Ex Libris 
 C. K. OGDEN
 
 /'*/ 
 
 /.
 
 SERMONS
 
 SERMONS 
 
 SOME LEADING POINTS 
 
 OF 
 
 CHRISTIAN 
 DOCTRINE AND DUTY. 
 
 REV. JOHN BOYLE, B.C.L. 
 
 CURATE OF ST. PETER'S AND ST. MARY'S, BARTON-UPON-HUMBER. 
 
 LONDON: 
 
 JOHN W. PARKER, WEST STRAND: 
 DEARDEN, NOTTINGHAM. 
 
 MDCCCXXXVI.
 
 W. DKABDEJf, PRINTER, XOTHX^HAM.
 
 TO 
 
 THE INHABITANTS OF BARTON-UPON-HUMBER, 
 
 iz Folume 
 
 IS AFFECTIONATELY INSCRIBED, 
 BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR, 
 
 IX THE EARNEST HOPE THAT, 
 
 BY THE BLESSING OF GOD, 
 IT MAY BE THE FAVOURED MEANS OF RECALLING 
 
 TO THEIR RECOLLECTIONS 
 
 THE ALL-MOMENTOUS TRUTHS 
 
 WHICH HE HAS ENDEAVOURED TO ENFORCE 
 
 FROM THE PULPIT, 
 AND THUS SUBSERVE THE INTERESTS 
 
 OF 
 PURE AND UN DEFILED RELIGION. 
 
 .A A >J f 
 
 -*
 
 PREFACE. 
 
 THE accompanying volume is submitted to the 
 public with the most unaffected diffidence. The 
 author is fully sensible that his position in the 
 Church is not such as to entitle his opinions to 
 much weight ; and he has been constrained to 
 feel, that the constantly recurring claims and 
 duties of an extensive charge afford little lei- 
 sure for elaborate, or even careful, composition. 
 Having, however, been repeatedly requested to 
 print particular sermons, he has been induced to 
 form this collection ; although he cannot hope, 
 that it will experience generally that favour and' 
 indulgence, which it is certain to receive from 
 the various members of the very intelligent con- 
 gregations which it is his privilege to address, 
 and for whose use it is specially intended. 
 
 But whilst he sends forth his work " in weak- 
 ness, and in fear, and much trembling;"* and 
 wbilst he is aware, that it needs great indulgence 
 
 * 1 Cor. ii. 3.
 
 IV PREFACE. 
 
 at the hands of those whose opinion usually 
 decides the fate of similar productions, he trusts 
 that his views will be found to be in strict 
 accordance with the Revealed Will of God, and 
 with the Articles, Homilies, and Liturgy of the 
 Established Church ; and he hopes, that the fact 
 of his having been compelled to write amidst the 
 inteiTuptions arising out of many engagements, 
 and under the pressure of much anxiety, will 
 serve to temper the severity of criticism, and to 
 excuse the numerous defects with which he 
 knows himself to be chargeable. 
 
 The earnest prayer of the author is, that his 
 efforts, weak and imperfect though they be, 
 may, in some measure, conduce to the honour 
 and glory of his Heavenly Master, in whose 
 service he deems it his highest earthly privilege 
 to be permitted to labour, and in which it is the 
 first wish of his heart to be useful. 
 
 BARTON VICARAGE, 
 APRIL, 1836.
 
 CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 Page. 
 The difference between the nominal and the real 
 
 Christian stated and explained ....... .~,~ 1 
 
 ACTS xi. 26. 
 " And the disciples trcre called Christians first at Antioch." 
 
 SERMON II. 
 
 The importance and necessity of immediate prepara- 
 tion and repentance . ~ ..-.~~ 19 
 
 MATTHETT iii. 3. 
 " Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make his paths straight." 
 
 SERMON III. 
 
 The nature, importance, and efficacy of a true and 
 
 lively faith ~s^.,^^~.^ ^. 41 
 
 ACTS xvi. 23. 
 
 ' And at midnir/ht Paid and Silas prayed, and sany praises 
 unto God: and the prisoners heard them."
 
 i CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 Pure and undefiled Religionw~~w~~.~v, 63 
 
 JAMES i. 27. 
 
 " Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is 
 this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, 
 and to keep himself unspotted from the world." 
 
 SERMON V. 
 Holiness indispensable to salvation ~~~~~~~.~.~~~.^. 80 
 
 MATTHEW xxii. 11. 
 
 " And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a 
 man which had not on a wedding garment." 
 
 SERMON VI. 
 Universal benevolence a test of religious sincerity ~~~~ 105 
 
 LUKE x. 29. 
 
 " And who is my neighbour ?" 
 
 SERMON VII. 
 Christ our example ~~~ ~ , 125 
 
 JOHN xiii. 15. 
 
 " For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I 
 have done to you." 
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 Faith, Hope, and Charity ~~~~~. ~ *.^~^^. 145 
 
 1 CORINTHIANS xiii. 13. 
 
 " And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three ; but the 
 greatest of these is charity."
 
 CONTENTS. M 
 
 SERMON IX. 
 
 The Influence of the Holy Spirit 163 
 
 JOHN xv. 26. 
 
 " When the Comforter is come, whom In-ill send unto you from 
 the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth 
 from the Father, He shall testify of me," 
 
 SERMON X. 
 
 The Spirit may be quenched ~. ,...........>~.......... 186 
 
 1 THESSALONIANS v. 19. 
 " Quench not the Spirit." 
 
 SERMON XL 
 
 The Doctrine of the Trinity ,, ,,,-,.-,^-.T 5207 
 
 MATTHEW xxii. 42. 
 " What think ye of Christ ?" 
 
 SERMON XII. 
 
 The Resurrection and the Life........ 226 
 
 JOHN xi. 25. 
 " Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection and the life." 
 
 SERMON XIII. 
 
 Christians must glory only in the Cross of Christ~~^~ 247 
 
 GALATIANS vi. 14. 
 
 " God forbid that [should glory, save in the cross of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, by nhom the world is crucified unto me, and 
 I unto the world."
 
 Ill CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON XIV. 
 The case of the pardoned malefactor practically con- 
 
 268 
 
 LUKE xxiii. 43. 
 
 " Jesu said unto him, Verily I say unto thcc, To-day shalt 
 thou be mth me in Paradise." 
 
 SERMON XV. 
 The parable of the Sower 
 
 MATTHEW xiii. 18. 
 " Hear ye therefore the parable of the Sower."
 
 SERMONS. 
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE NOMI- 
 NAL AND THE REAL CHRISTIAN STATED 
 AND EXPLAINED. 
 
 ACTS xi. 26. 
 
 AND THE DISCIPLES WERE CALLED CHRISTIANS FIRST 
 AT ANTIOCH. 
 
 THERE is probably no one fact in the 
 crowded page of history which, when pro- 
 perly considered, may not be made to yield 
 some measure of instruction. History, in- 
 deed, is a running commentaiy upon human 
 life ; and although the events with which it
 
 2 SERMON I. 
 
 acquaints us are abundantly diversified, it 
 reveals motives and principles of uniform 
 character, and of unvarying operation. 
 Scenes and circumstances may differ, but 
 man is ever the same ; and whether he 
 tenant the palace, or the cottage, whether 
 he own the wisdom of the sage, or the wild- 
 ness of the savage, he betrays features, and 
 feelings, and propensities, which, by re- 
 minding us of our common nature, awaken 
 our sympathies, and offer abundant means 
 of instruction and improvement. And if 
 we narrow our observation, and select from 
 the great drama of existence, some one 
 scene which possesses something approach- 
 ing to a personal interest ; if we detach 
 from the general group, actors whose situa- 
 tions are similar to our own, and that from 
 a desire to guard against their errors, or to 
 profit by their example, we shall materially 
 increase our chance of benefit, and give a 
 point and an interest to the scene we consi- 
 der, which a less particular, or more ex- 
 panded, view does not admit of. Under this
 
 SERMON I. O 
 
 persuasion we propose to found our present 
 discourse upon an event in the gospel his- 
 tory, apparently of a barren and uninstruc- 
 tive character " The disciples were called 
 Christians first at Antiock," but which, 
 we doubt not, will be found to suggest 
 much that it is our duty to remember and 
 to practise ; and however seemingly inap- 
 plicable to our present situations, it will, 
 if examined in a teachable spirit, present 
 considerations which must awaken the 
 lukewarm, and admonish the zealous ; 
 which must convict the nominal, and startle 
 the merely speculative professor. 
 
 I. The many interesting circumstances 
 which preceded the event, which it is our 
 present wish to improve, are admirably 
 calculated to exalt the wisdom and good- 
 ness of the Almighty, who out of the afflic- 
 tions which beset, and the persecutions 
 which Avere designed to overthrow, the 
 infant Church of Christ, was graciously 
 pleased to perfect those arrangements, 
 which tended to establish and enlarge it.
 
 4 SERMON I. 
 
 The weak policy, and evil designs, of a 
 heedless and unhearkening world, anxious 
 to disappoint the labours, and to destroy 
 the persons of the Christian teachers, be- 
 came, in the hands of Providence, the very 
 means of imparting success and stability to 
 the cause against which they were arrayed ; 
 and the fires of persecution instead of con- 
 suming the victims for whom they were 
 kindled, were converted into a light which 
 gave clearness and precision to the darken- 
 ed, and dangerous path of the apostles. 
 
 After having, in accordance with the 
 prediction of their Divine Master, been 
 compelled to flee from house to house, and 
 from city to city, and after having lite- 
 rally been hated of all men, for His name's 
 sake, the disciples found refuge about the 
 forty-second year of the Christian era, in 
 the city of Antioch. Before this period 
 they had been known by various appella- 
 tions : by some they were called Jessians, 
 whilst others termed them Nazarenes a and 
 Galileans;'' they were also distinguished 
 
 Acts xxiy. 5. b Acts ii. 7.
 
 SERMON I. 5 
 
 as disciples/ as believers d as brethren, 6 
 as men of that way; f but it is certain 
 that they were never before called Chris- 
 tians. Without attempting, what our limits 
 forbid, to point out how in every instance 
 the blind malevolence of its enemies was 
 made to conduce to the spread of the Gos- 
 pel, we would remark that had not its first 
 preachers been scattered abroad, that spread 
 would not have been so rapid, nor so success- 
 ful, as it proved to be. Had the apostles, 
 for instance, been allowed to remain undis- 
 turbed at Jerusalem, the inestimable value 
 of their labours would not have been so 
 speedily felt in other parts of Judea; by 
 being compelled to separate, and to enter 
 into other cities and into other countries, 
 an opportunity was afforded them to preach 
 the glad tidings of salvation to people, who 
 otherwise might not have heard them : the 
 seeds of evangelical life, though scattered 
 by the winds of persecution, were not de- 
 
 c Acts xxi. 16. d Acts v. 14. 
 
 e Acts xxviii. 14, and 1 Cor. v. 11. f Acts xxii. 4. 
 B 2
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 stroyed ; the clouds, which in a less 
 agitated atmosphere, might only have im- 
 parted refreshing showers to one particular 
 spot, hy heing disunited and broken up, 
 were made to refresh many a dry and arid 
 waste, which might otherwise have perish- 
 ed for lack of moisture; and, such is the 
 short sightedness of man, that measures 
 arranged with all the deliberation of human 
 wisdom and sagacity, were made to produce 
 results precisely the reverse of what their 
 malignant authors both hoped for and 
 expected ! 
 
 It was after these benefits had, from 
 such unlikely sources, accrued to the in- 
 fant Church after the zeal of the Christian 
 teachers had been increased, and the num- 
 ber of Christian converts multiplied that 
 the followers of Jesus became known by 
 the distinctive appellation of Christians ; 
 we say, became known, for whether the 
 name was conferred by human or divine 
 authority, or whether the disciples them- 
 selves assumed it as less general, and more
 
 SERMON I. 7 
 
 befitting, than any which they had yet 
 received, is a point upon which the Scrip- 
 tures are silent. 
 
 In proceeding to consider the meaning 
 and import of the name, it is material to 
 remark, that whether given or assumed, 
 it was used to designate the followers of 
 Jesus from all who were not such, to 
 denote the visible Church of Christ from 
 those who were not even nominally mem- 
 bers of it. On a person's embracing 
 Christianity, and after he had submitted to 
 the rite of initiation into the Christian 
 community, he would, in the estimation of 
 the world, be a Christian, although no 
 change of the mind and affections followed 
 his change of name, although what the 
 hand did, and the tongue declared, pro- 
 duced no corresponding movement in the 
 heart. This indiscriminate application of 
 the name to all who professed or called 
 themselves Christians, would doubtless be 
 attended with disadvantage and incon- 
 venience ; the failings and errors of any to
 
 8 SERMON I. 
 
 whom it was given would be unfairly 
 charged upon the religion which they pro- 
 fessed, hut did not practise, and an enraged 
 world, eager to crush the rising spirit, and 
 to mar the brightening prospects of the 
 new doctrine, would readily lay hold of 
 any incident calculated to give point or 
 force to then' opposition. It is hence pro- 
 bable, that great care would be taken to 
 ascertain whether they who desired to be 
 called by the Christian name, desired also 
 to discharge the Christian obligations, and 
 that every professed convert would be pre- 
 monished and constantly reminded that it 
 was requisite not only to hear, but to do, 
 the sayings of Christ, that they only were 
 worthy disciples of their Lord, who did 
 what their Lord commanded. But not- 
 withstanding the caution which would be 
 thus used, it would be quite impossible to 
 render the Christian community equally 
 pure, or equally sincere ; and the Christian 
 name would still be used to distinguish all 
 who had openly embraced the Christian
 
 SERMON I. 9 
 
 doctrine without reference to the reality of 
 their conversion, or to the sincerity of their 
 faith, it would be used to denote, not the 
 spirit of the society to which it was given, 
 but the society itself to distinguish the 
 body, not the soul, by which it ought to have 
 been actuated. It hence follows that the 
 name of Christian either may, or may not, 
 be an advantageous possession, and that it 
 does not necessarily imply the possession 
 of those saving principles, without which 
 the knowledge and profession of the Chris- 
 tian religion is of no avail. 
 
 II. It is to this fact that we would now 
 call your attention ; it is the consideration 
 that there is a wide, a most important dif- 
 ference between the visible and the invisible 
 Church of Christ, between those who are 
 called Christians, and those who are really 
 such ; that we beseech you to bear in mind. 
 
 We have said that this distinction would 
 prevail amongst the early Christians, the 
 failings and inconsistencies of some of 
 whom would occasionally disgrace and dis-
 
 10 SERMON I. 
 
 credit the Christian name ; sucli cases, 
 however, it is fair to presume, would be 
 of rare occurrence, when the profession of 
 Christianity was full of danger ; when in- 
 stead of being in a temporal sense advan- 
 tageous to those who embraced it, it in- 
 volved painful and expensive sacrifices ; 
 when the sword of the magistrate the 
 forfeiture of liberty, the hate of mankind, 
 and the abandonment of worldly ties and 
 distinctions, were the harsh tests of sin- 
 cerity ; it must, therefore, be supposed, 
 that those who were then called Christians, 
 were less liable to the charge of insincerity, 
 and of merely nominal profession, than we 
 who now bear that name. What was dis- 
 advantageous to them, is far from being so 
 to us, and our worldly comforts and inter- 
 ests are so clearly identified with the pro- 
 fession of the gospel, that not to profess it 
 is to invite the displeasure and discounte- 
 nance of the world ; those motives to sin- 
 cerity, therefore, which actuated the primi- 
 tive church, and which tended necessarilv
 
 SERMON I. 11 
 
 to purify and spiritualize it, are unknown 
 to us, and so materially different are our 
 relative situations, that while the hate of 
 the world then tended to thin the ranks of 
 Christianity, it now tends to fill them, 
 that while to be called Christians was then 
 attended with danger and disgrace, to be so 
 called is now a sure means of securing to 
 ourselves favour and protection. These 
 considerations, whilst they offer irresistible 
 motives for gratitude to that gracious God, 
 who thus permitteth us to serve and wor- 
 ship Him under our own vine and fig tree, 
 none making us afraid, suggest a caution 
 which all should bear in mind. We have 
 all of us, brethren, been baptized into 
 the Christian faith, and have thus been 
 placed in a capacity to serve Christ, 
 have been placed within reach of those 
 high hopes, and solid consolations, and 
 unfailing promises, which form the Chris- 
 tian's sure reward. The means of grace 
 have become as it were our birth right ; 
 the sound of the Gospel is associated with
 
 12 SERMON I. 
 
 our earliest recollections, and we remember 
 not a period when the name and offices of 
 the Saviour, and the gifts and consolations 
 of the Spirit, were not pressed upon our 
 notice. But this security and this fami- 
 liarity are not unlikely to cheat us into a 
 forgetfulness of what is due from our Chris- 
 tian profession, to make us satisfied with 
 the name, without making us anxious about 
 the reality, to render us contented with 
 the title to a heavenly inheritance, without 
 inducing us to take the requisite precau- 
 tions to ensure one. 
 
 The question is, not whether, like the 
 early disciples, we are called Christians, 
 but whether we are Christians in deed and 
 in truth not whether we have the name, 
 but whether we have the spirit of true dis- 
 ciples of the crucified Jesus. We are by 
 common consent members of the Church 
 of Christ, legally admitted and generally 
 acknowledged portions of that Church ; 
 but although our admission has been conse- 
 crated by all the forms, and all the usages
 
 SERMON I. 13 
 
 which were necessary to render it binding, 
 we may still be as far from the kingdom of 
 heaven as if none of these things had taken 
 place 5 for true it is, that he who knows 
 nothing beyond these rudiments of holi- 
 ness, who is acquainted only with the 
 letter which killeth, instead of the Spirit 
 which giveth life, who sits down silent 
 and satisfied with the name of Christian, 
 has just as little claim to spiritual life and 
 intelligence as the pallid and motionless 
 corpse which, whilst it retains the human 
 form and lineaments, is bereft of the stir- 
 ring functions of vitality. 
 
 Let the fact therefore which we are now 
 considering, induce each of us to inquire, 
 What is included under the name of Chris- 
 tian? A nominal Christian is one who 
 assents to, or rather who does not dissent 
 from, the claims and requirements of the 
 Gospel ; who having been born in a Chris- 
 tian laud, and educated in a Christian 
 community, and admitted into a Christian 
 Church, is, therefore, deemed, a Christian;
 
 14 SERMON I. 
 
 this is an appellation which common cour- 
 tesy most willingly secures him. A real 
 Christian is one, who in addition to all 
 these advantages, possesses a practical 
 knowledge of Christ ; who lives according 
 to the rules, and who walks according to 
 the example of his heavenly Master, 
 whose heart is so moved, whose affections 
 are so spiritualized, and whose faith is so 
 influential, that it is his meat and drink to 
 do the will of God, to emhrace the saving 
 doctrines, and to ohey the saving precepts 
 of the everlasting Gospel. 
 
 Nor is this distinction a mere point of 
 curiosity. The nominal, as compared with 
 the real Christian, is as a shadow compared 
 with the substance ; it is not a distinction 
 without a difference, but a distinction in- 
 volving all the mighty interests of eternity. 
 
 Knowledge merely speculative know- 
 ledge of the truth, however applauded 
 and admired, is not the passport to salva- 
 tion ; like the tree which puts forth abun- 
 dance of leaves without producing fruit, it
 
 SERMON I. 15 
 
 is good for ornament but not for food ; and 
 however it may adorn the mind, it neither 
 feeds nor satisfies the soul. The nominal 
 Cliristian is the counterpart of the idle and 
 unprofitable servant, who abused the confi- 
 dence of his Master by hiding his talent in 
 a napkin ; he neglects his advantages, and 
 renders useless his opportunities, and is 
 content to have what he does not use 
 to profess what he does not practise to 
 acknowledge Christ with his lips, but not 
 with his life, or at least, not to honor him 
 with it. 
 
 A real Christian on the contrary, instead 
 of being merely outwardly holy, is inwardly 
 so. He does not depend upon a name 
 which habit has familiarized, and which 
 common courtesy insures, and which in- 
 stead of being meritorious in itself, may 
 after all be only an accidental distinction. 
 He does not cover the filth and impurity of 
 an unregenerate nature with the seemly 
 garb of religious profession. No. He 
 cordially embraces the religion of Christ ;
 
 16 SERMON I. 
 
 he thankfully receives his doctrine ; he 
 undoubtingly reposes upon his promises; 
 he incessantly prays that he may be en- 
 abled to adjust his life and conversation by 
 his precepts and example ; he is animated, 
 and distinguished by faith, and hope, and 
 charity ; and as the ever advancing stream 
 of time carries him onward to eternity, he 
 strives to become more and more meet for 
 the second coming of the Lord, that he 
 may be both ready and willing to put off 
 the burden of the flesh, when his appointed 
 time shall come* 
 
 Wherefore, beloved brethren, let us ex- 
 amine ourselves, and see whether we are in 
 the faith, whether we are Christians in 
 name, or Christians in heart and in hope. 
 If we have the name without the reality 
 if we make profession without yielding the 
 practice what profit have we ? Is it not 
 written, " Not every one that saith unto 
 me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the king- 
 dom of heaven, but he that doeth the will 
 of my Father which is in heaven ? ' And
 
 SERMON I. 17 
 
 are we not forewarned that every tree, by 
 which is meant every nominal Christian, 
 that bringeth not forth good fruit, is cut 
 down, and cast into the fire ? 
 
 Let us therefore strive and whilst we 
 strive, let us devoutly pray that we may 
 be enabled so to improve our precious 
 means and opportunities, that we may not 
 be almost, but altogether, Christians ; 
 that we may " glorify" our heavenly Father, 
 by bringing forth " much fruit." We re- 
 semble the early disciples, by being called 
 Christians, let us then endeavour to resem- 
 ble them in other points. Let us disregard 
 every earthly interest, should it keep us 
 from Christ ; let us imitate their faithful- 
 ness ; let us emulate their piety ; let us 
 copy their faithful adherence to the Gos- 
 pel rule, their heavenly mindedness, 
 their brotherly love, so shall we be meet 
 partakers of our heavenly calling ; and 
 having been one fold under one Shepherd 
 here, we shall meet together as brethren 
 c 2
 
 18 SERMON I. 
 
 in the same heavenly mansions hereafter, 
 which God, in the plenitude of his un- 
 deserved mercy, grant, through Jesus 
 Christ, our Lord.
 
 SERMON II. 
 
 THE IMPORTANCE AND NECESSITY OF 
 
 IMMEDIATE PREPARATION AND RE- 
 
 
 
 PENTANCE. 
 
 MATTHEW iii. 3. 
 
 PREPARE YE THE WAY OF THE LORD, MAKE HIS 
 PATHS STRAIGHT. 
 
 WHENEVER an Eastern monarch set out 
 upon a journey, or undertook an expedi- 
 tion, especially through difficult and un- 
 frequented countries, there always went 
 before him certain officers termed harbin- 
 gers, or forerunners, whose duty it was to
 
 20 SERMON IT. 
 
 make ready for his coming, by removing 
 whatever was likely to interfere with his 
 ease, safety, or progress. Did mountains 
 interpose, they were forthwith lowered ; 
 did valleys intervene, they were immedi- 
 ately filled up ; did forests obstruct, they 
 were laid low ; was the road crooked, it 
 was made straight; was it marshy and 
 impure, it was drained and cleansed ; no- 
 thing, in short, calculated to promote the 
 comfort, or to insure the success, of the 
 royal cause was left undone. 
 
 It is to this custom that our text has 
 reference. John the Baptist was to the 
 Prince of Peace what the Eastern heralds 
 were to their respective monarchs ; he had 
 to prepare the moral, as they had to 
 prepare the natural world; he was re- 
 quired to correct the opposing prejudice, 
 to remove the darkening doubt, and to 
 humble the towering thought, preparatory 
 to the coming of his Lord, precisely as those 
 to whom he is likened had to remove every 
 impediment out of the way of their ap-
 
 SERMON II. 21 
 
 preaching masters. Hence he was literally 
 the forerunner of our blessed Saviour ; and 
 faithfully answers the prophetic description 
 of Isaiah, who had announced him as " a 
 voice that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare 
 ye the way of the Lord, make straight in 
 the desert a highway for our God." g 
 
 The force and propriety of the illustra- 
 tion here employed will be apparent, if we 
 consider the benighted condition of man- 
 kind at the coming of Christ. The world 
 was literally a cheerless desert, producing 
 neither flowers, nor fruit, nor herbage ; it 
 was, in fact, a blighted surface, diversified 
 only by what was unpleasing to the eye, 
 or offensive to the taste, or poisonous to 
 the soul. Every sensitive mind must 
 shudder at the melancholy account which 
 St. Paul gives of the Gentiles : " Even as 
 they did not like to retain God in their 
 knowledge," is his strong and expressive 
 language, " God gave them over to a re- 
 probate mind, to do those tilings which 
 
 s Isaiah xl. 3.
 
 22 SERMON II. 
 
 are not convenient ; being filled with all 
 unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, 
 covetousness, maliciousness ; full of envy, 
 murder, debate, deceit, malignity ; whis- 
 perers, backbiters, haters of God, despite- 
 ful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, 
 disobedient to parents, without understand- 
 ing, covenant-breakers, without natural 
 affection, implacable, unmerciful." ' The 
 Jews also, who were more immediately the 
 objects of the Baptist's ministration, were 
 in a condition not unlike that of barren and 
 uncultivated land ; they had grossly abused 
 their many precious privileges, they had 
 wilfully neglected the gracious opportuni- 
 ties, which a long-suffering God had in 
 mercy afforded them ; they had made void 
 His Holy Word by their superadded absur- 
 dities ; barren profession supplied the place 
 of holy practice ; the weightier matters of 
 the law judgment, mercy, and faith, 
 were made to give way to mere ceremonial 
 observance ; they clung to the name not- 
 
 fc Romans i. 28. 31.
 
 SERMON II. 23 
 
 withstanding that they hourly violated the 
 spirit of religion, and, as our hlessecl Lord 
 observed, " outwardly appeared righteous 
 unto men, whilst within they were full of 
 hypocrisy and iniquity." ' 
 
 Thus dark, dreary, and destitute, the 
 Baptist was sent to arouse them from their 
 deathlike slumber, and to warn them of 
 impending danger ; to preach the neces- 
 sity of repentance, and to proclaim the glad 
 tidings of peace, to urge that change and to 
 enforce that preparation, which the approach 
 of the Lord imperatively required. They 
 were assured, that the privileges of birth 
 could not supply the place of personal 
 piety ; that unless they deported them- 
 selves as dutiful children, it were vain to 
 boast of having Abraham for their father, 
 that by whatever name they were called, or 
 by whatever connexions ennobled, all stood 
 in need of repentance ; of that entire change 
 in the heart, will, and affections, which 
 constituted the only acceptable and avail- 
 
 1 Matthew xxiii. 28.
 
 24 SERMON II. 
 
 ing preparation against the coming of the 
 Prince of Peace. 
 
 Brethren, more than eighteen centuries 
 have rolled away since these things came 
 to pass ; the thousands who listened to the 
 solemn call, and were awakened by the 
 impressive admonitions of the Baptist, have 
 long since gone to their account, and he, 
 the saintly herald of the Incarnate God, 
 will raise his voice no more : hut, " though 
 dead he yet speaketh," and addresses to 
 each of us the needful exhortation, " Pre- 
 pare ye the way of the Lord, make his patJis 
 straight" Let us, therefore, now that we 
 are about to commemorate the Advent j of 
 the Messiah, go back in spirit to the scene 
 of the Baptist's ministration ; and whilst 
 we anxiously listen, let us earnestly pray, 
 that his words may take deep root in our 
 hearts, and that their goodly effects may be 
 shewn forth in our lives. 
 
 We read that " Jerusalem, and all Judea, 
 and all the region round about Jordan " 
 
 J Preached on the first Sunday in Advent.
 
 SERMON II. 25 
 
 went out to hear the preaching of John. 
 His audiences, consequently, would consist 
 of persons of all grades and professions, 
 and of every variety of character and per- 
 suasion. 
 
 The presuming Pharisee, the child of 
 pride and of prejudice, whose vain, and 
 delusive, and ostentatious creed limited the 
 favour and mercy of God to the unchari- 
 table members of his own sect; the volup- 
 tuous and worldly Sadducee, who believed 
 neither angel nor spirits, and who acted 
 upon the dark and dangerous lie, that the 
 soul perishes with the body, that death is 
 the closing scene of man's fitful existence ; 
 the despised and degraded Publican, the 
 extortionate and execrated agent of Impe- 
 rial Rome ; the valiant soldier breathing the 
 spirit, and adorned with the accoutrements 
 of desolating war ; the poor in this world's 
 wealth, to whom a proud and luxurious 
 philosophy never stooped to give her costly 
 lessons, would doubtless all be found lis- 
 tening to his strange, but persuasive exhor-
 
 26 SERMON II. 
 
 tations. And how dealt he with this varied 
 throng ? What he spake to one, he spake 
 to all; and although the power of his 
 words may not have been uniformly felt, 
 that power, like rain upon the drooping 
 landscape, whose influence is general, 
 though not equally diffused would doubt- 
 less he so directed as to pierce the consci- 
 ences and to touch the hearts of all his 
 hearers, as to call up something like a 
 freshness and a revival from every portion 
 of the dry and unproductive surface which 
 lay before him. 
 
 The Pharisees, for instance, who must 
 have filled an ample space in the Baptist's 
 eye, were specially addressed; but what 
 was said to them was applicable to all. 
 
 This boastful sect, as we are told by St. 
 Paul, and as indeed we learn from their 
 whole history, were bent upon " establish- 
 ing their own righteousness;" they were 
 always ready and desirous to justify them- 
 selves, and to repel all imputation of sin 
 and uncleanness. It was hence necessary
 
 SERMON II. 27 
 
 to make them sensible of their guilt, 
 to impress them with an humiliating opin- 
 ion of themselves, and to convince them 
 that they were in a state of condemnation, 
 naturally liable to the just judgment, and 
 exposed to the impending wrath of the 
 Almighty. Had he not exposed the nature 
 and consequences of the disease under 
 which they labored, it would have been 
 impossible to have convinced them of the 
 value and necessity of the cure which he 
 was commissioned to offer; had he not 
 shewn them that they were sick, he would 
 never have brought them to appreciate the 
 saving services of the Great Physician of 
 souls. Upon their natural vileness and 
 their natural weakness, he accordingly took 
 his stand, and thence enforced the necessity 
 of hearty contrition, and of that total trans- 
 formation, which are the characteristics of 
 genuine repentance. 
 
 And thus, brethren, must we also labor 
 to enforce the reception of Gospel truth ; 
 thus must we hold the mirror up to nature,
 
 28 SERMON II. 
 
 and shew its innate darkness and deformity. 
 We must warn you against the danger of 
 supposing that, because you are neither 
 grossly, nor openly vicious, you have there- 
 fore no need of repentance; we must 
 
 remind vou that " all have sinned, and 
 
 / 
 
 come short of the glory of God." k We 
 must exhort you to avoid the lofty estimate 
 of the presumptuous Pharisee, not to think 
 of establishing your own righteousness, 
 not to be willing to justify yourselves, 
 but to cultivate those lowly, humble, and 
 teachable dispositions, which will allow you 
 to receive with meekness and sincerity the 
 soul-subduing and soul-searching truths of 
 the Gospel. Unless we are thus awakened 
 to a sense of our danger and destitution, 
 the message of mercy will never find its 
 way to our hearts ; the Gospel will be to us 
 a sealed book, and all its saving provisions, 
 and gracious promises, and abiding con- 
 solations, be unheeded, unvalued, and un- 
 felt. 
 
 1 Romans iii. 23.
 
 SERMON II. 29 
 
 It was this consideration which rendered 
 the appearance and preaching of the Bap- 
 tist necessary. Ignorant of the extent of 
 their guilt, and of the nature of their wants, 
 and vainly thinking that the faith and 
 obedience of their pious ancestors would be 
 imputed to them for righteousness, the 
 Jews passed their lives in the soothing 
 supposition, that they were secure in the 
 favour and protection of Jehovah. It is 
 probable that when they resorted to the 
 preaching of John, instead of strong rebuke 
 and unsparing condemnation, they expect- 
 ed to receive intelligence of the speedy 
 approach of that temporal grandeur and 
 national exaltation, which the false prophets 
 of those days had taught them to connect 
 with the coming of Christ. To soften in 
 some measure the disappointment which 
 awaited them; to open their eyes to the 
 real character and office of the Messiah, 
 and thus to prepare the way for His spiritual 
 dominion, was the Baptist sent. Here 
 again, brethren, are we reminded of our 
 D 2
 
 30 SERMON II. 
 
 duty as ministers of the Gospel. Those 
 lofty expectations, and those dreams of 
 temporal grandeur, the disappointment of 
 which led the Jews to reject the Lord who 
 bought them, do not, it is true, influence 
 any of us ; hut thousands aye and tens of 
 thousands, it is to he feared entertain very 
 inadequate, and most unbecoming notions 
 of the Redeemer, Instead of regarding 
 Him as " the Lamb of God which taketh 
 away the sin of the world," 1 instead of 
 looking up to Him as our Saviour and our 
 Judge, we are wont to think of Him only 
 as a teacher, and to degrade Him into a 
 mere moralist! The best and the purest 
 of moralists he most undoubtedly is, for 
 " never man spake as He spake," but 
 they who regard, and who receive Him in 
 no other capacity, fearfully trifle with their 
 everlasting interests. It is to Christ tJie 
 Mediator, far more than to Christ the 
 Lawgiver, that we must cleave with heart, 
 and mind, and soul, and strength ; and he 
 
 i John i. 29. "> John vii. 46.
 
 SERMON II. 31 
 
 who is satisfied to listen to Him merely as 
 a preacher of righteousness, without believ- 
 ing in Him as the Saviour of the world, 
 and without looking up to Him as the 
 future judge of both quick and dead, has 
 yet to learn the very elements of evan- 
 gelical truth. Let tliis consideration then 
 induce us to examine the foundation upon 
 which we are building, and to ascertain 
 whether we are really strengthened and 
 settled in the true faith, in that "faith 
 without which it is impossible to please 
 God." Unless we are brought to feel our 
 unworthiness, like the misled Jews, we can 
 have no clear, nor consistent notion of the 
 office and character of the Messiah; un- 
 less we are made to feel our want of a 
 Saviour we can acquire no abiding interest 
 in Him; unless we become deeply im- 
 pressed with the exceeding sinfulness of 
 sin, we shall never be led to deplore and 
 forsake it, nor to understand why the Son 
 of God should leave the regions of blessed- 
 ness to encounter the trials and the sorrows
 
 32 SERMON II. 
 
 of humanity. An attentive consideration 
 of the reasons which led to His coming, 
 cannot fail to convince any reflecting mind 
 of the necessity of repentance and prepara- 
 tion, in order to enable us to profit by it. 
 He came " not to condemn the world, but 
 that the world through Him might be 
 saved." He came to rescue us from the 
 dominion of sin and death, and to assure 
 us of heaven and happiness hereafter, 
 and to offer eternal life to all who, by hearty 
 repentance and true faith, should turn unto 
 Him. It behoves us accordingly to re- 
 member that, unless we repent we shall 
 inevitably perish; that stedfast faith and 
 unswerving obedience are the links which 
 must connect us with His all-effectual 
 mediation, that " being made perfect, He 
 became the author of eternal salvation unto 
 all them that obey Him," and manifest in 
 their daily life and conversation that true, 
 and lively, and justifying faith, which pro- 
 duces the peaceable fruits of righteousness. 
 
 John iii. 17. Hebrews v. 9.
 
 SERMON II. 33 
 
 Remembering, therefore, that the coming 
 of Christ presupposes the lost condition of 
 man, and that the only way in which we 
 can possibly render that coming effectual 
 to salvation, is by timely and earnest re- 
 pentance, be it our wise determination to 
 turn unto the Lord with full purpose of 
 heart. Instead of resting in a partial, or 
 erroneous estimate of the claims and char- 
 acter of the Redeemer, let us habitually 
 regard Him as our only advocate with the 
 Father, as our only means of reconciliation, 
 our only ground of hope ; and whilst we 
 thus recognize our measureless obligations 
 to Him, let us devote ourselves in good 
 earnest to his sendee. That voice wliich 
 broke the solemn silence of the wilderness, 
 is even now speaking to us from the page 
 of inspiration, exhorting us to " prepare the 
 way of the Lord, and to make His paths 
 straight," " to repent, and to bring forth 
 fruits meet for repentance." 
 
 And whilst we feel and acknowledge 
 the necessity of repentance, let us take heed
 
 34 SERMON II. 
 
 that we do not mistake its nature. We 
 may be convinced and convicted of sin ; 
 we may deplore, and we may confess it; we 
 may abjure many of its practices, and re- 
 solutely avoid its contaminating haunts : 
 nay more, we may tremble at the warnings 
 which the Scriptures connect with its com- 
 mission, and be filled with fear and remorse, 
 because of our manifold offences, without ac- 
 quiring any title to the character of true peni- 
 tents. All this may take place, because the 
 passions are influenced, not because the heart 
 is touched; it may be the result of an 
 honest and enlightened conviction, without 
 having any thing to do with a saving con- 
 version. Many, it is to be apprehended, 
 delude themselves by supposing penitent 
 feeling, and contrite confession, to constitute 
 repentance ; overlooking the fact, that we 
 are not only required to repent, but to bring 
 forth fruits meet for repentance. The word 
 which in our Bible is translated repentance, 
 has a peculiar and very extensive significa- 
 tion ; it literally means the recovery of rea-
 
 SERMON II. 35 
 
 son, the restoration to a sane mind, after 
 a continued course of madness and folly, 
 and hence it implies a total change of pur- 
 pose, opinions, and inclinations. 
 
 It, therefore, cannot he sufficient to lament 
 the errors and to hemoan the follies into 
 which we may have heen betrayed, during 
 the suspension of reason, it is important that 
 our future conduct afford unequivocal proof 
 of a restored and renewed mind, that 
 whilst we are filled with anguish at the 
 recollection of our repeated offences, we 
 adopt the wise resolution of offending no 
 more. Repentance is not one act, but a 
 series of acts ; not the work of a day, but 
 of a life ; not merely the beginning of the 
 Christian course, but its ever actuating prin- 
 ciple ; it implies not only sincere sorrow 
 for sin, but a settled hatred against it, 
 and a determined and continuous resolu- 
 tion, in humble dependance upon God's 
 sustaining and sanctifying grace, to forsake 
 it ; it involves, in short, not a tempo-
 
 36 SERMON II. 
 
 rary change, but a permanent and lasting 
 reformation. 
 
 Wherefore, beloved brethren, we most 
 affectionately urge each of you to listen to 
 and obey, for to you they are addressed, 
 the impressive warnings of the Baptist; 
 and as at this time his solemn tones and 
 unearthly example, directed the attention 
 of a slumbering world to the coming of One 
 whose fan was in his hand ready to purge 
 his floor, to gather his wheat into the gamer, 
 and to burn up the chaff with unquench- 
 able fire, so is our attention directed to 
 the same object, so should our obedience 
 be quickened by the same momentous con- 
 siderations. Let us, therefore, instantly 
 make ready for the final coming of the 
 Lord, that we may flee from impending 
 wrath; and having cast down every high 
 thought and lofty imagination, we may 
 prepare the way of the Lord in our souls, 
 and realize the blessed promise wherewith 
 He encourages all who truly turn unto
 
 SERMON II. 37 
 
 Him, " If a man love me, he will keep 
 my words; and my Father will love him, 
 and we will come unto him, and make our 
 abode with him." p 
 
 And that we may not trifle away our 
 precious opportunities, nor waste our lives 
 in idle and unmeaning profession, let us 
 recollect that it is further written, " And 
 now also the axe is laid unto the root of the 
 trees, therefore every tree which bringeth 
 not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast 
 into the fire." However applicable may 
 have been this warning at the period of its 
 delivery, it was not more so then than 
 it is at present, for as death is always 
 nigh to every individual, condemnation 
 must be always hovering in the path of 
 every sinner. 
 
 Like trees devoted to destruction, we are 
 every moment in danger of being cut down; 
 how soon the blow may reach us we know 
 not, but though uncertain, we do know 
 
 P John xiy. 23.
 
 38 SERMON II. 
 
 that it may be instant, and that therefore 
 it is our bounden duty to be always ready. 
 
 O ! then let us duly estimate the worth 
 of the soul, and thankfully prize the privi- 
 leges of the Gospel : life, however pro- 
 tracted, is but a shadow, and " verily every 
 man at his best state is altogether vanity." 
 
 It cannot be needful to enumerate the 
 many and pressing motives to immediate 
 preparation, which constantly present them- 
 selves ; they are written so plainly that he 
 who runs may read, and they recur so fre- 
 quently that all must feel them. Most of 
 us must, at one period or other, have stood 
 by the death bed, and have witnessed the 
 stern and remorseless triumphs of the last 
 enemy. It may be that it has been our 
 sad office to close the eyes of a revered 
 parent, or to look upon the pallid remains 
 of a beloved partner, or to weep over the 
 stiffened, yet beautiful form of the child 
 of our hopes, or to heave the sigh of 
 regret for the loss of a valued friend, all
 
 SERMON II. 09 
 
 and each of these bereavements re-echo the 
 call of the Baptist, and by demonstrating 
 the fleeting and uncertain tenure of exist- 
 ence, are designed to direct our eyes and 
 our hopes to those blissful regions into 
 which no enemy enters, and from which no 
 fiiend departs. And if these considerations 
 speak not impressively, we beseech you to 
 look around; the sculptured monuments 
 which adorn these time honored walls, are 
 full of wholesome admonition, whilst the 
 humbler memorials which crowd the path- 
 way hither, most affectingly remind us of 
 those who like ourselves worshipped in this 
 place, and in this place listened to the 
 all-sufficient truths of the Gospel ; but they 
 are gone; the pastors and the flocks of 
 other ages are now the mouldering tenants 
 of the tombs which surround us, and, as 
 they are, soon, very soon, must we be. 
 Father of mercies, before that awful change 
 take place, enable us, we implore Thee, to 
 manifest true repentance towards Thee, 
 and stedfast faith in thy blessed Son, that
 
 40 SERMON It. 
 
 " we, with all those that are departed in the 
 true faith of thy holy name, may have our 
 perfect consummation and bliss, both in 
 body and soul, in thy eternal and ever- 
 lasting glory."
 
 SERMON III. 
 
 THE NATURE, IMPORTANCE, AND EFFICACY 
 OF A TRUE AND LIVELY FAITH. 
 
 ACTS xvi. 25. 
 
 AND AT MIDNIGHT PAUL AND SILAS PRATED, AND 
 SANG PRAISES UNTO GOD : AND THE PRISONERS 
 HEARD THEM. 
 
 THE history of St. Paul abounds with inci- 
 dents of the most instructive character. 
 
 However difficult and trying the cir- 
 cumstances in winch he was placed, he 
 invariably deported himself as became his 
 high and important office; his attachment 
 E 2
 
 42 SERMON III. 
 
 to the cause of Christ, and his anxiety for 
 the salvation of souls knew no bounds; 
 neither bonds, nor imprisonment, nor dan- 
 ger, could restrain his zeal, or shake the 
 holy purpose which animated him; it was 
 his unconquerable determination to do " the 
 work of an evangelist," to spread the glad 
 tidings and to preach the awakening truths 
 of the Gospel, even in the face of death 
 itself, " yea to count all things but loss 
 for the excellency of the knowledge of 
 Christ Jesus his Lord." ' 
 
 We hence see how it came to pass that, 
 in circumstances well calculated to repress 
 his ardour, to damp his devotion, and to 
 deaden his hopes, he was enabled to pre- 
 serve his cheerfulness, and to pour forth his 
 prayers, to dispense even with the rest 
 which nature required, and at the solemn 
 hour of midnight, amid the gloom and hard- 
 ships of a prison, to sing " praises unto God." 
 What a powerful testimony have we here, 
 brethren, to the availing nature of true 
 
 1 Phil. iii. 8.
 
 SERMON III. 43 
 
 religion, and to the practical value of that 
 faith which animates the sincere and single- 
 hearted Christian ; the world may be against 
 him, the great ones of the earth may 
 essay to crush him; friends and fortune may 
 forsake, and every external means of com- 
 fort be taken away, yet will he rejoice even 
 in the depths of affliction, and remain calm, 
 and happy, and unsubdued ; for he walks 
 by faith, and not by sight ; and knowing 
 that all things work together for good to 
 them that love God, he cleaves with heart 
 and soul to the encouraging assurances of 
 his glorified Redeemer, and, like the great 
 apostle, finds in the holy transports of prayer 
 and praise sure and abiding consolation. 
 
 But valuable as is the lesson which is 
 thus pressed upon our attention, it is one 
 upon which we will forbear to enlarge, that 
 we may consider the truly important and 
 awakening fact, which the text introduces 
 to our notice. 
 
 I. St. Paul, as we learn from the narra-
 
 44 SERMON III. 
 
 tive before us, was now at Philippi, where, 
 together with his companion Silas, he had 
 been committed to prison. 
 
 The head and front of his offending was, 
 that having by a wise and benevolent 
 exertion of the miraculous power with 
 which he was invested, restored a young 
 woman, who was unhappily under the 
 influence of an evil spirit, to her right 
 mind, he deprived those who had made 
 money by her divinations of a source of 
 gain. That such persons should feel great 
 ill-will against one who thus spoiled their 
 impious, but profitable trade ; and that, in 
 consequence, they should determine to re- 
 sent his unwelcome interference, is not 
 surprising : we therefore read without won- 
 der that he was forthwith charged with 
 being a common disturber, and with other 
 matters calculated to bring upon him the 
 displeasure of the authorities. His male- 
 volent accusers were so far successful, that 
 the apostle and his companion, after being 
 beaten with many stripes, were cast into
 
 SERMON III. 45 
 
 prison, the keeper, in accordance with the 
 special orders of the magistrates, tlimsting 
 them into the inner ward, and making their 
 feet fast in the stocks. It was in this de- 
 graded and destitute condition, that the 
 event recorded in the text occurred; " at 
 midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang 
 praises unto God: and the prisoners heard 
 them." This beautiful specimen of devot- 
 edness and attachment to a persecuted 
 cause, was attended with circumstances of 
 deep and ahsorhing interest. " Suddenly," 
 we read, " there was a great earthquake, 
 so that the foundations of the prison 
 were shaken : and immediately all the 
 doors were opened, and every one's bands 
 were loosed." r That occurrences so re- 
 markable and so unexpected should have 
 filled the mind of the jailor with apprehen- 
 sion and alarm; and that they should have 
 tended to inspire him with fear and reve- 
 rence for his suffering prisoners, is not sur- 
 prising; for in those superstitious times 
 
 r Acts xvi. 26.
 
 46 SERMON III. 
 
 such events were always regarded as super- 
 natural manifestations of the innocence of 
 the party with whose cause they were con- 
 nected. 
 
 The astonishment and reverence of the 
 sturdy keeper were doubtless greatly in- 
 creased when, notwithstanding the facilities 
 which were thus afforded them, he per- 
 ceived that his prisoners made no effort to 
 escape; and that on the contrary, they 
 were as content to remain in his custody as 
 though nothing had happened to affect the 
 strength and security of the prison. Being 
 assured of this, he forthwith became influ- 
 enced by other and more important impres- 
 sions, and trembling, he fell down before 
 Paul and Silas, and addressed to them the 
 momentous question, " Sirs, what must I 
 do to be saved ? " It is not difficult to con- 
 ceive the state of mind which must have 
 dictated this enquiry, nor the anxious feel- 
 ing which awaited the result; it must 
 have been a moment of unaffected concern 
 an interval of bitter apprehension :
 
 SERMON III. 47 
 
 constrained, most unexpectedly, to acknow- 
 ledge the divine mission of his prisoners, 
 and to feel the soul-saving value of the 
 doctrines which they taught; and heing 
 probably ashamed of the wrongs, which 
 through his instrumentality they had been 
 made to suffer, the jailor, doubtless, ex- 
 pected an unfavorable reply, and might not 
 have looked for the glad tidings of mercy, 
 from those to whom he had shewn no 
 mercy. If such was the nature of his 
 fears, it is plain that he knew little of the 
 character and conditions of the blessed 
 religion, the rewards of which he seemed 
 anxious to obtain. 
 
 It is not, it never has been, and where 
 the principles of the Gospel really prevail, 
 it never can be, the policy of Christianity 
 to crush its persecutors ; to return railing 
 for railing, nor evil for evil ; but contrari- 
 wise, to do good to them which hate it, to 
 pray for those who despitefully use and 
 entreat it, and to proclaim to all, whether
 
 48 SERMON III. 
 
 friends or foes, that it is the good pleasure 
 of God, and the fervent desire of the Re- 
 deemer, that " none should perish, but that 
 all should come to repentance." Animated 
 by these benevolent and comprehensive 
 principles, Paul and Silas forthwith soothed 
 the troubled mind of their awakened keeper, 
 by assuring him that the means of salvation 
 were within his reach, " Believe on the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, 
 and thy house." " Listen to the truths 
 which we shall teach thee ; believe in the 
 name of the Lord Jesus Christ, whom it is 
 our office to preach as the great and only 
 Saviour; as the one oblation once offered ; 
 place thyself under his protection, seek his 
 truth, and supplicate his grace, and thou 
 shalt be saved from every evil ghostly and 
 bodily ; and thy house also, if they repent 
 and believe." 
 
 Such is the scope of the reply which 
 was returned to the anxious jailor, and as 
 it contains much food for profitable medita-
 
 SERMON III. 49 
 
 tion much which it behoves every Chris- 
 tian to bear in mind, we will make it the 
 subject of our concluding reflections. 
 
 II. The delight of Paul and of his com- 
 panion, under the circumstances which we 
 propose to consider, must have been extreme. 
 Neither the pain of recent chastisement 
 nor the weight of ignominious fetters nor 
 the gloom of a prison, could disturb their 
 serenity, nor rob them of the consolation 
 which always arises from a conscience void 
 of offence ; amidst their unmerited sufferings 
 they prayed, and sang praises to God, and 
 He who heard them in private was graci- 
 ously pleased to answer them openly. He 
 sanctified their sufferings, of which the first, 
 but most unlikely fruit was the conversion 
 of the jailor and his household. 
 
 Let us go back in spirit to the scene of 
 this remarkable occurrence ; let us enter 
 the inner dungeon, and behold the innocent 
 prisoners secured with all the care which 
 the ingenuity of man could devise ; let us
 
 50 SERMON III. 
 
 listen, not to their moans nor their mur- 
 murs, but to their praises and their prayers; 
 let us contemplate the might of the Lord, 
 breaking their bonds, opening the barred 
 doors, and shaking the prison to its very 
 foundations; and then let us contrast the 
 calm dignity and unruffled deportment of 
 the apostle and his companion with the 
 slavish fear and agitated demeanour of the 
 affrighted keeper, the one sustained by the 
 never-failing hopes of the Gospel, the other 
 a victim to the most debasing superstition ; 
 and whilst we are hence led to form a just 
 estimate of the value of sound practical 
 religion, of that upholding faith which, 
 when every earthly prospect is arrayed in 
 gloom and saddened by affliction, can im- 
 part light and sunshine to the soul, let us 
 resolve to forsake our idols, to distrust the 
 vanities and the wisdom of a world that 
 lieth in wickedness, to take refuge under 
 the never-failing mercies of the Almighty ; 
 and falling down at the foot of the cross 
 enquire, " What shall we do to be saved?"
 
 SERMON III. 01 
 
 Christian brethren, this is a question in 
 which we have no imaginary interest. If 
 we would be saved there is only one way in 
 which we can obtain salvation only one 
 means of saving our precious souls alive. 
 Wedded as most of us are to the vanities of 
 time, and apt as we are to suppose that our 
 usefulness, our amability, and our reputed 
 worth in this world are sure to be rewarded 
 with eternal happiness in the next, it be- 
 hoves us to remember, that if we know not 
 Christ if we believe not on Him with 
 heart and soul if we obey not his precepts, 
 and comply not with his ordinances, instead 
 of joum eying towards heaven, we are tra- 
 velling on the broad road which leads to 
 destruction. 
 
 " The wisdom of this world," we are 
 assured, " is foolishness with God ;" might 
 we not reverse the position and say, that in 
 the estimation of the unregenerate mind, 
 the wisdom aye and the mercy of God 
 are foolishness with the world? 
 
 Were it otherwise, the claims and con-
 
 52 SERMON III. 
 
 ditions of the Gospel would not be so little 
 heeded ; men would not place that depen- 
 dance upon their own presumed merits 
 which ought to rest, and which can securely 
 rest, only on the merits of their Redeemer; 
 nor neglect those means of grace which 
 have heen mercifully vouchsafed out of 
 compassion to our inborn weakness, and 
 without a thankful use of which we must 
 become an easy prey to the great enemy of 
 souls. 
 
 " What must I do to be saved?" "Lead," 
 says the world, " a blameless and decorous 
 life ; endeavour to the best of your ability to 
 discharge those private and public obliga- 
 tions which, as a member of the universal 
 family of mankind, it is important that you 
 should discharge; be as useful in your 
 generation as your means and opportunities 
 will allow; be virtuous, be amiable, be 
 attentive to those moral duties which con- 
 duce to the peace and comfort of society, 
 and then may you hope for honor and hap- 
 piness in another life." Such is the fallaci-
 
 SERMON III. 53 
 
 OTIS estimate which the world usually forms 
 of man's duty, and such are the deceitful 
 grounds upon which it would teach us to 
 rest our claims to everlasting happiness ! 
 
 Hear we now another and a surer guide. 
 " What must I do to he saved?" " Be- 
 lieve," say the Scriptures, " on the Lord 
 Jesus Chiist, and thou shalt be saved." 
 The answer, though short, is comprehensive, 
 and contains all that the most serious 
 enquirer can desire to know. 
 
 " Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ," 
 brethren, do we believe ? We do not ask 
 whether we are convinced of the holiness 
 of Ins character, or of the value of his pre- 
 cepts, or of the truth of his religion, but 
 whether we are convinced that without 
 Him, whatever may be our moral preten- 
 sions, whatever our value in a worldly point 
 of view, we cannot enter into the kingdom 
 of heaven ? If our belief falls short of this, 
 it is, we may be assured, a vain and value- 
 less belief. 
 
 When the enquiring Nicodemus, fully 
 F 2
 
 54 SERMON III. 
 
 convinced that He was a teacher sent from 
 God, sought an interview with our Saviour, 
 he was amazed to learn the spiritual nature 
 of the Christian doctrines and conditions. 
 
 Nicodemus believed, as thousands amongst 
 us believe, in the divine mission of our 
 blessed Lord, yet such belief was not im- 
 puted unto him for righteousness ; on the 
 contrary, he was told that " except a man 
 be born again, be born of water and of the 
 Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of 
 God;" and the condition of salvation was 
 then proposed to him with a clearness and 
 precision which completely lay the axe at 
 the root of the hopes both of the moralist 
 and of the mere nominal professor, " God 
 so loved the world, that he gave his only 
 begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in 
 Him should not perish, but have everlasting 
 life." 8 
 
 The case of Cornelius, also affords a 
 striking illustration of the insufficiency of a 
 good moral life as a means of salvation. 
 
 Consult John iii. 1 21.
 
 SERMON III. 55 
 
 Amiable and exemplary as was the centu- 
 rion, although he is described in the sacred 
 writings as a devout, a God-fearing, and an 
 alms-giving man, he still came short of the 
 Gospel standard, and by consequence was 
 not entitled to the Gospel rewards; not- 
 withstanding his lofty moral pretensions it 
 was pronounced to be necessary that he 
 should become a Christian in order to be- 
 come meet for the kingdom of heaven. 1 
 Consider this fact ye who are vainly endea- 
 vouring to cheapen the possession of a 
 glorious immortality by offering for it the 
 dross and tinsel of an unregenerate mind ; 
 and O presume not to undervalue that faith 
 and obedience which the Gospel enjoins, 
 when even the pious and prayerful Corne- 
 lius was pronounced to be wanting without 
 them. 
 
 Verily the Gospel is no vain thing, 
 no insignificant toy, which may be remo- 
 delled or laid aside as a fluctuating or 
 capricious taste may dictate, but " it is 
 
 * Consult Acts x.
 
 56 SERMON III. 
 
 the power of God unto salvation to every 
 one that helieveth." That, however, is not 
 a saving belief which only takes us to the 
 threshold of the Gospel ; which draws from 
 us a formal and inoperative assent to its 
 mighty truths; which places us in the 
 ranks of Christianity without imparting the 
 zeal, or inspiring the courage, necessary to 
 make us good soldiers of Jesus Christ. 
 
 And yet, brethren, how liable we all are 
 to mistake the word for the deed ; to grasp 
 at the shadow whilst we let go the sub- 
 stance ; to lay hold of the name instead of 
 the reality. Is belief propounded as a 
 means of salvation ? We forthwith assume 
 the possession of that means, and because 
 we have been baptized into the Christian 
 faith, and taught to venerate the Christian 
 doctrines, we are apt to think ourselves sure 
 of the Christian rewards, as though know- 
 ledge and obedience were necessarily con- 
 nected. Now it is quite clear that we may 
 be thoroughly acquainted with the road to 
 heaven that we may be set forward upon
 
 SERMON III. 57 
 
 that road that we may accomplish some of 
 its earlier and more difficult stages that 
 we may do all this, and even more, without 
 ever reaching the home to which it leads ; 
 like faint hearted, or indolent, or over 
 inquisitive travellers, instead of making a 
 right use of our knowledge and opportuni- 
 ties, we may stumble at imaginary difficul- 
 ties, or prefer rest to exertion, or exhaust 
 our time in useless enquiry, and unprofita- 
 ble speculation, and by thus loitering upon 
 the way, never reach the end of our journey. 
 And this, it is to be feared, is the case with 
 thousands. They know the road to heaven, 
 but they make no availing use of that 
 knowledge; they are told of precautions 
 which they must adopt, of sacrifices to 
 wliich they must submit, and of conditions 
 with which they must comply, and straight- 
 way they become offended ; or if they 
 avowedly commence the journey to heaven 
 they prefer speculation to practice, and 
 seeking to become wise above that which is 
 written, trifle away their time in enquiries
 
 58 SERMON III. 
 
 which distract their attention and retard 
 their progress, and which most commonly 
 call forth feelings and dispositions, that 
 hecome the vain and ostentatious Pharisee, 
 rather than the sincere and humble minded 
 Christian, feelings and dispositions which 
 unhappily engender strife, but never con- 
 duce to edification. 
 
 Carefully avoiding every foolish and 
 unlearned question, and studiously shun- 
 ning profane and vain babblings, which we 
 are forewarned will increase unto ungodli- 
 ness," let us resolve to proceed onwards to 
 Zion as friends and fellow pilgrims, and 
 instead of falling out by the way, let it be 
 our anxious care, and the subject of our 
 constant prayer, that we keep the unity of 
 the Spirit, in the bond of peace. 
 
 The momentous the thrice momentous 
 question, " What must I do to be saved ?" 
 admits but of one reply, and that reply 
 reveals the only way through which we can 
 reach the realms of glory, " Believe on the 
 
 2 Timothy ii. 16.
 
 SERMON III. 59 
 
 Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be 
 saved." 
 
 If we do not 50 believe, it matters not 
 how kind, how good, how wise we are ; 
 it matters not that the world approve our 
 conduct, and applaud our wisdom; it 
 matters not that we give food to the hungry, 
 and rest to the weary, and knowledge to 
 the ignorant, for it is written that " With- 
 out Christ we can do nothing, that He is 
 the way, and the truth, and the life, that 
 he that believeth on Him is not condemn- 
 ed, but he that believeth not is condemned 
 already."" 
 
 Wherefore, beloved brethren, let us 
 henceforth " seek the kingdom of God, 
 and His righteousness." Distrusting all 
 human merits, and all hopes which rest not 
 on a Gospel basis, let us look for salvation 
 only through the cleansing and atoning 
 blood of Christ. Let us acknowledge our 
 transgressions, and let our sins, and our 
 constant liability to sin, be ever before us ; 
 
 T John iii. 18.
 
 60 SERMON III. 
 
 and while we are thus led to see the ne- 
 cessity of repentance, and of a renewed 
 heart, let us adopt the petition of the Psalm- 
 ist, and say, " Create in me a clean heart, O 
 God, and renew a right spirit within me." v 
 In every trial, in every difficulty, in every 
 temptation, let us cast all our care upon 
 Christ, and bending before the throne of 
 Grace, beseech the Holy Spirit to strengthen 
 our faith, to sustain our hopes, to soften 
 and sanctify our stubborn and unwilling 
 hearts, and to bring us into practical ac- 
 quaintance with the great mystery of god- 
 liness. We say into practical acquaint- 
 ance; because whilst the Gospel depre- 
 cates works as a cause of salvation, it does 
 not deprecate them as a consequence of 
 faith ; as the tree is known by its fruits, so is 
 the true Christian known by his deeds, and 
 if these do not savour of love, and joy, and 
 peace, and long-suffering, and gentleness, 
 and meekness, and charity, it is because there 
 exists no saving belief, no vital godliness 
 
 * Psalm li. 10.
 
 SERMON III. 61 
 
 it is because we are not branches of the 
 true vine. 
 
 And that we may be induced to do all 
 that the Scriptures enjoin as essential to 
 salvation, let us look forward to the end of 
 our pilgrimage. It may be that we shall 
 not be required to pass through the furnace 
 of affliction, that the trials and persecu- 
 tions which beset the path of the great 
 apostle will not happen to us, that our 
 faith and our patience will not be tried by 
 stripes, and bonds, and imprisonment, and 
 martyrdom ; but what did happen to him, 
 must also happen to us, we must all die, 
 and experience either joy or sorrow either 
 comfort or remorse either hope or fear, 
 when the hour of our departure shall 
 arrive. At that awful hour may our hearts 
 be so knit to our Redeemer, our faith so 
 firm, and our affections so spiritualized, that 
 we may be enabled with cheerfulness and 
 serenity to pour forth our prayers and our 
 praises that having diligently worked dur- 
 ing the day, we may not be afraid of the
 
 62 SERMON III. 
 
 coming of the night, nor experience, in the 
 prospect of approaching judgment, the 
 terror and remorse which pierced the trem- 
 bling jailor of Pbilippi ; that having asked 
 the momentous question which his fears 
 extorted, we may have so profited by the 
 answer as to find ourselves filled with all 
 joy and peace in believing, as even to feel 
 " a desire to depart and to be with Christ," 
 to feel, as the great apostle felt, that " to 
 live is Christ, and to die is gain." 1 
 
 x Philippians i. 21.
 
 SERMON IV. 
 
 PURE AND UNDEF[LED RELIGION. 
 
 JAMES i. 27. 
 
 PURE RELIGION AND UNDEFILED BEFORE GOD AND 
 THE FATHER IS THIS, TO VISIT THE FATHERLESS 
 AND WIDOWS IN THEIR AFFLICTION, AND TO KEEP 
 HIMSELF UNSPOTTED FROM THE WORLD. 
 
 ON no subject has the attention of the 
 Christian world been so much divided, as on 
 the relative value of doctrines and of duties. 
 Some with the utmost tenacity have 
 contended that, to recommend and to in- 
 culcate the latter is to prostitute the spi-
 
 64 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 
 ritual character and sacred functions of a 
 Christian preacher ; whilst others have de- 
 clared that, to give predominance to the 
 former is to convert religion into an empty 
 theory, to subject it to unhallowed specu- 
 lation, and irreverent misconception, and 
 to rob it of its practical character. " Faith" 
 is, with many, a word which denotes the 
 whole of true religion j whilst "good works' 
 if alluded to as a means of salvation are 
 strongly and unhesitatingly denounced. It 
 is much very much to be regretted that 
 those who are forward to condemn the 
 views, and to sit in judgment upon the 
 teaching of a minister, do not make allow- 
 ance for the importance, responsibility, and 
 difficulty of his office, do not duly consider 
 the varied character of the sacred volume 
 whence he derives his authority and in- 
 structions, and the equally varied charac- 
 ter of those to whom he is required to 
 expound its soul-searching contents. That 
 he is bound to state fully and fearlessly all 
 the momentous doctrines of the Bible;
 
 SERMON IV. 65 
 
 that lie must caution his hearers against 
 the assumption of any merit which is not 
 imparted by their crucified Redeemer; 
 that he must earnestly advise them to rest 
 their hopes of salvation upon the " all- 
 prevailing Intercessor;" that he must ex- 
 hort them to direct the eye of faith, and the 
 voice of praise, and prayer, and supplica- 
 tion to the " holy, blessed, and glorious 
 Trinity," from whose mysterious and united 
 operations alone we derive support, and 
 pardon, and sanctification, cannot, and must 
 not, be denied; but at the same time it 
 must not be forgotten that, if by restricting 
 his instructions to the doctrines of the 
 Gospel, he omit to enforce its duties, he 
 lays himself open to the serious charge, 
 not merely of neglect, but of diminishing 
 from the word of the Lord his God/ and of 
 virtually despising that blessing which is 
 promised unto all who " keep those things 
 which are written therein." 1 
 
 It is the first duty, and should, therefore, 
 
 y Deut ir. 2. * Rer. i. 3. 
 
 G 2
 
 66 SERMON IV. 
 
 be the chief aim, of the minister of Christ 
 to point out the true cause of pardon and 
 acceptance, and then to do all which in him 
 lies to render it fruitful ; to lay the ground 
 work of the Christian character upon the 
 deep and ample basis of the Saviour s 
 satisfaction, and to strive to rear thereon a 
 befitting superstructure ; to sow the good 
 seed in honest and faithful hearts, and 
 afterwards diligently to watch its growth, 
 that it may " bring forth fruit with pa- 
 tience."* " Good works," says our vener- 
 able church, b " which are the fruits of faith, 
 and follow after justification, cannot put 
 away our sins, and endure the severity of 
 God's judgment; yet are they pleasing 
 and acceptable to God in Christ, and do 
 spring out necessarily of a true and lively 
 faith ; insomuch that by them a lively faith 
 may be as evidently known as a tree dis- 
 cerned by the fruit." 
 
 These are indeed wise words ; they set 
 forth a truth which ought to influence the 
 
 Luke viii. 15. * Article xii.
 
 SERMON IV. 67 
 
 life and conversation of every Christian, 
 that although good works alone are not 
 sufficient for the attainment of salvation, 
 they are indispensable to such attainment j 
 and that he who, resting on the imaginary 
 possession of a true faith, declines the active 
 duties of religion, is a Christian in name 
 only, not in deed and in truth. In endea- 
 vouring, therefore, to enforce the solemn 
 and momentous requirements of the Gospel, 
 the Christian minister must not dare to 
 narrow his duty by dwelling exclusively 
 upon either its doctrines or its duties ; 
 like a faithful guide through a dangerous 
 and an intricate country, he must tell 
 those who listen to his instructions, that 
 it is only by the judicious union of un- 
 bending faith and of persevering labour, 
 that they can hope to accomplish their 
 hazardous journey, and to reach the haven 
 of rest and enjoyment ; he must warn 
 them, that whilst they believe all that Chris- 
 tianity requires, they must likewise practise 
 all that Christianity enjoins j and he must
 
 68 SERMON IV. 
 
 admonish them, that unproductive faith, like 
 a dried up fountain, disfigures the land 
 which it ought to fertilize and refresh, or 
 like the harren fig-tree, encumbers the 
 ground which it ought to replenish and 
 adorn. 
 
 It is almost impossible to open the Bible 
 without being struck with the practical 
 character of its precepts, without perceiv- 
 ing, that although faith is of primary value 
 and importance, that although in fact it is 
 the sanctifying source of all acceptable duty, 
 its value and importance depend solely 
 upon its effects ; that if these be not pure, 
 and lovely, and of good report, we have in 
 reality neither part nor lot in the salvation 
 which it is the great object of faith to seal 
 and secure. Were it otherwise we should 
 never be able to " know the tree by its 
 fruits;" for if the profession of a saving 
 faith be consistent with a life of sin, or 
 with what closely borders upon sin, of selfish 
 inactivity, then, contrary to the express 
 declaration of the Saviour, we may gather
 
 SERMON IV. 69 
 
 grapes of thorns, and figs of thistles ; then 
 may a good tree bring forth evil fruit, and 
 a corrupt tree good fruit. c But here the 
 authority of Scripture is express and con- 
 clusive. " He that ahideth in me," saith 
 our Lord, " and I in him, the same bringeth 
 forth much fruit:"* "In Christ Jesus," 
 saith St. Paul, " neither circumcision avail- 
 eth any thing, nor uncircumcision ; but 
 faith which worketh by love :" e and to the 
 same effect spake the voice from heaven 
 which commanded the wrapt evangelist to 
 write " Blessed are the dead which die in 
 the Lord, from henceforth ; yea, saith the 
 Spirit, that they may rest from their labours, 
 and their works do follow them " { Accord- 
 ant with these declarations is that beautiful 
 definition of " pure and uudefiled religion," 
 which we have chosen for our text. Al- 
 though addressed to Jewish converts, and 
 designed to correct the dangerous notion, 
 that an attention to ceremonial observances 
 
 c Matt. vii. 18. d John XT. 5. 
 
 c Gal. v. 6. t R ev . xjy. 13.
 
 70 SERMON IV. 
 
 constitutes the most essential part of true 
 religion, it is strictly applicable to the prac- 
 tice of every Christian ; it clearly enforces 
 the necessity of active piety, by asserting 
 the undoubted truth, that ceremonies and 
 observances are but means to an end, are 
 but the scaffolding by the aid of which the 
 spiritual edifice is to be reared ; it shews, 
 moreover, that religious profession apart 
 from religious practice is of no avail, that 
 faith, without works, is dead, being alone, g 
 that no amount of spiritual privilege or 
 attainment can become effectual to salvation 
 unless we are filled with " the fruits of righ- 
 teousness which are by Jesus Christ, unto 
 the glory and praise of God." h Whilst we 
 believe, it is meet that we obey ; whilst we 
 hear the words of Christ, it is meet that 
 we do them ; but this we cannot do un- 
 less charity and purity be our actuating 
 principles, unless we " visit the fatherless 
 and widows in their affliction, and keep our- 
 selves unspotted from the world." 
 
 g John ii. 17. h Phil. i. 11
 
 SERMON IV. 71 
 
 Bound as we are by the most sacred of 
 all possible obligations to teach the truth as 
 it is in Jesus, we solemnly warn you against 
 all dependance of which He is not the centre 
 and the source ; and we likewise warn you, 
 that if you aspire to the benefits of His cross 
 and passion, without at the same time " pre- 
 senting your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, 
 acceptable unto God, which is your reasona- 
 ble sendee," 1 you are fatally deceiving your 
 own souls. It is not the man who assumes 
 the name of a soldier, and who adorns and 
 accoutres himself with the weapons of war, 
 and then quietly remains within his tent, 
 that can hope to gain the victory ; it is he 
 who with the name carries into the profes- 
 sion the requisites of persevering virtue, 
 and of undaunted courage, whose heart is 
 devoted to the cause in which he engages, 
 and whose hand is ever ready to show it. 
 What should be the feeling, what the lan- 
 guage of the true Christian ? Should he not 
 be animated by sentiments like the follow- 
 
 1 Rom. xii. 1.
 
 72 SERMON IV. 
 
 ing ? "I look up with pious gratitude to 
 the great Author and Finisher of our faith, 
 and whilst I gaze upon the cross I recol- 
 lect with wonder and astonishment the suf- 
 ferings of Him who died upon it, who for 
 our sakes endured its tortures and despised 
 the shame ; I feel my heart burn within me 
 when I remember the extent and efficacy 
 of the great atonement which was thus 
 completed; I recount the awful circum- 
 stances of the crucifixion; I see the vail 
 of the temple and of sin rent at the same 
 moment; I behold the spotless purity, 
 and unshaken fortitude, and heroic devotion 
 of the victim change the frowning anger 
 of Omnipotence into the beaming aspect of 
 mercy; the gates of immortality and the 
 glories of heaven seem to open before me, 
 and with a conviction sincere as sincerity 
 can make it, I am ready to exclaim with 
 the astonished centurion, " Truly, this was 
 the Son of God ! " and when I turn from 
 these sublime and cheering contemplations 
 to the fleeting interests of this perishing
 
 SERMON IV. 73 
 
 globe, and enquire, What shall I do to 
 inherit eternal life ? my Bible tells me that 
 I must not dwell in idle meditation upon 
 these unearthly scenes ; that my conviction 
 must become the source of action, that I 
 must work out my own salvation with fear 
 and trembling, that I must evince the 
 reality of my faith by striving to do what 
 my glorified Redeemer has commanded, that 
 I must honor His name by endeavouring 
 to follow his example, that I must never 
 forget that " pure religion and undefiled 
 before God and the Father is this, To visit 
 the fatherless and widows in their affliction, 
 and to keep myself unspotted from the 
 world." 
 
 The results of true faith, indeed, are 
 necessarily practical : the first feeling which 
 it engenders is humility. Who can review 
 the life and sufferings of the Saviour ; 
 who can really believe that He acted and 
 spake as the Gospels describe, without 
 experiencing a complete and total self- 
 abasement, without perceiving his own
 
 74 SERMON IV. 
 
 shallow pretensions to virtue and goodness 
 to dwindle into more than insignificance, 
 yea to be utterly annihilated, by the com- 
 parison ? By thus humbling us it is that 
 faith is enabled to accomplish its perfect 
 work : by causing us to become sensible 
 that we are lost and miserable sinners, by 
 implanting a feeling of deep abhorrence of 
 our inborn depravity, and a subduing sense 
 of our natural weakness and destitution, 
 it compels us to renounce every claim and 
 every hope that rests not on the merits and 
 mercy of the Redeemer. And having thus 
 brought us into the way of salvation, that 
 we may safely and profitably walk therein, 
 it constrains us to act upon our good im- 
 pressions ; it forbids us to allow them to 
 evaporate in useless profession, or in barren 
 assent ; it will not permit us to sit down 
 and weep over our sins, and bemoan our 
 iniquities, without making every effort to 
 forsake them ; on the contrary, it stimulates 
 us to unceasing exertion, by constantly 
 placing before our eyes the lovely example
 
 SERMON IV. 75 
 
 of our Heavenly Master, it makes us ever 
 desirous to render glory to God, and to 
 spread peace and good will amongst men, 
 to realize in short the beautiful truth 
 that, "pure religion and undefiled before 
 God and the Father is this, To visit the 
 fatherless and the widows in their affliction, 
 and to keep ourselves unspotted from the 
 world." 
 
 It is seriously to be regretted that many 
 who are seemingly anxious to deport them- 
 selves as Christians do notwithstanding 
 act as Christianity forbids. Zeal mistaken 
 or uncalculating zeal, leads to many fatal 
 excesses, and frequently causes us to adopt 
 a line of conduct diametrically opposed to 
 the pure and gentle precepts of the Gospel: 
 and these abuses it is to be feared arise from 
 the mistaken notion that faith in the ab- 
 stract is acceptable to God, that an avowed 
 reverence for religion will excuse feelings 
 and actions which religion must disclaim. 
 What, indeed, have not human folly and 
 presumption charged upon Christianity ?
 
 76 SERMON IV. 
 
 History shews, that man, borne away by 
 erroneous theories, and enamoured of un- 
 scriptural dogmas, forgetting the plain and 
 intelligible commandments of Scripture, has 
 often worshipped God by idolatrous cere- 
 monies; has essayed to honor him by 
 despicable disputes and by idle controver- 
 sies; has marred his fair and beautiful crea- 
 tions by deeds at which recollection shud- 
 ders, and over which sorrow draws a willing 
 vail ; has placed vice in His sanctuary, 
 has banished mercy from His altar has 
 has tortured, and massacred, and burnt; and 
 reared the black turrets of the groaning In- 
 quisition in impious mockery of His name ! 
 O Thou ! to whom these fearful prostitutions 
 of mercy and of justice were daringly dedi- 
 cated, visit not the sins of our fathers upon 
 us ! Enable us, we beseech Thee, to profit 
 by their example ; teach us by the gentle 
 breathings of Thy grace so to understand 
 Thy word, that whilst we call upon the 
 name of Christ, we may practise the duties 
 which He commands; open our under-
 
 SERMON IV. 77 
 
 standings tliat we may savingly appreciate 
 the momentous declaration that " Faith 
 without works is dead;" cause us to see, that 
 hatred to man can never co-exist with love 
 to God, and that " pure religion and unde- 
 filed is to visit the fatherless and widows in 
 their afflictions, and to keep ourselves un- 
 spotted from the world." 
 
 The preference of verbal piety to sound 
 practical religion is not more injurious nor 
 more unhappy in its effects on public than 
 on private life. Individuals of strong pre- 
 tensions are daily to be met with in whom 
 strange contradictions exist. They call 
 upon the name of Christ ; the all important 
 truths of His holy religion are with them 
 matters of incessant discussion, and no op- 
 portunity of enforcing their own peculiar 
 .views is lost sight of. In characters of this 
 class it generally happens that strong pro- 
 fession is united with strong prejudice, 
 that constant gloom and unbending serious- 
 ness are deemed to be criterions of true piety; 
 and that the mercy of God is thought to 
 H 2
 
 78 SERMON IV. 
 
 be restricted to the narrow circle in which 
 it is their fancied privilege to move ! Hence 
 arise those bickerings and heart burnings, 
 that strife and contention, which are sub- 
 versive of Christian unity ; and hence comes 
 that intolerance of feeling which causes 
 brother to rise against brother, and which 
 under the guise of religion, sends not 
 peace upon earth, but a sword. This erro- 
 neous estimate, we would use no stronger 
 term, is the natural consequence of Chris- 
 tianity being regarded too much in theory, 
 and too little in practice. " To use the 
 world as not abusing it," is the implied 
 recommendation of St. Paul ; and a greater 
 than St. Paul has said, " Not every one 
 that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter 
 into the kingdom of heaven ; but he that 
 doeth the will of my Father which is in. 
 heaven," J that will which pronounces the 
 end of the commandment to be charity, 
 that will which declares love to be the fulfil- 
 lins: of the law, that will which now assures 
 
 o * 
 
 J Matthew vii. 21.
 
 SERMON IV. 79 
 
 us that, " pure religion and undefiled is, To 
 visit the fatherless and widows in their 
 affliction, and to keep ourselves unspotted 
 from the world." 
 
 All the praises that we can bestow, all 
 the adoration which we can offer, all the 
 profession which we can make, can add 
 nothing to the boundless glory of God. 
 To call upon His name ; to believe that 
 He is now reconciled to us by the sacrifice 
 of His blessed Son ; to have stedfast faith 
 ill the wonderful plan and the gracious 
 means of redemption ; to understand all 
 mysteries and all knowledge, and to be 
 able to expatiate thereon with the tongues of 
 men and of angels, will be of no avail, if 
 we elevate the devotional above the practi- 
 cal part of religion ; if into the profession 
 of Christianity we infuse not the life and 
 the spirit. Whilst we say, " Lord, I be- 
 lieve, help mine unbelief; " whilst humbled 
 by the consideration of our thorough help- 
 lessness we exclaim, " Lord Jesus, save me, 
 or I perish," let it be our unceasing aim
 
 80 SERMON IV. 
 
 to honor the doctrine of God our Saviour 
 in all things ; and that we may do this, let 
 us love as brethren, forgive our enemies, 
 hless them that curse us, do good to them that 
 hate us, and pray for them that despitefully 
 use us, and persecute us ; " let us add to 
 our faith, virtue ; and to virtue, knowledge ; 
 and to knowledge, temperance ; and to 
 temperance, patience ; and to patience, 
 godliness ; and to godliness, brotherly kind- 
 ness ; and to brotherly kindness, charity ;" 
 remembering always that pure religion 
 and undefiled before God and the Father 
 is this, " To visit the fatherless and widows 
 in their affliction, and to keep ourselves 
 unspotted from the world." 
 
 Whilst then we are ready to profess the 
 faith, be we also ready to obey the com- 
 mands of Christ. Our text affords an 
 unerring rule whereby we may test our 
 conduct, let us then determine to walk 
 thereby. Is our foundation Jesus Christ, 
 and Him crucified, and are we building 
 so as to glorify God, and to serve man?
 
 SERMON IV. 81 
 
 Is our faith triumphant over the vanities, and 
 trials, and seductions of the world ? Does 
 a lively and constraining sense of redeem- 
 ing love always actuate us, and cause us 
 to delight in all the offices of mercy ? Are 
 we acting as wise and faithful stewards, 
 dispensing the good gifts of Providence, 
 so that the fatherless is protected, and the 
 widow's heart made to sing for joy ? Do 
 we really fed that it is more blessed to give 
 than to receive ? Do we think on what- 
 soever things are true, whatsoever things 
 are honest, whatsoever tilings are pure, 
 whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever 
 things are of good report, and do we pray 
 that we may be enabled to manifest them 
 in our lives and conversation ? Is charity, 
 which covereth the multitude of sins, the 
 rule, and is holiness, without which no man 
 shall see the Lord, the aim, of our religi- 
 ous profession ? if not, then are we stran- 
 gers to pure and undented religion, having 
 " the form of godliness, but denying the 
 power thereof." k 
 
 k 2 Tim. iii. 5.
 
 82 SERMON IV. 
 
 It is want of consistency in the lives of 
 professing Christians; it is the unhal- 
 lowed union of strong pretension with 
 erroneous practice ; it is adherence to its 
 name, but disregard of its spirit, which 
 rohs religion of its glory, and the sanctuary 
 of its worshippers. Zeal, which closes the 
 heart, or the hand, against a neighbour, 
 which is not enlightened by knowledge, 
 tempered with humility, and chastened by 
 love, is not piety, but its worthless counter- 
 feit : devotion unaccompanied by purity is 
 profane trifling and useless labour, and 
 added to any presumptuous sin, or intole- 
 rant feeling, is a dangerous mockery of 
 heaven, is delusion in its worst and dead- 
 liest form. Wherefore, beloved brethren, 
 let us strive to honor God, not merely with 
 our lips, but in our lives ; " let us keep 
 our tongue from evil, and our lips from 
 speaking guile : let us endeavour to do 
 good, and seek peace, and pursue it."' 
 When we come to lie upon our death bed, 
 
 m Psalm xxxiv. 13, 14.
 
 SERMON IV. 83 
 
 it will afford us no consolation, no ground 
 of hope, to recollect, that we have given 
 nothing to God but sanctimonious profes- 
 sion, empty avowals of faith, and the cheap 
 homage of praise and adoration. The 
 forms of religion are easily complied with ; 
 the voice of prayer, and the hymn of 
 praise, are easily raised ; hut these, how- 
 ever fervent, and however continuous, will 
 not supply the place of active piety, nor 
 satisfy the just demands of Him who assures 
 us that " to obey is better than sacrifice." 
 Not the mere uplifting of the hand, not 
 the formal bending of the body, nor the 
 earnest repetition of a whole liturgy 
 of prayers, will ever render us meet for 
 the kingdom of heaven. No. " To have 
 a lively faith in God's mercy through 
 Christ, with a thankful remembrance of 
 His death ; " to forgive as our Saviour for- 
 gave ; to relieve as our Saviour relieved ; 
 to be merciful as He was merciful ; to 
 lighten the burden of sorrow ; to dry the 
 streaming eye of misery ; to give know-
 
 84 SERMON IV. 
 
 ledge to the ignorant, bread to the hungry, 
 health to the sick, and consolation to the 
 dying; "To visit the fatherless and widows 
 in their affliction, and to keep ourselves 
 unspotted from the world," this, this is 
 pure religion and undefiled before God and 
 the Father ; this, this is the golden and 
 testifying fruit of a true and lively faith 
 which will ensure us an eternity of happi- 
 ness and of glory; and these are the 
 works which will follow us to the bar of 
 everlasting justice, and obtain for us the 
 saving welcome, " Well done, good and 
 faithful servants, enter into the joy of your 
 Lord."
 
 SERMON V. 
 
 HOLINESS INDISPENSABLE TO SALVATION. 
 
 MATTHEW xxii. 11. 
 
 AND WHEN THE KING CAME IN TO SEE THE GUESTS, 
 HE SAW THERE A MAN WHICH HAD NOT ON A 
 WEDDING GARMENT. 
 
 " UNDERSTANDEST thou what thou read- 
 est ?" is a question which every man ought 
 to ask himself whenever he looks into his 
 Bible. We are so apt to deceive ourselves 
 as to the state of our souls, so ready to 
 underrate the requirements of religion,
 
 86 SERMON V. 
 
 so accustomed to imagine that the censures 
 and the threatenings of Holy Writ belong 
 unto others rather than to us, that it 
 requires no ordinary vigilance to correct 
 the fallacy of our feelings, and to detect 
 that want of true holiness and that lack of 
 spiritual affection, which leave us open to 
 the just judgments of a righteous God. 
 Dwelling with selfish complacency upon a 
 few acts of private charity, or of puhlic 
 munificence; or intoxicated with that 
 praise which a decorous, and seemingly 
 blameless, deportment may have obtained 
 for us from our fellow men, we readily 
 appropriate to ourselves the promised re- 
 wards of Scripture, whilst we read without 
 fear or emotion those dreadful warnings 
 which are mercifully written for our in- 
 struction. 
 
 So blinded indeed are our judgments 
 so shallow and erroneous our estimate in 
 reference to the momentous realities of 
 eternity, that we delude ourselves with the 
 
 w 7 
 
 vain supposition that what satisfies man
 
 SERMON V. 87 
 
 fully satisfy God that to be blessed 
 and happy in the next world, it is only 
 necessary to be useful and respected in 
 this ! And such being the actuating con- 
 viction is it not to be feared of mankind 
 generally ? it becomes an invidious, as it is 
 certainly a difficult task to endeavour to 
 uproot opinions which are thus fenced round 
 by an innate self-love, and cherished by al- 
 most universal approbation; and the preach- 
 er who plainly proclaims the insufficiency 
 of such assumed righteousness who en- 
 deavours to quicken the eyes of the flesh 
 into spiritual discernment although he 
 merely echo the sentiments, and set forth 
 the doctrines of Scripture, will speak a 
 language offensive to many which many 
 will not, and which many cannot under- 
 stand. It is, notwithstanding, his duty to 
 protest often and strongly against such 
 unscriptural notions, and to strive unceas- 
 ingly to rectify errors which virtually deny 
 the necessity of the Saviour's merits, and of 
 the Spirit's sauctification which take from
 
 88 SERMON V. 
 
 the Gospel those saving and fundamental 
 principles which constitute it the charter 
 and warrant of our salvation. If amongst 
 us, brethren, there be any who are harbour- 
 ing opinions so prejudicial to our everlasting 
 interests, let us hope that by the Spirit of 
 God we may be brought to read our con- 
 demnation in the beautiful parable which it 
 will be our present endeavour to improve. 
 
 I. In the parable of the marriage supper 
 may be traced, and indeed are portrayed 
 those circumstances which have given or 
 will give an interesting and instructive 
 diversity to the history of the Church of 
 God. The king who gave the nuptial feast 
 is the King of kings, and Lord of lords, 
 the only Ruler of princes ; the marriage is 
 the Gospel Dispensation, that blessed and 
 only bond of union betwixt Christ and his 
 Church ; the servants sent to summon the 
 guests represent the prophets, apostles, and 
 other holy men who were, and are, duly 
 commissioned to declare the will of God,
 
 SERMON V. 89 
 
 and to preach the glad tidings of salva- 
 tion ; and by the supper we are to under- 
 stand that feast of holiness, harmony, and 
 happiness which is prepared for all who 
 " fear God and work righteousness"." A 
 very slender acquaintance with the history 
 of the Church will serve to identify the 
 principal facts and circumstances which are 
 thus figuratively and strikingly delineated. 
 To the Jews unto whom were " commit- 
 ted the oracles of God " those oracles which 
 predict in almost every line, and adumbrate 
 in every rite, the coming and kingdom and 
 office of the Messiah was the invitation 
 first conveyed. To them did the Almighty 
 send his servants the prophets, " but they 
 would not come;" the invitation was then 
 repeated in stronger and more pressing 
 terms by other and more powerfully accre- 
 dited messengers even by the Baptist, and 
 our blessed Lord himself, " Behold, I have 
 prepared my dinner : my oxen and my 
 fallings are killed, and all things are ready: 
 
 See Acts x. 35. Rom. iii. 2. 
 
 i 2
 
 90 SERMON V. 
 
 come unto the marriage. But they made 
 light of it, and went their ways, one to his 
 farm, another to his merchandise : and the 
 remnant took his servants, and entreated 
 them spitefully, and slew them." This 
 was too much even for the Divine forbear- 
 ance. The kindness which He proffered, 
 and the mercy which He was willing to 
 shew, were disdainfully rejected ; and the 
 messengers of peace and good will were 
 subjected to want, to torture, and to death ! 
 Can we wonder that such a nation should 
 rouse the anger, and call forth the ven- 
 geance of the insulted Host: that he should 
 send forth his armies, and destroy those 
 murderers, and burn up the city which 
 harboured such an ungrateful and rebel- 
 lious people? No. Although we may shed 
 the tear of pity over that ill-fated city, 
 and be moved with a righteous indignation 
 when we behold "the abomination of desola- 
 tion standing where it ought not ;" 
 although the heart may heave, and the 
 recollection sicken, on considering that
 
 SERMON V. 91 
 
 the merciless ploughshare of war was des- 
 tined to pass over, and to destroy all form 
 and lineament of that lone and solemn sanc- 
 tuary in which God had enrolled His holy 
 name, and that the dark ingratitude of 
 His chosen people should have compelled 
 Him to empty the vials of His wrath, and 
 to pour out upon them "great tribulation 
 such as had not been from the beginning 
 of the world, no, nor ever shall be again" 
 although, we repeat, the unparalleled fate of 
 Jerusalem, may, for these reasons appeal to 
 oui' feelings, and arrest our sympathy, it 
 can detract neither from the mercy nor the 
 justice of the Almighty ; on the contrary, 
 it must increase our veneration for His 
 name our awe of His power and our love 
 of His holiness, thus to behold retribution 
 following in the track of crime, and disobe- 
 dience and unrighteousness working their 
 own destruction. 
 
 But although God was thus wroth, and 
 destroyed those murderers who were " not 
 worthy any longer to enjoy his special
 
 92 SERMON V. 
 
 favor and protection, He did not withdraw 
 his loving-kindness from the world, but 
 caused the sun of mercy to rise upon all 
 mankind. The wall of partition which 
 had hitherto divided the Jews from the 
 Gentiles, and kept the former in a privi- 
 leged state, was now broken down, and in 
 consequence the king sent his servants, 
 the apostles, to bid as many as they should 
 find to the marriage. In allusion to this 
 circumstance it is related, that " the ser- 
 vants went out into the highways, and 
 gathered together all as many as they 
 found, both bad and good : and the wed- 
 ding was furnished with guests." But 
 although all were thus mercifully called, all 
 were not equally worthy : many on the 
 first preaching of the apostles would doubt- 
 less embrace Christianity from a sincere 
 desire to experience the benefit of its saving 
 doctrines, and with an earnest determina- 
 tion to practise its superhuman precepts, 
 whilst others, who were probably not back- 
 ward in assuming, the Christian name,
 
 SERMON V. 93 
 
 would be disinclined to fulfil the Christian 
 obligation, would be anxious to reap the 
 spiritual advantages, without a correspond- 
 ing inclination to submit to the conditions, 
 of the Gospel covenant. It is to this latter 
 description of persons that the force of the 
 parable applies. The mere acceptance of 
 the invitation of Christ will not entitle us 
 to sit down with Him in heaven : there is 
 a certain preparation which we must prac- 
 tise, and certain habiliments wherewith 
 we must be clothed, before we can hope to 
 enjoy that blessed privilege. If these pre- 
 cautions be not taken, it will avail us 
 nothing that we are nilling to join the feast, 
 that we do not turn a deaf ear to the 
 message, nor spitefully entreat the messen- 
 gers, of the Lord : when on the day of 
 Judgment, and to that solemn period this 
 portion of our narrative has reference, the 
 king shall come in to see the guests, if we 
 are not duly prepared to meet Him ; if we 
 are without repentance, and faith, and 
 charity ; if we have not holiness, without
 
 94 SERMON V. 
 
 which no man shall see the Lord, our re- 
 jection is certain ; and our appalling sen- 
 tence will he that of the man which had 
 not on a wedding garment, " Bind him 
 hand and foot, and take him away, and 
 cast him into outer darkness : there shall be 
 weeping and gnashing of teeth." 
 
 II. Such, brethren, is the scope of the 
 parable which we have adopted for our 
 present consideration, and let us pray 
 that the weighty lesson which it is calcu- 
 lated to teach may not be lost upon us. It 
 has, as we have attempted to shew, a 
 two-fold application : it relates first to the 
 calling, and disobedience, and fate of the 
 Jews, whose errors and sufferings happened 
 unto them for ensamples : and they are 
 written for our admonition : and secondly 
 to the call of the Gentiles, and to the Church 
 generally, and to the final rejection on the 
 great day of account of all who shall not be 
 found to have served God in sincerity and 
 in truth.
 
 SERMON V. 95 
 
 It is in the latter bearing of our text 
 that our interest more immediately centres. 
 And here it is necessary to remark the 
 pertinent nature of illustration adopted by 
 our blessed Lord. His comparison of the 
 Gospel message to a marriage feast, in- 
 volves a point of doctrine of considerable 
 importance. On a first view it would seem 
 both harsh and unjust that the poor, the 
 halt, the maimed, and the blind, on being 
 suddenly summoned to a splendid feast, 
 should be rejected as unworthy guests, 
 merely because they could not do what 
 their poverty and misfortunes prevented 
 or what a want of time would not allow 
 provide themselves with sutiable raiment; 
 and if such be the principle which is to 
 regulate the spiritual banquet to which we 
 are called, our inability, from whatever 
 cause arising, to go properly habited will 
 be unfairly converted into a reason for our 
 rejection. If, however, we enquire a little 
 further, all difficulty and objection will 
 vanish. The marriage customs of the Jetvs,
 
 96 SERMON V. 
 
 which supply the illustration, were of a 
 peculiar character. All who were invited 
 to the marriage feast were furnished by the 
 bridegroom with suitable garments, and 
 previously to their being admitted into the 
 hall in which the entertainment took place, 
 were summoned into another apartment in 
 order that it might be ascertained whether 
 or not any stranger had intruded, or whe- 
 ther any guest had come in apparel un- 
 suited to the occasion; and if such were 
 found they were considered as enemies of 
 the bridegroom, and forthwith expelled 
 with every mark of ignominy and disgrace. 
 It is hence evident that the fault of the 
 man without the wedding garment, did not 
 consist in the want, but in the rejection, of 
 it ; that having neglected an indispensable 
 condition which the bounty of the host had 
 enabled him to fulfil, he was on that 
 account, and on that account only, sub- 
 jected to the gloomy fate which befel him. 
 " He was speechless," because he felt that 
 he had neither excuse, nor apology, to
 
 SERMON V. 97 
 
 offer : he well knew that it was not be- 
 cause he was too poor to buy the needful 
 apparel but because he was too heedless to 
 put it on ; that it was not because he could 
 not, but because he would not come proper- 
 ly prepared, that he was rejected : and the 
 consciousness that he deserved his fate 
 doubtless choked his utterance, and covered 
 him with shame, and rendered him speech- 
 less. 
 
 Do not these considerations, brethren, 
 whilst they entirely remove the charge of 
 injustice, and completely " vindicate the 
 ways of God to man," speak home to each 
 of us ? Do they not say, Take heed lest 
 you also approach the wedding feast with- 
 out the proper habiliment ? Do they not 
 remind us of our wants, and forcibly indi- 
 cate what we must do in order to supply 
 them ? That we do not naturally possess 
 the requisite qualifications for heaven and 
 that we are naturally unable to acquire 
 them, are truths which the Bible most 
 plainly asserts, and our own hearts as
 
 98 SERMON V. 
 
 plainly affirm, but although we are thus 
 poor and impotent, we may have true riches 
 and strength. He who has graciously 
 summoned us to the nuptial feast, is ever 
 ready, according to His unfailing promise, 
 to furnish us with the nuptial garment : 
 the means to supply all our wants are open, 
 and many, and accessible, and if these be 
 duly and faithfully used, we shall not be 
 found deficient when the Lord comes to 
 examine the guests. But if we use not 
 those means, the fault will be ours should 
 we as we must be finally rejected by 
 our bountiful Host; speechless and con- 
 science-stricken, we shall be cast into outer 
 darkness amidst weeping and gnashing of 
 teeth. 
 
 Away then with the objection that we 
 are unable to obtain that costly robe without 
 which we may not hope to sit down at the 
 nuptial feast of the Lamb. If left to our- 
 selves we should indeed be unable, but out 
 of his abundance the Host is ready on pro- 
 per application, to supply all our wants to
 
 SERMON V. 99 
 
 perfect His strength in our weakness and 
 woe be unto us if we reject or despise His 
 proffered liberality. We are amongst the 
 called we are amongst the invited and 
 when our Lord shall come He will narrowly 
 scrutinize our pretensions, and will most 
 assuredly refuse to admit us, unless we 
 avail ourselves of his bounty, and " put off 
 the old man which is corrupt according to 
 the deceitful lusts ; and be renewed in the 
 spirit of our mind: and put on the new 
 man, which after God is created in righte- 
 ousness and true holiness." 1 " 
 
 Wherefore let us " use all diligence to 
 make our calling and election sure;" let 
 us seek with never-failing constancy the 
 aid and sanctification of the Holy Spirit, 
 and so shall we be clothed with that robe 
 of holiness which is good and well- 
 pleasing unto the Lord. Flinging from us 
 all carnal wisdom and all assumed righte- 
 ousness, which the prophet fitly compares 
 to "filthy rags;'" 1 and discarding all de- 
 
 v Eph. iv. 22 2-1. 1 Isa. Ixiv. 6.
 
 100 SERMON V. 
 
 pendence upon those fair and specious 
 qualities which are presumed to be certain 
 passports to heaven, merely because they 
 are useful and applauded upon earth, let us 
 learn of Christ, who was meek and lowly in 
 heart, and thankfully put on the garment 
 of holiness, which is the blessed badge of 
 his religion : so whilst we are amongst 
 " the many called" we shall also be amongst 
 " the few chosen :" so though unworthy 
 in ourselves, we shall be accounted worthy 
 through Christ, and sit down for ever at 
 his marriage feast in heaven. 
 
 Beloved brethren, have we thought se- 
 riously upon what our Christian profession 
 requires ? Have we accepted the summons 
 to the marriage supper, without duly con- 
 sidering how we ought to join it ? Perhaps 
 we are reposing in the common delusion 
 that the warnings of Scripture belong to 
 others rather than to ourselves, that the 
 gloomy fate of the man who was cast into 
 outer darkness is intended to terrify the 
 openly obdurate, and the daringly impeni-
 
 SERMON V. 101 
 
 tent, rather than to alarm the moral and 
 precise professor. It may be that having 
 acquired something of that righteousness 
 which all must fully possess, who would 
 possess the inheritance of the saints in 
 light, we are induced to rely upon the 
 generosity and consideration of our heaven- 
 ly host, and to believe that on the day of 
 examination, He will supply the rest out of 
 compassion to our inherent weakness, and 
 in consideration of our partial obedience. 
 
 If such be our feeling such our per- 
 suasion the declaration wliich closes the 
 narrative before us, gives a death blow to 
 all such sopliistry. It is declared, can we 
 read it without trembling ? that though 
 "many are called, few are chosen:" not 
 that few must of necessity be chosen but 
 that few will be chosen because they will 
 not put on the wedding garment ; not that 
 the merciful intentions of Jehovah are cir- 
 cumscribed, nor can possibly be contraven- 
 ed, by a destroying necessity; not that 
 He has arbitrarily and irrespectively pre- 
 K 2
 
 102 SERMON V. 
 
 destined " the many" to everlasting con- 
 demnation. No. It is His declared will 
 that none should perish, hut that all should 
 come to repentance, and no truth is clearer 
 or more undoubted than that the means of 
 salvation are open to all than that all who 
 will, may be saved. By the chosen the 
 elect the predestinated we are to under- 
 stand all who having received the Gospel 
 invitation are willing to comply with the 
 Gospel conditions, all who having been 
 called to the marriage feast, are eager to 
 possess the marriage garment, all, in short, 
 who owning the name are discharging in 
 single-hearted earnestness in godly sin- 
 cerity and with prayerful humility, the 
 manifold duties of Christianity. Whilst 
 then we remember that many are called, 
 and that we are necessarily amongst that 
 many, let us pray that we may eventually 
 be found amongst the few chosen. We 
 are called daily, hourly, momentarily call- 
 ed. Every accident that befals every 
 trial that overtakes every affliction that
 
 SERMON V. 103 
 
 disturbs us, forms so many calls to earnest, 
 and immediate preparation. The various 
 rites and ordinances of religion the admo- 
 nitions and the exhortations which are 
 weekly delivered from the pulpit,- yea, the 
 very bells which call us hither to pray and 
 to hear are but so many summonses to 
 the celestial banquet. Let the recollection, 
 therefore, of the terrible punishment whicli 
 followed the obduracy and rebellion of the 
 Jews awe us into obedience, and induce us 
 to give a ready and attentive hearing to 
 the messengers of the Lord of hosts; 
 and as, with many of us the night is far 
 spent, and the day is at hand even the 
 great and terrible day of the Lord let us 
 earnestly strive to redeem the time, because 
 our days, whether they be few or many, 
 are, and will be, evil. 
 
 Avoiding all impertinent and unhallowed 
 enquiries as to the precise number of those 
 who shall be chosen, let the solemn cau- 
 tion which assures us of the fact sink deep 
 into oui' hearts, and knowing that if we are
 
 104 SERMON V. 
 
 clothed with the robe of the righteousness 
 of Christ and with that robe we may be 
 clothed if we rightly apply for it we shall 
 be found amongst that number, let us look 
 to Christ alone for salvation, and seek to be 
 renewed after His divine image, so shall 
 we become meet partakers of our heavenly 
 calling, and stand absolved and approved 
 when the King shall come to examine his 
 guests j and so, when the sound of the 
 archangel's trumpet shall disturb the dread 
 tranquillity of the tomb, and the dead both 
 small and great shall stand before God, 
 shall we hear the welcome summons, 
 " Come ye blessed of my Father inherit 
 the kingdom prepared for you from the 
 foundation of the world."
 
 SERMON VI. 
 
 UNIVERSAL BENEVOLENCE A TEST OF 
 RELIGIOUS SINCERITY. 
 
 LUKE x. 29. 
 
 AND WHO IS MY NEIGHBOUR? 
 
 OF all the writings which have heen pre- 
 served by the care, or protected by the 
 veneration of mankind, none are superior 
 in force or in beauty to the discourses of 
 our blessed Lord. 
 
 Viewed merely as literary compositions
 
 106 SERMON VI. 
 
 designed for the inculcation of moral truth, 
 they are eminently entitled to this praise ; 
 and independently of the importance which 
 attaches to them as the productions of the 
 Saviour of the world, it is impossible not to 
 feel their force and correctness. Indebted 
 to no rhetorical aid, and unconnected with 
 any adventitious circumstance, they derive 
 a peculiar merit from the beautiful simpli- 
 city which characterizes them, and display, 
 in a pre-eminent degree, that most powerful 
 of all eloquence, the eloquence of nature 
 and of truth. As a forcible illustration of 
 the duty and bearing of a Christian, nothing 
 could have been happier than the parable 
 which the text introduces to our notice; 
 and in examining, as we shall now attempt 
 to do, its scope and meaning we feel assur- 
 ed that we shall not close the investigation 
 without being deeply impressed with the 
 value and importance of the instruction 
 which it is designed to convey. 
 
 The occasion of the parable was briefly 
 this. A lawyer, that is, one whose sole
 
 SERMON VI. 107 
 
 business it was to study and to teach the 
 law of Moses, and who would now be 
 considered a Divine, had interrogated our 
 Saviour respecting the way to salvation. 
 " Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal 
 life?" was the momentous question which 
 he addressed to Christ, who, instead of 
 returning a direct answer, requested to 
 know what he understood to be the require- 
 ments of that law of which he was an 
 authorized teacher. The lawyer accord- 
 ingly gave this just and striking summary ; 
 " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with 
 all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and 
 with all thy strength, and with all thy 
 mind; and thy neighbour as thyself." 
 Tins reply obtained the commendation of 
 our Lord who remarked, " Thou hast 
 answered right: this do, and thou shalt 
 live." Dissatisfied evidently with a reply 
 which left him just where he was; and 
 being, as AVC read, " willing to justify 
 himself," that is to support his character 
 for pre-eminent wisdom and piety, the
 
 108 SERMON VI. 
 
 lawyer again enquired, "And wlw is iny 
 neighbour?" Instead of giving a defini- 
 tion which would have been open to cavil, 
 and which might have led to further inter- 
 rogation, our blessed Saviour proceeded to 
 narrate this beautiful apologue ; "A certain 
 man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, 
 and fell among thieves, which stripped him 
 of his raiment, and wounded him, and 
 departed, leaving liim half dead. And, by 
 chance, there came down a certain priest 
 that way : and when he saw him, he passed 
 by on the other side. And likewise a 
 Levite, when he was at the place, came 
 and looked on him, and passed by on the 
 other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he 
 journeyed, came where he was : and when 
 he saw him he had compassion on him, and 
 went to him, and bound up his wounds, 
 pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his 
 own beast, and brought him to an inn, and 
 took care of him. And on the morrow 
 when he departed he took out two pence, 
 and gave them to his host, and said unto
 
 SERMON VI. 109 
 
 him, Take care of him : and whatsoever 
 thou spendest more ; when I come again I 
 will repay thee." The question with which 
 He concluded, and Avhich must have reach- 
 ed the consciences of all who heard him, 
 " Which now of these three thinkest thou, 
 was neighbour unto him that fell among the 
 thieves ?" obtained this confession, " He 
 that shewed mercy on him." " Then," 
 was the emphatic rejoinder of our blessed 
 Lord, " Go, and do thou likewise." 
 
 The circumstances, equally with the oc- 
 casion, of the parable deserve our especial 
 attention. The robbed and wounded Jew, 
 it must be noticed, had a social, as well as 
 a natural, claim upon the kind offices of 
 those \t\wjirst discovered him. The priest, 
 apart from the obligation arising out of the 
 fact that he was one of the same nation, 
 was unquestionably bound to succour and 
 protect him ; this the sacred nature of his 
 character imperatively required: and the 
 Levite also, who shared the dignity and 
 responsibility of the priestly office, ought,
 
 110 SERMON VT. 
 
 for the same reasons, to have assisted his 
 unfortunate countryman : but both, we 
 read, " passed by on the other side." 
 Next came a Samaritan. Now " the Jews 
 had no dealings with the Samaritans ; " no 
 two people ever hated each other with more 
 unmitigated bitterness. The original cause 
 of this hostility lay in the political defection 
 of the latter; and this cause was subse- 
 quently strengthened by that which almost 
 invariably annihilates the charities of our 
 nature, religious prejudice ; it is, therefore, 
 not suprising that their differences should 
 assume the character of fierce and implaca- 
 ble animosity. To a Jew every Samaritan 
 was an object of scorn and detestation; and 
 to such an unmeasurable length did hatred 
 and bigotry hurry him, that whatever a 
 Samaritan eat or drank, or even touched, 
 was deemed polluted ; the privilege of 
 repentance was denied to him ; he could 
 not become a proselyte to the true faith ; 
 nor in the jealous and bigoted estimate of 
 his intolerant rival could he possibly attain
 
 SERMON VI. Ill 
 
 to everlasting life ! Such being the rela- 
 tive positions of the two people, the kind 
 offices of the Samaritan deserve our warm- 
 est approbation; whilst his praiseworthy 
 example suggests, that no difference of 
 circumstance or situation, no demerit, 
 either real or presumed, no inferiority 
 from whatever cause arising, no sense of 
 wrong or injury, forms a valid reason for 
 denying the offices of charity to him who 
 absolutely needs them : wherever, or when- 
 ever found ; whether in friend or foe, 
 whether at home or abroad, real distress 
 cannot be unheeded without a criminal 
 violation of Christian duty. 
 
 This lesson was admirably calculated to 
 convince those who heard it in what essen- 
 tial points they erred. The lawyer had 
 given a correct summary of our duty to God 
 and man, but seemed to have no conception 
 of the amount of obligation which that duty 
 included. He was aware that we are 
 bound to love our neighbour as ourselves, 
 but he had seemingly omitted to enquire
 
 112 SERMON VI. 
 
 what the term neighbour comprehended; 
 or if he had ever troubled himself to define 
 it he had doubtless restricted it to his own 
 kindred and people. That it could, by 
 possibility, comprehend foes as well as 
 friends, and that he was bound to apply its 
 name and endearments to such foes as the 
 Samaritans, evidently exceeded his know- 
 ledge and belief. And his misapprehension 
 on this point has many parallels even in 
 the present day : the popular sense of 
 the term neighbour is undoubtedly a very 
 restricted one, and is generally used to 
 signify those only who are connected with 
 us by the ties of kindred, or of locality ; or 
 if we are ever induced to extend its signifi- 
 cation it is rarely allowed to embrace more 
 than our own party or profession. A simi- 
 larity of pursuits, an identity of opinion, 
 political or religious, an accidental resem- 
 blance in any point of taste or of feeling, 
 may, and frequently does, increase the 
 number of our neighbours; but that we 
 are bound to include in that appellation all
 
 SERMON VI. 113 
 
 of whatever party, or religion, or nation, 
 and that we are bound to have compassion 
 upon all who need our kindness and assist- 
 ance, is such an extension of the term as 
 will suit the apprehension of but very few. 
 Like the uncalculating lawyer we are 
 probably satisfied if we give to our own 
 kindred, or friends, or associates, that kind- 
 ness and good will which are due to all 
 mankind. 
 
 To a man of such contracted notions as 
 the Jewish divine, the parable before us 
 must have conveyed a startling rebuke. 
 He evidently thought that he had done all 
 that he was bound to do : to the letter of 
 the law he had probably conformed, but he 
 was a stranger to those enlarged views of 
 obedience which were thus opened to him ; 
 and not only was he convicted of not having 
 done, but, which was a degrading circum- 
 stance to a public teacher of not having 
 sufficiently understood his duty. " Thou 
 which teachest another, teachest thou not 
 thyself ? " Thou that raakest thy boast of 
 L 2
 
 114 SERMON VI. 
 
 the law, through breaking the law dishon- 
 ourest thou God ?" would naturally be the 
 questions which would be asked respecting 
 him ; whilst he himself would at once per- 
 ceive the delusive nature of the hopes which 
 he entertained on the ground of his fancied 
 obedience; he would see that, although he 
 had not scrupled to pay " tithe of mint, and 
 anise, and cummin," he had omitted "the 
 weightier matters of the law;" and nar- 
 rowed its obligation so as to suit his own 
 prejudice and bigotry; that although his 
 estimate of righteousness included the ne- 
 cessity of love both to God and to man, 
 it did not include that proper and universal 
 love which only can be acceptable to the 
 one, and serviceable to the other, that he 
 had, in fact, by his confined and intolerant 
 interpretation, rendered the word of God of 
 none effect. By appealing to that class of 
 prejudices which, in common with his coun- 
 trymen, undoubtedly influenced this unre- 
 flecting teacher, our Lord virtually drew 
 from him the important acknowledgement.
 
 SERMON VI. 115 
 
 that the despised Samaritan might be better 
 than the haughty Jew ; that the execrated 
 worshipper on Mount Gerizim might know 
 and discharge his duty better than the 
 favored worshipper within the courts of 
 Jerusalem. Humiliating, as it was, to be 
 brought to such an acknoAvledgement, and 
 careful as he seemed to be not to honour the 
 hated Samaritan by name, he was never- 
 theless compelled to feel that practice, not 
 profession, that he who does, not he who 
 affects to do, the will of God, shall inherit 
 eternal life. Despite the prejudices of 
 education, and the sense of wrong ; with- 
 out reference to his country, or his creed, 
 the good Samaritan poured oil and wine 
 into the wounds, and provided for the cure 
 and maintenance of his unfortunate, though 
 implacable, enemy ; and this beautiful pic- 
 ture of true philanthropy must Lave touched 
 the consciences, and convinced the judg- 
 ment of the self-convicted lawyer, whilst it 
 cannot but have convinced all who wit- 
 nessed his defeat, that he who allows
 
 116 SERMON VI. 
 
 prejudice to warp his mind, or intolerance 
 to steel his heart, against a brother, and 
 who blindly gives up to party what is due 
 to mankind, violates that most essential 
 part of religious obligation, which requires 
 that we love our neighbour as ourselves. 
 
 Nor let it be supposed, brethren, that 
 because this lesson was addressed to Jews, 
 it is not, therefore, designed for the edifica- 
 tion of Christians. Whatever changes the 
 Gospel has effected, it must never be for- 
 gotten that, it has not deprived the moral 
 law of " one jot or one tittle" of its force ; - 
 that law which, as He expressly declared, 
 Christ came, " not to destroy, but to fulfil," 
 came to afford, in his own spotless 
 example, a pattern of perfect holiness and 
 obedience. Whatever conditions the Chris- 
 tian covenant may impose, certain it is, 
 that the necessity of repentance and faith is 
 not more expressly enjoined, than is the 
 necessity of good works: "Do this, and 
 thou shalt live ;" " Believe, and thoti 
 shalt be saved;" "Have faith, for without
 
 SERMON VI. 117 
 
 faith it is impossible to please God." but 
 " add to thy faith, virtue," are the saving 
 principles which God has joined, and what 
 He has joined let no man put asunder. 
 
 And as we are unable of ourselves to 
 render that perfect obedience which alone 
 can satisfy Him who " is of purer eyes than 
 to behold iniquity," and who has declared 
 that, " to obey is better than sacrifice, 
 and to hearken than the fat of rams," we 
 are invited nay commanded to seek as- 
 sistance from above. If we ask, nothing 
 doubting; if, with a deep sense of our 
 unworthiness and of our manifold infirmities 
 we seek the sanctifying and sustaining 
 influences of the Holy Spirit; if, upheld 
 by faith, in the all-sufficient sacrifice of 
 " the one oblation once offered," we knock 
 at the door of mercy, all our petitions will 
 be answered, and our every want supplied ; 
 but he who does this must never forget 
 that it is his duty to work also. Nothing 
 lias a greater tendency to degrade the 
 Gospel than that partial estimate which
 
 118 SERMON VI. 
 
 assumes it to be a dispensation of faith only 
 without reference to works; which as- 
 sumes, that because the death, and media- 
 tion, and merits of Christ form the un- 
 doubted basis of all its hopes and promises, 
 it has therefore little or no reference to that 
 constant obedience which the example, not 
 less than the precepts, of our Lord render 
 obligatory upon us. Isolated obedience 
 does not, and cannot, form the passport to 
 salvation ; and the same must be declared 
 of isolated faith : it were, indeed, impious 
 to conclude that any word which lias once 
 proceeded out of the mouth of God for the 
 moral guidance of his creatures, can ever 
 sink into a dead letter : " Till heaven and 
 earth pass away, that word," we are assured, 
 " shall not pass away." Eternal and inde- 
 structible as the nature of the Almighty 
 itself is our obligation to love and to 
 serve Him ; and the coming of Christ so 
 far from having weakened that obligation, 
 has increased and strengthened it, has 
 fenced it round with stronger sanctions,
 
 SERMON VI. 119 
 
 and rendered it more alluring by better 
 promises. This do, and tliou shalt live," 
 is, and to the end of time will continue to 
 be, the language of Omnipotence to the 
 whole human race ; and He who from the 
 self-sufficient lawyer extorted the praise of 
 universal charity, now says to each of us, 
 " Go, and do thou likewise." 
 
 Well indeed would it be both for our- 
 selves and for society, if, whilst we look up 
 by faith to Christ the Saviour, we could 
 also be induced, by holiness of heart and 
 life, to obey Christ the Law-giver. That it 
 is right and proper to love God in sincerity 
 and in truth, that we ought to serve Him 
 to the utmost extent of our faculties and 
 powers, that we ought to worship Him 
 with all our heart, and soul, and strength, 
 and mind, will be, because it must be, 
 readily acknowledged by even the most 
 lukewarm Christian. The great Author of 
 our being, the Source of every good, the 
 Fountain of light, and life, and intelligence, 
 the Mighty Mover of the vast machinery
 
 120 SERMON VI. 
 
 of nature, the benevolent Dispenser of 
 unfailing truth, and of undeserved ruercy, 
 is, indeed, an object worthy of our most 
 fervent love, of our highest regard, and 
 of our profoundest veneration ; and dark 
 and dreary as is the corruption of the 
 human heart, that corruption, even in its 
 darkest form, cannot entirely abjure allegi- 
 ance to Him " who spake the word, and all 
 things were, who commanded, and they 
 were created." But, in turning from the 
 immensity of such contemplations to the 
 duties of ordinary life, we see not, or will 
 not see, that we are bound to regard all 
 mankind as children of the same merciful 
 Father, as the redeemed of the same cru- 
 cified Lord, as heirs of the same heavenly 
 inheritance, with ourselves. Like the con- 
 victed teacher of the law we are too apt to 
 be satisfied with a partial estimate of our 
 duty; and although we know and feel 
 how much we owe to God, we neither see 
 nor feel how much we owe to our neigh- 
 bour.
 
 SERMON VI. 121 
 
 " Wlio is my neighbour?" indeed, is a 
 question wliich we usually answer to suit 
 our convenience rather than our duty. How 
 various are our reasons for limiting the 
 meaning of the term. Does a suppliant 
 stranger, for instance, claim our pity and 
 protection ? the reply is ready, " Charity 
 begins at home." Do we see one Avounded, 
 or maimed, or in distress ? we too frequently 
 leave him to the kind offices of others, and 
 like the priest and the Levite, pass by on 
 the other side. " I will hold no commu- 
 nion with liim who does not worsliip where 
 I worship, who tliinks not as I think, and 
 whose people are not my people," deter- 
 mines in his heart the bigotted professor ! 
 Presumptuous man ! art thou then the sole 
 arbiter of truth ? Has the Almighty made 
 thee a judge over thy brethren, and given 
 thee such a portion of his unerring wisdom 
 as renders thy judgments sure, and thy 
 interpretations infallible ? Read thy con- 
 demnation in the parable, and learn from 
 
 M
 
 122 SERMON VI. 
 
 the example of the good Samaritan who thy 
 neighbour is. 
 
 It is much to be deplored, that both in 
 religion, and in the affairs of ordinary life, 
 men should generally espouse party in 
 preference to principle, and blindly adopt a 
 given line of tliinkiiig, or of acting, merely 
 because it promotes their interest, or im- 
 portance: the bigot too often assumes the 
 guise of the saint, and the partisan that of 
 the patriot; and zeal winch, if properly 
 directed, would produce the most valuable 
 fruit, is made to expend itself in a course of 
 action incompatible with the peace and 
 welfare of the community. But Christian 
 charity is no respecter of persons ; its ami 
 and object is the welfare of all mankind ; 
 even* distinction should be forgotten when 
 distress asks our assistance, or misfortune 
 our sympathy ; or when ever we have the 
 means and opportunity of advancing the 
 happiness or interests of others : true cha- 
 rily and without it there can be no true
 
 SERMON VI. 123 
 
 relic/ion commands us to sympatliize as 
 readily with our foe as with our friend ; 
 and whilst it enjoins us to regard all as 
 neighbours, it echoes the command of One 
 whose every act shewed forth tliis blessed 
 principle, " Love your enemies, bless them 
 that curse you, do good to them that hate 
 you, and pray for them wliich despitemlly 
 use you, and persecute you; that ye may 
 be the children of your Father wliich is in 
 heaven." 
 
 And now, beloved bretliren, impelled by 
 the beautiful example before us, let us go 
 and practise the duty of universal kindness 
 and compassion. Mortifying every selfish, 
 intolerant, and unholy feeling, let us abound 
 in the self- deny ing, liberal, and evangelical 
 offices of love : let no presumed demerit in 
 others, nor assumed merit in ourselves, stop 
 the free current of our charity; but as God 
 has compassion upon us, so let us ever 
 cherish compassion one towards another. 
 And if of tliis world's wealth we have little 
 to bestow ; if we cannot open our hands to
 
 124 SERMON VI. 
 
 a needy neighbour, it is always in our 
 power to open our hearts, and to clothe 
 compassionate feelings in compassionate 
 words, or to exercise them in compassionate 
 deeds. Making the exceeding great love 
 of Christ to ourselves, the model of our love 
 to others, let us resolve to enjoy the best 
 and the cheapest of all luxuries, the lux- 
 ury of doing good ; so shall we give life to 
 that profession which, without charity, is 
 fitly compared to " sounding brass and to a 
 tinkling cymbal;" so shall we enjoy that 
 constant suiisliine of the soul which he only 
 can enjoy whose heart is right towards God 
 and man ; and so, having laid our head 
 upon the lap of earth, shall we live in the 
 grateful recollection of those we leave 
 behind: the blessing of the widow, the 
 fatherless, and of him that was ready to 
 perish will long hallow our memory; and 
 tears and regret will often bedew the grave 
 to which we shall have been committed 
 in sure and certain hope of a glorious 
 resurrection.
 
 SERMON VII. 
 
 CHRIST OUR EXAMPLE. 
 
 JOHN* xiii. 15. 
 
 FOR I HAVE GIVFN YOU AN EXAMPLE, THAT TE 
 SHOULD DO AS I HAVE DOXE TO YOU. 
 
 SUCH is the language which our blessed 
 Lord addresses to all his followers, and a 
 precept of greater practical value could not 
 have heen given. " The character of 
 Christ," it has been well observed, " is a 
 part of the morality of the Gospel,"' of 
 
 r Paley. 
 
 M 2
 
 126 SERMON VII. 
 
 which it forms a beautiful and striking 
 illustration. In that character we have a 
 perfect pattern of excellence. The many 
 other examples which history offers for our 
 imitation, unlike that of our heavenly 
 Master can only he partially copied : 
 virtue they certainly do display but they 
 also display vice, and the admiration and 
 the confidence called forth by the one, are 
 almost invariably chilled by the other : 
 that of our Saviour, on the contrary, real- 
 izes all that we can conceive of perfection, 
 and leaves nothing to regret nothing to 
 supply. 
 
 That such a model is the one which we 
 ought to adopt is a truth which reason 
 would teach, did not revelation enforce it : 
 let us then, brethren, now direct our earnest 
 attention to some of those features which it 
 is our bouuden duty to copy ; and whilst we 
 do this let us earnestly pray that we may 
 be enabled practically to regard Christ both 
 as " a sacrifice for sin, and an ensample of 
 godly life."
 
 SERMON VII. 127 
 
 I 
 
 I. The quality which most prominently 
 influenced the life and conversation of our 
 blessed Lord, was his entire devoted-ness to 
 the will and to tlie service of God, this 
 formed the foundation of his character, and 
 the actuating principle of his conduct. 
 " Wist ye not that I must be about my 
 Father's business?" was his question to 
 his sorrowing parents when they found him 
 in the temple disputing with the doctors. 
 " Suffer it to be so now : for thus it be- 
 cometh us to fulfil all righteousness,"' was 
 the reason with which He silenced the 
 doubts of the Baptist. " Thou shalt wor- 
 ship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt 
 thou serve,"" was his parting reply to the 
 wily tempter. " Not my will, but thine, be 
 done," v was his pious ejaculation during 
 his agony in the garden : and whilst 
 suspended upon the cross, He gave up the 
 ghost in dutiful and submissive compliance 
 with the will of his heavenly Father. To 
 
 Luke ii. 49. ' Matt. iii. 15. 
 
 u Matt. iv. 10. v Luke xxii. 42.
 
 128 SERMON VII. 
 
 this point his every thought and every 
 action were directed ; and from this, temp- 
 tation could not seduce, nor pain nor 
 power terrify him : " I have come to do thy 
 will, O God," was the inflexible and ever- 
 actuating principle of his life. 
 
 This entire devotedness to the Divine 
 will resulted evidently from that principle 
 which should always influence the lives and 
 conduct of his followers, from faith. He 
 "walked by faith, not by sight;"" and 
 knowing that " all things work together for 
 good to them that love God,"" "he fear- 
 lessly committed himself to him that judg- 
 eth righteously. " y 
 
 It was this firm and enduring reliance 
 upon the wisdom, and mercy, and justice of 
 his heavenly Father, which supported him 
 under his manifold privations, dangers, 
 and sufferings, which made him totally 
 indifferent to the apparent misery and 
 hardships of his condition, which enabled 
 him to pierce the black cloud of human woe, 
 
 - 2 Cor. v. 7. * Rom. viii. 28. y 1 Peter ii. 23.
 
 SERMON VII. 129 
 
 and to perceive the brightness of the eter- 
 nal joy which it overshadowed; for well 
 did he know that his afflictions were com- 
 paratively but for a moment, and were 
 destined to work out for him " an exceed- 
 ing and eternal weight of glory." 
 
 In considering the example of our blessed 
 Lord, our first object, therefore, should be 
 to imitate Him in these particulars. View- 
 ing ourselves as mere instruments in the 
 hands of our Almighty Creator, it should 
 be our aim to defer our every thought, and 
 word, and work, to his unerring will. Re- 
 collecting that in the wise economy of 
 Providence, " whatever is, is right," that 
 without the Divine permission not even a 
 sparrow falleth to the ground, 2 it is clearly 
 our duty and it is most undoubtedly our 
 interest, to bear with patience and moder- 
 ation whatever may befal us. Are we 
 placed in situations of pain and difficulty ? 
 Is our path beset by trials and temptations ? 
 Like our blessed Redeemer we should have 
 
 * Matt. x. 29.
 
 130 SERMON VII. 
 
 "respect unto the recompence of the re- 
 ward"* and walking " hv faith, not by 
 
 <J / V 
 
 sight," disregard all the trials and troubles 
 of this world, for the sake of the rest and 
 safety of the next. Are we poor and des- 
 titute, and have not where to lay our 
 heads ? Do sorrow and afflictions mar our 
 peace and disturb our rest? Instead of 
 giving way to murmuring and despair, we 
 ought rather to rejoice that we are made 
 like unto our heavenly Master, for if we 
 suffer for him, and like him here, we shall 
 assuredly reign with Him hereafter. 
 
 By deferring, on every occasion, and 
 under all circumstances, to the inscrutable 
 will of the Almighty, and by constantly 
 bearing in mind that afflictions may indi- 
 cate his mercy not less than his anger, 
 that his knowledge and superintendence 
 are so minute as to extend to the number- 
 ing of the very hairs of our head, 1 ' we 
 provide ourselves with a never-failing 
 source of consolation. How full of wisdom 
 
 Heb. xi. 26. b Matt. x. 30.
 
 SERMON VII. 131 
 
 and encouragement is the advice of the 
 apostle, "Let us lay aside every weight, 
 and the sin which doth so easily beset us, 
 and let us run with patience the race that 
 is set before us, looking unto Jesus the 
 author and finisher of our faith ; who for 
 the joy that was set before him endured the 
 cross, despising the shame, and is set down 
 at the right hand of the throne of God." c 
 If we follow not Christ upon earth, we must 
 not hope to reign with him in heaven. 
 " The disciple is not above his master, nor 
 the servant above his lord. It is enough 
 for the disciple that he be as his master, 
 and the servant as his lord." d 
 
 Hence must the Christian expect tri- 
 bulation in this world : " But," said our 
 blessed Lord, and the saying is pregnant 
 with the truest comfort, " if the world hate 
 you, ye know that it hated me before it 
 hated you. If ye were of the world, the 
 world would love his own : but because ye 
 are not of the world, but I have chosen you 
 
 <= Rom. xii. 1,2. d Matt. x. 24, 25.
 
 132 SERMON VII. 
 
 out of the world, therefore the world hateth 
 you. Remember the word that I said unto 
 you, the servant is not greater than his lord. 
 If they have persecuted me, they will also 
 persecute you." e 
 
 II. Whilst hy the example of our hlessed 
 Lord we are thus taught the duty and pro- 
 priety of an unconditional surrender of our- 
 selves to God, to make it, in fact, our 
 meat and drink to submit to, and to do, his 
 will, we are also taught the duty, and, as 
 connected with our religious progress, a 
 truly important duty it is, of humility. 
 It was, indeed, in reference to a lesson of 
 humility that the words of our text were 
 spoken. There had been a strife amongst 
 the disciples as to which should be accounted 
 greatest, when, in order to shew the mutual 
 submission and good will which ought to 
 regulate a Christian community, our Saviour 
 proceeded to wash the feet of the disciples, 
 and then remarked, " If I, your Lord and 
 
 John xv. 1820.
 
 SERMON VII. 133 
 
 Master, have washed your feet, ye ought 
 also to wash one another's feet. For I have 
 given you an example that ye should do as 
 I have done to you." He elsewhere said 
 of himself, and his every action confirmed 
 the truth of the saying, " / am meek and 
 lowly in heart f and he makes it a con- 
 dition of our " finding rest unto our souls," 
 that we should in these particulars learn of 
 Him." f In enforcing this great duty, it is 
 not our design to dwell upon that course 
 of constant humiliation which his assump- 
 tion of the human nature involved, because 
 here imitation is precluded hy the impossi- 
 bility of our stooping so low ; hut the prin- 
 ciple which brought Him down from heaven, 
 and which unceasingly influenced Him upon 
 earth, is one which all may adopt in kind, 
 though not in degree ; and it should always 
 be borne in mind that it is the spirit, rather 
 than the actions, of our Lord which we are 
 required to imitate : not to aspire to do all 
 
 { Matt. xi. 2830.
 
 134 SERMON VII. 
 
 that he did, but to resemble Him as much 
 as our relative situations will allow. 
 
 In the Christian career humility may be 
 properly styled the starting point ; for if we 
 are not thoroughly humbled, if we pre- 
 sume to think of ourselves more highly 
 
 O v 
 
 than we ought to think, we cannot pos- 
 sibly run with any chance of success. The 
 knowledge that He was wiser than all the 
 children of men, and that He was entitled 
 to their utmost deference and respect, never 
 betrayed our Lord into self-dependence, nor 
 called forth any haughty expression, or 
 overbearing conduct : He was invariably 
 meek, invariably humble : He neither 
 exacted courtly deference, nor exercised a 
 depressing superiority : slight and insult 
 did not rouse his resentment, nor destroy 
 his composure. He was never irritable, 
 never dissatisfied, on the contrary, meek- 
 ness and courtesy, condescension and for- 
 bearance, were his prevailing characteristics. 
 In adopting humility as our principle of
 
 SERMON VII. 135 
 
 action, not only do we give life and con- 
 sistency to our Christian profession, but we 
 provide for our present comfort and happi- 
 ness. If we entertain such lofty notions as 
 inflate us with pride whenever we compare 
 ourselves with others, and such pharisaical 
 notions are unhappily too prevalent, we 
 shall be led to entertain the ruinous per- 
 suasion, that, however generally necessary, 
 we may dispense with that penitent prepa- 
 ration and that sanctifying support, which 
 are enjoined in almost every page of the 
 Gospel. If we thus think ourselves whole, 
 it is not likely that we shall seek the aid of 
 the great physician of souls, whose blessings 
 and whose favours are dispensed only to 
 " the poor in spirit" to those only who 
 " labour and are heavy laden." 5 
 
 And whilst the absence of humility thus 
 endangers our salvation, so does it even in 
 this world expose us to constant pain and 
 mortification. He who renders the defer- 
 
 Compare Matt. T. 3. xi. 2830. and ix. 12.
 
 136 SERMON VII. 
 
 ence and attentions of mankind, as every 
 proud man does essential to his happiness, 
 must necessarily be unhappy, because he 
 never obtains the attention which lie exacts, 
 and because his wishes and feelings come 
 into constant collision with the painful 
 realities of life : but if we walk meekly 
 and humbly, and always bear in mind how 
 utterly unworthy we are, and must continue 
 to be, unless we avail ourselves of the 
 atoning merits of the Saviour, that with- 
 out the co-operation of the Holy Spirit, 
 whatever we may seem to man in the 
 eyes of God we are weak and worthless, 
 we shall be induced to fling from us all 
 those lofty feelings which are a fertile 
 source of irreligion and unhappiness. To 
 be wise in our own conceit; to be high in 
 our own estimation ; to imagine that we 
 are able of ourselves to help ourselves ; is 
 to act upon principles which both reason 
 and religion condemn, and to endanger 
 alike our present comfort and our future 
 happiness. " Without me ye can do noth-
 
 SERMON VII. 137 
 
 b is the monitory declaration of Him 
 who has given us an example, and it is a 
 declaration which none can disregard with- 
 out peril to their everlasting interests. 
 
 III. To enumerate all the points which 
 on a review of the character of our blessed 
 Lord present themselves for our imitation, 
 would far exceed our usual limits. His 
 constant devotedness, and pious submission, 
 to the will of God ; His wise preference of 
 spiritual to earthly objects, of the things 
 of eternity to those of time; His meek- 
 ness and lowliness of heart, which neither 
 the recollection of his shrouded greatness, 
 nor the certainty of his speedy triumph, 
 nor the prospect of his glorious exaltation, 
 could diminish ; His holiness and harm- 
 lessness, and that integrity of heart and 
 purpose which kept him undefiled and 
 separate from sinners, and rendered him 
 patient even in the depths of affliction, 
 constitute hut a part of the example which 
 
 h John xv. 5. 
 N 2
 
 138 SERMON VII. 
 
 we are required to follow and are only the 
 more prominent features of that beautiful 
 character which challenges our love, whilst 
 it demands our imitation. 
 
 There is, however, one other point upon 
 which it is impossible not to dwell, we 
 mean that never-failing charity which gave 
 life and lustre, to all which He either did 
 or said. Were all other evidence of his 
 Divinity wanting, this alone might suffice. 
 Love was the atmosphere which he delight- 
 ed to breathe, the necessity which seemed 
 to control his nature, the attribute which 
 moved his soul ; and whilst faith upheld, 
 and hope irradiated, charity fervent, ne- 
 ver-failing charity shed a heavenly halo 
 around his path. How strongly does this 
 circumstance speak to all his followers; 
 how clearly does it denote the spirit which 
 ought to influence their lives and conversa- 
 tion ; how powerfully does it rebuke those 
 who carry into the profession of his religion, 
 feelings and tempers which disfigure and 
 disgrace it, which render faith unproduc- 
 tive, and hope delusive.
 
 SERMON VII. 139 
 
 Brethren, Jesus Christ has given us 
 an example, and if of that example there he 
 one portion which claims our imitation 
 more than another, it is that ceaseless love 
 which neither sorrow, nor suffering, nor 
 ingratitude, could suspend, which survived 
 the bitter fury of the most unrelenting 
 persecution, and smiled amidst the agonies 
 of an ignominious death ! If then we 
 would approve ourselves good servants of 
 so beneficent a Master, it behoves us to 
 shew forth on all occasions, and under 
 every circumstance, that charity winch 
 always animated him ; which is to faith and 
 to hope what the spirit is to the body, and 
 which like the sun gives life, and light, 
 and fertility to the objects which revolve 
 around it. 
 
 IV. Do we then strive to follow the ex- 
 ample of our blessed Lord ? Have we duly 
 studied that perfect model which he has 
 given us ? Are we, like him, influenced 
 by that sustaining faith which amidst every
 
 140 SERMON VII. 
 
 earthly trial can remove the vail from be- 
 before the future, and enable us to run with 
 patience the race that is set before us ? 
 Do we practically appreciate the consoling 
 truth, that the things which are seen are 
 temporal, whilst the things which are not 
 seen are eternal, that present affliction, 
 when duly improved, is a certain path to 
 future glory ? Are we, as He was, hum- 
 ble, and lowly, and meek ; not thinking of 
 ourselves more highly than we ought to 
 think, but depending solely upon that good 
 Spirit who is ever ready to manifest his 
 strength in our weakness? Are we so in 
 love with the invisible glories of eternity, 
 so convinced of the utter worthlessness of 
 this world, so desirous to work out our 
 own salvation, as to be ready to endure the 
 cross, and to despise the shame, should 
 they be interposed between us and heaven ? 
 Whilst we look unto Jesus as our example, 
 do we also look unto Him as "the Author 
 and Finisher of our faith," as " the way, 
 the truth, and the life ? " Does a sight of
 
 SERMON VII. 141 
 
 his sufferings fill us with hatred of sin, 
 and a dread of its terrible consequences ? 
 Does it induce us to seek by stedfast faith 
 and a holy life the benefits of his precious 
 blood-shedding ? Does it inspire us with 
 fervent love for that merciful God who has 
 so wonderfully redeemed, and who is ever 
 ready to sanctify and to save us ? Does it 
 fill us with gratitude to Him who thus 
 gave himself a ransom for us, and prompt 
 us in deed and in truth to honour and to 
 serve one who has shewn us such infinite 
 kindness? And lastly, does the contem- 
 plation of the life and death of our blessed 
 Lord tend to deaden those carnal and sel- 
 fish affections which are for ever waning 
 against our spiritual interests ? Does it 
 cause us to remember, and make us anxious 
 to fulfil, his dying injunction, " Tin's is my 
 commandment, that ye love one another, 
 as I have loved you." l " By this shall all 
 men know that ye are my disciples, if ye 
 have love one to another."- 1 
 
 ' John xv. 12. J John xiii. 33.
 
 142 SERMON VII. 
 
 Such are some of the many points of 
 examination which the example of our 
 Lord presses upon our attention, and hap- 
 py shall we be if we are following, and 
 continue to follow, the blessed steps of his 
 most holy life. As He always acted under 
 the conviction that his duty to God should 
 be paramount to every other consideration, 
 such must be the ruling conviction of our 
 lives; and instead of repining under dis- 
 pensations which, however burdensome and 
 oppressive they may seem to the eye of 
 sense, are when viewed by the eye of faith, 
 but the merciful correction of a loving 
 Father, we ought to suffer patiently what- 
 ever God may appoint; and gather conso- 
 lation from the knowledge, that, as the 
 great Captain of our salvation was made 
 perfect through suffering so through suf- 
 fering if we " endure hardness as good 
 soldiers" shall we become partakers of 
 his perfection. 
 
 And as we are thus taught to confide in 
 the wisdom, and to submit to the will of
 
 SERMON VII. 143 
 
 God, we are also taught how to acquire 
 that which was a distinguishing feature of 
 his life, and which ought, therefore, to be 
 the distinguishing badge of his disciples 
 humility. The acquisition of this virtue 
 will lead us to abandon even* lofty idea, 
 and all dependence upon ourselves ; it will 
 prompt us to seek pardon through the 
 merits of the Saviour, and sanctification 
 through the co-operation of the Holy Spirit. 
 Tims shall we be enabled practically to 
 appreciate the cardinal truth, that "the 
 blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin," and 
 that the only sure way to obtain the saving 
 aid of the Great Physician is to acknowledge 
 ourselves to he weak and impotent ; for we 
 are reminded that He came to call, not the 
 righteous, but sinners to repentance, to 
 cure, not those who fancy themselves to be 
 whole, but those who feel and who ac- 
 knowledge themselves to be sick. 
 
 And that we mav " adorn the doctrine 
 
 w 
 
 of God our Saviour in all things," be it our 
 constant aim to clothe our Christian pro-
 
 144 SERMON VII. 
 
 fession in the radiant robe of charity. O it 
 is a goodly sight to see the professor of the 
 Gospel demonstrating his sincerity by 
 spreading peace and good will amongst 
 men, to behold faith and hope, like fruit- 
 ful and luxuriant trees, bearing the kindly 
 fruits of Christian love, and affording food, 
 and shelter, and protection, to the hungry, 
 the houseless, and the wretched. When 
 the doctrines and duties of our religion are 
 thus found in beautiful combination, then 
 indeed is God glorified, the Saviour honour- 
 ed, and the Gospel obeyed, then do we 
 approximate to that blessed example which 
 Christ has given us, and " lay up for our- 
 selves a good foundation against the time 
 to come." Wherefore, beloved brethren, 
 let us be holy, let us be humble, let us be 
 charitable, let us constantly look unto 
 Christ both as our Saviour and our Guide, 
 and let us not " be weary with well-doing ; 
 for in due season we shall reap if we faint 
 not,"
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 
 FAITH, HOPE, AND CHARITY. 
 
 1 CORINTHIANS xiii. 13. 
 
 AND NOW ABIDETH FAITH, HOPE, CHARITY, THESE 
 
 THREE; BUT THE GREATEST or THESE is CHARITY. 
 
 THE Epistle which contains this memorable 
 declaration was addressed to a people who 
 had been long animated by a spirit unbe- 
 coming the religion they professed. Emu- 
 lation and strife, and a vain and eager 
 desire to become powerful and distinguished
 
 146 SERMON VIII. 
 
 in the Church, characterised all their pro- 
 ceedings ; whilst that kindness and consis- 
 tency which are the grand tests of vital 
 religion were altogether wanting. St. 
 Paul, whose attention . had been called to 
 these unhappy circumstances, endeavour- 
 ed to restore that unity and moderation 
 and good feeling which ought to distinguish 
 every Christian community, by reminding 
 the Corinthians, that the surest way to 
 obtain honour in the Church is to practise 
 and to promote that love which was the 
 basis of all that our Saviour did, and by 
 which alone He declared that his true 
 disciples should be known. The apostle 
 accordingly defines, in language of surpass- 
 ing force and beauty, the nature and objects 
 of charity ; and, without undervaluing any 
 of the other Christian graces, assigns to it an 
 importance and a durability far above them 
 all : " faith, hope, charity," are his remark- 
 able words, " these three ; but the greatest 
 of these is charity." 
 
 Though the light, intelligence and secu-
 
 SERMON VIII. 147 
 
 lity of the Church of Christ be now vastly 
 superior to what they were in the days of 
 the apostle, it cannot, we fear, be affirmed 
 that we have less occasion than had the 
 Corinthians for the powerful exhortations 
 which he found it necessary to address to 
 them; on the contrary, it will be found, 
 that we need an equal, if not a greater, 
 measure of that heaven-born principle which 
 ought to actuate all who name the name of 
 Christ, and without which whosoever liveth, 
 whatever be liis spiritual pretensions in 
 other respects is counted dead before God. 
 It shall therefore, and may the Holy Spirit 
 vouchsafe his quickening and enlightening 
 aid, be our endeavour to point out the 
 necessity, and to enforce the practice of 
 that cardinal virtue, which is so beautifully 
 and so eloquently delineated in the chapter 
 before us. 
 
 I. Concerning the nature of charity there 
 prevails much misapprehension. In placing 
 it at the head of the Christian graces, it is
 
 148 SERMON VI1T. 
 
 quite clear that St. Paul assumes it to exist 
 in connexion with those graces ; and that, 
 instead of regarding it as a solitary, or in- 
 dependent principle, he considers it to be 
 the most striking of the many features which 
 distinguish the sincere Christian. Charity 
 is commonly supposed to mean nothing 
 more than alms-giving; and the possession 
 of this pre-eminent grace is generally as- 
 signed to him whose assistance is readily 
 dispensed to the poor and needy : but it 
 behoves us to recollect, that although charity 
 always implies alms-giving, alms-giving by 
 no means implies charity ; on the contrary, 
 it is manifest that thousands may, and it 
 is most certain that thousands do, give 
 largely of their worldly substance to the 
 necessitous, and otherwise contribute to the 
 wants and sufferings of their fellow crea- 
 tures, without being animated by the prin- 
 ciple so strikingly commended in our text ; 
 the heart may be closed, whilst the hand 
 is open, and ambition, or vain glory, or an 
 anxious desire to perpetuate a name, may
 
 SERMON VIII. 149 
 
 be the tainted motives which originate 
 many a comprehensive plan of seeming 
 henevolence. The utility of an action 
 is a very uncertain criterion of its merit ; 
 and the benefactor of his species, whose 
 services to others are conferred solely with 
 a view to gain the honour and applause of 
 the world, is clearly not, in a scriptural point 
 of view, a charitable man ; self-love, not 
 mercy, is the questionable source of his 
 apparent goodness ; and it is to all who 
 thus seek applause and commendation that 
 our Lord addresses the solemn caution, 
 " Take heed that ye do not your alms 
 before men, to be seen of them : otherwise 
 ye have no reward of your Father which is 
 in heaven." k 
 
 Charity is a principle, not an action ; 
 it is a disposition full of piety and benevo- 
 lence, of reverence towards God, and 
 good-will towards man, and, like a gener- 
 ous river, carries beauty and fertility 
 whithersoever it flows. To assign to it an 
 
 k Matt. vi. 1. 
 O 2
 
 150 SERMON VIII. 
 
 operation so limited as that of mere alms- 
 giving is to overlook its most important 
 features, and even to undervalue the sal- 
 vation which is by Christ Jesus ; for if we 
 are to be saved by faith, and without faith 
 there is no salvation ; and if charity, which 
 is declared to be greater than either faith 
 or hope, consist merely in the liberal distri- 
 bution of our goods, it will follow as a 
 necessary consequence that such distribu- 
 tion, although unconnected with a saving 
 faith, nay although totally independent of 
 it, may yet entitle us to salvation : works, 
 however limited, and however tainted their 
 source, are thus made the ground of ac- 
 ceptance, and the importance and necessity 
 of faith clearly disproved ! Hence it is 
 plain, that we shall fearfully mistake the 
 apostle's meaning, and fatally undervalue 
 the Saviour's mediation, if we entertain not 
 clearer, and more extended, and more spi- 
 ritual views of that grace to which our text 
 attaches such paramount importance. 
 
 II. The apostle has no such limited
 
 SERMON VIII. 151 
 
 meaning; he assumes, as we have already 
 asserted, the existence of all those other 
 gifts and graces without which the Chris- 
 tian character is only half made up ; and 
 whilst he gives a decided pre-eminence to 
 that grace which is now receiving our 
 especial consideration, he manifestly does 
 this in order to lay down a test of sincerity, 
 and to bear testimony to the value and 
 necessity of practical religion ; his obvious 
 aim being to enforce that beautiful and 
 comprehensive precept of the Saviour, 
 " Herein is my Father glorified, that ye 
 bear much fruit ; so shall ye be my dis- 
 ciples." 
 
 1. The test which the apostle lays down, 
 is one by which all should try themselves. 
 To say that we believe in the Lord Jesus ; 
 to avow that we are cheered and influ- 
 enced by the hope of that glorious life and 
 immortality which it was his blessed privi- 
 lege to reveal ; to assume the zeal of a saint 
 and the devotion of a martyr, will be of no 
 
 i John xv. S.
 
 152 SERMON VIII. 
 
 avail, and entitle us to no credence, unless 
 our lives and conversation be such as 
 become the Gospel. " Shew me," says St. 
 James, " thy faith without thy works, and 
 I will shew thee my faith by my works:" 
 " for as the body without the spirit is dead, 
 so faith without works is dead also."" 
 Faith is the primary element of spiritual 
 life, but it is not a saving principle, unless 
 it be an active one ; and if it do not pro- 
 duce in us the fruit of good living it has in 
 a scriptural sense neither value nor impor- 
 tance. Unless, indeed, love be the moving 
 principle of our lives, it matters not that 
 our belief of the Bible and of all its solemn 
 assurances is firm and undoubting, it 
 matters not that we believe the Saviour's 
 satisfaction to be the one and only ground 
 of acceptance, it matters not that we con- 
 fess our sins, and acknowledge our weak- 
 nesses, and nominally attach ourselves to 
 the visible Church of Christ, though we do 
 
 m James ii. 18. n James v. 26.
 
 SERMON VIII. 153 
 
 all this, and much more, and have not char- 
 itv, we are nothing. 
 
 V * 
 
 Brethren, is there aught in our conduct 
 that will not abide this test? Are we 
 calling upon the name of the Lord without 
 obeying the Lord's commands? Do we 
 profess to love Christ and yet entertain 
 hard thoughts towards man ? Is ours that 
 speculative and unyielding religion which 
 reverences the doctrines, whilst it violates 
 the duties of the Bible ? Are we hoping 
 to be saved by the cross notwithstanding 
 that our carnal affections and sinful lusts 
 remain uncrucified and unsubdued? Do 
 we presume upon the extent of our scriptu- 
 ral knowledge, and upon the amount of our 
 spiritual attainment, without endeavouring, 
 by a diligent use of every means of grace, 
 by humble dependence upon God's enlight- 
 ening aid, by deeds of holiness and by 
 labours of love, to work out our own salva- 
 tion ? Then are we no better than "sound- 
 ing brass, or a tinkling cymbal ;" then do 
 we want that crowning grace which gives
 
 154 SERMON VIII. 
 
 consistency to faith, and certainty to hope, 
 and without which we shall enjoy neither 
 peace here, nor happiness hereafter. " We 
 know," says the venerable St. John, " that 
 we have passed from death unto life, be- 
 cause we love the brethren. He that 
 loveth not his brother abideth in death."' 
 
 Those unhappy divisions which distract- 
 ed the Corinthian church, and which almost 
 obliterated the beautiful features of the 
 Gospel, are unhappily not without parallel ; 
 though names and situations have passed 
 away, the unholy principle remains, and 
 " I am of Paul ; and I of Apollos ; and I of 
 Cephas," is the unbecoming language of 
 many a professing cliristian ! p So analo- 
 gous indeed is the present to the then state 
 of the Church, that were St. Paul permitted 
 to revisit the earth he would ask, as he was 
 then constrained to ask, " Is Christ divid- 
 ed," and he would doubtless say to us, as 
 he said to the Corinthians, " Now I beseech 
 you, brethren, by the name of the Lord 
 
 1 John iii. 14. P 1 Cor. i. 1012.
 
 SERMON VIII. 155 
 
 Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same 
 thing, and that there be no divisions among 
 you j but that you be perfectly joined 
 together in the same mind, and in the same 
 judgment." 
 
 Nothing can indicate more distinctly 
 the absence of genuine religion than the 
 existence of strife, and animosity, and divi- 
 sion in reference to things spiritual; and 
 he who blindly seeks to elevate the deno- 
 mination to which he belongs at the ex- 
 pence of cliristian unity ; who presumptu- 
 ously restricts the privileges of the Gospel 
 to those who embrace the system which he 
 espouses; who closes his heart and his 
 hopes against all who read not as he reads, 
 and who worsliip not where he worships, 
 both insults his Maker, and dishonours his 
 Saviour, and endangers liis soul. Let us 
 therefore instantly bring our profession to 
 the test which our text supplies ; we have 
 faith, we have hope, but, have we charity? 
 Have we that ardent and universal love 
 which includes all sects and parties in its
 
 156 SERMON VIII. 
 
 wide and tolerant embrace, and which 
 gives its sincere and ready blessing to 
 all, without reference to name and peculi- 
 arity, who worship the Lord Jesus in sin- 
 cerity and in truth ? Whilst we profess to 
 love God, do we love our brother also, and 
 manifest that love by doing to him on all 
 occasions as we would that he should do 
 unto us ? Do we bring forth the fruits of 
 the Spirit, which are love, joy, peace, 
 long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 
 meekness, temperance ? q If not, we have 
 neither part, nor fellowship with Christ ; 
 we are merely his disciples in name, not 
 his disciples indeed, for " they that are 
 Christ's, have crucified the flesh with the 
 affections and lusts." r 
 
 2. And wliilst we apply the test,, let us 
 give heed unto the testimony wliich the 
 important chapter under consideration bears 
 to the value and necessity of practical 
 religion. Though of the graces enumerated 
 in the text one is declared to be " the 
 
 q Gal. T. 22. " Gal. v. 24.
 
 SERMON VIII. 157 
 
 greatest," it is important to remember that 
 in the cliristian character they cannot pos- 
 sihly exist apart, that unless the three be 
 united in our practice, that practice will be 
 necessarily and essentially defective. By 
 faith only are we justified, but it is by faith 
 wliich tvorketh by love; by hope are we 
 sustained, but hope not to be delusive must 
 purify us even as Christ is pure ; by charity 
 therefore must we prove the strength and 
 efficacy of our faith, and the reality of our 
 hope. Inasmuch as the end is more impor- 
 tant than the means, and the fruit more 
 precious than the tree, love is more impor- 
 tant and more precious than faith and hope 
 which produce it ; but we must not imagine 
 because love is thus necessarily greater 
 than the graces with which it is compared, 
 that, therefore, it is an independent cause of 
 salvation ; no ; we repeat, and we cannot 
 repeat it too often, that by faith only are 
 we saved : the fruit may be more excellent 
 than the tree, yet the tree is still necessary 
 to the production of fruit; and though
 
 158 SERMON VIII. 
 
 charity be more excellent than either faith 
 or hope, without faith and hope there can 
 he no acceptable charity. 
 
 Impelled by these considerations, bre- 
 thren, let us " follow after charity." Act- 
 ing upon those wide and tolerant views 
 which the Gospel unfolds, let our every 
 thought, and word, and work be influenced 
 by the love of God, and the love of man : 
 guided by the apostle's description, and by 
 what speaks much more forcibly than even 
 the apostle's glowing language, the Savi- 
 our's example, let us " eschew evil, and do 
 good; let us seek peace and ensue it." 3 
 A little thought, and a little self-examina- 
 tion, will shew whether we are walking in 
 the path in which it behoves us to go, 
 whether like the Corinthians we are clam- 
 ouring for the name, or whether like single- 
 hearted Christians, we are striving to honour 
 the profession, and to reap the rewards 
 of religion. If we do not long and pa- 
 tiently endure injuries and provocations ; 
 
 I Peter iii. 11.
 
 SERMON VIII. 159 
 
 if we are unkind, or envious, or boastful, or 
 proud ; if our deportment be unbecoming 
 our age, or station, or circumstances ; if 
 we are extreme to mark what is done amiss, 
 and give wav to feelings of resentment and 
 
 O v 
 
 revenge ; if, easily provoked, \ve foment 
 disputes on unimportant occasions, and te- 
 naciously watch every slight and uninten- 
 tional infringement of our lights; if we 
 rejoice in the crimes and downfal of our 
 enemy, and neither bless, nor serve, nor 
 pray for those who hate, and despitefully 
 use, and persecute us ; if on doubtful 
 grounds we believe and think evil of our 
 neighbour; if we put not the most can- 
 did and favourable constructions upon the 
 motives and actions of others, and even 
 when appearances are against them, do not 
 hope for the best ; and if whilst we endure 
 persecutions and mal-treatment from open 
 enemies, or professed friends, we do not 
 cheerfully bear and patiently submit to, 
 whatever God may be pleased to lay upon 
 us, we have not charity, and are therefore
 
 160 SERMON VIII. 
 
 wandering from the road which leadeth 
 unto life. 
 
 Wherefore, looking unto the end of our 
 calling, and remembering that it was the 
 parting command of Him in whom we have 
 redemption and strength, that we abide 
 in his love; let us be kindly affectioned 
 one to another. Rising above the deaden- 
 ing influence of party and profession; 
 manfully and prayerfully contending against 
 every harsh, intolerant, and ireful feel- 
 ing, let us strive to give glory to God and 
 to spread good will amongst men. " Peace 
 upon earth" ought to be the watch-word of 
 the Christian warrior, and he who follows 
 not after " the tilings which make for peace" 
 must look for no reward in heaven. To 
 call upon the name of Christ, and to hope 
 for salvation through his mediation, whilst 
 we have not his spirit and obey not his 
 commands, is religious mockery ; it is to 
 claim for the shadow what belongs only to 
 the substance. " Faith, hope, charity, these 
 tliree ; but the greatest of these is charity."
 
 SERMON VIII. 161 
 
 Let us not forget that it is, nor why it 
 is, so : and O ! as we value our immortal 
 souls let us not forget who it is that assures 
 us, that they who neglect the duties and 
 offices of Christian love shall on the great 
 day of account go away into everlasting 
 punishment, whilst they who know and 
 discharge them shall enter into life eternal. 
 
 " How beautiful upon the mountains," 
 says the prophet, " are the feet of him that 
 bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace, 
 that briugeth good tidings of good ; " but 
 more beautiful far more beautiful are 
 the footsteps of that man who, having 
 listened to these good tidings, is mindful 
 to observe, and to do them : he walks in 
 favour both with God and man ; his praise 
 here is only a faint prelude to his reward 
 hereafter; for his portion shall be " peace 
 and quietness, and assurance for ever." 
 
 " Pure religion and undefiled," says St. 
 
 James, " before God and the Father is this, 
 
 To visit the fatherless and widows in their 
 
 affliction, and to keep ourselves unspotted 
 
 p 2
 
 162 SERMON VIII. 
 
 from the world ; " and happy shall we be 
 if we regulate our Christian course by this 
 soul-moving truth, for though we part with 
 pleasures and indulgences upon earth, we 
 lay up for ourselves unfading treasures and 
 unalloyed happiness in heaven, even the 
 enduring rewards of never-failing charity.
 
 SERMON IX. 
 
 THE INFLUENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. 
 
 JOHN xv. 26. 
 
 WHEN THE COMFORTER IS COME, WHOM I WILL SEND 
 UNTO YOU FROM THE FATHER, EVEN THE SPIRIT 
 OF TRUTH, WHICH PROCEEDETH FROM THE FATHER, 
 HE SHALL TESTIFY OF ME. 
 
 OUR blessed Saviour, under the prospect of 
 liis departure from the world, consoled his 
 disciples with the assurance, that the want 
 of his personal superintendence and in- 
 struction should be supplied by One who 
 would watch over, and co-operate with,
 
 164 SERMON IX. 
 
 their earnest endeavours. Beset by diffi- 
 culties sufficient to depress the proudest 
 and most hardy spirit, and remembering 
 that the hate of mankind was the predicted 
 consequence of their faithful adherence to 
 the Christian cause, it was natural that they 
 should regard his inevitable removal with 
 feelings of deep concern. They had wit- 
 nessed his stupendous miracles, and think- 
 ing, probably, that while He continued 
 amongst them, the wonderful powers with 
 which He was invested would lead, if not 
 to temporal advantage, at least to per- 
 sonal safety, they were content to adhere to 
 his cause. But that defection might not 
 result from his absence, that the light of 
 hope might irradiate the gloomy circum- 
 stances in which their attachment had 
 placed them, and reconcile them to every 
 impending affliction, He promised to place 
 them under the special protection of " the 
 Comforter, even the Spirit of truth," whom, 
 when He should have ascended to his 
 Father, He assured them should be sent
 
 SERMON IX. 165 
 
 unto them. That He who was thus des- 
 tined to supply the personal influence of 
 the Messiah, is a Person having high, 
 and omnipotent power ; that He is some- 
 thing more than a mere energy, or opera- 
 tion, or quality; that He is a spiritual 
 and intellectual subsistence, co-equal and 
 co-eternal with the Father, and the Son, 
 are positions for which we have the 
 surest warrants of Holy Scripture. We 
 are therefore constrained to revert with 
 sentiments of pity and regret to those 
 cold and comfortless theories, which, hy 
 rejecting these truths, roh the Saviour of 
 his Godhead, the Holy Spirit of his per- 
 sonality, and the Gospel of its life and 
 consistency. 
 
 " The Comforter," whose coming was 
 consequent upon that sublime event, which 
 during the past week we were invited to 
 commemorate, 4 is the third person in the 
 "holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity:" and 
 in conformity with the intentions of our 
 
 1 Preached on the Sunday after Ascension Day.
 
 166 SERMON IX. 
 
 Church, which directs the portion of Scrip- 
 ture from which we have selected our 
 text to he read in the service of the day, we 
 will proceed to a consideration of his won- 
 derful and mysterious agency and opera- 
 tions ; beseeching Him the while to grant 
 to eacli of us a hearing ear, and an under- 
 standing mind, to inspire us, as He in- 
 spired the sorrowing disciples, with fervent 
 love to the person, sincere attachment to 
 the cause, and a ready and implicit obedi- 
 ence to the commands of our heavenly 
 Master. 
 
 I. The word which in our text is 
 rendered " Comforter" signifies also an 
 advocate a defender of a cause a coun- 
 sellor a patron a guide a monitor or 
 teacher and an intercessor. 
 
 That He who was expressly sent to 
 support and to console the disciples on the 
 departure of their Divine Master, is aptly 
 denominated a " Comforter" will not be 
 denied. The nature of the services which
 
 SERMON IX. 167 
 
 He came to render clearly indicate the main 
 character in which He appeared. We must 
 not, however, restrict his right to this appel- 
 lation to the benefits which He conferred 
 upon the primitive church ; since what He 
 did for the bereaved disciples, He is now 
 ready to do for us. When those perceptions 
 of guilt, danger, and destitution, which 
 sooner or later, must disturb the unregene- 
 rate heart, all but overpower us, He is at 
 hand to administer consolation, The first 
 yearnings of the soul after spiritual food, 
 unlike the pressing calls of bodily hunger, 
 are not remediable by any human means. 
 The unregenerate mind in vain seeks for 
 solace and support from the world : its 
 lying vanities do indeed sometimes admin- 
 ister a soothing opiate ; those grave appre- 
 hensions which the recollection of an here- 
 after must call forth, are not unfrequently 
 drowned amid the cares of business, or the 
 frivolities of pleasure ; and the uneasy soul 
 readily acquiesces in any measure likely to 
 lessen its disquietude. Experience, how-
 
 168 SERMON IX. 
 
 ever, soon shews the folly of flying to the 
 world, for assistance which the world can- 
 not permanently render : power and plea- 
 sure, and wealth and fame, and all the 
 gilded hauhles which allure us, allure but 
 to destroy; miserable comforters are they 
 all. 
 
 In this state of wretchedness, the Holy 
 Spirit steps in to comfort us. He leads us 
 from the fading scenes of mortality, re- 
 moves the film which impedes our spiritual 
 discernment, and exposes the complete- 
 ness of that all-perfect remedy which we 
 owe unto " Him that loved us, and washed 
 us from our sins in his own blood. " u By 
 revealing Christ to the guilty and despair- 
 ing soul ; by proclaiming his effectual 
 atonement and all-sufficient remedy; by 
 causing us to lay hold on that undoubted 
 assurance of pardon and acceptance which 
 the Gospel affords, the darkness of despair 
 is relieved by the light of hope, and death 
 and the grave are divested of their terrors. 
 
 Rev. i. 5.
 
 SERMON IX. 169 
 
 The beginning of the divine life, indeed, is 
 the peculiar work of the Spirit; by his 
 special agency it is, that we are called out 
 of darkness into the marvellous light of 
 eternal truth ; by Him are we brought to 
 see the things which belong unto our peace, 
 and to acquire a saving knowledge of the 
 Lord Jesus Christ ; and, " the eyes of our 
 understanding being enlightened, to know 
 what is the hope of his calling, and what 
 the riches of the glory of his inheritance in 
 the saints." v 
 
 Not only does the Comforter thus avert 
 despair, and keep us from fainting under 
 the load of guilt, not only does He enable 
 us to believe, that a wounded and contrite 
 heart is dear and acceptable to God, that 
 it is the foundation on which our hopes of 
 pardon and happiness must rest, but He so 
 far seconds our applications to the throne 
 of mercy as to plead our cause in heaven. 
 He is in an especial sense our advocate ; 
 and the nature of His advocacy is thus 
 
 * Eph. i. 17, 18.
 
 170 SERMON IX. 
 
 beautifully described by St. Paul: " The 
 Spirit helpeth our infirmities : for we know 
 not what we should pray for as we ought : 
 but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for 
 us with gleanings which cannot be uttered. 
 And He that seareheth the hearts knoweth 
 what is in tlie mind of the Spirit, because 
 He maketh intercession for the saints ac- 
 cording to the will of God.'" What an 
 encouraging and delightful picture does 
 this eloquent passage present to the sincere 
 Christian. It shews, that " accordingly as 
 we endure affliction in tlu's our state of 
 trial, so also the Divine Spirit liiinself, 
 which is in us, bears his part with, and 
 sustains us under our sorrows : for we in 
 this life are too ignorant even to pray for 
 that which is the best for us \ but the Holy 
 Spirit silently pi-ays for us without our 
 knowledge ; and He who sees the interior 
 of our hearts listens to these secret suppli- 
 cations of the Spirit which it offers to God 
 in the behalf of his saints."" By filling us 
 
 w Rom. viii. 26, 27. * Shuttleworth's Paraphrase in loco.
 
 SERMON IX. 171 
 
 with devout affections, by strengthening 
 our weakness, and by infusing a right spirit 
 into our naturally defective appeals to an 
 offended God, He effectually defends, and 
 successfully promotes, the object of our 
 earnest petitions. 
 
 But He does more: He is likewise a 
 faithful monitor and guide. He addresses 
 us through the honest whispers of consci- 
 ence, and the unobserved upbraidings of 
 the heart. When the solicitations of sense 
 cause us to disregard the one thing needful; 
 and the seductive calls of interest render 
 us deaf to the more important calls of the 
 Gospel, the Comforter will often check us 
 in our infatuated career. He exercises a 
 restraining influence over the rebellious 
 faculties of the soul, and is constantly pour- 
 ing into the mind the most seasonable 
 recollections. 
 
 When the strong stream of worldly- 
 mindeduess threatens to bear us far from 
 the land of safety and of happiness, when, 
 like faithless Peter, we begin to sink amidst
 
 172 SERMON IX. 
 
 the storms and waves of an unbelieving 
 heart, He is ever nigh to uphold and 
 preserve us. " O thou of little faith, 
 wherefore dost thou doubt ?" y is the touch- 
 ing question by which he strives to arrest 
 the dangers that threaten us. He unfolds 
 the promises, and repeats the warnings, 
 and applies the consolations of scripture. 
 He directs our thoughts from the impurity 
 of earth, to the purity of heaven, and con- 
 stantly renews those hallowed impressions 
 which first opened our eyes to the incalcu- 
 lable worth of the soul. He humbles our 
 pride while He elevates our courage ; and 
 by displaying the transcendent glories of 
 eternity, rekindles our expiring desires after 
 holiness. Hence, whilst He illumines the 
 understanding, He disposes us to pious 
 meditation and prayer; and by timely mo- 
 nition acting upon his previous illumination, 
 waters and renders fruitful the seed wliich 
 He formerly implanted. His office, in 
 short, is to awaken the slumbering sinner, 
 
 y Matt. xiv. 31.
 
 SERMON IX. 173 
 
 to purge the polluted heart, to strengthen 
 the feeble purpose, to cheer the droop- 
 ing spirit, jmd by purifying and elevating 
 its dark and grovelling propensities, to give 
 life and happiness to the soul. Without his 
 comforting, and interceding, and regene- 
 rating influence, we should be of all men 
 most miserable. Sorrow, and weakness, 
 and error would constantly distract us, and 
 we should become an easy prey to that 
 wily adversary, who, " as a roaring lion, 
 walketh about, seeking whom he may de- 
 vour."' Such are the important offices of 
 Him whom our blessed Saviour justly 
 styled " the Comforter:' 
 
 II. To the primitive church his influ- 
 ence and agency were manifestly indispen- 
 sable. Without them the world, after the 
 ascension of the Saviour, must have relaps- 
 ed into idolatry; for without aid from 
 above, man is not only unable to discover 
 truth, but also unable to keep it. Amongst 
 
 * 1 Peter v. 8. 
 Q 2
 
 174 SERMON IX. 
 
 the various and conflicting tenets which 
 distracted mankind before the day-spring 
 from on high was permitted to visit them, 
 glimpses of certainty formed the only re- 
 deeming qualities in a vast mass of absurd 
 conjecture; and the facts and doctrines 
 which had floated down the stream of a 
 corrupting tradition, were so intermixed 
 with error, that the truth which they 
 originally possessed was almost totally ob- 
 scured. Even the Jews, possessing as 
 they did, a highly technical and significant 
 religion, the expressive rites and ceremo- 
 nies of which all enforced some essential 
 doctrine or duty, were by no means faith- 
 ful to then* important trust ; they frequent- 
 ly forsook the living God ; and by perverse 
 and fanciful interpretation rendered his 
 word of none effect. These facts clearly 
 indicate the necessity of the divine super- 
 intendence promised in our text. And as 
 the aid of the Comforter is necessary for 
 the preservation of the truth, so was it 
 necessary to enable the first preachers to
 
 SERMON IX. 175 
 
 defend and to propagate it. Whoever is 
 conversant with the circumstances wliich 
 attended the first planting of Christianity, 
 must be aware, that its extraordinary spread 
 cannot be referred to mere secondary causes. 
 Deny the direct agency and interference of 
 the Holy Spirit, and the spread of Chris- 
 tianity becomes an impenetrable mystery : 
 admit them, and we have no difficulty in 
 understanding the wisdom which charac- 
 terised the energy and the courage which 
 distinguished, and the extraordinary suc- 
 cess which attended, the efforts of the 
 apostles. 
 
 It would seem indeed that the agency of 
 the Comforter was more sensibly felt, than 
 even the presence of the Saviour; for 
 while He was with them the purpose of 
 the apostles appeared to be only half made 
 up, and their resolutions resembled the 
 fitful glimmerings of an expiring flame. 
 No sooner was the Shepherd stricken, than 
 the sheep were scattered; scarcely was 
 the Master betrayed into the hands of his
 
 176 SERMON IX. 
 
 enemies, before the disciples all left him 
 and fled ; and Peter, adding the impiety 
 of an oath to his apostacy, denied Him, to 
 whom just hefore he had expressed the 
 most ardent and unalterable attachment. 
 After the ascension, on the contrary, no 
 threat could intimidate, no dangers appal 
 them. It may, we are aware, be surmised, 
 that before the crucifixion, that mighty 
 evidence on which Christianity now reposes, 
 was not complete ; that the glories of the 
 resurrection, and the sublime spectacle of 
 the ascension, had not then awed the mind 
 into complete and unhesitating faith. The 
 disciples however had all seen sufficient to 
 waiTant the belief, that results equally satis- 
 factory, and equally splendid, would ensue ; 
 that He who had controlled the raging 
 elements, opened the sightless eye, re- 
 stored the withered limb, stayed the deso- 
 lating progress of disease, and imparted 
 the vigour and beauty of health to the 
 pallid and decomposing corpse, would ulti- 
 mately rise above all the persecution which
 
 SERMON IX. 177 
 
 assailed him, and manifest in his own 
 person, an exertion of power as irresistible 
 and as miraculous, as any which they 
 had witnessed. This is a conclusion at 
 which, by the easiest exertion of reason, 
 they might have arrived; but even this 
 obvious conclusion seems to have involved 
 a stretch of faith to which their unassisted 
 minds were not equal. 
 
 To the directing and constraining influ- 
 ence of the Comforter, therefore, we must 
 necessarily refer the success of those stu- 
 pendous exertions which poured the light 
 of the Gospel over a slumbering and 
 benighted world; which swept away, as by 
 the power of a "rushing mighty wind," 
 those heaps of error, ignorance, and delu- 
 sion which smothered the fair forms of truth, 
 reason, and religion. It was "the "Com- 
 forter" who gave to the apostate Peter that 
 commanding measure of energy and of 
 perseverance which made him ever after 
 the ready and joyful herald of his glorified 
 Master; and who imparted to the persecu-
 
 178 SERMON IX. 
 
 ting Paul, that fearless demeanour, and 
 steady adherence to the cause of Christ, 
 which " neither death, nor life, nor angels, 
 nor principalities, nor powers" could disturb. 
 Apart, indeed, from the strengthening and 
 protecting agency of " the Comforter," we 
 shall never be able to comprehend how, 
 and why, men without friends, without 
 wealth, mostly without education, without 
 power, without prospect of temporal reward, 
 nay, with a certain prospect of temporal 
 punishment, should leave father and mo- 
 ther, and wife and children, and all the 
 endearments of home, to traverse foreign 
 countries and voluntarily encounter dan- 
 gers merely to preach unwelcome truths ; 
 to call upon men every where to " repent 
 and believe in the name of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ for the remission of sins;" a to dis- 
 pel the dreams of the philosopher, and to 
 disturb the repose of the moralist, by the 
 astounding declaration, " He that believ- 
 eth, and is baptized shall be saved - } but he 
 
 Acts ii. 17.
 
 SERMON IX. 179 
 
 that believeth not shall be damned." 1 The 
 man who can see in such conduct, nothing 
 but what he can reconcile to the principles 
 which ordinarily regulate mankind, can 
 know but little of human nature, and less 
 of the corruption and weakness of his own 
 bent. 
 
 III. But, brethren, let it not be imagined 
 that, because the dangers which originally 
 accompanied the profession and preaching 
 o,f Christianity are now happily removed, 
 we therefore need not the assistance of 
 " the Comforter." The frown of power, 
 and the fire of persecution ; the slow 
 finger of scorn, and the deadly ravings of 
 hate, are indeed no longer among the evils 
 which religion calls upon us to surmount : 
 no, blest be the memory of that noble 
 army of martyrs whose precious blood sealed 
 the inestimable privilege we worship God, 
 " every man under his vine and under his 
 figtree," none making us afraid. The 
 
 b Mark xvi. 1G.
 
 180 SERMON IX. 
 
 dangers which heset us are, notwithstand- 
 ing, many and alarming. The enemy from 
 without no longer assails us, not so the 
 enemy from within ; his insidious inroads 
 imperatively demand that we seek the alli- 
 ance and protection of the Comforter. We 
 are, indeed, not required to fight with carnal 
 weapons, but it is necessary that we pro- 
 vide ourselves with spiiitual ones. Exempt 
 from the dangers of persecution, and the 
 treachery of designing men, we are still 
 exposed to the malignity of Satan, and to 
 all his dangerous stratagems. Kingdoms 
 may be conquered, and the loftiest states 
 of humanity levelled to the dust, by the 
 might of man; but that might cannot 
 subdue the rebellious passions, nor humble 
 the lofty piide, which rage in the unrege- 
 nerate bosom. Our ghostly adversary de- 
 rides all human efforts, and the weak 
 devices of worldly wisdom serve but to 
 rivet the chains with which he confines us. 
 Whither then can we fly for succour, but to 
 Him who alone can rescue us ? who alone
 
 SERMON IX. 181 
 
 can open our eyes, and turn us " from 
 darkness to light, and from the power of 
 Satan unto God?" c who, to adopt the 
 language of our Church, can alone " pre- 
 vent us, that we may have a good will, 
 and work with us when we have it ? " d 
 
 Be it our wise determination, therefore, 
 to seek hy fervent prayer the aid of Him 
 who is ready to guide us into " the ways 
 of pleasantness," and into " the paths of 
 peace." Of ourselves we can do nothing ; 
 it is the Holy Spirit who must render 
 the conviction of the understanding influ- 
 ential upon the heart : without Him we 
 may be convinced, but without Him we 
 cannot be converted. 
 
 Do we feel ourselves lost? Are we 
 brought to acknowledge the necessity of a 
 Redeemer? oppressed by the burden of 
 sin, are we weary and heavy laden ? Does 
 a sense of our weakness, distress, and a 
 feeling of destitution affright us ? help, 
 praised be God, is laid upon One who is 
 
 c Acts xxvi. 18. d Article x.
 
 182 SERMON IX. 
 
 mighty to save, and that help is freely 
 offered offered without money, and with- 
 out price, to all who flee unto God by 
 Christ, and come boldly to the throne of 
 grace, that they may obtain mercy and find 
 grace to help them in time of need, for 
 " tlirough the power of the Holy Ghost we 
 abound in hope, and are filled with all joy 
 and peace in believing." 6 
 
 Let us, therefore, strive diligently for a 
 place in tliat celestial kingdom, whither our 
 Saviour has gone before us. " Every 
 good gift and every perfect gift is from 
 above, and cometh down from the Father 
 of lights, with whom is no variableness, 
 neither shadow of turning," f and who most 
 assuredly will not reject " the sacrifice of a 
 broken and a contrite heart." 8 " The 
 grace of Christ is sufficient for us : for his 
 strength is made perfect in our weakness ; " t 
 and this sufficiency flows from the free 
 unmerited benignity of a merciful God, 
 
 e Rom. XT. 13. f James i. 17. 
 
 e Psalm li, 17. * 2 Cor. xii. 9.
 
 SERMON IX. 183 
 
 who is pledged to give the blessing of liis 
 Holy Spirit to all who ask it, " that our 
 joy may he full." " If any of you lack 
 wisdom," saith St. James, " let him ask of 
 God, that giveth to all men liberally, and 
 upbraideth not; and it shall be given 
 him." 1 
 
 It cannot be needful, brethren, to dwell 
 longer upon the necessity of seeking that 
 aid which " proceedeth from the Father, 
 and the Son, and whereby alone we are 
 sealed unto the day of redemption."j Is 
 there one amongst us, so dead to his own 
 interests, so deluded by a fatal self-suffi- 
 ciency, so bewildered by the stupefactions 
 of a wicked world, as to think that he 
 needs not a Saviour, nor the sanctifying 
 and consoling influence of the Comforter ? 
 We would remind him that it is said by 
 One who cannot lie, " Except a man be 
 bora again, be born of water and of the 
 Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of 
 God." k And we affectionately exhort all 
 
 James i. 5. J Eph. ir. 30. k John iii. 3. 5.
 
 184 SERMON IX. 
 
 to recollect, that, as without the sustaining 
 influence of the Comforter, every effort 
 after holiness must prove abortive, so will 
 that influence be witheld from him who 
 strives not to enter in at the strait gate. 
 To aid, not to supersede, human exertion, 
 is the principle upon which the Holy Spirit 
 vouchsafes his assistance. His inspiration, 
 in fact, is the favouring gale which wafts 
 our frail bark in safety through the danger- 
 ous voyage of life, and conducts it to that 
 haven, which storm and tempest, doubt 
 and difficulty can never reach ; where faith 
 will be exchanged for reality hope for 
 fruition, and time for eternity. 
 
 Wherefore, beloved brethren, " let us 
 as we are most bound give hearty thanks 
 to God the Father, and his Son Jesus 
 Christ, for sending down this Comforter 
 into the world, humbly beseecliing Him so 
 to work in our hearts by the power of this 
 Holy Spirit, that we being regenerate and 
 newly bom again in all goodness, righte- 
 ousness, sobriety and truth, may in the
 
 SERMON IX. 185 
 
 end be made partakers of everlasting life 
 in his heavenly kingdom, through Jesus 
 Christ our Lord and Saviour. Amen." 1 
 
 1 Homily for Whitsunday. 
 
 R 2
 
 SEEMON X. 
 
 THE SPIRIT MAY BE QUENCHED, 
 
 1 THESSALONIANS v. 19. 
 
 QUENCH NOT THE SPIRIT. 
 
 IT is a favourite doctrine with some that 
 the grace of God is irresistible ; that its 
 influence is so potent, and its impressions 
 so strong, as to leave us without choice ; 
 that it is, in fact, a sort of whirlpool whose 
 rapid and ahsorbing action bears us whither-
 
 SERMON X. 187 
 
 soever it will. Were this really the doc- 
 trine of the Bible, how inexplicable would 
 be those oft recurring passages which call 
 upon us to " work out our own salvation 
 with fear and trembling;"" 1 which warn 
 us " lest we become hardened through the 
 deceitfuluess of sin;"" which enjoin us to 
 " cease to do evil, and to learn to do well ;" 
 which caution us not " to resist" nor " to 
 grieve" nor " to quench the Spirit." 1 * If 
 we have not the power of choice, nor the 
 chance of discrimination, why are we re- 
 quired to "refuse the evil, and to choose 
 the good ? " q if the influence of the Spirit 
 must necessarily overpower us, if no suc- 
 cessful opposition can be made to it, in 
 what sense are we to understand the de- 
 claration, " my Spirit shall not always strive 
 with man ? " The alliance of the Comfor- 
 ter is, unquestionably, one which must, if 
 assiduously cultivated, render us victorious 
 
 Philip ii. 12. Heb. iii. 13. Isaiah i. 16, 17. 
 
 P See Rom. xiii. 2. and Eph. ir. 30. i Isaiah vii. 15. 
 
 * Gen. vi. 3.
 
 188 SERMON X. 
 
 over " sin, the world, and the devil ; " but 
 an alliance, it must be recollected, implies 
 co-operation, and acts with, not indepen- 
 dently of, the power which it is designed to 
 assist. In order, therefore, to ensure the 
 full benefit of that assistance which the 
 Comforter is ever disposed to grant, we 
 must not indolently and supinely wait for 
 Him; we must "look diligently for Him 
 lest we fail of the grace of God," 5 which is 
 bestowed not to supersede our efforts, but 
 to aid and strengthen us in the struggle 
 for immortality. 
 
 So far, indeed, from warranting the sup- 
 position, that we are involuntary instru- 
 ments in the great work of salvation, the 
 Scriptures command us " to watch and 
 pray ; " " to stand fast in the faith, to 
 quit ourselves like men, to be strong;"" 
 " to neglect not," but " to stir up, the gift 
 of God," v "for," says St. Paul, "we are 
 made partakers of Christ, if we hold the 
 
 Heb. xii. 15. l Mark xiii. 33. 1 Cor. xvi. 13. 
 * See 1 Tim. ir. 14. and 2 Tim. i. 6.
 
 SERMON X. 
 
 beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the 
 end."* ' 
 
 I. It is hence clear that the Spirit 
 may he quenched, and it is most un- 
 doubted, that every moment of our lives 
 we are liable to quench it. So strong and 
 treacherous, and multiform, are the sins 
 and temptations which assail the soul, that 
 the greatest vigilance is necessary to pre- 
 serve us from their seductions ; and it is in 
 consideration of our extreme weakness and 
 danger that the Comforter descends from 
 his heavenly abode, to sanctify, strengthen, 
 and protect us. 
 
 1. The first means by which the Spirit 
 may be quenched, is, inattention to its 
 warnings. If, when either in the retire- 
 ment of the closet, or in the public services 
 of religion ; if, when from the candour of 
 friendly admonition, or from the persuasive 
 address of the preacher, we are induced to 
 look into our own hearts, and to shudder at 
 
 w Heb iii. 14.
 
 190 SERMON X. 
 
 their darkness and depravity, we refuse to 
 act upon our salutary impressions, and 
 relapse into the slumber of worldly-mmd- 
 edness, we quench that bright flame Avhich 
 might have guided us to life eternal. 
 
 Nor are the visitations of the Spirit 
 restricted to these channels; He speaks 
 to us in all the numberless casualties of 
 life. Whenever the clouds of misfortune 
 overcast the uncertain prospects of mortali- 
 ty, and the harsh thunder of death sends 
 its solemn peals to the soul, He addresses 
 us in the affecting language of the prophet : 
 "All flesh is grass, and all the goodli- 
 ness thereof, is as the flower of the field:" 
 " the grass withereth, the flower fadeth : 
 but the word of our God shall stand for 
 ever." 1 
 
 If then we close the ear and the heart 
 against these instructive and admonitory 
 lessons; if these loud and oft repeated 
 calls to repentance, produce only a passing 
 uneasiness, and we continue to walk in 
 
 * Isaiah xi. 6. 8.
 
 SERMON X. 191 
 
 " the ways of our heart and in the sight of 
 our eyes, as though God will never bring 
 us into judgment," we disregard the mo- 
 mentous exhortation of the apostle, we 
 " quench the Spirit." 
 
 2. Not only may He be quenched by 
 inattention, his saving operations are con- 
 stantly checked by the encroachments of a 
 worldly spirit. How fatal, for instance, to 
 all spiritual advancement is pride. This 
 it is wliich often prompts us to rise in 
 presumptuous rebellion against the Lord 
 our. God, to reject the saving and merciful 
 provisions of the Gospel, and to depend 
 with a deceptive complacency on our- 
 selves ! There is doubtless much, very 
 much, in the Bible to displease and to 
 repel the natural man ; its uncompromis- 
 ing doctrines are directly opposed to those 
 lofty notions winch form the day-dreams of 
 the multitude. AYhen it is required, in 
 order to become meet for the kingdon of 
 heaven, that selfishness be eradicated from 
 the bosom; that greatness cease to elate
 
 192 SERMON X. 
 
 us ; that we disregard the syren voice of 
 pleasure ; that the treasures and the wis- 
 dom of this world occupy only a secondary 
 place in our affections; that we become 
 humble and teachable, and be content to 
 learn only of the meek and lowly Jesus v , 
 w r e begin to cavil at conditions which aim 
 to abate our worldly ardour and to lessen 
 our worldly importance, and pride is ready 
 to denounce, and to question, the necessity 
 of submission. Those who are thus offend- 
 ed at sound doctrine, are " treasuring up 
 unto themselves wrath against the day. of 
 wrath :" y they quench the Spirit in its 
 most important office, and give themselves 
 up, to use the expressive language of Holy 
 Writ, to a " strong delusion, that they 
 should believe a lie." : Well has the apos- 
 tle admonished us, " God resisteth the 
 proud, but giveth grace unto the humble."" 
 And what is true of pride, applies to 
 all the feelings and propensities of the 
 unregenerate mind. Whenever we offend 
 
 y Rom. ii. 5. z 2 Thess. ii. 11. James iv. 6.
 
 SERMON X. 193 
 
 against conviction, and disobey the dictates 
 of conscience; whenever in thought, word, 
 or deed, we enter the precincts of sin : 
 when, for instance, we wallow in the prac- 
 tices of a debasing sensuality, or give 
 way to the impetuosity of anger, or to the 
 treachery of falsehood, or resign ourselves 
 to the mean malignity of a censorious 
 spirit, or encourage the deadly feelings 
 of revenge, or allow ourselves to be dis- 
 turbed by the gnawings of envy or the 
 frettings of discontent or the frivolity of 
 vanity or the tliirst of covetousness, we 
 run counter to the advice of the apostle, 
 we quench that Spirit, whose holy influ- 
 ences live not in an atmosphere of sin. If 
 we strive for the mastery over evil, and 
 earnestly solicit the aid of " the Comforter" 
 to enable us to subdue our corrupt will 
 and affections, He is ever ready to assist 
 us : but if on the contrary we unhesitat- 
 ingly permit sin to rage in our bosoms, we 
 violate the very conditions on which we 
 are to expect his alliance and support;
 
 194 SERMON X. 
 
 we ill fact do " despite unto the Spirit of 
 grace,"* and we also overlook tlie apos- 
 tolic admonition, " Draw nigh unto God, 
 and He will draw nigh unto you. Cleanse 
 your hands, ye sinners ; and purify your 
 hearts, ye double minded." 
 
 3. Heedlessness, and inattention to the 
 prescribed means of grace, will often cause us 
 to quench the Spirit. We are instructed 
 to " seek the Lord while He may he found, 
 and to call upon Him while He is near :" 
 and it is hence plain that the time may 
 come in which we shall seek Him in vain. 
 Perhaps no circumstance is so likely to 
 hasten the arrival of such a period, as a 
 stubborn neglect of those sacred duties 
 which bring us into hallowed communion 
 with heavenly things. If neither in the 
 stillness of our chambers, nor in the bosom 
 of our families, nor in the sanctuary of 
 our God, \ve accustom ourselves to prayer 
 and to religious meditation : if the blessed 
 word of truth remain upon our shelves 
 
 b Heb. x. 29. c James iv. 8. d Isaiah \\. G.
 
 SERMON X. 195 
 
 unstudied aiid unopened, and the sound of 
 the Church-going bell falls idly upon our 
 ears, we necessarily encourage the growth 
 of those worldly habits which are " enmity 
 against God," and we unavoidably offend 
 that >Spirit who deigns not to visit those 
 who obdurately refuse to seek Him. 
 
 Before we presume to defer the considera- 
 tion of what immediately appertains to our 
 eternal interests, we should endeavour to 
 acquaint ourselves with the force of habit. 
 Procrastination, so far from weakening the 
 dislike from which it springs, most com- 
 monly strengthens it; and he who now 
 refuses to surrender his heart and affections 
 to the Saviour, will find it much more 
 difficult to submit when age shall have 
 damped the energies, and the world taken 
 possession of the best feelings, of the soul. 
 " No man can serve two masters: for either 
 he will hate the one, and love the other : or 
 else he will hold to the one, and despise 
 the other. Ye cannot serve God and 
 mammon." 8 
 
 Matt. vL 24.
 
 196 SERMON X. 
 
 By determining, indeed, to give the pre- 
 sent to the world, and to reserve the future 
 for God, we resemble a foolish husbandman 
 who should look for a profitable harvest 
 from land which he had sown with tares : 
 for with what propriety can we expect the 
 fruits of holiness to spring up in that bosom 
 in which the seeds of holiness have not been 
 planted ? and how can we expect to trace 
 the blessed effects of sanctification in a 
 heart which has withdrawn itself from the 
 sanctifying influences of the Comforter? 
 " Be not deceived ; God is not mocked : 
 for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he 
 also reap. For he that soweth to his flesh 
 shall of the flesh reap corruption ; but he 
 that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit 
 reap life everlasting." f 
 
 4. Manifold, indeed, are the causes by 
 which the Spirit may be quenched. Even 
 after we are brought to see and to feel the 
 necessity of religion, we are in imminent 
 danger of offending the Comforter by luke- 
 warmness and indifference ; by neglecting 
 
 f Gal. vi. 8.
 
 SERMON X. 197 
 
 to place a just value upon his assistance, 
 and by that pride and prejudice which 
 constantly pervert the pure word of truth. 
 As care and culture are necessary to ensure 
 the fruits of the earth, so in the all-momen- 
 tous concerns of religion are they necessary 
 to ensure the fruits of the Spirit : if there- 
 fore we diligently use not the appointed 
 means of grace, hut give a preponderating 
 measure of attention to worldly interests ; 
 if we " hear the word," and acknowledg- 
 ing the full importance of all that it re- 
 quires, allow " the cares of this world, and 
 the deceitfulness of riches, and the lusts of 
 other things to spring up with, and choke 
 it," g we are verily guilty of quenching the 
 Spirit. Whether wealth, or pleasure, or 
 fame; whether the corrupting influence 
 of evil example, or the more contaminating 
 influence of evil association ; whether the 
 elation of prosperity, or the depression of 
 adversity, cause us to forget God; what- 
 ever, in short, sullies and deadens those 
 
 s Mark iv. 10. 
 s 2
 
 198 SERMON X. 
 
 pure and unearthly feelings which are the 
 legitimate offspring of religion, necessarily 
 leads us to quench the sanctifying and 
 enlightening aid of the Spirit. 
 
 II. In proceeding to suggest how we 
 may ohey the injunction in our text, we 
 would, in the first instance, insist upon a 
 plain and obvious rule, that of carefully 
 avoiding every cause which may involve 
 disobedience. But as the duties of watch- 
 ing the appearance, and of guarding against 
 the approach, of evil, do not constitute the 
 whole of the precautions requisite for en- 
 suring the full gifts of the Spirit, we would 
 urge the necessity, first, of placing a high 
 value upon them; and lastly, the pro- 
 priety of seeking them by fervent prayer. 
 
 1. The Gospel loves not a lukewarm 
 heart; it is not satisfied when we bring 
 into its service, affections wavering between 
 God and the world, when our piety and 
 our religion continue to animate us only so 
 long as the world has nothing to offer.
 
 SERMON X. 199 
 
 That we may not quench the Spirit, it 
 must be our unceasing object to encourage 
 liis illuminations. Looking into our hearts, 
 and duly estimating our own powers, we 
 must never forget the frightful depravity 
 which disfigures the one, and the abject 
 weakness which attaches the other; and 
 however depressing this view of the natural 
 man, it will not fail to produce that godly 
 sorrow, the end whereof is joy. 
 
 The conviction that we want assistance 
 must naturally compel us to seek it : and 
 when we become thoroughly persuaded 
 that it is Christ alone who is mighty to 
 save, that " He is the way, and the truth, 
 and the life," that " without Him we can 
 do nothing," we shall be induced to provide 
 against the manifold dangers and difficul- 
 ties which beset us, and to seek that grace 
 which is sufficient for us. Recollecting 
 that " although here we have no continuing 
 nor abiding city there remaineth a rest to 
 the people of God," h that "when the
 
 200 SERMON X. 
 
 earthly house of this tabernacle is dissolved, 
 they have a building of God, an house not 
 made with hands, eternal in the heavens," 1 
 it will become our principal aim to obtain 
 possessions so desirable. When we have 
 accordingly fixed our affections on things 
 above, and evinced a decided preference for 
 heavenly pursuits, then will the Spirit be 
 ready to assist our infirmities, and to 
 strengthen us so that we may "walk up 
 and down in the name of the Lord." j 
 
 Where indeed a willingness to do the 
 will of God manifests itself, the way is 
 always open. As the tender plant is nur- 
 tured by the genial shower, and strength- 
 ened by the invigorating breeze, so is the 
 holy purpose ripened into fruit by the 
 secret visitations, and cheering influences of 
 the Spirit: but that we may reap we 
 must assiduously labour, and carefully root 
 up those weeds which encumber the soil, 
 and impede the growth of the spiritual 
 harvest. If this be done, we shall assur- 
 
 ' 2 Cor. v. 1. JZech. x. 12.
 
 SERMON X. 201 
 
 edly become " strong in the Lord and in the 
 power of his might." The obduracy and 
 hardness of the unregenerate heart are 
 changed and softened by the subduing 
 influence of the Spirit : if the seed which 
 He scatters, if the holy purpose which 
 He implants, if the good desires which 
 He calls forth, be gratefully received and 
 diligently cherished, then will He come 
 and take up his abode with us and render 
 us fruitful in every good work, and cause 
 us to abound in hope, and fill us with all 
 joy and peace in believing. " Through 
 the weakness of our mortal nature, we can 
 do no good thing without Him : and as by 
 Ins special grace preventing us, He puts 
 into our minds good desires, so by his 
 continual help we bring the same to good 
 effect," k such are the wise avowals of the 
 Church to which we belong, and such are 
 the scriptural truths which all must thank- 
 fully receive, and constantly act upon, who 
 
 k See Collects for First Sunday after Trinity and for 
 Easter day.
 
 202 SERMON X. 
 
 would secure to themselves " a building of 
 God, a house not made with hands, eternal 
 in the heavens." 
 
 2. Seeing then, brethren, that of our- 
 selves we can do nothing, that we are 
 saved " by the washing of regeneration and 
 renewing of the Holy Ghost; which is 
 shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ 
 our Saviour," 1 let us watch and pray that 
 we enter not in temptation, but that we may 
 in all things " be led by the good Spirit of 
 God." Prayer is to the soul what exercise 
 and discipline are to the body : it arms 
 and strengthens us for our conflict with the 
 world, and obtains for us help from the 
 " sanctuary, and strength from out of Zion :" 
 prayer, 'fervent, uncloubting prayer, bears 
 us on the wings of faith above all the lusts, 
 and cares, and sorrows of this land of 
 shadows, and ushers us into the presence of 
 the Deity ; it lights up the flame of love 
 and devotion in the soul, and gives a fore- 
 taste of those calm, spiritualized, and de- 
 
 1 Titus iii. 5, 6.
 
 SERMON X. 203 
 
 lightful feelings which constitute a portion 
 of the happiness of just men made perfect. 
 Nor can we marvel that prayer is thus 
 blessed, when we recollect, that whenever 
 with humble, lowly, penitent, and obedient 
 hearts, we prostrate ourselves before the 
 throne of grace, the Spirit is present with 
 us, helping our infirmities, sustaining our 
 weakness, and instructing us what to pray 
 for. O ! how full of consolation, how 
 fraught with joy is the consideration, that 
 amid all the trials which flesh is heir to, 
 we have a never-failing refuge in prayer. 
 " The prayers of holy men appease God's 
 wrath, drive away temptations, and resist 
 and overcome the devil : holy prayer pro- 
 cures the ministry and service of angels, it 
 rescinds the decrees of God, it cures sick- 
 ness and obtains pardon, it arrests the sun 
 in its course, and stays the wheels of the 
 chariot of the moon ; it rules over all God's 
 creatures, and opens and shuts the store- 
 houses of rain; it unlocks the cabinet of 
 the womb, and quenches the violence of
 
 204 SERMON X. 
 
 fire ; it stops the mouths of lions, and 
 reconciles our sufferance and weak faculties, 
 with the violence of torment and sharpness 
 of persecution; it pleases God, and sup- 
 plies all our wants. But prayer that can 
 do thus much for us, can do nothing at all 
 without holiness ; for God heareth not 
 sinners, but if any man be a worshipper of 
 God, and doth his will, him He heareth." m 
 Seeing then that we are encompassed by 
 many, and great, dangers; seeing that 
 the holy fires of the Spirit are liable to be 
 chilled by indifference, or dimmed by 
 neglect, or smothered beneath the cares 
 and deceitf ulness of the world, or quench- 
 ed by the strong stream of innate depravity, 
 let us resolve to guard against the evils 
 which most easily beset us. If we are 
 tempted to disregard the loud warnings 
 which are in mercy sent to rouse us, let us 
 recollect that we are fast hastening to " the 
 house appointed for all living," and " that 
 
 m Jeremy Taylor's ^Sermons, vi. p. 97 8. Vol. v. Works, 
 Heber's Edition.
 
 SERMON X. 205 
 
 there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, 
 nor wisdom, in the grave whither we are 
 going :" if pride prompt us to reject, or 
 passion to despise, or pleasure to forget, 
 the tremendous requirements of the Gospel, 
 let us read our condemnation in the solemn 
 assurances, that " he that exalteth himself 
 shall be abased;"" that " no whore-mon- 
 ger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, 
 who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in 
 the kingdom of Christ and of God:" if 
 wealth, or fame, or honour, or distinction, 
 bribe us to forget God, let us endeavour to 
 answer that most touching question, " What 
 shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the 
 whole world, and lose his own soul ? Or 
 what shall a man give in exchange for his 
 soul?"p 
 
 Wherefore, beloved brethren, impressed 
 by a sense of our weakness, and restrained 
 by a knowledge of our danger, let us de- 
 voutly pray that by the Holy Ghost, which 
 dwelleth in every true believer, we may be 
 
 n Luke xiv. 11. Eph. v. 5. P Mark yiii. 36, 37.
 
 206 SERMON X. 
 
 enabled to hold fast "the form of sound 
 words which we have heard, and to keep all 
 those good things which have been com- 
 mitted to us," that instead of quenching 
 his holy illuminations, we may thankfully 
 receive and habitually encourage them, 
 that instead of loving the world, and the 
 tilings of the world, we may fight the good 
 fight, and keep the faith, and endure unto 
 the end; that our lives may be bright 
 with the beauty of holiness, and our 
 path, like the path of the just, may be " as 
 a shining light, that shineth more and 
 more unto the perfect day."
 
 SEKMON XI. 
 
 THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY. 
 MATTHEW xxir. 42. 
 
 TTHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST? 
 
 THE measure of grateful festivity, and of 
 pious celebration, is this day completed. 11 
 We have listened to the arousing call of 
 the Baptist ; we have hailed, with well- 
 timed joy, the birth of the Saviour of man- 
 kind j we have followed him in spirit 
 
 i Preached on Trinity Sunday.
 
 208 SERMON XT. 
 
 into the wilderness, and endeavoured to 
 chasten the soul by a contemplation of his 
 marvellous victory over the subtle tempter ; 
 we have been called upon to witness his 
 miracles, to sympathize in his sufferings, 
 and to admire his unconquerable fortitude 
 in the hour of trial and of difficulty ; 
 we suspended our busy avocations, and 
 defiling pleasures, to gaze upon the heart- 
 rending, but sublime, scene of liis cruci- 
 fixion ; we beheld with rapturous wonder 
 his ready triumph over the grave, and 
 " did not our hearts burn within us " while 
 we commemorated the crowning miracle 
 of his ascension? We have marked the 
 coming, and traced the operations, of that 
 good Comforter, whose supporting and sanc- 
 tifying influences still irradiate the world ; 
 and now the Church invites us to close 
 these profitable exercises by meditating 
 upon the greatest and most mysterious 
 the source and centre of all Christian doc- 
 trines, that of the " holy, blessed, and 
 glorious Trinity."
 
 SERMON XI. 209 
 
 And now, brethren, having had all these 
 astonisliing and instructive events pressed 
 upon your notice, having traced the vari- 
 ous steps wliich led to the wonderful work 
 man's redemption, " what think ye of 
 Christ ? " Do you look upon Him merely 
 as the wisest of moral teachers ? Do you 
 esteem Him only as a prophet who pos- 
 sessed an extraordinary measure of the 
 divine inspiration ? or, do you regard Him, 
 as our Church enjoins you to regard Him, 
 as " the Incarnate Jehovah," as " God 
 manifest in the flesh ? " 
 
 From you who have been educated in 
 the principles, and who conform to the 
 worship, of the Established Church, we 
 can expect, as we have a right to expect, 
 but one answer. You who have just ad- 
 dressed a petition for mercy to " God the 
 Father, God the Son, and God the Holy 
 Ghost : " who have declared it to " be 
 necessary to salvation, that we worship one 
 God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity," and 
 that " the Godhead of the Father, of the 
 T 2
 
 210 SERMON XI. 
 
 Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is all one : 
 the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal," 
 must necessarily entertain such notions of 
 Christ as become the dignity of his charac- 
 ter, the nature of his miracles, the impor- 
 tance of his mission, and the glorious 
 object of his coming. 
 
 To enter upon a formal proof of that 
 stupendous doctrine which this day particu- 
 larly presses upon our attention, is, there- 
 fore, we trust, unnecessary. That it is 
 clearly and distinctly read in Holy Scrip- 
 ture, that the sacred historians invariably 
 imply it, that the voice of prophecy gives 
 witness of it, that the Gospel most ex- 
 pressly asserts it, and, that even the re- 
 motest tradition indicates it, are points 
 which admit not of dispute. Such, how- 
 ever, are the blindness and infatuation of 
 human nature, that, clear and incontroverti- 
 ble as are the scriptural proofs upon which 
 the doctrine of the Trinity rests, some men 
 have ventured to deny them; and with a 
 singular boldness of exposition, and irn-
 
 SERMON XI. 211 
 
 modesty of expression, have rejected many, 
 and grossly perverted most of the pas- 
 sages which supply them; and have un- 
 blushingly pronounced the honest and 
 learned labours of our pious commentators, 
 and the prominent points of our venerable 
 liturgy, to be nothing more than " an 
 enormous combination of errors ! " r In 
 the cold creed of such objectors the Holy 
 Spiiit is reduced to a nonentity, and the 
 Messiah degraded to the level of a mere 
 mortal, crowned indeed with the highest of 
 mental gifts, but still a mere mortal, who 
 did nothing more than trim the fading lamp, 
 and purify and enlarge the expiring flame 
 of worldly wisdom and morality ! 
 
 Let us, however, repress the indignation 
 which such unworthy and immodest lan- 
 guage is calculated to call forth, and under 
 the pleasing consciousness that we are re- 
 posing in the security of truth, let us, while 
 we deplore their errors, endeavour to un- 
 ravel the confused argument, and to explode 
 
 r Belsham's Translation of St. Paul, Vol. 1. viii.
 
 212 SERMON XI. 
 
 the weak sophistry, by which some are led 
 to "deny the Lord that hought them,"" 
 and thus, it may he, to " wrest scripture to 
 their own destruction.'" 
 
 That the doctrine of the Trinity is 
 shrouded in mystery ; that it is one which 
 reason cannot penetrate, nor science fathom, 
 freely concede : but we do not concede, 
 that, therefore, it ought to be rejected. A 
 reasonable suspicion may attach to tenets 
 which imply a self-evident impossibility, 
 and which, on that account, must be con- 
 trary to reason, but he who would act on 
 the sweeping principle of rejecting what- 
 ever reason cannot apprehend, whatever is, 
 in fact, above it, would find the certainty of 
 his knowledge wofully overbalanced by its 
 very meagre character. If we are only to 
 believe what we can perfectly understand, 
 what shall we not disbelieve? Mystery 
 shrouds whatever we behold. The germi- 
 nation of the meanest plant, the structure 
 of the most insignificant atom, the proper- 
 
 2 Peter ii. 1. 2 Peter iii. 16.
 
 SERMON XI. 213 
 
 ties of the earth upon which we tread, and 
 of the worm which inhabits it, the laws 
 which sustain and regulate the mighty 
 movements of nature, are all far above 
 our comprehension. 
 
 And who that has considered the pheno- 
 mena which centre in himself; that has 
 thought upon the formation of the body, 
 and the means by which it is nourished \ 
 that has reflected upon its incomprehen- 
 sible union with the soul ; that has endea- 
 voured to trace the mysterious windings of 
 the blood, circulating through a thousand 
 channels in a manner which contradicts all 
 the known laws of motion, does not find 
 himself compelled to acknowledge the ex- 
 istence of facts which he cannot under- 
 stand? And the properties of mind are 
 still less intelligible than those of matter : 
 we view with pleasure the blooming beauty 
 of the rose, and the gorgeous apparel of 
 the tulip, and the brilliant colours of the 
 rainbow, without being able to explain the 
 secret sources whence our pleasing im-
 
 214 SERMON XI. 
 
 pressions flow ; all " those high capacious 
 powers," indeed, " which lie folded up in 
 man," and which enable him to penetrate 
 many of the wonders of nature, are so 
 constituted and so limited as even to be a 
 riddle unto themselves. And if we ascend 
 a step higher, and endeavour, " by searching 
 to find out God," we readily ascertain the 
 fact of his existence, but in vain do we 
 attempt to understand his nature, and his 
 attributes. That He is, we are compelled 
 to believe; the beautiful arrangement of 
 the material world, and the unquestionable 
 proofs of design with which it abounds, 
 forbid us to doubt the existence of an 
 intelligent, great First Cause ; we see 
 Him in the fearful glare of the vivid 
 lightning; we hear Him in the solemn 
 peals of the shaking thunder ; but although, 
 to adopt the sublime description of the 
 psalmist, " He thus bows the heavens, and 
 comes down;" though "He rides upon a 
 cherub, and does fly upon the wings of the 
 wind," we follow Him in vain : imagination
 
 SERMON XI. 215 
 
 cannot conceive, nor reason fathom, "the 
 breadth, and length, and depth, and height" 
 of his iuscrutahle wisdom : for " He hath 
 made darkness his secret place ; his pa- 
 vilion round about Him are dark waters 
 and thick clouds of the skies."" Amid 
 these He sits enthroned, far above the ken 
 of human eye, or the grasp of human 
 understanding. 
 
 If then to matters which are not theolo- 
 gical, we extend the argument which is 
 sometimes applied to matters which are so, 
 we instantly perceive its extreme unfairness. 
 We have no difficulty in detecting the 
 fallacy of principles which bear hard upon 
 the few, the very few, facts to which the 
 character of certainty belongs: and when 
 we discover that a given mode of reasoning 
 leads not to deism only, but to that gloomy 
 point beyond it, at which reason shudders, 
 and all virtue and moral obligation sicken 
 and die, we mean to atheism, we know 
 that it must be unsound. And such, un- 
 
 Psalm xviii. 9 11.
 
 216 SERMON XI. 
 
 doubtedly, is the sweeping and unholy 
 tendency of that argument which impugns 
 the doctrine of the Trinity on the score of its 
 mysterious and incomprehensible character.. 
 The difficulties which attach, and it can- 
 not he disguised that difficulties of consider- 
 able magnitude do attach, to our belief in 
 the existence of a just and merciful God, 
 whose wisdom created, and whose power 
 sustains, the world, and all which it inhabit, 
 are the exact counterpart of those which 
 interfere with our belief in the Trinity. 
 We are quite as incompetent to understand 
 the existence of the Divine unity, as of the 
 Divine plurality ; both are above, but nei- 
 ther is contrary to reason. How the 
 three Persons constitute one Godhead we 
 cannot conceive, nor can we conceive 
 Jwjv God is necessarily and eternally self- 
 existent. Whenever, in fact, we begin to 
 speculate upon such points, we are com- 
 pletely lost ; " such knowledge is too won- 
 derful for us." The Divine essence is a 
 subject which dazzles and overpowers the
 
 SERMON XI. 217 
 
 strongest mind, and constrains ns to ac- 
 knowledge that to be true, which evades the 
 researches of reason. Away, then, with the 
 unsound objection, that what is incompre- 
 hensible cannot, therefore, be an object of 
 belief. 
 
 We are not ignorant, that the force of 
 tin's answer may be met by the plausible 
 assertion, that it is the object of revelation 
 to make plain and intelligible that which it 
 offers to our acceptance and belief: and it 
 may hence be insinuated, that mystery can, 
 or should have, no place in revealed reli- 
 gion. But here we may notice a great 
 want of argumentative justice. Christianity, 
 equally with natural religion, is a scheme 
 quite beyond our comprehension .* 
 
 The object of revelation is to acquaint us 
 with facts, not to explain them ; to pro- 
 pound doctrines, not to explicate them ; and 
 the very existence of mystery in the Bible 
 is strong evidence of its authenticity, since 
 in tin's respect the word of God is strictly 
 
 T Consult Butler's Analogy, p. 266. Oxford Edition.
 
 218 SERMON XI. 
 
 analogous to his works. Nor must it be 
 forgotten that in the Christian covenant, 
 faith is an indispensable condition : but how 
 could this principle have been called into 
 exercise, had all the Christian doctrines 
 been of plain import, and of easy apprehen- 
 sion ? It has been shrewdly remarked, that 
 " by how much any divine mystery is more 
 unpalatable and incredible, by so much the 
 more honour is given to God in believing, 
 and the victory of our faith is made more 
 noble," for " the prerogative of God ex- 
 tendeth as well to the reason as to the will 
 of man : so that as we are to obey his law, 
 though we find a reluctation in our will, so 
 we are to believe his word, though we find 
 a reluctation in our reason. For if we 
 believe only that which is agreeable to our 
 sense, we give consent to the mattery and 
 not to the Author ; which is no more than 
 we should do towards a suspected and 
 discredited witness : but that faith which 
 was accounted to Abraham for righteous- 
 ness was of such a point as whereat Sarah
 
 SERMON XI. 219 
 
 laughed, who therein was an image of 
 natural reason."" He indeed, who expects 
 to find in " the volume of the book of life" 
 nothing but what he can readily understand, 
 nothing beyond the stretch of liis finite 
 capacity, is not less inconsistent and un- 
 reasonable than the man, who turns in 
 anger and disgust from the volume of 
 nature, merely because he finds in it many 
 things " hard to be understood." The 
 Bible we know to be the word of God : of 
 this fact, reason, sitting in judgment upon 
 the evidence which demonstrates its credi- 
 bility, fully assures us. Does the Bible 
 reveal the incomprehensible doctrine of the 
 Trinity in Unity ? It does. Despite, then, 
 the reluctance of our will, and the repug- 
 nance of our reason, and " the oppositions 
 of science falsely so called," we must be- 
 lleve it : God hath declared it to be true, 
 and " God is not a man, that He should 
 lie." 1 
 
 w Ld. Bacon's " Proficience and Advancement of Learning." 
 1 Numbers xxiii. lit.
 
 220 SERMON XI. 
 
 Such is the inconclusive nature of the 
 strongest objections by which it is sought 
 to invalidate the fundamental doctrine of 
 the Trinity : and well would it be, if those 
 by whom they are urged, could be induced 
 to open their eyes to the desolating ten- 
 dency of the principles upon which they 
 presume to judge ; well would it be, if in 
 their bold attempts to become wise above 
 what is written, and to summon the tower- 
 ing mysteries of revelation to the incompe- 
 tent bar of their lauded reason, they would 
 but consider that they place religion at the 
 mercy of opinion, that they quench the 
 light in which it is their duty to walk, 
 and that, with a daring blasphemy, they 
 elevate themselves above God himself! 
 
 And, brethren, well would it be if we 
 who are convinced of the truth of this 
 stupendous doctrine would strive to " walk 
 as becometh children of light." " Without 
 controversy great is the mystery of godli- 
 ness : God was manifest in the flesh, justi- 
 fied in the Spirit, seen of angels, preached
 
 SERMON XI. 221 
 
 unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, 
 received up into glory." y O that a right 
 apprehension of these most important truths 
 would so constrain us to think of Christ, 
 that in Him " we might live, and move, 
 and have our being." If we regard the 
 Trinity as a mere speculative doctrine, 
 without allowing it to influence our lives 
 and actions, what profit have we ? True, 
 we are less obstinate than those who reject 
 it, but we are not more religious. 
 
 T\ hen then you are induced and the 
 solemn services of this day should induce 
 you to reflect upon the Triune God, 
 transfer your thoughts from the mysterious 
 fact of his existence, to the incalculable 
 benefits which He has conferred, and is 
 still conferring, upon mankind. Picture 
 to yourselves, if indeed the utmost stretch 
 of imagination can picture the dark de- 
 pravity of the human heart : remember the 
 withering curse which was upon you, that 
 
 y 1 Tim. iii. 16. 
 u 2
 
 222 SERMON XI. 
 
 the gates of heaven were closed against 
 you, that hell and its everlasting torments 
 must have heen your portion, had not the 
 Incarnate God died to save you, died to 
 place you in a state of acceptance with Him 
 " who is of purer eyes than to behold 
 iniquity." And when you are thus led to 
 think of the vast obligation under which 
 you labour; think also, we conjure you, 
 upon the means of grace which are neces- 
 sary to render sure and stedfast your hope 
 of glory. Remember that God manifested 
 himself in the flesh, not only that He might 
 fulfil the law, and give us an example that 
 we should follow his steps, not only that 
 He might purify and tranquillize the tur- 
 bid and troubled fountain of duty, and 
 become for our sakes " obedient unto death, 
 even the death of the cross ;" z but that He 
 might also provide us with a Comforter, 
 Advocate, and Guide, through whose co- 
 operating agency our weakness is made 
 
 1 Philippians iL 8.
 
 SERMON XI. 223 
 
 strong, our infirmities supported, and we 
 are made to " abound in hope," and " filled 
 with all joy and peace in believing." 
 
 Such is the consoling view which it 
 behoves all to take of that Doctrine which 
 reveals to us the delightful prospect of a 
 reconciled God, an all-sufficient, and ac- 
 cepted Atonement, and the illumination 
 and superintendence of a Comforter who 
 is able to guide, and to preserve, us in the 
 way of truth. Feeling the necessity for 
 all must feel it of a Redeemer and Sancti- 
 fier: knowing for all must know that 
 of ourselves we can do notliing, let us 
 unceasingly confide in the Father, the Son, 
 and the Holy Ghost. Let us direct the 
 eye of faith, and the voice of prayer, to the 
 "holy, blessed, and glorious Trinity," whose 
 united and mysterious operations can alone 
 perfect the great work of our salvation. 
 Let us not rest until, upon the sure warrant 
 of holy scripture, we believe that we have 
 peace with God through faith in the vicarious 
 
 Rom. xir. 13.
 
 224 SERMON XI. 
 
 atonement of his blessed Son : abandoning 
 all lofty and irreverent views, let us entreat 
 the Holy Spirit to shed upon us his sancti- 
 fying influences, and so to strengthen our 
 faith, and purify our works, that we may 
 grow in holiness, and in the true knowledge 
 of the Lord. Let no vain babblings induce 
 us to turn from the contemplation of truths 
 of such overwhelming interest, but let us 
 resolve to cleave with full purpose of heart 
 to that holy and undivided Three, to whom 
 we were solemnly dedicated in baptism, 
 to whom we have this day addressed the 
 language of supplication and thanksgiving, 
 and from whom we can alone expect 
 such assistance, and support as will bear us 
 in safety through all the troubles, trials, and 
 difficulties of this life, to the glory and 
 happiness of a better. 
 
 And now, beloved brethren, filled with 
 such thoughts and dispositions as befit the 
 solemn rite, and with all humility and 
 reverence, let us repair to that table which 
 is spread for our reception : and whilst we
 
 SERMON XI. 225 
 
 commemorate the kne and sufferings of 
 our Redeemer; let us renew our repentance, 
 strengthen our faith, fortify our wavering 
 resolutions, and earnestly pray, that we 
 may in spirit, so eat his flesh and drink 
 his blood, " that our sinful bodies may be 
 made clean by his body, and our souls 
 washed through his most precious blood, 
 and that we may evermore dwell in Him, 
 and He in us." 
 
 Therefore, with angels and archangels, 
 and with all the company of heaven, let us 
 laud and magnify the Holy, Holy, Holy 
 Lord God of Sabaoth, who in the mysteri- 
 ous Unity of the ever blessed Trinity, liveth 
 and reigneth, ever One God, world without 
 end. Amen.
 
 SERMON XII. 
 
 THE RESURRECTION AND THE LIFE. 
 
 JOHN xi. 25. 
 
 JESUS SAID UNTO HER, I AM THE RESURRECTION, 
 AND THE LIFE. 
 
 THIS solemn and beautiful declaration is 
 put by our Church into the mouth of the 
 minister as he meets the sad and sombre 
 procession which conducts a departed mem- 
 ber to " the house appointed for all living," 
 and to circumstances so mournful and so
 
 SERMON XII. 227 
 
 melancholy it has a strict and holy applica- 
 tion. To be assured that the objects of our 
 love and esteem are not dead, but asleep ; 
 to know that a time must come when the 
 stiffened feature and the decomposing body 
 will again resume their life and animation, 
 that corruption will eventually put on 
 incorruption, and mortal be arrayed in im- 
 mortality, are considerations pregnant with 
 hope, and full of abiding consolation. The 
 words which, by God's blessing and assist- 
 ance, we now design to consider, were 
 spoken by our blessed Lord to the sorrow- 
 ing Martha, when deeply afflicted by the 
 recent loss of a beloved brother. With a 
 view to comfort He assured her, that the 
 departed Lazarus should rise again; and 
 she conceiving this assurance to refer to a 
 future world, replied, " I know that he shall 
 rise again in the resurrection at the last 
 day;" to which our Saviour rejoined, "I 
 am the resurrection, and the life : he that 
 believeth in me, though he were dead, yet 
 shall he live : and whosoever liveth and
 
 228 SERMON XII. 
 
 believeth in me shall never die. Believes! 
 thou this?" The sequel is well known: 
 after receiving from Martha an unqualified 
 assurance of her belief, He gave a remark- 
 able manifestation of his power and divinity 
 in staying the fearful progress of death and 
 corruption, by recalling the lamented Laza- 
 rus from the tomb. 
 
 Thankfully acknowledging the impor- 
 tance of this miracle, which completely 
 accredits the mission of the Saviour, whilst 
 it establishes the truth of the Gospel, and 
 gives certainty to its hopes, and force and 
 precision to its declarations, we shall pro- 
 ceed to consider the all-important truth, 
 that Jesus Christ is " the resurrection and 
 the life," a truth upon the right reception 
 of which depend the hope and prospect of our 
 high calling in Him, whose unerring lips 
 proclaimed it for the instruction and comfort 
 of his faithful followers. 
 
 I. A variety of difficult and perplexing 
 
 considerations connect themselves with the
 
 SERMON XII. 229 
 
 tremendous doctrine of a resurrection. 
 Many a slow believer, when he looks into 
 the grave, and sees in the crumbled atoms 
 of its departed tenants a literal fulfilment 
 of the appalling sentence, that " dust thou 
 art, and unto dust shalt thou return," 
 finds it not easy to apprehend how remains, 
 now hardly distinguishable from their native 
 earth, will be permitted again to resume 
 their form and comeliness ; and when all the 
 mighty realities of a general resurrection 
 are taken into account, it is not surprising, 
 that the human mind, limited as it is in 
 power and conception, should feel some 
 misgivings as to the possibility of an event 
 which must re-people a depopulated world. 
 That the thousands upon thousands who 
 have yielded up the ghost ; that all who 
 have perished both by sea and land ; that 
 the countless heroes whose sepulchres is 
 the unfathomable deep, and that the warri- 
 ors whose death bed was the battle-field, 
 that all these shall be summoned to the bar 
 of eternal justice endued with their earthly
 
 230 SERMON XII. 
 
 form and substance, are truths very far 
 beyond the grasp of ordinary thought and 
 calculation. When the resurrection of the 
 natural body was preached to the Corin- 
 thians, they enquired, " How are the dead 
 raised up, and with what body do they 
 come ? " ' and this doubtless is the enter- 
 tained, if not the expressed, feeling of many 
 in reference to that all-important truth. It 
 is most assuredly incomprehensible how the 
 mighty change is to be brought about ; and 
 the task of universal restoration does cer- 
 tainly seem to be beset with many and 
 insurmountable difficulties. Yet why should 
 we doubt? That which is difficult and 
 impossible with man, is far otherwise with 
 God, with that God who " spake the word, 
 and all things were ; who commanded, and 
 they were created;" and a little reflection 
 will serve to show, that there are no difficul- 
 ties connected with the resurrection of the 
 body which did not attach to its original 
 formation. 
 
 b l Corinthians xv. 3.3.
 
 SERMON XII. 231 
 
 We doubt not that man was made out of 
 the dust of the earth, why then doubt that 
 He who made, can make again ? Why deny 
 to Him, who first arranged the mysterious 
 
 ** 
 
 elements of existence, the power to recall 
 and remodel them ? 
 
 Proofs of infinite wisdom are manifold 
 and striking, so much so that all who run 
 may read and understand them. The 
 
 
 
 humblest weed upon which we tread ; the 
 veriest reptile that crosses our path ; and 
 the most insignificant insect which flutters 
 about us, prove the existence of an almighty 
 power: and if we direct our thoughts and 
 attention to the nobler and more sub- 
 lime operations of nature, if, for instance, 
 we consider the wonders wliich centre in 
 ourselves, that intricate and mysterious, 
 yet perfect, arrangement which constitutes 
 life, and the possession of faculties which 
 enable us to see, to hear, and to reason upon 
 all that is going on about us ; and if 
 elevating our view to the higher glories of 
 external nature, we behold the sun diffusing
 
 232 SERMON XII. 
 
 life and fertility as the planets move in 
 solemn majesty around it, we see what 
 cannot fail to satisfy us, that He who made 
 and who regulates all these, cannot want 
 power to recall his perished creatures into 
 existence. 
 
 We dwell upon this point because we 
 believe, that a clear understanding of the 
 argument upon which the probability of a 
 resurrection rests, is the best preparation for 
 a right reception of that great and glorious 
 truth. St. Paul, in that valuable and 
 extremely beautiful portion of his writings 
 introduced into our burial service, dwells 
 long and persuasively upon the testimony 
 which nature bears to the doctrine in ques- 
 tion. His apt and familiar illustration is 
 the vegetation of a blade of com, which 
 owes its origin immediately to the seeming 
 death and decomposition of the seed from 
 which it springs, and " which," he remarks, 
 " is not quickened, except it die ;" c and it 
 must be confessed that the process here 
 
 c Consult 1 Cor. xv.
 
 SERMON XII. 233 
 
 alluded to supplies an almost irresistible 
 argument. The husbandman casts his seed 
 into the earth not doubting that it will bring 
 forth its wonted increase ; surely therefore 
 it is weakness to doubt, that He who thus 
 mercifully and miraculously recalls an in- 
 significant plant into being, will also revive 
 those for whose use and sustenance that 
 plant is designed ; surely it is weakness to 
 suppose, that we shall be left forgotten and 
 unheeded in the earth, whilst the perished 
 plant, and the faded flower, and the leafless 
 tree are permitted periodically to revive and 
 to flourish ; and it cannot, without imput- 
 ing inconsistency to the all wise and all 
 righteous ruler of the universe, be thought, 
 that man who was created in the image and 
 after the likeness of God himself, and to 
 whose wants and pleasures all nature is 
 made subservient, will rest for ever in the 
 grave : no, brethren, death is not an 
 eternal sleep; its victims we must be, its 
 slaves we can never become ; for God tells 
 us in his works tliat He will break its icy 
 x 2
 
 234 SERMON XII. 
 
 fetters, whilst in his holy word He has 
 given us an undoubted assurance of victory 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ, who has 
 proclaimed Himself to be " the resurrection 
 and the life." 
 
 II. Every page in the book of nature 
 thus demonstrates the possibility of a resur- 
 rection, whilst most of the wonderful pro- 
 cesses of nature demonstrate its probability ; 
 and the arguments hence deducible are 
 reduced to certainty by the concurring tes- 
 timony of scripture : that which before the 
 coming of Christ was seen only dimly, or 
 inferred obscurely, is now placed beyond 
 doubt or controversy, and we read in the 
 unimpeachable language of Omnipotence, 
 that there will be a resurrection both of the 
 just and of the unjust. 
 
 1. It forms no part of our present design 
 to investigate the first portion of the an- 
 nouncement contained in our text, that 
 Jesus Christ is our " resurrection," the 
 fact is certain and incontrovertible. By
 
 SERMON XII. 235 
 
 assuming our nature, and by submitting to 
 its pains and penalties, He took a position 
 by which He was enabled to solve the 
 problem of the resurrection of the body : as 
 God, He could neither suffer nor die ; it 
 was needful therefore to join our nature 
 with his own, and to encounter all the 
 fretting sorrows of humanity : this He ac- 
 cordingly did, and crowned a life of suffer- 
 ing by a death of ignominy. But had He 
 done nothing more, He would not have 
 removed the doubts and difficulties which 
 attach to a consideration of the future fate 
 of the body ; it was therefore meet that He 
 should manifest to the world that the domin- 
 ion of death was broken in his person by 
 rising again in power and great glory. 
 Now it is important to remember, that it was 
 in his human nature that He did so rise ; 
 for as it was the assumption of that nature 
 which enabled Him to suffer, as it was 
 that nature which gave death a temporary 
 triumph over Him, so in that nature did
 
 236 SERMON XII. 
 
 He burst the barriers of the tomb, and lead 
 the way to life and immortality. 
 
 By thus becoming our representative, 
 He virtually became our resurrection ; and 
 " as in Adam all die, so now in Christ shall 
 all be made alive.'" Adam, as the head 
 and representative of our race, fell by trans- 
 gression, and hence became subject, and 
 made all his children subject, to punishment 
 and death; so Christ, as the second head 
 and voluntary representative of human na- 
 ture, fulfilled the requirements and satisfied 
 the justice of the law, and by doing this 
 in our nature and in our name He destroyed 
 the power of the grave, and bereft it of its 
 dark dominion. 
 
 2. In passing on to the second portion 
 of the announcement in our text, that Jesus 
 Christ is our life, we would bespeak your 
 earnest attention. The fact that Jesus 
 Christ is the resurrection, is one which 
 affects all men ; the believer and the infi- 
 
 d ] Cor. xv. ) 22.
 
 SERMON XII. 237 
 
 del, the saint and the sinner, will each 
 realize its truth ; for all must come out of 
 their graves to bide the searching scrutiny, 
 and the just judgments of Him who sitteth 
 on the great white throne. But as the 
 former portion of our text has an universal, 
 so has the concluding portion of it a parti- 
 cular application ; the one refers to mankind 
 generally, the other to those only who die in 
 the Lord. 
 
 The life-giving power of the Saviour will 
 be extended to those only who truly believe 
 in Him; this is asserted in the words 
 following our text, " Jesus saith unto her, 
 I am the resurrection and the life : he that 
 believeth in me though he were dead, yet 
 shall he live : and whosoever liveth and 
 believeth in ine, shall never die." Bre- 
 tliren, we would add, in the language which 
 He addressed to the wondering Martha, 
 " Do you believe this ?" 
 
 The resurrection is now no dubious doc- 
 trine; sure as that death must overtake 
 us ; sure as that each of us must " say to
 
 238 SERMON xir. 
 
 corruption tliou art my father, and to the 
 worm thou art my mother and my sister;" 
 sure as that, in a few years, the bodies 
 which we now guard with sucli care and 
 anxiety, must crumble in the grave and 
 be mingled and confounded with the dust, 
 so sure is it that the voracious earth and the 
 restless ocean must disgorge their dead, and 
 that small and great must stand before God 
 to give an account of the deeds done in the 
 body, whether they be good or bad; and 
 when the righteous shall go into life everlast- 
 ing, and the wicked into everlasting death/ 
 And this is precisely the consideration 
 which ought to occupy the mind whenever 
 we hear the announcement that Jesus Christ 
 is the resurrection and the life; the resur- 
 rection He must be to all, the life He will 
 be to those only who believe in Him, g and 
 who testify the sincerity of their belief by 
 following whatsoever things are true, and 
 honest, and just, and pure, and lovely, and 
 
 ejobxvii. 14. f Consult Rom. ii. 6-8. 2Cor. v. &Mat.xxr. 16. 
 s Consult Rev. xiv. 13.
 
 SERMON XII. 239 
 
 of good report, to those only whose lives 
 and conversation are such as become his 
 everlasting Gospel. 
 
 Thus interpreted and thus it ought to 
 he interpreted, our text speaks admoni- 
 tion, and encouragement, and consolation ; 
 it is calculated to arrest the sinner in his 
 infatuated course to support the saint in 
 all his trials, and misgivings, and perplexi- 
 ties, and to give peace and comfort to the 
 sorrowful and the bereaved. 
 
 To the sinner our text speaks with plain- 
 ness and with power. It points to a state 
 in which there will be neither disguise nor 
 excuse, and in which the secrets of all 
 hearts will be revealed. 
 
 Are we listened to by any whose con- 
 duct is defiled by the practice of sin? 
 or by any who are giving merely a cold 
 and formal assent to the sublime truths of 
 the religion which they profess ? we would 
 tell them that thev have no saving interest 
 
 / 
 
 in the cheering announcement in the text : 
 to them Jesus Christ will be the rcsurrec-
 
 240 SERMON XII. 
 
 tion, but if they die without repentance He 
 will not be their life, and instead of a mer- 
 ciful Saviour they will of a surety find Him 
 an avenging judge ! Death, though terrible 
 and appalling to all, is an affliction and a 
 loss only to those who have made no pre- 
 paration to meet their God ; but who, pre- 
 ferring the practices of sin to the pursuits 
 of holiness, have spurned the mediation, 
 and set at nought the commands, and des- 
 pised the threatening^ of the Saviour : 
 " the sting of death is sin ; " it is sin which 
 rivets his power, and gives force and effect 
 to his enmity, which enables him not only 
 to kill the body, but to destroy both body 
 and soul in hell. 
 
 Shall we then refuse to hearken to the 
 admonition which our text so powerfully 
 enforces ? Shall we close our eyes to the 
 future and undying advantages of a life 
 of holiness, merely because the practice 
 of holiness entails the forfeiture of a little 
 carnal pleasure, or the sacrifice of a little 
 worldly interest ?
 
 SERMON XII. 241 
 
 Shall we dare to put off the great work 
 of salvation, under the knowledge, that our 
 souls may this night be required of us, and 
 that if we die without repentance and faith 
 we shall rise to certain condemnation? 
 Knowing that Christ must be our resurrec- 
 tion, shall we presumptuously reject Him as 
 our life, by obstinately declining the means 
 of grace, without a thankful and diligent 
 use of which we can have no hope of 
 glory ? Brethren, if we do these tilings, 
 it will be more tolerable for Sodom and 
 Gomorrah in the day of judgment than for 
 us, we shall rise not to glory, but to shame, 
 and everlasting burnings will be our fear- 
 ful and inextinguishable reward. 
 
 And while our text speaks thus persua- 
 sively to the sinner, it affords support and 
 encouragement to the saint under all the 
 trials and temptations which beset him. 
 " Our light affliction," says the great apos- 
 tle, alluding to the suffering Church, " which 
 is but for a moment, worketh for us a far 
 more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
 
 242 SERMON XII. 
 
 while we look not at the things which are 
 seen, but at the things which are not seen ; 
 for the things which are seen are temporal ; 
 but the things which are not seen are 
 eternal," h and such is the sustaining per- 
 suasion of every sincere Christian in refer- 
 ence to the hope and prospect of his calling. 
 Firmly assured that his risen and glorified 
 Saviour has gone to prepare a place of 
 happiness and rest for all his faithful follow- 
 ers, he has respect unto the recompense of 
 the reward ; and disregarding the trials of 
 time, presses onward to the rest of eternity. 
 Like a warrior encompassed by danger, he 
 risks every thing for the sake of the cause 
 in which he is engaged, not doubting that 
 the victor's crown will recompense his cour- 
 age and fidelity : though weak in himself, 
 he becomes strong in the Lord ; though 
 wounded, he is not dismayed ; though stric- 
 ken, he is not cast down : he knows that 
 the great Captain of his salvation, who has 
 conquered death and despoiled the grave, 
 
 h 2 Cor. iv. 17, 18.
 
 SERMON XII. 243 
 
 will lead him on to victory, and that al- 
 though the enemy come in like a flood, the 
 Spirit of the Lord will lift np a standard 
 against him: 1 and when the eye becomes 
 dim, and the body weak, and the spirits 
 faint, he shrinks not from, approaching 
 dissolution, but with calmness and fortitude 
 enters the dark valley, supported by the 
 assurance, that in due time liis Saviour will 
 make good the declaration, " I am the 
 resurrection, and the life." 
 
 But we hasten to another use which may 
 be made of our text; we allude to the 
 peace and consolation which it offers to the 
 sorrowful and the bereaved. In committing 
 to the earth the mortal remains of those 
 with whose existence our affections and our 
 happiness seemed inseparably entwined ; 
 and in recollecting the fearful process of 
 decay and corruption which those remains 
 must undergo, we are consoled by the 
 knowledge, that our parting is not for ever, 
 and that through the merciful and mysteri- 
 
 ' Isaiah lix. 1!.
 
 244 SERMON XII. 
 
 ous agency of Him who has proclaimed 
 himself to be " the resurrection and the 
 life," we mar meet again in that world in 
 which " all tears shall be wiped from all 
 eyes; and there shall be no more death, 
 neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall 
 there be any more pain." j Daily experi- 
 ence shows, brethren, how necessary it is to 
 fortify the mind by considerations such as 
 these. One after another is taken from us ; 
 many with whom in the course of nature we 
 might reasonably have expected to spend 
 years of cordial and familiar intercourse, 
 are unexpectedly summoned away ; and 
 the place which but recently knew them 
 will know them no more : let us, therefore, 
 seek our consolation in the imperishable 
 word of God, and devoutly pray, that when- 
 ever we are called upon to stand by the 
 opened grave, our hearts and our hopes may 
 respond to the Saviour's en spiriting assur- 
 ance, " I am the resurrection and the life." 
 And now, brethren, recollecting that the 
 
 J Revelation xxi. 4.
 
 SERMON XII. 245 
 
 stream of time is hurrying us to the house 
 appointed for all living ; that pass a few 
 short weeks, or months, or years, and we 
 shall become a prey to worms and corrup- 
 tion, let us not cleave to a world that AVC 
 must shortly leave, but prepare for that in 
 which we are invited to dwell for ever; let 
 us, by faith and hope and obedience, strive 
 to secure a saving interest in the deatli of 
 Christ, and having hope towards God that 
 there shall be a resurrection of the dead, 
 both of the just and unjust, let us therein 
 exercise ourselves to have always a con- 
 science void of offence toward God and 
 toward men, always abounding in the work 
 of the Lord, forasmuch as we know that 
 our labour will not be in vain in the Lord. k 
 Seeing, then, that the resurrection of the 
 body is a truth which he who doubts, doubts 
 at the peril of his soul, seeing that it is 
 written in fair and legible characters in the 
 book of nature, and inscribed in clear and 
 indelible ones in the volume of inspiration, 
 
 k Consult Acts xxiv. 16. and 1 Cor. xv. 58. 
 Y 2
 
 246 SERMON XII. 
 
 seeing that God lias proclaimed it in his 
 works, and authenticated it in his word, 
 let us ever hear in mind the many solemn 
 possibilities involved in that momentous 
 fact; let us never forget that we must rise 
 to heaven or to hell, to everlasting happi- 
 ness, or to everlasting misery. Wherefore, 
 beloved brethren, laying aside every weight, 
 and every besetting sin, and in full depend- 
 ence upon God's protecting grace, let us 
 run with patience the race that is set before 
 us, earnestly looking towards that city whose 
 maker and builder is God; so when our 
 earth shall have been committed to earth, 
 our ashes to ashes, and our dust to dust, 
 shall we rest in sure and certain hope of a 
 glorious resurrection ; so when our blessed 
 Lord comes in power and great glory to 
 judge both quick and dead, shall we rise 
 to life immortal, and, shaking off the dull 
 cold fetters of the tomb, find to our great 
 and endless comfort, that HE is BOTH OUR 
 
 RESURRECTION AND OUR LIFE.
 
 SERMON XIII. 
 
 CHRISTIANS MUST GLORY ONLY IN THE 
 CROSS OF CHRIST. 
 
 GALATIANS vi. 14. 
 
 GOD FORBID THAT I SHOULD GLORT, SAVE IX THE 
 CROSS Of OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, BY WHOM THE 
 WORLD IS CRUCIFIED UNTO ME. AND I UNTO THE 
 WORLD. 
 
 IF any conduct ever merited the praise of 
 sincerity, devotion, and disinterestedness, it 
 is that of St. Paul, after his miraculous 
 conversion. Unappalled by danger, and 
 undeterred by difficulty, heedless of per- 
 sonal comfort, and regardless of personal
 
 248 SERMON XIII. 
 
 consequences, his sole ambition was to do 
 the work of an evangelist, to wrest souls 
 from Satan, and to bring them unto Christ. 
 In the cause of his heavenly Master his 
 eye was single, and his hands were pure ; 
 he saw only the tremendous obligation 
 under which he laboured, and he sought by 
 every practicable means to fulfil it; he 
 deeply felt the necessity which was laid 
 upon him to preach the Gospel, " yea, woe 
 is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel," 1 
 was the actuating sentiment of his pre- 
 eminently useful and laborious life. Be- 
 loved, honoured, and obeyed; gifted with 
 talents and attainments which readily se- 
 cured the admiration and applause of all 
 who listened to his persuasive eloquence, 
 he was entirely devoid both of the desire of 
 distinction, and the love of fame ; and such 
 was his humility, that the Master was in 
 spirit the servant; the most zealous and 
 laborious was, in his own estimation, the 
 least worthy of all the apostles; and the 
 
 i 1 Cor. ix. 16.
 
 SERMON XII I. 249 
 
 pious, and pains-taking, and prayerful saint 
 accounted himself to be the chief of sin- 
 ners ! m We cannot wonder, therefore, 
 when certain teachers amongst the Gala- 
 tians, desirous of office and of the conse- 
 quence which it confers, were disposed to 
 ward off persecution, and to gain popularity, 
 by connecting Jewish rites with Christian 
 practice, that St. Paul should aim to exting- 
 uish their time-serving spirit, and to induce 
 them to act in a more becoming and con- 
 sistent manner. Alluding to their sinister 
 designs, and intimating that their Jewish 
 predilections arose from a love of personal 
 importance, combined with a desire to avoid 
 anything like sacrifice on behalf of the 
 cause in which they were nominally en- 
 gaged, he asserts the purity of the motives, 
 and the singleness of the views, which 
 regulated his own conduct ; assuring them 
 that his only boast was the doctrine which 
 he was commissioned to teach; " God, 
 forbid that I should glory, save in the cross 
 
 * Consult 1 Cor. v. 810. and 1 Tim. i. 15.
 
 250 SERMON XIII. 
 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the 
 world is crucified unto me, and I unto the 
 world," adding, and O it is a truth which 
 ought to be engraven on every heart, " for 
 in Jesus Christ neither circumcision avail- 
 etli anything, nor uncircumcision, but a 
 new creature ;" thereby enforcing the im- 
 portant principle, that a mere formal atten- 
 tion to rites and ceremonies will not secure 
 our acceptance with God ; that must be 
 obtained by an entire change of principles, 
 dispositions, and actions, as the fruit and 
 consequence of faith in the redemption 
 which is by Christ Jesus. 
 
 Addressing, as it is our privilege to 
 address, a Christian congregation, it can- 
 not be necessary to insist upon the wisdom 
 of the apostle's preference; that point 
 might have seemed dubious to those whom 
 lie admonished, to us, or at least to all 
 who are in earnest in the cause of salvation, 
 it must be clear and self-evident : our glory 
 ought to be the cross of Christ, and by that 
 cross the world ought to be crucified unto
 
 SERMON XIII. 251 
 
 us, and we unto the world ; and a devotion 
 as pure, as disinterested, and as continuous 
 as that which the great apostle felt ought 
 to animate and govern us. May the Holy 
 Spirit, therefore, the Fountain of spiritual 
 life, and light, and sanctification, enable us 
 to profit by his example, and implant in 
 each of our minds holy thoughts, good 
 desires, and an abiding determination to 
 glory only in Jesus Christ, and in Him 
 crucified ! 
 
 In examining the wise declaration of St. 
 Paul, three points demand our considera- 
 tion; the nature of the feeling which he 
 avows, the object of that feeling, and the 
 important consequences which resulted there- 
 from. 
 
 I. " God forbid that I should glory, 
 save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ." 
 The feeling of the apostle in reference to 
 his high calling must have been an exclu- 
 sive feeling, by which we mean one that so 
 predominated in his mind as to admit
 
 252 SERMON XIII. 
 
 neither of competition, nor of rivalry : to 
 other things he paid, as lie was bound to 
 pay, a suitable attention, but worldly ties 
 and interests were only secondary objects 
 of consideration, and were not allowed to 
 interfere with those high and holy objects 
 with which his hopes and affections were 
 inseparably bound up ; " he gloried in 
 nothing save in the cross of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ." Again, the feeling which thus 
 animated the apostle was evidently an 
 influential one, controlling every other 
 feeling, adjusting every hope, directing 
 every view, and spiritualizing every action. 
 He did not waver between the broad and 
 the narrow ways ; he did not attempt to 
 serve both God and mammon, he was 
 always constant, always watchful ; pre- 
 pared to make any sacrifice, yea, even to 
 depart rather than become unfaithful to his 
 heavenly Master. His, indeed, were the 
 bravery and heroism of the warrior who, 
 though surrounded by danger and by death, 
 uplifts his standard and maintains his
 
 SERMON XIII. 253 
 
 ground; preferring honour to safety, and 
 attesting his fidelity by the sacrifice of even 
 life itself. Impelled by similar feelings, 
 the apostle was unmoved by the numerous 
 perils which beset him ; persecution could 
 not deter, suffering could not depress, 
 martyrdom could not appal him; disre- 
 garding the things which were seen, his 
 eye and his heart were unalterably fixed 
 upon the eternal things which were not 
 seen, and pressing onward to the mark and 
 prize of his high calling, he reposed with 
 unwavering failh on the sustaining pledge, 
 " Be thou faithful unto death, and I will 
 give thee a crown of life." 
 
 II. The object of this determined and 
 devoted feeling next demands attention, 
 " God forbid that I should glory, save in 
 the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.' 1 By 
 the cross we are to understand, the doctrine 
 of man's redemption, through a crucified 
 
 Revelation ii. 10.
 
 254 SERMON XIII. 
 
 Redeemer, that mysterious and all-im- 
 portant doctrine which was to " the Jews a 
 stumbling hlock, and to the Greeks foolish- 
 ness." As affecting the eternal destiny of 
 the whole human race, as a sure and only 
 means of rescue from Satan and from sin, 
 and of release from carnal bondage into 
 the marvellous light of spiritual liberty and 
 truth, we cannot wonder that the apostle 
 was filled with holy rapture and pious 
 determination whenever he reverted to the 
 glad tidings with which he was entrusted. 
 The truths which his hallowed lips were 
 destined to spread were, as he by happy 
 experience both knew and felt, calculated 
 to revive the drooping hopes, to destroy 
 the polluted practices, and to awaken the 
 slumbering energies of a world which lieth 
 in wickedness ; with an eye rivetted upon 
 the glories of eternity, and with a heart 
 elevated far above the vanities of time, he 
 went forth to preach the momentous doctrine, 
 that " God was in Christ, reconciling the 
 world unto himself, not imputing their
 
 SERMON XIII. 255 
 
 trespasses unto them." "Now then," is 
 his affectionate address to the Corinthians, 
 " we are ambassadors for Christ, as though 
 God did beseech you by us : we pray you 
 in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. 
 For he hath made Him to be sin for us, 
 who knew no sin ; that we might be made 
 the righteousness of God in him." p 
 
 That by the cross of Christ we are to 
 understand the salvation of mankind by the 
 death and mediation of our blessed Lord, 
 will be apparent to all who read the apostle's 
 declaration in connexion with the context. 
 He is rebuking certain Judaizing teachers 
 for attaching importance to particular forms 
 and ceremonies, for endeavouring to mix 
 up the dross of mere nominal religion, with 
 the religion of the heart, for an attempt, 
 indeed, to lessen the completeness of the 
 salvation which is by Christ Jesus, by 
 assuming that it needed the aid of certain 
 observances to which they attached a super- 
 stitious reverence, and by a compliance 
 
 o 2 Cor. v. 19. P 2 Cor. T. 20, 21.
 
 256 SERMON XIII. 
 
 with which they sought honour and secu- 
 rity : they were willing to be thought 
 Christians, but they likewise wished to 
 seein Jews ; they acknowledged the doc- 
 trine of the cross, but they seemed desirous 
 to increase its efficacy by presumptuously 
 adding to the Saviour's merits, the tinsel 
 merits of their own assumed righteousness ! 
 The declaration of St. Paul, therefore, must 
 be understood to assert the completeness of 
 the sacrifice which took place upon the 
 cross, and that it ought to be the sinner's 
 sole dependence. However necessary it 
 may be, and necessary it most assuredly 
 is, for all who name the name of Christ, to 
 " abstain from worldly lusts," and to be 
 " patterns of good works," it is most un- 
 doubted, that our only hope of pardon and 
 acceptance is " Jesus Christ, and Him 
 crucified." It was this truth in which the 
 apostle gloried ; it was the triumph which 
 Christ achieved upon the cross, a triumph 
 which vanquished the powers of darkness, 
 and which, unaided by human merit, or
 
 SERMON XIII. 257 
 
 human virtue, or human wisdom, opened 
 the door of heaven to every contrite and 
 returning sinner, that caused the apostle 
 to take such delight in " the ministry of 
 reconciliation," and which impelled him to 
 persevere through good report, and through 
 evil report, in youth and in age, in 
 sickness and in health, in life and in 
 death. He bent not to the superstitions, 
 he heeded not the prejudices, he truckled 
 not to the temporising spirit of his auditors j 
 his was a straightforward and a single- 
 hearted course ; and looking neither to the 
 right hand nor to the left, he steadily 
 pursued the path of duty, glorying in no- 
 thing " save in the cross of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, whereby the world was crucified 
 unto him, and he unto the world." 
 
 III. And here we are naturally led to 
 consider the consequence of the devoted 
 feeling which thus influenced the apostle, 
 " the world was crucified unto him, and he 
 unto the world" by which we are to under- 
 z 2
 
 258 SERMON XIII. 
 
 stand that, after his conversion, he virtually 
 became dead unto the things of time, and 
 alive to those of eternity. It is not, how- 
 ever, to be supposed, that his increase of 
 spiritual affection, and his devoted pursuit 
 of the " one thing needful," involved any- 
 thing like neglect of the necessary duties 
 of life. No. His zeal was always accord- 
 ing to knowledge, always regulated by a 
 sound discretion ; and although he account- 
 ed all things but loss for the excellency of 
 the knowledge of his divine Master, he 
 afforded an almost perfect example of 
 order, regularity, and usefulness. Whilst 
 in the flesh, he neglected not that which 
 the flesh required, but provided for honest 
 things not only in the sight of the Lord, 
 but also in the sight of men, and worked 
 with his own hands for his daily bread, that 
 he might be a burden or trouble to no man ; 
 his only source of glory, however, was the 
 cross of Christ. Animated by a cheering 
 sense of redeeming love, and feeling within 
 him its restraining and constraining influ-
 
 SERMON XIII. 259 
 
 ence, he was moved by none of the changes 
 and chances of this mortal life, being firmly 
 persuaded, that through the merits of his 
 crucified Master, there was laid up for him 
 an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and 
 which fadeth not away. The light which 
 cheered and illumined his own path, the 
 elevating hope which raised him above the 
 sorrows and the shadows of humanity; 
 the faith which filled him with all joy and 
 peace in believing ; the glad tidings which 
 assured him of pardon and acceptance, were 
 his boast and dependence; and these it was 
 his sole ambition, as it was his constant 
 aim, to give to others; to supply them 
 with the bread which perisheth not, and 
 with the water which springeth up into 
 everlasting life; to lead them from the 
 thick darkness and the defiling pursuits 
 which bewildered and endangered them; 
 and to bring them into experimental ac- 
 quaintance with Him that loved us, and 
 washed us from our sins in his own blood,
 
 260 SERMON X11I. 
 
 and hath made us kings and priests unto 
 God and his Father for ever. q 
 
 The doctrine of the cross had a two-fold 
 influence upon the conduct of the apostle. 
 In reference to himself it placed him above 
 the world : it rendered him totally inde- 
 pendent of the lust of the flesh, and the lust 
 of the eye, and the pride of life ; pleasure 
 could not seduce, nor pain disturb him ; he 
 felt that the earth was not his home, and 
 he laboured diligently for one of the many 
 mansions of his heavenly Father ; he feared 
 not what man could do unto him, neither 
 did he count his life dear, so that he might 
 finish his course with joy, and fulfil the 
 ministry committed unto him/ his glory 
 was the cross of Christ, and his aim the 
 eternal happiness which it has purchased 
 In reference to others, he was full of kind- 
 ness and good will ; his heart and affections 
 were enlarged by a grateful sense of the 
 mercy which had been vouchsafed unto 
 
 q Rev. i. 5, 6. r Consult Acts xx. 21.
 
 SERMON XIII. 261 
 
 himself; and wherever a sinner could be 
 saved, wherever a soul could be plucked 
 as a brand from the burning, there did he 
 desire to be, there was he anxious to 
 labour; to impart the happiness which he 
 felt, and the gracious privilege which he 
 enjoyed; to warn them that they were 
 sitting in darkness and in the shadow of 
 death, and to give them the marvellous 
 light, and the soul-saving doctrines of the 
 Gospel. He, indeed, was no theoretic 
 Christian ; his faith yielded its due measure 
 of obedience ; the love of Christ constrained 
 him to constant action, and so inextinguish- 
 able was his zeal, so indefatigable liis 
 exertions, that he traversed seas and con- 
 tinents in fulfilment of his high vocation ; 
 and ceased not to labour until martyrdom 
 sent him to his reward, and placed the 
 crown of glory upon his sainted head. 
 
 IV. Having considered the nature of the 
 feelings avowed by the apostle, the object 
 of those feelings, and the consequences to
 
 262 SERMON XIII. 
 
 which they led, we desire to ask each of 
 you, brethren, whether you can adopt the 
 language of the text, and say, " God forbid 
 that I should glory, save in the cross of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ?" We do not ask, 
 whether you glory in the profession of the 
 cross, but whether your hopes, your de- 
 pendence, and your conduct, are all influ- 
 enced and directed by the solemn truth, 
 that without the blood which was shed 
 thereon, there is no remission of sins, no 
 means of escape from the second death, 
 no chance of rescue from everlasting con- 
 demnation ? 
 
 It is to this one point that we would fix 
 your attention. We would imitate the 
 candour and faithfulness of the apostle, and 
 assure you, as he assured the temporising 
 Galatians, that " in Christ Jesus neither 
 circumcision availeth anything, nor uncir- 
 cumcision, but a new creature" that if 
 you venture to connect with the all-sufficient 
 merits of the Saviour, any fancied merits 
 of your own, you dishonour God, and
 
 SERMON XIII. 263 
 
 deceive your own souls. The sacrifice of 
 Christ is an all-prevailing sacrifice, and 
 must be our only dependence, and woe be 
 unto us if we either add thereto, or di- 
 minish therefrom : " without Christ we can 
 do nothing," for "God hath laid on Him 
 the iniquity of us all." This is the truth 
 which we must preach, this is the truth 
 which you must practise ; and we solemnly 
 warn you, that every other hope of salvation 
 is a false and hollow hope, a doctrine, not 
 of God, but of man, a presumptuous re- 
 jection of the only grounds on winch we are 
 permitted to approach the tin-one of mercy. 
 But not only is it meet that we glory in, 
 and ever hold fast by, the cross of Christ, 
 it is indispensable that thereby the world 
 becomes crucified unto us, and we unto the 
 world ; that we regard all sublunary dis- 
 tinctions as secondary objects of desire in 
 comparison with the hope and prospect of 
 our high calling; that whilst we are in 
 the world, we are not of the world, but 
 walk as becometh children of light. Pray
 
 264 SERMON XIII. 
 
 we therefore, brethren, for such an increase 
 of faith as will enable us to overcome the 
 world ; pray we for an enlarged measure of 
 hope and of charity ; pray we for the aid 
 and sanctification of the Holy Spirit, that 
 we may be enabled to honour the doctrine 
 of God our Saviour in all things, and by 
 lives of consistent holiness to produce such 
 fruit as will redound to the honour and 
 glory of God, that both by example and 
 precept we may lead many into the way of 
 righteousness, doing what we can for their 
 bodies, and striving, by all practicable 
 means, to save their souls. 
 
 And now, beloved brethren, by the 
 mercies of the Lord, we would beseech, and 
 by his soul-rending terrors, we would per- 
 suade you, to cleave to the cross of Christ. 
 It may be that your lives and conversation 
 are adorned by many a lovely attribute ; 
 that your daily practice is distinguished by 
 honour, and honesty, and kindness, and 
 good will ; and that, flattered into the be- 
 lief that these fair qualities possess inherent
 
 SERMON XIII. 265 
 
 and independent merit, you are led to 
 undervalue the great Atonement, and to 
 expect that God will accept you on the 
 strength of your unsaiictifiecl deeds ! Re- 
 member, however, that unless you are 
 perfect in Christ Jesus, you are nothing; 
 that unless you huild upon Him, you 
 build in vain, for " other foundation can no 
 man lay than that is laid which is Jesus 
 Christ," who, "being made perfect became 
 the author," mark, we beseech you, 
 " the author of eternal salvation unto all 
 them that obey Him." 8 Wherefore, let us 
 believe and obey ; let us glory in the Lord; 
 yet a little while, and every other source 
 of glory will be withdrawn, yet a little 
 wliile, and the place which now knoweth 
 us will know us no more for ever. The 
 hour of departure must come, and is fast 
 approaching; would we not make it an 
 hour of terror and dismay, would we not 
 crowd it with painful retrospection, and 
 with fearful anticipation, let us earnestly 
 
 Hebrews v. 9. 
 A A
 
 266 SERMON XTIT. 
 
 seek the Lord, and diligently strive to 
 sanctify the opportunities which we yet 
 enjoy. Under any circumstances it is a 
 fearful thing to die, but O ! how fearful 
 must be the views and feelings of that man 
 who, finding himself upon the very verge 
 of the expanded grave, is conscious that he 
 has no hope beyond it, and who, having 
 neglected the covenanted mercies of God 
 in this life, knows that he must endure his 
 torturing vengeance in that to which he is 
 hastening. Let us, then, spare ourselves 
 the indescribable agony of such a posi- 
 tion; let us avoid treasuring up wrath 
 against the day of wrath, by doing that to- 
 day, which it may be too late to do to- 
 morrow : turning unto the Lord with full 
 purpose of heart, let us honour Him in our 
 souls and in our bodies, fervently and con- 
 tinually praying, that, by the cross of Christ, 
 the world may be crucified unto us, and 
 we unto the world, and that " among 
 the sundry and manifold changes to which
 
 SERMON XT1I. 267 
 
 we are exposed, our hearts may surely 
 there be fixed where only true joys are 
 to be found." 1 
 
 * Collect for Fourth Sunday after Easter.
 
 SERMON XIV. 
 
 THE CASE OF THE PARDONED MALEFAC- 
 TOR, PRACTICALLY CONSIDERED. 
 
 LUKE xxiii. 43. 
 
 JESUS SAID UNTO HIM, VERILY I SAY UXTO THEE, 
 TO-DAY SHALT THOU BE WITH ME IN PARADISE. 
 
 THE remarkable and touching occurrence, 
 of which these words form the conclusion, 
 affords a striking proof of the sovereignty 
 of God's grace, and of the freeness of God's 
 mercy. By it the weary and heavy laden 
 sinner is taught, that he is never beyond
 
 SERMON XIV. 269 
 
 the pale of forgiveness, and the persevering 
 saint, that he cannot fail of his reward ; 
 by it we learn, that repentance, though late, 
 and wilfully delayed, may still be effectual ; 
 and that the voice of mercy may reach the 
 pardoned offender just as he is about to 
 enter the dark valley of the shadow of 
 death. But whilst the narrative, which, in 
 humble dependence upon the Holy Spirit, 
 we shall now proceed to consider, thus 
 suggests consolation and encouragement, 
 it must not be disguised, that it may be so 
 read and interpreted as to become a pretext 
 for dangerous and criminal procrastination ; 
 that instead of leading us to praise and 
 admire the never-failing love, it may prompt 
 us to tempt the patience and to presume 
 upon the forbearance of the Almighty. 
 
 It will, accordingly, be our endeavour to 
 shew, that whilst it is replete with encour- 
 agement and instruction, it offers no induce- 
 ment to defer the reception of those doctrines, 
 nor to decline the practice of those duties, 
 which the Gospel imperatively enjoins. 
 
 A A 2
 
 270 SERMON XIV. 
 
 I. The character of the individual who 
 received so striking a manifestation of the 
 divine mercy must first be noticed. He 
 was a malefactor; and that his offences 
 were of a heinous description is to be infer- 
 red from the nature of his punishment; 
 the sentence of crucifixion being never 
 awarded but to the most serious trans- 
 gressors. Here, however, we are not left to 
 conjecture ; the man's own confession, that 
 he was only receiving the due rewards of 
 his deeds, proves, incontestably, that he had 
 led a life of crime and impiety. 
 
 II. The actual guilt of the individual 
 being thus established, in the next place it 
 is important that we bear in mind the cir- 
 cumstances under which he happily experi- 
 enced the divine forgiveness. He was in 
 the agonies of an ignominious death, pro- 
 bably without even a solitary circumstance 
 to mitigate his sufferings ; the past was 
 doubtless a scene of painful retrospection 
 the future a prospect overcast by doubt,
 
 SERMON XIV. 271 
 
 darkness, and despondency. Some com- 
 mentators suppose, that his offence was 
 purely a civil one that acting upon that 
 principle of resistance which always influ- 
 enced the Jews with respect to their con- 
 querors, he had merely resented the Roman 
 domination by opposing oppressive demands, 
 and by retaliating upon those by whom 
 they were enforced." We stay not to en- 
 quire into the probability of this conjecture 
 for conjecture it only is ; the man's own 
 confession that he was suffering justly, 
 supported by his earnest entreaty for mercy, 
 seems to indicate a much more serious 
 amount of offence than is implied by the 
 opinion in question. Had he merely re- 
 sisted oppression had he only risen against 
 those whom he conceived to be the enemies 
 of his country, his would have been the 
 patriot's solace, his the martyr's triumph ; 
 instead of acknowledging the justice of his 
 sentence, or the unwortliiness of his deeds, 
 it is probable that he would have evinced 
 
 Bishop Pearce, and Dr. Clarke in loco.
 
 272 SERMON XIV. 
 
 that haughty disregard of suffering, and that 
 stern constancy in death, which usually 
 distinguish all who sacrifice life in the 
 cause of liberty. We, therefore, incline to 
 the opinion that he was a malefactor in the 
 literal and least defensible sense of the 
 term ; and that the consciousness of a long 
 course of unrepented crime, far more than 
 physical suffering, was the cause of his 
 dying agonies. However this may be, it 
 is quite sure, that he was a sinner a 
 trembling convicted sinner, on the very 
 brink of destruction, about to taste the 
 bitter potion reserved for every son and 
 daughter of Adam who, disregarding the 
 means of grace and the opportunities of 
 salvation, shall die without preparation and 
 repentance. 
 
 It was under these seemingly hopeless 
 and destitute circumstances, that he was 
 destined to hear the glad tidings of mercy : 
 that glorious reward, which we are taught 
 to expect only after a life of faith and piety, 
 was instant upon his acknowledgment of
 
 SERMON XIV. 273 
 
 the Lord Jesus; and notwithstanding that 
 he had reached the verge of the grave 
 with all his sins and imperfections on his 
 head, death was not permitted to seize its 
 victim before he had heard from the lips 
 of the Saviour the consoling assurance, 
 " Verily I say unto thee, To-day shalt thou 
 he with me in Paradise." 
 
 III. And here, brethren, whilst we ad- 
 mire the mercy, let us take heed that we do 
 not abuse the patience, nor forget the jus- 
 tice, of the Almighty. There are many 
 considerations connected with the case of 
 the penitent thief which forbid us to defer 
 the important duty of preparation, and 
 which, whilst they shew the efficacy of a 
 late repentance in one instance, by no means 
 justify it in all: to these considerations let 
 us now direct our earnest attention. 
 
 1. Although the conversion of the male- 
 factor was seemingly a sudden one, it is 
 possible that it may not have been so. It 
 is possible, that during the confinement
 
 274 SERMON XIV. 
 
 which preceded his execution, he may 
 have heard of Christ, and having heard 
 may have believed Him to be that prophet 
 which should come. The leisure and re- 
 tirement of the prison might have been 
 devoted to a consideration of the evidences, 
 and to a candid examination of the princi- 
 ples, of the religion of Christ ; and on this 
 supposition it is not unlikely, that he had 
 become a true penitent, and that his ac- 
 knowledgment of our Lord upon the cross 
 was the result of previous thought and 
 enquiry. 
 
 Affliction usually softens the heart and 
 renders us docile and teachable ; and the 
 prospect of a speedy, and especially of a 
 violent, death, almost invariably prompts 
 men to look with an anxious and enquiring 
 eye to the future and invisible world; 
 hence there is nothing strained in the 
 assumption, that, awakened to a proper 
 sense of his awful situation, he had acquired 
 that faith, and evinced that penitence, which, 
 through the never-failing merits of the
 
 SERMON XIV. 275 
 
 Redeemer, are- certain passports to the 
 kingdom of heaven. 
 
 2. But if the penitence of the male- 
 factor does not admit of this explanation, 
 there are other considerations connected 
 with his case which discountenance any- 
 thing like delay in the momentous concerns 
 of eternity. If he had no previous know- 
 ledge of Christ, he could have had no pre- 
 vious call; if he had not already become a 
 child of grace, the means of grace had not 
 been vouchsafed to him ; if he had not 
 secured a heavenly inheritance, it is impor- 
 tant to remember, that the chance of doing 
 so had not been afforded him. Hence 
 should we resemble Mm in the lateness of 
 our repentance, we cannot resemble him in 
 the want of opportunity: the merciful pro- 
 visions, and glad tidings of the Gospel 
 wliich were witheld from him, are faithfully 
 preached and proclaimed to us ; before we 
 determine, then, to continue in sin, and to 
 carry our worldly feelings and propensities 
 to the borders of the grave, encouraged by
 
 276 SERMON XIV. 
 
 the solitary example before us, it will be 
 well to recollect, that we have talents which 
 he had not that we are enlightened whilst 
 he was ignorant that w r e disregard know- 
 ledge and opportunities which were denied 
 to him that we wilfully and obstinately 
 place ourselves in a situation, which in his 
 case was involuntary and unavoidable. 
 
 Whether, then, the successful repentance 
 of the pardoned malefactor waa the con- 
 sequence of previous preparation; or whe- 
 ther it was the fruit of the first opportunity 
 which he had of coming unto Christ, it 
 affords no pretext for delay it gives no 
 sanction to a death-bed repentance. If 
 preparation preceded his pardon, that fact 
 admonishes us that we ought to prepare : 
 and if he was forgiven because, having had 
 no prior call, he readily embraced the first 
 which was addressed to him, are we not 
 reminded that we shall be rejected unless 
 our faith and obedience are equally willing? 
 We have had many calls, whereas the dying 
 thief may have only had one ; he obeyed
 
 SERMON XIV. 277 
 
 that one, whilst we, it is to he feared, have 
 disobeyed the many; with what reason, 
 therefore, can we hope to participate in 
 his reward, if we refuse to profit by his 
 example ? 
 
 3. And that we may not presume to 
 delay the consideration of the things which 
 belong unto our peace, from a mistaken 
 estimate of the case now under considera- 
 tion, we ought to remember that " all Scrip- 
 ture is given by inspiration of God, and is 
 profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for cor- 
 rection, for instruction in righteousness : 
 that the man of God may be perfect, tho- 
 roughly furnished unto all good works."" 
 Now the very reverse of this merciful design 
 would take place, were we to urge the 
 authority of Scripture to justify even a 
 temporary neglect of the soul's interest. 
 " Boast not thyself of to-morrow ; for thou 
 knowest not what a day may bring forth." 
 " Let your loins be girded about and your 
 lights burning." " Work out your own 
 
 v 2 Timothy iii. 16. 17. 
 B B
 
 278 SERMON XIV. 
 
 salvation with fear and trembling." " Be- 
 hold now is the accepted time, now is the 
 day of salvation,"" are admonitions which 
 distinctly shew, that whatever the case of 
 the pardoned malefactor was designed to 
 teach it was not designed to teach us to 
 defer the all-important duty of preparation. 
 " The mercies of God are never recorded 
 in scripture for man's presumption, and the 
 failings of men never for imitation."" Let 
 us, therefore, take heed that we do not so 
 far presume upon the mercy of God, as to 
 risk our chance of heaven upon the uncer- 
 tain repentance of the dying hour, merely 
 because in that solemn hour, one trembling 
 sinner was rescued from the terrors of 
 the second death; and, instead of copy- 
 ing the malefactor in the lateness of his 
 repentance, let us copy his sincerity 
 and his promptitude, remembering always 
 the solemn caution of our Redeemer, 
 " Watch, for ye know neither the day 
 
 w Prov. xxvii. 1. Luke xii. 35. Philip ii. 12. 2 Cor. vi. 2. 
 * Lightfoot.
 
 SERMON XIV. 279 
 
 nor the hour wherein the son of man 
 cometh." y 
 
 IV. Were we authorized to teach and 
 we certainly are not authorized to teach 
 that a death-bed repentance is sure to he a 
 repentance unto life, it would still he our 
 duty to admonish you that you cannot even 
 for a moment, without imminent peril to 
 your souls, delay that serious preparation 
 which the Gospel enjoins. The reasons for 
 instant repentance are many and pressing ; 
 and they are withal so frequent and so 
 palpable, that did not the god of this world 
 blind our eyes, and harden our hearts, we 
 should find it impossible not to see and to 
 feel them. 
 
 1. The uncertainty and the mutability 
 which encompass us, powerfully suggest 
 that we ought not to trust to the future. 
 Although it is most certain that we must 
 die, it is not certain that we shall be 
 allowed the privilege of a death-bed. We 
 
 i Matthew xxv. 13.
 
 280 SERMON XIV. 
 
 may be unexpectedly cut off by the unlock- 
 ed for failure of some vital power ; or by 
 the withering influence of some latent and 
 unsuspected disease; or by the treacherous 
 approach of some impending accident. Our 
 luxuries our harmless enjoyments our or- 
 dinary amusements and even our daily 
 avocations, may bring our lives to a sudden 
 close, and lead to occurrences, which may 
 speedily send us into the presence of our 
 Eternal Judge. 
 
 So uncertain, is the approach of death, 
 that he may surprise us at any moment, 
 and under any circumstances, even whilst 
 the cup of pleasure is in our hands, or the 
 blush of health upon our cheeks, or the 
 object of honourable ambition within our 
 grasp, or the prospect of lengthened exist- 
 ence before us. " This night shall thy soul 
 be required of thee," is a summons which 
 reason shews to be possible, and experience 
 to be not improbable ; how great, therefore, 
 is that imprudence, how short-sight eel that 
 policy, how daring that presumption, which
 
 SERMON XIV. 281 
 
 cause us to rest our chance of salvation on 
 a season which we may never see. 
 
 2. But supposing our summons should 
 not be sudden ; supposing the approach of 
 death to be progressive, and months, and 
 even years, of irremediable sickness to pre- 
 cede his coming, many circumstances may 
 conspire to shut out repentance, and to 
 destroy all chance of effectual preparation. 
 The action of disease upon the mind is 
 never favourable ; it necessarily indisposes 
 us for calm and dispassionate self-examina- 
 tion, and for that impartial review of our 
 past lives, without which repentance can 
 never be complete. 
 
 They who are familiar with death-bed 
 scenes well know, that the prominent desire 
 of the patient usually is, to put off the 
 solemn business of eternity; that any 
 chance of recovery, however remote, is 
 eagerly dwelt upon, whilst approaching 
 dissolution is contemplated with reluct- 
 ance, and often without any proper sense 
 of the tremendous consequences which it 
 
 B B 2
 
 282 SERMON XIV. 
 
 involves. Bodily suffering is incompatible 
 with mental exertion ; and the weakness of 
 the flesh, aided by the force of habit, will 
 so far overpower the willingness of the 
 spirit, as to undermine all godly resolution, 
 and to make us more regardful of the world 
 and its vanities, than of the soul arid its 
 everlasting interests. If we resolve not to 
 part with our worldly propensities until we 
 are called upon to part with life, we shall 
 do well to recollect, that it may not be in 
 our power to part with them at all : the 
 habits of years are not to be changed in a 
 moment, and it is presumptuous to expect 
 the seeds of holiness to take deep root, and 
 to flourish, in a soil overrun by the weeds 
 of worldly mindedness, impoverished by 
 the want of genial culture, and exhausting 
 under the influence of a consuming sickness. 
 The pardoned malefactor, it must be 
 remarked, had not to struggle with disease : 
 neither had he the hope of recovery to 
 delude him ; his mind was permitted the 
 free and unclouded exercise of its powers,
 
 SERMON XIV. 283 
 
 under the awful certainty that death was 
 nigh ; he had, therefore, opportunities of 
 effectual repentance, which will probably he 
 denied to many of us ; and this considera- 
 tion alone requires, that we do not presume 
 upon his example. 
 
 It is possihle, that circumstances more 
 fatally afflictive than any to which we have 
 alluded, may mark the closing scene of our 
 existence; that the victory of the grave 
 may subject us to a course of suffering, 
 infinitely more to he dreaded than the mere 
 loss of life, or the slavish fear of death. 
 It may he which God in his mercy pre- 
 vent it may be, that the consciousness of 
 unpardoned, unrepented guilt may render 
 us delirious with dread ; that remorse may 
 people the imagination with terrific visions ; 
 that the recollection of a slighted Savi- 
 our, and of a grieved Sanctifier, may allow 
 us to hear only the appalling sentence of 
 condemnation ; and that agitated by terror, 
 and weakened by disease, we may spend 
 the last days of our earthly sojourn amidst
 
 284 SERMON XIV". 
 
 the impenetrable gloom of a darkened and 
 bewildered reason. 
 
 Think not, brethren, that in thus draw- 
 ing aside the curtain of the death-bed, 
 we make an uncalled-for appeal to your 
 feelings, or needlessly violate its solemn 
 and heart-rending secrets : our desire is to 
 bring home the awakening truth, that we 
 cannot, even for a moment, neglect the du- 
 ties of religion, without hazard to the soul ; 
 and that he who refuses to repent until the 
 ordinary course of nature shall place him 
 on the verge of the grave, although he 
 experience no sudden visitation, may find 
 his heart so hardened by worldly habit, 
 or his conscience so seared by sensual 
 indulgence, or his fancy so excited by 
 apprehension, or his reason so impaired 
 by disease, as to render repentance and 
 preparation impossible. " It is indeed, not 
 a season to begin to turn to Christ, when 
 we cannot turn in our bed." z 
 
 z Legh Richmond's Life, p. 398.
 
 SERMON XIV. 285 
 
 V. We implore you, therefore, not to wrest 
 Scripture to your own destruction, by con- 
 verting the case of the pardoned malefactor 
 into a reason for religious procrastination. 
 If read, and considered aright, it affords no 
 such reason; it was special in its object, 
 and peculiar in all its circumstances : it 
 offers a striking proof of the efficacy of true 
 repentance, and of God's readiness to par- 
 don ; it shews also, that " He who was 
 despised and rejected of men, a man of 
 sorrows and acquainted with grief," has 
 power to save to the uttermost all who 
 come unto GodbyJifzw, but it does not 
 shew, that because one sinner was miracu- 
 lously snatched as a brand from the burn- 
 ing at the very moment that he was about 
 to be consumed, all must, therefore, expect 
 a similar deliverance ; it does not sanction 
 the presumptuous hope, that because one 
 late repentance became the passport to 
 heaven, every other will necessarily be- 
 come so. 
 
 Wherefore to-day, whilst it is called
 
 286 SERMON XIV. 
 
 to-day, let us not dare to harden our hearts; 
 but having respect unto the unfailing re- 
 compence of the Christian's reward, let us 
 resolve so to strive, that that recompence 
 may he ours. 
 
 If we do not work whilst it is day, the 
 night may come when we cannot work, and 
 then terrific thought instead of experi- 
 encing the joyous fate of the malefactor 
 who was saved, we shall have part and 
 fellowship with the malefactor who was pro- 
 bably lost. This is our day of salvation, 
 it may be the day of our death, let us then 
 not tempt the mercy, nor try the patience, 
 of the Almighty, by neglecting the precious 
 opportunities which we enjoy; they are 
 talents of which a scrutinizing account will 
 be required ; if we abuse them, we shall be 
 dealt with as unprofitable servants, but if 
 we improve them, we shall assuredly enter 
 into the joy of our Lord. 
 
 Profiting therefore, by the solemn admo- 
 nition, and availing ourselves of the encour- 
 aging truths, developed in the narrative we
 
 SERMON XIV. 287 
 
 Lave reviewed, let us pray, tLat we may 
 be enabled to lay hold on, and ever to hold 
 fast, the blessed hope of everlasting life. 
 The case of the pardoned malefactor is a 
 striking illustration of the great fundamen- 
 tal doctrine, that we are justified by faith 
 alone, that the blood of Christ cleanseth 
 from all sin ; and it moreover teaches, that 
 despair is weakness, that the divine mercy 
 is unbounded, and that the most obdurate 
 offender may find repentance available, even 
 at the eleventh hour. But though it thus 
 abounds with encouragement and consola- 
 lation for the dying sinner, it disproves 
 not the necessity of a life of holiness, and 
 offers no inducement for us to loiter on the 
 road to heaven : it is a special proof of the 
 completeness of the redemption which is by 
 Christ Jesus, not an undoubted assurance 
 of the validity of every death-bed repentance; 
 it evolves a general and most important 
 principle, without offering any motive to 
 delay, or any encouragement to presump- 
 tion : it shews that man must prepare, but
 
 288 SERMON XIV. 
 
 it does not shew that he can safely defer 
 preparation. 
 
 Whilst then, heloved hrethren, we feed 
 upon Christ in our hearts hy faith with 
 thanksgiving, and read, and mark, and 
 learn, and inwardly digest the hlessed 
 truths of the God's holy word, let us dili- 
 gently and devoutly pray, that we may he 
 enabled to do good to he rich in good 
 works, ready to distribute, willing to com- 
 municate ; that having given all diligence 
 to make oar " calling and election sure," 
 an entrance may be "ministered unto us 
 abundantly in the everlasting kingdom of 
 our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."
 
 SERMON XV. 
 
 THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER. 
 
 MATTHEW xiii. 18. 
 
 HEAR TE THEREFORE THE PARABLE OF THE SOWER. 
 
 THE instructive and comprehensive parable 
 which we are thus commanded to hear, is 
 calculated to touch every heart, and to 
 pierce every conscience. The Gospel is 
 likened unto seed sown in the midst of a 
 thankless and unheeding world by our 
 c c
 
 290 SERMON XV. 
 
 Messed Lord and his ministers, the uncer- 
 tain and various results of whose labours 
 are indicated by a number of very apt and 
 striking comparisons. Every diversity of 
 disposition every contrariety of doctrine ; 
 the dangers which beset, and the difficulties 
 which distract the Christian ; warnings to 
 deter, and encouragements to support; 
 are all contained in the picture thus drawn 
 for our instruction and improvement by 
 Him who "needed not that any should 
 testify of man, because He knew what was 
 in man," and who now commands us to 
 hear, and to profit by, his wisdom. Let us 
 then, with lowly and teachable dispositions, 
 obey that command by considering atten- 
 tively " the parable of the sower." 
 
 " A sower," we read, " went forth to 
 sow ; and when he sowed, some seeds fell 
 by the way side, and the fowls came and 
 devoured them up : some fell upon stony 
 places, where they had not much earth : 
 and forthwith they sprung up, because they 
 had no deepness of earth : and when the
 
 SERMON XV. 291 
 
 sun was up they were scorched ; and be- 
 cause they had no root, they withered away. 
 And some fell among thorns; and the 
 thorns sprung up, and choked them : hut 
 other fell into good ground, and brought 
 forth fruit, some an hundred-fold, some 
 sixty-fold, some thirty-fold." 
 
 I. " The word of the kingdom," or " the 
 Gospel," is the seed sown, and this is 
 scattered with a free and unsparing hand 
 amongst mankind. "The sower" is in- 
 tended to represent our blessed Lord him- 
 self, but the comparison may be extended 
 to all his ministers, who are so many 
 husbandmen engaged in the spiritual har- 
 vest, spreading and enforcing the glad 
 tidings of salvation, and labouring to render 
 souls ripe for eternity. In natural hus- 
 bandry we know, that unless the soil be 
 good and carefully prepared, the produce 
 will be both deficient in quantity, and poor 
 in quality. And even when seed is .sown 
 on good ground, if it be riot carefully
 
 292 SERMON XV. 
 
 watched and properly secured, it will not 
 bring forth abundantly, because it is liable 
 to be devoured by the fowls of the air, and to 
 be choked by the tares, and to be injured by 
 a variety of causes. This is precisely the 
 case in spiritual matters. The variety of 
 tastes of dispositions of habits and of 
 prejudices, which are found in the world, 
 are like the various soils which the agricul- 
 turist has to prepare and improve, whilst 
 the many external circumstances which 
 interfere with his labours, and frequently 
 render them abortive, have their counter- 
 part in those ever recurring accidents which 
 exercise the vigilance, and often disappoint 
 the anxious hopes, of the minister. It is 
 hence important to ascertain the sort of soil 
 to which we may be likened ; whether the 
 good seed lias taken deep root, and is flour- 
 ishing in our hearts, or, whether it has 
 fallen on stony ground, and is perishing 
 amidst the superabundance of our cares, or 
 is impeded in its growth by the tares of a 
 worldly and unbelieving spirit. An atten-
 
 SERMON XV. 293 
 
 tive examination of the touching exposition 
 of our blessed Lord will enahle us to arrive 
 at a certain may it prove a satisfactory- 
 conclusion on all these points. 
 
 II. Our attention is in the first place 
 directed to " the way side hearers" " When 
 any one," says our blessed Lord, " heareth 
 the word of the kingdom, and understandeth 
 it not, then cometh the wicked one, and 
 catcheth away that which was sown in his 
 heart. This is he which received seed bv 
 
 v 
 
 the way side."" 
 
 This explanation renders this portion of 
 our subject perfectly intelligible. The mere 
 lover of the world he whose heart and 
 affections are wedded to its cares and 
 its vanities,- who blinded by pride and 
 self-confidence, seeks not the transforming 
 power of the religion which he professes, 
 resembles a hard and beaten pathway, on 
 which, if good seed be scattered, instead of 
 taking root, it is wasted and lost, and is 
 
 Matthew xiii. 19. 
 c c 2
 
 294 SERMON XV. 
 
 either trodden underfoot, or picked up and 
 devoured by the fowls of the air. " No 
 man," says our Saviour, " can serve two 
 masters : for either he will hate the one, 
 and love the other ; or else he will hold to 
 the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot 
 serve God and mammon." ' He, therefore, 
 who listens to the solemn truths of the 
 Gospel, whilst his affections centre in the 
 world who when he beholds his natural 
 face in the mirror of inspiration goeth his 
 way, and straightway forgetteth what man- 
 ner of man he is, c who is momentarily 
 impressed, not practically convinced " a 
 hearer, and not a doer, of the word," who, 
 in defiance of the warnings of scripture, 
 weakly endeavours to serve both God and 
 mammon, is one and it is to be feared that 
 there are many such of those way side hear- 
 ers which the parable condemns. The word 
 is sown but he " understandeth it not ;" he 
 is " of the earth, earthy," and we know- 
 that " the natural man receiveth not the 
 
 b Matt. vi. 24. c James i. 23, 24.
 
 SERMON XV. 295 
 
 things of the Spirit of God : for they are 
 foolislmess uuto him ; neither can he know 
 them, because they are spiritually discern- 
 ed.'^ Encumbered with much service, 
 oppressed with many cares, or intoxicated 
 with constant pleasure, the word of life 
 obtains no entrance into his already occu- 
 pied heart ; like grain, which is thrown on 
 a hard and impenetrable soil, it is speedily 
 trodden down by those unholy propensities, 
 those fretting interests, and those carnal 
 enjoyments, which are the one thing need- 
 ful to the worldly and the unregenerate. 
 As we cannot reasonably expect an abun- 
 dant harvest from ground which is con- 
 stantly pressed by the busy foot of man, so 
 neither can we reasonably hope to witness 
 the fruits of holiness spring from that heart 
 which is constantly under the dominion of 
 worldly feelings and desires. To such 
 quarters the most urgent appeals are ad- 
 dressed in vain ; and there the great enemy 
 of souls who, " as a roaring lion, walketh 
 
 d 1 Corinthians ii. 14.
 
 296 SERMON XV. 
 
 about, seeking whom he may devour'" is 
 constantly watching, and like the greedy 
 and rapacious fowls, is ever ready to catch 
 away, and to destroy, the good seed. 
 
 III. Our attention is next directed to 
 him " that received the seed into stony 
 places," " the same," we are told, " is he 
 that heareth the word, and anon with joy 
 receiveth it ; yet hath he not root in him- 
 self, but dureth for a while: for when 
 tribulation or persecution ariseth because of 
 the word, by and by he is offended." 
 
 This class of professors differs from the 
 last in these particulars, that they are 
 less trodden down less encumbered less 
 hackneyed in the ways of the world, and 
 although hard and stony, have a little soil 
 which seems to receive and to encourage 
 the exertions of the sower. They resemble 
 that sort of land which constantly disap- 
 points the hopes, and renders useless the 
 labour of the owner, because it has no depth, 
 
 e 1 Peter v. 8.
 
 SERMON XV. 297 
 
 and is literally choked with stones and 
 rubbish. The produce of such land is 
 always scanty and precarious; and what- 
 ever is sown upon it is liable to be scorched 
 by the sun, or displaced by the wind, or 
 swept away by the rain ; and although for 
 awhile it gives promise of increase, a variety 
 of causes conspire to prevent its taking 
 root, and it therefore withers away. 
 
 Here may we trace a close resemblance 
 to those characters who with a thorough 
 conviction of the truth of the Gospel, and 
 with a seeming hearty reverence for all the 
 ordinances of religion, are still not bringing 
 forth much fruit. They are perhaps sud- 
 denlv awakened to a wholesome sense of the 
 
 / 
 
 value of the soul, and while the word of 
 the kingdom is still sounding in their ears, 
 they probably feel inclined if not deter- 
 mined to be doers, as well as hearers, of 
 it. But this partial growth is soon sus- 
 pended for want of that thorough, that 
 heartfelt, that soul-moving conviction, which 
 is the only soil from which we must expect
 
 298 SERMON XV. 
 
 the fruits of holiness. Such profession, 
 indeed, is more allied to sentiment, than to 
 religion ; and is precisely the sort of feeling 
 which is called into being on every moving, 
 and pathetic occasion, it plays about the 
 heart but does not enter it, and leads to 
 nothing satisfactory nothing permanent. 
 While such impressions last and they sel- 
 dom last longer than the occasions which 
 produce them they give rise to religious 
 desire, and to religious determination ; 
 but these live not in the hour of trial, and 
 in the season of temptation : persecution 
 because of the word, ariseth, and we 
 straightway forsake the word in the hope 
 of avoiding the persecution; the sun of 
 prosperity blinds us with its beams, and 
 speedily destroys each germ of holiness ; 
 or the storms of affliction arise, and sweep 
 them away, because they have no root ; 
 and inasmuch as, in order to render the 
 crop fruitful and acceptable, we are required 
 to submit to conditions and to labour which 
 are distasteful and oppressive to the natural
 
 SERMON XV. 299 
 
 man, "by ami by -we are offended," and 
 suffer our good resolutions to depart for a 
 season. Professions and resolutions of sud- 
 den growth, from whatever source arising, 
 are seldom lasting ; and he who embraces 
 the Gospel, without first counting the cost; 
 who does not earnestly determine, if needs 
 be, to endure persecution for the word's 
 sake; whose will and understanding are 
 not freely enlisted in the service which he 
 espouses, at best resembles the seed sown 
 in stony places, which withered away be- 
 cause there was no depth of soil to sustain 
 and cherish it. 
 
 IV. We next read that the seed " fell 
 among thorns which sprang up with and 
 choked it, and so it became unfruitful." 
 Here we have a lively description of those, 
 who, by a preponderating attachment to the 
 world, compromise the hope and prospect 
 of their liigh calling. The thorns which 
 thus impede the growth of holiness are, as 
 our Saviour declares, " the cares of this
 
 300 SERMON XV. 
 
 world, and the deceitfulness of riches." 
 By "the cares of this world," are to be 
 understood that eager desire after temporal 
 advantage, and that anxious and fretting 
 thought for the morrow, which too com- 
 monly engross the mind, and completely 
 indispose it for the reception of divine truth : 
 by "the deceitfulness of riches," is indi- 
 cated their seductive nature, which, without 
 great precaution, must overpower the strong- 
 est mind, and give an idolatrous direction 
 to its powers. Not that we ought to retire 
 from the world altogether, or to look upon 
 wealth as a sure means of condemnation : 
 we know that the world may be used, 
 without being abused ; and it is also certain 
 that riches do not always prove a snare, 
 that they may be possessed without being 
 loved, and although frequently a means of 
 harm, are often a source of great good. 
 When, therefore, we hear riches denounced, 
 we must remember, that they are not 
 necessarily injurious to their possessor; 
 and that they only become so when, instead
 
 SERMON XV. 301 
 
 of being used for the glory of God, and the 
 good of man, they are converted into a 
 source of selfish and sinful gratification, or 
 of idolatrous regard : when thus abused 
 they do indeed become like thorns, they 
 choke the growth of every spiritual affection, 
 and render their owner barren and un- 
 fruitful. 
 
 Where the good seed is sown amongst 
 such propensities, we cannot wonder that it 
 does not grow; the soil is robbed of its 
 nutriment by the noxious roots which en- 
 cumber it, and deprived of the genial 
 influence of the sun and air by the loaded 
 branches which overspread its surface. 
 Well then are we cautioned against " the 
 cares of this world, and the deceitmlness of 
 riches," since if we guard not against them, 
 though we may be more teachable than the 
 way side hearers, and more earnest and 
 less inconstant than he who received the 
 seed in stony places, we are still like them 
 far from the kingdom of heaven ; for what- 
 ever may be the amount of our religious
 
 302 SERMON XV. 
 
 conviction, it will be of little avail unless it 
 produce a corresponding amount of religious 
 obedience, unless it so spiritualize the 
 affections as to induce us to pray with 
 heart and soul for the guidance and sanc- 
 tification of the Holy Spirit, and to " count 
 all things but loss for the excellency of the 
 knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord." f 
 
 V. But, lastly, we find that some " seed 
 fell amongst good ground, and brought 
 forth fruit, some an hundred-fold, some 
 sixty-fold, some thirty-fold," and this is 
 said in allusion to those that " hear, and 
 understand the word." 
 
 Would, brethren, that we all belonged to 
 this class : but, alas ! it is to be feared, 
 that we must seek our characters amongst 
 the stiff, the prejudiced, the hardened, or 
 the worldly, which produce and until soft- 
 ened by divine grace can produce no 
 fruit ; or else amongst the light, the incon- 
 stant, or the encumbered, who have neither 
 
 f Philippians iii. 8.
 
 SERMON XV. 303 
 
 strength, nor perseverance, nor room, re- 
 quisite for the growth of the lovely and 
 enduring produce of a Christian life. 
 
 They who resemble seed sown on good 
 ground, receive the word with humility and 
 thankfulness, and with a fervent desire to 
 render their bodies a living sacrifice holy 
 and acceptable unto the Lord ; the earnest 
 wish of their hearts is to understand and to 
 profit by it, to improve it as a talent of 
 great and precious importance committed 
 to their keeping by a kind and merciful 
 Master, to heed its requirements to listen 
 to its warnings and to aspire to its rewards 
 with teachableness, trembling, and diffi- 
 dence; and to labour according to their 
 measure of grace and ability, to bring forth 
 their fruit in due season. When the seed 
 thus takes deep root, it cannot fail to pro- 
 duce a goodly and abundant harvest ; a 
 few tares may spring up with, a few thorns 
 disfigure it, and the unholy propensities of 
 a carnal nature may somewhat mar the 
 beauty, and lessen the value of the crop ;
 
 304 SERMON XV. 
 
 but these serve to mark the improved soil- 
 to indicate the perseverance and earnest- 
 ness with which its natural sterility and 
 ruggedness have been subdued, to denote 
 the careful use of those means without 
 which no improvement could possibly have 
 taken place, rather than to render it un- 
 meet for the celestial garner into which it 
 will be hereafter gathered. 
 
 The heart of man, indeed, bears in most 
 points a striking resemblance to the earth 
 to which it is likened ; as the latter, even 
 under the most judicious management, be- 
 comes not wholly exempt from weeds and 
 obstructions, but oft times betrays the curse 
 under which it labours, so does the for- 
 mer, even when it beats high in the cause 
 of Christ, often give strong and lamentable 
 proof of its innate weakness and depravity. 
 But whether we bring forth an hundred-fold, 
 or sixty, or thirty, our reward is sure, 
 provided we receive the seed " into honest 
 and good hearts," and " having heard the 
 word, keep it, and bring forth fruit with
 
 SERMON XV. 305 
 
 patience"* And let us bear in mind, that 
 it is only by doing all that we can do all 
 that the Gospel requires, only by working 
 through faith in Christ, and by depending 
 'wholly upon the aid and sanctification of 
 the Holy Spirit, that we must hope to reap 
 life everlasting. We must not dare to 
 excuse ourselves in any one point of negli- 
 gence, nor to urge a right heart in extenu- 
 ation of a wrong practice ; as that ground 
 cannot be properly cultivated which does 
 not produce good fruit, neither can that 
 heart be properly subdued which is not 
 always spiritually inclined, and which 
 despite a few besetting sins, and occasional 
 relapses does not produce, " whatsoever is 
 pure and lovely, and of good report." Our 
 fruit may vary according to the nature of 
 the soil which yields it; or according to 
 the means and opportunities which aid its 
 growth ; and the outpourings of the Spirit 
 which are vouchsafed unto some in greater 
 
 e Luke viii. 15. 
 D D 2
 
 306 SERMON XV. 
 
 measure than to others like the reviving 
 sun, or the refreshing shower, may call 
 forth many degrees of fruitfulness, hut that 
 merciful God who knows our powers, will 
 assuredly reward us according to those 
 powers ; and he who does the best his 
 circumstance allows, is certain to experience 
 the fulfilment of those gracious promises 
 which are held out to patient continuance 
 in well-doing. 
 
 In closing our review of this most in- 
 structive narrative, suffer us to direct your 
 attention to the awful description which it 
 gives of the different effects of the same 
 seed, according to the nature and properties 
 of the soil upon which it falls. But here 
 we must premise, that there is one particu- 
 lar which it hehoves all to keep in mind. 
 We know, from experience, that there are 
 some soils, so bare, so sterile, and so refuse, 
 as to defy all attempts at improvement, and 
 which the most anxious and persevering 
 efforts of the husbandman cannot render
 
 SERMON XV. 307 
 
 either useful or prolific, they consequently 
 remain in a barren and uncultivated state, 
 affording a melancholy and painful contrast 
 to the more favoured parts of nature. But 
 there are no consciences thus hopelessly 
 hard no hearts thus hopelessly barren. 
 The labourer may turn wearied and disap- 
 pointed from the ground which no efforts 
 can improve, nor any art fertilize ; but the 
 spiritual husbandman works in subserviency 
 to means which, when faithfully applied, 
 always prove successful and omnipotent, 
 which must subdue the most stubborn, and 
 soften the hardest, and fertilize the most 
 barren, and correct the most faulty soil. 
 He goes forth in the power and might of 
 Jehovah, and in the full strength of that 
 promise wliich assures him, that the grace 
 of God is sufficient for all these purposes, 
 and that wherever he shall sow the seed, it 
 must spring up and flourish, if the means 
 to render it prolific be diligently used. 
 Brethren, this is indeed a consoling con-
 
 308 SERMON XV. 
 
 sideration, allow it then to become a prac- 
 tical one. Amongst us is the seed of the 
 kingdom sown ; and our hearts represent 
 the soil which must either receive, or reject 
 it, oh ! may the thought of an alternative 
 which involves the salvation, or the loss, of 
 the soul fill each of us with an earnest 
 desire of sinning no more. If we continue 
 amongst the way side hearers we must 
 perish : if our hearts remain as stony 
 places, it matters not that we hear the word, 
 and receive it with joy, we must perish; 
 if we receive the seed among the thorns of 
 an unregenerate spirit, and allow the cares 
 of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, 
 to choke and render it unfruitful, we must 
 perish : it is only they who receive the 
 word with understanding, who look upon 
 Christ as " the way, the truth, and the life," 
 who regard the Gospel as the charter 
 and warrant of their salvation, who are 
 not almost, hut altogether Christians, and 
 who demonstrate the sincerity of their faith
 
 SERMON XV. 309 
 
 by the abundance of fruit which they bear, 
 that will not disappoint the hopes of the 
 sower ; of those who thus profess, and thus 
 act, he will indeed have great joy when he 
 cometh to make up his sheaves. 
 
 Think then, beloved brethren, think 
 seriously upon these things; and as you 
 have heard, make it part of your prayers, 
 that you may be enabled fully to under- 
 stand, the parable of the sower. And 
 whether we teach, or whether we learn, let 
 us always bear in mind, that " the prepara- 
 tion of the heart is from the Lord," and 
 that He who commands the seed to be 
 sown alone can give the increase. Pray 
 we, therefore, that his grace may soften and 
 chasten all our hearts, and cause us to 
 receive with meekness the engrafted word, 
 which alone is able to save the soul : pray 
 we, that the religion which we profess may 
 take deep and lasting root in our affections, 
 the true seat of all real and scriptural 
 religion that the thoughts and words of
 
 310 SERMON XV. 
 
 the Gospel may be to each of us " thoughts 
 that breathe and words that bum," exciting 
 us to the profession of a true and lively 
 faith, and producing in us " fruits unto 
 holiness, and the end everlasting life." 
 
 THE END.
 
 W. DEARDEN, PRINTER, NOTTINGHAM.
 
 LIBRARY FACILITY 
 
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