  God  :  tell  them,  "  He  that  loveth 

"  father 


The  little  Success  of  Christ's  Ministry.     14S 

*^  father  or  mother  more  than  me,  is  not  worthy  of  me. 
"  Whosoever  shall  deny  me  before  men,  him  will  I 
•^'  also  deny  before  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven," 
Matt.  X,  33.  37.  and  what  wall  they  say  ?  They  will 
tax  you  with  being  an  enthusiastic  declaimer.  The 
very  propositions,  which  would  have  been  rejected  w^ith 
horror,  had  they  been  affirmed  in  times  of  liberty, 
would  now  be  maintained  wdth  the  utmost  zeal.  But 
how  comes  it  to  pass,  that  what  w^as  formerly  un- 
warrantable now  appears  just  and  true  ?  The  pliant 
artifice  of  the  human  mind  hath  wrought  the  change. 
The  corruption  of  the  heart  knows  how^  to  fix  the  at- 
tention  of  the  mind  on  objects  which  palliate  a  crimi- 
nal habit ;  and  mo»t  men  understand  the  secret  art  of 
seducing  themselves,  when  their  passions  render  a  se- 
duction needful. 

At  first,  they  required  only  the  liberty  of  consi- 
dcring  the  bearing  of  the  storm  before  the  thunder 
burst  the  clouds,  that  if  they  should  be  obliged  to 
flee,  it  might  be  from  real  evils,  and  not  from  ima- 
ginary panics.  At  length  the  tempest  came  crush- 
ing and  sweeping  away  all  that  opposed  its  pro- 
gress. When  the  body  must  have  been  exposed  for 
the  salvation  of  the  soul,  the  trial,  they  said,  was 
severe,  their  hearts  were  intimidated,  they  fainted 
and  durst  not  flee.  Moreover,  till  they  had  amassed 
enough  to  support  them  in  that  exile,  to  which  they 
should  be  instantly  condemned,  if  they  owned  Jesus 
Christ ;  and  lest  they  should  leave  their  innocent 
children  destitute  of  all  support,  they  abjured  their 
religion  for  the  present.  Abjuration  is  always  shock- 
ing :  but  if  ever  it  seem  to  call  for  patience  and  pity, 
it  is  in  such  circumstances  I  when  pretexts  so  plausible 
produce  it,  and  w^hen  solemn  vows  are  made  to  re- 
nounce it.  When  the  performance  of  these  vows  was 
required,  insurmountable  obstacles  forbad  it,  and  the 
same  reasons,  which  had  sanctified  this  hypocrisy  at 
first,  required  thepi  to  persist  in  it.     When  vigilant 

guards 


144     The  little  Success  of  Christ's  Ministry, 

guards  were  placed  on  the  frontiers  af  the  kingdom, 
they  waited,  they  said,  only  for  a  fair  opportunity  to 
escape,  and  they  flattered  themselves  with  fixing  cer- 
tain periods,  in  which  they  might  safely  execute  wha' 
would  be  hazardous  before  to  attempt.  Sometimes  it 
w^as  the  gaining  of  a  battle,  and  sometimes  the  conclu- 
sion of  a  peace.  A.s  these  periods  were  not  attended 
with  the  advantages  which  they  had  promised  them- 
selves, they  looked  forward,  and  appointed  others. — 
Others  came.  No  more  guards  on  the  frontiers,  no 
more  obstacles,  full  liberty  for  all,  who  had  courage 
;;o  follow  Jesus  Christ.  And  whither  ?  Into  dens  and 
deserts,  exposed  to  every  calamity  ?  No  :  into  deli- 
cious gardens ;  into  countries  where  the  gentleness  of 
the  governments  is  alone  sufficient  to  indemnify  us  for 
all  we  leave  in  our  own  country.  But  new  times, 
new  morals.  The  pretext  of  the  difficulty  of  follow- 
ing Jesus  Christ  being  taken  away,  the  necessity  of  it 
is  invalidated.  Why,  say  they,  should  we  abandon 
a  country,  in  w^hich  people  may  profess  what  they 
please  ?  Why  not  rather  endeavour  to  preserve  the 
seeds  of  the  reformation  in  a  kingdom,  from  which  it 
would  be  entirely  eradicated,  if  all  they,  who  adhere 
to  it,  were  to  become  voluntary  exiles  ?  Why  restrain 
grace  to  some  countries,  religion  to  particular  walls  ? 
Why  should  we  not  content  ourselves  with  worship- 
ping God  in  our  closets,  and  in  our  families  ?  Th€ 
ministers  of  Jesus  Christ  have  united  their  endeavours 
to  unravel  these  sophisms.  We  have  heaped  argu- 
ment upon  argument,  demonstration  upon  demon- 
stration. We  have  represented  the  utility  of  public 
w^orship.  We  have  shev/n  the  possibility,  and  the 
probability  of  a  new  period  of  persecution.  We  have 
conjured  those,  whom  sad  experience  hath  taught  their 
own  weakness,  to  ask  themselves,  whether  they  have 
obtained  strength  sufficient  to  bear  such  sufferings  as 
those  under  which  they  formerly  sank.  We  have 
proved  that  the  posterity  of  tliose  lukewarm  christians 

will 


^he  little  Success  of  Christ's  Ministry.     145 

will  be  entirely  destitute  of  religion.  In  short,  we 
have  produced  the  highest  degree  of  evidence  in  fa- 
vour of  their  flight.  All  our  arguments  have  been 
useless  ;  we  have  reasoned,  and  written,  without  suc- 
cess ;  we  have  "  spent  our  strength  in  vain,"  Lev.  xxvi. 
20.  And,  except  here  and  there  an  elect  soul,  whom 
God  in  his  infinite  mercy  hath  delivered  from  all  the 
miseries  of  such  a  state,  they  quietly  eat  and  drink, 
build  and  plant,  marry  and  are  given  in  marriage, 
and  die  in  'this  fatal  stupidity. 

Such  is  the  flexible  depravity  of  the  human  mind, 
and  such  was  that  of  the  Jews  1  Such  is  the  ability  of 
our  hearts  in  exercising  the  fatal  art  of  self-deception^^ 
when  sinful  passions  require  us  to  be  deceived  1 

Represent  to  yourselves  the  cruel  Jews.  They  ex- 
pected a  Messiah,  who  would  furnish  them  with  means 
of  glutting  their  revenge  by  treading  the  Gentiles  be- 
neath their  feet,  for  them  they  considered  as  creatures 
unworthy  of  the  least  regard.  Jesus  Christ  came,  he 
preached,  and  said,  Love  your  enemies,  bless  them  that 
curse  you,  Matt.  v.  44.  Revenge  viewed  the  Messiah  in 
a  disadvantageous  light.  Revenge  turned  the  attention 
of  the  Jews  to  this  their  favourite  maxim.  The  Mes- 
siah is  to  humble  the  enemies  of  the  church,  whereas  Je- 
sus Christ  left  them  in  all  their  gaiety  and  pomp. 

Represent  to  yourselves,  those  of  the  Jews  who 
were  insatiably  desirous  of  riches.  They  expected  a 
Messiah,  who  would  lavish  his  treasures  on  them,  and 
would  so  fulfil  these  expressions  of  the  prophets,  Sil- 
ver  is  mine,  and  gold  is  mine.  Hag.  ii.  8.  The  kings 
of  Tarshish^  and  of  tlie  isles,  shall  bring  presents,  Psal. 
Ixxii.  10.  Jesus  Christ  came,  he  preached,  and  said, 
Lay  not  up  for  yourselves  treasures  upon  earth.  Matt, 
vi.  10.  Avidity  of  riches  considered  the  Messiah  in  a 
disadvantageous  light.  Avidity  of  riches  confined  the 
attention  of  the  Jews  to  this  favourite  maxim,  The 
Messiah  is  to  enrich  his  disciples,  whereas  Jesus  Christ 
left  his  followers  in  indigence  and  want. 

Vol.  II.  K  Represent 


146     TJw  little  Succe'^s  of  Christ's  Ministry, 

Represent  to  yourselves  the  proud  and  arrogant  Jews. 
They  expected  a  Messiah,  who  would  march  at  their 
head,  conquer  the  Romans,  who  were  become  the  ter- 
ror of  the  vA^orld,  and  obtain  victories  similar  to  those 
which  their  ancestors  had  obtained  over  nations  re- 
corded in  history  for  their  military  skill.  They  fed 
their  ambition  with  these  memorable  prophecies : 
"  x\sk  of  me,  and  1  shall  give  thee  the  heathen  for  thine 
"  inheritance,  and  the  uttermost  parts  of  the  earth  for 
"  thy  possession.  Thou  shalt  break  them  with  a  rod 
"  of  iron  :  thou  shalt  dash  them  in  pieces  like  a  pot- 
*'  ter's  vessel.  He  shall  have  dominion  from  sea  to 
*'  sea,  and  from  the  river  unto  the  ends  of  the  earth. 
"  They  that  dwell  in  the  wilderness  shall  bow  before 
*'  him,  and  his  enemies  shall  lick  the  dust,"  Psal.  ii. 
8,  9.  and  Ixxii.  8,  9.  Jesus  Christ  came,  he  preached, 
and  said,  "  Blessed  are  they  which  are  persecuted  for 
"  righteousness  sake  ;  for  theirs  is  the  kingdom  of  hea- 
*'  ven,"  Matt.  v.  10.  He  marched  first  at  the  head  of 
this  afflicted  host,  and  finished  his  mournful  life  on  a 
cross.  Arrogance  and  pride  considered  Jesus  Christ 
in  a  disadvantageous  light.  Arrogance  and  pride  con- 
fined the  attention  of  the  Jews  to  this  maxim,  The 
Messiah  is  to  sit  on  a  throne :  whereas  Jesus  Christ  w^as 
nailed  to  a  cross.  When  we  know  the  pliant  depra- 
vity of  the  human  heart,  w^hen  we  know  its  ability  to 
deceive  itself,  when  its  passions  require  it  to  be  de- 
ceived ;  can  we  be  astonished  that  Jesus  Christ  had 
so  few^  partisans  among  the  Jews  ? 

4.  But  our  fourth  reflection  will  remove  our  astonish- 
ment ;  it  regards  the  presumptuous  ideas  which  we 
form  of  our  own  virtue  when  it  hath  not  been  tried. 
For  this  purpose,  we  are  going  to  put  you  in  the  place 
of  the  ancient  Jews,  and  to  prove,  that  in  the  same  cir- 
cumstances you  would  have  acted  the  same  part. 

There  is  a  kind  of  sophistry,  which  is  adapted  to  all 
ages,  and  to  all  countries ;  I  mean  that  turn  of  mind 
which  judgeth  those  vices  in  which  we  have  no  share. 

The 


The  little  Success  of  Christ's  Ministry,     147 

The  malice  of  our  hearts  seldom  goeth  so  far  as  to  love 
sin  for  its  own  sake.  When  sin  presents  itself  to  our 
view,  free  from  any  self-interest  in  committing  it,  and 
w'hen  we  have  the  liberty  of  a  cool,  calm,  and  dispassion- 
ate sight  of  it,  it  seldom  fails  to  inspire  us  with  horror. 
And,  as  this  disposition  of  mind  prevails,when  we  think 
over  the  atrocious  vices  of  former  ages,  we  generally 
abhor  the  sins,  and  condemn  the  men  who  committed 
them.  They  appear  monsters  to  us,  and  nature  seems 
to  have  produced  but  a  few.  We  seem  to  ourselves 
beings  of  another  kind,  and  we  can  hardly  suffer  the 
question  to  be  put,  whether  in  the  same  circumstances 
we  should  not  have  pursued  the  same  conduct. 

In  this  disposition  we  usually  judge  the  ancient  Jews. 
How  could  they  rebel  against  those  deliverers,  whom 
God,  if  I  may  speak  so,  armed  with  his  omnipotence 
to  free  them  from  the  bondage  of  Egypt  ?  How  could 
they  possibly  practise  gross  idolatry  on  the  banks  of 
the  red  sea,  which  had  just  before  been  miraculously 
divided  for  their  passage,  and  which  had  just  before 
overwhelmed  their  enemies  ?  While  heaven  was  every 
instant  lavishing  miracles  in  their  favour,  how  could 
they  possibly  place  their  abominable  idols  in  the  throne 
of  the  living  God  ?  How  could  their  descendants  resist 
the  ministry  of  such  men  as  Isaiah,  Jeremiah,  and  all 
the  other  prophets,  whose  missions  appeared  so  evi- 
dently divine  ? 

In  the  same  disposition  we  judge  those  Jews,  who 
heard  the  sermons,  and  who  saw  the  miracles,  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Their  unbelief  appears  a  greater  prodigy  than 
all  the  other  prodigies  which  we  are  told  they  re- 
sisted. It  seems  a  phenomenon  out  of  the  ordinary 
course  of  nature  ;  and  we  persuade  ourselves,  that,  had 
we  been  in  similar  circumstances,  we  should  have  act- 
ed in  a  very  different  manner. 

As  I  said  before,  my  brethren,  this  sophistry  is  not 
new.  When  we  reason  thus  in  regard  to  those  Jews 
who  lived  in  the  time  of  Jesus  Christ,  we  only  repeat 
what  thcv  themselves  said  in  regard  to  them  who  live 

K2  ^ 


148     The  little  Success  of  CImsVs  Ministry, 

in  the  times  of  the  ancient  prophets.    Jesus  Christ  re- 
proacheth  them  with  it  in  these  emphadcal  words  :. 
"  Wo    unto  you,  scribes  and  pharisees,  hypocrites! 
"  because  ye  build  the  tombs  of  the  prophets,  and 
**  garnish  the  sepulchres  of  the  righteous,  and  say.  If 
*'  we  had  been  in  the  days  of  our  fathers,  we  would 
"  not  have  been  partakers  with  them  in  the  blood 
"  of  the  prophets.     Fill  ye  up  then  the  measure  of 
"  your  fathers,"  Matt,  xxiii.  29,  30,  32.     Let  us  not 
lightly  pass  over  these  words.     I  have  read  them  as 
they  are  in  the  gospel  of  St  Matthew.     St  Luke  has 
them  a  little  differently,  "  Truly  ye  bear  witness  that 
"  ye  allow  the  deeds  of  your  fathers ;  for  they  indeed 
"  killed  them,  and  ye  build  their  sepulchres,"  chap. 
xi  48.     Both  express  the  same  thing.     The  Jews, 
who  were  contemporary  with  Christ,  having  no  in- 
terest in  the  wickedness  of  their  ancestors,  considered 
It  in  the  disposition  of  which  we  have  been  speaking, 
and  were  ashamed  of  it,  and  condemned  it.     They 
considered  themselves  in  contrast  with  them,  and  gave 
themselves  the  preference.     ''  If  we  had  been  in  the 
"  days  of  our  fathers,  we  would  not  have  been  par- 
*^  takers  with  them  in  the  blood  of  the  prophets."  Je- 
sus Christ  undeceives  them,  and  rends  the  veil  with 
which  they  covered  the  turpitude  of  their  own  hearts 
from  themselves.     He  declares,  if  they  had  lived  in 
the  days  of  their  fathers,  they  would  have  imitated 
their  conduct ;  because,  being  in  similar  circumstan- 
ces, they  actually  pursued  similar  methods.     And  he 
assures  them,  that,  if  they  were  Judged  by  their  fruits, 
their  zeal  in  repairing  the  sepulchres,  and  in  embel- 
lishing  the  monuments  of  the  prophets,  proceeded 
less  from  a  design  to  honour  the  memories  of  the  holy 
men,  than  from  a  disposition  to  imbrue  their  own  sa- 
crilegious hands  in  their  blood,  as  their  ancestors  had 
formerly  done. 

The  duty  of  my  office,  and  the  subject  which  Pro- 
vidence calls  me  to-day  to  explain,  oblige  me  to  make 
ah  odious,  but  perhaps  a  too  just  application  of  these 

words. 


The  little  Success  of  Christ's  Ministry,    149 

words.  When  you  hear  of  the  unbelief  of  the  Jews, 
you  say,  "  If  we  had  lived  in  the  times  of  them,  who 
*'  heard  the  sermons  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  who  saw  his 
"  miracles,  we  would  not  have  been  partakers  with 
*'  them  in  the  parricide  of  the  prophets."  Alas  !  my 
brethren,  how  little  do  we  know  of  ourselves  !  How 
easy  is  it  to  form  projects  of  virtue  and  holiness,  when 
nothing  but  the  forming  of  them  is  in  question,  and 
when  we  are  not  called  to  practise  and  execute  them! 
ButwhatI  you  my  brethren  I  would  you  have  believed  in 
Jesus  Christ  ?  You  would  have  believedin  Jesus  Christ; 
you  would  have  followed  Jesus  Christ,  would  you  ? 

Well,  then,  realize  the  time  of  Jesus  Christ.  Sup- 
pose the  Hague  instead  of  Jerusalem.  Suppose  Jesus 
Christ  in  the  place  of  one  of  those  insignificant  men 
who  preach  the  gospel  to  you :  suppose  this  congrega- 
tion instead  of  the  Jews,  to  whom  Jesus  Christ  preach- 
ed, and  in  whose  presence  he  wrought  his  miracles. 
You  would  have  believed  in  Jesus  Christ,  would  you? 
You  would  have  followed  Jesus  Christ,  would  you  ? 

What !  thou  idle  soul !  thou,  who  art  so  indolent  in 
every  thing  connected  with  religion,  that  thou  say  est, 
we  require  too  much,  when  we  endeavour  to  persuade 
thee  to  examine  the  reasons  which  retain  thee  in  the 
profession  of  Christianity,  when  we  exhort  thee  to  con- 
sult thy  pastors,  and  to  read  religious  books  I  What ! 
would'st  thou  have  renounced  thine  indifference  and 
sloth,  if  thou  hadst  lived  in  the  days  of  Jesus  Christ? 
Would  thy  supine  soul  have  aroused  itself  to  examine 
the  evidences  of  the  divinity  of  his  mission,  to  develope 
the  sophisms  with  which  his  enemies  opposed  him,  to 
assort  the  prophecies  with  the  actions  of  his  life,  in  or- 
der  to  determine  their  accomplishment  in  his  person  ? 

What  I  thou  vain  soul !  who  always  takest  the  up- 
perhand  in  society,  who  art  incessantly  pratting  about 
thy  birth,  thine  ancestors,  thy  rank  I  Thou  who  studi- 
est  to  make  thy  dress  the  tone  of  thy  voice,  thine  air 
thy  gait,  thine  equipage  thy  skeleton,  thy  carcase 

thine 


1 50    The  little  Success  of  Christ's  Ministry. 

thine  all,  proclaim  thee  a  superior;personage  I  Would'st 
rhou  have  joined  thyself  to  the  populace,  who  follow- 
ec}  Jesus  Christ ;  to  the  poor  fishermen, and  to  the  con- 
temptible publicans  who  composed  the  apostolic  school; 
would'st  thou  have  followed  this  Jesus  ? 

What  I  thou  miser  I  wi|o  wallowest  in  silver  and 
gold.;  thou  who  dost  idolize  thy  treasures,  and  makest 
thy  heart  not  a  temple  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  but  a  tem- 
ple of  Mammon ;  thou,  who  art  able  to  resist  the  ex- 
hortations and  intreaties,the  prayers  and  the  tears  of  the 
servants  of  God ;  thou  who  art  insensible  to  every  form 
of  address  which  thy  pastors  take  to  move  thee  not  to 
suffer  to  die  for  want  of  sustenance,  whom  ?  A  poor 
miserable  old  man,  who,  sinking  under  the  pains  and 
infirmities  of  old  age,  is  surrounded  with  indigence, 
'>nd  even  wants  bread.  Thou  I  who  art  so  ungenerous, 
so  unnatural,  and  so  barbarous,  that  thou  refusest  the 
least  relief  to  an  object  of  misery  so  affecting ;  would'st 
thou  have  believed  in  Jesus  Christ?  Would'st  thou  have 
followed  Jesus  Christ  ?  Thou  I  would'st  thou  have 
obeyed  this  command.  Go  sell  that  thou  hast,  and  give 
to  the  poor  ^  and  come  and  follow  me  P  Matt.  xix.  21. 

Ah !  *'  Wo  unto  you  scribes  and  pharisees,  hypocrites  I 
"■  Ye  build  the  tombs  of  the  prophets,  and  garnish  the 
*'  sepulchres  of  the  righteous,  and  say,  If  we  had  been 
"  in  the  days  of  our  fathers,  we  would  not  have  been 
"  partakers  with  them  in  the  blood  of  the  prophets." 
But  with  too  much  propriety  may  I  apply  to  some  of 
you  the  following  words,  "  Behold,  I  send  unto  you 
"  prophets,  and  wise  men,  and  scribes ;  and  some  of 
,^'  them  ye  shall  kill  and  crucify  ;  and  some  of  them 
**  shall  ye  scourge  in  your  synagogues,  and  persecute 
"  them  from  city  to  city  ;  that  upon  you  may  come 
*'  all  the  righteous  blood  shed  upon  the  earth,  from  the 
"  blood  of  righteous  Abel,  unto  the  blood  of  Zacha- 
"  rias,  the  son  of  Barachias,"  Matt,  xxiii.  29,  34,  35. 
Yea,  behold,  God  sends  ministers  unto  you,  who 
preach  the  same  doctrine  novy  that  Jesus  Christ  did 

in 


llie  little  Success  of  Christ's  Ministry,     151 

in  his  day.  Resist  them,  as  the  Jews  resisted  Jesus 
Christ ;  withstand  their  preaching,  as  the  Jews  with- 
stood the  preaching  of  Jesvis  Christ ;  ridicule  them,  as^ 
the  Jews  ridiculed  Jesus  Christ ;  call  them  gluttons 
and  wine-bibbers^  Matt.  xi.  19.  as  the  Jews  called  Je- 
sus Christ ;  contemn  the  judgments  which  they  de- 
nounce, as  the  Jews  contemned  the  judgments  which 
Jesus  Christ  foretold  ;  till  all  the  calamitous  judg^ 
ments  which  are  due  to  the  resistance  that  this  na- 
tion hath  made  against  the  gospel  ministry,  from  its 
beginning  to  this  day,  fall  upon  you.  But  cease 
to  consider  the  infidelity  and  obstinacy  of  the  Jews 
as  an  extraordinary  phenomenon.  Do  not  infer  from 
their  not  believing  t^ie  miracles  of  Christ,  that  Jesus 
Christ  wrought  no  miracles.  Do  not  say,  Religion 
hath  but  few  disciples,  therefore  the  grounds  of  religion 
are  not  very  evident.  For  you  are,  the  greatest  part 
of  you,  a  refutation  of  your  own  sophism.  You  are 
witnesses,  that  there  is  a  kind  of  infidelity  and  obsti- 
nacy, which  resisteth  the  most  powerful  motives,  the 
most  plain  demonstrations.  And  these  public  assem- 
blies, this  auditory,  this  concourse  of  people,  all  these 
demonstrate,  that  wisdom  hath  but  few  disciples.  This 
is  what  we  undertook  to  prove. 

5.  But  all  this  is  only  supposition.  What  will  you 
sry,  if,  by  discu.  sing  the  fifth  article,  we  apply  the 
subject !  and  if,  instead  of  saying,  Had  you  lived  in  the 
days  of  the  ancient  Jews,  you  would  have  rejected  the 
ministry  of  Jesus  Christ  as  they  rejected  it ;  we  should 
tell  you,  you  actually  do  reject  it  as  they  did }  This 
proposition  hath  nothing  hyperbolical  in  it  in  regard 
to  a  great  number  of  you.  Nothing  more  is  necessary  * 
to  prove  it,  than  a  list  of  the  most  essential  maxims  of 
the  morality  of  the  gospel,  and  a  comparison  of  them 
with  the  opposite  notions  which  such  christians  form. 

For  example,  it  is  a  maxim  of  the  gospel,  that  virtue 
doth  not  consist  in  a  sirjiple  negation^  but  i?i  something  re- 
al and  positive.  Likewise  in  regard  to  the  employment 
of  time.     What  duty  is  more  expressly  commanded 

in 


152     The  little  Success  ofChrisVs  Ministry, 

m  the  gospel  ?  What  duty  more  closely  connected  with 
the  great  end  for  which  God  hath  placed  us  in  this 
world  ?  Is  not  the  small  number  of  years,  are  not  the 
few  days,  which  we  pass  upon  earth  given  us  to  pre- 
pare for  eternity  ?  Doth  not  our  eternal  destiny  depend 
on  the  manner  in  which  we  spend  these  few  days  and 
years  on  earth  ?  Yet,  to  see  christians  miserably  con- 
sume upon  notkings  the  most  considerable  parts  of  their 
lives,  would  tempt  one  to  think,  that  they  had  the  ab- 
solute disposal  of  an  inexhaustible  fund  of  duration. 

The  delaying  of  conversion  would  afford  another  sub- 
ject, proper  to  shew  the  miserable  art  of  the  greatest 
part  of  mankind  of  shutting  their  eyes  against  the 
clearest  truths,  and  of  hardening  themselves  against 
the  most  powerful  motives.  Have  not  all  casuists, 
even  they  who  are  the  most  opposite  to  each  other  on 
all  other  articles,  agreed  in  this  ?  Have  they  not  una- 
nimously endeavoured  to  free  us  from  this  miserable 
prepossession,  that  God  will  judge  us, not  according  to  the 
manner  in  which  we  live,  but  according  to  the  manner  in 
which  we  die  P  Have  they  not  agreed  in  represerrting  to 
us  the  inability  of  dying  people  to  meditate  with  any 
degree  of  application  ;  and,  in  a  manner,  the  impos- 
sibility of  being  entirely  renewed  on  a  dying-bed : 
and  yet,  do  not  the  greater  number  of  christians,  even 
of  those  whose  piety  seems  the  most  genuine,  defer  a 
great  part  of  the  work  of  their  salvation  to  a  dying 
hour?  If  you  think  1  colour  the  corruption  of  the  age 
too  strongly,  answer  me  one  question.  Whence  proceeds 
our  usual  fear  of  sudden  death  P  Since  the  last  stages  of  life 
are  in  general  the  most  fatiguing ;  since  the  reliefs,  that 
are  applied  then  are  so  disgustful ;  since  parting  adieus 
are  so  exquisitively  painful ;  since  slow  agonies  of  death 
are  so  intolerable ;  why  do  we  not  consider  sudden  death 
as  the  most  desirable  of  all  advantages?  Why  is  it  not 
the  constant  object  of  our  wishes  ?  Why  doth  a  sudden 
death  terrify  a  whole  city  ?  Is  it  not  because  our  con- 
sciences tell  us,  that  there  remains  a  great  deal  to  be 

done 


The  little  Success  of  Christ's  Ministry.     153 

done  on  our  death-beds ;  and  that  we  have  deferred 
that  work  to  the  last  period  of  life,  which  we  ought  to 
have  performed  in  the  days  of  vigour  and  health  ?  Let 
us  enter  into  these  discussions,  and  we  shall  find,  that 
it  doth  not  belong  to  us,  of  all  people,  to  exclaim 
against  the  obstinacy  and  infidelity  of  the  Jews. 

I  have  run  this  disagreeable  parallel,  I  own,  with 
great  reluctance.  However,  the  inference  from  the 
whole,  methinks,  is  very  plain.  The  multitude  ought 
to  be  no  rule  to  us.  We  ought  rather  to  imitate  the 
example  of  one  good  christian,  than  that  of  a  mul- 
titude of  idiots,  who  furiously  rush  into  eternal  misery. 
They,  who  rebel  against  the  doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ, 
are  idiots :  they,  who  submit  to  them,  are  wise  men. 
If  the  first  class  exceed  the  last,  beyond  all  comparison 
in  number,  they  ought  to  have  no  influence  over  our 
lives.  If  the  smallest  be  the  wisest  class,  we  are  bound 
to  imitate  them.  Thus  Jesus  Christ  reasons :  "  Where- 
*'  unto  shall  I  liken  the  men  of  this  generation  ?  and 
*'  to  what  are  they  like  ?  They  are  like  unto  children 
*'  sitting  in  the  market  place,  and  calling  one  to  another, 
*'  and  saying,  We  have  piped  unto  you,  and  ye  have 
"  not  danced  ;  we  have  mourned  to  you,  and  ye  have 
"  not  wept.  For  John  the  Baptist  came  neither  eating 
"  bread,  nor  drinking  wine;  and  ye  say.  He  hath  a  devil. 
"  The  Son  of  Man  is  come  eating  and  (Jnnking ;  and 
"  ye  say,  Behold  a  gluttonous  man  and  a  wine-bibber, 
"  a  friend  of  publicans  and  sinners.  But  wisdom  is 
"  justified  of  all  her  children,"  Luke  vii.  3I,  Sec. 

There  were  but  very  few  of  the  Jews,  who  entered 
into  the  spirit  of  the  gospel ;  as,  I  own,  there  are  but 
few  of  those  called  Christians,  who  enter  into  it :  but 
they  are  the  wise  and  rational  part  of  mankind.  Jesus 
Christ  himself  hath  determined  it  Wisdoin  is  justi- 
fied of  ALL  her  children.  This  is  not  the  opinion  of  a 
declaimer ;  this  is  the  axiom  of  a  philosopher,  that  car- 
ries its  proof  and  demonstration  with  it. 

Who  were  thQse  Jews,  who  resisted  the  powerful  ex- 
hortations 


154     The  little  Success  of  Christ's  Ministry, 

hortations  of  Jesus  Christ,  and  the  clear  evidence  of 
his  miracles  ?  They  were  idiots,  who  imagined  God 
would  suffer  all  the  laws  of  nature  to  be  inteiTupted 
to  favour  falsehood,  and  to  authorize  an  impostor : 
idiots,  who  thought  Satan  would  oppose  himself,  and 
would  himself  lend  his  power  to  a  man  whose  doc- 
trine had  no  other  end  than  the  subversion  of  his 
empire;  idiots,  who  annihilated  prophecy  under  a 
pretence  of  giving  it  a  sublime  meaning :  idiots,  who 
knew  not  the  true  interest  of  mankind ;  who  could  not 
perceive,  that  to  put  riches  and  grandeurs  into  the 
possession  of  men,  whose  dispositions,  like  theirs,  were 
unrenewed,  was  to  put  daggers  and  death  into  mad- 
men's hands;  idiots,  who  for  a  great  number  of  years 
had  lightnings  flashing  in  their  eyes,  and  thunders 
roaring  in  their  ears ;  but  who  cooly  endeavoured  to 
shut  their  eyes,  and  to  stop  their  ears,  till  the  tempest 
struck  them  dead,  and  reduced  them  to  ashes. 

What  is  the  character  of  a  modern  infidel,  who  pre- 
fers a  system  of  irreligion  before  the  system  of  Christi- 
anity ?  He  is  an  idiot ;  a  man,  who  voluntarily  shuts 
his  eyes  against  evidence  and  truth :  a  man  who,  under 
pretence  that  all  cannot  be  explained  to  him,  deter- 
mines to  deny  what  can  :  a  man  who  cannot  digest 
the  difficulties  of  religion,  but  can  digest  those  of 
scepticism ;  a  man  who  cannot  conceive  how  the 
world  should  owe  its  existence  to  a  Supreme  Being, 
but  can  easily  conceive  how  it  was  formed  by  chance. 
On  the  contrary.  What  is  the  character  of  a  believer? 
He  is  a  wise  man,  a  child  of  wisdom;  a  man  who  ac- 
knowledgeth  the  imperfections  of  his  nature  :  a  man 
who,  knowmg  by  experience  the  inferiority  and  un- 
certainty of  his  own  conjectures,  applies  to  revelation  : 
a  man  who,  distrusting  his  own  reason,  yields  it  up 
to  the  direction  of  an  infallible  Being,  and  is  thus 
enabled,  in  some  sense,  to  see  with  the  eyes  of  God 
himself. 

What  is  the  character  of  a  man  who  refuseth  to 

obey 


The  little  Success  ofChrisfs  Ministry.  155 

obey  this  saying  of  Jesus  Christ,  No  mancan  serve  t'wo 
Masters P  Matt.  vi.  24.  He  is  an  idiot;  he  is  a  man 
who,  by  endeavouring  to  unite  the  joys  of  heaven  with 
the  pleasures  of  the  world,  deprives  himself  of  the  hap- 
piness of  both  :  he  is  a  man,  who  is  always  agitated 
between  tyv'o  opposite  parties,  that  make  his  soul  a 
seat  of  war,  where  virtue  and  vice  are  in  continual 
fight.  On  the  contrary.  What  is  the  character  of  a 
man  who  obeys  this  saying  of  Jesus  Christ?  He  is  a 
jnan  who,  after  he  hath  applied  all  the  attention  of 
which  he  is  capable,  to  distingush  the  good  from  the 
bad,  renounceth  the  last,  and  embraceth  the  first :  a 
man  who,  having  felt  the  force  of  virtuous  motives, 
doth  not  suffer  himself  to  be  imposed  on  by  sensual 
sophisms :  a  man,  who  judgeth  of  truth  and  error  by 
those  infallible  marks  which  characterize  bot,h ;  and 
not  by  a  circulation  of  the  blood,  a  flow,  or  dejection, 
of  animal  spirits,  and  by  other  similar  motives,  which, 
if  I  may  be  allowed  to  say  so,  make  the  whole  course 
of  the  logic,  and  the  whole  stock  of  the  erudition,  of 
the  children  of  this  world. 

What  is  the  character  of  the  man  who  refuseth 
to  obey  this  command  of  Jesus  Christ,  Lay  not  up  trea- 
sures upon  earth  ;  for  where  your  treasure  is,  there  will 
your  heart  he  also  P  Matt.  vi.  I9.  21.  He  is  a  man  who 
fixeth  his  hopes  on  a  sinking  world ;  a  man  who  for- 
gets that  death  will  spoil  him  of  all  his  treasures ;  a 
man  who  is  blind  to  the  shortness  of  his  life ;  a  man 
who  is  insensible  to  the  burden  of  old  age,  even  while 
it  weighs  him  down  ;  who  never  saw  the  wrinkles 
that  disfigure  his  countenance ;  a  man  who  is  deaf  to 
the  voice  of  universal  nature,  to  the  living,  the  dying, 
and  the  dead,  who  in  concert  cry.  Remember  thou  art 
mortal!  On  the  contrary,  what  is  the  character  of 
him  who  obeys  this  command  of  Jesus  Christ  ?  It  is 
wisdom.  The  man  is  one  who  elevates  his  hopes 
above  the  ruins  of  a  sinking  world ;  a  man  who  clings 
to  the  Rock  of  ages  ;  who  buildeth  his  house  on  that 

Rock 


156    The  little  Success  oj  Christ's  Ministry. 

Rock ;  who  sendeth  all  his  riches  before  him  into  eter- 
nity ;  who  maketh  God,  the  great  God,  the  deposi- 
tary of  his  happiness  :  a  man,  who  is  the  same  in  eve- 
ry turn  of  times,  because  no  variation  can  deprive  him 
ot  the  happiness  which  he  hath  chosen. 

And  what  are  the  men  who  resist  our  ministry,  who 
hear  our  sermons,  as  if  they  were  simple  amusements ; 
who,  when  they  depart  from  their  places  of  worship, 
return  to  the  dissipations  and  vices  from  which  they 
came  ;  w^ho,  after  they  have  fasted,  and  prayed,  and 
received  the  communion,  are  always  as  worldly,  always 
as  proud,  always  as  revengeful,  always  as  ready  to  ca- 
lumniate as  before?  They  are  really  idiots,  who 
know  not  the  days  of  their  visitation;  who  "  despise 
**  the  riches  of  the  forbearance  of  God,  not  knowing 
"  that  his  goodness  leadeth  to  repentance,"  Rom.  ii  4. ; 
they  are  idiots,  who  felicitate  themselves  to-day  with 
worldly  pursuits,  which  to-morrow  will  tear  their  souls 
asunder  on  a  death-bed,  and  the  sorrowful  remem- 
brance of  which  will  torment  them  through  the  bound- 
less ages  of  eternity.  And  those  auditors,  who  are 
attentive  to  our  doctrines,  and  obedient  to  our  pre- 
cepts ;  those  auditors,  who  thankfully  receive  the  wise, 
and  patiently  bear  with  the  weak,  in  our  ministry  : 
What  are  they  ?  They  are  wise  men,  who  refer  our 
ministry  to  its  true  meaning,  who  nourish  their  souls 
with  the  truths,  and  daily  advance  in  practising  the 
virtues  of  their  calling. 

How  much  doth  a  contrast  of  these  characters  dis- 
play the  glory  of  Christianity  ?  Is  this  religion  less  the 
work  of  wisdom,  because  idiots  reject  it  ?  Doth  not 
the  honour  of  a  small  number  of  wise;  disciples  indem- 
nify us  for  all  the  attacks  that  a  croud  of  extrava- 
gant people  make  on  it  ?  And  were  you  to  choose  a 
pattern  for  yourselves  to-day,  my  brethren,  which  of 
the  two  examples  would  make  the  deepest  impressions 
on  you  ?  Would  you  choose  to  imitate  a  small  number 
of  wise  men,  or  a  multitude  of  fools  ?  To  be  reproached 

for 


The  little  Success  of  Christ^ s  Ministry.     157 

for  preciseness  and  singularity  is  a  very  powerful  temp- 
tation, and  piety  will  often  expose  us  to  it.  What  I 
every  body  else  goes  into  company ;  and  would  you 
distinguish  yourself  by  living  always  shut  up  at  home? 
How  I  every  body  allows  one  part  of  the  day  to  gam- 
ing and  pastime ;  and  would  you  render  yourself  re- 
markable by  devoting  every  moment  of  the  day  to 
religion  ?  What  I  nobody  in  the  world  requires  above 
a  day  or  two  to  prepare  for  the  sacrament ;  and  would 
you  distinguish  yourself  by  employing  whole  weeks  in 
preparing  for  that  ceremony  ?  Yes,  I  would  live  a  sin- 
gular kind  of  life  !  Yes,  I  would  distinguish  myself! 
Yes,  though  all  the  phr^sees,  though  all  the  doctors 
of  the  law,  though  all  the  whole  synagogue  should 
unite  in  rejecting  Jesus  Christ ;  I  would  devote  myself 
to  him  !  World  !  thou  shalt  not  be  my  judge.  World ! 
it  is  not  thou,  who  shalt  decide  what  is  shameful,  and 
what  is  glorious.  Provided  1  have  the  children  of 
wisdom  for  my  companions,  angels  for  my  witnesses, 
my  Jesus  for  my  guide,  my  God  for  my  rewarder, 
and  heaven  for  my  recompense,  all  the  rest  signify 
but  little  to  me  !  May  God  inspire  us  with  these  sen- 
timents! Amen. 


SERMON 


159 

SERMON    VI. 

Christianity  not  Seditions. 


Luke  xxiii.  5. 
He  stirreth  up  the  people. 

IV'EVER  was  a  charge  more  unjustly  brought,  ne~ 
ver  was  a  charge  more  fully  and  nobly  retorted, 
than  that  of  Ahab  against  Elijah.  Elijah  was  raised 
up  to  resist  the  torrent  of  corruption  and  idolatry 
which  overflowed  the  kingdom  of  Israel.  God,  who 
had  appointed  him  to  an  office  so  painful  and  import- 
ant, had  richly  imparted  to  him  the  gifts  necessary  to 
discharge  it :  so  that  when  the  scriptures  would  give 
us  a  just  notion  of  the  herald  of  the  Messiah,  it  saith, 
He  shall  go  in  the  spirit  and  power  of  Elias^  Luke  i.  17. 
Sublimity  in  his  ideas,  energy  in  his  expressions,  gran- 
deur in  his  sentiments,  glory  in  his  miracles,  all  con- 
tributed to  elevate  this  prophet  lo  the  highest  rank 
among  them  who  have  managed  the  sword  of  the  spi- 
rit with  reputation  and  success.  This  extraordinary 
man  appears  before  Ahab,  who  insults  him  with  this 
insolent  language.  Art  thou  he  that  trouhleth  Israel  P 
1  Kings  xviii.  ]  7.  Was  ever  a  charge  more  unjustly 
brought  ?  Elijah  is  not  terrified  with  this  language. 
Neither  the  majesty  nor  the  madness  of  Ahab,  neither 
the  rage  of  Jezebel  nor  the  remembrance  of  so  many 
prophets  of  the  true  God  sacrificed  to  false  gods,  no- 
thing terrifies  liim,  nothing  affects  him.  I  have  not 
troubled  Israel,  replies  lie  ;  "  but  thou,  and  thy  fatlier's 
"  house,  in  that  ye  have  forsaken  the  commandments 

"of 


160  Christianity/  not  seditious. 

"  of  the  Lord,  and  thou  hast  followed  Baalim,"  ver. 
18.  Was  ever  a  charge  retorted  with  more  magna- 
nimity and  courage  ? 

My  brethren,  1  invite  you  to-day  to  contemplate 
men  more  unjust  than  Ahab,  and  I  invite  you  to  con- 
template one  more  magnanimous  than  Elijah.  Jesus 
Christ  undertook  a  work,  that  all  the  prophets— what 
am  I  saying  ?  he  undertook  a  work  which  all  the 
angels  of  heaven  united  would  have  undertaken  in 
vain.  He  came  to  reconcile  heaven  and  earth.  God, 
who  sent  him  into  the  world  in  this  grand  business  ; 
communicated  "  the  Spirit  without  measure  to  him," 
John  iii.  34.  Jesu^  Christ  dedicated  himself  entirely 
to  the  office.  He  made  the  will  of  the  Father,  who  had 
charged  him  with  the  salvation  of  mankind,  his  meat 
and  drinks  ch.  iv.  34.  By  meditation,  by  retirement, 
by  a  holiness  formed  on  the  plan  of  the  holiness  of 
God,  of  whose  ^/ory  be  is  iht  bri^/it?iess,o^  whose  person 
he  is  the  express  image,  Hch.  i.  3.  he  prepared  himself 
for  that  grand  sacrifice,  which  was  designed  to  extin- 
guish the  flames  of  divine  justice,  burning  to  avenge 
the  W'ickedness  of  mankind.  After  a  life  so  truly 
amiable,  he  was  dragged  before  judges,  and  accused 
before  human  tribunals  of  being  a  firebrand  of  sedi- 
tion, w^ho  came  to  set  society  in  a  flame.  Jesus  Christ 
■was  not  moved  with  this  accusation.  Neither  the 
inveteracy  of  his  accusers,  nor  the  partiality  of  his 
judge,  neither  the  prospect  of  death,  nor  the  idea  of  the 
cross,  on  which  he  knew  he  was  to  expire,  nothing 
could  make  him  act  unworthy  of  his  character.  Al- 
ways ready  to  communicate  to  enquirers  the  treasures 
of  wisdom  and  knowledge,  of  which  he  was  the  depo- 
sitary, and  to  reveal  himself  to  them,  as  the  true  light 
which  lighteth every  man  that  comethinto  the  world, ]o\m 
i.  9.  On  this  occasion,  he  justly  discovered  his  supe^ 
riority  over  his  accusers,  and  over  his  judges,  by 
refusing  to  gratify  the  vain  desire  of  Herod,  who 
wished  to  see  him  work  a  miracle,  and  by  leaving, 

without, 


Christianity  not  seditious.  161 

without  any  other  apology,  his  doctrine  to  apologize 
for  itself. 

These  are  the  grand  objects  which  are  proposed  to 
your  meditation  in  the  text,  and  in  the  seven  follow-, 
ing  verses  that  are  connected  with  it.  The  whole  pe- 
riod is  perhaps  the  most  barren  part  of  the  history  of  the 
passion :  but  the  most  barren  parts  of  this  miraculous 
history  are  so  fruitful  in  instruction,  that  I.  must  needs 
omit  many  articles,  and  confine  myself  to  the  examina- 
tion of  the  first  words,  which  are  my  text,  he  stirreth 
up  the  people.  It  will  be  necessary,  however,  briefly 
to  explain  the  following  verses,  and,  after  a  short  expli- 
cation of  them,  we  return  to  the  text,  the  principal 
matter  of  this  discourse.  We  will  examine  the  charge 
of  troubling  society,  which  hath  always  been  laid 
against  Jesus  Christ,  and  his  gospel. 

O,  you  I  who  so  often  blame  religious  discourses  for 
troubling  that  false  peace,  which  you  taste  in  the  arms 
of  security,  blush  to-day  to  see  what  unworthy  models 
you  imitate  I  And  we,  minsters  of  the  living  God,  so 
often  intimidated  at  this  odious  charge,  let  us  learn 
to-day  courageously  to  follow  the  steps  of  that  Jesus 
who  bore  so  great  a  contradiction  of  sinners  against  him^ 
self  I  Heb.  xii.  3.  May  God  assist  us  in  this  work ! 
Amen. 

Jesus  Christ  had  been  interrogated  by  Pilate,  and  had 
answered  two  calumnies,  that  had  been  objected  against 
him.  The  conduct  of  Jesus  Christ  had  always  been 
remarkable  for  submission  to  magistracy,  and  for  con- 
tempt of  human  grandeur$.  However,  he  had  been 
accused  before  Pilate  of  having  forbidden  to  pay  tri- 
bute to  Caesar,  and  of  having  affected  royalty.  Pilate 
had  examined  him  on  these  two  articles,  and  on  both, 
JesUs  Christ  had  justified  his  innocence,  confounded 
his  accusers,  and  satisfied  his  judge. 

An  upright  judge  would  have  acquitted  this  illus- 
trious prisoner  after  he  had  acknowledged  his  inno- 
cence.    Pilate  took    another   method,     Whether   it 

Vox.  II.  L  ,      were 


1152  Christianity  not  seditious, 

were  cowardice,  or  folly,  or  policy,  or  all  these  dispo- 
sitions together,  he  seized  the  first  opportunity  that 
ofiered,  to  remove  a  cause  into  another  court,  which, 
he  thought  he  could  not  determine  without  danger  to 
himself.  My  brethren,  I  have  known  many  magis- 
trates of  consummate  knowledge  ;  I  have  seen  many 
of  incorruptible  principles,  whose  equity  was  inca- 
pable of  diversion  by  those  bribes  which  the  scripture 
saith  hU?id  the  eyes  of  the  wise,  Exod.  xxiii.  8.  But 
how  rare  are  they  who  have  resolution  enough,  not 
only  to  judge  with  rectitixle,  but  also  to  support  wdth 
an  undaunted  heroism,  those  suffrages  which  are  the 
dictates  of  equity  and  truth  I  Pilate,  instead  of  dis- 
charging Jesus  Christ  from  his  persecutors  and  execu- 
tioners, in  some  sort  assisted  their  cruelty.  Neither 
able  sufficiently  to  stifle  the  dictates  of  his  ow'n  con- 
science to  condemn  him,  nor  obedient  enough  to  them 
to  acquit  him,  he  endeavoured  to  find  a  judge,  either 
more  courageous,  who  might  deliver  him,  or  less  scru- 
pulous, w^ho  might  condemn  him  to  death. 

The  countrymen  of  Jesus  Christ  furnished  Pilate 
with  a  pretence.  They  were  the  more  fierce,  saith  our 
Evangelist,  saying.  He  stirreth  vp  the  people  from  Gali- 
lee to  this  place.  Who  were  they  who  brought  this 
accusation  against  Jesus  Christ  ?  Were  they  only  the 
Roman  soldiery  and  the  Jewish  populace  ?  No  :  they 
w^ere  divines  and  ecclesiastics  I  .  .  .  let  us  turn  from 
these  horrors.  J¥hen  Pilate  heard  of  Galilee,  adds  St 
Luke,  he  asked  whether  the  man  were  a  Galilean  P  Christ 
was  born  in  Bethlehem,  a  town  in  Judea,  according  to 
this  prophecy  of  Micah  :  "  And  thou,  Bethlehem,  in 
"  the  land  of  Judah,  art  not  the  least  among  the  princes 
"  of  Judah  ;  for  out  of  thee  shall  come  a  governor, 
"  that  shall  rule  my  people  Israel,"  Matt.  ii.  6.;  but  his 
mother  Vv^as  of  Nazareth,  in  Galilee,  from  whence  she 
came  to  Jerusalem  with  Joseph,  on  account  of  a  com- 
mand of  Augustus,  which  it  is  needless  to  enlarge  on 
here.  In  Galilee,  therefore,  and  particularly  at  Naza- 
reth, 


Christianity  not  seditious,  l§p 

reth,  Jesus  Christ  passed  those  thirty  years  of  his  life, 
of  which  the  Evangelists  gave  us  no  account.  We  inay 
remark,  by  the  way,  that  these  circumstances  brought 
about  the  accompHshment  of  this  prophecy,  He  shall 
be  called  a  Nazarene,  ver.  23-     This  prophecy,  cited 
in  the  New  Testament,  is  not  to  be  found  h'terally 
in  the  Old :  but  the  prophets  very  often  foretold  the 
contempt  that  the  Jews  would  pour  on  Jesus  Christ ; 
and  his  dwelling  in  Galilee,  particularly  at  Nazareth, 
was  an  occasion,  as  of  their  contempt,  so  of  the  accom- 
plishment of  prophecy.    The  Jews  considered  Galilee 
as  a  country  hateful  to  God  ;  and  although  Jonah  was 
born  there,  yet  they  had  a  saying,  that  720  Galilean  had 
ever  received  the  Spirit  of  God.     Hence  the  Sanhe- 
drim said  to  Nicodemus,  Search,  md  look  ;  for  out  of 
Galilee  ariseth  no  prophet,  John  vii.  52.     Agreeably 
to  this,  when  Philip  said  to  Nathanael,  "  We  have 
"  found  him  of  whom  Moses  and  the  prophets  did 
"  write,  Jesus  of  Nazareth,"  chap.  i.  45. ;  the  latter  re- 
plied, Can  there  any  good  thing  come  out  of  Nazareth  P 
ver.  46.    The  Jews  were  transported  to  find  that  Jesus 
Christ  was  an  inhabitant  of  this  city  ;  because  it  served 
them  for  a  pretence  to  give  him  a  name  of  contempt, 
accordingly  they  called  him  a  Nazarene,     They   af- 
terward gavel  the  same  despicable  name  to  his  discip- 
ples.     St  Jerom  tells  us,  that  in  his  time  they  anathe- 
matized christians  under  the  name  of  Nazarenes.— 
We  see  also  in  the  book  of  Acts,  that  christians  were 
called  Galileans ;  and  by  this  name  they  are  known 
in  heathen  writers. 

Let  us  return.  Herod  Antipas,  (son  of  Herod  the 
Great,  the  same  whom  John  the  Baptist  reproved  for 
keeping  Herodias,  his  brother  Philip's  wife,)  reigned 
in  Galilee,  under  the  name  of  Tetrarch,  when  Jesus 
Christ  was  cited  before  Pilate.  This  was  what  enga- 
ged the  Roman  governor  to  send  him  to  this  prince. 
Whether  Antipas,  the  tetrarch  of  Galilee,  descended 

L  *:?  fronn 


164  Christianity  not  seditious, 

from  heathen  parents,  as  some  affirm ;  whether  he  were 
of  Jewish  extraction,  as  others  say ;  or  whether  he  were 
an  Idumean,  -according  to  the  general  opinion,  is  not 
very  material.  It  is  very  certam,  that  if  this  prince 
were  not  sincerely  of  the  religion  of  Moses,  he  pre- 
tended to  be  so ;  and,  as  the  law  required  all  heads  of 
families  to  celebrate  four  grand  festivals  in  the  year 
at  the  capital  of  Judea,  he  had  come  up  to  Jerusalem 
to  keep  the  passover,  at  which  time  the  Lord  Jesus 
underwent  his  passion. 

The  reputation  of  our  Saviour  had  reached  this 
prince.  The  gospel  tells  us  the  absurd  notion  that  he 
had  entertained  of  him.  He  thought  him  John  the 
Baptist,  whom  he  had  sacrificed,  with  as  much  cow- 
ardice as  cruelty,  to  the  revenge  of  Herodias.  His 
notion  was  founded  on  an  opinion  of  the  Jews,  who 
thought,  that  many  prophets,  particularly  they  who 
had  sealed  their  doctrine  with  their  blood,  would  rise 
again  at  the  coming  of  the  Messiah.  Her od  was  glad 
of  an  opportunity  of  informing  himself  on  this  article. 
He  flattered  himself,  that  if  he  should  not  see  such  a 
singular  object  as  a  man  raised  from  the  dead,  at  least 
Jesus  Christ  would  not  refuse  to  conciliate  his  esteem, 
by  gratifying  his  curiosity,  and  by  performing  some 
extraordinary  work  in  his  presence.  But  should  Pro- 
vidence interrupt  the  ordinary  course  of  nature  to 
amuse  a  profane  court  ?  Jesus  Christ  not  only  would 
not  prostitute  his  miraculous  gifts  before  Herod,  he 
would  not  even  deign  to  answer  him. 

A  very  little  attention  to  the  genius  of  the  great 
will  be  sufficient  to  convince  us,  that  the  silence  of  Je- 
sus Christ,  and  his  refusal  to  condescend  to  the  caprice 
of  Herod,  must  naturally  expose  him  to  the  contempt 
of  this  prince,  and  to  that  of  his  courtiers.  Accord- 
ingly, we  are  told,  that  they  set  him  at  nought^  and 
mocked  him^  and  sent  him  hack  again  to  Pilate.  Some 
have  inquired  a  reason,  why  Herod  put  on  him  a~ 

white 


Christianity  not  seditious.  165 

wliite  garment  *  ;  and  some  learned  men  have  thought 
he  intended  thereby  to  attest  his  innocence ;  and  this 
opinion  seems  to  agree  with  what  Pilate  said  to  the 
Jews  ;  neither  I  nor  Herod  have  found  any  fault  in  this 
man,  touching  those  things  whereof  ye  accuse  him.  But 
they  who  advance  this  opinion,  ought  to  prove,  that 
the  Jews,  or  the  Romans,  did  put  white  garments  on 
persons  whom  they  acquitted.  I  own,  though  I  have 
taken  some  pains  to  look  for  this  custom  in  the  writ- 
ings of  antiquity,  I  have  not  been  able  to  find  it :  how- 
ever,  it  doth  not  follow,  that  others  may  not  discover 
it.  Nor  is  it  any  clearer,  in  my  opinion,  that  the 
design  of  those,  who  put  this  habit  on  Jesus  Christ, 
was  the  same  with  that  of  the  soldiers,  who  put  a  reed 
in  the  form  of  a  sceptre  into  his  hand,  to  insult  him, 
because  he  said  he  was  a  king.  I  would  follow  the 
rule  here  which  seems  to  me  the  most  sure,  that  is, 
I  would  suspend  my  judgment  on  a  subject  that  can- 
jipt  be  explained. 

I  add  but  one  word  more,  before  I  come  to  the  prin 
cipal  object  of  our  meditation.     The  Evangelist  re- 
marks, 

*  Our  author  follows  the  reading  of  the  French  bible,  revestu 
d'un  vestement  hlanc  ;  our  translation  reads  it,  arrayed  in  ?^  gorgeous 
robe  J  and  the  original  word  A«ft7r§«v  signifies  both.  A  njohite  gar- 
jnent  was  a  gorgeous,  a  sfihndid  garment,  because  priests,  and  kings 
wore  nvhite  garments.  See  Esther  viii.  15.  2  Chron.  v.  12,  The 
heavenly  visions,  which  are  recorded  in  scripture,  and  which  were 
intended  for  the  more  easy  apprehension,  and  instruction,  of  those 
who  were  honoured  with  them,  preserve  an  analogy  in  their  ima- 
gery between  themselves  and  the  known  objects  of  real  life.  Hence 
God,  Christ,  angels,  and  the  spirits  of  tlie  just,  are  represented  as 
clothedin  wto,  Dan.  vii.  9.  Luke  ix.  29.  Actsi.  10.  and  Rev.  iii.  4i. 

Herod's  design  in  arraying  Christ  in  white  is  not  known  5  and 
whether  we  ought,  with  Casauboij,  in  the  following  words,  to  find 
a  mystery  in  it,  we  will  not  pretend  to  say.  "  Cum  igitur  yestis  Can- 
dida, apud  vetercs,  regia  pariter  et  sacerdotalis  esset  j  quis  mt/sterio 
factum  a  providentia  divina  non  agnoscat ;  quod  verus  rex,  verus 
sacerdos,  a  suis  irrisoribus  Candida  veste  amicitur  ?  Fuit,  quidem, 
istorum  animus  pessimus  :  sed  hoc  veritatis  significaticmem  mysti- 
cam,  neque  hie,  neque  in  cruci^  titulo  laedebat."  Exerc.  In  Bar. 
Annal.  S.  73,  E.  16. 


166  Christianity  not  seditious. 

marks,  that  the  circumstances,  which  he  related,  I 
mean  the  artful  address  of  Pilate  to  Herod,  in  sending 
a  culprit  of  his  jurisdiction  to  his  bar;  and  the  similar 
artifice  of  Herod  to  Pilate,  in  sending  him  back  again, 
occasioned  their  reconciliation.  What  could  induce 
them  to  differ  ?  The  sacred  history  doth  not  inform 
us ;  and  we  can  only  conjecture.  We  are  told,  that 
some  subjects  of  Herod  Antipas,  who  probably  had 
made  an  insurrection  against  the  Romans,  had  been 
punished  at  Jerusalem  during  the  passover  by  Pilate, 
Luke  xiii.  1.  who  had  mixed  their  blood  with  that  of 
the  sacrifices,  which  they  intended  to  offer  to  God  at  the 
feast.  But  the  scripture  doth  not  say,  whether  this  affair 
occasioned  the  difference  that  subsisted  between  the 
tetrarch  of  the  Jews  and  the  Roman  governor.  In 
general,  it  was  natural  for  these  two  men  to  be  at  en- 
mity. On  the  one  hand,  the  yoke,  which  the  Romans 
had  put  on  all  the  nations  of  the  earth,  was  sufficient 
to  excite  the  impatience  of  all,  except  the  natives  of 
Rome  ;  and  to  stir  them  up  to  perplex  and  to  counter- 
act, the  governors,  whom  they  set  over  the  countries 
which  they  had  invaded.  On  the  other,  it  must  be 
acknowledged,  that  they,  who  are  deputed  to  govern 
conquered  provinces,  and,  for  a  time,  to  represent  the 
sovereign  there,  very  seldom  discharge  their  offices 
with  mildness  and  equity.  They  are  instantly  infa- 
tuated with  that  shadow  of  royalty  to  which  they  have 
not  been  accustomed  ;  and  hence  come  pride  and  inso- 
lence. They  imagine,  they  ought  to  push  their  lx>r- 
tune,  by  making  the  most  of  a  rank,  from  which  they 
must  presently  descend ;  and  hence  come  injustice 
and  extortion.  The  reconciliation  of  Herod  and 
Pilate  is  more  surprizing  than  their  discord. 

We  hasten  to  more  important  subjects.  We  will 
direct  all  your  remaining  attention  to  the  examination 
of  the  text.  He  stirreth  up  the  people  from  Galilee  to  this 
place.  The  doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ  hath  always  been 
accused  of  troubling  society.  They,  who  have  preach- 
ed 


Christianiti/  not  seditious,  167 

ed  truth  and  virtue,  have  always   been   accounted 
disturbers  of  the  peace  of  society.     I  would  inquire, 

I.  In  what  respects  this  charge  is  false  :  and  in  what 
respects  it  is  true. 

II.  From  the  nature  of  those  troubles  w^hich  Jesus 
Christ,  and  his  ministers,  excite,  I  would  derive  an 
apology  for  Christianity  in  general,  and  for  a  gospel 
ministry  in  particular;  and  prove  that  the  troubling 
of  society  ought  not  to  be  imputed  to  those  who  preach 
the  doctrine  of  Christ ;  but  to  those  who  hear  it. 

III.  As  we  are  now  between  two  days  of  solemn 
devotion,  between  a  fast,  which  we  have  observed  a 
few  days  ago,  and  a  communion,  that  we  shall  receive 
a  few  days  hence :  I  shall  infer  from  the  subject  a  few 
rules,  by  whichyou  may  know,  whether  you  have  kept 
the  first  of  these  solemnities,  or  whether  you  will  ap- 
proach the  last,  with  suitable  dispositions.  Our  text, 
you  see,  my  brethren,  wall  supply  us  with  abundant 
matter  for  the  remaining  part  of  this  exercise. 

1.  One  distinction  will  explain  our  first  article,  and 
will  shew  us  in  what  respects  religion  doth  not 
disturb  society,  and  in  what  respects  it  doth.  We 
must  distinguish  what  religion  is  in  itself  from  the 
effects  which  it  produceth  through  the  dispositions 
of  those  to  whom  it  is  preached.  In  regard  to  the 
first,  Jesus  Christ  is  the  Prince  of  Peace.  This  idea  the 
prophets,  this  idea  the  angels,  who  announced  his 
coming,  gave  of  him :  "  Unto  us  a  child  is  born,  un- 
*'  to  us  a  son  is  given,  and  the  government  shall  be  up- 
'*  on  his  shoulder  :  and  his  name  shall  be  called,  Won- 
"  derful,  Counsellor,  The  mighty  God,  The  everlast- 
"  ing  Father,  the  Prince  of  Peace :''  this  is  what  the 
prophets  said  of  him,  Isa.  ix.  6.  **  Glory  to  God  in  the 
"  highest,  and  on  earth  peace,  good  will  towards  men  I" 
Luke  ii.  14.  This  was  the  exclamation  of  the  hea- 
venly host,  when  they  appeared  to  the  shepherds. 
Jesus  Christ  perfectly  answereth  these  descriptions. 

Consider 


168  Christianity  not  seditious. 

Consider  the  kingdom  of  this  divine  Saviour,  and 
youwillfind,  all  his  maxims  ryc peace,  all  tend  to  unity 
and  concord  :  "  A  new  commandment  I  give  unto  you, 
"  that  ye  love  one  another;  by  this  shall  all  men  know 
"  that  ye  are  my  disciples,  if  ye  have  love  one  to  another," 
John  xiii.  34.  Peace  is  the  inheritance  he  left  to  his 
disciples :  peace  /  leave  with  you,  m^  peace  I  give  unto 
you,  chap.  xiv.  27.  Peace  between  God  and  man  ; 
being justijiedbyfaithwe  have  peace  with  Go  J,  Rom.  v.  1 . 
he  hath  reconciled  all  things  unto  himself,  having  made 
peace  thro''  the  blood  of  his  cross.  Col.  i.  20.  Peace  be- 
tween Jews  and  Gentiles ;  ybr /^^  is  our  peace,  who  hath 
made  both  one,  and  hath  broken  down  the  middle  wall  of 
partitionbetweenus  ;  and  came  and  preached  peace  to  you 
which  were  afar  off,  and  to  them  that  were  nigh,  Eph.ii, 
14,  17.  Peace  in  the  society  of  the  first  disciples  ; 
for  all  that  believed  were  together,  and  had  all  things 
common.  Acts  ii.  44.  Peace  in  the  conscience  ;  for 
without  Jesus  Christ  trouble  and  terror  surround  us. 
Heaven  is  armed  with  lightnings  and  thunderbolts, 
the  earth  under  the  curse,  a  terrible  angel,  with  a 
flaming  sword,  forbids  our  access  to  the  gate  of  pa- 
radise, and  the  stings  of  conscience  ^re  the  arrows  of 
the  Almighty  ;  the  poison  whereof  drinketh  up  the  spirit. 
Job  vi.  4.  But  at  the  approach  of  Jesus  Christ  our 
miseries  flee,  and  we  listen  to  his  voice,  which  cries  to 
us.  Come  unto  me,  all  ye  that  labour,  and  are  heavy  laden, 
and  ye  shall  find  rest  unto  your  souls.  Matt.  ix.  28, 29. 

But,  if  religion,  ^considered  in  itself,  breathes  only 
peace,  it  actually  occasioneth  trouble  in  society, 
thro'  the  dispositions  of  those  to  whom  it  is  preached. 
According  to  the  general  dispositions  of  mankind, 
the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  must  necessarily  disgust, 
and  therefore  disturb,  schools,  courts,  churches,  and 
families ;  stirring  up  one  minister  against  another  mi- 
nister, a  confessor  against  a  tyrant,  a  pastor  against  a 
people,  a  father  against  his  family. 

1.  Schools.     There  were  two  celebrated  schools  in 

the 


Christianity  not  seditious.  169 

the  days  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  Pagan  school,  and  the  Jew- 
ish^school.  The  Pagan  schools  were  fountains  of  er- 
roJs.  They  taught  erroneous  opinions  of  God,  whose 
excellence  they  pretended  to  represent  by  figures  of 
men,  animals,  and  devils.  They  taught  erroneous  opi- 
nions of  man,  of  whose  origin,  obligations,  and  end, 
they  w^ere  totally  ignorant.  They  taught  erroneous 
opinions  of  morality,  which  they  had  adjusted,  not  ac« 
cording  to  the  dictates  of  conscience,  but  agreeably 
to  the  suggestions  of  their  own,  vicious  hearts. 

The  Jewish  schools,  originally  directed  by  a  heavenly 
light,  had  not  fallen  into  errors  so  gross :  but  they 
were  not  exempt ;  they  had  even  embraced  some  ca- 
pital mistakes.  The  fundamental  article  of  the  Jewish 
religion,  that  on  which  depended  all  their  hopes  and 
all  theij  joys,  I  mean  the  doctrine  of  the  Messiah,  was 
precisely  that  of  which  they  had  entertained  the  most 
false  ideas.  They  represented  to  themselves  a  Mes- 
siah of  flesh  and  blood,  one  adapted  to  the  relish  of 
human  passions.  They  authorized  the  most  criminal 
remissness,  and  violated  the  most  inviolable  rights  of 
religion  and  nature.  Revenge,  in  their  opinion,  was 
inseparable  from  man.  Concupiscence  was  perfectly 
consistent  with  purity  of  heart.  Perjury  changed  its 
nature,  when  it  was  accompanied  with  certain  douceurs. 
Divorce  was  a  prevention  of  discord,  and  one  of  the 
domestic  rights  of  a  married  person. 

The  christian  religion  appears  in  the  world,  and  in 
it  other  ideas  of  God,  of  man,  of  virtue,  of  the  ex- 
pected Messiah  ;  other  notions  of  concupiscence  and 
revenge,  of  perjury,  and  of  all  the  principal  points  of 
religion  and  morality.  Christianity  appears  in  the 
world.  The  Lord  of  the  universe  is  no  longer  as- 
sociated with  other  beings  of  the  same  kind.  He  is 
no  longer  an  incestuous  being,  no  more  a  parricide,  an 
adulterer.  He  is  a  being  alone  in  his  essence,  inde- 
pendent in  his  authority,  just  in  his  laws,  wise  in  his 
purposeis,  and  irresistible  in  his  performances.  Philo- 
sophy 


(0  Christianitij  not  seditious, 

sophy  is  folly.  Epicurus  proves  himself  an  idiot, 
destitute  of  reason  and  intelligence,  by  not  discovering 
the  characters  of  intelligence  and  reason,  that  shine 
throughout  all  the  universe,  and  by  attributing  to  a 
fortuitous  concourse  of  atoms  the  effects  of  wisdom  the 
most  profound,  and  of  power  infinite  and  supreme. 
Pythagoras  is  a  master-dreamer,  who  seemeth  to  have 
contracted  the  stupidity  of  ail  the  animals,  the  bodies 
vjf  which  his  soul  hath  transmigrated.  Zeno  is  an  ex- 
travagant creature,  who  sinks  the  dignity  of  man  by 
pretending  to  assign  a  false  grandeur  to  him,  and  maketh 
him  meaner  than  a  beast,  by  affecting  to  set  him  a  rival 
with  God .  The  christian  religion  appears  in  the  world . 
The  Messiah  is  not  a  pompous,  formidable  conqueror, 
whose  exploits  are  all  in  favour  of  one  -single  nation. 
Revenge  is  murder,  concupiscence  is  adultery,  and 
divorces  are  violations  oi  the  prerogatives  of  God,  se- 
parating what  he  hath  joined  together,  and  subverting 
the  order  of  the  world  and  the  church. 

In  this  manner,  christian  theology  undermined  that 
of  the  Jewish  rabbies,  and  that  of  the  philosophers  of 
Paganism.  It  is  easy  to  judge  what  their  fury  must  be, 
wiien  they  saw  their  schools  deserted,  their  pupils  re- 
moved, their  decisive  tone  reprimanded,  their  reputa- 
tion sullied,  their  learning  degenerated  into  ignorance, 
and  their  wisdom  into  folly.  Have  you  any  difficul- 
ty in  believing  this  ?  Judge  of  what  passed  in  former 
ages  by  what  passeth  now.  As  long  as  there  are  chris- 
tians in  the  world,  Christianity  will  be  divided  into  par- 
ties ;  and  as  long  as  Christianity  is  divided  into  sects  and 
parties,  those  divines,  who  resist  preachers  of  erroneous 
doctrines,  will  render  themselves  odious  to  the  followers 
of  the  latter.  No  animals  in  nature  are  so  furious  as 
an  idiot  in  the  habit  of  a  divine,  when  any  offers  to 
instruct  him,  and  a  hypocrite  when  any  attempts  to 
unmask  him. 

2.  Let  us  pass  to  our  next  article,  and  let  us  attend 
the  doctrine  of  Christ  to  court.     If  the  servants  of 

Christ 


Christianity  not  seclitiaus.  171 

Christ  had  stirred  up  no  other  enemies  beside  priests 
and  rabbies,  they  might  have  left  their  adveisaries  to 
bav/l  themselves  hoarse  in  then-  solitary  schools  ;  to 
hurl  after  the  innocent,  the  anathemas  and  thunders 
of  synagogues  and  consistories ;  and  each  Christian, 
despising  their  ill-directed  discipline,  might  have  ap- 
pealed from  the  tribunal  of  such  iniquitous  judges  to 
that  of  a  sovereign  God,  and,  with  a  propliet,  might 
have  said,  "  Let  them  curse,  but  bless  thou :  wnen 
*'  they  arise,  let  them  be  ashamed,"  Psal.  cix.  28. 

But  the  grandees  of  the  world  have  often  as  false  ideas 
of  their  grandeur  and  power,  as  pedants  have  of  their 
jurisdiction  and  learning.  Dizzy  with  the  height  and 
brightness  of  their  own  elevation,  they  easily  imagine 
the  regal  grandeur  extends  its  government  over  the 
priestly  censer,  and  gives  them  an  exclusive  light  of 
determining  articles  of  religion,  and  of  enslaving  those 
whose  parents  and  protectors  they  pretend  to  be.  As 
if  false  became  true,  and  iniquity  just,  by  proceeding 
from  their  mouths,  they  pretend,  that  whatever  they 
propose  is  therefore  tc  be  received,  because  they  pro- 
pose it.  They  pretend  to  the  right  of  making  maxims 
of  religion  as  well  as  maxims  of  policy  ;  and,  if  I  may 
express  myself  so,  of  levying  proselytes  in  the  church 
as  they  levy  soldiers  for  the  army,  with  colours  flying 
at  the  first  vvord  of  command  of  His  Majesty,  for 
such  is  our  good  pleasure.  They  make  an  extraordi- 
nary display  of  this  tyranny,  when  their  consciences 
accuse,  them  of  some  notorious  crimes  which  they 
committed;  and  as  if  they  Would  wash  away  their  sins 
with  the  blood  of  martyrs,  they  persecute  virtue  lo  ex- 
piate vice.  It  hath  been  remarked,  that  the  greatest  per- 
secutors of  the  church  have  been,  in  other  cases,  the 
least  regular,  and  the  most  unjust  of  all  mankind.  This 
was  observed  by  Tertullian,  who,  in  his  apology,  says, 
**  We  have  never  been  persecuted,  except  by  princes, 
"  whose  lives  abounded  with  injustice  and  uncleanness, 
"  with  infamous  and  scandalous  practices ;  by  those 

"  whose 


172  Christianity  not  seditions, 

*^  whose  lives  ye  yourselves  have  been  accustomed  to 
"  condemn,  and  whose  unjust  jiecisions  ye  have  been 
"  obliged  to  revoke,  in  order  to  re-establish  the  inno- 
"  cent  victmis  of  their  displeasure*."  Let  us  not  insult 
our  persecutors  ;  but,  after  the  example  of  Christ,  let  us 
bless  them  that  curse  us  ;  and  when  we  are  reviled^  let 
us  not  revile  ag(^n.  Matt.  v.  44.  1  Pet.  ii.  23.  Perhaps 
in  succeeding  ages  posterity  may  make  similar  reflec- 
tions on  our  sufferings  ;  or  perhaps  some  may  remark 
to  our  descendents  what  Tertullian  remarked  to  the 
senate  of  Rome,  on  the  persecutions  of  the  primitive 
Christians.  I  will  not  enlarge  this  article,  but  re- 
turn to  my  subject.  The  religion  of  Jesus  Christ 
hath  armed  a  tyrant  against  a  martyr ;  a  combat  wor- 
thy of  our  most  profound  considerations,  in  which  the 
tyrant  attacks  the  martyr  and  the  martyr  the  tyrant, 
but  with  very  different  arms.  The  tyrant  with  cru- 
elty, the  martyr  with  patience ;  the  tyrant  with  blas- 
phemy, the  martyr  with  prayer  ;  the  tyrant  with  cur- 
ses, the  martyr  with  blessing ;  the  tyrant  with  inhu- 
man barbarity,  beyond  the  ferocity  of  the  most  fierce 
and  savage  animals,  the  martyr  with  an  unshaken 
steadiness,  that  elevates  the  man  above  humanity,  and 
fills  his  mouth  with  songs  of  victory  and  benevolence, 
amidst  the  most  cruel  and  barbarous  torments. 

3.  I  said,  further,  that  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ 
often  occasioned  troubles  in  the  churchy  and  excited  the 
pastor  against  the  flock.  The  gospel-ministry,  I  mean, 
is  such  that  we  cannot  exercise  it,  without  often  ap- 
plying the  fire  and  the  knife  to  the  wounds  of  some  of 
our  hearers.  Yes  I  these  ministers  of  the  gospel,  these 
heads  of  the  mystical  body  of  Christ,  these  fathers, 
these  ambassadors  of  peace,  these  shepherds,  to  whom 

the 

*  Tertullian,  in  tlie  chapter  from  which  our  author  quotes  the 
passage  above,  remarks,  from  the  Roman  historians,  that  Nero  was 
the^rj/  who  abused  the  imperials  word  to  persecute  Christians,  that 
Domitian  was  the  second,  and  then  adds  j  Taley  semper  nobis  tnsecu- 
toreSf  injusti,  impii,  turpes  :  quos  et  ipsi  damnare  consucstis,  et  a  qui- 
bus  damnatos  ristitucre  soliti  estis.     Apol.  cap.  v. 


Christianity  not  seditious.  175 

the  scriptures  give  the  kindest  and  most  tender  names  ; 
these  are  sometimes  incendiaries  and  lire- brands,  who, 
in  imitation  of  their  great  master,  Jesus  Christ,  the 
'shepherd  and  bishop  of  souls  ^  covie  to  set  fire  on  the  earthy 
1  Pet.  ii.  25.  Luke  xii.  49. 

Two  things  will  make  this  article  very  plain :  consi- 
der our  commission,  and  consider  society.  It  is  our  com- 
mission, that  we  should  suffer  no  murmuring  in  your 
adversities,  no  arrogance  in  your  prosperities,  no  re- 
venge under  your  injuries,  no  jinjustice  in  your  deal- 
ings, no  irregularity  in  your  actions,  no  inutility  in 
your  words,  no  impropriety  in  your  thoughts. 

Society,  on  the  contrary,  forms  continual  obstaclcij 
against  the  execution  of  this  commission.  Here,  we 
meet  with  an  admired  wit,  overflowing  with  calumny 
and  treachery,  and  increasing  his  own  fame  by  com- 
mitting depredations  on  the  characters  of  others. 
There,  we  see  a  superb  palace,  where  the  family  tread 
on  azure  and  gold,  glittering  with  magnificence  and 
pomp,  and  founded  on  the  ruins  of  the  houses  of  wi- 
dows  and  orphans.  Yonder  we  behold  hearts  close- 
ly united ;  but,  alas  I  united  by  a  criminal  tie,  a  scan- 
dalous intelligence. 

Suppose  now  a  pastor,  not  a  paitor  by  trade  and 
profession,  but  a  zealous  and  religious  pastor ;  who 
judgeth  of  his  commission,  not  by  the  revenue  which 
belongeth  to  it,  but  by  the  duties  which  it  obligeth 
him  to  perform.  What  is  such  a  man  ?  A  fire-brand, 
an  incendiary.  He  is  going  to  sap  the  foundations 
of  that  house,  which  subsists  only  by  injustice  and  ra- 
pine ?  he  is  going  to  trouble  that  false  peace,  and 
those  unworthy  pleasures,  which  the  impure  enjoy  in 
their  union,  and  so  of  the  rest. 

Among  the  sinners  to  whose  resentment  we  expose 
ourselves,  we  meet  with  some  whom  birth,  credit,  arid 
fortune  have  raised  to  a  superior  rank,  and  who  hold 
our  lives  and  fortunes  in  their  hands.  Moses  findeth 
a  Pharaoh ;  Elijah  an  Ahab,  and  a  Jezebel  j  St  John 

Baptist 


174  C/uistianUj/  not  seditious. 

Baptist  a  Herod,  and  an  Herodias ;  St  Paul  a  Felix 
and  a  Drusilla;  St  Ambrose  a  Theodosius  ;  St  Chry- 
sostom  an  Eudoxia,  or,  to  use  his  own  words,  another 
Herodias,  who  rageth  afresh,  and  who  demandeth  the  head 
of  yohn  Baptist  again.  How  is  it  possible  to  attack 
such  formidable  persons  without  arming  society,  and 
without  incurring  the  charge  of  mutiny  ?  Well  may 
such  putrified  bodies  shriek,  when  cutting,  and  burn- 
ing, and  actual  cauteries  are  applied  to  the  mortified 
parts  I  Well  may  the  criminal  roar  when  the  judg- 
ments of  God  put  his  conscience  on  the  rack  I 

4.  But  censure  and  reproof  belong  not  only  to  pas- 
tors and  leaders  of  flocks,  they  are  the  duties  of  all 
christians  ;  Christianity,  therefore,  will  often  excite 
troubles  m  families,  A  slight  survey  of  each  family 
will  be  sufficient  to  convivce  us,  that  each  hath  some 
prevailing  evil  habit,  some  infatuating  prejudice,  some 
darling  vice.  Amidst  all  these  disorders,  each  christian 
is  particularly  called  to  censure,  and  to  reprove;  and 
each  of  ovu'  houses  ought  to  be  a  church,  in  which 
the  master  should  alternately  execute  the  offices  of 
priest  and  prince,  and  boldly  resist  those  who  oppose 
his  maxims.  Christian  charity,  indeed,  requireth  us 
to  bear  with  one  a,notrier's  frailties.  Charity  maintains 
an  union,  notwithstanding  differences  on  points  that 
are  not  essential  to  salvation  and  conscience.  Charity 
requireth  us  to  become  to  the  Jews  as  Jews,  to  them 
that  are  without  law  as  without  law,  to  he  made  all  things 
to  all  men,  1  Cor.  ix.  20,  21,  22.  But,  after  all,  charity 
doth  not  allow  us  to  tolerate  the  pernicious  practices 
of  all  those  wdth  whom  we  are  connected  by  natural 
or  social  ties,  much  less  doth  it  allov/  us  to  follow 
them  down  a  precipice.  And,  deceive  not  yourselves, 
iTiy  brethren,  there  is  a  moral  as  well  as  a  doctrinal 
denial  of  Jesus  Christ.  It  is  not  enough,  you  know,  to 
believe  and  to  respect  the  truth  inv/ardly  :  when  the 
mouib  is  shut,  and  sentiments  palliated,  religion  is  de- 
nied. In  like  manner,  in  society,  in  regard  to  morals, 

it 


Christianity  not  seditious,  175 

it  is  not  enough  to  know  our  duty,  and  to  be  guilty 
of  reserves  in  doing  it.  If  virtue  be  concealed  in  the 
heart ;  if,  through  timidity  or  complaisance,  people 
dare  not  openly  profess  it,  they  apostatize  from  the 
practical  part  of  religion.  Always  when  you  fall  in 
with  a  company  of  slanderers,  if  you  content  yourself 
with  abhorring  the  vice,  and  conceal  your  abhorrence 
of  it ;  if  you  outwardly  approve  what  you  inwardly 
condemn,  you  are'  apostates  from  the  law  that  for- 
bids calumny.  When  your  parents  endeavour  to  in- 
spire you  with  maxims  opposite  to  the  gospel,  if  you 
comply  with  them,  you  apostatize  from  the  law,  that 
saith,  we  ought  to  obey  God  rather  than  men^  Acts 
vi.  29. 

Such  behig  the  duty  of  a  christian,  who  doth  not 
see  the  troubles  which  the  religion  of  Jesus  Christ  may 
excite  in  families  ?  For,  I  repeat  it  again,  where  is  the 
society,  where  is  the  family,  that  hath  not  adopted  its 
peculiar  errors  and  vices  ?  Into  what  society  can  you 
be  admitted  ?  With  what  family  can  you  live?  What 
course  of  life  can  you  pursue,  in  which  you  will  not 
be  often  obhged  to  contradict  your  friend,  your  su- 
perior, your  father  .^ 

II.  The  explanation  of  our  first  article,  hath  almost 
been  a  discussion  of  the  second ;  and,  by  considering 
the  nature  of  the  troubles  which  religion  occasions, 
we  have,  in  a  manner,  proved,  that  they  ought  not  to 
be  imputed  to  those  who  teach  this  religion,  but  to 
them  who  hear  and  resist  it.  This  is  the  apology  for 
our  gospel,  for  our  reformation,  and  for  our  ministry. 
This  is  our  reply  to  the  objections  of  ancient  and 
modern  Rome. 

One  of  the  strongest  objections  that  v/as  made  a- 
gainst  primitive  Christianity,  was  taken  from  the  trou- 
bles which  it  excited  in  society.  "  A  religion,  f^^aid 
"  somCv  that  kindles  a  lire  on  earth  5  a  religion,  which 
''  withdraws  subjects  from  tbe  allegiance  they  owe  to 

**  their 


176  Christianity  not  seditious. 

"  their  sovereign  ;  which  requireth  its  votaries  to  hate 
"  father,  mother,  children ;  that  exciteth  people  to 
"  quarrel  with  the  gods  themselves ;  a  religion  of  this 
"  kind,  can  it  be  of  heavenly  original  ?  Can  it  pro- 
"  ceed  from  any  but  the  enemy  of  mankind  ?"  Blas- 
phemy of  this  kind  is  still  to  be  seen  in  a  city  of. 
Spain*,  where  it  remains  on  a  column,  that  was  erect- 
ed by  Dioclesian,  and  on  which  we  read  these  words  : 
"  To  Dioclesian,  Jovius,  and  Maximinus,  Caesars,  lor 
"  having  enlarged  the  bounds  of  the  empire,  and  for 
"  having  exterminated  the  name  of  Christians,  those 
"  disturbers  of  the  public  repose  f ." 

The  enemies  of  our  reformation  adopt  the  sentiment, 
and  speak  the  language  of  the  ancient  Romans.  They 
have  always  this  objection  in  their  mouths  :  Your  re- 
formation was  the  source  of  schisms  and  disturbances. 
It  was  that  which  armed  the  Condes,  the  Chatillons, 
the  Williams ;  or,  to  use  the  words  of  an  historian  J, 
who  was  educated  in  a  society,  Vv^here  the  sincerity  ne- 
cessary to  make  a  faithful  historian  is  seldom  acquired  : 
Nothing  was  to  be  seen,  says  he,  in  speaking  of  the  wars, 
which  were  excited  under  the  detestable  triumvirate  §, 
Nothing  was  to  be  seen  but  the  vengeance  of  some,  and  the 
crimes  of  others,  nothing  but  ruins  and  ashes,  blood  and 
carnage,  and  a  thousand  frightful  images  of  death :  and 

these 

*  Cluny. 

f  Grutery  corpus  Inscript.  Tom.  I.  p.  280. 

X  Father  Malmbourg,  in  his  history  of  Calvinism.  Book  ir. 

j  The  Duke  of  Guise,  the  Constable  de  Montmorenci,  and  the 
Marshal  de  St  Andre.  The  Jesuit,  whose  words  our  author  quotes, 
is  speaking  of  the  reign  of  Henry  II.  in  which  the  kingdom  was  go- 
verned, or  rather  disturbed,  by  the  trimn'oirate,  mentioned  by  Mr 
Saurin.  They,  according  to  the  president  Thuanus,  were  governed  by 
Diana  of  Poitiers,  Duchess  of  Valentinois,  the  king's  mistress ',  and 
she  by  her  own  violent  and  capricious  passions.  Hac  'violenta  et 
acerha  regni  initia  .  .  .  facile  m'lnistrts  tHhuta  sunt  ;  ftrac'ifiue 
Diana '  Pictaviensi,  sup€7'bi  et  impotent  is  animifcmina',  .  .  .  HUJUS 
FEMINS:     ARBITRIO    OMNIA    REGEBANTUR.      Thuan.    hist.    lib.    o. 

Thes,^  were  xht  favourites  mentioned  in  our  preface  to  the  1st  voL 
page  12. 


Christianity  not  seditions.  177 

these  were,  (adds  this  venal  pen,)  these  were  the  fruits 
of  the  7ie%v  gospel,  altogether  contrary  to  that  of  Jesus 
Christ,  who  brought  peace  on  earth,  and  left  it  at  his 
death  with  his  apostles. 

But  I  am  pleased  to  see  my  religion  attacked  with 
the  same  weapons  with  which  Jesus  Christ  and  hi;^ 
apostles  were  formerly  attacked.  And  I  rejoice  to 
defend  my  religion  with  the  same  armour,  with  which 
the  primitive  christians  defended  it  against  the  firsl 
enemies  of  Christianity.  To  the  gospel,  then  ;  or  to 
the  cruelty  of  tyrants,  to  the  inflexible  pride  of  the 
priesthood,  to  the  superstitious  rage  of  the  populace, 
ought  these  ravages  to  be  imputed  ?  What  did  the 
primitive  christians  desire,  but  liberty  to  worship  the 
true  God,  to  free  themselves  from  error,  to  destroy 
vice,  and  to  make  truth  and  virtue  triumph  in  every 
place  ?  And  we,  who  glory  in  following  these  venerable 
men,  we  ask,  What  treasons  have  we  plotted  ?  Rome  ! 
What  designs  hast  thou  seen  us  form  ?  Have  we  at- 
tempted to  invade  thy  property,  to  conquer  thy  states, 
to  usurp  thy  crowns  ?  Have  we  envied  that  pomp , 
which  thou  displayest  with  so  much  parade,  and  which 
dazzles  thy  gazing  followers  ?  What  other  spirit  ani« 
mated  us,  beside  that  of  following  the  dictates  of  our 
consciences,  and  of  using  our  learning,  and  all  our 
qualifications,  to  purify  the  christian  world  from  its 
errors  and  vices  ?  If  the  purity  of  our  hands,  if  the 
rectitude  of  our  hearts,  if  the  fervour  of  our  zeal,  have 
provoked  thee  to  lift  up  thine  arm  to  crush  us,  and  if 
'vve  have  been  obliged  to  oppose  thine  unjust  perse- 
cutions by  a  lav/ful  self-defence  ;  is  it  to  us,  is  it  to 
our  reformation,  is  it  to  our  reformers,  that  the  dis- 
cord must  be  ascribed  ? 

That  which  makes  an  apology'for  the  reformation, 
and  for  the  primitive  gospel,  makes  it  also  iox  a  gospel- 
ministry.  It  is  sufficiently  mortifying  to  us,  my  bre- 
thren, to  be  ebliged  to  use  the  same  armour  against  the 
children  of  the  reformation  that  we  employ  against 

Vol.  it.  M  the 


178  Christianity  not  seditious. 

the  enemies  of  it.  But  this  armour,  how  mortifying 
soever  the  necessity  niay  be  that  obUge  thus  to  put  it 
on,  is  an  apology  for  our  ministry,  and  will  be  our 
glory  before  that  august  tribunal,  at  which  your  cause, 
and  ours,  will  be  heard ;  when  the  manner  in  which 
we  have  preached  the  gospel,  and  the  manner  in 
which  you  have  received  our  preaching,  will  be  ex- 
amined. How  often  have  you  given  your  pastors  the 
same  title  which  the  enemies  of  our  reformation  gave 
the  reformers  ?  I  mean,  that  of  disturbers  of  the  peace 
of  society.  How  often  have  you  said 'of  him,  who 
undertook  to  shew  you  all  the  light  of  truth,  and  ta 
make  you  feel  all  the  rights  of  virtue,  He  stirreth  up 
the  people  P  But  I  ask  again.  Ought  the  disturbances, 
which  are  occasioned  by  the  preaching  of  the  gospel, 
to  be  imputed  to  those  who  foment  error,  or  to  them 
who  refute  it ;  to  those  who  censure  vice^  or  to  them 
who  eagerly  and  obstinately  commit  it  ?  Is  the  discord 
to  be  attributed  to  those  w^ho  drown  reason  in  wine, 
or  to  them  who  shew  the  extravagance  of  drunken- 
ness ?  Is  it  to  those  who  retain  an  unjust  gain,  or  to 
them  who  urge  the  necessity  of  restoring  it  ?  Is  it  to 
those  who  profane  our  solemn  feasts,  who  are  spots  in 
our  assemblies,  as  an  apostle  speaks,  Jude  12.  and  who^ 
in  the  language  of  a  prophet,  defile  our  courts  with  their 
feet  *,  or  to  them  who  endeavour  to  reform  such  abuses  ? 
To  put  these  questions  is  to  answer  them.  I  shall, 
therefore,  pass  from  them  tQ  our  last  article,  and  I  shall 
detain  you  but  a  few  moments  in  the  discussion  of  it. 

III.  We 

*  Isaiah  I.  12.  Tread  my  courts.  The  French  version  is  better, 
que  lious  foulie'z.  de  vos  pied s  tnes  parvis.  Fouler  aux  pieds,  is  to 
trample  on  by  way  of  contemfit.  The  prophet  meant  to  shew  ihe 
imperfection  of ^x/mor  worship;  and  probably  our  translators  in- 
tended to  convey  the  same  idea  by  our  phrase.  Wherefore  do  ye 
tread  my  courts  P  As  If  it  had  been  said,  "  The  worship  of  the  mind 
and  heari  is  essential  to  the  holiness  of  my  festivals  ;  but  you  ONLY 
tread  my  courts ;  your  bodies  indeed  are  present  j  but  your  atten- 
tion and  affections  are  absent :  you  defile  my  courts,  that  is,  you  ce- 
lebrate my  festivals  unhsUlyy  See  chap.  xxix.  13. 


Christianity  not  seditious.  179 

III.  We  are  now  between  two  solemnities ;  between 
a  fast,  which  we  kept  a  few  days  ago,  and  a  commu- 
nion, that  we  shall  receive  a  few  days  hence.  I  wish 
you  would  derive  from  the  words  of  the  text  a  rule  to 
discover,  whether  you  have  attended  the  first  of  these 
solemnities,  and  whether  you  will  approach  the  last, 
with  suitable  dispositions. 

There  is  an  opposition,  we  have  seen,  between  the 
maxims  of  Jesus  Christ  and  the  maxims  of  the  world  5 
and  consequently,  we  have  been  convinced,  that  a 
christian  is  called  to  resist  all  mankind,  to  stem  a  gene- 
ral torrent;  and,  in  that  eternal  division,  which  sepa- 
rates the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ  from  the  kingdom 
of  sin  in  the  world,  to  fight  continually  against  the 
world,  and  to  cleave  to  Jesus  Christ.  Apply  this 
maxim  to  yourselves,  apply  it  to  every  circumstance 
of  your  lives,  in  order  to  obtain  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  yourselves. 

Thou !  thou  art  a  member  of  that  august  body,  to 
which  society  commits  in  trust  its  honour,  its  property, 
its  peace,  its  liberty,  its  life,  in  a  word,  its  felicity, 
But  with  what  eye  do  men  of  the  world  elevated  to  thy 
rank  accustom  themselves  to  consider  these  trusts  ? 
How  often  do  these  depositaries  enter  into  tacit  agree^ 
ments,  reciprocally  to  pardon  sacrifices  of  public  to 
private  interest  ?  How  often  do  they  say  one  to  ano- 
ther? Wi?ik  you  at  my  injustice  to-day,  and  I  will  wink 
at  yours  to-morrow.  If  thou  enter  into  these  iniquitous* 
combinations,  yea,  if  thou  wink  at  those  who  form 
them;  if  thou  forbear  detecting  them,  for  fear  of  the 
resentment  of  those,  whose  favour  it  is  thine  interest  to 
conciliate ;  most  assuredly  thou  art  a  false  christian  ; 
most  assuredly  thy  fast  was  a  vain  ceremony,  and  thy 
communion  will  be  as  vain  as  thy  fast. 

Thou !  thou  art  set  over  the  church.  In  a  body 
composed  of  so  many  different  members,  it  is  impos- 
sible to  avoid  finding  many  enemies  of  Jesus  Christy 
'jome  of  u'hom  oppose    his   gospel   with   erroneous 

M  2  maxims, 


180  Christianity  not  seditious, 

maxims,  and  others  with  vices  incompatible  with 
Christianity.  If  thou  live  in,  1  know^  not  what,  union 
with  thy  Hock  ;  if  thou  dare  not  condemn  in  public 
those  \Mth  whom  thou  art  familiar  in  private  ;  if  thou 
allow  in  private  what  thou  condemnest  in'  public ;  if 
the  fear  of  passing  for  an  innovato?^  a  broacher  of  new 
opinions^  prevent  thine  opposing  abuses  which  custom 
hath  authorized  ;  and  if  the  fear  of  being  reputed  a 
reformer  of  the  public  prevent  thine  attackmg  the  pub- 
lic licentiousness  ;  if  thou  say,  Fence,  peace  ^  wheii  there 
is  no  peace ^  Ezek.  xiii.  10.  most  assuredly  thy  fast  was 
a  vain  ceremony,  and  thy  communion  will  be  a  cere- 
inony  as  vain  as  thy  fast. 

Thou  I  thou  art  a  member  of  a  family,  and  of  a  so- 
ciety which  doubtless  have  their  portion  of  the  gene- 
ral corruption  ;  for,  as  1  said  before,  each  hath  its  par- 
ticular vice,  and  its  favourite  false  maxim :  a  maxim 
of  pride,  interest,  arrogance,  vanity.  If  thou  be  uni- 
ted to  thy  family  and  to  thy  society  by  a  corrupt  tie  ; 
if  the  fear,  lest  either  should  say  of  thee,  he  is  a  trou- 
blesome fellow,  he  is  a  morose  unsocial  soul,  he  is  a  mo- 
pish creature,  prevent  thy  declaring  for  Jesus  Christ : 
most  assuredly  thou  art  a  false  christian  ;  most  assured- 
ly thy  fast  was  a  vain  ceremony,  and  thy  commu- 
nion will  be  as  vain  as  thy  fast. 

Too  many  articles  might  be  added  to  this  enume- 
ration, my  brethren.  I  comprise  all  in  one,  the  peace 
of  sociehj.  I  do  not  say  that  peace,  which  society 
ought  to  cherish  ;  but  that  peace,  after  which  society 
aspires.  It  is  a  general  agreement  among  mankind,  by 
which  they  mutually  engage  themselves  to  let  one 
another  go  quietly  to  hell,  and,  on  no  occasion  what- 
ever, to  obstruct  each  other  in  the  way.  Every  man, 
who  refuseth  to  accede  to  this  contrast,  (this  refusal, 
however,  is  our  calling)  shall  be  considered  by  the 
world  as  a  disturber  of  public  peace.     * 

Where,  then,  v.dil  be  the  christian's  peace  ?  Where, 
then,  will  the  christian  find  the  peace  after  which  he 

aspires  ? 


Christ  the  King  of  Ttmth.  181 

aspires  ?  In  another  world,  my  brethren.  This  is  only  a 
tempestuous  ocean,  in  which  we  can  promitie  ourselves 
very  little  calm,  and  in  which  we  seem  always  to  lie 
at  the  mercy  of  the  wind  and  the  sea.  Yes,  which 
way  soever  1  look,  1  discover  only  objects  of  the  for- 
midable kind.  Nature  opens  to  me  scenes  of  misery. 
Society,  far  from  alleviating  them,  seems  only  to  ag- 
gravate them.  I  see  enmity,  discord,  falsehood,  trea- 
chery, perfidy.  Disgusted  with  the  sight  of  so  many 
miseries,  I  enter  into  the  sanctuary,  I  lay  hold  on  the 
horns  of  the  altar,  I  embrace  religion.  I  find,  indeed,  a 
sincerity  in  its  promises.  I  find,  if  there  be  an  enjoy- 
ment of  happiness  in  this  v/orld,  it  is  to  be  obtained 
by  a  punctual  adherence  to  its  maxims.  I  find,  in- 
deed, that  the  surest  way  of  passing  through  life,  with 
tranquillity  and  ease,  is  to  throw  one's  self  into  the  arms 
of  Jesus  Christ.  Yet,  the  reHgion  of  this  Jesus  hath 
its  crosses,  and  its  peculiar  tribulations.  It  leads  me 
through  paths  edged  with  fires  and  flames.  It  raiseth 
up  in  anger  against  me,  my  fellow-citizens,  relations, 
and  friends. 

What  consequences  shall  we  derive  from  this  prin- 
ciple ?  He,  who  is  able  and  willing  to  reason,  may 
derive  very  important  consequences ;  consequences, 
with  which  I  would  conclude  all  our  discourses,  all  our 
sermons,  all  our  pleasures,  all  our  solemnities :  conse- 
quences, which  I  would  engrave  on  the  walls  of  our 
churches,  on  the  walls  of  your  houses,  on  the  frontis- 
pieces of  your  doors,  particularly  on  the  tables  of 
your  hearts.  The  consequences  are  these,  That  this  is 
not  the  place  of  our  felicity  ;  that  this  world  is  a  valley 
of  tears  ;  that  man  is  in  a  continual  warfare  on  earth  ; 
that  nature  with  all  its  treasures,  society  with  all  its 
advantages,  religion  with  all  its  excellencies,  cannot 
procure  us  a  perfect  felicity  on  earth.  Happy  we !  if 
the  endless  vicissitudes  of  the  present  world  conduct  us 
to  rest  in  the  world  to  come,  according  to  this  expres- 
sion of  the  Spirit  of  God,  Blessed  are  the  dead  which  die 

in 


182  Ohristianity  not  seditious, 

in  the  Lord,  they  rest  from  their  labours,  and  their  works' 
do  follow  them,  Rev.  xiv.  13,  To  God  be  honour  and 
glory  for  ever.     Amen. 


SERMON 


183 

SERMON    VII. 

Christ  the  King  of  Truth, 


John  xviii.  36,  37,  38. 

Jesus  said,  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  wo?id.     .     .     . 

•  Pilate  said  unto  him,  Art  thou  a  king  then  P  Jesus 
answered,  Thou  saijest  that  I  am  a  king:  to  this  end 
was  I  born,  and  for  this  cause  carne  Unto  the  world, 
that  I  should  bear  witness  unto  the  truth.  Every  one 
that  is  of  the  truth  heareth  my  voice.  Pilate  saith 
unto  him,  What  is  truth. P 

"EX AVE  you  ever  considered,  my  brethren,  the  plain 
conclusion  that  resulteth  from  :tk€  two  motives 
which  St  Paul  addresseth  to  Timothy  ?  Timothy  was 
the  apostle's  favourite.  The  attachment  which  that 
young  disciple  manifested  to  him  entirely  gained  a 
heart,  which  his  talents  had  conciliated  before.  The 
apostle  took  the  greatest  pleasure  in  cultivating  a  ge- 
nius, which  was  formed  to  elevate  truth  and  virtue  to 
their  utmost  height.  Having  guarded  him  against 
the  temptations  to  which  his  age,  his  character,  and 
his  circumstances,  might  expose  him ;  having  exhorted 
him  to  keep  clear  of  the  two  rocks,  against  which  so 
many  ecclesiastics  had  been  shipwrecked,  ambition, 
and  avarice ;  he  adds  to  his  instructions  this  solemn 
charge,  "  I  give  thee  charge,  in  the  sight  of  God,  who 
"  quickeneth  all  things,  and  before  Jesus  Christ,  who 
"  before  Pontius  Pilate  witnessed  a  good  confession, 
"  thatthoukeepthiscommandment,"  1  Tim. vi,  13, 14- 

God 


184  Christ  the  King  of  2  ruth. 

God  quickeneth  all  things.  Jesus  Christ,  before  Pon- 
tius Pilate,  witnessed  a  good  confession.  From  the 
union  of  these  two  motives  ariseth  that  conclusion 
which  I  would  remark  to  you. 

The  first  may  be  called  the  motive  of  a  philosopher: 
the  second  may  be  called  the  motive  of  a  christian.  A 
philosopher,  I  mean  a  man  of  somid  reason,  who  finds 
himself  placed  a  little  while  in  this  world,  concludes, 
from  the  objects  that  surround  him,  that  there  is  a 
Supreme  Being,  a  God  who  quickeneth  all  things.  His 
mind  being  penetrated  with  this  truth,  he  cannot  but 
attach  himself  to  the  service  of  the  Supreme  Being, 
whose  existence  and  perfections  he  is  able  to  de-r 
monstrate.  He  assures  himself,  that  the  same  Being, 
whose  power  and  wisdom  adorned  the  firmament  with 
stars,  covered  the  earth  with  riches,  and  filled  the  sea 
with  gifts  of  beneficence,  will  reward  those,  who  sacri- 
fice their  inclinations  to  that  obedience  w^hich  his 
nature  requires, 

Bi:t,  let  us  own^  my  brethren,  the  ideas  w^e  form 
of  the  Creator  are,  in  some  sense,  confounded,  when 
we  attend  to  the  mijseries  to  which  he  seems  to  aban- 
don some  of  his  most  devoted  servants.  How  can  the 
great  Supreme,  who  quickeneth  all  things,  leave  those 
men  to  languish  in  obscurity  and  indigence,  who  live 
and  move  only  for  the  glory  of  him  ?  In  order  to 
remove  this  objection,  which  hath  always  formed 
insuperable  difficulties  against  the  belief  of  a  God,  and 
of  a  Providence,  it  is  necessary  to  add  the  motive  of  a 
christian  to  that  of  a  philosopher.  This  motive  folio w^s, 
that  God,  who  quickeneth  all  things,  who  dlsposeth  all 
events,  who  bestoweth  a  scepter-  or  a  crook,  as  he 
pleaseth,  hath  wise  reasons  for  deferring  the  happiness 
of  his  children  to  another  economy ;  and  hence  pre- 
sumption ariseth,  that  he  will  give  them  a  king,  whose 
kingdom  is  not  of  this  world,  St  Paul  joins  this  second 
motive  to  the  first.  I  give  thee  charge,  in  the  sight  of 
God,  who  qidckeneth  all  things,  and  before  Jesus  Christy 

who 


Christ  the  King  of  Truth,  185 

W/O  before  Pontius  Pilate  witnessed  a  good  confession. 
What  is  this  good  confession  ?  It  is  that  which  you 
have  heard  in  the  words  of  the  text,  Verily,  "  I  am 
'*  a  king,  to  this  end  was  I  born  ;  but  my  kingdom 
*'  is  not  of  this  world." 

The  first  of  these  motives,  my  brethren,  you  can 
never  study  too  much.  It  is  a  conduct  unworthy  of  a 
rational  soul,  to  be  surrounded  with  so  many  wonders, 
and  not  to  meditate  on  the  author  of  them.  But  our 
present  circumstances,  the  solemnity  of  this  season,  and 
particularly  the  words  of  the  text,  engage  us  to  quit 
at  present  the  motive  of  a  philosopher,  and  to  reflect 
wholly  on  that  of  a  Christian.  I  exhort  you  to-day, 
by  that  Jesus,  who  declared  himself  a  king,  and  who 
at  the  same  time  said,  My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  ivorld^ 
to  endeavour  to  divert  your  attention  from  the  miseries 
and  felicities  of  this  world,  to  which  the  subjects  of  the 
Messiah  do  not  belong.  This  is  the  chief,  this  is  the 
only  point  of  view,  in  which  w^e  shall  now  consider 
the  text.  We  will  omit  several  questions,  which  the 
w^ords  have  occasioned,  which  the  disputes  of  learned 
men  have  rendered  famous,  and  on  v^'hich,  at  other 
times,  we  have  proposed  our  sentiments  ;  and  we  will 
confine  ourselves  to  three  sorts  of  reflections. 

I.  We  intend  to  justify  the  idea  which  Jesus  Christ 
giveth  of  his  kingdom,  and  to  prove  this  proposition, 
Mij  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world, 

II.  Vv^e  will  endeavour  to  convince  you,  that  the 
kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ  is  therefore  a  kingdom  of 
truth,  because  it  is  not  a  kingdom  of  this  world. 

III.  We  will  enquire  whether  there  be  any  in  this 
assembly,  who  are  of  the  truth,  and  who  hear  the  voice 
of  Jesus  Christ;  whether  this  king,  whose  kingdom  is 
not  of  this  world,  have  any  subjects  in  this  assembly. 
To  these  three  reflections  we  shall  employ  dl  the  mo- 
ments of  attention  with  which  you  shall  think  pro- 
per to  indulge  us. 

I.  Let  us  justify  the  idea,  which  Jesus  Christ  giveth 

us 


ISti  Christ  the  King  of  Trut/t. 

us  of  his  kingdom,  and  let  us  prove  the  truth  of  this 
proposition,  Mj/  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world.  To  these 
ends,  let  us  remark  the  end  of  this  king,  his  maxims, 
his  exploits,  his  arms,  his  courtiers,  and  his  rewards. 

1.  Remark  the  end,  the  design  of  this  king.  What 
as  the  end  of  the  kingdoms  of  the  world  ?  They  are 
directed  to  as  many  different  ends  as  there  are  different 
passions,  which  prevail  over  the  minds  of  those  who 
,  are  elevated  to  the  government  of  them.  In  a  Sar- 
sjdanapalus,  it  is  to  wallow  in  sensuality.  In  a  Senna- 
cherib,  it  is  to  display  pomp  and  vain  glory.  In  an 
Alexander,  it  is  to  conquer  the  whole  world. 

But  let  us  not  be  ingenious  to  present  society  to  view 
by  its  disagreeable  sides.  To  render  a  state  respecta- 
ble, to  make  trade  flourish,  to  establish  peace,  to  con- 
quer in  a  just  war,  to  procure  a  life  of  quiet  and  tran- 
quillity for  the  subjects,  these  are  the  ends  of  the  king- 
doms of  this  world.  Ends  worthy  of  sovereigns  I 
own.  But,  after  all,  what  are  all  these  advantages  in 
comparison  of  the  grand  sentiments  which  the  Creator 
hath  engraven  on  our  souls  ?  What  relation  do  they 
bear  to  that  unquenchable  thirst  for  happiness,  which 
all  intelligent  beings  feel  ?  What  are  they  when  the 
lightning  darts,  and  the  thunder  rolls  in  the  air  ?  What 
^re  they  when  conscience  awakes  ?  What  are  they  when 
we  meet  death,  or  what  is  their  value  when  we  lie  in  the 
tomb?  Benevolence,  yea  humanity,  I  grant,  should 
make  u&  wish  our  successors  happy  :  but  strictly  speak- 
ing, v/hen  I  die,  all  dies  with  me.  Whether  society 
enjoy  the  tranquil  warmth  of  peace,  or  burn  with  the 
rage  of  faction  and  war  ;  whether  commerce  flourish 
or  decline :  whether  armies  conquer  their  foes,  or  be  Itdi 
captives  themselves  :  each  is  the  same  to  me.  "  The 
"  dead  know  not  any  thing.  Their  love,  and  their 
*' hatred,  and  their  envy  is  perished:  neither  have 
^'  they  any  more  a  portion  for  ever  in  any  thing  that 
"  is  under  the  sun,  Eccles.  ix.  5,  6. 

The  end  of  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ  is  of  another 
kind.     Represent  to  yourselves  the  divine  Saviour  in 

the 


Christ  the  King  of  Tntth.  Id  J 

the  bosom  of  God,  himself  the  blessed  God,  He  cast 
his  eyes  down  on  this  earth.  He  saw  prejudices  blind- 
ing the  miserable  sons  of  Adam,  passions  tyrannizing 
over  them,  conscience  condemning  them,  divine  ven- 
geance pursuing  them,  death  seizing  and  devouring 
them,  the  gulfs  of  hell  yawning  to  swallow  them  up. 
Forth  he  came,  to  make  prejudice  yield  to  demonstra- 
tion, darkness  to  light,  passion  to  reason.  He  came 
to  calm  conscience,  to  disarm  the  vengeance  of  hea- 
ven, to  swallow  up  death  in  victory^  1  Cor.  xv.  54.  and 
to  close  the  mouth  of  the  infernal  abyss.  These  are  the 
designs  of  the  king  Messiah,  designs  too  noble,  too  sub- 
lime for  earthly  kings.    My  kingdom  is  not  of  this  zvorld. 

2.  The  maxims  of  this  kingdom  agree  with  its  end., 
What  are  the  maxims  of  the  kingdoms  of  this  world  r 
I  am  ashamed  to  repeat  them,  and  1  am  afraid,  if  I 
suppress  them,  of  betraying  the  truth,  Ah  !  why  did 
Hot  the  maxims  of  such  as  Hobbes  and  Machiavel 
vanish  with  the  impure  authors  of  them  I  Must  the 
Christian  world  produce  partizans  and  apologists  for 
the  policy  of  hell  I  These  are  some  of  their  maxims, 
"  Every  way  is  right  that  leads  to  a  throne.  Since- 
"  rity,  fidelity,  and  gratitude,  are  not  the  virtues  of 
*'  public  men,  but  of  people  in  private  life.  The 
"  safety  of  the  people  is  the  supreme  law.  Religion 
*'  is  a  bridle  to  subjects  ;  but  kings  are  free  from  its 
"  restraints.     There  are  some  illustrious  crimes." 

The  maxims  of  Jesus  Christ  are  very  different. 
"  Justice  and  judgment  are  the  bases  of  a  throne. 
^,"  Render  unto  Caesar  the  things  which  are  Caesar's, 
'  "  and  unto  God  the  things  that  are  God's.  Seek 
"  first  the  kingdom  of  God  and  his  righteousness,  and 
"  all  other  things  shall  be  added  to  you.  Whatsoever 
"  ye  would  that  men  should  do  to  you,  do  ye  even  so 
"  to  them.  Let  your  communication  be  yea,  yea, 
*'  and  nay,  nay :  for  whatsoever  is  more  than  these 
"  cometh  of  evil,"  Psal.  Ixxx.  14.  Matt.  xxii.  21.  vi. 
33.  vii.  12.  and  v.  37. 

3.  The  exploits  of  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ  ac 

complish- 


188  Christ  the  King  of  Truth. 

complish  his  designs.  He  doth  not  employ  such  ar- 
tillery as  the  kings  of  the  earth  do  to  reduce  whole 
cities  to  ashes.  His  soldiers  use  none  of  those  formi- 
dable engines  of  death  in  his  wars,  which  are  called 
the  final  reasons  of  kings.  His  forces  are  strangers  to  that 
desperate  avidity  of  conquest,  which  makes  w^orldly 
generals  aim  to  attain  inaccessible  mountains,  and  to 
penetrate  the  climes  that  have  never  been  trodden 
by  the  footsteps  of  men.  His  exploits  are,  neither  the 
forcing  of  intrenchments,  nor  the  colouring  of  rivers 
with  blood,  not  the  covering  of  whole  countries  with 
cacases,  nor  the  filling  of  the  world  with  carnage,  and 
terror,  and  death. 

The  exploits  of  the  Messiah  completely  effect  the 
end  of  his  reign.  He  came,  we  just  now  observed, 
to  dissipate  prejudice  by  demonstration,  and  he  hath 
gloriously  accomplished  his  end.  Before  the  coming 
of  Jesus  Christ,  philosophers  were  brute  beasts :  since 
his  coming,  brute  beasts  are  become  philosophers. 
Jesus  Christ  came  to  conquer  our  tyrannical  passions, 
and  he  hath  entirely  efi'ected  his  design.  He  reno- 
vated disciples,  who  rose  above  the  appetites  of  sense, 
the  ties  of  nature,  and  the  love  of  self;  disciples  who, 
at  his  word,  courageously  forsook  their  property,  their 
parents,  and  their  children,  and  voluntarily  went  into 
exile ;  disciples,  who  crucified  thefiesh.with  the  affections 
and  lusts,  Gal.  v.  24;  generous  disciples,  who  sacrificed 
their  lives  for  their  brethren,  and  sometimes  for  their 
persecutors ;  disciples,  who  triumphed  over  all  the 
horrors,  while  they  suftered  all  the  pains,  of  gibbety, 
and  racks,  and  fires.  Jesus  Christ  came  to  calm  con- 
science, and  to  disarm  divine  justice,  and  his  design 
hath  been  perfectly  answered.  The  church  perpetu- 
ally resounds  with  grace,  grace  unto  it,  Zech.  iv.  7. 
The  penitent  is  cited  before  no  other  tribunal  than 
that  of  mercy.  For  thee,  converted  sinner  I  there  are 
only  declarationsof  absolution  and  grace.  Jesus  Christ 
came  to  conquer  death,  and  he  hath  manifestly  ful- 
filled his  purpose.     Shall  we  still  fear  death,  after  he 

hath 


Christ  the  King  of  Truth,  189 

hath  brought  life  and  immortality  to  light  by  the  gospel  F 
2  Tim.  i.  10.  Shall  we  still  fear  death,  after  we  have 
seen  oar  Saviour  loaden  with  its  spoils  .^  Shall  we 
yet  fear,  death,  while  he  crieth  to  us  in  our  agony, 
Fear  not,  thou  worm  Jacob  ;  fear  not,  for  lam  volth  thee, 
Isa.  xh.  14,  10. 

4.  Let  us  consider  the  arms,  which  Jesus  Christ  hath 
employed  to  perform  his  exploits.  These  arms  are 
his  cross,  his  word,  his  example,  and  his  Spirit. 

The  enemies  of  Jesus  Christ  considejed  the  day  of 
his  crucifixion  as  a  triumphant  day.  They  had  soli- 
cited his  execution  with  an  infernal  virulence.  But 
how  much  higher  are  the  ways  of  God  than  the  ways  ofi 
men,  and  his  thoughts  than  their  thoughts,  Isa.  Iv.  9. 
From  this  profound  night,  from  this  hour  of  dark- 
ness, which  covered  the  whole  church,  arose  the  most 
reviving  light.  Jesus  Christ,  during  his  crucifixion, 
most  effectually  destroyed  the  enemies  of  our  salva- 
tion. Then,  having  spoiled  principalities  and  powers,  he 
made  a  shew  of  them  openly,  triumphing  over  them  in  it. 
Col.  ii.  15.  Then,  he  offered  to  the  God  of  love  a 
sacrifice  of  love,  to  which  God  could  refuse  nothing. 
Then,  he  placed  himself  as  a  rampart  around  sin- 
ners, and  received  in  himself  the  artillery  that  was 
discharged  against  them.  Then,  he  demanded  of  his 
Father,  not  only  by  his  cries  and  tears,  but  by  that 
blood,  which  he  poured  out  in  the  richest  profusion 
of  love,  the  salvation  of  the  v;hole  world  of  the  elect, 
for  whom  he  became  incarnate. 

To  the  power  of  his  cross  add  that  of  his  word* 
He  had  been  introduced  in  the  prophecies  speaking 
thus  of  himself ;  he  hath  made  my  mouth  like  a  sharp 
sword,  and  like  a  polished  shaft,  Isa.  xlix.  2.  And  he 
is  elsewhere  represented,  as  having  a  sharp,  two- 
edged  sword^  proceeding  out  of  his  mouth.  Rev.  i.  l6. 
Experience  hath  fully  justified  the  boldness  of  these 
figures.  Let  any  human  orator  be  shewn,  whose  elo- 
quence hath  produced  equal  effects,  either  in  per- 

suacfing 


190  Christ  the  King  of  Tnith 

suading,  or  in  confounding,  in  comforting,  confirm- 
ing, or  conciliating  the  hearts  of  mankiHd,  and  in 
subduing  them  by  its  irresistible  charms.  Had  not 
Jesus  Christ,  in  all  these  kinds  of  elocution,  an  un- 
paralleled success  ? 

The  force  of  his  word  was  corroborated  by  the  pu- 
rity of  his  example.  He  was  a  model  of  all  the  virtues 
w^hich  he  exhorted  others  to  observe.  He  proposed 
the  re-establisment  of  the  empire  of  order,  and  he 
first  submitted  to  it.  He  preached  a  detachment  from 
the  world,  and  he  had  not  where  to  lay  his  head.  He 
preached  meekness  and  humility,  and  he  was  himself 
7n€ek  and  lowly  in  hearty  making  himself  of  no  reputation, 
and  taking  upon  him  theforvi  of  a  servant.  He  preached 
benevolence,  and  he  went  about  doing  good.  He 
preached  patience,  and  when  he  was  reviled  he  reviled 
not  again :  He  suifered  himself  to  be  led  as  a  lamb  to 
the  slaughter^  and  as  a  sheep  before  her  shearers  is  dumb^ 
so  he  opened  not  his  month,  Matt.  viii.  20.  ix.  29. 
Phil.  ii.  7.  Acts  x.  38.  and  Isa.  liii.  7.  He  preached 
the  cross,  and  he  bore  it.  What  conquests  cannot  a 
preacher  make,  when  he  himself  walks  in  that  path  of 
virtue  in  Vv'hich  he  exhorts  others  to  go  ? 

Finally,  Jesus  Christ  useth  the  arms  of  the  Spirit,  I 
mean  miracles ;  and  with  them  he  performeth  the  ex- 
ploits of  which  we  speak.  To  these  powerful  arms, 
Jesus  Christ  and  his  disciples  teach  all  nature  to  yield  : 
tempests  subside ;  devils  submit ;  diseases  appear  at  a 
Yv'ord,  and  vanish  on  command ;  death  seizeth,  or  lets 
fallhis  prey  ;  Lazarus  riseth;  Elymas  is  stricken  blind; 
Ananias  and  Sapphira  die,  sudden  and  violent  deaths. 
Moreover,  with  these  all- conquering  arms,  he  con-> 
verteth  unbelieving  souls ;  he  planteth  the  gospel ; 
openeth  the  heart ;  worketh  faith ;  writeth  the  law  in 
the  mind ;  enlighteneth  the  understanding ;  createth 
anew ;  regeneratcth  and  sanctifieth  the  souls  of  men ; 
he  exerciseth  that  omnipotence  over  the  moral  void 
that  he  exercised  m  the  first  creation  over  the  chaos 

of 


Christ  the  King  of  Truth,  191 

of  natural  beings,  and  raiseth  a  new  world  out  of  the 
ruins  of  the  old. 

5.  Let  us  attend  to  the  courtiers  of  the  king  Messiah. 
Go  to  the  courts  of  earthly  princes ;  benoid  the  in- 
triguing complaisance,  the  feigned  friendbhips,  the 
mean  adulations,  the  base  arts,  by  which  courtiers  rise 
to  the  favour  of  the  prince.  Jesus  Christ  hath  pro- 
mised  his  to  very  different  dispositions.  And  to  which 
of  his  subjects  hath  he  promised  the  tenderest  and 
most  durable  union?  Hear  the  excellent  reply, 
which  he  made  to  tliose  who  told  him  his  mother 
and  his  brethren  desired  to  speak  with  him  ;  Who  is 
viy  mother  P  And  who  are  my  brethren  P  said  he, 
and  stretching  forth  his  hand  toward  his  disciples,  he' 
added.  Behold  my  mother^  and  my  brethren  !  for  whoso- 
ever shall  do  the  will  of  my.  Father^  which  is  in  heaven, 
the  same  is  my  brother,  and  sister y  and  mother,  Matt,  xii, 
48 — 50.  Fraternal  love,  devotedness  to  the  will  of 
God,  the  most  profound  humility,  are  the  dispositions 
that  lead  to  the  heart  of  Jesus  Christ.  How  impos- 
sible to  arrive  at  the  favour  of  earthly  kings  by  such 
dispositions  as  these  I 

Finally,  The  great  proof,  my  brethren,  that  the 
kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ  is  Jiot  of  this  world,  is  taken 
from  its  rewards.  Virtue,  I  grant,  sometimes  procureth 
temporal  prosperity  to  those  who  practise  it.  The  sa- 
cred authors  have  proposed  this  motive,  in  tider  to 
attach  men  to  the  laws  of  Jesus  Christ.  Godliness  is 
profitable  to  all  things,  having  promise  of  the  life  that 
now  is,  as  well  as  of  that  which  is  to  com?,  1  Tim.  iv.  8. 
He  that  will  love  life,  and  see  good  days,  let  him  refrain 
his  tongue  from  evil,  and  his  lips  that  they  speak  no  guile  ^ 
let  him  eschew  evil,  and  do  good,  let  Mm  seek  peace,  and 
ensue  it,  1  Pet.  iii.  10^11. 

One  would  suppose  St  Peters  thought  might  be 
amplified,  and  that  we  might  add,  Woidd  any  man  ac- 
quire a  fortune  P  Let  him  be  punctual  to  his  word, 
just  in  his  gains,  and  generous  in  hi^  gitts.     Would 

any 


192  Christ  the  King  oJTrutL 

any  man  become  popular  in  his  reputation  P  Let  him  be 
grave,  solid,  and  cautious.  IVould  any  man  rise  to  the 
highest  promotions  in  the  army  P  Lethim  be  brave,  mag- 
nanimous, and  expert  in  military  skill.  Would  any  one 
become  prime  minister  of  state  P  Let  him  be  affable,  -in- 
corruptible, and  disinterested.  But,  may  I  venture  to 
say  it  .^  This  morality  is  fit  only  for  a  hamlet  now-a- 
days ;  it  is  impracticable  on  the  great  theatres  of  the 
world,  and,  so  great  is  the  corruption  of  these  times, 
v^^e  must  adopt  a  contrary  style.  Who  would  acquire  a 
fortune  P  Let  him  be  treacherous,  and  unjust,  let  him 
be  concentred  in  his  own  interest.  JVho  would  beco??ie 
popular,  and  would  have  a  crowded  levee  P  Let  him  be  a 
shallow,  intriguing,  self-admirer.  Who  would  occupy 
the  first  posts  in  the  army  P  Let  him  flatter,  let  him  excel 
in  the  art  of  substituting  protection  and  favour  in  the 
place  of  real  merit. 

What  conclusion  must  we  draw  from  all  these  me- 
lancholy truths?  The  text  is  the  conclusion,  my  king- 
dom is  not  of  this  world.  No,  christian,  by  imitating 
thy  Saviour,  thou  wilt  acquire  neither  riches,  nor  rank : 
thou  wilt  meet  with  contempt  and  shame,  poverty 
and  pain  I  But  peace  of  conscience,  a  crown  of  mar- 
tyrdom, an  eternal  mansion  in  the  Father's  house ^  John 
xiv.  2.  the  society  of  angels,  the  heavenly  Jerusalem, 
these  are  the  rewards  which  Jesus  Christ  himself 
reaped,  and  these,  he  hath  promised,  thou  shalt  reap  I 

IL  We  have  proved  that  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ 
is  not  of  this  world,  we  will  proceed  now  to  prove,  that 
it  is  therefore  a  kingdom  of  truth.  Thou  say  est  that  I 
arnaking;  to  this  end  was  Iborn,andfor  this  cause  came 
Unto  the  world,  that  I  should  bear  witness  unto  the  truth. 

What  is  this  truth  P  Two  ideas  may  be  formed  of 
it.  It  may  be  considered,  either  in  regard  to  the  Jews 
who  accused  Christ  before  Pilate  ;  or  in  regard  to 
Pilate  himself,  before  whom  Jesus  Christ  was  accused. 

If  v.e  consider  it  in  regard  to  the  Jev;s,  this  truth 

will 


Christ  the  King  of  Truth.  193 

will  respect  the  grand  question,  which  was  then  in  dis- 
pute between  Jesus  Christ  and  them  ;  that  is.  Whether 
he  were  the  Messiah  whom  the  prophets  had  foretold. 

If  we  consider  it  in  regard  to  Pilate,  and  to  the  Pagan 
societies,  to  which  this  Roman  governor  belonged,  a 
more  general  notion  must  be  formed  of  it.  The  Pagan 
philosophers  pretended  to  inquire  for  truth ;  some  of 
them  affected  to  have  discovered  it,  and  others  affirmed 
that  it  could  not  be  discovered,  that  all  was  uncertain, 
that  finite  minds  could  not  be  sure  of  any  thing,  ex- 
cept that  they  were  sure  of  nothing.  This  was  particu- 
larly the  doctrine  of  Socrates.  Learned  men  have  • 
thought  the  last  was  Pilate's  system,  and,  by  this  hypo- 
thesis, they  explain  his  reply  to  Jesus  Christ.  Jesus  Christ 
said  to  him,  /  came  to  hear  witness  to  the  truth.  Pilate 
answered,  W/iat  is  truth  P  Can  frail  men  distinguish  truth 
from  falsehood  ?  How  should  they  know  truth  ? 

Whether  this  be  only  a  conjecture,  or  not,  I  affirm, 
that,  let  the  term  truth  be  taken  in  which  of  the  two 
senses  it  will,  Jesus  Christ  came  to  bear  witness  to  truth 
in  both  senses  ;  and  that  his  is  a  kingdom  of  truth,  be- 
cause it  is  not  a  kingdom  of  this  world :  whence  it 
follows,  that  there  are  some  truths  of  which  we  have 
infallible  evidence. 

The  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ  is  not  of  this  world, 
therefore  Jesus  Christ  is  the  promised  Messiah.  The 
Jews  meet  with  nothing  in  Christianity  equal  in  diffi- 
culty to  this ;  and  their  error  on  this  article,  it  must 
be  acknowledged,  claims  our  patience  and  pity. 

The  prophets  have  attributed  a  sceptre  to  Jesus  Christ, 
an  emblem  of  the  regal  authority  of  temporal  kings : 
"  Thou  shalt  break  them  with  a  sceptre  of  iron  *." 

They 

*  Thou  shalt  break  them  ^vlth  a  rod  of  iron.  Our  author  uses 
the  Frencili  version,  Tu  les  froisseras  avec  un  sceptre  de  fer.  The 
Hebrew  Avord  nnu'  is  put  literally  for  a  comraon  lualkin^-stick,  Exod. 
xxi.  19.  A  r.:d  of  correction,  Prov.  x.  13.  The  staff,  that  ivas  car- 
ried by  tlie  head  of  a  tribe,  or  by  a  magistrate,  as  an  ensign  ef  his 
office,  Gen.  xlix.  10.  The  sceptre  of  a  nrince,  and  indeed  for  a  rod, 

Vol,  II.  N     ^  or 


194  Ckrist  the  King  of  Truth. 

They  attributed  to  him  a  throne,  the  seat  of  temporal 
kings :  "  thy  throne,  O  God  I  is  for  ever  and  ever ;  the 
"  sceptre  of  thy  kingdom  is  a  right  sceptre,"  Psal.  xlv.  6". 
They  attributed  to  him  the  armies  of  a  temporal  king : 
"  thy  people  shall  be  wilhng  in  the  day  when  thou  shalt 
r       "  assemble  thine  army  in  holy  pomp,"  Ps.  ex .  3  *.  They 
■        attributed  to  him  homages,  like  those  which  are  ren- 
dered to  a  temporal  king  :  "  they  that  dw^ell  in  the  wdl- 
"'  derness  shall  bow  before  him ;  and  his  enemies  shall 
''  lick  the  dust,"  PsaL  Ixxii.  Q.     They  attributed  to 
him  the  subjects  of  a  temporal  king:  "  ask  of  me,  and 
,  •  *'  1  shall  give  thee  the  heathen  for  thine  inheritance, 
"  and  the  uttermost  parts  ofthe  earth  for  thy  possession," 
;       Psal.  ii.  8.     They  attributed  to  him  the  prosperity  of 
'W'    a  temporal  king  :  "  the  kings  of  Tarshish,  and  of  the 
"  isles,  shall  bring  presents ;  the  kings  of  Sheba  and  Seba 
*'  shall  offer  gifts,"  Psal.  Ixxii.  10.    They  attributed  to 
him  the  exploits  of  temporal  kings :  "he  shall  strike 
"  thro'  kings  in  the  day  of  his  wrath;  he  shall  judge 
"  among  the  heathen,  he  shall  fill  the  places  with  the 
"  dead  bodies,  he  shall  wound  the  heads  over  many 
"  countries,"  Psal.  ex.  5,  6.     They  even  foretold  that 
the  king  promised  to  the  Jews  should  carry  the  glory 
of  his  nation  to  a  higher  degree  than  it  had  ever  at- 
tained under  its  most  successful  princes. 

How^  could  the  Jews  know  our  Jc&us  by  these  de- 
scriptions, for  h^  w^as  only  called  a  king  in  derision,  or 
at  most,  only  the  vile  populace  seriously  called  him  so  r 
Our  Jesus  had  no  other  sceptre  than  a  reed,  no  other 
^^.  icrowm  than  a  crown  of  thorns,  no  other  throne  than 
\  cross  ;  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  the  rest.  Never 
was  an  objection  seemingly  more  unansw^erable,  my 
brethren  :  never  was  an  objection  really  more  capable 
of  a  full,  entire,  and  conclusive  solution.  Attend  to 
the  following  considerations  :  1.  Those 

or  staff,  of  ant)  hind.      It  is  put  /f^ir^/ryf/y  for   sufifwrt,   affliction^ 
flower,  &.C.     The  epithet  iron  is  added  to  express  a  penal  exercise 
of  power,  as  that  oi  gnUen  is  to  signify  mi/d  use  of  it. 
*  See  the  note,  page  104-. 


Christ  the  King  ofTriUh.  193 

1.  Those  predictions,  which  are  most  incontestible 
in  the  ancient  prophecies,  are,  that  the  sceptre  of  the 
Messiah  was  to  be  "  a  sceptre  of  righteousness,"  Ps.  xlv. 
0.  Heb.  i.  8.  and  that  they,  who  would  enjoy  the  feli- 
cities of  his  kingdom,  must  devote  themselves  to  'virtue. 
They  must  be  humble,  and  ''  in  lowliness  of  mind, 
"each  must  esteem  other  better  than  himself,''  Phil.  ii. 
3.  They  must  be  clement  toward  their  enemies,  "  do 
*'  good  to  them  that  hate  them,  and  pray  for  them  which 
"  persecute  them,"  Matt.  v.  44.  They  must  subdue  the 
rebellion  of  the  senses,  subject  them  to  the  empire  of 
reason,  and  "  crucify  the  flesh  with  its  affections  and 
"  lusts,"  Gal.  V.  24.  But  of  all  the  means  that  can  be 
used  to  subjugate  us  to  those  virtues,  that  which  we 
have  supposed  is  the  most  eligible ;  I  mean,  the  giving 
of  a  spiritual  and  metaphorical  sense  to  the  ancient  pro- 
phecies. What  would  be  the  complexion  of  the  king- 
dom of  the  Messiah,  were  it  to  afford  us  all  those  ob- 
jects which  are  capable  of  flattering  and  of  gratify- 
ing our  passions  ?  Riches  would  irritate  our  avarice. 
Ease  would  indulge  our  sloth  and  indolence.  Pomp 
would  produce  arrogance  and  pride.  Reputation  would 
excite  hatred  and  revenge.  In  order  to  mortify  these 
passions,  the  objects  must  be  removed  by  which  they 
are  occasioned  or  fomented.  For  the  purpose  of  such 
a  mortification,  a  cross  is  to  be  preferred  before  a  bed 
of  down,  labour  before  ease,  humiliation  before  gran- 
deur, poverty  before  wealth. 

2.  To  give  a  literal  meaning  to  the  prophecies 
which  announce  the  kingdom  of  Christ,  is  to  make 
them  contradict  themselves.  Were  terrestrial  pomp, 
were  riches,  and  human  grandeurs,  always  to  attend 
the  Messiah,  what  would  become  of  those  parts  of  the 
prophecies  which  speak  with  so  much  energy  of  hi$ 
humiliation  and  sufferings  ?  What  would  become  of 
the  prophecy,  which  God  himself  gave  to  the  first 
man,  "  The  seed  of  the  woman  shall  bruise  the  ser- 
"  pent's  head  :"  but  indeed  "  the  serpent  shall  bruise 
*'  his  heel  ?"    What  would  becom.e  of  this  prophetic 

N  2  s^ing 


196  Christ  the  King  of  Truth. 

saying  of  the  Psalmist,  '*  I  am  a  worm,  and  no  man ; 
*'  a  reproach  of  men,  and  despised  of  the  people  ?" 
Ps.  xxii.  6.  What  would  become  of  this  prophecy  of 
Isaiah,  '*  He  hath  no  form  nor  comeliness ;  when  we 
"  shall  see  him,  there  is  no  beauty,  that  we  should  de- 
"  sire  him;  he  was  despised,  and  we  esteemed  him  not," 
chap.  liii.  2,  3-  Whether,  to  free  ourselves  from  this 
difficulty,  we  say,  with  some  Jews,  that  the  prophets 
speak  of  two  Messiahs;  or  with  others,  dispute  the  sense 
in  which  even  the  traditions  of  the  ancient  Rabbles 
explained  these  prophecies,  and  deny  that  they  speak 
of  the  Messiah  at  all :  in  either  case,  we  plunge  our- 
selves into  an  ocean  of  difficulties.  It  is  only  the  king- 
dom of  our  Jesus,  that  uniteth  the  grandeur  and  the 
meanness,  the  glory  and  the  ignominy,  the  immortality 
and  the  death,  which,  the  ancient  prophets  foretold, 
would  be  found  in  the  kingdom,  and  in  the  person  of 
the  Messiah. 

3.  The  prophets  themselves  have  given  the  keys  of 
their  prophecies  concerning  the  Messiah.  "  Behold ! 
"  the  days  come,  saith  the  Lord,  that  I  will  make  a 
f  new  covenant  with  the  house  of  Israel,  and  with  the 
■*  house  of  Judah.  I  will  put  my  law  in  their  inward 
."  parts,  and  write  it  in  their  hearts,"  Jer.  xxxi.  31.  And 
again,  "  I  will  have  mercy  upon  the  house  of  Judah, 
"  and  will  save  them  by  the  Lord  their  God ;  and  will 
"  not  save  them  by  bow,  nor  by  sword,  nor  by  battle, 
"  by  horses,  nor  by  horsemen,"  Hos.  i.  7.  What  is 
that  covenant,  which  engageth  to  ptii  the  divine  law 
in  the  hearts  of  them  with  whom  it  is  made  ?  What 
is  this  salvation  which  is  procured  neither  by  how  nor 
by  sword P  Where  is  the  unprejudiced  man,  who  doth 
not  perceive  that  these  passages  are  clues  to  the  pro- 
phecies, in  which  the  Messiah  is  represented  as  exer- 
cising a  temporal  dominion  on  earth  ? 

4.  If  there  be  any  thing  literal  in  what  the  prophets 
have  foretold  of  the  eminent  degree  of  temporal  glory 
to  which  the  Messiah  was  to  raise  the  Jewish  nation ; 
if  the  distinction  of  St  Paul,  of  Israel  after  the  flesh, 

iCor. 


Christ  the  King  of  Truth.  197 

I  Cor.  X.  18.  from  Israel  after  the  Spirit^  Rom,  ix.  3, 6. 
be  verified  in  this  respect;  if  the  saying  of  John  the 
Baptist,  God  is  able  of  these  stones  to  raise  up  children 
unto  Abraham,  Matt.  iii.  9. ;  if,  inone  word,  as  we  said 
before,  there  be  any  thing  literal  in  those  prophecies, 
we  expect  a  literal  accomplishment  of  them.  Yes  I  we  ex- 
pect a  period,  in  which  the  king  Messiah  will  elevate 
the  Jewish  nation  to  a  more  eminent  degree  of  glory, 
than  any  to  which  its  most  glorious  kings  have  ever 
elevated  it.  The  heralds  of  the  kingdom  of  our  Messiah, 
far  from  contesting  the  pretensions  of  the  Jews  on  this 
article,  urged  the  truth  and  the  equity  of  them.  / 
say  then,  (these  are  the  words  of  St  Paul  writing  on 
the  rejection  of  the  Jews)  I  say  then,  Have  they  stum- 
bled that  they  should  fall  P  Rom.  xi.  11,  12.  God  for- 
bid I  "  But  rather  through  their  fall  salvation  is  come 
"  unto  the  Gentiles,  for  to  provoke  them  to  jealousy. 
"  Now  if  the  fall  of  them  be  the  riches  of  the  world, 
"  and  the  diminishing  of  them  the  riches  ofthe<jen- 
"  tiles ;  how  much  more  their  fulness  ?" 

St  Paul  establisheth  in  these  words  two  callings  of 
the  Gentiles  :  a  calling  which  was  a  reproach  to  the 
Jewish  nation,  and  a  calling  which  shall  be  the  glory 
of  that  nation.  That  calling  which  was  a  reproach 
to  the  Jews,  was  occasioned  by  their  infidelity  ;  the 
fall  of  them  was  the  riches  of  the  world,  and  the  dimi- 
nishing of  them  the  riches  of  the  Gentiles :  that  is  to  say, 
the  apostles,  disgusted  at  the  unbelief  of  the  Jews, 
preached  the  gospel  to  the  Pagan  world. 

But  here  is  a  second  calling  mentioned,  which  will 
be  glorious  to  the  Jews,  and  this  calling  will  be  oc- 
casioned by  the  return  of  the  Jews  to  the  covenant,  and- 
by  their  embracing  the  gospel.  The  Gentiles,  to  whom 
the  gospel  had  not  been  preached  before,  will  be  so 
stricken  to  see  the  accomplishment  of  those  prophecies 
which  had  foretold  it ;  they  will  be  so  affected  to  see 
the  most  cruel  enemies  of  Jesus  Christ  become  his 
most  zealous  disciples,  that  they  will  be  converted 
through  the  influence  of  the  example  of  the  Jews.  // 

the 


198  Christ  the  King  of  Truth. 

the  fall  of  them,  if  the  fall  of  the  Jews,  weire  the  riches 
(jfthe  world,  and  the  diminishing  of  them  the  riches  of 
the  Gentiles,  how  much  more  their  fulness  P  This  is  an 
article  of  faith  in  the  christian  church. 

This  furnisheth  us  also  with  an  answer  to  one  of  the 
greatest  objections  that  was  ever  made  against  the 
christian  system,  touching  the  spiritual  reign  of  the 
Messiah.  A  very  ingenious  Jew  hath  urged  this  ob- 
jection ;  I  mean  the  celebrated  Isaac  Or ohio.  This  learn- 
ed man,  through  policy^  had  professed  the  Catholic 
religion  in  Spain ;  but,  after  the  fear  of  death  had 
made  him  declare  himself  a  christian,  in  spite  of  the 
most  cruel  tortures  that  the  inquisition  could  invent, 
to  make  him  own  himself  a  Jew ;  at  length  he  came 
into  these  provinces  to  enjoy  that  amiable  toleration 
which  reigns  here,  and  not  only  professed  his  own  re- 
ligion, but  defended  it,  as  w^ell  as  he  could,  against  the 
arguments  of  christians.  Offended  at  first  with  the 
gross  notions  which  his  ow^n  people  had  formed  of  the 
kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  and  mortified  at  seeing 
how  open  they  lay  to  our  objections,  he  endeavoured 
to  refine  them.  "  We  expect,  says  he,  a  temporal 
"  kingdom  of  the  Messiah,  not  for  the  gratifying  of 
■  *  our  passions,  nor  for  the  acquisition  of  riches,  nei- 
*'  ther  for  the  obtaining  of  eminent  posts,  nor  for  an 
-"  easy  life  in  this  v^^orld  ;  but  for  the  glory  of  the  God 
''  of  Israel,  and  for  the  salvation  of  all  the  inhabi- 
'*  tants  of  the  earth,  w^ho,  seeing  the  Jews  loadfn  wdth 
"  so  many  temporal  blessings,  will  be  therefore  indu- 
^'  ced  to  adore  that  God,  who  is  the  object  of  their 
"  w^orship."  My  brethren,  apply  the  reflection,  that 
you  just  now  heard,  to  this  ingenious  objection  *. 

5.  If 

*  This  learned  jew  wa?  of  Seville,  in  Spain,  and,  after  be  had 
escaped  from  the  prison  of  the  inquisition  by  pretending  to  be  a 
christian,  practised  physic  at  •'-■  msterdam.  There  he  professed 
Judaism,  and  endeavoured  to  defend  it  against  Christianity  in  a 
dispute  with  professor  Limborch.  The  passage  quoted  by  Mr 
Saur;n,  is  tlie  last  of  four  obje^ctions,   which  he  made  against  the 

christian 


Christ  the  King  of  Tmtk  199 

5.  If  the  glory  of  the  king  Messiah  do  not  shine  so 
brightly  in  the  present  economy  as  to  answer  the  ideas 
which  the  prophets  hath  given  of  it ;  u^e  expect  to  see 
it  shine  with  unexampled  lustre  after  this  economy  ends. 
When  we  say  that  the  kingdom  of  the  Messiah  is  not  of 
this  world,  we  are  very  far  from  imagining  that  this 
world  is  exempted  from  his  dominion.  We  expect  a 
period,  in  which  our  Jesus,  sitting  on  the  clouds  of 
heaven  in  power  and  great  glory,  elevated  in  the  pre- 
sence of  men  and  angels,  will  appear  in  tremendous 
glory  to  all  those  who  pierced  him.  Rev.  i.  7.  and  v;ill 
enter  into  a  strict  scrutiny  concerning  the  most  hor- 
rible homicide  that  was  ever  committed.  We  ex- 
pect a  period  in  which  the  plaintive  voices  of  the  souls 
under  the  altar  will  be  heard,  chap.  vi.  .9«  ^  period,  in 
which  they  will  reign  with  him,  and  will  experience 
ineffable  transports,  in  casting  their  crowns  at  his  feet, 
in  singing  the  song  of  Moses  the  servant  of  God,  and 
the  song  of  the  Lamb,  and  in  saying,  Allehna!  for  the 
Lord  God  omnipotent  reigneth :  let  us  be  glad  and  rejoice, 
and  give  honour  to  him,  chap.  xix.  6,  7.  And  we  do 
not  expect  these  excellent  displays,  merely  because 
they  delight  our  imaginations,  and  because  we  have 
more  credulity  than  means  of  conviction,  and  motives 
of  credibihty.  No  such  thing.  The  miracles  which 
our  Jesus  hath  already  wrought,  are  pledges  of  others 
which  he  will  hereafter  perform.  The  extensive  con- 
quests, that  he  hath  obtained  over  the  Pagan  world, 
prove  those  which  he  will  obtain  over  the  whole  uni- 
verse. The  subversion  of  the  natural  world,  which 
sealed  the  divinity  of  his  first  advent,  demonstrates 
that  which  will  signalize  his  second  appearance. 

Th^ 

cliristian  religion.  The  whole  was  published  by  Limborcb,  under 
ihe  title,  De  veritafe  religionis  christians  arnica  collatiocumcrudito  Ju- 
dao,  Gouda.  4-10.  1687.  The  inquisitors  exasperated  this  celebrated 
Jew,  Limborch  confuted  him  :  but  neither  converted  him  j  for  be- 
thought that  every  one  ought  to  continue  in  his  otvn  religion  ;  and  said, 
//  he  had  been  born  of  [larents  nvho  worshifipefl  the  sun,  he  should  m* 
renounce  that  worship. 


200  Christ  the  King  of  Truth. 

The  kingdom  of  the  Messiah  zj  not  of  this  world,  there- 
fore it  is  a  kingdom  of  truth,  therefore  Jesus  Christ  is 
the  Messiah  promised  by  the  prophets.  In  explaining 
the  prophecies  thus,  we  give  them  not  only  the  most 
just,  but  also  the  most  sublime  sense,  of  which  they 
are  capable.  To  render  those  happy  who  should  sub- 
mit to  his  empire,  was  the  end  of  his  coming.  But, 
let  us  not  forget,  every  idea  of  solid  happiness  must  be 
regulated  by  the  nature  of  man. 

What  is  man  ?  He  is  a  being  divested  of  his  privi- 
leges, degraded  from  his  primitive  grandeur,  and  con- 
demned by  the  supreme  order  and  litness  of  things  to 
everlasting  misery. 

Again,  What  is  man  ?  He  is  a  being,  who,  from 
that  depth  of  misery  into  which  his  sins  have  already 
plunged  him,  and  in  sight  of  that  bottomless  abyss 
into  which  they  are  about  to  immerse  him  for  ever, 
crieth,  0  wretched  man  that  I  am !  Who  shall  deliver  me 
from  the  body  of  this  death  P  Rom.  vii.  24. 

Once  more.  What  is  man  ?  He  is  a  being,  who,  all 
disfigured  and  debased  as  he  is  by  sin,  jet  feels  some 
sentiments  of  his  primaeval  dignity,  still  conceives 
some  boundless  wishes,  still  forms  some  immortal  de- 
signs, which  tiir.e  can  by  no  means  accomplish. 

This  is  man  I  Behold  his  nature  I  I  propose  now  two 
comments  on  the  ancient  prophecies.  The  interpre- 
tation of  the  synagogue,  and  the  interpretation  of  the 
christian  church :  the  commentary  of  the  passions,  and 
that  of  the  gospel.  I  imagine  two  Messiahs,  the  one 
such  as  the  synagogue  thought  him,  the  other  such  as 
the  disciples  of  Jesus  Christ  represent  him.  I  place 
man  between  these  two  Messiahs,  and  I  demand,  which 
of  these  two  heroical  candidates  would  a  rational  man 
choose  for  his  guide  ?  Which  of  these  two  conquerors 
will  conduct  him  to  solid  fehcity  ?  The  first  presents 
objects  to  him,  sensible,  carnal,  and  gross  :  The  second 
proposeth  to  detach  him  from  the  dominion  of  sense, 
to  elevate  him  to  ideas  abstract  and  spiritual,  and,  by 

alluring 


Christ  the  King  of  Truth.  201 

alluring  his  soul  from  the  distractions  of  earthly  things, 
to  impower  him  to  soar  to  celestial  objects.  The  one 
offereth  to  open  as  many  channels  for  the  passions  as 
their  most  rapid  flow  may  require :  the  other  to  filtrate  the 
passions  at  the  spring,  and  to  keep  all  in  proper  bounds, 
by  giving  to  each  its  original  placid  course.  The  one 
proposeth  to  march  at  the  head  of  a  victorious  people, 
to  animate  them  by  his  valour  and  courage,  to  enable 
them  to  rout  armies,  to  take  garrisons,  to  conquer 
kingdoms :  the  other  offereth  to  disarm  divine  justice  ; 
like  David,  to  go  weeping  over  the  brook  Cedron^  2  Sam. 
XV.  23.  John  xviii.  1.  to  ascend  Mount  Calvary ;  to  pour 
Gilt  his  soul  an  offering  on  the  cross,  Isa.  liii.  12.  and^ 
by  these  means,  to  reconcile  heaven  and  earth,  I  ask. 
Who,  the  Jews,  or  we,  affix  the  most  sublime  meaning 
to  the  predictions  of  the  prophets  ?  I  ask,  Whether,  if 
the  choice  of  either  of  these  Messiahs  w^ere  left  to  Us, 
the  christian  Messiah  w^ould  not  be  infinitely  prefer- 
able to  the  other  ?  Our  Jesus,  all  dejected  and  disfigu- 
red as  he  is,  all  covered  as  he  is  with  his  own  blood,  is 
he  not  a  thousand  times  more  conformable  to  the 
washes  of  a  man,  who  knows  himself,  than  the  Mes- 
siah of  the  Jews,  than  the  Messiah  of  the  passions^ 
wdth  all  his  power,  and  with  all  his  pomp  ? 

III.  It  only  remains  to  examine,  my  brethren,  whe- 
ther this  Jesus,  whose  kingdom  is  not  of  this  worlds  have 
many  subjects.  But,  alas  I  to  put  this  question  is  to 
answer  it ;  for  where  shall  I  find  the  subjects  of  this 
Jesus,  whose  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world  P  I  seek  them 
first  among  the  people,  to  whom  were  committed  the 
oracles  of  God,  Rom.  iii.  2.  and  who  grounded  all  their 
hopes  on  the  coming  of  the  king  Messiah.  This  na- 
tion, I  see,  pretends  to  be  offended  and  frightened  at 
the  sight  of  a  spiritual  king,  whose  chief  aim  is  to  con- 
quer the  passions,  and  to  tear  the  love  of  the  world  from 
the  hearts  of  his  subjects.  Hark  !  they  cry.  We  will 
not  have  this  man  to  reign  over  7/s  !  Away  with  him,  away 

with 


203  Christ  the  King  of  Truth. 

with  him  !  Crucify  him,  crucify  him  !  His  blood  be  on 
us  and  on  our  children  I  Luke  xix.  I4.  John  xix.  15. 
and  Matt,  xxvii.  25. 

I  turn  to  the  metropolis  of  the  christian  world,  t 
enter  the  Vatican,  the  habitation  of  the  pretended  suc- 
cessor of  this  Jesus,  whose  kingdom  is  not  of  this  world; 
and  lo  I  1  meet  with  guards,  drummers,  ensigns,  light- 
horse,  cavalcades,  pomgous  equipages  in  peace,  instru- 
ments of  death  in  war,  habits  of  silver  and  keys  of 
gold,  a  throne  and  a  triple  crown,  and  all  the  grandeur 
of  an  earthly  court.  1  meet  with  objects  far  more 
scandalous  than  any  I  have  seen  in  the  synagogue. 

The  synagogue  refuseth  to  attribute  a  spiritual  mean- 
ing to  the  gross  and  sensible  emblems  of  the  prophets ; 
but  Rome  attributes  a  gross  and  sensible  meaning  to 
the  spiritual  emblems  of  the  gospel.  The  prophets 
had  foretold,  that  the  Messiah  should  hold  a  sceptre  in 
his  hand ;  and  the  synagogue  rejected  a  Messiah,  who 
held  only  a  reed.  But  the  gospel  tells  us,  the  Mes- 
siah held  only  a  reed,  and  Rome  will  have  a  king 
who  holdeth  a  sceptre.  The  prophets  had  said  Christ 
should  be  crowned  with  glory ;  and  the  synagogue 
rejected  a  king,  who  was  crowned  only  with  thorns. 
But  the  gospel  represents  Jesus  Christ  crowned  with 
thorns ;  and  Rome  v/ill  have  a  Jesus  crowned  with 
glory,  and  place th  a  triple  crown  on  the  head  of  its 
pontiff.  The  first  of  these  errors  appears  to  me  morq 
tolerable  than  the  last.  Jmlah  hath  justified  her  sister 
Samaria,  Ezek.  xvi.  51,  52.  Rome  is,  on  this  article. 
less  pardonable  than  Jerusalem. 

Where  then  is  the  kingdom  of  our  Messiah  .^  I  turn 
toward  you,  my  brethren ;  I  come  in  search  of  christians 
into  this  church,  the  arches  of  which  incessantly  re- 
sound with  pleas  against  the  pretensions  of  the  syna- 
gogue, of  the  passions,  and  of  Rome.  But  alas  I  With- 
in these  walls,  and  among  a  congregation  of  the  chil- 
dren of  the  reformation,  how  few  disciples  do  we  find 
of  this  Jesus,  whose  kingdom,  is  not  of  this  world  P 

I  freely 


Christ  the  King  of  Truth.  203 

I  freely  grant,  that  a  kingdom,  which  is  not  of  this 
world,  engagethus  to  so  much  mortification,  to  so  much 
humility,  and  to  so  much  patience ;  and  that  wc  are 
naturally  so  sensual,  so  vain,  and  so  passionate,  that  ie 
is  not  very  astonishing,  if  in  some  absent  moments  of 
a  life,  which  in  general  is  devoted  to  Jesus  Christ,  Mre 
should  suspend  the  exercise  of  those  graces.  And  I 
grant  further,  that  v^hen,  under  the  frailties  which 
accompany  a  christian  life,  we  are  conscious  of  a  sin- 
cere desire  to  be  perfect,  of  making  some  progress  to- 
ward the  attainment  of  it,  of  genuine  grief  when  we  do 
not  advance  apace  in  the  road  that  our  great  example 
hath  marked  out,  when  we  resist  sin,  when  we  en- 
deavour to  prevent  the  world  from  stealing  our  hearts 
from  God ;  we  ought  not  to  despair  of  the  truth  of 
our  Christianity. 

But,  after  all,  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ  is  not  of  this 
world.  Some  of  you  pretend  to  be  christians ;  and  yet 
you  declare  coolly  and  deliberately,  in  your  whole  con- 
versation and  deportment,  for  worldly  maxims  dia- 
metrically opposite  to  the  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ. 

The  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ  is  not  of  this  world.  You 
pretend  to  be  christians;  and  yet  you  would  have  us 
indulge  and  approve  of  your  conduct,  when  you  en- 
deavour to  distinguish  yourselves  from  the  rest  of  the 
world,  not  by  humility,  moderation,  and  benevo- 
lence; but  by  a  worldly  grandeur,  made  up  of  pomp 
and  parade. 

The  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ  is  not  of  this  world.  You 
pretend  to  be  christians;  and  although  your  most  pro- 
found application,  your  most  eager  wishes,  and  your 
utmost  anxieties,  are  all  employed  in  establishing  your 
fortune,  and  in  uniting  your  heart  to  the  world,  yet 
you  would  not  have  us  blame  your  conduct. 

The  kingdom  of  Jesus  Christ  is  not  of  this  world.  You 
pretend  to  be  christians,  and  yet  you  are  offended,  when 
we  endeavour  to  convince  you  by  our  preaching,  that 
whatever  abates  your  ardour  for  spiritual  blessings, 

who 


204  Christ  the  King  of  Truth. 

how  lawful  soever  it  may  be  in  itself,  either  the  most 
natural  incimation,  or  the  most  innocent  amusement, 
or  the  best  intended  action,  that  all  become  criminal 
when  they  produce  this  ellect. 

The  kingdoin  of  Jesus  Christ  is  not  of  this  world.  You 
affect  to  be  christians;  and  yet  you  think  we  talk  very 
absurdly,  when  we  affirm,  that  whatever  contributes  to 
loosen  the  heart  from  the  world,  whether  it  be  the  most 
profound  humiliation,  poverty  the  most  extreme,  or 
maladies  the  most  violent,  any  thing  that  produceth 
this  detachment,  ought  to  be  accounted  a  blessing. 
You  murmur,  when  we  say,  that  the  state^of  a  man  lying 
on  a  dunghill,  abandoned  by  all  mankind,  living  only 
to  suffer ;  but,  amidst  all  these  mortifying  circum- 
stances', praying,  and  praising  God,  and  winding  his 
heart  about  eternal  objects;  is  incomparably  happier 
than  that  of  a  worldling,  living  in  splendour  and  pomp, 
surrounded  by  servile  flatterers,  and  riding  in  long 
processional  state. 

But  open  your  eyes  to  your  real  interests,  and  !ea)n 
the  extravagance  of  your  pretensions.  One,  of  two 
things,  must  be  done  to  satisfy  us.  Either  Jesus  Chrisji 
must  put  us  in  possession  of  the  felicities  of  the  preseift 
world,  while  he  enables  us  to  hope  for  those  of  the^ 
world  to  come;  and  then  our  fondness  for  the  first 
would  cool  our  affection  for  the  last,  and  an  immo- 
derate love  of  this  life  would  produce  a  disrelish  for 
the  next :  or,  Jesus  Christ  must  confine  his  gifts,  and 
our  hopes,  to  the  present  world,  and  promise  us  no- 
thing in  the  world  to  come,  and  then  our  destiny 
would  be  deplorable  indeed. 

Had  we  hope  only  in  this  life,  whither  should  we 
flee  in  those  moments,  in  which  our  minds,  glutted 
and  palled  with  worldly  objects,  most  clearly  discover 
all  the  vanity,  the  emptiness,  and  the  nothingness  of 
them  ? 

Had  we  hope  only  in  this  life,  whither  could  we  flee 
when  the  world  shall  disappear ;  when  the  '*  heavens 

"  shall 


Christ  the  King  of  Truth.  205 

"  shall  pass  away  with  a  great  noise,  when  the  elements 
"  shall  melt  with  fervent  heat,  when  the  earth,  and  all 
**  its  works,  shall  be  burnt  up?"  2  Fet.  iii.  10. 

Had  we  hope  only  in  this  life^  whither  could  we 
flee  when  the  springs  of  death,  which  we  carry  in  our 
bosoms,  shall  issue  forth  and  overwhelm  the  powers 
of  life  ?  What  would  become  of  us  a  few  days  hence, 
when,  compelled  to  acknowledge  the  nullity  of  the 
present  world,  we  shall  exclaim,  Vanity  of  vanities^ 
all  is  vanity  ? 

Ah  !  1  am  hastening  to  the  immortal  world,  I  stretch 
my  hands  toward  the  immortal  world,  I  feel,  I  grasp 
the  immortal  world  ;  I  have  no  need  of  a  Redeemer, 
who  reigns  in  this  present  world ;  I  want  a  Redeemer, 
v/ho  reigns  in  the  immortal  world !  My  finest  ima- 
ginations, my  highest  prerogatives,  my  mbst  exalted 
wishes,  are  the  beholding  of  a  reigning  Redeemer  in 
the  world  to  which  I  go ;  the  sight  of  him  sitting  on 
the  throne  of  his  Father ;  the  seeing  of  "  the  four  liv- 
'*  ing  creatures,  and  the  four  and  twenty  elders,  falling 
"  down  before  him,  and  casting  their  crowns  at  his  feet," 
Rev.  iv.  9,  10.  the  hearing  of  the  melodious  voices  of 
the  triumphant  hosts,  saying,  "  Glory  be  unto  him 
*'  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,"  ch,  v.  13-  The  most 
ravishing  object,  that  can  present  itself  to  my  eyes  in 
a  sick-bed,  especially  in  the  agonies  of  death,  when  I 
shall  be  involved  in  darkness  that  may  be  felt,  is  my 
Saviour,  looking  at  me,  calling  to  me,  animating  me, 
and  saying,  *'  To  him  that  overcometh  will  I  grant  to 
"  sit  with  me  in  my  throne."  But  v.  hat  would  all 
this  be  ?  Jesus  Christ  will  do  more.  He  will  give  me 
power  to  conquer,  and  he  will  crown  me  when  the  bat- 
tle is  won.    May  God  grant  us  these  blessings  I  Amen. 


SERMON 


207 

SERMON    VIII. 

The  ResiLTrection  (^/'Jesus  Christ. 

Psalm  cxviii.  15,  l6. 

The  z'oice  of  rejoicing  and  salvation  is  in  the  tabernacle ^r 
of  the  righteous :  the  right  hand  of  the  Lord  doth  va- 
liantly.  The  right  hand  of  the  Lord  is  exalted :  the 
right  hand  of  the  Lord  doth  zwdianthj. 

TJ/'OMANl  Why  weepest  thou  P  John  xx.  13,  15.  was 
the  language  of  two  angels  and  of  Jesus  Christ 
to  Mary.  The  Lord  had  been  crucified.  The  infant- 
church  was  in  mourning.  The  enemies  of  Christianity 
were  triumphing.  The  faith  of  the  disciples  was  tot- 
tering. Mary  had  set  out  before  dawn  of  day,  to  give 
vent  to  her  grief,  to  bathe  the  tomb  of  her  Master  with 
tears,  and  to  render  funeral  honours  to  him.  In  these 
sad  circumstances,  the  heavens  opened,  two  angels 
clothed  in  white  garments  descended,  and  placed 
themselves  on  the  tomb  that  inclosed  the  dear  de- 
positum  of  the  love  of  God  to  the  church.  At  the 
fixed  moment,  they  rolled  away  the  stone,  and  Jesus 
Christ  arose  from  the  grave  loaden  with  the  spoils  of 
death.  Hither  Mary  comes  to  see  the  dead  body, 
the  poor  remains  of  him  ^mho  should  have  redeemed 
Israel,  Luke  xxiv.  21.  and,  finding  the  tomb  empty, 
abandons  her  whole  soul  to  grief,  and  bursts  into 
floods  of  tears.  The  heavenly  messengers  directly 
address  these  comfortable  words  to  her,  Woman  I  Why 
iveepest  thou  /  Scarcely  had  she  told  them  the  cause  of 

her 


208       The  Resurrection  of  Jesits  ChruL 

her  grief,  before  Jesus  puts  the  same  question  to  her, 
Woman !  Why  weepest  thou  P  And  to  this  language, 
which  insinuateth  into  her  heart,  and  exciteth,  if  I 
may  venture  to  speak  so,  from  the  bottom  of  her  soul 
every  emotion  of  tenderness  and  love  of  which  she 
is  capable,  he  adds,  Mary  1 

Thististhe  magnificent,  this  is  the  affecting  object, 
on  which  the  eyes  of  all  the  churcli  are  this  day  fixed. 
This  is  the  comfortable  language,  which  heaven  to- 
day proclaims.  For  several  weeks  past,  you  have  been 
in  tears.  Your  churches  have  been  in  mourning. 
Your  eyes  have  beheld  only  sad  and  melancholy  ob- 
jects. On  the  onq  hand,  you  have  been  examining  your 
consciences,  and  your  minds  have  been  overw^helmed 
\vith  the  sorrowful  remembrance  of  broken  resolutions, 
violated  vows,  and  fruitless  communions.  On  the 
other,  you  have  seen  Jesus,  betrayed  by  one  disciple, 
denied  by  another,  forsaken  by  all ;  Jesus,  delivered 
by  priests  to  secular  powers,  and  condemned  by  his 
judges  to  die  ;  Jesus,  sweating,  as  it  were,  great  drops  of 
blood,  Luke  xxii.  44.  praying  in  Gethsemane  :  0  my 
Father  I  if  it  be  possible,  let  this  cup  puss  from  vie.  Matt, 
xxvi.  39.  and  crying  on  Mount  Calvary,  My  God  I 
My  God  !  Why  hast  thou  forsaken  me?  chap,  xxvii.  46. 
Jesus,  lying  in  the  grave  :  these  have  been  the  mourn- 
ful objects  of  your  late  contemplation.  At  the  hear- 
ing of  this  tragical  history,  conscience  trembles  ;  and 
the  v^hole  church,  on  seeing  the  Saviour  intombed, 
weeps  as  if  salvation  were  bmied  wdth  him.  But  take 
courage,  thou  tremulous  conscience  !  Dry  up  thy  tears, 
thou  church  of  Jesus  Christ  I  Loose  thyself  from  the 
bands  of  thy  neck,  0  captive  daughter  of  Sion  !  Isa.  lii.  2. 
Come,  my  brethren  I  approach  the  tomb  of  your  Re- 
deemer, no  more  to  lament  his  death,  no  more  to 
em.balm  his  sacred  body,  which  hath  not  been  suffer- 
ed to  see  corruption.  Acts  ii.  27.  but  to  shout  for  joy 
at  :iis  resurrection.  To  this  the  prophet  inviteth  us 
in  the  text ;  "'the  voice  of  rejoicing  and  salvation  is  in 

■  ''  the 


Tlie  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ.         209    - 

"  the  tabernacles  of  the  righteous  :  the  right  hand  of 
"  the  Lord  doth  vaUantly.  The  right  hand  of  the  Lordis 
'*  exalted  :  the  right  hand  of  the  Lord  doth  valiantly." 

I  have  not  questioned,  whether  the  psalm  in  general, 
and  the  text  in  particular,  regard  the  Messiah.  The 
ancient  Jews,  understood  the  psalm  of  him  ;  and  there^ 
fore  made  use  of  it  formerly  among  their  prayers  for 
his  advent.  We  agree  with  the  Jews,  and,  on  this ' 
article,  we  think  they  are  safer  guides  than  many 
Christians.  The  whole  psalm  agrees  with  Jesus  Christ, 
and  is  applicable  to  him  as  well  as  to  David,  particu- 
larly the  famous  words  that  follow  the  text :  "  The 
''  stone,  which  the  builders  refused,  is  become  the 
"  head -stone  of  the  corner.  This  is  the  Lord's  doing, 
"  it  is  marvellous  in  our  eyes."  These  words  are  so 
unanimously  applied  to  the  exaltation,  and  particularly 
to  the  resurrection,  of  Jesus  Christ,  in  the  books  of  the 
New  Testament,  in  the  gospel  of  St  Matthew,  in  that 
of  St  Mark,  in  that  of  St  Luke,  in  the  book  of  Acts, 
in  the  epistle  to  the  Romans,  and  in  that  to  the  Ephe- 
sians,  that  it  seems  needless,  methinks,  to  attempt  to 
prove  a  matter  so  fully  decided. 

The  present  solemnity  demands  reflections  of  an- 
other kind,  and  we  will  endeavour  to  shew  you, 

L  The  truth  of  the  event  of  which  the  text  speaks ; 
The  right  hand  of  the  Lord  is  exalted  :  the  right  hand 
of  the  Lord  doth  valiantly. 

IL  We  will  justify  the  joyful  acclamations,  which 
are  occasioned  by  it,  The  voice  of  rejoicing  and  sal- 
vation is  in  the  tabernacles  of  the  righteous. 

L  Let  us  examine  the  evidences  of  the  truth  o^ih.^ 
resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ.  Infidelity  denies  it,  and, 
what  perhaps  may  be  no  less  injurious  to  Christianity, 
superstition  pretends^  to  establish  it  on  falsehood  and 
absurdity.  A  certain  traveller  ^  pretends,  that  the  inha- 
bitants 

*  Peter  Bclon.  Observ.  lib.  il.  cap.  S3.  Belon  was  a  country- 
maa  of  our  author's,  a  physician  of  Le  Mans,  who  travelled  from 
154-6  to  I54.9.     His  travel-  were  publisl^ed  1555. 

Vv)L,  IL  O 


210      The  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ 

bitants  of  the  holy  land  still  shew  travellers  the  stone 
which  the  builders  refused,  and  which  became  the  head- 
stone of  the,  corner.  In  order  to  guard  you  against  in- 
iideiity,  we  will  urge  the  argumejits  which  prove  the 
truth  or  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ :  but,  to  pre- 
vent superstition,  we  will  attribute  to  each  argument 
no  more  evidence  than  what  actually  belongs  to  it. 

In  proof  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  we  have, 
J.  Presumptions.  2.  Proofs.  3.  Demonstrations.  The 
circumstances  of  his  burial  afford  some  presump- 
tions ;  the  testimonies  of  the  apostles  furnish  us  with 
some  arguments ;  and  the  descent  of  the  Holy  Spirit 
on  the  church  furnisheth  us  with  demonstrations. 

1.  From  the  circumstances  of  the  burial  of  Jesus 
Christ,  I  derive  some  presumptions  in  favour  of  the 
doctrine  of  the  resurrection.  Jesus  Christ  died.  This 
is  an  incontestable  principle.  '  Our  enemies,  far  from 
pretending  to  question  this,  charge  it  on  Christianity 
as  a  reproach. 

The  tomb  of  Jesus  Christ  w^as  found  empty  a  few 
days  after  his  death.  This  is  another  incontestable 
principle.  For  if  the  enemies  of  Christianity  had  re- 
tained his  body  in  their  possession,  they  vvould  cer- 
tainly have  produced  it  for  the  ruin  of  the  report  of 
his  resurrection.  Hence  ariseth  a  presumption  thai 
Jesus  Christ  rose  from  the  dead. 

If  the  body  of  Jesus  Christ  were  not  raised  from  the 
dead,  it  must  have  been  stolen  away.  But  this  theft 
is  incredible.  Who  committed  it?  The  enemies  of 
Jesus  Christ?  Would  they  have  contributed  to  his 
glory,  by  countenancing  a  report  of  his  resurrection  ? 
Would  his  disciples  ?  It  is  probable,  they  would  not; 
and,  it  is  next  to  certain,  they  could  not.  How 
could  they  have  undertaken  to  remove  the  body? 
Frail  and  timorous  creatures,  people,  who  fled  as  soon 
as  they  saw  him  taken  into  custody  ;  even  Peter,  the 
m.ost  courageous,  trembled  at  the  voice  of  a  servant- 
girl,  and  three  times  denied  that  he  knew  him  ;  people 

of 


The  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,       211 

of  this  character,  would  they  have  dared  to  resist  the 
authoiity  of  the  governor?  Would  they  have  under- 
taken to  oppose  the  determination  of  the  Sanhedrim, 
to  force  a  guard,  and  to  elude,  or  to  overcome,  sol- 
diers armed  and  aware  of  danger  ?  If  Jesus  Christ  were 
not  risen  again,  (I  speak  the  language  of  unbelievers) 
he  had  deceived  his  disciples  with  vain  hopes  of  his 
resurrection.  How  came  the  disciples  not  to  discover 
the  imposture  ?  Would  they  have  hazarded  themselves 
by  undertaking  an  enterprise  so  perilous,  in  favour  of 
a  man  who  had  so  cruelly  imposed  on  their  credulity? 

But  were  we  to  grant  that  they  formed  the  design  of 
removing  the  body,  how  could  they  have  executed  it? 
How  could  soldiers,  armed,  and  on  guard,  suffer  them- 
selves to  be  over-reached  by  a  few  timorous  people  ? 
"  Either,  (says  St  Augustine  ^,)  they  were  asleep  or 
"  awake  :  if  they  were  awake,  why  should  they  suffer 
**  the  body  to  be  taken  av/ay  ?  If  asleep,  how  could 
"  they  know  that  the  disciples  took  it  away  ?  How 
"  dare  they  then  depose  that  it  was  stolen  ?"  All  these, 
however,  are  only  presumptions. 

The  testimony  of  the  apostles  furnisheth  us  with  ar- 
guments,  and  there  are  eight  considerations  which  give 
their  evidence  sufficient  weight.  Remark  the  nature^ 
and  the  number,  of  the  witnesses :  the  facts  they 
avow,  and  the  agreement  of  their  evidence  :  the  tribu-- 
nals  before  which  they  stood,  and  the  ti7ne  in  which 
they  made  their  depositions :  the  place  where  they 
affirmed  the  resurrection,  and  their  motives  for  do- 
ing so. 

1.  Considitv  tJie  fiature  of  these  witnesses.  Had  they 
been  men  of  opulence  and  credit  in  the  world,  we 
might  have  thought  that  their  reputation  gave  a  run 
to  the  fable.  Had  they  been  learned  and  eloquent 
men,  we  might  have  imagined,  that  the  style  in  which 
they  told  the  tale  had  soothed  the  souls  of  the  people 
into  a  belief  of  k.     But,  for  my  part,  when  I  consider 

O  2  that 

*  Sernjt.  ii.  in  Psal.  xxxvi. 


212        The  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ 

that  the  apostles  were  the  lowest  of  mankind,  wilhoiTt 
reputation  to  impose  on  people,  without  authority  to 
compel,  and  without  riches  to  reward  :  when  1  con- 
sider, that  they  were  mean,  rough,  unlearned  men, 
and  consequently  very  unequal  to  the  task  of  putting 
a  cheat  upon  others ;  I  cannot  conceive,  that  people  of 
this  character  could  succeed  in  deceiving  the  whole 
church. 

2.  Considcvthenumberof  these  witnesses.  St  Paul  enu- 
merates them,  and  tells  us,  that  Jesus  Christ  was  seen 
of  Cephas,  1  Cor.  xv.  5,  Stc.  This  appearance  is  re- 
lated by  St  Luke,  who  saith,  the  Lord  is  risen  ijideed, 
and  hath  appeared  to  Simon,  chap.  xxiv.  34.  The 
apostle  adds,  then  he  was  seen  of  the  twelve  :  this  is 
related  by  St  Mark,  who  saith,  he  appeared  unto  the 
eleven,  chap.  xvi.  I4. ;  it  was  the  same  appearance,  for 
the  apostles  retained  the  appellation  twelve,  although, 
after  Judas  had  been  guilty  of  suicide,  they  were  re- 
duced to  eleven.  St  Paul  adds  further,  after  that  he 
was  seen  of  above  five  hundred  brethren  at  once  :  Jesus 
Christ  promised  this  appearance  to  the  women.  Go  into 
Galilee,  and  tell  my  brethren  that  they  shall  see  me  there. 
Matt,  xxviii.  10.  St  Luke  tells  us,  in  the  first  chap- 
ter of  Acts,  that  the  church  consisted  of  about  an  hun- 
dred and  twenty  members ;  this  was  the  church  at  Jeru- 
salem :  but  the  greatest  part  o^  xh^  five  hundred,  of 
whom  St  Paul  speaks,  were  of  Galilee,  where  Jesus 
Christ  had  preached  his  gospel,  and  where  these  con- 
verts abode  after  his  resurrection.  The  apostle  sub- 
joins, after  that  he  was  seen  of  fames  ;  this  appearance 
is  not  related  by  the  evangelists,  but  St  Paul  knew 
it  by  tradition  *.     St  Jerom  writes,  that  in  a  Hebrew 

gospel, 

*  Two  of  our  Lord's  apostles  were  named  James.  ITie  eldei-  of 
tlie  two,  brother  of  John,  was  put  to  death  by  Herod,  Acts  xil.  2. 
The  other,  who  was  first  cousin  to  Jesus  Christ,  was  called  the  less, 
the  younger  probably,  and  lived  many  years  after.  It  is  not  certain 
which  of  the  two  St  Paul  means.  If  he  mean  thefrst,  he  had  the 
account  of  the  appearing  of  the   Lord   to  him,  probably,  as  Mr 

Saurin 


The  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ       213 

gospel  attributed  to  St  Matthew,  called  The  Gospel  of 
the  Nazarenesy  it  was  said,  Jesus  Christ  appeared  to  St 
James  ;  that  this  apostle  having  made  a  vow  neither 
to  eat  nor  drink  till  Jesus  should  rise  from  the  dead, 
the  divine  Saviour  took  bread  and  broke  it,  took  wine 
anc  poured  it  out,  and  said  to  him,  FMt  and  drink,  for 
the  son  of  man  is  risen  from  the  dead  *.  St  Paul  yet  adds 
further,  Theii  he  was  seen  of  all  the  apostles  ;  and  last  of 
all,  of  me  also,  as  of  one  born  out  of  due  time.  So  nume- 
rous were  the  witnesses  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ  I  from  this  fact  we  derive  a  second  argument ; 
for  had  the  witnesses  been  few,  it  might  have  been 
said,  that  the  base  design  of  deceiving  the  whole  church 
was  formed  by  one,  and  propagated  by  a  few  more  ; 
or  that  some  one  had  fancied  he  saw  Jesus  Christ : 
but  when  St  Paul,  when  the  rest  of  the  apostles,  when 
five  hundred  brethren  attest  the  truth  of  the  fact,  what 
room  remains  for  suspicion  and  doubt  ? 

3.  Observe  the  facts  themselves  which  they  avow. 
Had  they  been  metaphysical  reasonings,  depending  on 

a  chain 

Saurin  says,  by  tradition  :  If  the  last,  it  is  -likely  he  had  it  from 
James  him selF*,  for  him  he  sa<w  at  Jerusalem,  Gal.  i,  19.  and  he 
was  living  in  the  year  57,  when  St  Paul  wrote  this  first  epistle  to 
the  Corinthians. 

*  'J'he  gospel,  of  which  Mr  Saurin,  after  St  Jerom,  speaks,  is 
now  lost.  It  was  probably  one  of  those  mangled,  interpolated 
copies  of  the  true  gospel  of  St  Matthew,  which,  through  the  avi- 
dity of  the  lower  sort  of  people  to  know  the  history  of  Jesus  Christ, 
had  been  transcribed,  and  debased,  and  was  handed  about  the  world. 
I  call  it  mangled  j  because  some  parts  of  the  true  gospel  were  omit" 
ted.  I  call  it  interfiolated ;  because  some  things  were  added  from' 
other  gospels,  as  the  history  of  the  woman  caught  in  adultery,  from 
St  John  :  (Euseb.  Eccl.  hist.  lib.  iii.  cap.  39.)  and  others  from  re- 
porty  as  the  above  passage  relative  to  James,  &c.  This  book  was 
written  in  Syriac,  with  Hebrew  characters.  St  Jerom .  translated 
it  into  Greek  and  Latin,  and  divers  of  the  fathers  quote  it,  as  Hc- 
gesippus.  Euseb.  E.  H.  lib.  iv.  22.  Ignatus  Ep.  ad  Smyrnenses, 
Edit.  Usserii,  p.  112.  Clement  of  Alexandria,  Stromal,  lib.  ii.  p. 
278,  Edit.  Lugdun,  1616.  Origen,  St  Jerom,  &:c.  It  went  by  the 
names  of  the  gospel  according  to  St  Matthew,  the  gospel  according 
to  the  Hebrews,  the  gospel  of  the  twelve  apostles,  the  gospel  of  the 
Nazarenes*     See  Luke  i.  1,2, 


214       The  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ. 

a  chain  of  principles  and  consequences ;  had  they 
been  periods  of  chronology,  depending  on  long  and 
diihcult  calculations ;  had  they  been  distant  events, 
which  couid  only  have  been  known  by  the  relations  of 
others ;  their  reasonings  might  have  been  suspected  : 
but  they  are  facts  which  are  in  question,  facts  which 
the  witnesses  declared  they  had  seen  with  their  own 
eyes,  at  divers  places  and  at  several  times.  Had  they 
seen  Jesus  Christ  ?  Had  they  touched  him  ?  Had  they 
sitten  at  table  and  eaten  with  hnii  ?  Had  they  conver- 
sed with  him  ?  All  these  are  questions  of  fact :  it  was 
impossible  they  could  be  deceived  in  them. 

4.  Remark  the  agreement  of  their  evidence.  They  all 
unanimously  deposed,  that  Jesus  Christ  rose  from  the 
dead.  It  is  very  extraordinary,  that  a  gang  of  five 
hundred  impostors,  (I  speak  the  language  of  infidels) 
a  company,  in  which  there  must  needs  be  people  of 
difl^erent  capacities  and  tempers,  the  witty  and  the  dull, 
the  timid  and  the  bold  ;  it  is  very  strange,  that  such  a 
numerous  body  as  this  should  maintain  an  unity  of 
evidence.  This  however  is  the  case  of  our  witnesses. 
What  christian  ever  contradicted  himself.^  What 
christian  ever  impeached  his  accomplices.^  What 
christian  ever  discovered  this  pretended  imposture  ? 

5.  Observe  the  tribunals  before  which  they  gave  evi- 
dence^ and  the  innumerable  multitude  of  people  by 
whom  their  testimony  was  examined,  by  Jews  and 
Heathens,  by  Philosophers  and  Rabbies,  and  by  an 
infinite  number  of  people,  who  went  annually  to  Jeru- 
salem. For,  my  brethren.  Providence  so  ordered  those 
circumstances,  that  the  testimony  of  the  apostles  might 
be  unsuspected.  Providence  continued  Jerusalem  forty 
years  after  the  resurrection  of  our  Lord,  that  all  the 
Jews  in  the  world  might  examine  the  evidence  con- 
cerning it,  and  obtain  authentic  proof  of  the  truth  of 
Christianity.  I  repeat  it  again,  then,  the  apostles  main- 
tained the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ  before  Jews, 
before  Pagans,  before  Philosophers,  before  Rabbies, 

before 


The  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,       215 

before  courtiers,  before  lawyers,  before  people,  expert 
in  examining,  and  in  cross-examining  witnesses,  in  or- 
der to  lead  them  into  self-contradiction.  Had  the 
apostles  borne  their  testimony  in  consequence  of  a 
pre-concerted  plot  between  themselves,  is  it  not  mo- 
rally certain,  that,  as  they  were  examined  before  such 
different  and  capable  men,  some  one  would  have  dis- 
covered the  pietended  fraud  ? 

6'.  Consider  the  place ^  in  which  the  apostles  hove  their 
testimony.  Had  they  published  the  resurrection  of  the 
Saviour  of  the  v/orld  in  distant  countries,  beyond 
mountains  and  seas,  it  might  have  been  supposed,  that 
distance  of  place,  rendering  it  extremely  difficult  for 
their  hearers  to  obtain  exact  information,  had  facili- 
tated the  establishment  of  the  error!  But  the  apostles 
preached  in  Jerusalem,  in  the  synagogues,  in  the  pre- 
torium ;  they  unfolded  and  displayed  the  banners  of 
their  master's  cross,  and  set  vip  tokens  of  his  victory, 
on  the  very  spot  on  which  the:  infamous  insUumcnc 
of  his  sufferings  had  been  set  up. 

7.  Observe  the  time  of  this  tesiimGuy.  Had  the 
apostles  iirst  published  this  resurrection  several  years 
after  the  epocha  which  they  assigned  for  it ;  unbelief 
might  have  availed  itself  of  the  delay  :  but  tliree  days 
after  the  death  of  Jesus  Christ,  they  said,  he  was  risen 
again,  and  they  re-echoed  their  testimony  in  a  singular 
manner  at  Pentecost,  when  Jerusalem  expected  the 
spread  of  the  report,  and  endeavoured  to  prevent  it ; 
while  the  eyes  of  their  enemies  were  yet  sparkling  v/ith 
rage  and  madness,  and  v/hile  Calvary  Vv^as  yet  dyed 
with  the  blood  they  had  spilt  there.  Do  impostors 
take  such  measures  ?  Would  not  they  have  waited  till 
the  fury  of  the  Jews  had  been  appeased,  till  judges, 
and  public  officers,  had  been  changed,  and  till  people 
had  been  less  attentive  to  their  depositions  ? 

8.  Consider,  lastly,  the  motives  which  induced  the  a- 
postles  to  publish  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  Survey 
the  face  of  the  world,  examine  all  the  impostures,  that 

are 


/ 


The  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ 


are  practised  in  society :  falsehood,  imposition,  treach- 
ery, perjury,  aboundin  society  To  every  different  trade 
and  profession  some  peculiar  deceptions  belong.  How- 
ever, all  mankind  have  one  design  in  deceiving,  they 
all  deceive  for  their  own  interest.     Their  interests  are 
infinitely  diversified :  but  it  is  interest,  however,  that 
always  animates  ail  deceivers.     There  is  one  interest 
of  pride,  another  of  pleasure,  a  third  of  profit,     in 
the  case  before  us,  the  nature  of  things  is  subverted, 
and  all  our  notions  of  the  human  heart  contradicted. 
It  must  be  pre-supposed,  that,    whereas    other  men 
generally  sacrifice  the  interest  of  their  salvation  to  their 
temporal  interest,  the  apostles,  on  the  contrary,  sacri- 
ficed their  temporal  interest  without  any  inducement 
from  the  interest  of  salvation    itself.     Suppose  they 
had  been  craftily  led,  during  the  life  of  Jesus  Christ, 
into  the  expectation  of  some  temporal  advantages,  how 
came  it  to  pass,  that,  after  they  saw  their  hopes  blasted, 
and    themselves    threatened   with    the  most  rigorous 
punishments,  they  did  not  redeem  their  lives  by  con- 
fessing the  imposture  ?  In  general,  the  more  wicked  a 
traitor  is,  the  more  he  trembles,  Alters,  and  confesses, 
at  the  approach  of  death.     Having  betrayed,  for  his 
own  interest,  the  laws  of  his  country,  the  interests  of 
society,  the  confidence  of  his  prince,  and  the  credit  of 
religion,  he  betrays  the  companions  of  his  imposture, 
the  accomplices  of  his  crimes.   Here,  on  the  contrary, 
the  apobtles  persist  in  their  testimony  till  death,  and 
sign  the  truths  they  have  published  with  the  last  drops 
of  their  blood.     These  are  mn-  arguments. 

We  proceed  now  to  our  demonstrations,  that  is,  to 
the  miracles  with  which  the  apostles  sealed  the  truth 
of  their  testimony.  Imagine  these  venerable  men  ad- 
dressing their  adversaries  on  the  day  of  the  christian 
pentecostin  this  languge :  "  You  refuse  to  believe  us 
"  on  our  depositions  ;  five  hundred  of  us,  you  think, 
^*  Zi-  enthusiasts,  all  infected  with  the  same  malady, 
"  who  have  carried  our  absurdity  so  far  as  to  imagine 

"  that 


The  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,       21? 

^*  that  we  have  seen  a  man  whom  we  have  not  seen ; 
*'  eaten  with  a  man  with  whom  we  have  not  eaten ; 
*'  conversed  with  a  man,  with  whom  we  have  not 
"  conversed  :  or,  perhaps,  you  think  us  impostors, or 
"  take  us  for  madmen,  who  intend  to  suffer  ourselves 
*'  to  be  imprisoned,  and  tortured,  and  crucified,  for 
•'  the  sake  of  enjoying  the  pleasure' of  deceiving  man- 
"  kind,  by  prevailing  upon  them  to  believe  a  fanciful 
"  resurrection  :  you  think  we  are  so  stupid  as  to  act  a 
'*  part  so  extravagant.  But  bring  out  your  sick  ; 
"  present  your  demoniacs  ;  fetch  hither  your  dead ; 
"  confront  us  with  Medes,  Partlnans,  and  Elamites ; 
"  let  Cappadocia,  Pontus,  Asia,  Egypt,  Phrygia, 
°'  Pamphylia,  let  all  nations  arid  people  send  us  some 
"•  of  their  inhabitants,  we  will  restore  hearing  to  the 
"  deaf,  and  sight  to  the  bKnd,  we  will  make  the  lame 
"  walk,  we  will  cast  out  devils,  and  raise  the  dead. 
"  We,  we  publicans,  we  illiterate  men,  we  tent-makers, 
"  we  fishermen,  we  will  discourse  with  all  the  people 
'*  of  the  world  in  their  own  languages.  We  will  ex- 
"  plain  prophecies,  elucidate  the  most  obscure  pre- 
"  dictions,  develop  the  most  subUme  mysteries,  teach 
"  you  notions  of  God,  precepts  for  the  conduct  of 
"  life,  plans  of  morality  and  religion,  more  extensive, 
"  more  sublime,  and  more  advantageous,  than  those  of 
"  your  priests  and  philosophers,  yea  than  those  of 
''  Moses  himself.  We  will  do  more  still.  We  will 
*'  communicate  these  gifts  to  you,  the  word  of  wlsdotUy 
;'  the  word  of  knowledge,  faith  ^  the  gifts  of  healing,  the 
''  working  of  miracles,  prophecy,  discerning  of  spirits, 
"  diver s  kinds  of  tongues ,  inter pretation  of  tong2ies,\Cox. 
"  xii.  8,  &c.  all  these  shall  be  communicated  to  you 
'•  by  our  ministry." 

All  these  things  the  apostles  professed ;  all  these 
proofs  they  gave  of  the  resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ ; 
this  Jesus  hath  God  raisedup  ;  and  he  hath  shed  forth  this 
which  ye  now  see  and  hear.  Acts  ii.  32,  33-  This  con- 
sideration furnisheth  us  with  an  answer  to  the  greatest 

objec* 


318      The  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ. 

objection  thai  was  ever  made  to  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and,  in  general,  to  his  whole  economy.  *'  How 
'^  is  it,"  say  unbelievers  sometimes,  "  that  your  Jesus 
"  exposed  ail  the  ciscumstances  of  his  abasement  to 
''  the  public  eye,  and  concealed  those  of  his  elevation  ? 
''  If  he  were  transfigured  on  the  mount,  it  was  only  be- 
"  fore  Peter,  James,  and  John.  If  he  ascended  to  hea- 
^'  ven,  none  but  his  disciples  saw  his  ascent.  If  he  rose 
"  again  from  the  dead,  and  appeared,  he  appeared 
*'  only  to  those  who  were  interested  in  his  fame. 
"  Why  did  he  not  shew  himself  to  the  synagogue  ? 
"  Why  did  he  not  appear  to  Pilate  ?  Why  did  he 
"  not  shew  himself  alive  in  the  streets,  and  public 
**  assemblies,  of  Jerusalem }  Had  he  done  so,  infide- 
^'  lity  would  have  been  eradicated,  and  every  one 
"  would  have  believed  his  own  eyes :  but  the  secrecy 
"  of  all  these  events  exposeth  them  to  very  just  suspi- 
"  cions,  and  giveth  plausible  pretexts  to  errors,  if 
'*  errors  they  be."  We  omit  many  solid  answers  to 
this  objection ;  perhaps  we  may  urge  them  on  future 
occasions,  and  at  present  we  content  ourselves  with 
observing,  that  the  apostles,  who  attested  the  resur- 
rection of  Jesus  Christ,  wrought  miracles  in  the  pre- 
sence of  all  those,  before  whom,  you  say,  Jesus  Christ 
ought  to  have  produced  himselfafter  his  resurrection. 
The  apostles  wrought  miracles  ;  behold  Jesus  Christ ! 
see  his  Spirit  I  behold  his  resurrection  !  God  hath  rai- 
sed up  Jesus  Christy  and  he  hath  shed  forth  what  ye  now 
see  and  hear.  This  way  of  proving  the  resurrection  of 
Christ  was  as  convincing  as  the  shewing  of  himself  to 
each  of  his  enemies  would  have  been  ;  as  the  exposure 
of  his  wounds  before  them,  or  the  permitting  of  them 
to  thrust  their  hands  into  his  side,  would  have  been. 
Yea  this  was  a  more  convincing  way  than  that  would 
have  been  for  which  you  plead.  Had  Jesus  Christ 
shewn  himself,  they  might  have  thought  him  a  phan- 
tom, or  a  counterfeit ;  they  might  have  supposed,  that 
a  resemblance  of  features  had  occasioned  an  illusion  : 

but 


The  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ.       219 

but  what  could  an  unbeliever  oppose  against  the  heal- 
ing of  the  sick,  the  raising  of  the  dead,  the  expulsion 
of  devils,  the  alteration  and  subversion  of  all  nature  ? 

It  maj  be  said,  perhaps  all  these  proofs,  if  indeed 
they  ever  existed,  were  conclusive  to  them,  who,  it  is 
pretended,  saw  the  miracles  of  the  apostles  ;  but  they 
can  have  no  weight  with  us,  who  live  seventeen  centu- 
ries after  them.  We  reply,  The  miracles  of  the  apostles 
cannot  be  doubted  without  giviiig  into  an  universal  scep- 
ticism; without  establishing  this  vuiwarrantable  princi- 
ple, that  we  ought  to  believe  nothing  but  what  we  see; 
and  without  taxing  three  sorts  of  people,  equally  un- 
suspected, with  extravagance  on  this  occasion. 

1.  They,  who  call  themselves  the  operators  of  these 
7niracles,  would  be  chargeable  with  extravagance.  If 
they  wrought  none,  they  were  impostors,  who  endea- 
voured to  deceive  mankind.  If  they  were  impostors 
of  the  least  degree  of  common  sense,  they  would  have 
used  some  precautions  to  conceal  their  imposture.  But 
see  how  they  relate  the  facts,  of  the  truth  of  which  we 
pretend  to  doubt.  They  specify  times,  places,  and 
circumstances.  They  say,  such  and  such  facts  passed 
in  such  cities,  such  public  places,  such  assemblies,  in 
sight  of  such  and  such  people.  Thus  St  Paul  writes  to 
the  Corinthians.  He  directs  to  a  society  of  christians 
in  the  city  of  Corinth.  He  tells  them,  that  they  had 
received  miraculous  gifts,  and  censures  them  for  mak- 
ing  a  parade  of  them.  He  reproves  them  for  striving 
to  display,  each  his  own  gifts  in  their  public  assem- 
blies. He  gives  them  some  rules  for  the  regulation  of 
their  conduct  in  this  case  :  *'  If  any  man  speak  in  an 
"  unknown  tongue,  let  it  be  by  two,  or  at  the  most  by 
"  three,  and  that  by  course,  and  let  one  interpret.  If 
"  there  be  no  interpreter,  let  him  keep  silence  in  the 
*'  church.  Let  the  prophets  speak,  two,  or  three.  If 
"  any  thing  be  revealed  to  another  that  sitteth  by,  let 
"  the  first  hold  his  peace,"  1  Cor.  xiv.  27,  28,  &c.  I 
ask,  with  what  face  could  St  Paul  have  written  in  this 

manner 


220      The  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ 

manner  Co  the  Corinthians,  if  all  these  facts  had  been 
false  ?  If  the  Corinthians  had  received  neither  "  the 
"  gifts  of  prophecy,  nor  the  discerning  of  spirits,  nor 
"  divers  kinds  of  tongues?"  What  a  front  had  he 
who  wrote  in  this  manner  ? 

2.  The  enemies  of  Christianity  must  be  taxed  Vv^ith 
extravagance.  Since  christians  gloried  in  the  shining 
miracles  that  their  preachers  wrought ;  and  since  their 
preachers  gloried  in  performing  them  before  whole  as- 
semblies, it  would  have  been  very  easy  to  discover  their 
imposture,  had  they  been  impostors.  S  uppose  a  modern 
impostor  preaching  a  new  religion,  and  pretending  to 
the  glory  of  confirming  it  by  notable  miracles  wrought 
in  this  place :  What  method  should  we  take  to  refute 
him  ?  Should  we  affirm  that  miracles  do  not  prove  the 
truth  of  a  doctrine?  Should  we  have  recourse  to  mira- 
cle wrought  by  others  ?  Should  we  not  exclaim  against 
the  fraud  ?  Should  w^e  not  appeal  to  our  own  eyes  ? 
Should  we  want  any  thing  more  than  the  dissembler's 
own  professions  to  convict  him  of  imposture  ?  Why 
did  not  the  avowed  enemies  of  Christianity,  who  en- 
deavoured by  their  publications  to  refute  it,  take  these 
methods  ?  How  was  it,  that  Celsus,  Porphyry,  Zosi- 
mus,  Julian  the  apostate,  and  Hierocles,  the  greatest 
antagonists  that  Christianity  ever  had,  and  whose  writ- 
ings are  in  our  hands,  never  denied  the  facts  ;  but, 
allowing  the  principle,  turned  all  the  points  of  their 
arguments  against  the  consequences  that  christians  in- 
ferred from  them  ?  By  supposing  the  falsehood  of  the 
miracles  of  the  apostles,  do  we  not  tax  the  enemies  of 
Christianity  with  absurdity  ? 

In  fine,  This  supposition  chargeth  the  whole  multi- 
tude of  christians,  who  embraced  the  gospel^^iih  extra- 
vagance. The  examination  of  the  truth  of  religion, 
now,  depends  on  a  chain  of  principles  and  conse- 
quences which  require  a  profound  attention;  and 
therefore,  the  number  of  those  who  profess  such  or 
such  a  religion,  cannot  demonstrate  the  truth  of  their 

religion. 


The  Reswirection  of  Jesus  Christ.        221 

religion.  But  in  the  days  of  the  apostles  the  whole 
depended  on  a  few  plain  facts.  Hath  Jesus  Christ 
communicated  his  Spirit  to  his  apostles  ?  Do  the  apos  ^ 
ties  work  miracles  ?  Have  they  the  power  of  imparting 
miraculous  gifts  to  those  who  embrace  their  doctrine  ? 
And  yet  this  religion,  the  discussion  of  which  was  so 
plain  and  easy,  spreaditself  far  and  wide.  If  the  apos- 
tles did  not  w^ork  miracles,  one  of  these  two  suppo- 
sitions must  be  made  : — either  these  proselytes  did  not 
deign  to  open  their  eyes,  but  sacrificed  their  preju- 
dices, passions,  educations,  ease,  fortunes,  lives  and 
consciences,  without  condescending  to  spend  one  mo- 
ment on  the  examination  of  this  question,  Do  the 
apostles  work  miracles  ?  or  that,  on  supposition  they 
did  open  their  eyes,  and  did  find  the  falsehood  of  these 
pretended  miracles,  they  yet  sacrificed  their  preju- 
dices, and  their  passions,  their  educations,  their  eas^, 
and  their  honour,  their  properties,  their  consciences, 
and  their  lives,  to  a  rehgion,  which  wholly  turned  on 
this  false  principle,  that  its  miracles  were  true. 

Collect  all  these  proofs  together,  my  brethren,  con- 
sider them  in  one  point  of  view,  and  see  how  many- 
extravagant  suppositions  must  be  advanced,  if  the  re- 
surrection of  our  Saviour  be  denied.  It  must  be  sup- 
posed that  guards,  who  had  been  particularly  caution- 
ed by  their  officers,  sat  down  to  sleep,  and  that  how- 
ever they  deserved  credit,  when  they  said  the  body 
of  Jesus  Christ  w^as  stolen ;  it  must  be  supposed  that 
men,  who  had  been  imposed  on  in  the  most  odious 
and  cruel  manner  in  the  vv^orld,  hazarded  their  dearest 
enjoyments  for  the  glory  of  an  impostor.  It  must  be 
supposed,  that  ignorant  and  illiterate  men,  who  had 
neither  reputation,  fortune,  nor  eloquence,  possessed 
the  art  of  fascinating  the  eyes  of  all  the  church.  It 
must  be  supposed,  either  that  five  hundred  persons 
were  all  deprived  of  their  senses  at  a  time  ;  or  that  they 
were  all  deceived  in  the  plainest  matters  of  fact ;  or 
that  this  multitude  of  false  witnesses  had  found  out 

the 


^22       The  Rtsurrection  of  Jesus  CiirisL 

the  secret  of  never  contradicting  themselves,  or  one 
another,  and  of  being  always  uniform  in  their  testi- 
mony.    It   must  be  supposed,   that  the  most  expert 
courts  of  judicature  could  not  find  out  a  shadow  of  con- 
tradiction in  a  palpable  imposture.     It  must  be  sup- 
posed, that  the  apostles,  sensible  men  in  other  cases, 
chose  precisely  those  places,  and  those  times,  which 
were  the  most  unfavourable  to  their  views.     It  must 
be  supposed,  that  millions  madly  suffered  imprison- 
ments, tortures,  and  crucifixions,  to  spread  an  illusion. 
It  must  be  supposed,  that  ten  thousand  miracles  were 
wrought  in  favour  of  falsehood  :  or  all  these  facts  must 
be  denied,  and  then  it  must  be  supposed,  that  the  apos- 
tles were  idiots,  that  the  enemies  of  Christianity  were 
idiots,  and  that  all  the  primitive  christians  were  idiots. 
The  arguments,  that  persuade  us  of  the  truth  of  the 
resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ,  are  so  clear  and  so  con- 
clusive, that,  if  any  difficulty  remain,  it  ariseth  from 
the  brightness  of  the  evidence  itself.     Yes,  I  declare, 
if  any  thing  have  shaken  my  confidence  in  it,  it  hath 
arisen  from  this  consideration.     I  could  not  conceive 
how  a  truth,  attested  by  so  many  irreproachable  wit- 
nesses, and  confirmed  by  so  many  notorious  miracles, 
should  not  make  more  proselytes,  how  it  could  possi- 
bly be,  that  all  the  Jews,  and  all  the  heathens,  did  not 
yield  to  this  evidence.     But  this  difficulty  ought  not 
to  w^eaken  our  faith.     In  the  folly  of  mankind  its  so- 
lution lies.     Men  are  capable  of  any  thing  to  gratify 
their  passions,  and  to  defend  their  prejudices.     The 
unbelief  of  the  Jews  and  Heathens  is  not  more  wonder- 
ful than  a  hundred  other  phenomena,  which,  were  \nq 
not  to  behold  them  every  day,  would   equally  alarm 
us.     It  is  not  more  surprising  than  the  superstitious 
veneration    in  which,  for  many  ages,  the  christian 
world  held  that  dark,  confused,  j)agan  genius,  Ari- 
stotle ;  a  veneration,  which  was  carried  so  far,  that 
when  metaphysical  questions  w^ere  disputed  in  the 
schools,  questions,  on  which  every  one  ought  always 

to 


The  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ       225 

to  have  liberty  to  speak  his  opinion  ;  when  they  were 
examining  whether  there  were  a  void  in  nature,  whe- 
ther nature  abhoired  a  vacuum,  whether  matter  were 
divisible,  whether  they  were  atoms,  properly  so  called ;. 
when  it  could  be  proved,  in  disputes  of  this  kind,  that 
Aristotle  was  of  such  or  such  an  opinion,  his  infalli- 
bility was  allowed,  and  the  dispute  w^as  at  an  end.  The 
unbelief  of  the  ancients  is  not  more  surprizing  than 
ihe  credulity  of  the  moderns.  We  see  kings,  and 
princes,  and  a  great  part  of  Christendom,  submit  to  a 
pope,  yea  to  an  inferior  priest,  oft^n  to  one  who  is 
void  of  both  sense  and  grace.  It  is  not  more  astonish- 
ing than  the  implicit  faith  of  christians,  who  believe, 
in  an  enlightened  age,  in  the  days  of  Descartes,  Pas- 
chal and  Malbranche  :  w^hat  am  I  saying  ?  Descaires, 
Paschal,  and  Malbranche  themselves  believe,  that  a 
piece  of  bread,  which  they  reduce  to  a  pulp  with  their 
teeth,  which  they  taste,  swallow,  and  digest,  is  the 
body  of  their  Redeemer.  The  ancient  unbelief  is  not 
more  wonderful  than  yours,  protestants  I  You  profess 
to  believe  there  is  a  judgment,  and  a  hell,  and  to 
know  that  miisers,  adulterers,  and  drunkards,  must 
suffer  everlasting  punishments  there ;  and,  although 
you  cannot  be  ignorant  of  your  being  in  this  fatal  list, 
yet  you  are  as  easy  about  futurity,  as  if  you  had  read 
your  names  in  the  book  of  life,  and  had  no  reason  to 
entertain  the  least  doubt  of  your  salvation. 

II.  We  have  urged  the  arguments,  that  prove  the 
resurrection  of  Christ :  I  shall  detain  you  only  a  little 
longer  in  justifying  the  joyful  acclamations  which  it 
produced.  The  voice  of  rejoicing  and  salvation  is  in 
the  tabernacles  of  the  ri/^hteous  :  the  right  hand  of  the 
Lord  doth  valiartly.  The  7ight  hand  of  the  Lord  is  ex- 
alted:  the  right  hand  of  the  Lord  doth  valiantly. 

The  three  melancholy  days  that  passed  between 
fhe  dealli  of  Jesus  Christ  and  iiis  resurrection,  were 

days 


224      The  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ 

days  of  triumph  for  the  enemies  of  the  church.  Jesus 
Christ  riseth  again ;  and  the  church  triumphs  in  its 
turn  :  TJw  voice  of  r^ejoicing  and  salvation  is  in  the  ta- 
bernacles of  the  righteous.  The  right  hand  of  the  Lord 
is  exalted :  the  right  hand  of  the  Lord  doth  valiantly, 

1.  In  those  melancholy  days,  heresy  triumphed  over 
truth.  The  greatest  objection  that  was  made  against 
the  satisfaction  of  Jesus  Christ,  was  taken  from  his  in- 
nocence, which  is  the  foundation  of  it.  For  if  Jesus 
Christ  were  innocent,  where  was  divine  justice,  when 
he  was  overwhelmed  with  sufferings,  and  put  to 
death  ?  Where  was  it,  when  he  was  exposed  to  the 
unbridled  rage  of  the  populace  ?  This  difficulty 
seems  at  first  indissoluble.  Yea,  rather  let  all  the 
guilty  perish  ;  rather  let  all  the  posterity  of  Adam 
be  plunged  into  hell ;  rather  let  divine  justice  de- 
stroy every  creature  that  divine  goodness  hath  made, 
than  leave  so  many  virtues,  so  much  benevolence,  and 
so  much  fervour,  humility  so  profound,  and  zeal  so 
great,  without  indemnity  and  reward.  But  when  we  see 
that  Jesus  Christ,  by  suffering  death,  disarmed  it,  by 
lying  in  the  tomb  took  away  its  sting,  by  his  cruci- 
fixion ascended  to  a  throne,  the  difficulty  is  diminish- 
ed, yea  it  vanisheth  away  :  "  The  voice  of  rejoicing 
"  and  salvation  is  in  the  tabernacles  of  the  r^ighteous. 
"  Therighthand  of  the  Lord  is  exalted  :  the  right  hand 
"  of  the  Lord  doth  valiantly."  God  and  man  are  re- 
conciled; divine  justice  is  satisfied;  henceforth  we  may 
go  "  boldly  to  the  throne  of  grace.  There  is  now  no 
"  condemnation  to  them  which  are  in  Christ  Jesus. 
"  Who  shall  lay  any  thing  to  the  charge  of  God's  elec*^^? 
*'  Who  is  he  that  condemneth  ?  It  is  Christ  that  died, 
*'  yea,  rather  that  is  risen  again,"  Heb.  iv.  l6. 

2.  In  those  mournful  days  infidelity  triumphed  over 
faith.    At  the  sight  of  a  deceased  Jesus  the  infidel  dis- 
played his  system  by  insulting  him,  who  sacrificed  his 
passions  to  his  duty,  and  by  saying,  See,  see  that  pale, 

motionless 


Tke  Resurrection  of  Jems  Christ.        225 

motionless  carcase  :  **  Bless  God  and  die  *  I  All  events 
**  come  alike  to  all :  there  is  one  event  to  the  righteous 
"  and  to  the  wicked  ;  to  the  clean  and  to  the  unclean ; 
**  to  him  that  sacriticethand  to  him  that  sacrificeth  not; 
"  as  is  the  good,  so  is  the  sinner,  and  he  that  sweareth, 
*'  as  he  that  feareth  an  oath,"  EccL  ix.  i2.  Jesus  Christ 
riseth  from  the  dead  :  "  The  voice  of  rejoicing  and  sal- 
*'  vation  is  in  the  tabernacles  of  the  righteous."  The 
system  of  the  infidel  sinks  :  "  he  errs,  not  knowing  the 
"  scriptures,  nor  tlie  power  of  God,"  Matt.  xxii.  29. 
In  those  dismal  days,  tyranny  triumphed  over  the  per- 

severance 

*  So  the  French  Bibles  render  the  words,  Bless  God  and  die  '. 
(Our  translation  hath  it,  Curse  God  and  die.  Job,  who  best  knew 
his  wife,  calls  this  2i  foolish  saying  ^  that  is,  a  saying  void  of  huma- 
nity and  religion  :  for  so  the  word  foolish  signifies  in  scripture.  It 
was  a  cruel,  popular  sarcasm,  frequently  cast  by  sceptics  on  those 
who  persisted  in  the  belief  of  a  God,  and  of  the  perfection  and  ex- 
cellence of  his  providence,  even  while  he  suffered  theni  to  sink 
under  the  most  terrible  calamities,  "  Your  God  is  the  God  of 
universal  nature  !  He  regards  the  actions  of  men  !  He  rewards  vir- 
tue !  He  punishes  vice !  On  these  erroneous  principles  your  adora- 
tion of  him  has  been  built.  This  was  a  pardonable  folly  in  the 
time  of  your  prosperity  :  but  what  an  absurdity  to  persist  in  it 
now  I  If  your  present  sufferings  do  not  undeceive  you,  no  future 
means  can.  Your  mind  is  past  information.  Persevere  !  Go  on  in 
your  adoration  till  you  die,'''* 

It  may  seem  strange,  at  first,  that  tl)-^  same  term  should  stand  for 
two  such  opposite  ideas  as  blessing  and  cursing  :  but  a  very  plain 
and  natural  reason  may  be  assigned  for  it.  The  Hebrew  word 
originally  signified  to  bless^  heneJlcere  :  and,  when  applied  to  God^  it 
meant  to  b/ess,  that  is,  tojiraise  God  by  ivorshipfiing  him.  The  Tal- 
mudists  say,  that  the  religious  honours,  which  were  paid  to  God, 
were  of  four  sorts.  The  prostration  ef  the  whole  body,  was  one  ; 
The  bowing  of  the  head,  anotlier  :  The  bending  of  the  upper  part 
of  the  body  toward  the  knees,  a  third  :  2^\d.  genufleicinn^  the  fourth. 
Megillse  fol.  22.  2.  apud  Buxtorf.  Lex.  In  these  ways  was  God 
praised^  tuorshifiped,  i)ihkssedy-d.x\A  the  Hebrew  word  for  blessing  was 
naturally  put  for  gem:Jlexiun,  the  exfiression  of  blessing,  or  praisings 
thus  it  is  rendered  Psalm  xcv.  6.  let  us  kneel  before  the  Lord  : 
2  Chron.  vi.  13.  Solomon  kneeled  di<^v;n  upon  his  knees.  The  bend- 
ing of  the  knee  being  a  usual  token  of  resfiect  which  people  paid 
to  one  another  when  they  met,  the  word  was  transferred  to  this  also, 
and  is  properly  rendered  salute^  2  Kings  iv.  29.  If  thou  meet  any 
man,  salute  him  nut.  The  same  token  of  respect  being  paid  at 
Vol.  II.  P  parting, 


226       The  Ressurrection  of  Jesus  Christ. 

severance  of  martijrs.  Innocence  was  oppressed,  and 
the  rewards  of  virtue  seemed  to  be  buried  in  the  tomb 
of  him,  who,  above  all  others,  had  devoted  himself 
to  it.  Jesus  Christ  riseth  again:  The  voice  of  rejoicing 
and  salvation  is  in  the  tabernacles  of  the  righteous.  The 
designs  of  the  enemies  of  innocence  are  all  frustrated, 
and  their  attempts  to  disgrace  purity  serve  only  to 
exalt  its  glory,  and  to  perpetuate  its  memory.  Let 
the  tyrants  of  the  church,  then,  rage  against  us;  let 
the  gates  of  hell ^  Matt.  xvi.  18.  consult  to  destroy  us  ; 
let  the  kings  of  the  earth,  more  furious  often  than  hell 
itself,  set  themselves  against  the  Lord,  and  against  his 
anointed,  Psal.  ii.  2.  let  them  set  up  gibbets,  let  them 
equip  galleys,  let  them  kindle  fires  to  burn  us,  and 

prepare 

parting,  the  word  was  also  a]>plied  to  tkat :  They  blessed  Rebekali, 
that  is,  they  bade  her  farewell,  accompanying  their  good  •wishes  with 
genuflection.  From  this  known  meaning  of  the  word,  it  was  ap- 
plied to  a  bending  of  the  knee  where  no  blessing  could  be  in- 
tended j  he  made  his  camels  kneel  dotun.  Gen.  xxiv.  11.  It  was 
put  sometimes  for  the  respect  that  was  paid  to  a  magistrate,  Gen. 
xli.  43.  and  sometimes  for  the  respect  which  idolaters  paid  to 
false  gods.  But  to  hi7nv  the  knee  to  an  idol  was  to  deny  the  existence 
of  God,  to  renounce  his  worships  or,  in  the  scripture  style,  to  curse 
God,  to  blaspheme  God,  &;c.  If  I  beheld  the  sun,  or  the  moon,  and  my 
mouth  hath  kissed  my  hand  ;  I  should  have  denied  the  God  that  is  above. 
Job  xxxi.  26,  27,  28.  Only  the  scope  of  the  place,  therefore, 
can  determine  the  precise  meaning  of  the  word.  The  word  must 
be  rendered  curse,  deny,  God,  or  renounce  his  "juorshifi.  Job  i.  5,  11. 
and  it  must  be  rendered  bless,  achnoiv ledge,  or  luorship  him,  in  ver. 
%\.  The  Septuagint,  after  a  long  sarcastic  paraphrase,  sup- 
posed to  have  been  spoken  by  Job's  wife,  renders  the  phrase  gj^rov 
T/  §jj^5s  TTgoj  Kvgiflv,  x.oi,i  TiXivTu.  To  bring  our  meaning  into  a  nar- 
row compass.  If  an  ancient  Jew  had  seen  a  dumb  man  bend  his 
knee  in  the  tabernacle,  or  in  the  temjile,  he  would  have  said  mn* 
•713  he  blessed  the  Lord.  Had  he  seen  him  bend  his  knee  at 
court,  in  the  presence  of  Solomon,  he  would  have  said  Tbo  "^na  he 
blessed,  that  is,  he  saluted  the  KING.  And  had  he  seen  him  bend 
his  knee  in  a  house  of  Baal,  or  in  an  idolatrous  grove,  he  would  have 
said,  VK  *)">3  he  blessed  an  idol;  or,  as  tlie  embracing  of  idolatry 
was  the  renouncing  of  the  worship  of  the  true  God,  he  would  have 
expressed  the  same  action  by  mn«  ^^^  he  f«rjf</  JehovaH.  We 
have  ventured  this  conjecture,  to  prevent  any  prejudices  against 
the  English  Bible  that  may  arise  from  the  seemingly  unaertai^t 
meaning  of  some  Hebrew  words. 


The  Resurrection  of  Jesus  ChnsU        227 

prepare  racks  to  torture  us ;  they  themselves,  and  all 
their  cruel  inventions,  shall  serve  the  purposes  of  the 
Almighty  God.  The  ^ssp'ian  is  only  the  rod  of  his 
anger,  Isa.  x.  5.  Herod  and  Pilate  do  only  what  his  hand 
and  his  counsel  determined  before  to  be  done.  Acts  iv.  28, 
God  knoweth  how  to  restrain  their  fury,  and  to  say  to 
them,  as  he  saith  to  the  ocean,  Hitherto  shalt  thou  come^ 
but  no  further  ;  and  here  shall  thy  proud  waves  be  stayed, 
Job  xxxviii.  2. 

4.  Finally,  in  those  fatal  days,  death  triumphed  over 
all  human  hope  of  immortal  glory.  The  destiny  of  all 
believers  is  united  to  that  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  had 
said  to  his  disciples,  Because  I  live,  ye  shall  live  also^ 
John  xiv.  19.  In  like  manner,  on  the  same  principle^ 
we  may  say,  If  he  be  dead,,  we  are  dead  also.  And 
how  could  we  have  hoped  to  live,  if  he,  who  is  our  life, 
had  not  freed  himself  from  the  state  of  the  dead  ?  Jesus 
Christ  riseth  from  the  dead  :  The  voice  of  rejoicing  is  in 
the  tabernacles  of  the  righteous.  Nature  is  re-instated 
inits  primaeval  dignity;  death  is  swallowed  upinvictory^ 
1  Cor.  XV.  54.  the  grave  is  disarmed  of  its  sting.  Let 
my  eye-sight  decay;  let  my  body  bow  under  the 
weight  of  old  age ;  let  the  organs  of  my  body  cease  to 
perform  their  wonted  operations ;  let  all  my  senses 
fail;  death  sweep  away  the  dear  relatives  o/' my  bosom^ 
and  vay  friends,  who  are  as  mine  own  soul,  Deut.  xiii.  6. 
let  these  eyes,  gushing  with  tears,  attended  with  sobs, 
andsorrows,  and  groans,  behold  her  expire,  who  was  my 
company  in sohtude,  my  counsel  in  difficulty,  my  com- 
fort in  disgrace ;  let  me  follow  to  the  grave  the  bones, 
the  carcase,  the  precious  remains  of  this  dear  part  of 
myself;  my  converse  is  suspended,  but  is  not  destroyed; 
Lazarus,  my  friend,  sleepeth,  but  if  I  believe,  I  shall  see 
the  glory  of  God.  Jesus  Christ  is  the  resurrection  and  th^ 
life,  John  xi.  2,  40,  25.  He  is  risen  from  the  dead, 
we,  therefore,  shall  one  day  rise.  Jesus  Christ  is  not  a 
private  person,  he  is  a  public  representative,  he  is  the 
surety ofthe  church,  *'  the  first  fruitsof  them  that  sleep. 

P2  '*If 


228        The  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ. 

'*  If  the  spirit  of  him,  that  raised  up  Jesus  from  the 
**  dead,  dwell  in  you ;  he  that  raised  up  Christ  from 
•'  the  dead  shall  also  quicken  your  mortal  bodies,  by  his 
"  Spirit  that  dwelleth  in  you,"  iCor.xv.  20.  Rom.viii.2. 

Was  ever  joy  more  rational?  Was  triumph  ever 
more  glorious  ?  The  triumphant  entries  of  conquer- 
ors, the  songs  that  rend  the  air  in  praise  of  their  vic- 
tories, the  pyramids  on  which  their  exploits  are  trans- 
mitted to  posterity,  when  they  have  subdued  a  general, 
routed  an  army,  humbled  the  pride,  and  repressed  the 
rage  of  a  foe ;  ought  not  all  these  to  yield  to  the  joys 
that  are  occasioned  by  the  event  which  we  celebrate 
to-day  ?  Ought  not  all  these  to  yield  to  the  victories 
of  our  incomparable  Lord,  and  to  his  people's  expres- 
sions of  praise  ?  One  part  of  the  gratitude,  which  is 
due  to  beneficial  events,  is  to  know  their  value,  and 
to  be  affected  with  the  benefits  which  they  procure. 
Let  us  celebrate  the  praise  of  the  Author  of  our  re- 
demption, my  brethren ;  let  us  call  heaven  and  earth 
to  witness  our  gratitude.  Let  an  increase  of  zeal  ac- 
company this  part  of  our  engagements.  Let  a  double 
portion  of  fire  from  heaven  kindle  our  sacrifice  ;  and 
with  a  heart  penetrated  with  the  liveliest  gratitude, 
and  with  the  most  ardent  love,  let  each  christian  ex- 
claim, Blessed  be  the  God  and  Father  of  my  Lord  Jesus 
Christy  who,  according  to  his  abundant  tnercij,  hath  begot- 
ten me  again  to  a  lively  hope,  by  the  resurrection  of  Jesus 
Christ  from  the  dead,  1  Pet.  i.  3.  Let  him  join  his  voice 
to  that  of  angels,  and,  in  concert  with  the  celestial  in- 
telligences, let  him  sing,  Holy,  holy,  holy  is  the  Lord  of 
hosts  ;  the  whole  earth  is  full  of  his  glory,  Isa.  vi.  3- 
Let  the  tabernacles  of  the  righteous  resound  with  the 
text,  the  right  hand  of  the  Lord  doth  valiantly :  the  right 
hand  of  the  Lord  doth  valiantly. 

But  what  melancholy  thoughts  are  these,  which  in- 
terrupt the  pleasures  of  this  day  ?   Whose  tabernacles 
.  are  these  ?  The  tabernacles  o^the  righteous  P  Ah  !  my 
brethren  I  woe  be  to  you,  if,  under  pretence  that  the 

righteous 


The  Resunxction  of  Jesus  Christ.         229 

righteous  ought  to  rejoice  to-day,  you  rejoice  by  adding 
sin  to  sin  I  The  resurrection  of  the  Saviour  of  the 
world  perfectly  assorts  with  the  other  parts  of  his  eco- 
nomy. It  is  a  spring  flowing  with  motives  to  holi- 
ness. God  has  left  nothing  undone  in  the  work  of 
your  salvation.  The  great  work  is  finished.  Jesus 
Christ  completed  it,  when  he  rose  from  the  tomb.  The 
Son  hath  paid  the  ransom.  The  Father  hath  accepted 
it.  The  Holy  Spirit  hath  published  it,  and,  by  innu- 
merable prodigies,  hath  confirmed  it.  None  but  your- 
selves can  condemn  you.  Nothing  can  deprive  you 
of  this  grace,  but  your  own  contempt  of  it. 

But  the  more  precious  this  grace  is,  the  more  cri- 
minal, and  the  more  affronting  to  God,  will  your  con- 
tempt of  it  be.  The  more  joy,  with  which  the  glory  of 
a  risen  Jesus  ought  to  inspire  you,  ifyou  believe  in  him, 
the  more  terror  ought  you  to  feel,  if  you  attempt  to 
disobey  him.  He,  who  declared  him  the  Son  of  God  with 
power  by  the  resurrection  fwn  the^dead^  put  a  sceptre  of 
iro// into  his  hand,  that  he  might  breakhis  enemies,  and 
dash  them  in  pieces  like  apotter's  vessel^  Rom.  i.4.  Psal. 
ii.19.  Dost  thou  enter  into  these  reflections  ?  Dost  thou 
approach  the  table  of  Jesus  Christ  with  determinations 
to  live  a  new  life  ?  I  believe  so.  But  the  grand  fault 
of  our  communions,  and  solemn  festivals,  doth  not  lie 
in  the  precise  time  of  our  communions  and  solemnities. 
The  representation  of  Jesus  Christ  in  the  Lord's  sup- 
per ;  certain  reflections,  that  move  conscience ;  an  ex- 
traordinary attention  to  the  noblest  objects  in  religion ; 
the  solemnities  that  belong  to  our  public  festivals ; 
inspire  us  with  a  kind  of  devotion  :  but  how  often  does 
this  devotion  vanish  with  the  objects  that  pioduced  it.^ 
These  august  symbols  should  follow  thee  into  thy  war- 
fare in  the  world.  A  voice  should  sound  in  thine  ears 
amidst  the  tumult  of  the  world  ;  amidst  the  dissipating 
scenes  that  besiege  thy  mind  ;  amidst  the  pleasures 
that  fascinate  thine  eyes  ;  amidst  the  grandeur  and  glory 
which  thou  causest  to  blaze  around  thee,  and  with 

which 


230      The  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ, 

which  thou  thyself,  altho',  alas  I  always  mortal,  always 
a  worm  of  the  earth,  always  dust,  and  ashes,  art  the 
first  to  be  dazzled ;  a  voice  should  sound  in  thine 
ears,  Remember  thy  vows.  Remember  thine  oaths, 
Remember  thy  joys. 

My  brethren,  if  you  be  not  to-morrow,  and  till  the 
next  Lord's-supper-day,  what  you  are  to-day,  we  re- 
call all  the  congratulations,  all  the  benedictions,  and 
all  the  declarations  of  joy,  which  we  have  addressed  to 
you.  Instead  of  congratulating  you  on  your  happi- 
ness in  being  permitted  to  approach  God  in  your  de- 
votions, we  will  deplore  your  wickedness  in  adding 
perfidy  and  perjury  to  all  your  other  crimes.  Instead 
of  benedictions  and  vows,  we  will  cry,  "  Anathema, 
**  Maranatha ;  if  any  man  love  not  the  Lord  Jesus 
^'  Christ,  let  him  be  Anathema,"  1  Cor.  xvi.  22.  If 
any  man  who  hath  kissed  the  Saviour  betray  him,  let 
him  be  Anathema.  If  any  man  defile  the  mysteries 
of  our  holy  religion,  let  him  be  Anathema.  If  any 
man  "  tread  under  foot  the  Son  of  God,  and  count  the 
"  blood  of  the  covenant  an  unholy  thing,  let  him  be 
**  Anathema,'*  Heb.  x.  29.  Instead  of  inviting  thee 
to  celebrate  the  praise  of  the  Author  of  our  being,  we 
forbid  thee  the  practice,  for  it  is  comely  only  for  the  up- 
right, Psal.  xxxiii.  1.  "  God,  by  our  ministry,  saith 
*'  to  thee.  Thou  wicked  man  I  What  hast  thou  to  do 
**  to  take  my  covenant  in  thy  mouth  .^"  Psal.  1.  !(). 
Why  doth  that  mouth  now  bless  my  name,  and  then 
blaspheme  it :  now  praise  me,  thy  Creator,  and  then 
defame  my  creatures  :  now  publish  my  gospel,  and 
then  profane  it  .** 

If,  on  the  contrary,  you  live  agreeably  to  the  engage- 
ments into  which  you  have  entered  to-day ;  what  a  day, 
what  a  day,  my  brethren,  is  this  day  !  A  day,  in  which 
you  have  performed  the  great  work  for  which  God 
formed  you,  and  which  is  all  that  deserves  the  atten- 
tion of  an  immortal  soul.  A  day  in  which  many  im- 
purities, many  calumnies,  many  passionate   actions, 

many 


The  Resurrection  of  Jesus  Christ.       231 

many  perjuries,  and  many  oaths,  have  been  buried  in 
everlasting  silence.  It  is  a  day  in  which  you  have 
been  washed  in  the  blood  of  the  Lamb ;  in  which  you 
have  entered  into  fellowship  with  God ;  in  which  you 
have  heard  these  triumphant  shouts  in  the  church, 
Grace,  grace  unto  it,  Zech.  iv.  7-  ^  ^^y  in  which 
you  have  been  "  raised  up  together,  and  made  to  sit 
"  together  in  heavenly  places  in  Christ  Jesus,"  Eph. 
ii.  6.  A  day,  the  pleasing  remembrance  of  which 
will  follow  you  to  your  death-bed,  and  will  enable 
your  pastors  to  open  the  gates  of  heaven  to  you,  to 
commit  your  souls  into  the  hands  of  the  Redeemer, 
who  ransomed  it,  and  to  say  to  you.  Remember,  on 
6uch  a  day  your  sins  were  effaced;  remember,  on  such 
a  day  Jesus  Christ  disarmed  death ;  remember,  on  such 
a  day  the  gate  of  heaven  was  opened  to  you. 

O  day  I  which  the  Lord  hath  made,  let  me  for  ever 
rejoice  in  thy  light  I  O  day  of  designs,  resolutions,  and 
promises,  may  I  never  forget  thee  I  O  day  of  conso- 
lation and  grace,  may  a  rich  effusion  of  the  peace  of 
God  on  this  auditory  preserve  thy  memorial  through 
a  thousand  generations ! 

Receive  this  peace,  my  dear  brethren.  I  spread 
over  you  hands  washed  in  the  innocent  blood  of  my 
Redeemer ;  and  as  our  risen  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  when 
he  appeared  to  his  disciples,  said  to  them.  Peace, peace 
be  unto  you  ;  so  we,  by  his  command,  while  we  cele- 
brate the  memorable  history  of  his  resurrection,  say  to 
you,  "  Peace,  peace  be  unto  you.  As  many  as  walk 
"  according  to  this  rule,  peace  be  on  them,  and  mer- 
*'  cy,  and  upon  the  Israel  of  God,"  John  xx.  ip,  21. 
Gal.  vi.  16.  To  him  be  honour  and  glory  for  ever. 
Amen. 


SERMON 


253 

SERMON    IX. 

The  Effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit 


Acts  ii.  37. 
Now  when  they  heard  this,  they  were  pricked  in  their 
heart,  and  said  unto  Peter,  and  to  the  rest  of  the  apos- 
tles. Men  and  Brethren,  What  shall  we  do  P 

(f  QON  of  man,  I  send  thee  to  the  children  of  Israel, 
to  a  rebellious  nation.     They  will  not  hearken 
"  unto  thee ;  for    they  will  not  hearken  unto  me : 
**  yet  thou  shalt   speak  unto  them,  and  tell  them, 
**  Thus  saith   the  Lord    God ;   whether   they    will 
"  hear,   or  whether   they   will   forbear ;    and   they 
"  shall  know  that  there  hath  been  a  prophet  among 
*'  them,"  Ezek.  ii.  3,  5.  and  iii.  7,  H.     Thus  God 
formerly  forearpned  Ezekiel  against  the  greatest  dis- 
courageinent  that  he  was  to  meet  with  in  his  mission, 
I  mean  the  unsuccessfulness  of  his  ministry.     For, 
my  brethren,  they  are  not  only  your  ministers,  who 
are    disapointed   in   the   exercise  of  the   ministry : 
Isaiahs,  Jeremiahs,  Ezekicls,  are  often  as  unsuccessful 
as  we.  In  such  melancholy  cases,  we  must  endeavour 
to  surmount  the  obstacles  which  the  obduracy  of  sin- 
ners opposeth  against  the  dispensations  of  grace.    Wc 
must  shed  tears  of  compassion  over  an>  ungrateful  Je- 
rusalem ;  and  if,  after  we  have  used  every  possible 
mean,  we  find  the  corruption  of  our  hearers  invinci- 
ble, we  must  be  satisfied  with  the  peace  of  a  good 
conscience,  we  must  learn  to  say  with  the  prophet,  or 
rather  with  Jesus  Christ,  •'  I  have  laboured  in  vain, 
^'  I  have  spent  my  strength  for  nought,  and  in  vain : 
^*  yet  surely  my  judgment  is  with  the  Lord,  and  my 


234         The  Effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit 

*'  work  with  my  God"  Isa.  xlix.  4.  We  must  content 
ourselves  wit?h  this  thought,  if  our  hearers  have  not 
been  sanctified,  they  have  been  left  without  excuse  ; 
if  God  have  not  been  glorified  in  their  conversion,  he 
will  be  glorious  in  their  destruction. 

But  how  sad  is  this  consolation  !  how  melancholy 
is  this  encouragement  1  by  consecrating  our  ministry 
to  a  particular  society,  we  unite  ourselves  to  the  mem- 
bers of  it  by  the  tenderest  ties,  and  whatever  idea  we 
have  of  the  happiness  which  God  reserveth  for  us  in  a 
future  state,  we  know  not  how  to  persuade  ourselves 
that  we  can  be  perfectly  happy,  when  those  christians, 
whom  we  consider  as  our  brethren,  and  our  children, 
are  plunged  in  a  gulph  of  everlasting  wo.  If  the  an- 
gels of  God  rejoice  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth,  Luke 
XV.  10.  what  pleasure  must  he  feel,  who  hath  reason 
to  hope  that  in  this  valley  of  tears  he  hath  had  the 
honour  of  opening  the  gate  of  heaven  to  a  multitude 
of  sinners,  that  he  hath  saved  himself  and  them  that 
heard  him,  1  Tim.  iv.  I6. 

This  pure  joy  God  gave  on  the  day  of  Pentecost  to 
St  Peter.  When  he  entered  the  ministerial  course,  he 
entered  on  a  course  of  tribulations.  When  he  was 
invested  with  the  apostleship,  he  was  invested  with 
martyrdom.  He  who  said  to  him,  Feed  my  sheep, feed 
my  lambs,  said  also  to  him,  "  Verily,  verily,  I  say  unto 
"  thee,  When  thou  wast  young,  thou  girdedst  thyself, 
"  and  walkedst  whither  thou  wouldest:  but  when  thou 
"  shalt  be  old,  thou  shalt  stretch  forth  thy  hands,  and 
*'  another  shall  gird  thee,  and  carry  thee  whither 
"  thou  wouldest  not,"  John  xxi.  15,  16,  18.  In  or- 
der to  animate  him  against  a  world  of  contradicting 
opposers,  and  to  sweeten  the  bitternesses  which 
were  to  accompany  his  preaching,  Jesus  Christ  gave 
him  the  most  delicious  pleasure  that  a  christian 
preacher  can  taste.  He  caused,  at  the  sound  of  his 
voice,  those  fortresses  to  fall  which  were  erected  to 
oppose  the  establishment  of  the   gospel.     The   first 

experiment 


The  Effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit,         235 

experiment  of  St  Peter  is  a  miracle;  his  first  sermon'^ 
astonishes,  alarms,  transforms,  and  obtains,  three  thou- 
sand conquests  to  Je«us  Christ. 

This  marvellous  event  the  primitive  church  saw, 
and  this,  while  we  celebrate,  we  wish  to  see  again  to- 
day. Too  long,  alas  I  we  have  had  no  other  encourage- 
ment in  theexercise  ofour  ministry  than  that  whichGod 
formerly  gave  to  the  prophet  Ezekiel :  shall  we  never 
enjoy  that  which  he  gave  to  St  Peter?  too  long,  alas  ! 
we  have  received  that  command  from  God,  "  Thou 
*'  shalt  speak  unto  them,  and  tell  them,  Thus  saith  the 
"  Lord,  whether  they  will  hear,  or  whether  they  will 
"  forbear,  for  they  are  a  rebellious  house."  Almighty 
God  I  pour  out  that  benediction  on  this  sermon,  which 
will  excite  compunction  in  the  hearts,  and  put  these 
words  in  the  mouths  of  converts,  M^n  and  brethren^ 
what  shall  we  do  P  Add  new  members  to  thy  church. 
Acts  ii.  47.  not  only  to  the  visible,  but  also  to  the  in- 
visible church,  which  is  thy  peculiar  treasure^  Exod. 
xix.  5.  the  object  of  thy  tenderest  love.     Amen. 

When  they  heard  this  they  were  pricked  in  their  heart. 
They  of  whom  the  sacred  historian  speaks  were  a 
part  of  those  Parthians,  and  Medes,  and  Elamites,  and 
dwellers  in  Mesopotamia,  and  in  Judea,  and  Cappa- 
docia,  in  Pontus,  Asia,  Phrygia,  and  Egypt,  ver.  9, 
10.  who  had  travelled  to  Jerusalem  to  keep  the  feast 
of  Pentecost.  When  these  men  heard  this,  that  is,  when 
they  heard  the  sermon  of  St  Peter, "  they  were  pricked 
"  in  their  hearty  and  said.  Men  and  brethren,  what 
**  shall  we  do  ?"  In  order  to  understand  the  happy  ef- 
fect, we  must  endeavour  to  understand  the  cause.  In 
order  to  comprehend  what  passed  in  the  auditory,  we 
must  understand  the  sermon  of  the  preacher.  There 
are  five  remarkable  things  in  the  sermon,  and  there 
are  five  correspondent  dispositions  in  the  hearers. 

I.  I  see  in  the  sermon  a  noble  freedom  of  speech ; 
and  in  the  souls  of  the  hearers  those  deep  impressions, 

which 


236        The  Effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

which  a  subject  generally  makes,  when  the  preacher 
himself  is  deeply  aifected  with  its  excellence,  and 
emboldened  by  the  justice  of  his  cause. 

II.  There  is  in  the  sermon  a  miracle,  which  gives 
dignity  and  weight  to  the  subject :  and  there  is  in  the 
souls  of  the  auditors  that  deference,  which  cannot 
be  withheld  from  a  man  to  whose  ministry  God  puts 
his  seal. 

II.  I  see  in  the  sermon  of  the  preacher  an  invinci- 
ble power  of  reasoning ;  and  in  the  souls  of  the  audi- 
ence that  conviction  which  carries  along  with  it  the 
consent  of  the  will. 

IV.  There  are  in  the  sermon  stinging  reproofs  ;  and 
in  the  souls  of  the  hearers  painful  remorse  and  regrets. 

V,  I  observe  in  the  sermon  threatnings  of  approach- 
ing judgments ;  and  in  the  souls  of  the  hearers  a  hor- 
ror, that  seizeth  all  their  powers  for  fear  of  the  judg- 
ments of  a  coTisuming  God,  Heb.  xii.  29.  These  are 
live  sources  of  reflections,  my  brethren  ;  five  com- 
ments on  the  words  of  the  text. 

I.  We  have  remarked  in  the  sermon  of  St  Peter,  that 
noble  freedom  of  speech  which  so  wellbecomes  a  christian 
preacher,  and  is  so  well  adapted  to  strike  his  hearers. 
How  much  soever  we  now  admire  this  beautiful  part 
of  pulpit-eloquence,  it  is  very  difficult  to  imitate  it. 
Som.etimes  a  weakness  of  faith,  which  attends  your  best 
established  preachers  ;  sometimes  worldly  prudence : 
sometimes  a  timidity,  that  proceedeth  from  a  modest 
consciousness  of  the  insufficiency  of  their  talents ; 
sometimes  a  fear,  too  well  grounded,  alas  I  of  the  re- 
torting of  those  censures,  v/hich  people,  always  ready 
to  murmur  against  them,  who  reprove  their  vices,  are 
eager  to  make  ;  sometimes  a  fear  of  those  persecutions, 
which  the  world  always  raiseth  against  all  whom  hea- 
ven qualifies  to  destroy  the  empire  of  sin  :  all  these 
considerations  damp  the  courage  of  the  preacher,  and 
deprive  him  of  freedom  of  speech.     If  in  the  silent 

study, 


The  Effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit.       237 

study,  when  the  mind  is  filled  with  an  apprehension 
of  the  tremendous  majesty  of  God,  we  resolve  to  at- 
tack vice,  how  eminent  soever  the  seat  of  its  dominion 
may  be,  1  own,  my  brethren,  we  are  apt  to  be  intimi- 
dated in  a  public  assembly,  when  in  surveying  the 
members  of  whom  it  is  composed,  we  see  some  hea- 
rers, whom  a  multitude  of  reasons  ought  to  render  very 
respectable  to  us. 

But  none  of  these  considerations  had  any  weight 
vvith  our  apostle.     And,  indeed,  why  should  any  of 
them  affect  him  ?  Should  the  weakness  of  his  faith  ? 
He  had  conversed  with  Jesus  Christ  himself ;  he  had 
accompanied  him  on  the  holy  mount,  he  had  heard  a 
voice  from  the  excellent  glory ^  saying.  This  is  my  beloved 
Son,  in  whom  I  am  well  pleased,  2  Pet.  i.  17.     More- 
over, he  had  seen  him  after  his  resurrection  loaden 
with  the  spoils  of  death  and  hell,  ascending  to  heaven 
in  a  cloud,  received  into  the  bosom  of  God  amidst  the 
acclamations  of  angels,  shouting  for  joy,  and  crying. 
Lift  up  your  heads,  0  ye  gates  !  ye  everlasting  doors  !  the 
king  of  glory  shall  come  in,  Psal.  xxiv.  7-  Could  he  dis- 
trust his  talents?   The  prince  of  the  kingdom,  the  au- 
thor, and  finisher  of  faith,  Heb.  xii.  2.  had  told  him. 
Thou  art  Peter,  and  upon  this  rock  Twill  build  my  churchy 
Matt.  xvi.  18.     Should  he  dread  reproaches  and  re- 
criminations ?  The  purity  of  kis  intentions,  and  the 
sanctity  of  his  life  confound  them.     Should  he  pre- 
tend to  keep  fair  with  the  world  ?   But  what  finesse 
is  to  be  used,  when  eternal  misery  is  to  be  denounced, 
and  eternal  happiness  proposed  ?    Should  he  shrink 
back  from  the  sufferings  that  superstition  and  cruelty 
were  preparing  for  christians?   His  timidity  would 
have  cost  him  too  dear  ;  it  would  have  cost  him  sighs 
too  deep,  tears  too  many.     Persecuting  tyrants  could 
invent  no  punishments  so  severe  as  those  which  his 
own  conscience  had  inflicted  on  him  for  his  former 
fall :  at  all  adventures,  if  he  must  be  a  martyr,  he 
chooseth  rather  to  die  for  religion  than  for  apostacy. 

philosophers 


238         The  Effusion  of  the  Holy  Spii^. 

Philosophers  talk  of  certairx  invisible  bands  that 
unite  mankind  to  one  another.  A  man,  animated  with 
any  passion,  hath  in  the  features  of  his  face,  and  in  the 
tone  of  his  voice,  a  something,  that  partly  commu- 
nicates his  sentiments  to  his  hearers.  Error  proposed 
in  a  lively  manner  by  a  man,  who  is  aifected  with  it 
himself,  may  seduce  unguarded  people.  Fictions, 
which  we  know  are  fictions,  exhibited  in  this  manner, 
move  and  affect  us  for  a  moment.  But  what  a  do- 
minion over  the  heart  doth  that  speaker  obtain  w^ho 
delivers  truths,  and  who  is  affected  himself  with  the 
truths  which  he  delivereth  ?  To  this  part  of  the  elo- 
quence of  St  Peter,  we  must  attribute  the  emotions 
of  his  hearers;  they  were  pricked  in  their  heart.  They 
said-to  the  apostles.  Men  and  brethren^  what  shall  we  do  P 
Such  are  the  impressions  w^hich  a  man,  deeply  affected 
with  the  excellence  of  his  subject,  and  emboldened  by 
the  justice  of  his  cause,  makes  on  his  hearers. 

II.  A  second  thing  which  gave  weight  and  dig- 
nity to  the  sermon  of  St  Peter  was  the  miracle  that 
preceded  his  preaching,  I  mean  the  gifts  of  tongues, 
which  had  been  communicated  to  all  the  apostles. 
This  prodigy  had  three  characteristic  marks  of  a  ge- 
nuine miracle.  What  is  a  true,  genuine,  authentic 
miracle  ?  In  my  opinion,  one  of  the  principal  causes 
of  the  fruitlessness  of  all  our  inquiries  on  this  article  is 
the  pretending  to  examine  it  philosophically.  This 
rock  we  should  cautiously  endeavour  to  avoid.  Man- 
kind know  so  little  of  the  powers  of  nature,  that  it  is 
very  difficult,  if  not  impossible,  to  determine  strictly 
and  philosophically,  whether  an  action,  w^hich  seems  to 
us  a  real  miracle,  be  really  such  ;  or  whether  it  be  not 
our  ignorance  that  causeth  it  to  appear  so  to  us.  We 
are  so  unacquainted  with  the  faculties  of  unembodied 
spirits,  and  of  others  which  are  united  to  some  portion 
of  m.atter  by  laws  different  from  those  that  unite  our 
bodies  and  aouls,  that  we  cannot  determine  whether 

an 


The  Effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit         259 

an  event,  which  seems  to  us  an  immediate  work  of  the 
omnipotence  of  God,  be  not  operated  by  an  inferior 
power,  though  subordinate  to  his  will. 

But  the  more  reason  a  philosopher  hath  for  morti- 
fication, when  he  pretends  thoroughly  to  elucidate 
abstruse  questions,  in  order  to  gratify  curiosity,  the 
more  helps  hath  a  christian  to  satisfy  himself,  when  he 
investigates  them  with  the  laudable  design  of  knowing 
all  that  is  necessary  to  be  known,  in  order  to  salva- 
tion. Let  us  abridge  the  matter.  The  prodigy,  that 
accompanied  the  sermon  of  St  Peter,  had  three  cha- 
racteristic marks  of  a  real  miracle, 

1.  It  was  above  human  power.  Every  pretended 
miracle,  that  hath  not  this  first  character,  ought  to  be 
suspected  by  us.  The  want  of  this  hath  prevented  our 
astonishment  at  several  prodigies  that  have  been  played 
off  against  the  reformation,  and  vail  always  prevent 
their  making  any  impression  on  our  minds.  No ; 
should  a  hundred  statues  of  the  blessed  virgin  move 
before  us ;  should  the  images  of  all  the  saints  walk  ; 
should  a  thousand  phantoms  appear  * ;  should  voices 
in  the  air  be  heard  against  Calvin  and  Luther;  we 
should  infer  only  one  conclusion  from  all  these  artifices, 
that  is,  that  they,  who  use  them,  distrusting  the  justice 
of  their  cause,  supply  the  want  of  truth  with  trick  ; 
that,  as  they  despair  of  obtaining  rational  converts, 
they  may,  at  least,  proselyte  simple  souls. 

But  the  prodigy  in  question  was  evidently  superior 
to  human  power.  Of  all  sciences  in  the  world,  that 
of  languages  is  the  least  capable  of  an  instant  acqui- 
sition. Certain  natural  talents,  a  certain  superiority 
of  genius,  sometimes  produce  in  some  men  the  same 
effects  which  long  and  painful  industry  can  scarcely 
ever  produce  in  others.  We  have  sometimes  seen  peo- 
ple, whom  nature  seems  to  have  designedly  formed  in 
an  instant,  become  courageous  captains,  profound  geo- 
meters 

*  See  a  great  number  of  examples  of  this  kind  in  Lavatc-r's  Trait 
Hes  Sfiectres, 


240        The  Effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit 

meters,  admirable  orators :  but  tongues  are  acquired 
by  study  and  time.  The  acquisition  of  languages  is  like 
the  knowledge  of  history.  It  is  not  a  superior  genius, 
it  is  not  a  great  capacity,  that  can  discover  to  any  man 
what  passed  in  the  world  ten  or  twelve  ages  ago.  The 
monuments  of  antiquity  must  be  consulted,  huge  fo- 
lios must  be  read,  and  an  immense  number  of  volumes 
must  be  understood,  arranged,  and  digested.     In  like 
manner,  the  knowledge  of  languages  is  a  knowledge  of 
experience,  and  no  man  can  ever  derive  it  from  his 
own  innate  fund  of  ability.     Yet  the  apostles,  and 
apostolical  men,  men  who  were  known  to  be  men  of 
no  education,  all  on  a  sudden  knew  the  arbitrary  signs, 
by  which  different  nations  had  agreed  to  express  their 
thoughts.     Terms,  which  had  no  natural  connection 
with  their  ideas,  were  all  on  a  sudden  arranged  in  their 
minds.    Those  things,  which  other  men  can  only  ac- 
quire by  disgustful  labour,  those  particularly,  which 
belong  to  the  most  difficult  branches  of  knowledge, 
they  understood  without  making  the  least  attempt  to 
learn  them.  They  even  offered  to  communicate  those 
gifts  to  them,  who  believed  their  doctrine,  and  thereby 
prevented  the  suspicions  that  might  have  been  formed 
of  them,  of  having  affected  ignorance  all  their  lives, 
in  order  to  astonish  all  the  world  at  last  with  a  display 
of  literature,  and  by  that  to  cover  the  black  design  of 
imposing  on  the  church. 

2.  But  perhaps  these  miracles  may  not  be  the  more 
respectable  on  account  of  their  superiority  to  human 
power.  Perhaps,  if  they  be  not  human,  they  may  be 
devilish  ?  No,  my  brethren,  a  little  attention  to  their 
second  character  will  convince  you  that  they  are  di- 
vine. Their  end  was  to  incline  men^  not  to  renounce 
natural  and  revealed  religion^  hut  to  respect  and  to  fol- 
low both :  not  to  render  an  attentive  examination  unne- 
cessary^ hut  to  allure  men  to  it. 

It  is  impossible  that  God  should  divide  an  intelligent 
soul  between  evidence  and  evidence  \  between  the  evi- 
dence 


The  Effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  241 

dence  of  falsehood  in  an  absurd  proposition,  and  the 
evidence  of  truth  that  results  from  a  miracle  wrought 
in  favour  of  that  proposition.  I  have  evident  proofs 
in  favour  of  this  proposition,  The  whole  is  greater  than 
a  part :  were  God  to  work  a  miracle  in  favour  of  the 
opposite  proposition,  The  whole  is  less  than  a  part,  he 
would  divide  my  mind  between  evidence  and  evidence, 
between  the  evidence  of  my  proposition,  and  the  evi- 
dence that  resulted  from  the  miracle  wrought  in  favour 
of  the' opposite  proposition:  he  would  require  me  to 
believe  a  truth,  that  could  not  be  established  without 
the  renouncing  of  another  truth. 

In  like  manner,  were  God  to  work  a  miracle  to  au- 
thorize a  doctrine  opposite  to  any  one  of  those  which 
are  demonstrated  by  natural  or  revealed  rehgion,  God 
would  be  contrary  to  himself;  he  would  establish  that 
by  natural  and  revealed  religion  which  he  would  de- 
stroy by  a  miracle,  and  he  would  establish  by  a  miracle 
what  he  would  destroy  by  natural  and  revealed  religion.. 

The  end  of  the  prodigy  of  the  preaching  of  St  Peter, 
the  end  of  all  the  miracles  of  the  apostles,  was  to  ren- 
der men  attentive  to  natural  and  revealed  religion. 
When  they  addressed  themselves  to  Pagans,  you  know, 
they  exhorted  them  to  avail  themselves  of  the  light  of 
nature  in  order  to  understand  their  need  of  revelation  : 
and  in  this  chapter  the  apostle  exhorts  the  Jews  to 
compare  the  miracle  that  was  just  now  wrought  with 
their  own  prophecies,  that  from  both  there  might 
arise  proof  of  the  divine  mission  of  that  Messiah 
whom  he  preached  to  them. 

3.  The  prodigy  that  accompanied  the  preaching  of 
St  Peter  had  the  third  character  of  a  true  miracle.  It 
was  wrought  in  the  presence  of  those  who  had  the  greatest 
interest  in  knowing  the  tfirth  of  it.  Without  this,  how 
could  this  miracle  have  inclined  them  to  embrace  the 
religion  in  favour  of  which  it  was  wrought  ?  On  this 
article  there  hath  been,  and  there  will  be,  an  eternal 
dispute  between  us  and  the  members  of  that  commu- 
nion, with  which  it  is  far  more  desirable  for  us  to4iave 

Vol.  11.  Q  an 


242         The  Effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

an  unity  of  faith  than  an  open  war.  It  is  a  maxim, 
which  the  chmch  of  Rome  hath  constituted  an  article 
of  faith,  that  the  presence  of  an  heretic  suspends  a 
miracle.     How  unjust  is  this  maxim  I 

We  dispute  with  you  the  essential  characters  of  the 
true  church.  You  pretend  that  one  indelible  character 
h  the  power  of  working  miracles  :  and,  you  add,  this 
power  resides  with  you  in  all  its  glory.  We  require 
you  to  produce  evidence.  We  promise  to  be  open  to 
conviction.  We  engage  to  allow  the  argument,  which 
you  derive  from  the  power  of  working  miracles,  all  the 
weight  that  religion  will  suffer  us  to  give  it.  But 
you  keep  out  of  sight.  You  choose  for  your  theatres 
cloisters  and  monasteries,  and  your  own  partisans  and 
.disciples  are  your  only  spectators. 

The  apostles  observed  a  different  conduct.  Very 
far  from  adopting  your  maxim,  that  the  presence  of 
a  heretic  suspends  a  miracle,  they  affirmed  the  direct 
contrary.  St  Paul  expressly  saith.  Tongues  are  for  a 
sign,  not  to  them  that  believe,  but  to  them  that  believe  not, 
1  Cor.  xiv.  22.  This  is  a  very  remarkable  passage. 
Some  of  the  primitive  christians  made  an  indiscreet 
parade  of  their  miraculous  gifts  in  religious  assemblies. 
St  Paul  reproves  their  vanity :  but  at  the  same  time 
tells  the  Corinthians,  that  in  some  cases  they  might 
produce  those  gifts  in  their  assemblies,  they  m.ight 
exercise  them  when  unbelievers  vi^x^  present;  that  is, 
when  persons  were  in  their  assemblies  who  were  not 
convinced  of  the  truth  of  the  gospel. 

Read  the  history  of  the  apostles:  Where  did  Philip 
the  evangelist  heal  a  great  number  of  demoniacs  ? 
Was  this  miracle  performed  in  the  cell  of  a  monastery  ? 
In  the  presence  of  partial  and  interested  persons  ?  No  : 
it  was  in  Samaria  ;  in  the  presence  of  that  celebrated 
magician,  who,  not  being  able  to  deny,  or  to  discredit 
the  miracles  of  the  apostle,  offered  to  purchase  the 
power  of  working  them,  Acts  viii.  7, 9, 18,  S^c,  Where 
did  the  Holy  Spirit  descend  on  Cornelius,  the  Centuri- 
on, and  on  all  those  who  were  wdth  him  ?  chap.  x.  In 

a  dark 


The  Effusion  of  the  Holy  S;pirit.         243 

a  dark  chamber  of  a  convent  ?  Not  in  the  presence  of 
suspected  persons  ?  Behold !  it  was  in  Cesarea,  a  city 
full  of  Jews,  a  city,  in  which  the  Roman  governors 
held  their  courts,  and  where  a  considerable  garrison 
of  Roman  soldiers  was  always  stationed.  In  what 
place  was  the  imagination  of  the  populace  so  stricken 
w^ith  the  miracles  that  were  wrought  by  St  Paul  in  the 
course  of  two  years,  that  they  carried  imto  the  sick  hand- 
kerchiefs and  aprons,  at  the  touching  of  which,  diseases 
departed fro7n  them,  and  the  evil  spirits  went  out  of  them  P 
Acts  xix.  12.  Was  it  in  a  nunnery  ?  Was  it  not  in 
the  presence  of  suspected  persons  ?  Behold  I  it  was  at 
Ephesus,  another  metropolis,  where  a  great  number 
of  Jews  resided,  and  where  they  had  a  famous  syna-- 
gogue.  And  not  to  wander  any  further  from  my  prin- 
cipal subject,  where  did  the  apostles  exercise  those 
gifts  which  they  had  received  from  the  Holy  Ghost  ? 
In  a  conclave?  No.  In  the  presence  of  suspected  per- 
sons? Yea:  in  the  presence  of  Medes,  Parthians,  and 
Elamites,  before  dwellers  in  Mesopotamia,  in  Pontus, 
in  Asia,  in  Phrygia,  and  in  Egypt,  in  Pamphylia,  in 
Lybia,  and  in  Rome.  They  exercised  their  gifts  in 
Jerusalem  itself,  in  the  very  city  where  Jesus  Christ 
had  been  crucified.  The  prodigy^  that  accompanied 
the  preaching  of  St  Peter,  had  all  the  characters  th^n 
of  a  true,  real,  genuine  miracle. 

The  miracle  being  granted,  I  affirm,  that  the  coin- 
punction  of  heart,  of  which  my  text  spea:k3,  was  an  effect 
of  that  attention  which  could  not  be  refused  to  such 
an  extraordinary  event,  and  of  that  deference,  which 
coidd  not  be  withheld  from  a  man,  to  whose  ministrij  God 
had  set  his  seal.  Such  prodigies  might  well  give  dignity 
and  weight  to  the  language  of  those  who  wrought  them, 
and  prepare  the  minds  of  spectators  to  attend  to  the 
evidence  of  their  argumentation.  Modern  preachers, 
sometimes  borrow  the  innocent  artifices  of  eloquence, 
to  engage  you  to  hear  those  truths  which  you  ought 
to  hear  for  their  ov»'n  sake?.  They  endeavour  some- 
times to  obtain,  by  a  choice  of  words,  a  tour  of  thought, 

Q  2  an 


244        The  Effusion  of  the  Holij  SpiriL 

an  harmonious  cadence,  that  attention  whiclj  yoM 
would  often  withhold  from  their  subjects  were  liiey 
content  with  proposing  them  in  a  manner  simple  and 
unadorned.  But  how  great  were  the  advantages  of 
the  first  heralds  of  the  gospel  over  modern  preachers  I 
The  resurrection  of  a  dead  body  ;  what  a  fine  exordi- 
^  um  ;  the  sudden  death  of  an  Ananias  and  a  8apphira, 
what  an  alarming  conclusion  I  The  expressive  eloquence 
ofa  familiar  supernatural  knowledge  of  the  least  known, 
and  the  best  sounding  tongues;  how  irresistibly  striking! 
Accordingly,  three  thousand  of  the  hearers  of  St  Peter 
yielded  to  the  power  of  his  speech.  They  instantly, 
and  entirely,  surrendered  themselves  to  men,  who  ad 
dressed  them  in  a  manner  so  extraordinary,  tJieij  were 
pricked  in  their  hearty  and  said  unto  Peter,  and  to  the  rest 
of  the  apostles.  Men,  and  brethren,  what  shall  we  do  !^ . 
III.  We  remark,  in  the  discourse  of  the  apostle,  an 
invincible  power  of  reasoning,  and,  in  the  souls  of  his 
hearers,  that  conviction  which  carries  along  with  it  the 
consent  of  the  will.  Of  all  methods  of  reasoning  witli 
an  adversary,  none  is  more  close  and  conclusive  than 
that  which  is  taken  from  his  own  principles.  It  hath 
this  advantage  above  others,  the  opponent  is  obliged, 
according  to  strict  rules  of  reasoning,  to  admit  the 
argument,  although  it  be  sophistical  and  false.  For 
by  what  rule  can  he  reject  my  proposition,  if  it  have 
an  equal  degree  of  probability  wdth  another  proposi- 
tion, which  he  receives  as  evident  and  demonstrative  ? 
But  w^oen  the  principles  o^  an  adversary  are  well 
grounded ;  and  when  we  are  able  to  prove  that  his 
principles  produce  our  conclusions,  our  reasoning  be- 
comes demonstrative  to  a  rational  opponent,  and  he 
cannot  deny  it. 

Christianity,  it  is  remarkable,  is  denfensible  botb 
ways.  The  first  may  be  successfully  employed  against 
Pagans ;  the  second  niore  successfully  against  the  Jews. 
It  is  easy  to  convince  a  heathen,  that  he  can  have  no 
right  to  exclaim  against  the  mysteries  of  the  gospel ; 
because,  if  he  have  any  reason  to  exclaim  against  the 

mysteries 


The  Effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit.  245 

mysteries  of  Christianity,  he  hath  infinitely  more  to 
exclaim  against  those  of  Paganism.  Both  it  become 
you,  said  Justin  Martyr  to  the  heathens,  in  his  second 
apology  for  Christianity,  ''  Doth  it  become  you  to  dis- 
*'  allow  our  mysteries  ;  that  the  Word  Vv'as  the  only  be- 
"  gotten  Son  of  God,  that  he  was  crucified,  that  he  rose 
*'  from  the  dead,  that  he  ascended  to  heaven  ?  We  af- 
"  firm  nothing  but  what  hath  been  tauoht  and  believed 
''  by  you.  For  the  authors,  ye  know,  whom  ye  admire, 
*'  say  that  Jupiter  had  many  children ;  that  Mercury 
"  is  the  word,  the  interpreter,  the  teacher  of  all;  that 
"  Esculapius,  after  he  had  been  stricken  with  thun- 
*'  der,  ascended  tg  heaven,  and  so  on  *." 

The  second  way  was  employed  more  successfully  by 
tlie  apostles  against  the  Jews.  They  demonstrated, 
that  all  the  reasons,  which  obliged  them  to  be  Jews, 
ought  to  have  induced  them  to  become  christians : 
that  every  argument,  which  obliged  them  to  acknow- 
ledge the  divine  legation  of  Moses,  ought  to  have 
engaged  them  to  believe  in  Jesus  Christ.  St  Peter 
made  use  of  this  method.  All  the  apostles  used  it. 
Put  together  all  tliose  valuable  fragments  of  their  ser- 
mons which  the  Holy  Spirit  hath  preserved,  and  you  will 
easily  see,  that  these  holy  men  took  the  Jews  on  their 
own  principles,  and  endeavoured  to  convince  them,  as 
we  just  now  said,  that  whatever  engaged  them  to  ad- 
here to  Judaism  ought  to  have  engaged  them  to  em- 
brace Christianity,  that  what  induced  them  to  be  Jews 
ought  to  have  induced  them  to  become  christians. 

What  argument  can  you  alledge  for  your  religion, 
said  they  to  the  Jews,  which  doth  not  establish  that 
which  we  preach  ?  Do  you  alledge  the  privileges  of 
your  legislator  ?  Your  argument  is  demonstrative  : 
Moses  had  access  to  God  on  the  holy  mountain ;  he 
did  converse  with  him  as  a  man  speaketh  to  his  friend. 
But  this  argument  concludes  for  us.  The  christian 
legislator  had  more  glorious  privileges  still.  God  raised 

him 

*  Justin.  Ma-tyr.  Apot  1.  p  n  (."'lu-'S'.ian.  Pages  CG,  fj7.  Edit.  Paris  \(i?)Q. 


246         The  Effusion  of  the  Holy  SpiriL 

him  up,  having  loosed  the  pains  of  death,  Acts  ii.  €4, 
8tc.  he  suffered  not  his  Holy  One  to  see  corruption,  he 
hath  caused  him  to  sit  on  his  throne,  he  hath  made  him 
both  Lord  and  Christ. 

Do  you  alledge  the  purity  of  the  morahty  of  your 
rehgion  ?  Your  argument  is  demonstrative.  The  ma- 
nifest design  of  your  rehgion  is  to  reclaim  men  to  God, 
to  prevent  idolatry,  and  to  inspire  them  with  piety, 
benevolence,  and  zeal.  But  this  argument  concludes 
for  us.  What  do  we  preach  to  you  but  these  vtry 
articles  ?  To  what  would  we  engage  you,  except  to 
repent  of  your  sins,  to  receive  the  promise  which  was 
nrndtunto  you  and  to  your  children,  and^o  save  yourselves 
from  this  untoward  generation  P  verse  39.  Do  we  re- 
quire any  thing  of  you  beside  that  spirit  of  benevo- 
lence, which  unites  the  hearts  of  mankind,  and  whicii 
makes  us  "  have  all  things  common,  sell  our  possessions, 
"  part  them  to  all  men  as  every  man  hath  need,  and  con- 
"  tinue  daily  in  the  temple  with  one  accord  ?"  ver.  44* 

Do  you  alledge  the  miracles  that  were  wrought  to 
prove  the  truth  of  your  religion  ?  Your  argument  is 
demonstrative.  But  this  argument  establisheth  the 
truth  of  our  religion.  Behold  the  miraculous  gifts, 
which  have  bc^n  already  communicated  to  those  who 
have  believed,  and  which  are  ready  to  be  communi- 
cated to  those  who  shall  yet  believe.  Behold  each  of 
us  working  miracles,  which  have  never  been  wrought 
by  any,  except  by  a  few  of  the  divine  men  who  are  so 
justly  venerable  in  your  esteem.  See,  the  Holy  Ghost 
is  "  poured  out  upon  all  flesh;  our  ^ons,  and  our  daugh- 
"  ters  prophesy,  our  young  men  see  visions,  and  our  old 
"  men  dream  dreams,  our  servants  and  our  handmaid- 
"  ens"  are  honoured  with  miraculous  gifts,  verse  17. 

What,  then,  are  the  prejudices  that  still  engage  you 
to  continue  in  the  profession  of  Judaism  ?  Are  they 
derived  from  the  prophecies  ?  Your  principles  are 
demonstrative:  but,  in  the  person  of  our  Jesus,  we 
shew  you  to-day  all  the  grand  characters  which,  your 
own  prophets  said,  would  be  found  in  the  Messiah. 

In 


The  Effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit.         247 

in  the  person  of  our  Jesus  is  accomplished  that  famous 
prophecy  in  the  sixteenth  Psahn,  which  some  of  you 
apply  to  David,  and,  to  support  a  misrepresentation, 
propagate  a  ridiculous  tradition,  that  he  never  died, 
altho'  his  tomb  is  amongyou :  "  Thou  wilt  not  leave  my 
"  soulin  hell,  neither  wait  thou  suffer  thine  Holy  One  to 
*'  see  corruption,"  ver.  10.  In  the  person  of  Jesus  is  ac- 
comphshed  the  celebrated  prediction  of  the  Psalmist,  Sit 
thou  attny  right  hand,  until  [make  thine  enemies  thij foot- 
stool, Psal.  ex.  1.  Such  were  the  arguments  of  St  Peter. 
Close  reasoning  ought  to  be  the  soul  of  all  discourses. 
I  compare  it  in  regard  to  eloquence  with  benevolence 
in  regard  to  religion.  Without  benevolence  we  may 
maintain  a  shew  of  religion,  but  we  cannot  possess  the 
substance  of  it.  Speak  imtli  the  tongues  of  angels,  have 
the  gifts  ofprophecij,  understand  all  mysteries,  have  all 
faith,  so  that  ye  could  remove  mountains,  bestow  all  your 
goods  to  feed  the  poor,  and  give  your  bodies  to  be  burned. 
if  you  have  not  benevolence,  you  are  nothing,  1  Cor. 
xiii.  1,  &c.  ifyou  be  destitute  of  benevolence,  all  your 
virtue  is  no-thing  but  a  noise,  it  is  only  as  sounding  brass, 
or  as  a  tinkling  cymbal.  In  like  manner  in  regard  to 
eloquence  ;  speak  with  authority,  display  treasures  of 
erudition,  let  the  liveliest  and  most  sublime  imagina- 
tion wing  it  away,  turn  all  your  periods  till  they  make 
music  in  the  most  delicate  ear,  what  wall  all  your  dis- 
courses be,  if  void  of  argumentation  ?  a  noise,  sounding 
brass,  a  tinkling  cymbal.  You  may  surprize  ;  but  you. 
cannot  convince:  you  may  dazzle;  but  you  cannot 
instruct :  you  may,  indeed,  please ;  but  you  can 
neither  change,  sanctify,  nor  transform. 

IV.  There  are,  in  the  sermon  of  St  Peter,  stinging 
reproofs  ;  and,  in  the  souls  of  the  ht2iXtx^,  a  pungent  re- 
morse.  The  apostle  reproveth  the  Jews  in  these  words, 
Jesus  ofNa'zareth,aman  approved  of  God  among  you,  by 
miracles, andwonders,  and  signs  ^  him,  being  delivered  by 
the  determinate  counsel  ajid foreknowledge  of  God,  ye  have 
taken,  a;id  by  wicked  hands  have  crucified  and  slain,  ver. 


248         The  Effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

22.  This  single  reproof  excited  the  most  shocking  ide- 
as that  can  alarm  the  mind.  And  who  can  express 
the  agitations  which  were  produced  in  the  souls 
of  the  audience  ?  What  pencil  can  describe  the  state 
of  their  consciences  ?  They  had  committed  this  crime 
through  ignorance^  Acts  iii.  I7.  They  had  congratu- 
lated one  another  op  having  destroyed  the  chief  enemy 
of  their  religion,  and  on  having  freed  the  church  from 
a  monster  who  had  risen  up  to  devour  it.  They 
had  lifted  up  their  bloody  hands  toward  heaven,  and, 
to  the  rewarder  of  virtue,  had  prayed  for  a  recom- 
pense for  parricide.  They  had  insolently  displayed 
the  spoils  of  Jesus,  as  trophies  after  a  victory  are  dis- 
played. The  same  principle  which  excited  them  to 
commit  the  crime,  prevented  their  discovery  of  its 
enormity,  after  they  had  committed  it.  1  he  same 
vails,  which  they  had  throv/n  over  the  glorious  virtue 
of  Jesus  Christ,  during  his  humiliation,  they  still  con- 
tinued to  throw  over  it,  in  his  exaltation.  St  Peter 
tore  these  fatal  vails  asunder.  He  shewed  these  mad- 
men their  own  conduct  in  its  true  point  of  light ;  and 
discovered  their  parricide  in  all  its  horror  :  Te  have 
taken,  and  crucified  Jesus,  who  was  approved  of  God, 
Methinks  I  see  the  history,  or,  shall  I  say  the  fable  I 
ot  a  Theban  king  acting  over  again.  Educated  far 
from  the  place  of  his  nativity,  he  knew  not  his  parents. 
His  magnanimity  seemed  to  indicate,  if  not  the  gran- 
deur of  his  birth,  at  least  the  lustre  of  his  future  life. 
The  quelling  of  the  most  outrageous  disturbers  of 
society,  and  the  destroying  of  monsters,  were  his 
favourite  employments.  Nothing  seemed  impossible 
to  his  courage.  In  one  of  his  expeditions,  without 
knowing  him,  he  killed  his  father.  Some  time  after, 
he  encountered  a  monster,  that  terrified  the  whole 
kingdom,  and  for  his  reward  obtained  his  owm  mo- 
ther in  marriage.  At  length  he  found  out  the  fatal 
mystery  of  his  origin,  and  the  tragical  murder  of  his 
own  father.  Shocked  at  his  wretchedness  ;  it  is  not 
xlght,   pxclaimed    he,    that   the    perpetrator  of  such 

cr  imes 


The  Effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit         241> 

crimen  should  enjoy  his  sight,  ^nd  he  tore  out  his  own 
eyes. 

This  image  is  too  faint  to  express  the  agonies  of  the 
Jews.  The  ignorance  of  Oedipus  was  invincible  :  that 
of  the  Jews  was  voluntary.  St  Peter  dissipated  this  igno- 
rance. Jesus  of  Nazareth^  a  man  approved  ofGod^  ye  have 
taken,  and  by  wicked  hands  have  crucified  and  slain.  This 
charge  excited  ideas  of  a  thousand  distressing  truths. 
The  apostle  reminded  them  of  the  holy  rules  of  righte- 
ousness which  Jesus  Christ  had  preached  and  exempli- 
lied,  and  the  holiness  of  him  whom  they  had  cruci^ 
lied,  filled  them  with  a  sense  of  their  own  depravity. 

He  reminded  them  of  the  benefits  which  Jesus 
Christ  had  bountifully  bestowed  on  their  nation,  of 
the  preference  which  he  *had  given  them  above  all 
other  people  in  the  world,  and  of  the  exercise  of  his 
ministry  among  the  lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel^ 
Matt.  XV.  24.  and  his  profusion  of  these  blessings  dis- 
covered their  black  ingratitude. 

He  reminded  them  of  the  grandeur  of  Jesus  Christ. 
He  shewed  them,  that  the  Jesus,  who  had  appeared  so 
very  contemptible  to  them,  "  upheld  all  things  by  the 
*'  word  of  his  power  ;  that  the  angels  of  God  worship- 
"  ped  him ;  that  God  had  given  him  a  name  above 
*'  every  name,  that  at  the  name  of  Jesus  every  knee 
*'  should  bow,"  Heb.  i.  3,  ^). 

He  reminded  them  of  their  unworthy  treatment 
of  Jesus  Christ ;  of  their  eager  outcries  for  his  death  ; 
of  their  repeated  shoutings,  Away  with  hivi^  away 
with  him^  crucify  him,  crucify  him,  Luke  xxiii.  18,  21. 
of  their  barbarous  insults.  He  saved  others,  let  him  save 
himself,  ver.  35.  ;  of  the  crown  of  thorns,  the  scarlet 
robe,  the  ridiculous  sceptre,  and  all  other  cruel  circum- 
stances of  his  sufferings  and  death ;  and  the  whole 
taught  them  the  guilt  of  their  parricide.  The  whole 
was  an  ocean  of  terror,  and  each  reflection  a  wave,  that 
overwhelmed,  distorted,  and  distressed  their  souls. 

V.  In  fine,  we  may  remark  in  the  sermon  of  St 
Peter,  denunciations  of  divine  vengeance.  The  most  ef- 
fectual 


250         The  Hffusion  of  the  Holy  Spi7iL 

fectual  mean  for  the  conversion  of  sinners,  that  which 
St  Paul  so  successfully  employed,  is  terror,  2  Cor. 
V.  11.  St  Peter  was  too  well  acquainted  with  the 
obduracy  of  his  auditors  not  to  avail  himself  of  this 
motive.  People,  who  had  imbrued  their  hands  in  the 
blood  of  a  personage  so  august,  wanted  this  mean.  In 
order  to  attack  them  with  any  probability  of  success, 
it  was  necessary  to  shoot  t/ie  arrows  of  the  Almighty  at 
them,  and  to  set  the  terrors  of  God  in  array  against  them. 
Job  vi,  4*  St  Peter  described  to  these  murderers  that 
great  and  notable  day  of  the  Lord,  ver.  21.  so  famous 
among  their  prophets,  that  day,  in  which  God  would 
avenge  the  death  of  his  Son,  punish  the  greatest  of  all 
crimes  with  the  greatest  of  all  miseries,  and  execute  that 
sentence  which  the  Jews  had  denounced  on  themselves, 
His  blood  be  on  us  and  on  our  children,  Matt,  xxvii.  25. 
St  Peter  quoted  a  prophecy  of  Joel,  which  foretold 
that  fatal  day,  and  the  prophecy  was  the  more  terrible, 
because  one  part  of  it  w^as  accomplished ;  because  the 
remarkable  events  that  were  to  precede  it  were  ac- 
tually come  to  pass ;  for  the  Spirit  of  God  had  begun  to 
pour  out  his  miraculous  influences  upon  all  flesh,  young 
men  had  seen  visions,  and,  old  men  had  dreamed  dreams  ; 
and  the  formidable  preparations  of  approaching  judg- 
ments were  then  before  their  eyes.  Herod  the  Great 
had  already  put  those  to  a  cruel  death  who  had  raised 
a  sedition  on  account  of  his  placing  the  Roman  eagle 
on  the  gate  of  the  temple.  Already  Pilate  had  set  up 
the  Roman  standard  in  Jerusalem,  had  threatened  all, 
who  opposed  it,  with  death,  and  had  made  a  dreadful 
havock  among  them  who  refused  to  agree  to  hi^ 
making  an  aqueduct  in  that  city.  Twenty  thousand 
Jews  had  been  already  massacred  in  Cesarea,  thirteen 
thousand  in  Scythopolis,  and  fifty  thousand  in  Alex- 
andria. Cestius  Gallus  had  already  overwhelmed 
Judea  with  a  formidable  army  *.  Terrible  harbingers 
oltliat  great  and  notable  day  of  the  Lord  !  Just  grounds 

of 

*  Joseph.  Antlq.  lib.  xvii.  cap.  6.  p.  766.  Oxon.  1720. 
Ibid.  lib.  xvlii.  p.  797.      Dc  bell.  Jud.  lib.  ii.  cap.  18.  p.  1095. 


The  Effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit.         251 

of  fear  and  terror  I  The  auditors  of  St  Feter,  on  hearing 
these  predictions,  and  on  perceiving  their  fulfilment, 
were  prieked  in  their  heart,  and  said  to  all  the  members 
of  the  apostolical  college,  Men  and  brethren,  What 
shall  iiue  do  / 

Such  was  the  power  of  the  sermon  of  St  Peter  over 
the  souls  of  his  hearers  I  Human  eloquence  hath  some- 
times done  wonders  worthy  of  immortal  memory. 
Some  of  the  ancient  orators  have  governed  the  souls 
of  the  most  invincible  heroes,  and  the  life  of  Cicero 
affords  us  an  example.  Ligarius  had  the  audacity  to 
make  war  on  G^sar.  Caesar  was  determined  to  make 
the  rash  adventurer  a  victim  to  his  revenge.  The 
friends  of  Ligarius  durst  not  interpose,  and  Ligarius 
was  on  the  point,  either  of  being  justly  punished  for 
his  offence,  or  of  being  sacrificed  to  the  unjust  am-- 
bition  of  his  enemy.  What  force  could  controul  the 
pov/er  of  CiEsar  ?  But  Cccsar  had  an  adversary,  whose 
power  was  superior  to  his  ov/n.  This  adversary  pleads 
for  Ligarius  against  Caesar,  and  Caesar,  all  invincible  as 
he  i*s,  yields  to  the  eloquence  of  Cicero.  Cicero  pleads, 
G^sar  feels ;  in  spite  of  himself,  his  wrath  subsides,  his 
hatred  diminishes,  his  vengeance  disappears.  The 
fatal  list  of  the  crimes  of  Ligarius,  which  he  is  about 
to  produce  to  the  judges,  falls  from  his  hands,  and  he 
actually  absolves  him  at  the  close  of  the  oration,  whom, 
when  he  entered  the  court,  he  meant  to  condemn. 
But  yield,  ye  orators  of  Athens  and  Rome !  Yield  to 
our  fishermen  and  tent-makers.  O  how  powerful  is 
the  sword  of  the  Spirit  in  the  hands  of  our  apostles  I 
See  the  executioners  of  Jesus  Christ,  yet  foaming  with 
rage  a«d  madness  against  him.  See  1  they  are  as  ready 
to  shed  the  blood  of  the  disciples,  as  they  were  to 
murder  their  Master.  But  the  voice  of  St  Peter  quells 
all  their  rage,  turns  the  current  of  it,  and  causes  those 
to  bow  to  the  yoke  of  Jesus  Christ  who  had  just  be 
fore  put  him  to  death. 

Allow,  my  brethren,  that  you  cannot  recollect  the 
sermon  of  St  Peter  without  envying  those  happy  pri- 
mitive 


252         The  Effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

mitive  christians,  who  enjoyed  the  precious  advan- 
tage of  hearing  such  a  preacher ;  or,  without  saying  to 
yourselves,  such  exhortations  would  have  found  the 
way  to  our  hearts,  they  would  have  aroused  us  from 
our  security,  touched  our  consciences,  and  produced 
effects  which  the  modern  way  of  preaching  is  incapa- 
ble of  producing. 

But,  my  brethren,  will  you  permit  us  to  ask  you 
one  question  ?  Would  you  choose  to  hear  the  apostles, 
and  ministers  like  the  apostles  ?  Would  you  attend 
their  sermons  ?  or,  to  say  all  in  one  word.  Do  you  wish 
St  Peter  was  now  in  this  pulpit  ?  Think  a  little,  be- 
fore you  answer  this  question.  Compare  the  taste  of 
this  auditory  with  the  genius  of  the  preacher;  your 
delicacy  with  that  liberty  of  speech  with  which  he 
reproved  the  vices  of  his  own  times.  For  our  parts, 
we,  who  think  we  know  you,  we  are  persuaded,  that 
no  preacher  would  be  less  agreeable  to  you  than  St 
Peter.  Of  ^11  the  sermons  that  could  be  addressed 
to  you,  there  could  be  none  that  would  be  received 
less  favourably  than  those  which  should  be  compo- 
sed on  the  plan  of  that  which  this  apostle  preached  at 
Jerusalem. 

One  wants  to  find  something  new  in  every  sermon  ; 
and,  under  pretence  of  satisfying  his  laudable  desire 
of  improvement  in  knowledge,  would  divert  our  at- 
tention from  well-known  vices,  that  deserve  to  be 
censured.  Another  desires  to  be  pleased,  and  would 
have  us  adorn  our  discourses,  not  that  we  may  obtain 
an  easier  access  to  his  heart ;  not  that  we  may,  by  the 
innocent  artifice  of  availing  ourselves  of  his  love  of 
pleasure,  oppose  the  love  of  pleasure  itself:  but  that 
we  may  flatter  a  kind  of  concupiscence,  which  is  con- 
tent to  sport  with  a  religious  exercise,  till,  when  divine 
service  ends,  it  can  plunge  into  more  sensual  joy.  Al- 
most all  require  to  be  lulled  asleep  in  sin  ;  and  al- 
tho'  nobody  is  so  gross  as  to  say,  Flatter  my  wicked 
inclinations,  stupify  my  conscience,  praise  my  crimes, 
yet  almost  every  body  loves  to  have  it  so,  Jer.  v.  31. 

A  prin- 


The  Effusion  of  the  Holy  Spirit.         253 

A  principle  of,  1  know  not  what,  refined  security  makes 
us  desire  to  be  censured  to  a  certain  degree,  so  that  the 
slight  emotions,  which  we  receive,  may  serve  for  a  pre- 
sumption that  we  repent,  and  may  produce  an  assurance, 
which  we  could  not  enjoy  under  an  apology  for  our  sins. 
We  consent  to  the  touching  of  the  wound,  but  we  re- 
fuse to  suffer  any  one  to  probe  it.  Lenitives  may  be 
applied,  but  the  fire  and  the  knife  must  not  go  to  the 
bottom  of  the  putrefaction  to  make  a  sound  cure. 

Ah  I  how  disagreeable  to  you  would  the  sermons  of 
the  apostles  have  been  I  Realize  them.  Imagine  one 
of  those  venerable  men  ascending  this  pulpit,  after  he 
had  been  in  the  public  places  of  your  resort,  after  he 
had  been  familiarly  acquainted  with  your  domestic 
economy,  after  he  had  seen  thro'  the  flimsy  veils  that 
cover  some  criminal  intrigues,  after  he  had  been  in- 
formed of  certain  secrets  which  I  dare  not  even  hint, 
and  of  some  bare-faced  crimes  that  are  committed  in 
the  sight  of  the  sun :  Would  the  venerable  man,  think 
you,  gratify  your  taste  for  preaching  ?  Would  he  sub- 
mit to  the  laws  that  your  profound  wisdom  tyranni- 
cally imposeth  on  your  preachers  ?  Would  he  gratify 
your  curiosity,  think  you,  with  nice  discussions?  J)o 
you  beheve  he  would  spend  all  his  time  and  pains  in 
conjuring  you  not  to  despair?  Would  he  content  him-- 
sclf,  think  you,  with  coolly  informing  you,  in  a  vague 
and  superficial  manner,  that  you  must  be  virtuous  P 
Would  he  fmish  his  sermon  with  a  pathetic  exhorta- 
tion to  you  not  to  entertain  the  least  doubt  about  your 
salvation  ? 

Ah  I  my  brethren,  methinks  I  hear  the  holy  man, 
methinks  1  hear  the  preacher  animated  with  the  same 
spirit,  that  made  him  boldly  tell  the  murderers  of  Jesus 
Christ ;  '*  Jesus  of  Nazareth,  a  man  approved  of  God 
"  among  you,  by  miracles,  and  wonders,  and  signs,  ye 
''  have  taken,  and  by  wicked  hands  have  crucified 
"  and  slain."  Methinks  I  see  St  Peter,  the  man  who 
was  so  extremely  affected  with  the  sinful  state  of  his 
auditors ;  the  preacher  who  exjiibited  the  objects  that 

he 


254         The  Effitsioii  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 

he  exposed  in  his  sermon,  in  that  point  of  view  which 
was  most  hkely  to  discover  to  his  auditors  the  enor- 
mity of  their  actions :  methinks  I  see  him  tearing  the 
miserable  vails  with  which  men  conceal  the  turpitude 
of  their  crimes,  after  they  have  committed  them.— 
Methinks  I  hear  him  enumerating  the  various  exces- 
ses of  this  nation,  and  saying  I  You  I  you  are  void  of 
ail  sensibihty,  wiien  we  tell  you  of  the  miseries  of  the 
church,  when  we  describe  those  bloody  scenes,  that 
are  made  up  of  dungeons,  gallies,  apostates,  and  mar- 
tyrs. You  I  you  have  silently  stood  by,  and  suffered 
rehgion  to  be  attacked;  and  have  favoured  the  publica- 
tion of  those  execrable  books  which  plead  for  a  system 
of  impiety  and  atheism,  and  which  are  professedly 
written  to  render  virtue  contemptible,  and  the  perfec- 
tions of  God  doubtful.  You  I  ycu  have  spent  twenty, 
thirty,  forty  years,  in  a  criminal  neglect  of  religion, 
without  once  examining  whether  the  doctrines  of  God, 
of  heaven,  and  of  hell,  be  fables  or  facts.  Methinks 
I  hear  him  exhort  each  of  you  to  *'  save  himself  from 
''  this  untoward  generation,"  Acts  ii.  40. 

Let  us  throw  ourselves  at  the  feet  of  the  apostle,  or 
rather,iet  us  prostrate  ourselves  at  the  foot  of  the  throne 
of  that  Jesus,  whom  w^e  have  insulted,  and  who,  in  spite 
of  all  the  insults  that  w^e  have  offered  him,  still  calleth, 
and  still  inviteth  us  to  repent.  Let  each  of  us  say  to 
him,  as  the  convinced  Saul  said  to  him  on  the  road  ta 
Damascus,  "  Lord  !  what  wilt  thou  have  me  to  do  ?" 
chap.  ix.  6.  O  I  may  emotions  of  heart  as  rapid  as 
v/ords,  and  holy  actions  a^r  rapid  as  emotions  of  heart; 
may  all  v/e  are,  and  all  we  have,  may  all  form  one 
grand  flow  of  repentance  ;  and  may  "  the  day  of  sal- 
•'  vation,  the  day  of  the  gladness  of  the  heart,  succeed 
"  that  great  and  notable  day  of  the  Lord,"  Isa.  Ixix.  8. 
Cant.  iii.  2.  the  distant  prospect  of  which  terrifieth  us, 
and  the  coming  of  which  will  involve  the  impenitent 
in  hopeless  destruction.  May  God  hhnself  forpi  these 
dispositions  within  us  !  To  him  be  honour  and  glory 
forever.     Amen. 

SERMON 


255 

SERMON    X. 
The  Sufficiency  of  Revelation. 

LuK£  xvi.  27,  28,  29,  30,  31. 

The  rich  man  said^  I prai/ thee,  father  Abraham,  t'hat 
thou  wonkiest  send  Lazarus  to  viy  fatlwr* s  house  ;  for 
I  have  five  brethren  ;  that  he  may  testifij  unio  theniy 
Jest  they  also  come  into  this  place  of  torment,  Abra- 
ham saith  unto  him.  They  have  Moses,  and  tJte  pro- 
phets ;  let  them  hear  them.  And  he  said,  Nay,  father 
Abraham:  but  if  one  went  unto  them  from  the  dead, 
they  will  repent.  And  he  said  unto  him.  If  they  hear 
not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither  will  they  be  per- 
suaded, though  ene  rose  from  the  dead, 

T  ET  no  77ian  say  when  he  is  tempted,  lam  tempted  of 
God  :for  God  cannot  be  teinpted  with  evil,  neither 
tempteth  he  any  man.  Thus  speaks  St  James  in  the  first 
chapter  of  his  general  epistle,  ver.  13.  The  apostle  pro- 
poseth  in  general  to  humble  his  readers  under  a  sense 
of  their  sins,  and  in  particular  to  oppose  that  monstrous 
error,  which  taxeth  God  with  injusdce  by  making  him 
the  author  of  sin.  This  seenis  at  first  view  quite  need- 
less at  least  in  regard  to  us,  God  the  author  of  sin  ! 
Odious  supposition  !  So  contrary  to  our  surest  ideas  of 
the  Supreme  Being,  so  opposite  to  his  law,  so  incom- 
patible with  the  purity  of  those  eyes,  which  cannot  look 
on  iniquity,  Hab.  i.  13.  that  it  seems  impoF^sible  it  should 
enter  the  mind  of  man  ;  or,  if  rhere  were  any  in  the 
time  of  St  James  who  entertained  such   an  opinion, 

they 


256  The  Sufficiency  oj  Revelatioji, 

they  must  have  been  monsters,  who  were  stifled  in  theii 
birth,  and  who  have  no  followers  in  these  latter  ages. 

Alas  I  my  brethren,  let  us  learn  to  know  ourselves. 
Although  this  notion  seems  repugnant  to  our  reason  at 
first,  yet  it  is  but  too  true,  v/e  secretly  adopt  it ;  v/e 
revolve  it  in  our  minds ;  and  we  even  avail  ourselves 
of  it  to  excuse  our  corruption  and  ignorance.  As  the 
study  of  &i'ath  requires  leisure  and  labour,  man,  na- 
turally indolent  in  matters  of  religion,  usually  avoids 
both,  and,  being  at  the  same  time  inclined  to  evade  a 
charge  of  guilt,  and  to  justify  his  conduct,  seeks  the 
cause  of  his  disorder  in  heaven,  taxeth  God  himself, 
and  accuseth  him  of  having  thrown  such  an  impene- 
trable vail  over  truth,  that  it  cannot  be  discovered  ; 
and  of  having  placed  virtue  on  the  top  of  an  eminence, 
so  lofty  and  so  craggy,  that  it  cannot  be  attained.  It 
is  therefore  necessary  to  oppose  that  doctrine  against 
modern  infidels,  which  the  apostles  opposed  against  an- 
cient heretics,  to  publish,  and  to  establish,  in  our  au- 
ditories, the  maxim  of  St  James,  Let  no  man  sai/  'when 
he  is  tempted^  I  am  tempted  of  God:  for  God  cannot  be 
tempted  ivlth  evil^  neither  tempteth  he  any  man. 

To  this  important  end  vvx  intend  to  direct  our  medi- 
tation to-day,  and  to  this  the  Saviour  ofthe^vorld  di- 
rected the  parable,  the  conclusionof  which  we  have  just 
now  read  to  you.  Our  Saviour  describes  a  man  in  mi- 
sery, w^ho,  by  soliciting  Abraham  toemploy  a  newmean 
for  the  conversion  of  his  brethren,  tacitly  exculpates 
himself,  and  seems  to  tax  Providence  with  having  for- 
ijierly  used  only  imperfect  ajid  improper  means  for  his 
conversion.  Abraham  reprimands  his  audacity,  and 
attests  the  sufficiency  of  the  ordinary  means  of  grace. 
Thus  speaks  our  Evangelist ;  "  The  rich  man  said,  I 
"pray  thee,  father  Abraham,  that  thou  w^ouldest  send 
"  Lazarus  to  my  father's  house  ;  for  I  have  five  brethren ; 
"  that  he  may  testify  unto  them,  lest  they  alsocome  into 
"  this  place  of  torment.  Abraham  saithunto  him,  They 
"  have  Moses  and  the  prophets;  let  them  hear  them. 

"  And 


The  Siifficiency  of  Revelation.  257 

"  And  he  said,  Nay,  father  Abraham  :  but  if  one  went 
"  unto  them  from  the  dead,  they  will  repent.  And 
**  he  said  unto  him,  If  they  hear  not  Moses  and  the 
"  prophets,  neither  will  they  be  persuaded  though  one 
*•'  rose  from  the  dead." 

Before  we  enter  into  a  particular  discussion  of  the 
subject,  we  will  make  two  general  observations,  which 
are  the  ground  of  the  whole  discourse.  The  passage 
we  have  read  to  you  seems  at  first  an  unnatural  associa- 
tion of  heterogeneous  ideas :  a  disembodied,  wicked 
man,  iu flames !  ver.  24. ;  a  conversation  between  a  mi- 
serable man  in  hell,  and  Abraham  amidst  angels  in 
glory  I  compassion  in  a  damned  soul,  revolving  in 
the  horrors  of  hell  !  The  combination  of  these  ideas 
doth  not  appear  natural,  and  therefore  they  necessarily 
put  us  on  inquiring.  Is  this  a  bare  history  ?  Is  it  the 
relation  of  an  event  that  actually  came  to  pass,  but 
coloured  with  borrowed  imagery,  which  Jesus  Christ, 
according  to  his  usual  custom,  employed  to  convey  to 
his  hearers  some  important  truth  ? 

We  shall  enter  no  further  at  present  into  a  discussion 
of  these  articles  than  the  subject  before  us  requires. 
Whether  the  Lord  narrate  a  real  history,  as  some  pre- 
tend,  because  Lazarus  is  named,  and  because  a  circum- 
stantial detail  agrees  better  with  real  facts  than  with 
fiction :  or  whether  the  whole  be  a  parable,  which  seems 
not  unlikely,  especially  if,  as  some  critics  affirm*,  some 
ancient  manuscripts  introduce  the  passage  with  these 
words,  Jesus  spake  a  parable,  saying,  There  was 
a  certain  rich  man,  and  so  on  :  or  whether,  as  in  many 
other  cases,  it  be  a  mixture  of  real  history,  coloured 
with  parabolical  simile  :  which  of  these  opinions  soever 
we  embrace,  (and,  by  the  way,  it  is  not  of  any  great 
consequence  to  determine  which  is  the  true  one,)  our 
text,  it  is  certain,  cannot  be  taken  in  a  strict  literal 
sense.  It  cannot  be  said,  either  that  the  rich  man  in 
hell  conversed  with  Abraham  in  heaven,  Or  that  he 

Vol.  IL  R  discovered 

*  See  Dr  Mill'?  Greek  Testament, 


i58  The  Siifficienci/  of  Re^elatioiu 

<liscavered  any  tenderness  for  his  brethren.  No, -there 
is  no  comniuniGation,  my  brethren,  between  glofifie^d 
^saints  and  the  prisoners  whom  the  vengeance  of  God 
confineth  in  hell.  The  great  gulf  ih.'a.iis  fixed  between 
them,  prevents  their  approach  to  one  another,  and 
deprives  them  of  all  converse  together.  Moreover, 
death,  which  separateth  us  from  all  the  living,  and 
from  all  the  objects  of  our  passions,  effaceth  them 
from  our  memories,  and  detacheth  them  from  our 
hearts.  And  although  the  benevolence  of  the  glori- 
fied saints  may  incline  them  to  interest  themselves  in 
the  state  of  the  militant  church,  yet  the  torments  of 
the  damned  exclude  all  concern  from  their  minds, 
^except  that  of  their  own  tormenting  horrors*-*-'  :> --^^-^ 

Our  next  observation  is  on  the  answer  of  Abi%i  ' 
ham  ;  If  they  hear  not  Moses  and  the  prophets^  neither 
will  they  he  persuaded  though  one  rose  from  the  dead-. 
What  a  paradox  I  Who  would  not  be  affected  and 
converted,  on  seeing  one  return  from  the  other  w^orld 
to  attest  the  truth  of  the  gospel  ?  Could  the  tyrants  of 
our  days  see  the  places  where  Nero,  Dioclesian,  and 
.Decius,  expiate  their  cruelties  to  the  primitive  chris-- 
tians,  would  they  persist  in  their  barbarities?  Were 
that  proud  son,  who  wastes  in  so  much  luxury  the 
wealth  that  his  father  accumulated  by  his  extortions, 
to  behold  his  parent  in  devouring  fire,  would  he  dare 
to  abandon  himself  to  his  stupid  pleasures,  and  to  re- 
tain a  patrimony  which  was  acquired  with  a  curse  ? 
This  difficulty  is  the  more  considerable,  because  Jesus 
Christ  speaks  to  Jews.  The  Jews  were  less  acquaint- 
ed with  the  state  of  souls  after  death  than  christians 
are.  It  should  seem,  the  rising  of  a  person  from  the 
dead,  by  increasing  their  knowledge  on  that  article, 
would  have  been  a  much  stronger  motive  to  piety 
than  all  their  ordinary  means  of  revelation. 

My  brethren,  this  is  one  of  those  undeniable  truths 
which,  although  some  particular  exception  may  be 
made  to  them,  are  yet  strictly  verified  in  the  ordinary 

course 


The  Sufficiency  of  Revelation.  259 

4ipurse  of  things.  The  precise  meaning  of  our  Sa- 
J^our,  if  I  mistake  not,  may  be  included  in  two  pro- 
positions, of  which  the  one  regards  infidels,  and  the 
other  libertines. 

First.  The  revelation  that  God  addresseth  to  us  hath 
evidence  of  its  truth  suflicient  to  convince  every  rea- 
sonable creature  who  will  take  the  pains  to  examine  it. 

Secondly.  God  hath  founded  the  gospel  exhorta- 
tions to  virtue  on  motives  the  most  proper  to  procure 
obedience. 

From  these  two  propositions  it  follows,  that  men 
have  no  right  to  require  either  a  clearer  revelation,  or 
stronger  motives  to  obey  it :  and  that,  were  God  to  in- 
dulge  the  unjust  pretensions  of  sinners ;  were  he  even 
to  condescend  to  send  persons  from  the  dead,  to  attest 
the  truth  of  the  gospel,  and  to  address  us  by  new  mo- 
tives, it  is  probable,  not  to  say  certain,  that  the  new^ 
prodigy  woidd  neither  effect  the  conviction  of  unbe- 
lievers, nor  the  conversion  of  libertines.  My  text  is 
an  apology  for  religion,  and  such  I  intend  this  sermon 
to  be.  An  apology  for  Christianity,  against  the  difficult 
ties  of  infidels  ;  and  an  apology  for  Christianity  against 
the  subterfuges  of  libertines.  Let  us  endeavour  to 
convince  both,  that  he,  who  resisteth  Moses  and  the 
prophets,  or  rather,  Jesus  Christ,  the  apostles,  and  the 
gospel,  (for  we  preach  to  a  christian  auditory,)  would 
not  yield  to  any  evidence  that  might  arise  from  the 
testimony  of  a  person  raised  from  the  dead.  If  the 
obscurity  of  revelation  under  the  Mosaical  economy 
seem  to  render  the  proposition  in  the  text  less  evident 
in  regard  to  the  Jews,  we  will  endeavour  to  remove 
this  difficulty  at  the  close  of  this  discourse. 

I.  We  begin  with  unbelievers,  and  w^e  reduce  them 
to  five  classes.  The  first  consists  of  stupid  infidels ; 
the  next  of  negligent  infidels  ;  the  third  of  witty  infi- 
dels ;  the  fourth  is  made  up  of  those  who  are  interested 
in  infidelity ;  and  the  last  we  call  Philosophical  infi- 

R  3  dels. 


2t60  Tlie  Sufficiency  of  Rcvdat^. 

dels.  We  affirm  that  the  proposition  of  J^sui^^'CfiriS 
in  the  text,  that  is,  that  it  would  not  be  just,  that,  in 
general,  it  would  be  useless,  to  evoke  the  dead  to  at- 
test the  truth  of  revelation,  is  true  in  regard  to  these 
five  classes  of  unbelievers.  -'     -  :  r^j 

1.  We  place  the  stupid  infidel  in  the  first  rank.  By 
a  stupid  infidel  we  mean  a  person,  whose  genius  is  so 
small,  that  he  is  incapable  of  entering  into  the  easiest 
arguments,  and  of  comprehending  the  plainest  dis- 
cussions ;  whose  dark  and  disordered  mind  perplexeth 
and  enslaveth  reason  ;  and  whom  God  seems  to  have 
placed  in  society  chiefly  for  the  sake  of  rendering  \h& 
capacities  of  others  more  conspicuous.  Unbelievers 
of  this  kind  attend  to  the  mysteries  of  Christianity  with 
an  incapacity  equal  to  that  which  they  discover  in  the 
ordinary  affairs  of  life,  and  they  refuse  to  believe, 
because  they  are  incapable  of  perceiving  motives  of 
credibility.  Have  these  people,  you  will  ask,  no  right 
to  require  a  revelation  more  proportional  to  their  ca- 
pacities ;  and  may  God,  agreeably  to  exact  rules  of 
justice  and  goodness,  refer  them  to  the  present  reve- 
lation? To  this  we  have  two  things  to  answer.      "''^ 

First.  There  would  be  some  ground  for  this  pretence, 
were  God  to  exact  of  dull  capacities  a  faith  as  great  as 
that  which  he  requirelh  of  great,  lively,  and  capable 
minds.  But  the  scriptures  attest  a  truth  that  perfectly 
agrees  with  the  perfections  of  God;  that  is,  that  the 
number  of  talents,  which  God  giveth  to  mankind,  will 
regulate  the  account  which  he  will  require  of  them  in 
that  great  day  when  he  will  come  to  judge  the  \vorld. 
As  many  as  have  sinned  without  law,  Rom,  ii.  12.  (re- 
member these  maxims,  you  faint  and  trembling  con- 
sciences; you  whose  minds  are  fruitful  in  doubts  and 
jfears,  and  who,  after  you  have  made  a  thousand  labori- 
ous researches,  tremble  lest  you  should  have  taken  the 
semblance  of  truth  for  truth  itself.)  As  many  as  have  sin- 
ned without  law,  shall  also  perish  without  law  ;  that  is  to 
^ay,  without  being  judged  by  any  law,  which  they  have 

not 


The  Su^cieiicij  of  Revelation^  261- 

riot  received.  That  servant,  which  knew  his  Lord^s  will, 
and  prepared  not /lirnself,  neither  did  according  to  his  will^ 
shall  be  beaten  with  more  stripes,  than  he  who  knew  it  not. 
It  shall  be  more  tolerable  for  Tyre  and  Sidon  than  for  the. 
cities  in  which  Jesus  Christ  himselfpreached  his  gospel, 
Luke  xii.  47.  Matt.  xi.  22.    If  it  were  granted,  then, 
that  such  a  prodigy  as  the  appearance  of  one  risen 
from  the  dead  would  sti'ike  a  stupid  infidel,  God  is .. 
not  obliged  to  raise  one ;  because  he  will  regulate  his 
judgment,  not  only  by  the  nature  of  that  revelation, 
which  was  addressed  to  him,  but  also  by  that  portion 
of  capacity  which  was  given  him  to  comprehend  it. 
I   would   impress  this  observation  on  those   savage 
souls,  who  act  as  if  they  were  commissioned  to  dis- 
pense the  treasures  of  divine  justice,  and  who  are  as 
liberal  of  the  judgments  of  God  as  he  is  of  his  eternal 
mercy.     No,  my  brethren,  these  are  not  the  saints, 
who  shall  judge  tlw  world,  1  Cor.  vi.  2.  These  are  the, 
wicked  and  slothful  servants,  who  accuse  their  master  of 
reaping  where  he  hath  not  sown.  Matt.  xxv.  24.     The 
blessed  God,  who  is  less  inclined  to  punish  than  to  parr 
don,  will  never  impute  to  his  creatures  the  errors  of 
an  invincible  ignorance.  Without  this  consideration,* 
I  own,  although  I  am  confirmed  in  believing  my  re- , 
ligion  by  the  clearest  evidence,  y^t  nay  conscience , 
would  be  racked  with  continual  fears,  and  the  innu- 
merable experiences  I  have  had  of  the  imperfection  of 
my  knowledge  v/ould  fill  me  with  horror  and  terror, 
even  while  in  the  sincerest  manner  I  should  apply 
my  utmost  attention  to  my  salvation. 

We  affirm,  in  the  second  place,  that  the  fundamental 
truths  of  religion  lie  within  the  reach  of  people  of  the  mean- ^ 
est  capacities,  if  they  will  take  the  pains  to  examine  them. 
This  is  one  of  the  bases  of  our  reformation.  Happy 
protestants !  (by  the  way)  were  you  always  to  act  con- 
sistently with  your  own  principles,  if,  either  by  an  ob- 
stinate heresy,  or  by  an  orthodoxy  too  scholastic,  you 
were  not  almost  al^va^ys  falling  into  one  of  these  two 

extremes 


262  The  Sufficiency  of  Revelation, 

extremes,  either  into  that  gf  renouncing  Christianity, 
by  explaining  away  its  fundamental  truths;  or,  if  I  may 
venture  to  speak  so,  into  that  of  sinjcing  it,  by  over- 
loading it  with  the  embarrassing  disputes  of  the  schools. 
'•"^ We  say,  then,  that  the  fundamental  points  of  Chris- 
tianity lie  within  the  reach  of  the  narrowest  capacities. 
The  christian  religion  teacheth  us,  that  God  created 
the  World.  Doth  not  this  truth,  which  philosophy 
hath  established  on  so  many  abstract  and  metaphysical 
proofs,  demonstrate  itself  to  our  minds,  to  our  eyes, 
and  to  all  our  senses  ?  Do  not  the  innumerable  objects 
of  sense,  which  surround  us,  most  emphatically  an- 
nounce the  existence  and  the  glory  of  the  Creator  ? 
The  christian  religion  commandeth  us  to  live  holily. 
Doth  not  this  truth  also  demonstrate  itself?  Is  not  the 
voice  of  conscience  in  concert  with  that  of  religion  ; 
doth  it  not  give  evidence  in  favour  of  the  laws  which 
religion  prescribes  ?  The  christian  religion  teacheth 
us,  that  Jesus  Christ  came  into  the  world,  that  he  li- 
ved among  men,  that  he  died,  that  he  rose  again,  that 
he  gave  the  Holy  Spirit  to  the  first  heralds  of  the  gos- 
pel ;  these  are  facts,  and  we  maintain  that  these  facts 
are  supported  by  proofs,  so  clear,  and  so  easy,  that 
men  must  be  entirely  destitute  of  every  degree  of  im- 
partial reason  not  to  perceive  their  evidence. 

Further.  Take  the  controversies  that  now  subsist 
among  christians,  and  it  wdll  appear  that  a  man  of  a 
very  moderate  degree  of  sense  may  distinguish  truth 
from  error  on  these  articles.  For,  my  brethren,  we 
ought  not  to  be  intimidated,  either  at  the  authority,  or 
at  the  characters,  of  those  who  start  difficulties.  The 
greatest  geniusses  have  often  maintained  the  greatest 
absurdities.  It  hath  been  affirmed,  that  there  is  no 
^lotion  in  nature.  Some  philosophers,  and  philosophers 
of  name,  have  ventured  to  maintain  that  there  is  no 
matter,  and  others  have  doubted  of  their  own  existence. 
If  you  determine  to  admit  no  propositions,  that  have 
been  denied,  or  disputed,  you  will  never  admit  any. 

Consider 


The  Sufficiency  of  Revelation.  2§| 

Consider  modern  controversies  with  a  cool  impariia^ 
Ij  •  and  you  will  acknowledge,  that  an  ordniary  c^ 
pacity  may  discern  the  true  from  the  false  in  the  con- 
tested points.  A  man  of  an  ordinary  capacity  may 
easily  perceive,  in  reading  the  holy  scriptures,  that  the 
author  of  that  book  neither  intended  to  teach  us  the 
worship  of  images,  nor  the  invocation  of  saints,  nor 
transubstantiation,  nor  purgatory.  A  moderate  capa- 
city may  conclude,  that  the  scriptures,  by  attributing 
to  Jesus  Christ  the  names,  the  perfections,  the  works, 
and  the  worship  of  God,,  mean  to  teach  us  that  he  is 
God.  A  moderate  capacity  is  capable  of  discovering, 
that  the  same  scriptures,  by  comparing  us  to  the  deaf, 
the  bhnd,  the  dead,  the  things  which  are  not,.  1  Cor.  i. 
28.  intend  to  teach  us  that  we  have  need  of  grace,  and 
that  it  is  impossible  to  be  saved  without  its  assistance. 
Men,  wiio  have  not  genius  and  penetration  enough  to 
comprehend  these  truths,  would  not  be  capable  of  de- 
termining whether  the  attestation  of  one  sent  from  the 
dead  were  inconclusive  or  demonstrative.  But  infidels 
are  rarely  found  among  people  of  the  stupid  class ;  their 
fault  is,  in  general,  the  believing  of  too  much,  and 
not  the  crediting  of  too  little.  Let  us  pass,  then,  to 
the  next  article. 

2.  We  have  put  into  a  second  class  negligent  infidels^ 
those  who  refuse  to  believe,  because  they  will  not  take 
the  pains  to  examine.  Let  us  prove  the  truth  of  the 
proposition  in  the  text  in  regard  to  them,  and  let  us 
shew,  that  if  they  resist  ordinary  evidence,  neither 
would  theij  be  persuaded  tho'  one  rose  from  the  dead.^ 

Careless  people  are  extremely  rash,  if  they  require 
new  proofs  of  the  truth  of  Christianity.  If,  indeed, 
they  had  made  laborious  searches  ;  if  they  had  weighed 
our  arguments ;  if  they  had  examined  our  systems ;  if, 
after  all  their  inquiries,  they  had  not  been  able  to  dis- 
cover any  thing  satisfactory  on  the  side  of  religion ;  if 
our  gospel  were  destitute  of  proof ;  if,  notwithstanding 
this  defect,  God  would  condemn  them  for  not  believing, 
and,  instead  of  proposing  new  arguments,  would  insist 

on 


264        The  Sufficiency  oj  Revelation. 

on  their  yielding  to  arguments,  which  neither  per- 
suaded the  judgment,  nor  affected  the  heart;  they 
would  have  reason  to  complain.  But  how  astonishing 
is  the  injustice  and  ingratitude  of  mankind  I  God  hath 
revealed  himself  to  them  in  the  most  tender  and  af- 
fectionate manner.  He  hath  announced  those  truths, 
in  which  they  are  the  most  deeply  interested,  a  hell, 
a  heaven,  a  solemn  alternative  of  endless  felicity,  or 
eternal  misery.  He  hath  accompanied  these  truths 
with  a  thousand  plain  proofs,  proofs  of  fact,  proofs  of 
reason,  proofs  of  sentiment.  He  hath  omitted  nothing 
that  is  adapted  to  the  purposes  of  convincing  and  per- 
suading us.  Careless  unbelievers  will  not  deign  to 
look  at  these  arguments ;  they  will  not  condescend  to 
dig  the  field,  in  which  God  hath  hid  his  treasure ;  they 
choose  rather  to  wander  after  a  thousand  vain  and 
useless  objects,  and  to  be  a  burden  to  themselves  thro' 
the  fatigues  of  idleness,  than  to  confine  themselves  to 
the  study  of  religion ;  and,  at  length,  they  complain 
that  religion  is  obscure.  They,  who  attest  the  truth 
to  you,  are  venerable  persons.  They  tell  you  they 
have  read,  weighed,  and  examined  the  matter,  and 
they  offer  to  explain,  to  prove,  to  demonstrate  it  to 
you>  All  this  does  not  signify,  you  will  not  honour 
them  with  your  attention.  They  exhort  you,  and 
assure  you,  that  salvation,  that  your  souls,  that  eternal 
felicity,  are  articles  of  the  utmost  importance,  and  re- 
quire a  serious  attention :  It  does  not  signify,  none  of 
these  considerations  move  you;  and,  as  we  said  just 
now,  you  choose  rather  to  attach  yourselves  to  trite  and 
rrifling  affairs ;  you  choose  rather  to  spend  your  time  in 
tedious  and  insipid  talk  ;  you  choose  rather  to  exhaust 
your  strength  in  the  insupportable  languors  of  idleness, 
than  to  devote  one  year,  one  month,  one  day,  of  your 
lives  to  the  examination  of  religion  :  and  after  you  have 
gone  this  perpetual  round  of  negligence,  you  complain 
of  God ;  it  is  he  who  conducts  you  thro'  vallies  of 
darkness ;  it  is  he  who  leads  you  into  inextricable  la- 
byrinths of  illusions  and  doubts  !    Ought  the  Deity, 

then, 


The  Sufficiency  of  Revelation.  265 

then,  to  regulate  his  economy  by  your  caprices ;  ought 
he  to  humour  your  wild  fancies,  and  to  reveal  himself 
exactly  in  the  way;  and  punctually  at  the  time,  which 
you  shall  think  proper  to  prescribe  to  him  ? 

This  is  not  all.  It  is  certain,  were  God  to  grant 
persons  of  this  character  that  indulgence  which  the 
wicked  rich  man  required;  were  God  actually  toevoke 
the  dead  from  the  other  world  to  reveal  what  was 
doing  there ;  it  is  very  plain,  they  would  receive  no 
conviction,  and  the  same  fund  of  negligence,  which 
prevents  their  adherence  to  religion  now,  would  con- 
tinue an  invincible  obstacle  to  their  faith,  even  after  it 
had  been  confirmed  in  a  new  and  extraordinary  manner. 
This  is  not  a  paradox,  it  is  a  demonstration.  The  ap- 
parition in  question  would  require  a  chain  of  principles 
and  consequences.  It  would  be  liable  to  a  great  num- 
ber of  difficulties,  and  difficulties  greater  than  those 
w^hich  are  novv  objected  against  religion.  It  must  be 
inquired,  first,  whether  he,  who  saw  the  apparition, 
were  free  from  all  disorder  of  mind  when  he  saw  it ; 
or  whether  it  were  not  the  efi^ect  of  a  momentary  in- 
sanity, or  of  a  profound  reverie.  It  must  be  examined 
further,  whether  the  apparition  really  came  from  the 
other  world,  or  whether  i^  were  not  exhibited  by  the 
craft  of  some  head  of  a  party,  like  those  which  are 
seen  in  monasteries,  like  those  which  were  rumoured 
about  at  the  reformation  to  impose  on  the  credulity  of 
the  populace;  many  instances  of  which  may  be  seen  in 
a  treatise  on  spectres^  written  by  one  of  our  divines  ^. 
On  supposition  that  it  were  a  dead  person  sent  from 
the  other  world,  it  would  be  necessary  to  examine, 
whether  he  were  sent  by  God,  or  by  the  enemy  of  our 
salvation,  who,  under  a  pretence  of  reforming  us,  was 
setting  snares  for  our  innocence,  and  creating  scruples 
in  our  minds.  If  it  were  proved  that  the  vision  came 
from  God,  it  must  still  be  inquired,  whether  it  w^ere  an 
effect  of  the  judgment  of  that  God,  who  judicially 

hardens 

*  J,avatey. 


266  The  Sufficiencij  of  Rt^vdatims 

hardeas  some,  by  sending  them  strong  delusions^that  tfiej^: 
sJmuld  believe  a  lie  ^because  they  received  not  the  love  of 
the  truth,  2  Thess.  ii.  2.  or  whether  it  were  an  effect.of 
his  grace  condescending  to  smooth  the  path  of  religion. 
Ail  these  questions,  and  a  thousand  more  of  the  same 
kind,  which  naturally  belong  to  this  matter,  would 
require  time,  and  study,  and  pains.     They  would  re- 
quire the  merchant  to  suspend  his  commercial  business, 
the  libertine  to  lay  aside  his  pleasures,  the  soldier  to . 
quit  for  a  while  his  profession  of  arms,  and  to  devote, 
himself  to  retirement  and  meditation.     They  would 
require  them  to  consult  reason,  scripture,  and  history. 
The  same  fund  of  carelessness,  that  now  causeth  the 
obstinacy    of  our  infidel,  would  cause  it  then,  and 
would  prevent   his    undertaking   that    examination, 
which  would  be  absolutely  necessary  in  order  to  de* 
termine  whether  the  apparition  proved  the  truth  of 
that  religion  which  it  attested,  and  whether  all  the 
difficulties,  that  attended  it,  could  be  removed.     We 
may  then  say  in  regard  to  idle  infidels,  "  they  have 
'Moses  and  the  prophets;  let  them  hear  them.     If 
'  rtliey  hear  not  Moses  and  the  prophets,  neither  will 
^they  be  persuaded  tho*  one  rose  from  the  dead."  .  ,. 
,,3'  The  same  observations  which  we  have  just  now 
-vatde,  in  regard  to  negligent  people,  are  equally  ap- 
licable  to  a  third  order  of  persons,  whom   we  have 
/dlled  witti/  injidelsy  and  we  class  them  by  themselves, 
•nly  on  account  of  their  rank  in  the  world,  and  of  the 
J:^cendency  which  they  know  how  to  obtain  over  the 
'earts  of  mankind.     We  denominate  those  witty  in- 
idels,  who,  agreeably  to  the  taste  of  the  last  age,  have 
'^ot  cultivated  their  geniusses  with  a  sound  and  ra- 
ional  philosophy  ;  but  have  made  an  ample  collection 
-fall  the  tinsel  of  the  sciences  (pardon  this  expression,) 
:nd  have  polished  and  enriched  their  fancies  at  the  ex- 
pence  of  their  judgments.  They  are  quick  at  repartee, 
imart  in  answering;  their  wit  sparkles,  and  their  raille- 
Yiesbite  ;  and,  being  infatuated  with  a  conceit  of  their  • 
:•     :/■  own 


The  Sufficiency  of  Revehtion.  •       267 

own  superiority,  thej  dispense  with  those  rules  of  ex- 
amination, in  their  own  favour,  to  which  the  rest  of 
niankind  are  confined,  and  study  only  to  excel  in  sub- 
stituting just  for  solid  argument.  Dispute  as  long  as 
we  will  with  a  man  of  this  character,  we  can  never  ob- 
tain an  exact  answer.  His  first  reply  is  a  bit  of  histo- 
rical erudition.  Next  he  will  quote  one  line  frorri 
Horace,  and  two  from  Juvenal,  and,  by  eluding  in  this 
manner  our  arguments  and  objections,  he  will  think 
himself  the  victor,  because  he  knew  how  to  avoid  the 
combat,  and  he  will,  therefore,  think  himself  authoii- 
<ied  to  persist  in  infidelity. 

The  same  reflections  which  regard  the  negligent  in- 
fidel, are  applicable  to  him,  whom  we  oppose  in  this 
article.  It  is  neither  agreeable  to  the  justice,  nor  to 
the  wisdom  of  God,  to  employ  new^  evidence  in  his 
favour.  Not  to  his  justice ;  for  how  can  a  man  who 
is  profane  by  profession,  a  man  who,  for  the  sake  of 
rendering  himself  agreeable  to  his  companions,  and  of 
procuring  the  reputation  of  ingenuity,  ridicules  the 
most  grave  and  serious  truths,  declares  open  war  with 
God,  and  jests  with  the  most  sacred  things  ;  how  can  a 
man  of  this  character  be  an  object  of  the  love  of  God  ? 
Why  should  God  alter  the  economy  of  his  Spirit  and 
grace  in  his  favour  ?  Neither  is  it  agreeable  to  his 
wisdom :  but,  as  what  we  have  said  on  the  foregoing 
article  may  be  applied  to  this,  we  pass  to  the  fourth 
class  of  unbelievers,  whom  we  have  denominated  in- 
terested infidels,  infidels,  the  gratifications  of  whose 
passions  render  the  destruction  of  Christianity  necessary 
to  them. 

4.  Infidels  through  depraved  passions,  it  must  be 
granted,  are  very  numerous.  I  cannot  help  asking,  why, 
on  every  other  article  but  that  of  religion,  our  infidels 
content  themselves  with  a  certain  degree  of  evidence, 
whereas  on  this  they  cannot  see  in  the  clearest  light  ? 
The  more  we  examine,  the  clearer  we  perceive,  that 
the  reason  originates  in  the  passions :  other  subjects 

either 


2||S^         The  Su£iciency  of  Revelation, 

either  very  little,  or  not  at  all,  interest  their  passions : 
these,  they  see ;  religion  sways  the  passions ;  to  religion 
therefore  they  are  blind.  Whether  the  sun  revolve 
around  the  earth,  to  illuminate  it ;  or  whether  the  earth 
revolve  around  the  sun,  to  beg,  as  it  were,  light  and  in- 
fluence from  it :  whether  matter  be  infinitely  divisible^ 
or  whether  there  be  atoms,  properly  so  called  :  whether 
there  be  a  vacuum  in  nature  ;  or  whether  nature  abhor 
a  void  :  take  which  side  we  will  on,  these  questions,  we 
may  continue  covetous  or  ambitious,  imperious,  op- 
pressive, and  proud.  Pastors  may  be  negligent,  pa- 
rents careless,  children  disobedient,  friends  faithless. 
But  whether  there  be  a  God ;  whcthtr  he  have  appointed 
a  day^  in  which  he  will  judge  the  world  in  righteousness^ 
Acts  xvii.  32. ;  whether  an  eye,  an  invisible  eye,  watch 
all  our  actions,  and  discover  all  our  secret  thoughts  : 
these  are  questions,  which  shock  our  prejudices,  attack 
our  passions,  thwart  and  disconcert  all  our  whole 
system  of  cupidity. 

Unbelievers,  whose  passions  are  interested  in  in- 
fidelity, are  affected  in  this  manner ;  and  nothing  can 
be  easier  to  prove,  than  that  the  resurrection  of  a  de^d 
person  would  produce  no  conviction  of  truth  in  them. 
Enter  into  your  own  hearts,^ my  brethren;  the  proof 
of  our  proposition  may  be  found  there.  The  senti- 
ments of  the  heart  have  a  close  connection  with  the 
ideas  of  the  mind,  and  our  passions  resemble  prisms, 
which  divide  every  ray,  and  colour  every  object  with 
an  artificial  hue. 

For  example :  employ  a  sensible  christian  to  reconcile 
two  enemies,  and  you  will  admire  the  wise  and  equitable 
manner  in  which  he  would  refute  every  sophism  that 
passion  couldinvent.  Ifthe  ground  of  complaint  should 
be  exaggerated,  he  would  instantly  hold  the  balance 
of  equity,  and  retrench  what  anger  may  have  added 
to  truth.  If  the  offended  should  say,  he  hath  received 
a  grievous  injury,  he  would  instantly  answer,  that  be- 
tween two  jarring  christians,  it  is  immaterial  to  inquire^ 

in 


The  SvfficiencTj  of  Bevdatioiu  269 

in  this  case,  the  degree  of  iniquity  and  irrationality  in 
the  offence;  the  immediate  business,  he  would  sa^,is 
the  reasonableness  of  forgiveness.  If  the  offended 
should  alledge,  that  he  hath  often  forgiven,  he  would 
reply,  this  is  exactly  the  case  between  the  Judge  of  the 
world  and  his  offending  creatures,  and  yet,  he  would 
add,  the  insulting  of  a  thousand  perfections,  the  for- 
getting of  a  thousand  favours,  the  falsifying  of  a  thou*- 
sand  oaths,  the  violating  of  a  thousand  resolutions,  do 
not  prevent  God  from  openmg  the  treasures  of  his  mer~ 
cy  to  us.  If  the  complainant  should  have  recourse  to  the 
ordinary  subterfuge,  and  should  protest  that  he  had  no 
animosity  in  his  heart,  only  he  is  resolved  to  have  no 
future  intimacy  Vvdth  a  man  so  odious,  he  would  dissi- 
pate the  gross  illusion,  by  urging  the  example  of  a  mer- 
ciful God,  who  doth  not  content  himself  with  merely 
forgiving  us,  but,  in  spite  of  all  our  most  enormous 
crimes,  uniteth  himself  to  us  by  the  tenderest  relations. 
Lovely  morality,  my  brethren  I  Admirable  effort  of 
a  mind,  contemplating  truth  without  prejudice  and 
passion  !  But  place  this  arbitrator,  who  preacheth 
such  a  morality,  in  different  circumstances.  Instead 
of  a  referee,  make  him  a  party ;  instead  of  a  mediator 
between  contending  parties,  put  him  in  place  of  one 
of  them.  Employ  his  own  arguments  to  convince  him, 
and,  astonishing!  he  will  consider  each  as  a  sophism, 
for  all  his  arguments  now  stand  at  the  tribunal  of  a  heart 
full  of  wrath  and  revenge.  So  true  it  is,  that  our  pas-- 
sions  alter  our  ideas,  and  that  the  clearest  arguments 
are  divested  of  all  their  evidence,  when  they  appear 
before  an  interested  man. 

Do  you  seriously  think,  that  the  divines  of  the  church 
of  Rome,  when  they  dispute  with  us,  for  example,  on 
the  doctrines  of  indulgences  and  purgatory,  do  you 
really  think  they  require  proofs  and  arguments  of  us? 
Not  they.  Tlie  more  clearly  we  reason  against  them, 
the  more  furiously  are  they  irritated  against  us.  Me- 
thinks  I  see  them  calculating  the  profits  of  their  doc- 
trines 


270  The  Siifficiency  of  Hevelation, 

trines  to  themselves,  consulting  that  scandalous  book, 
in  which  the  price  of  every  crmie  is  rated,  so  much 
for  a  murder,  so  much  for  assassination,  so  much  for 
incest ;  and  fmding  in  each  part  of  the  inexhaustible 
revenue  of  the  sins  of  mankind,  arguments  to  establish 
their  belief  *.  Thus  our  interested  infidels  reject  the 
clearest  arguments.  It  is  a  fixed  point  with  them, 
that  the  religion  which  indulgeth  their  passions  is 
the  best  religion,  and  that  which  restrains  them  most, 
the  worst.  This  is  the  rule,  this  is  the  touchstone, 
by  which  they  examine  all  things.  The  more  proofs 
ive  produce  for  religion,  the  more  we  prejudice  them 
against  religion ;  because  the  more  forcible  our  argu- 
aients  are,  the  more  effectually  we  oppose  their  pas- 
;ions  ;  the  more  we  oppose  their  passions,  the  more  we 
alienate  them  from  that  religion  which  opposeth  them. 
I  appeal  to  experience.  The  scripture  affords  us  a 
plain  example,  and  a  full  comment,  in  the  behaviour 
of  the  unbelieving  Jews  who  lived  in  the  time  of  Jesus 
Christ.  Jesus  Christ  preached ;  he  condemned  the 
prejudices  of  the  synagogue;  he  subverted  the  favourite 
carnal  systems  of  the  Jews  ;  he  attacked  the  vices  of 

their 

*  Mr  Saurin  means  ihe  tax-book  of  the  Roman  chancery^  which 
we  have  mentioned  in  the  preface  to  the  1st  vol.  p.  7.  This  scan- 
dalous book  was  first  printed  at  Rome  in  1514',  then  at  Cologne  irt 
1515,  at  Paris  In  1520,  and  often  -at  other  places  since.  It  is  en- 
titled, Regule,  Constitutiones,  Reservations  Cancellarie  S.  Domn: 
fioftri  Leonis  Pafie  decimi^  &c. 

There  we  meet  with  such  articles  as  these. 

Absolution  for  killing  orre's  father  or  mother  1  ducat— -v  carlins. 

Ditto,  For  all  the  acts  of  lexvdness  committed  by  a  clerk — with  a 
dispensation  to  be  capable  of  taking  orders,  and  to  hold  ecclesias- 
tical benefits,  &.c.  —  —  36^tourn.  3  due. 

Ditto,  For  one  who  shall  keep  a  concubine,  with  a  dispensation  t© 
take  orders,  &c.  —  —  21  tour.  5  due.  9  carl. 

As  if  this  traffic  were  not  scandalous  enough  of  itself,  it  is  added, 
Ta  nota  diligcnter,  &.c.  Take  notice  fiart'icnlarlif^  that  such  graces  and 
dlifiensations  are  not  granted  to  the  POOR  jfor,  not  having  ivherctvith 
io  payi,  they  cannot  he  COMrOR.TED. 

The  zeal  of  the  reformers  against  the  church  of  Rome  ceaseth 
fo  appear  intemperate  in  my  eye,  when  I  consider  these  detestable 
<s?!ormities. 


Tlie  Sufficiency  qf  Revelation.  271 

their  superiors ;  he  preached  against  the  irregularity  of 
their  morals;  he  unmasked  the  hypocritical  Pharisees. 
These  attacks  were  sufficient  to  excite  their  rage  and 
n>adness  ;  and  they,  being  disposed  to  gratify  their  an- 
ger, examined  the  doctrine  of  Jesus  Christ  only  for  the 
sake  of  finding  fault  with  it.  Jesus  Christ  must  be  de- 
stroyed ;  for  this  purpose,  snares  must  be  laid  for  his  in- 
nocence, his  doctrine  must  be  condemned,  and  he 
must  be  proved,  if  possible,  a  false  Messiah.     They 
interrogate  him  on  articles  of  religion  and  policy  ;  but 
Jesus  Christ  gives  satisfactory    answers  to  all  their 
questions.    They  examine  his  morals ;  but  every  step 
of  his  life  appears  wise  and  good.    They  sift  his  con-- 
versation  ;  but  every  expression  is  always  with  grace 
seasoned  with  salt,  Col.  ivXG.  None  of  these  schemes 
will  effect  their  designs.  The  man,  say  they^  preachelh 
a  new  doctrine  ;  if  he  were  sent  of  God,  he  w^ould  pro 
duce  some  proof  of  his  mission ;  Moses,  and  the  pro- 
phets,  wrought   miracles.     Jesus  Christ  performetli 
miracles,  he  heals  the  sick,  raises  the  dead,  calms  the 
winds  and  the  waves,  and  altereth  all  the  lav/s  of  na- 
ture.    He  operateth  more  than  enough  to  persuade 
impartial  minds.     But  their  passions  suggest  answers. 
This  fellow  doth  not  cast  out  devils,  say  they,  but  hij  BeeU 
zehiib\  the  prince  of  the  devils,  Matt.  xii.  24.    But  La- 
zarus, who  was  raised  from  the  dead,  and  who  is  now 
living  among  you,  speaks  in  favour  of  Jesus  Christ ; 
Lazarus  must  be  made  away  with ;  he  must  be  a  se  ^ 
cond  time  laid  in  the  tomb ;  all  the  traces  of  the  glo- 
ry of  Jesus  Christ  must  be  taken  away  ;  and  that  light, 
which  is  already  too  clear,  and  which  will  hereafter 
be  still  clearer,  must  be  extinguished,  lest  it  should 
discover,  expose,  and  perplex  us. 

This  is  a  natural  image  of  a  passionate  infidel. 
Passion  blinds  him  to  the  most  evident  truths.  It  is 
impossible  to  convince  a  man,  who  is  determined  not 
to  be  convinced.  One  disposition,  essential  to  the 
knowing  of  truth,  is  a  sincere  love  to  it :  The  seqret  of 

the 


272  The  Sufficiency  of  Revelation. 

the  Lord  is  with  them  that  fear  him,  Psal.  xxv.  I4.  If 
any  man  will  do  his  will,  he  shall  know  of  the  doctrine^ 
whether  it  be  of  God,  or  whether  I  speak  of  myself  John 
vii.  17,  This  is  the  condemnation,  that  light  is  come 
into  the  world,  and  men  loved  darkness  rather  than 
Ught,  because  their  deeds  were  evil,  chap.  iii.  IQ. 

5.  We  come,  finally,  to  the  philosophical  infidel ;  to 
liim  who,  if  we  believe  him,  is  neither  blinded  by  pre- 
judices, nor  prevented  by  negligence,  nor  infatuated 
hy  his  imagination,  nor  beguiled  by  irregular  passions. 
Hear  him.  He  assures  you,  the  only  wish,  that  ani- 
mates him,  is  that  of  knowing  the  truth,  and  that  he  is 
resolved  to  obey  it,  find  it  where  he  will :  but  after  he 
hath  agitated  a  thousand  questions,  after  he  hath  un- 
dertaken a  thousand  investigations,  and  consulted  a 
thousand  volumes,  he  hath  found  nothing  satisfactory 
in  proof  of  Christianity ;  in  short,  he  says  he  is  an  un- 
believer only  because  he  cannot  meet  with  any  motives 
of  belief.  Can  it  be  said  to  such  a  man,  neither  wilt 
thou  he  persuaded  though  one  rose  from  the  dead  F 

We  will  reply  presently.  But  allow  us  first  to  ask 
a  previous  question.  Are  there  any  infidels  of  this 
kind  ?  Is  the  man,  whom  we  have  described,  a  real, 
or  an  imaginary  being  ?  What  a  question  I  say  you^. 
What !  can  a  man,  who  devotes  his  whole  life  to  me- 
ditation and  study,  a  man,  who  hath  searched  all  the 
writings  of  antiquity,  who  hath  disintangled  and  elu- 
cidated the  most  dark  and  difficult  passages,  who  hath 
racked  his  invention  to  find  solutions  and  proofs,  who 
is  nourished  and  kept  alive,  if  the  expression  may  be 
used,  with  the  discovery  of  truth  ;  a  man,  besides,  who 
seems  to  have  renounced  the  company  of  the  living, 
and  has  not  the  least  relish  for  even  the  innocent  plea- 
sures of  society,  so  far  is  he  from  running  into  their 
grossest  diversions  ;  can  such  a  man  be  supposed  to  be 
an  unbeliever  for  any  other  reason  than  because  he 
thinks  it  his  duty  to  be  so  ?  Can  any,  but  rational 
motives,  induce  him  to  disbelieve? 

Undoubtedly ; 


The  Su£iciencij  of  Revelation.  273 

Undoubtedly ;  and  it  would  discover  but  little  know- 
ledge of  the  human  heart,  were  we  to  imagine,  either 
that  such  an  infidel  was  under  the  dominion  of  gross 
sensual  passions,  or  that  he  was  free  from  the  govern- 
ment of  other,  and  more  refined  passions*  A  desire  of 
being  distinguished,  a  love  of  fame,  the  glory  of  passing 
for  a  superior  genius,  for  one  who  hath  freed  himself 
from  vulgar  errors  j  these  are,  in  general,  powerful 
and  vigorous  passions,  and  these  are  usually  the  grand 
springs  of  a  pretended  philosophical  infidelity.  One 
undeniable  proof  of  the  truth  of  my  assertion  is  his 
eagerness  in  publishing  and  propagating  infidelity. 
Now  this  can  proceed  from  nothing  but  from  a  prin- 
ciple #f  vain  glory.  For  why  should  his  opinion  be 
spread?  For  our  parts,  when  we  publish  our  systems, 
whether  we  publish  truth  or  error,  we  have  weighty 
reasons  for  publication.  Our  duty,  we  think,  en- 
gageth  us  to  propagate  what  we  believe.  In  our 
opinion,  they  who  are  ignorant  of  our  doctrine  are 
doomed  to  endless  misery.  Is  not  this  sufficient  to  make 
us  lift  up  our  voices  ?  But  you,  who  believe  neither 
God,  nor  judgment,  nor  heaven,  nor  hell;  what  mad-^ 
ness  inspires  you  to  publish  your  sentiments  ?  It  is,  say 
you,  a  desire  of  freeing  society  from  the  slavery  that 
religion  imposeth  on  them.  Miserable  freedom  I  a  free- 
dom from  imaginary  errors,  that  plungeth  us  into  an 
ocean  of  real  miseries,  that  saps  all  the  bases  of  society^ 
that  sows  divisions  in  famihes,  and  excites  rebellions 
in  states  ;  that  deprives  virtue  of  all  its  motives,  all  its 
inducements,  all  its  supports.  And  what,  pray,  but 
religion,  can  comfort  us  under  the  sad  catastrophes  to 
which  all  are  subject,  and  from  which  the  highest 
human  grandeur  is  not  exempt  ?  What,  but  religion, 
can  conciliate  our  minds  to  the  numberless  afflictions 
which  necessarily  attend  human  frailty?  Can  any  thing 
but  rehgion  calm  our  consciences  under  their  agitations 
and  troubles?  Above  all,  what  can  relieve  us  in  dying 

Vol.  II.  S  illnesses, 


"^74  The  Sufficiencij  oj  Revelation. 

illnesses,  when  lying  on  a  sick-bed  between  present 
and  real  evils,  and  the  frightful  gloom  of  a  dark  fu- 
turity  ?  Ah !  if  religion,  wiiich  produceth  such  real 
effects,  be  a  deception,  leave  me  in  possession  of  my 
deception ;  I  desire  to  be  deceived,  and  1  take  him  for 
niy  most  cruel  enemy  who  ofiers  to  open  my  eyes. 

But  let  us  give  a  more  direct  answer.  You  are  a 
philosopher.  You  have  examined  religion.  You  find 
nothing  that  convinces  you.  Difficulties  and  doubts 
arise  from  every  part ;  the  prophecies  are  obscure ;  the 
doctrines  are  contradictory  ;  the  precepts  are  ambigu- 
ous ;  the  miracles  are  uncertain.  You  require  some 
new  prodigy,  and,  in  order  to  your  full  persuasion  of 
the  truth  of  immortality,  you  wish  some  one  would 
come  from  the  dead  and-:attest  it.  I  answer,  if  you 
reason  consequentially,  the  motive  would  be  useless, 
and,  having  resisted  ordinary  proofs,  you  ought,  if  you 
reason  consequentially,  to  refuse  to  believe  the  very- 
evidence  which  you  require.  Let  us  confme  ourselves 
to  some  one  article  to  convince  you  ;  suppose  the  re- 
surrection of  Jesus  Christ.  The  apostles  bore  w'itness 
that  Jesus  Christ  rose  from  the  dead.  This  is  our 
argument.  To  you  it  appears  jejune  and  futile,  and 
your  undetermined  mind  floats  between  two  opinions ; 
either  the  apostles,  you  think,  were  deceived ;  or  they 
deceived  others.  These  are  your  objections.  Now, 
if  either  of  these  objections  be  well-grounded,  I  af- 
firm you  ought  not  to  believe  though  one  rose  from  the 
dead  to  persuade  you. 

The  apostles  were  deceived  you  say.  But  this  ob- 
jection, if  well  grounded,  lies  against  not  only  one,  but 
twelve  apostles ;  not  only  against  twelve  apostles,  but 
against  mox&i\\?cnJivehu7idredbrethren  ;  not  only  against 
more  than^-z;^  hundred  brethren^  1  Cor.  xv.  6.  but  against 
all  who  attested  the  miracles  wrought  in  favour  of  the 
resurrection  of  Christ :  all  these  persons,  who  in  other 
cases  were  rational,  must  have  been  insane,  had  they 
thought  they  had  seen  what  they  had  not  seen,  heard 

what 


The  Sufficiency  of  Revelation.  275 

what  the  J  had  not  heard,  conversed  with  a  man  with 
whom  they  had  not  conversed,  wrought  miracles  which 
they  had  not  wrought.  They  must  be  supposed  to 
have  persisted  in  these  extravagances,  not  only  for  an 
hour,  or  a  day,  but  for  forty  days,  yea,  for  the  whole 
course  of  their  lives.  Now,  I  demand,  since  an  allu- 
sion produced  a  persuasion  so  clear  and  full,  how  could 
you  assure  yourself  that  you  was  not  deceived  in  exa- 
mining that  new  evidence  which  you  require?  If  so 
many  different  persons  may  be  justly  taxed  with  ab- 
sence of  mind^  or  insanity,  what  assurance  would  you 
have  that  you  was  not  thrown  into  a  disordered  state 
of  mind  at  the  sight  of  an  apparition  ? 

Let  us  reason  in  a  similar  manner  on  your  second 
supposition.  If  the  apostles  were  impostors,  there 
must  have  been  in  the  world  men  so  contrary  to  all  the 
rest  of  their  species,  as  to  suffer  imprisonment,  punish- 
ment, and  death,  for  the  support  of  a  falsehood.  This 
absurdity  must  have  intoxicated  not  only  one  person, 
but  all  the  thousands  who  sealed  the  gospel  with  their 
blood.  The  apostles  must  have  been  destitute  of  every 
degree  of  common  sense,  if,  intending  to  deceive  the 
world,  they  had  acted  in  a  manner  the  least  likely  of 
any  to  abuse  it ;  marking  places,  times,  witnesses,  and 
all  other  circumstances,  the  most  proper  to  discover 
their  imposture.  Moreover,  their  enemies  must  have 
conspired  with  them  in  the  illusion.  Jews,  Gentiles, 
and  Christians,  divided  on  every  other  article,  must 
have  all  agreed  in  this,  because  no  one  ever  confuted  : 
What  am  I  saying  ?  No  one  ever  accused  our  sacred 
authors  of  imposture,  although  nothing  could  have 
been  easier,  if  they  had  been  impostors.  In  one  w^ord, 
a  thousand  strange  suppositions  must  be  made.  But 
I  demand  again,  if  these  suppositions  have  any  like- 
lihood, if  God  have  given  to  falsehood  so  many  cha- 
racters of  truth,  if  Satan  be  allov/ed  to  act  his  part  so 
dexterously  to  seduce  us,  hov/  can  you  assure  yourself 
that  God  will  not  permit  the  father  of  falsehood  to 

S  2  seduce 


276  Tlie  Sufficiency  of  Revelation. 

seduce  you  also  by  an  apparition  ?  How  could  yoa 
assure  yourself  afterward  that  he  had  not  done  it  ? 
Let  us  conclude,  then,  in  regard  to  unbelievers  of 
every  kind,  that  if  the  ordinary  means  of  grace  be 
inadequate  to  the  production  of  faith,  extraordinary 
prodigies  would  be  so  too. 

Let  us  proceed  now,  in  brief,  to  prove,  that  motives 
to  virtue  are  sufficient  to  induce  men  to  be  virtuous, 
as  we  have  proved  that  motives  of  credibility  are  suf- 
ficient to  confound  the  objections  of  infidels. 

We  believe,  say  you,  the  truths  of  religion :  but  a 
thousand  snares  are  set  for  our  innocence,  and  we  are 
betrayed  into  immorality  and  guilt.  Our  minds  se- 
duce us.  Examples  hurry  us  away.  The  propensi- 
ties  of  our  own  hearts  pervert  us.  A  new  miracle 
would  awake  us  from  our  indolence,  and  would  re- 
animate our  zeal.     We  have  two  things  to  answer. 

1.  We  deny  the  effect  which  you  expect  from  this 
apparition.  This  miracle  will  be  wrought  either  sel- 
dom, or  frequently.  If  it  were  wrought  every  day,  it 
would,  on  that  very  account,  lose  all  its  efficacy ;  and 
as  the  Israelites,  through  a  long  habit  of  seeing  mira- 
cles were  familiarised  to  them,  till  they  received  no 
impressions  from  them,  so  it  Vv^ould  be  with  you.  One 
while  they  saw  waters  turned  into  bloody  another  they 
beheld  th^  first  born  of  Egypt  smitten  ;  now  the  sea  di- 
vided to  open  a  passage  for  them,  and  then  the  heavens 
rained  bread,  and  rivers  llowed  from  a  rock ;  ifet  they 
tempted  and  provoked  the  most  high  God,  and  kept  not  his 
testimonies,  Psal.  Ixxviii.  44,  51,  56\  You  yourselves 
every  day  see  the  heavens  and  the  earth,  the  works  of 
nature,  and  the  properties  of  its  elementary  parts,  a  rich 
variety  of  divine  workmanship,  which,  by  proving  the 
existence  of  the  Creator,  demand  the  homage  that  you 
ought  to  render  to  him ;  and  as  yoa  see  them  without 
emotions  of  virtue,  so  would  you  harden  your  hearts 
against  the  remonstrances  of  the  dead,  were  they  fre- 
quently to  rise,  and  to  exhort  you  to  repentance. 

Were 


The  Sufficiency  of  Revelation.  277 

Were  the  miracle  wrought  now  and  then,  what  you 
experience  on  other  occasions  would  infallibly  come 
to  pass  on  this.  You  would  be  affected  for  a  moment, 
but  the  impressions  would  wear  off,  and  you  would  fall 
back  into  your  former  sins.  The  proofs  of  this  con- 
jecture are  seen  every  day.  People  who  have  beeix 
often  touched  and  penetrated  at  the  sight  of  certain 
objects,  have  as  often  returned  to  their  old  habits 
when  the  power  of  the  charm  hath  abated.  Have  you 
never  read  the  heart  of  an  old  miser  at  the  funeral  of 
one  of  his  own  age  ?  Methinks  1  hear  the  old  man's 
soliloquy  :  "  1  am  full  fourscore  years  of  age,  I  have 
out-lived  the  time  which  God  usually  allots  to  man- 
kind, and  I  am  now  a  pall-bearer  at  a  funeral.  The 
melancholy  torches  are  lighted,  the  attendants  are  all 
in  mourning,  the  grave  yawns  for  its  prey.  For  whom 
is  all  this  funeral  pomp  ?  What  part  am  I  acting  in 
this  tragedy  ?  Shall  1  ever  attend  another  funeral,  or 
is  my  own  already  preparing  ?  Alas  I  if  a  few  remains 
of  life  and  motion  tell  me  1  live,  the  burying  of  my 
old  friend  assures  me  I  must  soon  die.  The  wrinkles 
which  disfigure  my  face ;  the  weight  of  years  that 
makes  me  stoop ;  the  infirmities  which  impair  my 
strength  ;  the  tottering  of  my  enfeebled  carcase  ;  all  se- 
cond the  voice  of  my  deceased  friend,  and  warn  me  of 
my  approaching  dissolution.  Yet,  what  am  I  about }  I 
am  building  houses,  I  am  amassing  money,  I  am  plea- 
sing myself  with  the  hopes  of  adding  to  my  capital  this 
year,  and  of  increasing  my  income  the  next.  O  fatal 
blindness  I  folly  of  a  heart,  which  avarice  hath  rendered 
insatiable  !  Henceforth  I  will  think  only  about  dying. 
I  will  go  and  order  my  funeral,  put  on  my  shroud,  lie 
in  my  coffin,  and  render  myself  insensible  to  every  care 
except  that  of  dyiyig  the  death  of  the  righteous'"'  Numb, 
xxiii.  10.  Thus  talks  the  old  man  to  himself,  as  he 
goes  to  a  grave,  and  you  think,  perhaps,  his  life  will 
resem]:)le  his  reflections,  and  that  he  is  going  to  be- 
come charitable,  liberal,  and  disinterested.     No,  no, 

all 


278  The  Sufficiency  of  Revelation. 

all  his  reflections  will  vanish  with  the  objects  that  pro- 
duced them,  and  as  soon  as  he  returns  from  the  funeral, 
he  will  forget  he  is  mortal.  In  like  manner,  the  return 
of  one  from  the  dead  would  perhaps  affect  you  on  the 
spot ;  you  w^Duld  make  many  fine  reflections,  and  form 
a  thousand  new  resolutions :  but,  when  the  phantom 
had  disappeared,  your  depravity  would  take  its  old 
course,  and  all  your  reflections  would  evaporate. 
This  is  our  first  answer. 

2.  We  add,  secondly.  A  man  persuaded  of  the  divi- 
nity of  religion,  a  man  who,  notwithstanding  that  per- 
suasion, persisteth  in  impenitence,  a  man  of  this  cha^ 
racter  hath  carried  obduracy  to  so  high  a  pitch,  that 
it  is  not  conceivable  any  new  motives  would  alter  him. 
He  is  already  so  guilty,  that  far  from  having  any  right 
to  demand  extraordinary  means,  he  ought  rather  to 
expect  to  be  deprived  of  the  ordinary  means,  which 
he  hath  both  received  and  resisted.  Let  us  dive  into 
the  conscience  of  this  sinner ;  let  us  for  a  moment 
fathom  the  depth  of  the  human  heart ;  let  us  hear  his 
detestable  purposes.  "  I  believe  the  truth  of  religion  ; 
I  believe  there  is  a  God ;  God,  I  believe,  seeth  ail  my 
actions,  and  from  his  penetration  none  of  my  thoughts 
are  hid;  I  believe  he  holds  the  thunder  in  his  hand, 
and  one  act  of  his  will  is  sufficient  to  strike  me  dead  ; 
I  believe  these  truths,  and  they  are  so  solemn,  that  I 
ought  to  be  influenced  to  my  duty  by  them.  How- 
ever, it  does  not  signify,  I  will  sin,  although  I  am  in 
his  immediate  presence  ;  I  will  provoke  the  Lord  to 
jealousy,  as  if  I  v^^ere  stronger  than  he,  1  Cor.  x.  22.  and 
the  sword  that  hangs  over  my  head,  and  hangs  only  by 
a  single  thread,  shall  convey  no  terror  into  my  mind. 
I  believe  the  truth  of  religion  ;  God  hath  for  me,  I 
think,  a  love  which  pas  seth  knowledge  ;  I  believe  he  gave 
me  my  existence,  and  to  him  I  owe  my  hands,  my  eyes, 
my  motion,  my  life,  my  light ;  moreover,  I  believe 
he  gav^  me  his  Son,  his  blood,  his  tenderest  mercy 
and  love.  All  these  affecting  objects  ought  indeed  to 

change 


The  Sufficiency  of  Revelatioiu  279 

change  my  heart,  to  make  me  blush  for  my  ingratitude, 
and  to  induce  me  to  render  him  love  for  love,  life  for 
life.  But  no  ;  I  will  resist  all  these  innumerable  mo- 
tives, I  will  affront  my  benefactor,  I  will  wound  that 
heart  that  is  filled  with  pity  for  me,  I  will  crucify  the 
Lord  of  glory  afresh,  Heb.  vi.  ().  If  his  love  trouble  me, 
1  will  forget  it.  If  my  conscience  reproach  me,  I  will 
stifle  it,  and  sin  with  boldness.  I  believe  the  truth  of 
religion ;  there  is,  I  believe,  a  heaven,  ^presence  of  God 
in  which  there  is  a  fulness  of  joy  and  pleasures  for  ever^ 
more,  Psal.  xvi.  2.  The  idea  of  felicity  consummate  in 
glory  ought,  I  must  own,  to  make  me  superior  to 
worldly  pleasures,  and  I  ought  to  prefer  the  fountain 
of  living  waters  before  my  own  broken  cisterns  that  can 
hold  no  water,  Jer.  ii.  13.  but  it  does  not  signify,  I  will 
sacrifice  the  things  that  are  not  seen  to  the  things  that 
are  seen,  2  Cor.  iv.  18.  the  glorious  delights  of  virtue 
tothe  pleasures  of  sin,  and  the  exceeding  and  eternal  weight 
of  glory,  Heb.  xi.  25.  2  Cor.  iv.  I7.  to  momentary  tem- 
poral pursuits.  I  believe  the  truth  of  religion;  there 
is,  I  believe,  a  hell  for  the  impenitent,  there  are  chains 
of  darkness,  a  worm  that  dieth  not,  a  fire  that  is  never 
quenched,  2  Pet.  ii.  4.  Mark  ix.  44.  In  hell,  I  believe, 
there  are  pains  far  more  excruciating  than  the  most 
violent  agonies  here,  worse  than  the  gout  and  the  stone, 
less  tolerable  than  the  sufferings  of  a  galley-slave,  the 
breaking  of  a  criminal  on  the  wheel,  or  the  tearing 
asunder  of  a  martyr  with  red-hot  pincers  of  iron.  I 
believe  these  things ;  and  I  am,  I  know,  in  the  case  of 
them,  against  whom  these  punishments  are  denounced : 
freedom  from  all  these  is  set  before  m.e,  and  I  may, 
if  I  will,  avoid  the  bottomless  abyss,  Rev^  ix.  1.  but,  no 
matter,  I  will  precipitate  myself  headlong  into  the 
horrible  gulf.  A  small  pittance  of  reputation,  a  very 
little  glory,  an  inconsiderable  sum  of  money,  a  few 
empty  and  deceitful  pleasures,  will  serve  to  conceal 
those  perils,  the  bare  ideas  of  which  would  terrify  my 
imagination,    and  subvert  my    designs.     Devouring, 


280  The  Sufficiency  of  Revelation, 

worm  I  chains  of  darkness  !  everlasting  burnings  I  in- 
fernal spirits  I  fire  I  sulphur  I  smoke  !  remorse  1  rage  ! 
madness  I  despair  I  idea,  frightful  idea  of  a  thousand 
years,  of  ten  thousand  years,  of  ten  millions  of  years, 
of  endless  revolutions  of  absorbing  eternity  I  You  shall 
make  no  impressions  on  my  mind,  It  shall  be  my 
fortitude  to  dare  you,  my  glory  to  affront  you." 

Thus  reasons  the  sinner  who  believes,  but  who 
lives  in  impenitence.  This  is  the  heart  that  wants  a 
new  miracle  to  affect  it.  But,  I  demand,  can  you  con- 
ceive any  prodigy  that  can  soften  a  soul  so  hard  ?  I 
ask,  If  so  i>iany  motives  be  useless,  can  you  conceive 
any  others  more  effectual?  Would  you  have  God  at- 
tempt to  gain  an  ascendency  over  you  by  means  more 
iniluential }  Would  you  have  him  give  you  more  than 
immortality,  more  than  his  Son,  more  than  heaven  ? 
Would  you  have  him  present  objects  to  you  more 
frightful  than  hell  and  eternity  ? 

We  know  what  yoti  will  reply.  You  will  say,  We 
talk  fancifully,  and  fight  with  shadows  of  our  own  crea- 
tion. If  the  sinner,  say  you,  would  but  think  of  these 
things,  they  would  certainly  convert  him  ;  but  he  for- 
gets them,  and  therefore  he  is  more  to  be  pitied  for  his 
distraction,  than  to  be  bJaracd  for  his  msensibiUty. 
Were  a  person  to  rise  from  the  dead,  to  recall,  and  to 
fix  his  attention,  he  would  awake  from  his  stuppr. 
Idle  sophism  I  As  if  distraction,  amidst  numberless  ob- 
jects that  demand  his  attention,  were  not  the  highest 
degree  of  insensibility  itseJf.  But  why  do  I  speak  of 
distraction  ?  I  have  now  before  me  clear,  full,  and  de- 
cisive evidence,  that  even  while  sinners  have  all  those 
objects  in  full  view,  they  derive  no  sanctifying  influence 
from  them.  Yes,  I  have  made  the  experiment,  and 
consequently  my  evidence  is  undeniable.  I  see  that 
all  the  motives  of  love,  fear,  and  horroi',  united,  are 
too  weak  to  convert  one  obstinate  sinner.  My  evi- 
dences, my  brethren,  will  you  believe  it  ?  are  your~ 
i^elves,     Contradict  me,  refute  m.e.     Am  I  not  now 

presenting 


The  Sufficiency  of  Revelation.  281 

presenting  all  these  motives  to  you  ?  Do  not  speak 
of  distraction,  for  I  look  at  you,  and  you  hear  me, 
I  present  all  these  motives  to  you :  this  God,  the 
witness,  and  judge  of  your  hearts ;  these  treasures  of 
mercy,  which  he  opens  in  your  favour ;  this  Jesus, 
who,  amid  the  most  excruciating  agonies,  expired 
for  you.  To  you  we  open  the  kmgdom  of  heaven, 
and  draw  back  all  the  vails  that  hide  futurity  from 
you.  To  you,  to  you  we  present  the  devils  with  their 
rage,  hell  with  its  torments,  eternity  with  its  horror-s. 
We  conjure  you  this  moment,  by  the  solemnity  of  all 
these  motives,  to  return  to  God.  I  repeat  it  again, 
you  cannot  pretend  distraction  now,  you  cannot  plead 
forgetfulness  now,  nor  can  you  avoid  to-day,  either  the 
glory  of  conversion,  or  the  shame  of  an  impenitence 
that  resisteth  the  most  solemn  and  pathetic  objects. 
But  is  it  not  true  that  none  of  these  motives  touch 
you  .f*  I  mean,  they  do  not  reform  you.  For  it  doth 
not  argue  any  piety,  if,  after  we  have  meditated  on  a 
subject,  chosen  our  sentiments  and  our  expressions, 
and,  with  an  assemblage  of  scripture-imagery,  covered 
the  pleasures  of  paradise,  and  the  horrors  of  hell,  with 
colouring  the  best  adapted  to  exhibit  their  nature,  and 
to  affect  yours ;  I  say,  it  requireth  no  pity  to  feel  a 
moving  of  the  animal  spirits,  a  slight  emotion  of  the 
heart.  You  are  just  as  much  affected  with  a  repre- 
sentation, which,  you  know,  is  fiction,  and  exhibited 
by  actors  in  borrowed  guise  ;  and  you  do  us  very  little 
honour,  by  giving  us  what  you  bestow  on  theatrical 
declaimers.  But  is  any  one  of  you  so  affected  with 
these  motives,  as  to  go,  without  delay,  to  make  restitu- 
tion of  ill-gotten  gain,  to  embrace  an  enemy,  to  break 
off  an  impure  connection  .^  I  ask  again,  Can  you  con- 
tradict me  .^  Can  you  refute  me  ?  Alas  I  we  know  what 
a  sermoncan  do,  and  we  have  reason  for  affirming,  that 
no  known  motives  will  change  some  of  our  hearts,  al- 
Miough  we  do  attend  to  them ;  and  for  inferring  this 

just 


282  The  Sufficiency  of  Revelation. 

just  consequence,  a  thousand  new  motives  would  be 
as  useless  as  the  rest. 

In  this  manner  we  establish  the  truth,  thus  we  prove 
the  sufficiency  of  the  Christian  religion,  thus  wejustify 
providence  against  the  unjust  reproaches  of  infidel  and 
impenitent  sinners,  and  thus,  in  spite  of  ourselves,  we 
trace  out  our  own  condemnation.  For,  since  we  con- 
tinue some  of  us  in  unbelief,  and  others  of  us  in  im- 
penitence, we  are  driven  either  to  tax  God  with  em- 
ploying means  inadequate  to  the  ends  of  instruction 
and  conversion,  or  to  charge  the  guilt  of  not  impro- 
ving them  on  ourselves.  We  have  seen  that  our  dis- 
orders do  not  flow  from  the  first ;  but  that  they  ac- 
tually do  proceed  from  the  last  of  these  causes.  Unto 
thee^  then,  "  O  Lord  I  belongeth  righteousness;  but 
"  unto  us  confusion  of  faces  this  day,"  Dan.  ix.  7. 

Here  we  would  finish  this  discourse 5  had  we  not 
engaged  at  first  to  answer  a  difirlcult  question,  which 
naturally  ariseth  from  our  text,  and  from  the  manner 
in  which  we  have  discussed  it.  Could  the  Jews,  to 
whom  the  state  of  the  soul  after  death  was  very  little 
known,  be  numbered  among  those  who  w^ould  not  he 
persuaded  though  one  rose  from  the  dead  P  We  have 
two  answers  to  this  seeming  difficulty. 

1.  We  could  deny  that  notion  which  creates  this 
difficulty,  and  affirm,  that  the  state  of  the  soul  after 
death  was  much  better  understood  by  the  Jews  than 
you  suppose.  We  could  quote  many  passages  from 
the  Old  Testament,  where  the  doctrines  of  heaven  and 
of  hell,  of  judgment  and  of  the  resurrection,  are  re- 
vealed ;  and  we  could  shew,  that  the  Jews  were  so  per- 
suaded of  the  truth  of  these  doctrines,  that  they  con- 
sidered the  Sadducees,  who  doubted  of  them,  as  sec- 
taries distinguished  from  the  rest  of  the  nation. 

But  as  our  strait  limits  will  not  allow  us  to  do  jus- 
tice to  these  articles  by  fully  discussing  them,  we  will 
take  another  method  of  answering  the  objection. 

2.  The  Jews  had  as  good  evidence  of  the  divine 

inspiration 


The  Sufficiency  of  Revelation.  283 

inspiration  of  the  Old  Testament  as  Christians  have  of 
that  of  the  New.  So  that  it  might  as  truly  be  said  to 
a  Jew,  as  to  a  Christian,  If  thou  resist  the  ordinary  evi- 
dence of  the  truth  of  revelation,  neither  wouldest  thou 
be  persuaded  though  one  rose  from  the  dead  to  attest  it. 

It  is  questionable,  whether  the  Jewish  revelation 
explained  the  state  of  souls  after  death  so  clearly  that 
Jesus  Christ  had  sufficient  ground  for  his  proposition. 
But  were  we  to  grant  what  this  question  implies ;  were 
we  to  suppose,  that  the  state  of  souls  after  death  was 
as  much  unknown  as  our  querist  pretends ;  it  would 
be  still  true,  that  it  was  incongruous  with  the  justice 
and  wisdom  of  God  to  employ  new  means  of  conver- 
sion in  favour  of  a  Jew  who  resisted  Moses  and  the 
prophets.     Our  proof  follows. 

Moses  and  the  prophets  taught  sublime  notions  of 
God.  They  represented  him  as  a  Being  supremely 
wise,  and  supremely  powerful.  Moreover,  Moses  and 
the  prophets  expressly  declared,  that  God,  of  whom 
they  gave  such  sublime  ideas,  would  display  his  power, 
and  his  wisdom,  to  render  those  completely  happy 
who  obeyed  his  laws,  and  them  completely  miserable 
who  durst  affront  his  authority.  A  Jew,  who  was  per- 
suaded, on  the  one  hand,  that  Moses  and  the  prophets 
spoke  on  the  part  of  God ;  and,  on  the  other,  that 
Moses  and  the  prophets,  whose  mission  was  unsuspect- 
ed, declared  that  God  would  render  those  completely 
happy  who  obeyed  his  laws,  and  them  completely 
miserable  who  durst  affront  his  authority ;  a  Jew,  who, 
in  spite  of  this  persuasion,  persisted  in  impenitence, 
was  so  obdurate,  that  his  conversion,  by  means  of  any 
new  motives,  was  inconceivable ;  at  least,  he  was  so 
culpable,  that  he  could  not  equitably  require  God  to 
employ  new  means  for  his  conversion. 

What  doth  the  gospel  say  more  on  the  punishments 
which  God  will  inflict  on  the  wicked,  than  Moses  and 
the  prophets  said  ?  (I  speak  on  the  supposition  of 
those  who  deny  any  particular   explications  of  the 

doctrine 


284  Tlie  Sufficiency  of  Revelation. 

doctrine  of  immortality  in  the  Old  Testament.)  What 
did  Jesus  Christ  teach  more  than  Moses  and  the  pro- 
phets taught  ?  He  entered  into  a  more  particular  de- 
tail ;  he  told  his  hearers,  there  was  weeping,  and  wail- 
ing, and  gnashing  of  teeth  ;  a  worm  that  died  not,  and  a 
fire  that  was  not  quenched.  But  the  general  thesis, 
that  God  would  display  his  attributes  in  punishing 
the  wicked,  and  in  rewarding  the  good,  this  general 
thesis  was  as  well  known  to  the  Jews  as  it  is  to  Chris- 
tians ;  and  this  general  thesis  is  a  sufficient  ground  for 
the  words  of  the  text. 

The  most  that  can  be  concluded  from  this  objec- 
tion is,  not  that  the  proposition  of  Jesus  Christ  was 
not  verified  in  regard  to  the  Jews,  but  that  it  is  much 
more  verified  in  regard  to  Christians  :  not  that  the  Jews, 
w^ho  resisted  Moses  and  the  prophets,  were  not  very 
guilty,  but  that  Christians,  who  resist  the  gospel,  are 
much  more  guilty.  We  are  fully  convinced  of  the 
truth  of  this  assertion.  We  wish  your  minds  were 
duly  affected  with  it.  To  this  purpose  we  proceed  to 
the  application. 

First,  We  address  ourselves  to  infidels  :  O  that  you 
would  for  once  seriously  enter  into  the  reasonable  dis- 
position of  desiring  to  know  and  to  obey  the  truth  ! 
At  least  examine,  and  see.  If,  after  all  your  pains, 
you  can  find  nothing  credible  in  the  christian  religion, 
we  own  we  are  strangers  to  the  human  heart,  and  we 
must  give  you  up,  as  belonging  to  a  species  of  beings 
different  from  ours.  But  what  irritates  us  is  to  see, 
that  among  the  many  infidels,  who  are  endeavouring 
to  destroy  the  vitals  of  religion,  there  is  scarcely  one  to 
be  found  whose  erroneous  principles  do  not  originate 
in  a  bad  heart.  It  is  the  heart  that  disbelieves ;  it  is 
the  heart  which  must  be  attacked ;  it  is  the  heart  that 
must  be  convinced. 

People  doubt  because  they  will  doubt.  Dreadful 
disposition  I  Can  nothing  discover  thine  enormity  ? 
What  is  infidelity  good  for  ?  By  v/h^t  charm  doth  it 

lull 


The  Sufficiency  of  Revelation.  285 

lull  the  soul  into  a  willing  ignorance  of  its  origin  and 
end  ?  If,  during  the  short  space  of  a  mortal  lite,  the 
love  of  independence  tempt  us  to  please  ourselves  with 
joining  this  monstrous  party,  how  dear  will  the  union 
cost  us,  when  we  come  to  die  I 

O  I  were  my  tongue  dipped  in  the  gall  of  celestial 
displeasure,  1  would  describe  to  you  the  state  of  a  man 
expiring  in  the  cruel  uncertainties  of  unbelief;  who 
seeth,  in  spite  of  himself,  yea,  in  spite  of  himself,  the 
truth  of  that  religion,  which  he  hath  endeavoured  to 
no  purpose  to  eradicate  from  his  heart.  Ah !  see ! 
every  thing  contributes  to  trouble  him  now.  "  I  am 
dyinp— I  despair  of  recovering— physicians  have  given 
me  over — the  sighs  and  tears  of  my  friends  are  use- 
less ;  yet  they  have  nothing  else  to  bestow — medicines 
take  no  effect— consultations  come  to  nothing — alas  ! 
not  you— not  my  little  fortune — the  whole  world  can- 
not cure  me— I  must  die— It  is  not  a  preacher — it  is 
not  a  religious  book — it  is  not  a  trifling  declaimer— 
it  is  death  itself  that  preacheth  to  me— I  feel,  I  kno^v 
not  w^hat,  shivering  cold  in  my  blood— I  am  in  a  dy- 
ing sweat — my  feet,  my  hands,  every  part  of  my  body 
is  wasted— I  am  more  like  a  corpse  than  a  living 
body — I  am  rather  dead  than  alive — I  must  die — 
Whither  am  I  going?  What  will  become  of  me? 
W^bat  will  become  of  my  body  ?  My  God  I  what  a 
frightful  spectacle  I  I  see  it  I  The  horrid  torches— 
the  dismal  shroud— the  coffin— the  pall — the  tolling 
bell— the  subterranean  abode— carcases— worms— - 
putrefaction— What  will  become  of  my  soul  ?  I  am  ig- 
norant of  its  destiny— I  am  tumbling  headlong  into 
eternal  night — my  infidelity  tells  me  my  soul  is  no- 
thing but  a  portion  of  subtil  matter — another  world  a 
vision— immortality  a  fancy— But  yet,  I  feel,  I  know 
not  what,  that  troubles  my  infidelity— -annihilation, 
terrible  as  it  is,  would  appear  tolerable  to  me,  were 
not  the  ideas  of  heaven  and  hell  to  present  themselves 
to  me,  in  spite  of  myself— But  I  see  that  heaven,  that 

immortal 


286  The  Sujfficiency  of  Revelation, 

immortal  mansion  of  glory  shut  against  me---I  see  ii  at 
an  immense  distance — 1  see  it  a  place,  which  my  crimes 
forbid  me  to  enter— I  see  hell— hell,  which  I  have 
ridiculed — it  opens  under  my  feet— I  hear  the  hor- 
rible groans  of  the  damned->-the  smoke  of  the  bottom- 
less pit  choaks  my  \^  ords,  and  wraps  my  thoughts  in 
suffocating  darkness." 

Such  is  the  infidel  on  a  dying  bed.  This  is  not  an 
imaginary  flight;  it  is  not  an  arbitrary  invention,  it  is 
a  description  of  what  we  see  everyday  in  the  fatal  visits, 
to  which  our  ministry  engageth  us,  and  to  which  God 
seems  to  call  us'  to  be  sorrowful  witnesses  of  his  dis- 
pleasure and  vengeance.  This  is  what  infidelity  comes 
to.  This  is  what  infidelity  is  good  for.  Thus  most 
sceptics  die,  although,  while  they  live,  they  pretend 
to  free  themselves  from  vulgar  errors.  1  ask  again,  What 
charms  are  there  in  a  state  that  hath  such  dreadful 
consequences  ?  How  is  it  possible  for  men,  rational 
men,  to  carry  their  madness  to  such  an  excess  ? 

Without  doubt,  it  would  excite  many  murmurs  in 
this  auditory ;  certainly  we  should  be  taxed  with 
strangely  exceeding  the  matter,  were  we  to  venture  to 
say,  that  many  of  our  hearers  are  capable  of  carrying 
their  corruption  to  as  great  a  length  as  I  have  de- 
scribed. Well  I  we  wdll  not  say  so.  We  know  your 
delicacy  too  well.  But  allow  us  to  give  you  a  task. 
We  propose  a  problem  to  the  examination  of  each  of 
you. 

Who,  of  two  men,  appears  most  odious  to  you  ? 
One  resolves  to  refuse  nothing  to  his  senses,  to  gratify 
all  his  wishes  without  restraint,  and  to  procure  all  the 
pleasures  that  a  worldly  life  can  afford.  Only  one 
thought  disturbs  him,  the  thought  of  religion.  The 
idea  of  an  offended  benefactor,  of  an  angry  Supreme 
Judge,  of  eternal  salvation  neglected,  of  hell  con- 
temned ;  each  of  these  ideas  poisons  the  pleasures 
which  he  wishes  to  pursue.  In  order  to  conciliate  his 
desires  with  his  remorse,  he  determines  to  try  to  get  rid 

of 


The  Sufficitncy  of  Revelation.  287 

of  the  thought  of  religion.  Thus  he  becomes  an  ob^^ 
stinate  atheist,  for  the  sake  of  becoming  a  peaceable 
libertine,  and  he  cannot  sin  quietly  till  he  hath  tlat- 
t.ered  himself  into  a  belief  that  religion  is  chimerical. 
This  is  the  case  of  the  first  man. 

The  second  man  resolves  to  refuse  nothing  to  his 
sensual  appetites,  to  gratify  all  his  wishes  without  re- 
straint, and  to  procure  all  the  pleasures  that  a  v»  orldly 
life  can  afford.  The  same  thought  agitates  him,  the 
thought  of  religion.  The  idea  of  an  offended  bene- 
factor, of  an  angry  Supreme  Judge,  of  an  eternal  sal- 
vation neglected,  of  hell  contemned,  each  of  these  ideas 
poisons  the  pleasures  which  he  wishes  to  pursue.  He 
takes  a  different  method  of  conciliating  his  desires 
with  his  remorse.  He  doth  not  persuade  himself  that 
there  is  no  benefactor :  but  he  rendereth  himself  in- 
sensible to  his  benefits.  He  doth  not  flatter  himself 
into  the  disbelief  of  a  Supreme  Judge  ;  but  he  dares  his 
majestic  authority.  He  doth  not  think  salvation  a 
chimera;  but  he  hardens  his  heart  against  its  attractive 
charms.  He  doth  not  question  whether  there  be  a 
hell ;  but  he  ridicules  its  torments.  This  is  the  case 
of  the  second  man.  The  task,  which  we  take  the 
liberty  to  assign  you,  is  to  examine,  but  to  examine 
coolly  and  deliberately,  w^hich  of  these  two  men  is 
the  most  guilty. 

Would  to  God,  our  hearers  had  no  other  interest  in 
the  examination  ofthis  question  than  what  compassion 
for  the  misery  of  others  gave  them  I  May  the  many 
false  christians,  who  live  in  impenitence,  and  who  fe- 
licitate themselves  for  not  living  in  infidelity,  be  sin- 
cerely affected,  dismayed,  and  ashamed  of  giving  oc- 
casion for  the  question,  w^hether  they  be  not  more 
odious  themselves  than  those  whom  they  account  the 
most  odious  of  mankind,  I  mean,  sceptics  and  atheists  I 
May  each  of  us  be  enabled  to  improve  the  means 
which  God  hath  employed  to  save  us !  May  our  faith 

and 


288         The  Sufficiency  of  Revelation, 

and  obedience  be  crowned  I  and  may  we  be  admitted 
with  Lazarus  into  the  bosom  of  the  Father  of  the 
faithful  I  The  Lord  hear  our  prayers  I  To  him  be 
honour  and  glory  for  ever.     Amen. 


SERMON 


289 

SERMON    XI. 

The  Advantages  of  Revelation, 

1  Cor.  i.  21. 

After  that  m  the  wisdom  of  God,  the  world  by  wisdom 
>,  knew  not  God,  it  pleased  God  by  the  foolishness  of 
preaching  to  save  them  that  believe, 

TT  is  a  celebrated  saying  of  TertuUian,  my  brethren, 
that  every  mechanic  among  Christians  knew  God,  and 
could  make  hiih  known  to  others,  TertuUian  spoke  thus 
by  way  of  contrast  to  the  conduct  of  the  philosopher 
Thales  toward  Croesus  the  king.  Croesus  asked  this 
philosopher,  What  is  God  P  Thales,  (by  the  way, 
some  relate  the  same  story  of  Simonides,)  Thales  re- 
quired one  day  to  consider  the  matter,  before  he  gave 
his  answer.  When  one  day  was  gone,  Croesus  asked 
him  again,  What  is  GodP  Thales  intreated  two  days 
to  consider.  When  two  days  were  expired,  the  ques- 
tion was  proposed  to  him  again ;  he  besought  the  king 
to  grant  him  four  days.  After  four  days,  he  required 
eight :  after  eight,  sixteen ;  and  in  this  manner  he 
continued  to  procrastinate  so  long,  that  the  king,  im- 
patient at  his  delay,  desired  to  know  the  reason  of  it. 
O  king  I  said  Thales,  be  not  astonished  that  I  defer 
my  answer.  It  is  a  question  in  which  my  insufficient 
reason  is  lost.  The  oftener  I  ask  myself,  What  is  God  P 
the  more  incapable  I  find  myself  of  answering.  New 
difficulties  arise  every  moment,  and  my  knowledge 
dimini^helh  as  my  inquiries  increase. 

Vol.  \L  '  T  TertuUian, 


290  The  Advant(/ges  of  Revelation. 

Tertullian  hereupon  takes  an  occasion  to  triumph 
over  the  philosophers  of  Paganism,  and  to  make  an 
eulogium  on  Christianity.  Thales,  the  chief  of  the  wise 
men  of  Greece  ;  Thales,  who  hath  added  the  erudition 
of  Egypt  to  the  wisdom  of  Greece  ;  Thales  cannot  in- 
form the  king  what  God  is  I  The  meanest  Christian 
knows  more  than  he.  "  What  man  knoweth  the  things 
*'  of  a  man  sav€  the  spirit  of  man  which  is  in  him: 
*'  even  so  the  things  of  God  knoweth  no  man,  but  the 
"  Spirit  of  God,"  1  Cor.  ii.  11.  The  christian  hath 
more  understanding  than  all  his  teachers^  according  to 
the  Psalmist,  Psal.  cxix.  99. ;  for,  as  far  as  the  light  of 
revelation  is  above  that^of  nature,  so  far  is  the  meanest 
christian  above  the  wdsest  heathen  philosopher. 

Of  this  superiority  of  knowledge  w^e  intend  to  treat 
lo-day.  This  St  Paul  had  in  view  in  the  first  chapters 
of  this  epistle,  and  particularly  in  the  text.  But,  in 
order  to  a  thorough  knowledge  of  the  apostle's  mean- 
ing, we  must  explain  his  terms,  and  mark  the  occa- 
sion of  them.     With  this  explication  we  begin,  , 

Greece,  of  which  Corinth  was  a  considerable  city, 
was  one  of  those  countries  wdiich  honoured  the  scien- 
ces, and  which  the  sciences  honoured  in  return.     It 
was  the  opinion  there,  that  the  prosperity  of  a  state 
depended  as  much  on  the  culture  of  reason,  and  on  the 
establishment  of  literature,  as  on  a  well-disciplined 
army,   or  an  advantageous  trade ;    and  that  neither 
opulence  nor  grandeur  ^vere  of  any  value  in  the  hands 
of  men  w^ho  were  destitute  of  learning  and  good  sense. 
In  this  they  w^ere  worthy  of  emulation  and  praise.   At 
the  same  time,  it  was  very  deplorable  that  their  love  of 
learning  should  often  be  an  occasion  of  their  ignorance. 
Nothing  is  more  common  in  academies  and  univer- 
sities (indeed  it  is  an  imperfection  almost  inseparable 
from  them)  than  to  see  each  science  alternately  in 
vogue;  each  blanch  of  literature  becomes  fashionable 
in  its  turn,  and  some  doctor  presides  over  reason  and 
good  sense,  so  that  sense  and  reason  are  nothing  without 

his 


The  Admntages  of  Revetation.  291 

his  approbation.  la  St  Paul's  time,  philosophy  wa^ 
ill  fashion  in  Greece  ;  not  a  sound,  chabie  piniosopiiy, 
that  always  took  reason  for  us  guide,  a  kind  ot  science, 
which  has  made  greater  progress  in  our  times  tiian  in 
all  preceding  ages ;  out  a  philosophy  full  of  prejudices, 
subject  to  the  authority  ot  the  heads  of  a  ^ect  which 
"WBs  then  most  m  vogue,  expressed  politely,  and,  to  use 
the  language  of  St  Paul,  proposed  with  the  words  which ^ 
man's  wisdom  teacheth,  1  Cor.  ii.  13.  Without  this  phi- 
losophy, and  this  eloquence,  people  were  despised  by 
the  Greeks.  The  apostles  were  very  little  versed  in  these 
sciences.  The  gospel  they  preached  w^as  formed  upon 
another  plan ;  and  they  who  preached  it  were  destitute 
of  these  ornaments  :  accordingly  they  were  treated  by 
the  far  gi'eater  part  with  contempt.  The  want  of 
these  was  a  great  offence  to  the  Corinthians.  They 
could  not  comprehend,  that  a  doctrine,  w^iich  came 
from  heaven,  could  be  inferior  to  human  sciences.  *,. 
St  Paul  intended  in  this  epistle  to  guard  the  Corin-* 
thians  against  this  objection,  and  to  make  an  apology 
for  the  gospel,  and  for  his  ministry.  The  text  is  an  -^ 
abrTdgment  of  his  apology. 

The  occasion  of  the  words  of  the  text  is  a  key  to 
the  sense  of  each  expression  ;  it  explains  those  terms  of 
the  apostle  which  need  explanation,  as  well  as  the 
meaning  of  the  whole  proposition  :  "  After  that  in  the 
"  wisdom  of  God  the  world  by  wisdom  knew  not  God, 
''  it  pleased  God,  by  the  foolishness  of  preaching,  to 
**  save  them  that  believe." 

The  wisdom,  or  the  learning,  of  which  St  Paul  speaks, 
is  philosophy.  This,  I  think,  is  incontestible.  The 
first  epistle  to  the  Corinthians,  I  grant,  was  written  to 
two  sorts  of  Christians,  to  some  who  came  from  the 
profession  of  Judaism,  and  to  others  who  came  from 
the  profession  of  Paganism.  Some  commentators 
doubt,  whether,  by  the  wise,  of  whom  St  Paul  often 
speaks  in  this  chapter,  we  be  to  understand  Jews,  or 
Pagan  philosophers :   Whether,  by  %visdom,  we  be  to 

T  9  understand 


292t  The  Advantages  of  Revelation.^ 

understand  the  system  of  the  synagogue,  or  the  system 
of  the  porch.  They  are  inchned  to  take  the  words  m 
the  former  sense,  because  the  Jews  usually  called  thejr 
divines,  and  philosophers,  wise  ?nen,  and  gave  the  name 
of  wisdom  to  every  brancfi  of  knowledge.    Theology 
they  called  wisdom  cojicerning  God  ;  natural  philosophy 
they  called  wisdom  concerning  nature  ;  astronomy  they 
called  wisdom  concerning  the  stars  ;  and  so  of  the  rest. 
But,  although  w^e  grant  the  truth  of  this  remark,  we 
deny  the  application  of  it  here.     It  seems  very  clear 
to  us,  that  St  Paul,  throughout  this  chapter,  gave  the 
Pagan  philosophers  the  appellation  wise,  which  they 
affected.   The  verse,  that  follows  the  text,  makes  this 
very  plain  :  the  Jews  require  a  sign,  and  the  Greeks  seek 
after  wisdom :  that  is  to  say,  the  Greeks  are  as  earnestly 
desirous  of  philosophy  as  the  Jews  of  miracles.     By 
wisdo?n,  in  the  text,  then,  we  are  to  understand  philo- 
sophy.   But  the  more  fully  to  comprehend  the  mean- 
ing of  St  Paul,  we  must  define  this  philosophy  agree- 
ably to  his  ideas.     Philosophy,  then  "  is  that  science 
"  of  God,  and  of  the  chief  good,  w^hich  is  grounded  not 
"  on  the  testimony  of  any  superior  intelligence,  but  on 
"  the  speculations  and  discoveries  of  our  own  reason." 
There  are  two  more  expressions  in  our  te?»t,  that 
need  explaining  ;  the  foolishness  of  preaching,  and  them 
that  believe: "  after  that  in  the  wisdom  of  God  the  world 
"  by  wisdom  knew  not  God,  it  pleased  God  by  the 
**  foolishness  of  preaching  to  save  them  that  believe.'^ 
They  who  believe,  are  a  class  of  people,  who  take  a  me- 
thod of  knowing  God  oppositeJo  that  of  philosophers.. 
Philosophers  determine  to  derive  all  their  notions  of 
God,  and  of  the  chief  good,  from  their  own  speculations. 
Believers,  on  the  contrary,  convinced  of  the  imperfec- 
tion of  their  reason,  and  of  the  narrow  limits  of  their 
knowledge,  derive  their  religious  ideas  from  the  testi- 
mony of  a  superior  intelligence.     The  superior  intel- 
ligence, whom  they   take  for  their  guide,  is  Jesus 
Christ  ;  and  the  testimony,  to  which  they  submit,  is 

the 


The  Advanixiges  of  Revelation.  *  29S 

the  Gospel.  Our  meaning  will  be  clearly  conveyed  by 
a  remarkable  passage  of  Tertullian,  who  shews  the  dif- 
ference between  him,  whom  St  Paul  caWs  wise,  anc^ 
him,  whom  he  calls  a  believer.  On  the  famous  words 
of  St  Paul  to  the  Colossian^,  Beware  lest  any  man  spoil 
you  through  philosophy  and  vain  deceit,  chap.  ii.  8.  says 
this  father ;  "  St  Paul  had  seen  at  Athens  that  human 
"  wisdom,  which  curtaileth  and  disguiseth  the  truth: 
"  He  had  seen,  that  some  heretics,  endeavoured  to  mix 
*'  that  wisdom  with  the  gospel.  But  what  communion 
•'  hath  Jerusalem  with  Athens  ?  The  church  with  the 
"  academy  ?  Heretics  with  true  christians  ?  Solomon's  ^ 
"  porch  is  our  porch.  We  have  no  need  of  specula- 
"  tion,  and  discussion,  after  we  have  known  Jesus 
"  Christ  and  his  gospel.  When  we  believe  we  ask 
"  nothing  more  ;  for  it  is  an  article  of  our  faith,  that 
*'  he  who  believes,  needs  no  other  ground  of  his  ^U 
'*  faith  than  the  gospel."    Thus  speaks  Tertullian. 

But  why  doth  St  Paul  call  the  gospel  the  foolishness 
of  preaching  P  It  pleased  God  by  the  foolishness  of  preach- 
ing to  save  them  that  believe.  Besides,  he  calleth  it,  the 
foolishness  of  God:  The  foolishness  of  God  is  wiser  than 
men,  ver.  25.  And  he  adds,  ver.  27.  God  hath  chosen 
the  foolish  things  of  the  world  to  confound  the  wise. 

It  is  usual  with  St  Paul,  and  the  style  is  not  peculiar 
to  him,  to  call  an  object  not  by  a  name  descriptive  of 
its  real  nature,  but  by  a  name  expressive  of  the  notions 
that  are  formed  of  it  in  the  world,  and  of  the  effects 
that  are  produced  by  it.  Now,  the  gospel  being  con- 
sidered by  Jews  and  heathens  as  a  foolish  system, 
St  Paul  calls  \\.  foolishness.  That  this  was  the  apostle's 
meaning  two  passages  prove.  The  natural  man  receiveth 
not  the  things  of  the  Spirit  of  God;  for  they  are  foolish- 
ness UNTO  HIM,  chap.  ii.  14.  You  sse,  then,  in  what 
sense  the  gospel  is  foolishness  ;  it  is  so  called,  because 
it  appears  so  to.ajiatural  man.  Again,  We  preach  Christ 
crucified,  unto  the  Jews  a  stumbling-block,  a?2d  vnto  the 
Greeks  foolishness.   You  see  in  what  sense  the  gospel 

ip 


294  The  Advantages  of  Refvelatioru 

.    is  CBXlfiifooiishness  ;  it  is  because  the  doctrine  of  JeEUS 
j^^  i  Const  ci  ucined,  which  is  the  gicat  dociune  oi"  the  gos^ 

'"*  peJ,  was  Lieated  'dsjouuslmtsj.  'I'he  History  of  the  preach* 
lUg  of  the  apostles  tuUy  jur,tiiies  our  comment,  Ihe 
doctrines  of  the  gospel,  m  general,  and  that  ot  a  God* 
ii^an  crucitied,  in  particular,  were  reputed  foolish. 
^'  We  are  accountea  foo/s,  says  Justin  Martyr,  for 
"giving  such  an  eminent  rank  to  a  ciucified  man  *." 
--  The  wise  men  of  ihe  world,  ssys  St  Augustine,  instiit 
"  us,  and  abk,  Where  is  your  reason  and  intelligence, 
*'  when  you  worship  a  man  who  was  crucified  f  ?" 

These  two  words,  wisdom  2.nd  foolishness^  being  thus 
explained,  methinks  we  may  easily  understand  the 
whole  text.  Afttr  that  in  the  isaisciom  of  Cod  the  world 
hy  wisdom  knew  not  Gud,  it  pleased  God,  by  the  foolish- 
ness of  preachings  to  save  thetn  that  believe.  To  know 
God  IS  a  short  phrase,  expressive  of  an  idea  of  the  vir- 
tues necessary  to  salvation ;  it  is  equal  to  the  term  theo- 
l^y^  ibat  is,  science  concerning  God  ;  a  body  of  doc- 
trine, containing  ail  the  truths  which  are  necessary  to 
salvation.  Agieeably  to  this,  vSt  Paul  explains  the 
phrase  tp  know  God^  by  the  expression,  to  be  saved, 
^fter  that  in  the  wi..dom  of  God  the  world  by  wisdom 
knew  not  God,  it  pleased  God  by  ihe  foolishness  ofpn  ach- 
ing to  save  them  that  believe :  and,  a  little  low^er,  what 
he  had  called  knowing  God,  be  calls  knowing  the  mind 

,  ^fthe  Lord,  chap.  ii.  l6.  that  is,  knowing  that  plan  of 

-  salvation  which  God  hath  formed  in  regard  to  man. 
When  therefore  the  apo-  tie  said.  The  world  by  %visdGm 
knew  not  God,  he  meant,  that  the  heathens  had  not  de~ 
lived  from  the  light  of  nature  all  the  help  necessary  to 
enable  them  to  form  adequate  notions  of  God,  and  of 
a  worship  suited  to  his  perfections.  Above  all,  he 
meant  to  teach  u«  that  it  was  impossible  for  the  greatest 
philosophers  to  discover  by  the  lip:ht  of  nature  all  the 

J  truths  that  compose  the  system  of  the  gospel,  and  par- 
ticularly the  doctrine  of  a  crucified  Redeemer.     The 

accom- 

^  Apol.  Secuml.  f  Serm,  viii.  de  verbo  Apost. 


The  j4dvantag€S  of  Revelation.  295 

accomplishment  of  the  great  mystery  of  redemption 
depended  on  the  pure  will  of  God,  and,  consequently, 
it  could  be  known  only  by  revelation.  With  this 
view  he  calls  the  mysteries  of  revelation  "  things 
"  which  eye  hath  not  seen,  nor  ear  heard,  but  whicliii' 
*'  God  hath  revealed  by  his  Spirit,"  yer.  9,  10- 

The  apostle  saith,  "  After  the  t^'orld  by  wisdom 
"  knew  not  God,  it  pleased  God  to  save  believers  by 
"  the  foolishness  of  preaching."  That  is  to  say,  since 
the  mere  systems  of  reason  were  eventually  insuflicient 
for  the  salvation  of  mankind ;  and  since  it  was  impossi- 
ble that  their  speculations  should  obtain  the  true  know- 
ledge of  God  ;  God  took  another  way  to  instruct  them : 
he  revealed  by  preaching,  the  gospel,  what  the  light  of 
nature  could  not  discover,  so  that  the  system  of  Jesus 
Christ,  and  his  apostles,  supplied  all  that  was  wanting 
in  the  systems  of  the  ancient  philosophers. 

But  it  is  not  in  relation  to  the  ancient  philosophers 
only  that  we  mean  to  consider  the  proposition  in  our 
text ;  we  will  examine  it  also  in  reference  to  modern 
philosophy.  Our  philosophers  know  more  than  all 
those  of  Greece  knew  ;  but  their  science,  wliich  is  of 
unspeakable  advantage,  while  it  contains  itself  within 
its  proper  sphere,  becomes  a  source  of  errors  when  it 
is  extended  beyond  it.  Human  reason  now  lodgeth 
itself  in  new  intrenchments,  when  it  refuseth  to  submit 
to  the  faith.  It  even  puts  on  new  armour  to  attack  it, 
after  it  hath  invented  new  method  of  self  defence. 
Under  pretence  that  natural  science  hath  made  greater 
progress,  revelation  is  despised.  Under  pretence  that 
modern  notions  of  God  the  Creator  are  purer  than  those  i 
oftheancients,theyokeof  God  the  Redeemer  is  shaken 
off.  We  are  going  to  employ  the  remaining  part  of 
this  discourse  in  justifying  the  proposition  of  St  Paul 
in  the  sense  that  we  have  given  it :  we  are  going  to 
endeavour  to  prove,  that  revealed  religion  hath  ad- 
vantages infinitely  superior  to  natural  religion :  that 
the  greatest  geniusses  are  incapable  of  discovering  by 

their 


296        The  Advantages  of  Revelation. 

their  own  reason  all  the  truths  necessary  to  salvation : 
and  that  it  displays  the  goodness  of  God,  not  to  aban- 
don us  to  the  uncertainties  of  our  own  wisdom,  but 
to  make  us  the  rich  present  of  revelation. 

We  will  enter  into  this  discussion  by  placing  on  the 
one  side,  a  philosopher  contemplating  the  works  of 
nature;  on  the  other,  a  disciple  of  Jesus  Christ  re- 
ceiving the  doctrines  of  revelation.     To  each  we  vAW 
igive  four  subjects  to  examine  :  the  attributes  of  God  : 
Ithe  nature  of  man  :  the  means  of  appeasing  the  remorse 
lof  conscience  :  and  a  future  state.     From  their  judg- 
ments on  each  of  these  subjects,  evidence  will  arise  of 
the  superior  worth  of  that  revelation,  which  some 
minute  philosophers  affect  to  despise,  and  above  which 
they  prefer  that  rough  draught  which  they  sketch  out 
by  their  own  learned  speculations. 

I.  Let  us  consider  a  disciple  of  natural  religion,  and 
a  disciple  of  revealed  religion,  meditating  on  the  attri- 
butes of  God.  When  the  disciple  of  natural  religion  con- 
siders the  symmetry  of  this  universe;  when  he  observes 
that  admirable  uniformity,  which  appears  in  the  succes- 
sion of  seasons,  and  in  the  constant  rotation  of  night  and 
day;  w^henhe  remarks  the  exact  motions  of  the  heaven- 
ly bodies;  the  flux  and  reflux  of  the  sea,  so  ordered  that 
billows,  which  swell  into  mountains,  and  seem  to  threat- 
en the  world  with  an  universal  deluge,  break  away  on 
the  shore,  and  respect  on  the  beach  thecommandof  the 
Creator,  who  said  to  the  sea,  Hitherto  shalt  thou  come ^  hut 
no  farther  ;  and  here  shall  thy  proud  waves  he  stayed.  Job 
xxxviii.  11. ;  when  he  attends  to  all  these  marvellous 
works,  he  will  readily  conclude,  that  the  Author  of 
nature  is  a  being  powejful_^  and  wise.  But  when  he 
observes,  wdnds, tempests,  and  earthquakes, which  seem 
to  threaten  the  reduction  of  nature  to  its  primitive 
chaos  ;  when  he  sees  the  sea  overflow  its  banks,  and 
burst  the  enormous  moles,  that  the  industry  of  man- 
kind had  raised ;  his  speculations  will  be  perplexed, 

he 


The  Advantages  of  Revelation,         297 

he  will  imagine,  he  sees  characters  of  imperfection 
among  so  many  proofs  of  creative  perfection  and 
power. 

When  he  thinks  that  God,  having  enriched  the  ha- 
bitable world  with  innumerable  productions  of  infinite 
worth  to  the  inhabitant,  hath  placed  man  here  as  a 
sovereign  in  a  superb  palace ;  when  he  considers  how^ 
admirably  God  hath  proportioned  the  divers  parts  of 
the  creation  to  the  construction  of  the  human  body, 
the  air  to  the  lungs,  aliments  to  the  different  humours 
of  the  body,  the  medium  by  which  objects  are  ren- 
dered visible  to  the  eyes,  that  by  which  sounds  are 
communicated  to  the  ears;  when  he  remarks  how 
God  hath  connected  man  with  his  own  species,  and 
not  with  animals  of  another  kind ;  how  he  hath  distri- 
buted talents,  so  that  some  requiring  the  assistance  of 
others,  all  should  be  mutually  united  together ;  how 
he  hath  bound  men  together  by  visible  ties,  so  that 
one  cannot  see  another  in  pain  without  a  sympathy 
that  inclines  him  to  relieve  him:  when  the  disciple  of 
natural  religion  meditates  on  these  grand  subjects,  he 
concludes  that  the  Author  of  nature  is  a  beneficent 
Being.  But  when  he  sees  the  innumerable  miseries 
to  which  men  are  subject ;  when  he  finds  that  every 
creature  which  contributes  to  support,  contributes  at 
the  same  time  to  destroy  us;  when  he  thinks  that  the  air, 
which  assists  respiration,  conveys  epidemical  diseases, 
and  imperceptible  poisons;  that  aliments  which  nourish 
us  are  often  our  bane ;  that  the  animals  that  serve  u^ 
often  turn  savage  against  us ;  when  he  observes  the 
perfidiousness  of  society,  the  mutual  industry  of  man- 
kind  in  tormenting  each  other ;  the  arts  which  they 
invent  to  deprive  one  another  of  life ;  when  be  at-^ 
tempts  to  reckon  up  the  innumerable  maladies  that 
consume  us ;  when  he  considers  death,  which  bow^s  the 
loftiest  heads,  dissolves  the  firmest  cements,  and  sub- 
verts the  best-founded  fortunes  :  v/hen  he  makes  these 
reflections,    he  v,ill  be  apt  to  doubt,  whether  it  br 

fT^ood- 


298         The  Advantages  of  Revelation; 

goodness,  or  the  contrary  attribute,  that  inclineth  the 
Author  of  our  being  to  give  us  existence.  When  the 
disciple  of  natural  religion  reads  those  reverses  of  for- 
tune of  which  history  furnisheth  a  great  many  ex- 
amples; when  he  seeth  tyrants  fall  from  a  pinnacle 
of  grandeur  V  wicked  men  often  punished  by  their  own 
\vicked;iess  ;  the  avaricious  punished  by  the  objects  of 
their  avarice;  the  ambitious  by  those  of  their  ambition; 
the  voluptuous  by  those  of  their  voluptuousness ;  when 
he  perceives  that  the  laws  of  virtue  arc  so  essential  to 
public  happiness,  that  without  them  society  would  be- 
come a  banditti,  at  least,  that  society  is  more  or  less 
happy  or  miserable,  according  to  its  looser  or  closer 
attachment  to  virtue ;  when  he  considers  all  these  cases, 
he  will  probably  conclude,  that  the  Author  of  this  uni- 
verse is  a  just  and, hpl^,. Being.  But,  when  he  sees  ty- 
ranny established,  vice  enthroned,  humility  in  confu- 
sion, pride  wearing  a  crown,  and  love  to  holiness  some- 
times exposing  people  to  many  and  intolerable  calami- 
ties ;  he  will  not  be  able  to  justify  God,  amidst  the 
d'arkness  in  which  his  equity  is  involved  in  the  govern- 
ment of  the  world. 

But,  of  all  these  mysteries,  can  one  be  proposed 
which  the  gospel  doth  not  unfold ;  or,  at  least,  is  there 
one  on  which  it  doth  not  give  us  some  principles  which 
are  sufficient  to  conciliate  it  with  the  perfections  of  the 
Creator,  how  opposite  soever  it  may  seem  ? 

Do  the  disorders  of  the  world  puzzle  the  disciple  of 
natural  religion,  and  produce  difficulties  in  his  mind  ? 
With  the  principles  of  the  gospel  I  can  solve  them  all. 
When  it  is  remembered,  that  this  world  hath  been  de- 
filed by  the  sin  of  man,  and  that  he  is  therefore  an  ob- 
ject of  divine  displeasure;  when  the  principle  is  ad- 
mitted, that  the  world  is  not  now  what  it  was  when 
it  came  out  of  the  hands  of  God ;  and  that,  in  compa- 
rison with  its  pristine  state,  it  is  only  a  heap  of  ruins, 
the  truly  magnificent,  but  actually  ruinous  heap  of  an 
edifice  of  incomparable  beauty,  the  rubbish  of  which 

is 


Tlie  Advantages  of  Revelation.        299 

is  far  more  proper  to  excite  our  grief  for  the  loss  of  its 
primitive  erandeur,  than  to  suit  our  present  wants. 
When  these  reflections  are  made,  can  we  find  any  ob- 
jections, in  the  disorders  of  the  world,  against  the 
wi^dom  of  our  Creator? 

t\Y&  the  miseries  of  man,  and  is  the  fatal  necessity  of 
death,  in  contemplation?  With  the  principles  of  the 
gospel  I  solve  the  difficulties  which  these  sad  objects 
produce  in  the  mind  of  ihe  disciple  of  natural  rehgion. 
If  the  principles  of  Christianuy  be  admitted,  if  we  al- 
low that  the  afflictions  of  good  men  are  profitable  to 
them,  and  that,  in  many  cases,  prosperity  would  be  fa- 
tal to  them ;  if  we  grant,  that  the  present  is  a  transitory- 
state,  and  that  this  momentary  life  will  be  succeeded 
by  an  immortal  state ;  if  we  recollect  the  many  similar 
truths  which  the  gospel  abundantly  declares ;  can  we 
find,  in  human  miseries,  and  in  the  necessity  of  dying, 
objections  against  the  goodness  of  the  Creator  ? 

Do  the  prosperities  of  bad  men,  and  the  adversities 
of  the  good,  confuse  our  ideas  of  God?  With  the  prin-* 
ciples  of  the  gospel  I  can  remove  all  the  difficulties 
which  these  different  conditions  produce  in  the  mind 
of  the  disciple  of  natural  rehgion.  If  the  principles  of 
the  gospel  be  admirttrd,  if  vi/e  be  persuaded  that  the 
tyrant,  whose  prosperity  astonishes  us,  fulfils  the  coun- 
sel of  God ;  if  ecclesiastical  history  assure  us  that  He- 
rods  and  Pilates  themselves  ccmtributed  to  the  estab- 
lishment of  that  very  Christianity  which  they  meant 
to  destroy  ;  especicdly .  if  we  admit  a  state  of  future 
rewards  and  punishments;  can  the  obscurity  in  which 
Providence  hath  been  pleased  to  wrap  up  some  of 
its  designs,  raise  doubts  about  the  justice  of  the 
Creator  ? 

In  regard  then  to  the  first  object  of  contemplation, 
the  perfection  of  the  nature  of  God,  revealed  religion 
is  infinitely  superior  to  natural  religion;  the  disciple  of 
the  first  religion  is  infinitely  wiser  than  the  pupil  of  the 
last. 

II.  Let 


300         The  Advantages  of  Revelation, 

II.  Let  us  consider  these  two  discq^les  examining 
the  nature  of  man,  and  endeavouring  to  know  them- 
selves. The  disciple  of  natural  religion  cannot  know 
mankind  :  he  cannot  perfectly  understand  the  nature, 
the  obligations,  the  duration  of  man. 
.  1.  The  disciple  of  natural  religion  can  only  imper- 
fectly know  the  nature  of  man,  the  difference  of  the 
two  substances  of  which  he  is  composed.  His  reason, 
indeed,  may  speculate  the  matter,  and  he  may  perceive 
that  there  is  no  relation  between  motion  and  thought, 
between  the  dissolution  of  a  few  fibres  and  violent 
sensations  of  pain,  between  an  agitation  of  humours 
and  profound  reflections  ;  he  may  infer  from  two  dif- 
ferent effects,  that  there  ought  to  be  two  different 
causes,  a  cause  of  motion  and  a  cause  of  sensation,  a 
cause  of  agitating  humours  and  a  cause  of  reflecting, 
that  there  is  a  body,  and  that  there  is  a  spirit. 

But,  in  my  opinion,  those  philosophers  who  are  best 
acquainted  with  the  nature  of  man,  cannot  account  for 
two  difficulties,  that  are  proposed  to  them  when,  on 
the  mere  principles  of  reason,  they  affirm  that  man  is 
composed  of  the  two  substances  of  matter  and  mind. 
I  ask,  first,  Do  you  so  well  understand  matter,  are  your 
ideas  of  it  so  complete,  that  you  can  affirm,  for  certain, 
it  is  capable  of  nothing  more  than  this,  or  that  ?  Are 
you  sure  it  implies  a  contradiction  to  affirm,  it  hath 
one  property  which  hath  escaped  your  observation  ? 
and,  consequently,  can  you  actually  demonstrate,  that 
the  essence  of  matter  is  incompatible  with  thought  ? 
Since,  when  you  cannot  discover  the  union  of  an  attri- 
bute with  a  subject,  you  instantly  conclude,  that  two 
attributes,  which  seem  to  you  to  have  no  relation,  sup- 
pose two  different  subjects :  and,  since  you  conclude, 
that  extent  and  thought  compose  two  different  subjects, 
body  and  soul,  because  you  can  discover  no  natural 
relation  between  extent  and  thought :  if  I  discover  a 
third  attribute,  which  appears  to  me  entirely  uncon- 
nected with  both  extent  and  thought,  I  shall  have  a 

right, 


The  Advantages  of  Revdlation.         301 

right,  in  my  turn,  to  admit  three  subjects  in  man  ; 
matter,  which  is  the  subject  of  extent ;  mind,  which  is 
the  subject  of  thought ;  and  a  third  subject,  which  be- 
longs to  the  attribute  that  seems  to  me  to  have  no  re-*-^ 
lation  to  either  matter  or  mind.  Now  I  do  know 
such  an  attribute ;  but  I  do  not  know  to  which  of  your 
two  subjects  I  ought  to  refer  it :  I  mean  sensation.  I 
find  it  in  my  nature,  and  I  experience  it  every  hour ; 
but  I  am  ahogether  at  a  loss  whether  I  cught  to  attri- 
bute it  to  body  or  to  spirit.  1  perceive  no  more  na- 
tural and  necessary  relation  between  sensation  and  mo- 
tion, than  between  sensation  and  thought.  There  are, 
then,  on  your  principle,  three  substances  in  man ;  one 
the  substratum,  which  is  the  subject  of  extension;  ano- 
ther, which  is  the  subject  of  thought;  and  a  third, 
which  is  the  subject  of  sensation :  or  rather,  I  suspect 
there  is  only  one  substance  in  man,  which  is  known  to 
me  very  imperfectly,  to  which  all  these  attributes  be- 
long, and  which  are  united  together,  although  I  am 
not  able  to  discover  their  relation. 

Revealed  religion  removes  these  difficulties,  and 
decides  the  question.  It  tells  us,  that  there  are  two 
beings  in  man,  and,  if  I  may  express  myself  so,  two 
different  men,  the  material  man,  and  the  immaterial 
man.  The  scriptures  speak  on  these  principles  thus : 
The  dust  shall  return  to  the  earth  as  it  was,  this  is  the 
material  man :  The  spirit  shall  return  to  God  iJoho  gave 
it,  Eccl.  xii.  7.  this  is  the  immaterial  man.  Fear  not 
them  which  kill  the  body,  that  is  to  say,  the  material  man: 
fear  him  which  is  able  to  destroy  the  soul,  Matt.  x.  28. 
that  is,  the  immaterial  man.  We  are  willing  to  be  ab- 
sent from  the  body,  that  is,  from  the  material  man;  a7id 
to  be  present  with  the  Lord,  2  Cor.  v.  8.  that  is  to  say, 
to  have  the  immaterial  man  disembodied.  They  stoned 
Stephen,  that  is,  the  material  man :  calling  upon  God, 
and  saying.  Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit.  Acts  vii.  59, 
that  is  to  say,  receive  the  immaterial  man. 

2.  The  disciple  of  natural  religion  can  obtain  only 

in 


302        The  Advantages  of  Revelation. 

an  imperfect  knowledge  of  the  obligations^  or  duties  of 
man.     Natural  religion  may  indeed  conduct  him  to  a 
certain  point,  and  tell  him  that  he  ought  to  love  his 
benefactor,  and  various  similar  maxims.     Bur  is  natu- 
ral religion,   think  you,  sufficient  to  account  for  that 
contrariety,  of  which  every  man  is  conscious,  that  op- 
position between  inclination  and  obligation  ?  A  very 
solid  argument,  1  grant,  in  favour  of  moral  rectitude, 
ariseth  from  observing,  that  to  whatever  dtgxQQ,  a  man 
may  carry  his  sin,  whatever  efforts  he  may  make  to 
eradicate  those  seeds  of  virtue  from  his  heart  which 
nature  hath  sown  there,  he  cannot  forbear  venerating 
\irtue,  and  recoiling  at  vice.    1  his  is  certainly  a  proof 
that  the  Author  of  our  being  meant  to  forbid  vice,  and 
to  enjoin  virtue.    But  is  there  no  room  for  complaint  ? 
Is  there  nothing  specious  in  the  following  objections  ? 
As,  in  spite  of  all  my  endeavours  to  destroy  virtuous 
dispositions,  I  cannot  help  respecting  virtue,  you  infer, 
that  the  Author  of  my  being  intended  1  should  be  vir« 
tuous:  So,  as  in  spite  of  all  my  endeavours  to  eradicate 
vice,  I  cannot  help  loving  vice,  have  I  not  reason  for 
inferring,  in  my  turn,  that  the  Author  of  my  being 
dcwsigned  I  should  be  viciovis;  or,  at  least,  that  he  can- 
not justly  impute  guilt  to  me  for    performing  those 
actions   which    proceed    from    some    principles   that 
were  born  with  me?  Is  there  no  shew  of  reason  in  this 
famous  sophism  ?  Reconcile  the  God  of  nature  with 
the  God  of  religion.    Explain  how  the  God  of  religion 
can  forbid  what  the  God  of  nature  inspires ;  and  how 
he  who  follows  those  dictates,  which  the  God  of  na- 
ture inspires,  can  be  punished  for  so  doing  by  the  God 
of  religion. 

The  gospel  unfolds  this  mystery.  It  attributes  this 
seed  of  corruption  to  the  depravity  of  nature.  It  at- 
tributeth  the  respect  we  f.  el  for  virtue  to  the  remains 
of  the  image  of  God  in  which  v/e  were  formed,  and 
whith  can  never  be  entirely  efFaced.  Because  we  were 
born  in  sin,  the  gospel   concludes  that  we  ought  to 

apply 


The  Advantages  of  Revelation.         305 

i\pply  ail  our  attentive  endeavours  to  eradicate  the 
seeds  of  corruption.  And,  because  the  image  of  the 
Creator  is  partly  erased  from  our  hearts,  the  gospel 
concludes  that  we  ought  to  give  ourselves  wholly  to 
the  retracing  of  it,"  and  so  to  answer  the  excellence  of 
our  extraction. 

3.  A  disciple  of  natural  religion  can  obtain  only  an 
imperfect  knowledge  of  the  duration  of  man,  whether 
his  soul  be  immortal,  or  whether  it  be  involved  in  the 
ruin  of  matter.    Reason,  I  allow,  advanceth  some  solid 
arguments  in  proof  of  the  doctrine  of  the  immortality 
of  the  soul.    For  what  necessity  is  there  for  supposing 
that  the  soul,  which  is  a  spiritual,  indivisible,  and  im- 
material being,  that  constitutes  a  whole,  and  is  a  dis- 
tinct being,   although  united  to  a  portion  of  matter, 
should  cease  to  exist  when  its  union  with  the  body  is 
dissolved  ?  A  positive  act  of  the  Creator  is  necessary 
to  the  annihilation  of  a  substance.     The  annihilating 
of  a  being  that  subsists,  requireth  an  act  of  power  si- 
milar to  that  which  gave  it  existence  at  first.     Now, 
far  from  having  any  ground  to  believe  that  God  will 
cause  his  power  to  intervene  to  annihilate  our  souls, 
every  thing  that  we  know  persuadeth  us  that  he  him- 
self hath  engraven  characters  of  immortality  on  them, 
and  that  he  will  preserve  them  for  ever.     Enter  into 
thy  heart,  frail  creature!  see,  feel,  consider  those  grand 
ideas,  those  immortal  designs,  that  thirst  for  existing, 
which  a  thousand  ages  cannot  quench,  and  in  these 
lines  and  points  behold  the  finger  of  the  Creator  writ- 
ing a  promise  of  immortality  to  thee.     But,  how  solid 
soever  these  arguments  may  be,  however  evident  in 
themselves,  and  striking  to  a  philosopher,  they  are  ob- 
jectionable, because  they  are  not  popular,  but  above 
vulgar  minds,  to  whom  the  bare  terms,  spirituality  and 
existence,  are  entirely  barbarous,  and  convey  no  mean- 
ing at  all. 

Moreover,  the  union  between  the  operations  of  the 
soul,  and  those  of  the  body,  is  so  close,  that  all  the 

philosophers 


304         The  Advantages  of  Revelation, 

philosophers  in  the  world  cannot  certainly  determine, 
whether  the  operations  of  the  body  ceasing,  the  opera- 
tions of  the  soul  do  not  cease  with  them.  I  see  a  body 
in  perfect  health,  the  mind  therefore  is  sound.  The 
same  body  is  disordered,  and  the  mind  is  disconcerted 
with  it.  The  brain  is  filled,  and  the  soul  is  instantly 
confused.  The  brisker  the  circulation  of  the  blood  isy 
the  quicker  the  ideas  of  the  mind  are,  and  the  more 
extensive  its  knowledge.  At  length  death  comes,  and 
dissolves  all  the  parts  of  the  body ;  and  how  difficult  is 
it  to  persuade  one's-self  that  the  soul,  which  was  af- 
fected with  every  former  motion  of  the  body,  will  not 
be  dissipated  by  its  entire  dissolution  1 

Are  they  the  vulgar  only  to  whom  the  philosophical 
arguments  for  the  immortality  of  the  soul  appear  defi- 
cient in  evidence  '^.  Do  not  superior  geniusses  require, 
at  least,  an  explanation  of  what  rank  you  assign  to 
beasts,  on  the  principle,  that  nothing  capable  of  ideas 
and  conceptions  can  be  involved  in  a  dissolution  of 
matter  ?  Nobody  would  venture  to  affirm  now,  in  an 
assembly  of  philosophers,  what  was  some  time  ago 
maintained  with  great  warmth,  that  beasts  are  mere 
self-moving  machines.  Experience  seems  to  demon- 
strate the  falsity  of  the  metaphysical  reasonings  which 
have  been  proposed  in  favour  of  this  opinion ;  and  we 
cannot  observe  the  actions  of  beasts  without  being  in- 
clined to  infer  one  of  these  two  consequences :  either 
the  spirit  of  man  is  mortal,  like  his  body,  or  the  souls 
of  beasts  are  immortal,  like  those  of  mankind. 

Revelation  dissipates  all  our  obscurities,  and  teacheth 
us  clearly,  and  without  any  may-be,  that  God  willeth 
our  immortality.  It  carries  our  thoughts  forward  to  a 
future  state,  as  to  a  fixed  period,  whether  the  greatest 
part  of  the  promises  of  God  tend.  It  commandeth  us, 
indeed,  to  consider  all  the  blessings  of  this  life,  the 
aliments  that  nourish  us,  the  rays  which  enlighten  us, 
the  air  we  breathe,  sceptres,  crowns,  and  kingdoms, 
as  effects  of  the  liberality  of  God,  and  as  grounds 

of 


The  Advantages  of  Revelation.         305 

of  our  gratitude.  But,  at  the  same  time,  it  requireth 
us  to  surmount  the  most  magnificent  earthly  objects. 
It  commandeth  us  to  consider  light,  air,  and  aliments, 
crowns,  sceptres,  and  kingdoms,  as  unfit  to  constitute 
the  felicity  of  a  soul  created  in  the  image  of  the  blessed 
God,  1  Tim.  i.  1 1.  and  with  whom  i\iQ  blessed  God  hath 
formed  a  close  and  intimate  union.  It  assureth  us,  that 
an  age  of  life  cannot  fill  the  wish  of  duration,  which 
it  is  the  noble  prerogative  of  an  immortal  soul  to  form. 
It  doth  not  ground  the  doctrine  of  immortality  on  me- 
taphysical speculations,  nor  on  complex  arguments, 
uninvestigable  by  the  greatest  part  of  mankind,  and 
which  always  leaves  some  doubts  in  the  minds  of  the 
ablest  philosophers.  The  gospel  grounds  the  doctrine 
on  the  only  principle  that  can  support  the  weight  with 
which  it  is  encumbered.  The  principle  which  I  mean 
is  the  will  of  the  Creator,  who,  having  created  our 
souls  at  first  by  an  act  of  his  will,  can  either  eternally 
preserve  them,  or  absolutely  annihilate  them,  whe- 
ther they  be  material,  or  spiritual,  mortal  or  immor- 
tal, by  nature.  Thus  the  disciple  of  revealed  religion 
doth  not  float  between  doubt  and  assurance,  hope  and 
fear,  as  the  disciple  of  nature  doth.  He  is  not  obliged 
to  leave  the  most  interesting  question  that  poor  mor- 
tals can  agitate  undecided  ;  whether  their  souls  perish 
with  their  bodies,  or  survive  their  ruins.  He  doth 
not  say,  as  Cyrus  said  to  his  children :  **  I  know  not 
*'  how  to  persuade  myself  that  the  soul  lives  in  this 
*'  mortal  body,  and  ceaseth  to  be  when  the  body 
"  expires.  I  am  more  inclined  to  think,  that  it  ac- 
"  quires  after  death  more  penetration  and  purity  *." 
We  doth  not  say,  as  Socrates  said  to  his  judges  :  ''  And 
"  now  we  are  going,  I  to  suffer  death,  and  you  to  enjoy 
"  hfe.  God  only  knows  which  is  best  t-"  He  doth  not 
say  as  Cicero  said,  speaking  on  this  important  article : 
"  I  do  not  pretend  to  say,  that  what  I  afBrm  is  as 
*'  infallible  as  the  Pythian  oracle,  I  speak  only  by 
Vol.  II.  U  *  "con-^ 

*  Xenophon.  Cyrop.  V   PlatoT-i.  A{k>1.  Sorrat.  atl  tin. 


300        The  Advantages  of  Revelation. 

"  conjecture  *."  The  disciple  of  revelation,  authorised 
by  the  testimony  of  Jesus  Christ,  who  "  hath  brought  life 
"  and  immortality  to  light  thro'  the  gospel,"  2Tim.i.  10. 
boldly  affirms,  "Tho'our  outward  man  perish,  yet  the  in- 
*'  ward  man  is  renewed  day  by  day.  We,  that  are  in  this 
'*  tabernacle,  do  groan,  being  burdened :  not  for  that  we 
"  would  be  unclothed,  but  clothed  upon,  that  mortality 
"  might  be  swallowed  up  of  life.  I  know  whom  I  have 
'*  believed,  and  I  am  persuaded  that  he  is  able  to  keep 
''  that  which  I  have  committed  to  him,  against  that 
"  day,"  2  Cor.  iv.  16.  v.  4.  and  2  Tim.  i.  12. 

III.  We  are  next  to  consider  the  disciple  of  natural 
religion,  and  the  disciple  of  revealed  religion,  at  the 
tribunal  of  God  as  penitents  soliciting  for  pardon.  The 
former  cannot  find,  even  h^  feeling  after  it^  in  natural 
religion,  according  to  the  language  of  St  Paul,  Acts 
xvii.  27.  the  grand  mean  of  reconciliation,  which  God 
hath  given  to  the  church  ;  I  mean  the  sacrifice  of  the 
cross.  Reason,  indeed,  discovers  that  man  is  guilty,  as 
the  confessions  and  acknowledgements  which  the  hea- 
thens made  of  their  crimes  prove.  It  discerns  that  a 
sinner  deserves  punishment,  as  the  remorse  and  fear 
with  which  their  consciences  were  often  excruciated, 
demonstrate.  It  presumes,  indeed,  that  God  will  yield 
to  the  intreaties  of  his  creatures,  as  their  prayers,  and 
temples,  and  altars  testify.  It  even  goes  so  far  as  to 
perceive  the  necessity  of  satisfying:  divme  justice;  this 
their  sacrifices,  this  their  burnt  offerings,  this  their  hu- 
man victims,  this  the  rivers  of  blood  that  flowed  on 
their  altars,  shew. 

But,  how  likely  soever  all  these  speculations  may  be, 
they  form  only  a  systematic  body  without  a  head  ;  for 

tio  positive  promise  of  pardon  from  God  himself  be- 
ongs  to  them.     The  mystery  of  the  cross  is  entirely 
invisible;  for  only  God  could  reveal  that,  because  only 
God  could  plan,  and  only  he  could  execute  that  pro- 
found 
*  CIceron.  Tubc.  Queest.  lib.  I. 


The  Advantages  of  Revelation,         307 

found  relief.  How  could  human  reason,  alone,  and 
unassisted,  have  discovered  the  mystery  of  redemption, 
when,  alas !  after  an  infallible  God  had  revealed  it,  rea- 
son is  absorbed  in  its  depth,  and  needs  all  its  submis- 
sion to  receive  it  as  an  article  of  faith  ? 

But,  that  which  natural  religion  cannot  attain,  re- 
vealed religion  clearly  discovers.  Revelation  exhibits 
a  God-man,  dying  for  the  sins  of  mankind,  and  setting 
grace  before  every  penitent  sinner ;  grace  for  all  man- 
kind. The  schools  have  often  agitated  the  questions, 
and  sometimes  very  indiscreetly.  Whether  Jesus  Christ 
died  for  all  mankind,  or  only  for  a  small  number? 
Whether  his  blood  were  shed  for  all  who  hear  the  gos- 
pel, or  for  those  only  who  believe  it?  We  will  not  dis- 
pute these  points  now ;  but  we  will  venture  to  affirm, 
that  there  is  not  an  individual  of  all  our  hearers,  who 
hath  not  a  right  to  say  to  himself.  If  I  believe,  I  shall 
be  saved ;  I  shall  believe,  If  I  endeavour  to  believe. 
Consequently  every  individual  hath  a  right  to  apply 
the  benefits  of  the  death  of  Christ  to  himself.  The 
gospel  reveals  grace,  which  pardons  the  most  atrocious 
crimes,  those  that  have  the  most  fatal  influences.  Al- 
though you  have  denied  Christ  with  Peter,  betrayed 
him  with  Judas,  persecuted  him  with  Saul ;  yet  the 
blood  of  a  God-man  is  sufficient  to  obtain  your  par- 
don, if  you  be  in  the  covenant  of  redemption  :  Grace, 
which  is  accessible  at  all  times,  at  every  instant  of  life. 
Wo  be  to  you,  my  brethren  ;  wo  be  to  you,  if,  abu- 
sing this  reflection,  you  delay  your  return  to  God  till  the 
last  moments  of  your  lives,  when  your  repentance  will 
be  difficult,  not  to  say  impracticable  and  impossible  I 
But  it  is  always  certain  that  God  every  instant  opens 
the  treasures  of  his  mercy,  when  sinners  return  to  him 
by  sincere  repentance  :  Grace,  capable  of  terminating 
all  the  melancholy  thoughts  that  are  produced  by  the 
fear  of  being  abandoned  by  God  in  the  midst  of  our 
iJace,  and  of  having  the  work  of  salvation  left  imper- 
fect;  for,  after  l:e  hath  given  us  a  present  so  magni- 

U  "^  ficent^ 


308         The  Advantages  of  Revelation. 

iicent,  what  can  he  refuse?  He  that  spared  not  his  own 
Son,  but  delivered  him  up  for  us  all,  how  shall  he  riot 
with  him  also  freely  give  us  all  things  P  Rom.  viii.  32. 
Grace,  so  clearly  revealed  in  our  scriptures,  that  the  most 
accurate  reasoning,  heresy  the  most  extravagant,  and  in- 
fidelity the  most  obstinate,  cannot  enervate  its  declara- 
tions; for  the  death  of  Christ  may  be  considered  in  dif- 
ferent rnt^s :  it  is  a  sufficient  confirmation  of  his  doc- 
trine ;  it  is  a  perfect  pattern  of  patience  ;  it  is  the  most 
magnanimous  degree  of  extraordinary  excellencies  that 
can  be  imagined  :  but  the  gospel  very  seldom  presents 
it  to  us  in  any  of  these  views,  it  leaves  them  to  our 
own  perception ;  but  when  it  speaks  of  his  death,  it 
usually  speaks  of  it  as  an  expiatory  sacrifice.  Need  we 
repeat  here  a  number  of  formal  texts,  and  express  de- 
cisions, on  this  matter  ?  Thanks  be  to  God,  we  are 
preaching  to  a  Christian  auditory,  who  make  the  death 
of  the  Redeemer  the  foundation  of  faith  !  The  gospel, 
then,  assureth  the  penitent  sinner  of  pardon.  Zeno, 
\  Epicurus,  Pythagoras,  Socrates,  Porch,  Academy,  Ly- 
j  csEum,  what  have  you  to  offer  to  your  disciples  equal 
'  to  this  promise  of  the  gospel  '^, 

IV.  But  that  which  principally  displays  the  prero- 
gatives of  the  Christian  above  those  of  the  philosopher 
is,  an  all -sufficient  provision  against  the  fear  of  death. 
A  comparison  between  a  dying  Pagan  and  a  dying  Chris- 
tian will  shew  this.  I  consider  a  Pagan,  in  his  dying- 
bed,  speaking  to  himself  what  follows :  "  On  which 
side  soever  I  consider  my  state,  I  perceive  nothing  but 
trouble  and  despair.  If  I  observe  the  forerunners  of 
death,  I  see  awful  symptoms,  violent  sickness  and  in- 
tolerable pain,  which  surround  my  sick-bed,  and  are 
the  first  scenes  of  the  bloody  tragedy.  As  to  the  world, 
my  dearest  objects  disappear ;  my  closest  connections 
are  dissolving ;  my  most  specious  titles  are  effacing  ; 
my  noblest  privileges  are  vanishing  away ;  a  dismal 
curtain  falls  between  my  eves  and  all  the  decorations 

of 


The  Advantages  of  Revelation.         509 

of  the  universe.     In  regard  to  my  body,  it  is  a  mass 
without  motion  and  life ;  my  tongue  is  about  to  be 
condemned  to  eternal  silence ;  my  eyes  to  perpetual 
darkness ;  all  the  organs  of  my  body  to  entire  dissolu- 
tion; and  the  miserable  remains  of  my  carcase  to  lodge 
in  the  grave,  and  to  become  food  for  the  worms.    If  I 
consider  my  soul,  I  scarcely  know  whether  it  be  im- 
mortal ;  and  could  I  demonstrate  its  natural  immorta- 
lity, I  should  not  be  able  to  say,  whether  my  Creator 
would  display  his  attributes  in  preserving,  or  in  de- 
stroying it;    whether  my  wishes  for  immortality  be 
the  dictates  of  nature,  or  the  language  of  sin.     If  I 
consider  my  past  life,    I  have  a  witness  within  me, 
attesting  that  my  practice   hath   been   less   than  my 
knowledge,  how  small  soever  the  latter  hath  been; 
and  that  the  abundant   depravity  of  my  heart  hath 
thickened  the  darkness  of  my  mind.     If  I  consider  fu- 
turity, I  think  I  discover,  through  many  thick  clouds, 
a  future  state ;  my  reason  suggests  that  the  author  of 
nature  hath  not  given  me  a  soul  so  sublime  in  thought, 
and  so  expansive  in  desire,  merely  to  move  in  this  little 
orb  for  a  moment :  but  this  is  nothing  but  conjec- 
ture ;    and,    if  there  be  another  economy  after  this, 
should  I  be  less  miserable  than  I  am  here  ?   One  mo- 
ment I  hope  for  annihilation,  the  next  I  shudder  with 
the  fear  of  being  annihilated;  my  thoughts  and  desires 
are  at  war  with  each  other ;  they  rise,  they  resist,  they 
destroy  one  another."     Such  is  the  dying  heathen.    If 
a  few  examples  of  those  who  have  died  otherwise  be 
adduced,  they  ought  not  to  be  urged  in  evidence  against 
what  we  have  advanced  ;  for  they  are  rare,  and  very 
probably  deceptive,   their  outward  tranquillity  being 
only  a  concealment  of  trouble  within.     Trouble  is  the 
greater  for  confinement  within,   and    for  an  affected 
appearance  without.     As  we  ought  not  to  believe  that 
philosophy  hath  rendered  men  insensible  of  pain,  be- 
cause some  philosophers    have   maintained  that  pain 
is  no  evil,  and  have  seemed  to  triumph  over  it ;  so 

neither 


310         The  Advantages  of  Revelation, 

neither  ought  we  to  believe  that  it  hath  disarmed  death 
in  regard  to  the  disciples  of  natural  religion,  because 
some  have  affirmed  that  death  is  not  an  object  of  fear. 
After  all,  if  some  Pagans  enjoyed  a  real  tranquillity  at 
death,  it  was  a  groundless  tranquillity,  to  which  reason 
contributed  nothing  at  all. 

O!  how  differently  do  Christians  die!  How  doth  re- 
vealed religion  triumph  over  the  religion  of  nature  in 
this  respect!  May  each  of  our  hearers  be  a  new  evidence 
of  this  article!  The  whole  that  troubles  an  expiring 
heathen,  revives  a  Christian  in  his  dying  bed. 

Thus  speaks  the  dying  Christian  :  "  When  I  consi- 
der the  awful  symptoms  of  death,  and  the  violent  ago- 
nies of  dissolving  nature,  they  appear  to  me  as  medical 
preparations,  sharp,  but  salutary  ;  they  are  necessary 
to  detach  me  from  life,  and  to  separate  the  remains  of 
inward  depravity  from  me.  Besides,  1  shall  not  be 
abandoned  to  my  own  frailty ;  but  my  patience  and 
constancy  will  be  proportional  to  my  sufferings,  and 
that  powerful  arm  which  hath  supported  me  through 
life,  will  uphold  me  under  the  pressure  of  death.  If 
1  consider  my  sins,  many  as  they  are,  I  am  invulnera- 
ble ;  for  I  go  to  a  tribunal  of  mercy,  where  God  is 
reconciled,  and  justice  is  satisfied.  If  I  consider  my 
body,  I  perceive  I  am  putting  off  a  mean  and  corrup- 
tible habit,  and  putting  on  robes  of  glory.  Fall,  fall, 
ye  imperfect  senses,  ye  frail  organs;  fall,  house  of  clay, 
into  your  original  dust ;  you  will  be  so%vn  in  corriip' 
tion,  but  raised  in  incorriiption  ;  sown  in  dishonour,  but 
raised  in  glory ;  sown  in  weakness,  hm  raised  in  power ^ 
1  Cor.  XV.  42.  If  I  consider  my  soul,  it  is  passing,  I  see, 
from  slavery  to  freedom.  1  shall  carry  with  me  that 
which  thinks  and  reflects.  I  shall  carry  with  me  the 
delicacy  of  taste,  the  harmony  of  sounds,  the  beauty  of 
colours,  the  fragrance  of  odoriferous  smells.  I  shall 
surmount  heaven  and  earth,  nature,  and  all  terrestrial 
things,  and  my  ideas  of  all  their  beauties  will  multiply 
and  expand.     If  I  consider  the  future  economy  to 

which 


The  Advantages  of  Revelatmu         311 

which  I  go,  I  have,  I  own,  very  inadequate  notions  of 
it ;  but  my  incapacity  is  the  ground  of  my  expectation. 
Could  I  perfectly  comprehend  it,  it  would  argue  its  re- 
semblance to  some  of  the  present  objects  of  my  senses, 
or  its  minute  proportion  to  the  present  operations  of 
my  mind.  If  worldly  dignities  and  grandeurs,  if  ac- 
cumulated treasures,  if  the  enjoyments  of  the  most  re- 
fined voluptuousness  were  to  represent  to  me  celestial 
felicity,  I  should  suppose  that,  partaking  of  their  na- 
ture, they  partook  of  their  vanity.  But,  if  nothing 
here  can  represent  the  future  state,  it  is  because  that 
state  surpasseth  every  other.  My  ardour  is  increased  by 
my  imperfect  knowledge  of  it.  My  knowledge  and  vir- 
tue, I  am  certain,  will  be  perfected;  1  know  I  shall  com- 
prehend truth,  and  obey  order;  I  know  I  shall  be  free 
from  all  evils,  and  in  possession  of  all  good ;  I  shall  be 
present  with  God,  1  know,  and  with  all  the  happy  spi- 
rits, who  surround  his  throne ;  and  this  perfect  state, 
I  am  sure,  will  continue  for  ever  and  ever." 

Such  are  the  all-sufficient  supports  which  revealed 
religion  affords  against  the  fear  of  death.  Such  are 
the  meditations  of  a  dying  Christian;  not  one  of  whose 
whole  Christianity  consists  of  dry  speculations,  which' 
have  no  influence  over  his  practice ;  but  of  one  who 
applies  his  knowledge  to  relieve  the  real  v/ants  of  his 
life. 

Christianity  then  we  have  seen  is  superior  to  natural 
religion,  in  these  four  respects.  To  these  we  will  add 
a  few  more  reflections  in  further  evidence  of  the  supe- 
riority of  revealed  religion  to  the  religion  of  nature. 

1 .  The  ideas  of  the  ancient  philosophers  concerning 
natural  religion  were  not  collected  into  a  body  of  doctrine*. 
One  philosopher  had  one  idea,  another  studious  man 
had  another  idea;  ideas  of  truth  and  virtue,  therefor^ 
lay  dispersed.  Who  doth  not  see  the  pre-eminence  of 
revelation  on  this  article  ?  No  human  capacity  either 
hath  been,  or  would  ever  have  been  equal  to  the  noble 
conception  of  a  perfect  body  of  truth.     There  is  no 

genius 


312         The  Advantages  of  Revelation. 

genius  so  narrow  as  not  to  be  capable  of  proposing 
some  clear  truth,  some  excellent  maxim :  but  to  lay- 
down  principles,  and  to  perceive  at  once  a  chain  of 
consequences,  these  are  the  efforts  of  great  geniusses ; 
this  capability  is  philosophical  perfection.  If  this  axiom 
be  incontestible,  what  a  fountain  of  wisdom  does  the 
system  of  Christianity  argue?  It  presents  us,  in  one 
lovely  body  of  perfect  symmetry,  ail  the  ideas  we  have 
enumerated.  One  idea  supposeth  another  idea ;  and 
the  whole  is  united  in  a  manner  so  compact,  that  it  is 
impossible  to  alter  one  particle  without  defacing  the 
beauty  of  all. 

2.  Fag  an  philosophers  never  had  a  system  of  natural 
religion  comparable  with  that  of  modern  philosophers,  al- 
though the  latter  glory  in  their  contempt  of  revelation. 
Modern  philosophers  have  derived  the  clearest  and  best 

(parts  of  their  systems  from  the  very  revelation  which 
they  affect  to  despise.  We  grant,  the  doctrines  of  the 
perfections  of  God,  of  Providence,  and  of  a  future 
state,  are  perfectly  conformable  to  the  light  of  reason. 
A  man  who  should  pursue  rational  tracks  of  know- 
ledge to  his  utmost  power,  would  discover,  we  own, 
all  these  doctrines :  but  it  is  one  thing  to  grant  that  these 
doctrines  are  conformable  to  reason,  and  it  is  another 
to  affirm  that  reason  actually  discovered  them.  It  is 
one  thing  to  allow,  that  a  man,  who  should  pursue  ra- 
tional tracks  of  knowledge  to  his  utmost  power,  would 
discover  all  these  doctrines ;  and  it  is  another  to  pre- 
tend, that  any  man  hath  pursued  these  tracks  to  the 
utmost,  and  hath  actually  discovered  them.  It  was  the 
gospel  that  taught  mankind  the  use  of  their  reason.  It 
was  the  gospel  that  assisted  men  to  form  a  body  of  na- 
tural religion.  Modern  philosophers  avail  themselves 
of  these  aids;  they  form  a  body  of  natural  religion 
by  the  light  of  the  gospel,  and  then  they  attribute 
to  their  own  penetration  what  they  derive  from  fo- 
reign aid. 

3.  What  was  most  rational  in  the  natural  religion  of  the 

Pa^an 


The  Advantages  of  Revelation.         313 

Pagan  philosophers  was  mixed  with  fancies  and  dreams* 
There  was  not  a  single  philosopher  who  did  not  adopt 
some  absurdity,  and  communicate  it  to  his  disciples. 
One  taught  that  every  being  was  animated  with  a  par- 
ticular soul,  and  on  this  absurd  hypothsis  he  pretended 
to  account  for  all  the  phenomena  of  nature.  Another 
took  every  star  for  a  god,  and  thought  the  soul  a  vapour, 
that  passed  from  one  body  to  another,  expiating  in  the 
body  of  a  beast  the  sins  that  were  committed  in  that  of 
a  man.  One  attributed  the  creation  of  the  world  to  a 
blind  chance,  and  the  government  of  all  events  in  it  to 
an  inviolable  fate.  Another  affirmed  the  eternity  of 
the  world,  and  said,  there  was  no  period  in  eternity  in 
which  heaven  and  earth,  nature  and  elements,  were 
not  visible.  One  said,  Every  thing  is  uncertain ;  we  are 
not  sure  of  our  own  existence ;  the  distinction  between 
just  and  unjust,  virtue  and  vice,  is  fanciful,  and  hath 
no  real  foundation  in  the  nature  of  things.  Another 
made  matter  equal  to  God ;  and  maintained,  that  it  con- 
curred with  the  Supreme  Being  in  the  formation  of  the 
universe.  One  took  the  world  for  a  prodigious  body, 
of  which  he  thought  God  was  the  soul.  Another  af- 
firmed the  materiality  of  the  soul,  and  attributed  to  mat- 
ter the  faculties  of  thinking  and  reasoning.  Some  de^ 
nied  the  immortality  of  the  soul,  and  the  intervention  of 
Providence ;  and  pretended  that  an  infinite  number  of 
particles  of  matter,  indivisible,  and  indestructible,  re- 
volved in  the  universe ;  that  from  their  fortuitous  con- 
course arose  the  present  world;  that  in  all  this  there  was 
no  design;  that  the  feet  were  not  formed  for  walking,  the 
eyes  for  seeing,  nor  the  hands  for  handling.  The  gospel 
is  light  without  darkness.  It  hath  nothing  mean ;  no- 
thing false  ;  nothing  that  doth  not  bear  the  characters 
of  that  wisdom  from  which  it  proceeds. 

4.  What  was  pure  in  the  natural  religion  of  the  heathens 
was  not  known,  nor  could  be  known  to  anybut philosphers. 
The  common  people  were  incapable  of  that  pene-* 
tration  and  labour,  which  the  investigating^  .of  truth, 

and 


N 


314         The  Advantages  of  Revelation. 

and  the  distinguishing  of  it  from  that  falsehood,  in. 
which  passion  and  prejudice  had  enveloped  it,  required. 
A  mediocrity  of  genius,  I  allow,  is  sufficient  for  the 
purpose  of  inferring  a  part  of  those  consequences  from 
the  works  of  nature,  of  which  we  form  the  body  of 
natural  religion;  but  none  but  geniusses  of  the  first  or- 
der are  capable  of  kenning  those  distant  consequences 
which  are  infolded  in  darknes.  The  bulk  of  mankind 
wanted  a  short  way  proportional  to  every  mind.  They 
wanted  an  authority  the  infallibility  of  which  all  man- 
kind might  easily  see.  They  wanted  a  revelation  founded 
on  evidence  plain  and  obvious  to  all  the  world.  Philoso- 
phers could  n©t  shew  the  world  such  a  short  way,  but 
revelation  hath  shewn  it.  No  philosopher  could  as- 
sume the  authority  necessary  to  establish  such  a  way  :  it 
became  God  alone  to  dictate  in  such  a  manner,  and  in 
revelation  he  hath  done  it. 

Here  we  would  finish  this  discourse ;  but,  as  the 
subject  is  liable  to  abuse,  we  think  it  necessary  to  guard 
you  against  two  common  abuses :  and  as  the  doctrine 
is  reducible  to  practice,  we  will  add  two  general  re- 
flections on  the  whole  to  direct  your  conduct. 

1.  Soine,  who  acknowledge  the  superior  excellence  of 
revealed  religion  to  the  religion  of  nature,  cast  an  odious 
contempt  on  the  pains  that  are  taken  to  cultivate  reason^ 
and  to  improve  the  mind.  They  think  the  way  to  obtain 
a  sound  system  of  divinity  is  to  neglect  an  exact  method 
of  reasoning;  with  them  to  be  a  bad  philosopher  is  the 
ready  way  to  become  a  good  Christian ;  and  to  culti- 
vate reason  is  to  render  the  design  of  religion  abortive. 
Nothing  can  be  more  foreign  from  the  intention  of  St 
Paul,  and  the  design  of  this  discourse,  than  such  an 
absurd  consequence.  Nothing  would  so  effectually 
depreciate  the  gospel,  and  betray  the  cause  into  the 
hands  of  atheists  and  infidels.  On  the  contrary,  an 
exact  habit  of  reasoning  is  essential  to  a  sound  system 
of  divinity ;  reason  must  be  cultivated  if  we  would 
understand  the  excellent  characters  of  religion ;  the 

better 


The  Advantages  of  Revelation.         315 

better  philosopher,  the  more  disposed  to  become  a  good 
Christian.     Do  not  deceive  yom'selves,  my  brethren  ; 
without  rational  knowledge,  and  accurate  judgment, 
the  full  evidence  of  the  arguments  that  establish  the 
doctrine  of  the  existence  of  God  can  never  be  per- 
ceived ;    at  least  the  doctrine  can  never  be  properly 
defended.     Without  the  exercise  of  reason,  and  ac- 
curacy of  judgment,  we  can  never  perceive  clearly  the 
evidence  of  the  proofs  on  which  we  ground  the  di- 
vinity of  revelation,  and  the  authenticity  of  the  books 
that  contain  it;  at  least,  we  can  never  answer  all  the 
objections  which  libertinism  opposeth  against  this  im- 
portant subject.    Without  rational  and  accurate  know- 
ledge, the  true  meaning  of  revelation  can  never  be  un- 
derstood.    Without  exercising  reason,  and  accuracy 
of  judgment,  we  cannot  distinguish  which  of  all  the 
various  sects  of  Christianity  hath  taken  the  law  of 
Jesus  Christ  for  its  rule,  his  oracles  for  its  guide,  his 
decisions  for  infallible  decrees ;  at  least  we  shall  find 
it  extremely  difficult  to  escape  those  dangers  which  he- 
resy will    throw  across    our  path  at  every  step,  and 
to  avoid  those  lurking  holes  in  which  the  most  absurd 
sectaries  lodge.     Without  the  aid  of  reason,  and  ac- 
curacy of  thought,  we  cannot  understand  the  pre-emi- 
nence of  Christianity  over  natural  religion.  The  more 
a  man  cultivates  his  reason,  the  more  he  feels  the  im- 
perfection of  his  reason.    The  more  accuracy  of  judg- 
ment a  man   acquires,   the    more  fully  will  he  per- 
ceive his  need  of  a  supernatural  revelation  to  supply 
the  defect  of  his  discoveries,  and  to  render  his  know- 
eldge  complete. 

2.  The  pre-eminence  of  revelation  inspires  some  with 
a  cruel  divinity^  who  persuade  themselves,  that  all 
who  they  think  have  not  been  favoured  with  revela-i 
tion,  are  excluded  from  salvation,  and  doomed  to  ever^ 
lasting  flames.  The  famous  question  of  the  destiny  of 
those  who  seem  to  us  not  to  have  known  any  thing 
but  natural  religion,  we  ought  carefully  to  divide  into 

tw© 


316         The  Advantages  of  Revelation, 

two  questions ;  a  question  of  fact,  and  a  question  of 
right.  The  question  of  right  is,  whether  a  heathen, 
considered  as  a  heathen,  and  on  supposition  of  his 
having  no  other  knowledge  than  that  of  nature,  could 
be  saved  ?  The  question  of  fact  is,  whether  God, 
through  the  same  mercy,  which  inclined  him  to  re- 
veal himself  to  us  in  the  clearest  manner,  did  not  give 
to  some  of  the  heathens  a  knowledge  superior  to  that 
of  natural  religion. 

What  we  have  already  heard  is  sufficient  to  deter- 
mine the  question  of  right :  for,  if  the  notion  we  have 
given  of  natural  religion  be  just,  it  is  sufficient  to 
prove,  that  it  is  incapable  of  conducting  mankind  to 
salvation.  This  is  life  eternal,  to  know  the  only  true 
God,  and  Jesus  Christ,  whom  thou  hast  sent,  John  xvii.  3. 
There  is  no  other  name  under  heaven  given  among  men 
whereby  we  must  he  saved^  Acts  iv.  1 3.  The  disciples  of 
natural  religion  had  no  hope,  and  were  without  God  in  the 
worlds  Eph.  ii.  12.  A  latitudinarian  theology  in  vain 
ppposeth  these  decisions,  by  alledging  some  passages  of 
scripture  which  seem  to  favour  the  opposite  opinion. 
In  vain  is  it  urged,  that  God  never  left  himself  without 
witness,  in  doing  the  heathens  good  ;  for  it  is  one  thing 
to  receive  of  God  rain  from  heaven,  and  fruitful  seasons. 
Acts  xiv.  17.  (and  the  apostle  speaks  of  these  blessings 
only,)  and  it  is  another  thing  to  participate  an  illumi- 
nating faith,  a  sanctifying  spirit,  a  saving  hope.  In 
vain  is  that  quoted,  which  our  apostle  said  in  his  dis- 
course in  the  Areopagus,  that  God  hath  determined,  that 
the  heathens  should  seek  the  Lord,  if  haply  they  might  feel 
after  him,  and  find  him,  chap.  xvii.  27. :  for  it  is  one 
thing  to  find  God,  as  him  vi\io  giveth  life  and  breath  to 
zz// mankind,  as  him  who/z«M  madeofone  blood  all  nations 
ofmen^  as  him  in  whom  we  live,  and  move,  and  have  our 
being;  as  him  whom  ^o/c?,  or  silver,  or  stone  c^nnox.  repre- 
sent, ver.  25.  28,  29. ;  and  another  thing  to  find  him  as  a 
propitious  parent ;  opening  the  treasures  of  his  mercy, 

and 


The  Advantages  of  Revelation,         317  ^ 

,' 
and  bestowing  on  us  his  Son.     It  is  to  no  purpose  to 
alledge  that  the  heathens  are  said  to  have  been  without  \ 
excuse:  for  it  is  one  thing  to  be  inexcusable  for  changing  \ 
the  glory  of  the  uncorruptible  God  into  an  image  made  like  \ 
to  corruptible  man^  and  to  birds,  and  four-footed  beasts , 
and  creepingthings,  Rom.  i.  20.  for  giving  themselves  up 
to  those  excesses  which  the  holiness  of  this  place  forbids  < 
me  to  name,  and  which  the  apostle  depicts  in  the  most 
odieus  colours ;  and  it  is  another  thing  to  be  inexcusable  ^ 
for  rejecting  an  economy  that  reveals  every  thing  neces- 
sary to  salvation.     There  is  no  difficulty,  then,  in  the  ^ 
question  of  right.     The  disciple  of  natural  religion,  ' 
considered  as  such,  could  not  be  saved.    Natural  reli- 
gion was  insufficient  to  conduct  men  to  salvation.  i 

But  the  question  of  fact,  (whether  God  gave  any  Pa- 
gan knowledge  superior  to  that  of  natural  religion?)  ; 
ought  to  be  treated  with  the  utmost  caution. 

\Ve  will  not  say,  with  some  divines,  that  the  heathens 

were  saved  by  an  implicit  faith  in  Jesus  Christ.    By  im-  \ 

plicit  faith,  they  mean,  a  disposition  in  a  wise  heathen  \  , 

to  have  believed  in  Jesus  Christ,  had  Jesus  Christ  been  ^ 

revealed  to  him.  We  will  not  affirm,  with  Clement  of  Alex-  \ 

andria,  that  philosophy  was  that  to  the  Greeks  which  ' 

the  law  was  to  the  Jews,  a  schoolmaster,  to  bring  men  unto  \ 
Christ*,  Gal.  iii.24..   We  will  not  affirm,  with  St  Chry- 

sostom,  that  they  who,  despising  idolatry,  adored  the  \ 
Creator  before  the  coming  of  Christ,  were  saved  without 

faith  t.    We  will  not,  like  one  of  the  reformers,  in  a  let-  \ 

ter  to  Francis  I.  king  of  France,  place  Theseus,  Hercu-  . ' 

les,  Numa,  Aristides,  Cato,  and  the  ancestors  of  the  ; 

king,  with  the  patriarchs,  the  virgin  Mary,  and  the  ; 

apostles ;    acting  less  in  the  character  of  a  minister,  i 

whose  office  it  is  to  declare  all  the  counsel  of  God^  Acts  * 

XX.  27.  than  in  that  of  an  author,  whose  aim  it  is  to  ; 

flatter  the  vanity  of  man|.     Less  still,  do  we  think  : 

we  ! 

*  Strom,  lib.  i.  p.  282.  Edit.  Par.  vi.  499.  ■ 

f  Horn,  xxvii.  St  Math. 

X  See  an  epistle  of  Zulnglius,  at  the  beginning  of  his  Exposi«  | 

tion  of  the  Christian  Faith.  i 


318         The  Advantages  of  Revelation. 

we  have  a  right  to  say,  with  St  Augustine,  that  the 
Erythrean  Sybil  is  in  heaven  *.  Some,  who  now  quote 
St  Chrysostom,  St  Clement,  and  St  Augustine,  with 
great  veneration,  would  anathematize  any  contempo- 
rary who  should  advance  the  same  propositions  which 
these  fathers  advanced.  But  after  all,  who  dare  limit 
the  Holy  One  of  Israel  P  Psal.  Ixxviii.  41-  Who  dare 
affirm,  that  God  could  not  reveal  himself  to  a  heathen 
on  his  death-bed?  Who  will  venture  to  say,  he  hath 
never  done  so  ?  Let  us  renounce  our  inclination  to  damn 
mankind.  Let  us  reject  that  theology  which  derives 
its  glory  from  its  cruelty.  Let  us  entertain  sentiments 
more  charitable  than  those  of  some  divines,  who  can- 
not conceive  they  shall  be  happy  in  heaven,  unless 
they  know  that  thousands  are  miserable  in  hell.  This 
is  the  second  abuse  which  we  wish  to  prevent. 

But,  although  we  ought  not  to  despair  of  the  salva- 
tion of  those  who  were  not  born  under  the  economy 
of  grace  as  we  are,  we  ought,  however,  (and  this  is 
the  first  use  of  our  subject  to  which  we  exhort  you,) 
we  ought  to  value  this  economy  very  highly,  to  attach 
ourselves  to  it  inviolably,  and  to  derive  from  it  all  the 
succour,  and  all  the  knowledge,  that  we  cannot  pro- 
cure by  our  own  speculations.  Especially,  we  ought 
fo  seek  in  this  economy  for  remedies  for  the  disorders 
which  sin  hath  caused  in  our  souls.  It  is  a  common  dis- 
temper in  this  age,  to  frame  arbitrary  systems  of  reli- 
gion, and  to  seek  divine  mercy  where  it  is  not  to  be  found. 
The  wise  Christian  derives  his  system  from  the  gospel 
only.  Natural  reason  is  a  very  dangerous  guarantee 
of  our  destiny.  Nothing  is  more  fluctuating  and  pre- 
carious than  the  salvation  of  mankind,  if  it  have  no 
better  assurance  than  a  few  metaphysical  speculations 
on  the  goodness  of  the  Supreme  Being.  Our  notions 
of  God,  indeed,  include  love.  The  productions  of 
nature,   and   the   conduct  of  Providence,   concur,  I 

grant, 

*  City  of  God,  lib.  xviii.  c.  23. 


The  Advantages  of  Revelation,         319 

grant,  in  assuring  us,  that  God  loves  to  bestow  bene- 
dictions on  his  creatures.  But  the  attributes  of  God 
are  fathomless,  boundless  oceans,  in  which  we  are  as  - 
often  lost  as  we  have  the  presumption  to  attempt  to 
traverse  them  without  a  pilot.  Nature  and  Providence 
are  both  labyrinths,  in  which  our  frail  reason  is  quickly 
bewildered,  and  finally  entangled.  The  idea  of  justice 
enters  no  less  into  a  notion  of  the  Supreme  Being 
than  that  of  mercy.  And,  say  what  we  will,  that 
we  are  guilty  creatures  will  not  admit  of  a  doubt ;  for 
conscience  itself,  our  own  conscience,  pronounceth  a 
sentence  of  condemnation  on  us,  however  prone  we  may 
be  to  flatter  and  favour  ourselves.  God  condescends  to 
terminate  the  doubts  which  these  various  speculations 
produce  in  our  minds.  In  his  word  of  revelation  he 
assures  us  that  he  is  merciful ;  and  he  informs  us  on 
what  we  may  found  our  hopes  of  sharing  his  mercy, 
on  the  covenant  he  hath  made  with  us  in  the  gospel. 
Wo  be  to  us  if,  by  criminally  refusing  to  bring  every 
thought  to  the  ohedience  of  Christy  2  Cor.  x.  5.  we  for- 
sake these  fountains  of  living  waters,  which  he  open- 
eth  to  us  in  religion,  and  persist  in  hewing  out  broken 
cisterns  of  speculations  and  systems!  Jer.  ii.  13.  The 
sacred  books,  which  are  in  our  hands,  and  which  con- 
tain the  substance  of  the  sermons  of  inspired  men,  shew 
us  these  fountains  of  living  waters.  They  attest,  in  a 
manner  the  most  clear,  and  level  to  the  smallest  atten- 
tion of  the  lowest  capacity,  that  Jesus  Christ  alone  hath 
reconciled  us  to  God;  that  God  hath  set  him  forth  to  be 
a  propitiation,  through  faith  in  his  blood  ;  that  God  called 
hini  to  be  an  high  priest,  that  he  might  become  the  au- 
thor of  eternal  salvation  unto  all  them  that  come  unto  God 
by  him,  Rom.  iii.  25.  Heb.  v.  9, 1 0.  and  chap.  vii.  25.  Let  *^ 
us  go  then  untoGod  by  him^  and  by  him  only ;  and, 
let  mc  repeat  it  again,  Wo  be  to  us,  if  we  determine  to 
go  to  God  by  our  own  speculations  and  systems. 

But  the  principal  use  we  ought  to  make  of  the 
text,  and  of  this  sermon,  is  truly  and  thoroughly  to 

acknow- 


320         The  Advantages  of  Revelation. 

acknowledge  that  superiority  of  virtue  and  holiness,  to 
which  the  superiority  of  revealed  reHgion  engageth  us. 
A  mortifying,  but  a  salutary  reflection  !  What  account 
can  we  give  of  the  light  that  shines  in  the  gospel  with 
so  much  splendour,  and  which  distinguisheth  us  from 
the  heathens,  whose  blindness  we  deplore  ?  When  we 
place  the  two  economies  opposite  to  each  other,  and 
contemplate  both,  a  cloud  of  reflections  arise,  and  our 
prerogatives  present  themselves  from  every  part.  The 
clearest  light  shines  around  us.  Light  into  the  attri- 
butes of  God  ;  light  into  the  nature,  the  obligations, 
the  duration  of  man ;  light  into  the  grand  method  of 
reconciliation,  which  God  hath  presented  to  the  church; 
light  into  the  certainty  of  a  future  state.  But  when  we 
oppose  disciple  to  disciple,  virtue  to  virtue,  we  hardly 
find  any  room  for  comparison.  Except  here  and  there 
an  elect  soul ;  here  and  there  one  lost  in  the  crowd, 
can  you  see  any  great  difference  between  the  Christian 
and  the  Pagan  world  ? 

What  shame  would  cover  us,  were  we  to  contrast 
Holland  with  Greece,  the  cities  in  these  provinces  with 
the  city  of  Corinth !  Corinth  was  the  metropolis  of 
Greece.  There  commerce  prospered,  and  attracted 
immense  riches  from  all  parts  of  the  universe,  and 
along  with  wealth,  pride,  imperiousness,  and  debau- 
chery, which  almost  inevitably  follow  a  prosperous  trade. 
Thither  went  some  of  the  natives  of  other  countries, 
and  carried  with  them  their  passions  and  their  vices. 
There  immorahty  was  enthroned.  There,  according 
to  Strabo*,  was  a  temple  dedicated  to  the  immodest 
Venus.  There  the  palace  of  dissoluteness  was  erected, 
the  ruins  of  which  are  yet  to  be  seen  by  travellers ;  that 
infamous  palace,  in  which  a  thousand  prostitutes  were 
maintained.  There  the  abominable  Lais  held  her 
court,  and  exacted  six  talents  of  every  one  who  fell  a 
prey  to  her  deceptions.  There  impurity  was  become 
so  notorious,  that  a  Corinthian  was  synonymous  to  a 

prosti- 
*  Geog.  lib.  vili.  p.  378.  Edit.  Par.  1620. 


The  Advantages  of  Revelation.        321 

prostitute ;  and  the  proverb,  to  live  like  a  Corinthian^ 
was  as  much  as  to  say,  to  live  a  life  of  debauchery  "*. 
Ye  provinces  !  in  which  we  dwell.  Ye  cities!  in  which 
we  preach.  O,  Lais  I  Lais!  who  attendest  our  ser- 
mons so  often, I  spare  you. 

But  how  could  we  run  the  parallel  between  Holland  and 
Greece,  between  these  cities  and  that  of  Corinth  ? 

Moreover,  were  we  to  compare  success  with  suc- 
cess, the  docility  of  our  disciples  with  the  docility 
of  those  disciples  to  whom  the  Pagan  philosophers, 
who  liyed  in  those  days  of  darkness,  preached,  how 
much  to  our  disadvantage  would  the  comparison  be  ? 
Pythagoras  would  say,  When  I  taught  philosophy 
at  Crotona,  I  persuaded  the  lascivious  to  renounce 
luxury,  the  drunkard  to  abstain  from  wine,  and 
even  the  most  gay  ladies  to  sacrifice  their  rich  and  fa- 
shionable garments  to  modesty  f.  When  I  was  in 
Italy,  I  re-established  liberty  and  civil  government, 
and  by  one  discourse  reclaimed  two  thousand  men; 
I  prevailed  with  them  to  subdue  the  suggestions  of 
avarice,  and  the  emotions  of  pride,  and  to  love  me-  . 
ditation,  retirement,  and  silence.  I  did  more  with 
my  philosophy  than  you  do  with  that  morality,  of 
which  you  make  such  magnificent  display.  Hegesias 
would  say,  I  threw  all  Greece  into  an  uproar :  what  1\ 
said  on  the  vanity  of  life,  on  the  insipid  nature  of  its  " 
pleasures,  the  vanity  of  its  promises,  the  bitterness  of 
its  calamities,  had  an  effect  so  great,  that  some  de- 
stroyed themselves,  others  would  have  followed  their 
example,  and  I  should  have  depopulated  whole  cities, 
had  not  Ptolomy  silenced  me  +.  My  discourses  de- 
tached men  from  the  world  more  effectually  than 
yours,  although  you  preach  the  doctrines  of  a  future 
life,  of  paradise,  and  of  eternity.  Zeno  would  tell  us, 
I  influenced  my  disciples  to  contemn  pain,  to  despise  a 

tyrant, 

*  Erasm.  Adag.  Cent.  7.  pu'g.  633.  720. 

f  Diog,  Laert.  lib.  iii.  in  Pythag.  pag.  114.  Edit.  Rom.  fol.159^. 

.t  Cic.  Q^u.  Tusc.  lib.  i.  Diog.  Laert.  in  Aristip.  lib.  ii. 

Vol.  IL  X 


322         The  Advantages  of  Revelation. 

tyrant,  and  to  trample  on  punishment.  I  did  more 
towards  elevating  man  above  humanity  with  that  philo- 
sophy, of  which  you  have  such  unfavourable  ideas, 
than  you  do  with  that  religion  on  which  you  bestow 
such  fine  encomiums. 

What  then  1  Shall  the  advantages,  which  advance 
the  Christian  revelation  above  the  speculations  of  the 
Pagan  world,  advance  at  the  same  time  the  virtues  of 
the  Pagans  above  those  of  Christians  ?  and  shall  all  the 
ways  of  salvation,  which  are  opened  to  us  in  the  com- 
munion of  Jesus  Christ,  serve  only  to  render  salvation 
inaccessible  to  us  ?  God  forbid  !  Let  us  assimilate  our 
religion  to  the  economy  under  which  we  live.  May 
knowledge  conduct  us  to  virtue,  and  virtue  to  felicity 
and  glory  !  God  grant  us  this  grace !  To  him  be  ho~ 
nour  and  glory  for  ever.     Amen. 


SERMON 


323 


SERMON    XII. 

The  superior  Evidence  and  Influence  of 
Christianity. 


1  John,  iv.  4. 

Greater  is  he  that  is  in  you,  than  he  that  is  in  the  world, 

THAT  appearance,  which  is  recorded  in  the  second 
book  of  Kings,  chap.  vi.  b",  &c.  was  very  proper 
to  embolden  the  timid  servant  of  Elisha.  The  king  of 
Syria  was  at  war  with  the  king  of  Israel.  The  wise 
counsel  of  the  prophet  was  more  advantageous  to  his 
prince  than  that  of  his  generals  was.  The  Syrian 
thought,  if  he  could  render  himself  master  of  such  an 
extraordinary  man,  he  could  easily  subdue  the  rest  of 
the  Israelites.  In  order  to  insure  success,  he  surround^^d 
Dothan,  the  dwelling-place  of  the  prophet,  with  his 
troops  in  the  night.  The  prophet's  servant  was  going 
out  early  the  next  morning  with  his  master,  when  on 
seeing  the  numerous  Syrian  forces,  he  trembled,  and 
exclaimed,  Alas  I  my  master,  how  shall  we  do  P  Fear 
not^  replied  Elisha,  they  that  be  with  us,  are  more  than 
they  that  he  with  them.  To  this  he  added,  addressing 
himself  to  God  in  prayer.  Lord,  open  his  eyes  that  he  may 
seel  The  prayer  was  heard.  The  servant  of  Elisha 
presently  saw  the  sufficient  ground  of  his  master's  con- 
fidence; he  discovered  a  celestial  multitude  of  horses, 
and  chariots  of  fire,  which  God  had  sent  to  defend  hi9 
servant  from  the  lung  of  Syria- 

X  2  How 


324  The  Superior  Evidence 

How  often,  my  brethren,  have  you  trembled  at  the 
sight  of  that  multitude  of  enemies  which  is  let  laose 
against  you?  When  you  have  seen  yourselves  called  to 
wrestle,  as  St  Paul  speaks,  "  not  only  against  flesh 
*'  and  blood,  but  against  principalities,  against  powers, 
*^  against  spiritual  wickedness  in  high  places;'*  against 
the  sophisms  of  error,  against  the  tyrants  of  the  church, 
and,  which  is  still  more  formidable,  against  the  depra- 
vity of  your  own  hearts :  how  often  in  these  cases  have 
you  exclaimed,  "  Alas!  how  shall  we  do?  Who  is 
"  sufficient  for  these  things?"  2  Cor.  ii.  16.  "  Who 
"  then  can  be  saved  ?"  Matth.  xix.  25. 

But  take  courage,  Christian  wrestlers  !  "  they  that 
"  be  with  you  are  more  than  they  that  are  against  you. 
"  O  Lord !  open  their  eyes,  that  they  may  see !  May  they 
"  see  the  great  cloud  of  witnesses,"  Heb.  xii.  1.,  who 
fought  in  the  same  field  to  which  they  are  called,  and 
there  obtained  a  victory !  May  they  see  the  blessed  angels 
who  encamp  round  about  them,  to  protect  their  persons,- 
and  to  defeat  their  foes !  May  they  see  the  powerful  aid  of 
that  Spirit  which  thou  hast  given  them!  "  May  they  see 
"  Jesus,  the  author  and  finisher  of  their  faith,"  Psal. 
xxxiv.  7.  1  John  iii.  24.  and  Heb.  xii.  2.  who  animates 
them  from  heaven,  and  the  eternal  rewards  which  thou 
art  preparing  to  crown  their  perseverance !  and  may  a 
happy  experience  teach  them  that  truth,  on  which  AVe 
are  going  to  fix  their  attention,  "  Greater  is  he  that  is 
"  in  them,  than  he  that  is  in  the  world."    Amen. 

Two  preliminary  remarks  will  elucidate  our  subject : 

1.  Although  the  proposition  in  my  text  is  general, 
and  regards  all  Christians,  yet  St  John  wrote  it  with  a 
particular  view  to  those  persons  to  whom  he  addressed 
the  epistle  from  which  we  have  taken  it.  In  order  to 
ascertain  this,  reflect  on  the  times  of  the  aposdes,  and  re- 
mark the  accomplishment  of  that  prophecy  which  Jesus 
Christ  had  some  time  before  delivered.  He  had  fore- 
told, that  there  would  arise  in  Judea  ^'  false  Christs, 
"  and  false  prophets,  who  would  shew  great  signs  and 

"  wonders^ 


and  Influence  of  Christianity.  325 

^*  wonders,  ifisomuch  that  (Ifit  were  possible,)  they  would 
**  deceive  the  very  elect,*'  Matt.  xxiv.  24-  This  prophecy 
was  to  be  accomplished  immediately  before  the  destruc- 
tion of  Jerusalem  ;  and  to  that  period  learned  men  as- 
sign the  publication  of  this  epistle.  St  John  calls  the 
time  in  which  he  wrote,  the  last  tirne^  chap.  ii.  18.  that 
is  to  ^ay,  in  the  Jewish  style,  the  time  in  which  the  me- 
tropolis of  Judea  was  to  be  destroyed :  and  adds  the  sign 
by  which  Christians  might  "  know,  that  it  was  the  last 
*'  time ;  as  ye  have  heard  that  Antichrist  shall  come, 
"  even  now  are  there  many  Antichrists ;  whereby  we 
*'  know  that  it  is  the  last  time.''  Remark  those  words, 
ns  ije  have  heard:  the  apostle  meant,  by  them,  to  re- 
mind his  readers  of  the  prophecy  of  Jesus  Christ. 

- 1  do  not  pretend  now  to  inquire  what  seducers  Jesus 
Christ  particularly  intended  in  this  prophecy.  Simon 
the  sorcerer  may  be  placed  in  the  class  of  false  Christs. 
There  is  a  very  remarkable  passage  to  this  purpose  in 
the  tenth  verse  of  the  eighth  chapter  of  Acts.  It  is  there 
said,  that  this  impostor  had  so  "  bewitched  the  people 
*'  of  Samaria,  that  all,  from  the  least  to  the  greatest, 
**  said,  This  man  is  the  great  power  of  God."  What 
means  this  phrase,  the  great  power  of  God  F  It  is  the 
title  which  the  ancient  Jews  gave  the  Messiah.  Philo, 
treating  of  the  divine  essence,  establisheth  the  mystery 
of  the  Trinity,  as  clearly  as  a  Jew  could  establish  it, 
who  had  no  other  guide  than  the  Old  Testament.  He 
speaks  first  of  God  ;  then  of  what  he  calls  the  logos^ 
the  word,  (the  same  term  Is  translated  word  in  the  first 
chapter  of  the  gospel  of  St  John,)  and  he  calls  this 
word  the  great  pozver  of  God,  and  distinguisheth  him 
from  a  third  person,  whom  he  denominates  the  second 
power.  Moreover,  Origen  says,  Simon  the  sorcerer 
took  the  title  of  Son  of  God^  a  title  which  the  Jews  had 
appropriated  to  the  Messiah. 

As  there  were  false  Christs  in  the  time  of  St  John, 
^o  there  were  also  false  prophets,  that  is,  false  teachers. 
These  St  John  hath  characterised  in  the  chapters  which 

precede 


326  The  Superior  Evidence 

precede  my  text ;  and  the  portraits  drawn  by  the 
apostle  are  so  exactly  like  those,  which  the  primitive 
fathers  of  the  church  have  exhibited  of  Ebion  and 
Cerinthus,  that  it  is  easy  to  know  them.  A  particular 
investigation  of  this  subject  would  divert  our  attention 
too  far  from  our  principal  design  ;  and  it  shall  suffice 
at  present  to  observe,  that  these  impostors  caused  great 
mischiefs  in  the  church.  Simon,  the  sorcerer,  indeed, 
at  first,  renounced  his  imposture;  but  he  soon  adopted 
it  again.  Justin  Martyr  informs  us,  that,  in  his  time, 
there  remained  some  djsciples  of  that  wretch,  who 
called  him  the  first  intelligence  of  the  divinity,  that  is, 
the  word;  and  who  named  Helen,  the  associate  of  Si- 
mon in  his  imposture,  the  second  intelligence  of  the  di- 
vinity, by  which  title  they  intended  to  describe  the  Holy 
Ghost.  Only  they,  who  are  novices  in  the  history  of 
primitive  Christianity,  can  be  ignorant  of  the  ravages, 
which  Ebion  and  Cerinthus  made  in  the  church. 

But  Jesus  Christ  had  foretold,  and  all  ages  have  ve- 
rified the  prediction,  that  the  gates  of  hell  should  not  pre- 
vail against  the  church,  Matt»  xvi.  18.  The  most  spe- 
cious sophisms  of  Ebion  and  Cerinthus,  the  most  se- 
ducing deceptions  of  Simon  and  his  associates,  did  not 
draw  off  one  of  the  elect  from  Jesus  Christ ;  the  faith- 
ful followers  of  the  Son  of  God,  notwithstanding  their 
dispersion,  triumphed  over  false  Christs,  and  false  teach- 
ers. St  John  extols  their  victory  in  the  words  of  my  text : 
''  Ye  have  overcome  them  (says  he,)  because  greater  is 
"  he  that  is  in  you,  than  he  that  is  in  the  world.*' 

It  seems  almost  needless  precisely  to  point  out  here 
whom  St  John  means  by  him,  who  is  in  believers,  and 
by  him,  who  is  in  the  world  ;  or  to  determine  which 
of  the  different  senses  of  commentators  seems  to  us  the 
most  defensible.  Some  say,  the  apostle  intended  the 
Holy  Spirit  by  him  who  is  in  tjou;  others  think,  he  meant 
Jesus  Christ ;  and  others  suppose  him  speaking  of  the 
principle  of  regeneration,  which  is  in  ( Ihristians,  and 
which  renders  them    invulnerable  by  all  the  attacks 

of 


and  Influence  of  Christianity.  32T 

of  the  world.  In  like  manner,  if  we  endeavour  to  af- 
fix a  distinct  idea  to  the  other  terms,  him  who  is  in  the 
world;  some  pretend  that  St  John  means  Satan;  others, 
that  he  expresseth,  in  a  va^ue  manner,  all  the  means 
which  the  world  employs  to  seduce  good  men. 

But,  whatever  difference  there  may  appear  in  these 
expHcations,  they  all  come  to  the  same  sense.  For  if 
the  apostle  speaks  of  the  inhabitation  of  Jesus  Christ, 
it  is  certain,  he  dwells  in  us  by  his  Holy  Spirit;  and  if 
he  mean  the  Holy  Spirit,  it  is  certain  he  dwells  in  us  by 
the  principles  of  regeneration.  In  like  manner  in  re- 
gard to  the  other  proposition.  If  it  be  Satan,  who, 
the  apostle  saith,  is  in  the  world,  he  is  there  undoubt- 
edly by  the  errors  which  his  emissaries  published  there, 
and  by  the  vices  which  they  introduce  there.  The  de- 
sign of  the  apostle,  therefore,  is  to  shew  the  superiority 
of  the  means  which  God  employs  to  save  us,  to  those 
which  the  world  employs  to  destroy  us. 

2.  But  this  produceth  another  difficulty,  and  the  so- 
lution of  it  is  my  second  article.  It  should  seem,  if  the 
apostle  had  reason  to  say  of  them  who  had  persevered 
in  Christianity,  that  "  he  who  was  in  them  was  greater 
*'  than  he  who  was  in  the  world,"  seducers  also  had 
reason  to  say,  that  he  who  was  in  those  whom  they 
had  seduced,  was  greater  than  he  who  was  in  perse- 
vering Christians.  Satan  hath  still,  in  our  day,  more 
disciples  than  Jesus  Christ.  Can  it  be  said,  that  Satan 
is  greater  than  Jesus  Christ  ?  Can  it  be  said,  that  the 
means  employed  by  that  lying  and  murdering  spirit  to 
Reduce  mankind,  are  superior  to  those  which  the  Holy 
Spirit  employs  to  illuminate  them  ?  No,  my  brethren  ; 
and  our  answer  to  these  questions,  which  requires 
your  particular  attention,  will  serve  to  elucidate  one 
of  the  most  obscure  articles  of  religion.  We  will  en- 
deavour to  express  the  matter  clearly  to  all  our  attentive 
hearers. 

We  must  carefully  distinguish  a  mean  applied  to  an 
irrational  agent  from  a  mean  applied  to  an  intelligent 

agent 


328  The  Superior  Evidence 

agent.  A  mean,  that  is  applied  to  an  irrational  agent, 
can  never  be  accounted  superior  to  the  obstacles  which 
oppose  it,  unless  its  superiority  be  justified  by  success. 
A  certain  degree  of  power  is  requisite  to  move  a  mass 
of  a  certain  weight;  a  degree  of  power  superior  to  the 
weight  of  a  certain  mass  will  never  fail  to  move  the 
mass  out  of  its  pl^ce,  and  to  force  it  away. 

But  it  is  not  so  with  the  means  which  are  applied 
to  intelligent  beings ;  they  are  not  always  attended 
with  that  success  which,  it  should  seem,  ought  to 
follow  the  application  of  them.  I  attempt  to  prove 
to  a  man,  on  whom  nature  has  bestowed  common 
sense,  that  if  an  equal  number  be  taken  from  an  equal 
number,  an  equal  number  will  remain.  I  propose 
my  demonstration  to  him  with  all  possible  clearness, 
and  he  hath  no  less  faculty  to  comprehend  it,  than  I 
have  to  propose  it.  He  persists,  however,  in  the  op- 
posite proposition  :  but  his  obstinacy  is  the  only  cause 
of  his  error;  he  refuseth  to  believe  me,  because  he  re- 
fuseth  to  hear  me.  Were  an  attentive  and  teachable 
man  to  yield  to  my  demonstration,  while  the  former 
persisted  in  denying  it,  could  it  be  reasonably  said 
then,  that  motives  of  incredulity  in  the  latter  were  su- 
perior to  motives  of  credibility  ?  We  must  distinguish, 
then,  a  mean  applied  to  an  intelligent  being,  from  a 
mean  applied  to  an  irrational  being. 

Further.  Among  the  obstacles,  with  which  intel- 
ligent beings  resist  means  applied  to  them,  physical 
obstacles  must  be  distinguished  from  moral  obstacles. 
Physical  obstacles  ar^  such  as  necessarily  belong  to  the 
being  that  resisteth,  so  that  there  is  no  faculty  to  re- 
move them.  I  propose  to  an  infant  a  conclusion,  the 
understanding  of  which  depends  on  a  chain  of  propo- 
sitions, which  he  is  incapable  of  following.  The  ob- 
stacle, which  I  find  in  him,  is  an  obstacle  merely 
physical ;  he  hath  not  a  faculty  to  remove  it. 

I  propose  the  same  conclusion  to  a  man  of  mature 
^ge ;  he  understands  it  no  more  tjian  the  infant  just 

now 


and  Influence  of  ChriManity.         529 

now  mentioned  :  but  his  ignorance  doth  not  proceed 
from  a  want  of  those  faculties  which  are  necessary  to 
comprehend  it,  but  from  his  disuse  of  them.  This 
is  a  moral  obstacle. 

It  cannot  be  fairly  said,  that  the  power  applied  to 
physical  resistance  is  greater  than  the  resistance,  un- 
less it  necessarily  prevail  over  it :  but  it  is  very  diiier- 
ent  with  that  power,  which  is  applied  to  moral  resis- 
tance. Those  who  have  attended  to  what  hath  been 
said,  easily  perceive  the  reason  of  the  difference,  with- 
out our  detaining  you  in  explaining  it. 

Why  do  we  not  use  the  same  fair  reasoning  on  re- 
ligious subjects,  which  we  profess  to  use  on  all  other 
subjects  ?  Doth  religion  authorise  us  to  place  that  to 
the  account  of  God  which  proceedeth  solely  from 
the  free  obstinacy,  and  voluntary  malice  of  mankind.^ 
Jesus  Christ  did  not  descend  to  this  world  to  convert 
irrational  beings,  but  intelligent  creatures :  he  found 
two  sorts  of  obstacles  in  the  way  of  their  conversion, 
obstacles  merely  physical,  and  obstacles  merely  moral. 
Obstacles  merely  physical  are  those  which  would  have 
prevented  our  discovering  the  plan  of  redemption,  if 
he  had  not  revealed  it;  and  of  the  same  kind  are  those, 
which  our  natural  constitution,  being  disconcerted  by 
sin,  opposeth  against  the  end,  which  our  Saviour  pro- 
poseth,  of  rendering  us  holy.  Jesus  Christ  hath  sur- 
mounted these  obstacles  by  the  light  of  revelation, 
and  by  the  aid  of  his  Holy  Spirit. 

But  he  found  also  other  obstacles  merely  moraL 
Such  were  those  which  he  met  with  in  the  Pharisees, 
and  which  hindered  those  execrable  men  from  yielding 
to  the  power  of  his  miracles.  Such  are  those  still  of 
all  erroneous  and  wicked  men,  whose  errors  and  vices 
proceed  from  similar  principles.  The  superiority  of 
the  means,  which  Jesus  Christ  useth  to  reclaim  them, 
doth  not  depend  on  the  success  of  those  means  :  they 
fail,  it  is  evident,  through  the  power  of  those  merely 

moral 


5j6  The  Superior  Evidence 

moral  obstacles,  which  a  voluntary  malice,  and  a  free 
obstinacy,  oppose  against  them. 

This  remark,  as  I  said  before,  elucidates  one  of  the 
most  obscure  articles  of  Christianity.  It  accounts  for 
the  conduct  of  God  towards  his  creatures,  and  for  the 
language  which  his  servants  used  on  his  behalf.  The 
omnipotence  of  God  is  more  than  sufficient  to  convince 
the  most  obstinate  minds,  and  to  change  the  most  obdu- 
rate hearts,  and  yet  he  declareth,  altho'  he  hath  displayed 
only  some  degree  of  it,  that  he  hath  employed  all  the 
means  he  could  to  convert  the  last,  and  to  convince  the 
first.  "What  could  have  been  done  more  to  my  vineyard 
"  that  I  have  not  done  in  it  ?  Wherefore,  when  I  looked 
"  that  it  should  bring  forth  grapes,  brought  it  forth  wild 
^'grapes?  O,  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem,  and  men  of  Ju- 
"  dab,  judge,  I  pray  you,  betwixt  me  and  my  vineyard. 
**  What  could  have  been  done  more  to  my  vineyard  ?" 
Isa.  V.  3,  4"  Acts  of  omnipotence  might  /uive  been  done^ 
in  order  to  have  forced  it  to  produce  good  grapes,  and 
to  have  annihilated  its  unhappy  fertility  in  producing 
ivild  grapes.  But  no,  his  vineyard,  as  he  saith,  was 
the  house  of  Israel,  The  house  of  Israel  consisted  of 
intelligent  beings,  not  of  irrational  beings.  God  applied 
to  these  beings  means  suitable,  not  to  irrational,  but  to 
intelligent  beings.  He  met  with  two  sorts  of  obstacles 
to  the  conversion  of  these  beings ;  physical  obstacles, 
and  moral  obstacles ;  and  he  opposed  to  each  sort  of 
these  obstacles  a  superior  power :  but  a  power  suited 
to  the  nature  of  each.  The  superiority  of  that,  which 
he  opposed  to  physical  obstacles,  necessarily  produced 
its  effect,  without  which  it  would  not  have  been  a  su- 
perior, but  an  inferior  power.  To  moral  obstacles  he 
opposed  a  power  suited  to  moral  obstacles ;  if  it  did 
not  produce  its  effect,  it  was  i^ot  because  it  had  not  in 
itself  superior  influence ;  God  was  not  to  be  blamed, 
but  they,  to  whom  it  was  applied. 

Our  remark  is,  particularly,  a  key  to  our  text.    The 
means  which   God  employs  to  irradiate  cur  minds, 

and 


and  Influence  of  Christianity.  531 

and  to  sanctify  our  hearts,  are  superior  to  those  which 
the  world  employs  to  deceive  and  to  deprave  us;  if  that 
superiority,  which  is  always  influential  on  believers,  be 
destitute  of  influence  on  obstinate  sinners,  it  is  no  less 
superior  in  its  own  nature.  The  unsuccessfulness  of 
the  means  with  the  last  proceedeth  solely  from  their 
own  obstinacy  and  malice.  "  What  could  have  been 
"  done  more  to  my  vineyard,  that  I  have  not  done  in 
"  it?  Ye  have  overcome  them,  because  greater  is  he  that 
"  is  in  you,  than  he  that  is  in  the  world.*'  This,  I  think, 
is  the  substance  of  the  meaning  of  the  apostle. 

But,  as  it  is  only  the  general  sense,  it  requires  to  be 
particularly  developed,  and  I  ought  to  investigate  the 
subject  by  justifying  three  propositions,  which  are  in- 
cluded in  it,  and  which  I  shall  have  occasion  to  apply 
to  the  Christian  religion. 

I.  Truth  hath  a  light  superior  to  all  the  glimmer- 
ings of  falsehood. 

II.  Motives  to  virtue  are  stronger  than  motives  to 
vice. 

III.  The  Holy  Spirit,  who  openeth  the  eyes  of  a 
Christian,  to  shew  him  the  light  of  the  truth,  and  who 
toucheth  his  heart,  in  order  to  make  him  feel  the  power 
of  motives  to  virtue,  is  infinitely  more  powerful  than 
Satan,  who  seduceth  mankind  by  falsehood  and  vice. 

Each  of  these  propositions  w^ould  require  a  whole 
discourse;  I  intend,  however,  to  explain  them  all  in  the 
remaining  part  of  this  :  the  more  brevity  I  am  obliged  to 
observe,  the  more  attention  you  ought  to  give. 

I.  Truth  hath  a  light  superior  to  all  the  glimmerings 
of  error.  Some  men,  I  grant,  are  as  tenacious  of  erroi% 
as  others  are  of  truth.  False  religions  have  disciples, 
who  seem  to  be  as  sincerely  attached  to  them^  as  be- 
lievers are  to  true  religion ;  and  if  Jesus  Christ  hath 
his  martyrs,  Satan  also  hath  his. 

Yet  I  aflSrm,  that  the  persuasion  of  a  man,  who  de- 
ceives 


332  The  Superior  Evidence 

ceives  himself,  is  never  equal  to  that  of  a  man  who 
doth  not  deceive  himself.  How  similar  soever  that 
impression  may  appear,  which  falsehood  makes  on  the 
mind  of  him  who  is  seduced  by  it,  to  that  which 
truth  makes  on  the  mind  of  him  who  is  enlightened  by 
it ;  there  is  always  this  grand  difference,  the  force  of 
truth  is  irresistible,  whereas  it  is  always  possible  to  re- 
sist that  of  error. 

The  force  of  a  known  truth  is  irresistible.  There 
are,  it  is  granted,  some  truths,  there  are  even  infinite 
numbers,  which  lie  beyond  the  stretch  of  my  capacity  : 
and  there  may  also  be  obstacles,  that  hinder  my  know- 
ledge of  a  truth  proportional  to  the  extent  of  my  mind. 
There  may,  indeed,  be  many  distractions,  which  may 
cause  me  to  lose  sight  of  the  proofs  that  establish  a 
truth ;  and  there  may  be  many  passions  in  me,  which 
may  induce  me  to  wish  it  ^ould  not  be  proved,  and 
which,  by  urging  me  to  employ  the  whole  capacity  of 
my  mind  in  considering  objections  against  it,  leave  me 
no  part  of  my  perception  to  attend  to  what  establisheth 
it.  Yet  all  these  cannot  diminish  the  light  which  is 
essential  to  truth ;  none  of  these  can  prevent  a  knou'n 
truth  from  carrying  away  the  consent  in  an  invincible 
manner.  As  a  cloud,  that  conceals  the  sun,  doth  not 
diminish  the  splendour  which  is  essential  to  that  globe 
of  fire ;  so  all  the  obstacles,  which  prevent  my  know- 
ledge of  a  truth,  that  Hes  within  the  reach  of  my  ca- 
pacity, cannot  prevent  my  receiving  the  evid#ice  of  it, 
in  spite  of  myself,  as  soon  as  I  become  attentive  to  it. 
It  doth  not  depend  on  me  to  believe,  that  from  the 
addition  of  two  to  two  there  results  the  number  four. 
It  is  just  the  same  with  the  truths  of  philosophy  ;  the 
same  with  the  truths  of  religion,  and  the  same  with 
all  the  known  truths  in  the  world.  To  speak  strictly, 
the  knowledge  of  a  truth,  and  the  belief  of  a  truth,  is 
one  and  the  same  operation  of  the  mind.  Mental 
liberty  doth  not  consist  in  believing,  or  in  not  be- 
lieving a  known  truth ;    it  consisteth  in  giving,   or 

in 


and  Influence  of  Christianity.  535 

in  not  giving  that  attention  to  a  truth  which  is  requi- 
site in  order  to  obtain  the  knowledge  of  it.  Merit, 
and  demerit, (allow me  these  expressions,  and  take  them 
in  a  good  sense,)  merit  and  demerit  do  not  consist  in 
believing,  or  in  disbelieving,  a  known  truth  ;  for  neither 
of  these  depend  ypon  us  ;  they  consist  in  resisting,  or 
in  not  resisting  the  obstacles  which  prevent  the  know- 
ledge of  it.  We  conclude,  then,  that  the  force  of  a 
known  truth  is  irresistible. 

It  is  not  the  same  with  error.  How  strong  soever 
the  prejudices  may  be  that  plead  for  it,  it  is  always  pos- 
sible to  resist  it.  Never  was  a  man  deceived  in  an  in- 
vincible manner.  There  is  no  erro-r  so  specious,  in. 
regard  to  wliich  a  man,  whose  mental  powers  are  in  a 
good  state,  and  not  depraved  by  a  long  habit  of  preci- 
pitation, cannot  suspend  his  judgment. 

I  do  not  say,  that  every  man  is  always  capable  of 
unravelling  a  sophism :  but  it  is  one  thing  not  to  be 
able  to  unravel  a  sophism,  and  it  is  another  to  be  in- 
vincibly carried  away  with  its  evidence.  Nor  do  I  af- 
firm, that  a  man  will  always  find  it  easy  to  suspend 
his  judgment.  What  there  is  of  the  plausible  in  some 
errors  ;  our  natural  abhorrence  of  labour ;  the  autho- 
rity  of  our  seducers  ;  the  interest  of  our  passions  in  be- 
ing seduced ;  each  of  these  separately,  all  these  toge- 
ther, will  render  it  sometimes  extremely  difficult  to  us 
to  suspend  our  judgments,  and  will  hurry  us  on  to  rash 
conclusions.  It  belongs  to  human  frailty  to  prefer  an 
easy  faith  above  a  laborious  discussion ;  and  we  rather 
choose  to  believe  we  have  found  the  truth,  than  to 
submit  to  the  trouble  of  looking  for  it. 

It  is  certain,  however,  when  we  compare  what 
passed  in  our  minds,  when  we  yielded  to  a  truth, 
with  what  passed  there  when  we  suffered  ourselves 
to  be  seduced  by  an  error,  we  perceive,  that  m  the 
latter  case  our  acquiescence  proceeded  from  an  abuse 
of  our  reason;  whereas  in  the  former  it  came  from  our 
fair  and  proper  use  of  it.     Truth,  then,  hath  a  light 

supe- 


334  The  superior  Evidence 

superior  to  the  glimmerings  of  error.  There  is,  there- 
fore, something  greater  in  a  man  whom  truth  irradiates, 
than  there  is  in  a  man  whom  falsehood  blinds. 

Let  us  abridge  our  subject.  Let  us  apply  what  we 
have  said  of  truth  in  general  to  the  truths  of  religion 
in  particular.  To  enter  more  fully  into  the  design  of 
our  text,  let  us  make  no  difficulty  of  retiring  from  it 
to  a  certain  point,  and,  leaving  Ebion,  Cerinthus,  and 
Simon  the  sorcerer,  whom,  probably,  St  John  had  in 
viev/;  let  us  stop  at  a  famous  modern  controversy.  Let 
us  attend  to  the  contest  between  a  believer  of  revelation 
and  a  sceptic,  and  we  shall  see  the  superior  evidence 
of  that  principle  of  truth,  which  enlighteneth  the  first, 
above  the  principle  of  error,  which  blindeth  the  last^ 
"What  a  superiority  hath  a  believer  over  a  sceptic!" 
What  a  superiority  at  the  tribunal  of  authority !  at  the 
tribunal  of  interest !  at  the  tribunal  of  history  !  at  the 
tribunal  of  conscience !  at  the  tribunal  of  reason !  at 
the  tribunal  of  scepticism  itself  I  From  each  of  these  it 
may  be  truly  pronounced.  Greater  is  lie  that  is  in  youy 
than  he  that  is  in  the  world. 

L  The  believer  is  superior  at  the  tribunal  of  au- 
thority. The  sceptic,  objecteth  against  the  believer  the 
examples  of  some  few  nations,  who,  it  is  said,  live  with- 
out religion ;  and  those  of  some  philosophers,  whose 
pretended  atheism  hath  rendered  them  famous.  The 
believer  replieth  to  the  sceptic,  by  urging  his  well- 
grounded  suspicions  in  regard  to  those  historians,  and 
travellers,  who  have  published  such  examples,  and,  op- 
posing authority  against  authority,  in  favour  of  the  grand 
leading  principles  of  religion,  he  alledgeth  the  unani- 
mous consent  of  the  whole  known  world. 

2.  At  the  tribunal  of  interest.  The  sceptic  resisteth 
the  behever,  by  arguing  the  constraint  which  religion 
continually  putteth  on  mankind  ;  the  pleasure  of  pur- 
suing every  wish,  without  being  terrified  with  the  idea 
of  a  formidable  v/itness  of  our  actions,  or  a  future  ac- 
count 01   our  conduct.      The  believer  resisteth  the 

sceptic, 


and  Influence  of  Christianiti/.  555 

sceptic,  by  arguing  the  benefit  of  society,  which  would 
be  entirely  subverted,  if  infidels  could  effect  their 
dreadful  design  of  demolishing  those  bulwarks,  which 
religion  builds.  He  urgeth  the  interest  of  each  indivi- 
dual, who  in  those  periods  of  life,  in  which  he  is  dis- 
gusted with  the  world ;  in  those,  in  which  he  is  ex- 
posed to  catastrophes  of  glory  and  fortune;  above  all, 
in  the  period  of  death,  hath  no  refuge  from  despair,  if 
the  hopes,  that  religion  affords,  be  groundless. 

3.  At  the  tribunal  of  history.  The  sceptic  objects 
to  the  believer  the  impossibility  of  obtaining  demon- 
stration, properly  so  called,  of  distant  facts.  I'he  be- 
liever urgeth  on  the  infidel  his  own  acquiescence  in  ihe 
evidence  of  events,  as  ancient  as  those,  the  distance  of 
which  is  objected ;  and,  turning  his  own  weapons 
against  him,  he  demonstrates  to  him,  that  reasons,  still 
stronger  than  those,  which  constrain  the  sceptic  to  ad- 
mit other  events,  such  as  number  of  witnesses,  unani- 
mity of  historians,  sacrifices  made  to  certify  the  tes- 
timony, and  a  thousand  more  similar  proofs,  ought  to 
engage  him  to  believe  the  facts  on  which  religion  is 
founded. 

4.  At  the  tribunal  of  conscience.  The  infidel  op- 
poseth  his  own  experience  to  the  believer,  and  boasts 
of  having  shaken  off  the  yoke  of  this  tyrant.  The 
believer  replies,  by  relating  the  experiences  of  the  most 
celebrated  sceptics,  and,  using  the  infidel  himself  for  a 
demonstration  of  the  truths,  which  he  pretends  to  sub- 
vert, reproaches  him  with  Reeling,  in  spite  of  himself, 
the  remorse  of  that  conscience,  from  which  he  affects 
to  have  freed  himself;  he  proves  that  it  awakes  when 
lightnings  flash,  when  thunders  roll  in  the  air,  when 
the  messengers  of  death  approach  to  execute  their  ter- 
rible ministry. 

5.  At  the  tribunal  of  reason.  The  sceptic  objects 
to  the  believer,  that  religion  demands  l'u^  sacrifice  of 
reason  of  its  disciples;  that  it  reveals  abstruse  doc- 
trines, and  incomprehensible  mysteries ;    and  that  it 

requires 


536  The  Superior  Evidence 

requires  all  to  receive  its  decisions  with  an  entire  suk^- 
mission.  The  believer  opposeth  the  infidel,  by  arguing 
the  infallibility  of  the  Intelligence  who  revealed  these 
doctrines  to  us.  He  proves  to  him,  that  the  best  use 
that  can  be  made  of  reason,  is  to  renounce  it  in  the 
sense  in  which  revelation  requireth  its  renunciation,  so 
that  reason  never  walks  a  path  so  safe,  nor  is  ever  ele- 
vated to  a  degree  of  honour  so  eminent,  as  when  ceas- 
ing to  see  with  its  own  eyes,  it  seeth  only  with  the 
eyes  of  the  infallible  God. 

6.  The  believer  triumphs  over  the  infidel  at  the  tribu- 
nal of  scepticism  itself.  One  single  degree  of  probability 
in  the  system  of  the  believer,  in  our  opinion,  disconcerts 
and  confounds  the  system  of  the  sceptic  ;  at  least  it 
ought  to  imbitter  all  the  fancied  sweets  of  infidelity. 
What  satisfaction  can  a  man  of  sense  find  in  that  boasted 
independence,  which  the  system  of  infidehty  procures, 
if  there  be  the  least  shadow  of  a  probability  of  its 
plunging  him  into  endless  misery  ?  But  this  very  man, 
who  finds  the  evidences  of  religion  too  weak  to  induce 
a  man  of  sense  to  control  his  passions,  during  the  mo- 
mentary duration  of  this  life,  this  very  man  finds  the 
system  of  infidelity  so  evident,  that  it  engageth  him  to 
dare  that  eternity  of  misery  which  religion  denounceth 
•against  the  impenitent.  What  a  contrast!  The  ob- 
stinate sceptic  falls  into  a  credulity  that  would  be  un- 
pardonable in  a  child.  These  fiery  globes,  that  re- 
volve over  our  heads  with  so  much  pomp  and  glory ; 
these  heavens,  that  declare  the  glory  of  God,  Psal.  xix.  1 . 
that  firmament,  which  sheweth  his  handy-work ;  these 
successions  of  seasons ;  that  symmetry  of  body ;  these 
faculties  of  mind ;  the  martyrs,  v/ho  attested  the  truth  of 
the  facts  on  which  religion  is  founded ;  the  miracles, 
that  confirm  the  facts  \  that  harmony,  between  the 
prophecies  and  their  accomplishment ;  and  all  the  other 
numerous  arguments,  that  establish  the  doctrine  of  the 
existence  of  God,  and  of  the  truth  of  revelation ;  all 
xhese,  he  pretends,  cannot  prove  enough  to  engage  him 

to 


and  Influence  of  Christianity.  337 

to  render  homage  to  a  Supreme  Being :  and  the  few 
difficulties,  which  he  objects  to  us ;  a  few  rash  conjec- 
tures ;  a  system  of  doubts  and  uncertainties,  seem  to 
him  sufficiently  conclusive  to  engage  hirn  to  brave  that 
adorable  Being,  and  to  expose  himself  to  all  the  mise- 
ries that  attend  those  who  affront  him. 

We  conclude,  then,  that  our  first  proposition  is  suf- 
ficiently justified.  Truth  in  general,  the  truths  of  re- 
ligion in  particular,  have  a  light  superior  to  all  the 
glimmerings  of  error.  Greater  is  he  that  is  in  you^  than 
he  that  is  in  the  world, 

II.  We  said,  in  the  second  place,  motives  to  virtue 
are  superior  to  motives  to  vice.  This  proposition  is  a 
necessary  consequence  of  the  first.  Every  motive  to 
vice  supposeth  an  error.  Every  motive  to  vice  suppo- 
seth  that,  in  some  cases,  it  is  more  advantageous  to  a 
man  to  abandon  himself  to  vice  than  to  cleave  inviolably 
to  virtue :  this  is  a  falsehood ;  this  is  even  a  falsehood  of 
the  grossest  kind.  In  what  case  can  a  creature  promise 
himself  more  happiness  in  rebelling  against  his  Creator, 
than  in  submitting  to  his  authority  ?  In  what  case  can 
we  hope  for  more  happiness  in  pleasing  Satan  than  in 
pleasing  God .? 

What  I  affirmed  of  all  known  truth,  that  its  force  is 
irresistible,  I  affirm,  on  the  same  principle,  of  all  mo- 
tives to  virtue :  the  most  hardened  sinners  cannot  re- 
sist them  if  they  attend  to  them,  nor  is  there  any  other 
way  of  becoming  insensible  to  them,  than  that  of  turn- 
ing the  eyes  away  from  them.  Dissipation  is  the  usual 
cause  of  our  irregularities.  The  principal,  I  hai  al- 
most said,  the  only  secret  of  Satan,  in  his  abomina- 
ble plan  of  human  destruction,  is  to  dissipate  and  to 
stun  mankind ;  the  noise  of  company,  the  din  of  amuse- 
ments, the  bustle  of  business  ;  it  does  not  signify  if  it 
be  bur  a  noise,  it  will  always  produce  its  effect;  it 
will  always  divide  the  capacity  of  the  mind,  it  will 
prevent  him,  in  who?e  ears  it  sounds,  from  thinking 
-  Vol.  II.  Y  and 


338  The  Superior  Evidence 

and  reflecting,  from  pursuing  an  argument,  and  from 
attending  to  the  weight  of  conclusive  evidence. 

And  really,  where  is  the  man  so  bhnd  as  to  digest  the 
falsehoods  which  motives  to  vice  imply?  Where  is  the 
wretch  so  resolute  as  to  reason  in  this  manner  ? 

"  I  love  to  be  esteemed  ;  I  will  therefore  devote  my- 
self wholly  to  the  acquisition  of  the  esteem  of  those 
men  who,  like  me,  will  shortly  be  devoured  with 
worms ;  whose  ashes,  like  mine,  will  be  shortly  con- 
founded witn  the  dust  of  the  earth  :  but  I  will  not  take 
the  least  pains  to  obtain  the  approbation  of  those  noble 
inteUigences,  those  sublime  geniusses,  those  angels  and 
seraphims,  who  incessantly  surround  the  throne  oF 
God ;  I  will  not  give  myself  a  moment's  concern  about 
obtaining  a  share  of  those  praises,  which  the  great 
God  will  one  day  bestow,  in  rich  abundance,  before 
heaven  and  earth,  on  them  who  have  been  faithful  to 
him. 

I  love  honour ;  I  will  therefore  apply  myself  wholly 
to  make  the  world  say  of  me.  That  man  hath  an  ex- 
cellent taste  for  dress ;  his  table  is  delicately  served  j 
the  noble  blood  of  his  family  was  never  debased  by  ig- 
noble alliances  ;  nobody  can  offend  him  with  impunity ; 
he  must  always  be  approached  v/ith  respect :  but  I  will 
never  givs  myself  any  trouble  to  force  them  to  say  of 
me.  That  man  fears  God  ;  he  prefers  his  duty  above 
all  other  things  ;  he  thinks  there  is  more  magnanimity 
in  forgiving  an  affront  than  in  revenging  it ;  to  be  holy, 
in  his  opinion,  is  better  than  to  be  noble  in  the  world's 
esteem,,  and  so  on. 

I  am  very  fond  of  pleasure;  I  will  therefore  give  my- 
self wholly  to  the  gratification  of  my  senses ;  to  the 
leading  of  a  voluptuous  life ;  a  feast  shall  be  succeeded 
by  an  amusement,  and  an  amusement  shall  conduct 
10  debauchery ;  this  round  I  intend  perpetually  "  to 
pursue  :  but  I  will  never  stir  one  ^tep  to  obtain  that 
fulnt'ss  of  joy,  v/hich  is  at  GocCs  right  hand,  that  riv^r 
of  pleasures,  with  which //Vy,  who  put  their  trusi  under 

the 


and  Influence  of  Christianiii/,  339 

the  shadow  of  his  wings,  are  abundantly  satisfied,  Psal. 
xvi.  11.  and  xxxvi.  7,  8. 

I  hate  constraint  and  trouble ;  I  will  therefore  divert 
my  attention  wholly  from  all  penitential  exercises  ;  and 
particularly  from  imprisonment,  banishment,  racks, 
and  stakes :  but  I  will  brave  the  chains  of  darkness, 
with  their  galling  weight ;  the  devils,  with  their  fury ; 
hell,  with  its  flames ;  I  am  at  a  point,  I  consent  to 
curse  eternally  the  day  of  my  birth ;  eternally  to  con- 
sider annihilation  as  an  invaluable  good ;  to  seek  death 
for  ever  without  finding  it ;  for  ever  to  blaspheme  my 
Creator;  eternally  to  hear  the  bowlings  of  the  damned; 
to  howl  eternally  with  them ;  like  them,  to  be  for  ever 
and  ever  the  object  of  that  condemning  sentence,  De- 
part  from  me,  ye  cursed  I  into  everlasting  fire,  prepared 
for  the  devil  and  his  angels.  Matt.  xxv.  41.  I  ask  again, 
Where  is  the  wretch  hardened  enough  to  digest  these 
propositions?  Yet  these  are  the  motives  to  vice.  Is  not 
the  developing  of  these  sufficient  to  discover,  that  they 
ought  to  yield  to  virtue,  and  to  prove  in  our  second 
sense,  that  "•  Greater  is  he  that  is  in  us  than  he  that  is 
*'  in  the  world  ?" 

But,  how  active  soever  the  light  of  religion  may  be, 
prejudices  often  cover  its  brightness  from  us ;  how  su- 
perior soever  motives  to  virtue  may  be  to  motives  to 
vice,  our  passions  invigorate  motives  to  vice,  and  ener- 
vate those  to  virtue.  Were  we  even  free  from  innate 
dispositions  to  sin,  w^e  should  be  hurried  into  it  by  an 
external  enemy,  who  studies  our  inclinations,  adapts 
himself  to  our  taste,  avails  himself  of  our  frailties,  ma- 
nages  circumstances,  and  who,  according  to  the  ex- 
pression of  an  apostle,  walketJi  about  as  a  roaring  lion, 
seeking  'whom  he  may  devour,  1  Pet.  v.  S.  This  enemy 
is  Satan. 

III.  But  the  Holy  Spirit,  who  opeueth  our  eyes,  (and 
this  is  my  third  proposition,)  the  Holy  Spirit,  who 
openeth  our  eyes  to  shew  us  the  light  of  truth,  and  who 

Y  ^  touchet 


340  The  Superior  Evidence 

toucheth  our  hearts  to  make  us  feel  the  force  of  virtu- 
ous motives,  is  infinitely  more  povi^erful  than  Satan. 

I  do  not  pretend  to  agitate  here  the  indissoluble 
question  concerning  the  power  of  the  devil  over  sub- 
lunary beings,  and  particularly  over  man :  what  I  should 
advance  on  this  subject  v^^ould  not  be  very  agreeable  to 
my  hearers.  We  are  naturally  inclined  to  attribute 
too  much  to  the  devil,  and  we  easily  persuade  our- 
selves that  we  are  in  an  inchanted  world.  It  seems 
to  us,  that  as  many  degrees  of  power  as  we  add  to 
those  which  God  hath  given  the  tempter,  so  many 
apologies  we  acquire  for  our  frailties  ;  and  that  the 
more  power  the  enemy  hath,  with  whom  we  are  at 
war,  the  more  excuseable  we  are  for  suffering  our- 
selves to  be  conquered,  and  for  yielding  to  superior 
force.  Do  we  revolve  any  black  design  in  our  minds  ^. 
It  is  the  devil  who  inspires  us  with  it.  Do  we  lay  a  train 
for  executing  any  criminal  intrigue?  It  is  the  devil  who 
invented  it.  Do  we  forget  our  prayers,  our  promises, 
our  protestations  ?  It  is  the  devil  who  effaced  them 
from  our  memory.  My  brethren,  do  you  know  who 
is  the  most  terrible  tempter  ?  Our  own  cupidity.  Do 
you  know  what  devil  is  the  most  formidable  ?  h  is 
self. 

But,  passing  reflections  of  this  kind,  and  taking,  in 
its  plain  and  obvious  meaning,  a  truth  which  the  holy 
scriptures  in  a  great  many  places  attest,  that  is,  that  the 
devil  continually  endeavours  to  destroy  mankind  ;  I  re- 
peat my  third  proposition,  The  Holy  Spirit,  who  watch- 
eth  to  save  us,  is  infinitely  more  powerful  than  the  de- 
vil, who  seeks  to  destroy  us. 

The  power  of  Satan  is  a  borrowed  power.  This  mis- 
chievous spirit  cannot  move  without  the  permission  of 
God  ;  yea,  he  is  only  a  minister  of  his  will.  This  ap- 
pears in  the  history  of  Job.  Jealous  of  the  prosperity, 
more  still  of  the  virtue  of  that  iioly  man,  he  thought 
he  could  corrupt  his  virtue  by  touching  his  prosperity. 
But  he  could  not  execute  one  of  his  designs  further  than 

God, 


and  Influence  of  Christianity,  341 

God,  by  loosing  his  rein,  allowed  him  to  execute  it. 
The  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God  is  a  power  proper  and 
essential  to  him  who  exercises  it. 

Because  the  power  of  the  devil  is  a  borrowed  power, 
it  is  a  limited  power,  and,  although  we  are  incapable  of 
determining  its  bounds,  yet  we  may  reasonably  believe 
they  are  narrow.  Jehovah  will  not  give  his  glory  to 
any  other ^  Isa.  xlii.  8.  least  of  all  will  he  give  it  to  such 
an  unworthy  being  as  the  devil.  ^ 

The  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God  is  a  boundless  power. 
He  acts  on  exterior  beings  to  make  them  concur  in  our 
salvation.  He  acts  on  our  blood  and  humours,  to  stir 
them  to  motion,  or  to  reduce  them  to  a  calm.  He  acts 
on  our  spirits,  I  mean  on  those  subtile  particles  which, 
with  inconceivable  rapidity,  convey  themselves  into  the 
divers  organs  of  our  bodies,  and  have  an  extensive  in- 
fluence over  our  faculties.  He  acts  on  our  memories, 
to  impress  them  with  some  objects,  and  to  efface  others. 
He  acts  immediately  on  the  substance  of  our  souls; 
he  produceth  ideas ;  he  exciteth  sensations ;  he  sus- 
pendeth  the  natural  effects  of  their  union  to  the  body. 
He  sometimes,  by  this  suspension,  renders  a  martyr  in- 
sensible to  the  action  of  the  flames  that  consume  him ; 
and  teaches  him  to  say,  even  amidst  the  most  cruel  tor- 
ments, '*  I  glory  in  tribulations,  knowing  that  tribula- 
***  tk)n  worketh  patience ;  and  patience  experience,  or 
*'  proof,"  (this  is  a  metaphor  taken  from  gold,  which 
is  proved  by  the  fire  that  purifieth  it,)  "  and  experience 
"  hope ;  and  hope  maketh  not  ashamed,  because  the  love 
"  of  God  is  shed  abroad  in  my  heart  by  the  Holy  Ghost, 
"  which  is  given  unto  me,"  Rom.  v.  3—5. 

As  the  power  of  Satan  is  limited  in  its  degrees,  so 
is  it  also  in  its  duration.  Recollect  a  vision  of  St  John. 
I  saw,  said  l;e,  an  angel  come  down  from  heaven,  having 
ihe  key  of  the  bottomless  pit,  and  a  great  chain  in  his 
hand.  And  he  laid  hold  on  the  dragon^  that  old  serpent, 
which  is  the  devil  and  Satan,  and  bound  him  a  thousand 
years ^  and  cast  him  into  the  bottomless  pit,  and  shut  him 

up. 


343  The  Superior  Evidence 

up^  and  set  a  seal  upon  him^  that  lie  should  deceive  the  na- 
tions no  more.  Rev.  xx.  1—3.  Without  making  any  vain 
attempts  to  fix  the  sense  of  this  vision,  let  us  be  content 
to  derive  this  instruction  from  it,  that  the  power  of  the 
devil  is  limited  in  its  duration,  as  well  as  in  its  degrees. 
There  are  periods  in  which  Satan  is  hound  with  the  chain 
of  the  superior  power  of  the  Holy  Ghost.  There  are 
times  in  which  he  is  shut  up  in  a  prison,  sealed  with  the 
seal  of  the  decrees  of  God ;  a  seal  that  no  created 
power  can  open. 

The  power  of  the  Spirit  of  God  is  without  limits  in 
its  periods  as  it  is  in  its  degrees.  Christian  !  the  worse 
thy  times  are,  the  more  ready  will  this  Spirit  be  to  suc- 
coar  thee,  if  thou  implore  his  aid.  Art  thou  near  some 
violent  operation  ?  Doth  an  object  fatal  to  thine  inno- 
cence fill  thee  with  fear  and  dread  ?  "  Do  the  sorrows 
*'  of  death  compass  thee  ?  Do  the  pains  of  hell  get  hold 
''  on  thee  ?  Call  upon  the  name  of  the  Lord;"  say,  "  O 
'*  Lord !  I  beseech  thee,  deliver  my  soul,"  Psal.  cxvi.  3,4. 
Ke  will  hear  thy  voice,  and  thy  supplications ;  and,  by 
the  mighty  action  of  his  Spirit,  he  will  *' deliver  thy 
*'  soul  from  death,  thine  eyes  from  tears,  and  thy  feet 
"from  falling,"  ver.  1.  8.' 

How  invincible  soever  the  hatred  of  Satan  to  us  may 
appear,  it  cannot  equal  the  love  of  God  for  us ;  whatever 
desire  the  devil  may  have  to  destroy  us,  it  cannot  com- 
pare with  that  which  the  Holy  Spirit  hath  to  save  us. 
It  would  be  easy  to  enlarge  these  articles,  and  to  increase 
their  number;  but  our  time  is  nearly  elapsed.  What 
success  can  Satan  have  against  a  Spirit  armed  with  so 
much  power,  and  animated  with  so  much  love?  "  Surely, 
*'  there  is  no  inchantment  against  Jacob,  neither  is  there 
"  any  divination  against  Israel.  Ye  have  overcome 
''them;  because  greater  is  he  that  is  in  you  than  he 
"  that  is  in  the  world.'* 

My  brethren,  the  age  for  which  God  hath  reserved 
US  hath  a  great  resemblance  to  that  of  the  apostles. 
Satan  is  as  indefatigable  now  in  his  attempts  to  destroy 

mankind 


and  Influence  of  Christianity.  345 

mankind  as  he  was  then.  We  also  have  our  Simons, 
who  call  themselves  the  great  power  of  God,  We  have 
men  like  Ebion  and  Cerinthus ;  and  if  the  ministers  of 
Jesus  Christ  conquer  the  world,  the  world  also  con- 
quers some  of  the  ministers  of  Christ. 

In  which  class,  my  brethren,  must  you  be  placed  ? 
In  that  of  the  disciples  of  false  Christs,  or  in  that  of 
the  disciples  of  the  true  Saviour  ?  In  the  class  of  those 
whom  the  world  conquers,  or  in  the  class  of  those  who 
have  conquered  the  world  ?  On  a  clear  answer  to  this 
question  depends  the  consequence  you  must  draw  from 
the  words  of  the  text. 

If  you  be  of  those  who  are  overcome  by  the  world, 
the  text  should  alarm  and  confound  you.  You  have 
put  arms  into  the  hands  of  this  enemy.  Nothing  but  a 
fund  of  obstinacy  and  malice  could  have  induced  you 
to  resist  the  superior  means  which  God  hath  employed 
to  save  you.  You  are  that  vineyard,  of  which  the  pro- 
phet said,  ''  My  well-beloved  hath  a  vineyard  in  a  very 
''  fruitful  hill ;  and  he  fenced  it,  and  built  a  tower,  and 
"  planted  it  with  the  choicest  vine;  and  he  looked  that  it 
"  should  bring  forth  grapes,  and  it  brought  forth  wild 
"  grapes,'*  Isa.  v.  1—3.  and  as  you  are  the  original  of 
this  portrait,  you  are  also  the  object  of  the  following 
threatening,  ''  And  now,  O  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem, 
'*  I-  will  tell  you  what  I  will  do  to  my  vineyard.  I 
^'  will  take  away  the  hedge  thereof  and  it  shall  be  eaten 
*'  up,  and  break  down  the  wall  thereof,  and  it  shall  be 
*'  trodden  down,  and  I  will  lay  it  waste,  I  will  also 
*'  command  the  clouds,  that  thev  rain  no  rain  upon 
"  it,''  ver.  5,  6. 

But  the  text  ought  to  fill  you  with  joy  and  conso- 
lation, if  you  be  of  those  who  have  overcome  the 
world.  What  pleasure  doth  it  afford  a  believer  to  re- 
member his  combats  with  the  world  and  his  con- 
quests over  it!  What  unspeakable  pleasure,  to  be  able 
to  say  to  himself,  "  In  my  youth  my  vigorous  con- 
stitution seemed  to  threaten  to  drive  me  to  the  ut- 
most 


344  The  Superior  Evidence 

most  excesses ;  in  my  mature  age,  I  walked  in  some 
slippery  paths,  which  made  me  almost  despair  of  pre- 
serving my  candour  and  innocence;  here  a  certain  com- 
pany had  an  absolute  authority  over  my  mind,  and 
used  it  only  to  seduce  me ;  there,  an  inveterate  ene- 
my put  my  resolution  to  the  severest  trial,  and  ex- 
hausted almost  all  my  patience;  here,  false  teachers, 
who  were  so  dexterous  in  the  art  of  enveloping  the 
truth,  that  the  most  piercing  eyes  could  scarcely  discern 
it,  had  well  nigh  beguiled  me ;  there,  violent  persecu- 
tors endeavoured  to  force  me  to  an  open  abjuration  of 
religion.  Thanks  be  to  God  !  I  have  resisted  all  these 
efforts ;  and,  although  Satan  hath  sometimes  succeeded 
in  his  designs,  and  hath  made  me  totter,  he  hath  always 
failed  in  his  main  purpose,  of  making  me  fall  finally, 
and  of  tearing  me  for  ever  from  the  communion  of  Je- 
sus Christ." 

The  victories  you  have  obtained,  my  brethren,  are 
pledges  of  others  which  you  will  yet  obtain.  Come 
again,  next  Lord's-day,  and  renew  your  strength  at  the 
table  of  Jesus  Christ.  Come,  and  promise  him  anew, 
that  yojLi  will  be  always  faithful  to  that  religion,  the 
light  of  which  shines  in  your  eyes  with  so  much  glory. 
Come,  and  protest  to  him,  that  you  will  give  yourselves 
wholly  up  to  those  powerful  motives  to  virtue  which 
his  gospel  affords.  Come,  and  devote  yourselves  en- 
tirely to  that  Spirit  which  he  hath  given  you.  Having 
done  these  things,  fear  nothing ;  let  your  courage  re- 
double, as  your  dangers  increase. 

All  the  attacks,  which  Satan  hath  made  on  your  faith 
to  this  day,  should  prepare  you  for  the  greatest  and 
most  formidable  attack  of  all ;  ye  have  not  yet  resisted 
unto  blood,  striviiig  against  sin,  Heb.  xii.  4.  The  last 
enemy  that  shall  be  destroyed  is  deaths  1  Cor.  xv.  26. 
The  approaches  of  death  are  called  an  agony^  that  is, 
the  combat  by  excellence.  Then  Satan  will  attack  you 
with  cutting  griefs,  with  doubts,  and  remorse.  He 
will  represent  to  you  a  deplorable  famijy,  \vhose  cries 

^  will 


and  Influence  of  Christianity,  345 

will  pierce  your  hearts,  and  which,  by  tightening  the 
ties  that  bind  you  to  the  world,  will  retain  your  souls  on 
earth,  while  they  long  to  ascend  to  heaven.  Ht  will 
terrify  you  with  ideas  of  divine  justice,  and  fiery  in^ 
dig?iation,  which  shall  devour  the  adversaries^  lieb. 
X.  27.  He  will  paint  in  dismal  colours  to  you,  the  pro- 
cession  at  your  funeral,  the  torch,  the  shroud,  and  the 
grave. 

But  he  who  is  in  you,  will  render  you  invulnerable  to 
all  these  attacks.  He  will  represent  to  you  the  delight- 
ful relations  you  are  going  to  form ;  the  heavenly  so- 
cieties to  which  you  are  going  to  be  united;  the  blessed 
angels,  waiting  to  receive  your  souls.  He  will  shew 
you  that  in  the  tomb  of  Jesus  Christ  which  will  sanc- 
tify yours.  He  will  remind  you  of  that  death  of  the 
Saviour  which  renders  your's  precious  in  the  sight  of 
God.  He  will  open  the  gates  of  heaven  to  you,  and 
will  enable  you  to  see,  without  a  sigh,  the  foundation;' 
of  the  earth  sinking  away  from  your  feet.  He  will 
change  the  groans  of  your  death-beds  into  songs  of  tri- 
umph; and,  amidst  all  your  horrors,  he  will  teach  each 
of  you  to  exult.  "  Blessed  be  the  Lord  my  strength, 
"  who  teacheth  my  hands  to  war,  and  my  fingers  to 
"  fight,"  Psal  cxliv.  1.  <'  Thanks  be  unto  God,  who 
*'  always  causeth  us  to  triumph  in  Christ,"  2  Cor.  ii.  14. 
*'  O  death,  where  is  thy  sting  ?  O  grave,  where  is  thy 
*^  victory  ?"  1  Cor.  xv.  55.  God  grant  you  this  blessw 
ing.     To  him  be  honour  and  glory,     iimen. 


SERMON 


547 


SERMON    XIII. 

The  Absurdity  of  Libertinism  and  Infidelity, 


Psalm  xciv.  7,  8,  9,  10. 

They  say^  the  Lord  shall  not  see :  neither  shall  the  God 
of  yacob  regard  it.  Understand,  ye  most  brutish 
among  the  people:  and  ye  fools,  when  will  ye  be  wise? 
He  that  planted  the  ear,  shall  he  not  hear  P  He  tJiat 
formed  the  eye,  shall  he  not  see  P  He  that  chastiseth 
the  heathen,  shall  not  he  correct  P  He  that  teacheth 
man  knowledge,  shall  not  lie  know  P 

JNYECTIVE  and  reproach  seldom  proceed  from 
the  mouth  of  a  man  who  loves  truth  and  defends  it. 
They  are  the  usual  weapons  of  them  who  plead  a  des- 
perate cause ;  who  feel  themselves  hurt  by  a  formidable 
adversary ;  who  have  not  the  equity  to  yield  v^^hen  they 
ought  to  yield ;  and  who  have  no  other  part  to  take 
than  that  of  supplying  the  want  of  solid  reasons  by 
odious  names. 

Yet,  whatever  charity  we  may  have  for  erroneous 
people,  it  is  difficult  to  see  with  moderation  men  obsti- 
nately maintaining  some  errors^  guiding  th«ir  minds  by 
the  corruption  of  their  hearts,  and  choosing  rather  to 
advance  the  most  palpable  absurdities,  than  to  give 
the  least  check  to  the  most  irregular  passions.  Hear 
how  the  sacred  author  streat  people  of  this  character : 
**  My  people  is  foolish,  they  have  not  known  me  \  they  are 

*'  sottish 


348  The  Absurdity  of 

*^  sottish  children,  they  have  no  understanding.  The  ox 
'*  knoweth  his  owner,  and  the  ass  his  master's  crib  ;  but 
*'  Israel  doth  not  know,  my  people  doth  not  consider. 
"  Ephraim  is  like  a  silly  dove  without  heart.  O  gene- 
*'  ration  of  vipers,  who  hath  warned  you  to  flee  from 
**  the  wrath  to  come  ?  O  foolish  Galatians,  who  hath 
*'  bewitched  you?"  Jer.  iv.  22.  Isa.  i.  3.  Hos.  vii.  11. 
Matt.  iii.  7.  and  Gal.  iii.  1. 

Not  to  multiply  examples,  let  it  suffice  to  remark, 
that  if  ever  there  were  men  who  deserved  such  odious 
names,  they  are  such  as  our  prophet  describes.  Those 
abominable  men  I  mean,  who,  in  order  to  violate  the 
laws  of  religion  without  rsmorse,  maintain  that  religion 
is  a  chimera ;  who  break  down  all  the  bounds  which 
God  hath  set  to  the  wickedness  of  mankind,  and  who 
determine  to  be  obstinate  infidels,  that  they  may  be  peace- 
able libertines.  The  prophet  therefore  lays  aside,  in  re- 
spect to  them,  that  charity  which  a  weak  mind  would 
merit,  that  errs  only  through  the  misfortune  of  a  bad 
education,  or  the  limits  of  a  narrow  capacity.  0  ye  most 
hrutish  among  the  people,  says  he  to  them,  understand. 
Te  fools,  when  will  ye  he  wise  F 

People  of  this  sort  I  intend  to  attack  to-day.  Not 
that  I  promise  myself  much  success  with  them,  or  en- 
tertain hopes  of  reclaiming  them.  These  are  the  fools 
of  whom  Solomon  says,  "  though  thou  shouldest  bray 
"  a  fool  in  a  mortar  among  wheat  with  a  pestle,  yet  will 
"  not  his  foolishness  depart  from  him,"  Pro  v.  xxvii.  22. 
But  I  am  endeavouring  to  prevent  the  progress  of  the 
evil,  and  to  guard  our  youth  against  favourable  im- 
pressions of  infidelity  and  libertinism,  which  have  al- 
ready decoyed  away  too  many  of  our  young  people,  and 
to  confirm  you  all  in  your  attachment  to  your  holy  re- 
ligion.    Let  us  enter  into  the  matter. 

In  the  style  of  the  sacred  authors,  particularly  in  that 
of  our  prophet,  to  deny  the  existence  of  a  God,  the 
doctrine  of  Providence,  and  the  essential  difference 
{between  just  and  unjust,  is  one  and  the  same  thing. 

Compare 


Libertinism  and  Infidelity.  349 

Compare  the  psalm  out  of  which  I  have  taken  my 
text,  with  the  fourteenth,  with  the  fifty-third,  and  par- 
ticularly with  the  tenth,  and  you  will  perceive,  that  the 
prophet  confounds  them,  who  say  in  their  hearts,  there 
is  no  God,  with  those  who  say,  God  hath  forgotten  ;  he 
hideth  his  face,  he  will  never  see  it,  Psal.  x.  !!• 

In  effect,  although  the  last  of  these  doctrines  may  be 
maintained  without  admitting  the  first,  yet  the  last  is  no 
less  essential  to  religion  than  the  first.  And  although  a 
man  may  be  a  deist,  and  an  epicurean,  without  being  an 
atheist,  yet  the  system  of  an  atheist  is  no  more  odious  to 
God  than  that  of  an  epicurean,  and  that  of  a  deist. 

I  shall  therefore  make  but  one  man  of  these  different 
men,  and,  after  the  example  of  the  prophet,  I  shall  at- 
tack him  with  the  same  arms.  In  order  to  justify  the 
titles  that  he  gives  an  infidel,  I  shall  attack, 

I.  His  taste. 

II.  His  policy. 

III.  His  Indocility. 

IV.  His  logics,  or,  to  speak  more  properly,  his  way 
of  reasoning. 

V.  His  morality. 

VI.  His  conscience. 

VII.  His  politeness,  and  knowledge  of  the  world. 

In  all  these  reflections,  which  I  shall  proportion  to 
the  length  of  these  exercises,  I  shall  pay  more  regard 
to  the  genius  of  our  age  than  to  that  of  the  times  of 
ihe  prophet :  and  I  shall  do  this  the  rather,  because  we 
cannot  determine  on  what  occasion  the  psalm  was  com- 
posed of  which  the  text  is  a  part. 

I.  If  you  consider  the  taste ,  the  discernment,  and 
choice  of  the  people  of  whom  the  prophet  speaks,  you 
will  see  he  had  a  great  right  to  denominate  them  most 
brutish  and  foolish.  What  an  excess  must  a  man  have 
attained,  when  he  hates  a  religion  without  which  he 
cannot  but  be  miserable !  Who,  of  the  happiest  of  man- 
kind, 


350  The  Absurditi)  of 

kind,  doth  not  want  the  succour  of  religion  ?  What 
disgraces  at  court !  What  mortifications  in  the  army  I 
What  accidents  in  trade !  What  uncertainty  in  science! 
What  bitterness  in  pleasure  !  What  injuries  in  reputa- 
tion I  What  inconstancy  in  riches !  What  disappoint- 
ments in  projects!  What  intideUty  in  friendship!  What 
vicissitudes  in  fortune !  Miserable  man !  What  will 
support  thee  under  so  many  calamities  ?  What  misera- 
ble comforters  are  the  passions  in  these  sad  periods  of 
life  !  How  inadequate  is  philosophy  itself,  how  impro- 
per is  Zeno,  how  unequal  are  all  his  followers  to  the 
task  of  calming  a  poor  mortal,  when  they  tell  him, 
*'  Misfortunes  are  inseparable  from  human  nature.  No 
*'  man  should  think  himself  exempt  from  any  thing 
*'  that  belongs  to  the  condition  of  mankind.  If  ma- 
''  ladies  be  violent,  they  will  be  short ;  if  they  be  long, 
"  they  will  be  tolerable.  A  fatal  necessity  prevails  over 
"  all  mankind  ;  complaints  and  regrets  cannot  change 
''  the  order  of  things.  A  generous  soul  should  be  su- 
''  perior  to  all  events,  it  should  despise  a  tyrant,  defy 
"  fortune,  and  render  itself  insensible  to  pain."  To- 
lerable reflections  in  a  book,  plausible  arguments  in  a 
public  auditory  !  But  weak  reflections,  vain  arguments 
in  a  bed  of  infirmity,  while  a  man  is  suffering  the  pain 
of  the  gout  or  the  stone ! 

O I  how  necessary  is  religion  to  us  in  these  fatal  cir- 
cumstances !  It  speaketh  to  us  in  a  manner  infinitely 
more  proper  to  comfort  us  under  our  heaviest  afflictions ! 
Religion  saith  to  you,  "  Out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Most 
"  High  proceedeth  evil  and  good,"  Lam.  iii.  38.  "  He 
*'  formeth  light,  and  createth  darkness ;  he  maketh  peace, 
''  and  createth  evil,"  Isa.  xlv.  7.  "  Shall  there  be  evil  in 
^*  the  city,  and  the  Lord  hath  not  done  it?"  Amos  iii.  6. 
Religion  tells  you,  that  if  God  afflict  you  it  is  for  your 
own  advantage  ;  it  is,  that,  being  uneasy  on  earth,  you 
may  take  your  flight  toward  heaven ;  that  *'  your  Hght 
''  affliction,  which  is  but  for  a  moment,  may  work  for  you 
*'  a  far  more  exceeding  and  eternal  weight  of  glory." 

2  Cor. 


Libertinism  and  Infidelity.  551 

2  Cor.  iv.  1 7.  Religion  bids  you  "  not  to  think  it  strange 
*'  concerning  the  fiery  trial,  which  is  to  try  you,  as 
''  though  some  strange  thing  happened  unto  you,"  1  Pet- 
iv.  12.  but  to  believe,  that  *'  the  trial  of  your  faith,  be- 
"  ing  much  more  precious  than  that  of  gold,  v^ich  per- 
"  isheth,  will  be  found  unto  praise,  and  honour,  and 
"  glory,  at  the  appearing  of  Jesus  Christ,'*  chap.  i.  7. 

But  Religion  is  above  all  necessary  in  the  grand  vi- 
cissitude, in  the  fatal  point,  to  which  all  the  steps  of  life 
tend;  I  mean,  at  the  hour  of  death.  For  at  length,  af- 
ter we  have  rushed  into  all  pleasures,  after  we  have 
sung  well,  danced  well,  feasted  well,  we  must  die,  we 
must  die.  And  what,  pray,  except  religion,  can  sup- 
port a  man,  struggling  with  the  king  of  terrors  P  Job 
xviii.  14,  A  man,  who  sees  his  grandeur  abased,  his 
fortune  distributed,  his  connections  dissolved,  his  senses 
benumbed,  his  grave  dug,  the  world  retiring  from  him, 
his  bones  hanging  on  the  verge  of  the  grave,  and  his 
soul  divided  between  the  horrible  hope  of  sinking  into 
nothing,  and  the  dreadful  fe^r  of  faUing  into  the  hands 
of  an  angry  God. 

In  sight  of  these  formidable  objects,  fall,  fall,  ye 
bandages  of  infidelity !  ye  vails  of  obscurity  and  de- 
pravity !  and  let  me  perceive  how  necessary  religion  is 
to  man.  It  is  that  which  sweetens  the  bitterest  of  all 
bitters.  It  is  that  which  disarms  the  most  invincible 
monster.  It  is  that  which  transformeth  the  most  fright- 
ful of  all  objects  into  an  object  of  gratitude  and  joy. 
It  is  that  which  calms  the  conscience,  and  confirms 
the  soul.  It  is  that  which  presents  to  the  dying  be- 
liever another  being,  another  fife,  another  economy, 
other  objects,  and  other  hopes.  It  is  that  which,  while 
the  outward  man  perisheth^  reneweth  the  inward  man 
day  by  day,  2  Cor.  iv.  16.  It  is  that  which  dissipates 
the  horrors  of  the  valley  of  the  shadow  of  death,  Psal. 
xxiii.  4.  It  is  that  which  cleaves  the  clouds  in  the 
sight  of  a  departing  Stephen ;  tells  a  converted  thief, 
to-day  shalt  thou  be  in  paradise^   Luke  xxiii.  43-  and 

cries 


352  The  Absurdity  of 

cries  to  all  true  penitents,  "  Blessed  are  the  dead  which 
die  in  the  Lord,"  Rev.  xiv.  13. 

11.  Having  taken  the  unbelieving  libertine  on  his 
own  interest,  I  take  him  on  the  public  interest,  and, 
having  attacked  his  taste  and  discernment,  1  attack 
his  policy.  An  infidel  is  a  disturber  of  public  peace, 
who,  by  undertaking  to  sap  the  foundations  of  religion, 
undermines  those  of  society.  Societij  cannot  subsist 
without  religion.  If  plausible  objections  may  be  form- 
ed against  this  proposition,  it  is  because  opponents 
have  had  the  art  of  disguising  it.  To  explain  it,  is 
to  preclude  the  sophisms  which  are  objected  against 
it.  Permit  us  to  lay  down  a  few  explanatory  prin- 
ciples. 

First.  When  we  say,  Society  cannot  subsist  without 
religion,  we  do  not  comprehend  in  our  proposition  all 
the  religions  in  the  world.  The  proposition  includes 
only  those  religions  which  retain  the  fundamental  prin- 
ciples  that  constitute  the  base  of  virtue ;  as  the  im- 
mortality of  the  soul,  a  future  judgment,  a  particular 
Providence.  We  readily  grant  there  may  be  in  the 
world  a  religion  worse  than  atheism ;  for  example,  any 
religion  that  should  command  its  votaries  to  kill,  to  as- 
sassinate, to  betray.  And  as  we  readily  grant  this  truth 
to  those  who  take  the  pains  to  maintain  it,  so  whatever 
they  oppose  to  us,  taken  from  the  religions  of  Pagans, 
which  were  hurtful  to  society,  is  only  vain  declamation, 
that  proves  nothing  against  us. 

Secondly.  When  we  affirm  Society  cannot  subsist 
without  religion,  v/e  do  not  pretend,  that  religion,  which 
retains  articles  safe  to  society,  may  not  s,(i  mix  those  arti- 
cles with  other  principles  pernicious  to  it,  that  they  may 
seem  at  first  sight  worse  than  atheism.  We  affirm 
only,  that  to  take  the  whole  of  such  a  religion,  it  is 
more  advantageous  to  society  to  have  it  than  to  be 
destitute  of  it.  All,  therefore,  that  is  objected  against 
our  proposition  concerning  those  wars,  crusades,  and 

persecutions, 


Libertinism  and  Infidelity,  353 

persecutions,  which  were  caused  by  superstition,  all 
this  is  only  vain  sophistry,  which  doth  not  affect  our 
thesis  in  the  least. 

Thirdly.  When  we  say.  Society  cannot  subsist  with- 
out  religion,  we  do  not  say,  that  religion,  even  the  pu- 
rest religion,  may  not  cause  some  disorders  in  society ; 
but  v/e  affirm  only,  that  these  disorders,  however  nu- 
merous, cannot  counterbalance  the  benefits  which  re- 
ligion procures  to  it.  So  that  all  objections,  taken 
from  the  troubles  which  zeal  for  truth  may  have  pro- 
duced in  some  circumstances,  are  only  vain  objections, 
that  cannot  weaken  our  proposition. 

Fourthly.  When  we  affirm,  Society  cannot  subsist 
without  religion,  we  do  not  affirm  that  all  the  virtues 
which  are  displayed  in  society  proceed  from  religious 
principles;  so  that  all  just  magistrates  are  just  for  their 
love  of  equity  ;  that  all  grave  ecclesiastics  are  serious 
because  they  respect  their  character ;  that  all  chaste 
women  are  chaste  from  a  principle  of  love  to  virtue : 
human  motives,  we  freely  grant,  often  prevail  instead 
of  better.  We  affirm  only,  that  religious  principles 
are  infinitely  more  proper  to  regulate  society  than  hu- 
man motives.  Many  persons,  we  maintain,  do  actu- 
ally govern  their  conduct  by  religious  principles,  and 
society  would  be  incomparably  more  irregular,  were 
there  no  religion  in  it.  That  list  of  virtues,  therefore, 
which  only  education  and  constitution  produce,  doth 
not  at  all  affect  the  principle  which  we  are  endeavour- 
ing to  establish ;  and  he,  who  takes  his  objections 
from  it,  doth  but  beat  the  air. 

Lastly.  When  we  affirm.  Society  cannot  subsist  with- 
out reli9;ion,  wc  do  not  say,  that  all  atheists  and  deists 
ought  therefore  to  abandon  themselves  to  all  sorts  of 
vices  ;  nor  that  ihey  who  have  embraced  atheism,  if 
indeed  there  have  been  any  such,  were  always  the 
most  wicked  of  mankind.  Many  people  of  these 
characters,  we  own,  lived  in  a  regular  manner.  We 
aPiirm  only,  that  irreligion,  of  itself,  openeth  a  door  to 

Vol.  11.  ^      Z  all 


354  The  Absiirdity  of 

all  sorts  of  vices ;  and  that  men  are  so  formed,  that 
their  disorders  would  increase  were  they  to  disbelieve 
the  doctrines  of  the  existence  of  a  God,  of  judgment, 
and  of  Providence.  All  the  examples,  therefore,  thai 
are  alleged  against  us,  of  a  Diagoras,  of  a  Theodorus, 
of  a  Piiny,  of  a  Vanini,  of  some  societies,  real  or  chi- 
merical, who,  it  is  pretended,  lived  regular  lives  without 
the  aid  of  religion;  all  these  examples,  1  say,  make  no- 
thing against  our  hypothesis. 

These  explanations  being  granted,  we  maintain,  that 
no  politician  can  succeed  in  a  design  of  uniting  men 
n  one  social  body  without  supposing  the  truth  and  re- 
ality of  religion.  For,  if  there  be  no  religion,  each 
member  of  society  may  do  what  he  pleaseth ;  and  then 
each  would  give  a  loose  to  his  passions ;  each  would 
employ  his  power  in  crushing  the  weak,  his  cunning  in 
deceiving  the  simple,  his  eloquence  in  seducing  the 
credulous,  his  credit  in  ruining  commerce,  his  autho- 
rity in  distressing  the  whole  with  horror  and  terror, 
and  carnage  and  blood.  Frightful  disorders  in  their 
nature ;  but  necessary  on  principles  of  infidelity !  For, 
if  you  suppose  these  disorders  may  be  prevented,  their 
prevention  must  be  attributed  either  to  private  interest^ 
to  vi'orldly  honour,  or  to  human  laws. 

But  private  interest  cannot  supply  the  place  of  re- 
ligion. True,  were  all  men  to  agree  to  obey  the  pre- 
cepts of  religion,  each  would  find  his  own  account  in 
his  own  obedience.  But  it  doth  not  depend  on  an  in- 
dividual to  oppose  a  popular  torrent,  to  reform  the 
public,  and  to  make  a  new  world :  and,  while  the  world 
continues  in  its  present  state,  he  will  find  a  thousand 
circumstances  in  which  virtue  is  incompatible  with  pri- 
vate interest. 

Nor  can  worldlij  honGiir  supply  the  place  of  religion. 
For  what  is  worldly  honour  ?  it  is  a  superficial  virtue  ; 
an  art,  that  one  man  possesseth,  of  disguising  himself 
from  another;  of  deceiving  politely;  of  appearing  vir- 
tuous rather  than  of  being  actually  so.    If  you  extend 

the 


Libertinism  and  Infidelity.  555 

ihe  limits  of  worldly  honour  further,  if  you  make  it 
consist  in  that  purity  of  conscience,  and  in  that  recti- 
tude of  intention,  which  are  in  effect  firm  and  solid 
foundations  of  virtue,  you  will  find,  either  that  this  is 
only  a  fine  idea  of  what  almost  nobody  is  capable  of, 
or,  if  I  may  be  allowed  to  say  so,  that  the  virtues  which 
compose  your  complex  idea  of  worldly  honour  are 
really  branches  of  religion. 

Finally.  Huuian  laws  cannot  supply  the  place  of  re- 
ligion. To  whatever  degree  of  perfection  they  may  be 
improved,  they  will  always  savour  in  three  things  of 
the  imperfection  of  the  legislators. 

1.  They  will  be  imperfect  in  their  substance.  They 
may  prohibit,  indeed,  enormous  crimes ;  but  they  can- 
not reach  refined  irregularities,  which  are  not  the  Ifess 
capable  of  troubling  society  for  appearing  less  atroci- 
ous. They  may  forbid  murder,  theft,  and  adultery ; 
but  they  can  neither  forbid  avarice,  anger,  nor  concu- 
piscence. They  will  avail  in  the  preserving  and  dis- 
posing of  property,  they  may  command  the  payment 
of  taxes  to  the  crown,  and  of  debts  to  the  merchant, 
the  cultivation  of  sciences,  and  liberal  arts ;  but  they 
cannot  ordain  patience,  meekness,  and  love ;  and  you 
will  grant,  a  society,  in  which  there  is  neither  patience, 
meekness,  nor  love,  must  needs  be  an  unhappy  so- 
ciety. 

2.  Human  laws  will  be  weak  in  their  viotives.  The 
rewards  which  they  offer  may  be  forborne,  for  men  may 
do  without  them ;  the  punishments  which  they  inflict 
may  be  suffered ;  and  there  are  some  particular  cases 
in  which  they,  who  derogate  from  their  authority,  may 
advance  their  own  interest  more  than  if  they  constantly 
and  scrupulously  submit  to  it. 

3.  Human  laws  will  be  restrained  in  their  extent. 
Kings,  tyrants,  masters  of  the  world,  know  the  art  of 
freeing  tliemselves  from  them.  The  laws  avenge  us  on 
an  insigniricant  thief,  whom  the  pain  of  hunger  and 
the  fear  of  death  tempted  to  break  open  our  houses, 

Z  2  to 


356  The  Absurdity  of 

to  rob  us  of  a  trifling  sum  ;  but  who  will  avenge  us  of 
magnificent  thieves  ?  For,  my  brethren,  some  men,  in 
court-cabinets,  in  dedicatoi^  epistles,  in  the  sermons  of 
flatterers,  and  in  the  prologues  of  poets,  are  called  con- 
querors, heroes,  demi-gods ;  but  in  this  pulpit,  in  this 
church,  in  the  presence  of  the  God  who  filleth  this 
house,  and  who  regardeth  not  the  appearances  of  men, 
you  conquerors,  you  heroes,  you  demi-gods,  are  often 
nothing  but  thieves  and  incendiaries.  Who  shall  avenge 
us  of  those  men  who,  at  the  head  of  a  hundred  thou- 
sand slaves,  ravage  the  whole  world,  pillage  on  the 
right  hand  and  on  the  left,  violate  the  most  sacred 
rights,  and  overwhelm  society  with  injustice  and  op- 
pression ?  Who  doth  not  perceive  the  insufficiency  of 
human  laws  on  this  article,  and  the  absolute  necessity 
of  religion  ? 

III.  The  infidel  carrieth  his  indocility  to  the  utmost 
degree  of  extravagance,  by  undertaking  alone  to  op- 
pose all  mankind,  and  by  audaciously  preferring  his  own 
judgment  above  that  of  the  whole  world,  who,  excep- 
ting a  small  number,  have  unanimously  embraced  the 
truths  which  he  rejects. 

This  argument,  taken  from  unanimous  consent,  fur- 
nisheth,  in  favour  of  rehgion,  either  a  bare  presump- 
tion or  a  real  demonstration,  according  to  the  different 
faces  under  which  it  is  presented. 

It  furnisheth  a  proof,  perhaps  more  than  presump- 
tive, when  it  is  opposed  to  the  objections  which  an  un- 
believing philosopher  alledgeth  against  religion.  For, 
although  the  faith  of  a  rational  man  ought  not  to  be 
founded  on  a  plurality  of  suffrages,  yet  unanimity  of 
opinion  is  respectable,  when  it  hath  three  characters. 
1.  When  an  opinion  prevails  in  all  places.  Prejudices 
varies  with  climates,  and  whatever  depends  on  human 
caprice  differs  in  France,  and  in  Spain,  in  Europe,  and 
in  Asia,  according  as  the  inhabitants  of  each  country 
have  their  blood  hot  or  cold  ;  their  imagination  strong 

or 


Libertinism  and  Infidelity.  3^7 

•or  weak.  2.  When  an  opinion  prevails  at  all  times.  Pre- 
judices change  with  the  times;  years  instruct;  and  ex- 
perience corrects  errors,  which  ages  have  rendered  ve- 
nerable. 3.  M  hen  an  opinion  is  contrary  to  the  passions 
of  men,  A  prejudice  that  controuls  human  passions 
cannot  be  of  any  long  duration.  The  interest  that  a 
man  hath  in  discovering  his  mistake  will  put  him  on 
using  all  his  endeavours  to  develop  a  delusion.  These 
three  characters  agree  to  truth  only. 

I  am  aware  that  some  pretend  to  enervate  this  argu- 
ment, by  the  testimonies  of  some  ancient  historians, 
and  by  the  relations  of  some  modern  travellers,  who 
tell  us  of  some  individuals,  and  of  some  whole  soci- 
eties, who  are  destitute  of  the  knowledge  of  God  and 
of  religion. 

But,  in  order  to  a  solid  reply,  we  arrange  these 
atheists  and  deists,  who  are  opposed  to  us,  in  three 
different  classes.  The  first  consists  of  philosophers, 
the  next  of  the  senseless  populace,  and  the  last  of  prof- 
ligate persons.  Philosophers,  if  you  attend  closely  to 
the  matter,  will  appear,  at  least  the  greatest  part  of 
them  will  appear,  to  have  been  accused  of  having  no 
religion,  only  because  they  had  a  purer  religion  than 
the  rest  of  their  fellow-citizens.  They  would  not  ad- 
mit a  plurality  of  gods,  they  were  therefore  accused  of 
beliieving  in  no  God.  The  infidelity  of  the  senseless  po- 
pulace is  favourable  to  cur  argument.  We  afiirm, 
wherever  there  is  a  spark  of  reason,  there  is  also  a  spark 
of  religion.  Is  it  astonishing  that  they  who  have  re- 
nounced the  former,  should  renounce  the  latter  also  ? 
As  to  the  profligate,  who  extinguish  their  own  little 
light,  we  say  of  them,  with  a  modern  writer.  It  is  glo- 
rious  to  religion  to  havt  enemies  of  this  character. 

But  let  us  see  whether  this  unanimous  consent,  which 
hath  afforded  us  a  presumption  in  favour  of  religion, 
will  furnish  us  with  a  demonstration  against  those  who 
oppose  it. 

Authority  ought  never  to  prevail  over  our  minds, 
against  a  judgment  grounded  on  solid  reasons,  and  re- 
ceived 


35  S  The  Absurdity  of 

ceived  on  a  cool  examination.  But  authority,  especially 
an  authority  founded  on  unanimity  of  sentiment,  ought 
always  to  sway  our  minds  in  regard  to  a  judgment  form- 
ed without  solid  reasons,  without  examination,  and 
without  discussion.  No  men  deserve  to  be  called  the 
mottfoolish,  and  the  7nost  brutish  *  among  the  people,  so 
much  as  those  men,  who  being,  as  the  greatest  number 
of  infidels  are,  without  study  and  without  knowledge  j 
who,  without  deigning  to  weigh,  and  even  without  con- 
descending to  hear,  the  reasons  on  which  all  the  men 
in  the  world,  except  a  few,  found  the  doctrine  of  the 
existence  of  God  and  of  Providence,  give  themselves 
an  air  of  infidelity,  and  insolently  say,  Mercury  Tris- 
megistus,  Zoroaster,  Pythagoras,  Aristotle,  Socrates, 
Plato,  Seneca ;  moreover,  Moses,  Solomon,  Paul,  and 
the  Apostles,  taught  such  and  such  doctrines;  but,  for 
my  part,  I  am  not  of  their  opinion.  And  on  what  ground 
pray  do  you  reject  the  doctrines  which  have  been  de- 
fended by  such  illustrious  men  ?  Do  you  know  that, 
of  all  characters,  there  is  not  one  so  difficult  to  sustain 
as  that  which  you  affect  ?  For,  as  you  deny  the  most 
common  notions,  the  clearest  truths,  sentiments,  which 
are  the  most  generally  received,  if  you  v/ould  maintain 
an  appearance  of  propriety  of  character,  you  must  be 
a  superior  genius.  You  must  make  profound  re- 
searches, digest  immense  volumes,  and  discuss  many  an 
abstract  question.  You  must  learn  the  art  of  evading 
demonstrations,  of  palliating  sophisms,  of  parrying  ten 
thousand  thrusts,  that  from  all  parts  will  be  taken  at 
you.  But  you,  contemptible  genius  !  you  idiot !  you, 
who  hardly  know  how  to  arrange  two  words  with- 
out offending  against  the  rules  of  grammar,  or  to 
associate  two  ideas  without  shocking  common  sense, 

how 

*  Mr  Saurin  follows  the  reading  of  the  French  version,  les  fi/us 
brutaux,  mosl  brutish.  This  is  perfectly  agreeable  to  the  original, 
for  the  Hebrew  forms  the  superlative  degree  by  prefixing  the  letter 
i^^/A  to  a  noun-substantive,  which  follows  an  adjective,  as  here.  Cant. 
1-  8.  Prov.  XXX.  30.  hominum  hiutlssmi;  hominum  stu^idissimij 
totius  hujus  populi  biu^idissmi ;  say  commentators. 


Lthertinism  and  Infidelity.  559 

how  do  you  expect  to  sustain  a  character  which  the 
greatest  geniusses  are  incapable  of  supporting  ? 

IV.  Yet,  as  no  man  is  so  unreasonable  as  not  to  pro- 
fess  to  reason,  and  as  no  man  takes  up  a  notion  so  ea« 
gerly  as  not  to  pique  himself  on  having  taken  it  up  af- 
ter a  mature  deliberation,  we  must  talk  to  the  infide! 
as  to  a  philosopher,  who  always  follows  the  dictates  of 
reason,  and  argues  by  principles  and  consequences. 
Well  then !  Let  us  examine  his  logic ^  or,  as  I  said  be- 
fore, his  way  of  reasoning  ;  his  way  of  reasoning,  you 
will  see,  is  his  brutaHty,  and  his  logic  constitutes  his 
extravagance. 

In  order  to  comprehend  this,  weigh,  in  the  most  ex- 
act and  equitable  balance,  the  argument  of  our  pro- 
phet. He  that  planted  the  ear,  shall  he  not  hear'?  He 
that  formed  the  eye,  shall  he  not  see?  He  that  chiistiseth 
the  heathen,  shall  he  not  correct?  He  that  teacheth  mari 
knowledge,  shall  not  he  know?  These  are,  in  brief, 
three  sources  of  evidence,  which  supply  the  whole  of 
religion  with  proof.  The  first  are  taken  from  the  works 
of  nature;  He  who  planted  the  ear  ;  He  who  formed  the 
eye.  The  second  are  taken  from  the  economy  of  Pro- 
vidence ;  He  that  chastiseth  the  heathen.  The  third  are 
taken  from  the  history  of  the  church ;  He  thai  teach- 
eth  man  knowledge. 

The  first  are  taken  from  the  wonderful  works  of 
nature.  The  prophet  allegeth  only  two  examples; 
the  one  is  that  of  the  ear^  the  other  that  of  the  eye. 
None  can  communicate  what  he  hath  not,  is  the  most 
incontestible  of  all  principles.  He  who  communi- 
cateth  faculties  to  beings  whom  he  createth,  must 
needs  possess  whatever  is  most  noble  in  such  faculties. 
He  who  empowered  creatures  to  hear,  must  himself 
hear.  He  who  imparted  the  faculty  of  discerning 
objects,  must  needs  himself  discern  them.  Conse- 
quently, there  is  great  extravagance  in  saying.  The 
Lord  shall  not  see,  neither  shall  the  God  of  Jacob  regard  it. 

The 


560  The  Absurdity  of 

The  same  argument  which  the  structure  of  our  ears, 
and  that  of  our  eyes  afford  us,  we  derive  also  from  all 
the  wonderful  works  of  the  Creator.  The  Creator 
posseseth  all  those  great  and  noble  excellencies,  in  a 
superior  degree,  the  faint  shadows  of  which  he  hath 
communicated  to  creatures.  On  this  principle,  what 
an  idea  ought  we  to  form  of  the  Creator  ?  From  what 
a  profound  abyss  of  power  must  those  boundless  spa- 
ces have  proceeded,  that  immeasurable  extent,  in  which 
imagination  is  lost,  those  vast  bodies  that  surround  us, 
those  luminous  globes,  those  flaming  spheres  which  re- 
volve in  the  heavens,  along  with  all  the  other  works 
that  compose  thii^  universe  ?  From  what  an  abyss  of 
wisdom  must  the  succession  of  seasons,  of  day  and  of 
night,  have  proceeded,  those  glittering  stars,  so  exact 
in  their  courses,  and  so  punctual  in  their  duration  ; 
along  with  all  the  different  secret  springs  in  the  uni- 
verse, which  with  the  utmost  accuracy  answer  their  de- 
sign ?  From  what  an  abyss  of  intelligence  must  rational 
creatures  come,  beings  who  constitute  the  glory  of 
the  intelligent  world ;  profound  politicians,  who  pry 
into  the  most  intricate  folds  of  the  human  heart;  gene- 
rals, who  diffuse  themselves  through  a  whole  army, 
animating  with  their  eyes,  and  with  their  voices,  the 
various  regiments  which  compose  their  forces ;  admi- 
rable geniusses,  who  develop  the  mysteries  of  nature, 
rising  into  the  heavens  by  dioptrics,  descending  into  the 
deepest  subterranean  abysses;  quitting  continental  con- 
finement by  the  art  of  navigation :  men  who,  acroiis 
the  waves,  and  in  spite  of  the  winds,  contemn  the 
rocks,  and  direct  a  few  planks  fastened  together  to  sail 
to  the  most  distant  climes?  Who  can  refuse  to  the  au- 
thor of  all  these  wonderful  works  the  faculty  of  seeing 
and  hearing  ? 

But  I  do  not  pretend  to  deny,  an  infidel  will  say, 
that  all  these  wonderful  works  owe  their  existence  to 
a  Supreme  cause ;  or  that  the  Supreme  Being,  by  whom 
alone  they  exist,  doth  not  himself  possess  all  possible 

.perfection. 


Libertinism  and  iTifidelity.  561 

perfection.  But  I  affirm,  that  the  Supreme  Being  is 
so  great,  and  so  exalted,  that  this  elevation  and  incon- 
ceivable excellence  prevent  him  from  casting  his  eyes 
down  to  the  earth,  and  paying  any  regard  to  what  a 
creature,  so  mean  and  so  indigent  as  man,  performs. 
A  being  of  infinite  perfection,  does  he  interest  himself 
in  my  conduct  ?  Will  he  stoop  to  examine  whether  I 
retain  or  discharge  the  wages  of  my  servants?  Whether 
I  be  regular  or  irregular  in  my  family  ?  and  so  on.  A 
king,  surrounded  with  magnific^ence  and  pomp,  hold- 
ing in  his  powerful  hands  the  reins  of  his  empire ;  a 
king,  employed  in  weighing  reasons  of  state,  in  equip- 
ping his  fleets,  and  in  levying  his  armies;  will  he  con- 
cern himself  with  the  demarches  of  a  few  worms  crawl- 
ing beneath  his  feet  ^ 

But  this  comparison  of  God  to  a  king,  and  of  men 
to  worms,  is  absurd  and  inconclusive.  The  economy 
of  Providence,  and  the  history  of  the  church,  in  concert 
with  the  wonderful  works  of  nature,  discover  to  us  ten 
thousand  differences  b,etween  the  relations  of  God  to 
men,  and  those  of  a  king  to  worms  of  the  earth.  No 
king  hath  given  intelligent  souls  to  worms  ;  but  God 
hath  given  intelligent  souls  to  us.  No  king  hath  prov- 
ed,  by  ten  thousand  avenging  strokes,  and  by  ten 
thousand  glorious  rewards,  that  he  observed  the  con- 
duct of  w^orms ;  but  God,  by  ten  thousand  glorious 
recompenses,  and  by  ten  thousand  vindictive  punish- 
ments,  hath  proved  his  attention  to  the  conduct  of  men. 
No  king  hath  made  a  covenant  with  worms ;  but  God 
hath  entered  into  covenant  with  us.  No  king  hath 
commanded  worms  to  obey  him ;  but  God,  we  affirm, 
hath  ordained  our  obedience  to  him.  No  king  can 
procure  eternal  felicity  to  worms ;  but  God  can  com- 
municate endless  happiness  to  us.  A  king,  although 
he  be  a  king,  is  yet  a  man ;  his  mind  is  little  and 
contracted,  yea  infinitely  contracted ;  it  would  be  ab- 
surd, that  he,  being  called  to  govern  a  kingdom, 
should  fill  his  capacity  with  trifles :  But  is  this  your 
notion  of  the  Deity  ?   The  direction  of  the  sun,  the 

government 


362  l^he  Absurdity  of 

government  of  the  world,  the  formation  of  myriads  of 
beings  which  live  through  universal  nature,  the  ma- 
nagement of  the  whole  universe,  cannot  exhaust  that 
Intelligence  who  is  the  object  of  our  adoration  and 
praise.  While  his  thoughts  include,  in  their  bound- 
less compass,  all  real  and  all  possible  beings,  his  eyes 
survey  every  individual  as  if  each  were  the  sole  object 
of  his  attention. 

These  arguments  being  thus  stated,  either  our  in- 
fidel must  acknowledge  that  they,  at  least,  render  pro- 
bable the  truth  of  religion  in  general,  and  of  this  thesis 
in  particular,  God  regardeth  the  actions  of  men;  or  he 
refuseth  to  acknowledge  it.  If  he  refuse  to  acknow- 
ledge it ',  if  he  seriously  affirm,  that  all  these  argu- 
ments, very  far  from  arising  to  demonstration,  do  not 
even  afford  a  probability  in  favour  of  religion ;  then 
he  is  an  idiot,  and  there  remains  no  other  argument  to 
propose  to  him  than  that  of  our  prophet,  TJiou  fool ! 
li'hen  wilt  thou  be  wise  P 

I  even  question  whether  any  unbeliever  could  ever 
persuade  himself  of  what  he  endeavours  to  persuade 
others  ;  that  is,  that  the  assemblage  of  truths,  which 
constitute  the  body  of  natural  religion;  that  the  heavy 
strokes  of  justice  avenging  vice,  and  the  extatic  re- 
wards accompanying  virtue,  which  appear  in  Provi- 
dence; that  the  accomplishment  of  numerous  prophe- 
cies ;  that  the  operation  of  countless  miracles,  which 
are  related  in  authentic  histories  of  the  church ;  no,  I 
cannot  believe  that  any  infidel  could  ever  prevail  with 
himself  to  think,  that  all  this  train  of  argument  doth 
not  form  a  probability  against  a  system  of  infidelity  and 
atheivSm. 

But  if  the  power  and  the  splendour  of  truth  force  his 
consent ;  if  he  be  obliged  to  own,  that  although  my 
arguments  are  not  demonstrative,  they  are  however,  in 
his  opinion,  probable ;  then,  with  the  prophet,  I  say  to 
him,  0  thou  most  brutish  among  the  people  ! 

V.  Why  ?  Because  in  comparing  his  logic  with  his 

morality. 


Libertinism  and  Injideliti/.  363 

morality,  (and  this  is  my  fifth  article,)  I  perceive  that 
nothing  but  an  excess  of  brutality  can  unite  the  two 
things.  Hear  how  he  reasons  :  "  It  is  probable,  not 
"  only  that  there  is  a  God,  but  also  that  this  God 
"  regardeth  the  actions  of  men,  that  he  reserves  to 
"  himself  the  punishment  of  those  who  follow^  the  sug- 
**  gestions  of  vice,  and  the  rewarding  of  them  who 
"  obey  the  lav/s  of  virtue.  The  system  of  irreligion 
*'  is  counterbalanced  by  that  of  religion.  Perhaps 
*'  irreligion  may  be  well  grounded  ;  but  perhaps  re- 
"  ligion  may  be  so.  In  this  state  of  uncertainty,  I 
**  will  direct  my  conduct  on  the  principle  that  irreli- 
*'  gion  is  well-grounded,  and  that  religion  hath  oo 
"  foundation.  I  zvill  break  in  pieces'*  ver.  5.  (this  was 
the  language,  according  to  our  Psalmist,  of  the  unbe- 
lievers of  his  time,)  "  I  will  break  in  pieces  the  people 
*'  of  God  ;  I  will  afflict  his  heritage  ;  I  will  slay  the 
*'  widow  and  the  stranger ;  or,  to  speak  agreeably  to 
"  the  genius  of  our  own  time,  I  will  spend  my  life  ia 
*'  pleasure,  in  gratifying  ray  sensual  appetites,  in  avoid- 
"  ing  what  would  check  me  in  my  course;  in  a  word, 
"  in  living  as  if  I  were  able  to  demonstrate  either  that 
"  there  was  no  God,  or  that  he  paid  no  regard  to  the 
**  actions  of  men."  Ought  he  not  rather,  on  the  con- 
trary, as  his  mind  is  in  a  state  of  uncertainty  between 
both,  to  attach  himself  to  that  which  is  the  most  safe? 
Ought  he  not  to  say?  "  I  will  so  regulate  my  con- 
"  duct,  that  if  there  be  a  God,  whose  existence  in- 
"  deed  I  doubt,  but,  however,  am  not  able  to  disprove  ; 
"  if  God  pay  any  regard  to  the  actions  of  men,  which 
''  I  question,  but  cannot  deny,  he  may  not  condemn 
"  me."  Judge  ye,  Christians !  men  who  can  thus  bru- 
tally insult  a  dark  futurity,  and  the  bare  possibility  of 
those  punishments  which  religion  denounceth  against 
the  wicked ;  such  men,  are  they  not  either  the  most 
foolish,  or  the  most  brutish  among  the  people?  Under- 
stand, ye  most  brutish  among  the  people!  Te  fools  I 
When  %mll  ye  be  wise  P 

VL 


364  The  Absurdity  of    ^ 

VI.  I  would  attack  the  conscience  of  the  libertine,  and 
terrify  him  with  the  language  of  my  text,  He  who 
teacheth  man  knowledge^  shall  not  he  correct  ?  That  is 
to  say.  He  whs  gave  you  laws,  shall  not  he  regard  your 
violation  of  them?  The  persons  whom  I  attack,  I  am 
aware,  have  defied  us  to  find  the  least  vestige  of  what 
is  called  conscience  in  them.  But  had  you  thoroughly 
examined  yourselves  when  you  set  us  at  defiance  on  this 
article?  Have  you  been  as  successful  as  you  pretended  to 
have  been  in  your  daring  enterprize  of  freeing  yourselves 
entirely  from  the  terrors  of  conscience  ?  Is  this  light 
quite  extinct?  This  interior  master,  doth  he  dictate 
nothing  to  you  ?  This  rack  of  the  Almighty,  doth  it 
never  force  you  to  confess  what  you  would  willingly 
deny  ?  Are  your  knees  so  firm,  that  they  never  smite 
together  with  dread  and  horror  ? 

The  question,  concerning  the  possibility  of  entirely 
freeing  a  man  from  the  empire  of  conscience,  is  a 
question  of  fact.  We  think  we  have  reason  for  af- 
firming, that  no  man  can  bring  himself  to  such  a  state. 
You  pretend  to  be  yourselves  a  demonstration  of  the 
contrary.  You  are,  you  declare,  perfectly  free  from 
the  attacks  of  conscience.  This  is  a  fact,  and  1  grant 
it ;  I  take  your  word  :  but  here  is  another  fact,  in  re- 
gard to  which  we  ought  to  be  believed  in  our  turn,  and 
on  which  our  word  is  worth  as  much  as  yours.  This 
is  it :  We  have  seen  a  great  number  of  sick  people ; 
we  have  attended  a  great  number  of  dying  people. 
Among  those,  to  whi^m  in  the  course  of  our  ministry 
we  have  been  called,  we  have  met  with  all  sorts  of 
characters.  We  have  visited  some,  who  once  were 
what  you  profess  to  be  now,  people  who  boasted  of 
having  freed  themselves  from  vulgar  errors,  from  the 
belief  of  a  God,  a  religion,  a  hell,  a  heaven,  and  of 
saying,  when  they  abandoned  themselves  to  the  utmost 
excesses,  as  you  say,  Th^  Lord  shall  not  see  ;  neither 
shall  the  God  of  Jacob  regard  it.  But  we  have  never  met 
with  a  single  individual,  no,  not  one,  who  hath  not 

contradicted 


Libertinism  and  Infidelity.  365 

contradicted  himself  at  the  approach  of  death.  It  is 
said  some  have  not  done  this.  For  our  parts,  we  have 
never  met  with  any  such  ;  we  have  never  attended  one 
who  hath  not  proved  by  his  example,  that  you  will  con- 
tradict yourselves  also.  We  have  often  visited  those 
who  have  renounced  all  their  systems,  and  have  cursed 
their  infidelity  a  thousand  and  a  thousand  times.  We 
have  visited  many  who  have  required  the  aid  of  that 
very  religion  which  they  had  ridiculed.  We  have 
often  seen  those  who  have  called  superstition  to  assist 
religion  ;  and  who  have  turned  pale,  trembled,  and 
shaken,  at  the  bare  sight  of  our  habit,  before  they  had 
heard  the  sentence  which  God  pronounced  by  our 
mouths.  But  we  have  never  seen  an  individual,  no, 
not  one,  who  died  in  his  pretended  scepticism.  It  re- 
mains with  you  to  account  for  these  facts.  You  are  to 
inquire,  whether  you  yourselves  will  be  more  coura- 
geous. It  belongs  to  you  to  examine,  whether  you 
can  better  support  the  character,  and  whether  you  can 
bear  those  dying  agonies,  those  devouring  regrets,  those 
terrible  misgivings,  which  made  your  predecessors  un- 
say all,  and  discover  as  much  cowardice  at  death  as 
they  had  discovered  brutality  in  their  lives, 

VII.  Perhaps  you  have  been  surprised,  my  brethren, 
that  we  have  reserved  the  weakest  of  our  attacks  for 
the  last.  Perhaps  you  object,  that  motives,  taken  from 
what  is  called  politeness,  and  a  knowledge  of  the  world, 
can  make  no  impressions  on  the  minds  of  those  who 
did  not  feel  the  force  of  our  former  attacks.  It  is  not 
without  reason,  however,  that  we  have  placed  this  last. 
Libertines  and  infidels  often  pique  themselves  on  their 
gentility  and  good  breeding.  I'hey  frequently  take  up 
their  system  of  infidelity,  and  pursue  their  course  of 
profaneness,  merely  through  their  false  notions  of  gen- 
tility. Reason  they  think  too  scholastic,  and  faith 
pedantry.  They  imagine,  that  in  order  to  distinguish 
themselves  in  the  world,  they  must  affect  neither  to  be- 
lieve nor  to  reason. 

Well ! 


^66  ^£he  Absurdity  of 

Well !  you  accomplished  gentleman  I  do  you  know 
what  the  world  thinks  of  you  ?  The  prophet  tells  you : 
hwt  it  is  not  on  the  authority  of  the  prophet  only,  it  is 
on  the  opinion  of  your  fellow  citizens,  that  I  mean  to 
persuade  you.  You  are  considered  in  the  world  as 
the  most  brutish  of  mankind.  Understand,  ye  most  bru- 
tish among  the  people  I  What  is  an  accomplished  gentle- 
man? What  is  politeness  and  good  breeding  ?  It  is  the 
art  of  accommodating  one's  self  to  the  genius  of  that 
society,  and  of  seeming  to  enter  into  the  sentiments  of 
that  company  in  which  we  are;  of  appearing  to  honour 
what  they  honour ;  of  respecting  what  they  respect ; 
and  of  paying  a  regard  even  to  their  prejudices,  and 
their  weaknesses.  On  these  principles,  are  you  not 
the  rudest  and  most  unpolished  of  mankind  t  Or,  to  re- 
peat the  language  of  my  text,  are  you  not  the  most  bru- 
fish  among  the  people?  You  live  among  people  who  be- 
h'eve  a  God,  and  a  religion ;  among  people  who  were 
educated  in  these  principles,  and  who  desire  to  die  in 
these  principles  ;  among  people  who  have  many  of 
them  sacrificed  their  reputation,  their  ease,  and  their 
fortune  to  religion.  Moreover,  you  live  in  a  society, 
the  foundations  of  which  sink  with  those  of  religion^ 
so  that  were  the  latter  undermined,  the  former  would 
therefore  be  sunk.  All  the  members  of  society  are  in- 
terested in  supporting  this  edifice,  which  you  are  en- 
deavouring to  destroy.  The  magistrate  commands  you 
not  to  publish  principles  that  tend  to  the  subversion  of 
his  authority.  The  people  request  you  not  to  propa- 
gate opinions  which  tend  to  subject  them  to  the  pas- 
sions of  a  magistrate,  who  will  imagine  he  hath  no 
judge  superior  to  himself.  This  distressed  mother, 
mourning  for  the  loss  of  her  only  son,  prays  you  not 
to  deprive  her  of  the  consolation  which  she  derives 
from  her  present  persuasion,  that  the  son  whom  she  la- 
ments is  in  possession  of  immortal  glory.  That  sick 
man  beseecheth  you  not  to  disabuse  him  of  an  error 
that  sweetens  all  his  sorrows.     Yon  dying  man  begs 

you 


Libertmis7n  and  hifideliti/,  367 

you  would  not  rob  him  of  his  only  hope.  The  whole 
world  conjures  you  not  to  establish  truths,  (even  sup- 
posing they  were  truths,  an  hypothesis  which  I  deny 
and  detest  J  the  whole  world  conjures  you  not  to  esta- 
blish truths,  the  knowledge  of  which  would  be  fatal  to 
all  mankind.  In  spite  of  so  many  voices,  in  spite  of 
so  many  prayers,  in  spite  of  so  many  intreaties,  and 
among  so  many  people  interested  in  the  establishment 
of  religion;  to  affirm  that  religion  is  a  fable,  to  oppose 
it  with  eagerness  and  obstinacy,  to  try  all  your  strength, 
and  to  place  all  your  glory  in  destroying  it :  What  is 
this  but  the  height  of  rudeness,  brutality,  and  madness? 
Understand,  ye  most  brutish  among  the  people!  Te  fools! 
When  will  ye  he  wiseP 

Let  us  put  a  period  to  this  discourse.  We  come  to 
you,  my  brethren !  When  we  preach  against  charac- 
ters of  these  kinds,  we  think  we  read  what  passes  in 
your  hearts.  You  congratulate  yourselves,  for  the 
most  part,  for  not  being  of  the  nnmber  for  detesting 
infidelity,  and  for  respecting  religion.  But  shall  we 
tell  you,  my  brethren  ?  How  odious  soever  the  men 
are,  whom  we  have  described,  we  know  others  more 
odious  still.  There  is  a  restriction  in  the  judgment, 
which  the  prophet  forms  of  the  first,  when  he  calls 
them  in  the  text,  The  most  foolish,  and  the  most  brutish 
among  tJie  people ;  and  there  are  some  men  who  sur- 
pass them  in  brutality  and  extravagance. 

Do  not  think  we  exceed  the  truth  of  the  matter, 
or  that  we  are  endeavouring  to  obtain  your  attention 
by  paradoxes.  Really,  I  speak  as  I  think ;  I  think 
there  is  more  ingenuousness,  and  even,  (if  I  may  venture 
to  say  so,)  a  less  fund  of  turpitude  in  men  who,  having 
resolved  to  roll  on  with  the  torrent  of  their  passions, 
endeavour  to  persuade  themselves  either  that  there  is 
no  God,  or  that  he  pays  no  regard  to  the  actions  of 
men  ;  than  in  those  who,  believing  the  existence  and 
providence  of  God,  live  as  if  they  believed  neither. 
Infidels  were  not  able  to  support,  in  their  excesses,  the 

jdeaf^ 


o6S  21ie  Absurdity  of 

ideas  of  an  injured  benefactor,  of  an  angry  Supreme 
judge,  of  an  eternal  salvation  neglected,  of  daring  hell, 
dilake  burning  with  fire  and  brimstone,  and  smoke  ascend- 
ing yp  for  ever  and  ever^  Rev.  xxi.  8.  and  xiv.  11.  In 
order  to  give  their  passions  a  free  scope,  they  found  it 
necessary  to  divert  their  attention  from  ail  these  terri- 
fying objects,  and  to  eiface  such  shocking  truths  from 
their  minds. 

But  you  !  who  believe  the  being  of  a  God  !  You  ! 
who  believe  yourselves  under  his  eye,  and  who  insult 
him  every  day  without  repentance,  or  remorse  !  You  ! 
who  believe  God  holds  thunder  in  his  hand  to  crush 
sinners,  and  yet  live  in  sin !  You  I  who  think  there  are 
devouring  flames,  and  chains  of  darkness,  and  yet  pre- 
sumptuously brave  their  horrors !  You  !  who  believe 
the  immortality  of  your  souls,  and  yet  occupy  your- 
selves about  nothing  but  the  present  life!  What  a  front ! 
What  a  brazen  front  is  yours  ! 

You  consider  religion  a  revelation  proceeding  from 
heaven,  and  supported  by  a  thousand  authentic  proofs. 
But,  if  your  faith  be  well  grounded,  how  dangerous  is 
your  condition  !  For,  after  all,  the  number  of  eviden- 
ces w  ho  attest  the  religion  which  you  believe,  this  num- 
ber of  witnesses  depose  the  truth  of  the  practical  part, 
of  religion,  as  well  as  the  truth  of  the  speculative  part. 
These  witnesses  attest,  that  ^without  holiness^  no  man 
shall  see  the  Lord  ;  that  neither  thieves^  nor  covetous, 
nor  drunkards^  nor  revilers^  nor  extortioners,  shall  in- 
herit the  kingdom  of  God,  Heb.  xii.  14.  1  Cor.  vi.  10. 
And  consequently,  these  evidences  attest  that  you 
thieves,  that  you  covetous,  that  you  drunkards,  that  you 
revilers,  that  you  extortioners,  shall  be  excluded  from 
that  happy  mansion.  Do  you  reject  this  proposition  ^ 
Class  yourselves  then  with  infidels.  Contradict  na- 
ture ;  contradict  conscience  ;  contradict  the  church ; 
deny  the  recoverv  of  strength  to  the  iame ;  the  giv- 
ing of  sight  to  the  blind  ;  the  raising  of  the  dead  : 
contradict  heaven,    and  earth,    and  sea,  nature,  and 

every 


Libertinism  and  Infiddity.  56.9 

every  element.  Do  you  admit  the  proposition  ?  Ac- 
knowledge then  that  you  must  be  irretrievably  lost, 
unless  your  ideas  be  reformed  and  renewed,  unless  you 
renounce  the  world  that  enchants  and  fascinates  your 
eyes. 

This,  my  brethren,  this  is  your  remedy.  This  is 
what  we  hope  for  you.  This  is  that  to  which  we  ex- 
hort you  by  the  compassion  of  God,  and  by  the  great 
salvation  which  religion  presents  to  you.  Respect  this 
religion.  Study  it  every  day.  Apply  its  comforts  to 
your  sorrows,  and  its  precepts  to  your  lives.  And,  joining 
promises  to  precepts,  and  precepts  to  promises,  assort 
your  Christianity.  Assure  yourselves  then  of  the  peace 
of  God  in  this  life,  and  of  a  participation  of  his  glory 
^fter  death.  God  grant  you  this  grace  !  Amen. 


SERMON 


Vol.  II.  A  a 


571 

SERMON    XIV. 

The  Sale  of  Truth, 


Prov.  xxiii.  23. 

Sell  not  the  Truth. 

TTF  Balak  would  give  me  his  house  full  of  silver  atid 
gold,  I  cannot  go  heijond  the  word  of  the  Lord  mu 
God,  to  do  less  or  more.  Numb.  xxii.  18.  I'his  was  the 
language  of  a  man  whose  memory  the  church  holds  in 
execration ;  but  who,  when  he  pronounced  these  words, 
was  a  model  worthy  of  the  imitation  of  the  whole  world. 
A  king  sent  for  him ;  made  him,  in  some  sort,  the  arbiter 
of  the  success  of  his  arms ;  considered  hin)  as  one  who 
could  command  victory  as  he  pleased ;  put  a  commission 
to  him  into  the  hands  of  the  most  illustrious  persons  of 
his  court ;  and  accompanied  it  with  presents,  the  mag- 
nificence of  which  was  suitable  to  the  favour  he  soli- 
cited. Balaam  was  very  much  struck  with  so  many  ho- 
nours, and  charmed  with  such  extraordinary  presents. 
He  felt  all  that  a  man  of  mean  rank  owed  to  a  king, 
who  sought  and  solicited  his  help  ;  but  he  felt  still 
more  the  majesty  of  his  own  character.  He  professed 
himself  a  minister  of  that  God,  before  whom  all  tia- 
tions  are  as  a  drop  of  a  bucket,  Isa.  xl.  15.  and,  con- 
sidering Balak,  and  his  courtiers,  in  this  point  of  view, 
he  sacrificed  empty  honour  to  solid  glory,  and  ex- 
claimed in  this  heroical  style,  If  Balak  would  give  me 
his  house  full  of  silver  and  gold,  I  cannot  go  beyond  the 
word  of  the  Lord  my  God,  to  do  less  or  more.  Moreover, 

A  a  2  before 


372  The  Sak  oj  Truth. 

before  Balak,  in  the  presence  of  all  his  courtiers,  and, 
so  to  speak,  in  sight  of  heaps  of  silver  and  gold  spark- 
ling to  seduce  him,  he  gave  himself  up  to  the  emotions 
of  the  prophetic  spirit  that  animated  him,  and,  burning 
with  that  divine  fire  which  this  spirit  kindled  in  his  soul, 
he  uttered  these  sublime  words:  "Balak  the  kingofMoab 
*'  hath  brought  me  from  Aram,  out  of  the  mountains  of 
"  the  East,  saying.  Come,  curse  me  Jacob,  and  come,  defy 
*'  Israel.  How  shall  I  curse  whom  God  hath  not  cursed  ? 
'*  Or  how  shall  I  defy  whom  the  Lord  hath  not  defied? 
''  Behold,  I  have  received  commandment  to  bless  ;  and 
''  he  hath  blessed,  and  I  cannot  reverse  it.  Surely  there 
*Ms  no  enchantment  against  Jacob,  neither  is  there  any 
^*  divination  against  Israel,"  Numb,  xxiii.  7,  8.  20.  23. 
"  How  goodly  are  thy  tents,  O  Jacob,  and  thy  taber- 
^*  nacles,  O  Israel,"  ch.  xxiv.  5. 

I  would  excite  your  zeal  to-day,  my  brethren,  by 
an  example  so  worthy  of  your  emulation.  A  few  days 
ago,  you  rem.ember,  we  endeavoured  to  shew  you  the 
importance  of  this  precept  of  Solomon,  Buy  the  truth. 
We  pointed  out  to  you  then  the  means  of  making  the 
valuable  acquisition  of  truth.  We  told  you  God  had 
put  it  up  at  a  price,  and  that  he  required,  in  order  to 
your  possession  of  it,  the  sacrifice  of  dissipation,  the 
sacrifice  of  indolence,  the  sacrifice  of  precipitancy  of 
judgment,  the  sacrifice  of  prejudice,  the  sacrifice  of 
obstinacy,  the  sacrifice  of  curiosity,  and  the  sacrifice 
of  the  passions.  In  order  to  inspire  you  with  the  noble 
design  of  making  all  these  sacrifices,  we  expatiated  on 
the  worth  of  truth,  and  endeavoured  to  convince  you 
of  its  value  in  regard  to  that  natural  desire  of  man, 
the  increase  and  perfection  of  his  intelligence,  which 
it  fully  satisfies;  in  regard  to  the  ability  which  it 
affords  a  man  to  fill  those  posts  in  society  to  which 
Providence  calls  him ;  in  regard  to  those  scruples 
which  disturb  a  man's  peace,  concerning  the  choice 
of  a  religion,  scruples  which  truth  perfectly  calms ; 
apd,   finally,   in  regard  to  the  ban^shpient  of  those 

doubts. 


The  Sale  of  Truth.  373 

doubts,  which  distress  people  in  a  dying  hour,  doubts 
which  are  always  intolerable,  and  which  become  most 
exquisitely  so,  when  they  relate  to  questions  so  in- 
teresting as  those  that  revolve  in  the  mind  of  a  dying 
man. 

Having  thus  endeavoured  to  engage  you  to  biii/  the 
truth,  when  it  is  proposed  to  you,  we  are  going  to  ex- 
hort you  to-day  to  preserve  it  carefully  after  you  have 
acquired  it.  We  are  going  to  enforce  this  salutary  ad- 
vice, that  were  ten  thousand  envoys  from  Moab,  and 
from  Midian,  to  endeavour  to  ensnare  you,  you  ought 
to  sacrifice  all  things  rather  than  betray  it,  and  to  at- 
tend to  that  same  Solomon,  who  last  Lord's-day  said, 
Bui/  the  truth,  saying  to  you  to-day,  and  sell  it  not. 

If  what  we  shall  propose  to  you  now  require  less  ex- 
ercise of  your  minds  than  what  we  said  to  you  in  our 
former  discourse,  it  will  excite  a  greater  exercise  of  your 
hearts.  When  you  hear  us  examine  the  several  cases 
in  which  the  truth  is  sold,  you  may  perhaps  have  oc- 
casion for  all  your  respect  for  us  to  hear  with  patience 
what  we  shall  say  on  these  subjects. 

But,  if  a  preacher  always  enervate  the  force  of  his 
preaching  when  he  violates  the  precepts  himself,  the 
necessity  of  which  he  urgeth  to  others,  doth  he  not 
enervate  them  in  a  far  more  odious  manner  still,  when 
he  violates  them  while  he  is  recommending  them; 
preaching  humility  with  pride  and  arrogance ;  en- 
forcing restitution  on  others,  while  he  himself  is 
clothed  with  the  spoils  of  the  fatherless  and  the  widow; 
pressing  the  importance  of  fraternal  love  with  hands 
reeking,  as  it  were,  with  the  blood  of  his  brethren  ? 
What  idea,  then,  would  you  form  of  us  if,  while  we 
are  exhorting  you  ?iot  to  sell  truth,  any  human  motives 
should  induce  us  to  sell  it,  by  avoiding  to  present 
portraits  too  striking,  lest  any  of  you  should  know 
yourselves  again.  God  forbid  we  should  do  so  !  If 
Balak  would  give  me  his  house  full  of  silver  and  gold,  I 
would  not  go  beyond  the  word  of  the  Lord  my  God,  to  speak 

less 


374  The  Sale  of  Truth. 

less  or  more.  Allow  us,  then,  that  noble  liberty  which 
is  not  inconsistent  with  the  profound  respect  which  per- 
sons of  our  inferior  station  owe  to  an  auditory  as  illus- 
trious as  this  to  which  we  have  the  honour  to  preach. 
Permit  us  to  forget  every  interest  but  that  of  truth^  and 
to  have  no  object  in  view  but  your  salvation  and  our 
own.  And  thou,  God  of  truth!  fill  my  mind,  during 
tlie  whole  of  this  sermon,  with  this  exhortation  of  thine 
apostle  :  "  I  charge  thee  before  God,  and  the  Lord  Je- 
**  sus  Christ,  who  shall  judge  the  quick  and  the  dead  at 
''  his  appearing  and  his  kingdom  ;  preach  the  word  ; 
"  be  instant  in  season,  out  of  season;  reprove,  rebuke, 
^'  exhort  with  all  long-suifering  and  doctrine,  2  Tim. 
*Mv.  1,2.  Take  heed  unto  thyself,  and  unto  thy  doc- 
"  trine ;  for  in  doing  this  thou  shalt  both  save  thyself 
*'and  them  that  hear  thee,"  1  Tim.  iv.  16.     Amen. 

You  may  comprehend  what  we  mean  by  sellijig 
truths  if  you  remember  what  we  said  it  is  to  hmj  it. 
Truths  according  to  our  definition  last  Lord's  day,  is 
put  in  our  text  for  an  agreement  between  the  nature 
of  an  object  and  the  idea  we  form  of  it.  To  buy  truth 
is  to  make  all  the  sacrifices  which  are  necessary  for  the 
obtaining  of  ideas  conformable  to  the  objects  of  which 
they  ought  to  be  the  express  images.  On  this  principle, 
our  text,  I  think,  will  admit  of  only  three  senses,  in  each 
of  which  we  may  sell  truth, 

1 .  Sell  not  the  truths  that  is  to  say,  do  not  lose  the 
disposition  of  mind,  that  aptness  to  universal  truth, 
when  you  have  acquired  it.  Justness  of  thinking,  and 
accuracy  of  reasoning,  are  preserved  by  the  same  means 
by  which  they  are  procured.  As  the  constant  use  of 
these  means  is  attended  with  difficulty,  the  practice  of 
them  frequently  tires  people  out.  There  are  seeds  of 
some  passions  which  remain,  as  it  were,  buried  during 
the  first  years  of  life,  and  which  vegetate  only  in  mature 
ag€.  There  are  virtues  which  some  men  would  have 
practised  till  death,  had  their  condition  been  always 
the  same.  A  Roman  historian  remarks  of  an  em- 
peror. 


The  Sale  of  Truth.  5f  5 

pefor*,  that  Jie  always  would  have  merited  the  imperial 
dignity,  had  he  never  arrived  at  it.  He  who  was  a 
model  of  docility,  when  he  was  only  a  disciple,  became 
inaccessible  to  reason  and  evidence  as  soon  as  he  was 
placed  in  a  doctor's  chair.  He  who  applied  himself 
wholly  to  the  sciences,  while  he  considered  his  appli- 
cation as  a  road  to  the  first  offices  in  the  state,  became 
wild  in  his  notions,  and  lost  all  the  fruit  of  his  former 
attention,  as  soon  as  he  obtained  the  post  which  had 
been  the  object  of  all  his  wishes.  As  people  neglect 
advancing  in  the  path  of  truth,  they  lose  the  habit  of 
walking  in  it.  The  mind  needs  aliment  and  nourish- 
ment as  well  as  the  body.  To  sell  truth  is  to  lose,  by 
dissipation,  that  aptness  to  universal  truth  which  had 
been  acquired  by  attention ;  to  lose,  by  precipitation, 
by  prejudice,  by  obstinacy,  by  curiosity,  by  gratifying 
the  passions,  those  dispositions  which  had  been  ac- 
quired by  opposite  means.  This  is  the  first  sense  that 
may  be  given  to  the  precept,  Sell  not  the  truth. 

2.  The  wise  man  perhaps  intended  to  excite  those 
who  possess  superior  knowledge  to  communicate  it 
freely  to  others.  He  intended,  probably,  to  reprove 
those  mercenary  souls,  who  trade  with  their  wisdom, 
and  sell  it,  as  it  were,  by  the  penny.  This  sense  seems 
to  be  verified  by  the  following  words,  wisdom,  and  in- 
struction, and  understanding.  Some  supply  the  first  verb 
buy,  buy  wisdom^and  instruction.  The  last  verb  may  also 
be  naturally  joined  to  the  same  words,  and  the  passage 
may  be  read,  Sell  neither  wisdom,  nor  instruction.  Not 
that  Solomon  intended  to  subvert  an  order  established 
in  society ;  for  it  is  equitable,  that  they,  who  have 
spent  their  youth  in  acquiring  literature,  and  have  laid 
out  a  part  of  their  fortune  in  the  acquisition,  should 
reap  the  fruit  of  their  labour,  and  be  indemnified  for 
the  expense  of  their  education :  the  workman  is  worthy 
of  his  meat,  and  they  who  preach  the  gospel  should  live 
of  the  gospel.  Matt.  x.  10.    1  Cor.  ix.  14.     Yet,  the 

same 

*  Galba.  Tacit.  Hi.t,  Lib.  L 


376  The  Sale  of  Truth. 

same  Jesus  Christ,  who  was  the  herald  as  well  as  the 
pattern  of  disinterestedness,  said  to  his  apostles  when 
he  was  speaking  to  them  of  the  miracles  which  he  had 
impowered  them  to  perform,  and  of  the  truths  of  the 
gospel  in  general,  which  he  intrusted  them  to  preach, 
Freely  ye  have  received,  freely  giv€.  Matt.  x.  8.  And 
St  Paul  was  so  far  from  staining  his  apostleship  with  a 
mercenary  spirit,  that  when  he  thought  a  reward  for  his 
ministry  was  likely  to  tarnish  its  glory,  he  chose  rather 
to  work  with  his  hands  than  to  accept  it.  That  great 
man,  who  had  acquired  the  delightful  habit  of  living 
upon  meditation  and  study,  and  of  expanding  his  soul  in 
contemplating  abstract  things ;  that  great  man  was  seen 
to  supply  his  wants  by  working  at  the  mean  trade  of  tent- 
making,  while  he  was  labouring  at  the  same  time  in  con- 
structing the  mystical  tabernacle,  the  church :  greater  in 
this  noble  abasement  than  his  pretended  successors  in  all 
their  pride  and  pomp.  A  man  of  superior  understanding 
ought  to  devote  himself  to  the  service  of  the  state.  His 
depth  of  knowledge  should  be  a  public  fount,  from  which 
each  individual  should  have  liberty  to  draw.  A  physician 
owes  that  succour  to  the  poor  which  his  profession  af- 
fords ;  the  counsellor  owes  them  his  advice;  the  casuist 
his  directions;  without  expecting  any  other  reward  than 
that  which  God  hath  promised  to  benevolence.  I  cannot 
help  repeating  here  the  idea  which  Cicero  gives  us  of 
those  ancient  Ronians,  who  lived  in  the  days  of  liberty, 
and  of  the  true  glory  of  Rome.  "  They  acquainted 
**  themselves,  says  that  orator^  with  whatever  might  be 
'*  useful  to  the  republic.  They  were  seen  walking  back- 
"  ward,  and  forv/ard,  in  the  public  places  of  the  city, 
"  in  order  to  afford  a  freedom  of  access  to  any  of  the 
*'  citizens  who  wanted  their  advice,  not  only  on  mat- 
*'  ters  of  jurisprudence,  but  on  any  other  affairs,  as  on 
**  the  marrying  of  a  daughter,  the  purchasing,  or  im- 
"  proving  of  a  farm,  or,  in  short,  on  any  other  article 
^'  that  might  concern  them*." 

3.  A 
*  De  Oratore.  Lib.  iiil 


The  Sale  of  Inith.  577 

3.  A  third  sense  may  be  given  to  the  precept  of  So- 
lomon, and  by  selling  we  may  understand  what,  in  mo- 
dern style,  we  call  betraying  truth.  To  betray  truth  is, 
through  any  sordid  motive,  to  suppress,  or  to  disguise 
things  of  consequence,  to  the  glory  of  religion,  the  in- 
terest of  a  neighbour,  or  the  good  of  society. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  demonstrate  which  of  these 
three  meanings  is  most  conformable  to  the  design  of 
Solomon.  In  detached  sentences,  such  as  most  of  the 
writings  of  Solomon  are,  an  absolute  sense  cannot  be 
precisely  determined  ;  but,  if  the  interpreter  ought  to 
suspend  his  judgment,  the  preacher  may  regulate  his 
choice  by  circumstances,  and  of  several  probable  mean- 
ings, all  agreeable  to  the  analogy  of  faith,  and  to  the 
genius  of  the  sacred  author,  may  take  that  sense  which 
best  suits  the  state  of  his  audience.  If  this  be  a  wise 
maxim,  we  are  obliged,  methinks,  having  indicated  the 
three  significations,  to  confine  ourselves  to  the  third. 

In  this  sense  we  observe  six  orders  cf  persons  who 
may  sell  tnitlu 

I.  The  courtier. 

II.  The  indiscreet  zealot. 

III.  The  apostate,  and  the  Nicodemite. 

IV.  The  Judge. 

V.  The  poHtician, 

VI.  The  pastor. 

A  courtier  may  sell  truth  by  a  mean  adulation,  hrs. 
indiscreet  zealot  by  pious  frauds,  instead  of  defending 
truth  with  the  arms  of  truth  alone.  An  apostate,  and 
a  Nicodemite,  hj  loving  this  present  world, ''2Tim.  iv.  10. 
or  by  fearing  persecution  when  they  are  called  to  give 
a  reason  of  the  hope  that  is  in  them,  1  Pet.  iii.  15.  and  t6 
follow  the  example  of  that  Jesus  who^  according  to 
the  apostle,  before  Pontius  Pilate  witnessed  a  good  coji- 
fession,  1  Tim.  vi.  13.  A  judge  may  sell  truth  by  a 
spirit  of  partiality,  when  he  ought  to  be  blind  to  the 

appearance 


578  The  Sale  of  Truth. 

appearance  of  persons.  A  politician,  by  a  criminal 
caution,  when  he  ought  to  probe  the  wounds  of  the 
state,  and  to  examine  in  public  assemblies  what  are  the 
real  causes  of  its  decay,  and  who  are  the  true  authors 
of  its  miseries.  In  fine,  a  pastor  may  sell  truth  through 
a  cowardice  that  prevents  his  declaring  all  the  counsel 
of  God  ;  his  declaring  unto  Jacob  his  transgression,  and 
to  Israel  his  sin,  Micah  iii.  8.  Thus  the  flattery  of  the 
courtier  ;  the  pious  frauds  of  the  indiscreet  zealot ;  the 
world ly-mindedness  and  timidity  of  the  apostate,  and 
of  the  Nicodemite ;  the  partiality  of  the  judge ;  the 
criminal  circumspection  of  the  members  of  legislative 
bodies ;  and  the  cowardice  of  the  pastor ;  are  six  de- 
fects which  we  mean  to  expose,  six  sources  of  reflec- 
tions that  will  supply  the  remainder  of  this  discourse. 

I.  Mean  adulation  is  the  first  vice  we  attack;  the  first 
way  of  selling  truth.  We  intend  here  that  fraudulent 
traffic  which  aims,  at  the  expense  of  a  few  unmeaning 
applauses,  to  procure  solid  advantages;  and,  by  erect- 
ing an  altar  to  the  person  addressed,  and  by  offering  a 
little  of  the  smoke  of  the  incense  of  flattery,  to  conci- 
liate a  profitable  esteem.  This  unworthy  commerce 
is  not  only  carried  on  in  the  palaces  of  kings,  it  is  al- 
most every  where  seen,  where  superiors  and  inferiors 
meet ;  because,  generally  speaking,  wherever  there  are 
superiors,  there  are  people  who  love  to  hear  the  lan- 
guage of  adulation;  and  because,  wherever  there  are 
inferiors,  there  are  people  mean  enough  to  let  them 
hear  it.  What  a  king  is  in  his  kingdom  a  governor 
is  in  his  province ;  what  a  governor  is  in  his  province 
a  nobleman  is  in  his  estate ;  what  a  nobleman  is  in 
his  estate  a  man  of  trade  is  among  his  workmen 
and  domestics.  Further,  the  incense  of  flattery  doth 
not  always  ascend  from  an  inferior  only  to  a  supe- 
rior, people  on  the  same  line  in  hfe  mutually  offer 
it  to  one  another,  and  sometimes  the  superior  stoops 
to  offer  it  to  the  inferior.  There  are  men  who  ex- 
pect 


The  Sale  of  Truth  579 

pect  that  each  member  of  society  should  put  his  hand 
to  forward  the  building  of  a  fortune  which  en- 
tirely employs  themselves,  and  which  is  the  spring 
of  every  action  of  their  own  lives ;  people  who  aim 
to  shelter  themselves  under  the  protection  of  the 
great,  to  incorporate  their  own  reputation  v/ith  that 
of  illustrious  persons,  to  accumulate  wealth,  and  to 
lord  it  over  the  lower  part  of  mankind.  These  peo- 
ple apply  one  engine  to  all  men,  which  is  flattery. 
They  proportion  it  to  the  various  orders  of  persons 
whom  they  address  ;  they  direct  it  according  to  their 
dilFerent  foibles ;  vary  it  according  to  various  circum- 
stances;  give  it  a  different  ply  at  different  time&;  and 
artfully  consecrate  to  it,  not  only  their  voice,  but  what- 
ever they  are,  and  whatever  they  possess.  They  prac- 
tice an  absolute  authority  over  their  countenances, 
compose  them  to  an  air  of  pleasure,  distort  them  to 
pain,  gild  them  with  gladness,  or  becloud  them  with 
grief.  They  are  indefatigable  in  applauding ;  they 
never  present  themselves  before  a  man  without  ex- 
citing agreeable  id^as  in  him,  and  these  they  never 
fail  to  excite  when,  blind  to  his  frailties,  they  affect 
an  air  of  extacy  at  his  virtues,  and  hold  themselves 
ready  to  publish  his  abilities  and  his  acquisitions  for 
prodigies.  They  acquire  friends  of  the  most  oppo- 
site characters,  because  they  praise  alike  the  most  op- 
posite qualities.  They  bestow  as  much  praise  on  the 
violent  as  on  the  moderate ;  they  praise  pride  as 
much  as  they  praise  humihty ;  and  give  equal  en- 
comiums to  the  lowest  avarice  and  to  the  highest 
generosity. 

Such  is  the  character  of  the  flatterer.  This  is  the 
first  traffic  which  the  wise  man  forbids.  Sell  not  the 
truth.  Shameful  traffic!  a  traffic  unworthy  not  only  of 
a  Christian,  and  of  a  philosopher ;  but  of  every  man 
who  preserves  the  smallest  degree  of  his  primitive  li- 
berty. Against  this  traffic  the  church  and  the  syna- 
gogue, Christianity  and  paganism,  St  Paul  and  Seneca 

have 


380  The  Sale  of  TnttL 

have  alike  remonstrated.  A  traffic  shameful  not  onlv 
to  him  who  ofters  this  false  incense,  but  to  him  who 
loves  and  enjoys  it.  The  language  of  a  courtier  who 
elevates  his  prince  above  humanity  is  often  a  sure  mark 
of  his  inward  contempt  of  him.  A  man  who  exagge- 
rates and  amplifies  your  virtues,  takes  it  for  granted 
that  you  know  not  yourself.  He  lays  it  down  for 
a  principle,  that  you  are  vain,  and  that  you  love  to 
see  yourself  only  on  your  bright  side.  His  adulation 
is  grounded  on  a  belief  of  your  injustice,  he  knows 
you  arrogate  a  glory  to  yourself  to  which  you  have  no 
just  pretension.  He  lays  it  down  for  a  principle,  that 
you  are  destitute  of  all  delicacy  of  sentiment,  and  that 
you  prefer  empty  applause  before  respectful  silence. 
He  lays  it  down  for  a  principle,  that  you  have  little  or 
no  religiop,  as  you  violate  its  most  sacred  law,  humi- 
lity. A  man  must  be  very  short-sighted,  he  must  be 
a  mere  novice  in  the  world,  and  a  stranger  to  the  hu- 
man heart,  if  he  be  fond  of  flattering  elogiums.  There 
is  no  king  so  cruel,  no  tyrant  so  barbarous,  no  mon- 
ster so  odious,  whom  flattery  doth  not  elevate  above 
the  greatest  heroes.  The  traffic  of  the  flatterer,  then, 
is  equally  shameful  to  him  who  sells  truths  and  to  him 
who  buys  it. 

II.  Indiscreet  zealots  make  the  second  class  of  them 
who  sell  truth.  If  the  zealot  be  guilty  of  the  same 
crime,  he  is  so  from  a  motive  more  proper,  it  should 
seem,  to  exculpate  him.  He  useth  falsehood  only  to 
establish  truth;  and  if  he  commit  a  fraud,  it  is  a  fraud 
consecrated  to  religion.  1  am  not  surprised,  my  bre- 
thren, that  the  partizans  of  erroneous  communities 
have  used  this  method;  and  that  they  have  advanced, 
to  establish  it,  arguments,  in  their  own  opinions,  in- 
conclusive, and  facts  of  their  ov/n  invention.  A 
certain  cardinal  who  made  himself  famous  in  the 
church  by  his  theological  attacks  on  the  protestants^ 
and  who  became  more  so  still  by  the  repulses  wh^ch 

the 


The  Sale  of  Truth  381 

the  latter  gave  him,  hath  been  justly  reproached  with 
using  these  methods.  People  have  appHed  that  com- 
parison to  him  v^hich  he  apphed  to  a  certain  African 
named  Leo,  whom  he  Ukens  to  that  amphibious  bird 
in  the  fable,  which  was  sometimes  a  bird,  and  some- 
times a  fish ;  a  bird  when  the  king  of  the  fish  required 
tribute,  and  a  fish  when  the  king  of  the  birds  de» 
manded  it  *. 

To  supply  the  want  of  truth  with  falsehood  is  a  kind  of 
wisdom  that  better  becomes  the  chUdj^en  of  this  world, 
Luke  xvi.  8.  than  the  ministers  of  the  living  God.  It 
would  be  hardly  credible,  unless  we  saw  it  with  our 
own  eyes,  that  the  ministers  of  God  should  use  the 
same  arms  which  the  ministers  of  the  devil  employ  ; 
and  endeavour  to  support  a  religion  founded  on  reason 
and  argument  by  the  very  same  artifices  which  are 
only  needful  to  uphold  a  religion  founded  alone  on  the 
fancies  of  men.  We  blush  for  religion  when  we  see 
the  primitive  fathers  adopting  this  method,  not  only 
in  the  heat  of  argument,  when  disputants  forget  ttieir 
own  principles,  but  coolly  and  deliberately.  We  are 
ashamed  of  primitive  times,  when  we  hear  a  St  Jerom 
commending  those  who  said  no:  what  they  believed, 
but  whatever  they  thought  proper  to  confound  their 
pagan  opponents ;  making  a  captious  distinction  be- 
tween what  was  written  in  dogmatising,  and  what  was 
written  in  disputing ;  and  maintaining  that,  in  disput- 
ing, people  were  free  to  use  what  arguments  they 
would,  to  promise  bread,  and  to  produce  a  stone  f.  We 
are  confounded  at  finding,  among  the  archieves  of 
Christianity,  letters  of  Lentulus  to  the  Roman  senate 
in  favour  of  Jesus  Christ ;  those  of  Pilate  to  Tiberius ; 
of  Paul  to  Seneca,  and  of  Seneca  to  Paul ;  yea  those 
of  king  Agbarus  to  Jesus  Christ,  and  of  Jesus  Christ 
to  king  Agbarus.  We  are  shocked  at  hearing  the  fa- 
thers compare  the  pretended  Sibylline  oracles  to  the 

inspired 

*  See  Bayle  in  the  article  Bellarmin.     Rem.  D. 

I  Epist.  ad  Pammach.     Vide  Daille  usage  des  peres,  chap,  vi. 


382  The  Sale  of  Truth 

inspired  prophecies;  attribute  an  equal  authority  to 
them ;  cite  them  with  the  same  confidence ;  and  thus 
expose  Christianity  to  the  objections  of  its  enemies*. 
And  would  to  God  we  ourselves  had  never  seen  among 
us  celebrated  divines  derive,  from  the  visions  of  en- 
thusiasts, arguments  to  uphold  the  truth  I 

Mere  human  prudence  is  sufficient  to  perceive  the 
injustice  of  this  method.  The  pious  frauds  of  the  pri- 
mitive ages  are  now  the  most  powerful  objections  that 
the  enemies  of  religion  can  oppose  against  it.  They 
have  excited  suspicions  about  the  real  monuments  of 
the  church,  by  producing  the  spurious  writings  which 
an  indiscreet  zeal  had  propagated  for  its  glory ;  and 
those  unworthy  artifices  have  much  oftener  shaken  be- 
lievers than  reclaimed  infidels. 

God  anciently  forbad  the  Jews  to  offer  to  him  in  sacri- 
fice the  hire  of  a  whore,  or  the  price  of  a  dog^  Deut.  xxiii. 
1 8.  Will  he  suffer  Christianity  to  be  established  as  the  re- 
L'gion  of  Mohammed  is  propagated?  Will  Jesus  Christ  call 
Belial  to  his  aid  ?  Shall  Hght  apply  to  the  powers  of  dark- 
ness to  spread  the  glory  of  its  rays?  And  do  we  not  always 
sin  against  this  precept  of  Solomon,  Sell  not  the  truth, 
when  we  part  with  truth  even  to  obtain  truth  itself? 

III.  We  put  apostates,  and  time-servers,  or  Nicode- 
mites,  in  the  third  class  of  those  who  sell  the  truth, 

] .  Apostates,  ------  But  we  need  not  halt  to 

attack  an  order  of  men  against  which  every  thing  be- 
comes a  pursuing  minister  of  the  vengeance  of  heaven. 
The  idea  they  leave  in  the  community  they  quit ;  the 
contempt  of  that  which  embraceth  them ;  the  odious 
character  they  acquire  ;  the  horrors  of  their  own  con- 
sciences *,  the  thundering  language  of  our  scriptures ; 
the  dreadful  examples  of  Judas,  and  Julian,  of  Hyme- 
neus,  Philetus,  and  Spira;  the  fires  and  flames  of  hell: 
these  are  arguments  against  apostacy ;  these  are  the 
gains  of  those  who  sell  the  truth  m  this  manner. 

2.  But 

*  Vid.  Blondel  des  Slbilles.  J^iv.  i.  chap.  v.  x.  xiv,  and  xxiv 


The  Sale  of  Truth  585 

2.  But  there  is  another  order  of  men  to  whom  we 
would  shew  the  justice  of  the  precept  of  Solomon  ; 
they  are  persons  who  sell  the  truth,  through  the  fear 
gf  those  punishments  which  persecutors  inflict  on 
them  who  have  courage  to  hang  out  the  bloody  flag ; 
I  mean  time-servers,  Nicodemites.  You  know  them, 
my  brethren :  would  to  God  the  misfortunes  of  the 
times  had  not  given  us  an  opportunity  of  knowing 
them  so  well !  They  are  the  imitators  of  that  timid 
disciple  who  admired  Jesus  Christ,  who  was  fully  con- 
vinced of  the  truth  of  his  doctrine,  stricken  with  the 
glory  of  his  miracles,  penetrated  with  the  divinity  of 
His  mission,  and  is  proselyte  in  his  heart ;  but  who, 
for  fear  of  the  Jews  ^  John  vii.  13.  durst  not  venture  to 
make  an  open  profession  of  the  truth,  and,  as  the 
evangelist  remarks,  went  to  Jesus  by  nighty  chap.  iii.  2. 
Thus  our  modern  Nicodemites.  They  are  shocked  at 
superstition,  they  thoroughly  know  the  truth,  they 
form  a  multitude  of  ardent  wishes  for  the  prosperity 
of  the  church,  and  desire,  they  say,  to  see  the  soldi- 
ers of  Jesus  Christ  openly  march  with  their  banners 
displayed,  and  to  list  themselves  under  them  the  first : 
but  they  only  pretend,  that  in  time  of  persecution, 
when  they  cannot  make  an  open  profession  without 
ruining  their  families,  sacrificing  their  fortunes,  and 
fleeing  their  country,  it  is  allowable  to  yield  to  the 
times,  to  disguise  their  Christianity,  and  to  be  antichris- 
dan  without,  provided  they  be  Christians  within. 

1 .  But,  if  their  pretences  be  well-grounded,  what 
mean  these  express  decisions  of  our  scriptures?  *'  Who- 
*'  soever  shall  confess  me  before  men,  him  will  I  con- 
''  fess  also  before  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven:  but 
"  whosoever  shall  deny  me  before  men,  him  will  I  also 
**  deny  before  my  Father  which  is  in  heaven.  He 
**  that  loveth  father  or  mother  more  than  me,  is  not 
"  worthy  of  me.  And  he  that  taketh  not  his  cross, 
t'  and  followeth  after  me,  is  not  worthy  of  me.  He 
"  that  findeth  his  life,  shall  lose  it;  and  he  that  loseth  his 

"  life, 


384  The  Sale  of  Truth. 

*'  life,  for  my  sake,  shall  find  it.  Whosoever,-  therefore, 
"  shall  be  ashamed  of  me,  and  of  my  words,  in  this  adul- 
"  terous  and  sinful  generation,  of  him  also  shall  the  Son 
*'  of  man  be  ashamed,  when  he  cometh  in  the  glory  of  his 
'*  Father,  with  theholy  angels,"  Matt.  x.  32.  Mark  viii.  38. . 

2.  If  there  be  any  ground  for  the  pleas  of  tempo- 
rizers, why  do  the  scriptures  set  before  us  the  examples 
of  those  believers  who  walked  in  paths  of  tribulation, 
and  followed  Jesus  Christ  with  heroical  firmness  in 
steps  of  crucifixion  and  martyrdom  ? .  Why  record 
the  example  of  the  three  children  of  Israel,  who  chose 
rather  to  be  cast  into  a  fiery  furnace,  than  to  fall  down 
before  a  statue,  set  up  by  an  idolatrous  king  ?  Dan. 
iii.  19.  Why  that  of  the  martyrs,  who  suffered  under 
the  barbarous  Antiochus,  and  the  courage  of  that  mo-, 
ther,  who,  after  she  had  seven  times  suffered  death,  so 
to  speak,  by  seeing  each  of  her  seven  sons  put  to 
death,  suffered  an  eighth,  by  imitating  their  example, 
and  by  crowning  their  martyrdom  with  her  own  ?  Why 
that  "  cloud  of  witnesses,  who  through  faith  were 
"  stoned,  were  sawn  asunder,  were  tempted,  were 
^'  slain  with  the  sword,  wandered  about  in  sheep- 
**  skins,  and  goat-skins ;  being  destitute,  afflicted,  tor- 
*'  mented  ?"  Heb,  xi.  37. 

3.  If  the  pretences  of  time-servers  be  well-grounded, 
what  was  the  design  of  the  purest  actions  of  the  primi- 
tive church;  of  those  councils  which  were  held  on  ac- 
count of  such  as  had  the  weakness  to  cast  a  grain  of 
incense  into  the  fire  that  burned  on  the  altar  of  an  idol  ? 
Why  those  rigorous  cannons  which  were  made  against 
them ;  those  severe  penalties  that  were  inflicted  on 
them;  those  delays  of  their  absolution,  which  conti- 
nued till  near  the  last  moments  of  their  lives  ? 

If  these  pretences  be  allowable,  what  is  the  use  of 
all  the  promises  which  are  made  to  confessors  and  mar- 
tyrs ;  the  white  garments^  that  are  reserved  for  them ; 
tYit  palms  of  victory  which  are  to  be  put  in  their  hands ; 
the  crowns  of  glory  that  are  prepared  for  them ;  the 

reiterated 


The  Sale  of  Truth.  385 

reiterated  declarations  of  the  author  and  finisher  of 
their  faith  y  To  him  that  overcorneth  will  I  grant  to  sit 
with  me  in  my  throne.  Hold  that  fast  which  thou  hast^ 
that  no  man  take  thy  crown^  Rev.  iii.  1 1.  and  21. 

5.  If  these  pretences  be   reasonable,  would  God 
have  afforded  such  miraculous  assistance  to  his  ser- 
vants, the  martyrs,  in  the  time  of  their  martyrdom  ? 
It  was  in  the  suffering  of  martyrdom  that  St.  Peter 
saw  an  angel,  who  opened  the  prison-doors  to  him, 
Acts  xii.  7.     In  suffering  martyrdom,  Paul  and  Silas 
felt  the  prison,  that  confined  them,  shake,  and  their 
chains  loosen  and  fall  off,  ver.  14.     In  suffering  mar- 
tyrdom, St.  Stephen  saw  the  heavens  opened,  and  Jesus 
standing  on  the  right  hand  o/Go^,chap.  xvi.  26-  and  viii. 
56.    In  the  suffering  of  martyrdom,  Barlaam  sang  this 
song,  Blessed  be  the  Lord,  who  teacheth  my  hand  to  war^ 
and  my  fingers  to  fight,  Psal.  cxliv,  1.*    It  was  during 
their  martyrdom,  that  Perpetua  and  Felicitas  saw  a 
ladder  studded  with  swords,  daggers,  and  instruments 
of  punishment  that  reached  up  to 'heaven,  at  the  top 
of  which  stood  Jesus  Christ  encouraging  them  f.  And 
you,  my  brethren,  in  participating  the  sufferings  of  pri- 
mitive believers,  have  you  not  partaken  of  their  conso- 
lations ?  Sometimes  providence  opened  ways  of  escape 
in  spite  of  the  vigilance  of  your  enemies.    Sometimes 
powerful  protections,  which  literaily  fulfilled  the  pro- 
mise of  the  gospel,  that  he  who  should  quit  any  tem- 
poral advantage  for  the  sake  of  it,  should  receive  an 
hundredfold,  even  in  this  life.  Sometimes  deliverances, 
which   seemed  perfectly  miraculous.      Sometimes  a 
firmness  equal  to  the  most  cruel  tortures ;  an  heroical 
courage,  that  astonished,  yea,  that  wearied  out  your 
executioners.      Sometimes  transporting  joys,  which 
enabled  you  to  say.  When  we  are  weak,  then  are  we 
strong.     We  are  more  than  conquerors,  through  him  that 
loved  us.  We  glory  in  tribulations  also.  So  many  reflect 
Vol.  II.  B  b  tions, 

*  Basil.  Tom.  i.  440.     Homil.  18.  Edit,  de  Paris,  16S8. 
f  Tertul.  de  anima.  Cap.  Iv. 


386  The  Sale  of  Truth. 

tions,  so  many  arguments,  which  subvert  the  pretencies 
of  Nicodemites ;  and  which  prove  that,  with  the 
greatest  reason,  we  place  them  among  those  who  be- 
tray the  truth. 

But,  great  God  !  to  what  am  I  doomed  this  day  ? 
Who  are  these  time-servers,  who  are  these  Nicodemites, 
whose  condemnation  we  are  denouncing  ?  How  many 
of  my  auditors  have  near  relations,  enveloped  in  this 
misery?  Where  is  there  a  family  of  our  exiles,  to 
which  the  words  of  a  prophet  may  not  be  applied ; 
My  flesh  is  in  Babylon^  and  my  blood  amo7ig  the  inha- 
bitants of  Chaldea,  Jer.  li.  35.  Ah  !  shame  of  the  refor- 
mation !  Ah  !  fatal  memoir  !  just  cause  of  perpetual 
grief !  Rome !  who  insultest  and  gloriest  over  us,  do  not 
pretend  to  confound  us  with  the  sight  of  galleys  filled  by 
thee  with  protestant  slaves,  whose  miseries  thou  dost 
aggravate  with  reiterated  blows,  with  galling  chains, 
with  pouring  vinegar  into  their  wounds  i  Do  not  pre- 
tend to  confound  us  by  shewing  us  gloomy  and  filthy 
dungeons,  inaccessible  to  every  ray  of  light,  the  hor- 
ror of  which  thou  dost  augment  by  leaving  the  bodies 
of  the  dead  in  those  dens  of  the  living  :  these  horrid 
holes  have  been  changed  into  delightful  spots,  by  the 
influences  of  that  grace  which  God  hath  shed  abroad 
in  the  hearts  of  the  prisoners^  Rom.  v.  5.  and  by  the 
songs  of  triumph  which  they  have  incessantly  sung  to 
his  glory.  Do  not  pretend  to  confound  us^  by  shew- 
ing us  our  houses  demolished,  our  families  dispersed, 
our  fugitive  flocks  driven  to  wander  over  the  face  of 
the  whole  world.  These  objects  are  our  glory,  and 
thine  insults  are  our  praise.  Would'st  thou  cover  us 
with  confusion  ?  Shew  us,  shew  us  the  souls,  which, 
thou  hast  taken  from  us.  Reproach  us,  not  that  thou 
hast  extirpated  heresy ;  but  that  thou  hast  caused  us 
to  renounce  religion :  not  that  thou  hast  made  martyrs ; 
but  that  thou  hast  made  protestants  apostates  from  the 
truth. 

This  is  our  tender  part.  Here  it  is  that  no  sorrow 
is  like  our  sorrow.     Oa  this  account  tears  run  down 

the 


The  Sale  of  Truth  387 

the  isuall  of  the  daughter  of  Zion  like  a  river ^  day  and 
night,  Lam.  ii,  IS.  What  shall  I  say  to  you,  my  breth- 
ren, to  comfort  you  under  your  just  complaints  ?  Had 
you  lost  your  fortunes,  I  would  tell  you,  a  Christian's 
treasure  is  in  heaven.  Had  you  been  banished  from, 
your  country  only,  I  would  tell  you,  a  faithful  soul 
finds  its  God  in  desert  wildernesses,  in  dreary  soli- 
tudes, and  in  the  most  distant  climes.  Had  you  lost 
only  your  churches,  I  would  tell  you,  the  favour  of 
God  is  not  confined  to  places  and  to  walls.  But,  you 
weeping  consorts  !  who  shew  me  your  husbands  sepa- 
rated from  Jesus  Christ,  by  an  abjuration  of  thirty 
years ;  what  shall  I  say  to  you  ?  What  shall  I  tell 
you,  ye  tender  mothers  !  who  shew  me  your  childrea 
lying  at  the  foot  of  the  altar  of  an  idol  ? 

O  God  !  are  thy  comxpassions  exhausted  ?  Hath  re- 
ligion, that  source  of  endless  joy,  no  consolation  to 
assuage  our  grief  ?  These  deserters  of  the  truth  are 
our  friends,  our  brethren,  other  ourselves.  Moreover, 
they  are  both  apostates  and  martyrs  :  apostates,  by 
their  fall ;  martyrs,  by  their  desire,  although  feeble, 
of  rising  again  ;  apostates,  by  the  fears  that  retain 
them ;  martyrs,  by  the  emotions  that  urge  them : 
apostates,  by  the  superstitious  practices  which  they 
are  constrained  to  perform ;  martyrs,  by  the  secret 
sighs  and  tears  which  they  address  to  heaven.  O  may 
the  martyr  obtain  mercy  for  the  apostate  !  May  their 
frailty  excuse  their  fall !  May  their  repentance  expiate 
their  idolatry  I  or  rather.  May  the  blood  of  Jesus 
Christ,  covering  apostacy,  frailty,  and  the  imperfection 
of  repentance  itself,  disarm  thy  justice,  and  excite  thy 
compassion  ! 

IV.  We  have  put  Judges  in  the  fourth  class  of  those 
to  whom  the  text  must  be  addressed.  Sell  not  the  truth, 

1.  A  Judge  sells  truth,  if  he  be  partial  to  him  whose 
cause  is  unjust,  on  account  of  his  connections  with 
him.  When  a  Judge  ascends  the  judgment-seat,  he 
ought  entirely  to  forget  all  the  connections  of  friend- 

B  b  2  ship. 


388  The  Sale  of  Truth 

ship,  and  of  blood.  He  ought  to  guard  against  himself, 
lest  the  impressions,  that  connections  have  made  on  his 
heart,  should  alter  the  judgment  of  his  mind,  and  should 
make  him  turn  the  scale  in  favour  of  those  with  whom 
he  is  united  by  tender  ties.  He  ought  to  bear  the 
sword  indifferently,  Rom.  xiii.  4.  like  another  Levi, 
against  his  brother,  and  against  his  friend,  and  to  !ne- 
rit  the  praise  that  was  given  to  that  holy  man.  He 
said  unto  his  father^  and  to  his  mother^  I  have  not  seen 
him^7ieither  didhe  acknowledge  his  brethren^  nor  knew  his 
own  children,  Deut.  xxiii.  19.  He  ought  to  involve 
his  eyes  in  a  thick  mist,  through  which  it  would  be 
impossible  for  him  to  distinguish,  from  the  rest  of 
the  crowd,  persons  for  whom  nature  so  powerfully 
pleads. 

2.  A  judge  sells  truths  when  he  suffers  himself  to  be 
dazzled  with  the  false  glare  of  the  language  of  him 
who  pleads  against  justice.  Some  counsellors  have  the 
front  to  affirm  a  maxim,  and  to  reduce  it  to  practice, 
in  direct  opposition  to  the  oaths  they  took  when  they 
were  invested  with  their  character.  The  maxim  I 
mean  is  this ;  as  the  business  of  a  judge  is  to  distin- 
guish truth  from  falsehood,  so  the  business  of  a  coun- 
sellor is,  not  only  to  place  the  rectitude  of  a  cause  in 
a  clear  light,  but  also  to  attribute  to  it  all  that  can 
be  invented  by  a  man  expert  in  giving  sophistry  the 
colours  of  demonstration  and  evidence.  To  suffer 
himself  to  be  misled  by  the  ignesfatiii  of  eloquence, 
or  to  put  on  the  air  of  being  convinced,  either  to 
spare  himself  the  trouble  of  discussing  a  truth,  which 
the  artifice  of  the  pleader  envelopes  in  obscurity ;  or 
to  reward  the  orator  in  part  for  the  pleasure  he  hath 
afforded  him  by  the  vivacity  and  politeness  of  his  ha- 
rangue :  each  of  these  is  a  sale  of  truth ^  a  sacrificing 
of  the  rights  of  widows  and  orphans,  to  a  propriety  of 
gesture,  a  tour  of  expression,  a  figure  of  rhetoric. 

S.  A  judge  sells  truths  when  he  yields  to  the  trouble- 
some assiduity  of  an  indefatigable   solicitor.     The 

practice 


The  Sale  of  Truth.      '  589 

practice  of  soliciting  the  judges  is  not  the  less  irregu- 
lar for  being  authorized  by  custom.  When  people 
avail  themselves  of  that  access  to  judges,  which,  in 
other  cases,  belongs  to  their  reputation,  their  titles,  or 
their  birth,  they  lay  snares  for  their  innocence.  A 
client  ought  not  to  address  his  judges,  except  in  the 
person  of  him,  to  whom  he  hath  committed  his  cause, 
imparted  his  grounds  of  action,  and  left  the  making  of 
the  most  of  them.  To  regard  solicitations  instead  of 
reproving  them ;  to  suffer  himself  to  be  carried  away 
with  the  talk  of  a  man,  whom  the  avidity  of  gaining 
his  cause  inflames,  inspires  subtle  inventions,  and  dic- 
tates emphatical  expressions,  is,  again,  to  sell  truth. 

4,  A  judge  sells  truth^  when  he  receives  presents. 
Thou  shalt  not  take  a  gift;  for  a  gift  doth  blind  the  eyes 
of  the  wise,  and  pervert  the  words  of  the  righteous,  Deut. 
xvi.  19.     God  gave  this  precept  to  the  Jews. 

5.  A  judge  makes  a  sale  of  truth,  when  he  is  terri- 
fied at  the  power  of  an  oppressor^  It  hath  been  often 
seen,  in  the  most  august  bodies,  that  sufli'ages  have 
been  constrained  by  the  tyranny  of  some,  and  sold  by 
the  timidity  of  others.  Tyrants  have  been  known  to 
attend,  either  in  their  own  persons,  or  in  those  of  their 
emissaries,  in  the  very  assemblies  which  were  convened 
on  purpose  to  maintain  the  rights  of  the  people,  and 
to  check  the  progress  of  tyranny.  Tyrants  have  been, 
seen  to  endeavour  to  direct  opinions  by  signs  of  their 
hands,  and  by  motions  of  their  eyes  ;  they  have  been 
known  to  intimidate  judges  by  menaces,  and  to  cor- 
rupt them  by  promises  ;  and  judges  have  been  known, 
to  prostrate  their  souls  before  these  tyrants,  and  to  pay 
the  same  devoted  jdeference  to  maxims  of  tyranny,  that 
is  due  to  nothing  but  to  an  authority  tempered  with 
equity.  A  judge  on  his  tribunal  ought  to  fear  none 
but  him  whose  sword  is  committed  to  him.  He 
ought  to  be  not  only  a  defender  oUruth^ht  ought  also 
to  become  a  martyr  for  it,  and  to  confirm  it  with  his 
blood,  were  his  blood  necessary  to  confirm  it. 

He 


590  The  Sale  of  Truth. 

He  that  hath  ears  to  hear,  let  him  hear.  Mat.  xi.  13, 
There  is  a  primitive  justice  essential  to  moral  beings  ; 
a  justice  independent  on  the  will  of  any  Supreme  Be- 
ing ;  because  there  are  certain  primitive  and  essential 
relations  between  moral  beings,  which  belong  to 
their  nature.  As,  when  you  suppose  a  square,  you 
suppose  a  being  that  hath  four  sides ;  as,  when  you 
suppose  a  body,  you  suppose  a  being,  from  which  ex- 
tent is  inseparable,  and  independent  on  any  positive 
will  of  a  Superior  Being ;  so  when  you  suppose  a  be- 
nefit, you  suppose  an  equity,  a  justice,  a  fitness,  in 
gratitude,  because  there  is  an  essential  relation  between 
gratitude  and  benefit ;  ajid  the  same  may  be  said  of 
every  moral  obligation. 

The  more  perfect  an  intelligent  being  is,  the  more 
intelligence  is  detached  from  prejudices ;  the  clearer 
the  ideas  of  an  intelligent  mind  are,  the  more  fully 
will  it  perceive  the  opposition  and  the  relation,  the 
justice  and  the  injustice,  that  essentially  belong  to  the 
nature  of  moral  beings.  In  like  manner,  the  more 
perfection  an  intelligence  hath,  the  more  doth  it  sur- 
mount irregular  motions  of  the  passions  ;  and  the  more 
it  approves  justice,  the  more  will  it  disapprove  injus- 
tice ;  the  more  it  is  inclined  to  favour  what  is  right, 
the  more  will  it  be  induced  to  avoid  what  is  wrong. 

God  is  an  intelligence,  who  possesseth  all  perfec- 
tions ;  his  ideas  are  perfect  images  of  objects  ;  and  on 
the  model  of  his  all  objects  were  formed.  He  seeth, 
with  perfect  exactness,  the  essential  relations  of  justice 
and  of  injustice.  He  is  necessarily  inclined,  though 
without  constraint,  and  by  the  nature  of  his  perfec- 
tions, to  approve  justice,  and  to  disapprove  injustice ; 
to  display  his  attributes  in  procuring  happiness  to  the 
good,  and  misery  to  the  wicked. 

In  the  present  economy,  a  part  of  the  reasons  of 
which  we  discover,  while  some  of  the  reasons  of  it  are 
hidden  in  da?kness,  God  doth  not  immediately  dis- 
tinguish the  cause  that  is  founded  on  equity,  frorn 

that 


The  Sale  of  Truth.  391 

that  which   is    grounded    on    iniquitous    principles. 
This  office  he  hath  deposited  in  the  hands  of  judges  ; 
he  hath  entrusted  them  with   his    power;    he   hath 
committed  his  sword  to  them ;  he  hath  placed  them 
on  his  tribunal ;  and  said  to  them,  Te  are  gods^  Psal. 
Ixxxii.  6.      But   the  more  august  the  tribunal,  the 
more  inviolable  the  power,  the  more  formidable  the 
sword,  the  more  sacred  the  office,  the  more  rigorous 
will  their  punishments  be,  who,  in  any  of  the  ways 
we  have  mentioned,  betray  the  interests  of  that  truth 
and  justice  with   which  they  are   intrusted.      Some 
judges  have  defiled  the  tribunal  o{  the  Judge  of  all  the 
earthy  Gen.  xviii.   25.  on  which  they  were  elevated, 
into  the  bowels  of  the  innocent  they  have  thrust  that 
sword  which  was  given  them  to  maintain  order,  and  to 
transfix  those  who  subvert  it.     That  supreme  power, 
which  God  gave  them,  they  have  employed  to  war 
against  that  God  himself  who  vested  them  wil  h  it, 
and  him  they  have  braved  with  insolence  and  pride. 
/  saw  under  the  sun  the  place  of  judgment,  that  wicked- 
ness was  there  ;  and  the  place  of  righteousness,  that 
iniquity  was  there;  and  I  said  in  mine  heart,  God  shall 
judge  the  righteous  and  the  wicked.     If  thou  seest  the 
oppression  of  the  poor,  and  r^iolent  perverting  of  judge- 
ment and  justice  in  a  province,  roar  v  el  not  at  the  matter  : 
for  He,  that  is  higher  than  the  highest,  regardeth  it,  and 
there  be  higher  than  they.    Be  wise  now^  therefore,  0  ye 
kings:  be  instructed,  ye  judges  of  the  earth.     Buy  the 
truths  and  sell  it  not,  Eccl.  iii.  16.  v.  8.  Psal.  ii.  10. 

V.  This  precept  of  Solomon,  ^ell  not  the  truths 
regardeth  the  politician  who,  by  a  timid  circumspec- 
tion, useth  an  artful  concealment,  when  he  ought  to 
probe  state-wounds  to  the  bottom,  and  to  discover  the 
real  authors  of  its  miseries,  and  the  true  causes  of  its 
decline.  In  these  circumstances,  it  is  not  enough  to 
mourn  over  public  calamities  in  secret ;  they  must  be 
■spoken  of  with  firmness  and  courage :  the  statesman 

must 


392  TJw  Sale  of  Truth. 

must  be  the  mouth  and  the  voice  of  all  those  oppressed 
people,  whose  only  resources  are  prayers  and  tears  ;  he 
must  discover  the  fatal  intrigues,  that  are  whispered  in 
corners  against  his  country ;  unvail  the  mysterious 
springs  of  the  conduct  of  him,  who,  under  pretence  of 
public  benefit,  seeks  only  his  own  private  emolument ; 
he  must  publish  the  shame  of  him,  who  is  animated 
with  no  other  desire,  than  that  of  building  his  own 
house  on  the  ruins  of  church  and  state  ;  he  must  arouse 
him  from  his  indolence,  who  deliberates  by  his  own 
fire-side,  when  imminent  dangers  require  him  to  adopt 
bold,  vigorous,  and  eifectual  measures ;  he  must,  with- 
out scruple,  sacrifice  him,  who  himself  sacrificeth  to 
his  own  avarice  or  ambition,  whole  societies ;  he 
must  fully  persuade  other  senators,  that,  if  the  misfor- 
tunes of  the  times  require  the  death  of  any,  it  must  be 
that  of  him  who  kindled  the  fire,  and  not  of  him 
who  is  ready  to  shed  the  last  drop  of  his  blood  to 
extinguish  it.  To  keep  fair  with  all,  on  these  occa- 
sions, and  by  a  timid  silence  to  avoid  incurring  the 
displeasure  of  those  who  convulse  the  state,  and  of 
those  who  cry  for  vengeance  against  them,  is  a  con- 
duct, not  only  unworthy  of  a  Christian,  but  unworthy 
of  a  good  patriot.  Silence  then  is  an  atrocious  crime, 
and  to  suppress  truth  is  to  sell  it,  to  betray  it. 

How  doth  an  orator  merit  applause,  my  brethren, 
when,  being  called  to  give  his  suffrage  for  the  public 
good,  he  speaks  with  that  fire,  which  the  love  of  his 
country  kindles,  and  knows  no  law  but  equity,  and 
the  safety  of  the  people  !  With  this  noble  freedom 
the  heathens  debated  ;  their  intrepidity  astonisheth  only 
those  who  are  destitute  of  courage  to  imitate  them. 
Represent  to  yourselves  Demosthenes  speaking  to  his 
masters  and  judges,  and  endeavouring  to  save  them  in 
spite  of  themselves,  and  in  spite  of  the  punishments 
which  they  sometimes  inflicted  on  those  who  oftered 
to  draw  them  out  of  the  abysses  into  which  they  had 
plunged  themselves.      Represent  to  yourselves  this 

orator 


The  Sale  of  Truth.  393 

orator  making  remonstrances,  that  would  now-a-days 
pass  fore  firebrands  of  sedition,  and  saying  to  his  coun- 
trymen, Will  ye  then  et  email y  walk  backward  and  for -- 
ward  in  ijour  public  places^  asking  one  another^  What 
news?  Is  Philip  dead?  says  one,  No^  replies  another  ; 
but  he  is  extremely  ill.  Ah  I  what  does  the  death  of  Philip 
signify  to  you, gentlemen  P  No  sooner  woidd  heaven  have 
delivered  you  from  him,  them  ye  ijour selves  woidd  create 
another  Philip  *.  Imagine  you  hear  this  orator  blaming 
the  Athenians  for  the  greatness  of  their  enemy  :  For 
viypart,  gentlemen,  I  protest  I  could  not  help  venerating 
Philip,  and  trembling  at  him,  if  his  conquests  proceeded 
from  his  own  valour,  and  from  the  justice  of  his  arms :  but 
whoever  closely  examines  tlie  true  cause  of  the  fame  of  his 
exploits,  will  find  it  in  our  faults  ;  his  glory  originates  in 
our  shame  \.  Represent  to  yourselves  this  orator  plun- 
ging a  dagger  into  the  hearts  of  the  perfidious  Athe- 
nians, even  of  them,  who  indulged  him  with  their 
attention,  and  loaded  him  with  their  applause.  K«r, 
immortal  war  with  every  one  who  dares  here  to  plead  for 
Philip.  Tou  must  absolutely  despair  of  conquering  your 
enemies  without,  while  you  suffer  them  to  have  such  eager 
advocates  within.  Tet  you  are  arrived  at  this  pitch  of 
what  shall  I  call  it  P  imprudence,  or  ignorance.  lam  often 
ready  to  think,  an  evil  genius  possesseth  you.  Tou  have 
brought  yourselves  to  give  these  miserable,  these  perfidious 
wretches  a  hearing,  some  of  whomdare not disownthe cha- 
racter I  give  tjiem.  It  is  not  enough  to  hear  them,  whe- 
ther it  be  env,y,  or  malice,  or  an  itch  for  satire,  or  what- 
ever be  the  motive,  you  order  tJiem  to  mount  the  rostrum^ 
and  taste  a  kind  of  pleasure  as  often  as  their  outrageous 
railleries  and  cruel  calumnies  rendinpieces  reputations  the 
best  established,  arid  attack  virtue  the  most  respectable  %. 
Such  an  orator,  my  brethren,  merits  the  highest  praise. 
With  whatever  chastisements  God  may  correct  a  peo- 
ple, he  hath  not  determined  their  destruction,  while 

he 
*  Prem.  Philipiq.        \  Prem.  Olynth.        %  Trois  Phil. 


394  The  Sale  of  Truth. 

he  preserveth  men,  who  are  able  to  shew  them  in  this 
manner  the  means  of  preventing  it. 

VI.  Finally,  the  last  order  of  persons,  interested  in 
the  words  of  my  text,  consists  oi pastors  of  the  church. 
And  who  can  be  more  strictly  engaged  not  to  sell  truth 
than  the  ministers  of  the  God  of  truth  P  A  pastor 
should  have  this  precept  in  full  view  in  our  public 
assemblies,  in  his  private  visits,  and  particularly  when 
he  attends  dying  people, 

1 .  In  our  public  assemblies  all  is  consecrated  to  truth. 
Our  churches  are  houses  of  the  living  and  true  God, 
These  piUsLYSdiYQ  pillars  of  truth,  1  Tim.  iii.  15.     The 
word,  that  we  are  bound  to  announce  to  you,  zV  truths 
John  xvii.  1 7.     Wo  be  to  us,  if  any  human  consider- 
ation be  capable  of  making  us  disguise  that  truth,  the 
heralds  of  which  we  ought  to  be ;  or  if  the  fear  of  shew- 
ing you  a  disagreeable  light,  induce  us  to  put  it  under 
a  bushel !  True,  there  are  some  mortifying  truths :  but 
public  oifences  merit  public  reproofs,  whatever  shame 
may  cover  the  guilty,  or  however ;  eminent  and  ele- 
vated their  post  may  be.    We  know  not  a  sacred  head, 
'when  we  see  the  name  of  blasphemy  written  on  it.  Rev. 
xiii.  1.    But  the  ignominy  of  such  reproof,  say  ye,  will 
debase  a  man  in  the  sight  of  the  people  whom  the 
people  ought  to  respect,  and  will  disturb  the  peace. of 
society.  But  who  is  responsible  for  this  disturbance,  he 
who  reproves  vice,  or  he  who  commits  it  ?  And  ought 
jiot  he,  who  abandons  himself  to  vice,  rather  to  avoid 
the  practice  of  it,  than  he  who  censures  such  a  conduct, 
to  cease  to  censure  it  ?  If  any  claim  the  power  of  im- 
.  posing  silence  on  us,  on  this  article,  let  him  produce  his 
right,  let  him  publish  his  pretensions;  let  him  distribute 
among  those,  who  have  been  chosen  to  ascend  this  pul- 
pit, lists  of  the  vices  which  we  are  forbidden  to  censure ; 
Jet  him  signify  the  law,  that  commands  the  reproving 
x>f  the  offences  of  the  poor,  but  forbids  that  of  the 

crimes 


The  Sale  of  Truth.  395 

crimes  of  the  rich ;  that  allows  us  to  censure  men  without 
credit,  but  prohibits  us  to  reprove  people  of  reputation. 

2.  A  pastor  ought  to  have  this  precept  before  his 
eyes  in  his  private  visits.  Let  him  not  publish  before 
a  whole  congregation  a  secret  sin ;  but  let  him  paint 
it  in  all  its  horrid  colours  with  the  same  privacy  with 
which  it  was  committed.  To  do  this  is  the  principal 
design  of  those  pastoral  visits,  which  are  made  among 
this  congregation,  to  invite  the  members  of  it  to  the 
Lord's  supper.  There  a  minister  of  truth  ought  to 
trouble  that  false  peace,  which  impunity  nourisheth  in 
the  souls  of  the  guilty.  There  he  ought  to  convince 
people,  that  the  hiding  of  crimes  from  the  eyes  of  men 
cannot  conceal  them  from  the  sight  of  God.  There 
he  ought  to  make  men  tremble  at  the  idea  of  that  eye, 
from  the  penetration  of  which  neither  the  darkness  of 
the  night  nor  the  most  impenetrable  depths  of  the 
heart  can  conceal  any  thing. 

Our  ideas  of  a  minister  of  Jesus  Christ  are  not  for- 
med on  our  fancies ;  but  on  the  descriptions  which 
God  hath  given  us  in  his  word,  and  on  the  examples 
of  the  holy  men  who  went  before  us  in  the  church, 
whose  glorious  steps  we  wish,  (although,  alas !  so  far 
inferior  to  these  models,)  whose  glorious  steps  we  wish 
to  follow.  See  how  these  sacred  men  announced  the 
truth.  Hear  Samuel  to  Saul :  Wherefore  didst  thou  not 
obey  the  voice  of  the  Lord^but  didst  fly  upon  the  spoil, and 
didst  evil  in  the  sight  of  the  Lord,  Hath  the  Lord  as 
great  delight  in  burnt -offerings  and  sacrifices,  as  in  obey^ 
ing  the  voice  of  the  Lord  P  Behold  1  to  obey  is  better 
than  sacrifice  ;  and  to  hearken  than  the  fat  of  rams .  For 
rebellion  is  as  the  sin  of  witchcraft,  and  stubbornness  is  as 
iniquity  and  idolatry,  1  Sam.  xv.  19,  22.  Behold  Na- 
than before  David.  Thou  art  the  man.  Wherefore 
hast  thou  despised  the  commandment  of  the  Lord,  to  do 
evil  in  his  sight  P  Thou  hast  killed  Uriah  theHittite  with 
the  sword,  and  hast  taken  his  wife  to  be  thy  wife,  and  hast 
slain  him  with  the  sword  of  the  children  ofAmmon,  Now 

therefore, 


596  The  Sale  of  Truth. 

therefore  the  sword  shall  never  depart  from  thine  house. 
Thus  saith  the  Lord^  Behold,  I  will  raise  up  evil  against 
thee  out  of  thine  own  house,  and  I  will  take  thy  wives  be- 
fore thine  eyes,  and  give  themunto  thy  neighbour.  For  thou 
didst  it  secretly:  but  I  will  do  this  thing  before  all  Israel 
andbeforethe  sun,  2  Sam.  xii.  7, — 12.  See  Elijah  before 
Ahab,  who  said  to  him,  ^rt  thou  he  that  troubleth  Israeli 
I  have  not  troubled  Israel ;  but  thou,  and  thy  father'' s  house, 
in  that  ye  have  forsaken  the  commandments  of  the  Lord, 
andthouhast followed  Baalim,  1  Kings  xviii.  17, 1 8. ;  and 
not  to  increase  this  list  by  quoting  examples  from  the 
New  Testament,  see  Jeremiah.  Never  was  a  minister 
more  gentle.  Never  was  a  heart  more  sensibly  affected 
with  grief  than  his  at  the  bare  idea  of  the  calamities 
of  Jerusalem.  Yet  were  there  ever  more  terrible  de- 
scriptions of  the  judgments  of  God,  than  those  which 
this  prophet  gave  ?  When  we  need  any  fiery  darts  to 
wound  certain  sinners,  it  is  he  who  must  furnish  them. 
He  often  speaks  of  nothing  but  sackcloth  and  ashes, 
lamentation  and  woe.  He  anno.unceth  nothing  but  mor- 
tality, famine,  and  slavery.  He  represents  the  earth 
without  form,  and  void,  returned,  as  it  were,  to  its  pri- 
mitive chaos  ;  the  heavens  destitute  of  light ;  the  moun- 
tains  trembling  ;  the  hills  moving  lightly^  He  cannot 
find  a  mnn  ;  Car?nel  is  a  wilderness,  and  the  whole  world 
a  desolation.  All  the  inhabitants  of  Jerusalem  seem  to 
him  climbing  up  upon  the  rocks ^  or  running  into  thickets 
to  hide  themselves  from  the  horsemen  and  the  bowmen. 
When  he  strives  to  hold  his  peace,  his  heart  maketh  a  noise 
in  him,  Jer.  iv,  23,  24,  26,  29,  \9<,  His  whole  ima- 
gination is  filled  with  bloody  images.  He  is  dis- 
torted, if  I  may  speak  so,  with  the  poison  of  that 
€up  of  vengeance,  which  was  about  to  be  presented 
to  the  whole  earth.  A  minister  announcing  nothing 
but  maledictions  seems  a  conspirator  agamst  the  peace 
of  a  kingdom.  Jeremiah  was  accused  of  holding  a 
correspondence  with  the  king  of  Babylon.  It  was 
pretended,  that  either  hatred  to  his  country,  or  a  me- 
lancholy 


The  Sak  of  Truth.  39T 

lancholy  turn  of  mind,  produced  his  sorrowful  pro- 
phecies ;  nothing  but  punishment  was  talked  of  for 
him,  and,  at  length,  he  was  confined  in  a  miry  diin^ 
geon,  chap,  xxxviii.  6.  In  that  filthy  dungeon  the 
love  of  truth  supported  him, 

3.  But,  when  a  pastor  is  called  to  attend  a  dying  per- 
son^ he  is  more  especially  called  to  remember  this  precept 
of  Solomon,  Sell  not  the  truth.  On  this  article,  my 
brethren,  I  wish  to  know  the  most  accessible  paths  to 
your  hearts  ;  or  rather,  on  this  article,  my  brethren,  I 
wish  to  find  the  unknown  art  of  uniting  all  your  hearts, 
so  that  every  one  of  our  hearers  might  receive,  at 
least,  from  the  laet  periods  of  this  discourse,  some 
abiding  impressions.  In  many  dying  people  a  begun 
work  of  conversion  is  to  be  finished.  Others  are  to 
be  comforted  under  the  last  and  most  dangerous  at- 
tacks of  the  enemy  of  their  salvation,  who  terrifies 
them  with  the  fear  af  death.  In  regard  to  others, 
we  must  endeavour  to  try  whether  our  last  efforts  to 
reclaim  them  to  God  will  be  more  successful  than  all 
our  former  endeavours.  Can  any  reason  be  assigned 
to  counterbalance  the  motives  which  urge  us  to  speak 
plainly  in  these  circumstances  ?  A  soul  is  ready  to 
perish ;  the  sentence  is  preparing ;  the  irrevocable 
voice.  Depart^  ye  cursed^  into  everlasting  fire  ^  will  pre- 
sently sound ;  the  gulfs  of  hell  yawn  j  the  devils 
attend  to  seize  their  prey.  One  single  method  remains 
to  be  tried  :  the  last  exhortations  and  efforts  oV  a  pastor. 
He  cannot  entertain  the  least  hope  of  success,  unless 
he  unvail  mysteries  of  iniquity,  announce  odious  truths, 
attack  prejudices,  which  the  dying  man  continues  to 
cherish,  even  though  eternal  torments  are  following 
close  at  their  heels.  Woe  be  to  us  if  any  human  con- 
sideration stop  us  on  these  pressing  occasions,  and  pre- 
vent our  making  the  most  of  this,  the  last  resource  1 

It  belongs  to  you,  my  brethren,  to  render  this  last 
act  of  our  office  to  you  practicable.  It  belongs  to  you 
to  concur  with  your  pastors  in  sending  away  company, 

that 


398  The  Sale  oj  Truth 

that  we  may  open  our  hearts  to  you,  and  that  you  may 
open  your's  to  us.  Those  visitors,  who,  under  pre- 
tence of  collecting  the  last  words  of  an  expiring  man, 
cramp,  and  interrupt  him,  who  would  prepare  him 
to  die,  should  repress  their  unseasonable  zeal.  If, 
when  we  require  you  to  speak  to  us  alone,  on  you?' 
death-bed,  we  be  animated  with  any  human  motive ; 
if  we  aim  to  penetrate  into  your  family-secrets  ;  if  we 
wish  to  share  your  estate  ;  pardon  traitors,  assassins, 
and  the  worst  of  murderers ;  but  let  national  justice 
inflict  all  its  rigours  on  those,  who  abuse  the  weak- 
ness of  a  dying  man,  and,  in  functions  so  holy,  are 
animated  with  motives  so  profane.  In  all  cases,  ex- 
cept in  this  one,  we  are  ready  to  oblige  you.  A  mi- 
nister, on  this  occasion,  ought  not  only  not  to  fall,  he 
ought  not  to  stumble.  But  how  can  you  expect  that, 
in  the  presence  of  a  great  number  of  witnesses,  we 
,should  fully  expatiate  on  some  truths  to  a  sinner? 
Would  you  advise  us  to  tell  an  immodest  woman  of 
the  excesses  to  which  she  had  abandoned  herself,  in 
the  presence  of  an  easy,  credulous  husband  ?  Would 
you  have  us,  in  the  presence  of  a  whole  family,  disco- 
ver the  shame  of  its  head  ? 

Here  I  finish  this  meditation.  I  love  to  close  all 
my  discourses  with  ideas  of  death.  Nothing  is  more 
proper  to  support  those,  who  experience  the  difficul- 
ties, that  attend  the  path  of  virtue,  than  thinking 
that  the  period  is  at  hand,  which  will  terminate  the 
path,  and  reward  the  pain.  Nothing  is  more  proper 
to  arouse  others,  than  thinking  that  the  same  period 
will  quickly  imbitter  their  wicked  pleasures. 

Let  every  person,  of  each  order  to  which  the  text 
is  addressed,  take  the  pains  of  applying  it  to'  himself. 
May  the  meanness  of  flatterers  ;  may  the  pious  frauds 
of  indiscreet  zealots ;  may  the  fear  of  persecution, 
and  the  love  of  the  present  world,  which  makes  such 
deep  impressions  on  the  minds  of  apostates  and  Ni- 
codemites  5  may  the  partiality   of  judges  j  may   the 

sinful 


The  Sale  of  Truth.  399^ 

sinful  circumspection  of  statesmen,  may  all  the  vices 
be  banished  from  among  us.  Above  all,  we,  who 
are  ministers  of  tnith !  let  us  never  disguise  truth ; 
let  us  love  truth  ;  let  us  preach  truth  ;  let  us  preach 
it  in  this  pulpit ;  let  us  preach  it  in  our  private  visits  ; 
let  us  preach  it  by  the  bed-sides  of  the  dying.  In 
such  a  coui-se  we  may  safely  apply  to  ourselves,  in 
our  own  dying-beds,  the  words  of  those  prophets 
and  apostles,  with  whom  we  ought  to  concur  in  the 
work  of  the  ministry,  in  the  perfecting  of  the  sai?its.  I 
have  coveted  no  inan's  silver,  or  gold,  or  apparel,  I 
have  kept  back  nothing,  that  was  profitable.  I  have 
taught  publichj,  and  from  house  to  house,  I  am  pure 
from  the  blood  of  all  men.  I  have  not  shuniied  to  de- 
clare the  whole  counsel  of  God.  0  my  God  !  I  have 
preached  righteousness  in  the  great  congregation :  lo^ 
I  have  not  refrained  my  lips,  0  Lord,  thou  knowest. 
I  hcmje  not  hid  thy  righteousnes  within  my  heart ;  I 
have  declared  thy  faithfulness  and  thy  salvation  ;  I  have 
not  concealed  thy  loving  kindness,  and  thy  truth^from 
the  great  congregation.  Withhold  not  thou  thy  tender 
mercies  from  me,  0  Lord  ;  let  thy  loving  kindness  and 
thy  truth  continually  preserve  them^  Eph.  iv.  12.  Acts 
XX.  S3,  20,  26,  &c*     Amen* 


END  OF  TBE  SECOND  VOLUME, 


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