YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THREE LECTURES ON
ROMANS IV. 9—25.'
DESIGNED CHIEFLY
TO ILLUSTRATE THE NATURE
OF THE
SCfcrafmmic Cofommt,
AND ITS CONNECTION WITH
I'JV F *4JV T- B *4 FT TSMt

WITH AN
APPENDIX ON THE MODE OF BAPTISM.

By RALPH WARDLAW,
GLASGOW.

rRINTBD BT JT. LANG,
FOR M. OGLE, WILSON-STREET,
AND SOLD BY J. & A. DUNCAN, J. STEVEN & CO.
AND R. WILLIAMSON; OGLE" & AIRMAN, AND
GUTHRIE & TAIT, EDINBURGH; R. OGLE,
AND WILLIAMS & SMITH, LONDON.
1S07.

MAiciS

TO THE
CHURCH OF CHRIST,
ASSEMBLING IN
ALBION-STREET CHAPEL,
GLASGOW,
Clje following lectures;
ARE INSCRIBED
BY THEIR
AFFECTIONATE PASTOR.

PR MFA. € E.

JL HE following Lectures formed part of a
course on the Epistle to the Romans. — From a
glance at their comparative length, however, it
will be perceived, that they are not printed as
they were delivered. The first was originally
the shortest, and has since been less enlarged fot
the press, than either of the other two. A dis
proportion rather awkward has thus been pro
duced; but thjs was deemed of little moment,
compared with the illustration ofthe subjecT:,
The nature of the covenant made with Abra-'
ham, is a subject which derives importance from
. its connection, not merely with infknt-baptism,
but with the right understanding of a large propor
tion of the Old Testament Scriptures, and with

[ ii 3
just views of the Divine procedure towards his ,
church, from the beginning until now; although
especially previous to the coming of Christ. My-
object, in the following discourses, has been,
and I hope I have, in some measure, succeeded
in it, to bring into a perspicuous and concentrated
light, what the word of God seems plainly to
teach us on this important point.
The controversy respecting infant-baptism, so
intimately connected with this subject, has of
late, excited more than ordinary attention, and
is certainly not of triflirig importance.— To call
any institution an ordinance of God, and persist
in adherence to it, without knowing either its
import, or the reason for observing it, is un
worthy of a professor of that religion, which en
joins nothing but what is " reasonable service." —
That indiscriminate admission to the ordinances of
Christ, which is involved in the very idea of a na
tional religion,has produced,or at least maintained,
a very general ignorance, or gross misunderstand
ing of their true nature. The remark is apph\
cable to the Lord's Supper, as well as to Baptism.
And I would intreat any whose minds may have
been startled on the subject of infant-baptism,
by the grievous abuse of it, and the various ab
surd notions entertained respecting it, to con
sider, that the other ordinance has been equal
ly perverted and abused; and thai; to suffer this,
in either case, to shake their convictions, is the

C iii ]
mark of a weak mind, in which feeling has the
ascendency over judgment, or which is incap
able of distinguishing between the precepts of
God, and the corruptions of them by men.
There are prejudices on all sides. — There are
born-and-bred Baptists, as well as born-and-bred
Psedobaptists. It is the duty of all, as much as
possible, to lay aside these prejudices, and to ex
amine the word of God with an unbiassed mind.
The deCeitfulness of our hearts ought to put us
on our guard, on the one hand, against adhering
to any practice from the mere force of custom ;
and on the other, against relinquishing it with
too much readiness/ either from fondness of
change, or for the sake of obtaining the reputa
tion of uncommon candour.
It is of importance, likewise, to observe, that
if the general views contained in the following
Lectures be just, it is foolish to allow our minds
to be greatly startled by particular difficulties,
Which may be suggested, as to what would be
right practice in supposed cases. Nothing is ea
sier than thus to perplex and puzzle the mind:
and were it a becoming mode of arguing, there
are puzzles to be found for Baptists, as well as
for Psedobaptists ; although it may be admitted,
without the smallest disparagement to the cause
of the latter, that the mournfully general abuse
a 2

[ iv 3
of the ordinance, as practised by them, gives
their brethren who oppose them an advantage,
for the invention of such casuistical questions.
— When any such case is suggested, our serious
inquiry ought to be — " What practice will, in
this case, be most consistent with those funda
mental principles, on which our conviftion of
the general duty rests?" — There are few doc
trines in the word of God, to which perplexing
objections have not been made: but are we at
once to renounce the faith, because a puzzling
question may be put to us, by a subtle adversa
ry? It has been said to Psedobaptists — " You can
not be right; you differ so much among your
selves, in your views of the subject." — It is too
feeble an expression, to say of such a remark,
that it is inconclusive. Nothing can be more
unlike the charafter of a rational and candid oppo
nent, than to search, as with a microscope, through
the works of different writers, with a view to
det'eft little discrepancies in their reasonings, and
to hold them up to the world as evidence of the
falsehood of their common principles. — Some
of our Baptist brethren are of opinion, that the
atonement of Christ was made solely by the
shedding of his tilood upon the cross; others of
them connect with this his sufferings in Gethse-
mane; and others include the whole of his hu
miliation and sufferings on earth : — are we, from

C v 2
the existence of such differences, to conclude,
that the doftrine of the atonement itself,, which
they profess to hold in common, has no founda
tion in the word of God? — Such an inference,
we know, would be perilous — would be damn
ing. Yet it is equally rash, though not thus de
structive, to conclude against infant-baptism,
because some of its advocates, while they hold
the same general grounds, differ from one an^
other in some of the branches of their illustra
tion.- — It would not be difficult to deteft our
opponents in similar differences, on the same.
subject; but it is a mode of reasoning, to which
every man of common sense and candour should
be ashamed to have recourse.
Baptists and Psedobaptists ought, surely, to
allow each other the claim of mutual sincerity.
The contrary, while it springs from that self-
sufficient confidence in our own judgment, which
questions the possibility of others not seeing as
we see, is, at the same time, highly inconsistent
with the charity which " thinketh no evil." — And
while the suspicion itself in the mind, unless it
is founded on strong outward evidence^ is a vio
lation of the Saviour's law of love; the expres
sion of such suspicion, whether in words or in
conduct, tends to provoke a temper equally op
posite to the spirit of that law, the passion of
proud resentment, and contemptuous disdain. —
Surely fellow-Christians know, how little need

[ *i ]
there is to stir one another's corruption. They
sin deeply against Christ when they do so. — All
expressions of contempt and bitterness have this
effect as well as the suspicion of insincerity. And
the whole of such treatment has, besides, the ten
dency to frustrate the very end, which, in all our
discussions, ought to be kept in view: for its effect
is to shut the eyes agkinst the light of truth,
and to summon ,up into action every principle
that can resist conviction; " No doubt ye are
the people, and wisdom shall die with you: but
I have understanding as Well as you; I am not
inferior to you," — is the language which all such
treatment, and especially the display of self-suf
ficiency and contempt, naturally prompts us, with
a return of similar feelings, to employ. And
no state of mind can be more unfavourable than
this to the discovery and reception of truth.
Not less culpable, however, and equally in
auspicious in the search for truth, is the spirit, by
which a man, resolved at all events to stand his
ground, determines and projects a reply" to argu
ments, before he has seen them; and peruses rea
sonings, professedly drawn from the word of God,
with the question for ever in his mind, " What
can be said against this?"
The difference in question, respecting baptism,
I have already said, is not of trifling magnitude.
And he who " esteems all the commandments

[ vii ]
of the Lord, concerning all things, to be right,"
will be desirous in this to know and to obey his
will. Thinking ourselves right, and thinking
those who differ from us wrong, are expressions
of the same import: And if we feel in the, spirit
of genuine brotherly love, we must fervently de
sire and pray, that our fellow- Christians may be
brought to see and to relinquish what are, in our
apprehension, their errors. — But let us put no
thing in the room of Christ. Let us beware of
refusing to acknowledge in the charafter of
" brethren beloved," any as to whom we have
reason to believe that " Christ has received
them." — There is something inexpressibly awful
to a believer's mind, in the idea that his Christian
affections should be confined within narrower
limits than the love of Jesus! — that he should
harbour in his heart any feeling inconsistent with
love, towards one whom Christ died to redeem ! — -
that any should be excluded from his prayer- for
the household of faith, that have a part in the Savi
our's intercession!
Pitiably dreary must be the mind of that1 man,
who can look around on the wide world, and
count his dozen or his score, whom alone he can
salute as brethren, or expect to accompany to
heaven! — Far from me, and from my Christian
friends, be that self-sufficient bigotry, which
freezes the fountain of love, and keeps the heart
cold under the melting beams of the " Sun of

C viii ]
Righteousness!" — While we seek firmly and in
variably to adhere to what we deem the will of
Christ, revealed in his word; let us, upon the
point before us, and other similar particulars,
bear with diversity of judgment, in those who
" hold the Head," and do not appear to resist or to
trifle with the authority of the same Lord — both
theirs and ours!
" Grace be with all them that love our Lord
Jesus Christ in sincerity!" — whose love to Him
is not the faithless profession of lying lips, nor the
lukewarm fickleness of a heart divided between
Him and the world; but unfeigned, supreme,
and constant :— regarding its Objeft in his true
charafter, as the divine and only Saviour: — and
evincing its reality by a life of holy obedience
and unreserved submission to his will — by adesire
to know and to follow, in every thing,- the light
of his word.

ROMANS IV. 9  25.
9 Cometh this' blessedness then upon the circumcision
only, or upon the uncircumcision also? For we say that faith
was reckoned to Abraham for righteousness.
10 How was it then reckoned ? when he-was in circum
cision, or in uncircumcision? not in circumcision, but in un
circumcision: 11 And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of
the righteousness of the faith, which he had, yet being uncir-
cumcised: that he- might be the father of all them that
believe, though they be not circumcised, that righteousness
might be imputed unto them also;
12 And the father of circumcision, to them who are not
of the circumcision only, but who also walk in the steps of
that faith of our father Abraham, which he had, being yet un-
circumcised. 13 For the promise, that lie should be the heir of the
world, was not to Abraham, or to his seed, through the
law, but through the righteousness of faith.
14 For if they who are of the law he heirs, faith is
made void, and the promise made of no effect;
IS Because the law worketh wrath: for where no law is,
there is no transgression.
16 Therefore it is of faith, that it might he by grace; to
the end the promise might be sure to all the seed, not to that
ojily which is of the law, but to that also which is of the
faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
17 ( As it is written-, ' I have made thee a father of ma
ny-nations,') before him whom he believed, even God, who
quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be riot
as though they were;

[ 2 ]
1 8 Who against hope believed in hope, that he might
become the father of many nations ; according to that which
was spoken, ' So shall thy seed be.'
19 And, being not weak in faith, he considered not his
own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years
old, neither yet the deadness' of Sara's womb :
20 He staggered not at the promise of God through
unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God ;
21 And being fully persuaded, that what he had promis
ed he was able also to perform.
22 And therefore it was imputed to him for righteous
ness. 23 Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was
imputed to him ;
24 But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we
believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead;
25 Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised
again for our justification.

LECTURE I.

VERSES 9' — 12.

X HE great design of the Apostle, in the pre
ceding part of this Epistle, is to establish, on the
ground of universal depravity and guilt, the uni
versal necessity of the salvation provided by the
gospel. He proves both Jews and Gentiles to
be all under sin, according to what is written^

r 3 ]
" There is none righteous, no, not one." chap.,
iii. 9, 10. He draws from this the obvious and
important inference, that "by the deeds of the
law there shall no flesh be justified in God's
sight;" " all having sinned, and come short of
the glory of God," ver. 20, 23. The conse
quence is, that there is an absolute necessity for
some other ground of acceptance with God.
This ground he declares to be, " the righteous*
ness of God by faith, of Jesus Christ, whom
God hath set forth as a propitiatory, through
faith in his blood; that he might be just, and
the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus," ver...
22, 25, 26. And, as his proof of guilt extend
ed to both Jews and Gentiles, his conclusion,
" that a man is justified by faith, without the
deeds of the law," has the same extent of ap
plication: — " Is he the God of the Jews only?
Is he not also of the Gentiles? Yesj.- ofthe Gen
tiles also. Seeing it is one God, who shall jus
tify the circumcision by faith, and the uncircuvu
cision through faith," ver. 28-—30..
In the beginning of this ivth. chapter, the
Apostle goes on to shew,, for the conviction
especially of his countrymen the Jews, that
this was no new doctrine, but accorded with
the testimony of the Old Testament scriptures..
He takes the most effectual way to establish
this, by referring at once to the case of Abra
ham, in whom they gloried. If Abraham had
been justified by works, he would have had
A 2

t 4 ]
wherein to glory; in his, case, boasting would
not have been excluded: he would have been an
exception to the statement which the Apostle had
made, as the very foundation of his doftrine, that
there is no difference; and to the doftrine itself,
that a man is justified by faith, without the deeds
of the law. And one such exception, would
have been a fair ground of encouragement to
others, to look for salvation in the same way. Butj
so far was this from having been the case; so
far was Abraham from deriving any advantage
from the flesh, as to the ground of his justifica
tion, that the Old Testament scriptures express
ly declare respecting him, that he was justified
in the very way the Apostle had been describ
ing; not by works, but by faith. " What
saith the scripture? Abraham believed God ; and
it was counted unto him for righteousness. Now
to him that worketh, the reward is not reckoned
of grace, but of debt; but to him that worketh not,
but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly,
his faith is counted for righteousness," ver. 3 — 5.
The Apostle farther shews this to have been the
ancient doctrine, by quoting a passage from Da
vid, in which " he describes the blessedness of
the man,' to whom God imputeth righteousness,
without works, saying, Blessed are they whose
iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are cover
ed; blessed is the man to whom the Lord will
not impute sin," ver. 6 — 8.
In the beginning of the passage, which forms

r * i
the subjeft of these Lectures, the Apostle pro
ceeds to shew, that the case of Abraham, so far
from being in opposition to the justification of
the uncireumcised Gentile, was direftly in favour
of it. This he shews, from the circumstance
that Abraham's justification took place long be
fore his circumcision. " Cometh this blessed
ness, then, upon the circumcision only, or upon the
uncircumcision also? For we say, that faith was
reckoned to Abraham for righteousness. How
was it then reckoned? When he was in circum
cision, or in -uncircumcision? Not in cirumci-
sion, but in uncircumcision," ver. 9, 10. " We
say, that faith was reckoned to Abraham for
righteousness." — " Be it so; might a Jew say;
what is this to yqur purpose? Abraham was of
the circumcision ; the father of the circumcision,
— of us Jews: whatever this may prove, there
fore, as to the circumcision, it certainly estab
lishes nothing as to the uncircumcision." — " In
this, replies the Apostle, you err, not knowing the
scriptures. It is true, Abraham was circumcis
ed; but at what time? Was it before his justifi
cation, or after? Not before, but long after."
Abraham had faith counted to him for right
eousness, fourteen years, at least, before he was
circumcised, even reckoning from the time to
which the passage, quoted in verse 3d refers.
He was a believer, some considerable time be
fore that period ; for the Apostle in Heb. xi.
S. mentions, as the effect and evidence of his

[ 6 ]
faith, his leaving his native land, and going out,
on the footing of the Divine promise, into the
place which he should after receive for an inhe
ritance, not knowing whither he went. But
even the time referred to in the third verse, (Gen.
xv. 6.) which the Apostle seems to have seleft-
ed, because then the first express declaration
is made, of Abraham's faith being imputed to
him for righteousness, was fourteen years pre- <
vious to his circumcision; for it preceded Sarah's
giving him Hagar, and could not, therefore, be
much less than a year before the birth of IshmaeJ ;
while, for aught that appears to the contrary,.
it might be much more: Gen. xvi. 4. And we
know, that Ishmael was thirteen years old, at the
time when circumcision was instituted, and first
practised, Gen. xvii. 25.
Circumcision, therefore, seeing it took place
so long after his justification, could. have nothing
to do with the ground of it, since a cause cannot
follow its effeft. From Abraham's being justi
fied when in uncircumcision, two things follow.
1st. As circumcision was not, in whole or in part,
the ground of his acceptance with God, it cannot
be a solid foundation of hope to any other. All
dependence upon it, in this view, must be vain,
springing, from ignorance and misconception.
2d. Uncircumcision is no hindrance to the jus
tification of any. As Abraham was justified
when in uncircumcision, an uncircumcised Gen
tile may now be justified, in the same way with

C v ]
him; his justification being the pattern of the
way in which God justifies the ungodly, in every
age. " They who are of faith, whether Jews
or Gentiles, are blessed with believing Abra
ham." "
What then, it may be asked, did Abraham de
rive from circumcision? — What was the mean
ing and design of the rite? This inquiry the A-
postle answers, in the 11th and 12th verses.
" And he received the sign of circumcision, a
. seal of the righteousness of the faith which he
had, yet being uncircumcised : that be might be
the father of all them that believe, though they
be not circumcised, that righteousness might be
imputed unto them also; and the father of cir
cumcision to them who are not of the circum
cision only, but who also walk in the steps of that
faith of our father Abraham, which he had, being
yet uncircumcised."
To say all that might be said on this subjeft,
by stating various views, with the arguments and
objections for and against each, would require
much more time, than you would have patience
to hear, or I to speak; and perhaps, in the end,
might serve only to involve us in dust, so as to
blind, instead of enlightening our eyes. I mean,
therefore, simply to state the ideas which the
passage, compared with others, has suggested to
my own mind, avoiding controversy, as much
as I can, consistently with the proper elucidation
of the subject.

t « 3
Circumcision is here represented— first, as a
sign, and secondly, as a seal. A sigp is that
which represents; a seal that which confirms, as
sures, or pledges.
Of what, then, in the first place, was circum
cision a sign?
1 . It was a sign of the blessings bestowed in
justification. It represented the taking away of
sin ; both in its guilt and in its pollution: that is,
it represented the two great blessings of justifica
tion and sanctification; which may both, indeed,
be comprehended in one, under the idea of that,
separation to God, which takes place when a sin- '
ner is justified, by his faith being imputed to
him for righteousness. Circumcision signified,
" the putting off the body of the sins of the
flesh." Hence, the' unholy are represented, as
*' uncircumcised in heart;" and are called upon
to " circumcise the foreskin of their hearts."
Circumcision in the flesh, represented that of
the heart; the literal denoted the spiritual.
Hence the terms of the promise, Deut. xxx. 6.
" The Lord thy God will circumcise thy heart,
and the heart of thy seed, to love the Lord thy
God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul.
that thou mayest live." To this circumcision
Paul refers, as being only signified by that of
the flesh, when he says — " He is not a Jew who
is one outwardly, neither is that circumcision,
which is outward in the Jlesh; but he is a Jew

C 9 j
who is one inwardly, and circumcision is that of
the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter;
whose praise is not of men, but of God," Rom.
ii. 28, 29. That circumcision was a sign, or re
presentation, of the blessings specified, is indeed
generally admitted *.
2. Circumcision was probably intended, as a
sign that the Seed, in whom all nations were to be
blessed , should come from the loins of Abraham- Of
this it was an expressive emblem, and remembran
cer. This promise was restricted to the line of
Isaac. In this line of descent, therefore, it was a
significant memorial of the promise, that the Mes
siah should be made flesh amongst them. And
I doubt not, that, in other lines also of descent
from Abraham, this rite, originally administered,
by the command of God, to all his family, had
its influence, in a general way, in preserving the
idea and expectation of the promised seed.
If this idea be well-founded, we at once per
ceive a good reason, why circumcision should be
abolished, when this seed came; and why another-
rite should be substituted in its place, which as

* A Baptist writer, in the Edinburgh Evangelical Mag
azine, | says of circumcision, as well as baptism, that it de
noted, " cleansing from sin " — " not only the purity of mo
ral holiness, but also the cleansing from the guilt of sin, in
justification " — " baptism (says he)*as well as cirpumcision,
denotes justification and sanctification." — Ed. Ev. Mag.
No, 15, /. 103. , B

expressively signified, " the putting off the body
of the sins of the flesh," while it was not signifi
cant of that part of the meaning of the former
emblem, which was now fulfilled. Circumcision
" was not of Moses, but of the fathers." It was
not then, strictly speaking, as a part of the Mo
saic ritual that it was done away. It has often
been asked, Why, if baptism came in the room
of circumcision, the Jewish converts to, the faith
of Jesus continued to practise the latter ordi
nance, for some time after his appearing, of
whose coming in the flesh it was a sign? — Of
the faft that baptism succeeded circumcision,
I may speak more fully afterwards. Meantime,
I only wish it to be remarked, in this connec
tion, that there is surely no more difficulty,
. in accounting for this circumstance, than in
shewing the consistency of these Jewish converts
continuing to offer the sacrifices of the law,
with their faith in Him, who by his one sacrifice
fulfilled all the types, " finished transgression,
and made an end of offering for sin." It is not
my business to enter, at present, into any in
quiry as to the reason, why this seemingly strange
contradiction was, for a time, permitted to exist;
I only observe, that the true reason for the lat
ter faft, whatever it was, will account equally
well for the former.
Let us now consider, of what circumcision is
here said to have been a seal. " He received the
sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness

[ 11 ]
of the faith which he had, yet being uncircum
cised."
By some this is understood to signify, that it
was to Abraham, the seal of his own personal
justification. I am inclined to think, diat this is an
unscriptural idea. It is not the manner of God,
to seal thus, to any, their personal acceptance.
I do not see wherein, on this supposition, consist
ed the propriety of all the future trials of his
faith ; , for a direct and positive assurance, given
by the God of truth to any one, of his personal
justification, or, which is the same thing, of his
being a believer, and accepted as such, seems
to my mind quite incompatible with the idea of
such trial. It appears to convert it into mock
ery. Abraham was one of those mentioned in
Heb. vi. 1 2. who " through faith and patience
came to inherit the promises." — The trial of his
faith, like the trial of the faith of his fellow-be
lievers, " wrought patience, and patience expe
rience, and experience hope." An express Di
vine declaration to any one, of his justification,
seems to be hardly consistent with the exhorta
tion, to " give diligence to make his calling and
election sure;" inasmuch as it is impossible to
arrive at greater certainty, than that which is
given by the testimony of God. This, therefore,
could scarcely, I apprehend, on the supposition
before us, be a part of Abraham's duty. Yet, in
what way is it, that we are to be followers of them
who through faith and patience inherit the pro-
B 2

[ 12 ]
mises? It is by " giviafg diligence, to the full as
surance of hope unto the end," Heb. vi. 11,
12. The meaning, therefore, seems rather to be,
that circumcision' was a seal, or pledge, of righ
teousness, or justification, being by the faith
which he had in uncircumcision. The faith which
Abraham then had, was, no doubt, the faith of
the gospel — faith in the promised Messiah. Cir
cumcision, then, was a seal or pledge to him, of
the faithfulness of God to the promises, contain
ed in the covenant which he was graciously pleas
ed to make with him; which being the same, in
the substance of its meaning, with the New, or
Gospel Covenant, revealed " the righteousness
of faith," though in terms comparatively obscure,
suited to the period. It was not properly a seal
of Abraham's personal faith and acceptance, but
of justification being by " the faith of Abra
ham." I may here, by the way, remark, that there
seems to me to be a beautiful harmony and con
neftion, between circumcision being a sign of the
coming of the Messiah, and a seal of the righ
teousness of faith; inasmuch as, this justifying
faith had always a reference to the promise of
the seed, in whom all nations were to be bless
ed. A question now occurs of considerable mo
ment on this subjeft : " What was circumckion

[ is 3
to those who followed Abraham in the observ
ance of it? What was it to his seed ?"
To this inquiry I reply, in the first place, that,
as a sign, it could never change its meaning,
while it continued in praftice. What a sign is
fitted to represent at first, it is fitted, from its
nature, always to represent. I conclude, there
fore, that this ordinance continued, after its in
stitution, to have, all along, as a sign, the same
meaning; denoting " the putting off the body
of the sins of the flesh," — the circumcision of
the heart, — or that separation to God, which
takes place when faith is counted to the sinner
for righteousness: and, at the same time, in
conneftion with this, denoting the coming of
Messiah from the loins of Abraham. The rite,
therefore, though by the multitude of the Jews
misunderstood and perverted, was, in its nature
and design, calculated to keep them in mind, of
the necessity of spiritual life, through faith • in
the promised seed. And, in this view, its im
port was similar to that of many of the ordi
nances in die law.
Butj in the second place, circumcision retained
the nature of a " seal ofthe righteousness of
faith," to all, " who were, not of the circumci
sion only, but also walked in the steps of Abra
ham's faith."
Let us take, as instances, Isaac and Jacob,
Abraham's immediate successors in the faith, in
the line from which Messiah was to spring.

[ 14 J
What, let us consider, was circumcision to them?
They are denominated by the Apostle Paul,
" Heirs with Abraham of the same promise:"
Heb. xi. 9. where the reference is to the heaven
ly, or eternal inheritance, as is manifest from the
context. The promises made to Abraham, in
deed, were expressly repeated by God to Isaac
and Jacob: to the former, Gen. xxvi. 1 — 5.
and to the latter, Gen. xxviii. 10 — 15. Now I
hardly think any one will say, that while circum
cision was to Abraham a seal of the righteousness
of faith, it was to Isaac and Jacob, these heirs
with him of the same promise, a mere mark of
their carnal descent from Abraham, and of their
heirship of temporal blessings. Was it not to
them a seal, or pledge, of the faithfulness of
God, to that promise, of which they were fel
low-heirs with their father? that is, a seal of spi
ritual blessings, which is the same thing in effeft,
as a seal of the righteousness of faith. — I can
not think it was less. Yet if it was so, we have
here a seal of spiritual blessings administered, by
Divine command, to infants of eight days old.
And this certainly shews, that there is no absur
dity in the thing itself; and no absurdity in the
idea of circumcision being a seal, to all who
should afterwards believe, of the righteousness
of faith, or of the same blessings which it sealed
originally: for what may be in one case, may be
in ten thousand.
It ought, in this place, to be remembered,

t 15 3
that whether circumcision be viewed as a seal
of temporal blessings, or of spiritual, or, as
I understand the case to be, of both; on every
supposition, the import of it must have been a
matter of after instruction, to those who receiv
ed it in infancy; just as the import of the passo-
ver was. So that there is nothing in its nature,
in this view, that unfits it for being a seal of the
righteousness of faith, which would not equally
unfit it for being a seal of the title to temporal
blessings, supposed by many to be connefted
with fleshly descent; an idea which, I trust, will
shortly be made to appear unfounded in the
word of God.
But that circumcision, both as a sign and as a
seal, continued, after Abraham's time, to retain
its original meaning in its full extent, is to me
very evident from the words which follow.:
" that he might be the father of all them that
believe, though they be not circumcised, that
righteousness might be imputed unto them also:
and the father of circumcision, to them who are
not of the circumcision only, but who also walk in
the steps of that faith of our father Abraham,
which he had, being yet uncircumcised."
For illustration of these Words observe —
I. Abraham, on his being justified by faith,
was constituted the father, in a spiritual sense, of
all among mankind, both of his natural descend-
ents, and of the Gentiles, who, to the end of

I 16 3
time, should be justified in the same way. Not
that he was the first who was so justified. We
know the contrary. Abel, Enoch, Noah and
others before him, were heirs of the righteous
ness which is by faith. But when, after the
flood, the knowledge of God was, a second
time, in a great measure lost, it pleased God to
adopt a rrew method of procedure. He called A-
braham out from amongst idolaters, to make of
his family a nation, or church; among whom he
placed his name, in order to keep alive, by a pe
culiar system of religious institutions, established
amongst them, the knowledge and worship of
himself; and to prepare for still greater mani
festations, to be afterwards made: so that from
Abraham downwards, he might never want a
" seed to serve him." Of this spiritual family"
Abraham was honoured to be the Founder or Fa
ther. " They who are of faith, the same are the
children of Abraham." Gal. iii. 7.
II. Abraham's being justified when in uncircum
cision, denoted that he should have part of his'
spiritual family from among the uncircumcised
Gentiles: that he was to be "the father of all
them that believe, though not circumcised"
III. When Abraham received the sign and
seal of circumcision, he then became, according
to the appellation here given him, " the Father
of circumcision." Now observe particularly, to
what description of persons he is represented as
holding this relation — " to them who are not of-

t 17 3
the circumcision only, bat who also walk in the steps
of his faith." I do not suppose it will be ques
tioned, that Abraham was " the father of circum
cision," to those in whom the meaning of th& rile
was fulfilled. If, then, circumcision was nothing
but a mark of carnal descent from Abraham,
and of a title to temporal blessings, in virtue of
that descent, as some are of opinion ; Abraham
was the father of circumcision, in the only true
and proper sense of the appellation, to all his
fleshly seed: i. e. to all who are supposed to have
had a title to those blessings, of which circumci-
«ion was, according to this view, the seal. Yet
he is here declared to have been the " father of
circumcision " to those only, who were not mere*
. ly circumcised in the flesh, but who also walked
in the steps of his faith. Words could hardly, in
my opinion., intimate more plainly, that circum
cision was a seal of this covenant, not merely as
to the temporal part of it, but also as to the spi,
ritual. For surely it must have been of the
same import to the children of circumcision, as it
was to the father of circumcision.
The same thing may be farther illustrated^ and
established, from Phil. iii. 3. " For we are the
circumcision, who worship God in the spirit,.
and rejoice in Christ Jesus, and have no confi*
dence in the flesh-"— It will, I dare say, be ad
mitted, that they only can, with any propriety,
be denominated " the circumcision" in whom
the import of the rite is fulfilled. But if, with
C

. t 18 ]
respect to Abraham's posterity, it was intended
merely as a mark of fleshly descent, and of a
claim, in virtue of that descent, to temporal bless
ings; then his whole posterity after the flesh, in
the line of Isaac at least, or all who, in virtue of
their fleshly relation to Abraham, possessed the
temporal inheritance, were the circumcision, in
the only proper sense of the appellation. The A-
postle here, however, applies the expression in
a very different way. They who, though de
scended from Abraham, wanted his faith, are not
allowed the honourable appellation of the cir
cumcision, but degraded and proscribed under
that ofthe concision, verse 2d. The faft appears
to be, that the true circumcision, or the true Israel,
have, in eVery age, been the same. Of this the
reader may be convinced, by attentively consider
ing and comparing the following passages of
scripture: Deut. vi. 4 — 7. x» 12—16. xxx. 6.
Jer. iv. 4. John i. 47. Psalm lxxiii. 1. Rom. ii.
28, 29. &c. — And to this true Israel, the or
dinance of circumcision signified the same
things, which it signified to their great progeni-
tor. The whole of this view ofthe passage is strong
ly supported by what follows. The important
contents of these verses, however, must be left
for consideration in another Lecture. In illustrat
ing them, I shall endeavour to shew, that cir
cumcision belonged to the Abrahamic covenant,

I 19 3
as a whole, including both temporal and spiritual
promises; that both these were made an the same
feoting, to the same seed.
Meantime let us reflect—
1 . On tlie Divine purposes of grace to the
Gentiles, and their fulfilment. It is evident,
that, from the beginning, it was the design of
God, to have a people who- should shew forth
his praise, out of all the nations in this apostate
world. The calling of Abraham,, and the pe-,
culiar separation of his posterity from the rest
of the nations, was not against this purpose,' but
was introduftory and subservient to its accom
plishment. This was intiniated, by Abraham's!
being justified when in uncircumcision; and like-.
wise, by the circumcision of so many who were not
his seed, but strangers belonging to his family, at
the time of the institution of this ordinance. It
was likewise signified, and anticipated, by the
subsequent admission of Gentile proselytes into
the Israelitish church; by the temple being call-,
ed " the house of prayer for all nations:" &c.
And these circumstances," it may be observed
by the way, serve farther to shew, that circum*
cision was not a mere mark of fleshly descent
from Abraham, but belonged to those who pro
fessed Abraham's faith; otherwise it should ne
ver, on any account, have been administered to
such as were not of his posterity according to
the flesh. These things seem to have been de
signed, as dark intimations of the universality
C 2

r 20 ]
of God's purpose of favour and salvation, as being
intended to embrace, in the extent of its mani
festation, the whole world. Such intimations be
came increasingly clear, in the progress of prophe
tic revelation, in which the promised seed is de
scribed, as designed to be " God's salvation to
the ends of the earth," — " a light to lighten the
Gentiles," as well as " the glory of God's peo
ple Israel." The language in which the birth
of this promised seed is, at length, announced,
corresponds with what had been intimated, and
predicted concerning him: " Fear not, for be
hold I bring you glad tidings of great joy, which
Shall be to all people; for unto you is born this
day, in the city of David, a Saviour, who is
Christ the Lord," Luke ii. 10, 11. And this
Divine Saviour's concluding commission to his
Apostles, before he left the world, is of the same
universal extent — " Thus it is written, and thus
it behoved the Christ to Suffer., and to rise from
the dead the third day; and that repentance, and
remission of sins, should "be preached in his
name, among all nations, beginning at Jerusa
lem. And ye are witnesses of these things,"
Luke xxiv. 46 — 48. " Go ye into all the world,
and preach the gospel to every creature : he that
believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved; he
that believeth not shall be condemned," Mark
'xvi. 15, 16.
Yet, plain as many of the intimations in pro
phecy, connected with our Lord's direftions,

t 2i 3
seem to be, the calling of the Gentiles remained
a mystery, not fully understood, till the time of
Peter's mission to Cornelius. The idea seems
to have been entertained, that when the Gentiles
were brought in, it should be through circumci
sion, and submission to the law of Moses; not as
they were, uncircumcised, and aliens from that
law. But what was originally notified, however
obscurely, by Abraham's being justified in uncir-
tumcision, was, on that occasion, fully confirmed
and realized by the gift of the Holy Spirit to the
uncircumcised. Peter, in giving an account of the
matter to his offended " brethren ofthe circum
cision," concludes with these words: " As I be
gan to speak, the Holy Ghost, fell on them, as
on us at the beginning. Then remembered
I the word ofthe Lord, how that he said, ' John
indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be bap
tized with the Holy Ghost.' Forasmuch, then,
as God gave them the like gift as he did unto
us, who believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, what
was I that I could withstand God ?" And the
account which he had given being perfectly sa
tisfactory ¦ to the minds of the brethren — it is
added; " When they heard these things, they
held their peace, and glorified God, saying,
' Then hath God also, to the Gentiles granted
repentance unto life '." What cause have we,
sinners of the Gentiles, to join, with. one heart
and one mouth, in this ascription of praise to ,
the God of salvation!

[ 22 J
II. Let us be still more particularly thankful
to God, if he has made us, individually, partak
ers of " like precious faith " with Abraham.
That is truly precious faith, which introduces
to such blessedness, as is, in this passage, referred
to by the Apostle, even that described, in the lan
guage of Da vid , in the preceding verses : " Bless
ed is the man whose iniquities are forgiven, and
whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to
whom the Lord will nbt impute sin." This
faith was to Abraham, and is to us, the gift of
God. To be children of Abraham, in this true
spiritual sense, is the highest honour and the
truest happiness; for it is to be children of God,,
and heirs of glory. ik Ye are all the children
of God by faith in Christ Jesus." w And if ye
be Christ's, then are ye Abraham's seed, and
heirs according to the promise," Gal. iii. 26,
29. This is a conneftion infinitely more inter
esting and intimate, than the mere fleshly rela
tion. Those who possessed that only, were not
allowed, by our Lord, the honourable appellation
of the children of Abraham. " If ye were A-
braham's children, ye would do the works of A*
braham. Ye are of your father the devil," John
viii. 39, 44. And to this agree the words of
Paul — " They are not all Israel, who are of Is
rael; neither because they are the seed of Abra
ham, are they all children," Rom. ix. 6, 7.
From our Lord's language to the Jews, just
referred to, let us learn, how we ought to mani-

r 23 ]
fest our gratitude to God, as children of Abra
ham. It is by " doing the works of Abraham."
He shewed his faith by his works. And if we
do not, in this, resemble him, we resemble him
in nothing; but may be assured., whatever pro
fession we make, that we are utterly destitute
of that faith, which constitutes sinners his child*
ren. We> my beloved brethren, are in one respect,
blessed above Abraham ; inasmuch as we now
have a full and clear revelation, of what was de
clared to him in language comparatively obscure;
of things which he saw only afar off. He who
is least in the kingdom of heaven is, inthisrespecL,
superior to him: for, while our, Lord says of John
the Baptist, that among those who are born of
women there had not, before Jhis time, arisen a
greater, he at the same time declares — '* the
least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than
he," Matth. xi. 11. If our father Abraham re/Wmi
to see the day of Christ at such a distance, should
not our joy be full?— If his faith " wrought by
love," how much more should ours! In propor
tion to the superior fulness and purity of the re
velation which we enjoy, ought not our " obe-
i dience of faith " to exceed his, in fulness and puri
ty? — It is thus we are to shew ourselves Abra
ham's children; even by " walking in the steps
of his faith:" /. e. at once believing as he be
lieved, and following him diligently in that path
of obedience, in which his faith led him te
walk.

C 24 3
III. Learn the folly of trusting, in any measure,
for salvation, to any outward observance. A-
braham's circumcision, you perceive, had no
thing to do with his justification — in point of cau
sal influence, was totally unconnefted with it.
The Jews, therefore, who trusted and gloried
in their circumcision, mistook and perverted its
design, to the dishonour of Abraham, and of
the God of Abraham, and to their own everlast
ing perdition. You have been baptized. As to this
view ofthe matter, it is of no consequence whether
by sprinkling or immersion, whether in infancy
or in adult years: if you fancy yourselves Christ
ians because you have been baptized, you are in
the same fatal error, in which the Jews were,
when they imagined themselves the children of
Abraham, and of God, because they were cir
cumcised. Be not deceived. Those Jews pe
rished without remedy, notwithstanding their
circumcision, who refused to submit themselves
to the " righteousness of God," of which,
when rightly understood, it was the sign and the
seal. So shall all, without remedy, perish, not
withstanding their baptism, and their other out
ward privileges, who are not born again, by be
ing made partakers of like precious faith with A-
braham. " For in Christ Jesus, neither circum
cision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision, but
a new creature," Gal. vi, 15.

t 25 ]

LECTURE IL

VERSES 13  17.
XTLAVINGjin the preceding verses, spoken of
Abraham, as the father of all believers, in every
age and nation,— of all who are justified, after the
pattern of his justification; the Apostle pro
ceeds, farther to illustrate and confirm this im
portant view, by shewing that to such, and not to
those who were connected with Abraham by flesh
ly descent merely, the promises, originally made
to that patriarch, were to be fulfilled; that the
ground of them was not law, or legal obedience,
but grace, or faith.
Verse ] 3. " For the promise that he should
be the heir of the world, was not to Abraham,
or to his seed, through the law, but through the
righteousness of faith."
Three things here claim our notice:— The
promise,—- the seed to whom it was made,— and
the ground on which it rests.
With regard to the promise, " that he should
be heir df the world," observe, in the first place,
that it must be understood, in a sense not entirely
D

t 26 ]
peculiar -to Abraham. This is manifest from
the very expression in this verse,, which repre
sents it, as made to Abraham and his seed. And
it is farther evident, from what follows: — " If
they who are of the law be heirs:" — Heirs of
what? Surely of the promise here specified.
The same promise also is certainly spoken of in
verse 16th. as being " sure to all the seed."
In the second place; I agree with those, who
consider this promise as of very extensive import;
as including the possession of Canaan, — the
possession of the whole earth, — and the final pos
session of the heavenly country itself.
We know that the earthly Canaan was, in ex
press terms, promised to Abraham and his seed*
And, that the promise of the heavenly Canaan
was couched under this, is scarcely less plain,1
from the two following simple considerations. —
1st. Abraham himself, and the other believing
patriarchs, so understood k: for, on the footing
of this promise, they looked for the heavenly
country. This appears from Heb. xi. 8 — 10,
1 3—1 6. " By faith Abraham, when he was call
ed to go out into the place which he should af
ter receive for aninheritance$ obeyed; and he went
out, not knowing whither he went. By faith
he sojourned in the land of promise, as in a
strange country, dwelling in tabernacles with
Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him. of the same
promise: for he looked for a city which hath
foundations, whose builder and maker is God."

C. 27 ]
" These all died in faith, not having received
the promises, but having seen them afar off, and
were persuaded of them, and embraced them,
and confessed that they were strangers and pil
grims on the earth. They that say such things
declare plainly that they seek a country. And
truly, if they had been mindful of that country
whence they came out, they might have had op
portunity to have returned. But now they de
sire a better country, that is, a heavenly : where
fore God is not ashamed to be called their God,
for he hath prepared for them a city." This ci
ty — this country, was the object of their hope,
as being the subjeft of Divine promise. But no
promise of it is to be found, unless it was couched
under that of the earthly Canaan, as a type; con-
. nefted with the declaration, ' I will be thy God,
and the God of thy seed;' which also, as we shall
afterwards see, includes the promise of eternal
inheritance. Indeed/- the whole of the gospel
revelation was then, and for many ages after
wards, under the vail of figurative language,
and of typical rites, objefts, and events. To
have given, in clear and explicit terms, the full
promise of the eternal inheritance, would not
have been consistent with the Divine scheme of
gradual developement, nor with the faft of " life
and immortality being brought to light by Jesus
Christ." But that the promise was given, is ma
nifest from the Apostle's manner of expressing
himself, in the passages above quoted; and from
D 2

X 28 ]
his saying of the patriarchs, who had gone to, the
better country, that " through faith and patience
they inherited the promises," Heb. vi. 12.
2dly, This is still farther evident, from believ
ers in all ages and countries being called heirs-,
according to the promise of inheritance, given
to Abraham. So they are spoken of in Gal. iii.
18, 29. " If ye be Christ's," says the Apostle in
verse 29th. " then are ye Abraham's seed, and
heirs according to the premise .-" i. e. the promise of'
the inheritance, mentioned in verse 18,th,; " If the
inheritance be of the law., it is no more o£ promise ;-
but God- gave it to Abraham by promise." So
also, in Heb. vi. 1 7 — 20. the heirs of promise,
who derive strong consolation from the word
and oath of God to Abraham, are those who have
fled for refuge, to lay hold on the hope set before
them — which hope entereth within the vail, whi
ther the forerunner, Jesus, is entered.
But as the word here render world, is one
wbich usually, if not uniformly, when it occurs
out of conneftion with any restrictive noun, is
used to denote the whole inhabited earth ; I can
not help thinking that there is here a reference
to the whole earth becoming the possession of
Abraham's seed ; of which the possession of Ca
naan was but a small prelude.
There is an obvious difference between a right.
and actual possession. The whole earth may be,
by the gift or promise of God, the property of
this seed? although they are not yet, and may

I - 29 ]
»ot be for a good while to come, invested with
the actual possession of it. When promises are
made to a seed, that is to come into existence in
the successive generations of men, and ages of
the world, it is not necessary to their fulfilment,
that they should be enjoyed in the same manner,
and in the same degree, by all, from the first pe
riod to the last ; for with this, in the present in
stance, facts do not accord. We certainly pos
sess the blessings contained in the Divine promi
ses, in a more eminent degree than the saints of
old ; " God having provided better things for
us, that they, without us, should not be made
perfeft," Both temporal and spiritual blessings
will be possessed, in a much , higher degree qf
perfection than now, during the period of the
millennial glory of the church. And as to those
who shall be alive on the earth, at the coming of
Christ, they shall escape the sentence of morta
lity. But such differences in the enjoyment of
the promises, at different periods, do not render
them void of effect to any. All the seed have
" the promise of the life that now is, and of that
which is to come." All being finally put in
possession of the heavenly country, may be said
then to inherit the promises, in their full extent,
this being their grand sum, their glorious com
pletion. Moses and Aaron inherited the promis
es, although, as a judgment for failing to sanc
tify the name of the Lord, at the waters of Meri
bah, they were sentenced to finish their course,
short of the earthly Canaan.

[ 30 3
This view of " the promise, that he should be
heir of the world," as referring to the possession
of the whole earth, must be understood of the
seed, collectively considered. David says, Psai.
lxvi. 6. " He turned the sea into dry land;
they went through the flood on foot; there did
we rejoice in him:" And Paul, 1 Thess. iv. 15.
" We who are alive and remain unto the coming
ofthe Lord, shall not anticipate them who are a-
sleep:"— and 1 Cor. xv. 51. " We shall not all
die, but we shall all be changed," &c. — This
mode of expression arises, from the conneftion,
which the writers conceived themselves to have,
with'the colletlive bodies to which they, respective
ly, belonged. We are quite accustomed to this
mode of speech. Were we speaking of the wars
in Queen Ann's time, or in any former period,
we would say, without hesitation — " We Were
successful in such a battle "—-meaning by we; not
the race presently existing, nor the individuals,
who then actually fought, but the nation to which
we belong, and which we, the existing race, now
constitute, as gaining the battle by means of its
armies. S© we may, with perfect propriety, say,
that the promise spoken of, in the view I am now
taking of it, is to us, because it shall be verified to
the seed of which we are a part.
The following scriptures, among others, seem
to countenance this view ofthe promise. Psai. ii. 8.
" Ask of me, and I will give thee the heathen for
thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the

t 31 ]
earth for thy possession." This is spoken by the
Father to Jesus; and it appears, as if the gradual,
and, at last, full possession of the promised land,
in the days. of Solomon, prefigured the gradual
possession of the earth, by Messiah, of whom
Solomon was a type, till it shall be completely oc
cupied by his people. Hence it is said, in Psai.
lxxii. 8. " He shall have dominion also from sea
to sea, and from the river unto the ends of the
earth." Similar is the import of the words ad
dressed to Daniel, chap. vii. 27. " The kingdom
. and dominion,, and the greatness ofthe kingdom,
under the whole heaven, shall be given to the peo
ple of the saints of the Most High, whose king- .
dom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions
shall serve and obey him." In the prophecies of
Isaiah, the wilderness signifies the countries of the
Gentiles. These are represented as belonging
to the church of God, by the charter, as it were,
of his promise, although the possession of them
was yet' distant. They were given to the Re
deemer for a possession, but they were then, and
a large proportion of them are still, " desolate
heritages," Isa. xlix. 8. Thus, too, the Lord pro
mises to " comfort Zion, to comfort all her
waste places ; to make her wilderness like Eden,
and her desert like the garden ofthe Lord," Isa.
li. 3. And the encouraging promise is given to
Zion, that " her seed should inherit the Gentiles,
and cause the desolate cities to be inhabited." Isa.
liv. 3.

C 32 3
When " the knowledge ofthe Lord shall cover
the earth, as the waters cover the sea," and thus
the declaration be fulfilled, " in thy seed shall-
all the families ofthe earth be blessed;" then,
the promise, that Abraham should be " the heir
ofthe World," shall be fully verified, the whole
earth becoming the possession of his . seed, the
people of God.
In considering the extent of the promise, I
have necessarily- led you to anticipate my view
of the seed here spoken of. " The promise, that
he should be the heir of the world, was to Abra
ham and his seed." Now of this, let me direct
your attention to a plain, infallible interpretation.
Look to Gal. iii. 16. " Now to Abraham, and his
seed, were the promises made: he saith not, and
to seeds, as of many ;< but as of one, and to thy seed,
which is Christ." — That the name " Christ "
is sometimes used as inclusive of his people, the
Head being intended to express the whole body
connected with it, is evident from 1 Cor. xii. 1 2.
" For as the body is one, and hath many mem
bers, and all the members of that one body, being
many, are one body, so also is Christ." That it
is so used in this passage of the Epistle to the
Galatians, can hardly, I think, be doubted, by
any one who attends to the connection. For
while Christ is here said to be the seed, to whom
the promises were made, it is said of believers, in
the end of the chapter, " If ye be Christ's, then
dxeye Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the

C ss 3
promise" And the reason oftheir being so called
is, their being " all one in Christ Jesus ," Gal.
iii. 28, 29. The passage before us, likewise,
in the Epistle to the Romans, makes the same
thing evident. The seed, in this 13th verse,
is that of which Abraham is the father, in the
spiritual sense, even the seed spoken of in verses
11th. and 12th. consisting of " all them that be
lieve." From these passages I now state it, as my firm
conviftion, that the promises contained in the
Abrahamic covenant, both the temporal promise,
and the- spiritual, were made to the same seed, on
the same footing.
That they were both made to the same seed,
seems to be as plain, as a positive declaration,
from an inspired Apostle, can make it: "To
Abraham, and his seed, were the promises made."
What promises? Surely the promises, whatever
they were, contained in the covenant referred to.
These are here expressly said to have been made
to the same seed. There is not the smallest hint
given of the distinction, so often contended for,
that the temporal promise was made to the fleshly
seed as such, and the spiritual promise to the 'spi
ritual seed as such. No such distinftion is to
be found in Paul's reasoning. But the promises
of that covenant,, without difference, are declar
ed to have -been made* " not to seeds, as of ma
ny, but as of one, " and to thy seed,' which*' is
Christ."

[ 34 3
The covenant with Abraham is not represent
ed, as containing in it two distinct covenants,
the one temporal, and the other spiritual; but as
being one, although including different promises,
and referring, as a whole, to one seed. And if
this be a just view of. the matter, it follows, of
course, that these promises were made, on the
same footing. None of them were given on the
ground of law, or on account of personal obedi
ence, but all by grace; — " not through the law,
but through the righteousness of faith."
Let us examine this a little.
It is abundantly plain, that the inheritance, spok
en of in the covenant, was promised to Abraham,
and his spiritual seed. In Gal. iii. the Apostle,
having said, that to Abraham, and to his seed, which
is Christ, the promises were made, adds, verse
16. " For if the inheritance be ofthe law, it is
no more of promise, but God gave it to Abraham
by promise." Exaftly parallel fo this is the lan
guage in verse 14th of the chapter before us;
" If they who are of the law be heirs, faith is
made void, and the promise made of no effect."
The inheritance must certainly mean, in the first
instance, the earthly inheritance ; that which is
literally specified in the promise. To say that
the earthly, or typical inheritance, was promised
to the fleshly seed, and the heavenly, or antitype,'
to the spiritual, is taking for granted a distinc
tion, which I do not find the scriptures any
where recognising; and of which, if it had any

[35 3
foundation, it is surely somewhat singular, that
the Apostle, in all his reasonings on the subject,
has never once given the slightest intimation.
The inheritance of Canaan was originally mat
ter of promise. And it must have continued to
be held not by law, but on the footing of the ori
ginal grant, made to Abraham, and to the one seed
here mentioned. For the Apostle, in his reason
ing, obviously proceeds on the principle, that
what Was originally matter of promise, could ne
ver afterwards become- matter of legal right or
claim. This he plainly and strongly intimates,
both in verse 14th of this chapter of the epistle
to the Romans, and in Gal. iii. 17, 18. His lan
guage, in these passages, has no meaning, if it
does not imply, that if ever the inheritance re
ferred to came to be held by law, that instant
the promise became null and void — " of no ef
feft." The heavenly inheritance is admitted to be en
tirely a matter of free promise, and never can
become, as to us, a matter of right, on the ground
of personal obedience, or of law. Now, if it
was otherwise with the earthly inheritance; if it
was held by law, /'. e. as a matter of right, on the
footing of obedience, the type fails in one of the
most important and striking points of resem
blance. I am fully persuaded, that none of the promis
es, either the temporal or the spiritual, were
made to the fleshly seed of Abraham, merely on
E 2

C 36 3
the footings of carnal descent. This appears
to be most explicitly stated in the passage be
fore us, when compared with Gal. iii.; and it seems,
likewise, to accord with the wbole history of the
Jews. We have saen, that the inheritance was,
originally, matter of promise ; and that it must
have continued to be held on the same footing ;
for if ever it came to be possessed by law, the
promise was made of no effect. But we are
not left, on this subject, to inference, however
obvious and strong. Recorded fafts appear in
perfect harmony with the Apostle's statement.
I. What was the reason, why the Israelites
wandered forty years in the wilderness, till the re
bellious generation was consumed, to whom God
had sworn in his wrath, that they should not en
ter into his rest? It was unbelief: unbelief of the
promises of God to their fathers, which contain
ed the gospel. This is plainly declared by Paul,
in Heb: iii. 18, 19. iv. 2. It was not unbelief
ofthe matters of faft, reported by those who had
searched" the land. For if there was any ma
terial difference, in the representation of these,
between Caleb and Joshua, on the one hand, and
the remaining ten, on the other, certainly, so far
as respected human testimony, 'the Israelites
could have been little to blame, for receiving the
declaration of ten, in preference to that of two.
But it was unbelief of the promises and declara
tions of God, madg to their fathers, respecting

E s? 3
that land; and consequent distrust of his veraci
ty and his power, accompanied with rebellious
complaints' and murmurings. If it be said, still
this was only unbelief of the promise of God re
specting the land of Canaan: I answer, that un
belief of this promise, implied ignorance and un
belief of its spiritual import, and included also
ignorance and unbelief of the other gospel pro
mises, made in connection with ,it, in the same
covenant. It amounted to a rejection ofthe word
of God, a rejeftion of God himself, as the God
of their fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. It
was a denial of his faithfulness and truth', not
only in this, but in all the promises, respefting
the seed of Abraham, the future accomplishment
of which depended upon the fulfilment of this.
Those M sinners against their own souls," who
said, M would God we had died in the land of
Egypt, or would God we had died in this wik
derness! let us make a captain and return into
Egypt ;" were certainly unbelievers, and proud
despisers, of all that the God of their fathers had
promised, of the fulfilment of which, their own
deliverance from the house of bondage, with a
high hand and an outstretched arm, was a pre
lude and a pledge. They were unbelievers of the
gospel, which was then revealed in the promis
es of the covenant made with Abraham.
II. The Israelites are, indeed, spoken of, as
continuing to hold the land of Canaan in posses-

[ 38 J
sion through obedience: but by this obedience, we
must understand the obedience of faith, i. e. obe
dience springing from, and evidencing faith. I
say, we must so understand it, if the principle
laid down by the Apostle be a just one, that " if
the inheritance be of the law, it is no more of
promise;" that " if they who are of the law be
heirs, faith is made void, and the promise made
of no effect." These expressions, I have en
deavoured to shew, stand in perfect Opposition to
the idea, of the land of Canaan being ever held,
as the reward, strictly' speaking, of legal obedi
ence; held on the footing of obedience to the law,
as the meritorious ground of possession. Many
passages, accordingly, describe the obedience re
quired of Israel, as being much more than mere
outward subjeftion, as being nothing ' less than
inward spiritual subjeftion, manifested by out
ward. And such subjection is the fruit and
evidence of faith. I refer you to the following
passages, among many that might be quoted;
Deut. x. 12 — 22. vi. 1 — 19; and, as illustrative
ofthe reasons of judgment and restoration, Deut.
xxx. If any choose to say, that their obedience was
the condition of their continuing to enjoy the pro
mised blessings, my approving or disapproving
of the expression, which is ambiguous, and there
fore improper, depends entirely on the meaning
which it is intended to bear. If by condition is
meant, meritorious ground, or procuring cause, I

C 39 3
decidedly object to the idea which it conveys.
But if by obedience being the condition of en
joying the blessing, nothing more is intended,
than its being essentially requisite; then the ex
pression conveys a very important truth; a truth
equally applicable to us as to them; for there is
no enjoying the blessings, of any kind, which
God hath promised, but in the way of obedience
to his commandments, under the influence of
faith working by love.
III. The reason why the Jews were, with such
awful judgments, at length cast out from the
land of promise, and now continue a proverb,
and a bye-word, and a hissing, among all na
tions, corresponds with these ideas. It was un
belief — rejection of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
See Rom. xi. 20, &c. Luke xix. 41— -44. Mat.
xxiii. 34 — 39. 1 Thess. ii. 15, 16. Acts iii. 23. &c.
The curses which Moses, so many hundred years
before, had denounced against, them, if they should
be disobedient, were verified on account of their
Unbelief; which shews us, what kind of disobe
dience was the ground of his denunciations, de
livered in the name of God, who cannot lie.
Thus it appears, that the promise was ori
ginally through faith; — that it was as profes
sors of Abraham's faith, that the Israelites enter
ed on the possession of Canaan; — that the pos
session was continued, through the obedience of
faith ;— and that, on account of the opposite dis-

C 40 3
obedience, judgments were threatened and in-
flifted.-5-By faith the inheritance was obtained,
by faith it was held, and by unbelief it was
lost. " Wherefdre, then," it will now naturally be
asked, " serveth the law?" — To this inquiry, the
Apostle leaves us at no loss for an answer. " It
was added, says he, because of transgressions,
till the seed should come to whom the promise
was made," Gal. iii. 19. It was introduced, in the
course of the Divine scheme, for a particular pur
pose. This purpose is expressed in the words " be*
cause of transgressions:" i. e. " that the offence
might abound," Rom. v. 20. or, that the extent,
and aggravation of transgressions might, by it, be
made manifest; that by this " fiery law," the
conneftion of transgression with wrath might be
kept in remembrance. Hence the Apostle says,'
in verse 1 5th of the passage before us, " the
law worketh wrath, for where no law is, there is
no transgression." While the moral law gave
no hope, but, by exhibiting the extent and evil of
sin, wrought a sense of transgression, and of
guilt, the ceremonial could not, in itself, remove
the charge of guilt, and subdue the fear of wrath;
for "it was impossible, that the blood of bulls and
goats should take away sin," or " make him that
did the service perfeft, as pertaining to the con
science." It could afford no peace or comfort,
except when viewed in conneftion with the pro
mises of a- covenant made centuries before, and

C « 3
as prefiguring the accomplishment of these proi
mises" in the fulness of time.
The law was thus added, for a particular end;
** not against the promises of God ; God forbid ;''
but subservient to them. The Sinai covenant is
represented, in the Apostle's reasoning, as quite
distinft from the covenant made with Abraham,,
four hundred and thirty years before; and there
fore, in forming our ideas ofthe latter, the form
er should be left out of view. This observation
is the more necessary, because a great deal of
inconclusive reasoning has been the result of con
founding the two together, by which the minds
of many have been much blinded and perplex*.
ed. The law, may be compared, in this view,
to a parenthesis, in writing. A parenthesis, is
some partial explanation thrown in by the way,
the omission of Which does not break the sen
tence, but leaves a complete meaning. So the
scheme of God, revealed in the Abrahamic co
venant, might have gone on to its fulfilment, ini-
dependent of the law: but the law was introduc
ed, or " added," to throw light upon it in its
progress. — " Though it be but a man's cove
nant, yet, if it be confirmed, no man disannulled,
or addeth thereto." " And this I say, that tbe
covenant which was confirmed before of God, in
Christ, the law, which was four hundred and
thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should

t 42 3
make the promise of no effect," Gal. iii. 15,
17*.
The expression employed in this quotation, to
describe the covenant made with Abraham, that

*In considering the unity ofthe Abrahamic covenant,
and its complete distinctness from the law, a remark has
Forqibly struck my mind, which I deem worthy of some
attention. Whatever view tends to destroy, or even to im
pair, the obvious conclusiveness of an inspired writer's rea
soning, cannot surely be readily admitted as just» Now,
the leading design of the Apostle, in thi3 part of his epistle
to the Romans, and in the part referred to of that to the Ga-
latians, is to prove to his countrymen, in opposition to jus
tification by the law, the doctrine of justification by grace,
as being the doctrine of their own scriptures. He selects
the case of Abraham, as an instance to his purpose. He
shews that this patriarch, in whom they gloried, was justi
fied, not by the law, but on the footing of a covenant, which
was made four hundred . and thirty years before. Now,
considering this covenant as completely distinct from the
law, renders this argument perspicuous and decisive. But
it requires little reflection to perceive, how much its force
and conclusiveness is diminished, by the view which I am
opposing; according to which, the law, instead of being
four hundred and- thirty years after this covenant, and quite
distinct from it, was coeval with it, and formed one of
its branches. I refer to any candid mind, if this does not
tend to introduce confusion and feebleness into the Apostle's
reasoning. Surely, without some farther explanations and
¦ distinctions, which the Apostle has not thought it necessary
to make, it cannot be deemed a very strikingly appropri
ate, or convineing inference, that Abraham was not justi
fied by the law, because he was justified on the footing of a
covenant, of -which the law was a part.

C 43 3
it was " confirmed before of God, in Christ,'*
seems, most decisively, to establish the view
which has been given of it. The promises of.
this covenant were made, with, a prospective
regard to Christ, as their foundation. It will
surely be admitted, that there is. but one covenant,
the promises, of which are made either to Christ,
or in Christ; but the promises ofthe Abrahamic.
covenant are expressly declared to have been so
made; whence it appears to follow, that this co
venant was nothing less than "• the glorious gos
pel of the blessed God;" his everlasting cove
nant of grace, ordered in all things and sure;
and of which it is the peculiar glory, that " all its
promises are yea, and amen, in Christ Jesus"
2 Cor. i. 20.
Before leaving this part of the subjeft, let us,
for a little, attend to the import of that interest
ing and blessed declaration, which appears as the
glorious sum of the promises, made in the Abra
hamic covenant^—" I will establish, my covenant
between me and thee, and thy seed after thee, in
their generations, for an everlasting covenant,,
to be a God to thee, and to thy seed- after thee"
Gen xvii. 7.
In whatever sense we consider God as promis
ing to be ,the God of Abraham, in the same.
sense we must consider him as promising to be
the God of his. seed. The promise is one..
No hint is ever given, of his being the God of
Abraham in one sense, and die God of his seed
F 2

[ 44 3
in another. Nor does any ground appeaf for
the distinction made, in the meaning of the terrn
toedi asif he were to be the God of his fleshly seed
in one sense, and the God of his spiritual seed
in andther. The promise, as it stands, ife plain
ly one in its import, and to one seed in its extent;
even the seed mentioned Gal. iii. 16. and con
sidered above.
As the covenant We are speaking of Was con
firmed in Christ, so it is in virtue of Abraham's
conneftion, and that of his seed, with Christ,
that Jehovah is Abraham's God, and theirs.
Jehovah has been the God of his people, in
every age, upon the same ground: and that
ground is intimated by our Lord, in what he
says to Mary Magdalene, after his resurfeftion;
— " Go, tell my disciples, I ascend unto my Fa
ther, and your father, to my God, and your God,"
John xx. 17.
The sense in which He was the God of Abra
ham, Isaac^ and Jacob, and in which He conti
nues to be the God of his people, will appear
from two or three passages of scripture.
1. In Matth. xxii. 31, 32. Jesus concludes his
reply to the Sadducees, respefting the resurrec
tion and a future state, with these words in evi
dence of his doftrine: — " But as touching the
resurrection of the dead, have ye hot read that
winch was spoken unto you by God, saying, I
am the God of Abraham, fhe God of Isaac, and
the God of Jacob? God is not the God of the

t 45 3
dead, but of the living." It is evident from this
passage, without entering into any discussion of
the nature and full import of the argument,
that,' as their God, he had received their spirits to
felesse'dness with himself, and was also to raise
their bodies from the grave; to " shew them
the path of life," and to put them in possession,
with and through his Son, of those " pleasures
which are at his right hand for evermore;'*
thus to fulfil to them the promise of " everlasting
inheritance." He will do no less for any whose
God he is.
2. Compare with this passage, Heb. xi. 1 3— v
16. The faith, and hope, and desire of the pa
triarchs, are here represented, as having for their
Objeft, the heavenly country. This they expect
ed to receive from God, as their Ggd, according to
the promise of his covenant; and we are assured
that, as their God, He would not disappoint their
most exalted hopes, founded, as they were, on his
Own word. " God is not ashamed to be called
their God, for he hath prepared for them a
city." From this passage, no inference appears
more obvious, than that God would have been
ashamed to be called their God, if he had not
provided for .them such a city as is here referred
to: that He would have been ashamed to repre
sent Himself in so endearing a relation to them,
had the title been accompanied with the bestow-
ment of a mere earthly inheritance, — a temporal
blessing only; if he had prepared for them any

C 46 3
thing, that would have fallen short of their hopes,
and failed to satisfy the utmost extent oftheir de
sires. The title and the gift would have been
incongruous. It would have been, as when a
man raises our expeftations by high professions
of friendship, and then puts us off wdth a trifle..
His gifts are more worthy of himself, and of the
relations which He has graciously revealed him--
self as bearing to his people,
3. This li exceeding great and precious pro-.
mise " is often expressed as a principal one in
the new covenant; and is, indeed, " the fulnessi
of the blessing of the gospel of Christ." See, in
evidence of this, Jer. xxxi. 33. xxxii. 38 — 40.
Ezek. xxxiv. 23, 24, SO, 81. xxxvi,. 25 — 28*
xxxvii. 27- Heb. viii, 10. 2 Cor, yi. 16 — 18.,
besides which, a multitude of other passages,, of
similar import, might be referred to...
If these things are so, an inquiry immediate
ly occurs, — " In what sense is it, that God calls.
himself the God of the nation of Israel; and in
assuming this relation to them, as a nation, de
clares, that He remembers the covenant made
with their fathers — -as He does in Exod, vi. 4—8,
Lev. xxvi. 12. and in other places?"
In answer to this question, I observe—*
1. It seems to me a fair general principle, that
when we find a particular view of any subject,
expressly and simply stated by an inspired writ
er; we should so far admit this view to be a
rule, for the explanation of other passages of

t 47 3
scripture, as that, when there are two possible
interpretations of any circumstance connected
with it, that should be held the right one, which
harmonises with, and illustrates it. It appears
to me, that nothing can be more express and
simple, than what the Apostle says in Gal. iii.
in conneftion with the passage before us, that
this covenant made with Abraham, " was con
firmed of God in Christ," and that its " pro
mises were made to one seed, which is Christ."
If the view given of these expressions, with their
conneftion, is admitted, and I conceive it to be
founded on the plain and obvious meaning ofthe
words, it follows, that when God is any where
said to " remember his covenant," the expres
sion ought to be understood, in a sense con
sistent with it.
I therefore observe —
,2dly, When he is called their God, we are to
view them not as a nation, or civil community,
but as his church, his professing people.
When God made his covenant with Abraham,
his family became " the household of faith;" for
I cannot readily conceive, that the adults in his
house would have submitted to the painful rite
of circumcision, without being instrufted respect
ing it, and professing to understand and believe
its import; /'. e. professing the faith of Abraham.
Out of the household of faith, Ishmael, " he
who was born after the flesh," was cast, when
he mocked, or, as the Apostle expresses it, perse-

I 4« ]
cuied " him who was horn after the Spirit," or
" by promise," GaL iv. 29, 30. Esau forfeited
his privileges, by despising his birth-right; on
account of which he is called a " profane person,"
Heb. xii. 16. His profaneness, or impiety, con
sisted in his setting at nought the blessing of
God through the promised seed
The nation of Israel, springing from Abra
ham, in the line of Isaac and Jacob, became the
church of God. — When Moses was commission
ed to deliver them from Egypt, he was command
ed to say to them ; " The Lord God of your fa
thers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac,
and the God of Jacob, hath sent me unto you;"
and God gave him signs, which he was to shew
them, in evidence ofthe truth of what he was en
joined to declare; and as a pledge of the fulfil
ment of God's promise, which he made to them
in remembrance of his covenant. And when
Moses and Aaron came to them, and Aaron
spake all the words which the Lord had spoken
lo Moses, and did the signs in their sight, it is
said, " The people believed; and when they
heard that the Lord had visited the children of
Israel, and that he had looked upon their afflic
tion, then they bowed their heads and worship
ped;" professing subjection to the God of their
fathers, faith in his word of promise, and thank
fulness for his merciful kindness. Exod. chapters
iii. and iv. — " By faith, it is said, Moses kept
the passover, and .the sprinkling of blood," Heb.

Z 49 3
xi. 28. All the children of Israel observed this
Ordinance, on the eve of their departure from
Egypt; and their doing so, we must consider as
a profession of the same faith. — The reason, why
the race who came out of Egypt fell in the wil
derness, as before noticed, was unbelief; for
they gave abundant evidence, that the professions
of faith which they had made were hypocritical^-
" coming out of feigned lips," " their hearts ne
ver being right with God, nor stedfast in his co
venant." And the same was the reason, why
the Jews were rejefted, after Messiah's coming.
•"¦On entering into Canaan, the generation then
existing, " avouched the Lord to be their God,"
*. e. they professed the faith of their fathers, A-
braham, Isaac, and Jacob. And it seems to have
been on the footing of this profession, that they,
with their little ones, were circumcised by Joshua,
Deut. xxvi. 17, &c. Josh. v. 2—9.
It is true, the church was, for many ages, in
a state of great corruption. But we should re
member, that the pure spirituality of the gos
pel was not fully apparent, till the coming of
Christ; and we should not look for the corres
ponding purity of his church, till the same pe
riod. Yet, after all, was not the state of Israel
of old, very similar tq the state of the church of
Christ, in many periods after his coming? And
to the state of many individual churches of the
saints? Take, as an example, the case of seve
ral of the Asiatic churches, to whom the epistles
G

[ so J
in Rev. ii. and iii. are addressed by the Lord.
Several of these churches are severely reproved
for their corruption; they are called upon to re
pent; they are threatened with judgments, and
with destruction, if they did not. Can any thing,
on a small scale, be more exaftly parallel to the
state and treatment of the ancient church ? God
called them to repentance, often and earnestly;
he threatened them with judgments, and he
brought upon them one after another, for this
end. And when " the wrath came upon them to
the uttermost," what was the cause of.it in them,
and what the purpose of God? The cause in
them, we have seen, was their unbelief. And
the design of God was, the purging of his church,
by " shaking the wicked out of it."
This is intimated by the prophet Zechariah,
chap. xiii. 8, 9. " It shall come to pass, saith the
Lord, that, in all the land, two parts' shall be cut
off and die; but the third shall be left therein.
And I will bring the third part through the fire, and
will refine them as silver is refined, and try them, as
gold is tried: they shall call on my name, and I will
hear them: I will say, It is my people; and they
shall say, The Lord is my God." The former of
these verses refers to the destruction ofthe unbe
lieving Jews, by Divine judgments, and the se-
paration of " the remnant according to the elec
tion of grace." The latter, to the fire of perse
cution and trial, by which God should continue,
even after this separation of the precious from

C 51 1
the vile, to purify his church, "" purging away
their dross, and taking away all their tin," mak
ing them a holy people unto himself. The lan
guage of Malachi is similar, chap., iii. 2, 3.
Speaking ofthe coming'of the Messiah, " the Mes
senger of the Covenant," he says:—" But who
may abide the day of his coming, and who shall
stand when He appeareth? for He is like a refin
er's fire, and like fuller's soap ; And he shall sit
as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall
purify, the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold
and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord
an offering in righteousness. Then shall the of
fering of Judah and Jerusalem be pleasant unto
the Lord, as in the days of old, and as in former
years." This purification of his church was
effected, as above observed, at once by casting
out the wicked in wrath, and by bringing the,
remnant through the fire, in mercy.
The language of John the Baptist affords a
' striking commentary on these and other prophe
cies — " Now also, the axe is laid unto the root
ofthe trees: every tree, therefore, which bring
eth not forth good fruit, is hewn down, and cast
Jnto the fire. I indeed baptize you with water
unto repentance; but he that cometh after me is
mightier than I, whose shoes I am not worthy
to bear: He shall baptize you with the Holy
Ghost and with fire: Whose fan is in- his. hand,
and he will thoroughly purge his floor, and gather
his wheat into the garner: but -he will burn up
G2

C 52 ]
the chaff with unquenchable fire!" Matth. iii.
8-^-12. These, and many other passages, strongly in-'
timate the superior spirituality of the new dis
pensation, and the more complete discrimination
of charafter, which was to take place under it.
As Ishmael was cast out, when he mocked Isaac
the child of promise; so the unbelieving Jews,
who despised and rejefted the true child of pro
mise, were cast out ofthe church of God, Gal.
iv. 28 — 31. It was his own floor that Jesus thus
fanned and purged — it was his own church to
which he thus proved a refiner's fire and fuller's
soap — it was in his own vineyard that He thus
cut down, with the axe of his judgments, those
rotten trees which cumbered the ground.
It is not for us to ask, why the church was suf
fered to remain so long in this corrupt state.
This was God's time. And we might as reason
ably inquire, why " the fulness of time" was not
-fixed at an earlier period.
That the people of Israel constituted the visi
ble church of God, is farther manifest from the
almost universal language of the prophets, Who,
in speaking of gospel times, do riot represent the
ancient church as annihilated, but as purified by
diminution, and afterwards enlarged by an abun
dant increase. Zion, or the Church, is represent
ed as complaining of the loss of her children, in .
prospeft of the casting out of such a multitude
of the ancient people of God; and she is com-

I ss 3
forted and cheered, with the assurance of increase
from another quarter— --" The children which
thou shalt 'have, after thou hast lost the other,
shall say in thine ears, The place is too s,trait
for me; give place to me, that I may dwell.
Then shalt thou say in thy heart, who hath be
gotten me these, seeing I have lost my children,
and am desolate, and a captive, and removing
to and fro? And who hath brought up these?
Behold I was left alone; these, where had they
been? Thus saith the Lord God, behold I wili
lift up my hand to the Gentiles, and set up my,
standard to the people, and they shall bring thy
sons in their ar-ms, and thy daughters shall be
carried upon their shoulders," &c. Isa. xlix. 20
— 22.
It is, indeed j the uniform manner of the pro-.
phets, so far as I at present recollect, to speak of
the iGentiles, as being, at a future period, to be
added, or brought in to the church of God which
existed at the time they wrote; and of that
church, not as annihilated, but as visited, — com
forted, — purified, — raised up, — and gloriously
restored. — <" Blessed be -the Lord God oflsrael,
for be hath visited and redeemed his people."
" The Lord shall comfort Zion: he will comfort
all her wasteplac.es; and he will make her wil
derness like Eden, and her desert like the garden
ofthe Lord; joy and gladness shall -be heard in
her,- thanksgiving, and the voice of melody."
— " I will turn my hand upon thee, and purely

C 54 3
purge away thy dross, and take away all thy tin."
— -" I will purge out from among you the rebels,
and them that transgress against me."—" It is
a light thing that thou shouldst be my servant, to
raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the
preserved, of Israel, I will also give thee for a
light to the Gentiles,, that thou mayest be my sal
vation to the ends of the earth." — " In that day
will I raise up the tabernacle of David, that is fal
len down, and close up the breaches thereof, and
I will raise up his ruins, and I will build it as in
the days of old ; that they may possess the rem
nant of Edom, and of all the heathen, who are
called by my name, saith the Lord that doth
this*," Thus the ancient church is represented, in pro
phecy, as gloriously restored, at the coming of
Messiah, and as receiving the accession of the
Gentiles. If, in some passages, the idea of com*
plete renovation seems to be suggested, we are
not to be surprised, that such language should
be applied to a change, in the .state ofthe church,
so very remarkable;— a revival, so eminently
glorious. The glory of the church, in the latter
days, is represented by the " creation of- new
heavens, and a new earth, so that the former
should not be remembered nor come into mind."
If such language is used, to elevate our ideas of
* Luke i. 68. Isa. li. S. Isa. i. 25. Ezek. xx. 3&
Isa. xlix. 6. Amos ix. 11, 12. with Acts xv. 15 — 17,

t 55 3
that blessed aera, we might surely expect terms
somewhat similar to be employed, in reference
to the time when " God was to be manifested
in the flesh," " a light to lighten the Gentiles,
and the glory of his people Israel."
To all this I shall only add, that when the con
version ofthe Jews, in the latter days, is spoken
of, it is under the i^ea of returning or restoration;
which could never have been the case, if the Old
Testament church had been entirely different from
the New ; inasmuch as, there would be no proprie
ty in speaking oftheir returning, or being restored,
to a church, to which they had never belonged.
" The children of Israel," says the prophet Hosea,
"shall abide many days, without a king, and with
out a prince, and without a sacrifice, and with*
out an image, and without an ephod, and with
out teraphim. Afterward shall the children of
Israel return, and seek the Lord their God, and
David their king; and shall fear the Lord and
his goodness in the latter days," Hos. iv. 4, 5.
Still more apposite and remarkable, is the lan
guage of Paul, in the ¦ eleventh chapter of this
Epistle to the Romans, verses 23, 24. " And
they also, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall
be grafted in; for God is able to graff them in
again. For if thou wert cut out of the olive tree,
which is wild by nature, and wert graffed, con
trary to nature, into a good olive tree; how much
more shall these, which be the natural branches,
be graffed into their own olive tree?" Were the

t 56 3
Old and New. Testament churches entirely dif
ferent, it is not easy to see with What propriety
the Jews, in being brought into the latter, can
be said to be grafted into their own olive tree-
grafted in again, i. e. into the same tree from
which they had been cut off.
I proceed now to observe, that while the pro
mises of the covenant made with Abraham were
made to " one seed, which is Christ" — i. e. to
the spiritual seed, consisting of believers, of all
ages and nations of the world ; yet there was in
them a primary respecl to the natural offspring
of Abraham. This observation is of consider
able moment, on the subject under considera
tion. It has been said, that " if spiritual blessings
were promised, in that covenant, to the fleshly
seed as such, then it behoved all the fleshly seed
to possess them, and to be saved ; which is con
trary to fact, and therefore inconsistent with the
faithfulness of God." Those who make this ob
jeftion, conceive the temporal promise to have
been made to the fleshly seed, and the spiritual
promise to the spiritual seed. It ought to be re
membered, however, that, the reasoning which
holds good as to the spiritual promise, is, in point
of faft, equally conclusive as to the temporal.
" If the land of Canaan, and its temporal bless
ings, were promised by God to the fleshly seed
of Abraham as such, then it behoved all the flesh
ly seed to inherit and enjoy them, which is con-

t 5-7 3
trary to fact, and therefore inconsistent with the
faithfulness of God." The truth is, as I have
attempted to shew, that neither the one promise
nor the other was made to the fleshly seed, merely
as such; and that the principle, " they are not
all Israel who are of Israel," is the only prin
ciple, on Which the Divine faithfulness can be, in
either case, vindicated and maintained. " What
if some did not believe? Shall their unbelief
make the faithfulness of God of no effect? God
forbid'." This: view is by no means at variance with the
idea of that primary respecl, which I now speak
of, as' being' had, in the promise, to the natural
offspring'; a respect, not merely primary accord
ing to the order of time, but according to a pecu
liarity df rigsfrd, and according to what may be
termed the nntmral course of things. That any
peculiar reg'ard, or favour, is shewed to children
On account of their parents, is by many strongly
denied, as, being inconsistent with the freedom of
Divine grace. But that God does shew such
regard to children, for the sake of their parents,
we find both intimated and exemplified, in many
parts ofthe scripture history. God represents
himself, Exod. xx. 5, 6. as, " visiting the ini-
quify' of the fathers upon the children, uiito the
tnird'and fourth generation of them that hate him,
and shewing mercynrito thousands (of generations)
of them that love him and keep his command-
itignts." Now, without entering into any discus-
H

C 58 3
sion of the precise or full meaning of these expres
sions, I would merely remark, that the latter can
not surely be considered, as less consistent with
the freedom of mercy, than the former with the
striftness of justice. There is an expression al
so used by Paul, respefting the Jews in their pre
sent state of unbelief, which appears to me inexpli
cable, except on some such principle: — " As
touching the eleftion, says he, they are belov
ed for the fathers' sakes," Rom. xi. 28. If a
peculiarity of regard is not, in these words,
expressed towards the natural " seed of Abra
ham, God's friend," for the sake of him, and
their other godly fathers, with whom Jehovah
established his covenant, I am at a loss to ima
gine, what meaning the expression can have.
Besides, in the idea suggested there is nothing
inconsistent with the free operation of Divine
grace; because, this grace, in its various blessings,
being conveyed to sinners by means, it is quite ac
cording to the natural order of things, that it
should accompany those means, and flow with
them, as itjjjwere, in the same channel. If, there
fore, the knowledge of God, the means by which
the blessings of salvation come to be enjoyed, was
appointed to be conveyed from generation to ge-
nerationi we must suppose the blessings to be
conveyed along with it, and the conveyance of
the blessings to be the grand design of the con
veyance of the knowledge. There is no other
design, which we can imagine God to have had.

C 59 3
And therefore, although the grace of God is not
imparted by fleshly birth, all being "conceived
in sin, and brought forth in iniquity;" yet, that
when God's people are attentive to the means
appointed, this grace should appear descending
through their generations, cannot at all be mat
ter of wonder. If God has been pleased to make
the promises of his covenant, with \primary re
ference to the generations of his people, as the
line in which, by the communication of the know
ledge of : his Name, the blessings of his grace
should flow, (though not to the exclusion of
others from being, in his sovereign pleasure,
brought within the bond of his covenant;) and
if, in the token of his covenant, he has given
his people encouragement, to indulge the believ
ing expectation, of his mercy being imparted,
-through the use of appointed means, to their off
spring, as well as to themselves ; it becomes a very
serious matter, to treat this encouragement, which
regards the dearest and most interesting of all
concerns to a believing parent's heart, with in
difference or neglect.
That the promise had a primary respect to the
fleshly seed of believing. Abraham, implying as
its first import, not indeed that all his fleshly
seed should be saved, but that amongst them
there should be a seed to serve the Lord, may, I
think, be established from the following passages
©f the word of God.
I. Gen. xviii. 17 — 19. " And the Lord said,
H 2

[ *> 3
shall I hide from Abraham that thing which I
do; seeing that Abraham shall surely become a
great and mighty nation, and all the nations of
the earth shall be blessed in him ? For I know
him, that he will command his children, and hip
household after him, and they shall keep the way
ofthe Lord, to do justice and judgment; that the
Lord may bring upon Abraham that which he
hath spoken of him."
vThe most inattentive reader will perceive, that,
in this passage, the charafter given of Abraham
is connected with the fulfilment of God's promise
to him. It is equally obvious, that the authorita
tive instruction of his family, could have no influ
ence in accomplishing the promise of a carnal, but
of a spiritual seed. His acting in the manner de
scribed was the means, by which God verified his
Word; giving him sueh a seed, from among his
natural offspring, by the communication of the
Jcnowledge of God to his family, and from theja
downwards, through successive generations. By
this means, God " brought upon Abraham that
which he had spoken of him;" proving " a God
to him, and to his seed after him, in their gyra
tions.-' And in the same manner, " the generation
of the upright " continued to be " blessed "-—
f God's righteousness being to children's child-
ren, to such as kept his covenant, and* remem
bered his commandments to do them."
II. Rom. xi. 1. " I say then, hath God cast
away his people? God forbid! For I also am

t «i 3
an Israelite, ofthe seed of Abraham, of the tribe-
of Benjamin." — The Apostle here begins to
prove, that God had not cast off his people.
And what is the first consideration, which he
suggests? That he himself, whom ' God had
blessed wkh salvation, was a descendant of Abra>-
ham, after the flesh. For, that he speaks, of flesh
ly descent, is plain, from his mentioning *< the
tribe of Benjamin," along with « the seed of A-
hraham." Two things may be observed from this passage.
let. If there had not been such a primary respect
to the fleshly seed, as I am endeavouring to es*
|abfeh ; the salvation of one belonging to the flesh*
lyseed, could never, with propriety, have beea
adduced, as any peculiar, or appropriate evidence,
that " God had not cast away his people." The
salivation of a Gentile would have been quite as
much to the purpose; the " election " among the
Gentiles being the people ofGod, as well as among
the Jews. And the Apostle might have quoted
the case of Cornelius, or of the Philippian jailor,
with as much conclusive effect, as his own. 2dly.
Ji seems equally evident, that, while there was a
primary respect to the natural seed of those t$
whom the promises were made, these promises
never implied, that all who should descend from
them, by fleshly birth, should partake ofthe bias*
rings. For of this, the salvation of an individual,
er of " a remnant according to the election of

[ 62 3
grace," however numerous, would have been a
proof totally inconclusive.
III. Jer. xxxi. 31 — 33. Heb. viii. 8 — 10.
" Behold the days come, saith the Lord, that I
will make a new covenant with the house of Israel,
¦and with the house of Judah; not according to
•the covenant that I made with their fathers, &c.
For this is the covenant which I will make with
the house of Israel," kt. — When we consider what
is so often repeated in the New Testament, re
specting the gospel, or new covenant, as being-
" to the Jew first," the meaning of these pas
sages appears sufficiently obvious. They repre
sent the new covenant as made with the same
people, with whom the old was made, — " the
house of Israel," — the natural seed of Abraham,;
•Isaac, and Jacob. And this was fulfilled, when
" to them first, God, having raised up his Son Je-
•sus, sent him to bless them, in turning away every
one of them from their iniquities," Afts iii. 26.
These words immediately follow an address ofthe
Apostle Peter, to the unbelieving Jews, which
appears to put this matter beyond a doubt:
.*' Te are the children ' of the prophets, says he,
and of the covenant which God made with our
fathers, saying unto Abraham, ' And in thy seed
shall all the families of the earth be blessed '."
From this arises the encouraging declaration im
mediately added, " Unto you first" , &c. If there
had been, in the promises, no such primary refer
ence, of peculiar regard, to the fleshly seed, I am

[ 63- 3
at a loss to conceive, in what sense the Jews here
addressed, who had no relation to Abraham but
that of carnal descent, could be denominated the
children of the covenant made with the fathers,-
not as containing the promise of temporal bless
ings only, but the promise of the glorious gos
pel of the blessed God. — " To them (says the
Apostle, in the ninth chapter of this epistle, speak
ing of his "kinsmen according to the flesh,")
" to them pertained the adoption, and the glo*
ry, and the covenants, and the giving of the law,
and the service of God, and the promises."
If this primary respecl to the fleshly seed is
admitted, it is all that I desire to establish in be
half of the carnal relation. The application
of the principle will come into view after
wards. Having dwelt, at so much length, on the nature
and ground of the promise, as stated in the 13th
verse; the verses which follow, having been occa
sionally adverted to, in the course of illustration,
do not seem to require much additional remark.
Verse 14. " If they who are of the law be heirs,
faith is made void, and the promise made of no
effect." This has been already explained as pa
rallel to Gal. iii. 10. If the Jews who are ofthe-
law, be, on that account, heirs, then the ground of
the original grant is changed: it is no more
matter pf promise, enjoyed through faith, but mat-

[ 64 3
ter of right, possessed by law,- which would make
the law against the promises' of God.
Besides, it cannot be of the law; " Because
the law worketh wrath; for Where no law is,
there" is no transgression,'* verse 15. The law,
in itself, gives no hope: it gives " the knowledge
of sin," chap. iii. 20. — it condemns— -it " worketh
wrath;" inspiring a sense of guilt, and fear of
judgment:-*— And- from wrath, or from the dread
of it, the ceremonial; part of the law has no
efficacy to deliver; and when trusted in for ac
ceptance, it, as well as the moral, is perverted to
the sinner's destruftion. ,
Verses 16, 17. " Therefore it is of faith, that
it might be by grace; to the end the promise
might be sure to all the seed; not to that only
which is of the law, but to that also which is of
the faith of Abraham, who is the father of us all,
(as it is written, I have made thee a father of ma
ny nations) before Him Whom he believed, even'
God, who quickeneth the dead, and' calleth those
things" which be not, as though they were,"
&c. The antecedent to " it " is the promise spe
cified in verse 13th. It's being of faith shews it to
be by gfdce; faith being' uniformly, in this Apos
tle's reasoning, opposed' to works. See verses
2 — 5 of this chapter. Had it been by the law,
then they only who were of the' la%u could' have
been heirs. But " it is of faith, that the promise
might be sure," in its fulfilment, " tp all the

C 65 3
seed : not to that only which is ofthe law," /. e. not
to the Jews only; — " but to that also which is
ofthe faith of Abraham," although without the
law; /. e. to the Gentiles also. The seed, of which
Abraham was constituted the father, could not
have been so extensive as the promise required,
had the inheritance been by law: for the promise
to Abraham intimated his having a seed among
all nations — -or manj nations. Thus the Apostle
interprets the language of the promise, Gen.
xvii. 4. " a father of many nations have I made
thee." I formerly noticed an objeftion to the idea,
that the promises of a spiritual nature were made,
originally and primarily, to Abraham's natural
seed, viz. that if this had been the Case, it behoved
all that riation to have been saved. A confirmation
of the reply given to this objeftion, seems to be
furnished by the expression before us. If the
promises being originally made to Abraham's
fleshly seed, necessarily implies that all his fleshly
seed should enjoy them, then, surely, Abraham's
being constituted the father of many nations, in
a spiritual sense, as the Apostle interprets the
promise, must imply, that these nations should,
universally, be his spiritual seed. , But if this pro
mise of his being a father of nations, .in a spiri
tual sense, was fulfilled by his having a spiritual
$eed from among these nations, it seems a fair
ipference, that the promises, considered as origi
nally made to his natural posterity, were faith-

[ 66 3
fully verified, by his having, in the successive ge
nerations of that posterity, " a remnant accord
ing to the eleftion of grace."
Abraham was thus the " father of us all"
Jews and Gentiles, " before Him whom he be
lieved." The Jews gloried in him, as their fa
ther according to the flesh. But "before God,"
he held a much higher charafter); as the father,
in a more important and interesting sense, of a
" multitude which no man can number, to be
collected out of all peoples, and kindreds, and na
tions, and tongues."
The remaining expressions in this 17th verse,
will be explained by the following context;
which, after applying what has been said to our
praftice in baptizing the offspring of believing
parents, I shall endeavour shortly to illustrate
in my next Lefture; to which also I shall sub
join some practical improvement of the whole
subject.

C 67 3

LECTURE III.

VERSES 18  25,
X T is a favourite maxim with many, and it has
been, of late, very strongly insisted upon, that,
in considering the observances to which we are
bound as Christians, we have nothing to do with
the Old Testament scriptures. These must be
completely laid aside. We have no title to in
terpret them, or to act on such interpretation.
In so far only as they are explained to us by the
inspired writers of the New Testament, can we
have any certainty that we understand them, or
right to prove any thing from them. So that
the plainest type, or prophecy, whose meaning
is not explicitly declared in the New Testament,
we must not presume to, explain, without the
inspiration of the Holy Ghost. This affords
very little encouragement to the study of the Old
Testament; sealing up a large proportion of it
from any praftical use: and I am persuaded,
that many of those who advance the sentiment,
are not sufficiently aware how far it will carry
them, if they fairly follow it out. The. principle
12

C.68 3
is very often brought forward, to preclude all ar
guing, as to our praftice in baptizing children,
from the nature of the Abrahamic covenant.
While I think it might be fairly and successfully
combated, as a general principle, upon general
,grounds, yet I am very well pleased that such
proof is, in the present instance, quite unneces
sary: for it happens, most fortunately, that the
covenant made with Abraham is a portion of
the Old Testament scriptures, as fully and sim
ply explained in the New, as any other to which
reference is made. This I have attempted to
shew, from the preceding verses, taken in con
neftion with the third chapter of the epistle to
to the Galatians: — So that, even upon this limit
ing principle, supposing it admitted to its full
extent, we have an unquestioned title to under
stand it, and to found arguments upon it.
It has been attempted, likewise, to throw ridi
cule on the idea of viewing the scriptures as a
whole, and founding any reasoning on the gene
ral harmony of the Divine dispensations. It is
very true, indeed, that1 " what finds no support
from any one part of the Bible, cannot have the
countenance of the Bible as a whole:" and if
there are any, who hold the idea of taking the
Bible as a whole, in the sense in which a late writ
er has deemed it necessary thus gravely to ex
pose it, they are certainly very foolish. There
is a sentiment, however, which will not, I ima
gine, be so easily overturned, and which I presume

Z 69 3
to be the one referred to, erroneously stated;
I mean, that whatever is proved from any one
part ofthe Bible, is as effeft ually established* In
point of authority, as if it had been proved from
any other part. On the supposition, that the
truth $f any doftrine, or the propriety of any
praftice, could be established from the book of
Genesis, it would be as firmly established, as
if the proof had been taken from the epistle to
the Romans; inasmuch as, the book pf Gene
sis is the word of God, as well as the epistle' to the
Romans. I would also remark, that there is, without
doubt, a harmony, a glorious and beautiful har
mony, in the Divine dispensations. If my argu
ment from Moses is opposite to the doftrine of
Paul, I must be in the wrong. But if another's
reasoning from Paul makes him inconsistent with
Moses, he must be equally in the wrong. That
system is, certainly, the right one, which mani
fests the harmony of the Divine dispensations,
and makes scripture consistent with itself.
On the supposition, that the Apostle's descrip
tion of the nature of the Abrahamic covenant,
has been fairly interpreted; the application of
what has been said, to our practice of baptiz
ing the children of believing parents, appears
to be easy and natural.
1 . If it has been proved, that the covenant
made with Abraham, was the same, in the sub
stance of its import, with the new covenant, " be-

Z ?° 3
ing confirmed of God in Christ;" then that co
venant still exists. It could not be disannull
ed by the law, which was four hundred and thir
ty years after it. It can never be disannulled.
It is God's " everlasting covenant." Gentiles
are incorporated with Jews, in the enjoylhent of
its blessings, and as fellow-heirs according to the
promise of inheritance contained in it. We are
now under this covenant, being Abraham's seed,
through the faith of the gospel.
2. I have endeavoured to prove, from a va
riety of passages in the word of God, that the
promises, made to the Jewish fathers, had a pri-
mary respecl to their natural offspring ; that the
first and special import of them was, that they
should have, amongst their fleshly descendants,
a seed to serve the Lord, " a remnant accord
ing to the eleftion of grace." While this
was their primary import, it was, at the same
time, intimated, that this spiritual seed should
not be confined to their fleshly offspring, but
should, in due time, be likewise taken from all
other nations. — The same thing, in my judgment,
still continues. The same primary respecl is still
had, in the promise, to the seed of believing pa
rents. It was by Abraham's commanding his child
ren and his household after him to keep the way
ofthe Lord, that the Lord, brought upon Abra
ham that which he had spoken of him; verifi
ed the promise of a spiritual seed among his

Z 71 J
fleshly offspring, and thus proved a God to him
and to his seed after him. It was by the believ
ing Israelites, in after times, teaching the things
of God, diligently, to their children, in succes
sive generations, that " they were led to set their
hope in God." The command of God,, injoin-
ing such instruction, was express; and I doubt
not, that those Israelites, who diligently obeyed
it, were encouraged to do so, by faith in the same
promise which animated Abraham; for every
command given by God to his people, implies
a promise of blessing to believing obedience.
" He established a testimony in Jacob, and ap
pointed a law in Israel, which he commanded
our fathers that they should make them known
to their children; that the generation to come
might know them, even the children which should
be born; who should arise, and declare them to
their children; that they might set their hope in
God, and not forget the works of the Lord, but
keep his commandments," Psai. lxxviii. 5 — 7.
So it is even now. It is by believers " bringing
up their children in the nurture and admonition
of" the Lord," according to the Divine injunftion,
that the same promise is yet to be verified to
them. — I have observed, that while the promise
had a primary respecl to the fleshly seed of Abra
ham, Isaac, and Jacob; yet intimation was given,
that the Gentiles were afterwards to be added:
so now, the promise continues to have a prima
ry reference, a peculiar respect, to the seed of

[ 72 3
God's people; while, at the same time, in his
rich and sovereign mercy, he progressively en
larges his family, by bringing in sinners from
the world.
- 3. I have endeavoured to prove, that the co
venant made with Abraham is one, containing
the promises of temporal, spiritual, and eternal
blessings to one seed, viz. the spiritual. I have
endeavoured to prove, that circumcision was
connected with this covenant, in this view of it,
as a whole; — that this ordinance was the sign and
seal of the promises of this covenant, to Abra
ham, Isaac, and Jacob, and to all their believing
seed; — signifying, or representing, to them all,
the same things, even the spiritual blessings of
justification and sanftification, in conneftion with
the coming of Messiah from the loins of A-
braham; and sealing or pledging, to all such,
the faithfulness of God to his promise of accept
ance, through faith in this promised seed, — of
counting such faith for righteousness.
If these things be so, remark—
1. There is no absurdity in the thing itself, —
the administering an ordinance, of spiritual import
to children. They who objeft to this, on the
ground that children are incapable of understand
ing its import, should consider What took place
of old in the case of circumcision: and that,
whether that rite was connefted with the pro
mise of temporal or of spiritual blessings, it was
to those in infancy, when administered, alikg

unintelligible; and must, in either case, equally,
have been a matter of subsequent explanation.
This also does away what has been much insisted
on, as a point of distinction between circumci
sion and baptism, that the former leaves a mark.
For, the meaning of this mark, in whatever view
understood, it could never have entered into the
mind of any one to conceive: the understanding
of it must, necessarily, have rested on testimo
ny; This leads to observe—
2. Circumcision and baptism signify, or repre
sent, the same things;' with this difference, that
the former seems to have contained in its import,
a notification of Messiah as to. come, which of
course, at his coming, ceased, to be necessary.
And this, as I formerly observed, furnishes a
good reason for the substitution of another rite
in its place. What circumcision denoted by the
cutting off of the flesh, baptism represents by the
cleansing virtue of water, — the taking away of
sin, in its guilt, and in its pollution, by the blood
and Spirit of Christ *.
3. If the Abrahamic covenant was " confirm
ed before of God in Christ," and is the everlasting
covenant, under which we at present are;— if

* As to the supposed emblematic import of the mode of
baptism by immersion, which is by some carried so far as to
leave no meaning in the ordinauce unless it be admitted —
See Appendix. K

[ 74 3
circumcision, the sign and seal of this covenant of
old, was administered, by God's command, to the
children of those who professed the faith of this
covenant, and became to them, in their turn, when
its import was understood and believed-, a seal of
the righteousness of faith; — ¦-I ask,where is any
change in its constitution, in this respeft, pointed
out? — -When were children excluded, and by what
law?— While there is abundant evidence of a
change as to the sign, there seems to be none of a
change, either in the thing signified by it, with the
exception above noticed, or in the extent of its ap
plication. This, I freely confess, is an old way of
reasoning ; and as such, may draw from some only
the sneer of, "nothingnew!" Asneer, however, is
no reply : and there is no term of prescription, that
converts truth into falsehood, or in the course of
which an argument becomes weak, which once
had strength. The alteration of an old constitu
tion, or the setting aside of an old law, requires
express precept, as much as the appointment of
a constitution, or law, entirely new. Let such
authority, then, on this subject, be pointed out.
This appears to be one of those cases, in which
all depends on the truth or falsehood of the pre
mises: if these be admitted, as above explained,
I see not how the inference can be evaded. The
only ground, therefore, so far as I perceive, on
which this reasoning can be overturned, is the
establishment of some different view of the an
cient covenant with Abraham, from that -which

Z 75 3'
has been given: and this I have never yet seen
attempted, without what has seemed, to my mind,
a direct contradiction of the simple interpreta
tion of it, given by the Apostle. As to saying —
" the Abrahamic covenant is just as God made
it; and we neither wish it more nor less spiritual'
than it is: but what has this to do with infant
baptism?" — language which has been literally
used, aiid the sentiment conveyed by which is,
I believe, not uncommon; it sounds so like trif
ling with the word of God, that it seems to me
rit no notice, but for reprehension and serious
admonition. Carrying these views along with you then, I
now proceed to call your attention, a little,- to po
sitive proof. I have said, that there does not _•
seem to be any express , evidence of a change,
as to the extent of the application of the sign of
the covenant; let us now consider, whether there
is not to be fpund, both in the prophecies which
refer to New Testament times, and in the New
Testament itself, direft evidence of the contrary;
that matters remain, -in this respect, on their an
cient footing,
Jeremiah, speaking of the blessedpess of the
house of Israel, when they shall turn to the Lord
in the latter days,, says, in the name of Jehovah:
— " I will gather them out of all countries, whi
ther I have driven them., in mine anger, and in
my fury, and in great wrath; and I will bring
them again to this place, and I will cause them
K 2

[ - 7« 3
to dwell safely: and they shall be my people,
and I will be their God. And I Will give them
one heart, and one way, that they may fear me
for ever, for the good of them, and oftheir child
ren after them; and I will make an everlasting
Covenant with them, that I will not turn away
from them to do them good," &c.' — Jer. xxxii.
37—40.
I cannot readily imagine any consistent In
terpretation of this passage, if it does not contain
a promise of spiritual blessings to the natural
offspring of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, now in
a state of dispersion, and likewise to their child
ren after them, in their generations; or, as the
prophet Ezekiel expresses it, " to their children,
and to their children's children for ever," Ezek,
xxxvii. 25. And, as this' language is used re-
spefting the Jews, in the prospect of their restor
ation, as the people of God, by their being
brought into the New Testament church, in u-
nion with the Gentiles, when they shall acknow
ledge Jesus to be the Christ; it follows, that the
terms used concerning them, are descriptive of
the state and privileges of all the subjects of the
new covenant, Gentiles as well 'as Jews. The
passage, then, as referring to gospel times; seems
to contain an intimation, that the same conneftion
should then, continue, between the people of
God, and their offspring, which had existed
from the days of Abraham. — Similar to this is
the promise, Deut. xxx. 6. " The Lord, thy

Z 77 3
God, will circumcise thy heart, and the heart of
ihy seed," &c.
The prophet Isaiah, predicting the glory of
the church in the latter days, says, among other
declarations ofthe blessedness of God's people;
— " They shall not labour in vain, nor bring
forth for trouble; fpr they are the seed of the
blessed of the Lord, and their offspring with
them," Isa. lxv. 23. " They are the seed
ofthe blessed of the Lord;" i. e. the spiritual
seed of the fathers, Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob,
who were peculiarly the blessed of the Lord:—
" And their offspring with them;" i. e. connect
ed with them in the promise of God's covenant,
and partaking with them of his blessing. This
geems to be assigned, as the reason of their
" not bringing forth for trouble;"— the blessing
of the Lord resting on the offspring, in connec-
tibn with their parents. — It may be said, this
refers to the millennial glory ofthe church: but,
as the primary reference of the promise to the
fleshly seed of, believers, never implied the cer
tain salvation of all their children; there is no
inconsistency in considering the promise, in its
reference to the seed of God's people, as being
more largely and extensively verified, than it has
been hitherto, in that glorious time, when there
shall be such copious " showers of blessing."
Nay, wherein shall the glory of the latter
days consist, but in the enlarged fulfilment of
Divine promises, both in bringing, in the spiri-

Z 7s 3
tual seed out of all nations, and in pouring1 qui
his blessing upon them, and upon their off
spring. It appears to be of the last importance, in in-
N terpreting the New Testament, that we should
understand, and attend carefully to the state of
things previous to it. The reason is obvious.
The language of the New Testament, we should
naturally expeft to be, in some measure, modified
by these existing circumstances; and the import
of a variety of the expressions employed, We
shall be unable rightly to appreciate, without -
taking into view a reference to what already ex
isted, and was known; and the existence and
knowledge of which rendered greater enlarge
ment and minuteness unnecessary.
Bearing this remark in mind, along with the
preceding passages frpm the Old Testament,
which relate to gospel times, let us consider a
little the evidence that appears in the New.
Precisely corresponding to the language of
the prophets, above quoted, is that of Peter to
the Jews, on the day of Pentecost. Afts ii. 38,
39. " Repent, and be baptized every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of
sins; and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost. For the promise is to you, and to your
children, and to all that are afar off, even as ma
ny as the, Lord our God shall call."
According to our Baptist brethren, the meaning
of these last words is — "the promise is to as

Z 79 3
many as the Lord our God shall call, of you and
of your children, and of all that are afar off." — -
Now, I do not say that the verse, standing by it
self, cannot be thus interpreted: but I say, that,
taking it in connection with the circumstances of
the case, in which the address was made, and in
connection with the scope of other scriptures,
such as those already referred to, it does not ap-i
pear to be, by any means, the most natural inter
pretation. 1 . Does not this explanation take away, from
the encouragement which the Words are intend
ed to hold out, almost every portion of its ener1
gy? " Repent, and be baptized, every one of you,
in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission
of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy
Ghost. For the promise is to as many of you
aiid of your adult descendants as the Lord our
God shall call." — The following is surely more
consistent with the Apostle's design, and with
the view he had of the persons whom he was
addressing: — " Repent, and be baptized, every
one of y6u, &c; for the promise is to you, and
to your children,-— the seed of Abraham, — the
people of God:" for " ye are the children of the
covenant, which God made with our fathers, say
ing unto Abraham, ' And in thy seed shall all the
families ofthe earth be blessed:' and unto you first,
God having raised up his Son Jesus, has sent him
to bless you, in turning away every one of you from
his iniquities." SeeAftsiii.22 — 26. xiii. 26. While

[ so 3
the promise is thus declared to be to them and
their offspring, in the first instance, as being now
the people of God ; an intimation is at the same
time given, that it was not to be confined to
them, but to extend to the Gentiles, who were
then afar off, but who were, in sovereign mercy,
to he called into the church, and to partake of
the blessings in the Divine promise, on the same
footing with them. And this agrees with all that
has already been observed, respefting the pro
mise of the new covenant being made to the
house of Israel and the house of Judah. It was
to them first.
2. It seems to me very unnatural, to under
stand the expression, " the promise is to you
and to your children," as conveying no idea
whatever of connection between the one and the
other, with regard to the promise. For, on the
principle in question, which completely disunites
parents and children in this matter, the one had
no more relation to the other than they had to
the inhabitants of China. According to this i-
dea, the promise was to them, and to their child
ren; but to the latter,not, in any sense whatever,
as bearing this relation to them, but as completely
unconnefted with them, as the remotest Gentiles.
This seems to me far from being natural : —
For, 3. It should be particularly considered, in
what light the words of Peter would certainly
appear to his audience. Peter addressed Jews,

c si :
Their minds were habituated to the idea of- the
connection of their children with themselves, in
the promise ofthe covenant. It was an idea deep
ly rooted in their hearts. How, then, would they
understand the Apostle's words? Certainly in a
sense consistent with their previous views; as
intimating the continuance of the same conneftion.
Now,surelywecannotsuppose,thatPeter, speaking
by the Holy Spirit, would employ expressions, cal
culated to convey to the minds of his countrymen,
at the very outset, a false view of the nature of
Messiah's kingdom.
With regard to thepromise which is here meant,
I think it makes little difference, as to the argu
ment, whether it be understood of the promise of
the covenant with Abraham, in a more general
view; or of the particular promise of the Spirit,
which the context seems most naturally to sug
gest. "Understanding it of this; it is evident,
from the declaration of its being to all the people
of God, in every age and nation, that it is not to
be interpreted, exclusively, of the miraculous
gifts ofthe Spirit; and it ought, I think, to be ta
ken, in connection with verse 21st, " as many
as shall call on the name ofthe Lord shall be sav
ed;" and in this view, to be considered as includ
ing the whole of salvation ; of which it is, indeed, at
once, a part, and a pledge. The promise pf
the Spirit, is a leading part of the promise of the
new covenant, and is therein also connected with
the remission of sins, which is redemption or sal-
L

[ ,82 3
vation, Ezek. xxxvi. 25, — 28. Jer. xxxi. 33, 34.
Heb. viii. 10—12. It is also a leading part of
the " blessing of Abraham," which is come
upon the Gentiles through Jesus Christ," Gal.
iii. 13, 14.
It may be proper, in this place, to remark,
" that, unless we consider the passag'e just notic
ed, connected with the prophecies before quot
ed, in the sense which has been given, it appears
to be a circumstance altogether unaccountable,
according to any of fhe ordinary principles of pro-'
bability, that an alteration of so great magnitude,
(for such the Jews would unquestionably think it,)
as the total disannulling of that conneftion which
had formerly subsisted between parents and child
ren, sanctioned, in their eyes, by the terms of
the Divine covenant, and confirmed in their prac
tice, not only by, the circumcision of their own
offspring, but by the admission of Gentiles also,
by housholds, into the church of God; — that such
an alteration should have taken place, without a
hint being given^ of the smallest opposition, or
demurring against it. Nay, so far is this from
having been the case, that, when the Judaiz-
ing professors of Christianity would have had
the Gentile converts circumcised, doubtless in
conneclion with their children, upon their admis
sion into the church, no notice whatever is ta
ken, by the Apostles and elders at Jerusalem,
of their error in viewing children, and desiring to
treat them, as if they continued to have, under

t 83 3
the new dispensation, any connection with their
parents; but only of their seeking to put a yoke
of bondage on the neck of the disciples, by im
posing on them the Mosaic law, in conneftion
with circumcision. And yet, certainly, if such
a conneftion. of parents and children was incon
sistent with the spiritual nature of the dispen
sation of the gospel, it must have appeared an
error, by no means of small importance.
The above views appear '.also to be strongly
confirmed, by the praftice of the Apostles, in the
baptism, of households. The strength of the ar
gument from this circumstance, seems to me to
lie here: — -When I find the conneftion between
parents and children existing, and appearing so
prominent, in the church of God formerly; —
when I find, that Gentile proselytes were receiv
ed into the Jewish church, by families or house
holds : — -and when, on coming forward to a new
period, a new state ofthe church, I find language
used, in such exact correspondence with that
state of things; — ¦" This day is salvation come
to this house; forasmuch as he also is a son of
Abraham:" — " Believe in the Lord Jesus, Christ,
and thou shalt be saved, and thy house:" — " he
was baptized, he, and all his, straightway:"—
" when she was baptized, and her household: —
" I baptized also the household of Stephanas:" —
I do feel myself, irresistibly, led to conclude, that
matters continue, with respeft to this connection
of believing parents with their families, in the
L 2

[ 84 ]
same state now, as before. And, perhaps, such
intimations as these, are as strong evidence as
the case warrants us to expeft: for we ought to
conneft them with previous circumstances, and
prevalent ideas. No one ever thinks it needful
to be very minute in specifying particulars, in
cases that are previously understood, and fami
liar to his own mind, and the minds of his read-

• In this view of the argument, I do not feel myself at
all concerned about proving, to a certainty, that there were
infant children in any of the families referred to. It is the
continuation ofthe same general strain of expression, that
constitutes, in my mind, the fprce'of the argument; shewing
the continuance ofthe same state of things, that had existed
before. I would, however, remark, that some of the ar
guments, (I am not sure but I might «ay all) by which it
has been attempted to be proved, that there were none, ap
pear to me futile, and very unworthy of the good sense
and acute judgment, of some who have adduced them. For
instance : it has been said, there could be no children in the
household of Lydia (Acts xvi. 14, 15.) for the members of
her household are the brethren mentioned in the last verse of
the chapter; whom Paul and Silas comforted, at their depart
ure from Philippi. Now, the whole ground for this sup
position is ; « They saw these brethren in the house of
Lydia, therefore they must have been Lydia's household:"
as if it were inconceivable, that any others should have come
to her house to take farewell of the Apostle and his compa
nion Silas. The supposition, besides, rests on the heart
less and improbable idea, that Lydia's household were the
only converts, except the jailor and his, made during Paul's
stay in Philippi. The history is often very brief; and it by

[ S3 3
After all the attention I have been able to give
to the passage, it still sppears to me, that baptism
no means follows, because one or two particular instances
of conversion are recorded, as happening in any place, that
there were no others. In Acts xviii. 23. it is said, that
t( Paul went over the countries of Galatia and Phrygia
in order, strengthening all the disciples:" — yet all that is
said pf these countries before, is, — " When they had gone
throughout Phrygia, and the region of Galatia," — Acts
xvi. 6. — Were Lydia and the jailor, with their respective
households, the only persons whom the Apostle commends,
Phil. iv. 16, for sending, once and again; to relieve his ne
cessities in Thessalpnica, whither he went, almost immedi
ately on his leaving Philippi ?
Again: As ta the household of the jailor. It has been
said, there could ba no children there, because Paul spoke
the word pf the Lord to all that were in his house; which
suppqses them all, it is observed, capable of understanding
and receiving what he said. But such general expressions
are perfectly common, both in writing, and in conversation.
And I would reckon the man foolish, who should conclude,
from my saying, " I spoke to the whole family,-r-to. all in
"the house," that I spoke of a family, in which there cer
tainly were no infant children. No man would ever deem
jt necessary, formally to except them.— But this admits of
still more decisive proof. If the reader will look to Deut.
xxxi. 9  1 3. he will find, that children were to form part
of the assembly, to which the law of the Lord was to be
read. If they had not been expressly mentioned, we must
have concluded, upon the principle under consideration,
that they could not be there, because they could not under
stand the law. But if infants might form part of an assem
bly to which the law ofthe Lord was read, they might,
surely, form part of a household, to which the word ofthe
Lord was spoken. See also Josh. ix. 35.

[ 86 3
is denominated by the Apostle in Col. ii. 11, 12,
the circumcision of Christ. " In whom also ye are

But it is added, " he rejoiced believing in God with all his
bouse." I have np wish tp get quit of this argument, by
any such ridicukras criticism as, I know, has by spme been
made. " Believing in Gad, he rejpiced in all the hpuse — or
all the hpuse pver," is a translation which npthing but the
obstinacy pf prejudice, cpnnected with a, tptal absence of any
sense ef the ludicrous, could have led any man to conceive in
his mind: As if the jailpr, in the extacy of his joy, had skipped;
and danced through the rooms and passages, and up and down
Stairs, like a madman. And as to another arrangement pf the
wprds, " Believing in Gpd, he rejoiced with all his house,"
although I think it is a rendering as natural as the
other, yet I do not feel disposed to insist upon it.' Retain.
ing the wprds as they stand in our translation, they do not
at all necessarily imply, that there were no infant children
in the family. We never scruple, nor hesitate, about such
expressions; " The whole family are serious," or " all the
family were converted to God at pne time," &c. are phrases
which we would use, withput the smallest hesitatipn, respect
ing families in which there were infants. We shpuld never,
once think pf formally making an exception pf such. When
Joshua said, " a3 for me and my house, we will serve tht
Lord" he used an expression, from which no one ever
thinks of inferring, that there certainly were np young chil
dren in his family, because such were incapable of serving
the Lord: nor, pn the supposition that there, had beet?
such children, would any pne ever have thpughtpf cavilling
at Jcshua, fpr not formally excepting them. General ex.i
pressions of this nature we never think of subjecting to such
split-hair criticism. When the children of Israel .were com
manded, in preparing the passover, to " take a lamb for
« house, according to the number of the souls;" are we to in-

L 87 v 3
circumcised, with the circumcisipn made without
hands, in putting off the- body ofthe sins of the
flesh, by the circumcision of Christ; buried-with
him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen
with him through the faith of the operation of
God, who hath raised him from the dead." — >
The inquiry ought not to be, " Is it possible to
explain the words otherwise?" But rather, " Is
this their most natural interpretation?" I think
it is; because, otherwise, there is an awkward,
unmeaning tautology; the " circumcision made
without hands," and the " circumcision of

fer, because these are universal expressipns, that they num
bered the mpuths of sucking infants? If we make this infer
ence, we must also infer, that these children ate the passo-
ver, " with their loins girt, and their shpes on their feet,
and their staff in their hand." But because these things
are^ palpably absurd, it would npt be le,ss so, to conclude
that there were no such children in the families ,pf Israel at
the time when they left Egypt.
The same remark is applicable to the household of Stepha
nas, of whom it is said, that " they addicted themselves to
the ministry ofthe saints," 1 Cor. xvi. 15. Of a family in
which there are infant children, we cannot, it seems, with
any propriety, say — " They are a very benevolent family ;
they lay themselves out for doing gppd;" without fprmally
subjoining, tp prevent mistakes, — " except the infants!"
Whp ever thinks pf dping so? — These remarks, it should
be pbserved, are npt brought forward, in evidence that there
certainly" were such children in, these households; but merely
to shew the futility of the reasonings, which have been em
ployed to prove that there were none.

[ 88 3
Christ " being made of the same import ; as
if he had said — " ye are circumcised with the
circumcision of the heart, in putting off the bo
dy of the sins of the flesh, by the circumcision
of the heart," &c.;f and likewise, because the

t A Baptist writer, in the Edin. Evan. Mag. No. 35, page
4-97, avails himself pf the same mpde pf ' reasoning, in the
interpretation pf another passage, — Gal. iii. 27. " Fpr as
many of you asdiave been baptized into Jesus Christ, have.
put on Christ." Philalethes, a writer on the side of psedo--
baptism, had alledged that " being baptized into Jesus
Christ," here referred to the baptism of the Spirit. Crito,
in reply, amongst other arguments* says — " Indeed his ex
planation would be quite incongruous. The words " as
many of you as have been baptized into Jesus Christ, have
put on Christ," he would interpret, " as many of you as
have put on Christ, have put on Christ." — This reasoning
is, in my apprehension, more strongly applicable to the pas
sage under consideration. As to the view given by Phila
lethes, pf Gal. iii. 2. 1 am inclined to think that he is wrong;
and that Crito is in the right with regard tp the baptism
spoken of. That the expression " as many of you as have
been baptized," &cl does not necessarily express a doubt
respecting some, appears from the occurrence of the very
same phrase in Rom. vi. 3. " Know ye not, that so ma-
ofus as were baptized into Jesus Christ, were baptized in
to his death," &c. Here the expression does not signify,
that some of the believers referred to were unbaptized. The
phrase might, if I mistake not, be rendered — uWt, tvhoso-
ever have been baptized into Jesus Christ," &c. : — for it is
not, in the Greek, trot h/xm l^a<rri(rStifxtv, &c. but simply
i<roi i/WWupw, &c. And so, in the other instance; it is not
•<r« Ixtm «/wV<Ws, &c; but simply i,„ i/wV*>i]«, &C; " Te,
whosoever have been baptized, &c.

Z 89 3
conneftion between the two - verses appears so
close; — " having been buried with him in bap
tism," &c. is added, as if in explanation of the
meaning of " putting off the body of the sins
of the flesh, by the circumcision of Christ:" and
this idea is farther confirmed, by the considera-

Let it be granted, that the Apostle here addresses adult
believers, who had been baptized on a profession of the
faith : it does not at all follow, that the children of such
as had children had not been baptized along with them.
The Apostle, in Gal. v. 2, 3. &c. says—" Behold, I Paul
say unto you, that, if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit
you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is cir
cumcised that he is a debtor to do the whole law: Christ
is become of np effect, untp you — ye are fallen from grace,"
&c. — There can be no doubt, that any ofthe Gentiles, who
were circumcised themselves, had their children also cir
cumcised. Yet the Apostle here addresses adults, without
adverting to their children at all. Now as, in this case,
it dpes not fpllpw from his telling thpse adult prpfessprs
what was implied in their submitting to circumcision, that
their children were not circumcised along with them; nei
ther does it follow from his putting the adult professors in
mind of what was implied in their having submitted to bap
tism, that their children had not been baptized along with
them. If, from the expressions used in the latter case being
inapplicable to children, we infer that they certainly were
not baptized ; then, as the expressions used in the former
are equally inapplicable to children, we ought from this to
conclude that they were not circumcised. But if, on the
one hand, their circumcisipn is admitted, as, indeed, it must
be; it is unfair, pn the Pther, to interpret similar expressions
sp rigidly as tP put a negative pn their baptism.
M

[ 90 3
tion that baptism, like circumcision, denotes " the
putting -off the body ofthe sins ofthe flesh."
It has been asked; with what propriety can it
be said that baptism succeeded, or came in the
place of circumcision, when it appears that, for
a while, after the death of Christ, both were
practised together? And the supposed contra
diction of contemporary succession has given oc
casion to a good deal of ridicule. The wit, how
ever, is surely hasty and misplaced. In reply to
it, as I have before hinted, it may simply be ask
ed : — " With what propriety can the sacrifice of
Christ be said to have superseded, or done away,
the sacrifices of the law, when it appears that,
for a considerable time after his ascension, some
of these at least continued to be offered, even
by believers in his name?" I am not going to
enter into any discussion of the different ac
counts that have been given of this faft; I only
repeat what was observed in the former Lecture,
that whatever reason is assigned for it, will ap
ply equally well to the other case.
To this connefted chain of particulars, I now
add, as being, to my own mind, an invincible
confirmation of the matter of faft, that infant-bap
tism was practised in the time of the ApostleS;
the account we have in the history ofthe church,
of the prevalence of this praftice in the times
immediately following. I do not bring this for
ward as authority: but it is of great importance
for the confirmation offacls, in all cases, in which
it does not contradift the New Testament. It

[ 91 3
ought to be observed, that the matter now in
question, is a matter of fail. The early preva
lence of absurd ideas, with respect to the nature
and ground of baptism, does not affeft the evi
dence of the simple fact, that baptism was, from
the earliest times of the Christian aera, admini
stered to infants. It is alluded to, and direftly
spoken of, by the- earliest writers, never as a
thing that was, or had^been questioned ; but uni
formly as a matter, the existence of which from
the beginning was undisputed. It seems to me
impossible, indeed, that such a change could
have " crept in unawares:" — yet the early his
tory of the church gives no intimation of the o-
rigin of the praftice of baptizing infants, as hav
ing been subsequent to the time of the Apostles.
" We have decisive historical proof, (says a very
acute and intelligent writer,) that little more than
a hundred years after the death of the Apostles,
paedobaptism, or the baptism of the children of
believing proselytes, was of general praftice in
all the churches, wherever baptism was prac
tised at all: and that they were, at that time,
wholly strangers to the idea of its not having
been practised by the Apostles. Now I do not
argue at all from the praftice of the early
churches, as if it had the least authority to de
cide what is right. But I take that historical
faft, and I say, that it is scarcely to be ac
counted for, on the supposition that the Baptist
principles are scriptural. For, on this supposi-
M 2

[ 92 3 •
tion, there was going on in each of the Aposto
lic churches a thing of constant praftice, which
would have kept up a continued testimony a-
gainst the introduftion of psedobaptism. Not
only were the offspring of the disciples not bap
tized in early childhood; but they were baptiz
ed as they grew up; — as many of them as made
a credible profession of believing in Christ. I
say that, supposing this to have been the ease
in the first churches, I cannot conceive how the
practice of psedobaptism should have first been
introduced; — and not only so, but the very tra
dition forgotten, that the contrary praftice had
prevailed a hundred years before. Whatever
church we may suppose it first to have been in
troduced in, there must have been, in that church,
and in all other churches, a known praftice,
contrary to its introduftion; — a praftice of that
nature, that it could not have been lost sight of
at the time that it was laid aside. And am I to
suppose, that any church, of a sudden, laid aside
this practice altogether, and adopted the contrary
one, of baptizing all the children, even the young
est infants, of their proselytes; and that all the
other churches followed their example; and
that, before the generation could be extinct, in
which this great innovation was introduced, it
was forgotten that it was an innovation? It seems
to me a very improbable supposition: and I
think I can shew that any corruption of doctrine
or praftice, which did creep into the churches,

i 93 3
was of a nature not at all parallel to this, but es
sentially different * J ."
* Thoughts on Baptism by Mr. Walker of Dublin, pages
21 and 22.
% Mr. M'Leam, (for whom, as a Christian of advanced
age, acute talents, and extensive scriptural knowledge, I en
tertain a very high regard) gives an account ofthe origin
of infant-baptism, which seems to me an unfounded assumj^
tion, a mere theory : an ingenious one, no doubt, for his pur
pose ; but that does npt give it validity. An ppinion, ac
cording tp him, began tp prevail about the end of the se
cond century, pf the necessity pf baptism tp salvation: pa
rents t6ok the alarm fpr the safety pf their children : and
hence arose infant -baptism. — Npw it is true, that such aa
opinion did begin tp prevail at that time; but the concla-
sipn drawn from it, and asserted as a fact, is a mere gratui
tous assumpipn. For, 1st, There are allusions to in
fant-baptism previous to that time. And, 2dly, If it
were my business, which it is not, to assign an prigin to
the abpve-mentipned opinion, I should certainly trace it
to the very practice pf infant-baptism itself. Fpr this, of
all other things, might mpst plausibly lead into the idea «f
the necessity of baptism to salvation.
I would here also remark, that, although the practice
of giving the Lord's Supper to children .was early in
troduced, it was, in comparison, but very partially;
nor is it at all spoken of in the same manner as the bap
tism of infants is, as a thing that had always been done:
and besides, the' previous existence of infant-baptism af
fords a very natural cause for the introduction of this o-
ther practice; the one might very readily be grafted upon
the other, while it is utterly unaccountable that both
should have taken place, so early,, and the former so univer
sally, without opposition or noise.

Z 9* 3
Having thus endeavoured to establish the scrip
tural propriety of our praftice, in baptizing the
children of believers, from the nature and con
tinuance of the Abrahamic covenant, and given
a general view of the collateral arguments on the
subject; t it is full time for me to proceed to the
consideration of the objecl and strength of Abra
ham's faith, set before us in the following vers
es. The promise of God which his faith primarily
respected, was his having an heir of his own bo
dy, and from him a seed, as the stars of heaven
for number. See Gen.xv. 1 — 6. The Apostle
puts a spiritual interpretation on the promise,
" So shall thy seed be," as referring to his be
ing the spiritual father of a spiritual progeny,
among many nations : verse 1 8th — " He believ
ed — that he might become (J. e. he believed, and,
in consequence of his believing, he became) the
father of many nations; according to that which
was spoken, So shall thy seed he." Now the

¦J- I have left unnoticed a number of the smaller branches
of this argument. Tp have entered with minuteness into
these, wpuld have been incpnsistent with the design of the
preceding part of this Lecture, which was tp shew the scrip
tural propriety and pbligation pf infant-baptism, as an in
ference from the views ofthe Abrahamic covenant exhibited
in the former; and in connection with this, tp nptice, in a
general way, 6uch other cpnsideratipns only, as appeared
most directly tp establish the justice pf this inference.

Z 9* 3
prom/se of the birth of Isaac, was intimately con
nected with the fulfilment of this declaration, in
its spiritual import, as here interpreted. For,
in the first place: The word of God being hand
ed down, by parental instruftion and otherwise,
through successive generations, the knowledge
of God, and of the promised Saviour, was kept
up in this line of descent from Abraham: and, by
this means, he had a spiritual seed among his
own fleshly descendants, according to the prima
ry import of the promises made to him. 2dly:
In this line of descent, sprang from him that seed,
in whom all nations were to be blessed.- — In
these ways, " salvation was of the Jews." And
hence, when the Gentiles received it, they are re
presented as becoming debtors to the Jews, being
partakers of their spiritual things, Rom. xv. 27.
The fulfilment of the promise, " so shall thy
seed be," as it is here explained by the Apos
tle, depended on his having fleshly seed, from
which the spiritual was to spring; from which
Christ was to come, in whom believers of all na
tions were to find a place in God's house, be
coming, by faith, the children of believing Abra
ham.
* The strength of Abraham's faith is particularly
dwelt upon by the Apostle: — " Being not weak
in faith;" ver. 19. " But was strong in faith;"
ver. 20.
The strength of his faith is illustrated, from
the object of it being a thing, in its nature, so un-

t 96 3
likely. " Against hope, he believed in hope"—
verse 18th: That is, he believed, and hoped, in
opposition to every ordinary ground of expecta
tion. While Nature said, " It is impossible;"
Faith firmly replied; " It is certain." His
faith was undoubting: — " He staggered not at
the promise of God, through unbelief; but was
strong in faith, giving glory to God; and- being
fully persuaded that what he had promised, he
was able also to perform." Verses 20, 21. ,
The ground of his faith and hope was the
faithfulness and power of God ; — " who quick-
eneth the dead, and calleth those things which
be not as though they were," Verse 17. — His
own body was now dead, and Sarah's womb
was dead: — But he "considered not" these
grounds of improbability, knowing that God was
able to impart life to the dead. With this per
suasion, that " to God all things are possible,"
was connefteu in his mind, the full confidence,
that He who " knoweth the end -from the be
ginning," could not be mistaken; that He who
" is not a man that he should lie," could not
deceive him; that He who " calleth those things
which are not,- as though they were," declaring
the future, with as much certainty as the present
or the past, would, therefore, infallibly accom
plish his declaration, although every circumstance
in nature seemed to pronounce the expeftation
vain: his assurance of faith, and confidence of
hope, did not merely respect the promise of the

[-97 3
birth of Isaac, but embraced the full extent of
the Divine promises, connected with this as their
commencement. From the view which the Apostle gives of the
Strength, the unsuspefting assurance, of Abra
ham's faith, we learn, that when, upon God's
making the promise to him of a son by Sarah,
" he fell on his face, and laughed, and said in
his heart, Shall a child be born to him that is a
hundred years old? and shall Sarah, that is
ninety years old, bear ?" — -his laughing, and the
thoughts which accompanied it in his heart,
were not the expression of suspicion and unbe
lief, but of admiration and joy. The posture a-
scribed to him is that of holy reverence; — he
gives his wife her new name, according to the
change just intimated by^God himself, in con
nection with the promise; — and he is not re
proved, as Sarah was on another occasion, whose
laughter proceeded from unbelief, and was re
buked by the question, " Is any thing too hard
for the Lord?" — His intreaty, also, in behalf of
the son of his bondwoman, Hagar, " Oh, that
Ishmael might live before thee!" we are not to
consider, as springing from distrust of his hav
ing another heir, but as expressing the natural
desire of a father's heart, that, while he ac
quiesced, with joy and gratitude, in the supe
riority of the child of promise, there might yet
be a blessing also for Ishmael; that he too might
be remembered of God, and be the object of his
N

[ 98 3
favourable regard. His request was graciously an*
swered. " As for Ishmael, I have heard thee: be
hold I have blessed him, and will make him fruit
ful; and will multiply him exceedingly: twelve
princes shall he beget, and I will make him- a
great nation. But my covenant will I establish
with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear unto thee, at
this set time in the next year." See Gen. xvii.
15— 2L xviii. 9—15.
By his faith Abraham " gave glory to God:"
verse 20th. — We glorify God, when we extol his
perfections: and we never do this more effeftual-
ly, than by displaying dispositions of mind towards
him, corresponding to the nature and influence of
these perfections. Distrust of the word of God,
is highly dishonouring to him ; because it implies
a secret, if not an avowed impeachment, both of
his truth and his power. We glorify Him by impli
cit confidence in his word; inasmuch as such con
fidence manifests the sense we entertain of both
these perfeftipns, of the immaculate purity of the
one, and the boundless extent of the other, as pre
cluding every possibility of failure. The same
remark might be extended, in its application, to
all the various attributes ofthe Divine charafter'.
For as our dispositions and behaviour toward a
fellow-man shew what we think of him; so is
it with respeft to God. By the depth of our hu
mility before Him, we declare our impressions
of his infinite majesty and unspotted holiness.
By an unshaken dependance on his providence,

C 99 3
we shew the sense we entertain of his faithful
love, and ¦ unceasing care. In thanksgiving, we,
proclaim our sense of obligation for his goodness ;
— in supplication, our conviftion, at once of his
willingness, and his ability to fulfil our desires;
— and in unreserved persevering obedience to his
commandments, our feeling of what we owe to
his Supreme authority, and in return for his rich
unmerited mercy. And it becomes us to re
member, that however loudly, with whatever
seeming fervour, we may sing with our lips,
"glory to God in the highest;" if we do not
practically honour him, by cultivating and dis
playing dispositions and conduft corresponding
to the proper influence of the various parts of his
charafter, we are but as "- sounding brass, or
a tinkling cymbal."
Having described the objeft and strength of
Abraham's faith, the Apostle adds^ver. 2 2d
" Therefore it was imputed to him for righteous
ness." When illustrating the ground of Abra
ham's justification, as explained in the beginning
of this chapter, I endeavoured to shew, that
when it is said — r." Abraham believed God, and
it was counted to him for righteousness," the
meaning is not that what he believed, but that
his believing Was so counted or imputed to him;
that this is the natural import ofthe words; and
that while .believing is opposed, as it is by the
Apostle, to working, of every description, this
view does not in the least affeft, but rather strong*

C io© ]
ly confirms, that doftrine which constitutes the
glory of the gospel, that sinners are " justified
freely, by the grace of God, through the redemp-.
tion that is in Christ Jesus.
The expression which is now before us, ap
pears to call for a few remarks on the nature of
that faith which is counted for righteousness,
as exemplified in the case of Abraham.
1. There can be no doubt that Abraham's
faith looked farther than the promise, literally
taken, of the birth of Isaac ; even to that seed
who was to spring from himself in the line of
Isaac; in whom all nations were to be blessed;
and of whose coming the supernatural birth of
Isaac must have been to him an assurance and
pledge. " Your father Abraham, (said Jesus to.
the Jews,) rejoiced to see. my day; and he saw it,
and was glad," John viii. 56. It was in connec
tion with this, as the ground of. his hope, that he
" looked for a city which hath foundations,
whose builder and maker is God," for, " the
better country, even the heavenly."
2.' Abraham's faith, was the belief of the tes
timony of God concerning Christ. — That tes
timony, before the fulness of time, ran in the
¦ form of promise; and, as such, was believed by
the people of God. It was then " a faithful
saying, and worthy of all acceptation," that the
" seed of the woman was to bruise the head of
the serpent;" " that in Abraham's seed all the na
tions of the earth should be blessed." Now the
faithful and acceptable saying is, that " Jesus

[ ioi 3
Christ hath come into the world to save sinners;"
that, " the promise made of God unto -the fa
thers he hath fulfilled, in that he hath raised up
Jesus again." We believe this, as matter offacl,
already past; while we believe also, as matter
of promise, that "whosoever believeth -in him
shall not perish, but have everlasting life." It
is %he word of God, something declared by Him,
that is the objeft of saving faith; and not any in
vention of the wisdom or pride of man.
3, Abraham's faith rested solely on the vera
city and power of the testifier. It was simply
this on which he relied; for there was nothing
in the case but what spoke an opposite language,
and was calculated to engender despair. He had
no reason to believe what was the subject of his
faith, but that God, the faithful, and the almigh
ty, had said it. This shews the simplicity of his
beliefs Saving faith is the belief of the gospel,
the saving truth, simply on the authority of Him
whose testimony it is. " If we receive the wit
ness of men, the witness of God is greater; for
this is. the witness of God, which he hath testi
fied of his Son. He that believeth on the Son of
God, hath the witness in himself: he that be
lieveth not God, hath made him a liar, because -
he believeth not the record that God gave of his
Son. And this is the record that God hath giv
en to us eternal life; and this life is in his Son,"
1 John v. 9— 11.
4. Abraham's faith regarded the promise as

[ 102 3
matter of grace; the result of the free favour of
God. This is evident from the nature of the
case. There was nothing in Abraham's condi
tion, on which he could have founded any rea
sonable expeftation of it; and it appears, as if
God had delayed the promise of this seed, till
such time as all natural causes, according to their
ordinary course of operation, were out of the ques
tion; that the freedom of his grace might be the
more impressively manifested. Abraham felt his
own deadness, and could impute his having seed
by Sarah, to nothing but the favour of God.
And how captivating must ¦ the riches of that
favour have appeared to his mind, when viewed
in the full extent of the promise, as referring to
that seed, in whom all the nations of the earth
should be blessed! As there was nothing in his
condition as a man, on which he could have
built the slenderest hope of the birth of Isaac; so
there was nothing in his charafter as a sinner^
that could warrant the expeftation of a Saviour.
The one of these circumstances seems strikingly
to represent the other; and God's afting in op
position to both, must be traced, alike, to his
grace or favour. Thus we, in believing, acknow
ledge Jesus to be God's " unspeakable gift."
Every thing in us forbade the expectation of such
a gift. The reason of its bestowment we can
not discover in ourselves ; it is to be found only
in the free uncontrouled exercise of Divine mer
cy. God graciously promised, and hath faith-

C 103 J
A
fully fulfilled : and his rich mercy merits all the
praise. 5. It is such faith that " gives glory to God;"
the belief of the Divine word, as the. word of
truth and of grace. And it is this faith, there
fore, that is counted for righteousness: not that
faith, falsely so called, which rests on the wisdom
and authority of man; or which, assuming the
name and charafters of a work, destroys the
grace of God, by making itself, in whole or in
part, the ground of our salvation. Saving faith
is " the belief of the truth," 2 Thess. ii. 13.
with which compare John xx* 31. The ground,
or reason of our salvation, lies not in our faith,
but in that which we believe. And the simpler
our ideas are of the nature of believing, the more
conspicuous do we make the honour of grace, as
that to which alone we owe our salvation. All
rivalship with it is thus excluded, both in. the
statement of Divine truth, and in the feelings of
the believer. And when, in this view, we ascribe
nothing to faith, we " give glory to God," by
ascribing all to grace : " It is of faith, that it
might be by grace." — Abraham took no share
of the glory to himself; and he who does, fol
lows not the footsteps of the patriarch's faith.
" Now, says the Apostle, it was not written for
his sake alone that.it was imputed to him" — ver.
23. That is— r-It was not written merely to re
cord the honour conferred upon him, in his be
ing constituted, through the imputation of his

|_ 104 3
faith to him for righteousness, the father of the'
faithful. " But for us also" — ver. 24. for the
encouragement of sinners, in every age, to be
lieve in God, for justification of life *. That
this is the" chief import of its being written " for
us also," is plain from the words which follow :
" To whom it shall be imputed, if we believe
on him who raised up Jesus our Lord from the
dead." " To whom it shall be imputed."— that is;
to whom faith shall be counted, as it was to A-
braham, for righteousness; sinners being, in the
design of God, to be justified in- every age after
the pattern of his acceptance.
" If We believe on him who raised up Jesus
our Lord from the dead." — This makes it mani
fest, that Abraham's faith respefted Christ, as
the promised seed; else the parallel between his
faith, and that by which we are justified, would
fail in a most essentially important particular,
namely, its objcdz; from which it is that faith
derives its efficacy to salvation. — " We declare
unto you glad tidings,"^ — said Paul to the Jews,
in the synagogue of Antioch in Pisidia, — " that
the promise which was made unto the fathers, ,
'God hath fulfilled the same unto us, their children,
in that he hatli raised up Jesus again; as it is
also written in the second Psalm, Thou art my

*Cpmpare Eph. ii. 7. 1 Tim; i. 15, 16, Rom. xv. 4-.

t l05 ]
Son, this day have I begotten thee." Afts xiii.
32, 33. In raising lesus from the dead, God act
ed according to the faithfulness of his charafter,
as the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. For,
as in the promised seed, " all nations were to
be blessed; it was necessary, in order to the
fulfilment of this, that he should- not be holden
of death, but should rise to the throne of medi
atorial dominion; having "power given him
over all flesh, that he might give eternal life
to as many as the Father had given him;" being
" exalted at God's right hand, a Prince and
a Saviour, to give repentance unto Israel, and
the forgiveness of sins." John xvii. 2. Afts v.
SI. To " believe on him who raised up Jesus our
Lord from the dead," is to believe in God, as ful
filling the promise made unto the fathers, by the
faith- of which they, of old, were justified. It is
to believe in Him, as the God of peace and
salvation; — as well pleased in his beloved Son,
and in the work of redemption which he finished.
" Ye were not redeemed with corruptible things,
as silver and gold, from your vain conversation,
received by tradition from your fathers, but with
the precious blood of Christ,- as of a Lamb with
out blemish and without spot; who, verily, was
foreordained before the foundation of the world,
but was manifest in these last times for you; who
by him do believe in God that raised him up
. O

£ 106 3
from the dead and gave him glory, that your faith
and hope might be in God," 1 Pet. i, 18 — 21.
Hence the Apostle adds, concerning Jesus: —
" Who was delivered for our offences, and was
raised again for our justification? ver. 25.
Justifying faith has been represented by some,
in their laudable zeal for the simplicity of the
gospel, carried to excess, as consisting in the
belief of the facts, recorded by the evange
lists, concerning Jesus. This statement, when
taken thus insulated, is very incomplete, and
calculated to mislead. Saving faith is not, cer
tainly, the mere belief of the fafts, that Jesus
died and rose again, but also, and chiefly, of the
meaning and design of these fafts. A Socinian
believes the fafts; but he does not admit their
scriptural import. He denies the death of Christ,
in that view of it, which alone gives it value and
interest to the 'guilty, as an atonement for sin;
arid, consequently, disbelieves also the glorious
import of his resurreftion^ as the evidence that
the atonement made by his death was all-suffici
ent, and accepted of God. The gospel not only
declares that Jesus died and rose again, but that
" He died for our sins, according* to the scrip
tures, and was buried, and rose again the third
day, according to the scriptures," 1 Cor. xv. 3,
4. that He was, as the Apostle here expresses it,
fl delivered for our offences, and raised again for
our justification."
Christ is here represented, as sustaining the

Z io? 3
character of a surety, both In bis death and re-
surreclion. He was " delivered for. our offen
ces," given up by the Father, to sufferings and
death, as an atoning sacrifice, a substitute for sin
ners. " God spared not his own Son, but deliver
ed him up for us all:"—" It pleased Jehovah to
bruise him:" — " Awake, O sword, against my
shepherd, and against the man that is my fellowj
said the Lord of Hosts, smite the shepherd, and
the sheep shall be scattered, and I will turn- my
hand upon the little ones:" — "Messiah, God's
Anointed, was cut off, but not for himself:"—
" He who knew no sin, was made sin for us,
that we might be made the righteousness of God
in him:" " He himself bore our sins, in his own
body, on the tree:" — " he was wounded for
our transgressions, he was bruised for our ini
quities; the chastisement of our peace was upon
him, and by his stripes we are healed. All we,
like sheep, have gone astray, we have turned e-
very one to his own way; and Jehovah hath
laid upon him the iniquity of us alh" — " he suf
fered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he
might bring us unto God:" — " he gave his life a
ransom for many:" — " his blood was shed for
many, for the remission of sins:" — " he appear- -
ed once, in the end of the world, to put away
sin, by the sacrifice of himself:" — " in him we
have redemption through his blood, even the
0 2

[ 108 3
forgiveness of sins:" — " the blood of Jesus"Christ,
God's Son, cleanseth us from all sin *."
Such expressions as these, which occur so fre
quently in scripture, most decidedly hold forth
the death of Christ, as an atonement for sin.
On the particular nature of this atonement, I do
not at present enter, having considered this deep
ly interesting subjeft, at some length^ when on
a former part ofthe epistle f.
Jesus having, as the surety and substitute of
sinners, " become obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross," — was justified by his
resurreftion. He was declared to have fully borne
the curse. The sentence of discharge, or of
full acquittal, was thus, publicly and solemnly,
pronounced upon him, by the Supreme Judge ;
and in Him, therefore, upon all his people, — all
who were given to him ofthe Father. It is in
this sense, chiefly, that I understand his being
" raised again/cr our justification" The resur
reftion of Jesus was a repetition, by significant
action, of the " voice from the excellent glory,
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleas
ed." The death and resurreftion of Christ thus
form, together, the one objeft of faith, and ground
of joyful hope; the latter being the Divine decla-
* Rpm viii. 32. Isa. liii. 10. Zech. xiii. 7. Dan.
ix. 26. 2 Cor. v. 21. IPet. ii. 24. Isa. liii. &, 6.
I Pet, iii. 18. Matth. xx. 28. Matth. xxvi, 28. Heb,
jx.' 26. Eph. i. 7- 1 John i. 7.
f Chap, iii, 21—26;

C 109 3
ration ofthe completeness, and infinite efficacy, of
the atonement made by the former. Jesus, when
he died, said, "It is finished;" referring to the
work which had been given him to do. God,
by raising from the dead, pronounced his perfect
approbation, declaring this to be truth.
" Our Surety freed, declares us free,
Fpr whose pffences he was seiz'd;
In his release pur own we se«,
And jpy to view Jehovah pleas'd."
, " Fear not; I am the first, and the last, and
the living One: and, I was dead; and behold I
am alive for evermore ; Amen : and have the
keys of the invisible world, and of death," Rev.
i. 17, 18.

Much practical instruction might be deduced
from the subjeft of this, and the preceding Lec
ture. I shall dwell a little only on' three parti
culars. I. Let Christian parents be attentive to the
.duty of " bringing up their children, in the nur
ture and admonition of the Lord."
The charge entrusted to you, who bear the
charafter of parents, is the most solemnly im
portant, and tenderly interesting, that can be
imagined by the human mind. It is the charge
of immortal souls. .Every child that is born in
to the world, enters upon an existence that is

I no 3
never to terminate; upon a short life on the
earth, which must be succeeded" by eternal bles
sedness, or eternal woe. How affecting th$ con
sideration I— And with regard to your own chil
dren, to you is committed the sacred trust, of
imparting to them that knowledge, which shall
make them wise unto salvation. These lights,
lighted for eternity, it is yours to feed with holy
oil from the sanftuary of God, that they may
shine for ever in his presence, and to his glory.
The language of God to every Christian parent,
is that of Pharaoh*s daughter to the mother of
Moses— *¦" Take this child, and nurse it for me!"
Forget not, then, the sacred obligation. Let it
be engraven on your hearts, as with a pen of
iron, and the point of a diamond. You love
your children: — they are dear to you as the ap
ple of your eye — as your own souls ;— you would
part with any thing, to secure their welfare.
And are not their eternal interests first in your
thoughts, and first in your desires? If you feel
as Christians, they are — ;they must be. Let them,
then, be first in your prayers, and first in your
exertions. — Seek to impress early on their hearts,
a sense of the unspeakable importance of eternal
things. Teach them the knowledge of the Lord,
' when you sit in the house, and when you walk
by the way : never with the repulsive austerity
of a master, but with all the engaging tender
ness of parental love.— Let no.probability of tem
poral advantage induce you, to expose their souls

c i" y
to peculiar hazards, from the temptations of thig-
ensnaring world.-— Let no accomplishments of
body, or of mind, however gratifying and endear
ing they may lawfully be, engross that peculiar
joy, which, in the hearts of Christian parents,
will ever be reserved for ". seeing their children
walking in the truth."
Remembering that God alone can give your
desires their gratification, and your labours their
increase; pray without ceasing, that He may
" pour out his Spirit upon your seed, and his
blessing upon your offspring; that they may
spring up as among the grass, and as willows by
the water-courses; and be a part ofthe planting
of the Lord, in which he is glorified."— Present
them, for a blessing, to that gracious Saviour,
who said, in the days of his flesh; " Suffer the
little children to come unto me, and forbid them
not; for of such is the kingdom of heaven."
As Christians, it is a part df your experience,
that the promises of God do not operate as en
couragements to indolence, but as incentives to
activity. — You are stimulated to " work out your
salvation with fear and trembling," by consider
ing, tbat " it is God who worketh in you, both
to will and fo do, of his good pleasure." His
declaration, that " his people shall never perish,"
instead of lulling you in careless security,1 ani
mates you, by banishing despair, to " gird up
the loins of your minds," and to " run with pa
tience the race that is set before you." — So ki

t "2 2
the peculiar regard which God, in the promise
of his covenant, has been shewn to have to the
offspring of his people, encourage you in dis
charging the duty of " bringing up your children,
in the nurture and admonition of the Lord."
Let it inspire your prayers for them wih the
animating confidence of expeftation, and enliven
your exertions with the hope of success.
The conneftion is indissolubly established, be
tween the fulfilment of his promises on God's
part, and attention to duty in the use of appoint
ed means, on the part of his people. To expect
the one without the other, is not trust in God,
but unwarrantable presumption. — Setyour hearts,
with intense desire, on the salvation of your child- %
ren: — Ask it of God, with the fervour andper-
severing importunity of faith: — shew the sinceri
ty of your desires and prayers, by unwearied
attention to the use of necessary means: — and, I
doubt not, you will have the blessedness of see
ing, amongst your offspring, a seed arise, to serve
the Lord.
Let the apparent failure of the blessing, in your
own families, or in those of other professing
Christians, lead you rather to suspect yourselves,
than to question the faithfulness of God. Such
cases, indeed, call to much searching of heart.- —
Has the salvation of your children engaged your
desires, with a fervour and constancy propor
tioned to its infinite importance ?— ¦ -Have you pur
sued this object with sufficient seriousness as the

£ us 3
'* one thing needful " to your happiness as pa
rents?— While you have been teaching the truths
of God, have you been careful to walk before
your house in a perfeft way, exemplifying, in
your personal behaviour, their holy, heavenly in
fluence? — Have you, in no measure, been guilty
of sacrificing the souls of your children to tem
poral interest? — 'Has the obj eft I speak of occu
pied that place in your prayers and exertions,
to which its ' inconceivable magnitude gives it so
striking a claim ? — Have your prayers been the
prayers of faith? — Your exertions believing ex
ertions?— Or has there not been, in both,, a la
mentable want of faith in God? —
May " the God of the families of Israel "
lead all believing parents to lay to heart, more
deeply than ever, the duty enjoined upon them!
And, by bestowing an abundant blessing on pa
rental education, " instead of the fathers, take
the children," that race unto race may praise
him! —
II. Let us imitate the strength of Abraham's
faith; his undoubting confidence in the faithful
ness and power of God.
Let us beware of staggering, through unbe
lief, at any ofthe promises of the God of truth,
by contemplating difficulties, and forgetting
that " with Him all things are possible;" — that
" He quickeneth the dead, and calleth those
things which be not as though they were." Let

L n* 3 i
us rather be " strong in faith, giving glory to
God; against hope believing in hope; being
fully persuaded, that what He hath promised He
is able also to perform."
Let your prayer, beloved brethren, be that of
the Apostles to the Lord:—'" Increase our faith!"
Earnestly desire an increasingly clear and full
perception, and feeling, of the evidence of the
truth. To this, the strength of your faith and
confidence in God must ever bear proportion.
And the stronger your faith is, the more vigor
ous and flourishing will all the other graces of
the Spirit be, in your souls; and the more glo
rifying to God the manifestation of them in your
lives: as the deeper and wider the roots strike,
to gather the nourishing juices of the soil, the
greater is the expansion of boughs, the luxuri
ance of foliage, and the abundance of fruit.
Be strong in faith, and active in duty, and you
will abound in enjoyment. " Hold fast the con
fidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto
the end *." — Fear not that, while you are zealous
in his service, in the exercise of faith and love,
God will ever hide from you his countenance,
by shutting the eyes of your spiritual discern
ment against the light of his favour; and then
leave you, " against hope to believe in hope."
So these words have sometimes been perverted.
But the Lord has never thus -forsaken them that
* Heb. iii. 6.*

C n5 J
seek him.^— When the body and mind are in
health, there are no clouds but such as arise
from the immediate prevalence of unbelief, or of
indulged sin, either outward or inward, that canin-
tercept, from the heart of a child of God, the light
of his Father's love. The cause of the deficien
cy, or the absence, of spiritual joy, must.be sought
in ourselves; not in that God and Saviour, who
" rests in his love." It is not God that with
draws from us, but we that withdraw from.
God. " Let no man say when he is thus
tempted,-! am tempted pf God; for God can
not be tempted of evil, neither tempteth he any
mant." Is the aspect of providence, in your personal
or family situation, gloomy and perplexing; — ,
so that your eye cannot find an opening, through "
the clouds and darkness that surround you? —
Hear the voice of God to his people, in such
circumstances; " Who is among you, that fear,
eth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his ser,
vant; that walketh in darkness, and hath no
light? Let him trust in the name ofthe Lord, and
stay himself upon his God *." — Say notin. anxious
despondency, " all these things are against me^"-
but " against hope believe in hope." WfiiJte
your ignorance and short-sightedness keep you
humble ; let firm reliance on the unerring wis-*
dom of Him, who " knoweth the end from the be-

f Jam. i. 13. * Isa. 1. 10,
P2

C 116 3
ginning,"-— ron his inviolable faithfulness, who
hath said, " I will never leave thee, nor forsake
thee," — and on his immutable love, " who hath
not spared his own Son," but has " delivered
him up for our offences, and raised him again
for our justification," — preserve your mind
meekly submissive, and serenely cheerful. Thus
" when you sit in darkness let the Lord be your
light." Thus, like Abraham, be " strong in
faith, giving glory to God:" and let the hope
which is set before you be " the anchor of
your soul.'*
How comfortable, also, are the views " here
exhibited, ofthe knowledge, and wisdom, and
power of God, when considered as the grounds
of our confidence, as to the procedure of provi
dence on a larger scale; in regulating the affairs
ofthe empires and kingdoms of the earth. — And
especially, at such a time as the present; so
dark — so perplexing; when events run so coun-:
ter to every calculation of probability, and to
every fond expeftation; when the mind, harras-
sed by disappointment, and fatigued with won
dering, grows weary of conjefture, and is ready
to sink under the pressure of discouragement: —
how consoling, to raise our thoughts to Him
who dwelleth in the heavens, and in the strength
of faith to sing — " Halleluiah! for the Lord God
omnipotent reigneth?" — " He calleth those things
which be not as though they were." To Him
{here is no confusion, no uncertainty— darkness

Z i" ]
is light before Him, and crooked things straight.
" He makes the wrath of man to praise him,
and the remainder of wrath he restrains."— -All
shall be well!
There is one object, in the accomplishment of
which all these events shall issue:— an object
which must deeply engage the heart of every
one$ Who feels the warm impulse of gratitude
for redeeming mercy, prompting him to desire
and to pursue, as his highest aim, the glory of
his God and Saviour: and whose heart expands,
with that enlarged benevolence, which the faith
of the gospel inspires, and which embraces, in
the extent of its wishes and its prayers, the tem
poral and eternal , interests of all his kind— his
felIow-men,-rJiis fellow-sinners. That object is,
the universal spread of the gospel— -the exten
sion and establishment, over the whole earth, of
the spiritual kingdom of Christ. — >
This is a legitimate objeft not only of Christ
ian desire, but of confident expeftation. — The
glory of the Lord was revealed at the coming of
Christ, and " all flesh shall see it together; for
the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it f." He
has confirmed his word by an oath, saying, " As
truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with
the glory ofthe Lord * !" — The grain of wheatfell
into the earth, and died. Its immediate produce
was a handful of corn, on the top of the moun-
-j- Isa. xl. 5. * Num. xiy. 21,

[ 118 3 .
tains of Judea: that handful shook with prosper
ous fruit, like Lebanon: and the time is fast ap
proaching, when every region of the earth shall
be filled with its abundant increase.
Let no seeming obstacles repress the ardour of
our hope, or of our ?eal. Let us not, " through
unbelief, stagger at the promise of Him who quick-
eneth the dead, and calleth those things which be
not as though they were; but be fully persuaded,
that what he hath promised, he is able also to
perform." — The giving of a seed to Abraham
and Sarah, when every circumstance in nature
opposed the fulfilment of the promise, is refer
red to by the Lord himself, as an encouragement
to the faith of his people, respecting what He
farther, engaged to do for his church :- — " Heark->
en to me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye
that seek the Lord: look unto the rock whence
ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence
ye are digged. Look unto Abraham your fa-*
ther, and unto Sarah that bare you: for I call->
ed him alone,^and blessed him, and increased
him. For the Lord shall comfort Zion; he
will comfort all her waste places; and he will
make her wilderness like Eden, and her desert
like the garden of the Lord : joy and gladness
shall be heard in her, thanksgiving and the voice
of melody *."
There are no obstacles now to be encoun*
* ' > ' — - ¦
* Isa. li. 1—3.

C 119 3
tered, more formidable than those which have
already been surmounted. Combine the wis
dom and power of the - providence of God,
with the subduing efficacy of his Spirit and gracej
and to the mind of the believer every difficuky
disappears; — " every valley is exalted, every
mountain and hill is made low ; the crooked be
comes straight, and the rough places plain." —
The providence of God can turn every event in
to this direction, even while the agents in these
events " mean not so, nor do their hearts think
so;" and his grace can readily subdue, as we
know it has done heretofore, and is daily do
ing before our eyes, the most malignant enmi
ty of the heart, armed with all the passions, and
prejudices, and interests of men.
When we look forward to our " sleeping the
sleep of death," let us trust in that God who
** quickeneth the dead," that " our flesh shall
rest in hope." — It is true, the resurrection of the
dead is an event so amazing, as quite to over
whelm our minds. But it is not more confound
ing than creation. It is not more confounding
than many of the works of God, which, from
our daily familiarity with them, have ceased to
impress us with wonder. And all the difficul
ties which can be mustered by the most scepti
cal mind, vanish at once before the question:
" Why should it be thought a thing incredible
with you that God should raise the dead j?"— -
% Acts xxvi. 8.

t 120 3
*' if the'Spirit of Him who raised up Jesus ff oni
the dead, dwell in you; He who raised up Christ
from the dead, shall also quicken your mortal
bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you *." — ¦
"VJThis corruptible must put on incorruption j
and this mortal must put on immortality, So
when this corruptible shall have put on incor*
ruptionj and this mortal shall have put oh im
mortality, then shall be brought to pass the say
ing that is written, * Death is swallowed up in
victory J !' " " The Lord himself shall descend
from heaven with a shout; with the Voice ofthe
archangel, and the trump of God; and the dead
in Christ shall first rise; and then, we who are
alive and remain shall be caught up* together
with them, in the clouds, to meet the Lord
in the air: and so shall we ever be with the
Lordj!" III. This subjeft holds out to sinners the full
est encouragement, to receive eternal life, as
" the gift of God through Jesus Christ our
Lord." The testimony of God concerning his Son,
as the only Saviour, has been set before you:
and the simple language of the gospel is, Believe,
and live: — " Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ,
and thou shalt be saved!"— You are sinners, —
guilty before God. This is the verdift of the
* Rom. viii. 11. J 1 Corxv. S3, 54. f 1 Thess. iv. 16, 17.

Z 121 ]
Divine word concerning you; and your con
science, corrupt and partial as its judgments are,
pronounces a similar sentence. Tha gospel ad
dresses you in this charafter. It reveals salvation
for the guilty. No conditions, on your part, are
prescribed; — no hard labour to be performed;—
no previous qualifications needed, to recom
mend you. Jesus is a Saviour for the worthless,
"r-the helpless,— the hopeless. " He came to
seek and to save that which was lost *." " He
was delivered for the offences of sinners, and rais
ed again for their justification!." — In his perfect
work of obedience and atonement Jehovah is
well-pleased; and freely offers to the chief of
sinners, for his sake, all the blessings of eternal
salvation, " without money and without price f.
—As a gift these blessings must be received,
else they can never be yours. If you seek them
otherwise, they are lost to you for ever. " It is
not by Works of righteousness which you have
done, but according to his mer'cy that you must
be saved \." Mercy, — free mercy, is what a
sinner needs: such mercy is here set before you;
free in its exercise, boundless in its extent. — If
a sinner is saved, a condemned criminal pardoned,
it must be by the exercise of mere mercy. E-
very claim qf right is inconsistent with the idea of
mercy: " If it be of grace, then it is no more
of works, otherwise grace is no more grace Jj:"
* Luke xix. 10. f Isa. lv. 1. % Tit/ iii. 6. |] Rpm xi. 6.
Q

C 122 3
" If righteousness come by the law, then Christ
is dead in vain *."- If you are accepted of God,
it must be " in the Beloved t." Salvation is of
fered by the gospel, in the only way in which it
can be offered to the guilty, — upon their renoun
cing all their supposed claims, in every degree,
and submitting to be the undeserving debtors of
sovereign mercy.
God appears in the charafter of the God of
mercy, the God of peace, in " raising up Jesus
our Lord from the dead. " It is in this charafter
that you are called to believe in him. And be
lieving in Him in this charafter, is the same with
believing in Jesus Christ, as thus attested by Him
to be the only Saviour. — You are assured, on
the part of God, that, believing in him, you shall
be justified from all things, from which you can
not be justified by the law of Moses: that on
account of his perfeft righteousness, and atoning
sacrifice^ you shall be freed from the curse, e-
scape the second death, and have your end ever
lasting life. — The instances of Abraham's, justi
fication by faith, and that of many others, some of
them the most hardened and flagitious characters,
are recorded, ," to shew the exceeding riches of his
grace, in hiskindness towards them,through Christ
Jesus|:" — not, therefore, " for their sakes alone,"
but to be a ground of encouragement to sinners in

* Gal. ii. 21. f Eph. i. 6. % Eph. ii. ^.

Z J23 3
every age: — to shew the worst, that they are wel
come to the Saviour, as the refuge from despair;
and to teach those who may think themselves tbe
best, that by the law of faith boasting is excluded;
that there is no salvation for them, more than
for others, but on the footing of abounding mer
cy. " As many as are of the works of the law,
(depending upon it for justification) are under,
the curse: for it is written, * Cursed is every one
that continueth not in all things, which are writ
ten in the book of the law, to do them * '."
" To him that worketh the reward is not reck
oned of grace, but of debt: but to him that work
eth not, but believeth on him that justifieth the un
godly, his faith is counted for righteousness f."
" He that believeth on the Son of God hath e-
verlasting life ; he that believeth not shall not
see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him J."
' " There is no salvation in any other; for there
is no other name under heaven, given among
men, whereby we must be saved |{."
While I thus set before you the free salvation
of the gospel, as the gift of sovereign mercy to
the guiltiest of men, I feel no apprehension about
the consequences: being fully persuaded, that
whenever you receive this truth, you will begin
to " live unto God," — " to walk in newness of
life:"— that " the grace of God, when it brings
salvation to you, will at the same time teach you,
* Gal. iii. 10. f Rpm. iv. 4, 5. \ Jphn iii. 36. || Acts ivt \%K
Q2

[ 124 3
denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, to live
soberly, righteously, and godlily, in this present
world * :" that " faith, working by love," will
call into new and vigorous exercise all your
powers, for the glory of God—the God of your
salvation; exciting you by a sweet, yet powerful
influence, as being " not your own, but bought
with a price, to glorify Him in your bodies and
in your spirits, which are his f."
* Tit.ii. 11, 12. f 1 Oor. vi. 20.

Z 12-5 3

^PPENJDIX,
CONTAINING A FEW REMARKS

ON THE

MODE OF BAPTISM,

X Have sometimes been surprised, that a con
viftion of the impropriety of infant-baptism, and
a conviftion of the exclusive propriety of bap
tism by immersion, should so generally accom
pany each other. For the two points certainly
rest on perfeftly distinft evidence; and the proof
of the one does not seem, unless in a very remote
and circuitous way, to affeft the other.
The question respecting the mode of this or
dinance, I do not, by any means, consider as of
equal importance with that concerning its pro
per subjefts. Yet if we are, as we ought to be,
desirous in every thing to know and to follow
the will of Christ, we will not treat it with light
ness and indifference.
As our Baptist brethren, however, carry so far
their attachment to the mode of baptism by im-

Z 126 J
mersion, as to deny that it is the ordinance of
Christ at all, when it is administered in any other
way; a few remarks on this point may not be
improper, to shew that our practice has' the coun
tenance of scripture; although little can be said
that has not often been said before. I mean not
to enter with much minuteness into the discussion;
but simply to mention two or three ofthe parti
culars, which satisfy my own mind.
It appears to me, that the special emblematic
import of baptism lies in the cleansing virtue of
water. This seems evident, from almost every
instance in which baptism is spoken of, or allude
ed to, with any intimation of its meaning. As,
for example, in the following passages: — Afts,
xxii. 16. " And now, why tarriest thou? Arise,
and be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling
on the name of the Lord."— Eph. v. 25, 26.
*' Christ loved the church, and gave himself for
it, that he might sanffify and cleanse it by the
washing of water through the word; 'that he
might present it to himself a glorious church,,
not having spot or wrinkle or any such things
but that it should be holy, and without blemish."
In this passage, spiritual purification is, no doubt,
intended: but it contains such an allusion to the
ordinance of baptism with water, as leads us to
conclude, that this spiritual purification is what
it is designed principally to represent. — A similar
allusion there seems to be in Tit. iii. 5. " Not by
works of righteousness which we have done, but ¦

Z w 3
according to his mercy he saved us, by the Tjoash*
ing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy
Ghost," &c.
From these passages it appears, that bap
tism, by the emblem of the cleansing virtue of wa
ter, denotes the taking away of sin, in its guilt and
in its pollution. Of such allusions the scriptures
are full. And that view which is most frequent
ly exhibited to pur attention, and which, indeed,
both on the subjeft of justification, and of sancti-
fication, gives a peculiar figurative complexion,
if I may speak so, to the current language of scrip
ture, I reckon myself warranted to consider, as
at least the principal, if not the only import of
the institution.
According to the views of our Baptist brethren,
however, washing or cleansing is but a secondary
meaning of this ordinance. — While the general
tenor of the language of scripture, as well as a
number of particular passages, seem to place its
import, in the nature ofthe element employed;
it is by them placed principally, and by some of
them, indeed, as would seem from their manner
of expressing themselves, almost exclusively, in
the mode in which the element is used.
Two passages are referred to by them, in proof
of this idea; Rom. vi. 3, 4. " Know ye not, that
so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ,
were baptized into his death? Therefore we are
buried with him by baptism into death; that like as
Christ was raised up from the dead, by the glory of

Z 12a 3
the Father, even so we also should walk hi new
ness of life."— Col. ii. 12. " Buried with him
in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him,
through the faith of the operation of God who
hath raised him from the dead." — In these pas
sages, it is observed, there is an obvious re
ference to the mode of baptism by immersion.
The Apostle represents this ordinance, as " ex
hibiting the death, burial, and resurreclion of
Christ, together with the Christian's communion
with, and conformity to him therein f." The bap
tized person's communion with Christ in his
death and burial, is represented, by his being
laid under the water; and his Communion with
him in his resurreftion, by his being raised out
of it. The spiritual meaning of the passages them
selves is well explained by a Baptist writer, to
be, — " That, by a gracious Divine ccnstitution,
Christ sustained the persons of all his elect, in
his dying and rising again; that they were so
comprehended in, and accounted one with him,
as to have died in his death, been buried in his
burial, and raised again in his resurreftion *."
This I take to be the true principle of inter
pretation, for the whole context of the passage in
Rom. yi. But that this blessed truth, with which*
as the same writer justly observes, the scriptures'
abound, is " signified to believers in their bap-
f M'Leap's Commission, page 137. * lb. 140.

C 129 3
tism, wherein the death, burial, and resurrection
of Christ are reacted, in a figure, upon their
own persons;" the language employed does not
seem either necessarily, or naturally to im-
ply. To be " baptized into Christ," is to be bap
tized into the faith of him, as the Messiah; — into
the faith of his divine mission, charafter, ,and
work. To be " baptized into his death," is to
be baptized into the faith of it, in the view
which the gospel gives of it, as the death of a
Surety, making atonement for sin.
By being thus baptized into his death,- we are
" buried with him." — The simple meaning of
this expression seems to be; that, by being bap
tized into the faith of his death, in the view giv
en of it, we become partakers with him in it. —
To " be buried with him," is to be partakers
with him, or to have communion with him, in
his death: and this was the case with these con
verts, when they believed in his death, as the
death of an atoning Surety; and acknowledged
him in this charafter by submitting to baptism
in his name. — The expression seems to be paral
lel to that in Gal. ii. 20. " I am crucified with
Christ;" which, I imagine, may be explained by
connecting with it the words in the end of the
verse, " who gave himself for me." " For if
one died for all, then all died:" 2 Cor. v. 14.
i. e. all for whom he died, died in him as their
Surety. R

t isd 3
" Buried with Christ," then, and " dead with
Christ," seem to be synonymous phrases. The
former is here used, perhaps, for two reasons: — *
1. As the burial of the Surety evidenced ihe cer
tainty of his death, our being buried with him,
rMy intimate the certainty of- the truth, that we
are dead with him. 2. It was requisite to com
plete the Apostle's figure. As it Was necessary
that Christ should be laid in the grave, in order
to his rising; so, it is necessary, in the figure, that
we should be viewed as buried with him, in or
der to our rising with him.
" Ours the crpss,'the grave, the skies!"
When the Apostle says, " Therefore we are bu*
ried with him by baptism into his death," he is not
assigning a reason, but drawing an inference:
XuKra^/M. om «uTB &c. " We are, then, buried
With him," &CiC i. e. Since, in our being
baptized into Jesus Christ, we are baptized
into his death, into the faith of his death as the
death of a Surety, we may be considered as being
buried with him, partaking with him in his death,
as our representative, and that with the special
end, of our rising with him to newness of life.
NoW it is quite obvious, that the argument of
the Apostle, or the justness of his reasoning,
has not the remotest connection with the mode
of baptism. There is not the smallest necessity
for supposing any allusion to a particular mode,
in order to render the passage intelligible; nqr
does such a supposed allusion appear to give it

C 131 3
any additional force of meaning. For the argu
ment is perfeftly the same, whatever mode of bap
tism was practised, provided it was baptism into
Christ's death.
The same remarks apply, with at least equal
force, to the parallel passage — Col. ii. 12. Be
lievers are there said to be " risen, as well as
buried with Christ in baptism." — They were not
baptized into the faith of Christ's death alone,
as the death of their Surety; but also into the
faith of his resurrection, as the resurrection of
their Surety. And as, in the former view, they
became partakers with him in hjs death, in the
latter they became partakers in his resurrection.
Being baptized into the faith of both, they had
fellowship, or union with him in both. Accord
ingly, they are said to be " risen with him, through.
the faith of the operation of God who raised him
from the dead:" i. e. through the faith of his ret
surreftion, effected by the operation, or power
of God. This renders it obvious, that their be
ing " risen with him in baptism " does not refer
to any emblematic resurreftion in the manner of
the ordinance; for this could never be said to
take place, through the faith of the operation of
God in raising him from the dead: but to their
being one with him in his resurreftion, through
faith in him as the Surety of sinners. And in
this view they might, with perfeft propriety, be
said to be risen with him in baptism, whatever
Was the mode of its administration, provided it
R 2

[ 132 3
was baptism into the faith of Christ's resurrec
tion. It has been observed that, in whatever sense
believers are buried and risen with Christ, it 6auld
not be said to be in baptism, unless there were
in that ordinance some representation of this bu
rial and resurrection. On this I remark —
1. Although the expression in Col. ii. 12. is
" buried with him in baptism," (E„ ™> /Wn^ar,)
yet in Rom. vi. 4. it is different — " buried with
him by baptism into his death ;" 0,« « /so.-*™^*™*
f>f my 8av«r»» «u«u). which by no means implies any
such similitude in the ordinance, but directs
our attention immediately to th,at into which they
were baptized, which is the point, indeed, on
which the! whole reasoning turns. — 2. Although
it was, properly, in believing, that these converts
became partakers with Christ in his death and
resurrection, as their Surety; yet it might be
said to be in baptism, as being the first public de
claration of their faith, and 'of their belonging
to the body of Christ; with the same propriety,
and upon the same principle, on which they are
said in baptism to have " put on Christ " — -or
to have " washed away their sins." f

¦j- Such addresses to adult believers do not exclude child
ren : unless every address to a community necessarily exeludes
the. children from being part pf that community. Many
addresses are made to, the congregation of Israel, which
could not be understood by the children amongst them;

t 133 3
It appears, then, that the supposed allusion to
the mode of baptism is not necessary to the right
understanding of these passages. And it ought
to be farther observed, that the language of the
whole passage, in the 6th chapter of the epistle
to the Romans, is figurative. The same prin
ciple of interpretation according to which the ex
pression, " buried with Christ" is explained,
as referring to the representation of interment,
by the immersion ofthe body under water, should
lead us also to understand the phrase which im
mediately follows, "planted together in the likeness

while yet these children fprmed a part pf the cpngregation
addressed. In all addresses tp communities this is necessarily
the case. Supppse, fpr the sake pf illustratipn, that Jpshua,
after the circumcision of the cpngregatipn pf Israel, upon
their entrance into Canaan, had addressed them respecting
the meaning pf the ordinance, telling them that in submit-,
ting tp it they " avouched the Lprd tp be their God, and
professed their faith in Him as the Gpd pf their Fathers
Abraham, Isaac and Jacpb;" his address wpuld necessarily
have been tp the adult part pf the community : yet we know
from the fact that their children were circumcised with
them; ( See Npte, page 89. )
The remark alsp shpuld be kept in remembrance, as not
the less true for its being common, that if the connection,
so generally spoken of, between believing and baptism,
necessarily excludes children from this prdinance, because
incapable of believing, the connection stated as so insepara
ble, between believing and salvation, will necessarily exclude-
children from saving mercy. The argument, taken by it
self, concludes, with at least equal strength on both sides.

[ 134 3
ef his death" as referring to an emblematic re
presentation of planting; or the phrase " crucified
withhim," tosome similar exhibition of crucifixion.
If the view, however, given of these passages
by our Baptistbrethren, were supported by other
parts of scripture, it would, no doubt, give weight
and authority to their interpretation. But this
does not seem to be the case.
It has been often said, that the word itself (b««-
T.fc) settles the point— its proper and exclusive
import being to dip, plunge, or immerse.
Now, without entering into any etymological
discussions, it should be remembered, that,
whatever the derivation, or primary signification
of the term may have been, we have at present
to do with its acceptation in scripture. A few
instances will serve to shew, with what proprie
ty it is so confidently asserted to mean, exclu-.
sively, immersion.
In Mark vii. 4. it is rendered " washing;"
and is applied not only to cups and pots, and
brazen vessels, but also to tables, or rather couch
es, on which they reclined at their meals.— The
word seems here to have the general sense, of
washing, in whatever way performed. The cups,
and pots, and brazen vessels, might probably e-
nough be washed by being put amongst the wa
ter; but it requires, the prejudice of system, to
suppose this of the couches or beds.
In Heb. ix. 10, the Apostle says of the Jewish
dispensation, that " it stood only in meats, and

Z ls* 3
drinks, and diverse washings, and carnal ordi
nances," &c.
The word rendered washings is i**™^* (bap
tisms): under which the Apostle certainly in*
eludes all the various' modes of ceremonial puri*-
fication, or cleansing, that were enjoined and
praftised under the law. Now, the princi
pal and most frequent of these was sprinkling-
The cases in which the law prescribed the bath
ing ofthe body, are, no doubt, likewise intended;
but it is sufficient for my purpose, if the expres
sion is admitted to include other modes of cere
monial cleansing.
In 1 Cor. x. 1,2. it is said of the Jewish fa>-
thers, that " they were all under the cloud, and
all passed through the sea; and were all baptiz--
ed into Moses, in the doud, and in the sea."
That the allusion, in these words, is to the drop
ping of water from the cloud, and the sprinkling
of the sea-spray, I have no doubt: the attempt
to make out baptism by immersion from their
having the cloud over them, and " the waters
as. a wall on this side and on that," having al- ,
ways appeared to my mind far-fetched and fanci
ful. — Our Baptist brethren would not, I suppose,
consider a person as duly baptized, by his being
placed between two large cisterns of water, with
a third over his head.
In Matth. iii. ]'l. John the Baptist says to the
Jews, " I indeed baptize you with water unto re
pentance; but He that cometh after me shall bap-

Z 136 3
ize you with the Holy Ghost, and with fire."
This was fulfilled by the pouring out of the Holy
Spirit. And the frequent occurrence of this expres
sion, especially in connection with baptism, is a
very strong confirmation of the propriety of pour-
ing or sprinkling, in the administration of the ordi
nance. Ontheday of Pentecost "there appeared to
the disciples cloven tongues as of fire, and it sat upon
ea,ch of them." They were thus baptized with fire.
Afts ii. 3. — In the account we have of the conver
sion of Cornelius and his friends, we are informed,
that, " As Peter began to speak, the Holy "Ghost
fell on all them who heard the word. And they
of the circumcision who believed were astonish
ed, as many as came with Peter, because that oh
the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the
Holy Ghost." Afts x. 44, 45. And when Peter
relates this circumstance to his brethren at Jeru
salem, he says, " As I began to speak, the Holy
Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.
Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how
that he said, John indeed baptized with, water,
but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost."
Afts xi. 15, 16. Here it is as evident as words
can make it, that the pouring out of the Spirit upon
these converts was their baptism with the Spirit.
And it is surely not unreasonable to conclude,
that their baptism with water, which represents
the baptism of the Spirit, would bear an analogy
or resemblance to it, in this particular. Accord
ingly, the language employed, in the account of

r> is1? 3
their baptism, seems naturally to intimate, not
that they were conducted to a river, or else
where, that they might be conveniently immers
ed; but that water was brought, and that they
were baptized immediately, upon the spot. Peter
said, " Who can forbid water, that these should
not be baptized ?" an expression which the ear
itself of every candid reader at once interprets to
his mind, as intimating the Apostle's desire, that
water should be brought. Accordingly, all cor
dially assenting, " he commanded them to be
baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus;" which
having been, as it should seem, immediately done,
" they prayed him to tarry with them certain
days," — verses 47, 48.
The propriety of this correspondence between
the pouring out of the Spirit, and the pouring out
of water, the emblem ofthe Spirit, is farther in
timated, by the conneftion of these so frequent
ly occurring in the language of scripture — " I
will pour water on him that is thirsty, and floods
on the dry ground : I will pour my Spirit upon
thy seed, and my blessing upon thine offspring,
Isa. xliv. 3.—" Not by works of righteousness:
which we have done, but according to his mercy
he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and
renewing of the Holy Ghost; which he shed on,
us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour,"
Tit. iii, 5, 6.
Let it not be said, that washing, ox cleansing,
h not properly effected by pouring, or sprinkling:
S

L iss 3
for, in the language of scripture on this subject,
the latter is unquestionably considered as suffici
ently expressive of the former. A striking ex
ample of this occurs in Ezek. xxxvi. 25. " Then
will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and ye shall
be clean; from all your filthinesses, and from all
your idols, will I cleanse you." — Sprinkling is
here considered as cleansing. And we are, there
fore, warranted to say, that when used in the
ordinance of baptism, it is sufficiently expressive
of what is chiefly represented in it, the washing
aWay of sin, in its guilt and pollution.
This may be confirmed fronr the expression
used, Isa Iii. 15. " So shall he sprinkle many na
tions;" i. e. " with his atoning blood, and by
the pouring out of his Spirit as purifying water,
of which baptism should be the outward and vi
sible sign." — The prediction, I apprehend, was
verified, when- the Apostles fulfilled their com
mission — " Go," teach all nations, baptizing them,
in the1 name of the Father, and of the Son, and
of the Holy Ghost," Matth. xxviii; 19.
Under the law, almost all things were purged^
cleansed, or purified, by sprinkling. See Heb. ix.
19 — 22. — In this view, the blood of Christ is
called " the blood of sprinkling," and is, at
the same time; represented as " cleansing from all
sin," Heb. xii. 24. '1 Pet. i. 2. with 1 John h
7. The Apostle unites these two ideas, of sprink
ling and' cleansing, or purging; in one passage—
Heb. ix. 13, 14. " For if "the blood of bulls and

Z 239 3
of goats, and the ashes of a heifer, sprinkling the
unclean, sanftifieth to the purifying of the flesh;
how much more shall the blood of Christ, who
through the eternal Spirit, offered himself with
out spot to God, purge your conscience from
dead works, to serve the living God!"
These passages are quoted to shew, that either
pouring or sprinkling is sufficiently expressive of
what baptism signifies, — the washing away of
sin, in its guilt and pollution, by the blood and
Spirit pf Christ ; and also, that the general tenor
ofthe language of scripture, on this subject, seems
to recommend this, as the true emblem, and
therefore the proper mode of administering the
ordinance. I shall mention a few other particulars, not
for any novelty in them, but for the sake of .such
as may not have read much on the subjeft; and
to refresh the recollection of others.
It is argued, that immersion must have been
the mode of baptism, from the verb being con
nected, in most of its occurrences, with the pre
position en; u Hxti — s» miu^ali nyia— &c. in wa
ter-— in the Holy Ghost,- &c. — -as our Baptist
friends would translate. — It is surprising that so
much stress should be laid on the frequently vague
import of a Greek preposition. This preposition
(i») is necessarily rendered with, in many of its oc
currences. And in the very instance before us, in
order to perceive the fallacy ofthe criticism, we
have only to advert to the circumstance noticed
S.2-

I 140 3
a little ago, viz. that the promise, " Ye shall be
baptized •» *-«»,k*i. «yi»" — was verified by the
pouring out of this Spirit on the disciples. —
To be immersed in the Holy Ghost—and in fire,
are expressions which are not only harsh and
grating to the ear, but which direftly oppose, as
we have seen, the current language of scripture,
respecting the gift of the Spirit.
But " John, it is said, baptized in Jordan —
in the river of Jordan " — Matth. iii. 6. Mark. i. 5.
— r-It is true. But this does not prove that he
immersed his disciples in the water. For, make
the supposition that John stood but ancle deep
in the bed of the river, and poured the water on
those who came to him for baptism, the histori
an not only might have used the same expression
with propriety, but could hardly have used ano
ther. Nay, the same expression might have been
used, had he only stood in the bed of the river,
at the water's edge; as the blind man is said to
have washed his eyes " in the pool of Siloam."
In one or other of these ways, I believe John
to have afted; not only from its being natural*
as above observed, to suppose a resemblance be
tween the mode of baptism, and the pouring out
ofthe Spirit, but also from considering, that John
must have had an uncommon constitution in
deed, to have stood so deep in the water, and
for such a great, length of time, day after
day, as would he absolutely necessary for bap
tizing, by individual immersion, the multi-

Z 14i 3
tudes who are said to have come to him, Matth.
iii. 5. Mark. i. 5.
In Mark i. 9. we are informed, that " Jesus
came from Nazareth of Galilee* and was bap
tized of John ur m u$*w." — This is, by some
Baptist translators, rendered into Jordan: and
is considered as fixing the point, because " bap
tized to or towards Jordan," is nonsense.
But to or towards is not the only signification of
e«ybesides into. Those who make this criticism
surely know that us, in such a connection, not
unusually signifies at. — So it is rendered in Acts
viii. 40. — " Philip was found at Azotus;" — and
in chap. xxv. 15. — " About whom when I was
at Jerusalem," &c; — and in other places. — Thb,
very occurrence of it, in Mark i. 9. is adduced in
dictionaries, to prove its having this signification*
Baptized, or immersed into Jordan, is besides*,
but an uncouth kind of phraseology.
Afts viii. 38, 39. " They went down both
into the water, both Philip and the eunuch, and
he baptized him. And when they were come
Up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord caught
away Philip," &c. — This passage informs us,
that Philip and the eunuch went down together
from the chariot, to, or, if you will, into the. water,
and that Philip then baptized him ; but in what
way not a hint is given. Soth of them came up
out of, or from, the water. In this passage it is
tx ™«iw, but in Matth. iii. 16, where the bap
tism, of Jesus isjrecorded, it is said that, hav-

[ 142 3
ing been baptized, he went up «*¦« «« «j«i«, from
the water; which simply signifies, that he. went
up the bank from the bed of the river. — In
short, there is not, in these passages, one word
respecting the mode of baptism, on either side;
arid to deduce from them the certainty and ne
cessity of immersion, is a stretch of inference
utterly unwarrantable. Travellers inform us,
that in the desart where the eunuch was baptized
there is no stream that would admit of the im
mersion of the body in it.
We read, John iii. 23, that " John baptized
in Enon, near to Salim, because there was much
water there." Upon this passage I have only
to observe; that it is a matter of complete un
certainty where this Enon was, and what was
the nature of the roxu vf<n* (many waters) which
are said to have been there. It could only be
ascertained' by a knowledge of the situation of
the place, which we do not possess, whether the
water was in one or more large collections, or
in many streams, or in fountains and springs.
The last supposition is fully the most probable,
the word Enon signifying a fountain or a place
of springs. — On a matter so doubtful it is rash
to build with much confidence.
Without having recourse to the need of much
water, for supplying drink, &c. to the multitudes
who came to John,— a consideration which I
do not, however, think destitute of weight; —
I apprehend the simple truth to be this: the mul-

[ 143 3
titudes who came to John were baptized without:
it was necessary that he should choose a place
where there was water for the purpose: Enon
was a most suitable place, for there water was
abundant.— The language affords no certain con
clusion as to the manner of administering the
ordinance. I think I have noticed the principal arguments
urged in favour of the exclusive propriety of im
mersion. They do not appear, even when taken
together, to be conclusive; but rather to oppose
the current language of scripture, especially re
specting the analogy, so frequently alluded to,
between the pouring out of the Spirit, and the
pouring out of water, its significant emblem.
Their weakness will farther appear, when oppos
ed to the following considerations.
It is' in the highest degree improbable, that the
multitudes who came to John for baptism, had
all of them; in the desart,, changes of apparel, and
other accommodations proper for immersion;
and to suppose these awanting, in such a numer
ous and mixed assembly, is to outrage the feel
ings1 of decency.- — It Is improbable, that the
three thousand, oh the day of Pentecost, werg all
immersed in only part of a day: — that Philip and
the Eunuch 'put off and on their clothts upon
the road :— that the jailor and his family went
out of the city to the river, to be baptized, during
the night,; when it was his duty to be near his
charge, as -keeper of the prison, and when the

Z 14* 3
backs of his two prisoners were still smarting with
fresh wounds: and to suppose convenience for
immersion, all ready, in the prison, or in his
house, which seems to have communicated with
the prison, is to argue on supposition, of which our
brethren have warmly disavowed the propriety ;
on a supposition, too, as improbable as the other
side of the alternative. Indeed it is a circum
stance worthy of particular notice, that we never
find any hint given, as if it had, in any of the
cases of baptism recorded, been necessary for the
parties to leave the spot where they were brought
to the knowledge of Christ, and professed faith
in his name, in order to have it administered. It
seems to havebeen a matter attended with no dif
ficulty or inconvenience.
In some places, It may be impraclicable, with
out great delay, to procure a supply of water suf
ficient for immersion; and in many places, attend-!
ed with considerable inconvenience and trouble.
— To some timid, weakly people, it is known
to have been the objeft of such apprehension and
anxiety, as it has required argument and persua
sion, of different kinds, to overcome. — In some
places, at some seasons, and to some constitutions
and conditions of body, it must unquestion
ably be attended with risk to the health. — For
these reasons, I cannot deem it a part of that
*' yoke which is easy."
I conclude by observing, that the practice of
immersion, in many of its occurrences, cannot

[ 145 3
but be inconsistent with a due regard to the feel
ings of delicacy and decorum. In this light, in
deed, I look upon the baptism of females, in al
most every instance, in the manner in which it
is practised, by persons of the other sex, in pre
sence of a mixed company of spectators. But
there are particular cases, not merely supposable,
but actually and necessarily occurring, in which
these feelings must be severely wounded indeed,
unless they are suspended in their operation by
some other principle. That principle I shall ad
mit to be, regard to the will of Christ; but I
question much if that can be the will of Christ,
regard to which has such a tendency.
I have dwelt longer "on this point, than I in
tended, — too long, it may be thought by some, on
a subject so hackneyed. My only apology is, that
there are times when it is needful to repeat what
has been said before, however frequently, and
even however much better than it is said now.

•W. LANG, HUNTER, 62, BELt-STS MT.

AN
ESSAY ON
Mr JOSEPH LANCASTER'S
3mpvtfotmmt8 in education:
INCLUDING
AN ABRIDGED VIEW
OP
HIS PLAN OF TEACHING;
With a Few Remarks
ON SOME OF ITS
PECULIAR ADVANTAGES.

BY
RALPH WARDLAW,
GLASGOW.

GLASGOW:
Printed by R. Chapman, Trongate.
TOLD BY"}. & A. DUNCAN, BRASH & REID, M. OGLE, J. SMITH & SON,
G. LUMSDEN, R. DALLAS & CO. AND W. TURNBULL, GLASGOW:
GUTHRIE &«TAIT, AND BROWN & CROMBIE, EDINBURGH.
1810.

AN ESSAY,. &c.

-A.S long ago as the year 1801, Mr Lancaster first
began to bring forward into public view his Improve
ments in. Education, recommending their adoption
by arguments founded both in theory and in experi
ence, and. bearing a peculiar force of application to the
case of the labouring poor, or the industrious classes
of the community ; a regard to whose improvement
first suggested the idea to his mind, and afterwards
continued to animate him, in bringing it forward,
through many difficulties, to desired maturity.
I shall enter into no discussion, with a view to settle-
the precise degree of merit belonging, respectively,
to Mr Lancaster, or to Dr Bell, or to any other per
son, who may have claimed a share of the credit, either
as an inventor, or as an improver of the new system
of tuition. Although it is very desirable, that every
man should receive the measure of honour to which he
is justly entitled, yet to see the minute proportions
weighed out to the different claimants, with punctili
ous exactness, is to the public, in a case such as the
present, of comparatively small importance. » The im
provements in education are laid before them, that
they may be candidly examined, and in as far as they
A 2

4

are approved, reduced to practice. And at the same
time, in applying them to use, they are not tied down
to the precise scheme, in all its minutiae, of any origi
nal Inventor ; but while they adopt general principles,
are left at perfect liberty to introduce such alterations,
in the way of further improvement, as their judgment
and increasing experience may suggest. I mention
this, lest any one should imagine, when schools are
spoken of on the plan of Mr Lancaster, that this ne
cessarily implies a rigid and implicit adherence to every
¦particular of his arrangement and discipline. This is
not, by any means, the case ; the adoption of the
leading features of his system being obviously quite
compatible with many variations in the minuter de
tails. There are few subjects which will bear to be com
pared, in point of importance, with the education of
youth : and therefore the merits of every professed
improvement in the general method of conducting it,
having in view to facilitate and secure the attainment
of its inestimably valuable ends, certainly deserve a
most attentive and candid examination. Yet the im
provements introduced by Mr Lancaster, (for such
their inventor seems entitled to call them,) have by
no means, at least in Scotland, excited so great a mea
sure of attention, or been adopted so extensively into
practice, as the benevolence which originally suggested
them must have wished, and their real and important
advantages would have justified.
To detail the history of Mr Lancaster's school, and

all the minute particulars of his order and discipline,
would require me to transcribe a large proportion of
his book. — My present object is, rather to illustrate the
plan or teaching, and to point out a few of its intrinsic
excellences and peculiar advantages, than to describe
the extraneous means employed to give that plan spi
rit and efficacy. The racers, in the Olympic games,
ran in a prescribed course, from the starting-post to
the goal. In the race they were roused to ardent
emulation, at once by the love of honour, and its
counterpart, the fear of shame: the acclamations of
their countrymen sounded in their ears, and to the
eager eye of hope were exhibited the garlands of vic
tory. The line of action, however, and the excite
ments to exertion in that line, are obviously distinct
things. It is my purpose, in this Essay, rather to point
out the course, than to explain the operation of the
stimuli. — So much stress, at the same time, is laid on
the latter subject by Mr Lancaster, who avowedly
makes emulation the basis of his system, that I cannot,
with propriety, pass it entirely over.
It is obvious, that wherever a number of young per
sons are educated together, emulation must have place ;
and as the attempt to prevent its operation entirely
would be both vain and injurious, the difficulty (and
it is not by any means a trifling one) lies in the proper
regulation of its influence. It has become, through
the corruption of our nature, so closely allied to envy,
one of the most malignant and unhappy principles that
can exert its influence over the human heart, that
there is imminent hazard attending its injudicious en-

couragement. Between envy and virtuous emula
tion there subsists, no doubt, an essential difference.
The latter is satisfied that others should keep, in the
scale, the point of eminence to which they have at
tained. It strives to reach an equal or a higher point ;
but if this be beyond its efforts, it does not indulge
the mean desire of procuring equality by the degrada
tion of its rival. It seeks its own elevation, by vigo
rous and persevering exertions ; but never, by low
and insidious arts, the other's depression. — Envy, on
the contrary, is a stranger to this generosity of feeling.
Let but the hated distinction be removed, it matters
not to Envy in which way this be effected, whether by
its own rise, or by its rival's fall. Nay, it sighs for the
latter even more fervently than it desires the former.
It " consults to cast down the object of it from his
excellency," and will condescend to the most despica
ble devices, for accomplishing its unworthy end.
Emulation purely virtuous, perfectly free from
every taint of envy, there is reason to fear, is not very
often to be found ; and at any rate, the good princi
ple is in such continual danger of degenerating into
the evil, that its operation requires to be watched with
attentive care ; so that whenever any indications appear
of the spirit of malice, or any of the mean arts of envy
are detected, they may be checked with firm and ju
dicious severity : else we shall more than run the risk
of purchasing intellectual improvement, at the serious
expense of the most valuable dispositions of the heart.
Rare, however, as emulation may be, perfectly

pure from the taint of envy, it accords with my own
observation on this subject, and I imagine it will be
found agreeable to general experience, that, among the
young who are educated together at public schools,
the malignant spirit of envy does not operate very ge
nerally or very powerfully, when all are left to their
own exertions, and when the conduct of the master is
free from partiality and favouritism. * Let any one re
collect for a little, who were the boys among his class
mates, when he was at school or college, if there were
any, who were " eyed with jealous leer malign,"\ who
were the objects of envious dislike, and of malicious
sarcasm and detraction. Were they not either the fa
vourites of the teacher, towards, whom he manifested
unjust partiality, and on whom he conferred unmer
ited honours ? — or boys who were known to have pri
vate tutors, and who were suspected of making an un
fair and. dishonourable use of their peculiar advanta
ges ? — I do not, for my own part, recollect any in
stance, of a boy being the object of envy, at least of
general envy, who obtained the reward of real merit,
having " striven lawfully," with his own weapons and
his own powers. I speak generally. Instances, no
doubt, there always will be, of individuals scorning,
the judgment which has withheld the prize from them,
and bestowed it on others. But upon the whole, al
though, amidst the great variety of characters" which
a public seminary must necessarily bring together, ma
lice and envy may be the odious distinction of some ;
and although none may be entirely free from their oc
casional influence, yet they do not appear to be the
generally predominant principles in the bosom of child-

8

hood and early youth. These are rather the seasons
of open ingenuous frankness, and unsuspicious can
dour ? It appears to be on this ground, that an in
spired writer exhorts christians to be " children in
malice :" — and the same inspired writer, it may be ob
served, gives his sanction to emulation as a principle of
action, (in a department of conduct, too, where of all
others the Operation of disinterested principle seems to
be desirable,) when he strongly commends the ge
nerous liberality of certain christian churches, as an
excitement to the benevolent exertions of others.
In the application of this important stimulus, it may
likewise be noticed, a great deal must depend on the
character of the tutor. The same excitements, under
the judicious direction of the good sense and discern
ing prudence of Mr Lancaster, may be found highly
beneficial, and their corruption and abuse may, in a
considerable degree, be prevented ; while, in the hands
of a teacher of a different description, of one who, per
haps, has hardly " an ounce of mother wit," although
he may have " pounds of clergy," they might be emi
nently injurious, from the want of prudence and deli
cacy in their application, and of sufficient discernment
to distinguish readily between the virtuous principle,
and its base and mischievous counterfeit.
This general observation may be applied to other
analogous parts of Mr Lancaster's system.— -As, in
his rewards and orders of merit, his object is to excite
emulation, by an appeal to the love of honour ; -pro
ceeding on the same principle, he addresses, in his va-

9
rious modes of punishment, the fear of disgrace and
shame, in preference to the dread of bodily pain. 
Now it must be evident, that in the application both of
rewards and punishments, a great deal must depend,
in order to their proper efficacy, on the prudence and
sagacity of the teacher. Mr Lancaster, for example,
says, he has found- it the most effectual way to cure a
clever boy of his propensity to mischief, to make him a
monitor. This may do very well with a discerning
and prudent tutor : but a senseless imitator would in
fallibly hold out a bribe to mischief, by making it the
path to preferment. — Of the use of rewards in general,
however, I shall say nothing, because it is not at all
peculiar to Mr Lancaster's School, but common to
him with others, although every teacher does Hot use
precisely the same assortment with Mr Lancaster, of
medals and badges of merit, books, bats, kites^ balls,
pictures, and rural parties of pleasure.
i
In the subjoined account of the Free School in Li
verpool, it will be observed, that a class of honour
has been introduced.' This appeafs^to be an admira
ble contrivance, so long as, admission into it continues
to be of sufficiently difficult attainment, and to be re
gulated with rigid impartiality. It is giving " honour
to whom honour is due," making respectability to de
pend on the very circumstances from which it ought
always to originate, industrious and persevering appli
cation to business, becoming subjection to authority,
and a regular, virtuous, and in other respects exem
plary deportment. In admitting into such a class of
honour, and in the conferring of rewards in general,
B

10

there is a consideration which, although not over
looked, is perhaps, hardly attended to so much as
it ought to be. From analogy we should naturally
expect, (and experience decidedly justifies the expec
tation) an original difference among men, in the con
stitution and powers of the mind, as well as in those of
the body. Now from this cause it inevitably, follows,
that the same degree of exertion, applied to the same
object, will not in every case he attended with the same
measure of success : and yet, notwithstanding this
difference in the result, the portion of real merit may
be equal ; nay, the balance may even be in favour of
what appears the inferior degree of attainment. While
therefore, in order to stimulate the natural powers in
to exercise, and to discover the true extent of their di
versity, it may be found indispensibly necessary, to
connect certain rewards with certain degrees of profi
ciency, or with the best performance of particular
tasks ; yet, to make abilities derived from nature the
exclusive standard of recompence and honour, leaving
unrewarded the assiduous and persevering exertion of
inferior talents, is to be guilty of the most flagrant in
justice, calculated at once to mortify and dishearten
the boy whom nature has not so liberally endowed,
and to inflate the Genius, as he is made to esteem him
self, with unreasonable and supercilious vanity.
While a strict -adherence to all Mr Lancaster's
modes of reward is by no means essentially necessary,
neither is the indiscriminate adoption of all his methods .
of punishment.— When a boy comes to School with a
dirty face, Mr Lancaster sets a little girl to wash it,

11
n presence of all the classes, with permission, while
performing the ablution, to inflict a little salutary dis
cipline on his ears : — when another boy gets into a
singing tone in reading, he decorates him with dying
speeches, ballads, or matches, and sends him round
the room, with some other boys before him, crying
these articles in the dismal tones of the London hawk
ers : — he puts a wooden log, by way of pillory, on
¦ the necks of some offenders, and at times yokes, in
this way, a number of delinquents together, and makes
them walk through the school backward : — he fastens
a great wooden log to one leg, or shackles both legs
together, and makes the culprit parade the room, till
he is tired out, and sues - for liberty, with promise of
amendment : — he suspends boys occasionally from the
roof, in sacks or baskets, as a spectacle in terrorem. —
• He chuses thus to vary his punishments, because the
constant recurrence - of one, by producing familiarity,
deprives it of its effect ; and his appeal is, in all of
them, chiefly made to the dread of shame, and. ridi
cule. In all this, it must still- be evident, there is need for
much judgment on the part of the tutor. — The sense
of shame is a principle which requires much more de
licate management than the fear of bodily pain. It
must not be treated with roughness, nor brought
too often into action. To appeal to it with injudi
cious frequency will deaden its susceptibility of impres
sion, as the shrinking delicacy of the sensitive plant is
benumbed by rude and repeated handling. — By fre
quent exposure to ridicule, a boy will learn to bear it
B 2

12
with gradually lessening emotion. The tide of blood,
which, on the first and some subsequent trials of his
sensibility, rushed impetuously to his conscious cheek,
will learn, by degrees, to keep its ordinary sober course^
without disturbance : and by this means, an injudi
cious tutor may not only soon render inefficient a par
ticular punishment, but give rise to a melancholy de
fect of character.
When punishments are laughable, there is a haz
ard of their ceasing to operate in terrorem, and of
their proving a temptation, to boys of a merry tem
perament, to misbehave, purely for the fun of the
thing : and when boys and girls are made the instru
ments of one another's correction, in a way that is lu
dicrous, there is a risk of punishment either becoming
too much a matter of sport, or of its exciting among
them, towards one another, feelings, which it might be
as desirable to repress. — ."• If a master," say the Edin
burgh reviewers, in their animadversions on Mrs Trim
mer, " can turn this principle" (the fear of being
laughed at) " to his own use, and get boys to laugh
at vice, instead of the old plan of laughing at virtue,
is he not' doing a very new, a very difficult, and a very
laudable thing ?"¦ I am not sure if this remark does
Mr Lancaster justice : and am inclined to think, that
correctness- of sentiment has been, in some measure,
sacrificed* by the reviewer to happy antithesis. For
certainly, although laughter may, with propriety, be used
as one of die modes of punishment, it ought never to
be applied to what is decidedly vicious ; nor do I be
lieve it is so applied by Mr Lancaster. To laugh at

13

virtue is, without doubt, the height of depravity ; but
at the same time, the counterpart of this, laughing at
vice, expresses a feeling by no means appropriate to
an object so serious. Let laughter be reserved for ec
centricity and folly, and for the various species of
petty delinquency*.

* In looking again into Mr Lancaster's book, under the
head " offences and punishments," I observe the following sen
tences : — " When a boy is disobedient to his parents, profane
in his language, or has committed any offence against morality,
or is remarkable for slovenliness, it is usual for him to be dres--
sed up with labels, describing his offence, and a tin or paper
crown on his head. In that manner he walks round the school,
two boys preceding him, and proclaiming his fault ; varying
the proclamation according to the different offences." — To sin
gle out an offender against morality — tq exhibit him as such
to the view of the school — to mark, in terms of serious
and emphatic reprobation, the fault of which he has been
guilty, in order to impress on his own mind a sense of guilt and
shame, and, on the minds of his schoolfellows, an abhorrence of
the evil which has been Committed — is to treat such offences in
the way in which they ought to be treated ; a way very well
calculated to prevent their repetition, not merely by fear, but
by conviction and principle. — But, upon the grounds which' have
been stated, I cannot think the tin or paper crown a very hap
py addition to the punishment, in such cases : because it is too
much calculated to make, moral turpitude the object of deri
sion, rather than of serious disapprobation and aversion. — For
such offences as slovenliness, which is last mentioned in the
above quotation, it may do very well : but for disobedience to
parents, profanity of language, or other serious immoralities,
it does not appear to be at all appropriate ; nor is it quite con
sistent with the general conviction I have expressed, of laughter
or derision not being used by Mr Lancaster as a punishment
for vice.

14

Objections have been made to Mr Lancaster's
practice, of encouraging boys to act as informers
against one another. So far as I can judge from his
book, however, he seems to confine such encourage
ment to cases of trespass that are truly serious ; and
while it is so confined, there is not, I should appre
hend, much evil to be dreaded from it. Although the
odious and despicable spirit of espionage ought to be
sternly repressed ; yet a spirit of practical opposition
to vice, which it is Mr Lancaste'r's object by this
means to cherish, is certainly, in an eminent degree,
advantageous. In this case, at the same time, as in
others before mentioned, there is requisite, in the teach
er who would imitate, a measure of that discriminat
ing sagacity, which appears to characterize the man from
whom he adopts the practice : a remark which, I have
already repeatedly said, is applicable, in a certain ex
tent, to his whole system of rewards and punishments,
orders of merit, badges of eminence, and other excite
ments to emulation. — A skilful and enlightened sur
geon may introduce, and practise, with success, a new,
and in some respects, delicate and hazardous opera
tion : he is not, in justice, answerable for all the mis
chief, which may possibly result from the bungling
imitation of an ignorant and unskilful practitioner.— -I
am far from intending, by this observation, to insinu
ate, that we have not, in this country, many teachers,
every whit as capable as Mr Lancaster (possibly much
more so) of judiciously regulating the principle of emu
lation; as a motive to improvement : nor is it at all
necessary, that the precise means adopted by him, for
sharpening and directing the influence of this stimu-

15
lus, should, in every particular, be uniformly employ
ed by others. The diversity necessarily existing, in
, the character and cifcumstances both of- masters and
scholars, will suggest to judicious teachers various me
thods ; each of which, from its happy correspondence
to that diversity, may, in theory, be equally well adapt
ed to produce the desired effects, and in practice equal
ly efficacious.
The order which prevails in Mr Lancaster's school,
is said, by persons who have visited it, to be truly sur
prising : — " every boy," say the Edinburgh reviewers,
" resembling the cog of a wheel ; the whole school a
perfect machine."
It is not merely the systematic influence of reward
and punishment, that produces this pleasing, and, in
every point of view, important effect. The various
rules by which this order is regulated are sagaciously
contrived, so as to make it a pleasure to the boys to
preserve it. — I dare not call it military arrangement * :
for the conscientious Friend, who, in order to avoid, as
he himself expresses it, " raising the love of war and
false glory in the youthful mind," substitutes, among his
words of command, ' stop' for ' halt,' ' go on' for
' march,' and a sign with the hand for ' to the right'
or ' to the left,' would reprobate the phrase with
* " This is so far from being a burden or constraint to the
boys, that Mr Lancaster has made it quite pleasant and inter
esting to them, by giving to it the air oimilitary arrangement ;"
&c. Edinburgh Review, Vol. 9th. page 182. Article, Mrs
Trimmer on Lancaster's plan of Education.

16

detestation. Yet, let him call it by what name he will,
a system of tactics it certainly is, of its kind : and its
various evolutions, performed by the pupils according
to appropriate words of command, (in taking and
leaving their seats, for instance, — taking up, laying
down, and showing their slates, — slinging and unsling-
ing their hats, when they come into and retire from
school, — assembling in a particular order to muster—
and a variety of others, of a similar nature, minutely de
scribed by Mr Lancaster), are fitted to give a kind of
lively spirit and interest to the preservation of regulari
ty ; and thus to effect, with ease, an object essentially
connected with the improvement of the school, but.
which, -otherwise, in an assembly of seven hundred or
a thousand boys, it would be a task of superlative dif
ficulty to accomplish. — To every new comer the plan
is recommended by the charm of surprise and novelty ;
and, ere this charm has had time to lose its power, sub
mission to the prescribed order has grown into a suf
ficiently agreeable habit.
But even this is not all that contributes to the ef
fect. Mr Lancaster appears to possess a peculiarly
happy art, of captivating and fixing the affections of
his pupils. More depends upon this, than upon al
most any other circumstance. He who acts upon the
principle " let them hate, provided they fear," will
find the attempt to preserve permanent subordination
and regularity, among a thousand boys, naturally prone
to disorder, and impatient of restraint, not only inces
santly irksome, but miserably unsuccessful. — It is not
the surly frown, nor the brawny arm, Of the self-con-

3

17

ceited pedagogue that is to accomplish this wonder ;
but the chearful countenance, the affectionate gentle
ness, the ingenuous affability, the temperate firmness
of a master, who wishes to rule by love, and who has
the good sense to make his pupils perceive, that he
has their improvement and happiness at heart. — Attach
ment thus won, and thus maintained, is the oil, that
keeps in 'regular and easy motion, every part of the
machine.

Having extended these desultory remarks to a
much greater length than was my original intention,
I shall now, proceed, as briefly as possible, to sketch
an outline of the plan of tuition.
The whole school is arranged in distinct classes, ac
cording to the different degrees of proficiency to which
the pupils have attained. Over each of these classes
a monitor is appointed by the master, who is responsi
ble for the cleanliness, order, and improvement, of
every boy in his class. And as the number of boys
whose proficiency is nearly on a par, and who are
therefore reckoned as one class, is frequently too great
for the proper superintendarice of a single monitor, in
such cases the class is subdivided under, assistant mo
nitors, the proportion of these to the taught being, in
general, about one to ten.
Besides these monitors of classes, consisting of the
boys of greatest talents and proficiency in their respec
tive studies, there are others, who have fixed charges
committed to them, over different departments of the
G

18

order of the school ; such as the monitor of absentees,
the monitor of slates, the monitor of ruling, the inspect
ing monitors, and the monitor general ; — whose names
will sufficiently indicate, without a particular description,
the nature of their respective offices.
In the reading and spelling department, there are
eight classes, rising gradually from the " A, B, C," to
" a selection of the best readers;" from the first class to
the fifth, inclusive, comprehending those pupils who,
strictly speaking, are learning to read ; and the sixth,
seventh, and eighth, those who have already learned,
arid to whom their reading is not merely a study, but
at the same time, a medium of religious and moral
improvement. The alphabet class, superintended by monitors, in
the proportion of one to ten, fifteen, or twenty, as ne
cessity or convenience may dictate, are taught the let
ters by two different methods. — The first is, printing
them with the finger in dry whitish sand, strewed and
smoothed over in a narrow space along the desk ; of
which the ground is black, for the sake of distinctness.
— " The monitor first makes a letter in the sand, be-
" fore any boy who knows nothing about it : the boy
" is then required to retrace over the same letter, which
" the monitor has made for him, with his fingers '; and
" thus he is to continue employed till" (from having it,
I suppose, by this means, fixed in his recollection) " he
" can make the letter himself, without tha monitor's
" assistance. He may then go on to learn another
" letter." — The letters are arranged in three courses, ac-

19

cording to the comparative difficulty in forming them ;
the Rectilinear first, the Angular next, and the Cur
vilinear last. — When all the boys haye filled up their
respective spaces, in printing each his particular letter,
the monitor applies his smoothing iron, obliterates the
former course, and commences another.
The principal advantages of this method of teaching
the letters, are ; — its tendency to fix < each letter firm
ly in the memory, by engaging not only the eye
to look at it, but the finger in tracing and forming it :
-H:he employment of all the pupils at the same instant,
and with very little interruption, a circumstance of pe
culiar importance, and belonging to every- department
of tuition, as well as this, throughout the whole plan :
— and economy in the article of books and paper, a
consideration of more or less value, according to the
Station of those who are taught, but of special moment
in free schools, on a large scale, for the education of
the children ofthe poor.
This mode of teaching by sand is ascrihed by Mr
Lancaster to Dr Bell, late of Madras, now Rector of
Swansea. The other method of teaching the alphabet is a very
simple one, and is used every day, alternately with that
which has been described, both as a check, and as
a relief. — A large sheet of pasteboard, with the letters
printed upon it, is suspended on the wall : round it
are ranged the boys of the sand class, by tens or doz
ens, each boy with the number of his place in the class
C 2

20
hanging from his button, or round his neck ; — the
monitor points to the letters in succession, examining
the pupils in their order ; and the boy who corrects
another takes precedence of him, as in most other
schools. — Besides his ordinary class number, the Dux,
as we are accustomed to call him, wears a leather tick
et, lettered Merit, as a badge of honour.
The second class use sand, in the same way as the
first ; only that, instead of single letters, they write syl
lables, and words, of two letters : — the series of which
is so arranged, as to contain all the letters of the alpha
bet, some of which might otherwise be soon forgotten.
-t-They are likewise taught by the pasteboard card, in
the same way as the first class, with a corresponding
difference, 'of syllables in place of single letters. — This
class also learn to make the figures in the sand ; — and
are provided with slates, on which they learn the
ixrritten alphabet.
" The succeeding classes have no sand allowed
" them ; they write on a slate. They are taught to
" read and spell on the same plan :-!— the class which
" reads and spells in three letters, spelling, by writing
" on the slate, words of three letters : — the fourth, or
*' four-letter class, words of four letters : — the fifth, or
" five-letter class, words of five letters : — and the supe-
" rior classes, words of three or four syllables, and
" words with their meanings annexed. — Each class
" has cards, in the same manner as the first and se-
" cond, which are all made use of in a similar way,

21

" only varying as to the length of the words and syl-
" lables which each class may be learning."
Of his method of teaching to spell by writing, Mr
Lancaster speaks in terms of somewhat partial eulogy :
yet not without considerable reason for his praise. —
Each boy is provided with his slate and pencil. The
monitor pronounces distinctly a particular word, and
all the boys immediately write it on their slates ; another
word is then pronounced,- and written in the same man
ner ; and so on to any number. The slates are then all
inspected, both as to the orthography and the writing ;
and while the slate of one boy is under examination,
(in which process, the boy himself is required to read
over what he has written, to the teacher,) the rest may
still be kept employed*
According to this method, all are kept attentive
and on the alert : — all busy :— inattention and careless
ness are unavoidably detected : — writing and spelling
are combined ; by which means not only are facility and
improvement afforded in the former, but the ortho
graphy of every word is more firmly rivetted in the
memory : — reading is likewise associated with writing
and spelling : — a great many_boys' may be taught in
this manner at once : — quietness is preserved, by com
manding attention : — the use of books in tuition is in
a great measure superseded, and a heavy expense thus
avoided. Mr Lancaster, however, appears rather to over
rate the value pf this plan, in as far as it respects

22

improvement in 'writing. For, although it may be
as he says, that boys taught in the new way haye six
times the usual practice in writing ; and, on the sup
position of boys taught in the old way having equal
practice, it may possibly be made put, that the saving
of expense, upon sixty boys, will be ^£96 out of s§99
per annum ; yet I cannot be persuaded, that the same
degree of improvement is, by any means, to be derived
from writing with a pencil on a slate, as from the me
thod of learning by the gen. This latter method, in
deed, Mr Lancaster does not leave unemployed, but
uses it along with the other, of which he says, that it
is " an excellent introduction and auxiliary to writing."
In this light let it be considered, and employed accord
ingly: — but let it not, in the calculation of expense,
be placed on a footing with the other, and evidently
superior method. Let not value be estimated by quan
tity, without a due regard to quality.
Mr Lancaster entitles one of his sections — ^a
method ^ of teaching to spell and read, whereby one
book will serve instead of six hundred books." — The
principle of this notably economical method, is the
use of the card on the wall, as before described. The
thirty or forty lessons contained in one spelling book,
are printed on as many separate sheets, on a type three
or four times larger than the usual size, which makes
one book, apart from the pasteboard on which its dif
ferent parts are pasted, equal, in bulk and in cost,
to five or six common books ; and from these cards,
containing a complete spelling book, in successive les
sons, from the alphabet to the lessons in reading, the

23
boys are taught, -in small classes, in the manner for
merly detailed. — The chief advantage that can be call
ed peculiar to this plan, as indeed the title of it inti
mates, is the saving of expense in paper and books.
From such cards the pupils are taught extempore
spelling, much in the same way as in other schools,
the monitor holding the card in his hand, and exam
ining from it. But in most cases-, preparatory to this
exercise, they go over the same set of words on the
card, under the direction of the monitor, while it hangs
on the wall ; which is called, from Dr Bell, studying
the spelling.
When books are spoken of as, by this plan of teach
ing, superseded, the expression, it ought to be observed,
should be understood as referring to the early steps of
tuition, those lessons which are usually learned < from
Primers and Spelling-books ; an immense number of
which, as is well known to parents, teachers, and book
sellers, are wasted to very little purpose ; twenty pages
being generally thumbed away, or otherwise destroyed,
before one or two have been thoroughly mastered. —
In the later stages of instruction, books must be used
in every school ; at least the invention which would
displace them would be the result of a most mischiev
ous ingenuity. And while books of harmless amuse
ment, and useful information, find their place in the
course, every christian's mind must assign the highest
place, in point of importance, to that blessed Book^ of
which it is the exclusive glory and excellence, that it
" maketh wise unto, salvation." — It were passing

24

strange, indeed, if from any English school in this
country, the children were to be finally dismissed, with
out' having beert introduced to acquaintance with the
venerable volume of inspired truth. — Yet, as every
thing ought to be carefully avoided, that may have the
slightest tendency, to associate with the use of this vo
lume impressions that are at all unpleasant, I should
deem it desirable not to introduce the scriptures too
early ; but to make, them a book for receiving instruc
tion by reading, rather than for learning to read ; —
not to use them, therefore, while children are engaged
in the technical drudgery, of learning to put together
letters, syllables, and words ; but to reserve them till
they are able to read with some tolerable degree of fa
cility, and are, in some measure, capable of apprehend
ing and following the sentiment. Besides the possi
bility of. associating unpleasant feelings and recollec
tions with the scriptures, in the minds of children, no
thing can be more grating and painful, to the ear both
of taste and of piety, than to hear, what. is sometimes
to be heard in schools, a boy who has made hardly any
progress in the practice of connecting syllables into
words, and words into sentences, hammering and bung
ling the most interesting and impressive portions of
Holy Writ.
The reading of the scriptures, therefore, properly
belongs to the sixth, seventh, and eighth classes, in
Mr Lancaster's arrangement.
*
His method of teaching Arithmetic Mr Lancaster

25
illustrates with a minuteness of detail, which endangers
perspicuity in the attempt to abridge it.
There wee twelve arithtnetical classes; commenc
ing with combination qf figures, and ascending, through
the ordinary simple and compound rules-, up to prac
tice. All the boys in the school who can read, and who
can write text hand in four letters, are put into the first
cyphering class : of which the chief objects are, readi
ness in forming the figures, and a familiar acquaint
ance with their different combinations, in the addition
and multiplication tables, and the inverse of these, sub
traction and division.
In teaching arithmetic, two methods are judiciously
combined, much as in the instance of spelling, which,
as was noticed a little ago, is first studied, and thert
practised memoriter.-r-ln the first method, the monitor
dictates, and all the boys write, on their slates, the va
rious combinations of figures, with their respective
amounts, which he successively enunciates ; — begin
ners receiving assistance from the monitor and senior
pupils.-"-*" In this case they are told what to do ; but
" in doing what they are bidden, they acquire a ready
" knowledge of the figures ; whilst they are insensibly
" led into the habit of giving attention to all they do,
" and of taking pains in doing it." — But this method
would obviously be defective, if used by itself: it has,
accordingly, a counterpart. An arithmetical table, ap
plied to the first four rules, but without the amounts
D

26

of the various combinations, is suspended on the wall ;
and from this the class is examined daily, in detach
ments of ten or twelve boys, according to the lesson
which they have the same day previously performed
on the slate ; which is, by this means, fixed in their
recollection. — In such examinations, the, boys stand in
their order, with their numbers and badges of merit,
correct one another, and take precedence, as in the
classes for reading.
The combination of these two methods seems emi
nently adapted to the proposed end, possessing the en
livening charm of variety, and fitted to call fOrth into
eager and profitable exercise, attention, discrimination,
memory, and emulation.
The same general method is followed, with appropriate
variations, in the practice of all the classes. If the prin
ciple of the plan has been made intelligible, the ne
cessary varieties, in its application to the different rules,
will immediately suggest themselves. — I shall only fur
ther notice, therefore, that, by means of a key to the
book of sums, the monitors, in questioning and direct
ing the classes, are themselves preserved from error ;
so that every boy who can read is thus capable of
teaching. Without something of this kind, it would'
not be easy always to find monitors, in this department,
of such superior proficiency, as to prevent confusion
and error. i
The particular advantages of this method 'of teach
ing arithmetic, over that in orumary use, are, in many

27
respects, similar to those already mentioned, as attend
ing the mode of tuition in reading. — Besides its leading
excellence, which consists in its uniting the full influ
ence of mechanical practice and mental exertion, — it
saves both the teacher and the. scholar, an immensity
of irksome labour ;•— it animates the spirit of attention,
by the pleasant zest of variety ; — it prevents idleness,
or infallibly secures its detection, nothing being left to
the mere discretion of the pupils' ; — it keeps all alike em
ployed, none sitting idle while others are receiving the
master's necessarily partial instructions ; — so that I am
persuaded Mr Lancaster does not far exceed the truth,
when he says, that " three times the usual quota of
sums are done and repeated by every boy."
I shall conclude this, imperfect sketch, (which,
however tiresome it may have been to some of my
readers, I am afraid' the Inventdr might be disposed
to pronounce a mutilated one,) with noticing what Mr
Lancaster denominates Inspection, an important pro
cess in the order of his school. It is conducted by a
monitor called "Inspector general of reading," whose
chief business is to keep a list of the whole school, and,
by occasional examinations, under the direction of the
master, to ascertain the progressive proficiency of the
scholars, and determine their advancement to superior
classes. — When a boy is removed from one class to
another, he has permission to chuse a prize of a stat
ed value, as a reward for his diligence ; and the mo
nitor of the class he leaves is entitled to one of the
same value, for his care in improving his scholars. —
" It is no unusual thing with me, says Mr Lancaster, to
D 2

28

" dehver one or two hundred prizes at the same time :
" and at such times, the countenances of the whole school
" exhibit a most pleasing scene of delight ; as the boys
" who obtain prizes commonly walk round the school in
" procession, holding their prizes in their hands, and a
" herald proclaiming before them, " These good boys
" have obtained prizes for going into another class."
" The honour of this has an effect as powerful, if not
" more so, than the prizes themselves."

Or the comparative merits of different plans of tui
tion, it is sometimes not very easy to form a correct
estimate. To appreciate the value of the peculiarities
of each, and the different degrees in which each pos
sesses the' excellences that are common to all, requires
an unusual measure both of discernment, and of im
partiality. It is not my intention, therefore, to enter,
with any minuteness, into such a comparison ; but
merely to notice two or three prominent considerations,
which seem strongly to recommend to adoption the
plan, of which I have been attempting to exhibit a ge
neral outline.
Economy of time is one of these obvious advan
tages. — More instruction may be imparted, in a given
time, by this mode of tuition, than by any other prac
tised in this country, with which I happen to be at all
acquainted. — Various causes contribute to the pro
duction of this effect : — two especially, which can hard
ly fail to have appeared as leading features of excel-

29

lence throughout the whole plan. The first is, that
all the scholars are, while in school, kept so regularly
busy :-— and the second, that their attention is, by the
means formerly noticed, preserved so uniformly alert
and steady.
In ordinary schools there is, generally, (from the
nature of the case, indeed, almost unavoidably) a de
plorable loss of time. When the number of scholars
is considerable, each pupil, I imagine, is hardly under
the immediate tuition of the master, more, on an aver
age, than a sixth part of the hours of attendance : and
during the remainder, he is left very much to his own
discretion. — In Mr Lancaster's school, on the contrary,
there is not only the constant appearance, but the con
stant reality of business. No time is lost. A thousand
boys may all be kept equally busy, in the different
branches of learning, at the same instant.
Fixed and cheerful attention is indispensibly neces
sary to rapid improvement. Whenever a pupil's atten
tion-flags, he is good for nothing ; and time is utterly
lost, in endeavouring to force learning into a listless and
inattentive mind. We might -as reasonably think of
carrying on.a manufacture, by means of the slow and
languid movements ' of a machine, whose connection
with the great wheel has been suspended. — Now few
things can have a more, powerfully soporific influ
ence, than the quantity of time which, in ordinary
schools, is unoccupied : so that even that portion
of It which is employed by each scholar with the

30
master, must frequently be employed to great disad
vantage, with the spirits drooping, and the powers of
the mind comparatively listless and drowsy. But that
pupil must have a singularly constituted mind, whose
jaws are ever in danger of dislocation from ennui, in
the school of Mr Lancaster ; the whole scheme being
so admirably adapted to engage and interest the, natu
rally active spirit of childhood, and, by the fascinating
charm of well-ordered variety, besides the excitements
to emulous exertion, to prevent the attention from be
coming languid and inefficient. By this means, much
is done in little time ; and what is done is done effectu
ally, and in a manner likely to be permanent.
Economy of time is an important virtue, even to
those whose station in life may be considered as
allowing them more than Others to spare. The early
formation of this virtue into a habit may, even to such,
be an incalculable benefit ; saving them, perhaps, from
the horrors of Ennui, the pis inertias of the mind ; —
from a life irksome and burdensome to themselves,
and unprofitable, if not worse, to society.— But while
the preciousness of time ought to be felt by men in
every condition of life, there are some who, by their
situation, are necessitated to feel it more strongly than
others ; those, I mean, who earn their daily bread, with
various degrees of difficulty, by the sweat of their
brow ; to whom, therefore, time is precious, as ^ their
food and raiment. For the education of the children
of this class ofthe community, whose assistant labours,
for the maintenance of the family, are often required

31
by their parents, as soon as they are able to use their
hands in any kind of manual employment, the scheme
of tuition in question is, from its economy of time, pe
culiarly well adapted ; because, by this means, such
children may have it in their power to combine learn
ing with their work, a comparatively small portion of
the day being found, upon the new plan, sufficient for
the former. — For the same reason, it is eminently fitted
for the instruction of those multitudes of children that
are employed in extensive manufactories ; institutions
which have multiplied, and continue to multiply, to
such a degree, in this country, as in some measure
to endanger that high and gratifying pre-eminence
which Scotland has so long maintained^ as a well-edu
cated community.
I had, some time ago, the pleasure of seeing this
plan, in its leading features, reduced to practice, at the
Cotton Mill belonging to Mr Monteith, at Pollock-
shaws. The children, then 250 in number, (since, I
believe, considerably augmented by an addition of chil
dren from the Village) are little more than half an
hour at school every evening : but this short time is
so regularly and fully occupied, and the boys and girls
enter into their business with so much emulous life
and spirit, that their progress is at once gratifying and
encouraging. Economy of money combines with economy of
time, in recommending this plan to adoption, in such
cases especially as those which have now been men
tioned ; — the education of those poor children who

32

pay for their tuition ; — of those employed in manufac
tories, where avarice is under temptation to forget that
they are rational beings, and to use them too much in
the way of mere tools of gain ; — -and in the case of free
and charity schools, supported by public or private be
nevolence. The consideration of pecuniary economy
applies., likewise, with great force, to many in the mid
dle classes of society, who, having large families, can
not but feel the expense of education, according to its
usual rates, a heavy burden on their limited incomes.-—
The cheapness of the plan, indeed, if carried to the full
extent of its economical principles, is quite astonishing.
The education of a thousand children, in reading, writ
ing, and arithmetic, for ^300 a year, which Mr Lan
caster pronounces perfectly practicable, finding them
in books, slates, pens, and other necessary implements,
is an idea to which hardly any thing short of experi
ence could have given credibility. It is, at the same
time, obvious, that although, in, certain cases, even this
degree of economy may be desirable,, there is no neces
sity' for its being carried, in every instance, to such a
length. The practice, in this respect, may be, in some
measure, accommodated to the circumstances of the
school. Paper may sometimes be used for sand ; —
pasteboard cards may, at least at an earlier stage of
the progress, give place to books ;— -and slates may be
furnished, somewhat superior in quality to those which ¦
are procured by Mr Lancaster for twenty shillings the
threescore. It is not merely the low rate of necessary school ex
penses, that produces the peculiar cheapness of this me-

33
thod of instruction. Another important circumstance
contributes to it. One master can, with considerable
facility and effect, superintend, according to the plan
in question, the education of a thousand pupils ; who
could not, on the ordinary method, be taught to such
purpose, by fewer than ten .- — and thus, according to-
the increased number of scholars, the wages of the
teacher may be proportionally moderate.
But the mere communication of knowledge, in
however short a time, and at however cheap a rate,
ought not to be considered as the sole end in the edu
cation of youth. When we impart knowledge, if we
proceed upon rational principles, we impart it for use ;
not for its own sake alone, but to fit its possessor for
some occupation, that may be profitable to himself, and
advantageous to the community.— In education, there
fore, the formation of particular dispositions
and Habits becomes a matter of inexpressible impor-.
tance ; since, without these, the instruction which we
communicate, having nO practical application, or a very
partial, unsteady,. and ill-directed one, will be found of
comparatively little value ; sometimes, in consequence
of its perversion, eminently prejudicial. — It were cer
tainly a waste of time, to illustrate, at any length, the
importance, in relation to the subsequent businesses of
life, of the early formation of such habits as those ot
prompt and vigorous attention, — regularity, method^
and order, — steady and diligent application. The
value of such habits as these is universally felt and ac
knowledged. Without a measure of all of them, little
good is to be done in future life. — The man of absent,
E

34

wandering, unsettled mind, destitute of the power to
fix itself, with promptitude and steadiness, on any ob
ject, can make no more progress in the voyage of life,
than the vessel that is whirled in an eddy : — the want,
of method and order, has, by the waste of time which ,
it occasions, and the incessant jostling and confusion of
duties and engagements, been the ruin of many a man,
whose qualifications for business have been, in other
respects^ fair and promising : — and as for the indolent
and slothful, when, or where, was he ever known to
prosper ?
To produce the habit of diligent application, the ex
ertion from which it is to spring must be, in a certain
degree at least, voluntary. Employment which is
engaged in, and continued, by compulsion, and with
consequent reluctance and sullenness, will be una
vailing towards the formation of it, in exact pro
portion as the force and constraint are felt ; and
will rather serve to produce languor and disgust. In
proportion, therefore, as any mode of tuition enga
ges the affections, and fixes the inclinations of children,
will it be effectual in producing and cherishing this va
luable habit. — Now I know of no plan of education
better adapted to answer this end, than the one which
I have been describing. And with regard to the other
habits mentioned, those of attention and order, no one
to whom that description has been intelligible, will re
quire me to evince by reasoning, how eminently fitted
it is likewise to promote the acquisition of these.
" There is no Royal road to science". — We are in

35
no danger, in the case of children, of making the way
to its attainment too easy. Follow what direction we
please, the acquisition of knowledge will be accompa
nied with quite sufficient difficulties. There is no pro
priety, therefore, in purposely increasing these difficul
ties, with the view of inuring to habits of hard appli-
cation. It is more needful to use every means to al
lure to learning, by rendering it agreeable ; — to deceive
the road, by the application of pleasing excitements and
enlivening society.
The plan of education which I have been consider-.
ing, being so eminently adapted to the condition of
the poor and labouring classes of society, ought to be
viewed in connection with all the important advantages
of a well educated community. For, notwithstanding
all that has been said to the contrary, I must assume
it as a maxim, founded both in reason, and in experi
ence, that an enlightened community is, more than
any other, likely to be flourishing, virtuous, and happy.
Every rational being, in possessing knowledge, pos
sesses at once a source of personal enjoyment, and an
instrument of doing good. And therefore it will al
ways hold good, as a general truth, whatever particular
exceptions may be found to it, that, in proportion as
knowledge is diffused, the sum of human happiness is
augmented. — AmOng the lower orders of society, edu
cation is desirable, on account of its tendency to soften
and to civilize their manners ; to accustom them to.
habits of subordination and controul ; and to furnish
them with the means of providing honourably for them*
E2

36

selves, and of contributing, according tp their station,
to the public prosperity.
The objection which has been made against know
ledge being generally diffused, drawn from its ten
dency to disincline from labour those who possess it,
is evidently founded in mistake. The partial commu
nication of the blessing may, by giving rise to invidious
distinctions, occasionally produce this effect : but the
more general its diffusion becomes, the less, in exact
proportion, will any such consequence appear. " Dress
one man in scarlet and gold," said the celebrated Dr
Johnson on this very Subject, when he was questioned
respecting the probable effects of a proposed school for
labourers in one of the counties of England, frPm which
some persons had apprehended the very consequence of
which I now speak — " Dress one man in scarlet and
gold, and he will probably disdain to handle the spade
and the mattock, among his dirty and ragged compani
ons ; but make them all like him, and he will work as
before," — Ihe justice of this remark might be evinced,
from the operation of some of the most obvious prin
ciples of human nature : and it might also be confirm
ed from experience ; — by a reference, for example,
to the state of Scotland in general, where the peasant
ry, and other labouring classes, taking them . in the
mass, are perhaps the most industrious and sober in
Europe, while they are at the same time the best in
formed. But the truth of the remark is too obvious,
to require any detailed proof.
It is true, that, among those to whom education
is imparted, some may be stimulated, by the impulse

37
pf native genius, to make the knowledge which they
acquire at school a step to a higher sphere of life than
that in which they received it : — and why should they
npt ? Instead of this forming any valid objection, is it
not rather an additional advantage, arising from the
general education of the lower Orders, that it serves
to discover these " gems of purest ray serene," which
might otherwise have lain incrusted in ignorance, their
brilliance unseen, their value unappreciated, and their
profit lost ? ,
Universal experience warrants the general asser
tion, that the gross vices flourish with the rankest lux
uriance in the soil of ignorance ; and that knowledge.
is favourable to individual and national virtue. — A large
proportion of the criminals who croud the jails, and
suffer on the gibbets of England, is said to consist of
men uneducated, and brutally ignorant. It is so very
natural to expect this to be the case, that we may, with
perfect safety, conclude the fact to be the same in other
countries. Whence but from ignorance, hardening,
degrading ignorance, the mother of superstition, and
the nurse of vice, has sprung, and continues to spring
that state of moral corruption, which characterizes, to
such a melancholy degree, the lower orders in the
neighbouring Island ; the prevalence of which we can
not too deeply deplore, and which every feeling of hu
manity, patriotism, and piety, should inspire the wish
to ameliorate, by the generous and zealous employ
ment of all practicable means, for diffusing the light of
religious truth, and of general knowledge.

38

With respect to the apprehension which some have
professed to entertain, of danger to the state, from im
parting to the lower orders the means of acquiring po
litical knowledge, I would simply remark, that the
government which rests on the pillars of ignorance
hardly deserves stability. — It has been said, that if,
when we impart the means of thinking, we could, at
the same time, teach men to think well, the advantage
would be evident ; but that, when we educate the lower
orders of society, we only enable those to think, who
are incapable of thinking well *. — Upon the ground of
this hint, the House of Commons ought immediately
to have gone into a committee of ways and means, for
more effectually preventing the exercise of the dan
gerous and unconstitutional faculty of thinking, among
these classes of the community. — " If you would keep
these people quiet, keep them ignorant ; for, the instant
they learn to think, they will rebel". — Most generous,
noble, and enlightened policy ! — It is said, I believe, that
* The sentiments here referred to, were delivered in the
House of Commons in the debate on Mr Whitbread's Bill for
the education of the poor. Had the author considered this
subject as involving, in any degree, a question of party politics,
he would have had nothing to do with it : for he is no politi
cian, and feels no desire for the character; he is decidedly hos
tile to all party, and considers the prevalence of party spirit as
one of the most lamentable evils, both in the country, and its
councils. The question as to the education, of the lower orders,
is a highly important question (if indeed a question, it should
be called,) of general jurisprudence, connected with the inter
ests of morals and of happiness ; one on which, it is' his opinion,
that all parties, whatever may be their views respecting particu-.
lar politics, ought cordially to agree.

39

when the dead were embalmed, among the ancient
Egyptians, the' brain was, somehow or other, dextrous-
ly extracted from the cranium, and the empty cavity
filled with materials suitable to the purpose of the em-
balmers. Could the ingenious author of the above
hint, in some felicitous moment of inventive sagacity,
devise a method of thus eliciting the brain from the liv
ing subject, and either leaving the head empty, or filling
it with materials to his mind, what a scene of happy
and enviable tranquillity would the British Nation pre
sent ! But the very idea is founded in inconsideration
and error. The problem of putting a stop to thought
is, alas ! impracticable. In a country such as this,
where the intercourse of society is so fi-ee, and the use
of speech so unrestrained, ignorance cannot be pre
vented from thinking. And it ought never to be for
gotten, that, while knowledge at times may think wrong,
ignorance can "hardly ever think ¦ right. — At any rate,
there is no dependence to be placed on ignorance. It
is just as. ready to be the mother of devotion to a se
ditious and aspiring demagogue, as to the legitimate
government of the country. It was a crouching slave
yesterday— it is a furious rebel to-day.
In Scotland, besides, the objection may be met on
a different ground from theory. The effects of the
diffusion of knowledge among the lower orders have,
with us, by means of our parochial schools, been put
to the test of experiment : and no one, surely, will
venture to say, that the result has been unfavourable
to steady subordination, and patriotic loyalty.

40

We cannot be very greatly surprised, however, (for
it is admirably consistent) that the patriot who trembled
lest British courage should expire with the noble chiv
alry of bull-baiting, should be alarmed by the appre
hension of the diffusion of knowledge sapping the foun
dations of British loyalty !
It has been objected by some to the proposed esta
blishment of Lancasterian schools, in this city, and its •
immediate vicinity, — and the objection has been gener
alized, and applied to Scotland at large, — that they are
not at all, or to any considerable degree, necessary ;
sufficient, or nearly sufficient provision, it is alleged, al
ready existing, for the education of the children of all
the different ranks in society. — Now it \s at once admit
ted, that the necessity for such institutions is, beyond all
comparison, greater, in England, than it is in Scotland ;
the education of the lower orders being, in the South,
most shamefully and unaccountably neglected.— There,
are three specific reasons, however, which may be
Urged, in vindication of the zeal of those gentlemen,
who have taken an active part in promoting the esta
blishment of such schools, in this city and neighbour
hood *.
The first is a conviction, that the plan itself, apart
from all considerations of economy, possesses such in
trinsic advantages, for the purposes of education, as
* If in any of the remarks which follow, I go too far for any
of the gentlemen here alluded to, I wish them to consider me
as speaking my own sentiments in their behalf.

41

should entitle it to preference, and to general adoption,
in tfie instruction of children, not of one particular
class only of society, but of every class. This con
viction is founded on an examination of the leading
principles on which the plan is framed; its happy adap
tation to the taste and fancy of the young ; its conse
quent tendency, by engaging spirited attention, to give
new and efficient energy to their education ; and, by
combining the agreeable with the useful, and making-
pleasure the handmaid to instruction, to convert into a
season even of present enjoyment, what is felt by the
great majority of children as a period of irksome bond
age. 2dly. Although there may be abundance of edu
cation, it should be considered, that it is of very diffe
rent qualities, and- that the good is by no means easily
attainable, by those in the inferior, and even by many
who rank in the middle classes of society. There are
few of the more respectable schools, in which reading
alone is taught for less than 7s. 6d. per quarter. Now
I am far from saying, or from thinking, that, according
to the present mode of tuition, this is at all an exorbi
tant remuneration to the teacher. Quite the contrary.
Yet it must be evident, to every one who reflects for a
moment on the subject, that by labouring men, and
others, with small incomes, who have large families, it
must be felt as a burden heavier than they are able,
with ease, to bear ; the above expense being exclusive
of books, and, in general, neither comprehending writ
ing ^nor arithmetic : for where these two additional
branches are taught, along with reading, at so low a
F

42

rate as that mentioned, it may be presumed that, in
most cases at least, all the three are taught in an infe
rior style. — Now, in the first place, although we justly
admire the noblemindedness, which induces a poor
man to pinch himself in the necessaries, and deny him
self the comforts of life, that he may be able to give
his family useful instruction ; yet, in proportion as this
praise-worthy spirit appears, do not we feel grieved,
that the necessity which obliges, him to do, so should,
to such a degree, exist ? — and is it not also extremely
desirable, that a temptation should be removed out of
the way of many, who, not possessing so large a por
tion of the spirit referred to, neglect, or greatly stint,
the education of their children, under the more than
plausible pretext of inability to afford it ? — In the se
cond place, is it not hard, that the poor labourer should
be under the necessity, or even the temptation, to send
his children to an inferior school, to be taught by a
master comparatively ill qualified for his work, because
he is unable to afford the higher wages of a superior
teacher? Is it not an object of some consequence,
both for the sake of the individuals concerned, and of
society, that the education even of the poorest should,
if possible, as far as it extends, be of the best kind ?
It is not intended to pamper their minds, any more
than their bodies, with the delicacies of luxurious re
finement. But can any good reason be assigned; why,
if the contrary is attainable, the teachers of the poor
and labouring classes should be inferior in ability, in
their particular departments, to the teachers of the su
perior orders ? — Why should it be deemed sufficient,
that the children of the lower ranks should be taught

43
to read, write, and cypher, however clumsily and im
perfectly, if we can, with equal or greater ease, have
them taught to read, write, and cypher, in the best pos
sible way ?
There are few situations in which a greater variety
of peculiar qualities, both intellectual and moral, are
necessary, or at least desirable, than in/that of a school
master ; and when the situation is ably and conscien
tiously filled, few to which, it should yield in respecta
bility. The teacher of children ought not only to pos
sess the requisite degree of proficiency in the branches
of learning, in which he is to instruct them : he should
be a man of undoubted religious and moral principle ;
so that in his character he may exhibit a becoming exr
ample before his pupils, and, by his selectipn of books,
and otherwise, inspire their minds with an early regard
to piety and virtue ; — he should be animated by a
warm affection to the rising generation ; and that affec
tion should be accompanied with such a spirit of acti
vity and love of order, as will impart both energy and:
method to all its operations :; — he should unite, in his,
character, affable mildness with steady decision, mild
ness without excess of pliability, and decision without
obstinacy ;• such as, by at once commanding the respect,
and engaging the affections of children, will ensure
their cheerful and prompt obedience to authority, and
inspire them with alacrity and pleasure in the, pursuit
of knowledge. — In speaking thus, I " magnify the of
fice" of a teacher ; considering it as one which,- in ge
neral, does not, by any means, meet with that high de-:
gree of respect and encouragement, to which it is en^
F 2

44

titled. Is it not Chen, melancholy, to reflect, with what
slight pretensions, of any kind, men sometimes, imagine
themselves qualified to undertake the tuition of chil
dren ? Respectably as this profession is occupied by
many, it will not, I presume, be denied, that, among
those particularly who are employed as teachers by
the lower orders of society, there are numbers, who,
either in point of ability or of character, are very ill
qualified for the situation. It sometimes, I believe,
happens, that, when a man has tried a variety of oc
cupations, and, through defect either of character or of
ability, has failed in them all, having some trifling ac
quaintance, derived from a common education, with
reading, writing, and accounts, it occurs to himself, or
is suggested to him by others, that some good might
possibly be done, in a small way, in this line ; and he
commences teacher, wherever he thinks he is likely
(by the temptation, perhaps, of low wages) to get a
few children put under his care ; — being still, it should
seem, good enough for this, after he has proved him
self good for nothing. — Who is not desirous, that chil
dren should be delivered from such incapable hands ?
We would not, from cfioice, put their bodies under
the regimen of untutored quacks and empiricks ; for
their own sakes, then, and for the benefit of society,
let us, if we can, free their minds from the direction
of ignorance and incapacity, and bring them under
more skilful and enlightened management.
3dly. But there is still a third consideration, of no
less importance than either ofthe preceding. — It is mat-
ter of fact, that there is a large proportion of children,

45
belonging to the lower ranks of life, in the city and
suburbs of Glasgow, (and the fact may reasonably be
supposed the same, in similar situations,' elsewhere,)
who. receive no education whatever. — In the formation
of some Sabbath evening schools* in the city, about
ten years ago, chiefly by the zeal and liberality of pri
vate benevolence, such a number of children were
found, ignorant of the letters, and without any pros
pect of being taught, many of them considerably be
yond the period at which children have usually learn
ed, that it was found necessary, to open several week
day schools, for teaching such to rea'.', as a preparation
for their subsequent religious instruction on the Lord's
day. Upwards of seven years ago, four such schools,
two for boys, and two for girls, were accordingly open
ed, on week-day evenings, from 7 to 10 o'clock, chil
dren being then disengaged, in general, from their em
ployments during the day. These schools still conti
nue ; from 1 30 to 200 children receiving instruction
in them, many of whom, on their admission, do not
know a letter. The children receive books gratis, and
are furnished with copies of the scriptures, when it is
found that there are none in the families to which they
belong. — I have been informed also, by a gentleman in
this city, from his own personal knowledge, that, in
two Sunday schools, established not long ago, one in
Anderston, and the other in Bridgeton, out of three
thousand children, who have been successively admitted
into them, there have been one thousand at least, chief
ly above eleven years of age, who, at the time of their
admission, were unable to read, -and who have received,

46
in these schools, the first rudiments of their education.
— Now, if there is even any thing like this proportion,
in general, of uneducated children, among the lower or
ders, (to whatever cause the melancholy fact is to be
attributed) and if this proportion, instead of diminish
ing, be upon the increase, it is devoutly to be wished,
not only that no obstacles may be thrown in the way,
but that every encouragement may be given^ to a pro
ject, the obvious tendency of which, besides its other ad
vantages, is to the timely correction of this alarming
evil. While the general education of the children in a
community is an object of incalculable importance, it
is, at the same time, highly desirable, that this object
should, as far as possible, be accomplished, without
tempting any to the sacrifice of independence of mind.
There are many men, who would be sincerely thank-
. ful for a reduction in the price of provisions, whom,
if their dearth were ever so great, no persuasion could
induce to beg their bread. The case is similar with
respect to education. It is desirable, that a charity
school should be the resort only of real necessity : and
that honourable independence of spirit should, by all
means, be cherished ; the decay of it being a most omi
nous symptom of general degradation of character.
This independence, it is true, is carried to a criminal
and pernicious excess, when, assuming the form of in
consistent and misjudging pride, it tempts a parent,
rather than be indebted to charity, to neglect the edu
cation of his children altogether : but this only sug-

47
gests an additional argument in favour of a plan, which,
by offering, not gratuitous, but cheap instruction, is
calculated to remove such a temptation entirely out of
the way. — It is on the principle of preserving and en
couraging honest independence of mind, that from this
plan the idea of charity has been intentionally, and
even carefully, excluded.
I shall conclude this Essay, with a few observa
tions respecting another objection, which has sometimes
been made, against the general adoption of Mr Lan
caster's scheme of tuition ; an objection, in the princi
ple of it, precisely similar to that which has invariably
been opposed to the introduction of every new inven
tion in machinery, by which increased facility and dis
patch have been promised to human labour : — What
is to become, it is asked, of that numerous and valua
ble class of the community, the teachers of youth upon
the old system, if that system is to be at once abolish
ed, and a new one adopted, which will furnish em
ployment for so small a proportion of their num
ber? Were we to reason according to the best establish
ed principles of political economy ; this kind of argu
ment might be fairly left to its own weight. The
grand question for our consideration ought undoubted
ly to be — " Is this an improvement ? — Is it really ac
companied with such advantages as have been describ
ed ?" — If it be, we surely are not to forego the import
ant and extensive benefits likely to accrue, from its

48
adoption ^ to the community at large, from an apprehen
sion of partial and temporary evil, to a particular de
scription of individuals.— Still, however, when any
public improvement is adopted, it is pleasant to see its
adoption accompanied with as small a portion as .possi
ble of individual suffering ; and I cannot, on this ac
count, treat the objection, by any means, with lightness,
or scorn. For although one's mind is unshaken, with
regard to the propriety of introducing the improvement,
one cannot but feel concerned, that even a possibility
should exist, of the temporal interests of any, and es
pecially of men belonging to a profession eminent for
respectability and usefulness, being, in any measure,
injuriously affected by its introduction.
The following considerations tend greatly to di
minish, in my mind, the apprehension of such in-
jury *.
* As it is proper that objections should be viewed in their
strongest light, the following observations proceed upon the
supposition of the new plan of teaching coming immediately
into general use.- — Of this, however, I readily admit, there is,
at least in my own opinion, no great probability. Thepower
of custom and prejudice with some, and, with others, a differ
ence of judgment respecting the merits of the new plan of tui
tion, (for it is not to be expected, on any subject, that all should
immediately see and think alike,) will, at least for a time, and
perhaps always, continue to attach many to the old Regime : —
while in the minds of the weak and the proud, (for such, alas !
there are) among the higher circles, a measure of disdain will,
in all probability, be felt towards the new system, from their
associating with it the remembrance of its original invention and-

49
1st. Although, according to the new. method, one
teacher may superintend a greater number of scholars,
yet, in consequence of the cheapness, and other bene-.
fits, of the new plan, the aggregate number of children,
sent to school will, it may be expected, be considera
bly increased : — although, it must be admitted, this
will not probably take place in the same proportion,
in which the requisite number of teachers may be di
minished. — Yet it should be observed
2dly. It is a plan which is capable of being reduc
ed to practice, in a great, variety of degrees of extent,
according to the judgment, or the fancy, of parents
and teachers : some approving and adopting it as a
whole, while others like only particular parts. — What
ever might be the principle, or object, which first sug
gested the idea of the plan to its inventor, it is a great
mistake to consider it as adapted solely for the poor
and middle classes of society. The economy, indeed,
of which it is susceptible, renders it highly valuable on

design, as having had principally in view the cheap education
of the poor. — These and similar causes may be expected to re
tard, and, it is possible, may even prevent, the general introduc
tion of the new plan of teaching,
I hope none of the observations which follow, after what I
have said, and said most sincerely, of the high estimation in
which I hold their profession, will be felt by any ofthe respecta
ble teachers of youth, as in the slightest degree offensive. I
have sought, with anxiety, to avoid every expression that could,
in any measure, have such a tendency. G

50
their account : but it possesses^ at. the same time, apart
from every consideration of this kind, intrinsic advan
tages, which should recommend it to universal adop
tion. Yet, as, on various accounts, it is not desirable,
that the children of high and . low, rich and . poor,
should, in public schools, be brought into indiscrimi
nate intercourse, it ought not to be overlooked, that
the principles of the plan can be reduced to practice,
on various scales of expense and gentility. A smaller
number of children may be admitted ; proportionally
higher wages may be paid to the teacher ; and a supe
rior apparatus of books, and other necessary instru
ments of learning, may be employed. — In this way, it
will be in the option of parents, to have schools as se
lect upon the new plan, as they are at present, or even
more so; and on this principle, the number of teachers
requisite, even on the supposition of its general adop
tion, may be considerably greater than, at first view,
we are ready to conceive ; for when we hear of schools
of a thousand or twelve hundred boys, we are apt to
imagine such numbers to be an indispensible particu
lar of the new plan. '
3dly. Of. those whose labours, in the department
of education, may be rendered unnecessary, some ha^e
been, in their earlier, years, trained to other branches
of business ; and many possess qualifications, fitting
them for other occupations in life, in which they might,
without much difficulty, find advantageous and honour
able employment : — not a few, I am persuaded, being
by no means disinclined to exchange the profession of

51
a school-master for another, after having tried it, and
found, it accompanied with a greater measure of teas
ing and irksome labour, unsuited to their temper and
turn of mind, than they had at all anticipated.
4thly. It is, likewise, not unworthy of considera-.
tion, that, if the necessary number of teachers should
be diminished, the situation of those who still find em
ployment will be improved. It is a fact too, notorious
to be denied, that, in consequence of the low rate
of wages, paid by the children of the inferior orders,
many of the teachers of such children are with diffi
culty able to earn even a bare livelihood. This is.
certainly much to be regretted, both on account of
their personal comfort, and as being very unsuitable
to the highly respectable nature of their profession.
By the combination of half a dozen schools into one,,
the wages might be reduced more than a half, and yet
the teacher be much more comfortably provided for,
and- enabled to maintain an appearance in society, cor-,.
responding to the real respectability and importance
of his employment.
"5thly. With regard to those who are engaged in
teaching, not properly as their- fixed profession, but as
an intermediate occupation, while they are looking.
forward to stated employment, in a profession of a still
higher description — the students of divinity, and pro
bationary preachers, for example, in the church of Scot
land, many of whom are employed in this way, whose
interests are very naturally, and very properly, in the
G 2

52

view of some, who have urged the above-mentioned
objection ; — with regard to these, what shall we say ?
The best thing, perhaps, that can be said is, that there
is a sufficiency of wisdom in the General Assembly,
and of wealth in the Established Church of Scotland,
to furnish a satisfactory answer to this branch of the
objection : — and further, that if the partial inconveni
ence and injury which may possibly be produced, shall
be the means of exciting the ecclesiastical courts, to
take into mature and serious consideration the situation
of their probationary preachers ; — this " partial evil"
may to them, in the end, turn out " universal good."
Lastly. If there shall be found any, who are ve
terans in the service, having grown grey in the honour
able, but in general not very lucrative profession of a
teacher of youth ; and whose situation may be affected
by the introduction of the new system, when, by their
time of life, and long confirmed habits, they are pre
cluded, from betaking themselves to any other employ
ment : — there is a sufficiency of money in the purses,
and of generosity in the hearts, of the inhabitants of
this city, and of this country, to supply to such the
deficiency, or even to compensate their past labours, by
enabling them to retire, and to enjoy, in the evening
of their days, some comfortable measure of otium
cum dignitate.
Upon the whole — Whatever may be the extent in
which the new system may meet with encouragement
from those who pay, and can afford to pay, for the.

53
tuition of their children, it certainly merits, in behalf
of those who cannot, the serious attention of every be
nevolent mind ; — and especially of any to whom has
been imparted, along with the ability, the generous in
clination, to aspire to the sublime and lovely character,
high in honour and in blessedness, of a " Father to
the Poor."

APPENDIX.

IN the latest account, published by Mr Lancaster,
of the " progress of his plan for the education of poor
children, and the training of masters for country
schools," it is stated, that " schools have been formed
by him, (i. e. I presume, under his direction) in the
following places : Swansea, Canterbury, Lynn, Liver
pool, Hull, Clewer (near Windsor,) Birmingham,
Sheffield, Bristol, Etruria, Oswestry, Rochester, Do
ver, Lewes, Cambridge, Deptford, Woburn, Uxbridge,
Manchester, Wakefield, Chester, Whittington :" — that
" committees have been formed, in Portsmouth, Ply
mouth, Southampton, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Dublin,
Leicester, York, Maidstone, Exeter, Worcester, Edin
burgh, Leeds, Derby, and a great number of other
places :" — and that, " in the schools formed by him
self and his young assistants, full 30,000 poor children
are receiving daily instruction in various parts of the
British Empire." — To this statement we should add,
I imagine, a number of schools which have been form
ed;, in different places, on the plan of Mr Lancaster,
but in the formation of which he has had, himself, no
immediate personal concern.
The following particulars relative to the free school

55
in Circus-street, Liverpool, are extracted from a- letter
to a gentleman of this city, dated, Liverpool, 1st March,
1810. — They are introduced here, not as presenting a
model, according to which the proposed schoolsin this
city and its vicinity ought to be conducted ; for the man
agement of a free school must necessarily differ, in va
rious particulars, from that of schools which do not ad
mit the idea of charity : — but as a kind of specimen of
the practical application of the plan ; and with a view
to furnish useful hints, on which subsequent improve
ments may be grafted, for the regulation of Lancasterian
.-schools in general, and especially of free schools on this
plan, for the education of the children of the poor.
Some particulars are omitted, respecting the origin
of the school, and the manner in which the funds, for
its erection and maintenance, were at" first raised.
* * * " The admission of sub
scribers, and of children, of every religious persuasion,
indiscriminately, and the requiring of the ' latter to at
tend both the school, and our place of worship, regu
larly every Sabbath, were the leading principles on
which the establishment was founded, and on which it
has ever since been, and continues to be, conducted.
" The funds have always been managed by a com
mittee of twelve gentlemen, a treasurer, and two in
spectors. The latter have superintended, alternately,
month for month, or conjointly, every thing relating
to the interior arrangement and conduct of the school ;

56

and have examined the accounts, passing them to the
treasurer for payment. (.

" The children pay nothing ; except that, if they lose
their Catechism, or Hymn-book, they replace it, and
they find their own Copy-books. If, however, I could
spare time, to attend to the establishment of another
similar institution, in another part of our town, I am
satisfied I could? were it desirable, make it support it
self entirely, by the children paying at the rate of two
pence per week, which the parents would most cheer
fully consent to. — * * » * *
" I omitted to mention, that an annual charity Ser
mon, (at the time of which the children have given
specimens of their attainments, and sung hymns select
ed for the occasion,) has excited a lively interest in fa
vour of the charity, and contributed much to its sup
port. " No further qualifications than what I have men
tioned, and the production of the register of birth, if
necessary, are required. — The form of recommenda
tion I enclose. [A.]
" The age of admission is now limited to 8 for the
day school, and 7 for the Sunday school.- — We have
no limitation upwards ; for when the children have
been in the school some time, or when they are older

57

orradmission, they soon render themselves valuable as
monitors. " The leading principles, in the internal arrangement
ofthe school, are ; 1st. That every boy and girl shall
be invariably and actively employed. 2d. That, by
classing the children, and dividing the classes again in
to divisions of six each, under the care of a monitor to
each division ; — of a deputy inspecting monitor, to sur
perintend the arrangements and conduct of the moni
tors ; — and of an inspecting monitor, to give the move
ments to the whole, and to be the medium of commu
nication from the master to the children ;¦ — the whole
shall be regulated with the precision of a piece of me
chanism; and an unlimited number, however great, be
managed, and instructed, with the same facility, as a
school of ten or twelve children. 3d. That, instead of
each boy having a book in his hand, and conning or
tearing it at his leisure, two books (in some cases one)
shall supply the whole school, and last some years *.—
I might have added, that the second principle may be
carried still further : for, in our school, such has been
the order introduced by the plan, that a short time
since, Mr Baldwin f having obtained leave of ab
sence for a week, the school was conducted, dur
ing that time, with the same regularity as during his pre
sence ; and several strangers having, at different times,
called, to see the plan of the school, the boys, under
* I have already observed, in the preceding Essay, page 23,
that I entirely disapprove of this superseding of books, unless
it be in the earliest steps of tuition.
f The Teacher. H

58

the direction of the inspecting monitor, about 11 or
12 years of age, went through all the movements;
and he detailed, with precision, every part of the sys
tem. " Each monitor is responsible for the conduct of eve
ry boy in his division. If any of them talk, play, or
in any other respect infringe ou the rules, the monitor,
in the first instance, for a trifling offence, admonishes
him ; — for a repetition of the offence, enters him a
forfeit on his (the monitor's) slate ; and for a third
commission of the same offence, a double forfeit : — ¦
if the boy errs beyond this number of times, or com
mits a fault of greater magnitude, he reports him,
through the deputy inspecting monitor, to the desk. —
The deputy inspecting monitor is responsible for the
conduct of all the monitors ; — and the inspecting mo
nitor, who is elevated on the platform, is responsible
for the conduct of the whole. Thus, if any boy is
talking, or playing, if the monitor of his division has
not observed it, the master fines the boy a single for
feit, and the monitor a double one : if the deputy in
specting monitor has not observed it, he is fined a tri
ple forfeit ; — and so on.
" In reading, a copy of the reading lesson is placed
by the monitor before every three boys, or two copies to
each division ; and, the lesson being in the form of
question and answer, the monitor, who places himself
in the centre of the division, standing while the boys
sit, sees that each boy looks on : he then asks the
question, and the boys, in succession, read the answer.

59
If any boy is at a loss to go on, he loses his place. In
this way, if the monitor is attentive, each boy. in his
division must be so : if the monitor is inattentive, the
division will rest quiet, and the deputy inspecting mo
nitor will perceive it. — The same principle applies to
spelling, arithmetic, and every branch of their instruc
tion. — None except the monitors are ever allowed to
touch the lessons.
" All acts of merit and demerit are rewarded and
punished by means of tickets, to which we affix the va
lue of Id per 100. Thus, for instance, for every 12
questions ofthe catechism learned out of schopl, the boy
receives 5 tickets ; for being advanced to a higher class,
25 tickets ; the monitor advancing him, 25 tickets :
— for talking, &c. a forfeit is incurred, of 5 tickets,
and so on. For greater offences, the boy is punished
by being detained after the rest, by solitary confine
ment, &c. at the discretion of the master ; but, since
the enlargement of the school, we have in no instance
had occasion to resort to corporal punishment, and we
in general prefer encouragement to severity.
" For the greater excitement of emulation, we have
established a class of honour, formed of those chil
dren, who have uniformly recommended themselves,
by their attention to the discharge of every duty. No
one can be admitted as a candidate, without the full
approbation of the class, of the master, and of the in
spectors. On his being proposed, the most minute
enquiries are made, at each member of the class, re
specting his conduct and character ; if he is unani-
H2

60

mously approved, he is admitted as a candidate, and
remains three months on trial ; the enquiries are then
renewed, and, if he passes the ordeal successfully, he
is admitted a member. The candidates and members
are distinguished by their honorary badges ; their pun
ishments are confined to a suspension from wearing the
medal, or badge, for a limited time ; and for faults of
the highest classes, suspension, or exclusion from the
class. They are exclusively entrusted with every com
mission of confidence, such as enquiries into the causes
of the children's absence, and, collectively, enquiries
into any misdemeanour of the other scholars, in or out
of school. — On their admission into the class, they re
ceive a card of admission £B], which they carry home,
and which is always carefully preserved by their pa
rents. — On leaving school, they receive a certificate of
merit, [C] ; and if, at the expiration of ] 2 months^
they can bring the counter- certificate [DJ, signed, they
are entitled to receive, at the next anniversary Sermon,
a handsome Bible, and Hymn-book, inside of which is
pasted the certificate ,[£"]. The members are required,
whenever they leave a situation, to inform Mr Baldwin,
and an entryis made in the register. An enquiry [F~],
is then made at their late employers, as to the conduct
of the members while in their employ, and the char
acters are 'invariably registered. — In any event, a char
acter is required annually, of every member ; when
the member lives at-home, in the form of the enquiry
[G].
" This plan comprises two leading objects : the assis
tance given by the committee in the obtaining of , eligi-

61
ble situations for the members, so long aS their con
duct entitles them to continue such ; and having a tie
upon the conduct of the children, after they leave the
school, which continues, not only till their characters
become fixed, but through the remainder of their lives.
— This plan being publicly known, we have a great
many applications for members, as servants ; and are
thus enabled, equally, to serve the friends of the insti
tution, and the members of the olass. — The attachment
to the school, existing amongst the members, has in
variably increased, in proportion to the time they have
been such. One member of the class expects to be
married in about a week ; and her attachment will,
most probably, continue, till her children shall have the
same advantages from1 the schoolj that she has received
from it herself.
" The instruction of the boys is confined to reading,
spelling, writing, and the leading rules of arithmetic :
— the girls are taught the same, with the addition of
plain needle-work, and knitting. — It may be properly
called an elementary school, as our instruction is con
fined to what is expressed above.
" A sharp, intelligent boy, of 9 years of age, would,
on our plan, in twelve months, acquire a complete
knowledge of all the above, even if he could not tell
a letter on his admission : — in two years, the dul
lest boy would acquire the same. — Every branch of
instruction is taught at the same time. '
" It is difficult to form any accurate estimate of the

62

expense of an establishment like ours ; as the slates,
lessons, &c. form a stock for several years ; and the
number of our children has been always varying, and
our school been frequently enlarged ; which renders it
in our case the more difficult. Our two school rooms
will accommodate about 600 in the daily school, and
about 800 on the Sabbath. — After rather a hasty cal
culation, I should estimate the present annual expen
diture of our establishment, exclusive of interest, or
rent of building, teachers' salaries, and cost of desks,
at £90 to .§£100. — Any increase, of number would be
attended with but a trifling additibn to the expense.
" On the Sabbath, the children read the scripture
instructions, (of which I send you a miniature copy,) and
spell as on other days ; whilst they read in their divi
sions to the monitor, another monitor, or, if there be
a sufficient number of them, a lady or gentleman, (Sun
day teachers,) hears each boy or girl in the class, separ
ately, what they have learned of their Catechism dur
ing the week, explains it to them, and rewards them
with tickets, according to their proficiency. — The chil
dren assemble at 9 ; go to public service at half past
10 : — assemble again at half past 1 ; go to service at
half past 2 : — and after service, are addressed on the
duties of Religion, either immediately, or at a later
hour, as the weather, and the time ofthe year, may ad
mit. "Our reading lessons are printed on a large sheet,
on a type about three times the size of the copy, that
accompanies this ; and are pasted on a light frame, so

63
that, when the copy lies on the desk, three children
may, without touching it, read with perfect ease.
" Every movement in the school is made with pre
cision, which very forcibly engages the attention of the
children, and tends very much to fix jhem in habits of
order and regularity ; and has a pleasing effect to
strangers who visit the school.
" I have thus endeavoured to reply to each of your
enquiries, and have added every thing that occured to
me as material for your purpose. — Should the plan
meet your approbation, and be considered as deserving
the support of your populous and opulent city, it will
afford me great pleasure to enter more into the detail.
— It has recently been adopted in several of the neigh
bouring schools. — In the Isle of Man, a building has
been lately erected on a large scale, for the purpose of
introducing it. The master was under Mr Baldwin's
tuition, for about six weeks, and we have to-day re
ceived a very flattering account of their success ; which
has so far exceeded the expectations of its friends, that,
in addition to the school for 500 boys, it is in contem
plation to open one, for 300 girls. — A Mr L,  of Pe
terhead, who some time ago visited our school, is, I
believe, at present engaged, in applying our plan to the
Sunday schools in that neighbourhood, and in introduc
ing it into that part of Scotland.
" Having, I fear, exhausted your patience, I must
conclude with a renewed tender of my best servi
ces."

64
The following additional particular is extracted from
a subsequent letter of the same gentleman ; and, like
a variety of those stated in the one preceding, ,is ob
viously applicable only to a free or charity school :
" An important part of the plan of our girls' school,
which I omitted in my last/ is, that the girls are re
quired, on pain of forfeiting 20 tickets, to bring, on
the Wednesday afternoons, all their clothes that want
repair ; and they are then mended in school, under
the direction of two ladies, who attend, successively,
for this purpose. This plan has had a very great ef
fect, in forming the habits of the girls, as to neatness,
order, and cleanliness."

[A.] No.
Liverpool, 18
I recommend aged years
* of living in No.
Street, as a Pupil in the Daily School, if on
enquiry shall be found a proper Object for Admission ac
cording to the Rules of the Institution.

To the Inspector of Circus- 1
Street School. j Annual Subscriber.
* Son, or Daughter.

65

CLASS OF HONOUR.

This is to certify, that
enjoyed the Peculiar Distinction of being elected a MEMBER
ef the
MOST NOBLE CLASS OF HONOUR.
hy the unanimous voice ofthe Class,
sanctioned by my Approbation, this day of
18 , in consequence of which he is entitled to all the Rights
and Privileges of the Class, as the Reward of
Industry and General Good Conduct.
Entered No. Secretary.
Circus-Street School. Master,

[C] CIRCUS-STREET SCHOOL.
— »#« —
CERTIFICATE OF MERIT.
— »•©« —
This is to certify, That the Committee of Circus-Street
School have approved the conduct of
during the time she has been under their care, and they trust
that she will persevere in her endeavours to establish that char
acter, to which her uniform propriety of conduct has hitherto
entitled her. By the direction of the Committee,
Liverpool, 1 8
Entered

66

[D]
This is to certify, that
has been in my Employ for twelve months, and that during
that time her conduct has met my approbation.

[E]
having, in consideration
of her uniformly commendable behaviour, whilst in Circus-
street School, been elected a member of the CLASS of
HONOUR, and having produced a certificate from
of her having conducted herself
for more than year - whilst in employ, with uniform cre
dit to herself and satisfaction to her employer, the Committee
have adopted the resolution of presenting her with a Bible and
Hymn Book, or other books of equal value, and they trust that
this distinguishing mark oftheir approbation will encourage her
to persevere in that line of conduct, which cannot fail to secure
the esteem of all with whom she may be connected.
By Order ofthe Committee, R. BALDWIN, Master.
Circus-street School, Liverpool.
18

[FI
Understanding, that who has
been for some time past a member of CIRCUS-STREET
SCHOOL CLASS OF HONOUR, is now in your employ,
I take the liberty of requesting to be informed, how far his be
haviour has met your approbation during the last twelve months,
or during such part of that time as it may have been subject to
your immediate inspection. — I shall feel myself obliged by your

61

rendering your reply as full and explicit as possible, arid par
ticularly by your noticing whether yotl have discovered any de
fect in his conduct, with respect to integrity, diligence, modesty
of deportment, general attention to the interests of his employer ,
or any other qualification essential to the character of a faithful
servant, and virtuous upright young man.
Requesting the favour of a reply, on or before the
I remain, with great respect,
Your obedient Servant,
Master.
Circus-street School, Liverpool, 181
N B It may be necessary to remark, that should no reply
to the above enquiries respecting
be received, this circumstance will necessarily be construed to
his disadvantage.

[G] Understanding who has
been for some time past a member of CIRCUS-STREET
SCHOOL CLASS OF HONOUR, is retained at home in
your own employ, I shall be glad to receive from you a faithful
aeeount of conduct during the last twelve months, or during
so much of it as may have been at home, particularly no
ticing whether any defect has been observed in character,
with respect to integrity, diligence, modesty of behaviour, ge
neral attention to the interests and wishes of parents, or any
other qualification essential to the character of a dutiful and
virtuous upright young You will pie ase accompany
I 2

68
your report with a reference to some person of respectability,
who has had the opportunity of particularly noticing the conduct
of your
Should you feel any difficulty in Writing the reply to these
inquiries, on your calling upon me at the School, I shall, with
pleasure, render you any assistance in my power, but should no
reply be received on or before the
this circumstance will be necessarily construed to the disadvan
tage of your character. Master.
Circus-street School,
181

Whatever clear profits may arise from the sale qf
this Pamphlet, will be applied to the establishment qf
Lancasterian Schools, in the City and Suburbs of
Glasgow.

GLASGOW :
Printed by R. Chapman, Trongate.
1810.

The Doctrine of a Particular Providence :
A SERMON,

PREACHED IN

On Lord's Day, August 23d, 1812;
ON OCCASION OF
The Death of the Author's Brother,
Capt. JOHN WARDLAW,
WHO FELL IN THE BATTLE OF SALAMANCA,
On the 22d of the preceding Month.

By RALPH WARDLAW,
GLASGOW.

" O Jonathan, thou wast slain in thy high places:— I am distressed for thee,
my brother Jonathan. — 9 Sam. i. 25, 26.

PUBLISHED BY REQUEST.

THIRD EDITION.

GLASGOW,
Printed by James Hedderwick,
FOR JOHN SMITH & SON, GLASGOW;
WILLIAM WHTTE AKD CO. EDINBURGH; AND LONGMAN,
HURST, KEES, OEMS, AND BROWN,
LONDON. 1819.

PREFACE.

Such ofthe hearers ofthe following Discourse, as may peruse
it in its printed form, will recognise in it all the sentiments
which were uttered from the pulpit: and the Author trusts,
that no apology will be considered necessary, for his having
altered the language of delivery, which, in many parts, was
almost entirely extemporaneous, or for his having interwoven
such additional reflections, as occurred to his mind in the
course of transcribing ; the Discourse having been hurriedly
prepared, under considerable agitation of mind, on the day
before it was preached. The additional matter he had at
first thrown into notes, with a view to present the Sermon
itself to the public, as nearly as possible in the form in which
it was delivered; but upon reflecting, how apt such notes
are to be overlooked, and how much they interrupt the
course of reasoning and Illustration, he was led to alter his
plan, arid to adopt that which he has followed.
The Author is sufficiently aware, how much the interest
of such discourses as this arises from the peculiar impressions
under which they are heard at the time. There are two
considerations, however, by which he has been induced to
comply with the request to publish. — In the first place, he
is pleased with the idea, that the public may receive the
Discourse, whatever may be their judgment of its contents,
as a small testimony of affectionate regard to the memory of
a beloved and lamented brother; and, in the second place,
there is a possibility of its falling into the hands of some,
who either now are, or may soon be placed in similar cir
cumstances of distress with himself and his afflicted relatives.

From the number of individuals who are feelingly interested
about this one life, he has been forming some estimate in
his mind, of the vast accumulation of private affliction, which
is the result, amongst countrymen, allies, and enemies, of a
single engagement. While, as far as the natural regrets of
wounded affection will allow him, he desires to participate
in the public triumph, he recollects, that every " soldiers
sepulchre" in that field of blood, has its circle of bereaved
relatives and friends weeping around it. And if to any of
these, the sentiments contained in the following Discourse,
shall impart the same " strong consolation," in the hour of
woe, which they have communicated to his own mind, he
will consider himself richly rewarded indeed. .

aabertfeemtnt to the Cfctrtf CtUttum.
The following Sermon has been for several years out of print;
and, in consequence of the demand for it during that time,
the Third Edition is now offered to the public.
It is not to be supposed, that any particular interest which
might be excited at the time, by the occasion on which the
Discourse was delivered, can now remain in the public mind ;
when even the bitter anguish of surviving relatives has settled
into a tender and mournful remembrance. The subject of it,
however, is one of which the importance can never diminish;
and there are thousands of distressing events occurring every
day, to which the general principles discussed in it may be
applied, for the purposes of support and comfort, and spirit
ual profit, as well as to the fall of a friend in the field of
battle. What event is there, indeed, which is not affected by
" the doctrine of a particular providence?"

THE DOCTRINE

^PARTICULAR PROVIDENCE.

Matthew x. 29.

" Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them
shall not fall on the ground without your Father."
The doctrine of a Superintending Providence cannot
consistently be questioned by any one, who is convinced
that there is a God, and that the Universe owes its
existence to his creative power. That this providence
(to use the ordinary phraseology on the subject) is not
general only, but particular, comprehending under its
direction all events, of every kind, of every degree of
importance, and in all their endless variety of circum
stances: — is not only occasionally asserted, but every
where assumed as a fixed principle, in the Holy Scrip
tures. And this view of the matter perfectly accords
with the dictates of enlightened reason.
That this is the doctrine of the Bible, the text itself,
if there were not another passage on the subject, affords
sufficient proof. It contains the words of the faithful
Witness; and no language can be more explicit, — more
completely beyond the reach of the most subtle and
ingenious sophistry. — But the current phraseology of
the Bible is in exact harmony with this express de
claration. " O Lord, thou preservest man and beast:"

6
" The eyes of all wait upon thee; and thou givest them
their meat in due season. Thou openest thy hand, and
satisfiest the desire of every living thing:" " O Lord,
how manifold are thy works ! in wisdom hast thou made
them all: the earth is full of thy riches. So is this great
and spacious sea, wherein are things creeping innumer
able, both small and great beasts. These wait all upon
thee, that thou mayest give them their meat in due
season. That thou givest them they gather: thou
openest thy hand, they are filled with good. ' Thou
hidest thy face, they are troubled; thou takest away
their breath, they die, and return to their dust. Thou
sendest forth thy spirit, they are created; and thou
renewest the face of the earth. The glory of the Lord
shall endure for ever: the Lord shall rejoice in his
works*." The whole of the 107th Psalm might be
quoted on this subject, as the meditation of a devout
mind, contemplating the gracious care of Divine Provi
dence over the sons of men, in various situations, and
especially amidst trying occurrences; together with the
obligations of gratitude thence arising to that God, " in
whose hand is the life of every living thing, and the
breath of all mankind."— To multiply passages, however,
were endless; and it must be very unnecessary to any,
whose minds are at all familiar with the Sacred Volume.
To the reader both of the historical and prophetical
records of the Old Testament Scriptures, the doctrine
of a particular providence, cannot fail to appear as
strikingly pervading and characterising the whole. —
This, indeed, is one of the great distinguishing pecu
liarities of Scripture history; — the constant reference of
all things to a superintending providence. Jehovah is
- Fs. xxxvi. 6.: cxlv. 15, 16.: civ. 24—31.

kept continually in our view, as " Governor among the
nations*;" "ruling in the kingdoms of men, and giving
then} to whomsoever he will f ;" " putting down one, and
setting up another J;" determining victories and defeats,
with all the circumstances, common or extraordinary,
that lead to the one and to the -other; making men the
instruments of accomplishing his will, while they " mean
not so, neither do their hearts think so;" and main
taining a supreme and unceasing control over all events,
great and small, whether relative to nations, to families,
or to individuals. The invariable maxim of these in
spired writers, appears to be — '^All things ark of
God||." Of this we are never allowed to lose sight.
In the form of direct declaration, or of indirect allusion,
it meets us at every step of our progress. They " set
the Lord continually before us." The leading princi
ples, according to which the procedure of Providence
is conducted, are here developed; and the application
of them is exhibited in a great variety of instances.
The counsels of the Divine mind, the secret reasons
of the Divine conduct, are laid open, frequently in cases
where we could only have conjectured, and sometimes
where conjecture itself would have been at a standi — It
must be obvious, that, although it is the duty of every
man to observe the ways of God, and to acknowledge,
in all events, his wise and holy providence, yet no un
inspired wyiter can, without presumption, fully imitate,
in this respect, the style of the prophets and historians
of the Bible. For " who hath known the mind of the
Lord, or, being his counsellor, hath taught him§?"
Although we have in the Scriptures a highly interesting
specimen of the Divine administration, yet, even when
* Ps. xxii. 28. •(• Dan. iv. 25, 52. \ Ps. Ixxv. 7.
|| 2 Cor. v. 18. § Isa. xl. 13. Rom. xi. 34.

8
we have satisfactorily ascertained the general principles'
by which that administration is conducted, we must be
liable, without the immediate guidance of God's Spirit,
to incessant danger of mistake, in their application to
particular events. The bearings and connections of
these are so inconceivably complicated; there are so
many " wheels within wheels *," whose relation to each
other, mediate and immediate, we cannot, with any
distinctness, perceive; that we are constrained to own,
" Such knowledge is too wonderful for us; it is high,
we cannot attain unto it f." Yet notwithstanding this,
and although our application of general principles to
particular cases, ought always to be made with reverence
and caution, especially in what regards the immediate
causes of evil,, both to nations and to individuals, re
specting which we are in imminent danger of presump
tion and of partial judgment: — still it is highly satisfying
to the mind, to contemplate, in the Scripture history,
a true specimen of the operation of these principles, in
the Divine government of our world; and to be con
vinced, that, whether we be able to trace them or not,
they continue invariably to regulate the whole of the
arrangements of providence. I entertain no doubt, that
we want only an inspired history of the last twenty
years |, to show us these same principles in uniform
and uninterrupted exercise; to keep before our view
a constantly presiding Deity, by whom every thing is
adjusted, and directed to its 'end; " of whom, and
through whom,- and to whom, are all things ||." How
wonderfully different from an ordinary narrative, would
* Ezek. i. 16.: i. 10. f Ps. cxxxix. 6.
} It should be recollected, that nearly six years and a half have elapsed
•ince this Sermon was preached. || Rom. xi. 36.

9
be an account of these times " given by inspiration of
God*!" I observed that this doctrine, of a particular providence,
is consistent with the dictates of enlightened reason.
Whatever it was worthy of God's power to create,
it cannot surely be unworthy of that power to preserve
and to superintend. He has been pleased, by an exer
tion of omnipotence, to people the universe with an
immense profusion of life. Ought it to be considered
as, in any respect, beneath his infinite Majesty, to attend,
in every instance, to the life which he has given? Does
it not, on the contrary, present before the mind, the
most interesting and overwhelming view, not only ofthe
omnipresence and omniscience, but of the unbounded
* There is one of those general principles of the Divine administration,
to which I have alluded, as characterising the Scripture history, which, to
the mind of every true Christian, must be peculiarly interesting. I mean
the connection which the whole series of events has, either more or less
remotely, with the state and interests of the Church of God. Almost every
thing that is recorded of other nations, bears some relation to Israel;
and the interest of what is thus recorded, arises, in a great measure, from
the manner and the degree, in which the condition of that people is
affected by it. — And what Christian can doubt, that the Kingdom which
the Ged of Heaven has set up, is still the special object of his care? The
whole government of this lower world is conducted by the exalted
Redeemer, God in our nature, in subserviency to the interests of this
kingdom. In some cases we can clearly perceive the connection; in
others we are unable to trace it; but in every one ofthe complicated events
which now agitate and astonish the world, there is a connection, whether
we see it or not, with the progress of the kingdom of Christ. We are not
left, indeed, on this subject, to inference, however plain, from the Old
Testament History. The book of the Revelation, which is a prophetical
history, mysterious as some parts of it are, sets this principle at least, in
the clearest light. The events that befal the kingdoms of this world, are
all connected with the interests of Zion; all preparatory to their " becom
ing the kingdoms of our Lord and of his Christ." What else than this,
indeed, could we expect, in the administration of that God, whose most
glorious character, in reference to this world, is that of " the God of
SALVATION?"

10
goodness of the Parent of all, to conceive of him, as re
garding the life and condition of every living creature
which his power has framed? •«
While in such a supposition there is nothing degrad
ing, we should beware of associating with it, in the
remotest degree, any idea of difficulty or trouble. Noth
ing in the world is easier, than for a man who is so
inclined to burlesque any truth, however solemn and
important *. It is easy, for example, to represent the
infinite God as carefully concerning himself about the
life, condition, and death, of the meanest insect. Let
any who may feel disposed thus foolishly to amuse them
selves and others, by ludicrous exhibitions of a particular
providence, recollect, that creation also may be bur
lesqued, with the same ease, and with the same success.
The " Maker Omnipotent" may be described, as
busying himself about the leg of an ant, or the feelers of
a fly. But no man, surely, whose mind is not lamenta
bly destitute of religious principle, will venture to indulge
himself, in associating any conceptions that even border
on the ludicrous, with the " glorious and fearful namef"
of the eternal God.
* Perhaps the more solemn and momentous the subject, the easier is
the wit; as, in this case, the effect of contrast with ideas and associations
that are mean and frivolous, may be the more readily and forcibly pro
duced. May not this be one reason of the proyerbial facility of wit and
humour, when the Bible is the text-book, or sacred things in general the
theme? I am aware, indeed, that there is another reason; a reason less
creditable to the human heart : I mean the disposition which exists in the
unsanctified mind, to relish such profane jesting. I believe it to be, in
many instances, when the propensity to it is indulged, only a cover to a
spirit that is ill at ease; a method (alas! how foolish!) of reducing the
force of a painful impression, of banishing care, and of suspending, at
least for the moment, a secret dread of God, and of judgment. — I leave
every reader of this note to consult his own feelings.
f Deut. xxviii. 58.

11
We are always in imminent danger of imagining the
Almighty to be such an one as ourselves; — of forgetting
that infinite power, infinite presence, and infinite know
ledge, are not to be measured by the low standard of
our conceptions. Because we (poor weak creatures!)
can do, or can attend to, only one thing effectually at a
time, we are apt to conceive, that such an endless mul
tiplicity and variety of objects must distract and trouble
the infinite Jehovah. But far from our minds be such
thoughts as these! To infinite power it must be infi
nitely easy, to bring into being whatever infinite wisdom
may will to create; and to omnipresence and infinite
knowledge, it must be equally easy, to superintend,
with the minutest universality, all that infinite power
has brought, or can bring into being.
With regard to Mankind, the necessity of a particular
providence will appear, whether we view God in the
character of a Ruler, or in that of a Judge.
Consider him, in the first place, as the Ruler of the
World. Many who admit the general, deny, or at least ques
tion, the particular providence of God. That events
of signal importance in their nature and results, such,
for instance, as affect the destinies of nations, are ap
pointed of God, and directed by his immediate super
intendence, they readily allow; but in the more minute
and trivial incidents of ordinary life, they seem averse,
whatever may be the reason, to admit any necessity for
Divine interference '*.
* " It is the practice, we believe, with the orthodox, both in the Scotch
and English Churches, to insist very rarely, and very discreetly, upon the
particular instances of the interference of Divine providence. They do not
contend that the world is governed only by general laws; — that a Super-

12
But no sentiment can be more inconsistent with itself
than this. The most superficial observer of human
affairs must have remarked, to what a degree great and
small events, public and private occurrences, are in
volved in one another. They are, indeed, in an infinite
diversity of ways, so linked together, as reciprocal
causes and effects, that we cannot possibly conceive how
the one can be regulated without the other. Events, in
their own nature of vast magnitude, as well as pregnant
with the most extensive and interesting results, frequently
owe their origin to such circumstances as we jshould
pronounce in themselves unworthy of notice. In such
cases, it is obvious, the intended production of the
greater events, necessarily includes the appointment and
regulation of the smaller. The providence that purposes
and brings about the one, must, for this very end, ordain
and direct the other.
In Scripture history, we are furnished with a variety
of striking illustrations of this remark.
Mordecai refused to bow to Haman. — From this in
significant circumstance, of one man's withholding from
another the customary expressions of homage, arose a
decree for the massacre and extermination of a whole
people, scattered throughout all the hundred and twenty-
seven provinces of the Persian empire f . A short while
after, king Ahasuerus loses a night's rest: — " On that
night could not the King sleep." A mighty matter, truly,
that a king, on a particular night, should chance to be
intending Mind never interferes for particular purposes; but such pur
poses are represented to be of a nature very awful and sublime, — when a
guilty people are to be destroyed, — when an oppressed nation is to be
lifted up, and some remarkable change introduced into the order and
arrangement of the world. With this kind of theology, we can have no
quarrel; we bow to its truth, &c." — Edin. Review, vol. xi. p. 342, 343.
f Esther, chap. iii.

13
wakeful ! Yet this night's restlessness was the first link
in a chain of important results. It gave rise to the
downfall of the haughty courtier, to the elevation of
Mordecai, and, although not to a reversal of the bloody
decree, (for it was like the laws of the Medes and Per
sians, which could not be altered,) yet to a permission
to the devoted people to defend themselves, and to a
consequent complete and happy change in the whole
face of their affairs *. ¦ '•-
Little did Jesse the Bethlehemite imagine, when he
called David, his youngest son, from the sheep-fold, and
sent him to the camp, with an inquiry after the welfare
of his elder brothers, a supply of provisions, and a
present to the captain oftheir thousand, that this errand
was, by a singular concurrence of circumstances, to effect
the deliverance of " the armies of the living God" from
the infatuating dread of the Champion of Gath, to pro
cure a signal victory over the host of the Philistines, and
to prove an important step towards the elevation of
this Shepherd-boy to the throne of Israel f.
The dreams of Joseph present another remarkable
illustration of the same truth. From these dreams,
through their influence in fostering the envy and dislike
of his brothers, arose the most important consequences,
both to the land of Egypt, and to the posterity of
Israel. — Joseph's personal exaltation — the effects, im
mediate and permanent, arising from his administration
during the seven years of famine — the subsequent descent
of Jacob and his family into the land of Ham — their
wonderful increase — their reduction to a state of servi
tude — the mission of Moses — the display of God's power
and righteous judgment in the plagues of Egypt— the
* Esther, chap. vi. &c. t * Sam. chap. vii.

14.
deliverance of his people with a high hand and an out
stretched arm — the overthrow of Pharaoh and his host
in the Red Sea — the glory redounding to the name of
Jehovah, both in Egypt itself, and, by report, in other
countries — together with the impressions left, by their
mutual intercourse, on the character both of the Egyp
tians and of the Israelites, by which the whole of the future
history of the latter was, in some degree, affectedi— all
this, and much more, may be traced to the circumstance,
simple and natural as it is, of a young man's dreaming
of his own advancement *.
Striking instances to the same purpose, might be
selected from the history of every nation on earth, and
from the life of almost every individual.
During a long period, Heathen Rome had the ascend
ency among the nations. — Few things can be conceived
of less consequence than the quarter of the heavens in
which a clap of thunder happens to be heard; the flight
of birds to the right or to the left hand; the appearances
and movements of the smoking vitals of slaughtered
animals: — yet on these, and an endless variety of other
omens, as they were termed, equally trifling, the fates of
armies and of empires frequently depended. — And the
observation may be applied not to the Roman Auguries
* Although all may be ultimately traced to this circumstance; yet, as a
further illustration of the same remark, it may be noticed, that, while this
was not entirely the origo maii, the first thing that excited malicious jealousy
in the breasts of his brethren, (for this jealousy appears to have previously
arisen from their father's partiality to the son of his old age)— so neither
would it, of itself, have led to the descent of Joseph into Egypt: for, had
they put him to death, according to their first resolution, or had Reuben's
purpose succeeded, in advising to cast him into the pit — in either case, this
would have been prevented. But the circumstance of the Midianitish
merchants passing by at the critical moment, in the absence of Reuben,
suggested the counsel of Judah, and determined all that followed.

15
only, but to those of every Heathen nation, in ancient
and in modern times.
But an observation, of which the truth can hardly be
questioned, it is unnecessary more largely to illustrate.
Let us now view Jehovah in the character of a Judge.
That he sustains this character, and will act according
to it, with perfect righteousness, and unerring discern
ment, I must be allowed, for the present, to take for
granted. But to fit him for discriminative judgment, it
is manifest that all the affairs of mankind must be under
his constant notice and superintendence. — Characters can
not be judged, apart from the circumstances by which they
have been formed and modified: and these are beyond con
ception diversified and minute. — " God," we are assured,
"will bring every work into judgment, with every secret
thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil *." This
comprehends the thoughts, and words, and actions, of
every individual of the human race. Now these also, it
is obvious, must be judged in connection with all their
attendant circumstances. If circumstances are left out of
account, no enlightened sentence can be pronounced.
They are weights which are indispensably necessary, for
ascertaining, in the balance of justice, the exact propor
tions of good and of evil, in whatever is the subject of trial.
Let us take an instance, such as, in present circum
stances, most readily suggests itself to the speaker's
mind. — If God is to be judge of our behaviour under
trials; of the temper of mind with which we bear, and
of the manner and degree in which we improve them; he
must certainly be acquainted, and that most intimately,
with all the circumstances that enter into, or accompany
* Eccles. xii. 14.

16
them;, their nature and their degree alike depending upon
these. Nothing relating to them must take place by
chance, but all under his unceasing superintendence. — It
is one of the designs of God, by the dispensations of his
providence, to prove the characters of men, and to make
them manifest in their secret principles, that he himself
may appear just in the judgment which he executes. To
this end the minutest knowledge and direction are
essentially necessary; because the developement of human
character very often depends on the smallest and most
trivial occurrences. The scene of human life, indeed, as
has often been remarked, is, in general, made up of little
things. The characters of by far the larger proportion
of mankind, are both formed and exhibited amidst
comparative trifles. And no being can be qualified to
occupy the throne, as universal Judge, who has not been
a constant spectator of every individual, marking the
slightest variations, and the most unimportant incidents
of his daily life.
It is perfectly true, and these remarks are not at all
inconsistent with the admission, that there is a danger of
introducing the idea of Divine interposition, with an
excess of frequency and familiarity, in ordinary conver
sation, and ' on insignificant occasions. That which,
contemplated in the whole, presents a most impressive
and sublime view of the Divine Being, may be divested
of its dignity, and rendered mean and ludicrous, by
being broken down into too minute detail, and by being
often brought before the mind in low and ' degrading
connections. The too familiar mention of the providence
of God, has very much of the same tendency, as the
irreverent use of his thrice-holy Name. Every thing
that relates to God should, in the minds of his creatures,
be surrounded with a glory, and should partake of the

17
" reverence and godly fear" which are due to his name
and character.
There is one description of events, by which very little
interest is excited in the minds ofthe bulk of mankind, but
which are, in the sight of God, of eminent importance;
and which, if the Scriptures be true, we must believe to
be under the special notice and direction of his omniscient
providence: — I mean those events which relate to the
Kingdom of Christ, and particularly to the increase of
the number of his spiritual subjects. The Saviour him
self assures us, that there is "joy in Heaven over one
sinner that repenteth * : " — over one sinner that repenteth !
Each particular instance, then, of conversion to God, is
an object of Divine observation. The condition of the
convert may be mean and obscure; and what relates to
him may be unnoticed and unknown by the great
majority of his fellow-men around him. Yet the spiritual
state of such an obscure individual, when he turns 'f from ¦
darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto
Godf," excites a Divine interest, and is the cause of
joy in heaven. Now, if the event itself, however trifling
in the eyes of men, is of such magnitude in the estima
tion of God, all its previous and attendant circum
stances, — all that leads to it, — all that contributes, di
rectly or indirectly, to its production, must be considered
as under his immediate control. Yet these circumstances
are often extremely minute; and they vary, besides, in
almost every instance. Whatever incident awakens, in
the breast of a careless sinner, any portion of spiritual
concern; whatever tends to fix and deepen that concern,
and to prompt him to inquiry; whatever first suggests
to him the thought of looking into his Bible, and of
bowing his knee to God; whatever conducts him to the
* Luke xv. 7, 10. f Acts xxvi. 18.
C

18
book, to the company, or to the sermon, that is the
means of making him acquainted with the truth as it is
in Jesus — (and who can imagine how slight, and how
diversified such circumstances may be!) — all must, in
every case, be ordered by that God of all grace, who
purposes the salvation of the sinner.
There is one general difficulty which has often been
started, as attending the doctrine of a particular provi
dence, in reference to the affairs of mankind; namely,
the control which this doctrine supposes the Deity to
exercise over the volitions of free agents. — To say that
there is no difficulty here, would be foolish and pre
sumptuous; and, at the same time, a full consideration
of the argument connected with it, would lead into such
discussion, as is hardly consistent with the simplicity be
coming the Pulpit. But, though hostile, in general, to the
introduction here of any thing that wears the aspect of
abstruse metaphysics, I cannot, with propriety, pass over
the difficulty in question, without one or two remarks.
There are some truths, which, in spite of the ridicule
of the sceptic, we ought, in all our reasonings on such
subjects, to take for granted, and to consider as fixed
principles. — The two following propositions, however
much we may be at a loss to reconcile them, must both
be true. Each of them, when taken apart from the
other, carries within itself its own evidence, to every
serious and rightly constituted mind.
In the first place, Men must be free; that is, without
restraint on the one hand, or compulsion on the other: —
for this kind of liberty is essentially necessary to the very
idea of their being accountable creatures. And if human
accountability is once set aside, our reasonings respecting
the existence, and perfections, and providence of God,

19
are deprived, with regard to us, of all their interest.
They lose their most important application.
In the second place, The Divine Being must have some
kind qf control over the will qf these free agents: otherwise
it will follow, that the volitions of finite creatures may
counteract, and frustrate, the purposes of infinite wisdom,
and the operations of almighty power: — than which, no
supposition can be conceived more self-evidently impious.
These things, therefore, must be so, whether we are
able to show their consistency or not. Let us never
forget, in our speculations on such subjects, that we are
finite creatures, and that God is an infinite Being. To
such creatures it surely ought not to be very surprising,
if, in the ways, as well as in the nature of such a Being,
they find many things that puzzle their limited capacities.
That we cannot discover a reconciling principle between
the two propositions which have just been stated, can
never be a sufficient reason for questioning the truth
either of the one or of the other.
To a certain extent, however, we are by no means
incapable of conceiving, how the volitions of free agents
may, in perfect consistency with every just notion of their
liberty, be directed and over-ruled by Him " whose coun
sel stands, and who doeth all his pleasure*."
Supposing the will of man to be uniformly subject to the
influence of motives, (and the notion of a self-determining
power of the will, abstracted from all such influence, is
demonstrably contradictory to reason and to fact) — we
can readily imagine how God can direct its determina
tions, by placing individuals, in the administration of his
providence, in such circumstances and situations as, he
previously knows, shall determine their volitions to a
certain point. — There can hardly be any hesitation in
* Isa. xlvi. 10.

20
admitting this as a general principle; nor can there be
any great difficulty in understanding the consistency be
tween such superintendence and the freedom of human
agency. And if the general principle be admitted, the
endless variety, and unceasing constancy, of its applica
tion, can form no solid objection, when our reasonings
respect an infinite Being.
We can even extend this idea beyond the mere. disposal
of external circumstances. We can conceive of God
as causing to occur to the minds of men, directly or in
directly, in an infinite multiplicity of secret ways, such
conceptions and views of things, as shall, in every case,
fix and modify their volitions, and their consequent con
duct. By such a supposition, the will is no more deprived
of its freedom, than when a man is determined, in the
choice of his procedure, by the counsel of a friend, or by
the directions and arguments of a book, either intentionally
put into his hand, or accidentally falling in his way.
The Divine Being must be intimately acquainted with
the constitution of every mind: — he must possess an
infallible previous knowledge of the effects, which the
occurrence of particular circumstances, or the suggestion
of particular views, will produce on the will of every
individual. It is the sovereign and universal command
of whatever can contribute to affect the volitions of his
intelligent creatures, — a command exercised in such a
way, as not, in the slightest degree, to impair the
conscious liberty of the agent, — that alone enables him
to conduct the government of a world like ours, so as
uniformly to accomplish his own designs, without destroy
ing human accountability.
The multitude of mankind is so great; — the variety of
character amongst them so endless; — their connections
and interests so prodigiously diversified ;— their desires

21
and volitions so incessantly crossing and interfering with
one another; — that, to our minds, such a universal control
is utterly inconceivable; and we are therefore in danger
of questioning its possibility* But when, in such a case,
we feel our powers of comprehension baffled, instead of
inspiring doubts of the Divine supremacy, the feeling
should only remind us of our own weakness, and cherish
a becoming humility. The existence of such a control
is necessary to the regulation of the greatest events, as
well as of the least. To deny it, is at once to involve our
selves, with regard to the concerns of the whole rational
creation, in the dreary darkness of Epicurean atheism.
That men are by nature depraved: — that, while
unrenewed by Divine grace, their will is under the do
minion of lusts and passions, which determine it to evil,
and not to good: — and that the circumstances, in which
wicked men are placed, do often give occasion to the
perpetration of the most flagrant enormities: — are melan
choly truths. — That " the righteous God, who loveth
righteousness *," approves these enormities, or the
principles from which they spring, it were the height of
impiety, for a single moment, under any qualification, to
suppose. Yet it would hardly be less impious, to question
whether these circumstances, in which wicked men
seek and find occasion to indulge their malignant and
unhallowed passions, are under the direction of his
overruling providence. From the denial of this, conse
quences would follow, from which every serious mind
will shrink, with instinctive abhorrence. — Whenever a
creature becomes depraved, he, on this supposition,
places himself beyond the reach of Divine government;
— his proud and impious wish for independence is
gratified;— 'dependence ceases at the very moment when
* Ps. xi. 7.

control becomes most necessary; — the creature, in effect,
becomes the Creator's superior^ the purposes of the
latter are subjected to the will of the former; they are
stripped of all that certainty which constitutes their
peculiar glory; and are exposed to that incessant risk
of failure, and even of reversal, which has rendered
proverbial the " vanity of human wishes." — These con
sequences are fearful; but they are legitimate. I con
clude, therefore, that what the inspired Psalmist says
of the wrath of man, must be applicable, in the full
spirit of it, to all the wicked lusts and passions of the
human heart: " Surely the wrath of man shall praise
thee; and the remainder of wrath thou wilt restrain *."
Even to the wildest tempest of conflicting passions He
must be able to say, with unfailing authority — " Hither
to shalt thou come, and no further." — When men in
dulge their vicious inclinations, they contract guilt, and
expose themselves to punishment. The inclinations
themselves, and the actions to which they give rise, lose
nothing of their evil nature, from the circumstance,- that
God does not allow them to frustrate his own purposes,
but makes them subservient to their accomplishment.
To subserve the designs of Providence, forms no part of
wicked men's intentions; neither are they conscious of
any restraining or impelling influence, abridging their
liberty of action. The king of Assyria gratified, by his -
conquests, the pride of his ambitious and haughty mind:
" God was not in all his thoughts." Yet, while " he
meant not so, neither did his heart think so," he was
only the " rod of Jehovah's anger," executing a charge
against "the people of his wrath:" and when his work
was done, he was himself to receive the punishment of
his proud impiety, and overbearing insolence f. The
¦ * Ps. lxxvi. 10. f See Isa. x. 5—19.

23
murderers of the Lord of glory effected, by his cruci
fixion, a Divine purpose; for he was delivered to death,
" by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God."
But their deed — of nameless deeds the chief — was not,
on this account, the less criminal. — "By wicked hands
he was crucified and slain *." When they shouted, " His
blood be on us, and on our children!" they gave utter
ance to passions of the deepest malignity; and on all
of them who had not recourse to that very blood for
pardon, the wrath of God came to the uttermost. — The
superintendence of the Almighty is silent and secret;
his voice unheard — his arm unseen. He infuses no evil
principles; and while he controls the operations of such
as already exist, it is in a way (let us be firmly assured,
whatever difficulties the subject may present,) which nei
ther palliates the guilt of his creatures, nor implies, on
his part, — (I shudder at the very thought !) any approba
tion of human folly, any participation in human crime.
Some have thought, that the necessity of a particular
providence may be superseded, by supposing a perfect
original arrangement of the universal system, in all its
complicated variety; and such an adjustment of all its
parts, in their mutual relation, as causes and effects, that,
after a primary impulse, to give a commencing motion,
the whole might be left to itself, without any subsequent
intervention of Divine power. — To every reflecting mind,
however, this theory, which is borrowed from the science
of mechanics, must appear in its nature quite too me
chanical for such a subject. We can, indeed, without
much feeling of incongruity, apply the idea of such a
machine to the mere movements of the material universe.
But to the incessant variations even of natural appear-
» Acts ii. 22, 23.

24

ances, and much more to the actions of living beings,
to the numberless, shifting, and capricious volitions of
free agents, mutually independent, and of characters
inconceivably diversified, the notion of a machine, with
wheels and pinions, set a-going by a primary impulse,
and then left to itself, seems utterly incapable of any
consistent application. — That the infinitely wise God did
form an original arrangement, embracing the whole
extent of time, with all its history, even to the minutest
circumstance, is readily admitted. To suppose the con
trary, is to degrade him beneath his creatures, making
him act without a plan. But this is perfectly consistent
with the idea of his incessantly superintending the exe
cution of this plan, and conducting it, in all its parts, to
its final completion.
The idea, indeed, of a present Deity, pervading the
universe, sustaining the whole system by an unintermitting
energy, guiding the movements of every part, according
to regular, although not inviolable laws; and exercising
a constant, although secret and imperceptible control,
over the circumstances and actions of all creatures in
which is the breath of life, rational and irrational;—
seems, on the whole, to be by far more consonant than
any other, to the dictates of sound philosophy, as well
as to the general tenor, and express declarations, of the
Holy Scriptures.— We sometimes hear men speak of the
laws of nature, as if these laws were, in some mysterious
sense, powers, and powers operating of themselves. It
is obvious, however, that a law, properly speaking, is
not a power, but only a rule according to which any
power operates. In talking of nature, and the laws of
nature, men are in danger of forgetting the God of
nature. These laws depend upon his will. They are
the rules, or methods, according to which his power is

25
exerted. That power is " ever present, ever felt," and
is the real efficient cause, throughout the universe, of all
existence, and motion, and life, and activity. — It seems
to be capable of demonstration, that every creature must
depend, in every successive moment, for its existence
and its activity, upon successive volitions of that God
from whom it originally derived its beings If we can
suppose a creature to exist, and to act, independently of
the immediate exercise Qf the Divine will, for one moment,
we can extend the supposition to a second moment, and to
a third; and we are thus led by it into the contradictory
absurdity, of a self-existent and independent creature; of
a creature possessing the incommunicable attributes of its
Creator. As every creature must, from its very nature,
be dependent, that dependence cannot, without a contra
diction, be supposed to suffer interruption, even for an
instant of time. Every throb of every pulse that beats,
every motion, and every action, of every created being,
must depend on an immediate volition of Deity.
The words of the text, you will observe, were origi
nally used by our Lord, when presenting encouragement
to the minds of his Apostles, in the prospect of that
difficult and perilous work in which they were about to
be engaged. — " Fear not them who kill the body, but
are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear Him, who
is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Are
not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of them
shall not fall on the ground without your Father. But
the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear^ye
not, therefore, ye are of more value than many spar
rows.* " Did these words imply, that they were never
to suffer? or, if they did suffer, that they should, at
least, be so protected by Divine providence, as never to
* Verses 28 — 31.
D

26
die in the cause of their master? Subsequent facts show,
that no such assurance was intended. They were as
sured only, or rather strongly reminded, that men
" could have no power at all, except it were given them
from above.* And this was enough. The conviction
of it affords " strong consolation" to every serious mind.
To render this truth a ground of firm support and
tranquil confidence, in every situation, we have only to
generalize it, applying it not to men only, as instruments
of evil in God's hand, but to every thing in existence,
known or unknown to us, that possesses any conceiv
able power of doing us harm.
The Divine purpose, we ought to remember, (for if
we forget this, many things will be excluded from the
consolation just alluded to,) comprehends, not only
particular events themselves, but likewise all their rela~
tive bearings, however diversified. It has been made
an objection to the doctrine of a particular providence,
that the same incident is frequently the occasion of
good to one, and of evil to another: — that the same
wind, as it has been expressed, which brings one vessel
safe into port, drives another out to sea. — But what
then? Is it at all inconceivable, that both these oppo
site effects should be at once in the Divine intention? —
that the infinitely wise God should accomplish two or
more purposes by one instrument? Can any good
reason be assigned, why every individual, when he per
ceives the effect which any occurrence produces to him
self, should not consider that effect (whatever may have
been the consequences to others) as having been, with
regard to himself, in the design of the omniscient Being,
by whom the occurrence itself was ordered? It is only,
indeed, on such a principle as this, that we can rightly
improve, each of us for himself, the various dispensations
* John xix. 11.

27
of God's hand; — amongst which, we can scarcely con
ceive an instance, in which the result, to all who are
affected by it, can be, in every respect, precisely the same.
" Even the hairs of your head," said Jesus to his dis
ciples (and it is to such characters that the words are
still particularly addressed) — " Even the hairs of your
head are all numbered." This expression is very strong,
and must bear a very extensive application. If, for
instance, the very hairs of our head are numbered,
surely our relatives and friends are numbered; and
numbered, not solely on their own account, but as re
lated to us. If " a sparrow falls not on the ground
without our Father in heaven," surely the fall of one of
these cannot escape his notice, — cannot happen without
his permission. What! shall we believe, as the text
warrants us to believe, that the shot which is discharged
at a fowl of the air, is secretly directed, whether it shall
only wing the bird, or bring it dead to the ground, or
allow it still to soar in life and liberty: — and yet for a
moment entertain a doubt, whether the same direction
guides those instruments of death, that fly in the midst
of the battle, and on which depend the lives of rational
and immortal beings? — Away with the inconsistent and
comfortless thought ! — Speak not of the fate qf war, of
the chance qf battle. It is the language of heathenism —
it is the language of atheism. The sword of Gideon is
the sword of the Lord. " A certain man drew a
bow at a venture." — At a venture! Ah! but that arrow,
while it sung through the air, had its commission. It
was winged with death to the King of Israel; and, with
unerring speed, it found its way to the only exposed
part of his person, and " pierced him between the joints
ofthe harness.*" — All — all is ordered: —
,; All chance, direction which we cannot see."
* 1 Kings xxii. 34.

28
As certainly as the disease is sent by providence, which
brings a friend to death, either suddenly or by wasting
decay, in the midst of his kindred at home, so certainly
is the ball that pierces the heart of a son, or a brother,
and lays him low in the land of strangers, guided to its
fatal destination, amidst the din, and smoke, and con
fusion of the battle, by the eye of the omniscient God. —
Take away the firm conviction of this blessed truth, and
you take away the most soothing balsam of a bleeding
heart. — Shake the conviction of this truth, and you
unfix the " anchor of the soul," and leave the poor frail
vessel the sport of contending elements !
O how sweet, how passing sweet, the repose which the
heart enjoys, when it is enabled to " rest in the Lord! * "
Some may be disposed to think, that tracing all our
trials to the providence of God must have a tendency
to alienate our affections from him: — and all who know
" the plague of their own hearts," will be ready to allow,
that their natural pride is in danger of taking offence,
and of tempting them to say, in their hearts at least, if
not with their lips — " I do well to be angry.f" This,
however, is not a temper of mind, to which a child of
God can give indulgence. It springs from a faithless and
partial view of the perfections of his character, and of his
relation, as a Father, to his chosen people. A full and
believing view of these perfections, and of this relation,
as revealed in Christ Jesus, never fails to impart to the
soul, a delightful satisfaction, and a peace, which indeed
" passeth all understanding.^"
" One of them shall not fall on the ground, without
your Father." — The providence of which I have been
speaking, is the providence of our Father — of our Father,
not in virtue of creation only; (for although in this sense
"all are his offspring," yet alas! there are multitudes,
* Ps. xxxvii. 7. f Jonah iv. 9. t Phil. iv. 7.

29
who, continuing " children of disobedience," are the
objects of his holy displeasure;) but in virtue of our in
terest, by faith, in the Lord Jesus, in whom God is well
pleased, and who said to his disciples, before he left the
world, " I ascend to my Father and your Father, to my
God, and your God.* " — " Ye are all the children of
God," says Paul, " by faith, in Christ Jesus.f
Let us briefly notice, for our consolation and support,
under the pressure, or in the prospect, of trouble, some
of those views which the Scriptures present to us, of the
character of that Divine Father, who is the author of
all our trials.
He is Sovereign. — " He doeth according to his will,
in the armies of heaven, and amongst the inhabitants of
the earth; J" possessing a right, which must not be ques
tioned, to dispose of us and ours, as well as of all his
creatures, as may seem good in his sight. And to his
sovereign appointments it surely becomes us, under a
deep sense of our infinite inferiority, our unceasing
dependence, and our total unworthiness, humbly and
silently to bow. — But, that our contemplation of his
sovereignty may produce in us this lowly and submissive
temper of mind, it is necessary that our ideas of it be
correct. We must beware of confounding it with what,
in man, is denominated caprice; which acts according
to momentary impulse, without a reason, and without
a steady purpose. The thought of such sovereignty
could yield no comfort, could inspire no resignation.
But the sovereignty we ascribe to God, is not of this
nature; not the inconsistent and ever-fluctuating conduct
of an arbitrary tyrant, but the enlightened and steady
procedure of an infinitely wise and gracious Governor.
His sovereignty is directed in all its operations by —
Infinite Wisdom — wisdom which cannot err. — We
* John xx. 17. f Gal> "'• 26< i Dan- iv> 33,

so
may be assured, with absolute certainty, that there exists
in the mind of God, a reason for every part of his con
duct. The reason is frequently a secret, known only to
himself: and when we resolve into the sovereignty of
God, events for which we feel ourselves unable to ac
count, we use a term which is simply expressive of our
own ignorance. But, although the reason be concealed,
the certainty of its existence, as a reason that has satis
fied the infinitely Wise, ought surely to produce in our
minds the confidence that all is well. O let us never be
so proudly presumptuous, as to set up our own wisdom,
as a standard by which to measure the wisdom of God !
In every thing we are short-sighted, and liable to innu
merable mistakes; and in matters that regard ourselves,
we are, moreover, self-interested and partial. If every
thing, in the Divine administration, were as clear to us
as it is to Him who " knoweth the end from the begin
ning," where would be the room for the exercise of
trust? As there could be no patience without trouble,
no resignation without sensibility, so there can be little
room for confidence in God, without some measure of
felt darkness. It is to the procedure of Divine provi
dence that the prophet especially refers, when he thus
exhorts the people of God : " Who is among you that
feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant,
that walketh in darkness and hath no light? let him
trust in the Name of the Lord, and stay himself upon
his God.* " — There are, it is true, peculiar occasions of
trial, in which affection pleads so powerfully against
faith; — in which the heart is so eloquent against the
judgment; the feelings of Nature against the dictates of
Grace; — that compliance with this admonition becomes
a duty of no common difficulty. When an affectionate
father has interceded, with a melting heart, for the life
* Isa. f. 10.

31
of his son; how shall we convince him, when his son
is taken away, that he has pleaded for an injury to
himself? When a fond wife feels the dreary blank of
an absent husband — absent, to return no more — and
gazes, with a full eye, and a burdened heart, upon her
fatherless children; O! how can she ever bring herself
to think, that his continued presence could possibly have
done her harm? — On the death of a faithful friend; —
on the fall of a beloved brother; — the imagination of his
prolonged life still haunts us when he is gone; and how
can we ever associate with the sadly pleasing delusion,
any ideas but those of good? — Yet even in such circum
stances, humble submission, and unshaken confidence
in the unerring wisdom of God, are our incumbent
duty: for indeed there are no circumstances in which
we are more in danger of being deceived. It is impos
sible for us, short-sighted creatures as we are, to tell,
with regard to any of the Divine dispensations, what
consequences would have followed, had they been, in
any respect, otherwise than they are. This ignorance
ought surely to keep us humble, and to lead us, under
the most deeply afflictive bereavements, to say, with the
Psalmist, " I was dumb, I opened not my mouth; be
cause thou didst it.*"
The confidence which we repose in the infinite wisdom
of Him, without whom a sparrow faileth not to the
ground, ought to be extended also to his —
Inviolable Faithfulness. — Faithfulness refers to
an engagement: — the faithfulness of God, to all his
" exceeding great and precious promises.!" These
respect both " the life that now is, and that which is
to come4" All that we can possibly need to make us
happy, — security from every real evil, and the possession
of every necessary good, may be considered as included
* Ps. xxxix. 9. f 2 Pet. i. 4. i 1 Tim. iv. 8.

32
in the Divine declaration, "I will never leave thee;
will never, never forsake thee.* " He who thus engages
to be with his people in every situation — pledging every
perfection of his nature to do them good — " is not a man
that he should lie, nor the son of man that he should
repent. Hath he said, and will he not do? hath he
spoken, and will he not make it good?f " We may be
sure we are in the wrong, when, at any time, we are
tempted to doubt the veracity of the God of truth. He
has not engaged that every thing shall be according to
our wishes: for our wishes are often formed in ignorance
and in haste, and, if gratified, would do us essential
harm. But he has assured us, that " all things," —
without a single exception of aught that is done by him —
".work together for good "—for real present and eternal
advantage — ;"to those who love. God, to those who are
the called according to his purpose.^" Even our severest
trials are fulfilments of his engagement, to act towards
us the part of a Father; not leaving us " wholly un
punished :" " for what son is he, whom the Father
"chasteneth not?||" So that, under all of themj we
have reason to say with the Psalmist, " I know, O Lord,
that thy judgments are right, and that in faithfulness thou
hast afflicted me.§" — In proportion to the preciousness of
the Divine promises, is the comfort arising from the assu
rance that they are all " yea and amen, in Christ Jesus.^f "
In inseparable union with the wisdom and faithful
ness of our Father who is in heaven, let us view, in the
exercise of faith, his —
Immutable Love, as dictating, and characterising,
all the dispensations of his adorable providence. — His
general goodness is manifest in all the works of his hands:
but he " commends his love toward us, in that, while we
* Heb. xiii. 5. f Num. xxiii. 19. \ Rom. viii. 28.
|| Heb. xii. 7. § Ps. cxix. 75. U 2 Cor. i. 20.

33
were yet sinners, Christ died for us.* " This is God's
" unspeakable gift" and surely the love that has bestowed
it, will never do its objects harm. How irresistibly con
clusive the apostolic inference — " He who spared not
his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he
not, with him, also freely give us all things! f" The love
of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord, is " without
variableness, or shadow of turning." " Neither death,
nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor
things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature, shall be able to separate f " from
it, those who are its happy objects.
" In joy and sorrow, life and death,
" His love is still the same."
In the midst of our heaviest trials, then, let us never
" forget the exhortation that speaketh unto us, as unto
children: My son, despise not thou the chastening of
the Lord, neither be thou weary of his correction; for
whom the Lord loveth he correcteth, even as a father
the son in whom he delighteth.|| "
Thus doth the blessed God, in infinite condescension,
make his appeal, when assuring us of his love, to the
tenderest feelings of our nature. How does the heart
of an affectionate father melt over the sufferings of a
beloved child! How does it shrink, with hesitating
reluctance, from the infliction even of salutary pain !
Let those who know by experience, (and none can know
otherwise,) what this feeling is, remember the Divine
declaration; "Like as a father pitieth his children, so
the Lord pitieth them that fear him:§" and, whether
they are trembling between hope and fear beside the
sick-bed of their son, or weeping over his near or his
distant grave, let their hearts be filled with comfort.
* Rom. v. 8. f Rom. viii, 32. f Rom. viii. 38, 59.
|| Prov. iii. 11,12. Heb. xii. 5—11. § Ps. ciii. 1 3.
E

34
Still further: " Trust ye in the Lord for ever; for
in the Lord Jehovah is —
Everlasting Strength. * " — View his almighty
power, in connection with his faithfulness and love.
The might of Him who created the heavens and the
earth is engaged to fulfil his promises, and to execute all
the purposes of his grace and mercy. The thought of
this may well banish despondency from our hearts, and
fill them with " perfect peace." " If God be for us, who
can he against us?f " " Lift up your eyes on high, and
behold who hath created these things, that bringeth out
their host by number; he calleth them all by names, by
the greatness of his might; for that he is strong in power,
not one faileth. Why sayest thou, O Jacob, and speakest,
O Israel, My way is hid from the Lord; and my judg
ment is passed over from my God? Hast thou not known,
hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord,
the Creator of the ends of the earth, fajnteth not, neither
is weary? There is no searching of his understanding.
He giveth power to the faint, and to. them that have no
might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint
and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall : but
they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run,
and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. %"
Such is the character of that Divine Father, whose
universal providence is so emphatically affirmed in the
text. It is his providence connected with his character,
that imparts confidence and comfort to the minds of his
children, amidst all the changes of life. — Providence,
unconnected with character, could give the mind no satis
faction. But when we contemplate the sovereignty, the
wisdom, the fait) fulness, the love, and the power of God,
* Isa. xxvi. 4. f Rom. viii. 31. { Isa. xl. 26 — 31.

35
the providence of such a Being, considered as ordering
every event, yields the most rational and solid delight.
On the reality of such a providence, are founded the
propriety and the duty of prayer and of thanksgiving; the
reasonableness of both being as effectually set aside, by
the denial of the providence of God, as by the denial of
his existence. If he does not exist, prayer and thanks
giving have no object: and if he exercises no immediate
superintendence over the affairs of his creatures, our
praises and our prayers are the vain offerings of ignorance
and folly. , Why should we petition for any blessing, —
for preservation from danger, or deliverance out of it;
for the bestowment of desired good, or the prevention of
dreaded evil; — unless we are satisfied, that the Being
whom we address listens to our supplications, and takes
an interest in our concerns? And to whom shall our
songs of gratitude ascend, for blessings enjoyed, if we
cannot tell, in every instance, whence these blessings
come? — whether from the kindness of an omniscient
Being, watching over us every moment, and appointing
all the circumstances of our lot; or from the mere for
tuitous intervention of second causes, operating without
his knowledge, and without his direction? If we do not
admit," as a universal truth, that " all things are of God,"
who shall draw the line amongst the blessings we enjoy,
and direct us when to be grateful to Him, as our boun
tiful benefactor, and when to withhold our praise? How
much more becoming is it, in sinful creatures, who are
unworthy of the smallest good, to acknowledge all their
enjoyments, the least as well as the greatest, as proceed
ing from " the Father of lights, with whom there is no
variableness, nor shadow of turning ! * " The denial of
the universality of divine providence, indeed, tends to
annihilate those feelings which constitute the very spirit
* James i. 17.

36
of prayer and of thanksgiving; — a sense of dependence,
and a sense of obligation — feelings which cannot, surely,
be too easily excited, or too constantly experienced. It
disconnects devotional sentiment from all the ordinary
occurrences of life; instead of counteracting, it aids a
propensity, which, alas ! needs no such assistance, — the
propensity which is in human nature, to forget God;
and, so far from cherishing humble piety, it leads
directly to practical atheism.
The nature, duty, and efficacy of prayer, however, form
a subject of so much importance, as well to deserve a
separate discussion. I shall not, therefore, enlarge upon
it at present, but shall direct your attention to it at some
early opportunity.
Meantime, in concluding this Discourse, let me remind
every one now present, that, while the providence of God
extends to all his creatures, — yet amongst mankind he
makes a difference: — a difference between "those who
serve the Lord, and those who serve him not."—" The
eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, > and his ears
are open to their cry: the face of the Lord is against
them that do evil, to cut off the remembrance of them
from the earth." — " Evil shall slay the wicked; and they
that hate the righteous shall be desolate. The Lord re
deemed! the soul of his servants; and none of them that
trust in him shall be desolate.* " — In the circumstances
of their temporal situation, either in life or in death, this
distinction may not appear. There may seem to be no
marked discrimination. The wicked may often prosper,
while the righteous is in adversity; so that no man may
be able to " know good or evil, love or hatred, by all
that is before him;f " and the faith of God's people may
at times be in danger of being shaken, and their hearts
tempted to question whether there be " knowledge in the
* Ps. xxxiv. 15, 16. 21. 22. f Eccles. ix. 1.

37
Most High,*"— But "verily there is a God that judgeth
in the earth. + " The prosperity of the wicked is no
evidence that they are the objects of Divine complacency
and approbation: — nor are the afflictions of the children
of God any indication that their Father in heaven has
forgotten to be gracious. — God, by one of his prophets,
said to the rebellious Jews of old, " / will curse your
blessings.%" Such is the melancholy condition of every
man who prospers in his wickedness; — whom " the good
ness of God leadeth not to repentance." The secret
curse of the Most High mingles with his very blessings.
Even in the cup of his worldly pleasure, he drinks the
indignation of heaven. — And when his end comes — what
a fearful end ! " When the wicked spring as the grass,
and all the workers of iniquity do flourish;' it is that they
shall be destroyed for- ever ! \\" — How different the con
dition of the children of God, as before described, when
we spoke of the wisdom, faithfulness, and love, of their
heavenly Father! While the blessings of the wicked
are cursed, the afflictions of the righteous are blessed ;
all contributing, as salutary discipline, to promote their
holiness; " working for them a far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory. §" — Let us not be startled into
impious and discouraging doubts of the reality of Divine
superintendence, b}' those inequalities, in the allotment
of temporal good and of temporal evil, which have just
been alluded to :— but recollecting, that it is not accord
ing to their external situations,, but according to their
characters in these situations, that men shall be finally
judged; let us adopt the language of Asaph, after his
unhappy scepticism had been removed, and his mind
restored to pious and joyful confidence: — " I went (says
he) into the sanctuary of God; then understood I their
¦* Ps. lxxiii. 11. Jer. xii. I, 2. f Ps. lviii. 11.
f Mai. ii. 2. |( Ps. xcii. 7. § 2 Cor. iv. 17.

38
end. Surely thou didst set them in slippery places: thou
castedst them down into destruction. How are they
brought into desolation, as in a moment! They are
utterly consumed with terrors! — Nevertheless I am con
tinually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right
hand. Thou shalt guide me with thy counsel, and
afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven
but thee? and there is none upon earth that I desire
besides thee. My flesh and my heart fail; but God is
the strength of my heart, and my portion for ever.* "
We are all, by creation, the offspring of the same
Divine Parent; and all under the eye of his omniscient
providence. — But I must remind you again, that there
is a closer, and more important filial relation to God,
than this. Unless you are "children of God by faith in
Christ Jesus,\" your being his creatures will not protect
you from his threatened displeasure. Many who are his
creatures shall " perish at the rebuke of his countenance."
"Children qf disobedience," must be "children qf wrath.% "
— And who are the children of disobedience? The fol
lowing solemn words answer the question: "The Lord
Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty
angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that
know not God, and that obey not the gospel qf our Lord
Jesus Christ. || " — To " obey the gospel," is to yield to it
the assent of the mind, as welcome and well-established
truth — the truth of God; and to conform our lives to its
sanctifying power, "in all holy conversation and godli
ness." The gospel is most aptly characterised as " the
grace of God, bringing salvation. §" Any other view
of it than this, destroys its very essence. It is not obeyed,
unless it is received as a message of pure grace, to the
utterly unworthy. — Neither, on the other hand, is it
* Ps. lxxiii. 17—26. •)• Gal. iii. 26. } Eph. ii. 3. iv. 6.
|| 2 Thess. i. 7, 8. § Titus ii. 11.

39
obeyed, unless those who profess to have received it, are
" taught by it, to deny all ungodliness and worldly lusts,
and to live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present
world.*" But all who, in the two senses mentioned,
" obey the truth," are " in Christ Jesus," and interested
in God's paternal love. They walk in the light of his
countenance. The providence of their Father, by which
the hairs of their head are numbered, and without which
a sparrow faileth not to the ground, is engaged to do them
good while they are here; and his grace has promised to
make them infinitely and eternally happy hereafter.
There is one thing, my dear friends, which, with regard
to every one of us, we may be assured, is determined by
the particular providence of God. From the mournful
event that has suggested to me the subject of discourse,
you will at once anticipate, that I mean, the time, the
place, the manner, and the circumstances, of our death.
By that Supreme Disposer of all events, " without whom
a sparrow faileth not to the ground," " our days are
determined: the number of our months is with Him: He
hath appointed our bounds that we cannot pass.f " The
moment that shall terminate for ever our connection with
this world, was fixed, in the purpose of God, before that
connection began: — and that fixed moment may, to some
of us, for aught we can tell, be very near at hand.
" The number'd hour is on the wing,
" That lays thee with the dead."
— Every death of a fellow-creature, in whatever way it
happens, and whether near or at a distance, sounds in
your ears a solemn and impressive warning. True,
indeed, you are not exposed to the hazards of battle — in
no danger of being numbered among the slain in the field
of blood: — but are there not ten thousand arrows besides,
in the quiver of the " king of terrors?" Can you reckon
1 Titus ii. 11, 12. f Job xiv. 5.

40
up the number, or describe the variety, of his instruments
of destruction? Can you pronounce yourselves, for a
single moment, secure? Have you made a covenant with
death? Have you formed an agreement with the grave?
— Ah! my friends, even now Death may be " fitting his
arrow upon the string," for some in this assembly ! You
feel yourselves well; you perceive no danger. Many a
one was as well, and as free of apprehension yesterday,
who is to-day stretched on the bed of sickness, or wrapped
in a shroud for the narrow house; — the house appointed
for all living. — " Be ye, therefore, ready also; for in such
an hour as ye think not, the Son of man cometh.* "
The words of the text were spoken, as I before re
marked, to encourage the disciples of Jesus to an open
and undaunted profession of his Name. — Let all who
bear that sacred Name, seriously weigh the import of the
solemn and pointed declaration, which immediately fol
lows: — " Whosoever, therefore, shall confess me before
men, him will I confess also before my Father who is
in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men,
him will I also deny before my Father who is in
heaven, f" — Let the gracious promise inspire with hope
and fortitude: let the faithful warning be an effectual
and permanent motive to watchfulness, and to prayer.
— You are under the providence of God. — Trust in
that providence, and keep the path of duty. Let no
allurements seduce; let no terrors intimidate you. Re
member Him who hath said: " Be thou faithful unto
death; and I will give thee a crown of life!^: "
May God accompany his word with his effectual
blessing, for his own Name's sake! Amen!
* Mat. xxiv. 34. f Mat. *. 32, 53. f Rev- "¦ 10-

James Hedderisich. Printer, 16, Belt-Sirrpt. Glasgow.

QUALIFICATIONS

FOR

TEACHING,

ESSENTIAL TO THE CHARACTER
OF A
CHRISTIAN BISHOP:

3C Sermon,

PREACHED IN NILE-STREET MEETING-HOUSE,
GLASGOW,
ON WEDNESDAY, 13th MARCH, 1811.

By RALPH WARDLAW,
, GLASGOW.

PUBLISHED BY REQUEST:
AND WHATEVER PROFITS MAY ARISE PROM THE SALE, TO
BE DEVOTED TO THE OBJECT STATED IN
THE SUBJOINED APPENDIX.

GLASGOW:
PRINTED FOR THE AUTHOR,
By A. Duncan, Morison's Court, Argyle-street,
AND SOLD BY J. & A. DUNCAN, M. OGLE, R. DALLAS & CO.
GLASGOW ; GUTHRIE & TAIT, J. OGLE, AND
W. WHITE, EDINBURGH ; R. OGLE, AND
T. HAMILTON ; LONDON.

ABILITY TGQ TEACH,
A SERMON.

1 Tim. iii. 2 — « A Bishop must be-

¦ While Christians are commanded to be- separate from
the world, it is not the will of Christ that they should
be insulated from one another. Their association in
church fellowship has been enjoined "ttpon them by his
supreme authority, for promoting their happiness and
spiritual improvement, and for the brighter manifestation
of his own glory. — -Union, accordingly, is at once their
joy and their strength. . It is a blgssed thing to be a
Christian : but it is still more blessed to be one of an
assembly of Christians, whose hearts are " knit together
in love," for Christ's and for the truth's sake.-^How
different is the impression made upon om* minds, when
we think of a solitary voice celebrating the praises of re
deeming mercy ; and when we think of " a multitude
which no man can number," shouting, -with one heart
and one soul, " Salvation to God, and to the Lamb !"
How inspiring, how ravishing the. tEought ! In propor
tion as we stretch our imaginations to- a larger and a
larger number, in attempting to comprehend the innu-

merable assembly, our joys seem to multiply '. we almost
forget our own happiness, inf surveying the happiness of
millions. — This social felicity shall be enjoyed in full
perfection, when the whole church of the, redeemed shall
be gathered into one, at *1— right hand ofthe Judge of
all. But a portion of this pure and exalted joy is felt
even here below, when the believer in Christ contemplates
his union with " the spirits of just men made perfect,"
and with " the general assembly and church of the first
born, whose names are written in heaven*." A portion
of it is also experienced, (and when a church is in a right
state the portion is not small,) in going to the house of
God in company, and meeting with that society of the
saints, " the excellent ofthe earth, in whom is all his
delight," in which Divine Providence has appointed his
lot. While " the voice of joy and salvation is heard in the
assemblies ofthe righteous," their union is, in other res
pects, eminently profitable, when, as ought ever to be
the case, " all the'members have the same care one of
another," when they " edify one another in love," when
they " consider one another, to provoke unto love and
unto good works." — When love, pure and undefiled, the
life-blood of Christ's mystical body, springing, in a warm
and full tide, from the heart of thff Redeemer, circulates,
in a stream of vital influence, through all the -members,
then it is, that the body " increases with the increase of
God." But in order to the proper attainment of the ends of
christian association, the principles of government and
subordination, which Christ has approved and sanctioned,
must be duly observed. To enter into any particular

'* Heb. xii. 23. These two clauses of the, verse, as distinguished from
each other, are evidently intended to include all the saints of God in heave «
and on earth.

illustration of these, or into any detail oftheir practical
application, is quite foreign to my present purpose;-—!
only observe, that, among the appointments of the great
Head of the church, are two descriptions of Office-bearers,
whose duties correspond to the two branches into which
the needs of churches, like those of individuals, are na
turally divided ; the peculiar care of the spiritualinterests
of the churches being entrusted to the Bishops, while
that of their temporal concerns devolves upon the Dea
cons. Of these two descriptions of office-bearers, the respec
tive .qualifications are enumerated, by apostolic authority,
in this chapter :-^-and I have selected one feature of the
bishop's character, for present illustration, as being appro
priate to the object for which we are now assembled.
Respecting this object, it is my most earnest desire to
unite the sentiments and the wishes of all my brethren.
With this end in my view, I shall endeavour, as far as is
consistent with faithfulness to the interests of truth, to
shun such, views of my subject as might occasion unpro
fitable disputes; and stir up the warm embers of contro
versy; — which, when it is rashly excited, operates on the
principles of vital godliness, rather as a consuming flame,
than as a genial and cherishing heat.
With one general* remark I must begin ; which is not
indeed new, but which has a claim on attention from its
importance, and on universal admission from its.obvious
plainness: — it is,- that every bishop must possess aU the
qualifications specified in this passage. — " If a man de
sire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work." Now
every one who is appointed to this good work, must be
qualified for the discharge of it, according to the descrip
tion of character which follows. This admits of no
exception. We are not at liberty to. enquire, who pos
sesses most, or who wants fewest, of the qualities here
enumerated ; but the question must be absolute — " Does

6
this man's, or that man's character, . accord with the des
cription drawn ?" Unless some tolerable measure of al
the specified properties is possessed, he is ineligible to
the office : and no number of pastors, in any church, can
be admitted as a compensation, fbr the want, in one or
more, of any of those qualities, which Christ, by his
apostle, has pronounced indisjpensibly requisite in each. —
The question, therefore, in the choice of a (bishop, is not
a mere question of comparison among the members of
any one church. " A bishop must be blameless," and so
on, as here describee!. No alternative is allowed. If no
one is found in a church possessing this character, no
one in that church can be appointed to the office, with
out a violation of the will of Christ. And if no qualified
individuals are found in a church, surely there can be no
harm in seeking for such elsewhere: nay, whenever it
can be done,, this becomes, an indispensible duty. — It is
worthy of notice, that most, if not all, ofthe labourers
employed in the church at Antioch, appear to have been
strangers from other places. Barnabas was sent from
Jerusalem : — upon his wopk increasing, he went to Tar
sus, to seek Saul : — and the prophets and teachers men
tioned in Acts xiii. 1. viz. Barnabas, Simeon, Lucius of
Cyrene, Manaen, and SauL seem aH to have been, not
originally of Antioch, but. from a distance.
Another general observation respects the nature ofthe
teaching required of a bishop in the words of the text.
It is obvious, that whatever qualifications a man may
possess for communicating instruction in private, this will
never warrant a church to elect him as a bishop. I do
not affirm, that, in the text, public teaching is exclusively
meant ; but certainly, to say the least of it, it must be
considered as necessarily included. Fitness for private
teaching cannot be looked upon as sufficient. The pub
lic edification of the church, is the peculiar official duty

©f the bishop ; and he who is not fit for a public teacher,
is not fit for the bishop's office.
It may be remarked, in connection with this observa
tion, that the edification of a -church is two-fold. It is
edified when the existing members grow in grace : and
it is edified, when sflch as are saved are, from time to
time, added to their number. — A bishop, I apprehend,
ought to be qualified to edify the church in both these
ways: and, indeed, what qualifies him for being a public
instructor of the brethren, will fit him, in general, for
declaring the word of life to the World.
It may further be noticed in this place, that there is a
very wide distinction, sometimes too little attended to,
between the occasional declaration of the gospel, and the
stated teaching of the word of God. The latter obvious
ly requires qualifications, by no means necessary for the
former. A Christian may have a good understanding
ofthe doctrines of salvation, and may even be ablg to
state them, both with accuracy and energy, at an oc
casional time, and to changing audiences; whose stock
of knowledge would very soon be foundry much too
scanty, to supply that variety of instruction, which a
constant auditory imperiously requires of a stated teacher,
This remark leads me on at once to the first, the most
obvious, and the most important ingredient in fitness to
teach, as a qualification of a Christian bishop, — a right
UNDERSTANDING OF THE SCRIPTURES, AND A READY AC
QUAINTANCE WITH THEIR VARIOUS CONTENTS.
The scriptures are the treasure, whence the Christian
teacher is jto enrich the minds of his brethren. They
are the sun, in which the glory of Divine truth is em
bodied, and from which he. must derive all his light. — .
The Apostle Paul, in writing to Timothy, states the
different departments of a Christian minister's duty, and
points out the way in which he is to be furnished for
their proper and successful fiilfilment ; " AU scripture

8
is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness; that the man of God may be perfect,
thoroughly furnished unto all good works *." By the
" man of God" in this passage, is to be understood-
the minister of Christ ;*the title having been familiar in
its application to the Old Testament prophets. Instruc
tion in the truth, Conviction of error, reformation of evil,
and education in the ways of righteousness f , are the dif
ferent branches of his duty ; and the holy scriptures are
the source of his official qualifications J. — A scribe, in
Order to his resembling the householder, who brings forth
out of his treasure things new and old, must himself be
well instructed into the kingdom of heaven ||.
It certainly is hot enough, that a stated teacher of
a Christian church know the truth-; that is, understand
and believe the glorious and blessed doctrine, by the faith
©f which the guilty are saved. This doctrine, it is true,
must never be forgotten, or overlooked. Rather than it
should be lost sight of, it had better be first, and last,
and midst, in all our ministrations. Yet stilly the con-
* 2 Tim. iii. 16, 17. '
$ Although this passage appears to be immediately applicable to the
servant of God, in the ministry of the word ; yet tbe application qf it, may
with the greatest propriety be extended to all private Christians. ,, For if
the holy scriptures are fitted to qualify a man for teaching, convincing,
reforming, and educating others, theymMsrbe equally well adapted for
self-instruction, self-correction, and self-education in righteousness j for
promoting personal as well as official excellence and perfection. And,
indeed, he who has not reaped from them the personal benefit, ( which they
are fitted to afford, must be very ill qualified for applying them to the pro
fit of others. || Matth. xiii. 52.-

9
stant repetition of fhe same thing, however excellent and
salutary in itself, deserves not to be denominated feeding
the flock. They cannot, by such means, grow in know*
ledge. The lesson is good ; but there is no progress.
If the teacher is always dwelling on." first principles,"
neither he himself, nor those whom he teaches, can " go
on unto perfection."
All the scriptures are profitable; and their contents,
are very various : — historical, typical* prophetical, doc
trinal, preceptive, promissory, devotional. — An acquaints
ance with all these important divisions of :the sacred
word, is, without question, highly desirable in a Christian
teacher : and the more comprehensive ¦ and clear tins
acquaintance is, and the greater the ability of communi
cation that is possessed, for rendering it available to the
instruction of others, certainly so much the better. — No
doubt, in such a teacher, clear and simple views of the
gospel, and a power of illustrating and enforcing its sav-,
ing truths, is the first and most; essential of all requisites.
Yet it is not less evident, that, if no part of God's word
has been given us in vain, this cannot be, of itself, enough :
—it can only be reckoned so, in consequence of thought
lessness and inconsideration.
The .field which the scriptures present is a very exteiW
sive one ; and in some parts it is difficult to explore. A
complete acquaintance with it, in all its parts, however
desirable an attainment for a Christian teacher, is not, by
any means, to be expected ; and far less to be considered
necessary, as a qualification for that office.' — But in order
to the acquisition of such an understanding of the sacred
volume, as will render a mimft to teach, there are certain
requisites, which must strike every one,1 on a moment's,
reflection, as in some measure indispensible.
The first of these which X shaU mention, is — natural,
CAPACITY. In the degrees of this among mankind, there subsists

a great and obvious diversity : and the diversity is not
removed by the operation of divine grace. Grace, in
deed, works miracles, in diffusing blessed light in the
Understanding, light which cheers and purifies the heart ;
~— the light of knowledge, producing the light of joy, and
the light Of holiness : — but it does not bring the minds
OH which it operates to the same standard, either of
acuteness, or of enlargement, — Blessed be God, who,
While he hides '» the things of the Spirit" from the
wise and prudent, reveals them to babes*." It is im
possible for us to say, how weak a man may be, in natural
powers of mind, and yet be a Christian, " Worshipping
God in the Spirit, rejoicing in Christ Jesus, and having
no confidence in the flesh." But to be a Christian, and
to be a teacher of Christianity, are two very different
things. — On such a subject as this, every person will at
once perceive, it is impossible to fix any precise limits, as
to the measure of mental capacity, that should be deemed
necessary. There is danger of harm, in fixing it either
too high Or too low. In the latter case, we might advance
incapacity to a situation which it could not fill; in the
former, we should run the risk of keeping back from
exertion, talents which might be really useful to the church
and cause of God. On this point, therefore, we can
speak only in general terms. There are many who have
not, from nature, such abilities as can ever qualify them
to be teachers of others : and, as there are few things in
which men are more apt to be deceived/than in estimat
ing the extent of their own powers, some tribunal of
judgment ought to be connected with every institution,
of which the object is education for the ministry i' to de
termine in every case, upon a fair and sufficient trial,
whether the applicant for tuition possesses talents, ©.
Which the cultivation is likely to yield any profitable re*
* Matth. xi. 25,

11
suit. For, to retain obvious incapacity, and to bring it
forward to a station, Which it cannot nil, either with re
putation to itself, or with advantage to others, is at once
pernicious and cruel.
The second ofthe requisites alluded to, of which I
shall take notice, is — tiMe for study.
This, one should imagine, can hardly be seriously
questioned. The possession of ability, Without oppor
tunity to use it to advantage, will be comparatively of
httle avail. The man who is engaged in teaching others
must be always advancing himself; and advancing so as'
to keep, in general, in point of knowledge of his subject^
befote those whom he is appointed to teach. rthis ap
pears self-evident. If the teacher and his disciple are ori
a level, both with respect to ability, and with respect to'
opportunity to employ it, how can the one be supposed
capable of bringing forward the other ? The disciple, in1
such a case, might, with exactly the same pro]priety7
teach his teacher, as be taught by him. The very idea of
a number of men solemnly set apart to be teachers in the
churches pf Christ, seems of necessity to imply, their hav
ing more time for the study Of the word of God, than
their brethren. ' To set men apart as teachers* who have
no more opportunity to learn, than those whom they are ttf
instruct, is, in a great degree, to have the form of the'
office without its use, the shadow Without the substance.
— Apart from the authority of Christ, therefore, which
" hath ordained, that they who preach the gospel
should live ofthe gospel *," the very circumstances ofthe
case strongly suggest the desirableness of teachers of
the Word giving themselves wholly to this work. — The
Want of needful time, both for^gerieral study, and for the
due consideration of particular subjects, for every return
ing Lord's day, has been a theme of complaint and regret*
to many of those pastors of churches, who are occupied
* Cdr.'ix. 14.
B

12
with the cares and bustle of worldly business during the*
week. And such complaint, let it be particularly observ
ed, is no disparagement even to the brightest abilities.
For no man, unless possessed of powers of a gigantic
magnitude^ can reasonably ; be supposed capable, after"
toiling at his ordinary business for six days in the week-,
of producing, from the _ short reflections of a Saturday
evening, or a Sabbath morning, either such diversity of
instructions, corresponding to the rich variety of the
word of God, or such full, connected,, and digested views
of those topics which are handled, as it .is desirable
that every Christian teacher should be able to produce j
and as may, hi general, at least with greater reason, be
expected from those, who apply their minds to study, with
out hurry and precipitation, and unagitated by the har-
rassing cares of worldly business*. — I am very, very far
from saying, that such of us as possess this, eminent
advantage, make all the improvement of it which we
ought to make. Alas ! no. Were I to say so, my own
heart and my own lips would condemn me. I reason on
general principles, and on general experience.
I am equally fiir from affirming, that in every case it
is absolutely indispensable, that a bishop*give himself en
tirely to the duties of .his Office. There are cases, it is
frankly admitted, in which this is hardly— -let me even
say, not at all, attainable. But let not the exception be

* It should be noticed, that the argument for having pastors devoted to-
the work, is here considered only in reference to the particular branch of
their duty, which it is the object of this' sermon to discuss. It receives
ten-fold additioriar' force, when the othef dutie9, implied in the pastoral
care ofthe flock, are connected with this; and when to these are joined,
if the bishop of a church is at the^ame time the father of a family, the
attention which is "due to the religious instruction, and general mental,
improvement of His'chil&ren; for which the time that a Christian parent
ean spare from the necessary avocations of business, is, in many cases,
barely sufficient ; especiaUy as there are various personal and family cir
cumstances, by which it must occasionally be broken.

IS
made the general rule, and the general rule the exception.
In every case in which it can possibly be attained, it is
pre-eminently desirable. In every case wherein it can
possibly be attained, it is the will of Christ that it should
be so. — No man can be considered as^ to teftch, who has
not sufficient time for study, and self-improvement : -and ho
one who thinks for a moment, what an 'inexhaustible mine
the scriptures of truth contain, will-reckon even all tbe time
Which the pastor of a church can spare from the care
of his flock in other respects, too much to be devoted
to the working of it.— And besides the consideration
of time, it is likewise greatly to be wished, in order
to a man's being ft to teach,, that bis mind should be,
as mUch as possible, free from the carefulness necessa
rily produced by the distractions and uncertainties of
business. — The advantages of such an order of things in
fhe churches are obvious, and incalculably great. And
am I not justified in -affirming, that if a due impression
of their importance were universally and deeply felt, zeal
for the glory of Christ, and for the prosperity of Zion,
by producing among Christians, both for themselves, and
for one another, such liberal exertion, as is the uniform
effect of ardent feeling, might render the inestimable
benefit more generally attainable, than to an indifferent
and unimpressed mind appears at all conceivable ?
Indispensable necessity is a strong expression ; and,
Eke every other strong expression, ought to be used with
caution. — It means, wben interpreted strictly, that there
is no conceivable case, in which tbe thing spoken of,
whatever it may be, oan possibly be dispensed with : and
when we happen, without any limitation, to employ sucb
expressions, an adversary is ready to take advantage of
us, and to set about adducing, or supposing, extreme
cases, in which our plea of necessity must be relinquished,
as untenable. And when he has done this, he imagines
te has done enough/ and has gained a triumphant vie-

u
tory. — But after all, he has d°#e very little indeed.
"Whatever can be proved useful, it is our duty to desjre
and to seek; and hi proportion to the degree of utility,
is the binding obligation ©f the duty. If the desirable
object is within pur reach, the duty to exert ourselves for
its attainment becomes absolutely indispensable ; and the
neglect of it is unfaithfulness to the cause in which we
are embarked.
You will readily anticipate the application °f these re
marks, to the question respecting learning, or education,
as a quafification of a Christian teache£. — Suppose it
should be freely admitted, that we cannot fix with preci
sion any certain measure pf learning, respecting which
we cau affirm, with confidence, — this is in every case
indispensably necessary : — yet, if it be granted, on the
other hahd, (and I do not think it has ever been distinct
ly denied,) that a good education is a desirable and use
ful thing, in a injnister of the. gospel, it will as conclusive
ly follow, ti^at it is our duty to procure it, a.s if we were
to affirm its necessity.— My own opinion is, in general
terms — that to a certain extent, education, or, which
amounts to the same thing, the possession, in whatever
way acquired, of that which education is designed to, im
part, is absolutely necessary, in order to a man's being
fit to teach : — that tt> a certain extent further, the utility
of it approaches so very near to necessity, as almost to
justify the use qf the term^ which is very often applied, in
a somewhat vague sense, to, .denote a high degree of advan-r.
tage: — and further still, that. the greater the measure
which can be obtained of such, education as , I now refer
to, always so much the better, ,
I gladly adinit, m its full extent, that the holy scrip
tures ai;e the Christian teacher's only authoritative book
of instructions. *.', If he speak not according to this
word, there, is^no fight in him." , And in general, philor
sophical and political discussions are entirely out of place,

15
when they find their way to the pulpit. — 'But it certainly
will never be denied, (and if it is not, the object of this
day's meeting will meet with universal arid cordial sup
port,) that whatever knowledge may serve to throw
LIGHT ON THE SCRIPTURES, ENABLING A TEACHER MORE
CLEARLY TO ASCERTAIN, AND MORE FULLY TO EXPOUND,
THEIR GENUINE MEANING, SUCH KNOWLEDGE IT IS SU
PREMELY DESIRABLE THAT THE TEACHER SHOULD POSSESS.
For the more of this knowledge he possesses, he must be
the more tlft to teach :" and as this qualification is it
self indispensable, being here required by apostolic
authority, and demanded, indeed, by the nature of the
thing, tbe duty is also indispensable, of. earnestly seeking
whatever may be conducive tp its attainment or its in
crease. Let me illustrate this general observation by a few sim
ple examples.
Tbe original scriptures are written in dead languages*
It is surely, then, a highly desirable thing, that an inter
preter of the scriptures should understand those languages.
Our enquiry, in searching the scriptures, whether for
ourselves^ along, or for the instruction of others, ought
uniformly to be — " What is the ideji which the Holy
Spirit, by this passage, or by this expression, intended to
convey ?" — A person may often give a good sense, which
is not the right sense; making the passage speak truth,
and perhaps important truth, but not the truth which the
divine author of the book designed to teach us.— The
latter, however, is obviously what we should, on all occa
sions, seek to discover: and in this respect, he who' is
acquainted with the original languages of the scriptures,
possesses a very eminent advantage. He may be able to
throw new light on passages which are obscure and dif-,
ficiflt; and he can judge ofthe lights which Others have
attempted to throw, so as, to ascertain whether they are
true or false. — And in connection with this manifest and

16
signal benefit, it is likewise not merely agreeable, but in
many instances highly useful, to be capable of appreciat
ing the precise force, and emphasis, and point, of various
expressions and turns of thought, which if is frequent!^
difficult, or impossible, to transfuse into a mere transla
tion. The want of this knowledge has been felt, and deeply
regretted, by many ; some of whom have, in other res
pects, fulfilled the duties of the pastoral charge in the
churches, with eminent reputation. Such have been
known to express, when too late, an earnest wish to have
this deficiency supplied : and surely their unavailing re
gret should be a powerfid stimulus to us, to prevent, as
far as it is in our power, future occasion for it in others.
Those too, it may be observed, who seem most to under--
value such; learning, bewray themselves at timesi and
make it manifest, that in their hearts they really feel it
a -desirable thingi for to the aid and authority of those
who possess it they have inunediate recourse, on every
disputed point, of which the decision, either entirely, or
ki part, depends on the meaning of original terms.
It is readily admitted, that there is a possibility of
dealing too freely in criticism, in addressing a promiscu
ous audience ; where no motive but a sincere and power
ful conviction of truth should induee a teacher to bring
it forward. Wanton and useless alterations, such as
serve rather to display a marfs learning, than to answer
any valuable purpose, ought to be carefully shunned; 'for
whatever of this kind is needless, is in some degree per
nicious. — But, at the same time, it should be remarked,
that sound and enlightened criticism, unfolding the
genuine meaning of any' part of scripture, cannot be kept
back, Without incurring a well-founded charge of unfaith
fulness. Again : — a large portion of the boOks of scripture con
tains History. — Now scripture history is, in many parts

17
of it, intimately connected with general history: — the
history ofthe Jews, for example," with that of other na
tions* And, although the historical parts Of the bible
may yield much edification, to a reader who knows very
httle about their connection with other histories ; yet to
possess a general, and, as much as possible, even a
minute acquaintance with contemporaneous narratives,
must give a man a vast advantage, in point of freedom,
of accuracy, and, of amplification, preventing the inces
sant hazard of mistake and confusion,, both in the regular
illustration of scripture history, and in occasional references
to the events which it records. — This observation applies,
with equal fbfce* to the historical parts both of the Old
Testament, and ofthe New.
Besides : — history has been justly styled the Interpre
ter of Prophecy ; and no man can be considered as
qualified to illustrate the prophecies, or tp enforce, with
clearness and effect, the evidence of Christianity arising
from their fulfilment, who is. unacquainted with ancient
and modern history.
History is also, in some respects, the interpreter of
Providence, as well as of prophecy. — Church-history
is, in this yiew, eminently useful; as, it unfolds, to the
pious and attentive reader, the course of divine proce
dure towards Zion, and towards the natipns of the world,
in connection with her interests and prosperity; — as it
records the progress of truth; its alternate rises and falls,
with the various circumstances and causes which haye
contributed to its success, or to its depression ; — as it dis
plays the character of human nature, the universal same
ness of its radical principles, and the various aspects and
modifications which these assume, in the view which it
presents, of the errors by which the truth has been cor
rupted and set aside, and of the different means which
have been employed, for its suppression on the one hand,
and for its propagation on the other, by its numerous

18
adversaries, and by its real or pretended friends :— and
while such a review is, in these respects, at once interest
ing and instructivej it also affords, from past events, lessons
for the direction of present duty, in avoiding pernicious,
and in- imitating .wise and successful measures.
The connection of history With Geography and
Chronology, is too obvious to require a single remark *.
Once more: — It may be a very good general maxim,"
that the best way to suppress error is to declare truth.
Yet it may frequently be necessary to defend the truth
by reasoning, and to support it, and the faith of its be
lievers, by refuting the errors which corrupt and subvert
it. Some acquaintance, then, with such errors, with the
arguments used in their, defence, and with the principles
and rules of legitimate reasoning in general, appears to
be more than desirable, to be even essential, in one,
whose duty is to confute gainsayers, as well as to edify
the saints.
We ought to argue for nothing as right, which we
cannot wish to have been universal. — 'Let me, then, make
the supposition, that Christianity had never been esta
blished by civil authority ; that after the cessation of
miraculous gifts, the churches of Christ had paid no sort
of attention to the education and learning of their teach
ers, arid had persisted in this line of conduct, amidst all
fhe changing circumstances of human society ; that all
learning had, inconsequence, become theexclusive mono
poly of irifidelity and error; — what. an. incalculable ad-
' vantage would this have given to the adversary !— The
* The advantage, too, might here have been noticed, of'ah accurate ac
quaintance with the manners and customs, both of the Jews, and of other
ancient-nations, in that quarter of the world. For there occur, asjnight be
expected, both in the Old and in' the New Testament, especially in the
former, very frequent allusions to these, and many modes of expression
Borrowed from them, which, without such a key to their interpretation, it
is often difficult clearly to understand.

19
question, then, still is — should the adversary be allowed
to possess it? If we grant an advantage to error, which
we wilfully deny to truth, we are unfaithful to our cause,-
and unfaithful to our master. — If Christianity, in so far1
as human agency is concerned, had not been defended
by its teachers, who else could have been expected to
plead its cause ? And what wOuld have been the conse*
quence, if no one could have been found, in the Christian
host, capable of entering the lists, on equal terms, with
the infidel and the sceptic ?— no one able, through igno
rance of the sources of argument, and of the rules of
reasoning, either to refute falsehood and error, of to
maintain the cause of truth ? — We may indeed sajiythaf
God will take care of his own cause. But we. ought to
remember, that he who looks for the effect, while he is
himself neglecting the means, manifests not rational and
commanded confidence, but foolish arid unwarranted
presumption. The infinite importance of the truth imparts value to
every thing, which can possibly Contribute to its develope-
ment, its confirmation, or its defence.
With respect to the degree of education: we should
seek to impart, I have no hesitation in saying, that there
seems, on this point, to be but one proper enquiry : and
it is — not, " with hem little can we do ?" — but " how watch"
can we obtain ?" — In this, no doubt, we must be regulat
ed by the extent of our means.- But I trust in him who
hath said, " The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,"
that these, ere long, shall not be less than our desires-
" But knowledge," some may say, " puffeth up." It
is readily admitted that it may. But surely it will never
be said, that knowledge is necessarily disjoined from that
" love" which " edifieth:" that there is any irreconcil
able divorce between them. — There is nothing which can
be applied to profitable use, which is not, at the same
time, capable of being abused. It will not be denied,
c

20
for instance, that the more extensive a teacher's acquaint
ance is with the scriptures, he is the better qualified for
his office : — yet a man may- bevain of this kind of know
ledge, as wel as of any other. — But after all, is vanity
confined to men of education ? Are not conceit and self-
sufficiency more frequently the attendants of ignorance ;
or of such a smattering of knowledge, as is but one re
move from ignorance ? — Is it not consistent with univer
sal experience, that the more a man comes to know, the
more he discovers his deficiency, and finds the greater
reason for self-diffidence, and humble-mindedness ?
There is hardly any description of men, towards whom
I feel it more difficult to exercise becoming charity, than
those who, blessed with education and learning them
selves, are yet disposed to, depreciate their value Such
men ought surely to remember, that it is their education;
which enables them both to write and to argue as they
do: so that the very blessing which they have obtained,
arid: for which they have cause to be thankful, is made
the instrument of detracting from its own importance. —
Some of this description have reasoned, at times $ againsfc
the indispensable necessity of education, till, in the fervour
of zeal, and the warmth of argument* they have almost
forgotten to admit that it is desirable s an admission,
which, when once made, establishes the duty of endea
vouring to obtain it, as effectually asif its necessity were
proved and granted *-
* This admission, however strongly some may have been tempted to
speak, in the eagerness of controversy, it is hardly conceiveable, that any
should seriously withhold. Even in those churches of Christ, where the
principle of having Elders entirely devoted to the duties of their office, is
not acted upon^ the advantages of education are tacitly admitted, evert
time these office-bearers come-to be chosen. For to whom, on such occa
sions, are the eyes of the brethren directed ? If there is one amongst them,
who has enjoyed the benefit of a superior education, and who is not, at
the same time, otherwise disqualified, is it not to him that the preference
i5 uniformly given J It is so -.-and it is natural and right that it should be so-

21
The light ofthe sun is common to all : but the philo-:
sopher,-who understands its nature and properties, can
mpplyit to uses, and produce effects by means of it, of
which an uninstracted man could have ^formed no con
ception. Similar to this is the advantage j which a Chrisy
tian teacher derives from a thorough education, in
." handling the wosd -of -God-;" — in applying to its varir
ous purposes the fight of divine truth.-:— Or, to use a
scripture metaphor : the bishops of the churches, of Christ
are compared to stars. They shine with a borrowed
light: but if their fight be the hght of purity and truth,
from the sun of righteousness ; the more fully they catch
the splendour of his rays, with the greater steadiness and
effulgence will they reflect it on others, for their direction,
animation and joy.
Although no (particular method was formally announ
ced in the 'Outset of this discourse, the attentive hearer
will have perceived, that the observations hitherto made
have chiefly respected the matter of a bishop's instapc-
tions. — I must now go on to make two or three remarks,
as to the manner of teaching, and what is necessary to
constitute a man ft to teach, in this respect : — and on
this, and a still subsequent part of my subject, I shall en
deavour to be as brief as possible.
It is plain, that a man may possess much knowledge;
and yet be very deficient in the qualifications necessary
for communicating it to others.— A man .cannot be ft to
tjiach, unless he is ft -to speah -¦ and in order to his
teaching well, he must be able to speak well. — Let no
one be startled at this, till he understands what I mean
by speaking well. — To speak well is not to dress out
truth in the disgusting trappings of affected fineryj the
tinsel and foppery of language : — nor is it to bad her
with such an excess of ornament, even although of a more
dignified description, that her simple and lovely form can
hardly be recognised under the splendid robe with which

22
she is invested. Tlie former of these can only be deem
ed fine, by a weak judgment, or a vitiated taste ; for, if
there be one way of speaking worse than all others, that
is a it : — and the latter, however really fine in itself, a
sound and enlightened judgment will perceive to be out
of place, when employed in imparting instruction to a
mingled audience, and in declaring the simple and humr
bling doctrines ©f the cross.
Neither does speaking well consist in " attitude, and
stare, and start theatric," the fulsome affectation of ora
tory : for this is even more offensive than " slovenly ne
glect, and rustic coarseness."
The wisdom qf words, which Paul disdained to einploy
in preaching " Christ crucified," appears to mean a
strict conformity to the artificial rules, and studied graces,
©f Grecian rhetoric ; attention to which would have been
inconsistent bpth with the humbje simpjicity, and the
authoritative dignity, of his apostofic message ; and might,
besides, have made the effects of his preach jng, in pro-?
curing followers, be ascribed, not to his doctrine itself,
the important truth which he proclaimed, but to his elo
quence in composition and delivery, amongst a people
peculiarly fond .of such exhibitions. It was his desire,
" that the excellency ofthe power," in the effects attend
ing his ministry, should be evidently "of God;" that
the faith of his converts should stand " in the power of
jQod, and not in the wisdom of man."
Such also, should be our desire. Like Paul, we should
Use " great plainness qf speech." And since I have ad
verted to this expression, J would remark that, in the
.connection in which it occurs, it expresses, not plainness
as opposed to ornament, but plainness as opposed to all
darkness, obscurity, and difficulty of interpretation — >
fi $pt as Moses, who put » wfl or\ Ms face, *"-— Now
i
* 8 Cor; iij. 12, 13,

23
tfiis kind of plainness, so far from being inconsistent with
ftie speaking, is, in truth, its first and most essential ex
cellence. — For, to speak well is to speak, in the first place,
perspicuously, so as to be clearly and fully understood:—
in the second place, engagingly, so as to command and
fix the attention, without which no good can ever be
done : — in the third place, qffecfingly, so as to interest
and touch the heart; to move the passions; to alarm by
the terrors ofthe Lord, and to win and persuade by his
tender mercies ; to " save by fear," and to " draw with
the cords of love."-r^With these qualities there must, for
the same ends, be united, such correctness, and such a
measure of dignity, as will prevent disgust in well educat
ed and polished minds.
All these things obviously imply the necessity, in a
teacher, of a full and accurate acquaintance with the
language in which he is to speak. — To speak perspicu
ously, a man imjst select appropriate terms, such phrase
ology as-is suited to convey the precise idea whichlhe
wishes to express ; because a single word misapplied may
occasion not merely obscurity, and consequent doubt^
but total misapprehension, and even serious error. To
speak engagingly and affectingly, he should be familiar
at once with all the delicacies, and with all the energies
of his language.
Whilst truth, and especially divine truth, disdains
finery, surely there is an opposite extreme. It should
npt be presented in vulgar and repulsive attire. — It is
easy, indeed, to, say, that truth is truth, and equally im
portant in whatever dress it is exhibited. This is readily
granted. But surely it ought, with equal readiness, to be
granted, that such repulsive vulgarity of style and manner
as I now allude to, is far from being consistent with the
heavenly dignity of the truth; and also, that real or
affected contempt of propriety and correctness, is equally
inconsistent with a due regard to the best interests of that

24
description of hearers, who, being accustomed to them,
are necessarily disgusted and repelled by the contArjfk
It is calculated to expose the truth to needless derision :
and whenever this is the case, we are acting a criminal
part; for, instead of trying to " cut off occasion" from
the "adversary, who " desires occasion" to speak re
proachfully, we are, of our own accord, presenting it be
fore him. — Truth in a coarse dress" is, no doubt,
preferable to error in a fine one : — to say otherwise, would
be to prefer the shadow to the substance; to prefer poi
son from a golden cup, to a wholesome draught from a
vessel of clay. But it should be recollected, that disdain
of finery does by no means imply disdain of correctness
and propriety ; for, indeed, finery here is not propriety,
but its precise opposite. And as there is much vanity
displayed in studied finery, so there may be much pride,
in the affectation of vulgarity in ourselves, or of a liking to
it in, others,
. To enter, however, more at length into the nature
and uses of eloquence, would lead me to anticipate some
of the remarks which fall more properly under the re
maining branch of my subject ; — to which I now proceed,
and which, although highly important and interesting,
I must endeavour to dispatch with brevity ; — the quali
ties and dispositions of mind necessary to render a
bishop ft to teach.
It has often been remarked, .and not without some
measure of truth, that while, in the choice of pastors,
great attention is paid to preaching talents, due regard
is not always shewn to those qualities, by which they are
fitted for the equally necessary duty of ruling in the
church of God. — On this point, however, I woidd re
mark ; in the first place, that the fault does not consist
in the former class of qualifications being rated too high,
but in the latter being rated too low ; and secondly, that
after all, such qualities of mind seem to be requisite to

25
constitute a good teacher, as, if they are possessed, can
hardly fail to make him, at the same time, a good ruler.
On this part of my subject, then, I observe, in the first
place, the obvious necessity of real piety. — Religion
cannot be effectually taught but by a, truly religious
man., A firm conviction ofthe truthte of " the things of
the Spirit ;" a clear discernment of their glory and ex
cellence ; a deep feeling of their infinite importance; a
happy experience of their joyful, comforting, strengthen
ing and purifying influence; spirituality; of mind and
affections ; — seem to be all indispensably necessary, to en
able a man to enter into the spirit of teaching, in illus
trating ehher the doctrinal, the practical, the experimental
or the devotional, parts of the holy scriptures. — Without
these, he may, indeed, give his. audience a dull, formal,
systematic, and frigidly correct detail, of doctrines and
duties:— but what is this, without the life of preaching —
without a heart in unison with his subject ? He may, at
times, feel a momentary impulse, and start into unwonted-
warmth -f but it is only a transient feverish fit, to which
a shivering coldness again succeeds. — The steady glow of
enlightened and heart-felt piety,- can alone qualify . a
teacher for applying the Word of life ;-¦— it must be the
constant animating principle of all his labours*
You will immediately perceive, as an inference from
this particular, that I consider it as indispensable, in aH
to whom the benefits of education for the ministry are
afforded, that they should be persons who give decisive
evidence of real vital godliness. — This, at the same time,
does not, by any means, preclude the practice, (which,
indeed, I am inclined to pronounce a duty in believing
parents,) of Jjifing to sons of promising parts such an
education in their early years, as may afterwards fit them
for usefulness in the church of God, if they should be
found partakers of hjs grace, and desirous of devoting
themselves to his service, in the gospel.

2£
Another essential disposition of mind, in a good Christ
tian teacher, is candour.
The requisites of a good teacher, in this respect, are
those of a sworn witness; that he speak the truth, the
whole truth, and nothing but the truth. He must not
shun to declare any part of the counsel of God.-^-Bishops
are denominated stewards qf God * .•" and " it is required
in stewards, that a man be found faithful f." But want
of candour in the interpretation of the divine word, is
evidently want of faithfulness. A teacher, therefore,
should, as much as possible, be free from the influence
of prejudice : — of prejudice for what is old ,•— "-of preju
dice (for there is such a thing, and it is sometimes even
more pernicious than the other,) for what is new •, of pre-"
judice, also, for what is, or seems to be, original, singu
lar, and out of the common way. — No man is properly
fit to teach, who is, in any great degree, sWayedby such
prejudices, — such prepossessions or predilections of mind
in favour of particular views ; which tend fo warp his
judgment in the investigation of truth, turning it aside
from what ought to be his sole enquiry — ¦" what is the
mind of the Spirit ?" — This every teacher should seek to
know ; and this he ought, without addition, omission, or
deviation, plainly and unequivocally to state.
This candour is closely allied to that description of
faithfulness, which is riot swayed, either by the fear
of men, on the one hand, or by the love of men, on the"
other, — by the dread of offending, or the wish to please.
A faithful teacher — (and if he is not thus faithful, is he
ft to teach ?)—xxx\v=i be ready, With Micaiah, the son of
Imlah, (  faithful found,
Among the 'faithless ; faithful only he,)
*Tit. i. 7. fl Cor. iv. 2.

m
to say, and to fulfil the sayings even in the season of
threatening and peril, — " As the Lord liveth, what the
Lord saith rirttrifne1, that will I speak *:""-and with the
great apostle ofthe Geritiles— " As We Were allowed of
God to be put in trust with the gospel, even so1 we speak,
not as pleasing men, but God" Who trieth our* h&irts f ."
Affectionate fE'NB"M*TEss- is another1- important- in
gredient in the character Of Lhlfii who is ft Hi tMeh^^-iir
qualification this, irideed, of which nothing eari e'orrrpterisate*
the warit.-^A teacher of the" gOspel of gface Md salvation
ofthe message of divine love1 arid mercy $& a^osH world,
destitute Of nielting afrectioa^or' the setife ofrneft ?—what
ai stfacrig'e anomaly k this- i-Jestis wiepf -over -JefuSaaem \%<
Paul Wartied sinners night and day with tear¥ §>- Among-
his fellow^believelfs, he was gentle, as a ntirste cfeerishetfe
her children. He wife af^etioflateJy ©fesirOtis1 c$ themy
arid willing to have! imparted to them net the gospel- of
God; only, but 6veh his own sOUl, because thtey Were de&P
to him. He exhorted,- and comforted, and Charged:
every one of them, ste a- father doth his children*- that
they should walk worthy of God* who had caHed them
unto big kingdom arid glory |f. — Iii d-frtte irrritator of Jesus,
arid of Paul, there wilt be ft© frigid apathy* rio fistfe's^
mdiffererice ;-"but whether1 the immediate object of his-
preaching be the conversion of sinners, or tlie establish
ment of sairits, fie wiB- speak from the fulness of a heart
melting with cOmpassiori, arid glowing with love; de
claring rhomentous truth, in the language of fervent
feeling; uttering " flioughfe thai breathe," in " word*
that burn.''
Whoever tnisteridei'riiess of affection operates, hvwiH
be found in unioil with another temper of mind, not less
rieeessatfy in him who rilUst Heft to teach ,*. I mean, meek
ness.
* 1 Kings xxii. 14. f 1 Thess. ii. 4. J iuka xix. 41, 42.
§ Acts xx.'31. (| 1 Thess. ii. 7, 8, 11, 12.
P

28
When our blessed Lord invited the labouring and
heavy-laden to come unto him, he encouraged them by
the assurance, that he was meek and lowly in heart * j —
a meek and lowly teacher ; one wh© could have compas
sion on the ignorant, and on those who were out of the
way ; who would graciously condescend to their infirmi
ties ; who would give them wisdom, without upbraiding.
—And observe, how Paul, in conformity to the charac
ter ofthe master, draws that ofthe servant:- " The ser
vant of the Lord must not strive ;. but be gentle unto all
men, apt to teach, patient; in meekness instructing those
that oppose themselves, if God peradyeriture will give
them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth j and
that they may recover themselves out of tire snare ofthe
devil, who are taken captive by him at his will f ." In
this description, the connection is particularly worthy of
notice, in which ft to teach is introduced, marking the
necessity of the meekness and gentleness- of Christ, as a
constituent part of this fitness. — The beautiful figure
with which the song of Moses commences, seems to con
vey the idea, not only of gcniaLand refreshing influence,.
but of mild and placid gentleness :. " My doctrine shall
drop as the rain, my speech shall distil as the dew ; as
the small rain upon the tender herb, and as the showers;
upon the grass f."
lit the man wh© is apt to teach,, these qualities must be
accompanied with discernment and zeal.
With discernment. Paul speaks of " a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed^ rightly, dividing the
word of life§." — A Christian teacher has various descrip
tions of hearers : — -babes, young men, and fathers, both
in age, and in the Christian life ; — the weak and the
strong, in judgment, and in faith; — the rich and the

* Matth. xi. 28—30. f 2 Tim. ii. 24 — 26. f Deut xxxii. 2.
§ 2 Tim. ii. IS.

29
poor ; — the prosperous, and the afflicted ;— the tempted,
to error in sentiment, or to sin in practice ; to self-righte^
ous pride, or antinomian presumption ; to unwarrantable
confidence, or to groundless despondency; — the stedfast,
the lukewarm, and the backsliding. To all these he must
be qualified to give a portion in due season : — and for
this end, discrimination of character, and corresponding
discrimination of address, are essentially requisite.
With zeal: — zeal for the glory of Christ, for the spiri
tual improvement of his people, and for the building up
of the church, by the conversion of sinners. Listen to
the terms in which Paul' -the aged charges his son Timo
thy : — " I charge thee, therefore, before God, and the
Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge the living and the
dead at his appearing and his kingdom; preach the
word, — be instant in season, out of season; reprove, re
buke, exhort, with all long suffering and doctrine *."
" Be instant in season, out qf season :" that is, as I under
stand the words, do not consult your own personal con
venience; let no considerations of this kind interfere
with the important duties of your ministry ; make willing
sacrifices of convenience and ease to the interests of your
master, and of his glorious cause. — Observe here, also*
the arguments by which the apostle enforces his admoni
tion, and stirs up this "' man of God," to the exertions
of renewed zeal: — " For the time will come when they
will not endure sound doctrine; but after their Own lusts
shall they- heap to themselves teachers, having itching
ears ; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth,
and shall be turned unto fables. But watch thou in all
things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist,
make full proof of thy ministry. For I am now ready
to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand.
I have fought a good' fight, I have finished my course,
' . /
* 2 Tim, iy. 1 , .2.

m
I have kept the faith : henceforth there is laid up for me
a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give to me at that day ; and riot to me only,
but to all them also who love hie appearing t-" May
not the last of these motives, my brethren, be applied-,
without impropriety, to the. object pf '-our present meetr
ing ? May we not entreat you, seriously tp consider the
necessity, the peremptory duty, ©f fitting, out men for
the work of the ministry, wh© may he{ useful in the
churches,, when those who now jlabour in -.them shall be
n© more?— How soon ©ur heads may be teM iu the
grave, is known only to him, by;wh©m our-days are der
iermined* and with whom is, the number of our months*
May the exalted Head of the church provide* in his in
finite goodness, a succession of future labourers.* more
wise, more able, more devoted to God, and more extent
siyely successful in their wprk, than any of their prede
cessors ! May he light up, iri (he firmament ©f his church,
stars of superior pur jty and splendoTO, 'to cheer the hearts
pf his people, and to guide the feet of deluded and wan
dering sinners into the way of peace !. , .,
, My dear brethren, in the ministry of the gospel ; let
these sayings, I trust the sayings pf God* sink deep into
your ears. O study, in all things* tp sshowv, yourselves,
approvep unto God 1 — And may he, pouring out his
Spirit in rich profusion* make us all-" able ministers of
the new covenant,", for the i sake , of his own glory, the
profit of many that they may be- saved, and our own
igverlasting joy ! . ,;-, , .,..,-
And let= roe remind all my Christian brethren, that
while it is the duty of their pastors to teach, it is their
dftty.to seek to profit by their teaching; — it is their duty
to fearnir-eand that the various dispositions which have
been enumerated,^pieiy, candour, affectipri, meekness,
«2T>m,iv.3, 2,

31
discernment, and Seal, are necessary in the learner, as
well as in the teacher.
Teachers, are amongst the gifts bestowed by the Lord
Jesus on his ;<ehur.ch, when he ascended up on high*
leading captivity captive. Hence Paul, who, like his
blessed master, sought npt his "own glory, but the glory
of him who sent him, says to the church at Corinth—
" We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord;
and ourse|ves your servants for Jesus' sake *." We de
sire to say i so with him. And we trust we can also say,
although not with the same purity arid ardour of affection,
the same huirning zeal, the same exulting delight* .which
animated the apostle's breast, — yet not without some
small portion pf his feelings, 'fNow'we live, if ye^tand
fast in the- Lord f!"
Remember jte, my brethren, the reciprocal duties,
which you owe to those whom you have chosen, and
whom the Lord, in his :providenee, has appointed, to he
over you in holy things.—" iQhey therii - that have the
rule over you, aad submit yourselves; for they watch
for your sOuls, as they that must give account; that they
mayiio it with joy, and not With grief: for that is un
profitable for you, j." ft Let him that is taught in the
word commuraioate unto him that teacheth, in all good
things §." '« Know them who labour among ydu, and
are over you in the Lord, and admonish you ; and esteem
them very highly iirlove, for their work's sake : and be
at peace among yourselves |[."
In proportion as you feel your obligations to the Sa
viour,— to him who loved you, and gave himself for you,
that he might redeem you' from all iniquity, — you must
feel interested in the prosperity of his cause. You ap
prove of the principles of church order denominated In-
* 2 Cor. iv. 5. f 1 Thess. iii. 8. $ Heb. xiii. 17 § Gal. vi. 6.
J| X Thess. v. 1-2, 13..

32
dependent, because you are convinced, that they are the
principles ofthe word of God. You therefore, of neces
sity, desire their prevalence, and general adoption. But
you wish this, I trust, riot from feelings of party-spirit ;
not for the mere ascendancy of the sect to which you be
long ; — not as an end in itself, but as a means toward the
attainment of an end ; — even the blessed end of the edi
fication ofthe body of Christ, in grace and in numbers :
an end, which must always be most effectually promoted,
by those means which the Head ofthe church has himself
ordained ; and an end, of which the unspeakable import
ance stamps on all such means of its attainment a pro
portionate value
If such be your wish, we are confident, that you will
cordially approve of some attempt being made, to pro
vide for the churches a succession of well educated and
able pastors, — -of bishops, fit to teach ; — and that, an
ticipating, with a provident eye, and a generous heart,
the exigencies of future times, you will give your prayers,
your countenance, and your contributions, to this pur
pose of zeal and of love.
I have avoided all extravagance of statement-) — and
have, at the same time, laid before you, without disguise,
the sentiments and feelings of my mind, on this interest
ing and important subject. — I have said nothing, to which
I am not, in conscience, convinced, that the great Head
of the church would affix the seal of heaven ;— and I trust
that " all the people will say, Amen 1" .
*' Finally, brethren, farewell: be perfect, be of good
comfort, be of one mind, live in peace ; and the God of
iove and peace shall be with you."

APPENDIX.

In the month of January last, the following Circular
Letter was sent to the Pastors of the different Congre
gational Churches in Scotland, understood to be in
fellowship with those by whom it is signed.

Dear Sir,
In consequence of a Letter lately received from
Mr. Orme, in Perth, expressing the desire prevalent
among the Brethren in the North, that some decisive
steps were taken, towards providing means of suitable
Education for Young Men, who may wish to devote them
selves to " the ministry of the word;" we have agreed,
fully satisfied as we are" of the growing importance of this
object, to invite to a general conference on the subject,
all those Pastors of churches, in our connection, whose
desires respecting it, are, like ours, favourable to its ac
complishment. ^
We, therefore, hereby request the aid of your coun
sel, as to this interesting and important matter, at Glasgow,
on Wednesday the 13th day of March next; either by
your personal presence,, or if, on account of distance, or
any other cause, that may be found impracticable, by
letter, stating your mind as to the desireableness of the
object in general, with the likelihood there may be of its
meeting with support and encouragement from the Bre
thren, or other Christians, in your part of the country j
and imparting your best advice, as to the means of carry
ing it into effect.
We intend mentioning, immediately, this proposed

34
meeting, to our respective churches; and intimating,
that whatever plan may then be thought most eligible
will be laid before them, for their approbation and coun
tenance. — We wish you, in this, if you shall think it
proper, to follow our example ; and, at the same time,
to delay any solicitation for pecuniary aid, till such time
as some approved scheme, likely to answer the end, can
be presented, for support and encouragement.
It is proposed, that, on the appointed day ©f confer
ence, Mr. Wardlaw preach, in Nile-street Meeting-
House, at eleven o'clock forenoon ; and Mr. Orme, in
Albion-street Chapel, at seven o'clock evening.
And to the object of the Meeting, which has in view
his own glory, and the good of his cause and people,
ipiay the Great Head of the Church " serid prosperity 1"
We are, Dear Sir,
Yours, in the best of Bonds,
GREVILLE EWING.
RALPH WARDLAW.
GEORGE ROBERTSON.
Glasgow, 22d January, l&ll.

AGREEABLif to the request contained in the above
Letter, a numerous, arid very interesting meeting' was
held at Glasgow, on the day specified.
Mr. Wardlaw preached at eleven o'clock forenoon, in
Nile-street meeting-house, frojaa 1 Tim. iii.- 2. " A Bi
shop, therefore, must be ' apt to teach."— and after
sermon, the Pastors who Were present, along with such
ofthe members of the churches, as were disposed to ac
company therti, adjourned, for conference, fo a hall in
Irigrarn'-street. Mr; Aikrnah, of Edinburgh* Was called fo preside j
Mr. Robertson, of Paisley, opened the meeting with
prayer ; and Mr. Wardlaw was appointed secretary.
Previously to entering on ihe business ©f the day, MpotS
the motion of Mr. Ewing, the thanks of the meeting were
unanimously given to Mr. Wardlaw, for hfe sermon
preached Ori this occasion', and he Was requested to furnish
the manuscript, in order to its being printed.

35
s Upon the list being read over, of those to whom letters
of invitation had been sent, the following brethren were
present, — Messrs. Aikman, Edinburgh— Watson, Mus
selburgh — Arthur, Dalkeith — Aikenhead, Kirkcaldy— •
Knowles* Linlithgow — Caldwell, Falkirk- — Watson,.
Grangemouth — Henry, Stirling — M'Laren, Calander —
Dun* Dumfries— M'Lean, Ayr— M'Kay* Arran— MfGill*
Easdale — Campbell, Oban— Low, Auldkirk — Hercus,
Greenock — Edwards, Helensburgh — Kerr, Cambuslang
— Wilson, Hamilton — Alexander, Larkhall-i— Orme*
Perth— Russel, Dundee — -Philp, Aberdeen— 'Dewar,
Nairn — Monro, Kriockando — Ewing and Wardlaw*-'
Glasgow— Robertson, Paisley — and Mr. Glover, a deptity
from the church in Thistkvstreefc,' Edinburgh, at present
without a pastor. '¦¦•-• -¦ *t
Letters were also announced, and partly read, from
the following brethren: the church in Thistle-street,
Edinburgh — Messrs. Puller & Christie, Leith— Elder,
Leven  Grant, Blairgowrie  M'Killiken & Dewar,'
Acharn & Aberfeldie — Fraser, Broughty Ferry — Thorn-.
son* Lochie — Black, Montrose— Penman, Arbroath — -'
Lindsay, Lethem — Collins,* Kirriemuir — M'Neil, Elgin
— Dewar, Avoch — 'Martin, Forres — Gibb* Banff-
Clark, Thurso — Cleghorn, Wick — Millar, Gatehouse
of Fleet — M'Callum, Kintyre- — Paton,' St. Andrews — »
Brown, Belfast — Smith, Garlieston.
All these Letters expressed warm approbation of the
object of the meeting, arid an earnest desire, that the
Divine blessing might direct its deliberations, and crown
them with a favourable issue. Verbal messages, to the
same effect* were likewise delivered from others.
It was suggested by Mr. Ewing, tot preserve propei*
order in discussion, that the mind of the brethreri present
should be requested, on the four following points: 1.
The desirableness of the general object. 2. To whom
the tuition of the students should be committed. 3.
The plan of education which should be followed. And
4. The propriety of connecting with the proposed scheme
of education, a scheme of itineraincy for the preaching of
the gospel throughout the country.
Upon the first of these points, it was expressed, as the
unanimous sentiment of all present, that the object was^

36
in a high degree, desirable* as likely to prove eminently
conducive to the prosperity of the cause of Christ.
Upon the secOnd, it was proposed, and unanimously
agreed, that the education ofthe students should be en
trusted to Messrs. Ewing and Wardlaw, Glasgow, should
they be willing to undertake the important duty :— upon
which, in compliance with this unanimous desire oftheir
brethren, they both signified their willingness to accept
the charge, and, in the strength arid guidance ofthe grace
©f God, to fulfil it to the best oftheir ability.
On proceeding to the third particular, an outline of a
plan of education was read to the meeting, by Mr.
Robertson of Paisley, and submitted to their considera
tion. — This plan was read a second time, in distinct
paragraphs ; when various suggestions were thrown out,
an the way of amendment or of addition, relative to
different parts of its provisions. When each of these
had been the subject of free but very harmonious confer
ence, they were all, along with the plan itself, referred to
a committee, consisting of the following brethren, whose
business should be to digest and arrange the whole, and
to present their report, at an adjourned meeting, to be
held next day at eleven o'clock : Messrs. Ewing, Aikman*
Philp, Watson of Musselburgh, Henry, Robertson, Her~
cus, Orme, and Wardlaw.
Mr. Russsel of Dundee concluded with prayer.
Mr. Orme preached in Albion-street chapel^ in the
evening, from John iv. 35, 36. Thursday, March \4tth.
At eleven o'clock the brethren convened, agreeably to
the adjournment of yesterday.
Mr. Monro, of Knockando, opened the meeting with
prayer. Two or three additional letters were read, which
had been omitted the preceding day ; and Mr,. Watson,
of Musselburgh, again engaged in prayer, for the divine
direction and countenance.
Upon the motion of Mr. Ewing, the thanks of the
meeting were given to Mr. Orme, for his sermon preach?
ed the preceding evening.
The committee appointed to digest the plan, presented
the following Report; which was read, and approved.

37
Thursday Morning, Seven o'clock.
"Your committee met, agreeably to appointment ; and
After prayer and mutual conference, drew up the follow
ing digested plan, which they submit for the approbation
oftheir brethren* as according with the various sugges
tions which were stated and approved at their meetingi
yesterday. PLAN Of EDUCATION FOR THE MINISTRY".
The object of the institution shall be* to afford proper
means of communicating, to brethren pf approved cha
racter and talents, a suitable measure of knowledge in the
following branches of education* irt order to enable them,
with the greater advantage* to fulfil their desire of devOt-'
ing themselves to the ministry of the word: — viz. the
En&lish, Latin, Greek and Hebrew languages j that
they may be able to study the scriptures of the Old and
New Testament, in the tongues in which they were
originally written, and, in interpreting these scriptures
to others, to speak with propriety in their own : — Logic,
or the principles and rules of legitimate reasonings of
which the knowledge is eminently advantageous* both for
the defence of truth, and the refutation of error : — Na
tural Philosophy, the interesting study ofthe glory of
God in the works of creations— Mathematics, as sub
servient to this and other branches of useful science, and
as itself excellently adapted for sharpening the powers of
the mind, and promoting habits of close and accurate
thinking: — General History, including Geography
and Chronology, to be studied with special reference to
the History, Geography, and Chronology of the Bible : —
and Theology, embracing the study of Divine Truth
as revealed in the scriptures, along with a Compara
tive View of Philosophical and Christian Mo
rality. The care of the education of the students shall be com
mitted to Messrs. Ewing and Wardlaw, Glasgow; who
shall instruct them in Theology; direct their general
reading, and their exercises hi the composition and
delivery 6f discourses ; and shall superintend their pro
gress in classical learning ; the elements of which they
shall receive, either from the tutors themselves, or, un-

38
der their direction, from private teachers; while the
more advanced parts shall be obtained, along with other
branches of education, by attending the ordinary classes
in Glasgow College.
The course shall be one c-f four years : — it being, at the
same time, understood, that such as display superior ta
lents, or have enjoyed superior previous advantages, may
be sent out sooner ; — and that, in case of necessity, a
fifth year may be prescribed, for the rudiments of educa
tion, as a necessary introduction to the course.
A Library of theological and classical works shall be
formed, at the expense of the funds, and by donations
of books from individuals friendly to the institution : —
whilst, for the advantages of general reading, the stu
dents shall have access to the most eligible public library
in Glasgow.
In order to enable suitable characters to avail themselves
of these means of education, all those students whose cir
cumstances may render it necessary, shall have their class
fees pa.d out ofthe funds, and shall receive a reasonable
allowance for temporal maintenance ; the amount of which
shall bi regulated by the committee of management after-
mentioned, Persons proposed for receiving education, must be re
commended by their pastors, with the consent of their
respective churches, as known to possess good natural
talents, and decided piety, along with those qualities of
christian temper, which the scriptures require in those
who devote themselves to the ministry of the word.
In order to discover these qualifications, it shall be re
commended to the pastors of the churches, to make trial
of the talents of such as apply for education, by teaching
them the principles of English Grammar, or by employ
ing them in any other useful exercises, which are fitted
fo try and to develope the powers of the mind.
The number of the students received, shall be regulated
by the state of the funds, and the qualifications of the
applicants ; among whom the committee of management
shall have power to make the necessary selection, when
a greater number apply than can be admitted.
It shall be in the power ofthe tutors, with the concur
rence pf the conunittee of . management* fo dismiss from

39
the seminary, after a trial of three months, such students
as do not, in that time, give evidence of their posses
sing talents of which the further cultivation is likely to fit
them for real usefulness.
The institution shall be supported by the donations
and annual subscriptions of individuals, and by the con
tributions of churches.
Thus far the Report of the committee. — On the plan
being approved, Mr. Ewing was called to engage in
prayer for the divine blessing upon it. — The clause res
pecting the constitution of the committee of manage
ment, not having been finally adjusted yesterday, the con
sideration of it was resumed ; and it was resolved, that the
following brethren, residing in different parts of the
country, together with three frprii each of the churches in
Glasgow, to be afterwards nominated by the Pastors,
with their own consent, and the approbation of their
brethren, shall for the present constitute this committee;
— Messrs. Ewing and Wardlaw, Glasgow, (ex officio)
Aikman, Edinburgh — Philp, Aberdeen — Robertson,
Paisley — Hercus, Greenock — Orme, Perth — Watson,
Musselburgh — Monro, Knockando — Cleghorn, Wick —
Kerr, Cambuslang — Henry, Stirling— Dun, Dumfries —
Brown Belfast — Of this committee, seven to be a quorum.
A proposal was made by Mr. Orme, and unanimously
approved, that provision should be made, from the funds
of the institution, for students who have completed their
education, and having left the academy, have commenced
their labours in preaching the gospel, under the direction
of the committee of management, for one year at feast, if
within that time they have not obtained a fixed station;
and for a longer period, if the committee judge it proper ;
it being left to their discretion to decide in this, accord
ing to circumstances.
It was also resolved, that the minutes of the proceed
ings of yesterday and to-day be printed, and a copy sent
to each of the pastors of the churches throughout the
Country; accompanied with a short address, commend
ing the object to the attention, approbation, countenance,
and support, of the brethren ; and that this report, and
address, be also freely circulated among Christians in

40
general. — M/. Ewing was appointed to draw up Hie prb-
posed address.
A short conversation took place respecting the last of
the four points, suggested for consideration yesterday ;
when it seemed to be the unanimous sentiment of the
brethren, that however desirable aq, extensive scheme of
itinerancy might be, it was much better, in the mean time,
to keep but one object in view, and thus to avoid both
confusion and objection ; and that no plan of itinerancy,
therefore, should be at all connected with the proposed
institution* further than what was implied in the preach
ing of the more advanced students during the vacations,
and of those who had finished their studies, from the time
oftheir leaving the academy, till they should be settled in
a fixed station.
The thanks of the meeting were unanimously given to
Messrs. Ewirig and Wardlaw, for the manner in which
they had signified their willingness to accept the charge
devolved upon them* and to undertake the great addition
al labour necessarily arising from it.
Thanks were also given to Mr. Aikman, for his con
duct as president of the meetings.
Mr. Aikman concluded with prayer.

Beloved Brethren, we lay before you, a plan for
affording the advantages of an appropriate education to
those of your riUmber, who may desire the good work of
the ministry of the gospel, and who may be judged
eligible to engage in that work.
You believe in the only living and true God, the Fa
ther, Son, and Holy Spirit. You hope for everlasting
life from the love of him, who sent his Son into the world
to save his people from their sins, by redeeming them with
his own precious blood. You rejoice in Christ Jesus the
Lord, as your righteousness and strength, the propitiation
for your sins, your advocate with the Father, the con
queror of Satan and of death, your forerunner within the
yail, the glorified King and Head ©f his church, who
shall judge the world, and receive his people to himself at
$he last day. You are living by faith in the Son of God,
jthrOugh the sovereign grace of the Holy Spirit, who is

41
sent by the Father in the name of his Son, t© carry con
viction, by means of the truth, to the consciences and
hearts of sinners. By his inward operation, you have
been born again, are walking in newness of life, are join
ed in fellowship with one another, with all who love our
Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity throughout the world,
and with angels and spirits of the just made perfect in
heaven, into which you are yourselves to be soon ad
mitted ; nay, your fellowship is truly with the Father, and
with his Son Jesus Christ. When you meet together in
the name of Christ, he is in the midst of you. Salvation
is also come to your houses, through the merits of him,
in whose name both you and your households are baptiz
ed;, and whatever be your lot in regard to this world,
you are encouraged to commit yourselves and yours, to
the Lord, and to the word of his grace, knowing whom
you have believed, and being persuaded, that he is able
to keep that which you have committed to him against
that day.
All these blessings you owe, under God, to that divine
institution, the preaching ©f the everlasting gospel. A
source of so great happiness to yourselves, must be the
most precious inheritance which you can leave to your
children ; the best gift which you can offer, either to the
present, or to future generations.
Your pastors have felt it a duty peculiarly connected
with their oversight of churches, to provide suitable
labourers to help them in the ministry of the gospel. A
cordial acquiescence in the plan, which they have propos
ed for this important purpose, will encourage them to
greater efforts, while they remain in the vineyard them
selves, and make their minds more cheerful, when called
to resign their place to others, who shajl succeed them.
That the Lord will at all events send labourers into his
harvest, we cannot doubt ; but that we should be guiltless,
if we neglected to seek them, and to furnish them with
every possible' advantage, we dare not believe.
The approbation of the object, which most of you have
already expressed ; the harmony which appeared among
all who met fpr conference, or corresponded respecting
it; and the divine countenance which has attended
former attempts of a similar nature; unite in persuading
us* that we are not mistaken, when we anticipate, your

42
zealous arid • effectual co-operation. Brethren', pray fof
us, that the word of the Lord may have free course and
be glorified. We are far from limiting the hope of a
supply of preachers and pastors, to any institution con
ducted by man. We shall rejoice to see many brought
forward to labour successfully in the gospel* by other*
means, than those which We think it our duty to recom
mend. Let us only be permitted to provide for such of
our brethren as may desire it, those means of improve
ment, which are .- calculated, by the blessing of God, to
make them more able ministers of his holy word.
We are extremely sorry to add to the burdens which
already lie on you. Placed in trying times, you have many
difficulties to contend with of a peculiar nature. Our
churches have all been lately formed, and all nearly at
the same period; some, have been involved in debt by the
building of places of worship, and by other circumstances
which we trust will be only of temporary duration. These
embarrassments, which we feel with you in common, pre
vent us from expecting to be able ourselves, or to be en
abled by you, to do all that we would. But let us do what
we can. If there be first a willing mind, it is accepted
according to that a man hath, and nbt according fo
that he hath not. Give us your best wishes, and whatever
assistance the Lord may enable you really to' spare; and
we shall cheerfully engage in the arduous undertaking,
although in the commencement at least, it may require
to be conducted on the smallest scale.

Agreeably to the request of their brethren, stated in
the preceding minutes, Messrs. Ewing and Wardlaw
have, with the' consent pf their respective churches, no
minated the following brethren, as additional members of
the committee of management.
Messrs. William1 Penman, William Harley, Wil
liam M'GaviN, ofthe church in Nile-street;
Messrs. William Wardlaw, Gilbert Wardlaw,
John Smith, of the church in Albion-street.
The above named gentlemen, along with Messrs. Ewing
and Wardlaw, met on the 2d of April, and nominated
Mr. William Wardlaw, president of the committee, and
Mr. M'Gavin, treasurer to the institution.

43
The Committee, therefore, now stands as follows :
Mr. WILLIAM WARDLAW, President.
Mr. RALPH WARDLAW, Secretary.
Mr. WILLIAM M'GAVIN, Treasurer.
Messrs. Ewing, Glasgow,
Aikman, Edinburgh,
Philp, Aberdeen,
Robertson, Paisley,
Hercus, Greenock,
Orme, Perth,
Watson, Musselburgh,
Monro, Knockando,
Cleghorn, Wick,
Kerr* Cambuslang,
Henry, Stirling,
Dun, Dmnfries,
Brown, Belfast,
Penman,
Harley, G. Wardlaw,
J. Smith,

GlasgoWi

Donations and Annual Subscriptions will be received by
the treasurer, who resides in George's Square, Glasgow,
or by any of the gentlemen pi" the committee.

Christian 4g)ercp:
<A. SERMON,
preached at the request or the
GLASGOW FEMALE SOCIETY,
On the Evening of Thursday,
MARCH 15/, 1810.

By RALPH WARDLAW,
MINISTER OF TBE GOSPEL, GLASGOW.

GLASGOW:
Printed by Jama Hedderimuk tS* Co.
SOLD BT M. OGLE, J. AND A. DUNCAN, AND R. DALLAS AND C.O.
GLASGOW; J. OGLE, AND BROWN AND CROMBIE, EDINBURGH;
R. OGLE, AND T. HAMILTON, LONDON.
1810.

CHRISTIAN MERCYs

A SERMON.

Mat. v. 7. Blessed are the merciful, for they shall
obtain mercy.
vv hen our Saviour began his public ministry, he
proclaimed, as John the Baptist had done before
him, the approaching establishment of the pre
dicted kingdom of heaven; warning the Jews to
renounce their prejudices and errors, and to em
brace the truth, — to forsake their sins, and to
follow righteousness. " Repent," said he, " for
the kingdom of heaven is at hand *." He con
firmed his declaration, and enforced his admoni
tion, by the performance of miracles, such as at
once attested his divine mission, and declared him
a messenger of grace; the power necessary to
their accomplishment, " bearing, witness of him
that the Father had sent him," and their kind
and merciful nature, that he had sent him on an
errand of love. Of his preaching, and his miracles,
with their effects in spreading abroad his fame,
and drawing the multitudes £fter him, we have
* Mat. iv. 17.

a succinct account in the end of the preceding
chapter: " And Jesus went about all Galilee,
teaching in their synagogues, and preaching the
gospel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of
sickness, and all manner of disease, among the
people. And his fame went throughout all Syria:
and they brought unto him aU sick people, that
were taken with diverse diseases and torments,
and those who were possessed with devils, and
those who were lunatic, and those that had the
palsy; and he healed them. And there followed
him great multitudes of people, from Galilee, and
from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from
Judea, and from beyond Jordan *."
This favourable opportunity the Saviour em
braced, of delivering the well known, and highly
interesting and important discourse, of which the
text forms a part. He commences this discourse,
by drawing a bold and beautiful outline of those
features of character, which should distinguish,
from the rest of the world, the subjects Of his
spiritual kingdom; and, with the dignity of
" one who had authority," pronouncing upon
each of them the blessing of heaven.
From amongst these features of character, the
excellence and blessedness of which are thus em
phatically declared, I have selected for considera
tion, this evening, the attribute of Mercy: —
" Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain
mercy." — and I shall endeavour to recommend it
to the approbation of your minds, and to excite
you to the practical exhibition of it in your lives,
by directing your attention,
In the first place, to its general nature: —
In the second place, to its objects: — And,
* Mat. iv. 2S, 24, 25.

In the third place, to the consideration by
WHICH, IN THE TEXT, THE CULTIVATION AND
EXERCISE OF IT ARE ENFORCED.
I shall, in the first place, make some observa
tions on the general nature of Christian mercy..
Mercy may be viewed in reference either to
guilt, or to misery. In the former light, it is a
disposition to lenity and forgiveness towards an
offender, and stands opposed to severity and re
taliation : in the latter, it is an inclination to re
lieve the wretchedness of its objects, whether that
wretchedness be at the time felt, or be perceived
to exist in their state and prospects; it is a com
passionate tenderness of heart, which " weeps
with those who weep," and for those who have
cause to weep, of which they are ignorant or
insensible. These two dispositions are nearly
allied to each other. The heart that is untouched
with any generous emotion by the confessions
of a penitent offender, and will be satisfied with
nothing less than the most rigorous penalty
which inflexible justice can demand, we do not
expect to find feelingly alive to the claims of
distress in general. As a gentle and forgiving
temper of mind, however, might, with at least
equal propriety, be considered as a feature of
meekness, mentioned in one of the preceding
verses, I shall, in this discourse, treat of mercy,
chiefly in the more enlarged and general view of
it, as meaning compassionate kindness toward
every form of misery, the opposite of insensibility,
or hardness of heart.
Respecting Christian mercy, so understood, I
observe : —
In the first place. — It regards both the bodies
and the souls of men; both their temporal and
their eternal interests.

I mention this first, as the grand characteristic
of Christian mercy; distinguishing it from com
mon humanity, that kind of benevolence which
is not seldom to be found in the characters of
men, who, by their conduct in other respects,
show themselves to be destitute of the grace of
God. Of such men, the compassions are limited
to the temporal wants and miseries of their fellow
creatures : they think not of their spiritual state,
or their everlasting prospects : they feel no pang
of pity for perishing souls. How should they?
they do not, in these respects, feel for themselves!
Yet what, let me ask, is that benevolence, which
confines its feelings and attentions to the transient
concerns of this vain and uncertain life? — relieving
distresses, which may last but for a day or an
hour, and forgetting that the object of pity is an
immortal and accountable being! Is this rational?
Does it deserve to. be dignified with the name of
true benevolence; overlooking, as it does, that
view of human existence and of human happiness,
which is infinitely the most important and in
teresting? What should we think of that man's
consistency, who should manifest the utmost
anxiety to prevent, or to alleviate, a slight and
momentary pain, and at the same time contem
plate, with calm indifference, circumstances ne
cessarily involving the object of his solicitude in
a long lifetime of accumulated wretchedness?
The inconsistency of such conduct would be
strikingly great; but infinitely less than his,
whose feelings of compassion are awakened by
fhe afflictions of mankind, considered as " crea
tures of yesterday," attached to life by a thread,
which the wing of every passing moment may
break; while he never concerns himself with the
reflection, that these creatures are formed fbr
eternal existence; or with the solemn question,

whether that existence shall be passed in happiness
or in woe !
The mercy of the true Christian, is not thus
inconsistent. It views mankind both as mortal
and as immortal; and it is, as it ought to be,
most powerfully affected by their spiritual state,
and their prospects for eternity. It beholds
them in the light in which the word of God
represents them, as a race of fallen and guilty
creatures, estranged from God, and children of
wrath ; " poor, and miserable, and wretched, and
blind, and naked *." If they are insensible to
their real condition, and, through insensibility,
thoughtless, unconcerned, and apparently happy,
his heart only bleeds for them the more tenderly.
Jf they enjoy abun'dance of earthly good, while
they are destitute of the true riches, he views
.them, not with the eye of envy; but, while he
is happy to see them prosper, he cannot but be
strongly affected by the contrast which their
situation presents, between the Ught of worldly
prosperity, and the darkness of spiritual death.
He remembers the words of the Lord Jesus, —
" What is a man profited, if he should gain the
whole world, and lose his own soul? or, what
shall a man give in exchange for his soulf?" and,
with a full heart, and a melting eye, " he beholds
transgressors, and is grieved J."
It is as immortal and guilty creatures, that
Divine mercy has viewed and visited mankind.
As it is the folly of men to bound their considera
tion by the limits of their present Ufe, the wisdom
of God embraces, in its estimate of human happi
ness, and of human misery, the whole extent of
human existence. It is not merely the temporal
effects of sin, but its eternal consequences, that
* Rev. iii. 17. f Mat. xvi. 26. \ Psai. cxix. 158.

8
have drawn forth towards man the compassions
of Jehovah ; — " who hath remembered us in our
low estate, because his mercy endureth for
ever *."
But, while Christian mercy is principally af
fected by the condition of men, as sinners ready
to perish, it is not affected by this alone. It is far
from being insensible to their temporal sufferings
and wants. Its sympathies, on the contrary, are
tender and lively. It has a tear of heart -felt
commiseration for aU the calamities and evils to
which men are exposed, in their bodies, in their
minds, in their connections with one another,
and in their external circumstances; from what
ever source these evils may have sprung, whether
from the immediate visitatioh of God, from the
injustice and. cruelty of feUow men, or even from
the sin and foUy of the sufferers themselves.
There is no description of unhappiness, which
Christian mercy can contemplate without emo
tion; although it is, of course, more deeply
affected by some kinds of evil than by others;
and various feelings will necessarily mingle them
selves with its exercise, according to the circum
stances from which the distress has arisen, or
with which it is associated.
But I now proceed to observe,
In the second place,— That the merciful man,
whom the text pronounces blessed, is not a mere
man of feeling : his mercy is a powerful principle
of conduct; a fountain which overflows in streams
of blessing, to the afflicted and the destitute. His
mercy does notr evaporate in unprofitable words.
It is not satisfied with saying to him who is
" naked and destitute of daily food, depart in
peace, be warmed and filled f;" but, along with
* Psai. cxxxvi. 23. f James ii. 15.

9
the expressions of sympathy, it imparts, to the
utmost of its power, " those things which are
needful for the bbdy." It is not contented with
deploring, in however strong language, the ignor
ance, the wickedness, and the misery, of men
who are perishing in their sins; it exerts itself for
the instruction of the ignorant, the conversion of
the sinner, the peace and joy of the miserable, —
the salvation of the perishing.
Of this operative nature, has been the mercy
of God to a fallen world. " God so loved the
world, that he gave his only-begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth in him might not perish, but
have everlasting life *." He not only " remem
bered us in our low estate," " but laid our help on
one mighty to save:" to rescue us from merited
perdition, he **. spared not his own Son." — And
in the character of him who is " the Image of the
invisible God," active beneficent mercy holds a
distinguished place. The tender compassions of
his heart prompted him to unceasing exertion.
" He went about doing goodf." — It was for the
salvation of guilty sinners, that "• He who was in
the form of God,- and thought it not robbery to
be equal with God, made himself of no reputa
tion, and took upon him the form of a servant,
and was made in the likeness of men ; and, being
found in fashion as a man, humbled himself, and
became obedient unto death, even the death of
the cross \." During the period of his ministry
on earth, with what indefatigable activity, what
disinterested self-denial, what patient and cheer
ful endurance of suffering, did he seek the good
of mankind ! It was his meat and his drink to
execute the gracious purposes of his mission;
" preaching good tidings to the poor, liberty to
* John iii. 16. + Acts x. 38. J Phil. ii. 6, 7, 8.
B

10
the captives, and the opening of the prison t(t
them who were bound ; binding up the broken
hearted, comforting the mourners, appointing to
them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourn
ing, and the garment of praise for the spirit of
heaviness ; proclaiming the acceptable year of the
Lord *." At his merciful and omnipotent word,
" the eyes of the blind were opened, the ears of
the deaf were unstopped, the lame man leaped as
a hart, and the tongue of the dumb sangf." His
whole character was marked by a melting, yet
subfime and dignified tenderness. With what
commanding majesty, yet with what endearing
kindness, does he appear, when soothing the over
whelmed spirit of the weeping widow of Nain,
and restoring her' only son to her fond embrace! — -
when mingling his tears with those of the afflicted
sisters of Lazsarus, and, with a loud and effec
tual voice, summoning the dead from his grave! —
On these and other occasions, we behold power
exerted to accomplish the purposes of mercy, in
such a way, that we are at once melted into love,
and awed into silent and humble reverence.
On many occasions, the Saviour waited not for
an application, either from the distressed them
selves, or from others in their behalf; but, in the
fulness of his benevolent compassion, imparted
unasked relief. — In the highest expression of his
mercy, indeed, had he waited for an application,
the objects of it must have perished for ever.
The pride of our rebellious hearts, averse as they
are, by nature, to receive even the offers of his
mercy, would never have prompted us to seek
it: — and the idea, besides, of a Divine Being
assuming the nature of our fallen race, in order
to accomplish their recovery, was one which no
» Isa. lxi. 1, 2, S. with Luke iv. 16—21. f Isa. xxxV. 5, S.

II
conceivable measure of presumption could ever
have suggested to the mind of any creature. —
When he came, in the name of Jehovah, to save
us, he came, sent of God, and delighting to do
his will; but uninvited by the perishing objects
of his grace.
Thus must our mercy operate, as an efficient
principle of action. Benevolence must excite to"
beneficence, else the profession of it is as vain and
worthless, as the profession of faith, when it does
not " work by love." It is on such active, bene
ficent mercy, that the blessing of God is pro
nounced: — " Is not this the fast that I have
chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to
undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed
go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not
to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou
bring the poor that are cast out; to thy house?
when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him;
and that thou hide not thyself from thine own
flesh? Then shaU thy light break forth as the
morning, and thy health shall spring forth speed
ily; and thy righteousness shall go before thee:
the glory of the Lord shaU be thy rereward. —
If thou draw out thy soul to the hungay, and
satisfy the afflicted soul, then shall thy light rise
in obscurity, and thy darkness be as the noon-day:
and the Lord shall guide thee continually, and
satisfy thy soul in drought, and make fat thy
bones; and thou shalt be like a watered garden,
and like a spring of water, whose waters fail
not *." Of this description was the mercy of the
patriarch Job: " when the ear heard me, then it
blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave
witness to me: because 1 delivered the poor that
cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none
» Isa. lviii. 6, 7, 8, 10, II.

12
to help him. The blessing of him that was ready
to perish came upon me; and I caused the widow's
heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and
it clothed me : my judgment was as a robe and a
diadem. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I
to the lame. I was a father to the poor; and
the cause which I knew not I searched out: and
I broke the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the
spoil out of his teeth *."
It is only, however, with the genuine disposition
of the heart, that the God who " weighed! the
spirits" can be pleased. Some ofthe external in
dications of benevolence may appear, while they
proceed from principles essentially different. Our
Lord supposes, for example, that men may give
alms from the principle of ostentatious vanity;
and he declares, respecting such, that " they have
their reward f:" — and one of his apostles makes
the supposition, (which we are by no means to
consider as a supposition beyond the bounds of
possibility,) of a man's bestowing all his goods to
feed the poor, and yet wanting genuine charity J.
It may sometimes be difficult lor us to detect the
operation of unhallowed motives ; but wherever
they do operate, that which proceeds from them,
however like it may be, in our view, to the fruits
of genuine mercy, cannot be acceptable to God.
It is a forgery; base and counterfeit in the eye of
Him, who " seeth not as man seeth."
But while the fruits of ostentation, or of self-
righteousness, may bear a deceitful resemblance
to those of true benevolence, it ought, at the same
time, never to be forgotten, that where fruit is
not produced, — where there exists abiUty to do
good, that is not put into exercise, the professions
of sympathy, however fervent, as they spring from
* Job xxix. 11 — 17. f Mat. Ti- ' — 4- t 1 Cor. xiii. S.

13
hypocrisy, are equally odious in the sight of that
Godj who " desireth truth in the inward parts."
It should also be remembered, for the en
couragement of those, whose ability to do good
may not, in Divine providence, be adequate to
the gratification of their benevolent desires, that,
where the merciful disposition exists, the fruits of
it are accepted, " according to what a man hath;
and not according to what he hath not *." When
Jesus, on one occasion, sat over against the trea
sury, and beheld how the people cast money into
the treasury, " many that were rich cast in much:
and there came a certain poor widow, and she
threw in two mites, which make a farthing. And
he called unto him his disciples, and said unto
them, Verily, I say unto you, that this poor widow
hath cast more in than all they who have cast
into the treasury: for all they did cast in of their
abundance; but she of her want did cast in all
that she had, even aU her living f."
I proceed now to notice,
In the second place, — The objects of Christian
mercy. It is most wisely ordered, by the author of our
mental constitution, that our benevolent affections
should be strongest, where they have most occa
sion to operate. It is an attempt pregnant with
unnatural absurdity, and, were it within the
bounds of possibility, fraught with mischief, to
obliterate the peculiarities of affection, and to re
solve all its varieties into the general principle of
the love of mankind. There is no precept nor
principle of Christianity, that violates the sanc
tuary of private friendship, and consanguineal
tenderness. By the irresistible impulse of nature,
* 2 Cor. viii. 12. t Mark xii. 41 — 44.

14
we .feel, and cannot but feel, more acute and.
lively concern, for the miseries, whether temporal
or spiritual, of those who are " bone of our bone,
and flesh of our flesh," than for the woes of men
with whom our sole bond of connection is the
possession of a common nature. — " I say the truth
in Christ, and lie not, my conscience also bearing
me witness in the Holy Ghost, that I have great
heaviness and continual sorrow in my heart, for '
my brethren, my kinsmen according to the flesh."
" Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God
for Israel is, that they might be saved *." The
pecuUar love which these declarations express, is
the offspring of nature ; the prayer, for the most
important and comprehensive of all blessings, is
the dictate of genuine piety. Though the souls
of all may be, in themselves, equally precious, yet
it is utterly impossible they should all be equally
precious to us. Neither is it possible, that the
temporal distresses and wants of all, should be to
us equally affecting, exciting the same degree of
compassionate emotion, or producing the same
measure of beneficent exertion.
Among peculiar attachments, must likewise be
reckoned the mutual love of those who are " the
children of God, by faith in Jesus," brethren
in Christ, and fellow-heirs of the heavenly inheri
tance : — " whosoever believeth that Jesus is the
Christ, is born of God ; and every one that loveth
Him that begat, loveth him also that is begotten
of Him f." This pure and fervent love to that
holy family, which, in Scripture, is denominated
" the household of faith," is a distinguishing
principle of the new nature, imparted to every
one who is a member of it, by the regenerating
Spirit of God. In the heart of a sinner, thus
* Rom. ix, 1, 2. and x. I. •)• 1 John v. 1.

15
again," this love is felt as the natural
affection- of the new and spiritual relation on
which he enters. He feels it immediately, uniting
him, by a tender and delightful sympathy, unfelt
before, with " all who love the Lord Jesus Christ
in sincerity." Believers in Jesus love one another,
as joint objects of the love of Christ, and of God;
— as redeemed by the same precious blood ; — par
doned by the same sovereign mercy; — sanctified
by the same spirit; — children of the same Father;
— brethren of the same glorious Redeemer ;—
fellow-pilgrims on earth, looking for a better
country, even a heavenly, where they expect to
spend an eternity of blessedness together, in the
presence of God, and of the Lamb. The love which
arises from such peculiar bonds of attachment,
must necessarily inspire feelings of compassion
and mercy, peculiarly tender, for the distresses of
those who are its objects: They are, accordingly,
described as members of the same body, which
"should all have the same care one for another,
so that whether one member suffer, all the mem
bers should suffer with it, Or one member be
honoured, all the members should rejoice with
it*:" — and as members of one family, who are
entitled, from each other, to a preference above
the rest of mankind, in the exercise of their
benevolent affections; " as we have, therefore,
opportunity, let us do good to all men, especially
to those who are of the household of faith f."
While, however, a superiority of claim is ad
mitted, as arising from these circumstances of
natural and spiritual relationship, our merciful
regards must by no means be thus confined ; they
must extend to the whole human race; and our
benevolent exertions, according to the measure of
* 1 Cor. xii. 25, 25. + Gal. vi. 10.

16
our abiUty, to all who come within the sphere of
our influence. No diversity of nation or religion,
of character, of colour, or of form, is to be, on
any account, considered, as involving a forfeiture
of the natural and unalienable claim, which every
man possesses on every fellow-man, for compas
sionate sympathy, and help in time of need.
Although God is not the father of aU; in the
same sense in which he bears this endearing rela
tion to those who believe in his Son, who are his
children as being renewed in the spirit of their minds,
partaking of his holy likeness, and objects of his
complacent delight ; yet still he is represented as,
by their creation, the common Parent of mankind.
The sentiment of the heathen poet is sanctioned
and haUowed by the voice of inspiration, " For
we are also his offspring *." " God hath made of
one blood all nations of men, to dweU on all the
face of the earth f." " Have we not all one Fa
ther? hath not one God created usj<?" — Ahd as
God is the father of all men, as their creator, he
extends over all the unceasing care of his providen
tial administration; and, according to his declared
purpose, has destined the good tidings of his
mercy, revealed in the Gospel, to be proclaimed
io every people, and kindred, and tongue, and
nation ; all being involved in the same guilt, and
aU needing the same salvation.
But that which exalts Christian mercy to a
sublime pre-eminence above the ordinary com
passions of mankind, is, that, in the command
of God, enemies, — not merely national, but even
personal enemies, — are included among the num
ber of its objects. Whatever just claims patriotism
may advance for a preference, in the exercise of
benevolence, to a countryman above an alien; no
¦* Acts xvii. 28. + Acts xvii. 26. J Mai. ii. 10.

17
feeling of national animosity must be suffered to
close the ear, and to harden the heart, when the
voice of a stranger, even of a hostile stranger,
pleads for mercy.— Between the Jews and the
Samaritans there existed an antipathy, so malig
nant and scornful, that, among the former,
the appeUation a Samaritan was one which
expressed the strongest feeUngs of disdain and
hatred: " Say we not weU, that thou art a Samar
itan, and hast a devil*?" Yet it was by the
beautiful parable of the good Samaritan, by whom
mercy was shown to the Jew, who had fallen
among thieves, between Jerusalem and Jericho,
that our Lord answered the question, " who. is
my neighbour ?" and, by enjoining him who
asked it to " go and do likewise," impressively
taught the comprehensive extent of the precept,
"thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself:" a precept
which, as we learn from the end of the chapter
where our text lies, had been grievously perverted
from its original meaning, to suit the depraved
propensities of human pride; and which is there
restored to its genuine sense and dignity. " Ye
have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love
thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy: But I say
unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that
curse you, do good to them who despitefully use
you and persecute you: that ye may be the chil
dren of your Father who is in heaven; for he
maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good,
and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust f."
To the same purpose- is the command of God,
given by the apostle Paul, in the twelfth chapter
of his Epistle to the Romans \. — " Dearly beloved,
avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto
wrath ; for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will
* John viii. 48. + Mat v. 43, 44, 45. % Ver. 19, 20,21.

18
repay, saith the Lord. Therefore, if thine enemy
hunger, feed him ; if he thirst, give him drink ;
for, in so doing, thou shalt heap coals of fire>on
his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome
evil with good."
I proposed, in the third place, to direct your
attention to the consideration by which the
TEXT ENFORCES THE CULTIVATION AND EXERCISE
OF MERCV.
" Blessed are the merciful." — I might here
enlarge on the inward satisfaction, inseparable
from the exercise of this amiable disposition of
mind; — the indescribable luxury of doing good; —
the enviable delight of the benevolent man, when
he witnesses the fruits of his compassion, — surveys
the happiness diffused around him by the exercise
of his mercy; when " the ear hears him, and blesses
him; when the eye sees him, and bears witness to
him ; when the blessing of him who was ready to
perish, comes upon him, and the widow's heart is
made to sing for joy " — It is emphaticaUy said of
the blessed God himself, that he " delighteth in
mercy *." And the Lord Jesus, whose character
is our perfect pattern of pure and disinterested
benevolence, as it is of every thing else that is
exceUent and lovely, is recorded to have declared,
" It is more blessed to give than to receive f."
But, although this idea need not be entirely
excluded, it is not the kind of blessedness par
ticularly referred to in the text. The blessing
which is here pronounced on the merciful, is, an
interest in the mercy of God: — " Blessed are the
merciful; for they shall obtain mercy."
On this part of the subject, let us attend, —
1st, To the nature of the blessing itself; and,
* Mic. vii. 18. f Acts xx. 35.

19
2dly, To the connection between the exercise of
mercy on our part, and our obtaining mercy from
God. In the first place, let us shortly notice what is
implied in obtaining mercy.
The expression is never applied to a creature
that is innocent and happy; but supposes, in the
object of mercy, the existence of guilt and misery.
When God is merciful, he pardons the guilty,
and blesses the miserable. When Paul prays for
Onesiphorus, — " The Lord grant unto him, that
he may find mercy of the Lord in that day!" —
he presents, in his behalf, a petition of unutterable
importance; but the very terms of it imply, that
it is a petition for a creature, who has incurred^,
by guilt, the desert of misery. The angels who
have " kept their first estate," although they owe
aU their blessedness to sovereign favour, are not
objects of mercy; the very idea of which is un
avoidably associated in the mind with the idea
of misery, either suffered or deserved. The
language, then, which our Lord here uses, per
fectly accords with all the representations given
in the Scriptures, of the state of man, as a fallen,
gmlty, and miserable creature, lying at the mercy
of his offended God.
To a creature in this condition, the blessing is
one whose value it is impossible to estimate. If
our depravity permitted us rightly to conceive
the real demerit of sin, even in the degree to
which our limited faculties, if free from the bias
of corruption, might be able to comprehend it :— ¦
if our imaginations could form an adequate con
ception, on the one hand, of the sentence of eter
nal death, which the God of holiness and truth
has pronounced against it; or, on the other, of
the fulness of joy which is at his right hand for
evermore; — the latter, the blessed consequence of

20
obtaining mercy, — the former, the awful alterna
tive; — then might we, in some measure, appretiate
the value of the blessing here pronounced on the
merciful : — " they shall obtain mercy :" — they
shall find favour with that God, who, while he
" delighteth in mercy," is also, in justice, and in
jealousy, a consuming fire; who has power to
save, and power to destroy ; to bless, and to curse ;
to bless, beyond the most enlarged desires, and
to curse, beyond the most fearful forebodings of
men. " Whom he blesses, they are blessed; and
whom he curses, thev are cursed." — To obtain
mercy, then, is to be blessed with the pardon of
sin; and, being delivered from its condemning
sentence, to inherit everlasting life.
Let us now, in the second place, attend to the
connection between the exercise of mercy on our
part, and our obtaining mercy from God.
And here, in order to prevent those destructive
delusions, which the hearts of men, deceitful as they
are above all things, are ever ready to practise on
themselves, by eagerly catching at every expres
sion which seems to favour the proud pretensions
of self-righteousness, so inexpressibly inconsistent
with the state and character of a fallen creature ;
or to countenance the too common, but blind and
inconsiderate expectation, of purchasing heaven
by deeds of charity; let me request your serious
attention to the following observations :
In the first place. — We have seen, that the, very
idea of mercy, on the part of God, implies guilt
and misery on the part of the creature. Now,
nothing is more plainly revealed in the word of
God, than the ground on which he is merciful
to guilty and miserable sinners. To make this
known, indeed, is the grand leading purpose of
Divine revelation. The Bible is, accordingly, full
of it: and the exhibition of it is so clear and

21
plain, that " he who runs may read it." " Who
is a God like unto thee," says the prophet Micah,
" that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the
transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He
retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delight-
eth in mercy. He will turn -again, he wiU have
compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniqui
ties; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the
depths of the sea. Thou wilt perform the truth
to Jacob, and the mercy to Abraham, which thou
hast sworn unto our fathers, from the days of
old *." God performed the truth to Jacob, and
the mercy to Abraham, when the Seed of Abraham
appeared, in whom, it was declared, that aU na
tions should be blessed f: — and in the passage just
quoted from the prophet, the connection is inti
mated, between the fulfilment of this great Old
Testament promise, and the exercise of Divine
compassion to the guilty, in the forgiveness of
iniquity. It is through the promised mediator,
"JEHOVAH OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS," that God is
propitious to sinners ; that all the mercy, which
pardons the guilty, and blesses the miserable, is
bestowed. It is through faith in the atonement
made by his blood, that an interest is obtained in
the favour of our justly offended Sovereign. " In
Christ Jesus, we, who were afar off, are made
nigh, by the blood of Christ J;" who " bare our
sins, in his own body on the tree II;" who " suffer
ed for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might
bring us unto God §." — It is in the name of our
great High Priest, who is passed into the heavens,
Jesus the Son of God, that we must, while on
earth, come to the throne of grace, to obtain
mercy ^[: and it is such as have washed their
* Mic. vii. 18, 19, 20. f See Luke i. 67 — 75. Acts xiii. 32—39.
i Eph. ii. 13. || 1 Pet. ii. 24.. § 1 Pet. iv. 18. \ Hefc. iv. 14, 15, IS.

22
robes, and made them white in the blood of the
Lamb, that stand with acceptance before the
throne of God in heaven *. Let us recollect,: my
dear friends, that he who in the text assures us,
that the merciful shaU find mercy, says also —
•* the Son of man came, not to be ministered unto,
but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for
Hianyf:"-;— " This is my blood of the new covenant
which is shed for many, for the remission of
sins J:" — " As Moses lifted up the serpent in the
wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted
up; that whosoever believeth in him might not
perish, but have everlasting life § :" — "If ye believe
not that I am he, ye shaU die in your sins." —
Now such as die in their sins, die without an
interest in the mercy of God; and are placed for
ever beyond its reach. — Whatever, then, be the
meaning of the words of the text, they cannot
mean, that the gift of God is to be purchased
with money, or obtained as a recompence for
deeds of charity. — Speak not of obtaining mercy
on any such ground as this. Your language is
self-contradictory. Mercy, when shown by God
to his creatures, must, from its very nature,
be free; entirely without claim on the part
of him who receives it. It is the pardon of a
criminal, who has been justly sentenced to pun
ishment; the gift of happiness to one whose pro
per desert is misery; of life, where death is due.
— Merited mercy is mercy no longer. Admit the
idea of title, and you exclude that of grace. And
in excluding grace, you destroy the very essence
of mercy.
Do not, then, by a miserable perversion of the
word of God, talk of " Charity covering the
multitude of sins." Never were words more
» Rev. vii. 14, 15. tMat.xx.,28. f Mat. xxvi. 28, § John iii. 14, 1£.

23
thoughtlessly misappUed, or more unreasonably
abused. — Strange! that an apostle who speaks of
Christ " bearing our sins in his own body on the
tree;" of his suffering for sins, the just for the
unjust, that he might bring us unto God;" and
of sinners being " redeemed, not with corruptible
things, such as silver and gold, but with the
precious blood of Christ, as of a Lamb, without
blemish and without spot;" should, at the same
time, be quoted as authority for the foolish and
impious sentiment, that liberality to the poor may
bribe off the justice, and buy the mercy of the
Judge of all! — The truth is, that, in the words
aUuded to, there is no reference to almsgiving.
Charity is Christian love. Peter quotes the
words of Solomon, — " Hatred stirreth up strifes ;
but love covereth all sins:" where a simple con
trast is stated, between the opposite influence, in
a particular respect, of hatred and of love, by
which the apostle's real meaning is at once ex
plained, more effectually than by a volume of
reasoning. Do not, in order to persuade yourselves that the
purchase may be easily effected, hide from your
own minds the real enormity, the exceeding sin
fulness of sin, under the palliative terms of imper
fections, faults, and failings; and thus cherish the
delusive hope, that charity may cover your sins,
though it may be ineffectual to screen from pun
ishment the crimes of more flagrant offenders.
— In this way, among many others, do men fre
quently blindfold their judgments, lull and delude
their consciences, and practise a ruinous deceit
upon their immortal souls. If the Scriptures are
allowed to speak with authority, they pronounce
against sin a decisive verdict of eternal death; a
verdict which includes, without exception, the
whole race of mankind, all having sinned, and

24
eome short of the glory of God ; — and when it is
said, respecting any, " they shall obtain mercy,"
nothing less is meant, than the free and irre-
pealable remission of this awful, but righteous,
sentence; a remission which, every page of the
Divine word testifies, is only to be obtained
through faith in the atonement made by the Son
of God.
But, in the second place: — although, as has
now been stated, the ground on which mercy
shall be obtained, is, according to the uniform
testimony of the Scriptures, the atonement made
by the sufferings and death of the Son of God; it is,
at the same time, to be observed, that aU who
betake themselves to this ground of confidence,
who trust for mercy in thisatonement,are described
as distinguished by the possession of a certain
character, the result of faith, and of the holy in.
fluences of the spirit of grace: so that no one,
whatever may be his professions, who does not
possess this character, has any interest, or shall be
found, at the great day, to have any interest, in
the saving virtue of the atoning sacrifice of Christ,
and, by necessary consequence, in the mercy of
God. For example : — It is declared, on the one hand,
in the most explicit and unequivocal terms, " By
grace ye are saved;" " not pf works, lest any
man should boast * : — on the other, in terms no
less plain and decisive, — " without holiness no
man shaU see the Lord f." These declarations
are both true, and they are perfectly consistent.
The ground of our salvation is grace ; free favour ;
sovereign mercy. But, if we believe the message
of grace, the truth as it is in Jesus, the faith of it
wiU " purify our hearts J," and " work by love §."
* Eph. ii. 5, 8, 9. f Heb. xii 14. J Acts xv. 9. § Gal. v. 6.

25
If it does not, no man is bound— <-nay, no man is
warranted, to credit our professions ; every mart
is bound to disbelieve and reject them, as spring
ing either from miserable self-deception j or detest
able hypocrisy. — It was necessary that both these
declarations, the one respecting the ground, or
procuring cause, of mercy, the other respecting
the test of our interest in it, should be made with
equal plainness ; to prevent, on the one hand, de
lusive confidence in a false foundation, and, on
the other, unwarrantable and presumptuous de-
pendance on the true ; a dependence arising'from
the separation of what God hath joined together.
In such passages as the foUowing, grace, as the
source of salvation, and holiness, as the effect of
faith, appear in beautiful union : — " The grace of
God, that bringeth salvation, hath appeared unto
all men.; teaching us, that* denying ungodliness
and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righte
ously, and godly, in this present world; looking
for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing
of our great God and Saviour, Jesus Christ; who
gave himself for us, that he might redeem us
from all iniquity, and purify unto himelf a pecu
liar people, zealous of good works*." " After
that the kindness and love of God our Saviour
toward- man appeared; not by works of right
eousness which we have done, but according to
his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regen
eration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost, which
he shed on us abundantly through Jesus Christ
our Saviour;, that, being justified by his grace,
we should be made heirs, according to the hope
of- eternal life. This is a faithful saying, and
these things 1 wiU that thou affirm constantly,
that they who have believed in God might be
careful to maintain good worksf."
» Titus ii. 11—14. t TitU8 "'• 4_ ft
D

26
In consistency with these observations, we find,
in Scrjpture,sometimes the ground of mercy stated,
and sometimes the character described of those
who shaU obtain it: the possession of this character
being essential, though not as a meritorious cause,
(for this, as has been remarked, involves a contra
diction,) yet as the only decisive evidence of their
faith in Christ, and consequent interest in his
propitiatory sacrifice.
In the whole of the passage where our text lies,
it is evidently our Lord's design, not to point out
the foundation on which the hope of mercy should
rest, but to delineate the character of his genuine
disciples. — Of this character 3/ mercy is one of the
prominent features : and the correctness of the
views which have just been given, may be con
firmed by a very convincing instance, which re
spects one of the modes of the exercise of mercy,
as it is enjoined on the followers of Jesus. — In the
form of prayer which Christ taught his disciples,
we are instructed to pray, " Forgive us our debts,
as we forgive our debtors*;" and our Lord en
forces the use of this' petition, by adding, " For
if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly
Father will also forgive you : but if ye forgive not
men their trespasses^ neither will your Father for
give your trespasses +." Is our forgiving one
another, then, the meritorious cause of our being
forgiven by God? We should, at first view, per
haps, be apt to think so. It happens, however,
that our being forgiven of God is, in other places,
held forth, both by Christ and his apostles, as the
motive to our forgiveness of one another: — " I
forgave thee aU that debt, because thou desiredst
me ; shouldst not thou also have had compassion
on thy feUow-servant, even as I had pity on thee J?"
* Mat. vL 12. f Ver. 13, 14. \ Chap, xviii. 32, SS.

27
— " Be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted,
forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's
sake, hath forgiven you*:" — Forbearing, one a-
nother, and forgiving one another, if any man
have a quarrel against any; even as Christ forgave
you, so also do ye f."1 — Now, that which is the
effect cannot be, at the same time, the cause of
what produces it. But our not forgiving one
another is a decisive evidence, that we are not
now forgiven of God, and that our hope is vain,
of finding forgiveness from him at last. " He shall
have judgment without mercy, who hath showed
no mercy; and mercy rejoiceth against judg
ment J."
Blessed, then, are the merciful; for, in exercising
the disposition of mercy, from regard to Divine
authority, and under a grateful sense of ; Divine
forgiveness, they possess a valuable evidence of
the reality of their interest in the mercy of their
heavenly Father. — " The righteous God, who
loveth righteousness," will manifest his love to
it, not only by bestowing eternal life in reward
of the perfect righteousness of his Son ; but, at
the same time, by sanctifying from poUution all
those whom he justifies from guilt, and conferring
on such alone, the " pleasures which are at his
right hand for evermore." — The merciful God
wiU, in Uke manner, testify his delight in mercy,
by bestowing it, for the sake of his Son, on those
only who have been, in this respect, conformed
to his image.
In the third place. — It is necessary to remark,
that this particular feature of character ought not
to be insulated from the rest, as if it could exist
alone, or be blessed by itself— It should not be
considered here,, as a distinct character, but as
» Epli; iv. 32. + Col. iii. 13. \ James ii. 13,

28
part of a whole; one among a variety of features,
which, when combined, form the K beauty of
hoHness." It is very common for men, to separate what
God has joined together. Thus, in the practice
of the world, and in their estimate of characters,
moraUty is generaUy disjoined from religion, as if
it were possible for it to possess a separate existence.
Whereas, in truth, the two can never be separated.
MoraUty can no more exist without religion, than
an action truly good can be performed without a
good principle. No action can be really good,
that does not proceed from a heart in which God
is sanctified, as the object of religious veneration,
and devout affection. Morality, without religion
as its inspiring principle, is but the external sem
blance, the lifeless image of virtue: it no more
deserves the appellation, when unanimated by
this " vital spark of heavenly flame," than the
cold statue of marble to be dignified with the
name of man, — into whose nostrils the Almighty
hath breathed the breath of life, and made him a
living soul.— In the Scriptures, accordingly, the
two are invariably united: " He hath showed
thee, O man, what is good; and what, doth the
Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love
mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God*?"— ^-"The
grace of God, which bringeth salvation, hath
appeared unto all men, teaching us, that, denying
ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live
soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present
world f."
And as morality is, with a fatal self-deception,
disjoined, by the world, from religion ; so are the
different virtues separated from one another.
While one man, for example, who has not a spark
•Mic. vi. 8, +Tit. ii. II, I?,

29
of benevolence, plumes himself on his scrupulous
integrity, another glories in his benevolence (falsely
so caUed) while he violates the laws of temperance,
and is, in his general conduct, an impure and
unprincipled libertine. But when the word of
God commends charity and mercy, it is in union
with universal purity and rectitude: — " Pure re
ligion, 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 *."
Upon this principle of union, ought the passage
where our text occurs to be interpreted. The
various parts of the character drawn in it, must
be possessed and exhibited together. The merci
ful man, on whom the Saviour'^ blessing is pro
nounced, must be, at the same time, " poor in
spirit;" — " mourning" for sin and corruption; —
" meek" in disposition and conduct; — " hunger
ing and thirsting after righteousness;" — " pure in
heart;" — -a peace-maker;"— and willing to endure
" persecution for righteousness' sake +•"
Let no one, then, flatter himself with the idea
of obtaining the blessing of the merciful, whose
character accords not with the other parts of the
description. — Let me iUustrate my meaning, by a
single instance. The first of the qualities here enu
merated is poverty of spirit. Who, then, is the
poor in spirit? — God himself has answered the
question : — " Thus saith the High and lofty One,
who inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I
dweU in the high and holy place ; with him also
that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive
the spirit of the humble, and to revive the
heart of the contrite ones J." — " To this man
wiU I look, even to him that is poor, and of a
"• James i. 27. t Ver. 3, 9, 10. t ^ lv»- '&

30
contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word *.'¦'
The poor in spirit, then, is not the self-complacent
pharisee, who stood and prayed thus with' himself,
" God, I thank thee, that I am not as other men
are, extortioners, unjust, adulterers; or even as
this publican; I fast twice in the week, I give
tithes of aU that I possess:" but the despised, self-
condemned, heart-broken publican, who, " stand
ing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes
to heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying,
" God be merciful to me a sinner!" " I teU you,"
said the Saviour, pronouncing his verdict on these
two characters, " this man went down to his
house justified, rather than the other;: for every
one that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he
that humbleth himself shall be exalted f."
The poor in spirit is humbly sensible of the
absolute need in which he stands, both of mercy
to pardon, and of grace to help him ; and from his
heart the proud presumption is excluded, of re
commending himself, in any way,, as a deserving
object, to the favour of Jehovah. His works of
mercy are performed from no such motive; — not
with any view to substantiate a claim upon God ;
but from humble and ardent gratitude, for mercy
received, and mercy promised. This lowly feel
ing of obligation to the sovereign mercy of Jeho
vah, is one of the most powerful incentives to the
cultivation and exercise of mercy in our own
characters. The persuasion of our own need of
such unconditional mercy, as sinners, destitute of
aU claim, softens, subdues, and melts the heart:
and, as pride is a deadly foe to real tenderness,
this humUity is the parent of compassion. It'
impresses the mind with a new and a most inter
esting and affecting view of our fellow-men; as
• Isa. lxvi. 3. f Luke xviii. 10 — 14.

31
our equals, in the common possession of a fallen
nature, to whom, without difference, the offer of
sovereign mercy is presented. This obliterates
every proud feeling of distinction : and, while it is
the .spring of melting pity- for the souls of men, it,
at the same time, inspires a liveUer and more ten
der sympathy with all their concerns, as brethren
in one great and common calamity, whence aU
their other troubles arise.
Gratitude for the* mercy of God, naturally
leads him whose heart is under its influence, to
obey the wiU, and to imitate the example, of his
divine Benefactor. To " put on bowels of mercies,"
is the command of Him, who is, himself, " the
Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort *."
" The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger,
and plenteous in mercy f." " The Lord is gra
cious, and full of. compassion; slow to anger, and
of great mercy. The Lord is good to all, and his
tender mercies are over all his works J." Let the
children of God resemble their divine Parent:
" Be ye, therefore, merciful, even as your Father
who is in heaven is merciful II." — And let the
contemplation of the mercies of God excite you,
among other ways of testifying your gratitude, to
" honour the Lord with your substance, and with
the first fruits of aU your increase §." Remember,
" He that oppresseth the poor, reproacheth his
Maker ; but he' that honoureth Him, hath mercy
on the poor ^"."
In the name of Him who is the friend and
patron of every benevolent institution, raised by
Christian mercy, for the help of the indigent, and
the comfort of the afflicted, let me now recommend
to your regard, an institution, eminent in excel-
* 2 Cor. i. 3. -f- Psai. ciii. 8. f Psai. cxlv. 8, 9.
| Luke vi. 36. § Prov. iii. 9. 1 Prov. xiv. 31.

32
lence, whether viewed in the principles which gave
it origin, in the laborious and disinterested self-
denial of its management, or in its tried and in
creasing usefulness.  The Glasgow Female
Society has now existed for a number of years,
deservedly rising, every successive season, in the
pubhc favour. To commend, where commenda
tion is due, is an act of justice. But to commend,
where excellence is universaUy acknowledged, is
unnecessary ; and, in the present instance, before
a public assembly, might violate the feelings of
that modesty, which is the best ornament of the
female character. It is not their own cause, but
the cause of the poor, which the members of this
Society wish us to plead.
During the past year, they have expended
nearly four hundred pounds; by which, relief,
principally stated, although partly occasional, has
been imparted to upwards of one hundred and
ninety poor females, in various degrees of affliction
and indigence. — This expenditure has exceeded
the proper income of the last year, in consequence
of an extraordinary donation having been received
towards the close of the year preceding: so that,
if the amount of this donation is not otherwise
made up to them, they must be under the painful
necessity of abridging, to that extent at least, their
charitable suppUes. And shaU they be allowed to
do so? Shall they be aUowed, this year, to pass,
with a pang of regret, the door of the widow and
the fatherless, where their visits, during the last,
imparted consolation and joy? Shall they be
aUowed, at their next monthly meeting, to sit
down, with the list of their needy pensioners
spread before them, and" to calculate, with a per
plexed and heavy heart, what names they must
strike from their roU, and how far they must
retrench the scanty pittance of others? Nay,

33
shaU they even be aUowed to witness new cases of
penury- and trouble presenting themselves, — to
hear new voices imploring, in accents of melan
choly supplication, a portion of their friendly aid,
while they have nothing to bestow, but the sigh
and the tear of unavailing sorrow? It can never
be. " The silver is mine, and the gold is mine,
saith the Lord of hosts." The claim is God's:
" He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth to
the Lord; and that which he hath. given will He
pay him again *."
Let me now conclude, by addressing myself to
aU in this assembly, without distinction of rank
or condition,- — " high and low, rich and poor
together." " The rich and the poor," says Solomon, " meet'
together; the Lord is the Maker of them aUf."
However wide may be the distance between them,
in worldly circumstances, and in worldly honour,
there are many important and affecting points in
which they aU meet. They stand on a level, as
creatures of God, deriving from him their being,
and alike dependent on his will, " for life, and
breath, and all things:" — as objects of the same
providential care, without which a sparrow faUeth
not to the ground: — as subjects of his impartial
government, with whom there is no respect of per
sons; who " regardeth not the rich more than the
poor J :"— as common possessors of the sad inheri
tance of a depraved and guilty nature : — standing
in equal need of mercy, and invited, on the same
footing, and with the same freedom, to receive it :
— when they have received it, " aU one in Christ
Jesus," the rich humbled to poverty of spirit, and
the poor exalted to spiritual and heavenly riches :
* Prov. xix. 17. f Prov- xx"- 2- t JoD xxxiv- 19»
E

34
— aU subject, equaUy, to the sentence of mortaUty,
"Dust, thou art, and unto dust thou shalt
return;" the fulfilment of which sentence pro
duces tbe humbling and affecting equality of the
grave; " the small and great are there *:"— all
destined to hear " the voice of the Archangel, and
the trump of God;" to stand together at the tri
bunal of the most High ; and, upon the award of
an impartial judgment, to share together the
joys of heaven, or the woes of hell! — " The Lord
grant unto all of us, that we may find mercy of
the Lord in that day!"
But if you would find mercy then, the appli
cation for it must be made now. It will be too
late to plead for mercy at the judgment-seat.
" Now is the accepted time; behold, now is the
day of salvation * !" The whole fund of divine
mercy, whence pardon and blessing are dispensed
tp the guilty and the miserable, is treasured up in
Christ Jesus. This mercy all are invited, high
and low, rich and poor, together, freely and hum
bly to accept, as the-gift of God, thrqugh his be
loved Son. The richest cannot purchase it ; no,
not with an, oblation of" thousands of rams, and
ten thousands of rivers of oil f." " It is not to
be gotten for gold, neither shall silver be weighed
for the price thereof." But the poorest , may ob
tain it ; for it is bestowed, without money, and
without price. " Ho! every one that thirsteth,
come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money:
come ye, buy and eat; yea, come, buy wjneand
milk, without money and without priofr. Where
fore do ye spend your money for that which is
not bread? and your labour for that which satis-
fieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, andeat ye
*. Job iii. IS. + & Cor. vi. 2. \ Mic vi. 7.

35
that which is good, and let your soul delight itself
in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me:
hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make
an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure
mercies of David *."
May God accompany his word with his blessing,
for Jesus Christ'? sake! Amen!

* Isa. lv, 1, 2, 3,

.1. HEDOERWICK & CO. PRINTEBS, GLASGOW.

THE SCRIPTURAL UNITY OF THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST
ILLUSTRATED AND RECOMMENDED:

a ^mmwmm,

PREACHED IN

COLLEGE STREET CHAPEL, EDINBURGH,

ON THE EVENING OF

THURSDAY, the 8th of May, 1817;

ON OCCASION OF THE

FIFTH ANNUAL MEETING

Congregational Union fbr fecotfenfc*

By RALPH WARDLAW.

" ENDEAVOURING TO KEEP THE UNITY OF THE SPIRIT, IN THE BOND OF PEACE."
PAUL.

If any profits arise from tlie sale of this Sermon, they -will be devoted to the funds
ofthe Congregational Union; at the request of whose Committee it is published.

GLASGOW:
Printed at the University Press,
AND SOLD BY A. AND J. M. DUNCAN, GLASGOW,
AND A. BLACK, EDINBURGH.
1817.

PREFACE.

The Author of the following Discourse requests liherty
to offer a single word of explanation, both to his Presby
terian and his Independent brethren. — Immediately after it
had been delivered, he learned, from various quarters, that in
the minds of some of the former it had excited feelings of
umbrage and dissatisfaction; — and rumour seemed to repre
sent the Preacher as having seized the opportunity of de
claiming, with no httle violence, against Presbytery and the
Established Church. — He was not then sensible, he must
honestly say, nor is he now, that there existed the slightest
ground for reasonable offence. It was surely nothing strange
and unprecedented, but perfectly natural, and consistent
with ordinary practice, that, when invited to preach for
the Congregational Union, he should select a subject ap
propriate to the occasion :— and, as to the Sermon itself,
although many of the sentiments which it contains could
not of course be acceptable, yet he is not aware that there
is any thing, either in its spirit or language, that is at all in
temperate, or inconsistent with Christian respect; and still
less, that there is any thing in its principles that savours of
narrow-mindedness or bigotry. If the views held forth in it
with respect to Christian fellowship be contracted or illiberal,
he certainly has failed in conveying to others the true state
of his own mind.

There were several of the Author's own brethren, who
were disposed to regret that he had not chosen a more
general subject — one from which he might have preached,
more directly and more fully, to so large and mingled an
auditory, " the words of eternal life." This regret seemed to
be associated with a degree of timidity, and an anxious appre
hension of giving offence, which, however amiable in itself,
he could not but consider as excessive. He reveres, how
ever, the principle of the objection; and would by no means
be peremptory in affirming, that the regret, on the account
first mentioned, was entirely without foundation. — Yet he
is still of opinion, that the opportunity then offered was a
fair and desirable one, for drawing the attention of the
Congregational Churches to a subject which he had long
conceived to be too much overlooked by them; and, at the
same time, for informing others of those scriptural principles
by which such Churches are connected with one another, and
thus wiping away a reproach frequently thrown upon them,
and for which their conduct has too often afforded oc
casion; — I mean, the reproach of disunion, — of the want
of any bond of visible association and brotherhood. — The
subject also presented room, which was not entirely, ne
glected, for a more general practical application at the
elose.

A SERMON,

Gal. iii. 28. — " Ye are all one in Christ Jesus."
Amongst the circumstances of diversity which present
themselves to our view, in contemplating and comparing
the state of the churches of Christ in the time of the apos
tles and in the present day, not the least affecting to a se
rious and liberal mind, is the separation of believers into so
great a number of distinct classes, or, as they are usually
termed denominations; arising from differences of senti
ment respecting points of doctrine or of practice, such as do
not immediately affect that " one faith," which is the sure
foundation oftheir common hopes, and the blessed bond
of Christian unity.
The order and government of those Christian societies
which were formed during the lives, and under the perso
nal direction and superintendence, of the apostles, were uni
versally the same. We learn this from many incidental
hints, and from various express declarations, in the apostolic
epistles to the churches; and we might, indeed, have inferred
it with confidence from the nature of the thing. The ne
cessity, which some have fancied, of a shifting accommoda
tion of the forms of ecclesiastical government to the varie
ties of national character and of civil polity, had no exist
ence then: and, when we consider the vast extent of coun
try throughout which organized societies of the faithful had
been instituted, and the great diversity of external situation
which this wide territory embraced, it is by this very cir-

cumstance satisfactorily shown to have no existence now. —
The kingdom of Christ " is not of this world." It is spi
ritual and heavenly; and its peculiar nature remains the
same, in all ages, in all countries, and under every form of
national government. Its subjects are those who have been
" born again;" — " chosen out of the world," " through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth." Their
spiritual character, and their spiritual relations, are entirely
unaffected, in their great substantial features, by variations,
however wide, in situation and climate, in national manners,
and in the institutions and forms of civil society. The same
statutes and observances, therefore, which are suitable for a
part of the subjects of this kingdom, will be found equally ¦
suitable for the whole, in all places and in all times. The same
laws will answer the same descriptions of character; — the.
same ordinances will cherish the same spiritual principles; —
the same moving and regulating powers will impel and direct
the same machinery; — the same cement will hold together
the same materials. When the church, indeed, is made to.
embrace entire civil communities, composed of characters,
the most heterogeneous, under the indiscriminate designa
tion of Christians, the necessity of change and modification
cannot fail to be felt : — but if a church of Christ in the days
of the apostles was a society of believers in Jesus, and a
church of Christ in our own days is a society of believers in
Jesus, the same constitution of government which was
adapted by inspired wisdom for such associations then, will
be practicable and salutary still*
To enter into any discussion of the causes which have
produced, and which still maintain amongst Christians, so
great a diversity of judgment respecting the scriptural or
der of a church of Christ, would, I am fully sensible, (with
whatever confidence some may be pleased to express them
selves on the subject) be to tread on very delicate and. very
difficult ground: — nor is such discussion at all necessary to
the chief purpose of this Discourse. It is matter of fact that
* See Note A.

this diversity does exist. In some cases, it is of such a kind
as to render stated union in the nature of the thing imprac
ticable: — in others, it seems to pronounce it obviously inex
pedient, -f But, in both cases, fellow Christians, while con-"
strained by the variety of views subsisting amongst them to
associate in separate bodies, may yet feel themselves " all one
in Christ Jesus," — may "love one another with a pure heart
fervently," — and may gladly and cordially combine, in every
object in which combination is possible without a sacrifice
of principle or of conscience: — not accounting the differen
ces between them as of no moment, (for if this were the case,
why should they be separate at all?) but the members of
each society, while humbly following their own convictions
of duty, extending to others the same charitable judgment
to which they lay claim for themselves, in the ready admis
sion of their conscientiousness and sincerity.
- There is an intimate spiritual union among " all that
in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord,
both theirs and ours." These constitute " the general
assembly and church of the first-born, who are written
in heaven," and who are also one with " the spirits of just
men made perfect." All that are " born again," — " re
newed in the spirit oftheir minds" — " washed, and sancti
fied, and justified,'' are accessions to this " church of the
living God," with whatever denomination of professing
Christians they may feel it their duty, while on earth, to
connect themselves: — and to such universally, the words
of the text may be truly addressed, ">Ye are all one in
¦ Christ Jesus." — But it is not so much of the: union of indi
viduals that I intend at present to speak, as of the union of
societies-, and not of societies constituted on different prin
ciples of order, and forming distinct communities, but of
those only, which, from' similarity of views with regard to
the doctrine of Christ, and the government instituted by
him for his subjects, acknowledge one another (to use the
customary and not unappropriate phraseology on the subject
t See Note B.

in the relation of Sister Churches. — What is the nature
of this relation? — What does it imply between the kindred
societies? What is the reciprocal conduct to which it ought
to lead?
In answer to such inquiries, it may first of all be observ
ed, as a general principle on this important subject, that
there appears to be no propriety, nor any consistent mean
ing, in the acknowledgment of such a relation, or in the
particular appellation by which we are accustomed to ex
press it, unless we consider ourselves as standing on the
same footing in regard to our mutual connexion, and con
sequently, as maintaining the same freedom and intimacy
of fellowship, with the primitive churches in the time ofthe
apostles. We surely do not intend to assume to ourselves,
or to bestow on one another, a designation that is merely
nominal, and destitute of any specific import; — a mere
title of empty and unprofitable compliment. If we use the
name, and do not, at the same time, act agreeably to its
proper and legitimate meaning, we had as well, or better,
drop the use of it altogether, and renounce both the name
and the thing. Yet to do this, would, in my judgment, be
to overlook a highly important and interesting part of
apostolic example.
I say no more, I presume, than is consistent with truth,
in affirming, that the ideas suggested to the minds of very
many amongst us by the appellation " sister churches,"
are extremely vague and undefined. — When I salute any
individual as a brother in Christ, I acknowledge him in a
character and relation by which I feel myself warranted to
associate with him, provided he be willing to associate
with me, in all the ordinances of Christian communion.
When two societies of Christians avow their connexion
with each other, as sister churches, should they not be un
derstood to mean, as corporate bodies, much the same
thing with what is meant in the other case in reference to
individuals? *
But the most satisfactory way of ascertaining the nature
* See Note C.

of this relation, will be, to bring together into one view
such particulars respecting it, in the practice of the apos
tolic churches, as are to be found in the New Testament re
cords. That a church of Christ, according to the sense of the
designation in these records, means, a number of believers
in Jesus, associated according to the directions of his word,
for the purpose of observing the ordinances which he has
instituted for them in their collective capacity, with a view
to his glory, and their own spiritual benefit ; — and that
the churches so constituted were originally independent —
that is, distinct societies, each possessing within itself the
full power of applying the laws of Christ to its own mem
bers, and subject to no jurisdiction under heaven but that
of the inspired apostles, which identified with the authority
of the Lord himself: — these are principles, the soundness
of which I must at present be permitted to assume, as they
are the avowed and distinguishing sentiments of those
brethren, whom, on the present occasion, I am chiefly called
to address.
But to every attentive reader of the New Testament, there
must forcibly present itself the idea of a union more exten
sive than that subsisting amongst the members of each
Christian society; — even a union among all the churches:
— such a union, as rendered a member of one virtually a
member of all ; the whole of them, in Judea and Samaria, in
Asia, and in Europe, — " from Jerusalem round about unto
Illyricum," — being linked together in one extensive and har
monious brotherhood; — independent societies, yet acknow
ledging one another as " all one in Christ Jesus;" — separate
flocks, each with its own appropriate pastors, but all the joint
property, and the constant and equal care, of the " good
Shepherd who gave his life for the sheep."
The heart that is not charmed with such a view cannot
surely be in harmony With the spirit ofthe New Testament.
To every mind that has been framed, under divine influ
ence, upon the principles of the gospel of peace, and that
is not warped and narrowed by unhappy prejudices, it can-

6
not fail to appear unspeakably delightful, and supremely
desirable : — every departure from it must be deeply lament
ed, and every approach to it must be hailed with more than
satisfaction, and promoted with all the ardour of affectionate
zeal. — While, therefore, we plead, distinctly and decidedly,
for the independence of the churches, as a fundamental
principle in their primitive constitution, let us beware of
running to an unscriptural extreme ; — of so completely dis
uniting and insulating them from one another, as to present
to view a number of Christian societies, each in itself
thoroughly organized, but without any bond, or feelings or
act, of mutual connexion: — so that* instead ofthe lovely
harmony of reciprocal confidence and friendly * inter
course, we should behold each church, like a separate for
tress, surrounded with its walls and ramparts, with spies on
the battlements, and sentinels at the gates, watching, with
anxious jealousy, to prevent the entrance of intruders from
the rest. — If it be at all possible, that any disciple of the
Lord Jesus should relish such a state of things, or entertain
a single wish for any thing resembling it, let him never
mention his desire to see Christians returning to primitive
simplicity and apostolic order: — for, in truth, that to which
his wishes are directed, is as unlike the condition of the
churches in the times of the apostles, as division is to unity,
or hatred and hostility to affection and peace. His desire,
were it gratified, would realize a scene which we cannot too
devoutly deprecate; and to which it would not be our duty
to submit,—" no, not for an hour."
Of the unity, of the apOstolic churches, our text itself af
fords an illustration and a proof. The epistle in which it
occurs is addressed, notto a single church, with its " bishops
and deacons," but to the Christian societies throughout an
extensive district, — to " the churches qf Galatia:" — so that
it is not to the members of any one of them separately, but
to the whole of them together, that the inspired writer of it
says , " Ye are all one in Christ Jesus." — The same thing
appears in the general tenor and aspect of the sacred

records, both historical and epistolary; and it is practically
manifested in a variety of incidents and transactions.
I. The first thing which I shall notice, as illustrative of
this subject, is, the circumstance of churches sending to
one another their salutations, or. wishes of prosperity. . '
Instances of this occur in Rom. xvi. 16. "The churches
of Christ salute you;" — 1 Cor. xvi. 19. "The churches
of Asia salute you;" — and in other places, under different
forms. There can be no doubt, that Paul sent these salutations
by the special desire of those churches in whose name they
are expressed; — and they were not mere forms of empty
compliment, — mere words of course, — but tokens of brother
ly affection and Christian unity. — When he and Barnabas,
with certain others, went up from Antioch to Jerusalem on
the important mission, , of which the particulars and result
are related in the fifteenth chapter of the Acts of the
Apostles, the history informs us, that, in passing through
Pheniceand Samaria, they "declared the conversion ofthe
Gentiles," and " caused great joy to all the brethren." *
— It appears, indeed, to have been the general practice of
Paul to impart to the churches, wherever he went, tidings
of the success of the gospel, and of the condition, both
temporal and spiritual, ofthe disciples in other quarters; —
at once expressing the fulness of his own affectionate heart,
and exciting in the churches a generous and lively interest
in one another's concerns, as well as in the general state
and progress of the cause of Christ. — Agreeably to this
laudable custom, he had, in the course of his journey
through the lesser Asia, informed the brethren, amongst
other particulars of religious intelligence, of the interesting
effects which, through the divine blessing, had attended his
ministry at Corinth: — how the Lord " had much people in
that city,", whom, by his instrumentality, he had graciously
" turned from their idols, to serve the living and true God."
The churches of Asia, rejoicing in the intelligence, which
* Acts xv. 5,

8
was alike gratifying to their piety and to their Christian
benevolence, expressed the happiness they felt, by requesting
the apostle to convey to the church at Corinth their affec
tionate wishes for its growing prosperity.
And whilst he communicated intelligence, he also receiv
ed it. He had heard, for example, in every place, in the
course of his apostolic journeyings, a high character of the
believers at Rome, whose " faith was spoken of throughout
the whole world," and whose " obedience had come abroad
unto all men:" f — and the brethren who imparted the in
formation, as well as others, probably, to whom he might
himself repeat what he had heard, having understood from
him his intention of writing to the Roman Christians, sent
by him, in the same manner, their expressions of congratu
lation and regard.
How brotherly, how christian-like is this! — how lovely,
how becoming! — how well deserving the imitation of the
Churches of Christ in our own times ! — The assurances of
an absent friend's remembrance of us, and of his unabating
interest in our well-being, have a wonderfully soothing and
animating influence on our spirits. Similar will be the influ
ence on the feelings and the prosperity of a Christian Church,
arising from the affectionate good wishes, communicated on
suitable occasions, of their brethren at a distance. Such
communications will cheer and support in trial ; they will en
courage in difficulty; they will strengthen in temptation;
they will quicken in spiritual declension; they will stimulate
to the active and self-denied discharge of every duty.
II. The churches of the apostolic age did more than
merely send to each other their mutual greetings and as
surances of good-will.. The interest felt by them in the
success of the gospel was so deep, that they appear to have
sent messengers occasionally, even to considerable distances,
for the express purpose of encouraging and establishing
recent converts to the faith of Christ, and newly formed
Christian Societies. — Of this, we have at least one instance,

9
— a very interesting and edifying one, in the account given
us by Luke of the first preaching of the gospel, and of the
remarkable success which attended it, in the Syrian Antioch.
— " Now they who were scattered abroad, upon the per
secution that arose about Stephen, travelled as far as Phe-
nice, and Cyprus, and Antioch, preaching the word to
none but unto the Jews only. — And some of them were
men of Cyprus, and Cyrene, who, when they were come
to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians, preaching the Lord
Jesus. — And the hand of the Lord was with them : and a*
great number believed, and turned unto the Lord.— Thett
tidings of these things came unto the ears of the church
which was in Jerusalem; and they sent forth Barnabas, that*
he should go as far as Antioch : Who, when he came, and
had seen the grace of God, was glad, and exhorted them
alb, that with purpose of heart they would cleave unto the
Lord. For he was a good man, and full ofthe Holy Ghost*
and of faith: and much people was added unto the Lord." *
Can there be assigned any valid reason, why the churches
of Christ now should not express a similar interest in &
similar manner? — why they should not show the* same
cheering countenance to infant societies of the saints, and
animate, in its incipient stages, the blessed cause of the Re
deemer, by the same display of cordial satisfaction in its
prosperity? — How natural, and therefore how striking, is
the historian's brief description of the effect produced ort
tbe mind of the great apostle of the Gentiles* when, On his
arrival at Appii Forum, he found the deputation of bre
thren, sent thither to meet him by the chuTch of Rome, as
a mark of their affection and esteem—" whom when Paul
saw, he thanked God, and took courage." f A society is
a collection of individuals* and contains an aggregate of in
dividual feeling ; — and the same kind of impulse which was
given to the spirit of the apostle on the occasion referred to,
might also be imparted to the affections and active energies
of a church, by a similair expression^ seasonably timed, of
Christian sympathy and regard.
* Acts xi. 19—24. f Acts xxvi' "• 1S-
B

10
III. The next circumstance particularly worthy of our
attention, as indicative of the unity and harmony of the first
churches, is, their communion in the way of pecuniary
" giving and receiving."
Two instances of this are particularly recorded. The
first you will find in Acts xi. 27— 30. " And in these
days came prophets from Jerusalem unto Antioch. And
there stood up one of them, named Agabus, and sig
nified by the Spirit that there should be great dearth
throughout all the world: which came to pass in the
days of Claudius Caesar. Then the disciples, every man
according to his ability, determined to send relief unto
the brethren who dwelt in Judea: Which also they did,
and sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and
Saul." We here find the church of Christ in Antioch contribut
ing for the relief of the brethren who dwelt in Judea. The
church at Jerusalem had manifested, as we have already
seen, an affectionate interest in the converts at Antioch;
and a suitable occasion now presented itself, and was
eagerly embraced, of testifying their gratitude by a sub
stantial requital of the kindness. — There were, as we learn
from such passages as Gal. i. 22. and 1 Thess. ii. 14. a num
ber of churches in Judea; and to the elders of these, re
spectively, certain proportions of the sum collected appear
to have been sent, that, in the predicted season of scarcity,
" distribution might be made to all, as every man had need."
— The contribution was made by one church, and was sent
to other churches, as a token of unity, and of brotherly love.
The other instance referred to is of a more extensive na
ture : — it was the contribution which was collected by the
apostle Paul from the Gentile churches, " for the poor saints
who were at Jerusalem." — " Now," says he to the Romans, *
" I go unto Jerusalem, to minister unto the saints. For
it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make
a certain contribution for the poor saints who are at Je
rusalem. It hath pleased them verily ; and their debtors
* Rom. xv. 35— 27.

11
they are. For if the Gentiles have been made partakers of
their spiritual things, their duty is also to minister unto
them in carnal things."-—" Now concerning the collection
for the saints," he says to the Corinthians, * " as 1 have given
orders to the churches of Galatia, f even so do ye. Upon
the first day of the week, let every one of you lay by him
in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gather
ings when I come. And when I come, whomsoever ye
shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring
your liberality unto Jerusalem. And if it be meet that I
go also, they shall go with me." — The whole of the eighth
and ninth chapters of the first epistle to the Corinthians
relates to the same collection.
The great design of this eminent servant of Jesus, " on
whom came daily the care of all the churches," in desir
ing this expression of affection from the Gentile believers
to their Jewish brethren, was, " not only to supply the
wants ofthe saints," but to promote unity; to root out any
remaining prejudice from the minds of the latter towards
the' former; to do away every feeling, secret or avowed, of
coolness and distance; to enliven the cordiality of both to
each other; and to quicken, throughout all the churches,
the circulation of that love, which is the life-blood of the
body of Christ, — supplying at once its genial warmth,
and its rich and healthful nutriment.
The Gentile churches, it appears, appointed messengers
to accompany the apostle, with the fruit of their bounty,
to Jerusalem. — While this, agreeably to his own prudent
suggestion, was designed to prevent every possible ground
of malicious charge against his integrity, every pretext of
which his numerous and inveterate enemies might avail
themselves to calumniate his character; — it was intended
also, to render the expression of regard from the Gentile
to the Jewish brethren, the more marked and impressive.—
* 1 Cor. xvi. 1—4.
f By comparing this passage with Rom. xv, 26. we learn, that the collection
was not confined to one district, but was general at least, if not universal,
among the " churches ofthe Gentiles."

12
And although, in the first of the passages above cited, the
apostle beautifully, and as justly as beautifully, represents
tbe former as debtors to the latter, because it was through
the instrumentality of the Jewish Christians that the Gen
tiles had received their " spiritual blessings," — blessings
which, from their nature and their inestimable value, could
never be repaid in money: — he, at the same time, affirms
the obligation of Christian affection and cheerful liberality
to lie equally upon both: — " For I mean not that other
men be eased, and you burdened: but by an equality, that
now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their
want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your
want, that there may be equality: As it is written, He that
had gathered much had nothing over, and he that had ga
thered little had no lack." *
This, then, is another way in which the churches of
Christ should still express their unity; — attending to, and
mutually supplying, one another's temporal necessities.
These necessities may be of various kinds, produced by a va
riety of peculiar pircumstances, into any enumeration of
which it is needless at present to enter.— Churches, as well
as individual fellow-Christians, ought thus to " consider
one another, to provoke unto love and unto good works ;"f
manifesting the grace of God bestowed upon themselves, J
and causing thanksgivings to abound unto God from the
grateful recipients of their bounty, § as well as love to one
another, |] and mutual prosperity.
It was chiefly for purposes of this description that
the Congregational Union was originally instituted.
The necessity of some such measure had longbeen fel(t.
Previously to its institution, cases of pecuniary need, exist
ing amongst the churches, were either entirely unknown to
those who possessed the will and the ability to relieve them,
or were relieved in a desultory and random manner, with
out any kind of regulated proportion to the extent of their
respective claims. — The burden, besides, of supplying the
* 2 Cor. viii. 13—13. f Heb- *• **• t 2 Cor- ««• 1. § 2 Cor.ix. 12.
|| 2 Cor. ix. 13, 14.

13
relief, usually fell on a few individuals, in two or three
places, whose ability and benevolent disposition happened
tp be known: — and, while a most unequal pressure was in
this way produced, what was actually contributed failed of
a highly desirable effect on the minds of those who received
it; inasmuch as it could not be received as coming from
the churches; nor were the churches, consequently, the
objects of those grateful feelings which the gift excited.—
Since the establishment of the Union, the state of things
has been materially and happily altered. The churches
are now, according to their ability, the contributors: — arid
their liberality flows into a common treasury, from which
a regular distribution is made to every needy case, accord
ing to its peculiar exigency. While aU have thus an oppor
tunity of contributing, all enjoy the satisfactory assurance
that their bounty reaches its destination in the most equita
ble and efficient manner. And besides1 the regularity and the
efficiency of the aid imparted, two other ends are answered,
not inferior in importance to these. In tlie first place, the
churches are made to feel the truth of the text, — to feel
their unity. By the practical interchange of good offices,
the ties of mutual affection are drawn the closer. The
churches are the givers; the churches are the receivers.
The act of giving keeps alive and invigorates the sentiment
of love in tbe bosoms of the givers; and the expressions of
pious and affectionate gratitude, with which the bounty is
every year acknowledged, show, in the most pleasing and
edifying manner, the influence of it, as a token of brotherly
love, on the hearts of the receivers.*^— In the second place ;
pastors of churches, especially in districts of the country
that are scantily, or not at all, supplied with evangelical
preaching, are enabled, by the bounty of the Union, not
only to give themselves more entirely to the work of the
ministry, for the edification of their own people, but also to
extend their itinerant labours in the neighbourhoods
surrounding their respective places of residence, and to
proclaim the salvation of God to multitudes who were per-
¦ See Note D.

14
ishing for lack of knowledge; — by which means, through
the accompanying blessing of Heaven, very considerable
good, there is reason to believe, has, in various instances,
been effected. — On this ground I may make my appeal, in
behalf of the Congregational Union, to behevers of
every name. For surely, the conversion of sinners to God,
by whose instrumentality soever it may be brought about,
while it causes joy amongst the angels of God, will gladden
the hearts, not of Christians of the one denomination only
whose agency happens to have been employed, but of " all
who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity," — of all who ,
partake of the spirit of Heaven. *
The Congregational Union has not the remotest con
nexion with government or discipline. Its committee are
merely the "Paul and Barnabas," through whose hands'
the liberality of the brethren is transmitted to the elders
of those churches that are in need: — or, if you will, they
are the " messengers of the churches," confidentially in->
trusted with their bounty; only with this necessary addition,
that they adjust the proportions of it required by different-
cases, as well as take the charge of its safe conveyance. — The
annual meetings of the Union are held publicly, before mul
titudes of assembled brethren. Nothing relative to the in- <
ternal management of the churches is ever mentioned, or
alluded to. Were the slightest approach, indeed, ever to
be made to any thing of this kind, all consistent Indepen-;
dents should combine to put it down. I should be amongst
the first, in these circumstances, to vote for its abolition. •
And, indeed, nothing could be more easily effected. The
churches have only to withold their contributions, — and-
the Congregational Union is no more.
IV. The unity of the primitive churches was such, that
a member of any one of them, when known to be so, by
direct recommendation, or otherwise, was freely admitted
to the fellowship of the saints in other places, wherever
he went. * See "Kate TC.

15
There are various examples of this on record: — Acts
xviii. 27. " When he (Apollos namely,) was disposed to
pass into Achaia, the brethren wrote, exhorting the dis
ciples to receive him:" — and upon the recommendation
of the brethren at Ephesus, we can have no reason to
doubt, the disciples in Achaia received him with open arms,
with unhesitating confidence, and heartfelt satisfaction.
The same thing, I think, is exemplified, (although, in
deed, one instance so explicit ought to be sufficient to con
vince and to bind us) in 3 John, verses 9, 10. "I wrote
unto the church: but Diotrephes, who loveth to have the
pre-eminence among them, receiveth us not. Wherefore,
if I come, I will remember his deeds which he doeth, prat
ing against us with malicious words: and not content there
with, neither doth be himself receive the brethren, and for-
biddeth them that would, and casteth them out of the
church." — The " brethren" here spoken of, had gone out
from the church where John then was. This is evident
from* the 6th verse, where they are represented as report
ing to the church, on their return, the particular incidents
of their journey, just as Paul and Barnabas did, on a simi
lar occasion, at Antioch.* The fault found with Diotre
phes, for " not receiving the brethren," makes it evident,
that, in the judgment of the apostle, the reception of them
was an incumbent duty.
Again: — We find Paul recommending to the brethren at
Corinth, those who were to accompany him to Jerusalem
with the bounty of the Gentile Christians, under the deno
mination of " the messengers of the churches:" and Phebe
to the Romans, as a " servant ofthe church at Cenchrea;"
2 Cor. viii. 23. Rom. xvi. 1. Now, whatever may be said,
and said truly, of the full sufficiency by itself of the recom
mendation of an apostle, yet surely no apostle would ever
have thought of noticing in his recommendation, a circum
stance which he did not intend should have any weight in the
minds of those to whom the recommendation was addressed
— a circumstance respecting which, they not only might but
* Acts xvi. 26. 27.

le
ought to have said, " What signifies to us the connexion of
any person with another church. Let us examine and inquire
for ourselves, and act upon our own judgment?' If such
procedure as this shall by any be considered to be proper
and prudent in the churches of Christ now, I have only to
say, that it is a refinement of prudence which was unknown
to the churches of the apostolic age. Their practice evi
dently was, to receive one another's members, with cordial
ity and confidence, on one another's recommendation: — and
if we profess to be imitators of these early churches, it must
be our duty to " do likewise."
From the examples recorded on this branch of my sub
ject, the following general principles of procedure may be
considered, I should think, as having the sanction of Scrip
tural authority.
In the first place : — It is proper, and orderly, and for edi
fication, that when members leave one church, to join the
stated fellowship of another, they should be recommended
by the church which they leave, to the church which they are
intending to join. I say, by the church: — not only because
this direct mutual recognition of each other in their collec
tive capacity serves to maintain and to strengthen the feel
ing of union among the churches; but also, because, al
though a pastor may be fairly warranted, when nO evil has
been reported of the character of a member, to take it for
granted that there is nothing wrong; yet there may cases
occur, in which particular circumstances have but recently
happened, and, although known to some of the brethren,
have not yet reached his ears, which, instead of an affection
ate and unqualified recommendation, might call for the
immediate application of the laws of discipline.
Secondly. Every church ought to be very cautious in
receiving any who come to them without such recommen
dation. In neglecting this needful caution, they may be
receiving unawares, persons whom another church has, on
just grounds, disapproved, and censured, and dismissed; —
or persons who have come away from under merited disci
pline, in the course of its progress; or who, seeing it before
them, have separated themselves with a view to avoid it; —

17
or persons who have been actuated in their removal, by
motives that are trifling, capricious, unreasonable, or, in
some respect or other, unwarrantable. It ought to be deep
ly impressed on the minds of all, that withdrawing from a
church connexion is, like joining it, an important step, —
a step by no means to be taken with thoughtless levity and
precipitation; and to which no encouragement ought, on
any account, to be held out, by making one church the
ready receptacle for the dissatisfied of another.
Still, no doubt, it is possible for a society, as well as for
an individual, to err. There may certainly be cases, in
which sentence of exclusion has been hastily and harshly
pronounced; and in which one church may be more than
justified in affectionately remonstrating with another. These
cases, however, ought to be very strong ones, — singular ex
ceptions to the general rule. And even in them, reason,
and justice, and brotherly confidence, all require, that the
first step taken should be a modest request for information
from the church that has passed the sentence. The pro
priety of such precaution is sufficiently obvious. It very
generally happens, that such cases come abroad in a misre
presented or mutilated, and consequently misleading form;
and it would be equally foolish and criminal, to lend a fa
vourable ear, in the first instance, to the partial and var
nished tale of the excommunicated party and his friends. It
is surely an unexceptionable general rule, that the church,
and not the individual, should be presumed to be in the
right. Perhaps, I do not go too far when I say, that this
presumption should be acted upon in every instance in
which the contrary is not so palpable, and the wrong com
mitted so flagrant, as to preclude the necessity of particular
investigation; for, as every offender is naturally inclined to
be dissatisfied with his own sentence of condemnation, were
we to show any general disposition to listen to the com
plaints of such, we should immediately have churches, es
pecially those in the same place or neighbourhood, erected
into a kind of courts of appeal from one another's decisions;
and should betray such a want of confidence as would be
c

18
utterly incompatible with " maintaining the unity of the
Spirit in the bond of peace."
Thirdly: — Every church ought immediately to receive
such as come to them recommended from another, unless
they themselves know of any thing against them, on the ground
qf which they have reason to question their Christian profes
sion. It must be obvious, that to receive any applicant when
this exception has place, would be to make a sacrifice of
substance to form, and to act in direct opposition to the
very purpose for which the recommendation itself is given
and required. The exception proceeds on the supposition,
that circumstances may be known in the church to which
application is made for admission into fellowship, which
were unknown to the church by which the attestation of
Christian character, and of freedom from scandal, was given.
Let it ever be remembered, however, that those brethren
who may have been previously acquainted with the exists
ence of the supposed objection, must bear the charge (and
it is by no means a light one,) of an unchristian want of
faithfulness, for not having divulged it sooner ;— for having
thus " suffered sin upon a brother," and allowed a church
of Christ to retain " without rebuke" in their communion,
one whom it would have been their duty, had proper inti?
mation been given them, to deal with as an offender, and,
possibly, to have " put away from among them."
We cannot suppose, for example, that one of the seven
Asiatic churches would have been justifiable in receiving
from another, however recommended, one who "held the
doctrine of the Nicolaitanes," knowing him to be such, in
the face of the Redeemer's solemn and alarming declara
tion, — " which thing I hate." This would surely have '
been to make themselves " partakers of other men's sins."
Yet they might be highly censurable, guilty at once of
unfaithfulness to Christ, and to their brethren, and to the
souls of those who were departing from the faith, if* when
they were aware of the existence and the sufferance of such
abominations, they did not remonstrate, in the spirit of

19
Christian love, with the churches by whom they were tole
rated. There are very few duties which the Christian has to per
form, more difficult and trying, than either to administer
advice and admonition on the one hand, or to receive them
on the other, in a truly Christian temper of mind. The
difficulty applies to the conduct of churches, as well as to
that of individuals. But the difficulty, however great, does
not, in either case, annul the duty. It only admonishes
both individuals and churches* to be jealous of themselves,
and frequently to implore that "grace" which is " sufficient
for them," that. they may be enabled, in all their communi
cations with one another, to maintain the genuine spirit of
the gospel, mingling the exercise of brotherly fidelity with
all the delicacies of love* — with all "the meekness and gen
tleness of Christ."— Our hearts are " deceitful above all
things;" and we ought never to forget, that the external part
of a duty may be performed, with the most exact and scru
pulous attention to the letter of the precept; not a single
punctilio may be overlooked; and yet, while we are " flat
tering ourselves in our own eyes," pluming ourselves- upon
our being the very pink of Christian faithfulness, a perfect
pattern to our brethren and to the churches, — our spirit, our
secret motives, may have been such, as to render all sin, all
abomination, in the sight of Him who" searcheth. the reins
and the hearts."
I have already taken notice of the pleasantness of such
a union of churches as has been described and recommend
ed. This pleasantness must be strongly -felt, I should think,
by every heart that has any experience at all of the enlarg
ed operation of Christian love : — and to such a heart, the
more extensive and cordial the union is, the more exquisite
will be the satisfaction which it imparts.
I have also hinted at some ofthe advantages, which might
be expected to' result from such a union. — On this head, a
vast deal more might be said. I might enlarge on the be
nefit of mutual temporal support, and of reciprocal anima
tion and encouragement in spiritual concerns. I might also

20
The statement is firstv made universally,^-" there is no
power but of God :" — and it is then applied to the govern
ment existing at the time, — " the powers that be are ordained
of God."
When it is affirmed, without qualification, that " there is
no power but of God ;" it cannot be meant, that particular
rulers are, in every instance, immediately nominated and ap
pointed of God. This was never the case except in Israel ;
and even there, only on particular occasions, But, it is the
divine pleasure, manifested by the obvious, manifold, and
valuable advantages resulting from it, as well as by the course
of his providence, and the express intimations of his Spirit
in his holy word, that government should exist in human so
ciety j^-and at the same time, his providence exercises a con
stant superintendence over the nations ; " ruling in the king-
dpm of men, and giving it to whomsoever he will."
The Scriptures pronounce no decisions on the comparative
merits of different forms of civil polity, Few things are
more dangerous, or involve a greater perversion of the Bible
from its proper and legitimate purpose, than to introduce it,
as an authoritative umpire, to decide between the contending
claims of the various descriptions of government to human
adoption, and especially to settle any one of them, to the ex
clusion of the rest, on the basis of a divine sanction, Our
subjection is not made to depend on any such decisions ; nor
is the duty at all affected by the particular theoretical views
which we may respectively entertain upon the subject. — It is
to the existing government, whatever it may be, of the coun
try in which we live, that our submission is required :—
" There is no power but of God :" — " Submit yourselves to
every ordinance qf man, for the Lord's sake." — Neither is it
the Christian's business to trouble himself with what may often

21
be matter of difficult discovery and of doubtful disputation, —
the legitimacy of the titles of existing princes, and reigning
dynasties. He has simply to do with " the powers that be."
Under this designation, it is very evident, the Apostle re
fers to the then existing government of Rome ; — and in our
text the duty is extended to the subordinate provincial juris
dictions : — " whether it be to the king as supreme, or unto go
vernors* as unto those that are sent by him, for the punish
ment of evil-doers, and for the praise of them that do well."
— Where there is any thing that is not to our mind, that
thwarts inclination, that prevents the heart from going imme
diately and fully along with the precept, we are prone to seek,
and ingenious to devise, excuses and palliations. The believ
ers at Rome and in its provinces, might be disposed to say,
Does the motive you suggest, apply to our case? Are we to
consider the present Roman government as included in the
affirmation that " there is no power but of God ?" — Yes, say
both the Apostles, our exhortation is to you .- — " the powers
that be," the existing powers, under whom you now live,
" are ordained of God ?" — " Submit yourselves" both to the
imperial and the provincial authorities, "for the Lord's sake."
— This prevented, or silenced, all evasive objections, and set
tled their minds on the authority of God.
From the doctrine, that " there is no power but of God,"
and that " the existing powers were ordained of God," the
Apostle Paul immediately deduces the obvious but alarming
conclusion, " Whosoever, therefore, resisteth the power, re-
sisteth the ordinance of God ; and they that resist shall re
ceive to themselves condemnation."-— The meaning of this
cannot be, that every act of every government, however ini
quitous and oppressive, derives, from the mere circumstance
of its being an act of government, the sanction of divine au-

22
«c hold the Head ;' we ' love as brethren ;' « Christ is all,
" and in all.' " — If all the friends of Jesus Were to feel and to
act thus, the world would say* as of old* " Behold, how these
Christians love one another!" — and, seeing " the love oi
the truth," as a principle of union, overcoming, with ten
der and holy energy, the separating influence of inferior
discrepancies, would exhibit an interesting and delightful
fulfilment of the Saviour's prayer, — " that they all may
be one, even as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee;
that they also may be one in us; that the world may be
lieve that thou hast sent me."
Allow me now, in the second place, to remind all present*
with affectionate faithfulness, that to be united in external
fellowship with the church of Christ is one thing,— and to be
united in spirit with the Lord, and with his people, is quite
another thing* You may be the former, even all your
lives* without being the latter. You may be members of
the purest church on earth, and yet never join the church
in heaven. You may impose upon fellow-men :> — you may
deceive yourselves : — but " God is not mocked." It is not
as a member of a Christian society* that you must stand
before his tribunal, but as an individual professor of his
religion. If your profession is empty and hypocritical* its
hypocrisy and emptiness will not be covered, in the day of
judgment, by the aggregate godliness of the body to which
you belonged. The " faith" of the church with which
you were connected may have been " spoken of through
out the whole world," their " obedience may have come
abroad unto all men;" but that will avail you nothing.
There are no works of supererogation admitted at the
bar of heaven. Among men, you may establish your re
ligious character by your religious connexion. You may
attach to yourself a share of the general credit of your
party, and live upon the reputation of others. But at
last every one must stand for himself. Those who were
your associates in church-fellowship here, may all on that
day be " accepted in the Beloved," and " enter into the
joy of their Lord," while you are eternally separated from
their pure and blessed communion. Unless you are " in

23
Christ Jesus" by the regenerating power of the Spirit and
truth of God, you are not one with those who are " one in
ton :"^ and, when that union shall be completed; when the
" multitude which no one can number," redeemed out of
" every kindred, and people, and tongue, and nation,"
shall " stand before the throne and before the Lamb;"-r-
when holy love, — love, refined from every unhallowed and
debasing alloy, shall knit the hearts of all together in un
interrupted and everlasting harmony, you shall be cast out,
banished by an irrevocable sentence, from the happy so
ciety of heaven, to have your part with those, who, in the
midst of all the anguish of their penal sufferings, continue
still to live in mutual mafice* "hateful, and hating one
another," the victims of every wretched passion, recipro
cal tormentors, and united in nothing but in hardened
despair, and rebellious hatred of God. — Let professing
Christians, then, warned by such considerations, serious
ly hsten to the apostolical admonition, " Examine your
selves, whether you be in the faith; prove your own selves:
know ye not your own selves, how that Christ Jesus is in
you, except ye be reprobates."
And, O ! let all be entreated to look forward, — and to
consider Well, how important an interest in Jesus will
appear in the great day; — when the omniscient and al
mighty Saviour shall " come in his glory," to raise the
dead, and to judge the world ; — when he shall •« sit on
the throne of his glory, and before him shall be gather
ed all nations, and he shall separate them one from ano
ther, as a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats; —
and when he shall W say to those on his right hand,
" Come ye blessed," and to those on his left, " Depart ye
cursed:'' — O how enviable will be their lot, who shall then
be found " one in Christ Jesus!" — who shall " enter in
through the gates into the heavenly city," and shall spend
with him and with one another, a joyful eternity !
There is even now a union between earth and heaven.
The " general assembly and church of the first-born,
whose names are written in heaven," are of one family

24
with " the spirits of just men made perfect." "The whole
family in heaven and earth" * will ere long become " the
whole family in heaven;" — all the members of it shall be
gathered home to that " place" which Jesus has " pre
pared" for them, — his " Father's house, where there are
many mansions." f
" One family, we dwell in him,
" One church, above, beneath,
" Though now divided by the stream;
" The narrow stream, — of death.''
In the name, not of the particular body of Christians to
which I have the honour and the happiness to belong, but
of all the members of this family of God, of whom 1 trust
there is no small number present, I would now say to every
individual, — and many hearts go along with me in the in
vitation, — " Come with us, and we will do you good, for
the Lord hath spoken good concerning Israel."
There is a union, my friends, between earth and hell, as
well as between earth and heaven. The " children of
the wicked one" on earth, are ofthe same family with
" the spirits in prison." They are all " of their father
the devil;" — one in origin, one in character, one in end. All
those belong to this family, who are living " without God,
and without Christ,"— who are " walking according to the
course of this world," — who have not been " born again''
of the " incorruptible seed" of God's word. O break off,
break off, from this unholy and unhappy fellowship; — a fel
lowship of which the dreadful bond is the participation of a
common curse,— -the curse of the living God; — a fellowship
in sin, that shall terminate in a fellowship in suffering. " He
that believeth on the Son of God hath everlasting life; but
he that believeth not shall not see life, but the wrath of God
abideth on him." J
* Eph. iii. 15. -f John xiv. 1—3. J John iii. 63.

NOTES.

Note A. Page 2.

Reasonable as the general principle of this passage appears to be,
it has been questioned, and its opposite maintained, by names of high
respectability. Thus, the late Dr. Campbell, of Aberdeen : " Though, in our pre-
" sent situation, clothes and dwelling are requisite, for protecting us
" against the inclemencies of the weather, and other external accidents,
" we may, nevertheless, have both clothes and dwelling in different
" forms, and yet equally commodious. Nay, one form may be more
" convenient in certain climates and certain situations, which is less
" convenient in other climates and other situations. The same thing
" may, with equal truth, be affirmed concerning the form of church-
" government. This is evidently true also of civil government. Of
" whatever mode it may be, absolute or limited, monarchical or republi-
" can, unless it degenerate into tyranny, it is entitled to the obedience
" ofthe subjects. ' For the powers that be' («' c!nrm sgoiwuui,) ' are or-
" dained of God.' No criterion is mentioned but established posses-
" sion. Now, I can see no reason why a church may not subsist un-
" der different forms as well as a state ; and though it must be owned,
" that one form may be more favourable than another to the spirit and
" design of the constitution, we cannot always judge with safety from
" the first of these how much it has retained of the last. Nay, I must
" acknowledge, that for any thing I could ever discover in the sacred
" oracles to the contrary, the external order may properly undergo
*' such alterations as the ends of edification in different exigencies
" may require, and prudence may direct. The only thing of real im-
" portance is, that nothing be admitted which can, in any way, subvert
" the fundamental maxims, or infringe the spiritual nature, ofthe go-
" vernment." Lectures on Eccl. Hist. vol. i. pages 92, 93. edit. 1800.
Again : " What can we conclude, but that it was intended by the Holy
" Spirit thus to teach us to distinguish between what is essential to
" the Christian religion, the principles to be believed, and the duties
" to be practised, and which are therefore perpetual and unchangeable;
D

26
" and what is comparatively circumstantial, regarding external order
" and discipline, which, as matters of expedience, alter with circum-
" stances, and are therefore left to the adjustment of human pru-
" dence." Ibid. p. 99.  Once more: " For my own part, I acknow-
" ledge it to be my opinion, that there is not a church now in the
" world, which is on the model of that formed by the apostles. The
" circumstances of men and things are perpetually varying in respect
" of laws, civil polity, customs, manners: these, in every society, give
" rise to new regulations, arrangements, ceremonies: these again in-
" sensibly introduce changes in the relations of different classes and
" ranks of men to one another, exalting some, and depressing others.
" Sometimes alterations arise from a sort of necessity. A particular
" measure may be expedient at one time, and in certain circumstances,
" which is inexpedient at another time, and in different circumstances.
" But it is equally certain, on the other hand, that changes do not
" always spring from prudential considerations of fitness. As little
" can we say, that they are always for the better. They more fre-
" quently result from the unbridled passions of men, favoured by cir-
" cumstances and opportunity. — From what hath been said above,
" therefore, let it not be imagined that I consider the outward form of
" church polity, because not of the essentials of religion, as a matter
" absolutely indifferent. That, I imagine, would be an error in the
" other extreme." " Under whatever form of ecclesiastical polity a
" man lives, it will still hold an infallible truth, that if he believe and
" obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ, he shall be saved. But
" certain it is, that one model of church government may be much
" better calculated for promoting that belief and obedience than ano-
" ther. Nay, it is not impossible that such changes may be introduced,
" as are much more fitted for obstructing the influence of true religion,
" than for advancing it; nay, for inspiring a contrary temper, and nou-
" rishing the most dangerous vices. How far this proved the case with
" the Christian community, is submitted to every judicious student of
" ecclesiastical history." Ibid, pages 248 — 250.
<• My only remark on these extracts shall be, that the reference made
in the last sentence to the records of ecclesiastical history, and espe
cially to his own ingenious and acute development of the successive
steps by which the government of the church was corrupted from its
original simplicity and purity, till it ended in the spiritual despotism,
and splendid abominations of the papal hierarchy, — might well, one
should think, have startled the Doctor's mind at the obvious and im
minent danger of leaving so much, as he insists may be left, and ought
to be left, to " the adjustment of human prudence." Alas ! for the pru
dence of man, when applied to alter and amend a constitution of Di
vine original! — I am aware, that the government of the church is not
3

27
itself an end, but a means, deriving its importance from the importance
ofthe end for which it is instituted. But, if it be true, as Dr. C. af
firms (and no one surely will question it), that " one model of church
" government may be much better calculated than another for promoting
" the belief and obedience" ofthe gospel; — then, surely, the one which
is best of all calculated for this end, must be that which the Doctor him
self, with so much candour and so much ability, shows to have been of
apostolic, and consequently of Divine, authority.
The late Dr. Williams, of Rotherham, uses language on this subject
very similar in its spirit and tendency to that of Dr. Campbell. In the
second edition of his work on " the Equity ofthe Divine Government,
" and the Sovereignty of Divine Grace," he introduces, in the practical
improvement of his subject, a class of professors of Christianity, whom,
for the sake of distinction, he denominates Contractionists ; " because
"they contract and limit the apostolic precepts and examples, by re-
" during them unjustifiably to positive laws." I perfectly concur with
the Doctor in thinking,1 that the persons whose views and practices he
proceeds to describe, run to a ridiculous extreme; — yet I cannot but
regret that, in condemning this extreme, he should appear to have fallen
into its opposite; or at least, that he should have used expressions,
which every reader will interpret as meaning, that there is nothing
whatever fixed, by Divine prescription, with regard to the government
ofthe church, but that all is left to the prudential regulation of men.
— " The apostles," says he, " and the Spirit of Christ in them, took
" men, customs, and circumstances, as they found them, as is manifest
" from their epistles, directing their efforts to the advancement of
" spiritual' Christianity. Whatever was calculated, though in different
" modes, most effectually to promote the glory of God, the triumphs
" ofthe Saviour's grace, the extension of his cause, and the power of
" religion in the souls of men, they recommended and urged, and ap-
" proved of in others. This, indeed, is implied in their having a fixed
" ultimate end in view, to which every thing was made subservient.
" If this design was not likely to be answered, however literal the imi-
" tation, and however conscientious the parties, there was a defect;
" and any variation from what they had sanctioned in other circum-
" stances, provided that variation tended more effectually to secure
" the proposed higher end, must consistently have been approved of by
"them. They did not, under Divine inspiration, however infallible,
" prescribe positive laws, or usages, in the churches, as if the obser-
" vance of them were a test of faithfulness in. addition to their moral
" aptitude; but as helps to promote the highest effects of Christianity,
" according to the circumstances of time, place and previous customs,"
« &c.  « It may be asked,", he immediately afterwards adds, " Will
" not this leave men too much at liberty to form unscriptural rules? I

28
" reply, Nothing can be unscriptural, which, in the most direct and
" effectual manner, promotes the end for which Christian churches
" were instituted. The first inquiry of a congregated religious body
" should be, How may this end be best attained, under the corrective
" rules of the New Testament ? Against those who succeed, ' there is
" no law.' " — Essay on Equity and Sovereignty, pages 456 — 458.
Surely, if there be any extremes on this subject, this is one of them.
According to the above statement (and all that follows is in the same
strain), there was nothing authoritative, nothing intended by the apos
tles to be understood as permanently binding, even upon the churches
which they themselves constituted, in their directions, respecting the
government and order of the house of God. But even those church
es, had they conceived, from their more thorough knowledge of local
circumstances, or in the event of these circumstances undergoing any
alteration, that " variation would tend more effectually to secure the
"proposed higher end," would have been warranted, nay, it would even
have become their duty, to change and modify their social constitution
accordingly. Sentiments such as these, which throw every thing re
specting the external order of the churches entirely loose, and subject
it, upon principle, to the endlessly varying suggestions of human pru
dence, I cannot but consider as untenable and pernicious; — highly as
I revere the character, and respect the talents, and honour the pious
intentions, oftheir Author, and of others who agree with him.
Satisfied as I am, that we are bound to observe all things, in
behalf of which, as stated church ordinances, either apostolic precept,
or (which is the same thing, as implying and originating in such pre
cept,) the example of the apostolic churches, can be fairly and distinctly
established ; — I yet cannot but consider as quite extravagant, and con
trary to obvious fact, the assertions of some, that every thing relative
to the order both of government and worship in the churches of
Christ, is laid down, in the New Testament, with equal precision of
statement, and minuteness of specification, as the observances of the
ancient Jewish church are in the Old. Some of those who make such
assertions appear as if they felt themselves bound to maintain that this is
the case, in order to vindicate the character of " the Apostle and High
Priest ofthe Christian profession;'' because it is affirmed of him that he
" was faithful to him that appointed him, as also Moses was faithful in
all his house." Heb. iii. 2. But they forget the simple principle, that
faithfulness bears relation to a commission received: — and that if the
Lord Jesus was " faithful to him that appointed him," to the fall extent
qf his commission, he was as faithful as Moses; — that he would have
been unfaithful had he gone beyond, as well as had he kept within it:
— and that the question therefore is, What was the extent of his com
mission, in regard to Divine communications, and Divine injunctions,

29
- to the churches? — That he was faithful, we are certain. The extent
of this commission, therefore, must be ascertained from the actual re
cord of inspiration; — and ofthe contents of that record, we must form
our judgment by candid investigation, with humble dependence on the
guidance of his holy Spirit.
Were I required to show in the Scriptures the pattern of the Con.
gregational Union, I should simply reply, that we have very abun
dant evidence of its being the duty of the churches of Christ to assist
one another in temporal things; from which it follows, that it is also
their duty to use such means as may be found expedient for convey
ing their bounty to one another, so as that it may most effectually an
swer the ends for which it is bestowed. These means are not at all
a matter of established order, but of merely discretionary arrangement.
Note B. Page 3.
As an example of cases in which union in the same church is from
the nature ofthe thing impossible, I might mention that of a conscientious
Presbyterian, and a conscientious Independent. There is nothing tp pre
vent their occasional fellowship in social prayer and praise, and even
in the ordinance of the Supper. But it is abundantly manifest, that
they cannot possibly go on together in the government and discipline of
the church.
In speaking of cases in which such union is inexpedient, although
not impossible, I freely confess I had in my mind the connexion of
Baptists and P<edobaptists. — I do not mean their occasional fellowship
with one another in all the ordinances ofthe house of God about which
they are agreed: God forbid !— I do not even mean, the admission, to
stated fellowship, of a Baptist brother by a Paedobaptist church, or of
a Paedobaptist brother by a Baptist church, on the principle that he
is admitted, at his own desire, to the enjoyment of a privilege, through
the church's forbearance with him, and that every thing continues to go
on, just as it would have done had he not been there. — Where this is
found to be practicable, without its producing any indications of that
" schism in the body," of that coolness, and dryness, and distance, and
inward alienation of heart, which are so very apt to arise from the pre
sence of one, who, by bodily posture or otherwise, testifies his dissent,
every time the church observe what they conceive to be a divine insti
tute; — I should be the last to object to the practice. — The case, how
ever, appears to me to be very different, when a church consists, one
half of Baptists, and the other of Psedobaptists, and when their union is
maintained by the studied exclusion of an ordinance of Christ from public
observance:— when, if the pastor be a Paedobaptist, he must baptise
the children of those members who agree with him, all in private; —

30
if he be a Baptist, the Paedobaptist brethren must forego the pleasure
of having this ordinance administered to their offspring by their own
pastor, and must look about them, and get it done by another, as they
best can; — and if there be two pastors of opposite sentiments, they must
either give the subject the slip when it comes in their way in their pub
lic ministrations, or if they would avoid the guilt of " shunning to
declare the whole counsel of God," they must contradict, and argue
against, each other; which, even although done in the spirit of candour
and love, to the utmost degree that remaining corruption will admit,
must necessarily be felt as a rather ungracious employment. — It is
not enough to say that publicity is not essentially necessary to the ordi
nance. If it were, the case would belong to the former class: union
would be almost at least, if not altogether, impracticable. But I speak
of it as a case in which it is only inexpedient. — If it be desirable, as
it surely is, that all the members of a church should receive all the
ordinances of Christ from the hands of their own pastor; — if the
social " prayers and supplications" of their brethren should be high
ly valued by Christian parents, on an occasion so deeply and tenderly
interesting to them, as the addition to the number of immortal souls
committed to their charge, and the encouraging recognition of, those
promises of God to them and to their seed, which they cannot but es
teem " exceeding great and precious;" — and if the public administra
tion of the ordinance is found, when attended to with becoming so
lemnity, to be fitted for general impression and edification; — I cannot
but think that kind of union inexpedient, which necessitates the sacri
fice of such conveniences and advantages. — Yet I esteem and love my
brethren who hold other views; — and, for myself, rejoice in every op
portunity of testifying this esteem and love, by occasional fellowship
in the social exercises of worship, and in the " communion ofthe body
and blood" of our common Redeemer and Lord-
Note C. Page 4.
Two rich and powerful minds have recently laid before the public their
views respecting the terms of Christian communion ; — Mr. Hall, of Lei
cester, and Dr. Mason, of New York. The immediate object ofthe for
mer writer, in the practical application of his principles, is more confin
ed than that ofthe latter; — Dr. Mason expatiating on the wide field of
" Catholic communion," in the most enlarged acceptation ofthe phrase,
unfolding its history as well as settling its grounds, — while Mr. Hall
restricts himself to the more limited discussion of the points of differ
ence betwixt Baptists and Paedobaptists, and of the propriety and ob
ligation of their maintaining free communion with one another on the
ground of the " one faith, " notwithstanding the opposition of their

31
sentiments and practice with regard to baptism. But the great general
principles held, and avowed, and advocated, by both writers, with great
force, and great eloquence, although, perhaps, in some instances, with
an almost unnecessary prolixity of argumentation, are entirely the
same. " There is no position, " says Mr. Hall, " in the whole compass of
" theology, ofthe truth of which he (the author) feels a stronger persua-
" sion, than that no man, or set of men, are entitled to prescribe, as an
" indispensable condition of communion, what the New Testament has
" not enjoined as a condition of salvation. To establish this position
" is the principal object of the following work ; and though it is more
" immediately occupied in the discussion of a case which respects the
" Baptists and Paedobaptists, that case is attempted to be decided en-
" tirely upon the principle now mentioned, and is no more than the ap-
" plication of it to a particular instance." Preface, p. iv, — " If it be
" once admitted that a body of men associating for Christian worship
" have a right to enact as terms of communion, something more than
" is included in the terms of salvation, the question suggested by St.
" Paul, " Is Christ divided?" is uterly futile : what he considered as a
" solecism is reduced to practice, and established by law." Essay, p.
125. — " He who admits his fellow Christian to share in every other
" spiritual privilege, while- he prohibits his approach to the Lord's
" table, entertains a view of that institution diametrically opposite to
" what has usually prevailed: he must consider it not so much in the
"light of a commemoration of his Saviour's death and passion, as a re-
" ligious test, designed to ascertain and establish an agreement in points
" not fundamental. According to this notion of it, it is no longer a
" symbol of our common Christianity ; it is the badge and criterion of a
" party, a mark of discrimination applied to distinguish the nicer shades
" of difference among Christians. How far either Scripture or reason
" can be adduced in support of such a view ofthe subject, it will be the
" business of the following pages to inquire." Ibid, pages 7, 8.
" Let us gather up," says Dr. Mason, after illustating the comparison
in 1 Cor. xii. of the church of God to the human body — " Let us gather
" up its results, and see how they bear upon the subject of sacramental
"communion. — 1. The body of Christ is one. — 2. Every member of this
" body has, by a Divine constitution, utterly independent on his own
" will, both union and communion with every other member, as infal-
" libly as hands, and feet, eyes, ears and nose, are, by the very con-
" stitution ofthe physical body, united together as parts of a whole, and
" sympathize with each other accordingly. — S. The members of this
"body of Christ have a common and unalienable interest in all the
" provision which God has made for its nutriment, growth and conso-
" lation; and that, simply and absolutely, because they are members of

32

" that body : Therefore, 4. the members of the church of Christ, indi-
" vidually and collectively, are under a moral necessity, i. e. under the
" obligation of God's authority, to recognise each other's character and
" privileges, and consequently, not to deny the tokens of such recog-
" nition. Sacramental communion is one of these tokens : therefore the
"members ofthe church of Christ, as such, are under the obligation of
" God's authority to recognise their relation to Christ and to each other,
" by joining together in sacramental communion. Nor has any church
" on earth the power to refuse a seat at the table of the Lord to one
" whose ' conversation is as becometh the gospel.' If she has, she has
" derived it from some other quarter than her Master's grant ; and
" founds the privilege of communion with her in something else than a
" person's having ' received Christ Jesus the Lord, and walking in him.*
" Let her look to herself, and see what account she shall be able to ren
der of her usurpation." Plea for Cath. Comm. pages 7, 8. — "The
" sacramental table is spread ; I approach, and ask for a seat. You say,
'' ' No.' ' Do you dispute my Christian character and standing? ' ' Not
" in the least.' ' Why, then, am I refused? ' ' You do not belong to our
" church.' ' Your church ! what do you mean by your church ? Is it any
" thing more than a branch of Christ? s church ? Whose table is this ?
" Is it the Lord's table, or yours? If yours and not his, I have done.
" But if it is the Lord's, where did you acquire the power of shutting
" out from its mercies any of his people? I claim my seat under my
" Master's grant. Show me your warrant for interfering with it.' —
" Methinks it would require a stout heart to encounter such a chal-
" lenge," &c. — Ibid, pages 10, 11. — " It results — 1. That they who have
" a right to sacramental communion any where, have a right to it every
" where; and, conversely, that they who have not a right to it every
" where, have a right to it no where. — 2. That no qualification for such
" communion may, by the law of Christ, be exacted from any indivi
dual, other than visible Christianity; i.e.aprofessionand practice be-
" coming the gospel, without regard to those sectarian differences, which
"consist with the substance of evangelical truth.'' Ibid, pages 15, 16,
Considering these sentiments as referring to the fellowship of mem
bers of the spiritual body of Christ, who give evidence of conscientious
sincerity in seeking to know and to do their Master's will, I most cor
dially concur in them, and rejoice to contribute, in any measure, to
their circulation. Surely it is a position which must " produce, on a
" mind freefromprejudiee,instantaneousconviction," that "those whom
" God forms and actuates by his Spirit, and admits to communion with
" himself, are sufficiently qualified for the communion of mortals."
Hall, page 126.
To justify our communion with any individual, however, it should

33
not be forgotten, we ought to have evidence that this is his character. —
" A general profession of Christianity, as is shown by daily experi-
" ence, may be, and often is, compatible with the want of every
" Christian influence, and even with hostility to almost every Christian
" doctrine. To let it serve as an apology for error and vice; and,
" under its broad protection, to admit to communion men who evince
" neither repentance toward God, nor faith toward our Lord Jesus
" Christ, would be indeed to confound the holy with the profane ; to
" turn the temple of God into a den of thieves ; and to destroy the
" very end and essence of sacramental fellowship. The objectors
" themselves cannot have a more firm and founded abhorrence of such
" infidel charity, such latitude of ruin, than has the writer of these re-
" marks." Mason, pages 314, 315. ''
These observations are introduced, not merely as important in
themselves, but as bearing an immediate relation to the subject of the
foregoing Discourse, — the communion of churches. — Why is it that
one church should receive into its fellowship a person who comes with
a recommendation from another? Not merely because this recommen
dation shows him to have been a member there;—but because, from
the confidence of the one church in the other, his membership there is
held as sufficiently satisfactory evidence of his genuine Christianity. It
is obvious, therefore, that recommendations can be justifiable grounds
of admission, only in so far as they afford such evidence ; that is, in
so far as the recommending church is known to be attentive to purity
of fellowship, and the exercise of discipline. Where laxity and corrup
tion extensively prevail, a recommendation ceases to be of any value-
Without the mutual confidence referred to, there can be no proper
communion of churches; such communion as subsisted in the first
age; such communion as renders a member of one virtually a member
of all. — On this ground, I should be disposed to hesitate in going all the
length of that charity with regard to churches, which seems, if I have
rightly understood him, to pervade the whole of Dr. Mason's discussion.
In one place, the Doctor indulges himself in a strain of severe and
pointed ridicule against those whom he describes as " set at work," by
various principles, "to find or to erect an immaculate church;"*
such as, I should apprehend, may be very liable to misconstruction, and
to be laid hold of, with triumph, by many persons, who are sensible
that even a very remote approach to such a state of things, would not
at all be suitable for them; and may thus, by a kind of reaction, tend to
encourage a degree of laxity, to which, in the passage last quoted from
him above, he so strqngly declares himself an enemy.
I confess I feel the more jealous of every thing that may either
* Plea, &c. pages 55, 56.
E

34
directly or indirectly tend to the production of such an effect, because
I am persuaded, that here lies one of the principal sources of delusion
to the souls of men, in countries where Christianity is the general pro
fession of the community. Were I called upon to name the circum
stance from which, in such a country, the largest measure of spiritual
injury, or, to use Dr. Mason's own energetic phrase, the most exten
sive " latitude of ruin" arises, I think I should mention — not the writ
ings of infidelity and profanity; not the progress of luxury, and the
deceitfulness of riches; not the infectious corruption of public manufac
tories; not the theatres, and the gaming tables, and the haunts of dis
sipation and profligacy; — not any one of these, or of other similar
fountains of bitterness and pollution ; — but, the indiscriminate admission
of professors to the ordinances of Gotfs house. By means of this,' thou
sands, and tens of thousands, are flattered and deceived by a fair but
false opinion of their state, and are led on in peace to the grave,
"with a lie in their right hand." — They are satisfied with their admission
to privileges ! — they seek it, and count it a favour : and yet, if they are
not partakers of the saving grace of God in the heart, it is not
within the compass of a fellow creature's power to do them a greater
injury. On such a subject, therefore, ridicule ought surely to be cautiously
and sparingly used. — If by a perfect or " immaculate church," be meant
a church of which all the members axe free from sin, nothing certainly
can be more foolish, or more indicative of self-righteous presumption,
than to look for such a state of Christian society short of heaven. But
if a perfect church means no more than a church of which all the
members give sufficient evidence of their being the children of God,
and the subjects of his grace, — this, unquestionably, is what we ought
sedulously to aim at. The church in heaven, and the church on earth,
are one; and the nearer the latter can be brought in resemblance to the
former, surely so much the better. That we are not to expect perfec
tion, is no good reason why we should not seek after it, and make as
near an approach to it as we can. That hypocrites may find admis
sion, is no reason why we should either knowingly receive or retain
them when they have clearly discovered themselves. — AU this Dr.
Mason plainly admits, when he speaks of the obligation upon the
office-bearers in every church, " in the wise performance oftheir duty,
" to do the best which their circumstances permit." — Yet the parable
of the tares and the wheat, as he applies it, and as it is usually applied,
would necessarily lead, if it leads to any thing, to the practice of receiv
ing all, and excluding none. For the tares in the parable cannot mean
hypocrites. They were not concealed- The diflerence between them
and the wheat was not at all difficult to be perceived; it was
marked and visible. " The tares appeared:" the servants saw them;
and their seeing them was the ground of their representation and

35
proposal. The danger in executing the proposed extirpation, did
not, therefore, consist in any risk of mistaking the one for the other,
or of pulling up the one instead of the other. This was a danger
which the servants never dreamed of, and which their master never
suggested. Yet it is only when so understood that the parable can,
with any plausibility, be applied to church communion. Even then,
indeed, the plausibility is small. Observe the two sides ofthe alterna
tive. If the tares mean hypocritical professors, they mean characters
which no church society can either refuse or exclude; for, on this
supposition, they are unknown: — if, on the other hand, as the terms of
the parable plainly imply, they represent persons easily distinguishable
from the true children of God, possessing not " visible Christianity," but
the visible want of it, then the application ofthe case to church fellow
ship will necessarily lead to the above mentioned conclusion, that
known unbelievers should be admitted and retained; that none, in short,
should be refused, and none excluded; — a conclusion, which, although
the only legitimate one, no person has ever professed to draw : — and
this, of itself, is evidence sufficient, that the parable is mis-applied al
together, when it is interpreted in reference to the fellowship ofthe
church. — But, I have said more than I intended; and I am getting into
a dissertation instead of a Note.

Note D. Page 2.
The following brief extracts from the Annual Reports, of which five
have now been published, may suffice as a specimen of those expres
sions of gratitude and brotherly love which are here referred to, and of
which the Reports themselves contain only a small selection : —
From the second Annual Report for 1814: — " One of our brethren,
" after mentioning the comforts, we might have said, the necessaries,
" of which the donation sent him put him in possession, adds ; ' I know
" by experience, that it is more blessed to give than to receive; at the
" same time, I have experienced such happiness in receiving, and using
" the above proof of the affection and liberality of my dear brethren,
" as (were it possible to communicate a portion of it to them) would
" encourage them to persevere in the good work they have begun-*
" ' And I doubt not,' he further adds, ' but this is the case with most,
" if not with all, who have shared their bounty. At any rate, the need
" of many has been supplied, and this has called forth many thanksgiv-
" ings to God.' Another of our brethren writes thus: ' I trust I have
" felt sincere gratitude to the Lord for his goodness, and to you, and
" the other brethren, as the instruments of it. Offer my warmest
" thanks to the Committee, for this striking evidence of their brotherly
" love.'— The members of another church noticing the benefit received

36
" in what was sent them, say: 'With gratitude to the Lord, and your
" Committee, we would ever acknowledge the readiness you manifest-
" ed to sympathise with us in our afflicted and embarrassed circumstan-
" ces. I trust we have perceived the hand of God, in directing his
"servants to devise those means, of which we and others stood in so
" much need.' "
From the third Report for 1815: — "From the necessary brevity of
" this Report, your Committee cannot give you any adequate idea of
" the gratitude which has resulted from your bounty; the praises which
" have ascended to the God of all grace by your means; the prayers
" which have been raised to Heaven for blessings on you in return ;
" and the good which has been effected, both in the churches and in
" the world."
" The following extracts will give some faint view ofthe general feel-
"ing which has been excited by the operations ofthe Union. 'I te-
" ceived,' says a much esteemed and self-denied labourer in the vine-
" yard, ' £ — as the allowance ofthe Committee of the Union. This
" sum has afforded me very seasonable and effectual relief; and my
" most sincere gratitude and thanks are due to you, to the Committee,
" and to all the dear brethren ofthe Union — butabove all, to Him, who
" has put it into the hearts of his children to make such liberal and sea-
" sonable provision for their poor brethren who are employed in the
" work of the Lord. The consideration of the channel through which
" this relief is obtained, gives peculiar satisfaction to the mind. Bre-
" thren in Christ afford itj because they love us, and sympathize with us,
" and thus We are blessed by their means. May they enjoy, in all its
" extent, the superior, blessing of Him who said, ' It is more blessed to
" give than to receive!' What thanks are due unto the Lord for such
" an Institution ! "
From the same : — " No words " says another brother, " can express
" the good effects which I have seen produced in the churches by means
" of the Union. The pastors are better and more cheerfully supported ;
" the interest on chapel debts is punctually paid; and in some places
" chapel debts have been considerably reduced, since the Union com-
" menced. After what has been done, we shall not despise the day of
" small things. — It must be also remembered/' he says farther, " that
" our congregations are reaping the fruits of the Union. About two
" years ago, our temple- building was like to standi We had reason to
" fear, that God was dividing us in Jacob, and scattering us in Israel.
" The godly were apprehending, and the ungodly were believing, that
" our end was come. Some said, ' So would we have it !' others Said,
" We shall be sorry for it!' But the Lord has spared the vine; per-
" haps there is a blessing in it. Those who hear the gospel with us,
" have been our companions in the storm. ¦ They appear happy to see

37

" us connected with brethren and churches who love us, and help us.
" And as they have now the prospect of the gospel's being continued
" with us, they attend regularly, and hear attentively ; and as ' faith
" cometh by hearing,' who can say but many of them may be sav-
" ed ? Let us not cease to pray for this." 
From the fourth Report for 1816 :— " To advert to the expressions of
" gratitude which have been received from those churches to which
" your bounty was imparted, would only be to mention in effefct what
" has again and again been laid before you, in preceding Reports.
" The happy results of our operations continue to be great and nu-
" merous. The churches are inspired with more gratitude to the Lord,
" who has been thus affording, in a manner suited to the most tender
" Christian feelings, a supply of the wants of those who depend upon
" him. A far greater flow of brotherly love and affection has been ex-
" cited in the churches to one another. They feel that they stand con-
" nected with brethren who care for them — with brethren who know
" what it is to ' weep with those who weep, and rejoice with those who
" rejoice.' A kind of heavenly compact is experienced. Every church
" finds itself a branch united to and supported by the body at large,
" many of which are wise, and able, and liberal; and thus the whole
" body, from its one exalted Head, through the joints and ligaments,
" being joined and knit together, increaseth with the increase of God."
From the fifth Report, for 1817. — " A sister church who have, in a
" very peculiar manner, exerted themselves in " holding forth the word
" of life," in acknowledging a small part of your bounty of last year,
" say: — ' We enjoy many unmerited mercies, for which we return many
" thanks to our heavenly Father, and to you. What reason have we to
" bless God, that brethren whom we have not seen in the flesh, have
" been raised up by divine providence, and have communicated with us
" in our affliction, having sent once and again to our necessity.
" When your care of us hath flourished again, may fruit abound to your
" account ! It affords us pleasure to think, that God is not Unrighteous
" to forget your work of faith and labour of love, which ye have show-
" ed toward his name, in that ye have ministered to the saints, and do
" minister." " A brother, whose labours have been of ho ordinary kind, and of
" whom mention is made in your last Report, as having in the preced-
" ing summer, Visited not less than seventeen villages, at the greater
" part of which he preached once a month, having received from your
" Treasurer lately a few pounds, the vote of your Committee, in his
" letter of acknowledgment, dated Feb. 26. thus writes: — ' I duly re-
** ceived your favbur df the 22d instant, and trust it will be accepted of
" God as an offering of a sweet-slilelling savour, as it has been season-
" able and refreshing to me. A life of dependence,' he adds, Mshum-

38

" bling to the pride of human nature, but it affords many opportunities
" of witnessing the gracious interpositions of our heavenly Father. Did
" those of our brethren, who have this world's goods, know the sensa-
" tions of gratitude which their communications excite in the bosoms
" ofthe poor labourers in the vineyard of the Lord, they would make
" every sacrifice in their power to promote such affections. Paul
" coveted no man's silver, or gold, or apparel ; but never did the miser
" receive the thousands of gold, with feelings such as those with which
" he received the gifts of his Philippian brethren. When we receive
" favours for the sake of Christ, He is endeared, as we owe them to
" him, and partake of them as fruit dropping from the cross; we are-
" constrained to pour out our souls in thankfulness, and in prayer for
" those who bestow their bounty for his name; and feel renewed obli-
" gations to devote the gift for the advancement of his glory, whose
" truth and love thus bind us together. If there be any thing which pro-
" duces pain in the reception of this bounty, it is the reflection that
" these exertions are followed with so little of that fruit for which we
" all long. But though I waste my strength, and you your property, all is
" nothing to what Jesus endured that sinners might be drawn to him.' "
Would not the inspired writer of the eighth and ninth chapters of
the second Epistle to the Corinthians, have been pleased with these
spiritual fruits of Christian liberality? Note E.Page 3.
The following passages may serve to illustrate the benefit arising from
the liberality of the churches, transmitted through the medium of the
Committee of the Union, in enabling zealous and devoted brethren,
pastors and preachers, to extend their labours in the proclamation ofthe
gospel through extensive districts of the surrounding country, where, in
many instances, but for such exertions, its saving truths would remain
unheard; — a benefit which, I trust, will be duly appreciated by all who
feel the value of immortal souls.-
From the second Report: — "From the Journal of another brother re-
" siding in Mearns-shire, we shall give one, and but one extract. ' June
" 13th, Lord's day; after preaching twice at home, I walked six miles to
" a place in the parish of Kinnel, and preached to a large congregation
" in the fields, although there were heavy showers of rain, no house
" being large enough to contain the people; after which, I walked to
" Brechin, six miles farther. After enjoying a comfortable rest, I set
" out at an early hour, June 14th, for Aberdeenshire, to visit some
" places at which our beloved brother, Mr. Brown, has preached, in the
" course of his itinerant labours; and which he had marked out for
" me. I went over the Cairny Mount, and preached that same even-
" ing in Strathaven parish. Preached once every day, and twice on

39
" Friday 18th, and returned home on the 19th, having preached nine
" times, and travelled nearly 120 miles. I had excellent congregations,
" excepting on the 15th, and this was owing to a fair at Banchory on
" that day. I hope the labours of Mr. B. have been much blessed. I
" find he is universally esteemed, as one who has the salvation of men
" much at heart. I was particularly happy at a place called Cushnie,
" where I preached to a numerous and most attentive auditory. Up-
" wards of 40 remained at family worship ; at which I read Eph. ii.
" with observations thereon. On my apologizing for the late hour to
" which they had been detained, one ofthe company said; ' O Sir, had
" you continued till midnight, we certainly should have continued to
"4iear with pleasure.' "
" It may be noticed, that our brother visited these places, and some
" others at a still greater distance, twice more in the course ofthe sum-
" mer. Neither did the cold of winter, nor the depth of snow, damp
" his zeal, or entirely prevent his extensive labours."
From the third Report:—" It is a fact, brethren, which no longer ad-
" mits of any doubt, that the Congregational Union has been the happy
" means of maintaining the light of divine truth in many dark parts of
" our native land; as well as of enabling many churches to make the
" gospel sound out extensively from them. An extract of another let-
" ter from a correspondent, dated March 23d this'year, will serve as a
" specimen to confirm and illustrate the, above remark. ' With regard
" to  ,' he says, ' it may be observed, that the aid your Committee
" has afforded that church has been of great advantage to them. By
" your seasonable assistance they have not only enjoyed the ordinances
" of Christ for their edification, but they have been enabled to dissemi-
" nate the word of God in their vicinity. It may be said with proprie-
" ty, that you have been in a good degree supporting a pastor for the
" benefit of a poor church ; and also an itinerant for the benefit of poor
" sinners, perishing for lack of knowledge. Our brother's labours there
" are abundant; and some of his preaching tours long and very expen
sive. He has. often gone during the week forty miles, and made
" known the way of salvation in many most destitute parts where the
" people were truly anxious to hear. In the summer he goes frequent-
" ly on the Sabbath evenings to a place about eight miles from home,
" where the congregations are always large. — Another church in ex-
" press terms, say, ' Were it not for the seasonable and beneficial assist-
" ance afforded by the Congregational Union, it is not likely that the -
" preaching of the gospel could be continued in this place.'
" Your Committee would deem it ungrateful and unjust, not to advert
" a little more to the very extensive labours of some others of the pas-
" tors of those churches to which your bounty has been extended.
" Pretty large journals from four of these brethren have been received,

40

" and more brief accounts from others; by which their labours appear
" to have been truly abundant, — in general peculiarly acceptable, — and
" as far as can be judged, in many instances useful. These itinerant
" excursions have been almost without exception, in places where the
" gospel is little known. One of our brethren, after noticing a long
" tour on the borders ofthe Highlands, says, " In the course of the
" season, I travelled, with a view of preaching the word, about 600
" miles, for the most part on foot. And had strength, and leisure from
" labours at home permitted, much more was necessary.' "
From the fourth Report: — ' In a letter from another place, the
" following statement is given to your Committee: — ' The popu-
" lation around this is great; and, in general, the encouragement
" to diffuse the truth has been equal to it. During the summer
" months, seventeen villages were occasionally visited, the greater
" part once in the month. In these places not less than 3000 have
" heard the word of life. Where houses could be obtained, most of
" them have had sermon during the winter : and we are glad to find
" that the people appear to feel an increasing interest in these labours.
" When circumstances permitted us to give them sermon on the Lord's
" day evening, from 400 to 700 would attend. This must surely gra-
" tify the contributors to your funds, as it did the preacher and his
" friends, when you are informed that it is by no means probable that
" the one half of these would otherwise hear the gospel. In one vil-
" lage, where at first the people were most backward to attend, they
" now feel a pleasure in coming out, and that in numbers; and a Sab-
" bath School has lately been established among them, which is well
" attended, and promises to be of much use.' "
From the fifth Report. — " Another church, occupying a sphere of pe-
" culiar importance in one of the Western Isles, and the labours of
" whose pastor were quite circumscribed, in consequence of his avoca-
" tions in a small school through the week, till the operations of the
"Union commenced, express themselves in the following manner: —
" ' The word of life has been blessed to a number of precious souls.'
" And, after noticing their own inability wholly to support their pastor,
" and yet the peculiar importance of his time being entirely devoted to
" the work ofthe ministry, they add, ' If this is desirable in any situa-
" tion, it is certainly so in the Highlands and Islands of Scotland,
" where every Christian pastor and preacher ought to be in the truest
" sense of the word a missionaey, devoting a considerable part of his
" time to itinerant labours.' And further, they add, ' We consider
" this island a very important missionary station: among a population
" of 6500, there is only one assistant minister besides our pastor, who
" preaches the gospel.' Nor are the labours of their pastor confined
" to that island; for they mention, that every year he spends some

41
" considerable part of his time in some of the neighbouring Islands,
" preaching the word and distributing religious tracts."
" But your Committee must remark here, that it is not merely by ex-
*' tensive labours in sowing the seed of eternal life, in hope that God
" will give the increase, that your reward appears: There is also the
" most satisfactory evidence that many, by the divine blessing, have
" been savingly benefited by means of these labours. It must have
" been observed, that to one church the small sum of £5 only was
" given last year ; a short extract of a letter from the pastor of that
" church, will best show the use made of that donation. In adverting
" to his itinerant excursions, both near and at a distance, he says :
" — 'the doors of usefulness still continue open; and the calls to visit
" the more distant places, are more than can be attended to. There
" is evidence that these occasional visits have proved a blessing in dif-
" ferent instances. Last summer, I had a tour of itinerating to a dis-
" tance of about seventy miles from this, where I met with a few who
" knew the voice of Christ; but of the people in general it may be
" truly said, that ' they sit in darkness, and in the region ofthe shadow
" of death.' Many of the people expressed a wish to have such visits
"repeated. I may add, that your bounty of last year was what enabled
" me to accomplish this tour.' In a letter subsequent to the preceding,
" from a neighbouring pastor, it is said of this church; — " There is a
" considerable number at A  under serious impressions: about ele-
" ven since the beginning of this year. And in another place in B 
" which we occasionally visit, there are a few seeking the Lord, with
" their faces toward Zion.' "
" In another district of the Highlands, which has been repeatedly
" visited by the pastor of one ofthe churches, there has of late been a
" very remarkable revival of religion. And while we rejoice and bless
" the Lord on account of the effect given to the labours of other min-
" isters, we must view those of our respected brother, as having, by
" the Divine blessing, tended greatly to the furtherance of this most
" important work. By a letter dated the 2d of April, we find that our
" brother paid a visit to Glenlyon, the scene of this remarkable out-
" pouring of the Holy Spirit, on the 20th of November last, intending
" to stop only three days and return home by the Sabbath. But such
" was the attention excited to the word, and the very extraordinary
" effects produced by it, that he felt constrained to remain three weeks ;
" preaching, with two exception's, once every day, frequently twice,
" and three times on Sabbaths, till his bodily strength was quite ex-
" hausted. Since that time he has frequently visited the same spot,
" where the work continues to go on. ' What numbers,' he remarks,
" ' are brought to a knowledge of the truth, no one, I believe, can at
" present say with certainty; but there are above two hundred known
F

¦ 42
B to be in a hopeful way since this revival commenced; one hundred
" of these are rejoicing in the truth, (among whom there are some as
" young as from nine to fourteen years of age,) and the rest are under
" deep convictions.' Nor will the people in that district now hear any
" thing but the Gospel. With this they are favoured in a Chapel of
" Ease at some distance, by a minister of the Church of Scotland: and
" many of them go to hear our brother. He says in his letter, ' Two
" Sabbaths ago there were about sixty of them here, a distance of from
" seventeen to eighteen miles, among whom was one woman between
" sixty and seventy years of age, who walked all that distance in the
" morning to hear the word, and after the services of the day returned
"a great part of. the way home.' This remarkable revival began in
" last harvest, by means of the preaching of a very worthy mi-
" nister of the Church of Scotland, who paid an occasional visit to
" that neighbourhood, and who was heard by many of the people in
" Glenlyon. Since then the labours of the minister in the Chapel of
" Ease, just adverted to, have been rendered useful to many. But the
" Gentleman, to whose usefulness this part of the Report particularly
" alludes, enjoys the peculiar advantage of free access to the people,
" and of preaching among them in their own glen; and to this advan-
" tage, no doubt, may be traced, under God, the great success of his
" ministry there. Since the 20th of November last, * he has preached
" about sixty times in that quarter — sometimes in a house, and some-
" times in the open air — sometimes in a wood in the dark evenings,
" with lamps hung upon the trees; and in general all the inhabitants,
" in whose power it was to attend, old and young, within the space of
" fourteen miles, were present. Surely that must be an unfeeling
" mind indeed which does not find an abundant reward to the Congre-
" gational Union, in having been any way instrumental in aiding such
" a work."
An " abundant reward?' indeed! — And if any members of the
Churches have hitherto been conscientiously withholding their contri
butions from the funds of the Union, the Extracts in this and the pre
ceding Note should, I think, induce them with serious attention to
re-consider their ground, and to be very, very sure of its scriptural
authority, before they continue to deny themselves the pleasure of
contributing to effects so incalculably precious.
* The Meeting at which this Report was read, was held on the 8th day of
May, 1817.

43'
Note F. Page 20.
An Institution for this purpose, in connexion with the churches
embraced by the Congregational Union, was established at Glasgow in
the year 1811. — The following is an outline of its plan:
The object ofthe Institution shall be, to afford proper means of
communicating, to brethren of approved character and talents, a suita
ble measure of knowledge in the following branches of education, in
order to enable them, with the greater advantage, to fulfil their desire
of devoting themselves to the ministry of the word: — viz. the English,
Latin, Greek and Hebrew languages; that they may be able to study
the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament, in the tongues in
which they were originally ' written, and, in interpreting these Scrip
tures to others, to speak with propriety in their own : — Logic, or the
principles and rules of legitimate reasoning, of which the knowledge
is eminently advantageous, both for the defence of truth, and the refu
tation of error: — Natural Philosophy, the interesting study of the
glory of God in the works of creation — Mathematics, as subservient
to this and other branches of useful science, and as itself excellently
adapted for sharpening the powers of the mind, and promoting habits of
close and accurate thinking: — General History, including Geogra
phy and Chronology, to be studied with special reference to the His
tory, Geography and Chronology of the Bible :— and Theology, em
bracing the study of Divine Truth as revealed in the Scriptures,
along with a Comparative view of Philosophical and Christian
Morality. The care of the education of the Students shall be committed to
Messrs. Ewing and Wardlaw, Glasgow; who shall instruct them in
Theology; direct their general reading, and their exercises in the com
position and delivery of discourses ; and shall superintend their pro
gress in classical learning; the elements of which they shall receive,
either from the tutors themselves, or, under their direction, from pri
vate teachers ; while the more advanced part shall be obtained, along
with other branches of education, by attending the ordinary classes in
Glasgow College.
The course shall be one of four years: — it being, at the same time,
understood, that such as display superior talents, or have enjoyed su
perior previous advantages, may be sent out sooner; — and that, in case
of necessity, a fifth year may be prescribed, for the rudiments of edu
cation, as a necessary introduction to the course.
A Library of theological and classical works shall be formed, at the
expense of the funds, and by donations of books from individuals
friendly to the Institution : whilst, for the advantages of general read-

44
ing, the Students shall have access to the most eligible public library
in Glasgow.
In order to enable suitable characters to avail themselves of these
means of education, all those Students whose circumstances may render
it necessary, shall have their class fees paid out ofthe funds, and shall
receive a reasonable allowance for their temporal support; the amount
of which shall be regulated by the Committee of Management before
mentioned. Persons proposed for receiving education, must be recommended by
their pastors, with the consent of their respective churches, as known
to possess good natural talents, and decided piety, along with those
qualities of Christian temper, which the Scriptures require in those who
devote themselves to the ministry of the word.
In order to discover these qualifications, it shall be recommended to
the pastors of the churches, to make trial of the talents of such as ap
ply for education, by teaching them the principles of English Grammar,
or by employing them in any other useful exercises, which are fitted to
try and to develop the powers of the mind.
The number ofthe Students received, shall be regulated by the state
ofthe funds, and the qualifications ofthe applicants; among whom the
Committee of Management shall have power to make the necessary se
lection, when a greater number apply than can be admitted.
It shall be in the power of the tutors, with the concurrence of the
Committee of Management, to dismiss from the Seminary, after a trial
of three months, such Students as do not, in that time, give evidence
of their possessing talents, of which the further cultivation is likely to
fit them for real usefulness.
Provision shall be made, from the funds ofthe Institution, for Stu
dents who have completed their education, and, having left the Aca
demy, have commenced their labours in preaching the gospel, under
the direction of the Committee of Management, for one year at least,
if within that time they have not obtained a fixed station; and for a
longer period, if the Committee judge it proper: it being left to their
discretion to decide in this, according to circumstances.
To think ourselves right, and to think those who differ from us
wrong, are one and the same thing: — and he must be under the in
fluence either of indifference, or of some secret suspicions of his
ground, whose professed conviction of any truth, is not accompanied
with a desire that others may receive it. As an independent, fully sa
tisfied ofthe scriptural authority of this particular system of church
order, it would be either criminal apathy, or pitiful affectation, for me
to say, that I had no wish for its general adoption. Could I separate,,.

45
indeed, between the spread of independent principles, and the ad
vancement of the cause of Christ, by the spiritual edification of belie
vers, and the conversion of sinners ; — could I suppose the prosperity
of independency to occasion the declension, instead of the promotion,
of these important objects, I should not dare to wish it well, or to say,
" God-speed" to it in its progress. That would be to wish well to
means, at the expense of the very end from which they derive their im
portance. It is not for the sake of independency that independents
desire, (or at least ought to desire) the adoption of their peculiar prin
ciples. It is because these principles, when reduced to legitimate
practice, contain the most efficient, because the divinely instituted
means, of building up, and enlarging, the church of God. — Believing,
therefore, that the advancement of independency is intimately con
nected with the advancement of the interests of Divine truth, of the
glory of God, and the salvation of men, I cannot but rejoice, when its
principles have justice done them in their operation. This, I am more
and more convinced, they are far from having when they are viewed, and
acted upon, in a state of divorce from all effectual provision for educat
ing, for the ministry ofthe gospel, those brethren who, besides the grace
of God, appear to be endowed with promising natural talents, and are
desirous of devoting their lives to the service of Christ and the church.
Independents who neglect such provision are guilty,Iapprehend, of with
holding from their principles an advantage, which, when it is at all with
in their reach, it is their incumbent duty to afford them, for the sake of
the stability and the progress of the Redeemer's Kingdom.— I am not
going to enter into any discussion of this subject. That I have endea
voured to do elsewhere *. I have already said more indeed, in this place
than I intended : — my sole object at present being to call to this infant In
stitution the renewed attention of the Churches with which it is imme
diately connected, and to inform others, who may have been una
ware of its existence. — In urging the recommendation of it to con
tinued patronage, I feel encouraged by the very promising appearance
of future usefulness which it just now presents, as well as by the good
* See a Sermon, entitled " Qualifications for Teaching, essential to the
Character of a Christian Bishop," preached at the opening ofthe above Acade
mical Institution, in Nile Street Meeting House, Glasgow, on Wednesday
March 13th, 1811. — I embrace this opportunity also of earnestly recommend
ing to the attention of my Christian brethren, the scriptural principles, and im
portant practical directions, respecting " the encouragement due from Christians
to preachers ofthe gospel," contained in a Sermon preached by Mr. Ewing,
at the fourth Anniversary, being the conclusion of the first course of the
same Institution.

46

which it has already done. None, I trust, will suppose that there is
any personal end to be answered by such recommendation; the labours
of my able and respected colleague and myself, in this service, being en
tirely gratuitous.
To the small, but increasing Library connected with the Institu
tion, donations of Books, in Theology, and in general literature, will
be peculiary acceptable.

A. $¦ J. Duncan, Printers, Glasgow.

AN

BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATIONS
FOR tbe
Belief of the poor:
OP WHICH
THE SUBSTANCE WAS READ
TO THE
Literary and Commercial Society of Glasgow,
April, 1817.

By RALPH WARDLAW.

The rich and the poor meet together : JEHOVAH is the maker of them all.
He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth hia Maker : but he that honoureth him
hath mercy on the poor. , Solomon,

GLASGOW:
Printed by Young, Gallic. % Company,
SOLD BT IX. & J, M. DUNCAN ; M. OGLE; J. BRASH & CO.; 1. SMITH & SON;
W. TDRNBULL; AND T. OGILVIE :
A. BLACK; OLIFHANT, WAUGH, & INNKS; AND OGLE & CO. EDINBURGH;
LONGMAN & CO.; AND OGLES, DUNCAN, & COCHRAN,
LONDON.

1818.

PREFACE.

Considerable additions have been made to the fol
lowing Essay, since it was read to the Sopiety mentioned
in die Title Page; of which the greater part were
suggested by the pbservations and objections of different
gentlemen, in the conversation to which it gave rise. —
In venturing to present it to the public, (which he does
with sincere diffidence) the Author has been influenced
by recent circumstances, affepting the interests of the
charitable Associations of this city ; especially by the
general circulation of certain principles of Political
Economy, which, however substantially just in them
selves, he cannot but consider as driven to a pernicious
extreme in their practical application. — His principal
object js, as far as it may lie in his power, to redeem
such Institutions from a neglect "and discountenance,
which this amongst other causes has produced, and
which appears to him to be equally unmerited on their
part, and unfortunate for the interests of genuine char
ity. — If the sentiments and reasonings in the latter part
of the Essay, shall, in any degree, contribute to the
accpmplishment of this end, he will feel himself satisfied,

IV
whatever variety of judgment may exist, respecting
those general views of the principles of Mr. Malthus,
and of the poor laws, which are contained in the
former. He deprecates the character of a would-be political
economist, — an impertinent intermeddle^ an intrusive
pretender, in a science, with whose manifold and Com
plicated details he has so very slight and superficial an
acquaintance. — He trusts he shall find credit at least
for the rectitude of his intentions : — and, having simply
stated the views of a highly interesting subject which
have occurred to his mind, it is not his design, if they
shall be thought at all deserving of notice, to enter into
any controversy whatever for their support.
He has only further to intimate, that whatever
CLEAR PROFITS MAY ARISE FROM THE SALE OF THIS
PAMPHLET, SHALL BE GIVEN TO ONE OR MORE OF THE
BENEVOLENT ASSPCIATIONS IN THIS CITY.

Glasgow, ¦*
December 1st, 1817. 5

K=" Id page 32, line 11, the word " being" has, by mistake, been printed in Italic

ON

BENEVOLENT ASSOCIATIONS,
Sfc

When I formed the purpose. Gentlemen, of writing
an Essay on this subject, I Was hardly, I confess, aware
of the number, variety, and intricacy of its bearings;
else, it is nbt improbable, I might have shrunk from
the attempt. — If the views which I am now about to
present, shall appeiar crude and hasty, (as, from the
very limited extent of my reading, on a subject about
which so much has been written, is more than likely to
be the case;) while I shall fail in benefiting or gratify
ing others, I may at least reap the advantage myself,
of having these views enlarged where they are deficient,
and corrected where they are erroneous.
From the endless diversity of talent, and taste, and
disposition, amongst mankind, as well as of unavoidable
controlling circumstances in the providence of God, it
B

6
is reasonable to expect, what in fact has uniformly
occurred, a corresponding diversity in the pursuits and
occupations of social life, and in the measure of success
attending the prosecution of each. — Society cannot
advance a single step, without presenting " the rich
and the poor meeting together;" and every attempt to
prevent this variety, and to accomplish and maintain a
system of equality in station and property, is an attempt
to counteract the tendencies of nature; an attempt
which experience has pronounced impracticable and
visionary; and which, were it possible to give it success,.
would effectually frustrate the purposes of mutual bene
fit for which men associate together.
In the animal frame, the nutritious fluid, propelled
from the central organ of circulation, is diffused, by
vessels branching off in innumerable subdivisions and
gradually decreasing in size, to the remotest extremities :
and the more minute the ramification, the more com
plete is the supply of nourishment and life to every
part; and the greater is the healthiness and vigour of
the whole. So is it with the Body Politic. The more
minute the subdivision of labour; — the more regular
and complete the gradation of rank, from the highest
to the lowest; — the more entire will be the supply of all
its wants, the more constant and efficient the discharge
of all its functions, and the more sound and firmly-

graced its general constitution.— As the animal body
suffers, to a certain degree, by the want of even the
smallest part, — of a finger, for instance, or a nail, — so
does the political body by the loss of any member that
has served a useful purpose in it, however humble and
subordinate. — We might even stretch the analogy a
little further: for, as the human frame is injured
not by defect only, but also by redundancy, — a§ an
unnatural excrescence not merely mars its beauty and
uniformity, but draws off from the nourishment of its
proper limbs and organs a proportion of the pabulum
vitae; — so may the frame of society be injured by re
dundancy, as well as by defect. Those idle members,
which discharge no active function, and which yield no
return for the nourishment that flows out of its regular
and proper course to sustain them, are unnatural ex
crescences which at once disfigure its fair proportions,
and debilitate its healthful energies.
When, in the animal frame, such an excrescence
has, through neglect or injudicious treatment, in
creased tp an alarming size, a skilful and considerate
surgeon, I should presume, would feel it his duty to
deliberate, whether it would be advisable, at the risk
pf consequences more serious than even the existing
evil, tp extirpate it at once by a bold and hazardous
operation, — or whether it would not be preferable, to

8
attempt, by gentler means, its gradual reduction, and,
by some alterative regimen, to prevent, if possible, its
recurrence. It will, I trust, be sufficiently understood, that those
members of the political body are by no means to be
considered as included in this comparison, who are
willing and desirous to fulfil their respective functions;
but, by particular unavoidable circumstances, are in
capacitated for accomplishing their wishes. — These we
should rather liken to proper members of the natural
body in a state of derangement and disease. They are
members which have a claim to sympathy; to which
may justly be applied the words of inspiration — " whe
ther one member suffer, all the members suffer with it."
Such members it is an incumbent duty, and, under
the proper influence of such sympathy, it will be felt
an act of self-gratification, to relieve and cherish, and,
if possible, to recover to soundness and activity. — But
I cannot pursue the application of this figure, without
anticipating a future part of my subject.
""Whatever judgment we may form, respecting the
soundness of some of the practical inferences deduced
by Mr. Malthus from the great general principles of
his work on population, or even with regard to the
relevancy of some of his proofs and illustrations ; the

principles themselves appear to be successfully estab
lished on the solid foundation, not of mere abstract
theoretical reasoning, but of general experience and
fact. — When we have framed to ourselves a theory,
and have satisfactorily evinced the truth of its element
ary principles, we are in imminent danger, for the sake
of consistency, of pushing the application of it to an
extreme. Attachment to our theory, especially if it be
one that is in any degree original, and the investigation
and establishment of which have cost us unusual pains,
becomes a powerful counter-agent to higher and purer
motives. Even the man of genuine philanthropy may,
by such attachment, be tempted to repress those feelings
which he would otherwise delight in indulging; — to force
himself to a kind of sternness that is not at all natural
to him; — and to harden himself to the admission, and
even to the sturdy defence, of conclusions, from which
his heart inwardly revolts, but which his theory may
seem to necessitate. — On different occasions, Mr.
Malthus expresses his consciousness of this danger, and
his desire to guard himself against it. " I would never
"wish," says he, "to push general principles too far, al-
f( though I think they should always be kept in view."*

* Essay on the principle of population, Vol. II. pages 111, & 397:
Fourth Edition.

10
Yet that Mr. Maltlius, especially in his first Essay, (of
which, in the preface to his mor,e enlarged treatise, he
acknowledges having softened some of the harsher
conclusions) exposed his principles to dislike and to
obloquy, by the repulsive severity of some of his state
ments and illustrations, reasonings, and inferences,
no attentive reader of his work will deny. So much,
indeed, was this the case, that some persons, who felt
themselves constrained, by the imperative force of evi-»
dence, to grant the justness of his leading principles,
were ready to sigh over the conclusion to which they
had been brought, as one that had interfered with the
peace and . comfort of their minds, by darkening their
views of Divine providence, and their prospects of
human improvement.* Of some of his figurative illus
trations particularly, which are conceived and expressed
in a tone of forbidding austerity, undue advantage
has sometimes been taken, to fasten a stigma upon his
principles, if not even upon the character of his mind.
His own unlucky allegory of " Nature's Mighty Feast"
has, I am persuaded, operated more against him than
many an ingenious argument. Times without number
has it been quoted, with ridicule and with disgust, as
* See the Review of Weyland on Population, in the Christian Ob-
servw for Nov. & Dec. 1816; to which the author acknowledges himself
indebted for the suggestion of some of the general views here exhibited.

11
of itself quite sufficient to be the millstone about the
neck of his whole system. Those persons especially
have been indebted to it, who are incapable of separat
ing between the great fundamental principles of a theory^
and the particular illustrations of its expounder: — it
has happily enabled them to explode by a flippant
witticism, what they could not assail by serious argu
ment; and to prevent all candid appeal to the reason
ings of the work which contains it, by producing a pre
vious horror of a system, which must be (as their hearers
Conclude) so inhuman and unnatural. Such passages
of the work as this have been too unmercifully fastened
upon, and reviled, whilst those parts of it have been
too much overlooked, which show the heart of its au
thor to be by no means a stranger to the dictates and
emotions of genuine benevolence.
vIt is not my present object, even if I felt myself
qualified for the task, to enter into any extended and
controversial discussion respecting the principles of
population. I shall only say, that the great principle
which forms the basis of the Malthean system, appears
to be settled by an induction of facts too numerous and
too decisive to be resisted:'— namely, That there is, in
human society, a constant tendency to a redundance,
or excess, of population ; that is, that the progressive
increase of the species, when unrestrained by any checks

12
of a preventive^ and unreduced by any of a positive
nature, will rapidly outrun the productive powers of
the earth to supply the growing numbers with fpod: —
that, in newly discovered countries, for instance, where
there is unlimited territory, abundance of provisions,
and no prudential considerations relative to the future
support of families to restrain from their immediate
formation, the inhabitants will go on, notwithstanding
the ordinary reductions occasioned amongst them by
the execution of the universal sentence of mortality,
doubling their numbers in successive periods of twenty-
five years, or even fewer : — whereas it is utterly incon
ceivable (unless on the supposition of a constant and
growing miracle) that the prolific powers of the soil
could ever be made to keep pace with this perpetually
diverging ratio of increase. It is not at all requisite,
however, at present, that I should attempt to settle
the disputed question as to the precise relative propor
tion between the rate of progress of unchecked popula
tion, and the rate of possible augmentation of the pro
duce ofthe earth; — to determine, whether Mr, Malthus
be right or wrong, in fixing this proportion to be as
that of a geometrical to an arithmetical ratio. It is
quite 'enough, if the one is ascertained, in any very
considerable degree, to exceed the other: — and this, it
seems impossible, on any reasonable grounds, to con*
trovert.

13
v But is not emigration a constant and ready outlet to
a redundant population? This is an inquiry which, on
a first and hasty view of this subject, very naturally
suggests itself. But a moment's reflection is sufficient
to show, that it affords' no satisfactory solution of the
difficulty. Did the problem respect one family, or one
nation only, and that at a time when " the world was
all before them," unoccupiedj and open for their re
ception, the remedy would be complete, and of imme
diate and easy application. But this, it is very obvious,
is a view of the case quite too partial and limited.
The problem relates not to a family, or tribe, or nation,
but to the entire race; not to a particular spot or
district of the earth, as the habitation of a certain de
finite proportion of mankind, but to the whole of its
habitable surface, as the residence of the species. The
same general laws and tendencies must be considered
as prevailing universally, and as having prevailed from
the beginning. And, taking the problem on this com
prehensive scale— (and it is the only just and legitimate
way of taking it;) — supposing the principle of popula
tion maintained in its full pristine vigour, — unrestrained
in its operation by any positive or preventive checks;
all the colonies of mankind which, commencing from
the original family, branch off in rapid succession!,.
continuing to double their numbers in the short period

14
of twenty-five years; — it must at once be manifest, that
in these circumstances, the relief afforded by emigra
tion cannot, from the nature of the case, be more
than temporary. And the mere matter of fact, that
the earth, after the lapse of so many ages, is not yet
over-peopled, is nothing at all to the purpose; because
"the question still remains, whether this has not been
owing to the operation of those checks, which hold sp
prominent a place in the disquisitions of Malthus. A
discerning reader, indeed, will perceive, in examining the
works of his opponents, that, in a considerable portion
of their reasonings ;against the tendency of population
to exceed the means of subsistence, the authors, possi
bly without being themselves aware of it, are speaking,
not of the principle of population as ^completely unre
strained, but as actually under the repressing influence,
in a greater or smaller degree, of those very checks.
v These checks, as has been already hinted, are of two
descriptions. The first, denominated by Mr. Malthus
positive, consists of vice and misery, in all the endless
variety ^of 'forms in which they serve to thin the ranks
of n crowded population. It "includes," says this
writer himself, "every cause, whether arising from vice
"or misery, which in any degree contributes to shorten
" the natural duration of human life. Under this head,
" therefore, may be enumerated all unwholesome oc-

15
" cupations, severe labour, and exposure to tho seasons,
" extreme poverty, bad nursing of children, great towns,
"excesses of all kinds, the whole train of common
" diseases and epidemics, wars, plague, and famine." * —
The second, which he styles preventive, consists simply
in the restraint of natural inclinations, by a prudential
abstinence from marriage, when there does not exist a
reasonable prospect of means to support a rising family.
With regard to the first class of checks, Mr. Mal
thus ought not to be considered as either approving,
recommending, or rejoicing in them. There cannot
be a more unfounded libel, than to represent him,
as " regarding the vices and follies of human nature*
" and their various products of famine, disease and war,
" as benevolent remedies, by which nature has enabled
" human beings to correct the disorders, that would arise
"from that redundance of population which the unre-
" strained operation of her laws would create." f
He simply affirms and establishes the indisputable
facts, that there is a tendency in population, when
free from check, to press upon, and even to go
far beyond, the productive powers of the soil; — and
that, on the other hand, vice and misery do actually,
and powerfully, counterwork this tendency, by taking
* Essay, &c. vol. I. page 19. 4th edition.
f Grahame's Inquiry into the principle of population, pages 101, 102.

16
off the redundance which it occasions. These are
simple matters qf fact, independent of all theory and of
all argumentation. To represent him as maintaining
even the necessity of vice as a check to the progress of
population, is to charge him with what he has nowhere
done. And with regard to the tendency itself now in
question, considered simply as a matter of fact, there
appears to be no difficulty either different in kind or
greater in degree, in reconciling the fact with the wis
dom and goodness of an all-wise and all-gracious Provi
dence, than there is in reconciling with the same views
of Providence the unquestioned and unquestionable
existence of various other evils, inherent bpth in human
v nature and in human society. — It appears to me, indeed,
that the radical error of philosophy, on this, and on some
other similar topics, — an error which branches off into
a great variety of collateral mistakes, and one to which
Mr. Malthus himself has not paid sufficient attention, —
lies in its entirely overlooking the real state and charac
ter of mankind, as a race of apostate and guilty creatures;
and the impossibility of our ever being able decidedly to
ascertain, what the consequences, as to this world, would
have been, if the allegiance of our species to Heaven had
never been broken: — whether successive generations
would have been transplanted to a state of higher and
purer enjoyment, or what other provision would have

17
been made for the accommodation of a perpetually
progressive population, in a state of entire and unin
terrupted happiness. These are speculations, I may be
told, which belong not to philosophy, but to theology;
and the philosopher may dismiss them with a disdainful
smile. But such a smile will not set aside the multifa
rious and cogent evidence of the Divine authority of
the Bible. If Theology says one thing, and Philosophy
another, and truth is on the side of the former, the
former alone is genuine philosophy; unless we choose
to dignify falsehood with this honourable appellation.
Nothing is philosophical that is not true; and surely
truth does not cease to be philosophy, because it hap
pens to be contained in the Bible. The first inquiry
of every ethical Philosopher ought certainly to be, Is
this Book a revelation from God? And, if the question
be decided in the affirmative, all must yield to its author
itative dictation, and every doctrine must be ranked
under " science falsely so called," that does not accord
with its explicit declarations.
Mr. Malthus, so far from feeling any complacency in the
operation of vice and misery, is desirous, as every true
philanthropist must be, that these positive checks should,
as far as possible, be superseded by the preventive, —
that is, by moral restraint. And to mitigate the neces
sity even for the application of it, all accessible means are

18
to be strenuously employed for the extension and improve
ment of agriculture, and the stimulation ofthe ppwers pf
the soil to their utmost degree of productiveness. And,
still further,— in order that, in all cases in which the ap
plication of it does continue necessary, it may be in reality
what he denominates it, " moral restraint," — unaccom
panied with licentiousness and its attendant evils, insti
tutions for the general diffusion of knowledge, of moral
and religious principle, and of consequent virtuous habits,
amongst the inferior orders of the community, form an es
sential part of his practical system.-=— Is it quite fair, then,
to brarid this philosopher and his disciples with hard-
heartedness and inhumanity; — when, in truth, all that
can justly be laid to their charge is, an earnest desire,
as far as it is practicable, (that is, as far as the tendencies
of human nature and of human society will permit,) to
put an end to vice and misery, the deplorable drains
of a teeming population, by the superior influence of
knowledge, and principle, and prudential consideration,
and moral restraint, and agricultural improvement?
Notwithstanding all the harshness of some of Mr.
Malthus's deductions, let it not be supposed that he is
less feelingly alive than his opponents, either to the in
trinsic evil, or to the mischievous consequences, of pre
vailing vice, even when it arises, as he admits it may,
from his own preventive check, applied without the

19
control of virtuous principle. " If this restraint," says
he, "do not produce vice, it is undoubtedly .the least
''evil that can arise from the principle of population.
" Considered as a restraint on a strong natural inciina-
" tion, it must be allowed to produce a certain degree
"of temporary unhappiness; but evidently slight, when
" compared with the evils which arise from any of the
"other checks to population; and merely of the same
(i nature as many other sacrifices of tena.por,ary to per-
" manent gratification, .which it is >the business of a .moral
" agent continually to make.
" When this restraint produces vice, the .evils which
"follow are butitoo conspicuous." A prevailing depar
ture from <the law that " every man should have his own
wife, and every woman her own husband," he then re
presents as " lowering, in -the most marked manner, the
" dignity of human nature. It cannot be without its
" effect on men; and nothing can be more obvious -than
" its tendency to degrade >the female character, and to
"destroy all its most amiable -and distinguishing char-
" acteristics. Add -to which, that among those unfor-
"tunate females with which all great towns abound,
"more real -distress and aggravated misery are to -be
" found, than in any other department of human life.
" When a general corruption of morals of this de-
" scription pervades all the classes of society, its effects

20
" must necessarily be, to poison the springs of domestic
" happiness, to weaken conjugal and parental affection,
" and to lessen the united exertions and ardour of pa*
" rents in the care and education of their children ;
" effects which cannot take place, without a decided
" diminution of the general happiness and virtue of the
" Society." *
It will not surely be considered as a sufficient ground,
or as any ground whatever, for an imputation so serious
and weighty as the want of humanity and compassion,
that Mr. Malthus reprobates, and that strongly, the
system of the English poor laws; or even that he dis
approves of the principle of legal assessments altogether.
A man may do both, and, instead of being destitute of
charity, charitable views may be the principal grounds
of his disapprobation. He may be mistaken; — he may
push his principles to an extravagant length; — but he
need not be hard-hearted.
That the poor-rates in England have, either through
flagrant mismanagement and abuse, or from some
natural and inherent tendency in the system, become
an oppressive evil, of enormous magnitude, " a heavy
burden and grievous to be borne," there are few surely
who will venture to deny. — Before the year 1801, ac-
* Essay, Vol. I. pages 17, 18,

21
cording to the statements of Mr. Malthus, they a-
mounted to j£3,000,000 sterling ; — certainly no incon
siderable sum. During the scarcity which followed in
that year, they mounted to the almost incredible height
of ^10,000,000 ! — Last year, (1816) the amount, I be
lieve, was ,s£l, 000,000 less. Here then we have the sum
of Nine Millions Sterling, raised in England alone, by a
legal assessment, which, in some instances, is stated to
exceed considerably even the rack-rent of the land.
He must be well habituated to bear burdens, who is
not disposed to reckon this amongst them. Yet I am
persuaded, that there is enough of philanthropy in the
breast of John Bull to bear even more than this, were
he fully satisfied that the purposes of benevolence really
require it, and that they are effectually answered by it.
But here lies the rub.
There are many inquiries relative to this subject, of
which, however interesting, I must waive the discus
sion; — into which, indeed, as I am no adept in the
science of pohtical economy, it might be deemed, and
justly deemed, presumption in me to enter ; — and the
due consideration of which, besides, would require a
volume, rather than an evening's Essay.
Does the evil ofthe poor laws, for example, lie in their
principle, or in their abuse? — I am not, for my own part,
convinced, that legal assessment is wrong in its abstract
D

22
principle. If the protecting and fostering care of every
government should extend to all classes of the commu
nity of which it is entrusted with the charge, I confess
myself at a loss to perceive any abstract ground, on
which it can be at once pronounced improper for such
government to make the concerns of the poor one of
the objects of its benignant regard ; or that should ren
der the relief of the distressed and the destitute a more
objectionable purpose of taxation, than many others
that might be named. — But how is the distribution of
this tax* to be confined to such as need and deserve its*
provisions? — to the really destitute and distressed'; — to
those who are willing but unable to labour, or, it may
be, to find occupation for their industry; — to those
whom the late Mr. Whitbread appropriately denomi
nated the " innocently necessitous"? — Does not the
known existence of a legal fund of charity, on which
the poor may confidently depend, operate as a bounty
on pauperism, and augment the evil which it is intended
to alleviate and diminish? — From its being established
by legislative enactment, and on this account apt to be
regarded not so much as charity, but rather as a kind
of allotted and rightful patrimony,— as well as from the
number of known applicants, by whom a man is effec
tually kept in countenance, — does it not tend to break-
the spirit of honourable independence, and to tempt

23
many, -instead of struggling manfully through their
hardships, and putting forth all their energies, of mind
and body, for the support of themselves and their fami
lies, to cower under their difficulties, and. to prefer the
easier method of applying for, and claiming, the pro
vided relief?
It has been alleged by a recent writer in defence of
the poor laws, that their opponents are guilty Of incon
sistency, in ascribing to them the opposite effects, as he
conceives them to be, of a spirit of insolence, and a
spirit of servility :— and from this hedraws the conclu
sion, that they have predetermined to find these . laws
mischievous, and then, setting their wits to work to
shew how they are so, have imputed to them, conse
quences which are quite incompatible with each other.
But the conclusion seems to be as hasty as it is severe.
Js it inconceivable, that the operation of this system
should be different on minds of different temperaments
and characters? — inspiring some with insolence, and
some with servility? — Nay, more: I am inclined to
think that, both the feelings, although apparently oppo
site, are perfectly capable of co-existence, even in the
same bosom. There may be pert and forward insolence
displayed in the act of claiming charity, and yet a
mean and pitiful spirit of dependence and servility
may b.e generated or fostered by tlie act of receiving it.

24
The tendencies to abuse, besides, are so many, and
so various; — arising from the very extent of the con-
pern,— from the self-interest of its numerous adminis
trators, — and from the irresistible temptation which it
holds out to the indolent and the profligate, to the
practice of the multifarious arts of imposture; — that,
supposing the principle to be correct, such abuse
appears to be hardly, if at all, avoidable. — It is a
maxim proverbially current,— that the abuse of any
thing is no valid argument against the use of it. The
general justness of the saying I mean not to ques
tion. But there is one obvious case of exception to its
truth. If the tendency of any existing system to abuse
be particularly strong, and if from the abuse of it evils
are found to arise of greater magnitude than from the
want of it altogether; — in such circumstances, the abuse
becomes a forcible and conclusive argument for its
abolition. According to Mr. Malthus, the poor laws tend to
foster the evil of a redundant population, and thus tp
augment the sum of starvation and wretchedness, be
cause, by holding out to a man the prospect of getting
his family off his hands if he himself should be unable
to maintain it, they lessen the inducements to that
prudential restraint from marriage, which constitutes
his preventive check. And it is curious to remark.

25 -
how some of his opponents, while they exclaim against
the harshness and the licentious tendency of this prin
ciple of prudential restraint, are at times, perhaps
inadvertently, constrained to affirm its propriety. Thus,
for instance, Mr. Weyland; — "I venture to assert,
" as a general proposition, that, in a well-constituted
" and industrious community, every man who chuses
*' it may marry, without prejudice to the state, as soon
?' as he can procure a decent habitation, and perceives
f a fair probability that the regular fruits of his exer-
?' tions will enable him to maintain a wife and two
" children at the least." — Thus, too, a more recent
author : — " It is not by mere animal propagation that
" the law of increase is obeyed. To have voluntarily
" become to any being the occasion of its existence,
" produces an obligation to render that existence hap-
" py. Only the letter of the law is observed, and the
" spirit of it is disregarded, by him who does not pro-
" portion his exertions to cherish and support, to the
" increase of the members whom he renders dependent
" on his virtues. Whosoever shall refuse to support
" his own family, is pronounced to be " worse than an
" infidel." He, of course, is very little better, who
" rears a family which he knows with certainty that he
" cannot support, or which he intends to desert. He
" has no right, voluntarily to render his marriage a

26
.<" tax upon others, — to encumber other men with his
¦" children, — and so far to disable them from maintain-
<" ing their own." *
Now, what is all this, but the very principle of moral
restraint, inculcated by Mr. Malthus? — And if the poor
laws operate in preventing the practice of this salutary
restraint, they tend, according to the admissions thus
distinctly made, to promote an evil,-r-the evil of a de
pendent population, a population that is a tax upon
others, and a burden to the community.
Laboured eulogies of the marriage state, and con
temptuous revilings of celibacy, are therefore, on this
subject, entirely gratuitous and irrelevant. Mr. Malthus,
no doubt, from that propensity to exaggerate on the
sjde of his system, which is common to him with all sup
porters of a favourite hypothesis, does allow himself at
times to run tp a somewhat ludicrous extreme, in con
testing, in certain circumstances, the palm of advantage
to society, between the respectable matron and the ne
glected old maid ; yet he is no more to be considered
as an enemy to matrimony and a friend to celibacy,
than those opponents who make the above admissions.
Let such admissions be acted upon in general practice,
and all that he requires will be done. His object is, to
* Grahame, pages 86, 87.

27
redeem a single life from undiscriminating obloquy and
derision, and to impress the public mind with the salu
tary conviction, that there is more respectability and
honour in a state of virtuous celibacy, than in a state
of starving and dependent matrimony. Surely the
prevalence of such a conviction is infinitely better calcu
lated to promote the comfort and happiness both of
individuals and of the community, than the universal
adoption of the following principle, advanced by the
same writer, from whom I have just quoted a paragraph
so much in unison with Mr. Malthus's moral restraint:
" The well-being of Society," says Mr. Grahame^
" plainly requires, that the degree of forethought and
" caution, which every one should exercise before in-
" troducing a family, into the commonwealth, should
" decrease in proportion to the lowness of his class in
" society; that is, that the caution which begets reluc-
" tance to produce a family should be strongest where
" there is most ability to rear a family, and should de-
" crease in proportion as this ability becomes narrower."*
— I am almost afraid, that I may be misapprehending
the author's meaning; because I feel at a loss to per
ceive the consistency between this sentiment and that
contained in the other passage referred to.
* Inquiry into the principle of population, page 92.

28
Nothing can show more strikingly the inefficiency
ofthe poor laws, and the justness ofthe sentiment, that
it is not the expenditure of sums of money, however
large, that will remedy pauperism and its attendant
evils, than the simple fact, that, in addition to the enor
mous product of the legal assessment, a sum, larger, one
should think, than might suffice for all the purposes of
charity together, is raised in England, for work-houses,
Hospitals, Asylums of various descriptions, and the
distributions of personal benevolence; a sum not less,
according to some calculations, than five or six millions
sterling; — making a prodigious total of fourteen or fif
teen millions, expended on charitable objects. This, in
the mind of a stranger, when he thought only of such
a sum being oestowed, might well stamp the char
acter of the English, as surely the most benevolent and
liberal people on earth; — but it would fearfully sink his
estimate both of the condition and the character of the
population, if peradventure he should draw the very
natural conclusion, that a sum so immense was actually
needed. But the experience of England seems fully to war
rant the observation so frequently made, that, by the
encouragement which they present to reliance on pa
rochial aid, and, as the native consequences of such
reliance, to inconsideration, imprudence, and waste, to

29
indolence and the debasing spirit of dependence, such
laws tend, instead pf remedying or alleviating the evil,
to increase it a hundred fold. — According to the state
ments which have passed without contradiction in the
House of Commons, the number of individuals receiving
relief, in a greater or smaller degree, from the poor's
funds, is not less than two millions and a half! And, as
the whole population of England and Wales does not
exceed ten millions, we have thus the melancholy and
revolting spectacle, of every fourth Englishman subsisting,
in whole or in part, upon alms! — Surely we cannot be
too vigilantly jealous of the encroachments of a system,
which has thus, before our eyes, developed its deplor
able tendencies. Surely our safest course, (to adopt the
homely phrase, so amusingly amplified by an able and
eloquent member of this Society, in an Essay we had
some time ago the pleasure of hearing on the same
subject,*) will be, to keep, if possible, out ofthe scrape.
It is certainly much easier to keep out, than to get out;-^
much easier to prevent, than to remedy. When the
evil has grown to so portentous a magnitude as in Eng
land, it must at once be obvious, that the instantaneous
abolition of it is out of the question. The withdraw-
ment all at once of a sum so immense from the multi-
* The Bev. Dr. Chalmers.
E

80
tude of individuals and families that have depended
upon it for their partial or entire support, would pro
duce an amount of immediate and unavoidable mis
ery, from the very fancy of which the heart shrinks
back with dread and horror : and it would be equally
unjust, unmerciful, and impolitic, to think for an instant
of attempting such a measure- The schemes, accord
ingly, which even the most determined opposers of the
English poor laws have proposed for their abolition,
have been constructed on the principle, of working
out their effect by a gradual, and, as far as attainable,
an unfelt operation. — These schemes I cannot now
discuss. *
* It will readily be imagined, that amongst two millions and a half of
recipients of public charity, there must be many cases that are far from
being really necessitous. I was informed lately, on the authority of
a gentleman from Manchester, that in that town, and in Preston,,
an expedient had'been adopted, which had had the immediate effect of
reducing the poor's rate to an almost incredible degree. The expedient
was, publishing in a list the names of the receivers. Conscience, it
should seem, was not quite seared, nor the " blushes of ingenuous
shame" entirely " quenched," amongst the crowd of unworthy applicants;
so that, immediately on their names being given to the public, a prodi
gious number shrunk from a renewal of their application. Perhaps this-
simple practical hint, which appeals to the principles of honour, and
shame, and justice, if prudently applied, (for there is a possibility, as I
shall notice in a subsequent part of this Essay, of pressing such an
appeal to a harsh extreme,) might operate more extensively and effec
tually, than the most laboured and nicely calculated schemes of re
duction.

31
If we are desirous, instead of deteriorating and de
basing, to ameliorate and exalt, the character of a com
munity, and thus to enhance the sum enjoyed by it of
personal and social happiness, our first aim, and our
unceasing exertion, beyond all question, ought to be,
to promote, by every practicable means, the universal
diffusion of education amongst the inferior orders; to
infuse into all their breasts the high-toned principles
of honourable independence; to inculcate and encourage
the habits of industry, providence, and economy; and
to teach and impress the great general lessons of re
ligion and christian morality. We should seek to
spread the practical conviction among the common
people, that, while it is every man's duty, every man will
find it to be also his interest, to bring into exercise all
his capabilities, tp preserve himself and his family from
a state either of entire or of partial dependence; — that
this should be, with them all, the point qf honour; — that,
in a country where the profession of Christianity is almost
universal, the apostolic admonitions, so strongly and
pointedly expressed, should be seriously pondered; —
" This we commanded you, that, if any would not
" work, neither should he eat." * — " If any man pro-
* I am perfectly satisfied, that Mr. Grahame and others are entirely
wrong, in interpreting this text as if it exclusively referred to the case of
public teachers of Christianity. It is true that the Apostle adduces his own

32
" vide not for his own, and especially for those of his
" own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse
" than an infidel." f
In the history of our own part of the Island, ac-r
cording to Fletcher of Saltoun, not much more than a
century has elapsed, since it abounded in mendicity and
its attendant disorders and miseries, to a degree hardly
credible : — and the happy change which has since taken
place, and which has raised Scotland to the distinguish
ed honour, (would to God that it were even much
more merited than it is !) of being pointed to by all our
Southern orators and authors on this department of
political economy, as an example of sobriety, industry,
intelligence, and general morality, among the peasantry
and artisans, has been imputed, and, although other
causes may have co-operated, in a very considerable
degree justly imputed, to the national system of par
ochial education, instituted about the very time refer-
ed to, when the better instruction -of the youth was
pronounced by Fletcher to be peculiarly neces
sary.
example, as an example of disinterested and laborious industry. But the
example was not intended merely for ministers, but to shame certain idly
inclined members ofthe Thessalonian church; respecting their conduct
to whom, for the purpose of reclaiming them from their evil habits, he
gives their christian brethren his inspired directions; of which the mai(-
im here quoted forms apart. See the whole Context, 2 Thess. iii. 6— -\5.
f 1 Tim. v. 8.

According to the accounts of Lord Castlereagh and
Others, the condition of the Irish peasantry is far from
being so very wretched as, in this country, we have been
accustomed to suppose. It is sometimes represented as
even considerably superior to that of the same descrip
tion of persons in the richest counties of England. —
" When Mr. Curwen first visited Ireland, and saw the
" wretched Irish Cabins, with the smoke issuing
" through the door, he turned away with feelings of
" disgust: but when he did enter, he found a surprising
" revolution, and the least looked for . that could be
" imagined. . He saw, within the place, the exercise of
" all the affections of the heart, while potatoes were the
" only food, and butter-milk the only luxury. He
" thought the Irish peasant decidely happier than the
" English pauper. The poor Irishman did not appear
" broken in spirit, or degraded. He had travelled a
" thousand miles in that country, making observations,
" wherever he went, on the condition of the poorer
" classes;, and he was convinced, that nothing was so
" dangerous to the poor as pauperism." *
" Their food," says Lord Castlereagh, " may be of a
" coarser kind, and they may have less the appearance of
" ease and art; but they enjoy health, and acquire
» British Critic ; Account of Mr. Curwen's speech on the poor laws.

34,
" strength, from the food on which they live, and the
" exertions to which they are inured. You trace in
(i them a thankfulness of temper, and a dignity of char-.
" acter, which cannot exist in a country, where the
" qualities of the people are destroyed, or broken down,
" by dependence, and the degradation of applying for
" individual relief. There, where there is no legal
" provision for the support of indigence, every one de*
" pends on himself, or on the kindness of his friends
" and neighbours. Their independence constitutes
"their enjoyment; a general aspect of happiness and
" good humour is observable; individual charity is
" awakened to relieve individual distress; and general
** benevolence and self-esteem, render their character
*' respectable."* Making every reasonable allowance for the colour
ing of such statements, arising from natural partiality
both to country and to argument, as well as from fond*
ness for a pretty picture, we must, I should presume,
admit them to be substantially true. And although
to a stranger there appears, in the towns and villages,
and on the public roads, of Ireland, an unusual profu
sion of wretched mendicants ; all that can legitimately
be inferred from this is, that the mere absence of a
* Quoted in the British Critic for March, 1817.

system of poor laws will not, of itself, destroy pauper
ism. Who is so foolish as to expect that it should? —
that the mere want of a legal assessment should entirely
counteract the influence of other sources of the evil, —
such, for example, as degrading ignorance, and ifee most
abject and enthralling superstition? No one is so senseless
as to affirm, that pauperism is the product of poor laws
alone, or, consequently, that the abolition of poor laws
alone will effect, in despite of all its other causes, the
entire destruction of pauperism. I ani well persuaded,
however, that the introduction of a legal assessment into
Ireland, similar to that of England, would, in a very
short period, instead of alleviating, add a hundred fold
to the sufferings of thai long-neglected and ill-fated
country. — A system is -now in active and extending
operation there, — a system of general education, and of
religious and moral instruction, by the establishment of
schools for both the English and Irish languages, by
the circulation of the Bible, by the preaching of the
Gospel, and by the distribution of Tracts;* — which,
under the smile and blessing of heaven, promises to be
productive of most essential and permanent benefit.
The short trial that has been made of it, confirms and
* See the Reports of the Hibernian School Society, the Hibernian,
Bible Society, the Irish Evangelical Society, and the Religious Tract
Society.

36
enlarges all the previous calculations of theory, and
deductions from more general experience. Those fine
materials, which have so long lain rude and uncultivated))
will by and by, we may confidently expect, be worked
up into a charming national character; and " many a
" gem of purest ray serene" will be brought forth, in
all its native brilliancy, to admiration and to use, that
has hitherto been buried in " the dark unfathomed
caves" of ignorance and superstition.
Few things can be more delightful, than to witness^
amongst the labouring classes of society, the principles
of industry, frugality, and independence, in full active
operation. The sight of so much snug and tidy comfort
as is frequently enjoyed, under the auspicious influence
of these principles, even on means comparatively slender
and inadequate, at once exhilarates the heart, and effec
tually commands respect and admiration. — Let it be ad
mitted, then, as beyond all dispute, that the most efficient^
and, in every point of view, the most desirable way of
lessening and preventing the evils of pauperism, is,, the
general infusion into the minds of the people, of cor
rect principles of conduct, as well as of just, and manly,-
and christian views of their own true interest and hap
piness. Let every thing be done that possibly can be
done ; — let every practicable method be adopted, and
vigorously and perseveringly prosecuted, to accomplish

37
this first and highest qf objects: — and let every thing
/he .sedulously avoided, that would, in any way, tend to
impede tne progress pf good principles, or tp engender
^nd to cherish such as are ;bad.
But, when we have done the utmost that lies in our
power, for the diffusion of knowledge and of principle;
however successful the efforts may be in reducing the
evil, we must not indulge the extravagant and Utopian
expectation pf entirely doing it away. We may ex
pect the .wQ^ds pf Moses to the Jews to be, in a greater
or less degree, verified in every community:—" The
"poor .shaU never cease put of the land." There will
atill present themselves, to engage the exercise of a
benevolent ,and liberal sympathy, ,the sick, the aged,
the infirm, the blind, the disabled by the numberless
casualties pf human life, — with other objects of a similar
description. The claims of such, indeed, it is not ne
cessary -to defend; for they are not disputed. The
point chiefly to be considered is, whether, amongst the
proper objects pf, charity we should mc\\xo\e. the poor ; —
who are neither sick, nor old, nor infirm, nor blind,
nor maimedj but who, from other peculiar circumstanc-
;es, are unable to earn a livelihood for themselves and
their families.. T&ey are more properly denominated
fhe indigent; for poverty, being a relative term, maybe
predicated of many who are npt in indigence; — which
F

38
always implies such a deficiency of the necessary means
of healthful subsistence, as requires, although in various
degrees, to be supplied by the bounty of others.
Of those who are relieved by benevolent- Associations^
there is comparatively a small proportion that are sim
ply of this description; whose indigence is not associat
ed with one Or more of those other claims on our
sympathy which have been enumerated, and which are
admitted to be legitimate. It is important to notice
this, because it ascertains the limits of our argument;
and serves to show, that the extent of the difference
between those who object to such associations, and those
who approve of them, is far from being so wide, as
many, on a superficial view of the subject, are'ready to
apprehend. The discussion, then, regards the relief of those who
are simply indigent. And the first question respecting
them obviously ought to be, whether they are proper
objects of relief at all. Till this point has been decide
ed; nothing could be' more preposterous than a contros-
versy about the most eligible method of relieving them.
If they are not legitimate objects of liberality at all, it
is worse than idle to speak of leaving them to the
exercise of private charity; for, on this supposition,
private charity could not with propriety be bestowed^
any more than public. Charity of every description
ought to be withheld.

39
In endeavouring to settle this question, it is readily
admitted, that, if relief is at all imparted, it should
only be in cases of pressing exigency, and, at the same
time, with the utmost delicacy and caution; — that, as
there is a danger of breaking the spirit of honourable
independence, (the most essential injury that could be
done either to the individual or to the community,)
every thing ought to be avoided, which it is possible
to avoid, in the mode of administering the -bounty, that
might tend to lower the tone, and to impair the future
energies, of this noble and invaluable principle.
Still, however, it is an obvious truth, that these poor
labourers cannot control the events of Providence: —
they cannot command the rain to fall, or the sun to
shine, at their pleasure : — they cannot arrest the arm of
Omnipotence, when it is stretched out to afflict the na
tions, and say to the Sovereign Ruler, " What doest
Thou?" And even supposing, for the sake of argument,
that those national distresses, from which, at any time,
their personal and family exigencies have arisen, have
been owing to the impolitic and ruinous measures ofthe
government of their country, still, might we not turn
the eye of compassion on the suffering artisans, and say,
" As for these sheep, what have they done?" The evil
has not been oftheir operation: — they could not prevent
it; they cannot remedy it. — When times of general

40
embarrassment and affliction, then, do, in the course
of providence, occur ;— when the staff of bread is brok*
en; When the outlets of mercantile speculation and in-^
dustry are blocked up ; when glutted markets, and the
cessation of demand, produce depreciation in the value
of all descriptions of manufacture; when the wages of
labour are proportionally reduced, and many hands are
deprived of profitable employment ; when a low price
of labour unites with a high price of provisions j and
when the working classes are necessarily involved in
deep and accumulated distress:— in these circumstances,
(and experience, alas ! has taught us that they are hot
imaginary) what can industry, and economy^ and in
dependence do? — -Suppose the virtues of activity and
of saving put upon their utmost stretch; —if the com
pensation of labour be so depressed, that all the bodily
powers must be tasked and strained,- and nature must
be exhausted ' by rising early and sitting late, to earn
the miserable pittance of a shilling a day, on which a
young and numerous family is to be fed, and clothed?
and educated: — if corporeal toil is to be most fatiguing^
and mental anxiety most distracting and wearing out,
just at the very time when there exists an Unavoidable
want of that nourishment which is requisite to' supply"
the waste of the animal frame, and to recruit and in*
vigorate the enervated mind:— 'what ea» the' poor man

41
then make of his spirit of manly independence, and of
active and honourable industry? The spirit of inde
pendence will not satisfy the cravings of a hungry fam
ily; and of what avail is the spirit of industry, unless it
has some field of profitable exertion? These principles,
it is true, must always render him respectable ; and in
such circumstances, respeet may justly rise even to
veneration: — but has riot the poor man, ori this very
account, the more imperious claim on oUr compassion
and sympathy, that he is reluctant to stoop from his
independerice, and anxious to push his way through,
and to weather the storm? And shall the very grounds
on which our pity is due be made the reasons for with-
holdirig our relief? — Is there no possibility of our urg
ing this principle of independence to an extreme ?— of
making it assume, for example, the form of a stubborn
and unsubmissive pride ?— or of allowing a man, through1
the excess of its delicate operation, to do essential in
jury to the health arid Well-being pf himself and his
family, before he will bring himself to let his riecessities
be known, and appear in the mortifying capacity of a
receiver of charity? — I paint no merely imaginary pic
ture, when I set before you a poor labourer, himself
famished to a Walking spectre, gazing, in speechless
agony, on the emaciated wife of his bosom, and on his
tyretched infant, drawing from the empty breast, with

4S
the piteous cries of disappointed eagerness, the red
blood, instead of the rich and wholesome nutriment of
nature; while the imploring cries of his elder children
for bread, when there is none to give, wring his heart
with intolerable, anguish. Is there, then, I repeat, no
danger of pushing this principle, confessedly good in
itself, to an unwarrantable and unmerciful extreme ?
Is there no danger of winding up the spring, till it is
snapt asunder by a bursting heart ? — Whilst we admire
and venerate the principle, that will suffer, and suffer
much and long, before it will complain.; yet surely some
caution an.d delicacy should be observed, in subjecting
it to experiment, — in trying how far it will go, — what
degree pf pressure it will bear; — unless we are willing
to stand by, and to see fellow-creatures, under its over..
strained exercise, sink into the grave, the victims of
starvation and heart-break, rather than utter a com
plaint, or present an application for aid; — and to have
the pleasing reflection on our consciences, of having
been art apd part in this description of honourable
suicide. In pleading for the relief of labourers who have been
reduced to indigence by circumstances over which they
could exercise no preventive control, and who are, on
this ground, as fairly entitled to sympathy, as the sick,
the old, the blind, or the casually disabled, I am happy

4-3
in being supported by the high authority of Mr. Malthus
himself:—" In the great course of human events," says
he, " the best-founded expectations will sometimes be
"disappointed; and industry, prudence, and virtue not
" only fail of their just reward, but be involved in un-
" merited calamities. Those who are thus suffering irt
" spite of the best directed efforts to avoid it, and from
" eauses= which they could not be expected to foresee;
" are the genuine objects of charity. In relieving these,
" we exercise the appropriate office of benevolencej
" that of mitigating the partial evils arising from gen^-
" eral laws; and, in this direction of our charity, there-
'• fore, we need not apprehend any ill consequences.
" Such objects ought to be relieved, according to our
"means, liberally and adequately, even though the
" Worthless were starving." *
o
Again: — " I have already observed, however, and I
" here repeat it, that the general principles on these
" subjects ought not to be pushed too far, though they
" should always be kept in view; and that many cases
" may occur, in which the good resulting from the re-
" fief of the present distress, may more than overbalance
" the evil to be apprehended from the remote conse-
« quence. All relief in instances of distress, not arising
* Essay, Vol. II. page 360.

44
•*' from indolent and improvident habits, clearly comes*
•*' undpr this description : and in general it may be
u observed, that it is only -that fkind of systematic and
"certain relief, on which <the poor can confidently de-
*• pend, whatever may ,be their -conduct, that violates
" general principles in such a manner, as to make it
" clear that the /general consequence is worse than the
" particular evil." *
In justice to Mr. Malthus -and to my subject, I must
add liere his views respecting pur charity to the indolent
and improvident themselves: — " When this first claim
•" on our benevolence was satisfied, we might then turn
" our attention to the ijdle and improvident. 5utihe
¦*' interests of human ihappiness most cleariy require,
" that the relief which we afford thetn should be scanty.
" We may, perhaps, take upon ourselves, with gueat
"caution, to mitigate the punishments which they are
*' suffering from the laws. of nature, but on no account
-«' to -remove them entirely. They are deservedly at the
" bottom in the scale of society; and if we raise .them
" from this situation, we not only palpably defeat the
" ends of 'benevolence, but commit a most glaring in-
-*« justice to those who are above them. They should
•** on no account be enabled to command sp much of
• Essay, Vol. II. pages 397, 39S.

45
" the necessaries of life as can be obtained by the worst-
" paid common labour. The brownest bread, with the
" coarsest and scantiest apparel, is the utmost which
" they should have the means of purchasing."*
The inquiry now remains,-=-ira what way are the in
digent to be relieved ?
Suppose it admitted, on the ground both of reason
and of experience, that legal assessment, or exacted
¦provision for the poor, has an unfavourable tendency; —
that, in consequence of the poor looking to it, and.
depending upon it, as a matter of right, it operates in
the way of a direct bounty on pauperism, and thus
augments the mischief which it is intended to remedy : — >
suppose this admitted, what will follow? Are the ne
cessitous poor to be neglected entirely? — Or are they
to be left to the exclusive care and attention of private
personal' benevolence ? I dismiss the first supposition,
as one from which every mind that is informed by the
Bible, and every heart that is influenced by its merciful
principles, or that is at all alive to the common sensi
bilities of huirianity, must alike revolt: — and request
your attention to some of the consequences which ap
pear naturally to result from the practical adoption of
the second; — that is, from leaving the poor to the
operation of personal charity alone.
» Essay, Vol. II. pages 61, 62.^
G

46
In the first place: Ninety-nine in the hundred of
those who give, either would not have leisure, or would
not take it, to examine carefully into the circumstances,
and characters, and habits, of those to whom they ad
ministered relief. Every day's observation of the ge
neral exercise of individual charity may suffice to satisfy
us of the truth of this.
Secondly: The most truly necessitous and deserving
would be most in danger of neglect and oversight, be
cause less clamorous and less importunate than others.
Thirdly: It would frequently happen, that the same
case of distress would be relieved by the bounty of
twenty or more individuals; whilst other cases, equally
worthy, or even more so, received perhaps from one
only, or did not receive at all. There would be rio
regularity, no proportion.
Fourthly : In this way, idleness and profligacy would
very often obtain the relief that is due to industrious
and virtuous,, but modest and unassuming indigence;—
indigence that shrinks, with delicate reserve, from
public observation, and is " ashamed to beg."
It is curious to observe, how extremes frequently
meet; and how plans, in their nature opposite, termi
nate in the same result. Exacted assessment, and a
claim on the part of the poor to a fund provided for
them by law, are considered, and justly considered, as

47
encouraging idleness, improvidence, and extravagance.
The opposite extreme, by rendering the exercise pf
charity, in a great proportion of instances, necessarily
hasty, indiscriminate, and partial, gives rise, in a differ
ent way, to the very same evils.
Let me now suppose a benevolent individual, whose
feeling heart melts over the sufferings of the poor, and
whose hand and purse are as open as his heart, but
who is sensible of the great importance of administering
his charity with proper discrimination.— Under the
strength of this impression, he says to a friend, in whose
sagacity and prudence, as well as fidelity and kindly
dispositions, he has found reason to place confidence : —
f I find, my friend, that I am quite unable to command
the leisure necessary for making that inquiry into the
circumstances of the poor, which is indispensable to
their judicious supply. I feel myself, in multitudes pf
cases, in danger of being imposed upon, and conse
quently -of doing more harm than good. Y°u have
time and opportunity, humanity, prudence, and .zeaL
Take this small sum; — be my almoner; — and let me
know when it is exhausted." — Would this be wrong?
Would it not be only personal benevolence adopting
a prudent and effectual method of at once effecting the
good which it wishes to do, and shunning the evil which
it justly apprehends ? So far from being reprehensible,

48
would not such procedure be rather laudable and de
serving of imitation ?
Let me, then, extend the same supposition a little
further. Suppose not one only, but a number of gen
erous givers, influenced by the very same considera
tions, should intrust their bounty not to one only, but
to a number of faithful distributors, who are disposed
to spare the necessary time, and to bestow the necessary
labour. Does this at all alter the nature of the thing ?
Does that which was right and praise-worthy in the
case of the individual, become wrong and blame-worthy
in the case of the number of individuals ? Is it not
still, neither more nor less than private benevolence
pursuing the attainment of its end in a discreet and
secure way?
Yet this is a Benevolent Society. — And what
more, then, are such institutions, than simply channels
in which the streams of individual bounty may most
effectually, (that is, with the largest measure of real
blessing, and the smallest portion of accompanying evil,)
arrive at their destination; — to cheer and to fertilize
the barren and parched wastes of penury and wretched
ness? The principal objection which I have heard offered
to this apparently simple and conclusive reasoning, is,
that all such institutions are to a certain degree charge-.

49
able with the great evil of legal assessments, or poor's
rates ; namely, that they come to be depended Upon by
the poor; and that every thing'on which they so depend,
and previously calculate, apart from their own industry
and "labour, operates as an encouragement to idleness
and thriftlessness.
In reply to this objection, with which I am far from
being disposed to trifle, let the following considerations
be weighed: —
In the first place : — If we adopt the principle that we
are to do no good till we have discovered a way in
which it may be accomplished without the possibility of
any abuse, or of any measure of accompanying evil,
very little, I fear, must be done. — In the present state
of human nature and of human society, it is too much
to expect any extensive exercise of benevolence, with
out some undue advantage being taken of it by the ill-
disposed, and the artful. — It is true that such Societies
may at times be imposed upon. Under the administra
tion of imperfect creatures, every institution must ne
cessarily partake of the imperfection of its administra
tors. But it ought to be recollected, that, when we
urge the extensive practice of private beneficence, we
inculcate what must, from the nature of the thing, be
liable to much more easy and frequent imposition.

50
Secondly: — The funds of a benevolent Society are
supplied by voluntary contribution ; — and the disburse
ment of these funds is entirely at the discretion of those
fo whose management they are intrusted. — No person,
therefore, can come .upon them with any claim, or
assert the smallest right to any portion of them ; no more
than he can assert such a right to the contents of the
private purses of those by whose benevolence they have
been furnislied. And, as the poor are previously aware
that their characters and situations must, in all respects,
be thoroughly investigated, before they can obtain the
wanted relief, impostors must, in proportion as this is
the case, be the less likely to offer themselves as appli
cants. Thirdly: — Besides this check upon application to
the funds, there exists in all such institutions an addi
tional check upon their management, calculated to
prevent both wilful abuse and careless distribution.
The funds being exclusively supplied by voluntary
charity, whenever the managers of the stock relax the
diligence and fidelity of their inquiries, and throw open
their treasury to unworthy objects, the confidence of
the public will be shaken and withdrawn, and the
means will consequently be taken out of their hands.—
Such Associations, therefore, are guarded by a double
check; — a check to improper application for relief on

51
the one hand, and a check to the unfaithful use of the
bounty committed to their trust, on the other.
Fourthly: — Objectors to such Institutions may be
reminded, that not only is personal charity, the liberal
exercise of which they recommend, more liable,- as al
ready noticed, to imposition ; but it is also liable to the
very same danger of being looked to, and confided in,
by the poor. Were this virtue reduced to practice on
any thing like a liberal and systematic plan, every be-=
nevolent individual would, of course, have his own set
of pensioners, his own little circle of charitable distri
bution, within which the evil complained of would, to
some extent or other, infallibly take place. The char
ity of individuals would be trusted to as well as the
charity of Associations ; and the degree of evil thence
arising would be likely to be the greater, in proportion
as the probability of detecting imposture would be
less. On the whole; since the present state of human
nature and of human society preclude the possibility
of effecting any large measure of good without some
alloy of evil, — the problem, on this as on other sub
jects, comes to be — How may we accomplish the greatest
proportion qf the good, with the least proportion qf the
accompanying evil? And in seeking the practical
solution of this problem, I am strongly inclined to b*

52
of opinion, that Benevolent Associations fonh a
highly eligible medium between exacted assessment ori
the one hand, and undis criminating and desultory per
sonal charity on the other.
To illustrate and impress the advantages of such
Institutions, I gladly avail myself (although at more
than the risk of suffering eclipse) ofthe fervid eloquence
of a preacher, whom I need not name, as his peculiar
style will at once discover him. In making the follow
ing quotation, however, I must premise, that it is solely
with the view of illustrating the benefits of association.
I am perfectly sensible, and I wish my hearers to be so
too, that, as the Discourse from which the Extract is
taken was preached for the benefit of a Society for
the relief of the destitute sick, the preacher (to whom
no one that knows him will impute any deficiency of
benevolence) is not at all inconsistent with himself, in
withholding his countenance from Institutions of which
the avowed design is the relief of the simply destitute,
or rather, which include such amongst the objects of
their beneficence :
" You have all heard of the division of labour ; and
" I wish you to understand, that the advantages of this
" principle may be felt, as much in the operations of
" charity, as in the operations of trade and manufac-
" tares. The work of beneficence does not lie in the

53
" orie act of giving money. There iriust be the act oi
" attendance; there must be the act of inquiry; there
" must be the act of judicious application. But I can
" conceive that an individual may be so deficient in the
" varied experience and attention, which - a work so
" extensive demands, that he may retire in disgust and
" discouragement from the practice of charity alto-
" gether; The institution of a Society such as this,
" saves this individual to the cause. It takes upon it-
" self all the subsequent acts of the work and labour of
" love* and restricts his part to the mere act of giving
" money. It fills the middle space between the dis^-
" pensers and the recipients of charity. The habits of
" many who now hear me may disqualify them for the
" work of examination. They may have no time foi*
" it; they may live at a distance from the objects ; they
" may neither know how to introduce, nor how to con-
" duet themselves in the management of all the details ;
" their want of practice and of experience may disable
" them from the work of repelling imposition. They
" should try to gain the necessary habits; it is right
" that every individual among us should, each in his
" own sphere, consider the poor, and qualify himself
" for a judicious and discriminating charity. But in
" the mean time, the Society for the relief of the desti-
" tute sick is an instrument ready made to our hands.
H

54*
" Avail yourselves of this instrument immediately,' atJj
" by the easiest part of the exercise of charity, which is*
" to give money, you carry home to the poor all the*
" benefits of its most difficult exercises. The expe-
" rience which you want, the members of this laudable
" Society are in possession of. By the work and ob-
" servation of years, a stock of practical wisdom is now
" accumulated among them. They have been long
"inured to all that, is loathsome and discouraging in-
" this good work; and they have nerve and hardihood,
" and principle, to front it. They are every way
"qualified to be the carriers of your bounty, for it is a-
" path they have long trodden in. Give the money,-
" and these conscientious men will soon bring it into
" contact with the right objects. They know the way
" through all the obscurities of this metropolis, and
" they can bring the offerings of your charity to people
" whom you will never see, and into houses which you-
" will never enter. It is not easy to conceive, far less.
" to compute, the extent of human misery: but these.
" men can give you experience for it. They can show
" you their registers of the sick and the dying; they.
" are familiar with disease, in all its varieties, of faint-
" ness, and breathlessness, and pain. — Sad union ! they
" are called to witness it in conjunction with poverty ;.
" and well do they know, that there is an eloquence in.

55
" the imploring looks of these; helpless poor, which no
f« description can set before you.— Oh ! my brethren,
(' figure to yourselves the calamity in all its soreness,
fl and measure your bounty by the actual greatness of
*?' the claims, and not by the. feebleness of their advo-
* eate." *
The iplan of benevolent, associations, besides being
proved, by reason and experience, to possess the pe
culiar advantages already enumerated, appears to me
to have the decided sanction pf the Scriptures, in the
original constitution of the Christian ^Church. — I am
aware, indeed, of its being; a prevalent opinion, that,
in the first Christian Society at Jerusalem, the property
of all the members was thrown into a common stock,
and that out of this stock all connected with the So
ciety,:— individuals and families, — were regularly -main
tained. I more than question, however, if any such
thing as thjs common stock ever existed. It is true,
the language of the historian appears, in one place, to
give it some measure of countenance and plausibility;!
but a comparison of a variety of expressions and oc
currences in the narrative makes it, I think, sufficiently
* Sermon preached before the Destitute Sick Society in Edinburgh,
,1-813, by the Rev. Dr. Chalmers. •)• Acts ii. 44, .45.

56
clear, that, while a great deal of property was sold for
charitable uses, and thrown into the treasury of the
Church, no one. was under any obligation to do so;
and that the historian means no more, than that all the
members considered their worldly property as a com
mune bonum, holding it as stewards for the general
benefit, and freely parting with it, as circumstances
required, and as principle and inclination dictated.
Indeed it is altogether inconceivable, that by the
daily ministration mentioned in the history,* can be in
tended the distribution, every successive day, to every
individual of the many thousands connected with the
Society, (who, upon the supposition of the universal
relinquishment of their property, must have been all
alike poor,) of his daily pittance of money, or ration of
provisions : — the Apostles, who had the superintendence
of such distribution w°uld have required to have had
nothing else whatever to do: — and to suppose such a
state of universal and continued idleness, and abstinence
from all worldly business, is to suppose, an example the
most pernicious and mischievous, as well as the most
opposite to the general spirit and express precepts of the
Bible, that can well be imagined. All the subsequent
accounts, too, of other Christian Churches referred to
in the New Testament, decidedly establish the con-
* Acts vi. 1 .

. 57
tinuance in them of the same distinction, between rich
and poor that subsists in the world at large.
But, whatever difference of opinion may subsist upon
this point, there can be none respecting the plan a-
dopted for the distribution of the funds when col
lected f — and this is more directly to my present pur
pose. These early Churches were, in- as far as this
part of their administration is concerned, neither more
nor less than communities of individuals transmitting
their liberality to the necessitous through the medium
of a Benevolent Society. The Deacons were specially
intrusted with the charge of searching out cases of real
need, — of inquiring, discriminating, proportioning, —
and of thus effectually fulfilling the benevolent intentions
of the brethren, and of Him who had enjoined upon
them the cultivation of mutual love, and the practice of
a cheerful and liberal charity. — I cannot yet discover
any valid reason, why the general principle of this plan
may not, with propriety and advantage, be extended,
in its practical application, to other communities;
with this difference only, that an additional degree
of jealous caution should be applied in the distribution
of the funds, in proportion to the greater corruption
of the materials of which the body may be composed,
and the consequently increased hazard of imposture
and abuse.

58
"But neither in Christian Societies, nor in larger and
«more mixed communities, is the distribution of a col
lected fund to be at all understood as precluding and
superseding the direct exercise of personal charity.
The man of sensibility will be induced, by the intens-
er feelings of pleasure inspired by witnessing himself
the effects of his beneficence, to be, as far as he has
opportunity of discovering suitable objects, his own
almoner. — And if the principle by which, we are told,
Judge Hale regulated his practice, — dealing -his char
ities liberally amongst the street beggars, because,
though convinced that most of them- were notorious
cheats, yet, as some amongst them were great objects
of charity, and pressed with grievous necessities, he
would rather give his alms to twenty who might per
haps be rogues, than that any of this description should
perish for want of the small relief which he gave them:
— if this be, as surely must be admitted, an extreme
on the one hand, it is yet, without question, a much
more amiable extreme than that of some persons, who
are much fonder of feeling in their minds than of feeling
in their pockets* and who, because they have met with a
* A member of the Society of Friends, who are so generally and so
jostly esteemed as friends to the cause of benevolence, was soliciting from
a person of well known ability to afford it, some pecuniary relief for a
poor afflicted family. While he was recommending his case, the person pro
fessed great concern, and tender sympathy with the sufferers^ and, at every

59
few instances of imposition, dechne, ori professed and"
plausibile principle, giving relief to any at all. — Still,
however, it is most desirable, as far- as it can possibly
be attained, that every case that obtains relief should
be a case which previous investigation has ascertained
to be really necessitous and deserving. — There is much
truth and propriety in the observation of Mr. Grahame,
respecting indiscriminate liberality, that, "'in disregard-
" ing selection, it is destitute of that feature which is
" peculiar to charity, and which distinguishes virtue
" ofthe mind from virtue of the nerves. When in-
" quiry and visitation,!' says he, " precede relief, only
" the really deserving are relieved, and only then is
" true charity practised. It is sometimes as proper to
" distinguish the virtues from each other, as to dis-
" criminate them from vices. A melting eye and a
" ready hand are infinitely preferable to an eye incap-
" able of melting, and a hand incapable of giving..
" The mischief of the first is, that an impostor may be
" encouraged; of the second, that an honest man may
" be driven to villany, or forced to beg," * — The more
additional circumstance of distress which was related, looked very pitiful,
and protested how much he fell in his mind for tlieir wretched conditions
" Friend,',' said the honest Quaker, after this phrase had several times
recurred, without any symptom of the feeling producing any thing. —
" Friend, I should like thou wouldst feel in thy pocket."
* Inquiry, pages 268, 267.

60
completely we can avoid both of these evils, certainly
so much the nearer do we approach to the perfection
of practical charity.
Before concluding, I shall offer a few remarks on
a sentiment, which I have heard several times repeated,
and which appears to be obtaining, some measure of
currency; — namely, that it would be advantageous,
not merely for the community, but even for the poor
themselves, were they left, more than they have been,
independendent of the benefactions of their richer
brethren, and to cultivate and exercise their benevolent
feelings in the supply of the wants of one another. —
It would be no loss, it has been alleged, to the inferior
class, were a line of demarcation to be drawn between
it and the superior, and a stop to be put to all com
munication in the way of pecuniary or charitable sup
ply, from any whose income is above fifty pounds a-
year to any whose income is below it. The poor, it is
affirmed, would be at least as effectually supplied by
one another as they are at present by their superiors 5
and they would at the same time, be all the better in
point of character, by the cultivation, and the practical
interchange, of the feelings of mutual benevolence.
On this theory, which, in some points of view, is
pleasing, whilst in others it is not less revolting, let the
following observations be considered : —

61
In the first place : — That many instances even of
singular and self-denied charity do occur amongst the
comparatively poor, in relieving one another's necessi
ties, it would be as unjust to them, as it would be con
trary to truth and to right feeling, to deny. Such in
stances are highly honourable to their character, and
in every heart that is awake to the sensibilities of na
ture, must excite the strongest sentiments of approving
delight; Far be it, that we should at all interfere
with, and counteract, the operation of such principles
and of such feelings.
Secondly: — Supposing all the strong statements
which some have given of the beneficence of the poor
to one another, to be true to their full extent; — it
does not seem, by any means, a very natural or reason
able inference, that the rich should therefore retire, and
leave therii altogether; — everyone to shift for himself,
and every one to help his neighbour: — that they should
stand aloof, and contemplate the scene of universal toil
and mutual charity, and when they behold men of
generous and tender hearts pinching themselves and
their families to assist others whose cases are still harder
than their own, should satisfy themselves with shedding
over the lovely deed, the tears of a delighted, but un
profitable sensibility.— Surely there is something very
\

62
unreasonable and unnatural iri the proposition, that
the poor should relieve the poor; — that poverty should
be the source to which poverty must look for its sup
plies. And there is something, too, not over-gracipus or
kindly in the practical conclusion, that because we see
a spirit existing, which is ready, nobly and generously
ready, to deny itself for the sake of others, we should
allow this self-denial to be put to its utmost stretch,
while we have nothing to do, but to look on and ad
mire. — Is. this, permit me to ask, what Divine Provi
dence has intended, in the constitution of human so->
Ciety? Isit not rather the obvious design— and " doth
not nature itself teach it"-s-that men should consider
themselves " stewards of the manifold bounty of God,"
and should help one another accordingly ?— the know
ing instructing tlie ignorant — the strong assisting the
weak — '¦the rich supplying the, poor? And, while this
is the unsophisticated dictate of nature, does it not also
harmonize with all the representations, and all the
precepts, of the Bible ?
Thirdly. — The view takeri of the good effects, as to
character, ofthe theory I now speak of, appears to be
very partial, and consequently unfair. It is limited to
the contemplation of the poor in relation to one another.
But there are two other relations, not less important tp

63
society, which are entirely overlooked. The theory,
before it is adopted into practice, should be well con
sidered, in the influence which it is fitted to have, on
the character of the poor in relation to the rich, and on
the character of the rich in relation to the poor.
Supposing it granted, 'that by making the poor to
feel their deperidence upon one another, we cause them
reciprocally to cherish the kindly feelings of their
nature, and to put them forth into practical exercise,
in a way that shall command our complacent admira-r
tion ; — it remains to be asked, what are the feelings
which this state of things is likely to engender in their
bosoms towards their superiors, — the rich and pros
perous in the same community? These, surely, are
not likely to be of a very pleasant or desirable kind.
The poor must feel themselves neglected. They can
be sensible of no bond of gratitude attaching them to
those " rich fellows," who enjoy themselves in their af
fluence, while they stand aloof from the toils and
troubles of their brethren beneath them ; — leaving them
to make a hard shift for themselves and for one
another; — putting them off with assurances of their
admiration, but never offering a single practical ex
pression of generous condolence. This entire separa
tion of interests, — this divorce of the poor from the

64
rich in all that regards the practice of charity, is cer
tainly not the way to conciliate, but to alienate their
affections. — It should be recollected, that, on the sup
position of the poor supplying the poor, there is still
the class of receivers,- and that the question at present
is not about the cultivation of the spirit of independ
ence, but merely about the source from which these
rece.vers should obtain their supplies; — whether from
the overflowing abundance of the wealthy, or from the
scanty pittance of those neighbours, who are only a
degree or two above themselves, in the scale of com
parative poverty: — and, in these circumstances, there
are few things which 1 should be more disposed to de
precate, as ominous of evil to Society, than such an
insulation of the upper and the lower classes of the
population from each other, as should give occasion
for the latter to say, in enjoying any little comforts
they may possess, as the result of their personal toils
and their mutual charity, — " No thanks for these to our
hard-hearted superiors." — That surely is not a very
desirable union among the poor, of which one of the
bonds is a disdainful sense of a common neglect.
And what is the effect which such a state of things
is calculated toproduce on the character ofthe rich, in re
lation to the poor? — This, too, ought to be seriously con-

65
sidered. The sentiments of benevolence and charity are
not to be cherished and invigorated, by merely looking
on, and admiring their exercise amongst others. We
must bring them into practice ourselves. While it is a
very obvious truth, that he who does not feel will not
give; it is no less a truth, founded in human nature,
and confirmed by experience, that he who, upon princ
iple, ceases to give, will be in great danger of very soon
ceasing to feel. Benevolence in the heart is the source
of beneficence in the conduct; and every deed of be
neficence in the conduct gives new life, and expansion,
and energy, to benevolence in the heart. The sentiment
produces the act; and the act reciprocally invigorates
the sentiment. — The poor are surely amongst the ob
jects, on whom reason and revelation have alike ap
pointed that the rich should keep in exercise the vir-;
tuous feelings of liberality and brotherly kindness.
Let us beware, then, in all our schemes, of confined
and partial views of effects and consequences. It may
be a very lovely and engaging spectacle, to see the
charities of life in generous reciprocal exercise among
the poor; — to see them "willing of themselves, to their
" power and beyond their power," to assist one another.
Yet, if the scheme which promises a result so desirable
as the uniting of the poor more closely to one another,

66
appears likely to accomplish this end, at the expense of
alienating their affections from their rich superiors^
and, while it promotes mutual kindness amongst the
former, threatens to dry up the blessed springs of
charity in the bosoms of the latter; — there is isunely
good reason to " pause, and ponder," before we accept
its principle, and attempt its reduction to practice.
By leaving the supply of the " innocently necessitous
poor," and of other descriptions of sufferers, to the
operation of spontaneous liberality, exercised directly,
in acts of personal Charity, as far as opportunity admits,
and at once stimulated to further exertion, and ren
dered advantageously effective, by the well-directed
inquiries and efforts of Benevolent Associations; — it is
true, that the miser will escape, — that many, who are
able but who are not inclined, will be allowed, except
for the influence of importunity and of shame, to re
tain their money in their coffers. But this disadvantage,
supposing it to be one, is not for a moment to be com
pared with the possible, and more than possible, effects
of a growing legal assessment : — and the truly benevo
lent, although the demand becomes the greater on
their charity, will, instead of envying, most sincerely pity
the wretch, who steels his heart against the meltings of

67
sympathy, who denies himself one of the purest and the
sweetest of pleasures, and who has no experience of the
truth of that beautiful saying, — a saying of which the
meaning was never so fully felt as by Him who uttered
it, — " It is moee blessed to give than to receive."*
* From the circumstance recorded by the Evangelist John, in the
thirteenth chapter of his gospel, that, when their master said to Judas,
" That thou doest do quickly," some of the disciples conjectured him to
mean that he should "give something to the poor," we learn, incidentally,
the interesting fact, that, from the scanty funds of the little company
of which He was the Head, it was the custom, by his direction, that the
poor should receive a proportion. For had not this been the custom,
the conjecture could never have been formed. Does not this, like every
other part of the Saviour's perfect example, say, in the most affecting
manner, to everyone of his followers, " Go thou, and bo likewise ?"

THE END.

Young, Gallie,& Co.-i
Printers. J

THE CONTEMPLATION OF HEATHEN IDOLATRY AN
EXCITEMENT TO MISSIONARY ZEAL.

SERMON,

PREACHED BEFORE

®%c itttesumarg Society

AT

SURREY CHAPEL,
ON WEDNESDAY MORNING, MAY 13, 1818.

BY THE
REV. RALPH WARDLAW,
OF GLASGOW.

Iton&ott :
PRINTED FOR THE SOCIETY.
SOLD BY WILLIAMS AND CO. STATIONERS* COURT, LUDGATE STREET;
AND J. NISBET. CASTLE STREET, OXFORD STREET.

A SERMON,
fyc. fyc.

Acts, xvii. 16.

Now, while Patti waited for them at Athens, Ms spirit was
stirred in him, when the .saw the city wholly gip.en to
idolatry.
,On a prqmontory, , formed by ,fhe confluence of two clas
sical rivers, stood Athens, the glory of ancient, Greece.
High in political eminence, and in military fame, il was
still more distinguished for the learning', the eloquence, and
,the polished refinement of its inhabitants; and, for the num
ber, variety, and excellence of the works pf art produced
or collected within its walls : for those magnificent struc
tures of which the very fragments are the admiration of
modern nations ; for the most exquisite productions of
painting and sculpture ; for its various schools of philo
sophy; and, in a word, for all that was elegant and admi
rable, in every branch of science, and art, and literature.
Such was the place, to which, when driven from Berea,
as the preceding context informs us, by the persecuting
fury of the Jews of Thessalonica, the Apostle of the Gen
tiles was conducted by his Christian friends. — Here was a
richly diversified field of observation and inquiry. Here
were sources of the highest gratification for the curiosity
a

2 CONTEMPLATION OF HEATHEN IDOLATRY
of men of every profession, of every character, and of every
peculiarity of genius. For the philosopher, there were the
schools of learning, the lectures and the conversation of
their celebrated masters, and tlieir modes of defending their
respective systems of doctrine. For the lover of the fine
arts, there was the Acropolis, where he might pass days of
delight, in surveying the beauties and elegances, measuring
the proportions, and comparing the characteristic pecu
liarities, of the productions of the architect, the statuary,
and the painter. For the man of pleasure and fashion,
there were the haunts of amusement and dissipation ; the
old Athenian methods of killing time ; the festivals, the
theatres, the public shows. The mercantile man might
direct his inquiries to the state of commercial intercourse
with other nations, and to the practicable means of its ex
tension and improvement : — the politician, to the principles
of government; the civil institutes; the courts, supreme and
subordinate, for the administration of justice: — the soldier,
40 the army and navy; the means of supply for both; the
•customs of the city in war ; its walls, its harbours, its
means of defence and of attack : — the historian, to the ar
chives of fhe city's early history; its progress and its fluc
tuations-; and all the points which are usually embraced by
historical records.
There is no reason why we should conceive of Paul as
utterly regardless of every thing of a secular nature. The
particulars specified were matters of interesting curiosity ;
and some of them were connected both with the progress of
mind, and with the temporal happiness or misery of the
Athenian population. But one thing, above all others, en
gaged the mind of this ambassador of Christ, this Christian
Missionary ; — the moral and religious character of the Athe •
mans; their spiritual State, their relation, as accountable
and "immortal beings, to God, and to eternity. A Mis
sionary now needs not, any more than then, to be a man
devoid of all taste for the wonders of nature and of art, and
of all curiosity about the secular pursuits and habits of the
people amongst whom he settles or sojourns. On the
-contrary, it is most desirable, for reasons various and

AN EXCITEMENT Tp MISSIONARY ZEAL. 3"
j i . > • - , 7 . . - Z
sogent, on which time- doe's npt permit me to insist, that he,
should be a man of general knowledge, and of a. cultivated
mind, capable of observing and reporting on these as well
as on more sacred subjects, and of promoting the temporal
as well as the spiritual interests of men. But still, every
thing secular, every thing temporal, must be secondary and
subordinate; one thing must be highest,, one. thing first —
first in his observation, first in his desires, first in his
prayers, first in his efforts, first in his reports. He must
be a man, who, at Athens, would have felt as Paul felt, and
acted as Paul acted, when " his Spirit was stirred in him,
on seeing the city wholly given to idolatry ."
I shall not enlarge on the matter of fact here stated, with
regard to Athens. , It was full of gods. Every object
of worship in almost every known nation had a niche in its
pantheon ; so that in this renowned city there are said to
have been more images aud statues than m all the rest of
Greece together ; which gave occasion to the humorous
saying of one of their satirists, that in Athens a god was
more easily found than a man.
Brethren, in the revolutions of empires, Athens has long
been no more. And, had Athens, as an idolatrous city,
stood alone, a solitary instance of defection in the midst of
a loyal world, when this ancient seat of polytheism became
extinct, no scene would have remained for the exercise of
the feelings described in the text. But, oh ! how opposite
is the fact ! Athens stood pre-eminent, indeed, for the
multitude of its deities; but, alas ! it stood not alone. It
was not a city merely that Paul had to contemplate as
given to idolatry ; but, with the exception of one little spot
favoured of heaven, as " the place which Jehovah had
chosen, to put his name there;" it was a whole world. And-
now, when eighteen centuries have passed away, does npt
the same heart-moving spectacle_ still', to a vast extent,
present itself to the view? How very fewj comparatively,
of the tribes of our fallen and revolted race, have as yet •
" turned from their idols, to serve the living and true
God?" How immense the proportion of them that are
still "going astray after, their dumb idols, even as they are
u 2

4 CONTEMPLATION OF HEATHEN IDOLATRY
led !" It is true, and let us record it with the liyelifesl?
feelings of delight and adoration, the proportion is lessen
ing. The true God is making his name glorious among the
heathen. The idols he is abolishing. " The gods that made*
not the heavens arid the earth, are perishing from off th<2
earth, and from under these heavens." Arid, ere we advance
one step further in our discourse, may we not be perriiitted
to pause for a moment, and to sound the notes of triutn-
phant gladriess over the ruined morals and the outcast
idols of Taheite ? My brethren, give God the glory. This
is the Loi'd's doing, and it is marvellous in our eyes. If
you presume to take the praise to yourselves; if you cherish
the presumptuous feelings of self-corhplacericy and s'elf-
gratulation ; — your triumphs shall cease. " The Lord your
God is a jealous God, he will not give his glory to ano
ther ;" not to men, any more than to graven images'. Say,
then, with hearts prostrate in humility, yet rising to heaven
in exulting praise, " Thanks be unto God, who always
causeth us to triumph in Christ, arid maketh manifest the
savour of his knowledge by us in every place !" *
The new scene that presents itself in these distant isles
of the ocean is delightful to every Christian feeling. Break-
irig on the sacred stillness of the sabbath morning, fancy
seems now to hear, amidst the groves of Otaheite, " the
sound of the church-goirig bell," and to see the brown
inhabitants with mild benignity arid serious biit animated
joy in their looks, hasting along, not to the temple of ah
idol, but to the house df the Lord of Hosts, the God of
their salvation ; there to join in his simple but solemn, his
pure and peaceful and spiritual worship :
" While each full heart with holy wonder glows,
And bright from every eye the tear of transport flows I"
The ships that approach the island wonder at the unwonted
stillness and seeming solitude of tbe scene — no natives ap
pearing on the beach, no canoes putting off from the shore
—and they feel a rising dread, lest war and famine shpuld
have swept the population away.
* 2 CoV. ii, l4.

AN excitement to missionary zeal. 5
But, oh ! my brethren, how do our spirits sink within us,
when we turn our eyes away from this delightful vision, to
larger islands and extensive continents, peopled by millions
on millions of our fellow-creatures, who are still " given up
to idolatry l" To these we wish now to direct your atten
tion ; not in the way of describing tp you the varieties- of
their polytheistic superstitions, or of the rites of their ia-
fatuated worship, — (although, perhaps, as it was the sight
that agitated the bpsom of Paul, the hearing of such a
detail might have a more powerfully moving and spirit-
stirring influence oh nly auditory, than any reasonings or
illustrations of mine,) — but with the view of considering, what
are tbe sentiments5, arid feelifigs, and desires, which the
contemplation of the idolatries of the heathen world is fitted
to awaken and to cherish.
The object of these' annual meetings is to keep alive the
Missionary spirit, and to rOuse it to still warmer and more
active energy. It will riot be found, I trust, unsuitable to
this design, if we endeavour to show, with humble der
petidarice on the divine blessing, bow the survey of these
idolatries is calculated to produce indignant grief for the
dishonour done by them to God ; amazentent at human {weak
ness and folly ; abhorrence of hitman impiety ; and compas-
sioHfor human ztfretchedhess.
I. The contemplation of heathen idolatries should excite
indignant grief for the dishonour dom to God.
This, I have, no doubt, was the feeling that first, stirred
the spirit of the devout Apostle of the Gentiles, when,
looking around him, he contemplated the endless multipli
city of false deities, " the gods many and lords many" ofthe
Athenians, arid; as he himself afterwards expresses it,
beheld their devotions." In the altar inscribed " to the
UNkNoWN god," he had seen a melancholy acknowledge
ment of their ignorance. The only true God was the only
©dd Unknown^ All the tabled deities were there, of heaven,
and earthi and hell ; but the one living God, whose peculiar
honours were thus usurped and alienated and abused,
was not to fee found 1 Not that Paul cpuld have been

6 CONTEMPLATION OF HEATHEN IDOLATRY
gratified by his having a place amidst such a collection of
falsehood, impurity, and folly. It would have been a vile
affront to his infinite Majesty, to have been so associated ;
even if he had been placed at the head of their pantheon,
and made their Jupiter Olympicus. For, indeed, this
Olympian Jove, the mighty " thunderer," the "father of gods
and men," " the best and the greatest," was, in the actions
ascribed to him by his deluded worshippers, the foulest and
most infamous of the whole fabled fraternity.
No: Jehovah must stand alone. He admits of no
compeers, ,of no sharers, superior or subordinate, of his
divine honours. His essential glory and blessedness are
infinite and eternal. Before the commencement of time,
before his power was put forth in creation, he existed
alone ; and he was then the same infinitely glorious and
happy being that he is now, when space is crowded with the
manifestations of his goodness, and wisdom, and might.
But, while his essential glory is immutably the same, unr
susceptible of diminution or of increase, his manifestative
glory is necessarily proportioned in its extent to two circum
stances: to the number of objects in which his perfections
are displayed ; and the number of intelligentjCreatures that
exist, to witness, and admire, and adore. And, if we believe
the glory of his own name to. haye been the first endt of
creation, this presents, ampngst others, a most satisfactory
evidence, that the unnumbered suns and systems, with
which we are surrounded, do not shine and roll in an un
peopled vacancy, but ".declare the glory of God" to count
less multitudes of intelligent, and admiring, and adoring
spectators. There are two classes of apostate creatures known tp
us ; ourselves, and fallen spirits. ; Both have, by their
rebellion, dishonoured God ; but in hell and on earth he
is dishonoured in different ways. In hell, the knowledge of
God has not been lost. Devils know him, and their know
ledge is their misery. " Thou believest that there is one
God ; thou doest well : the devils also believe, and trem
ble !" There he is known, and there he is hated with
all the rancour of malignant despair. In no form is he

AN EXCITEMENT TO MISSIONARY ZEAL. 7
worshipped in hell: — On earth, the case is widely dif
ferent. When wicked men, indeed; dying in their sins, go
to join the spirits of darkness in the place pf Woe, a perfect
knowledge of the character of God will form, I presume,
no small part of their punishment.- A clear and strong
conception of that love and mercy which they have irre
coverably slighted and lost, and a vivid and ever-present
impression of that holy and immutable justice, which main
tains its dreadful purity " without variableness or shadow
of turning," will be the very life of " the worm that dieth
not," the fuel ofthe " fire that never shall be quenched."
There is no idolatry in hell. There, indeed, as well as
here, they " do not like to retain God in their knowledge;"
and to be able to banish him from their minds, would, iu a
manner, take the sting out of their torments. But there
they cannot forget him ; they cannpt deceive themselves into
false conceptions of him. There, there is the clearness of
intellectual light, associated with the most hardened moral
disaffection ; a perfect conviction of truth in the understand
ing, with a proud, unmitigated, furious detestation of it in
the heart ; a conflict of indescribable agony, which shall
form a large proportion ofthe misery ofthe damned.
The dishonour done to God on earth is of a quite dif
ferent description. " God is a Spirit, infinite, eternal, un
changeable, in his being, wisdom, power, holiness, justice,
goodness, and truth." I take it for granted that man knew
this originally. The fancy of sceptical philosophy, that
polytheism was the first religion of mankind, is as opposite
to reason, and as inconsistent with facts, as it is contrary
to the express dictates of the Bible. From this book we
learn (what every right conception of the divine goodness
should have led us to expect) that in paradise God was
known in his true character, and was worshipped " in spirit
and in truth." But soon, alas ! the scene was changed.
Soon, when our first father had sinned, the sons of men
became '* vain in their reasonings; their foolish heart was
darkened ; professing themselves to be wise, they became
fools ; they changed the glory ofthe incorruptible God into
an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds and

§ CONTEMPLATION ,QF HEATHEN 4,DtQLATJRY
four-footj&d feasts and creeping things.: They changed thre
,trath of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the
creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed for ever."?
While drawing in such terms the effecting portraiture of
heathen superstitions, Paul appears, as in surveying the
idpkuries of Athens, ,to have felt the irrepressible risings of
jboly and indignant jzeal for the divine glory. —
" The big round tear hung .trembling uiibis, ey.e<Y
He could not contemplate the prostrate honours of the
infinite God with an unnioved and tranquil heart. He
could not behold this world, which ought to have been one
great temple to the exclusive worship of Jehovah, " whose
he was, and whom he served," crowded with rival deities,
the offspring of the depraved fancy of apostate creatures,
with which the very thought of bringing '-him, even for an
instant, into comparison, makes the heart thrill and shudder
with detestation.
" They changed the truth of God into A lie." Every
view that can be taken of the worship of idols is a lie
against the Supreme Majesty. Their number is a lie
against his unity ; their corporeal nature is a lie against
his pure invisible spirituality; their confined and local
residence, a lie against his omnipresence and immensity ;
their limited and subdivided departments of operation, a
lie against his universal proprietorship and dominion ; their
follies and weaknesses, a lie against his infinite wisdom;
their defects and vices and crimes, a lie against his unsul
lied purity and perfection. In what a strange unhallowed
state must that man's heart be, who can contemplate with
out emotion this sacrilegious robbery of heaven, — this uni
versal slander upon the character of Deity ! Yet there are
some (would I could say with truth that they are few in
number !) who feel it very lightly. They can contemplate
the whole scene with a careless smile ; or, if their spirits
are at all stirred in them, if their indignation is at all moved,
it is against those officious, intrusive intermeddlers, that
would disturb the idolaters by their attempts to enlighten
* Rom. i.,21— 23. 2(3.

AN EXCITEMENT TO MISSIONARY ZEAL. 9
them ! With an affectation of sentimental feeling, they
fancy the universal parent equally pleased with all descrip
tions of worship from his erring children.
"" Father of all, in every age,
In every clime ador'd ;
By saint, by savage, and by sage,
Jehovah, Jove, or Lord 1"
How revolting such a thought to the spirit of true piety
and reverence for God! to identify the worship of Baal,
and Jupiter, and Jehovah 1 to convert into acceptable ser
vice the grossest insults that ever were offered to the cha
racter of God ! How ppposite this to the universal lan
guage of the Bible ! How opposite to the sentiments and
feelings of the devout Apostle of the Gentiles ! Estimating
the glory of Gpd aright, as the first and highest end pf all
things, the survey pf the world, as wholly given to idplatry,
stirred his spirit, and it cannot but stir the spirit of every
Christian, with indignant grief.
II. The contemplation of heathen idplatry may well fill
us with amazement at the weakness and folly qf the human
mind. Search the annals of our world, in every age and in
every country ; I question if you will find a more affecting
and humbling exemplification of human imbecility, than
that which is afforded by the history pf idplatry. It is such,
indeed, as we hardly knpw how to believe. To be set
down amidst the likenesses pf " corruptible men, and of
birds and four-footed beasts, and creeping things," which
form the immense museum of heathen mythology, one
might be tempted to fancy, that some satirical defamer of
our nature had been exhausting an inventive imagination,
to slander and to vilify it. And it matters but little in this
view, whether the images themselves be the objects of
direct worship, or whether they be only the representations
of such objects ; for what sort of deities must they be, that
are conceived t© be " like unto gold, or silver, or stonq,
graven by art and man's device 1" and especially, what sort
ef deities must they be, of which images sp ridiculously fan-
c

10 CONTEMPLATION OF HEATHEN IDOLATRY
tastic, so monstrously uncouth, so frightfully distorted, as
many of -the heathen idols are, are considered by their wor
shippers as the appropriate and worthy representatives?
Surely a single look at such objects of worship, should be
equivalent to volumes of argumentation in reply to the
advocates for the sufficiency of human reason in the things
of God. Those who have themselves served such " vanities,"
a»d have been brought to the knowledge of the true God,
are the first to own their former folly. It was to impress
on the minds of British Christians the humbling lesson of
human weakness and infatuation, that Ppmarre sent to this
country the deities of his house and of his kingdom ; " to
show tliem," in his own simple phrase, " what fotxlisfi, gods
Taheile formerly worshipped." And who,, that looks at such
images, or that turns over a pantheon of heathen mythology,
does not " blush, and bang his head, to think himself a
man ?"
But where, on this part of my subjept, can I find lan
guage more appropriate and impressive than that of the
inspired prophet Isaiah? Turn with me to that cutting and
indignant exposure of, the folly and '.brutal stupidity of ido
laters, in the forty-fourth chapter of his prophecies, frorii the
10th to the 20tb verse. " Who hath formed a god, or
molten a graven im£ge, that is profitable for npthipg ?
Behold, all his fellows shall be ashamed ; and the workmen,
they are of men : let them all be gathered together, let
them stand up : yea, they shall fear, and they shall be
ashamed together. The smith with the tPDgs both worketh
in the coals, and fashioneth it with hammers, apd worketh
it with the strength of his arms : yea, he is hungry, and his
Strength faileth : he drinketh no water, apd is faint, The
carpenter stretcheth out his rule ; he marketh it out with a
line ; he fitteth it with planes, and he marketh jt out with
tbe compass, and maketh it after the figure of a man, ac*
cording to the beauty of a man ; that it may remain in the
house. He hewetb him down cedars, and taketh. the cy
press and the oak, which he strengtheneth for himself
among the trees of the forest: he planteth an ash, apd
the rain doth nourish it. Then shaU it be for a man

AN EXCITEMENT TO MISSIONARY ZEAL. 11
to burn : fdr he will take thereof, and warm himself;
yea, he kindleth it, and baketh bread ; yea, he maketh
a god j and worshippeth it; he maketh it a graven image,
and faileth down thereto. He burneth part thereof itt
the fire ; with part thereof he eateth flesh ; he roasteth
roast, and is satisfied : yea, he warmeth, himself, and
saith, Aha, I am warm, 1 have seen the fire. And the
residue thereof he maketh a god, even his graven image:
he faileth down unto it, and worshippeth it, and prayeth
unto it, and saith, Deliver me ; for thou art my god. They
have not known nor understood : for he hath shat their
eyes, that they cannot see ; and their hearts, that they can
not understand. And none considereth in his heart,
neither is there knowledge nor understanding to say, I
have burned part of it in the fire ; yea, also I have baked
bread upon the coals thereof; I have roasted flesh, and
eaten it : and shall I make the residue thereof an abomi
nation ? shall I fall down to the stock of a tree ? He
feedeth on ashes ; a deceived heart hath turned him aside,
that he cannot deliver his soul, nor say, Is there not a lie
in my rig-bt hand?" — -O, my brethren, is it possible for us
to conceive of a smaller measure of intellect, than what
seems to be requisite for drawitig the inference here stated ?•
for discovering the extreme and palpable absurdity of the
conduct here exposed ? The failure to discover it is surely
with good reason represented as the Very lowest point in
the scale of human folly. How just the saying of the
Psalmist, " They that make them are like unto them ; so is
every one that trusteth in them."* And how true the
representation of the Apostle, " Professing themselves to
be wise, they became fools." f For it is a fact, on this
subject, which has often been remarked, and which Deism
has never been able satisfactorily to set aside, that to what
ever heights of attainment men have risen in the wisdom
Of this world, they have never, of themselves, made a
single step of decided progress towards rational and wor
thy views Of the nature and character of God. The trial
• Psalm cxv. 8. t Rom. i. 22.
C 2

12 CONTEMPLATION OF HEATHEN IDOLATRY
of many ages warranted the apostolic decision, that " tho
world by wisdom knew not God."* The powers of the
human mind were vigorously and successfully employed in
every, other department of human knowledge. There was
no deficiency of intellectual acuteness and energy in other
investigaticns. But the masters pf science and philosophy
were but dark and feeble and perplexed cenjecturers on the
things of God. The contrast in this respect could not
fail, in such a place as Athens, to strike mpst forcibly the
mind pf the Appstle. When he saw the wonderful results
of human wisdom and power and skill, in the arts and
sciences, in philosophy and literature, which existed there
in such profusion and splendour ; when he beheld a people
raised to the very pinnacle of eminence for all that was
great and excellent in human attainments ; and then viewed
the same people sunk in the abyss of ignorance and stu
pidity as to all that related to the higher concerns cf Gpd
and of eternity ! — how striking, how affecting the contrast !
Can we wonder that " his spirit was stirred in him V
But whence, we are tempted to ask, did this difference
arise ? Whence the thick darkness that covered spiritual
things, while light was on every thing else ? To find au
answer to this inquiry, we must go on to our. next par*
ticular : —
III. Paul's spirit was stirred in him, and the contempla
tion of heathen idolatry should stir ours, with abhorrence qf
human impiety.
Idolatry, like infidelity, has not been so much an error
of the head, as of the heart. Here it had its origin ; here it
still has " its power, and its seat, and its great authority."
The head has been the dupe of the heart ; the folly has
sprung from the corruption ; the infatuation of the judg
ment from the depravation of the affections. The veil has
not been upon the evidences themselves of the existence
and perfections of God, but upon the hearts of his fallen
creatures. The wretched votaries of idolatry are described
as " walking in the vanity of their minds ; having their

AN EXCITEMENT TO MISSIONARY ZEAL. 13
understandings darkened ; being alienated from the life of
God, through the ignorance that is in them, because of the
blindness (or rather, because of the hardness or callous
ness*) of their hearts." f To this source, even to the
" carnal mind," which is " enmity against Gpd," the philo
sophy of the Bible teaches us to trace the whole system, in
all its varieties, of pagan idolatry ; " They did not like to
retain God in their knowledge." % That the loss of the
knowledge of God amongst mankind is, in these words of
the Apostle, ascribed to the pravity of moral principle, to
the alienation of the heart, is sufliciently clear, not merely
from the word in the original, which is rendered " they did
not like," (a word which has been variously translated, but
with much the same effect,) but also from the consequence
which is represented as having followed : " Forasmuch as
they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave
them over to a reprobate mind." This consequence, whatever
difficulty there may be in ascertaining its precise nature, is,
without question, something judicial. Now nothing of this
kind could have been inflicted on account of mere deficiency
of intellect. Such a deficiency as can incur the punitive
visitation, or the judicial abandonment of Gpd, must be a
deficiency that has its origin in a moral cause. It is the heart,
and not the intellect, that is the source of sin, and of all
that merits punishment. And in nothing, surely, my breth
ren, does the blinding and perverting influence of a vitiated
heart more strikingly appear, than in this failure amongst
mankind of the knowledge of God. It is a much easier
matter to retain a lesson, than to learn one ; to keep what
is known, than to search out what is unknown ; to remem
ber, than to discover. The latter was not what men had
to do. They possessed the knowledge of God originally,
imparted directly by their Creator. Nor did God, on their
apostacy, remove from before their eyes the traces, or
rather the clear and numberless displays of his existence
and perfectipns. On the cpntrary, the whple of surround
ing nature continued to bear its silent but impressive tes-
* autumn. t Ephes. iv. 17, 18, J Rom. i. 28.

14 CONTEMPLATION OF HEATHEN IDOLATRY
timony to the " Maker omnipotent." " The' heavens still
declared his glory ;"* the earth and the spacious deep were
still " full of his riches."f It was but opening the eye
and the ear to the sights and sounds of nature, and " all
was full of God." Yet the original |esson was actually
lost. Soon, alas! did it appear, that " the heart of man was
become gross ; that, having eyes, be saw not ; having ears,
he heard not; having understanding, he perceived not."
Soon he who, in his state of pristine innocence, never
looked on nature without discerning and adoring " nature's
God," and to whose heart this was the great charm of
creation, began to " wander with brute unconscious gaze;"
amongst the wonders of the works of God, thoughtless of
the wise, and good, and mighty Being to whom they owed
their existence, and who had, in letters of light, inscribed
his name upon them all !
Philosophers, in accounting upon their principles for the
prevalence of idolatry, (principles, evidently different from
those pf the Bible, and adopted tp save, as much as pos
sible, the credit of their idol — human nature,) have some
times attempted to show us, that particular- species of
idolatry are such as it was extremely natural for men to fall
into. Such, for example, we have been told, is- the wor
ship of the sun ; the most glorious object in nature, and
tbe immediate and visible source to mankind of the most
precious and essential blessings — of light; and heat, and
joy, and fruitfulness. But, in opposition to all such qua
lifying consideratipns, we must insist upon it, that the
nature to which any species of idolatry can be justly deno
minated natural, must be a fallen nature. To no other
created nature, surely, can it be natural to lose -sight of
and forget its Creator, and to substitute the creature in
, his place ; to worship the lights of heaven rather than the
Father of lights himself, rather than that God, " who is
light, and in whom there is no darkness at all!" Is this
indeed natural1? Is it natural in the abstract? Is it na
tural to rational beings in general? Is it natural to angels.?
* Psalm xix. 1. + . Psalm civ. 24.

AN EXCITEMENT TO MISSIONARY ZEAL. 1§
Or, is it natural only to men ? To whatever creature in
the universe it is natural, the nature of that creature, we
may be assured, is not as God made it; for God never
formed a creature with a natural inclination to forget and
to dishonour himself. And with regard to the particular
description of idolatry, that has just been specified as the
most natural iuto. which mep could be supposed to fall, it is
at least worthy of observation, although I do not wish to
be understood as founding much upon the circumstance,
that when the Prophet Ezekiel, in the visions of God, was
shown the abominations of the house of Israel, this very
idolatry is the last in the "melancholy exhibition, and is far
from being represented as the least. He had first seen
" every form of creeping things, and abomipable beasts,
and all the idols of the house of Israel, pourtrayed upon.
the wail round about;" and his Conductor had said, " Turn
thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than
these." He had then seen the " women weeping for Tam-
muz ;" and the declaration had been repeated, " Thou shalt
see greater abominations than these:" and then it was that
there were presented to his view, " five-and-twenty men,
with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their
faces toward the east, worshipping the sun tpward the
east.'?* In no case does the propensity of the human heart to
depart from God appear more affectipgly, thap in the case
of the Jews. They only of all the nations pf the earth were
in possession of the knowledge of the true God ; and yet
they only pf all the nations of the earth showed a constant
inclination to change, to go astray frgm Jehovah, apd to
" serye strange gods, the gods of the heathen among whom
they dwelt." Is it not most remarkable, that the only
people who were in the right mapifested so constapt apd
decided a proueness tp exchange the right for the wrong ; '
whilst those who were in the wrong adhered pertinaciously
to their errors, and were so obstinately averse to embrace.
what was right? How spirited the expostulation of Jeho-
* See Ezekii-1, chap. viii.

16 CONTEMPLATION OF HEATHEN IDOLATRY
Vah by the Prophet Jeremiah : " For pass over the isles of
Chittim, and see ; and send unto Kedar, and consider dili
gently, and see if there be such a thing. Hath a nation
changed their gods, which are yet no gpds ? but my pepple
have changed their glpry for that which doth not profit.
Be astopished, O ye heaveps, at this, apd be horribly
afraid, be yc very desolate, saith the Lprd. For my people
have committed two evils ; they have forsaken me, the fouu-
tain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken
cisterns, that can hold no water."*
The origin of idolatry, then, is to be found in the aliena
tion of the heart from God ; the unsuitableuess of his cha
racter to the depraved propensities of his fallen creatures ;
and the consequent desire to have a god " such a one as
themselves, who will approve their sins." This view of the
matter accords well with the characters of their " gods
many and lords many," and with the nature of the worship
with which they honoured them. Where shall we find one
among all the objects of their worship, whose attributes
indicate, on the fancy that has imagined it, the operation
of any thing like a principle either of holiness or pf lpve ?
Where shall we find one, whom its worshippers have in
vested with the qualities either of purity or of mercy ? All
their duties appear to be the product of a strange and
affecting combination pf depraved passions and guilty fears.
The principal gods of the Pantheon are raised,above men
solely by the superior enormity of their crimes ; their
greater power only enabling them to be the greater adepts
and the greater monsters in vice. They are the patrons
and the patterns of all that is vile and of all that is cruel; of
intemperance, apd lust, and knavery, and jealousy, and
revenge. Thus, men love to sin; and they make their gods
sinners, because they are desirous tp sin under their patron
age : yet are they, at the same time, censcious of guilt; and
while they commit sio, and even laugh at sin, they trem
ble with superstitious apprehension.
The worship oftheir gods is such as might have been ex-
* Jer»,™'»',~ ¦'" ' 0—13-

AN EXCITEMENT TO MISSIONARY ZEAL* %f
pectedfrom their characters. , Well, are their superstitions
denominated " abominable idolatries." They consist, not
merely of the most senseless fooleries, and the wildest ex
travagances, but ,of the most disgusting impurities, the
most licentious acts of intemperance, and the most iron-
hearted cruelties. And as to the character of the people,
who are given up to such idolatries, it is quite what might
be supposed either to produce or to arise from such a sys
tem — a system, originating iu the wishes of depravity, and
framed to give sanction to the indulgence of its lusts and
passions. " Even as i they did not like to retain God ia
their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind,
to do those things which are not convenient ; beipg filled
with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covet
ousness, maliciousness; full of. envy, murder, debate, de
ceit, malignity ; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God,
despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of. evil things, disobe
dient to parents, without understanding, covenant-breakers,
without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful : , who,
knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit
such things are worthy Of death, not only do the same, but
have pleasure in them that do them." O, what a curse to
be left in such a state I
To dwell minutely on the different features of this hideous
picture, is as unnecessary as it would be painful. It shows
the deplorable length to which the " vile affections" of
¦" a reprobate mind" will carry those who are " given up " to
their fearful dominion ; for, alas ! tbe portrait, hideous as it
is, is not imaginary — it is not a caricature— -it is faithful to
reality and to fact. The monster has its prototype ia
nature. It is drawn by the pencil, not of a disgusted mi
santhrope, determined to find nothing that is good, and to
aggravate all that is bad, but of a man whose heart dis
solved in pity over tbe guilt and the woes which ,he de
scribes, and who, in the warm zeal of enlarged and active
bepevolence, would have " compassed sea and land," and
cheerfully made a sacrifice of life itself, for their removal 01-
mitigation. Thus, in the origin, in the nature, and ia the accompami-
D

ife CONTEMPLATION OF HEATHEN IDOLATRY
ments andtffecis of idolatry, we see a most afflicting, display
of human corruption ; enough, surely, to stir up our spkife
within us with the most powerfiil emotions of abhorrence !
But, while we abhor the corruption, O, my brethren ! l«t
us pity its deluded and miserable victims. This leads me
to my last particular:
IV. The coptemplation of heathen idolatry ought to in
spire compassion for human wretchedness.
I speak not at all, at present, 'of the wants and miseries
of a savage life, destitute of the arts and sciences, arid of
the comforts and refinements of civilized society ; because
such miseries and such wants were evils unfelt at Athens.
The mere man of the world would have looked on that far-
tamed city, as the emporium of all that was fitted to give
dignity and happiness to men. But, in the midst of all
this, the eye of the Christian philatathropist could not fail
to discern a most melancholy warit — a want, sufficient to
throw a darkening shade over all the splendours of Athe
nian glory. The ibhabitants of Athens, like those of
Ephesus, were, in the eye of the " ambassador of ^Christ,"
" without God, and having no hope, in the World." "¦' i
I address myself now, not to those who, even in<;the
midst ofthe light of the Bible, are themselves " without flfftod
and without hope;" — save only to remind them, t&at thev
men of Athens shall " rise .up in the judgment against
them ;" — that it shall be more tolerable for the unenlight
ened heathen, who have never enjoyed the benefit of divine
revelation, than for them. But 1 make my beseeching
appeal to those who have known " the only true God, and
Jesus Christ whom he hath sent." I address mv self tp
your spiritual feelings, to the feelings of your new nature,
O ye who have "tasted that the Lord is gracious." What
is there now which you would not willingly part with,
rather than renouuce your interest in the knowledge, and
love, and blessing of the God of your salvation ? Wiat
would .you now be without God?—" Poor, and miserable,
• 17.nl, ii IO.

AN EXCITEMENT TO MISSIONARY ZEAL. 19
and wretched, and blind, aud naked." What wculd all-
things on earth be to you, without God ? — " Wells without
water; — trees whose fruit withereth, without fruit, twice
dead, plucked up by the ropts;"— " a wilderness and a land
pf darkness ;" — " a .dry and thirsty land, where there is no
¦water." Take away from you the smiles of your God, and
the sunshine of his favour, and then, indeed, you might
" travel from Dan to Beersheba, and say, 'Tis all barren."
Is not his favour life, — his loving-kindness better than life ?
— rls not his love the relish of your earthly joys? — Is not his
love the solace and the sweetener of your earthly woes? —
What would become of you, had you npt a Gpd,— a knpwn
.God, — a covenant God, — a God of grace,— a " Father of
mercies, and a G&d of all comfort,"— had you not such a
God to go to, under a sense of guilt, and under the heavy
.pressure of calamity and distress !— O, then, do npt you
pity those who are " without God in the world ?" Do not
your hearts bleed for them? When you think ofthe depth
oftheir ignorance, and the enormity of their guilt; oftheir
vain sacrifices, and their fruitless ablutions ; their painful
penances, their self-inflicted tortures and deaths; — when
you behold them, with suppliant earnestness, crying for pro
tection and deliverance to " a thing whiqh cannot help," —
" falling down to the stock of a tree ;' '— when you see them,
with an importunity worthy of a more rational service, re
peating their cry from morning till noon, and from noon till
evening, and, in the bitterness and phrenzy of disappointed
eagerness, " cutting themselves with lancets, till thebloed
gushes out upon them," — and "there is no voice, nor any
to answer, nor any that regardeth ;"* — when you see them
steeling their; hearts against the meltings of nature, stopping
their ears to the pleadings of parental love, and "giving
their firstrbora for their transgressien, the fruit pf their
bodyfor the sin of their soul;"t— when you see them the
wretched victims of a delusive hope, the dupes of a merci
less" and degrading superstition, devoting themselves to
voluntary destruction,— ^crushed beneath the ponderous
* 1 KSngs^xviii.,26— 29. t Mjcab, vi. 7.
d9

20 CONTEMPLATION OF HEATHEN IDOLATRY
wheel, or " sinking in the devouring flood, or more devour
ing flame :" — O, does not a pang of pity go through your
very souls for them ? Are not your spirits stirred within
youf Do not your bowels yearn over your kindred; —
over those who are *' bone of your bone, and flesh of your
flesh ;" — for " God hath made of one blood all nations of
men, to dwell on the face ofthe whole earth ?"*
And, finally, without dwelling on the many particulars of
•wretchedness that are suggested to our minds by such a
description of personal and social character as we have
read to you from the beginning of the Epistle to the
Bomans,— O, think, my brethren, ofthe prospects of your
miserable fellow-men in refererice tol« eternal world! —
The enemies of the word of God have*sometimes, ignor-
antly or malignantly, ascribed their infidelity to its unmerci
ful and unrighteous severity, as they are pleased to repre
sent it, in damning tbe heathen. And if, indeed, the Bible
condemned men fbr their ignorance of what they never had
opportunity to know ; for rejecting a revelation of which they
never heard ;' for disobeying a law which was never promul
gated to them ; or for failing to receive a message of grace
which never saluted their ears; — there would be solid
ground for the objection ; and to "Vindicate the ways of
God to men," would be not only a difficult, but a vain arid
hopeless attempt. But it is not so-. Every supposition of
the kind is a foul and false aspersion ; and the Contrary
principle is laid down, with the utmost precision, as that
which is to regulate the verdicts of the great day : — " For
as many as have sinned without law, shall also perish with
out law ; and as many as have sinned in the law, shall be
judged by the law."+ The condemnation of the heathen
shall be grounded in the purest and most unimpeachable
equity. They shall be tried by the light and law of nature
and of original revelation ; and the ground of their sentence
shall be, their wilful forgetfulness and inexcusable ignor
ance of God, .and the perverse violation in their conduct,
of the suggestions of reason, and the dictates of conscience.
* Acts, xvii. 26.

AN EXCITEMENT TO MISSIONARY ZEAL. 21
" The Judge of all the earth" is " no respecter of perspns."
" A God of truth, and without iniquity, just and right is
he." It is sin which he hates and condemns; and he will
weigh in an even balance the aggravating and the alleviat
ing circumstances in the crimes of all, . and, with pure
unbiassed justice, proportion the punishment of every, man
to the measure of his guilt. While the heathen, therefore,
¦perish, it is '," without law:" they perish with an incon
ceivably less tremendous visitation of wrath, than that
which awaits those " sinners against their own souls," who
close their eyes against the blessed light of the Bible, who
shut their ears to the sounds of gospel grace, and, amidst
the terrors and the mercies of Calvary, are neither alarmed
by the one, nor melted by the other. But still the heathen
have a load of guilt upon them sufficient to sink them to
perdition ;— and still they are in a state of entire moral unfit
ness for the heaven of the Bible : they are dying by hundreds
and by thousands, and passing into eternity the unregene-
rate subjects of all their original and contracted pollution,
as completely unfit for heaven, and-as incapable of enjoying
its society and its pleasures, as darkness is incapable of
dwelling with light, Among the gods whom they serve,
there is no one. that can pardon tlieir guilt; no one that can
renew and purify their corrupt hearts, and fit them for that
holy arid happy plaee, into which " npthing shall enter that
¦ defileth, or that worketh abomination, or that maketh a
lie ; but they only who are written in the Lamb's book of
life." *
Fellow Christians ! you feel the unutterable preciousness
of the hope inspired by the gospel — " the hope of eternal
life." You have most of you experienced, ere you knew
"the truth as it is in Jesus," the bitterness of "having
no hope ;" and now you taste the inexpressible sweetness
of " good hope through grace." O, then, will you not
pity those fellpw-creatures who are still " without hope ?"
And will ypu npt send to them the knowledge of that God,
who is the God of hope, and the rock of your salvation? and
* Rev. xxi. 27,

22 CONTEMPLATION OF HEATHEN IDOLATRY
the tidings of that gospel, by which " life and incorruption are
brought to 'light ;" and of that " name whioh is above every
name;" that " only name under heaven given among men,
thereby they can be saved ;" that blessed name, which, to
all who inow it, is " as ointment poured forth ;" that name
which is the bond of union between earth and heaven, and
the knowledge and faith of which will at once unite them
in "fellowship, with saints belpw and saints above ; — the
name «f Jesus — of bim who -came " to seek arid to save
that which was lost;" of him "who " died for you, and rose
"again;" of that heavenly Saviour,
 "In whose blest life
You see tlie path, and, in his death, the price,
And in his great ascent, the proof supreme
Of immortality;"
I must now hasten to a close, by drawing from the sub
ject some further practical improvement.
In'the first-place: All the sentiments and feelings which
~kave ?bien illitstrdted ought to be prineiples of active and
tedious* exettion. They must neither be confined within the
bosom, nor must they be allowed to evaporate in empty
'expressions of grief, and wonder, and abhorrence, and
pity ; nor even in the utterance, whether secret or public,
of' prayer and supplication, however fervent, andhowever
importunate. Pfound tms'firSt observation on the example
'•of-flPaul, as exhibited for our imitation in the immediate
context. " His spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the
^city wholly! given to idolatry : therefore disputed he in the
'synagogue with the Jews, and with 'the devout persons, and
•in the market -daily, with those who-met with him."
After the primitive age of Christianity was past, for
-mapy a year, and many a generation, the .state of the
heathen world w>as tbe deep disgrace of professing Chris
tians. It was either entirely uothoHght of, or it was sur
veyed^ with' an unaccountable supineness ; or 'if /the survey
at all stirred their spirits within ' them, they only wept
their unprofitable tears, and sent up to heaven their indo
lent prayers. Few efforts 6f ' practical zeal were put forth

AN EXCITEMENT TO MISSIONARY ZEAL. 23
to enlighten the darkness, to purify the pollution, to remove
or to alleviate the spiritual wretchedness, that so fearfullj
prevailed. What was dark remained in obscurity ; what
was waste continued, in desplatian ; "what was wretched w(afl
left in misery.
The reproach of many cea£u#je,s has of late beep upjiip.g
away. An unprecedented impulse of benevolent seal. has
been given to the whale Christian world. All is life, anil
energy, and action. By Bible Societies, an£ Missjojnarj
Societies, and Tract and School Societies, efforts, are bow
making, the most extensive, the most prosperous, and the
mpst promising, for enlightening and evangelizing the entire
population of the globe. Let all these Institutions press pn.
in their respective " labours of love," with the holy emula
tion of piety and .philanthropy* and with none pf the little
envyings, and jealousies, and rivajships of party. " Let not
Judah vex Ephraim, and letnot Ephraim envy Judah"
My fathers and brethren, directors and members of this
Missionary Socjety ; — Gpd has honoured you with, a tege
measure of the exertion, apd of the success. He has, it
is true, tried ypur patience by delays — be has grieved, your.
spirits b.y disappointments ; but sjifl he has " fiaussd ypu
t? (triumph in Christ," He.has.afc.timesmadeypu.tp ",wm
in, tears;" but at length he has; given you to " reap, in joy,''
Gp on, and prosper. Let "'the joy of the Lm-d," spring
ing from past success, be " your strength " fbr further
exertipo. Ypu have his pwn word fpr it, that "the idols
he will utterly abolish." He has ahje^ady been making ypu
bis instruments in fulfilling his word ; an.d he will Wess yp.u
sfiH. " Trust in him at all times,; pour out your hearts,
before him." Temper zeal with prudence, and animate
prudence with zeal: let prayer accompany exertion, and
exertion testify the sincerity of prayer: and never let it
escape your remembrance, that even whep "iPaull planted,
and Apollos watered, .it was God that gave the increase."
" Save upw, we beseech thee, O Lord ; O Lord, we be
seech thee, send now prosperity !"
2dly. Let me, from this subject, endeavour to impress

24 CONTEMPLATION OF HEATHEN IDOLATRY
your minds with the necessity and the value of divine
revelation. Mr. Hume, the sceptical philosopher alluded tp in a
former part of this discourse, in supporting the strange
hypothesis, that polytheism was the primitive religion of
mankind, seems to fall into great, and yet not wonderful
inconsistency. " It seems certain," be says, " that, accord-
ipg te'the natural progress of human thought, the ignorant
multitude must first entertaip some grovellipg and familiar
Potions of superior powers, before they stretch their con
ception to that perfect Being,- who bestowed order on the
whole frame of nature*." Now, first of all, this is taking
for granted, what is not only opposite to the Scripture.
history of man, but as opposite to sound reason, and to
every rational and honourable couception we can form of
the goodness of God: it is taking for granted -that the
original condition of mankind was that of an " ignorant
multitude." But, passing this; — suppose mankind in this
condition— ignorant and barbarous : — was it in fact by the
researches of science and philosophy, that the knowledge*
of the true God was subsequently attained? Was #Hby
" the natural progress of human thought", that the jfcrine
unity and spirituality, omnipresence and omniscience,\in-
finite power, holiness, justice, goodness and truth, were\
actually discovered ? The whole history of the world at
tests the contrary; and we have only to refer to Mr. Hume
himself for an answer to this question: "It is a matter of
incpntestable fact," says he, "that, about 1700 years ago,
all mankindwere polytheists. The doubtful and sceptical
principles of a few philosophers, and the theism, and that
too not entirely pure, of 'one or two nations, form no ob
jection wnrth regarding." I might take notice here, how
lightly this philosopher finds it convenient to pass over the
remarkable difference in times preceding the commence
ment of the career of Christianity, between the Jews and
other nations, with respect to the knowledge of God : a dif-
* Hume's Essays.

AN EXCITEMENT TO MISSIONARY ZEAL. 25
lerence for which he makes no attempt to account. But,
without insisting on this, mark the period at which, accord
ing to his own statement, the aspect of the world began tp
•change. It was "about 1700 years ago;"* that is, when
the religion of Christ commenced its progress. Now we
know, that, in many Rations, long before that time, the
highest attainments had been made in human science, and
in the refinement of philosophical speculation. Was it,
then, we ask again, philosophy that 1700 years ago effected
the sublime discovery of the true nature and character of
the only God, and that originated the alteration in the state
of the world ? No. Mr. Hume himself will not even allow
the " doubtful and speculative principles of the few philoso
phers" who entertained them, to be held as any exception
to the universal polytheism of the human race. By thus
fixing the period when polytheism began to give way to
a rational faith and worship, he has (surely without in
tending it) taken the credit from philosophy, and assigned
it to Christianity. And was it, then, " according to the
natural progress of human thought" that the first en
lightened conceptions of Deity should have presented
themselves to the minds of the rude and unlettered fisher
men of Galilee ? that they shpuld have found their rise, nut
in the groves or the porticoes of Grecian philosophy, but
upon the shpres of the lake of Gennesaret? Yet such,
according to Mr. Hume's own admission, was the fact: for
he would be a hardy sceptic indeed, who should venture to
question whether Christianity, with the views of God which
it involves, was originally published by such men ; — men,
whom our philosopher thus advances to the very front in
the ranks of wisdom, and exalts
' " Above all Greek, above all Roman fame."
Let it not be said — these men belonged to a people who
had the knowledge of the true Gud previpusly amongst
them : for this is merely shifting the difficulty a step further
back ; the question still presenting itself— Whence, if not
* Speaking in round numbers from the time at which he wrofg.
E

26 CONTEMPLATION OF HEATHEN IDOLATRY
from God himself, did that knowledge come? When the
world by wisdom " knew not God," how did this contemned
and unphilosophical people obtain their superior views ?
It is to revelation, my friends, that we are indebted for
the knowledge of the true God. The intimations of bis
character and will imparted to the Jewish church, were the
prelude, the appropriate introduction, to the full and clear
revelation now given to the world.
The inductive, or experimental mode of reasoning; is
now admitted by all to be the surest way of arriving at the
discovery of truth. Yet, while philosophers admit this, apd
apply the principle, with scrupulous jealousy, in their in
vestigation of the various branches of human science, they
are, on the subject now before us, marvellously inconsistent
with themselves. They continue to talk, and to write,, of
the sufficiency of the light of pature, to guide men to God
and to- virtue, whilst the experience of every age and every
nation looks them broadly in the face, and contradicts all
their assertions. Never was experiment more completely
tried, under every conceivable variety of situation and cir
cumstance ; and, on every trial,' the great general result
has been uniformly the same. A pumber of concurrent
facts warrant, among men of science, the formation of a
theory: if opposing facts are afterwards discovered, the
theory is invalidated : jf such facts multiply, it is over
thrown. But here is a case, in which the facts are without
number, and all of them concurrent; — no exceptious — no
contradictory results. What, then, are we to think of
men, who, professing, on every other subject, their abhor
rence of mere hypothesis, can still, in such circumstances
as these, prefer theory to fact ? A glance at the heathen
world confutes their whole system. The most enlightened
nations, in the most enlighteped times, have not excelled
others, either in their views of Deity, or in their moral
worth. Even the philosophers of antiquity, eminent as they
were, were miserably defective, and grossly erroneous in
their views of God, and ofthe way pf obtaining his favpur;
as well as sadly inconsistent, and mutually contradictory in
their theories of morals. All that is good in any pf their

AN EXCITEMENT TO MISSIONARY ZEAL. 27
systems is to he found here — in this precious volume; — ¦
along with infinitely more, and infinitely better. And yet
the Bible must be discarded, and the crude conjectures of
such men, or of their brethren of modern times^-not supe
rior in powers, nor superior in candour, although superior
in unacknowledged privilege — must be substituted in its
place. Because others have had some glimmerings of un
certain light, (no matter whether of reason or of tradition)
we must shut our eyes in noon-day. Because.they had a
feeble taper, we must quench the sun. No! my brethren ;
blessed be God for this heavenly light! But for it, we
too should have been sitting in the region and shadow of
death ; " without God, and having no hope." But for it,
we, like pur ancestors, should have been immersed in all
the abominations and miseries of superstition; — treading
the cheerless journey of life, with " shadows, clouds, and
darkness," hanging over its termination. O, with what
exulting gratitude should we adopt the language of Zacha^
rias, extolling that God, " through whose tender mercy
the day-spring from on high hath visited us ; to give light
to them that sat in darkness and. in the shadow of death;
to guide our feet into the ways of peace !"|
3dly. The feelings expressed in the text imply the opposite
emotions of delight in witnessing foe contrary scene.
If the spirit be " stirred " with indignant grief for the
affront put upon the true God by the " abominable idola
tries" ofthe heathen, it cannot fail, to be stirred with exult
ing joy, when his alienated honours are restored, when the
apostate sons of men " turn unto God from their idols, to
serve the living and true God, aud to wait for his Son from
heaven." If we weep tears of sorrow over the ignorance,
and depravity, and wretchedness of men, tears of delight
will flow, when* by the reception of the truth as it is in
Jesus, they rise from their spiritual darkness, to the light
of kuowledge and holiness and joy. There is an interest
felt in heaven about the progress of the gospel on earth ;
an interest, springing at once from piety to God and bene-
vclence tp men. " There is jey in the presence of the
E 2

28 CONTEMPLATION OF HEATHEN IDOLATRY
angels of God over one sinner that repenteth."* "To
the principalities and powers in the heavenly places is made
known by the church"— by the whole scheme of redemption,
from its commencement to its completion-'-" the manifold
wisdom of God." f "These things the angels desire to
look into." J Heaven takes an interest in earth; for it is
from earth that heaven is peopled. There was a time,
when there was only one redeemed soul in heaven. Righte
ous Abel was there alone — the first fruits unto God and
the Lamb. Since then, sinners in every succeeding gene*
ration have been passing, first from the world to the church
on earth, and then from the church on earth to the church
in heaven. In proportion as the church on earth enlarges,
the population of heaven increases. And, when the church
shall have passed through tbe glory of the latter day** —
When " the mystery of God shall be finished " — when " the
trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorrupt
ible, and the living shall be changed; — there shall " stand
before the tbroue, and before the Lamb, a multitude which
no one can number, of every kindred, and tongue, and
people, and nation, with the -white robes of purity aud
gladpess, apd the * palms ' of victory and triumph, and
shall sing with a loud voice, Salvation to our God who
sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." Let me
ask you then, my hearers, does the prospect of this blessed
consummation stir your spirits within you ? Or, can you
hear of the progress of the Redeemer's cause, — of the
conversion of sinners at home and abroad, — of the over
throw of pagan idolatry, — tbe declension of Mahometan
delusion, — the slackening of the yoke of an ti -Christian
bondage, — and all the indications of a coming millennium, —
With an unmoved and stagnant mind ? When you hear
of a " sinner that repenteth," does no pulse of pleasure
beat? Does no springing tear find its way to your
eye ? Is no silent aspiration of praise breathed from your
heart to God? If not,— -surely you have not the mind of
* Luke, Xv. 7. 10. t Eph- Hi. 10. J 1 Pet. i. 12.

AN EXCITEMENT TO MISSIONARY ZEAL. 29
Paul ;— -Surely you are yet a stranger to the spirit of heaven.
The interest that is felt and manifested in the spread and
success of the gospel, is one of those pulses of the soui by
which the state of bis spiritual health may be most surely
ascertained. He certainly has no right impressions of his
obligations to God, who can view without emotion a re
volted world, — a world " given to idolatry ;"— he, surely,
has never felt the value of salvation to himself, who feels no
anxious desire to impart the knowledge of it to others.
Mast not he, think you, be a stranger to the love of Christ,
who participates not in his " satisfaction," when he " sees of
the travail of bis soul;"* — who feels no sympathy with the
gladfaess of" the good Shepherd," when he brings the stray
sheep home to bis fold, and says, " Rejoice with me, for I
have found my sbeep which was lostf'f Try yourselves
by this test. 1 say not that a practical and liberal interest
about the cause of missions is, by itself, unattended with
ether evidences, a certainly conclusive proof of genuine
ChrisManity; — but I am very sure, that the entire want of
such an interest is a sadly satisfying proof of the contrary,
— ^of the absence ofthe religion of Jesus from tbe heart.
Athly. The guilt of idolatry , it is lo be feared, attaches to
<mdny who little imagine that they are at all chargeable with
any thing ofthe kind.
Yes — there are many who may even, in contemplating
the idolatries of the heathen, condemn, and wonder, and
pity, without at all reflecting on the possibility oftheir being
themselves in the same condemnation. You are not wor
shipping the host of heaven ; — you are not adoring deified
men; — you are not falling down to stocks and stones; —
you are not making to yourselves graven images, likenesses
of things in heaven above, or in the earth beneath, or in
the waters under the earth ; — aud you conclude you are
not idolaters. But what is the spirit of idolatry ? Is it
not the alieuatibp of the heart from God ? Is it nat the
Withholding from him, and the giving to other objects,
whatever they may be, that homage and thpse affectiens,
• Isaiah, liii. 11. t Luke, xv. 6.

30 CONTEMPLATION OF HEATHEN IDOLATRY
to which he alone is entitled ? Every man's idol is that on
which his heart is supremely set; and every heart in which
Jehovah is not enthroned, is an idol's temple. Is there
present in this assembly any man of ambition, who is pur
suing, with the full ardour of his miud, " the honour that
cometh from man ;" — whose spirit is panting for power, and
station, and influence, and present or posthumous fame; —
and whose thoughts, and schemes, and anxieties, and efforts
are expended for their attainment ? His heart is withheld
from God ; — he is " given up to idolatry." — Is there in this
assembly a man of this world, whose mind, whose time,
whose exertions are devoted to the acquisition of its
wealth; — who, for the attainment of this, "rises early,
and sits up late, and eats the bread of carefulness, and,
immersed in the projection and execution of plans of
worldly emolumeut, is thoughtless of his soul, of eteruity,
apd of God?: — Whether that map hoards up his stores
with the avarice of a miser, or expends them on the
gratification ofthe "lust ofthe eye and the pride pf life," —
his heart is not God's ; he has in him the, spirit of idplatry.
He may not have Deities whom he names Plutus or Mam
mon ; but he might have both, and be little more ah idolater
than he already is. — Is there in this assembly a- man whom
Providence has blessed with a fulness of domestic joys ;—
who, in the bosom of a lovely family, finds the ample grati
fication of his desire for happiness ; — who smiles through
tears of delight on the objects of his fond affectiop, and,
because it is right he should love them, fancies that his en
joyment is more than innocent, — that it is virtuous and
praiseworthy? — I would, in the spirit of kindness, remind
such a man, that there is one higher thap father and mother,
and wife and children, and that if He has not the first place
in our hearts, even the exercise of natural affection be
comes idolatry. Let these affections be hallowed by faith
and piety ;— let an altar be reared in your household to
" the God ofthe families of Israel." Till this is done, your
family is your idol; — it estranges your heart from God : —
the object of your attachmeut is lawful, but your attachment
itself is idolatrous.— Is there in this assembly a man of

AN EXCITEMENT TO MISSIONARY ZEAL. 31
science, who employs his time and his powers in the re
searches of philosophy, in one or in all of its diversified
departments ?— -His employment is rational, manly, honour
able. But, oh! let him listen to the voice of friendly warn
ing. Science may be the god of his idolatry. He may
study nature, without a single thought of " Nature's God."
He may explore the wonders of creation, without pne rising
sentiment nf devotipn to the " Maker omnipotent." Or, if
he pay a passing compliment to his power and his skill, he
may view him only as a wonderful Artist; — he may be blind
and insensible to the beauties of his moral perfections ;—
these may be unheeded, unadmired, unadored., The au
thority of God may not be his rule, nor the fear and love of
God his springs nf actipn ; npr the glory of God his end.
He may trifle with the claims of the Bible. ' He may live in
wilful ignorance of the God of salvation. Science is good ;
but if it exclude God, it is science falsely so called. The
sun, moon, and stars may as effectually take away a man's
heart from God, as if he were a professed worshipper of
the ''host of heaven;" — and many a one whom
" Science never taught to stray, ,
Far as the solai1 walk, or milky way,"
shall stand accepted at last as an humble believer, a lover,
and a worshipper of " the God and Father of our Lord
Jesus Christ;" whilst the philosopher of this world, who
lived and died "without Christ and without God," shall be
rejected as an idolater of science and of self, and shall pre
sent an affecting illustration of the Saviour's words, " I
thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
thou hast hid these things from the wise apd prudent, and
hast revealed them unto babes !" * — Lastly : Is there in this
assembly any one who presumes to offer his worship to God
under any other view of his character than that which is
presented in the gospel ; or in any other way than that
which the gospel prescribes ? Let such recollect, that there
is but one Gpd ; that this one God has one immutable cha-
* Matt. xi. 23.

82 CONTEMPLATION OF HEATHEN IDOLATRY
racter; that this character is essential to his very, being,;
that the God of the Bible is this one God ; and that if he is
not worshipped as he is there made known, it is not God
that is worshipped, but an idol,"— a creature of our own
imagination. We may, in our minds, divest God of some
of bis essential perfections; and then we may fall down and
worship him in our own way. But this is idolatry, both in
the spirit and in the letter.— Is there in this assembly any
self-ignorant and deluded soul, that will presume to come
to God in the relation of a creature, while he refuses that
prostration of a "broken and contrite heart," which be
comes him as a sinner ;— who will venture before the throne
of purity and justice in his own name, and on the ground
of his own doings, and not in the name and through the
obedience apd sacrifice of the blessed Redeemer ? — Were
I to say, that such worship Gould be accepted of God, I
should be using my influence to deceive his soul, and to
bring his blood upon my own head. The gospel addresses
us in the character of sinners. Ip^hiftj character, it invites
us to return tpiQffi. And how,,^e^6h#nld sinners return
to God,— return to J^ir justly^$n'-4-eqfSo.y£reign ? Surely,
with the feelings and the language of humble broken-hearted
petitioners for mercy; deeply Jeeljng; and ipeely owning,
the righteousness of the sentence that has condemned them ;
—sensible of their entire unworthiness of a favourable re
ception ; and relying for acceptance on' " grace reigning
through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ
our Lord." — It is indispensably necessary to the acceptable
approach- of any sinner' to God, that his spirit be brought
down to his situation; that be take the low ground, as to
himself, wbieh the gospel of Christ assigns him. As a sin
ner, he must come to God pleading the blood of tbe
Saviour's atonement, and the merits of his perfect righ
teousness ;-— -as a sinner, he must continue to worship, pre
senting all his services, of every description, ip the name of
Jesus; — adopting, as the expression of his faith and his
feelings, the lapguage of the dying martyr, " None but
Christ, none but Christ;" making Hin/" all his salvation,
and all his desire."— "To whom confine-, as unto a livinsr

AN EXCITEMENT TO MISSIONARY ZEAL. 33
stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and
precious, ye also, as liviug stopes, are built up a spiritual
house, (aud are) a holy priesthood, to offer unto God
spiritual sacrifices, acceptable thrdugh Jesus Christ."*—
" Whatsoever you do, in word or deed, do all in the name
ofthe Lord Jesus, giving thanks unto God, even the Father,
by him." f " By him, therefore, let us offer unto God the
sacrifice of praise continually, that is, the fruit of our lips,
giving thanks unto his name." J And whilst you present
the sacrifice of praise, shew your sincerity, by bringing
with you a more substantial offering :— " to do good, and
to communicate forget not ; for with such sacrifices God is
well pleased." §
To excite you to fulfil this duty with becoming liberality,
I have only to remind you, that you owe to God not only
a contribution for the future support pf his cause, but also
a debt ef gratitude for the past manifestations of his favour.
Recent events warrapt me to say, that- this debt, due to
God by the friends ofthe Missionary Society, never was so
large as it is at the 'present moment. Think, then, as you
leave this place, or^P&heite and Eimeo : — think of their
ruined temples ; think' of their outcast idols';- — think of the
erection in Taheite atone0 'of fifty places of Christian wor
ship: — add to your intended contributions for the future,
a thank-offering for the past : — and, as this Society never
presented claims so powerfully persuasive on your liberal
support, let this be the largest collection ever made in its
behalf! * 1 Pet. ii. 3—5. t Col. iii. 17.
t Heb. xiii. 15. § Heb. xiii. 16.

THE END.

THE DUTY OF IMITATING DEPARTED WORTH:

SERMON
OCCASIONED BY THE LAMENTED DEATH

OF THE LATE

ROBERT BALFOUR, D. D.

PREACHED IN

ALBION STREET CHAPEL, GLASGOW,
OCTOBER 25th, 1818.

By RALPH WARDLAW.

Printed at the University Press,
FOR JOHN SMITH AND SON, GLASGOW.
WILLIAM WHYTE AND CO. J WAUGH AND INNES; AND ADAM BLACK,
EDINBURGH.
LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN; OGLES AND CO.";
AND THOMAS HAMILTON, LONDON.
1818.

A. & J. DUNCAN,
Printers to the University.

TO
THE MOURNING FAMILY
OF THE VENERATED DEAD,
THIS TRIBUTE, TO THE MEMORY OF
HIS CHRISTIAN AND MINISTERIAL EXCELLENCIES,
IS INSCRIBED,
WITH HEART-FELT SYMPATHY.
BY
THE AUTHOR.

PREFACE.

The Author of the following Sermon felt some little em
barrassment in preparing that part of it for the pulpit, which
immediately relates to the excellent Minister by whose death it
was occasioned, in consequence of having anticipated himself.
Having written the sketch of Dr. Balfour's character,
which appeared in the Herald, and other newspapers of the
City, he was solicitous to avoid the repetition, in preaching, of
what was already before the public, through the medium of
the press. To supply, therefore, what may seem a deficiency
in that part of the Discourse, he considers it necessary to in
sert the sketch alluded to, in this place.
" This excellent man, and eminent minister of the Gospel,
died hereon Tuesday, the 13th. instant, after an illness which
attacked him suddenly in the street, on the preceding day,
which did not admit of his reaching home, and which termi
nated fatally, in the friend's house to which he had been con
ducted, in about thirty-two hours.
" Dr. Balfour was born and educated in Edinburgh. Af
ter being licensed a preacher of the Gospel, he declined an
invitation to the pastoral charge from the Congregation of La
dy Glenorchy's Chapel, there ; and, having preferred a pre
sentation to the parish of Lecropt*, was ordained Minister, of
that parish, where he officiated for about five years. In the
beginning of the year 1779, he was removed to the Outer
High Church of this City ; and he continued in that charge
till the close of his valued life. He died in the 7 1st year of
his age, the 45th of his ministry, and the 40th of his pasto
ral incumbency in Glasgow.
* I have since heard it said, that this is a mistake, and that the
Doctor was settled at Lecropt previously to his receiving the invita
tion to Lady Glenorchy's Chapel. Fuller biographical details,
which will no doubt appear, will put the public in possession of cor
rect information.

" It is not easy, in a short paragraph or two, to do justice to
a character, in which so many excellent qualities were asso
ciated : qualities of the mind, and of the heart ; developed in
public, as well as in private life ; and securing to their pos
sessor an equal measure of admiration, of esteem, and of love.
One of the principal charms of this character, which pervaded,
and animated, and endeared the whole, was warmth qf heart
— a cordial kindness qf disposition. His affections were
remarkably strong ; — his temper, naturally somewhat warm, was
subdued and chastened by the reigning power of religious
principle : — and, with the finest and tenderest sensibilities, he
united an uncommon firmness of mind, the product, at once,
of natural constitution, and of gracious influence ; which,
while it marked his general deportment, was especially con
spicuous under the afflictions of life; enabling him, in private,
to maintain a dignified Christian composure, and, in some of
his public appearances, even when his spirit was burdened with
the heaviest griefs, to rise above himself, and to elevate his
charmed, and arrested, and melted audience along with him,
to the purest and sublimest heights of devotional feeling.
" In the intercourse of private life, no man could more em
phatically be said to enjoy his friends, than Dr. Balfour.
In the social circle, he opened his heart to all the reciproca
tions of kindness ; — his countenance beamed with pleasure;
— and, even in age, he retained the glow and the vivacity of
youth. His familiar conversation was characterized by a cheer
ful and facetious pleasantry ; — but he ever turned with delight
to sacred subjects; no man could make the transition more
rapidly and entirely ; and on these he was always at home,
speaking " out of the abundance of his heart.'' — Having him
self experienced the bitterness of domestic affliction, and the
sweetness of the consolations of religion, he excelled as a
comforter of the mourners. He was a wise, affectionate,
and faithful counsellor ; and to the young especially, who,
on sacramental or other occasions, came to converse with hfon
on religious concerns, he displayed a paternal tenderness, and
a condescending and; insinuating gentleness, which won his
way to their hearts, and drew them to the paths of piety with
the cords of love.
" The bitter tears of surviving relatives bear testimony to his

domestic virtues, and to the delight which his presence dif
fused through the family circle ; — the deep-felt sadness of the
intimates of his early days, to the sincerity, the cordiality, and
the steadiness of his friendships ; — and the acute and pensive
sorrow of a mourning people, to the long-tried and sterling
worth of his pastoral ministrations. — The distinguishing cha
racters of his preaching were, — a clear and comprehensive
view of his subject, — textual distinctness of arrangement, —
luminous exhibition of truth, — pointed discrimination of
character, — a thorough intimacy with the labyrinths of the
heart, and with the varieties, genuine and delusive, of Christian
experience — warmth of persuasive earnestness, — faithful close
ness of practical application, — and an exuberant command of
appropriate and powerful expression. He adhered, with ex
emplary constancy, to the Apostolic determination, " not to
know any thing amongst his hearers, save Jesus Christ and
him crucified." All his pulpit addresses, whether doctrinal
or hortatory, bore, through their entire texture, the impress
of the cross. — The doctrines of salvation by free grace were
held forth, in all their scriptural purity and simplicity ; and the
necessity of practical godliness, as the result of the faith of
these doctrines, was urged with unremitting fidelity. — His was
not the icy coldness of speculative orthodoxy. His preaching
was truly the utterance qf the heart. Those who have
listened to him, in his happy moments of warm and impassion
ed elevation, have heard him pour forth the fulness of an af
fectionate spirit ; warning, alarming, inviting, persuading, be
seeching ; his whole soul thrown into his countenance ; and,
in his penetrating eye, the fire of ardent zeal gleaming through
the tears of benignity and love.
" During the long period of his ministry, he grew every day
in the affectionate admiration and esteem of the people of his
charge ; to whom no charms of novelty or variety could ever
fully compensate for the absence of their own beloved instruc
tor ; and amongst whom there were many, who, with the pe
culiar tenderness of filial attachment, looked up to him as their
spiritual father. — Twelve years ago, he had occasion to give
practical evidence of the strength of his reciprocal attachment
to his flock, by declining, in opposition to a variety of se-

cular inducements, a pressing call to a charge in the metro
polis. " Although himself attached to the Established Church of
Scotland, he exemplified a generous and cordial liberality to
ward those who dissented from her communion. Christians
of every persuasion united in esteeming and loving him ; —
and, by a uniform consistency of personal and ministerial de
portment ; by zealous " readiness to every good work," for
advancing the interests, whether temporal or spiritual, of indi
viduals, of his City, of his country, or of the great family of
mankind, he secured an approving testimony in the consciences
of all. Never was reputation, during so long a period of trial,
more unblemished. If the breath of slander ever touched him,
it was like breaching on a mirror of steel ; — the dimness pass
ed away in an instant, leaving the polished surface brighter
than before.
" The mortal remains of this estimable man and valued Mi
nister were, on Tuesday last, 20th October, 1818, attended to
the narrow house by a large assembly of sincere mourners, and
amidst an unprecedented concourse of spectators, along all the
streets through which the funeral procession passed ; affording
an impressive testimony of the universality of the public senti
ment of regard, and of that deserved popularity, as a Minister,
which from the first was uncommonly high, and which con
tinued without abatement from the commencement to the
close of his career.
' THE MEMORY OF THE JUST IS BLESSED !' "
23d October, 1818.

A SERMON.

Hebrews xiii. 7.

" Whose faith follow, considering the end of their conver
sation."
These words evidently refer to former teachers of
the Church in Jerusalem, of, more generally, ofthe
Churches in Judea. The language used respecting
them implies, that they had closed their ministerial
labours, and their earthly pilgrimage*: but whether
they had been martyred by the Hand of persecuting
violence, or had fallen asleep in Jesus in the ordinary

* The designation " them that have the rule over you," may seem to
the English reader an objection to this. It ought to be simply " your
guides, or leaders."—" That the apostle speaks here not of their living
" but dead guides, will appear, partly from his exhortation to remember
" them, the living guides being the objects, not of their memory, but
" sense ; partly from the phrase " who have spoken?' which intimates
" that they had now left off speaking ; and partly from the close or pe-
" riqd of their conversation here on earth, which they are exhorted to
" look back unto -. their living Bishops they are commanded to obey,
" v. 17- their dead Bishops to remember, verse 7," &c. — Whitby.
B

10
course of nature, cannot with certainty be ascertained.
The former may be considered as the more probable
supposition ; because it renders the example, which is
recommended to imitation, the more remarkable, and
the more animating. But that the writer had at all
in his eye Stephen, the first martyr, and James, who
was beheaded by Herod, will not appear likely, when
the interval of time is recollected, that had elapsed
between their respective martyrdoms, and the date of
this epistle; — the former having happened probably
thirty, and the latter twenty years before it was writ
ten *. The case is one of needless conjecture. The
Hebrews themselves, who are addressed, would be
at no loss to understand the reference, and to sup
ply the appropriate names; and, in as far as we
are concerned, knowledge is not, in the remotest
degree, necessary to our edification. If, indeed, as
is surely most probable, the allusion is to pastors
and teachers, who, at the time when the letter was
written, had more recently " finished their course,"
as we are not in possession of any particulars of
their history, mere names would not have conveyed
to our minds the slightest information.
* Assigning the death ef Stephen to the year 34, that of James to
the year 44, and the writing of this epistle to the year 64. Some place
it two or three years earlier.

11
From the manner in which the eighth verse is ren
dered in our translation, without the supplementary
verb " is," — " Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and
to-day, and for ever," — mere English readers are apt
to run the 7th and 8th verses together, as if it
were meant, that Jesus Christ had been the end of
their conversation. No one, however, who under
stands and has looked at the original, can fancy this
for a moment; nor will the English reader find the
view suggested by any commentator. The construc
tion in the Greek will not at all admit of it; nor does
the word translated " end" ever signify final cause,
or object, but simply close, termination, or issue. —
A man's conversation usually expresses, in the English
Bible, his general conduct, or course of life. In the
text it seems, along with this, its more ordinary sig
nification, to include the period of time during which
this course had been pursued; and also, perhaps, the
sufferings and the enjoyments of life, as well as its do
ings; all that had been experienced, during its con
tinuance, of evil or of good, as well as all that had
been performed of active service*. u- The end oftheir
conversation," then, is the termination of their service
on earth, — the issue of their course of life. The
* I introduce this last idea in deference to the authority of Schleus-
ner; Lexicon, on the word amirr^ipn, Sect. 4.

12
8th verse ought, by the supplement of the substan
tive verb, to be converted into a distinct proposition :
" Jesus Christ (is) the same yesterday, to-day, and for
ever." This general proposition will then be suscep
tible of two gelations: either to vvhat precedes, or to
what follows. In the former view, as referring to the
loss they had been called to sustain, of pastoral in
struction and superintendence, it contains a most con
solatory and encouraging suggestion. He remains
immutably the same; in all his divine perfections, in
all his mediatorial relations and excellencies ; in his
love, and truth, and power, and care of his Church.
Under-shepherds may fall, and we may deeply feel,
and bitterly bewail, the loss. But " the Lord liveth:"
the " Chief Shepherd," and « Bishop of Souls" sur
vives. " Death hath no more dominion over Himj"
and he is still '' Head over all things to the Church,
which is his body, the fulness of Him who filleth all
in all." — In the latter view, it contains an admonition
to consistency and stability in their profession of the
Christian faith. " Jesus Christ is the same yesterday,
and to-day, and for ever." " The Son of God, Jesus
Christ," says Paul to the Corinthians, " who was
preached among you by us, even by me, and Sylva
nus, and Timotheus, was not yea and nay; but in him
was yea*." As he is himself unchangeably true, his
• 2 Cor. i. 19.

13
doctrine does not shift and fluctuate. It is not " yea
and nay;" affirmation to-day, and denial to-morrow:
(< but in him is yea," a permanent and unvarying af
firmation ofthe same truths. He is immutably the
same in his testimony, and in all his personal and offi
cial characters, as the great subject of that testimony.
" Be not (therefore) carried about" (such is the
admonition which follows my text) " with diverse
and strange doctrines."
Some may prefer the one of these views of the con
nexion, and some the other. I see nothing to pro
hibit our including both. A sentiment may be na
turally introduced in connexion with what we have
already written, and then be made the basis of a sub
sequent inference. It may be suggested by what pre
cedes, and may itself suggest what follows.
Whilst the words of the text have an immediate
and special reference to departed teachers, they are,
in the spirit of them, applicable to all those of our
fellow- Christians, who have closed their pilgrimage,
and are gone to inherit the promises.
We shall endeavour to illustrate a little,
I. The Exhortation itself: — and
II. The motive by which compliance with it is
RECOMMENDED.

14
I. The Exhortation itself 'is contained in the words,
" Whose faith follow"
To follow, or to imitate the faith of these deceased
pastors and teachers, may be considered as including
three things: —
In the first place : Holding fast, as they had done,
to the end of life, the word of the Divine testimony;
" the faith once delivered unto the saints :" — holding
fast this faith, in all its original apostolic purity and
simplicity, free from those errors, so profusely, so as
siduously, and so seducingly vended by false teach
ers ; by which its real nature, as a scheme of grace,
was subverted, and its efficacy for salvation destroyed.
It is an admonition, to retain in their minds, and in
their hearts, as the subject of a firm belief, and the
object of an affectionate adherence, " the faithful
word, as it had been taught them," and as it had been
attested to them by the God of truth, " in signs, and
wonders, and diverse miracles and gifts of the Holy
Ghost* :" not to be " moved away from him that had
called them into the grace of Christ, to another gos
pel f: not to suffer themselves, by mistaken Judaism,
and false philosophy, to be " corrupted from the
simplicity that is in Jesus £:" — but, after the example
of those faithful men, who were now no more, to.
* Heb. ii. 4. f Giu" »• 6- t 2 Cor- »¦ 3-

15
cleave to the unadulterated word of the testimony,
with a growing earnestness, and decidedness, and con
stancy of attachment.
Secondly: Cleaving, with the same steadfastness of
faith, to the Divine promises.
The promises are founded upon the testimony:
they rest on it, as their basis: — they are " yea and
amen, in Christ Jesus" — and they are, indeed, "ex
ceeding great and precious." They regard " the life
that now is:" securing to us, not only all such tempo
ral blessings as are essentially for our good, but all
needful supplies of Divine grace, till the close of our
pilgrimage: — and they regard " the life that is to
come," in all its " fulness of joys, and pleasures for
evermore." I mention the faith of the Divine promises dis
tinctly from the faith of the Divine testimony, not as
being capable of a separate existence in the mind,
but because it is as immediately regarding the promis
es of God, that faith is " the confidence of things
hoped for ;" and, because this confidence must have
been the chief sustaining and animating principle of
these " holy men of God," under all the trials and
persecutions, probably even unto death, to which
their ministry had exposed them. — Following them
in their faith of these promises, may be considered

16
as including the imitation of those other graces arid
virtues, which seem more directly to arise from the
exercise of such faith ; such as patience, resignation,
contentment, fortitude, arid joy. Iri the preceding
context, the promises of God, especially as they re*
gard the period of his people's abode on earth, are
Summed up in one, which is indeed of inestimable
value, and comprehensive of all that a creature can
eVer needi or ought ever to desire; and several of
the virtues enumerated are inculcated on the ground
of it: — " Let your conversation be without covetous
ness ; and be content with such things as ye have ;
for he hath said, I will never leave thee nor for
sake thee : so that we may boldly say, the Lord is
my helper ; I will not fear what man shall do unto
me *."
Thirdly: Following their faith implies, ithitating
it in all its practical effects.-rAThis is abundantly
clear. Faith is not followed at all, unless it be prac-^
tically followed. The imitation of it cannot be ma
nifested in any other way, than the way in which it
manifests its own existerice ; that is, by the fruits of
a holy life. To follow their faith, is to follow their
entire example of believing obedience; the effect of
their faith, as " purifying their hearts *," " working
* Heb. xiii. 5, 6. * Acts xv. 8.

17
by love *," and " overcoming the world f." It is
to follow them in " the work of faith," and " the
labour of love ;" in " all holy conversation and
godliness ;" in enduring, and in executing, the whole
will of God. Paul, without doubt, knew the cha
racters of those whom he here recommends to their
remembrance and their imitation. The very recom
mendation implies, that they had been, during their
Christian life and ministry, " examples to the believ
ers in word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit,
in faith, in purity |." What he elsewhere says, in
reference to himself, and to others his fellow labourers,
is only an amplification of the more concise admoni
tion in our text: — " Brethren^ be followers together of
me, and mark them who walk so, as ye have us for
an ensample: (fbr many walk, of whom I have told
you often, and now tell you, even weeping, that they
are the enemies of the cross of Christ ; whose end
is destruction, whose god is their belly, and whose
glory is in their shame, who mind earthly things:)
for our conversation is in heaven; from whence
also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ;
who shall change our vile body, that it may be
fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to
the working whereby he is able even to subdue
* Gal. v. 6. f ' John v- 4- 1 I T""- iv- 12>
c

18
all things unto himself*." " Finally, brethren, what
soever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are
pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things
are of good report ; if there be any virtue, and if
there be any praise, think on these things. Those
things which ye have both learned, and received,
and heard, and seen in me, do; and the God of
peace shall be with you f." When he says, in our
text, " whose faith follow," he, in effect, says,
" Those things which ye have both learned, and re
ceived, and heard, and seen" in those faithful pas
tors, " who have spoken to you the word of God,"
" do ; and the God of peace shall be with you."
And, my brethren, what he said of old to the He
brew believers, he now says to us. His affectionate
admonition, in the spirit and in the letter of it,
not only may, but ought to be transferred by us,
to every eminent example of Christian and minis
terial excellence, that appears in the church in our
own days.
We come now very briefly to illustrate,
II. The motive by which compliance with the
exhortation is recommended: — " Considering the
* Phil. iii. 17, 21. f ?""• iv. 8, 9.
2

19
end qf their conversation " that is, as formerly no
ticed, the close or issue of their course of life.
This comprehends three particulars : — Their state
in dying; — their death itself, as terminating their earth
ly service; — and their departure out of this life, as the
commencement qf a better.
In the first place : To " consider the end of their
conversation," is to contemplate their state in dying.
It is more than probable, that the faithful servants of
Christ, and of the church for his sake, to whom
our text refers, whether they closed their lives on
their beds, or laid them down at the place of mar
tyrdom, had " finished their course" in the full tri
umph of faith and hope; that they had been enabled
to bear, in death, an honourable testimony to the
all-sufficiency of that blessed Saviour, whom it had
been the business of their life to publish and to re
commend. Such scenes are, in a high degree, edi
fying, confirming, animating. They afford a trial
of those principles which have been professed through
life, eminently fitted to establish the confidence, and
to invigorate and elevate the hopes, of all who wit
ness them. It is true, indeed, that apparent tran
quillity, and even cheerfulness in death, may arise
from a variety of causes, the operation of which,

20
however interesting and useful the discussion might
be, your time will not permit me at present to ex
plain : — from natural fortitude ; from insensibility of
conscience ; from pride of spirit, determined to con
ceal the real state of the feelings; from erroneous
principles, supported by the plausibilities of sophis
try, and recommended by a deceitful heart; espe
cially, from habitually and systematically low concep
tions of the holiness and justice of the Divine charac
ter, of the requirements and sanctions of the Divine
law, and of the evil and demerit of sin. But when,
in opposition to all these, we see a man, who is not
constitutionally bold in spirit, whose conscience is
tender, and whose heart is humble, and who has on
his mind just, and clear, and powerful impressions of
the unspotted purity and the unbending righteousness
of " the Judge 01 all;" of the extent, the spiritual
ity, and the fearful sanctions of his law; of the deadly
guilt of transgression, and of the large measure of
his own individual sinfulness and evil deservings ; —
when we see such a man, amidst views and impres
sions which, in themselves, are sufficient to convulse
the soul with agony, and to overwhelm it in despair,
in the full enjoyment of humble confidence, of peace,
and hope, and gladness, and even, perhaps, of the
sacred and triumphant elevation of inward victory

2)
over the fears of death and of judgment; — we then
have before our eyes a lively and impressive evidence
of the adaptation of the principles of the gospel to
the true state, and character, and relations, and pros
pects, of sinful man ; an evidence, that, as they have
been suited in life, so are they suited in death, to the
secret convictions and anticipations of the conscience,
and to the felt necessities of the human soul.
It is certainly in itself a desirable thing, that they
who have borne a living, should be enabled to bear
also a dying testimony, to the truth, and excellence,
and suitableness, of the glorious gospel. But, how
ever desirable, it is not at all necessary to our confi
dence respecting the happiness of our departed Chris
tian friends. It is the life, rather than the death,
that forms the clearest and most substantial ground of
assurance of a man's interest in Christ, and of his
blessedness beyond the grave. The cases are not
unfreqnent (we have more than one this day before
us*,) in which, either the extreme suddenness, or the
particular nature, of the mortal distemper, deprives
surviving relations and friends of the gratification they
so naturally and so earnestly desire, to have some
• Two days previous to Dr. Balfour's death, one of the members
of the church in Albion Street had died still more suddenly,. having
survived under the stroke that carried her off, only from ten to fifteen
minutes.

22
death-bed sayings, some parting words, some sacred
relicks of sentiment and feeling, which they may trea
sure up in their memories and hearts, and repeat with
tender and mournful delight, in recounting to each
other the memorabilia of that loved friend, whose
empty chair, in the family circle, reminds them of
dear enjoyments that are never to return.
But it is not a few words, however excellent and
however desirable, uttered from a dying pillow, that
can give " the full assurance of hope," respecting a
departed friend's felicity. We wish for such words,
indeed ; and, if the power of articulate speech be
gone, we desire even a silent sign, to intimate to us,
whether the Saviour be still dear to him; whether,
in the valley of the shadow of death, the Lord be
with him ; whether his faith and hope be still in God 5
— and the lifting of the finger, or the inclination of
the head, in reply to such inquiries, comes like a
soothing charm upon the heart. But, in occasionally
denying us such gratifications, by snatching our
friends from us in a moment, or by locking up their
mental powers in insensibility, may it not be the very
purpose of the Divine providence, to impress on our
minds the important lesson, that, when the life has
been a life of faith upon the Son of God; and, in
the case of a minister of Christ, when " his doctrine

23
and his life, coincident, have given lucid proof, that
he was honest in the sacred cause,'' and himself a
genuine subject of that grace which he proclaimed to
others ; — that it is from this we should form our esti
mate of the man ; that from this we should derive our
hopes, or more than hopes, that he has gone to hea
ven ; and that there is a danger of our resting more
than enough upon the closing scene ? He who has,
whilst in full possession of his mental and corporeal
energies, been " living to the Lord," although his life
should be closed in the melancholy privation of both,
we may be well assured " dies also to the Lord :" —
dying, as well as living, " he is the Lord's." The
soul of such a man is as safe, when, with its faculties
locked up, it struggles from an insensible frame, as
when, in the perfect and spirited exercise of all its
powers and all its sensibilities, it throws out from
it, in its departure, the brilliant corruscations of
faith and hope.
Secondly : " Considering the end of their conver
sation," implies, contemplating their death, as the
final close of their earthly service.
It was the end of all their labours and of all their
usefulness. The Hebrews had seen and heard their
teachers; but they saw them and heard them no

24
longer. The place, in the meetings of the saints,
that had once known them, knew them now no more.
This should have been to the Hebrews, and it ought
to be to us, at once an affecting and a rousing
thought. " The prophets, do they live for ever?"
It is, indeed, an occurrence of no ordinary interest and
solemnity, when a faithful and a useful labourer in
the church of God finishes his course : — when those
lips are closed in perpetual silence, that have long
been imparting to listening multitudes the knowledge
that maketh wise unto salvation: — when a living
agent is removed, whom God has been honouring to
turn many to righteousness, and who has been long
and effectually contributing to stem the torrent of
iniquity in an ungodly world.
Such occurrences ought to operate upon us, as
powerful incentives to renewed and unwearied dili
gence. We should " consider the end of their con
versation," that our minds may be more deeply
impressed with the remembrance, that " life is the
time to serve the Lord ;" that " our days are as the
days of a hireling ;" that, in whatever department of
service we are employed, our time, too, like theirs,
must quickly come to a close. The voice of Pro
vidence, in such events, is the same with the voicfe'
of the Divine] Word. The former seconds, with

25
impressive eloquence, the salutary admonitions of
the latter ; bringing them home to the mind with
all the superadded force of fact and experienpe : —
"Be not slothful," (such is the, charge of both) ;-.
" but followers of those who through faith a.nd pa
tience inherit the promises." — " Redeem the time,
because the days are evil :" — " Whatsoever thy
hand findeth to do, do it with thy might ; for there
is no wisdom, nor counsel, nor work, nor device
in the grave, whither thou goest*." The injunctions
and the warnings are addressed to us by that Lord and
Master, who has himself set before us the only per
fect example: — " My meat is to do the will of Him
that sent me, and to finish his work :'V- " I must
work the works of him that sent me, while it is day ;
the night cometh when no man can work :" — " I have
glorified thee on the earth ; I have finished the work
which thougavest me to dof." He who thus fulfil
led his own charge, has given a charge to us, — " Oc
cupy till I come :" and it is only by our imitating
himself, in active and persevering fidelity of service,
that we shall be able, at the close, to say with Paul,—*
" The time of my departure is at hand : I have fought
a good fight, I have finished my course, I have
*"¦- * Heb. vi. 12. Eph. v. 16. Eccl. ix. 10.
f John iv. 54. John ix. 4. John xvii. 4.
D

26
kept the faith : henceforth there is laid up for me
a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the
righteous Judge, ' shall give me at that day ; and
not to me only, but to all them also that love his
appearing*." Thirdly : To " consider the end of their conversa
tion," is to contemplate the termination oftheir earth
ly life as the commencement qf a better.
Surely we do not rightly consider the issue of their
course, when we stop at the grave. The blessedness
is, beyond a doubt, included, to which the close of
their term of service had introduced them. It is the
happy result that is meant of all their toils and all
their trials,— when they " rested from their labours,
and their works followed them." The Apostle, in the
preceding chapter, exhorts believers to " run the race
set before them* looking unto Jesus, the author and
finisher of their faith; who," says he, " 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."* Now, this was the end of his con
versation ; the blessed and glorious issue of the work
which was given him to do- His faithful servants
" hear his voice and follow him" in life, and at death
* 2 Tim. iv. 6—8. f Heb. xii. 2

27
they go to be with him, to " behold his glory," — to
" enter into his joy." " For to me to live is Christ ;
and to die is gain. Yet what I shall choose I wot
not : for I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire
to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better *."
"Now he that hath wrought us for the self-same
thing is God, who also hath given' unto us the earnest
of the Spirit. Therefore, we are always confident,
knowing, that whilst we are at home in the body, we
are absent from the Lord ; (for we walk by faith, "not
by sight ;) we are confident, and willing rather to be
absent from the body, and to be present with the
Lord. Wherefore we labour, that whether present
or absent, we may be accepted of him f."
The " end of their conversation," then, is their
having " an entrance ministered to them abundantly
into the everlasting kingdom of their Lord and Sa
viour, Jesus Christ J." When they finish their ser
vice, they receive their reward. The goal of their race
is the gate of heaven. When they have passed through
" the valley ofthe shadow of death," the light ofthe
celestial world bursts upon their view, and " they
enter in through the gates into the city." " These
are they who came out of great tribulation, and
have washed their robes, and made them white in the
Phil. i. 21, 23. f 2 Cor. v. 5,-9. t 2 Peter, i. 11.

28
blood of the Lamb ; Therefore are they before the
throne of God, and serve him day and night in his
temple; and lie that sitteth on the throne shall dwell
among them. They shall hunger no more, neither
thirst any more; neither shall the sun light on them,
nor any heat : For the Lamb which is in the midst
of the throne, shall, feed them, and shall lead them
unto living fountains of waters ; and God shall wipe
away all tears from their eyes*."
This is " the end of their conversation :" and sure
ly the " consideration" of this was well fitted to ani
mate the Hebrews, and it is equally well fitted to ani
mate us, to " follow their faith," in defiance of all tri
als, temptations, and enemies. — " We have an altar,"
says the Apostle, in the verses following our text,
" whereof they have no right to eat who serve the
tabernacle. For the bodies of those beasts, whose
blood is brought into the sanctuary by the high
priest for sin, are burnt without the camp. Where
fore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people
with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let
us go forth, therefore, unto him without the camp,
bearing his reproach. For here we have no con
tinuing city, but we seek one to come." — " Cast not
away, therefore, your confidence, which hath great
* Rev. vii. 14 — 17. ¦

29
recompence of reward. For ye have need of pa
tience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye-
might receive the promise *." " Be thou faithful
unto death ; and I will give thee a crown of life +."
When I speak of these faithful men obtaining their
reward immediately upon the close of their service, I
do not mean that their reward is then complete. It
shall not be complete till " death, the last enemy,
shall be destroyed :" — till " this corruptible shall put
on incorruption, and this mortal immortality, and the
saying shall be brought to pass that is written, Death
is swallowed up in victory :" — till " the Lord himself
shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice
of the archangel, and the trump of God, and, the dead
in Christ having first risen, they who are alive and
remain shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air ; and so shall they
all be for ever with the LordJ." It is then, when "the
Son of man shall come in his^glory, and all his holy
angels with him," — when " the judgment shall be set,
and the books shall be opened ;" it is then, that to those
who have served him here below, with love, and zeal,
and conscientious fidelity, and unshaken perseverance,
" the righteous Judge" shall say, before assembled
» Rev. x. 35, 36. f Rev. ii. 10. f 1 Thess. iv. 16, 17.

so
worlds, " Weil done, good and faithful servants;
enter ye into the joy of your Lord."
Whilst I would apply the words of my text to de
parted members of this Church, and admonish sur
viving members, and especially surviving relatives, to
" follow their faith," with affectionate remembrance,
with diligence, and with constancy; — I offer no apolo
gy, as if here it were out of place, for making a spe
cial and pointed application of them to that eminent
servant of our common Lord and Redeemer, who has
so recently, and so suddenly, been removed from
amongst us.
His was a name, the notice and the commendations
of which are not to be confined within the walls ofthe
Churches and Chapels ofthe Establishment. Nay, I
feel as if there lay on us, my brethren, as dissenters, a
special obligation to show to the world, that we are
not so shackled by the fetters, and blinded by the pre
judices of party, as to be incapable of appreciating and
admiring, of esteeming, and loving, and celebrating,
eminent Christian excellence, wherever it presents it
self to our view. We regard the venerable man who
is now no more, not in the narrow and contracted
light of a Minister of the Church of Scotland mere
ly, — (although the Church of Scotland has to deplore,
in his death, the loss of one of her brightest orna-

31
ments!) — but in the higher and more general charac
ter of a Minister of Christ. And, in this capa
city he was indeed " a burning and a shining light."
The character which he has left behind him, both
in private and in public life, bears upon it the clear
and honourable stamp of a forty years' probation in
our own City : — and when he came to this place, he
brought along with him, from the scene of his former
residence and labours, the very same character that
has since been more fully developed, and more tho
roughly established, amongst ourselves.
I cannot enter into minute detail, without, repeat
ing, (which I wish to avoid) what is already before
the public, in the Newspapers ofthe day. I could
say much, and say it all without the risk of contradic
tion, of his private Christian virtues ; — of the fervour
and elevation of his piety; — ofthe warmth and gene
rous kindness of his heart; — of his lively cheerfulness;
— of his energy and decision of mind; — of the ten
derness of his sensibilities, and especially of his pater
nal love; — of his peculiar susceptibility of affliction,
and his exemplary resignation under it; — of the cor
diality, and the constancy of his friendships ; — of the
Christian liberality of his spirit ; — of his readiness to
every good work ;• — his lively interest in the designs,
the operations, and the success, of Bible and Mission-

3*2
«ry Societies, and in every scheme that promised to
ameliorate the temporal or the spiritual condition of
mankind. — But I forbear. It was chiefly as a Minis
ter of the Gospel that he was known to the generality
of my hearers, and to Christians at large, in this and
other parts of the country: — and in this capacity, I
repeat it with emphasis, he was " a burning and a
shining light."
Uniting, in an eminent degree, personal religion
with official ministration, he might have said with
truth, of himself, — " God, whose I am, and whom I
serve" — and as to the manner of fulfilling his ministe
rial duties, he might, with equal truth, have added,
with the same Apostle, " God, whom I serve with my
spirit, in the gospel of his Son." He adopted, as the
expression of his personal sentiments and feelings,
the language of this inspired ambassador, '< God for
bid that I should glory, save in the cross of the Lord
Jesus Christ; by which the world is crucified unto
mr, and I unto the world !" — and, as the principle of
h;s ministerial functions, the resolution of the same
devoted servant of his Lord, — " I determined, not to
know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and
him crucified I" — And by few, indeed, of that Apos
tle's professed followers, has the resolution been more
sacredly fulfilled.— Not that he was, with unvarying

33
sameness of repetition, dwelling incessantly on the
same truths: but* in all the variety of subjects whidh
his ministry embraced, the doctrine Of the cross, the
doctrine of salvation by free grace, through the blood
«f atonement* was closely and carefully intefwovell
with the whole texture of his discourses. All other
doctrines were presented in their appropriate relations
to it: his admonitions, invitations, and encourage-
mcnts, had it for their immediate basis: and from it
he derived his motives and incitements to practical
godliness. It was the living soul of his whole minis'-
try. He did* it is true, proclaim the terrors of the
law; and few men could do it with more awfully im
pressive effect :— but he delighted to follow the alarms
of judgement with the melting invitations of mercy.
In the pictures of divine truth which he exhibited1,
Sinai never appeared tmassociated with Calvary.—
Whilst the mount that " burned with fire," enve
loped in " blackness* and darkness* and tempest/'
was painted in its appropriate terrors; there' was un*
veiled along with it, in all its peaceful serenity, that
" mount of the Lord1," on which " the Lamb' was
provided for the burnt-Offering ;" and on which there
settles eternally, the sunshine of divine love.
It is on such preaching that the God of all grace
commands his blessing : — and few men have ever been

34
honoured with more abundant success. Many of his
spiritual children had gone before him ; by whom he
has now been welcomed into the " everlasting habi
tations :" and many more he has left behind him, to
deplore, in the bitterness of bereaved affection, the loss
they have sustained, and to " follow him through faith
and patience, to the inheritance of the promises."
And, while we unite in blessing God for the good
of which he made him the instrument during his life,
we trust, my brethren, we confidently trust* that his
usefulness is not yet at an end j that more shall yet
arise, to own him as their spiritual father, who, " in
Christ Jesus, has begotten them by thegospel:" — some,
perhaps, whose minds had been awakened and im
pressed before his death, but whose impressions, felt
in secret, had been confined within their own bosoms,
and had not yet ripened into open avowal : — some,
whose hearts, through divine influence, may be touch
ed by his death, who were little, if at all, affected,
during his life : — and some, whose consciences may be
startled and alarmed by the recollection of precious
privileges, long neglected, and irrecoverably lost. Yes,
my friends ; — " he being dead, yet speaketh." He
speaks to the memories of all who knew and of all
who heard him. ^Remembered privilege may effect,
what enjoyed privilege failed to accomplish. Imagi-

35
nation will fill that pulpit as it was wont to be filled,
and will hear anew, from the lips of the venerable man
of God, his neglected warnings, and his kind, and so
lemn, and beseeching appeals ; and, through the
blessing of God, they may not be heard in vain.
" The Lord God of the holy prophets," distin
guished and honoured Elisha, when he shed upon
him a double portion of the spirit of his venerable
predecessor; when he made him, during his life, the
vehicle of divine communications, and the instrument
of divine protection, to Israel ; and when he enabled
him to confirm the truth of his messages, and of his
prophetic claims, by works which " no man could
do unless God were with him." — But signal and un
wonted honour was put upon that prophet, after his
course of living service had come to a close. The
wonder-working virtue, that had .emanated from him
during his life, descended with him into the grave*
and slumbered in his mouldering bones: —
" Even in his ashes lived his wonted foes j"
and the very touch of that lifeless frame, in which " the
Spirit of the living God" had so long and so remark
ably dwelt, gave back the parted soul, and quickened
the dead. The man of God himself remained under
the power of death* unconscious of the virtue that

36
went out of him; but life issued from his grave.— And
so may it be now. Better life, — spiritual, immortal,
divine life, may spring from the very grave of the
faithful minister of Christ. It may have been the
very purpose of the sovereign mercy, and the myste
rious providence of God, to effect by his death what
his life left undone. The silent, but powerful elo
quence of the tomb, may be the intended means,
under the mighty agency of the Divine Spirit, of
reaching some hearts, which all the energy of living
utterance left hard as the nether mill-stone.
O my friends, what a change* what an affecting
change, a single day, a single hour, a single mo
ment, may produce in the state of an individual and
of a family circle ! How suddenly may « the light be
darkened in our tabernacle ;" and " our organ be
turned to the voice of them that weep !" Friends,
who have assembled in the morning, all animation
and social vivacity, ere the day be far advanced,
may be gathered around the dying or the dead; " the
desire of their eyes taken away with a stroke ;" their
" faces foul with weeping, and on their eye-lids the
shadow of death."
I stood by the bed of the venerable man of God,
the moment after the last breath had been drawn.
The stillness of death was upon the couch, and the

37
stillness of grief was around it. It was a time of
silent, and deep, and pensive sorrow, sweetly mingled
with " the full assurance of hope." The close of such
a life, and, indeed, the close of the life of any dear and
Christian friend, is, of all the scenes of woe that meet
us in this valley of tears, the most full of solemn and
soul-subduing tenderness. When all are waiting
around, in breathless anxiety of expectation ; and the
physician, sympathising with the anguish of affec
tionate relatives, and reluctant to utter the fatal word*
gives the silent signal of death, by gently dropping
the arm, of which the pulse has ceased to beat; and
still, slow to believe the sign, all remain fixed in mute
observation, watching, with eye and ear, the return
of the suspended breath :-  but in vain; the last
has been drawn, and all is over : the living soul is
gone. And Oh ! my brethren, when, with the eye of faith
and hope, we follow their departed spirits to that
heaven, whither they have winged their flight ; when
the first pangs of agony leave us sufficient leisure, and
collectedness of mind to do so; can we, let me ask
you, ye weeping mourners, can we find in our hearts
to wish them back ?— back from heaven to earth !
back from the presence of God and of the Lamb,
of angels, and spirits of just men made perfect, to our

38
society ! back from the sweets of eternity to the bit
ternesses of time ! back from the " pure river of
the water of life, clear as crystal," to the mingled and
turbid streams of enjoyment in the wilderness of this
world ! — No, my friends. With regard to them, let
us rather be " filled with joy in all our tribulation."
" Rejoice for a brother deceas'd
Our loss is his infinite gain."
And, as we cannot, and would not, bring back the
dead, let us be anxious, by compliance with the ad
monition of the text* suitably to improve their de
parture. Let us consider the blessed God as having
designed good both to the dead and to the living :
to the dead, for he has taken them to himself; and
to the living, for to them the stroke is from a father's
hand, — from his hand,
" Who sends no needless pain,
Who always smites in love;
Who looks in tend'rest pity down,
Even when he seems to wear a frown."
" Hear ye, then, the rod, and who hath appointed
it." There are now amongst my hearers, those, who
can look back on more than their " threescore years
and ten," and who remember the Christian inter
course of " the days* of other years," with a tender

3D
and melancholy delight. The friends of their youth,
with whom they " took sweet counsel together," have
dropt* one after another, in slow but sure succession:
— one after another they have carried to the grave ;
and they have felt the growing desolation, and sigh
ed over the wrecks of their early joys. They tell of
the individuals who formed their little Christian
fellowships; the incidents of their lives; the features
of their characters; and the dates of their successive
departures, — till Death has gone round the circle,
and has left none but themselves remaining; — and
they are now waiting for the stroke that shall join
them, — and join them for ever, to their friends above I
— " The Lord bless them, and keep them ! — the
Lord cause his face to shine upon them, and be gra
cious to them ! — the Lord lift up his countenance
upon them, and give them peace !" — spare them with
us yet a little longer, and then take them home, as
a shock of corn fully ripe is brought in in his season!
And oh ! let all my hearers, in every period of life,
consider well what is before them. " It is appointed
unto men once to die; and after death the judge
ment." — " There is a time to be born, — and a time
to die." He who fixed the one, has fixed also the
other. Whether it be near or remote is known to
Him, — and to Him alone. He has appointed your

40
bounds, that you cannot pass. And if you are not
found ready for death, when your " time to die"
shall arrive, it had been good for you that your
" time to be born" had never arrived* or that you
bad been " carried from the womb to the grave."
Sudden deaths are peculiarly instructive; and the
lessons which they teach, they, at the same time,
forcibly impress. — To those who are ready to die, — »
who are in Christ, — to whom there is no condemna
tion, — whose life is a life of faith upon the Son of
God, — and whose supreme desire it is* " living and
dying to be the Lord's," — it is a matter of compara
tively trivial moment, when or kow their death may
come. The wishes of Christians on this snbj-ect have
been various and opposite ; some professing' their
preference of a sudden, and others of a more linger
ing dissolution j the former captivated with the
thought of an instantaneous transition, tire other
shrinking from so immediate a call, and desiring ra
ther a premonition of their departure* and leisure for
reflection and anticipation. — " Our times are in
God's hand." Instead of indulging such wishes at
all, it is best to be- always ready; " like servants that
wait for their Lord, that when he cometh, and
Rnocketh* they may open to him immediately;" that*
whether our departure shall be sudden or slow, we

41
may thus leave upon the minds of our surviving re
latives and friends, a pleasing and settled confidence,
that " to us to die has been gain."
But sudden deaths sound a solemn alarm to such
as are living " without God"; the wicked, the care
less, the worldly. Your death, too, may come sudden
ly, without allowing you time to think : or the disease
that carries you off more slowly, may be such as not
to leave you ability to think. And if you would not
think during your time of health and vigour; if you
then shut your ears to all the affectionate and so
lemn warnings addressed to you in the name of the
" God with whom you have to do;" if you " would
none of his counsel, and despised all his reproof;"
would it be unrighteous in God, to deprive you,
when you come to die, of the long-abused faculty of
thinking, or to give that faculty exercise, only in the
bitterness and phrenzy of despair ? O, think, then,
let me beseech you, think now. The present is the
only moment you can calculate upon, or call your
own. Hear the voice of the dead ; hear the voice
of the living; hear the voice of God, reminding
you, that " now is the accepted time, that now is'the
day of salvation. To day* when ye hear his voice*
O harden not your hearts !" Your wish is that of
Balaam; whose wish is it not? " let me die the death
F

ofthe righteous, aud let my last end be like his!" It
is only by coming to Jesus, that this wish can be
realized. He alone can impart to you a righteous
ness, in the possession of which, by faith, a sinner
can die in peace and acceptance with God: and he
alone can renew and sanctify, by his Spirit, your pol
luted natures, and " make you meet," as pardoned
and purified creatures, " for the inheritance of the
saints in light." " O that you were wise, that you
understood this, that you would consider your latter
end!" How astonishing is the fact, that so much per
suasion should be necessary, and that so much should,
in thousands, and tens of thousands of instances, be
expended in vain, to induce immortal creatures to
think of their immortality; creatures, who acknow
ledge their accountableness, to think of the account
which they have to render; guilty and condemned
creatures, to bestow one moment's serious considera
tion on their danger, and on the means of escaping
it! " Finally, brethren, pray for us ," pray, that we
may have grace to be faithful; pray, that the imita
tion of departed excellence which we recommend to
you, may be exemplified by ourselves; that we may
be followersiof departed Servants of Jesus, as they

43
were of their Master and ours; that, through his
blessing, our labours, like theirs, may be crowned
with desired success; and that to us, as to them, it
may at last be said, with the smile of gracious appro
val, " well done, good and faithful servants, enter ye
into the joy of your Lord."
" Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things
which we have wrought; but that we receive a full
l-eward." " Abide in him, that, when he shall ap
pear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed
before him at his coming." " Work out your own sal
vation with fear and trembling; for it is God that
worketh in you, both to will and to do, of his good
pleasure. Do all things without murmurings and
disputings, that ye may be blameless and harmless,
the children of God without rebuke, in the midst of
a crooked and perverse nation ; among whom shine
ye as lights in the world, holding forth the word of
life, that I may rejoice in the day of Christ, that I
have not run in vain, neither laboured in vain." *
* 2 John 8. 1 John ii. 28. Phil. ii. 12—16.

ANDREW AND JAMES DUNCAN, PRINTERS.

<>; ' jju-,:

The Truth, Nature, and Universality of
the Gospel: A
PREACHED AT STIRLING,
On Tuesday, June 29th, 1819,
AT THE
ANNIVERSARY MEETING
OF THE
J^ocietg tor ^tivlinssfyivt & its Fiamtg,
IN AIDOF
MISSIONS, AND OTHER RELIGIOUS OBJECTS.

By RALPH WARDLAW, D.D.

PUBLISHED AT THE REQUEST, AND FOR THE BENEFIT,
OF THE SOCIETY.

GLASGOW,
Printed by James Bedderwick,
FOR JOHN SMITH AND SON, GLASGOW;
WILLIAM WHYTE AND COMPANY, EDINBURGH;
LONGMAN, HVBST, REES, ORME, AND BROWN, OGLES AND CO. AND
THOMAS HAMILTON, LONDON.
1819.

A SERMON.

Luke xx'iv. 45 — 47-
" Then opened he "their understanding, that they might
understand the Scriptures, and said unto them, Thus it
is written, and thus it behoved the Christ to suffer, and
to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance
and remission'of sins should be preached in his name
among all nations, — beginning at Jerusalem."
" Blessed are your eyes," said Jesus to his disciples,
" for they see;, and your ears, for they hear. For ver-
ily I say unto you, that many prophets and righteous
men have desired to see those things which ye see,
and have not seen them; and to hear those things
which ye hear, and have not heard them *." These are
words, which, although in a somewhat inferior sense*
we may justly apply to ourselves, in reference to the
fulfilment of those " glorious things that are spoken of
Zion the city of our God?" — things, which the saints
who have finished their course longed to see realized,
seeking their accomplishment by fervent prayer, cele-
* Mat. xiii. 16, 17.

4
brating its future arrival in prophetic songs of praise,
and anticipating it in death with pious and benevolent
delight: — " Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart
in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have
seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before
the face of all people; a light to lighten the Gentiles,
, and the glory of thy people Israel *."
The period in which we live is full of interest.
Every day is bringing us tidings of the progress of
the Redeemer's cause, equally gratifying and won
derful; and never did Christians enjoy a sweeter and
more exquisite experience of the truth of that beautiful
comparison: "As cold waters to a thirsty soul, so is
good news from a far country f."
It is not possible, and, were it possible* it would
neither be right nor desirable, to divest our minds of
all local associations. And surely, on the face of the
whole earth, there is not a spot that possesses stronger
and dearer associations in the Christian's bosom, than
Jerusalem. The very name has a charm in it: it is
surrounded with recollections, that wake to lively, and
solemn, and melting exercise, all the sensibilities of
his heart; and he is ready to adopt, as the expression
of his own feelings, the pathetic language of the
captive saints and patriots of Judah, when* by the
* Luke ii. 29—32. f Prov. xxv. 25.

rivers of Babylon, they hung their harps upon the
willows, and wept at the remembrance of Zion: —
" If I forget thee, O Jerusalem, let my right hand forget
her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue
cleave to the roof of my mouth*." — " Far from me and
from my friends," said an eminent English moralist f,
"be such frigid philosophy, as would conduct us,
unmoved, over any ground that has been dignified
by wisdom, bravery, or virtue!" And if the, man of
patriotism, and the man of science, and taste, and
literature, glow with emotions of transport amidst the
scenes of ancient heroism and freedom, of hoary
wisdom, and of classical imagination, and genius, and
elegance; is the heart ofthe man of piety to be chained
in ice, cold and dead, amidst the sacred ruins of "the
city of God, the holy place of the Tabernacles of the
Most High;" the chosen spot of Jehovah's resi
dence and worship* amidst a surrounding world of
idols and idolaters; — for many an age the sole de
pository, not of the seeds of mere human science, but
of the holy Oracles of Divine truth, the only dictates
of the Eternal Spirit; and, at the fulness of time, dig
nified by the presence, hallowed by the sufferings, and
commended to our tenderest sympathy by the pitying
tears, of the Son of God? Recent occurrences have
* Ps. cxxxvii. S, 6. , f Johnson.

6
directed our attention anew to this sacred spot: and
from the likelihood there now exists, of its becoming
again a centre of light to the eastern world, our
minds are naturally led back to the time, when " out
qf Zion went forth the law, and the word of the Lord
from Jerusalem."
I have a single remark or two to make on the
phraseology of the verses where our text lies.
My first remark is, that the entire contents of the
26th and 27th verses, are included in the phrase,
" Thus it is written:" namely, " that the Christ should
suffer, that he should rise again the third day, and
that repentance and remission of sins should be
preached in his name, among all nations, beginning
at Jerusalem." All this was written. The passage
may, in this view, be compared with the words of
Paul to Agrippa, in the 26th chapter of the Acts of
the Apostles: " Having therefore obtained help of
God, I continue unto this day, witnessing both to
small and great, saying none other things than those
which the prophets and Moses did say should come;
that the Christ should suffer, and that he should be the
first that should rise from the dead, and should show
light unto the people, and to the Gentiles." — Into the
illustration and proof of this position, from the recorded
predictions of the prophets, your time will not permit
me to enter.

7
A second observation is, that the expression " Thus
it behoved," ought to be connected with the words
" Thus it is written." The necessity of the death and
resurrection of Jesus, and of the consequent publica
tion of repentance and remission in his name, to the
salvation qf sinners, we decidedly hold, as a scriptural
truth: but this does not seem to be the necessity meant
in this passage. It is simply the necessity of the pre-
dictions of the prophets finding their accomplishment
in the person of the promised Messiah: — " Thus it
is written, and" therefore, "thus it behoved the
Christ to suffer," &c. It is the same sentiment that
is expressed in other parts of this chapter. Thus, in
verses 25—27, " Then he said unto them, O fools,
and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have
spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these
things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning
at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto
them in all the scriptures, the things concerning him
self." And in verse 44, "And he said unto them,
These are the words which I spake unto you, while
I, was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled "
(here is the necessity) " which are written in the law of
Moses, and in the prophets* and in the Psalms, con
cerning me."
I now wish your attention particularly to the last
article in this enumeration — " Beginning at Jerusalem."

8
This was an article of prophecy; and it appears at
times, in immediate connection, just as here, with the
subsequent spread of the gospel through all nations:—
"And it shall come to pass in the last days, that the
mountain of the Lord's house shall be established on
the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above
the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it: and many
people shall go and say, Come ye, and let q.s go up to
the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of
Jacob; and he will teach us of his ways, and we will
walk in his paths: for out of Zion shall go forth the
law, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem."
But the words here may be understood, not only
as alluding to a prediction to be verified, but also as
enjoining a charge to be executed. The order of the
Apostles' preaching, was to be in agreement with the
prophecy. It will not, I trust, be unsuitable to the design of
our present meeting, to consider the words in the
three following points of view: —
I. As an evidence of the truth of the gospel.
II. As an illustration of its nature.
III. As expressing the commencement of its universal
diffusion. I. Let us consider the words, as an evidence qf the
truth of the gospel.

9
The argument is twofold: it may be derived, 1st,
from the giving of the charge; and, 2dly, from the
execution of it.
In the first place, we derive our argument from the
giving of the charge. — Nothing could manifest, on the -
part of Jesus, greater confidence in the truth, and
validity, and unexceptionable evidence, of his claims,
than the giving of such a charge, thus open and
unqualified; and we affirm it to be a charge such as
no impostor, conscious to himself of falsehood, and
possessing the smallest portion of discretion and com
mon sense, would ever have ventured on giving. This
will appear from such considerations as the following:
1st. Jerusalem was a place, where Jesus was publicly
and perfectly known. — There he had " taught openly,
in the synagogue and in the temple, whither the Jews
always resorted, and in secret he had said nothing."
There, on occasions of public festivity, he had pro
claimed his message, and performed his miracles.
There, he had made his triumphal entry, amidst the
shouts of " Hosannah to the Son of David ! " — and
there, he had been arrested, tried, condemned, and
crucified, amidst the taunts and execrations of as
sembled multitudes. — The name of Jesus of Nazareth
was not, therefore, new and strange to the ears of the
inhabitants of Jerusalem.
2dly. In Jerusalem, there existed all possible means

10
of detecting any imposition; and in connection with
all the most powerful motives to the immediate and
vigorous use of them. — All the methods, fair and
unfair, honourable and base, — of persuasion and
threatening, of bribery and coercion, were in the power
of the priests and rulers of the Jews. And never,
surely, had men such inducements to employ them: —
mortified pride, disappointed ambition, unconquer
able prejudice, — and, above all, the consequence ne
cessarily involved in the admission of the claims of
Jesus, — namely, that they were a set of blood-stained
murderers; — that they had perpetrated a crime of
unparalleled and nameless atrocity, the blood in which
their hands were imbrued being the blood of " the
Prince of Life" — of their own long-promised and
long-expected Messiah! — What an incentive, my
brethren, was here, to leave no means untried, no
quarter of evidence unexplored; and, in failure of the
wished-for proof, no promises, no bribes, no intimi
dations, no tortures, unemployed, for eliciting or
compelling acknowledgement! — What will a. man not
do, to clear his character of the imputation of murder !
and what would the people, and especially the rulers of
Jerusalem not do, to wipe from their reputation the
stain of such fearful blood-guiltiness! — And, that they
actually did feel all the keenness and force of this
stinging motive, is evident from their own words, on a

11
subsequent occasion, to the Apostles: " Behold ye have
filled Jerusalem with your doctrine* and intend to
bring this man's blOod upon us *."
3dly. In Jerusalem, there were also the means of
suppressing and crushing by violence, as well as of de
tecting by inquisitorial investigation. — The same power
ful motives too existed, to the employment of such
force; and the character of the Jewish rulers, you are
well aware, was far from being distinguished by such
tenderness and scrupulosity of conscience, as would
have hindered them from exerting the full energy. of
the arm of power, wherever they were sensible that
facts were against them, or wherever argument and
inquiry failed them. — If it was indeed an imposture
that was to be attempted by the ambassadors of Jesus*
it was one which the author of it knew well to be
insufferably offensive to all the feelings of the men in
power, as well as of the great body of the people; —
one which the chief-priests and rulers, instead of
being pre-disposed to believe and to favour, would
necessarily set themselves to oppose with the whole
weight of their authority and influence.
These things were most evident. They could not
be absent from the view of the great Author of our
faith, when he gave the charge in our text. Yet, in

* Acts v. 28,

12
these circumstances, and with these anticipations, he
does not give his accredited agents lessons of prudence,
and caution, and artful manoeuvring. He does not in
struct them, to begin secretly, in some ofthe less public
parts of the country, and to work themselves gradually
into more general notice: — nor even, in commissioning
them to begin at Jerusalem, does he at all instruct
them to make their first attempts in a private way,
endeavouring, in the outset, to gain over a few indi
viduals of reputation and influence, whose countenance
would give credit and weight to their cause. His
command is, that in the metrqpolis of their country,
the seat of its power, and the centre of its population, —
that there, openly, and without reserve or precaution,
they should publish their commission in the name of
their Master; declare at once, in the face of ,all, that
" God had made that same Jesus, whom they had
crucified, both Lord and Christ;" and " preach (which
implies a public proclamation) repentance and remis
sion of sins, in his name." — Now, our inquiry is this:
does not the very circumstance of Jesus actually giving
such a charge in such circumstances, manifest a con
fidence in the truth of his pretensions and the justness
of his cause, as remote as possible from the slightest
indication of conscious imposture?
But let us now, in the second place, attend to the fact.
The Apostles were not disobedient to the charge;

13
they executed the commission: — and of the manner
in which they understood and fulfilled it, read a
specimen, from the second chapter of the Acts of the
Apostles*: "Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus
of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by
miracles, and wonders, and signs, which God did by
him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know:
him, being delivered by the determinate cOunsel and
foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked
hands have crucified and slain; whom God hath raised
up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not
possible that he should be holden of it." — " This Jesus
hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses."
Here, my brethren, we have an appeal, which was
made in the face of assembled thousands; — an appeal,
without a single point of parallelism with the enthu
siastic and prophetic ravings of some impostors, who
have, at times, to the amazement of all reflecting men,
succeeded in "drawing away disciples after them;"
an appeal, respecting plain and palpable facts; and
these too, not few, not secret, " not done in a corner,"
but numberless and diversified, and announced as
having been seen and heard by multitudes in all parts
of the country, as well as in the city. It is unaccount
able that such an appeal should ever have been made,
* Verses 22—24. 32.

14.
unless it had its foundation in truth. The very
making of it, if it had no such foundation, implies a
degree of effrontery, and of presuming on the credulity
and stupidity of the hearers, of which it is hardly
possible to form a conception.
But, besides this presumptive evidence of truth, we
have to ask again — What followed? — What- was the
result? The result was, that a great multitude believed
the testimony which was founded on this appeal; and
this, of course, was a public recognition of the truth
of the appeal itself. Thousands after thousands bowed
assent* and joined themselves to the Apostles. Now*
on what other principle can this be accounted for,
but on the supposition of the truth of the appeal in
verse 22; "As ye yourselves also know." Recollect
again; the appeal is one essentially and entirely
different from the frantic ravings of a Buchan or a
Southcote. It is an appeal to the senses of multitudes,
every individual of whom was, by the very possession
of these senses, in the full capacity (I do not say of
judging, for the case was not one for the exercise of
judgement, but) of knowing for himself its truth or its
falsehood. The best way of estimating the strength of this
argument* is, to make the supposition of a similar case
happening amongst ourselves: —
Suppose, then, my brethren,— -in the metropolis of

15
the United Kingdom, on a day of public festivity,
when multitudes of people, of all descriptions, are
collected together, from every quarter of the land; —
a few individuals, of low condition, poor and unbe-
friended, and destitute of influence — (or, if you will,
of any condition, and any measure of influence what
ever; for we should not fear placing the argument
even on this ground) — should come forward, in the
centre of the city, and, having summoned the attention
of the crowd, should begin to tell them, that three
years ago, a very remarkable person had appeared
amongst them; that he had announced himself as a
messenger from God; that he had proclaimed his
doctrines in the public assemblies of the metropolis,
and in every town and district of the country; that,
wherever he had gone, he had been attended by
immense concourses of people; that, . throughout all
the land, the sick, the blind, the deaf and dumb,
the lame, the lunatic, had been brought to him; that
he had cured them with a word or a touch; and that*
in several instances, he had even raised the dead to
life; that he had continued making his circuits through
the country for three years; and that, within these two
months* he had been betrayed by one of his followers,
apprehended, dragged to the bar of the ecclesiastical
and civil tribunals, accused, condemned, led out of
the city, and, in the presence of an immense multitude

16
of people, put to a cruel and ignominious death. —
Think you, my friends, that such a statement could
obtain credit? Would not every individual of the
collected thousands, in whose ears it was uttered, be
ready, with an impatience that could hardly wait for
the conclusion of the tale, to pronounce the whole a
lie; and, according to their diversified dispositions, to
pity the derangement, or to laugh at the folly, or to
condemn and punish the impudent effrontery, of its
propagators? It is no conclusive objection to this argument, that
still greater multitudes rejected the testimony founded
on the appeal, than those who received it. We can
account for this; account for it, on grounds amply
sufficient; on principles of human nature, of the
operation of which every man is conscious. You
can readily enough conceive what the state of mind
must be, when a person is inwardly sensible, respecting
any statement laid before him, that it is a statement
of facts, which he cannot contradict, whilst yet he
continues to hate in his heart the doctrine that is
connected with it, and of which it forms the incon
trovertible evidence. A man cannot well bear to see
proofs produced of what he hates. Increase of evidence
produces only increase of rage. The reluctant con
victions of the understanding are at war with the
wishes and desires of the heart. The evidence forces

17
itself upon the judgement, and puts to silence the
opposition of argument; but the very silencing of the
opposition of. argument, the very feeling of incompe
tency to answer, imparts all the vehemence of mor
tified and indignant pride, to the opposition which
still remains, — the opposition of enmity: and there is
no description, and no accumulation, of mere external
evidence, which this enmity is not capable of with
standing. So far from this being a valid objection to the
argument, it gives it additional force and conclusive
ness. For, let us recollect, the same power of
prejudice, and pride, and enmity, existed in the hearts
of those, who, notwithstanding, received the doctrine,
on the ground of the truth of the appeal: — and this
very consideration (for we speak not at present of the
admitted necessity of divine influence, to the true faith
of the gospel, in.any circumstances) shows the strength
and validity of the appeal, addressed as it was to their
memories, and to their consciences.
We might extend and generalize this observation.
Had there been an imposture in any of the apostolic
statements, then, surely, was the time for its detection;—
when there was neither want of means of discovery,
nor want of inclination and ability to employ them. —
When the resurrection of Jesus was openly proclaimed
as a fact, by these poor, and weak, and unbefriended
c

18'
men, — the enmity, and the power, and the subtlety, in
the face of which their assertions were made, could
not possibly have failed to discover and expose their
falsehood, and to put down at once the authors of a
plot so nefarious. It is susceptible, we think, of moral
demonstration, on all the admitted principles of evi
dence, that if " this counsel" namely, the Christian
doctrine, considering its own nature, and the circum
stances of its first promulgation, (for the consideration
of these is essential to the argument,) that if " this
counsel" had been of man, it- must have come to
nought: — and the very existence of Christianity at this
day, in a state of unprecedented and advancing vigour
and prosperity, is itself a convincing proof of its being
from God.
II. Let us now consider the text, as affording an
illustration of the nature of the gospel.
The question what is Christianity? is oneof obvious
and paramount importance. Yet it is a question, which
by many is little thought of. Without dwelling at
present on the diametrically opposite systems of
doctrine, which are so currently and so thoughtlessly
called by the same designation, there are multitudes
of people who are satisfied with a general, vague,
unexamined conviction (if conviction it deserves to be
called) and an accompanying verbal acknowledgement,

J9
of the Bible being the word of God; without any
serious inquiry at all, what the great lesson is, which
it is the design of the Bible to make known. Yet, it
is not by the belief that the Bible is the word of God,
that sinners are to be saved; it is by the knowledge
and belief of the great truths which the Bible teaches.
Men may have a speculative educational conviction of
what the Bible is, while they have little knowledge,
and no faith, of what the Bible testifies. — They may
even have studied, with attention and accuracy, the
external evidences of Christianity; — the proofs of the
genuineness and authenticity of the Sacred Records; —
they may understand them well, and be able to state
them clearly and powerfully; and yet discover an
affecting and melancholy ignorance of the essential
nature and attributes of " the glorious gospel of the
blessed God." They may expend their pains in the
careful examination of the casket, whilst they incon
siderately forget to analyse the nature, and appreciate
the value, of the inestimable jewel it contains.
Our second particular, therefore, is one of no inferior
moment; — in as much as a proof of the truth of the
gospel, derives all its value from the value of the
doctrine which it establishes. Mere evidence, how
ever clear and conclusive, is in itself utterly worthless,
if that which it goes to prove is of no consequence.
The light in which our text presents the gospel to

20
our contemplation, is one in which it appears through
out the whole Bible; — namely, as a message of free
mercy, through a mediator, to the chief of sinners.
This we consider as entering into its very essence; as
so essential to it, that, if free mercy he taken out of
the gospel, it is deprived of its very nature, and of all
its title to the name *.
On this part of the subject, I shall illustrate two
observations: —
1st, The message extends, in its proclamation and
offers, to the chief of sinners: — and, secondly, all, with
out exception, who receive the proclaimed and offered
blessings, must receive them on the same ground.
In the first place: It is a message of grace, to the
chief of sinners.
Oh ! how striking, in this view, my brethren, is the
command given in the text ! — If there was a spot on
the face of the earth, of which we might have been
disposed to say, or to think, — this is the last place
where the offers of mercy can be made, — -it was Jeru
salem. Many a time had the crimes of Jerusalem been
reckoned up, and set in order before the consciences of
its guilty inhabitants, by God's servants, the prophets,
who had it in commission, to " show his people their
transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins;"
* The gosDel,*— to imyy&m, — the good news.

21
to vindicate the justice of the Host High, in the judge
ments which he threatened and executed: — and mm,
the cup of their iniquity was full. To the persecution
and slaughter of the servants, they have now added
the murder of the Son. They had perpetrated the
darkest deed of atrocity on which the eye of the Eter
nal had looked, since sin entered into his creation.
The blood of spotless purity and Divine benevolence
stained their " wicked hands:" and might it not have
been expected, that that blood should cry against
them from the ground; — that, as they had " thirsted
for blood, blood should pursue them;" — that, as they
had, with infatuated fury, defied the justice and the
power of offended heaven, and said, " his blood be on
us, and on our children," the imprecated vengeance
should have been allowed to fall on them, without
remedy, without abatement, and without exception?
Might we not have expected the last charge of the
injured Redeemer to his commissioned ambassadors^
to have been in such terms as these: — " Go to the de
spised and outcast Gentiles; — go to the hated Samari
tans; — go to the uttermost ends ofthe earth; — carry the
tidings of mercy round the globe; — preach the gospel
to every creature: — but, keep away from Jerusalem; pro
claim no mercy there; let them have judgement without
mercy, who have showed no mercy! — let the curse of
God be the merited portion of these sinners against

22
their own souls!" — Ah! my friends, could we have
expected such a. charge as this, it must have been in
sad ignorance of 'the character of that merciful Re
deemer, who, in the full anticipation of all he was
about to suffer at the hands of his enemies* " beheld
the city and wept over it, saying, ' If thou hadst known,
even thou, at least in this thy day, the things that belong
to thy peace!' " — f O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that
killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto
thee, how often would I have gathered thy children
together, as a hen gathereth her brood under her
wings! and ye would not:" — and who, even while the
cruel nails were piercing his hands and his feet,
breathed for his murderers the prayer of pity — " Fa
ther, forgive them, for they know not what they do !"
Well may it be said — " My thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the
Lord. ~ For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways, and my
thoughts than your thoughts*." Wrath was indeed
impending over the inhabitants of Jerusalem. But
there was still the remembrance of mercy, and the
exercise Of long-suffering. It did not light upon them
instantly. Although they had murdered the Son, yet
" other servants " are sent, with renewed invitations,
• Isa. lv. 8, 9.

23
and affectionate offers of pardoning grace. The charge
of the Son himself, is, to " begin at Jerusalem."
Make the first offer of mercy through my blood, to
those by whom it was shed: — let that blood be pro
claimed to them, which alone, by its expiatory virtue,
can cleanse away its own stain, — and save them from
their dreadful blood-guiltiness.
Let us here very briefly notice, what was the preach
ing which was to begin at Jerusalem. It was the
pi'eaching of " repentance and remission qf sins in the
name qf Him who had suffered, and had risen again
from the dead."
There are two senses in which the word condition
may be used, in reference to the enjoyment of the
blessings of salvation. — It may signify a meritorious
ground, or procuring cause. In this sense, it were an
utter subversion of the gospel of the grace of God, to
speak of repentance, or faith, or any thing whatever
pertaining to the sinner, as either the condition, or,
in any degree, a condition at all, of pardon and accep
tance. — But it may also mean, something without which'
pardon and life cannot be obtained and enjoyed, an essen
tial requisite*. In this sense, both faith and repentance
are conditions: that is, there is no pardon, and no
Ufe, but to those who repent and believe the gospel. —
* A Sine-qua-non.

24-
The great procuring cause, or meritorious ground, of
remission, is the righteousness of Christ; — his sacrifice
of atonement; — the work which he finished on the
cross: — but in the saving virtue of these, no sinner
can participate, without " repentance toward God and
faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ."
Repentance, when it is thus mentioned by itself,
in connection with the remission of sins, includes the
faith qf the gospel. There can be no unbelieving
repentance, any more than there can be impenitent
faith. Repentance, when it stands thus alone, signifies
that change of mind — that new mind of the spirit,
which takes place in the sinner, when it is " given to
him in the behalf of Christ to believe in his name:" —
when, " out of a true sense of his sin, and apprehension
of the mercy of God in Christ, he doth, with grief*
and hatred of his sin, turn from it unto GxoA, with full
purpose of, and endeavour after, new obedience."
This repentance is connected with remission, in the
words of God by the prophet: " Seek ye the Lord,
while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is
near: let thewicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous
man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord*
and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God,
for he will abundantly pardon*." And both the
* Isa. lv. 6, 7.

25
nature of repentance, and its connection with for"
giveness, are, in the most interesting and impressive
manner, set before us, in the temper and language of
the returning prodigal, and in the reception experienced
by him from his father: — " When he came to himself,
he said, How many hired servants of my father's have
bread enough, and to spare, and I perish with hunger!
I will arise and go to my father, and will say unto
him, Father, I have sinned against Heaven, and
before thee, and am no more worthy to be called thy
son: make me as one of thy hired servants '*." Mark
here the features of a truly penitent spirit, —of that
broken and contrite heart, which God will not despise.
1st, A thorough change of mind; — " he came to him
self" 2dly, A deep conviction of guilt; and that, from
right views of sin, as committed not merely against
man, but against God; "Father, / have sinned; I
have sinned against Heaven, and before thee." Sdly,
A consequent feeling of entire personal unworthiness;
" / am no. more worthy to be called thy son." 4thly,
A full persuasion, that, if he met with a favourable
reception, it was what he was, in no respect, entitled
to, but owed wholly to the fulness of compassion, and
the freedom of forgiving mercy, in the heart of his
father. On this mercy he unreservedly casts himself,

* Luke xv. 17—19.
D

26
deeply feeling, that his own desert was, to be spurned
away from his presence. And, 5thly, a heart- felt
conviction, founded in bitter experience, that no true
happiness was to be found but under his father's roof,
and in the restoration of his father's smiles.
Such are the sentiments and feelings with which a
penitent sinner returns to God. " Repentance " was
to be preached " in the name qf Jesus." It is only in
this name, that a sinner can thus return; — and, when
he does thus return, his reliance is not on his repent
ance, or on any thing about himself; but on the mercy
which invites him, — on the name which the gospel
teaches him to plead, — on "grace reigning through
righteousness, unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ, our
Lord." — This is the ground of the remission of sins.
When it is preached in the name of Jesus, it is preached
through his perfect righteousness, his atoning, sacrifice,
his finished work. — This had been " written." It was
" witnessed by the law and the prophets." — The sum of
the import ofthe law, in its various sacrificial rites, was,
" that without shedding of blood, there was no remis
sion." — The " testimony of Jesus was the spirit of pro
phecy." And what was that testimony? " To him give
all the prophets witness, that, through his name, whoso
ever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins *."
* Acts x, 43.

27
That the expression "through his name" has reference
to his substitution and atonement, is clear from such
language as the following:—" But he was wounded for
our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities:
the chastisement of our peace was upon him ; and with
his stripes we are healed. All we, like sheep, have
gone astray; we have turned every one to his own
way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of
us all. For the transgression of my people was he
stricken. He bore the sin of many *." With this too
agree — the testimony ofthe Baptist, the predicted fore
runner of the Messiah : " Behold the Lamb of God,
which taketh away the sin ofthe worldf!" — the words
of Jesus himself: " The Son of man came not to be
ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a
ransom for many:" " This is my blood of the new cov
enant, which is shed for many for the remission of
sins^::" — and the full and explicit declarations of the
inspired Apostles: "But now once, in the end of the
world, hath he appeared, to put away sin by the sacri
fice of himself §." " Christ also hath once suffered for
sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to
God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened
by the Spirit H :" "In whom we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to
* Isa.1iii. S, 6, 8. 12. f John. i. 29. \ Mat. xx. 28. xxvi. 28.
§ Heb. ix. 26. ' |l 1 Pet. iii. 18.

28
the riches of his grace *:" " Being justified freely by
his grace, through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation
through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness
for the remission of sins that are past, through the
forbearance of God; to declare, (I say,) at this time,
his righteousness; that he might be just, and the jus-
tifier of him who believeth in Jesusf."
It is " in the name " of this atoning Saviour, then,
that "the remission of sins" is commanded to be
preached: — it is through faith') in this n,ame, through
the belief of God's recorded testimony concerning his
Son, that this first of blessings is obtained: — and the
text most impressively teaches us, that it may be ob
tained by the chief of 'sinners-. If the murderers ofthe
Prince of Life " obtained mercy," through the blood
which they had shed; where is the transgressor, whose
sins can be beyond the reach of its expiatory virtue?
If to them remission of sins was preached in his name,
where is the man, who will circumscribe the field of
its proclamation, by narrower limits than those of the
world; — or will forbid us to preach it to sinners of
any nation, of any age, of any description, or of any
degree?

Eph. i. 7. f Rom. iii. 24—26.

29
In the second place, I observed, that all who obtain
the remission of sins must obtain it on the same ground.
This is clear from the words, " among all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem." The same message, of which
the proclamation was to "begin at Jerusalem," was
to be carried round the whole world. The same
gospel, — the very same, — that was to be preached to
the murderous Jews, was to be preached to " every
creature " alike. The charge, " Go ye into all the
world, and preach the gospel to every creature," was
a charge which obviously implied two things: that
every creature, — every human being, — was to be made
Welcome to its provisions; and, at the same time, that
every creature, — every human being, — stood in need
of its provisions, and stood in need of them too, in all
their fulness, and in all their freedom, without the
slightest variation, either in the way of amplification
or restriction, of the original terms.
This universal need, proceeds on the assumption of
the truth of the apostolic statement in Rom. iii. 22,
23. " There is no difference: for all have sinned, and
come short of the glory of God." We have no time
at present, to enter into any description of the varie
ties of human character, or into any estimate of the
comparative degrees of human guilt. Let these, my
brethren, be what they may, (and we admit them to
be many and great,) here is one sweeping sentence, in

30
which all are comprehended, and of which the truth
will not bear for a moment to be questioned: — " All
have sinned, and come short qf the glory qf God."
Away, then, with delusive comparisons of man with
man. Let every individual bring himself at once to
the standard of the pure and spiritual law of the God
" with whom he has to do;" and thus, " let every
mouth be stopped, and the whole world become guilty
before God." Here is a common ground,' on which all
meet; and it is on this ground that the gospel addresses
all, and addresses all alike. It speaks one unvarying
language. The law having pronounced one sentence
of condemnation, the gospel presents one proposal of
mercy. — It presents it in the name of the infinite God;
and therefore, without respect of persons, it adheres,
with unbending decision, in every case, to its plain,
and simple, and explicit testimony — " The wages of
sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal
life, through Jesus Christ our Lord." Instead,
therefore, of " comparing yourselves amongst your
selves, and measuring yourselves by yourselves," bring
home, each of you to his own conscience, the simple
truth, — You have sinned. This is enough. If you have
sinned, you are guilty; you are condemned; you can
niakeno atonement for your guilt; you can do noth
ing to effect your own deliverance; you must be debtors
to merey; and the grace that saves the very chief of

SI
sinners, is the grace that must save you. You may
not relish being classed with murderers: the pride of
nature may spurn at the mortifying and degrading
association. Yet, let it not escape your notice, that
with regard to the concerns of salvation, and the
ground of pardon and acceptance with God, the text
classes us all with the most atrocious of murderers,
the murderers of the Son of God ! And we who pro
fess to preach the gospel, must keep by the record,
We dare not, as we value our own souls, go beyond
the word of the Lord, to say less or more. We must
do as the Bible does; proclaim the same truth to men
of all stations and of all characters; to " high and low,
rich and poor, together;" to the man of profligacy
and to the man of worldly morality. There is no royal
road to heaven, any more than to science. Nor is
there any other way than one, for the abandoned sin
ner, and for the man of comparative decency, who
passes well with his fellow-men, but who is, notwith
standing, without God, and under condemnation, as
a transgressor of that law which enjoins inward god
liness, as well as sobriety and righteousness, — " walk
ing humbly with God," as well as " doing justly and
loving mercy," and which sums up its heart-searching
requirements in one, which no man can rightly bring
home to himself without exclaiming, " Who shall
stand.?"-T-namely, "Thou shalt love the Lord .thy

32
God with all thy heart, and soul, and strength, and
mind." Let me plead with you for a moment, ye who may
be disposed to startle at these mortifying statements.
Do not you need mercy? — and if you need mercy,
and that mercy is freely offered to you by your
offended God, will you spurn it away from you, because
it is so rich as to extend its proposals of forgiveness to
others whom you reckon more criminal than your
selves? What would you think of a house-breaker or
a thief, who, when under sentence of death, should
indignantly refuse the offers of royal clemency, because
the king chose, in the free exercise of it, to pardon a
murderer along with him?
III. Let us now, in the last place, (and we must do
it with great brevity,) view the words of the text, as
expressing the commencement of a' course, to terminate
in the universal diffusion of the gospel.
The Apostles, agreeably to the charge of their
Master, " began at Jerusalem;" and we have formerly
noticed the immediate result. For a time, the preach
ing of salvation was confined to the Jews. This
arose from a misunderstanding of the Divine inten
tion relative to the Gentiles, into the explanation of
which we have not leisure to enter. The revelation
of that intention was made to Peter, in a way with
which you are all acquainted. He acted upon the

33
Divine intimation. Offence was taken at his con
duct, by the brethren of the circumcision. But they
were silenced and satisfied by his rehearsal of the facts
of the case, and united in " glorifying God," for hav
ing also "granted to the Gentiles repentance unto
life." Still, however, the preachers of the circumcision
were not free of their trammels. When " they that
were scattered abroad upon the persecution that arose
about Stephen," " went every where preaching the
word," they still preached it to none " but unto the
Jews only *." The first remarkable exception to this,
took place at Antioch in Syria: — " And some of them
were men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who, when they
were come to Antioch, spake unto the Grecians,
preaching the Lord Jesus. And the hand of the
Lord was with them: and a great number believed,
and turned unto the Lord f." Here was formed the
first church of Heathen converts — the mother church
of the Gentiles; and here the disciples were first de
nominated by the sadly abused designation of Chris
tians. Still, in the progress of the truth, there was
a preference shown, and a precedency given, which
appears to have accorded with theTJivine intention, to
the seed of Abraham. When, in consequence of the
preaching of Paul and Barnabas, at the other Antioch,

» Actsxi. 19. f xi. 20, 21.
E '

34
(in Pisidia,) the unbelieving Jews " contradicted and
blasphemed," these holy men " waxed bold, and Said,
it was necessary that the word of God should first
have been spoken to you: but seeing ye put it from
you, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life,
lo, we turn to the Gentiles; for so hath the Lord com
manded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the
Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the
ends of the earth *.
Time will not admit of our tracing the history of
the early propagation of the gospel, in Judea, Samaria,
Asia, Africa, and Europe: — far less of our entering
into any details of its later progress; ofthe hindrances,
within and without the church, which it had to over
come; ofthe corruptions by which it was encumbered
and perverted; of the antichristian means adopted for
its advancement; of the dark eclipse in which, for ages,
its light was shrouded; and of its emerging glories at
the blessed era of the Reformation. Nor can we even
attempt any sketch, however rapid, of the wonderful
and delightful operations of our own times; — times, in
the history of the Redeemer's kingdom, unequalled in
interest since the days of apostolic labour, " in the be
ginning ofthe gospel." One thing, however, we must
observe, — the remarkable manner in which the myste-
* Acts xiii. 46, 47.

35
rious agency of a superintending Providence brings
goodvfrom evil, and^makes infidelity and impiety sub
serve the cause of truth and of godliness. It was the
infidelity of revolutionary France, the deeds of demo
niacal phrenzy to which it gave birth, and the dread of
its extending influence, that operated, by a blessed re
action, to rouse the slumbering zeal of the friends of
truth, and to infuse that spirit of consultation and
effort for its support and advancement, which has
issued in the. extended and diversified operations of
Missionary, and Bible, and Tract, and Education So
cieties, in our own and in other lands, which form one
of ,the chief glories of the age in which we live, and
which are hastening on the arrival of the predicted
period, when the truth of God shall have finished its
triumphant career, having established its peaceful and
holy dominion in every "kindred, and people, and
tongue, and nation:" — when there shall appear, in this
apostate world of ours, those " scenes surpassing fable
and yet true! — scenes of accomplished bliss! — scenes,
such as earth saw never, such as heaven stoops down
to see!" — which shall more than realize all the bold and
glowing figures of prophetic poetry:— when " all the
ends of the earth shall remember, and turn unto the
Lord;" when «s there shall be one Lord, and his name
one;" when " the wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and
the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf,

36
and the young lion, and the fatling together; and a
little child shall lead them: and the cow and the bear-
shall feed; their young ones shall lie down together;
and the lion shall eat straw like the ox; and the suck
ing child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the
weaned child shall put his hand on the cockatrice'
den: they shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain: for the earth shall be full of the know
ledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea*."
Mark the connection of the blessings, with their
cause: — "for the earth shall be full of the knowledge
of the Lord." — It is not by the boasted influence
of infidel philosophy, that these moral wonders are
to be wrought; but by the progress and power of
that gospel which "began at Jerusalem;" by the
universal diffusion* and the spiritual energy of the
" knowledge of the Lord." — " Where is the wise?
where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world?
hath not God made foolish the wisdom of this world?
For after that* in the wisdom of God, the world by
wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolish
ness of preaching to save them that believe f." Thus,
it was " by the foolishness of preaching," that the re
generation of the world commenced; and it is by the
foolishness of preaching, that it shall be perfected.
* Isa. xi. 6—9. ¦(¦ 1 Cor. i. 20, 21.

37
" For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from
heaven, and returneth not thither* but watereth the
earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may.
give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater; so shall
my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall
not return unto me void; but it shall accomplish that
which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing where
to I sent it. For ye shall go out with joy, and be led
forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall
break forth before you into singing, and all the trees
of the field shall clap their hands. Instead of the
thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of the
brier shall come up the myrtle-tree: and it shall be
to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign, that
shall not be cut off*."
That which began at Jerusalem shall return to
Jerusalem. — The living stream of mercy, which had
its source in the heights of Calvary, has been winding
in every direction amongst the " desolate heritages"
of the Gentile world, diffusing, in its course, the love
liness of spiritual verdure, and the riches of spiritual
fruitfulness: and it is destined to revisit the " dry and
thirsty land" of Judah; to " comfort all her waste
places, to make her wilderness like Eden, and her
desert like the garden of the Lord ! " — O my brethren,
* Isa. lv. 10—13.

38
let us not, while we admit, and exert ourselves to
answer, the claims and calls of the heathen, be insen
sible to the still higher claims of the " house of Israel."
Remember, that the gospel began at Jerusalem; and
that to the seed of Abraham you stand indebted for
the knowledge of " the joyful sound,1' and for all that
you possess, and all that you hope for, of spiritual and
eternal blessings. How are you to compensate for
this? how are you to discharge your obligation? — By
giving back to them the same precious boon (for a
better you cannot give) which you have received at
their hands. — Remember, that it is the revealed design
of God, whose "judgements are unsearchable, and his
ways past finding out," — that " as ye in times, past
have not believed God, yet have now obtained mercy
through their unbelief; even so have these also now
not believed, that through your mercy they also may
obtain mercy *." It is delightful to see any symptoms
of revival, any stirrings among the dry bones, as if
bone would come together to his bone. Let our
prayer be, with all the confidence of faith, with all
the energy of desire, with all the fervour of grateful
sensibility — " Come from the four winds, O breath,
and breathe on these slain, that they may live ! "

* Rom. xi. 30, 31.

39
I have tried your patience: — yet I cannot dismiss
you, without one word of affectionate admonition.
And it shall be conveyed in the simple, phraseology of
the beloved disciple — " look to yourselves." — One
of the greatest dangers of Ministers of Christ, is, that
of studying and labouring for others, and forgetting
the great duty of self-application; the duty of bringing
home, to their own souls, every truth, and every
promise, and every salutary admonition, which they
are drawing officially from their text-book, for public.
use. And perhaps there is a similar danger to
Christians in general, in these times of universal stir
and activity for the illumination of the world: — the
danger of looking so constantly abroad, as to forget to
look, with sufficient closeness, at home. The benevo
lent precept of Christianity, it is true, is " Look not
every man on his own things, but every man also on
the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus*." But we must beware of
so looking on the spiritual concerns of others, as to
neglect our own. Far be it from me to damp your
zeal for others ! I would rather stir it up to still greater
fervour. And I know of no means that will tend more
powerfully to this effect, than your feeling more of the
preciousness of the truth of God to your own souls;
* Phil. ii. 4, 5.

40
your experiencing more of its life-giving and heart-
cheering influence. Let your feeling for others have
its spring within you in this feeling for yourselves; and
the deeper the latter is, the livelier will be the former.
" The joy of the Lord will be your strength," in fulfill
ing the active duties of benevolence to your fellow-men.
With the authority of God in your consciences, and
the love of God in your hearts, and the glory of God
in your eye, you will be " blessed in your deed."
" Save now, we beseech thee, O Lord ! O Lord,
we beseech thee, send now prosperity!

James Heddermclc, Printer, 26, Bell-Street, Glasgow.

THE CHRISTIAN DUTY OF SUBMISSION TO
CIVIL GOVERNMENT.

A SERMON,

PREACHED IN

GEORGE STREET CHAPEL, GLASGOW,

LORD'S DAY, APRIL 16th, 1820.

By RALPH WARDLAW, D.D.

'* Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man, for the Lord's sake.'
1 Peter ii. 13.

Printed at the University Press,
FOR WARDLAW AND CUNNINGHAME, GLASGOW:
Successors to Andrew $ John M. Duncan.
ADAM BLACK, AND WAUGH AND 1NNES, EDINBURGH ; AND LONGMAN,
HURST, KEES, ORME, AND BROWN, LONDON.
1820.

TO
THE HONOURABLE
HENRY MONTEITH, Esq. of Carstairs, M.P.
LORD PROVOST,
AND TO
THE OTHER MAGISTRATES,
OF
THE CITY OF GLASGOW;
THE FOLLOWING DISCOURSE
IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED,
BY
THE AUTHOR:
IN TESTIMONY OF THE APPROBATION,
WHICH, IN COMMON WITH HIS FELLOW-CITIZENS
AND THE COUNTRY AT LARGE,
HE STRONGLY FEELS,
AND WHICH HE SHOULD DEEM IT AN OMISSION
OF PRESENT DUTY TO SUPPRESS,
OF THAT HAPPY UNION
OF PROMPTITUDE AND VIGOUR
WITH MILDNESS AND FORBEARANCE,
WHICH DISTINGUISHED THEIR OFFICIAL CONDUCT,
DURING THE RECENT ALARMS
OF THE CITY
AND NEIGHBOURHOOD.

A SERMON.

1 Peter ii. 13 — IS.
" Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man, for the Lord's
sake . whether it be to the king as supreme ; or unto gover
nors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment cf
evil-doers, and for the praise of them that do well. For so
is the will of God, that with well-doing ye may put to silence
the ignorance of foolish men"
If any individual now present feels within him arising dislike
to the text which I have just announced, — is sensible of an
unpleasant emotion towards the requirement which it con-'
tains ; — let him examine himself. His heart is not, in this
respect, " right with God." He is in an unchristian frame of
mind. — " He that is joined unto the Lord is one spirit." And
this spiritual union implies, amongst other particulars, con
currence with the mind of the Lord in sentiment and feeling,
an approving complacency in all his commands, a sincere and
simple desire to know his will, and an entire submission of
heart and conscience to his authority.
If any individual present shall think me to blame in taking
up this subject now ; I reply at once, — that the time when
men may be most averse to hear their duty, is the very time
when it is most needful to remind them of it ; — that there

never has been a season, since the commencement of my mi
nistry amongst you, when the duty prescribed in the text
called more decidedly for prominent notice, and for affection-
ate and earnest recommendation ; — and that I should be far
from deserving the character of " a workman that needeth not
to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth," — nay, that
I should have cause to blush deeply* for unfeeling negligence*
for'contemptible pusillanimity, and for unfaithfulness to the
trust reposed in me by my Master and by his people, — if I
" shunned," on such an occasion, " to declare" this part of
" the counsel of God."
My brethren, it is not my province to address you as poli
ticians, but as Christians; — as persons professing subjection to
Jesus, as King in Zion, and Lord of the conscience. — It is
not, therefore, to what political speculators, either on the ge
neral principles and theory of government, or on the different
sides of party politics, may be pleased to represent as your
duty, that I desire your attention : — it is to the plain and au
thoritative injunctions of your Divine Redeemer and Lord ;
even that Lord to whom you are constantly addressing the
inquiry—" What wilt thou have me to do ?"
I am well aware, how unfond we naturally are of all pre
cepts that inculcate subjection. There is in our nature a
proud repugnance to every thing of the kind. Yes ; even
when the demand is made for the Eternal himself, — " the
blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and the Lord
of lords." Even of " Jehovah and his Anointed," our haughty
spirits are ever prone to say, ". Let us break their bands asun
der, and cast away their cords from us." — But when the spi
rit of the high-minded sinner has been brought down by the
gospel, and he has bowed with " a broken and contrite heart"
to the sceptre of the Saviour's grace ; — the humble subjection

of his conscience, which then takes place, to the authority of
God, involves in it " a meek and quiet spirit" of submission
to all the authority which that God has vested in any of his
creatures. The obedience which he yields, as a child, as a
servant, as a subject, being yielded from religious principle,
becomes obedience to God ; and " whatsoever he does," he
thenceforward *' does it heartily, as to the Lord, and not to
men." Allow me, then, my brethren, to request your serious and
simple-hearted attention to the directions of your Lord and
Master, respecting the duties which, as his followers, you owe
to the Government of the Country in which his providence
has cast your lot.
" In connection with the text, read with me two or three
other passages of Scripture, to which reference must be made
in the observations we are about to make: — Rom. xiii. 1 — 7.
" Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there
is no power but of God : the powers that be are ordained of
God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the
ordinance of God ; and they that resist shall receive to them
selves condemnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works,
but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power?
Do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the
same : for he is the minister of God to thee for good. But
if thou do that which is evil, be afraid j for he beareth not the
sword in vain : for he is the minister of God, a revenger, to
execute wrath upon him that doeth evil. Wherefore ye must
needs be subject, not only for wrath, but also for conscience'
sake. For, for this cause pay ye tribute also : for they are
God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing.
Render therefore to all their dues : tribute to whom tribute is
due ; custom to whom custom ; fear to whom fear; honour to

whom honour." — Titus iii. 1. " Put them in mind to be sub
ject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be
ready to every good work." — I Tim. ii. 1 — 4. " I exhort,
therefore, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions,
and giving of thanks, be made for all men ; for kings, and for
all that are in authority ; that we may lead a quiet and peace
able life in all godliness and honesty ; for this is good and
acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour ; who will have
all men to be saved, and to come unto the knowledge of the
truth." In interpreting the language in which our duty is enjoined
upon us in the word of God, nothing is of greater conse
quence, along with a tender susceptibility of conscience, than
a disposition to explain particular precepts agreeably to
the general principles,-— the spirit, the genius, of the gospel.
The language of the Bible is always weighty and decisive ;
but it is, at the same time, in many instances, general. With
dignified authority of tone, it enjoins duties of very extensive
import ; not always descending to minute particularization ;
not starting and refuting every captious objection that might
be imagined ; but leaving the application of the general in
junction, in the infinitely varying circumstances of human
life, to be made, with simplicity of heart, according to the evi
dent spirit of all its discoveries. Upon this principle, we
might connect the precepts in the thirteenth chapter of the
Epistle to the Romans, with those which immediately precede
them. The whole ofthe twelfth chapter breathes the full spirit
of humility and love. The following are its concluding ad
monitions:: — " Recompense to no man evil for evil. Provide
things honest in the sight of all men. If it be possible, as
much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men. Dearly be
loved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath

for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith. the Lord.
Therefore, if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give
him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his
head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with
good." — Such is the connection in which are introduced the
duties to " the powers that be :" — and that these duties are all
comprised under the great Christian law of love, appears from
its being immediately added to the statement of them, " Owe
no man any thing, but to love one another ; for he that loveth
another hath fulfilled the law." — Surely this ought to lead us,
in explaining the terms employed on the subject before us, to
stretch their application to the extreme qf peace, if such an
extreme there be, rather than to try how far it is possible to
extract from them a licence to resist. — And let every Christian
mark the pointed manner in which the command is addressed
to each individual personally : " Let every soul be subject to
the higher powers : — -whosoever resisteth the power, resisteth
the ordinance of God."
Let me now call your attention,
I. To THE DUTIES ENJOINED.
II. To THE CONSIDERATIONS ENFORCING THEM.
I. Of the duties enjoined, I mention, respect, support,
obedience, and prayer.
In the first place : we owe to all in authority, supreme and
subordinate, civil respect and honour, corresponding to their
different stations, both in our speech and our behaviour.
I am afraid that Christians in general are far from being
sufficiently sensible of the obligation of this duty, or of the
sin of its opposite ; especially in regard to their language re
specting their rulers. — The Apostles Peter and Jude, in de-

scribing the anomalous and fearful character of those false
teachers that so early made their appearance in the Christian
church, have both noted amongst its hideous features, their
"self-willed presumption," their " despising dominion," and
" not being afraid to speak evil of dignities."* Ought not this
to make believers in Christ afraid of any approach to what is
so severely condemned ? There is a respect due to the office
of magistracy, apart from the personal character of him by
whom the office is filled ; a respect, of which, did your time
permit, a variety of examples might be produced for your
imitation, from the scripture history; and a respect which
must be still more strongly obligatory, when excellence of
character is associated with official dignity, — when the man
honours the office, and not the office the man.
Words, be it remembered, are the signs of thought ; — the
expressions of sentiment and feeling. They are, therefore,
far from being harmless in themselves ; and they are very far
from being harmless in their possible consequences. " Be
hold, we put bits in the horses' mouths, that they may obey
us ; and we turn about their whole body. Behold also the
ships, which, though they be so great, and are driven by
fierce winds, yet are turned about with a very small helm,
whilhersoever the governor listeth. Even so the tongue is a
little member, and boasteth great things. Behold what a
pile of wood a little fire kindleth ! And the tongue is a fire,
— a world of iniquity ; so is the tongue among our members,
that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course
of nature, and it is set on fire of hell."f — The man who in
dulges his tongue in contumelious and reviling language
against the authorities of-the land, language fitted to bring
* 2 Pet ii. 10. Jude ver. 8. \ James iii. 3 — 6.

government itself into contempt and disrepute, is a dangerous
enemy of his country's weal, as well as a direct and open vio
lator of the express commands of God. His injunctions
are, " Render to all their dues,--fear to whom fear, honour
to whom honour."—" Fear God, honour the King."—" Curse
not the king, no, not in thy thought ; and curse not the rich
in thy bed-chamber; for a bird of the air will carry the
voice, and that which hath wings will tell the matter."*
In the second place : We owe to the government of our
country, all requisite support: — " For this cause pay ye tribute
also; for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon
this very thing. Render therefore unto all their dues; tri
bute to whom tribute is due, custom to whom custom."—
" Render, therefore, unto Caesar, the things which are Cas-
sar's; and unto God, the things which are God's."  "Of
whom do the kings of the earth take custom or tribute ? of
their own children, or of strangers? Peter saith unto him, Of
strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.
Notwithstanding, lest we should offend them, go thou to the
sea, and cast a hook, and take up the fish that first cometh
up ; and when thou hast opened his mouth, thou shalt find a
piece of money ; that take, and give unto them for me and
thee."f It is, without doubt, the duty of rulers, as " ministers of
God" to their people " for good," to make the taxes they re
quire as light as is consistent with the real exigencies of the
state; and to be righteous, disinterested, and economical, in
the expenditure of the public money ; especially in times of
prevailing difficulty and distress in the community over which

* Romr-xiit7. I Pet. ii. 17; -Eeclr x. 20.
f Rom. xiii. 6, 7. Matth, xxii. 21. Matth. xvii. 25 — 27.

Providence has called them to preside. It is their duty, like
wise, to lay on these necessary burdens, with as much equality
as possible of proportional pressure, according to the various
ranks and conditions of their subjects : — and, with whatever
inconsiderate confidence some may speak, this must be a mat
ter of no very easy adjustment ; nay, in a country such as ours,
where the variety of circumstances is so endless, a matter of
superlative difficulty.
As to our duty, my brethren, who are the subjects of civil
government, one thing must at once be evident to you ; that
it cannot be the province of each individual, to judge for him
self, what taxes he is to pay, and what to decline. It has been
very truly observed, that " the precept to pay taxes should be
" considered by Christians as a blessing. Had not the pre-
" cept been given expressly, conscientious men might have
" thought it necessary to know first how the money was to be
" applied, and to refuse, wherever they disapproved of the
" expenditure. This would have given occasion to endless
" trouble and contention. But now, in consequence of the
" express precept, all occasion of scruple or uneasiness is re-
" moved : and as, of old, Christians were permitted to buy
" whatever was -sold in the shambles, asking no questions for
" conscience' sake ; so now, whatever is imposed as a tax, it
" is our duty simply to pay, and to owe no man any thing,
" but to love one another." *
In making such payments for the support, and according
to the requisitions of government, a Christian, who is properly
influenced by a sense of divine authority, will exercise the very

* The Duty of Christians to Civil Government: — A Sermon preached in
Lady Glenorchy's Chapel, Edinburgh, on the 29th November, 1798. By Gre
ville Ewing.

9
same conscientiousness as in discharging his private debts.
He will consider the one to be due, as much as the other, and
hold the obligation sacred. Alas !- that this view of the mat
ter should be so little prevalent in practice ! How many are
there, and professing Christians too, who would be exceedingly
shocked by any thing approaching to dishonesty or fraud in
their mercantile transactions ; who would spurn from them
the slightest imputation against the honour of their dealings,
with a frown of indignant scorn,-;— whose consciences are won
derfully easy, and unembarrassed with scruples, in all that re
lates to the pecuniary claims of government; who, with little
if any hesitation, dispense with the fulfilment of these, on
grounds, which would not stand for a single instant before any
other description of obligation ; — nay, who even study the arts
of evasion, give scope to their inventive ingenuity, and smile
with conscious self-complacency at the prudence and clever
ness of its devices ; and reckon any thing fair, when the ob
ject is merely to defraud government, to gull a revenue-officer,
or, as it is vulgarly termed, to cheat the king. — I cannot en
large on this subject, further than to say, " These things
ought not so to be ;" and to add, with the earnestness of en
treaty, and with the authority of the divine word on my side,
" Let it not be so among you." Consider ye your taxes as
debts ,-— and let there be no illegal and underhand arts, and no
mean Jesuitical casuistry employed, to evade or to reduce
their payment.
I may add, on the subject of the support due to govern
ment, — although I can do no more than mention it, — that in
particular cases of emergency, it may become not only war
rantable, but an incumbent duty, either for repelling foreign
invasion, or for maintaining internal peace, to take up arms on
behalf of lawful authority, and of our national liberties. With-
B

10
out this, in such emergencies, the magistrate might " bear
the sword in vain."
In the third place : we owe to the. government of our coun
try, obedience to its requirements ; subjection both to the esta
blished laws of the land, and to the occasional mandates of
the higher powers.
On this part of the subject, there is one obvious restriction,
which is applicable to all human requirements whatever.
When the authority of men interferes with the authority of
God ; when the orders of the one contravene the positive
commands of the other; — we cannot, we dare not, hesitate.
We must take up the apostolic principle, and firmly abide by
it : — " We ought to obey God rather than men :"" — " Whe
ther it be right in the sight of God, to hearken unto you more
than unto God, judge ye." — This is so self-evident, that I stop
not to illustrate or to establish it. — Even in the refusal, how
ever, there may be, and there ought to be, nothing of the
spirit of resistance. There may, and there ought to be, the
utmost respect and deference displayed towards the consti
tuted authorities, in readily obeying every summons, in an
swering modestly to their charges and inquiries, in stating
our case, and in pleading our cause. But if all will not avail
to procure a dispensation for our consciences, we must submit
to suffer, were it even unto death, rather than do what our
God forbids, or abstain from doing what our God requires to
be done. Noble exemplifications of resolute adherence to
this principle, will immediately present themselves to every
mind familiar with the records of sacred history.
With this exception, we are to be " subject to the higher
powers" in all things. They are the " ministers of God to
us for good ; — a terror not to good works, but to evil :"  and
the sum of our duty, the means of shunning their vengeance,
and obtaining their praise, consists in nvnidinr. tkof «,v.;«i> ¦•,.

11
evil, and "doing that which is good;" — in being "ready
unto every good work ;" — in " leading a quiet and peaceable
life, in 'all godliness and honesty." " Who is he that will
harm you, if you be thus followers of that which is good ?"
As individual Christians, living under the government of
earthly rulers, I do not think there can be established
any other scriptural limitation of the command to " be sub
ject," than the one which has now been specified. — The Scrip
tures, it ought to be remembered, were not written for the
learned alone, but for ordinary men, for multitudes who are
not at all versant in the " wisdom of this world," or in the
history and the politics of nations. Every view, therefore, by
which the right understanding and performance of any duty
is made to depend on the possession of knowledge not within
the reach of all, must be evidently and strongly objectionable.
Now of this nature all limitations appear to be, beside the one
I have mentioned of the opposition of human orders to the
commands of God.
For example: Is it alleged, that we are bound only by'
the just and reasonable demands or enactments of our rulers ?
— It is perfectly true, that demands and enactments that do
not partake of this character are wrong, and ought not to
be made. But, who are to be the judges? Who are to
draw the lines ? The idea that every individual is to deter
mine for himself, what is just and reasonable, and what the
contrary, cannot be admitted for a single moment by any
man in his sober senses. The supposition puts an end at
once to all subordination, and destroys the very possibility of
government. Again : — Is it said* we are under obligation to obedience,
only as far as the proceedings and requirements of our go
vernors are constitutional ? — Here we are immediately met by
the same difficulty. The matter is beyond the reach of by

far the larger proportion of ordinary Christians. It would
be necessary, on this hypothesis, that before a Christian could
ascertain his duty as a subject of civil rule, he should be a
profound politician ; that he should maturely study the bal
ance of power in the British Constitution, and be familiar
with the limits of prerogative belonging respectively to King,
Lords, and Commons. This surely will never do. States
men and politicians are perpetually differing, arid differing
widely, about what is constitutional, and what is not ; — what
is, and what is not, an encroachment of one branch of the
government on the prerogatives of another. — How, then, can
we ever think of making this a standard of duty, to men,
who, from their situation, must, in most cases, be profoundly
ignorant of the whole matter ? Ground so uncertain, on
which he must be incessantly halting, and hesitating, and va
cillating, and frequently at an entire stand, and much more
likely, if he acts at all, to act wrong than right, — will never
do to be the rule of a Christian's conduct.
Let not these observations be foolishly and falsely interpre
ted, as implying that we are bound to approve in our judg
ments, of every measure of the existing government. No, my
brethren. There is no attempt to impose any such shackles
on your understandings. The thing is impracticable; and,
were it practicable, would be most pernicious to the interests
of British freedom. — Abuses of official trust may occur,
which are obvious and flagrant* and which, even on moral
grounds, we cannot but in conscience condemn ; and there
may be many measures, which, on principles of national ex
pediency, apart from considerations of morality, we cannot
approve, as politically good. — Pardon me, however, if I offer
a hint or two as to the principles by which, on such matters,
your judgments ought to be directed. — Considering the im
mense difficulty of managing the extensive and complicated

13
affairs of a mighty empire, the Christian who has learned
" not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think,
but to think soberly," will surely feel the propriety of exer
cising his judgment with self-diffident caution, and, as far as
he possibly can, of applying, both to men and measures, that
charity which " thinketh no evil." He will beware of being,
on either side, a violent political partizan ; and, as too gene
rally happens, both in and out of parliament, of approving
without discrimination the proposals and proceedings of one
set of men, and condemning as indiscriminately those of ano
ther ; — of giving all his charity to the one side, and all his
suspicion and antipathy to the opposite.
Two things have many a time surprised me not a little, in
the conduct and language of Christians on such subjects : —
The first is, the easy confidence and decision with which
they often speak of the proceedings of the government of the
country. They seem as if they felt no sort of difficulty in
the matter; as if all, both in principle and in practice, were
as simple as a lesson in the alphabet. They decide for and
against the measures of their rulers, with the same kind of per
fect facility and readiness with which they commend or chide
the behaviour of their own children. — Now, surely, tjiere can
be nothing more preposterous than this. Have you never,
my friends, experienced any difficulties in your own private
concerns ? — in the conduct of your little businesses ? — in the
management and economy of your families ? — in differences
amongst your children, or your neighbours ?— in the affairs
of your friendly societies ? — Have you never had to deliber
ate yourselves, and to ask the advice of others, and after all,
found a good deal of hesitation in making up your minds, in
these petty transactions ? — Be reasonable, then, my brethren.
Consider for a moment, what the clashing interests must be of
sixteen millions of people ; and how vast the difficulty of con-

14
suiting and providing for them all. Think ofthe impossibil
ity of adopting and executing almost a single purpose, that
will not, in some point or other, be felt as a grievance. Think
too of the numerous contending interests of foreign powers,
and of the difficulty of adjusting these to mutual and universal
satisfaction. Recollect, also, that your rulers are not, any more
than yourselves, endowed with prescience. They cannot con
trol future events. They cannot ascertain and overrule the
providential purposes of Him, who " worketh all things
after the counsel of his own will ;" — who saith, " My counsel
shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure ;" — and under
whose mysterious unseen superintendence, events often run
counter to the fairest and most apparently reasonable calcula
tions. — Are your own little plans and purposes never frus
trated by unforeseen occurrences,? And if designs are thus
blasted, in the forming of which you had little or nothing to
think of beyond yourselves ; is no allowance to be made for
the occasional disappointment and failure of schemes, the ma
turing of which has required their framers to take into their
calculations a large proportion, perhaps, ofthe known world ?
— Eager politicians may smile in contempt at all this. I can
not help it. I speak to my fellow-christians, from whom 1
expect moderation and candour.
A second thing, at which I have often wondered, is, — that
Christians, in regard to their rulers, expect from human nature
so much more than their knowledge of it, derived from the
Bible and from their own experience, can warrant them to
look for. — It is no uncommon thing, to hear men tiacing
all existing evils in society to human institutions ; — to go
vernments, and their administrators. That this should be
done by persons whose views of human nature have not been
formed from the Divine account of it, and from a spiritual
knowledge of themselves, is no matter of wonder. But that

15
Christians should be thus thoughtless, is surprising indeed.
Surely they, who know the extent and inveteracy of human
corruption, and who feel and mourn over its unholy tenden
cies in their own bosoms, should be sufficiently aware, that,
whatever mischiefs may arise from defects or abuses in the go
vernments of nations, the sad source of evil lies much deeper
than iii the influence of any human institutions. And is it
not strange too, that, with this knowledge and this experience,
Christians should have so little allowance to make for the
failures and errors of their rulers ? — as little sometimes, as if
it were entirely forgotten that they are partakers of the com
mon frailty and the common corruption of mankind. — Is it at
all fair, to expect that they should be entirely free of propen
sities and passions that are common to the whole race ? "To
err, is human," — is a saying of proverbial authority. Are
rulers alone, then, to be omniscient and infallible ? — To ac
knowledge and correct an error, is one of the highest efforts
of human wisdom and of human virtue. Have you never
yourselves been sensible of the reluctance of your proud na
ture to own a mistake or a fault? — ^and ofthe strength of the
propensity to excuse, to palliate, and even to maintain and
persist in it? — I do not say that this is right. It is very far
wrong. But neither surely is it right, to forget that your
rulers are possessors of the same fallen nature with yourselves.
Are you entitled, think you, my brethren, with the experience
you have of the perverseness of your own hearts, to marvel,
that " the higher powers" should at times discover the same
slowness to admit an error, or even, as may happen, the same
pertinacity in vindicating and persevering in it ? You find it
atrial of principle, to confess a fault to an individual, — a
friend, — in private. Must it not be a much severer trial, to
make the confession in the face of a whole nation, — nay of

16
Europe, and of the world ? I say again, I am far from ex
cusing the conduct, or the principle that produces it. All I
mean is, that in the verdicts you pronounce on your rulers*
you should remember that they are men ; and that you should
not therefore marvel so mightily at that occurring in their
conduct, which your knowledge of your own hearts makes
you sensible, the same circumstances might probably produce
in your own. " Judge not, that ye be not judged: for with
what judgment ye judge ye shall be judged ; and with what
measure ye mete, it, shall be measured to you again."* They
are not in general the men whose own principles and conduct
will bear the closest scrutiny, who are most inclined to be se
vere and censorious in their judgments of others, whether in
public or in private life.
Further: — whilst the duty of submission does not at all
imply our approving of every thing done by the government
of the country, nor prohibit our expressing the disapproba
tion we may feel, in a dignified and respectful manner, even
to the government itself, agreeably to the constitutional privi
leges of British subjects ; — neither is it, by any means, incon
sistent with our employing all lawful methods of avoiding
personal evil, by pleading our just and sacred rights, either as
members of the community, or as holding particular situa
tions in it. — I might illustrate this remark by a variety of ex
amples, especially from the inspired history and writings of
the Apostle Paul. I must pass over these, however, and pro
ceed to my fourth and last particular on this head of dis
course. 4. We owe to " the powers that be," prayer to God for
them : — ¦" I exhort, therefore, first of all, that supplications,
* Matth. vii. 1, 2.

17
prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all
men j for kings, and for all that are in authority ; that we
may lead a quiet and peaceable life, in all godliness and ho
nesty : for this is good and acceptable in the sight of God
our Saviour ; who will have all men" (men of all ranks and
descriptions and characters) " to be saved, and to come to the
knowledge of the truth."*
Whatever is the duty of one man is the duty of every man.
It is the dtlty of all, not merely to be subject, but to be subject
on Christian principles ; " not only for wrath, but also for
conscience* sake:"' — that is, not merely from fear ofthe wrath
and the sword of the civil magistrate, but from higher and
purer considerations, — from regard to the authority and the
glory of the Supreme Ruler, — or, as Peter expresses it in the
text, " for the Lord's sake." — So it is the duty of all to pray;
— to pray on the ground which Christianity prescribes ; — to
pray in faith, and in the name of Jesus :-"-because it is the
duty of all to believe the gospel,-"-the testimony of God con
cerning his Son, as the atoning Saviour, and the only medium
of acceptable worship. — It is to believers ill Jesus* — -to1 Chris
tians,— that both Paul and Peter address' these apostolic ad
monitions and commaods.-"Let me, therefore, earnestly en
treat such, to think of the importance attached in the Scrip
tures to their offering up their prayers to God in a right spi
rit. We are taught to pray for the spiritual interests of our
rulers, — for their salvation by Jesus Christ; — the highest bles
sing we can ever ask even for the most exalted of our race.
We ought to implore also the blessing of the universal
Sovereign upon them in the discharge of their official duties ;

* 1 Tim. ii. 1—4.
c

18
that, with divinely bestowed qualifications, they may rule in
wisdom, justice, and humanity ; and that, on all occasions,
and especially in trying emergencies, they may be " men who
have understanding of the times, to know what ought to be
done."* But in fulfilling this Christian duty, O remember
the apostolic admonition, " I will, therefore, that men pray
everywhere, lifting up holy hands, without wrath and doubting:"
and the charge of the Apostle's Master, "When ye stand pray-
^g,forgive, if ye have aught against any ; that your heavenly
Father may also forgive you." -J- If there are feelings cherished
in the Christian's heart, of ill-will and rancour towards the
government of his country, how can he, in such a state of
mind, offer up his devotions acceptably to God ? They are
not the prayers of love ; and the God of love cannot be pleas
ed with them. No, my brethren : be assured, that nothing
of the gall and wormwood of human passions, towards whom
soever these passions are cherished, can ascend before God
with the sweet and fragrant incense of the blessed Redeemer's
merits and intercession. Prayer offered in such a temper of
mind is closely allied to " blessing with the mouth, and cursing
inwardly :" — and the heart of every child of God will tremble
at the thought of being* even for a moment* in such a state
of unsanctified feeling, as would exclude his petitions from the
acceptance of his heavenly Father.
II. 1 now proceed to the second head of Discourse : — the
CONSIDERATIONS BY WHICH THESE DUTIES ARE ENFORCED.
In the first place : Civil government is an ordinance of God :
— " Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers ; for
there is no power but of God ; the powers that be are or
dained of God. Whosoever, therefore, resisteth the power,
* 1 Chron. xii. 32. f l Tim- "• 8- Mark "• 25-

19
resisteth the ordinance of God :" — " he is the minister of God
to thee for good :" — " they are God's ministers, attending
continually upon this very thing."
Peter, it is true, speaks in our text, of submission to "every
ordinance qf man :" — literally, to every human creation ; * the
expression being taken from the phraseology of Greece and
Rome, where magistrates were spoken of as created ,• a mode
of speech in use also amongst ourselves. But the phrase is
in perfect consistency with government being at the same time
an " ordinance of God," — a divine institute : — and this con
sideration, indeed, is included, along with others, in the parti
cular form of admonition, of command, of entreaty, which
Peter employs in the text, — "for the Lord's sake."
I waive at present any discussion, as to the abstract princi
ple on which the right of human governments to exercise ju
dicial restraint, and to inflict punishments, should be con
sidered as resting : — some conceiving that it has its ground
in views of obvious utility ,- and others, in the transference
into the hands qf the public of the right qf personal resentment
and retaliation. The first I am inclined to believe the true
ground. It seems to be recognized by the apostle, in the
view which he gives of the ends and the benefits of govern
ment Even when he speaks of the magistrate as " a reveng
er, to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil ;" it is evidently
on behalf qf God that he represents him as sustaining this
character : — of God, whom he had just described as reserving
the right of vengeance to himself, — " Vengeance is mine, I
will repay, saith the Lord ;"f — and the evil avenged is not
merely personal injury between man and man* but misde
meanor and crime in general.
* Hat y cittpHtny *ntu. \ Rom. xii. 19.

20
The statement is first\ made universally,- — " there is no
power but of God :"--and jt is then applied to the govern
ment existing at the time, — .«« the powers that be are ordained
of God."
When it is affirmed* without qualification, thajt " there is
no power but of God ;" it cannot he meant, that particular
rulers are, in every instance, immediately nominated and ap
pointed of God. This was never the case except in Israel ;
and even there, only on particular occasions, But, it is the
divine pleasure, manifested by the obvious, manifold* and
valuable advantages resulting frpm it, as well as by the course
of his providence, and the express intimations of his Spirit
in his holy word, that government should exist in human so
ciety ;— and at the same time* h.is providence exercises a con
stant superintendence over the nations ; , " ruling in the king
dom of men, and giving it to whomsoever he will."
The Scriptures pronounce no decisions on the comparative
merits of different forms of civil polity, Few things are
more dangerous, or involve a greater perversion of the Bible
from its proper and legitimate purpose, than to introduce it,
a(& an authoritative umpire* to decide between the contending
claims of the various descriptions of government to human
adoption, and especially to settle any one of them, to the ex
clusion of the rest, on (he basis of a divine sanction, Our
subjection is not made to depend on any such decisions ; nor
is the duty at all affected, by the particular theoretical views
which we may respectively entertain upon the subject. — It is
to the existing government, whatever it may be, of the coun
try in which we live, that our submission is required : —
" There is no power but of God :" — " Submit yourselves to
every ordinance qf man, for the Lord's sake." — Neither is it
the Christian's business to trouble himself with what may often

21
be matter of difficult discovery and of doubtful disputation, —
the legitimacy of the titles of existing princes, and reigning
dynasties. He has simply to do with *' the powers that be."
Under this designation, it is very evident, the Apostle re
fers to the then existing government of Rome ; — and in our
text the duty is extended to the subordinate provincial juris
dictions : — " whether it be to the king as supreme, or unto go
vernors, as unto those that are sent by him, for the punish
ment of evil-doers, and for the praise of them that do well."
— Where there is any thing that is not to our mind, that
thwarts inclination, that prevents the heart from going imme
diately and fully along with the precept, we are prone to seek,
and ingenious to devise, excuses and palliations. The believ
ers at Rome and in its provinces, might be disposed to say,
Does the motive you suggest, apply to our case ? Are we to
consider the present Roman government as included in the
affirmation that " there is no power but of God ?" — Yes, say
both the Apostles, our exhortation is to you : — " the powers
that be," the existing powers, under whom you now live,
" are ordained of God ?" — " Submit yourselves" both to the
imperial and the provincial authorities, " for the Lord's sake."
— This prevented, or silenced, all evasive objections, and set
tled their minds on the authority of God.
From the doctrine, that " there is no power but of God,"
and that " the existing powers were ordained of God," the
Apostle Paul immediately deduces the obvious but alarming
conclusion, " Whosoever, therefore, resisteth the power, re
sisteth the ordinance of God ; and they that resist shall re
ceive to themselves condemnation."— -The meaning of this
cannot be, that every act of every government, however ini
quitous and oppressive, derives, from the mere circumstance
of its being an act of government, the sanction of divine au-

22
thority; Far from our minds be a thought so foolish and so
impious. The very description given of the design of go
vernment, which will be noticed immediately, contains in it a
tacit injunction on rulers, as to the principles by which they
ought to regulate their official conduct, and the ends at which
they should habitually and conscientiously aim. — The conclu
sion, therefore, must be understood generally .• — that govern
ment being an ordinance of God, and his will that we should
be subject, being so plainly and peremptorily declared ; in re
sisting, we oppose not merely human authority, but divine.
— Servants are commanded, in the verses immediately follow
ing the text, to be " subject to their masters, with all fear ;
not only to the'good and gentle, but also to the froward ,-" — but
this does not imply, that the capricious orders and oppressive
rigour and harshness of froward masters, were pleasing to
God, whose command to masters is, to " render to their ser
vants that which is just and equal, knowing that they also
have a Master in heaven, and that there is no respect of per
sons with him."
" They that resist," it is said, " shall receive to themselves
condemnation." — I am satisfied, that this refers, not to the sen
tence of the civil magistrate, but to the judgment of God. It
is of divine authority, as requiring subjection, and prohibit
ing resistance, that the Apostle is speaking. It is that autho
rity he is adducing to enforce the duty ; and it is as a viola
tion of that authority that the condemnation is incurred.
In the second place : The duty of subjection is further en
forced, from the beneficial design and tendency qf civil govern
ment ; — the important advantages arising from it to mankind.
Thus, in the text : " Submit yourselves to every ordinance
of man, for the Lord's sake ; whether it be to the king as su
preme, or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him,

23
for the punishment of evil doers, and for the praise of them that
do well." — Thus also in Romans xiii. "Rulers are not a ter
ror to good works, but to the evil ,-" — " he is the minister of
God to thee for good:" — " they are God's ministers, attending
continually upon this very thing"
Magistrates are no where, in the New Testament, directly
addressed. In such passages, however, as those before us,
their duties, or at least the great general principles by which
their conduct should be guided, are most explicitly laid before
them. — It seems very evident, at the same time, that it was
not the intention of the sacred writers to describe the cha
racter of any particular governments, or individual rulers,
but to point out the beneficial tendency and effect of govern
ment in general : — namely, the protection of the good and
peaceable members of society, and the restraint and punish
ment of the lawless and disobedient. The description, ac
cordingly, is not taken from any abstract theoretical view of
what have been termed " the rights of man ;" but from that
which constitutes the leading and avowed end of every existing
government ; and. which, under ; every government, is, in a
greater or less degree, realized. — We have no experience, ei
ther suffered or recorded, of the effects that would ensue from
the total absence of every kind of government, — from a state
of entire lawlessness, insubordination, self-will, and anarchy :
 but we cannot doubt, that the experience of such a state of
things would serve, by the power of contrast, strongly to
illustrate and establish the Apostle's argument.
Decidedly in confirmation of this view of the case, is the
matter of fact, before alluded to, that both Paul and Peter
employ the very consideration now under notice, for enforcing
the commands of God on the subjects of the Imperial Despot

24
— Nero; — for he it was who then wore the purple at Rome. —
This fact effectually prevents us from evading, by our own
abridgments and limiting qualifications, the obligation of the
general precept. That the sacred writers intended their pre
cepts for the present observance of the Christians to whom
they wrote, will not surely admit of a moment's question. It
were the perfection of absurdity, to suppose, that they deli
vered commands, in terms most explicit, unequivocal, and so
lemn, which were not applicable to the circumstances of those
whom they addressed. And if the commands were intended
for their obedience, then it follows, that the various motives
by which that obedience is enforced, did, in the judgment of
the inspired apostles, exist in their case.
Even under that government, accordingly, the protection
of laws was experienced by those who " did that which was
good." Paul himself, on various occasions, felt the advan
tage of being a subject of it. He was secured by it from open
and violent assault, and from insidious and malignant trea
chery, and plots of way-laying and assassination; as well as
enabled, when necessary, to take the high ground of ap
peal from inferior and provincial judicatories to the supreme
imperial authority.
It is worse, indeed, than absurdity, to suppose the Apostle
Paul not to speak of the Roman government existing at the
time : — it approaches at least to impiety. Paul, let us remem
ber, writes under the influence of the Spirit of God. There
is therefore, we may be assured, no " fleshly wisdom," no pi
tiful, shifting, evasive artifice of argument. We must not
suppose him to say, what his words, on the supposition in
question, would plainly amount to ; — " It is your duty, my
brethren, to be subject to civil government. But it is only

25
to governments, remember, that answer, in the degree in
which all governments ought, to the following description.
You will at once be sensible, that this is far from being the
case with the government under which you are now placed.
It is far, therefore, from being my intention to inculcate sub
jection to it. It is rather your duty to resist a government,
which answers so ill the ends of its institution." — Had Paul
meant this, he would have said it in plain terms :— nay, he
who can imagine the Spirit of truth, by whose direction he
wrote, to have used such duplicity and mental reservation, is
much more than unworthy of being reasoned with.
It has sometimes been alleged, that this Epistle was writ
ten in the early part of Nero's reign, previously to the com
mencement of his course of inhuman and oppressive admi
nistration : and consequently, as the allegation has been in
tended to insinuate, that the submission enjoined to his go
vernment then, might not be due to it afterwards. The sup
position implied in this is, that Paul would not have written
in the same terms, had he happened to write a few years later ;
a supposition, which only proves, what appears in many other
ways, the strength of the propensity to make the Bible speak
our own peculiar and favourite sentiments. — Laying other
considerations apart, it is sufficient for its refutation to observe;
that the Spirit of God in Peter is the same with the Spirit of
God in Paul ,• and yet the language of Peter, at a time eight
or nine years at least posterior to the date of the Epistle to
the Romans, and when no room for any such evasive pretext
could possibly exist, is the very same with that of Paul.
I do not feel myself called upon, either by the passages of
Scripture on which the preceding observations are founded,
or by any existing circumstances, to enter at all into abstract
discussion of what have been termed the rights qf nations, in
their collective capacity ;— when the sense of an entire people
D

26
may be considered as thoroughly ascertained ; — when the
principles of justice and humanity are violated ; the constitu
tion and laws set aside and trampled upon ; the ends of govern-
,ment perverted and lost ;"and civil and religious liberty extin
guished in a course of iniquitous and ruthless oppression. —
Civil government is the " ordinance of God ;" and an attempt
to live without it would be an attempt to contravene a divine
intention, and to subsist and prosper independently of a di
vine appointment. — Particular institutions and forms of civil
polity, though, like every thing else, under the regulating
control of an over-ruling Providence, are the " ordinance of
man :" and from this the general inference seems hardly capa
ble of a question, that man may alter them. — But not only do
discussions of this nature touch on a variety of delicate points,
both in our own history, in the abstract principles of govern
ment, and in the various modifications of these principles un
der different constitutions and forms of social order ; — they
are, besides, totally uncalled for. And it is a sad thing when
Christians, in the examination of such portions of the divine
word, suffer themselves to be led away from the plain and
unequivocal intimations of their individual duty, to speculate
and debate about points of abstract disquisition, and political
metaphysics.-— Taking these passages in their simple and obvi
ous meaning, I put it to any Christian, as an individual, sub
ject to the dictates of his Master's will, whether he can find
any other limit to the obedience which his Master demands of
him to his civil rulers, than the one that has been laid down
in the preceding part of this discourse.
Think not, beloved brethren, that in chusing and discussing
this subject at the present time, I have not been feeling for the
distresses of my country : — » my own, my native land :" — the

27
" land of my fathers' sepulchres :" — the refuge of the exile ;
the favoured asylum of liberty f— the land of gospel light and
privilege; and the emporium of spiritual blessings for a sur
rounding world ! — >
" Breathes there the man with soul so dead,
" Who never to himself hath said,
" This is my own, my native land ?"
It is dear to natural affection, to patriotism, and to piety. —
It ought to be in the body politic, as it is in the Christian
body : " Whether one member suffer, all the members suffer
with it ; or one member be honoured, all the members rejoice
with it." — It is lamentable, when a disruption in any degree
takes place, between the different orders of society ; a jealous
interruption of mutual good-will, and confidence, and fellow-
feeling : — when ." the eye begins to say to the hand, I have
no need of thee ; or the head to the feet, I have no need of
you." There are distresses ; — extensive, alas ! and in many instan
ces, severe, and accumulated, and growing distresses : — and
not to feel for them would argue a heart of stone, — a pitiless
spirit, unfit for the society of human beings. — But let my la
bouring and suffering brethren bear from me the word of
friendly and affectionate exhortation: — I offer it on three
points. 1. Be not over-confident in tracing these distresses even to
their second causes. — Differences of opinion, you are aware,
exist as to these* amongst sensible and intelligent men ; — and
all I ask of you is, to be so modest at least, as to admit the
possibility of your being in some points mistaken ; and espe
cially, when you may be inclined to trace all existing evils to
one source, and to flatter yourselves with the fond fancy, that
one or two particular measures, on which you may have set

28
your hearts, are to prove a panacea, or universal cure, which
would effectually remove them all. — Be assured, that the mo
desty recommended, whilst the intricacy of political science de
mands it of you, is the almost unfailing mark of good sense,
and of a well-furnished and substantial mind. It is amongst
the weak and the half-informed, that you will generally find
most dogmatism.
2. O beware, amidst your speculations on second causes, of
forgetting the first cause ; — the God who " hath prepared
his throne in the heavens, and whose kingdom ruleth over
all ;" who " doeth according to his will, in the armies of hea
ven, and amongst the inhabitants of the earth ;" and whose
sovereign will all second causes concur to accomplish.
" The blessing comes at his command,
At his command the storm :"
and Oh ! it is a melancholy and miserably inconsistent thing,
when Christians, " spiritual men," are so engrossed by their
political lucubrations, as to forget to look upward ,- and when,
by such forgetfulness, they not . only lose the benefit which
divine visitations are designed to impart to the soul, but set
an example of practical atheism to the world around them !
3. Do not think, and do not say, that your distresses meet
with no sympathy ; — that there is no feeling for you. — Recol
lect, my dear friends, that although the inferior classes of so
ciety are suffering, they are not suffering alone. I am aware,
indeed, that in their case distress proceeds to a greater ex
tremity : — that their superiors may suffer, and suffer much,
without being exposed, with their families, to the distracting
anticipations, or the desperate realities, of starvation.  Still,
however, the distress is general. It pervades, indeed, the
whole civilized world. And the privations and sufferings of
your superiors in station, your good sense will teach you,

29
ought to be estimated according to the habits of life, and the
prospects, to which themselves and families have been accus
tomed. You should view them, therefore, as fellow-sufferers.
You suffer along with, and through the medium of your suf
fering employers. — In such a city as ours, indeed, the la
bouring members of the community never can suffer alone.
It is not the interest of your employers, that you should be in
a depressed and suffering state. It is always ill with them,
when it is ill with you. And never surely was there mani
fested a stronger disposition to relieve those wants by charity,
which they have been unable to supply by employment. Let
the sympathy, then, be mutual; and let distrust and jealousy
be banished.
When, and by what means, effectual and permanent relief
is to arrive, I am neither politician nor prophet enough to
predict. It rests with the supreme and all-merciful Ruler.
May He, in his infinite kindness, and by the hidden proces
ses of his providence, " make darkness light before us, and
crooked things straight !" May he superintend the councils
of our country, and lead to the adoption and prosecution of
every practicable measure, that may contribute, under his
blessing, to the mitigation and removal of our afflicted state !
— and, in the mean time, may he dispose us all, recollecting
the precious fruits of his goodness, which, as a nation, we
have experienced, and which are yet in our possession, to say,
in the spirit of gratitude and submission, " Shall we receive
' good at the hand of the Lord, and shall we not receive evil
also ?"
I have sometimes thought of the scenes which have recent
ly appeared amongst us, as striking, though painful, manifes
tations of the high degree of liberty which this our favoured
country has enjoyed. — When any good has been possessed in
an eminent degree, and the sweets of it have been long and

30
richly relished, a people naturally become, as the poet ex
presses it, f proud and jealous of the blessing." Any thing
that wears even the remotest aspect of an encroachment upon
it, awakens all their indignant alarm ; and whatever they may
fancy to be fitted for advancing it to still higher perfection,
they are ready to demand with impetuous eagerness. — Cer
tainly the language that has been used, and the deeds that
have been done by some amongst us, might have led a stran
ger to our country, taking them as the ground of his estimate,
to conceive, that our lot had been cast in an ill-fated land,
where the very name of freedom was a mockery ; where the
word durst not be uttered without peril ; where every lisp of
complaint was rewarded and silenced by the bowstring or the
solitary dungeon ; where property, and liberty, and friends,
and life, were at the arbitrary nod of a capricious and uncon
trolled despot; — and that, by some sudden impulse, we had
just been awakened to the feeling of our wrongs, and to the
assertion of our miserably violated rights.
Blessed be the God of nations ! — it is not so with us. —
And it is distressing to think, that any should be so infatu
ated as, on account of defects and abuses, imaginary or real,
to be ready to embroil the nation in all the tremendous evils,
and the still more tremendous risks, of a civil war ! — Surely,
to say the least of it, men who act such a part, have not se
riously thought what they are doing. They cannot have
estimated the costs and the hazards, which, history might
teach them, are appalling beyond description ; — they cannot
have taken a moment's leisure to balance the two sides of the
account. Let me say a single word to any who may profess to defer to
the sense of the nation, and to be guided and determined by
it. — The general mind of a people, unless in very peculiar
cases indeed, is far from being very easily ascertained ; — and

31
political partizans are always strongly disposed to fancy it on
their own side. One thing, however, may with confidence be
affirmed ; that, whatever be at present, in the public mind, the
predominant system of politics ; whatever be the preponder
ance of feeling in the country, whether for or agaimst the ex
isting administrators of the government ; — there never was a
case more clear, than that the general sense of the nation, — of
Whigs and Tories, and all political persuasions, is decidedly
against such movements of rebellion and anarchy as, alas ! we
have recently witnessed : — and they who may think of re
peating such attempts, should think again, whether they
would not, in doing so, be acting in opposition to their own
avowed principles.
But that Christians, my brethren, that any followers of the
Prince of peace, — whatever speculative principles in politics
they may hold, — (and with these we pretend not to interfere,
unless they are such as show themselves in practical disobe
dience to the express commands of God) — that any of them
should be found taking part in plots and conspiracies, and
measures of insurrection* and treason, and violence, and
bloodshed : — away with the lamentable inconsistency ! —
" Tell it not in Gath ; publish it not in the streets of Ashke-
lon, lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph." In
stead of fulfilling the design of the text,' — " that with well
doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men," —
this would be opening the mouths of adversaries to blaspheme ;
— giving occasion to those who desire occasion, to traduce
your principles, and to revile the " worthy name by which ye
are called." — Let Christians, then, — let subjects of that king
dom which is "not of this world," shun all such participation.
Let them say of such machinations and proceedings, with un
qualified reprobation : — " Simeon and Levi are brethren ; in-

32
struments of cruelty are in their habitation : — My soul, come
not thou into their secret ; unto their assembly, mine honour,
be not thou united."
In the third place. — I have only one other view of this sub
ject, which I am desirous to urge a little on your attention: —
I mean, the tendency of vehement political feeling and discus
sion, in reference to your spiritual interests.
These, my brethren, are of all your interests incomparably
the highest ; — highest in the estimation of God, of angels, of
saints in heaven and saints on earth, — and of your own spi
ritually enlightened miuds. — These too are the interests over
which we who hold the pastoral charge are especially called
to watch, " as those that must give account." — These are the
interests, which the word and ordinances of God* and all ex
ternal religious institutions, are intended to promote, and from
the promotion of which they derive all their value. — These
are the interests which the Divine Spirit is given to maintain ;
the advancement of which forms the regulating principle of
the whole procedure of God's providence towards his people ;
and in subserviency to which every chastisement is inflicted, and
every temporal blessing given or withheld. — To these, there
fore, every thing else should be held inferior; and whatever
bears towards them an injurious aspect should be deprecated
and renounced. — The prejudicial influence of drinking deep
ly into the spirit of politics, might be demonstrated from the
nature of the thing. But I would rather make my appeal to
the abundant experience of past and present times ; — to what
some have felt, and what many more have witnessed. — By the
eagerness of political controversy, the mind is pre-occupied,
and the affections pre-engaged ; and spiritual things are in
danger of losing their place and their relish. Party politics
become the only agreeable and effectual stimulant to the ap
petite for information. The blessed word of God gives place

33
to the keen and high-seasoned productions of political
pamphleteers. These become the lively oracles ; — while the
former lose their quickening energy ; are read to quiet the con
science, rather than for pleasure or for profit j and are either
hurried over with impatience, or yawned over with listless,
unimpressed vacancy. The time that should be devoted to the
Bible, to meditation and prayer, and to family instruction,
devotion, and spiritual converse, is given to books, and
thoughts, and company, such as too often leave both the soul
and the family alike neglected. — You are well aware, how
much the spirit of political vehemence has mingled itself, both
in former and in present times, with the spirit of irreligion,
and of virulent infidelity ; — to what an unhappy degree the two
have been blended together : so that it is impossible for any
one to take a public and active part in the measures of the
former, without awfully exposing himself to the distressing
associations, and the perilous contagion ofthe latter. — Passions,
too, are frequently engendered by party politics, such as are in
themselves opposite to the dictates of the word of God, and
at the same time, as might be expected, directly tend to hin
der its reception, and counteract its general influence.
" Wherefore," says the Apostle Peter, in the beginning
of this very chapter, " laying aside all malice, and all guile,
and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil- speakings; as
new-born babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye
may grow thereby : — if so be ye have tasted that the Lord is
gracious." It matters not in what manner such evil tempers
and passions are produced and maintained, or against whom
and what descriptions of persons they are directed and cher
ished ; — their declared tendency, — a tendency confirmed by
much woful experience* is to " choke the word, and render
it unfruitful." E

34
If, therefore, beloved brethren, you regard the best interests
of your own souls, of your families, and of the church of God,
you will beware of suffering your minds to be too much en
grossed by the speculations, pursuits, and controversies of
worldly politics; and if you are conscious of a peculiar pre
dilection for them, you will be proportionably jealous of its
indulgence. Are the chains that bind your spirits to the
earth, — the anxieties and businesses, the hopes and pleasures
of a present life, — not sufficiently strong, that you must
forge for yourselves new and voluntary fetters ? Is there not
enough of unavoidable entanglement to impede you in your
Christian course, that, instead of " laying aside every weight,"
you should load yourselves with additional encumbrances ? Is
there not, in the ordinary atmosphere of the world, a suffi
ciency of heavy vapours, to damp the wings of faith and love,
and repress your heavenwai'd flight, that you must surround
yourselves with denser, and fouler, and more oppressive ex
halations ? — I do not forget that you are men, and Britons,
as well as Christians ; — members of a civil community, as
well as of the communion of saints ; and that you have an
interest in the affairs of the one, as well as in those of the
other. But your having a connection with time, as well as
with eternity, will not justify your " looking at the things that
are seen and temporal," to the forgetfulness and neglect of
" those which are unseen and eternal." Nay, whatever
would draw away your minds from the latter, secularize your
spirits, and chain your affections to the world, you must, if
you feel as Christians, view with suspicion and dread. O be
ware, then, of such an eagerness about the politics of the
kingdoms of this world, as would prove detrimental to the in
terests of that "kingdom of God" which is " within you." I
speak not at present of one side of politics more than of ano-

35
ther. Which side soever you espouse,, if you are violent
partizans, your souls are in danger ; and it is my duty, with
affectionate fidelity, to warn you ; — to point to the many
wrecks of Christian profession*— wrecks of " faith and a good
conscience," with which the stormy sea of politics is strewed ;
and to say, *' Be not high-minded, but fear."
" I am persuaded better things of you, my brethren, and
things that accompany salvation, though I thus speak." You
are alive to the authority of the divine word ; and to the irre
sistible claims of " the mercies of God" bestowed upon you by
the gospel. It is by these mercies that the Apostle Paul enforces,
with affectionate entreaty, the duties I have been endeavour
ing to lay before you, as well as all the other duties, personal
and social, of the Christian life.* — You " confess yourselves
strangers and pilgrims on the earth." It is in this character,
that Peter, in the immediately preceding context, admonish
es you, with the same tender solicitude as his " beloved bro
ther Paul," to beware of all those " fleshly lusts," — those de
sires and propensities of unrenewed nature, — of the flesh, —
of the old man, — which " war against the soul." — " Thou,
then, O man of God, flee these things ; and follow after righ
teousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness: — fight the
good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life :" — " Grieve not
the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day
of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and
clamour, and evil- speaking, be put away from you, with
all malice:" — ''Be of the same mind one towards another.
Mind not high things ; but condescend to men of low estate.
Be not wise in your own conceits. Recompense to no man
evil for evil. Provide things honest in the sight of all men.

• Rom. xii. 1 , &c.

36
If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all
men :" — " Fear thou the Lord and the King ; and meddle not
with them that are given to change :" — " Finally, brethren,
whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest,
whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, what
soever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good re
port; — if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise,
think on these things ; — do these things : and the God of
peace shall be with you."*

• 1 Tim. vt II, 12. Eph. iv. 30, 31. Rom. xii. 16— 18. Prov. xxiv. 21.
Phil. iv. 8, 9,

FINIS.

Printed by Andrew and John M. Duncan, Glasgow.'

THE PURPOSES OF DIVINE MERCY TO THE
SEED OF ABRAHAM.

A SERMON, PREACHED IN
GEORGE STREET CHAPEL, GLASGOW,
ON THE 25th APRIL, 1820,
FOR THE
FOR
Promoting Christianity among the Jews.

By RALPH WARDLAW, D. D.

Published at the Request, and for the Benefit of the Society.

GLASGOW :
Printed al the University Press,
SOLD BY WARDLAW AND CUNNINGHAME, 173, TRONGATE,
(Successors to Andrew & John M. Duncan,)
AND THE OTHER BOOKSELLERS, GLASGOW ;
WAUGH AND INNES, A. BLACK, W. OLIPHANT, W. WHITE & CO. AND GUTHUIE
& TAIT, EDINBURGH; THE LONDON SOCIETY'S DEPOSITORY, NO. 10, WARD
ROBE PLACE, DOCTORS' COMMONS ; SEELEY, HATCHARD & SON, AND OGLE,
DUNCAN, & CO. LONDON.
1820.

A SERMON.

Romans xi. 30, 31.
" For as ye in times past have not believe^ God, yet have now
obtained mercy through their unbelief; even so have these also
now not believed, that through your mercy they also may ob
tain mercy."
The present state of the Jewish people is without a parallel
in the history of the world. Many kingdoms and empires,
some of them of vast extent, and of high renown, have been
invaded and subdued by others, and have either been entirely
annihilated, or have been incorporated with their conquerors,
and have lost their name and their separate existence. But
here was a comparatively sm^ll people; — assailed by the vic
torious arms of imperial Rome; — the miserable victims of
unheard of massacre and destruction; of tribulation* " such as
had not been from the beginning of the world till that time,
nor has been since, nor shall be hereafter;" — driven from the
land of their lathers, and dispersed through " every kindred,
and tongue, and people, and nation." Wherever they have
come, they have been an abject, despised, proscribed, and
outcast race, — " a proverb, and a by-word, and a hissing
among all nations:" — and amidst universal degradation, on the
one hand, and some splitary but unsuccessful attempts to na-

turalize them, on the other, they have, to this day, scattered
as they are, remained a distinct people, objects of marked
separation, and, as far as their situation in different countries
has admitted, with their own customs, their own synagogues,
and the wretched remnants, the corrupted and pitiful mockery,
of tlieir own ancient worship. In this unprecedented and ano
malous condition, have they continued, for the long period of
more than seventeen successive centuries. — The facts of then-
history, compared with the predictions of Moses and the pro
phets in the Old, and of Christ himself in the New Testa
ment, are most eminently fitted to establish our faith. The re
mote date ofthe former class of predictions is ascertained by the
clearest and most unexceptionable evidence: — the predictions
themselves are the more remarkable, from the singularity and
unlikelihood ofthe case: — and, in despite of the vain attempts
of deistical and political speculators to account for it on ordi
nary principles, the condition of this singular people has pre
sented a kind of permanent miracle in attestation of the
truth of God.
It is in a religious point of view, that their situation is
especially interesting to the Christian's mind.
The context represents them, as in a state of spiritual in
fatuation, or judicial blindness. For the " blindness which
has happened to Israel," verse 25th, is a fulfilment of the
prophetic imprecation in verse 10th, " Let their eyes be
darkened, that they may not see." And never indeed to any
people could the expression with greater truth be applied,
that " God had sent them strong delusion, that they should
believe a lie." — When Jesus was on earth, he thus warned
them: " Yet a little while is the light with you : walk while
ye have the light, lest darkness come upon you; for he that
walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While
ye have light, believe in the liaht. that ve mav hp thp

children of light :"* and, condemning their obstinate in
credulity as to his claims* and anticipating their credu
lous admission of the claims of others, " I am come in
my Father's name, and ye receive me not; if another shall
come in his own name, him ye will receive :"f — a declaration
which was soon after affectingly verified, in the eagerness
with which they listened to the pretensions, and embraced the
offers, and followed the delusive counsels, of every miserable
impostor, who, amidst their threatened and accumulated
distresses, gave himself out as the deliverer and restorer of
their nation, — the promised Messiah. — And, oh ! how thick
the vail of prejudice and enmity which " even unto this
day remains upon their minds!" How clear,. how minute,
how full, is the accomplishment of the predictions relative to
the Messiah, in Jesus of Nazareth j They themselves are per
plexed and confounded, — reduced to the most wretched
shifts, or put entirely to a stand, in their attempts to explain
them otherwise. Yet with the most infatuated pertinacity,
they persist in rejecting his claims: and, with the except
tion of such as have fallen into total infidelity (of whom the
number, it is to be feared, is not small,) both those amongst
them who think, and those who do not thuik, are vainly
looking for another.
When we contemplate this people in their present state, we
feel it difficult to persuade ourselves, that they are the same
nation, whose wonderful history forms so large a portion of
the records of inspiration. We behold them " scattered and
peeled ;" — outcasts of earth and heaven ; — treated as the
" filth of the world, and the offscouring of all things." And
is this the people who, in far remote times, were redeemed
from Egyptian bondage, by the signs and wonders of Omni-
* John xii. SS, 36. f John v. 45.

potence ?-^-before whom " the waters of the great deep were
dried up, and the depths of the sea made a way for the ran
somed of the Lord to pass over?" — who received their laws
by the voice of the living God from the fires of Sinai ?— who
were conducted through the wilderness by the symbol of the
Divine presence? — whose wants heaven and earth combined
miraculously to supply? — " five of whom chased a hundred,
and a hundred put ten thousand to flight?" — to whom the
God of the wlfole earth, having driven out their enemies be
fore them, assigned their promised inheritance ;— separating
them from the nations, and choosing them as a special people
to himself; dwelling amongst them as their Judge, their Law
giver, their King, ana' their God; and maintaining the
honour of his name amongst them by a continued course of
inspiration, and prophecy, and miracle?. — Are these the de
scendants of those venerable patriarchs, on whom God has
conferred the highest honour ever bestowed on mortal man— •
the honour of having their names associated with his own, in
his favourite designation of himself, to the very close of time:
" I am the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God
of Jacob; this is my name for ever, and this is my memorial
unto all generations ?" Is this, in a word, the people, •« to
whom pertained the adoption, and the glory, and the cove
nants, and the giving of the law, and the service of God, and
the promises; whose are the fathers, and of whom, as con
cerning the flesh, the Christ came, who is over all, God
blessed for ever?"* — Oh, my brethren, can we look even on
the scattered remnants of such a people, without the liveliest
interest? Can we contemplate their present degradation and
wretchedness, without a sigh of deep commiseration, mingling
with our assent to the righteous retribution of offended
* Rom. ix. 4, 5.

Deity? Can we recollect the blessing they have been to the
world, and to ourselves* as the chosen depositaries of the
oracles of God, and the appointed communicators of his
" saving health" to all nations, without shedding over them
the tears of grateful sensibility, and sending up to heaven, on
their behalf, our united, and fervent* and importunate suppli
cations ?
And, blessed be God ! our supplications are not those of
hopeless despondency. The present state of this interesting
people is not their last. A cheering ray darts across the
gloom. The blessed light of prophecy, streaming through
the opening clouds* settles on the distant prospect, and brings
to view a scene, on which the eye of benevolence and piety
rests, with delighted anticipation.
It is my intention, in this discourse, to consider from the
text, in connection with the preceding and subsequent con
text: I. The prospects held out to us respecting the seed
of Abraham.
II. The grounds on which they rest.
III. The means by which they are to beaccom pushed.
I. In regard to the prospects held out, I may first remark,
in general, that we are taught to anticipate their restoration to
the church of God, and to all the fulness of its blessings.
In their present state, they are represented as fallen, di
minished, cast away, broken off, blinded, excluded from mercy,
and perishing : and all this on account of their unbelief, their
rejection of God and of his Christ. And the general idea of
their restoration is set before us, under a variety of phraseo
logy, corresponding to these diversified views of the condition

from which they are to be restored..— It is their fulness,
verse 12th: — their reception, or recovery, verse 15th: — their
being grafted in again, verses 23d, 24th: — their obtaining
mercy, verse 31st: — their salvation, verse 26th.
We must satisfy ourselves with a very brief notice of what
is implied in these different expressions.
Their "fulness," verse 12th, is opposed to their " diminish
ing." The expression cannot surely mean less than a very gene
ral and extensive restoration, — approaching at least to univer
sality. As the great body of them have been cast off, the great
body of them will be restored, — brought back into the church
of God, and to the possession of a fulness of privilege, even
greater than before, as far as the present New Testament state
ofthe church excels in true glory that ofthe church under the
ancient economy. The same word is applied to the Gen
tiles, in verse 25th, in reference to the coming glory of the
latter days. In Eph. i. 23. the Apostle denominates the
church " the fulness of him who filleth all in all." When
the Jewish people are restored, they shall form a part of this
fulness of Christ; and he will be their fulness, by bestowing
upon them the abundant blessings of his grace.
Their "reception" verse 15th, is opposed to their " casting
away." The word signifies accordingly their being resumed, or
taken back. It refers to their previous state. They had been the
church and people of God, enjoying his presence, and favour,
and in the exclusive possession of his word, and of his wor
ship. Into this state they shall be taken back; not indeed,
as before, to constitute his church alone, and to enjoy exclu
sive spiritual immunities, — but to constitute a part of the
church, in a much more enlarged, and refined, and blessed
state, than when they alone formed it.
This idea is still more clearly intimated, by their being
"grafted in again," verse 23d. The whole of this figure, on

which the Apostle dwells through several verses, evidently
teaches us* that the Gentiles, on their receiving the gospel,
and being introduced into the Christian church, were grafted
into the same stock from whicb the unbelieving Jews were
ait off, — and that, when the latter shall be restored, it will
be grafting them again into the same stock to which they be
fore belonged. There is no interpreting the figure with any
consistency, except on the principle, that the Church of God
has been all along the same; one church, under various modi
fications of external constitution, corresponding to the gradual
developement of the purposes of.God, which has been " like
the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the per
fect day." Their case is like that of a family emigrating
from their native country, and, after the lapse of centuries
of privation and suffering in foreign lands, returning to the
same nation, but in a state of such advanced improvement, as
hardly to retain the marks of its identity.
The salvation, in verse 26th, evidently means something
vastly superior to any mere temporal deliverance. The two
verses 26th and 27th, explain its nature as consisting in the two
great blessings of justification from the guilt, and sanctification
from the pollution of sin. " And so all Israel shall be saved:
as it is written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer,
and shall turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is
my covenant unto them, when I shall take away their
sins." They shall thus be " saved in the Lord with an ever
lasting salvation." As " the saved" they shall be " added by
the Lord to the church;"* and there, in the diligent use of
the means of spiritual improvement, they will " work out their
own salvation with fear and trembling, God working in them
to will and to do of. his good pleasure."

* See Acts ii. 47. in tbe Greek.

In the text, they are described as obtaining mercy. — The
wrath threatened has come upon them to the uttermost : and
when the Lord returns to them in mercy, he will blot out
their sins, and remove their punishment,. The expression
may be illustrated from Psalm lxxxv. 1 — 7. " Lord, thou
hast been favourable unto thy land : thou hast brought back
the captivity of Jacob. Thou hast forgiven the iniquity of
thy people; thou hast covered all their sins. Thou hast
taken away all thy wrath : thou hast turned thyself from the
fierceness of thine anger. Turn us, O God of our salvation,
and cause thine anger toward us to cease. Wilt thou be
angry with us for ever? wilt thou draw out thine anger to ajl
generations? Wilt thou not revive us again, that thy pepple
may rejoice in thee ? Show us thy mercy, O Lord, and grant
us thy salvation." But the mercy of the latter days will not
be mere restoration to temporal blessings, They are to ob
tain the same mercy that has come to the Gentiles. This the
text clearly intimates. And it suggests also the observation,
that this mercy will consist in its being " given to them on
the behalf of Christ to believe in his name."—" You in time
past did not believe, yet have now obtained mercy through their
unbelief; even so have these also now not believed, that through
your mercy they also may obtain mercy." — " Obtaining mercy"
is thus contrasted with " unbelief," and must consist, in the first
instance, in its removal. It shall be throughfaith that they shall
be brought back into the church of God: verses 20th and 23d.
" Because of unbelief they were broken off, and thou stand-
est by faith. Be not high-minded, but fear." " And they al
so, if they abide not still in unbelief, shall be grafted in :
for God is able to graft them in again." — They were cut
off for unbelief: the Gentiles stood in their place through
faith j and when they are restored to the church, it shall be
by their embracing the gospel. This is the bond of union in

the church of God. It is by the cross that Jew and Gentile
are made one. " For he is our peace, who hath made both
one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition be
tween us ; having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the
law of commandments contained in ordinances; to make
in himself, of two, one new man, so making peace ; and that
he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross,
having slain the enmity thereby."* — The vail shall be taken
from their minds. They shall see the glory of him whom
their fathers crucified ; shall " look on him whom they pierced*
and mourn for him" with the bitterness of contrition; shall
embrace him as " the Christ, the Son of the living Godj"
own him, with gladness and gratitude, as all their sal
vation; and unite in the song of the millennial church:
" Thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy
blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and
nation ; and hast made us unto our God kings and priests :
and we shall reign on the earth."f
That this conversion to God will be very general, appears,
as I have already hinted, from the scope of the whole pas
sage ; — and particularly, as I am disposed to understand it,
from verse 26th. " And so all Israel shall be saved : as it is
written, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall
turn away ungodliness from Jacob."
By many, I am aware, the expression " all Israel" is
applied to the spiritual Israel, — the whole elect of God.
The following considerations induce me to think it ought to
be understood of " Israel after the flesh:"
1. It is of them, — of their restoration, the Apostle is all
along speaking. This is his subject; and the salvation of the
spiritual Israel, consisting of Jews and Gentiles, would not,
• Eph. ii. 14—16. -f Rev. v. ?, 10.
B

10
unless in a very indirect manner, be to his purpose. " Israel,"
in his reasoning, seems to be used in one sense. Compare
especially with verse 26th, that which immediately precedes :
" For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of
this mystery, (lest ye should be wise in your own conceits,)
that blindness in part is happened to Israel, until the fulness
of the Gentiles be come in. And so all Israel shall be saved."
Surely the continuity ofthe Apostle's statement requires us to
understand the appellation in the latter occurrence in the
same sense as in the former.
2. The Apostle speaks of this as a mystery, verse 25th :
not merely the casting off of the Jews, but their casting off,
connected with their temporary blindness, and future conver
sion. The mystery is very much akin in nature to that re
specting the Gentiles ; of which the Apostle speaks, in writ
ing to tthe Ephesians, as the " mystery of Christ, which in
other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it
is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the
Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the
same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the
g spei."* It was a mystery, — that is, a secret not before
fully made known, — that the Gentiles, having remained so
long in darkness, were to be enlightened and brought
directly into the church, without the medium of Judaism. So
here is a parallel mystery : " blindness in part," that is, to a
part ofthe nation, and for a season, " is happened" in divine
judgment, " to Israel," until a certain time : " and so," when
that time comes, " Israel," now cast off and blinded, shall
obtain mercy, and be restored, and saved.
3. The Apostle speaks of this salvation of Israel, as the fulfil
ment of a divine prediction or declaration, which seems evident-
* Eph. iii. 4—6.

11
ly to refer to the recalling of the rejected seed of Jacob into
the church of God: " So all Israel shall be saved: as it is writ
ten, There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall
turn away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my covenant
unto them, when I shall take away their sins."
4. " All Israel," is a general expression, not necessarily in
cluding every souk It appears to signify, Israel now cast off
and dispersed under Divine rebuke, as well as those of the
same people, who had through grace believed. Compare
Ezek. xxxvii. 11: "Then he said unto me, Son of man,
these bones are the whole house of Israel : behold, they say,
Our bones are dried, and our hope is lost; we are cut off for
our parts." If the passage, which promises the resurrection
of these bones, is considered as having a primary reference to
the restoration from Babylon, " the whole house of Israel"
must be understood as a general expression; because that was
far from being a universal return. If it has an ultimate re
ference, as seems very clear from the subsequent part of the
chapter, to a remoter deliverance, to be effected in the latter
days, then it is exactly parallel to the one before us, and
on the same subject.
On the question respecting the return of the Jews to their own
land, your time will by no means permit me to enter ; and I feel
it the less necessary, because, whatever may be the view of that
question we are disposed to entertain, it is not of a temporal,
but of a spiritual restoration that the Apostle treats in the pas
sage before us. I must confess myself, however, strongly in
clined to think, that, making all allowance for figurative lan
guage, by which spiritual blessings are so often represented
under allusions to the ancient prosperity of the Israelitish
people, — there are some passages which will hardly bear such
an explanation; especially when it is considered, that the

12
figurative language, of a similar kind, on the pther side, de
rived from the former sufferings of Israel, evidently signifies
not merely spiritual desertion, and depression, and curse, but
temporal calamity, degradation, and distress ;— and that the
language which expresses temporal blessings, but which, some
understand spiritually, occurs at times in ponnection with the
plainest predictions and promises of spiritual blessings ; by
which connection the two seem intended to be distinguished,
as being both included in the divine purposesof mercy; — and
further, that a good deal of straining seems, in some instan
ces, necessary, to make out the application of the language in
a spiritual sense.
Allow me a single additional remark or two, of a general
kind, upon this point; —
1. There can be no valid objection to the event from the
numbers of the Jews : for, in the first place, though the cal
culations, or rather guesses, of different persons have varied so
much as to extend frpm five or six millions, to twenty or even
thirty 5 — I am persuaded that the former is much nearer the
truth, and that there are not at this moment more Jews in the
world, than there were in the days of David or Solomon :
— and, 2dly* As a partial return fulfilled the predictions rela
tive to the earlier captivity; so may it also in the present case.
2. Nor can there be any just objectioq on the ground of the
distinction between Jew and Gentile being done away under the.
gospel. The supposed fact is" not at all, as far as I see, incon
sistent with this. When the Jews acknowledge Jesus, they
shall be one, as a church, with the Gentiles ; and their return
to their own land, does not at all imply their becoming, as
before, a distinct and exclusive ecclesiastical community ; nor
the continuance of the former separation in their intercourse
and worship ; nor even, indeed, the nationalizing pf Christi
anity at all.

13
3. Nor can any such objection rest on the foundation, that
no good end is to be answered by the event. The same end*
it may surely be replied, will be served, and that in a very
eminent degree, which is served by the fulfilment of prophecy
in general. It will, if it take place, be a very striking event ;
especially when connected with the fulfilled predictions of
their dispersion. Infidels ridicule the idea of such a thing.
The event may silence their ridicule, and contribute, under
the teaching of the Spirit, to advance the reception ofthe
truth. — Predictions of outward events, it may further be no
ticed, which are notorious, and strike the senses of men, are
those by which God has usually been pleased to confirm his
testimony. — With difficulties and improbabilities, whether
arising from the inclinations of the Jews themselves, or from
any other source, we have nothing to do. The sole question
is, " What saith the Scripture?" He who has in his hand the
hearts of all men, and all the resources of nature and of na
tions, Can never be at a loss for means to accomplish his own
purposes. But I must proceed to a very brief statement —
II. Of the grounds on which these prospects of re
storation REST.
I confine myself entirely to those which are suggested by
the statements and reasonings of the Apostle in this chapter :
and on this principle I notice in the first place:
The connection of this dispersed and afflicted peo
ple, WITH THEIR HOLY FATHERS, THE OBJECTS OF GoD'S ORI
GINAL choice, and peculiar love. — For this I refer you to
the 16th verse: " Far if the first fruit be holy, the lump is
also holy ; and if the root be holy, so are the branches."
The "first-fruits," and the "root," in these two simili
tudes, the one of which is taken frotna well-known practice

14
in the Jewish institutes, and the other from the correspond
ence in nature between the root and the branches, represent
the same thing — the ancient Jewish fathers, Abraham, Isaac,
and Jacob. — The principle of the argument here appears to
me to be, the primary respect' which, in the promises of
the covenant with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, God had
to their natural offspring; — that they should be holy, or se
parated unto him as his church; and that there should
be amongst them a. seed to serve the Lord. This pri
mary respect might be established from such passages as
the following; into the illustration of which, however, your
time will not allow, me to enter. " And I will establish
my covenant between me and thee, and thy seed after
thee, in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be a
God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee."* " For thou art
an holy people unto the Lord thy God : the Lord thy God
hath chosen thee to be a special people unto himself, above all
people that are upon the face of the earth. The Lord did
not set his love upon you, nor choose you, because ye were
more in number than any people ; (for ye were the fewest of
all people;) but because the Lord loved you, and because he
would keep the oath which he had sworn unto your fathers,
hath the Lord brought you out with a mighty hand, and re
deemed you out of the house of bond-men, from the hand of
Pharaoh king of Egypt."f '( Only the Lord had a delight
in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after
them, even you above all people, as it is this day."f " I say
then, Hath God cast away his people ? God forbid. For I
also am an Israelite, of the seed of Abraham, of the tribe of
Benjamin."^ The Apostle, I think, represents this principle
as still operating ; and the descendants of Abraham, Isaac,

* Gen. xvii. 7. f Deut. vii. 6—8. J Ibid. x. 15. § Rom. xi. 1.

15
and Jacob* as now kept in a state of separation, that the
operation of it may yet appear. Their present long dispersion,
and subjection to Divine rebuke, are as consistent with this,
as their former sufferings in Egypt and in Babylon were.
God " remembered his covenant" with their fathers in former
deliverances: so will he, in that which still awaits them-.
They are still the descendants of the same progenitors, with
whom the covenant was made ; and by Divine constitution and
appointment, the first-fruits being holy, the lump is also holy*
and the root being holy, so are the branches. Still they are in
cluded in the promise of the paternal covenant. — The same
view of this relation is brought forward. again, in connection
with the immutability of the Divine purposes, in verses 28th
and 29th : " As concerning the gospel, they are enemies
for your sakes: but as touching the election* they are be
loved for the fathers' sakes. For the gifts and calling of
God are without repentance."
" Enemies -4br your sakes :" their ejection having made
room, as it were, for the introduction of the Gentiles. — " The
election" seems, in this place, to signify, not the chosen rem
nant, but God's choice of their fathers, with their seed, to be
his peculiar people ; — a choice expressed in former passages,
to which many more might be added. Now, " God is not a
man, that he should lie; neither the son of man, that he
should repent: hath he said, and shall he not do it? or hath
he spoken, and shall he not make it good? Behold," said
Balaam, " I have received commandment to bless: and he
hath blessed: and I cannot reverse it."* — The Jewish people,
the seed of Abraham, God's friend, are still " beloved for
their fathers' sakes." When God establishes his purpose, it
shall stand. The promise of the covenant, in its primary re-
* Numb, xxiii. 19, 20.

gard td the natural offspring, was without limitation &i to
time. This primary regard has not ceased. He has not re
pented of his choice ; — of his " gifts" to his people ; — of his
" calling" of them.
2dly. The power of God. — This is adduced in verse 23d.
*' And they also; if they abide not still in unbelief* shall be
grafted in : for God is able to graft them in again."
Their state might to us appear desperate : — so scattered
and disunited : — so deplorably sunk and degraded : — so
full of deep-rooted prejudice against Jesus of Nazareth,
and of too well-grounded dislike to those who bear his name.
And they have now continued so long, so very long, in
this state ; and have become so dead and seared, so callous
to every spiritual impression, so entirely almost given up
to .worldliness* or to infidelity.-^They are like branches
cut off; withered; rotten; twice dead. We are ready to
exclaim, in contemplating the prospects exhibited by pro
phecy, !' How can these things be?" The satisfactory and
silencing answer is, " God is able." — " God is able to graft
them in again:" to impart life to these sapless and rotten
boughs, and to make them fruitful to his praise.
They and we both are taught to derive encouragement from
former manifestations of power. Thus the prophet encour
ages the church of old, by reminding her of her origin, in
circumstances so extremely hopeless. " Hearken to me, ye
that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the Lord : look
unto the rock whence ye are hewn* and to the hole of the pit
whence ye are digged. Look unto Abraham your father,
and unto Sarah that bare you : for I called him alone, and
blessed hun, and increased him. For the Lord will comfort
Sion : he will comfort all her waste places; and he will make
her wilderness like Eden, and her desert like the garden o f
the Lord ; joy and gladness shall be found therein, thanks-

17
giving, and the voice of melody."* — Their; redemption from
Egypt, and all the subsequent wonders of his power on their
behalf, are frequently appealed to for the same purpose.
— And we, my friends, may bq reminded, for our encourage
ment, of the wonders of ' pentecost. Their minds were then as
utterly, hostile as they are now : and He who effected the
conversion of those " sinners against their own souls,"
who had just exclaimed, " His blood be on us and on
our children," is able, by the energy of the same renewing
grace, to turn to himself the hearts of their hardened chil
dren. — And the very grafting in of the Gentiles, who were
as dead as the Jews are now, forbids all despondency. The
question, indeed, addressed by Paul to Agrippa, is one
which instantly solves all doubts, and removes all difficulties :
" Why should it be thought a thing incredible with you,
that God should raise the dead ?"f — The bones in the Valley
of Vision were separate, and scattered, and dry, and long
bleached by the sun, and the storm. Yet when the question
is put, " Can these bones live?" the answer is given by Om
nipotence ; — " Behold, I will cause breath to enter into you,
and ye shall live: — /will lay sinews upon you, and cover you
with flesh, and put breath in you, and ye shall live." — " With *
God all things are possible." v
3dly. The reasonableness of the expectation. — Verses
17th, 18th, 24th. " And if some of the branches be broken
off, and thou, being a wild olive-tree, were grafted in among
them, and with them partakest of the root and fatness of the
olive-tree; boast not against the branches: but if thou boast,
thou bearest not the root, but the root thee. For if thou
wert cut out of the olive-tree, which is wild by nature, and
wert grafted, contrary to nature, into a good olive-tree ; how
» Isa. li. 1—3. t Acts xxvi. 8.

18
much more shall these, which be the natural branches, be
grafted into their own natural olive tree ?"
" How much more" — does not imply, that the power neces
sary for the one effect, is less than that required for the other: it
expresses the idea of reasonableness. — It is as the descendants of
Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, that they are called " the natural
branches :" which is another distinct evidence of a primary
respect in the covenant to the natural offspring. Upon this,
indeed, the whole argument appears to me to rest. — Gentiles,
as well as Jews, were included in the promise, and partakers
of the blessing : — so that unless a reference of primary and
special regard to the natural offspring be admitted, I am at a
loss to conceive on what principle the question, — the a for
tiori question, can be founded, " How much more shall
these* which be the natural branches* be grafted into their
own olive tree ?"
The Gentiles held, as it were, a secondary place in the
promise. The Jewish people, even in their present disper
sion, are still the natural branches. The Gentiles had no
original connection with the stock: yet they were grafted,
contrary fo nature, into the good olive-tree : " how much
more" then, may we not expect, the " children of the stock
of Abraham," connected with the root, first in the promise,
and the objects of special and primary regard, to be grafted
in again?—" grafted into their own olive-tree*' — that tree
with which they have a natural connection. — How insur
mountable the objection arising from this, to the idea of the
entire distinction of the Old and New Testament churches !
Their grafting into their own tree, is their restoration to their
own church.
4thly. Prophecy.
This is a wide field ; and I dare not enter upon it. I
must confine myself at present to a single remark or two on

19
the prediction which is selected by the Apostle, (verses 26th,
27th.) " And so all Israel, shall be saved: as it is written,
There shall come out of Sion the Deliverer, and shall turn
away ungodliness from Jacob. For this is my covenant unto
them, when I shall take away their sins." The quotation is
from Isaiah lix. 20, 21; which is given by the Apostle, nearly
as in the Septuagint version, and probably according to the
original reading of the Hebrew. The general import, how
ever, of the Apostle's translation and our own authorized
version of the passage in the Prophet, is much the same.
Their deliverance was to be connected with their turning from
ungodliness ; and both were to be the effect of the power and
grace of the same Deliverer. He turns them from their un
godliness; and to them thus turningfromungodliness,he comes,
with deliverance from its judicial and penal effects ; — comes
with returning favour and blessing. — This was uniformly the
tenor of God's covenant and dealings with Israel.* And the
conditionality of the promise* — the dependence of his turning
to them on their turning tp him, is not at all inconsistent with
his agency in turning them to himself; Hence the prayer : —
" Turn us, O God of our salvation, and cause thine anger to
ward us to cease." " Turn us* again* O God, and cause thy
face to shine j and we shall be saved." " Let thy hand be
upon the man of thy right hand, upon the Son of man whom
thou madest strong for thyself. So will not we go back from
thee : quicken us, and we will call upon thy name."f
I only adc}? that every great deliverance ofthe church is re
presented as coming out of Zion, because it comes from Jeho
vah, whose residence was there. " Oh that the salvation of
Israel were come out of Zion ! When the Lord bringeth back

» See Lev. xxvi. 39 — 45. Deut. xxx. 1 — 10, &c. \ Psa. lxxxv. 4. hxx. 3. 8.
17. 19.

20
the captivity of his people, Jacob shall rejoice, and Israel shall
be glad." " Thy people shall be willing in the day of thy
power; in the beauties of holiness from the womb of the
morning : thou hast the dew of thy youth."*
I stop not to inquire, whence the words, " when I
shall take away their sins," should be considered as supplied
by the Apostle. They are from some other passage ; prob
ably Jer. xxxi. 34. " And they shall teach no more eve
ry man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying,
Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least
of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord : for I will
forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no
more." III. I now proceed to notice, in the third place, the
means by which these prospects are to be realized.
Observe the antithesis in the text. " For as ye in times
past have not believed* God, yet have now obtained mercy
through their unbelief; even so have these alsb now nbt be
lieved, that through your mercy they also may obtain mercy."
There are two things spoken of by the Apostle in the con
text, in reference to the Gentiles ;— their riches, and their
fulness. The former, (verse 12th) refers to the first calling
of the Gentiles into the church, in the room and upon the
rejection ofthe Jews, to the participation ofthe unsearchable
riches of Christ. — The latter (verse 25th) relates to a re
moter period ; — an era of a vastly more extensive evangeliza
tion and conversion ofthe world to the faith and obedience of
the gospel, than has yet appeared. The fulness is the com
pletion ofthe riches.
When the Redeemer had finished his work, and was risen
* Psa. xiv. 7. ex. 3.

21
from the dead, Jehovah said unto him, " Ask of me, and I
shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the
uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession."* The "ful
ness of the Gentiles" is the bringing in of all the " desolate
heritages"' included in this Divine grant and promise. The
predictions respecting that period have been progressively, and
are now most rapidly receiving their fulfilment. "The king
dom of heaven," said Jesus in his parabolical instructions, (and
the parables involved a prophecy) " is like unto a grain of
mustard seed, which a man took and sowed in his field: which
indeed is the least of all seeds ; but when it is grown, it is the
greatest among herbs, and becometh a tree, so that the birds
of the air come and lodge in the branches thereof. — The king
dom of heaven -is like unto leaven, which a woman took and
hid in three measures of meal, till the whole was leavenedi"f
The stone which, in the visions of the Babylonian monarch*
was cut out ofthe mountain without hands, and which smote
the image, and brake in pieces the iron, the brass, the. clay,
the silver and the gold* *f became a great; mountain, and;filled
the whole eatth :" intimating, according td the prophetic in
terpretation* that the God df heaven was to set up a' kingdom,
which should never be destroyed ; which should not be left to
other people, but should break in pieces and consume the
kingdoms signified in the vision, and itself stand for ever.:f
" And the seventh angel sounded; and there were great
voices in heaven, saying, Thekingdoms of this world are be
come the kingdoms of our Lord, and of his Christ ; and he
shall reign for ever and everi"§' ¦*« All tibe ends of the world
shall remember, and turn unto the Lord; and all the kin
dreds ofthe nations shall worship before thee."|| ( " His name
shall endure for ever; his name shall be continued ks ioftg as
* Psa. ii. 8. f Matth. xiii. 31—33. { Dan. -ii. 35. 44. § Rev. xi. 15.
II Psa. xxii. 27.

22
the sun ; and men shall be blessed in him : all nations shall
call him blessed." " Blessed be his glorious name for ever:
and let the whole earth be filled with his glory. Amen, and
amen."* The precise extent of the influence of true religion in the
glorious and happy period thus predicted, we shall not attempt
to ascertain. It is enough that the figures used to describe it,
represent the change on the state ofthe world to be so great, as
to resemble the creation of " a new heavens and a new earth*
so that the former should not be remembered, nor come into
mind."f Neither shall I detain you with calculations of the
«' times and seasons :" — but satisfy myself with merely observ
ing, that our own days are evidently the dawn of that blessed
era, on which the prophets lavish all the riches of pPetic
diction ; and that, on every principle of computation, the re
markable prophetic period of 1290 days, cannot be very far
from its termination.
Let us now attend a little to the reciprocal connection of
the two great events, the fulness of the Gentiles, and the res
toration of the Jews, and their influence on each other.
The Apostle had spoken of the calling of the Gentiles, as
a kind of consequence of the rejection of the Jews. It was
the " casting away of them" that was the " reconciling of the
world ;" — the " fall of them the riches of the Gentiles ;" and
in the text — the Gentiles are said to have " obtained mercy
through their unbelief." When, therefore, he speaks of the
restoration of the Jews, a startling inquiry might naturally sug
gest itself to the minds of the Gentiles. — As our acceptance has
been by their rejection, is their recovery to be in like manner
by our rejection ? Are we in our turn, to be cast out, in order
to their re-admission ? Are we to be cut off, when they are
grafted in again ? Their exclusion made room for us : is our
* Psa. lxxii. 19. + Isa. lxv. 17.

23
exclusion to make room for them? — No : blessed be God ! the
cases in this respect are entirely different. " Ye have obtained
mercy through their unbelief;" but it is not through your unbe
lief that they are to obtain mercy: — no; but it is "through your
mercy /" This is an interesting and delightful difference in
deed! In verses 12, 15, the restoration of the Jews is evidently
represented as, preceding and bringing about, the fulness ofthe
Gentiles. " Now, if the fall of them be the riches of the world,
and the diminishing of them the riches of the Gentiles ; how
much more their fulness?" " For if the casting away of
them be the reconciling of the world, what shall the receiving
of them be, but life from the dead?" The expression in verse
31, connected with verse 25, looks like the reverse of this order.
" Even so have these also now not believed, that through your
mercy they also may obtain mercy." " For I would not,
brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, (lest you
should be wise in your own conceits,) that blindness in part
has happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be
come in. And so all Israel shall be saved." From this cir
cumstance it appears reasonable to consider the two events as
at once synchronous, (that is, happening together at the same
time,') and as having a reciprocal influence in bringing about
each other. — The " fulness of the Gentiles," we suppose, ac
cording to this view of the matter, begins to come in, and
makes rapid and cheering progress toward its consummation :
then the Jews, (the time being come for the removal of the
vail from their minds) are, by the;blessing of God, " provoked
to emulation." — Having Jesus preached to them, and the New
Testament scriptures put into their hands by the Gentiles, their
attention is awakened; they inquire; they believe; they turn to
the Lord : and their " reconciliation" hastens forward to its
glorious completion, " the fulness ofthe Gentiles."

24
The Gentile church, possessing the gospel of God, and the
divine oracles of new covenant truth, is the depository of fu
ture mercy to the Jews ; as the Jewish church of old was the
depository of future mercy to the Gentiles.^-The calling of
the Gentiles was the divine purpose, to be fulfilled upon the
rejection of the Jews ; — the restoration of the Jews is the di
vine purpose, to be effected through the mercy bestowed on the
Gentiles. The knowledge of the Saviour was formerly im
parted by the Jews to the Gentiles ; it shall then be imparted >
by the Gentiles to the Jews. In this way, when the period in
question arrives, they willfeel reciprocally indebted to each other.
" Salvation was of the Jews" to the Gentiles ; it shall then bet
of the Gentiles to the Jews : and this will serve the more ef
fectually to knit their hearts together in the blessed bonds of
amity and love. For whatever may have been the wrongs
(and alas ! they have been multiplied and grievous,) which the
Jews have suffered at the hands of the Gentiles, and in what
ever way, and to whatever extent, it may please God* as of
old, to avenge these wrongs ; yet in the enlarged and purified
church of the living God, composed of Gentiles and Jews to
gether, all wrongs and grudges, and jealousies, shall be buried
in everlasting oblivion: — and " the wolf shall dwell with the
lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid ; and the
calf, and the young lion, and the fatling together; and
a little child shall lead them. And the cow and the bear shall
feed ; their young ones shall lie down together : and the lion
shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking child shall play
on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put his
hand on the cockatrice' den. : They shall not hurt nor destroy
in all my holy mountain ':' for the earth shall be full of the
knowledge ofthe Lord, as the waters cover the sea."*
* Isa. xi. 6—9.

25
The bringing in of the Jews will contribute to hasten the
fulness of the Gentiles, in such ways, it may be presumed* as
the following :
1. By the zeal which they themselves will naturally feel, and
put forth in effort, for the glory qf the Redeemer.
Their recovery will be owned by them as " the doing of the
Lord," and it will be "marvellous in their eyes?' The riches
of divine mercy and loving-kindness will animate their hearts
with glowing gratitude; and will lead them most fervently to de
sire, and with all their powers to seek, the glory oftheir Bene
factor and Redeemer ; — to seek it, with an interest and a
zeal proportioned to the virulence of their former hatred and
opposition. Thus it was with Saul of Tarsus, when he be
came " a preacher of the faith which before he destroyed :"
and if they shall be animated, as we may confidently presume,
with a similar spirit, — what noble preachers, and mission
aries, and heralds of the cross in all nations, may we not ex
pect to arise from amongst them ! — and what extensive good,
through the Divine blessing, to follow their labours !
2. By the mighty revival which this event will produce in the
Gentile church.
How will it stimulate them to emulation in active zeal !
In this respect, as well as in others, it will be like life from
the dead. It will confirm their faith, enliven their joy,
animate their gratitude, inflame their love, and inspire new
confidence into their prayers and their exertions : and, in
answer to these prayers, the Spirit ofthe Lord being copious
ly effused, " the word of the Lord shall have free course and be
glorified." — "The people shall praise him, all the people shall
praise him."
3. By the influence ofthe event itself, as an accompanying evi
dence ofthe truth, and means of conviction and conversion to God.

26
— the various miracles wrought of old by prophets and apostles.
— When God " granted signs and wonders to be done by their
hands," he is said to have " given testimony to the word of
his grace •" — to have " confirmed the word by signs follow
ing ;"  to have " borne witness, by signs and wonders, and
divers miracles, and gifts of the Holy Ghost, according to
his will."* The accompanying influence of the Spirit of God
rendered these evidences of the truth effectual to the conver
sion of many. Similar may we suppose the effect to be, of
this striking fulfilment of divine predictions, — arresting the
attention, exciting the inquiry, silencing the infidelity, and, by
the gracious influence of Heaven* subduing the hearts of mul
titudes to the Redeemer, " as the heart of one man."
I conclude with two or three short practical reflections : .
1st. In anticipating the prospects which this passage, and the
prophetic scriptures in general open to our view, — it is our
duty not merely to wait and to pray, but to act and to give.
It will not do, to sit down and enjoy our delight in contem
plating the lovely visions of future times, and leave the God
who has foretold them to accomplish them in his own way.
God works by means. He who of old was wont to " give his
people favour in the sight of their enemies," and thus to bring
about to them the fulfilment of the purposes of his mercy,
has long fulfilled his threatenings against them, by leaving
them exposed to the operation of all the evil passions of men ;
even Christians too often joining in the general neglect, and
persecution, and scorn. And he who, at the close of their
former captivity, stirred up the spirit of Cyrus, king of Persia,
to proclaim their liberty, and restore them to the land of their
fathers, will stir up in the bosoms of his own people the sen
timents of compassion, and gratitude, and zeal, and bring
about, by their active instrumentality, the accomplishment of
* Acts -'- ? . ¦" ' "

27
his promised mercy. They are already, after a long period o
guilty supineness, feeling and yielding to the sacred impulse.
Let us, my brethren, seek to feel it more deeply ourselves, and
to communicate it to the bosoms of others : — that the prayers
of the whole Christian church may ascend to God, and the
liberality and the exertions of the whole Christian church may
be combined, in his name and under his blessing, for the illu
mination and conversion to himself of the seed of Abraham,
his friend. — It is not for us to be regulated in our conduct by
calculations of times and seasons ; though even upon such as
may fancy it their duty to suspend their efforts till God's time
shall arrive, we might make theintimations of prophecy, and the
signs of the present period, to bear with irresistible force : —
but it is ours to seize the present moment; not to say " the
time is not come, the time that the Lord's house should be
built ;" but at once to obey the command of God, " Consider
your ways. Go up to the mountain, and bring wood, and build
the house, and I will take pleasure in it, and I will be glorified,
saith the Lord."* Were the time ever so far distant, let us
not forget that there must be a commencement, — that remote
efforts are often preparatory to future results ; — the breaking
up of the ground ; — the first streak of the dawn. — And may
I not, besides, recommend the example of Paul ? Even at the
very time when he is predicting the long rejection of the seed
of Israel, he does not on this account suspend his own efforts
to save them. No : "I speak to you Gentiles" says he, "inas
much as I am the apostle of the Gentiles, I magnify mine of
fice ; if by any means I may provoke to emulation them which
are my flesh, and might save some of them." Think, my
brethren, of the value of the souls of individual Jews : and
even although our efforts were to have no immediate influence
in the introduction of the glory of the latter days j shall we

28
not consider them as richly rewarded, if here and there they
" save a soul from death, and hide a multitude of sins?"
2dly. Let me remind you of the obligations under which, as
Gentiles, believing Gentiles, possessors of the blessings qf salva
tion, you lie to the Jewish people.
You admit the principle, that, whilst, both for temporal and
spiritual blessings, your offerings of praise should ascend to
" the Father of lights, from whom cometh down every good
and perfect gift," you ought, at the same time to acknowledge
and to bless the instrument of his kindness. And, if the feel
ing of obligation should bear proportion to the magnitude of
the good conferred, O how shall we estimate the amount of
your debt of gratitude, when it is a return for " all spiritual
blessings in heavenly places, in Christ Jesus !" Yes, my bre
thren, you owe all to them. The prophets, and apostles, and
evangelists, were Jews ; and to them you are indebted for the
living oracles of God, and for all the joys and all the hopes
inspired by the knowledge of " the only true God and Jesus
Christ whom he hath sent." There is not one in the entire
catalogue of the blessings that belong to you, as members of
the " fellowship of God's dear Son," (who himself also was
" made of the seed of David according to the flesh,") which
may not be traced to the same source. They were Jews who
evangelized the Gentile world of old, by the zealous, and
disinterested, and persevering efforts of gospel love. And
you are now enjoying the blessed fruits of these efforts. And
how has the debt been paid? With a few exceptions, the
only answer, alas ! that truth can give to the question, is, — by
insults, and proscriptions, and cruelties, — by curses, and bonds,
and blood: — by a treatment, in which Mahometans and
Pagans have joined with professing Christians, and which has
itself eminently contributed to produce, and deepen, and

29
maintain, the very degradation and want of principle, which
are universally assigned as its cause. O feel for that people,
to whom, though thus so long treated as out-casts from the.
family of man, the world, and yourselves, are under such
obligations. There is more to be paid them now than a debt
of gratitude ; there isa reparation of injury. And you cannot
more effectually cancel the claims Which, in both respects,
they have upon you, than by giving them back the very
blessings which they have been the instruments of be
stowing. 3dly. Present appearances are encouraging.
It is given as one of the signs when the time to favour Zion
is come, that " her saints take pleasure in her stones, and
favour the dust thereof." There is an interest now excited,
and rapidly on the increase, and producing practical efforts,
in behalf of the long-neglected subjects of our present plead
ing. The attention of Christians, and even of mankuid at
large, is drawn powerfully towards them. The persecutions,
on the one hand, which in some quarters they have been suf
fering; — the regard, on the other hand, shown them by some
of the crowned potentates of Europe, — and the Christian
exertions made on their behalf in this country ; — are all con
tributing to this effect. And there are, besides, pleasing and
promising symptoms appearing amongst themselves. A spirit
of thoughtfulness, and investigation, and inquisitiveness, has
gone forth to a considerable extent amongst them. There is
an obvious diminution of the virulence of prejudice, and ani
mosity, and scornful aversion.' They receive, in many in
stances, the Christian tracts; ^nd, above all, the .Christian'
Scriptures, translated for their use into their own ancient and
revered tongue. They read, they converse, they discuss ;
they hold meetings for conference with Christian ministers ;

30
selves." Multitudes are said to be under powerful convictions
of the truth of Christianity, and apparently on the very eve
of publicly avowing these convictions, and embracing Jesus
as the Christ. — These are all tokens for good. Let them
have their full animating effect on our minds. — In some
instances, it is true, of apparent conversion, promising ap
pearances have been unhappily disappointed. This is surely
no more than might have been anticipated. It would have
been strange indeed, had it been otherwise. But whilst
some have thus apostatized, others there are who stand fast in
the faith, and " adorn the doctrine of God their Saviour." —
Let Christians be of one heart and one soul, in this great and
good cause; and " Jehovah will arise, and build up Zion."
tohly. Let all my hearers remember, that salvation, in
every instance, both to Jew and Gentile, is the fruit of free and
sovereign mercy.
" For as ye in times past have not believed God, yet
have now obtained mercy through their unbelief; even so
have these also now not believed, that through your
mercy they also may obtain mercy." In the verse im
mediately following, the Apostle seems to speak of both
Jews and Gentiles : " For God had concluded them all
in unbelief, that he might have mercy upon all." And the
sentiment, or general principle, thus expressed, is similar to
that in Gal. iii. 22 : " But the scripture hath concluded all
under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be
given to them that believe." What marvellous grace is this !
How opposite the design, to what we might have expected,
from the conclusion of " all under sin," of " all in unbelief?"
— We might have anticipated such a consequence as, — that he
might take vengeance upon all ; — " that wrath might come
upon them to the uttermost." But " my thoughts are not

31
Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are
my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your
thoughts."* The former awfully disobedient, and alienated, and hardened
state ofthe Gentiles, made it manifest, that their salvation was of
mercy, — free mercy j — the-fulfilment of a sovereign purpose of
mercy. — The present no less hardened state of the Jews will,
in like manner, make it manifest, that their salvation also is
of the same mercy ; — of mercy equally free, and rich, and so
vereign. The salvation of every sinner, without a single ex
ception, Jew or Gentile, must be " to the praise of the glory
of God's grace." I dare not, as I value the approbation of
my Master, and the safety of my own soul, flatter any one of
my hearers, with the possibility of obtaining salvation in any
other way, than as the free " gift of God, through Jesus
Christ our Lord :" " in whom we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of
his grace." Yes, my friends ; you must, if you are saved, be
debtors to mercy : — and all the blessed partakers of this mercy
will, with one heart and one soul, unite with the Apostle in
the devout and sublime expression of " wonder, love, and
praise," with which he closes this interesting chapter : " O
the depth of the riches, and of the wisdom and knowledge of
God ! how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past
finding out I For who hath known the mind of the Lord ? or
who hath been his counsellor? Or who hath first given to him,
and it shall be recompensed unto him again? For of him, and
through him, and to him, are all things : to whom be glory
for ever. Amen." * Isa. lv. 8, 9.
V I N I S.

WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR,
SOLD BY
TOartrtafo &¦ Cutmfnijljanw,
BOOKSELLERS AND STATIONERS,
173, TRONGATE, GLASGOW,
{Successors to Andrew fy John M. Duncan. J

1. Discourses on the Principal Points of the Socinian Controversy.
Third Edition, 8vo. 12s. bds.
2. Unitarianism Incapable of Vindication ; a Reply to the Rev.
James Yates's Vindication of Unitarianisrn . 8vo. 10s. 6d. bds.
S. Three Lectures on the Abrahamic Covenant, and its Connec
tion with Infant Baptism; with an Appendix on the Mode of
Baptism. Svo. 3s.
4. An Essay on Lancaster's Improvements in Education. 8vo.
Is. 6d.
5. A Sermon on the Doctrine of a Particular Providence. Third
Edition, 8vo. Is. 6d.
6. Qualifications for Teaching, essential to the Character of a
Christian Bishop : a Sermon. 8vo. Is.
7. Christian Mercy : a Sermon, preached for the Glasgow Female
Society. 8vo. Is.
8. The Scriptural Unity of the Churches of Christ Illustrated and
Recommended. 8vo. Is. 6d. 12mo. 9d.
9. An Essay on Benevolent Associations for the Relief of the
Poor. Svo. Is. 6d.
10. A Sermon, preached before the London Missionary Society,
at Surrey Chapel, 13th May, 1818. 8vo. Is.
II. The Duty of Imitating Departed Worth: a Sermon occa
sioned by the death of the late Robert Balfour, D. D. 8vo.
Is. 6d.
12. The Truth, Nature, and Universality of the Gospel: a Ser
mon preached before the Missionary Society, Stirling, 29th
June, 1819. 8vo. Is. 6d.
13. The Christian Duty of Submission to Civil Government: a
Sermon. 8vo. Is.

In Course qf Publication,
THE
PROTESTANT;
IK WHICH ARE DISCUSSED
THE PRINCIPAL POINTS OF CONTROVERSY
BETWEEN THE
CHURCH OF ROME,
AND THE
REFORMED.

Volumes I. & II. are published in 8vo, Price, in Boards, 9s. 6d.- each
Volume.
Volume III. is publishing in Weekly Numbers, every Saturday Morning ;
Price Two-pence each.

The object of the Author of this Publication, is to
point out the leading errors of Popery, in Doctrine and
Worship, and to show the pernicious influence which they
have on the practice of those who believe them. He has
attempted to demonstrate, that the system of religion main
tained by the Church of Rome, is not a modification, or
even a mere corruption of Christianity ; but a totally differ
ent religion ; and as much opposed to the religion of Jesus
Christ, as was the heathenism of ancient Rome. He
holds it up to the world as a system of imposition and fraud,
invented by the great enemy of mankind, in order to ob
struct their salvation, and keep them in bondage to himself.
The principal subjects discussed in these two Volumes,
are,— INDULGENCES— DISCIPLINE and EXCOM
MUNICATION— The LAWFULNESS of BREAKING
FAITH with the HERETICS— WITHHOLDING the
SCRIPTURES from the PEOPLE— IDOLATROUS
WORSHIP of SAINTS, IMAGES, and RELICS—
TRANSUBSTANTIATION, and SACRIFICE of the
MASS— PURGATORY, and PRAYERS for the DEAD
—AURICULAR CONFESSION — SUPREMACY of
PETER, and of the POPE, as his PRETENDED SUC
CESSOR : — together with a variety of miscellaneous matter,
such as, the EXTORTIONS PRACTISED by ROMISH
PRIESTS— REMARKS on the POPE'S late BULL
against the BIBLE SCHOOLS in IRELAND— RE
MARKS on the TITULAR ARCHBISHOP of TUAM'S
CHARGE to his CLERGY on the same subject, &c. &c.

ADVERTISEMENT.

The subjects which remain to be discussed, are,— ^
CRUELTY of the INQUISITION— VILLANY of the
JESUITS -JUNDAMEN^
TRINE^— together with such "mgcfellaWeous" mattePfsTfftf
occur ; and, finally, REPLIES to the GLASGOW and
LONDON OPPONENTS' of T&S-PROTESTANT.
The Author is encouraged to persevere in his labours,
by the flattering approbation7 of dMnguished individuals
in each of the three kingdoms, as well as by the en
couragement and support of the Public jn^ generak but
that which has beeri rrio'st gratifying to him,- 4s •¦thfr'Tfetefest14"
which his Work has been honoured to excite in the public
mind, with regard to the < subject/flf Popery itself, which
for thirty years past had been almost lost sight of, by
his Protestant Ce^Rtiyiiaen, while -fagjsts^wge^dually
working their way towards the recovery of that influence,
which they possessed for many hundred years over the souls
and the property of the people, ff if his Iftrftesf wish that still
more interest in this subject may be excited, so as to en
courage -.the hope, that,. our highly favoured, country shall
never again1 fall under tire dominion of a gloomy- and- a -©rttel
superstition. _,;„_,. ,,..,*. , -,-.
This Work, with the consent of the Author, is reprinting
in Dublin, where it has excited still more interest than in
Scotland ; and the profits, like those of the original edition,
are devoted to religious purposes, particularly the Educa
tion of Youth, -¦«• v-r- ---¦'¦TZ-'J.Z '"¦'• i^ :-x~.
By letters received from different parts "6T Ireland, the
Author is informed that his Numbers are gradually finding
their way into the darkest parts of that kingdom ; and he
desires : no greater reward; than that by th#©Miie 'Blessing,
they' miy1' be instrumental in fuming,' at least, sotne india
viduals, from error to the knowledge of thetrtithr* ' • -'
Any of the Volumes or Numbers may be had separately.

GLASGOW:
Printed at ike University Press ,-
SOLD BY WARDLAW ANDjCUNKINGHAME, . 173, TRONGATE^ (SUCCESSORS TO
ANDREW AND JOHN M. DCNCAN,) AND THE''OTHER BOOKSELLERS,
GLASGOW"; '"wSt!GH"*ANI)i INNES, A. RLACItj W. qLIPHANT, GTJTHRIE.7&
TAIT, OLIVER-J}; BOYD, ;AND, OGLE, ALLARDICE. &_ THOMSON, . EDIN
BURGH J G^CUTHBEKTSON, PAISLEY; A. WATSON, W. SCOTT, AND J. KERR,
' GR.eJ$Oc'k*':' J.^STEWART, AND H? CRAWFOR^/'kSiSiARNOCK ; 5x fORMAN,
AND JSiM^LAKEN, STIRLING; JOHN JQH-MSTON,. DUMFRIES ;W. M'DONALD,

CRIEFF ; ED. LESLIE, DUNDEE ; D. PEAT, PERTH ; OGLE, D.UNCAN,

& CO.

LONGMAN, HURST, AND CO., T. HAMILTON, AND W. BAYNES & SON,

1820.

The vmnitif of the earthly hopes of man :
A SERMON
PREACHED IN GEORGE STREET CHAPEL,
GLASGOW,
ON LORD'S DAY EVENING, DECEMBER 9th;
ON OCCASION OF THE DEATH
OP
Mr. WILLIAM FRIEND DURANT,
OF POOLE, DORSETSHIRE,
mtcdest ix the umvEnsiTY or ez-isaovr.

By RALPH WARDLAW, D.D.

" Adolescentra mori sic mihi videntur, ut cam aquae multitudine vis Mammae
opprimitur ; senes autem, sicut sua sponte, nulla adhibita vi, consumptus ignis
extinguitnr."  Cicero, de Senectvte.

Published at the request of Relatives and Fellow-Students.

GLASGOW :
JJrintrti at tl)c JSitibtrsttn Jitessi,
FOR WARDLAW & CUNNINGHAME, TRONGATE;
SOLD ALSO VT THE OTHER BOOKSELLERS, GLASGOW;
J. LANCASTER, POOLE; WAUGH &-1NNES, AND A. BLACK, EDINBURGH;
AND LONGMAN, HURST, REES, ORME A BROWN, LONDON.
1821.

GLASGOW :
ANDREW & JOHN M. DONCAN,
Printers to tlie University.

TO
THE REVEREND THOMAS DURANT,
WITH SENTIMENTS OF HIGH REGARD, AND OF THE
DEEPEST CONDOLENCE;
AND TO THE
PROFESSORS AND STUDENTS
OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GLASGOW,
WITH EARNEST WISHES
THAT, UNDER THE ENLIGHTENED TUITION OF THE FORMER,
THE LATTER MAY BE LED
TO EMULATE THE INTELLECTUAL ATTAINMENTS,
AND TO IMITATE
THE RELIGIOUS AND MORAL EXCELLENCES,
OF THEIR LAMENTED FRIEND AND COMPANION ;
THE FOLLOWING DISCOURSE
IS RESPECTFULLY INSCRIBED
BY
THE AUTHOR.

ni,'>il,lu M rum .'. «»«"¦

PREFACE.

Mr W, F. Durant died on the evening of the 27th of
November, of suffusion on the brain, attended by. paralysis
of the right side of. the body.— He was constitutionally
very robust and healthy. In coming down to Scotland, in
the beginning, of the same month, he had travelled two
successive nights on the outside of the coach, where also
he had occasionally fallen asleep. It is not improbable,
though neither is it certain, that this inconsiderate expo
sure of himself was the remote means of inducing the dis
order, which, secretly and indiscernibly advancing, ap
peared at length in its alarming and fatal symptoms* baffled
the best and most assiduously exerted medical skill, and
terminated so prematurely his precious hfe.
He was approaching the close of his nineteenth year,
and had recently commenced, in the Natural Philosophy
class, his fourth session at college.— He was the only one

H7 .
VI

of a number of children 'that survived beyond the earliest
. . , -. ' .->,.-& AA\o
ifitancy ; so that he might be looked upon as having been,
,, n f l" - '!'< ' ' '-A--:-: i-<{..ulli Ifirfj
¦almost aH 'along, an only child, on whom, as others suc-
,..-, j. .;- -i \ o" ,¦•¦"•« ¦' ¦li.,"-r!iiiv V'-'A< nco aMrmsq r»
eessiVely tailed them, the affections and hopes of his parents
T ,  ,; s '.d jw aid " lo annurm
were more and more concentrated. His mother, who ap-
1 . Yi .,.i' , ..... .;j [•,; {.¦¦'¦- jtt marfj oJvbcj
pears to have added to a highly cultivated mind, a lovely ex*
emplification of all that is amiable in Christian temper and
deportment, died between three and fours years ago, after
having assisted m training her darling boy to the verge of
manhood i and her sister, who took charge of~ the Tiouse
after her death, and who had all but a mother's aflection for
her nephew, returned on his part by all but a son's for her,
wasj after a loftg period of infirm and fluctuating health,

removed from the world only a fortnight before him'seYiV—
By the tidings of her death he was much affected ; arid 1
¦ ¦ ¦ • '., vij --¦ r .
doubt not that this contributed to hasten to its crisis a dis
temper which had previously, though unperceived, com-
menced its progress.'1 M°°* A .ooitaJi™' ^ M i bsH
-g Under these desolating circumstances, to which might be
added an unwonted number! of bereaving dispensations,
within a short period, in the other departments of his kin
dred, was a journey of five'' hundred miles performed by
the afflicted father, more than one half of it in agonizing

. Vil

suspense, and the remainder in the overwhelming certainty
lasiri sa ->i> hnov -7 viv-mc ' '
of his heavy loss : — and he arriyed here in time to loakai^h
...J ;ji!"JtA 8J3 tt <f- •¦ ''¦-•' ¦' r ¦¦¦»!'¦ ¦¦ - >¦ t
that inexpressibly tender anguish with which,no heart but
-ona z-nzlso 8B ..-:r:"!iiw no , . *¦ » •-. ' -¦'-"- ¦
a parent's can fully sympathise, on the cold and) feelingless
:.'ri.ij.cf ;'>:!:•:• 89 ;>"•:' '-"'.8 :"'¦' 7-u'f'> ¦*¦<¦"-'' ¦ "- v " --
remains of '? his son, his, oni, son, whom he? Joyed;" and to
-q,C Of|-.T ,;':ii.'jffl8!!:' oj-'"; ¦¦-.¦'" -" ¦ '¦'¦ - -¦---¦-
pay to them, the last sad trihute of affection, by attending
.xavJavoiB fi)nim?.:--'c-'-:tl.-j-: „ -z^ ' .--¦ ¦-'"'-¦ ->*-'¦ --------- P
them to the grave„^nd depositing them, there,, to ^mingle
bnB Tjqm&i nSilaiifliJ ni :i>*.i ¦-¦¦* & "¦- -: r : ' '---..m-
with the dust— I was going tp say of strangers-rrrhmt, 0$
„ heart refuses the word,— -I will rather say,, QtJki<end$M@i\-
to Z'V-:'" -~z'Z7 -:¦¦; vo< '£•>¦ '¦-¦" ¦¦¦• g" ¦ " ",'"" «
though , at a distance from " his fathers'. [.se^ijU^ggSfl'
.T.hose^ who had been laid in the same hallowed spotibefBre
hiin ^ere^ it is true, unacquainted with him, and; he M3th
tj|em| b.ut: they were the kindred pfjsnch as knew and kjsjwd
hinji wellj and whose ashes will in a short timedbetsuoces-
sively jpined to his own. aA Ijte9j) -I9rf 10 ggaibii aiii \&
. To the wish expressed by his father that the following
discourse should be published, I gave my cheerful consent.
Had I felt any hesitation, it would have been removed by
an application subsequently presented to me, with the! sig
natures pf eighty, pf my dear young friend's fellow-students
at the University ; which I value as a testimony of iaffec*
tipnate regard to the memorydpf; tlie lamented dead.' — I
hope I shall npt be considered as guilty of any impropriety,
3

Vlll
in inscribing the Discourse to the Professors and Students
of the University. The deep interest shown by the former,
especially those under whom he had studied, in the melan
choly event of his death,', I cannot but regard, as not less
honourable to their own feelings than to the character
of their departed pupil.
I cannot, in conclusion, refrain from expressing a hope
of some more extended Memorial of early departed excel
lence. I am confident there are materials sufficient to ren
der such a memorial interesting and profitable; and it
may, by and by, be a tenderly soothing occupation to a
father's spirit, to throw them into such a form as may at
once do honour to the dead, and confer the highest benefit
on the living.
R. W.
Glasgow, December 21s/, 1S2I.

A-.'SEBEOKi-'

" And thou destroyest the hope, of man." — Joe xiv. 19.
3?HE eighteenth and nineteenth verses, with the
?djfiferepfc translations of which I shall -Hot at present
„tr;oiibie., you, evidently .contain ¦.& .spn^e, or com
parison :: — "Surely, as the mountain falling com
eth' to nought, and the rock is removed out of his
place; as> the waters wear the stones; AS" thou
washest away the things that grow out>of the -Amt
of _the_ earth: — SO thou destroyest the hope of
man." — Some parts of the comparison may repre
sent the sudden overthrow of human hopes, and
others their gradual undermining and consumption.
The words of our text themselves present Deity
to the mind under an aspect that seems far from
inviting. What would the life of man be without
hope ? Remove it, and you take away at once the
relish of prosperity and the support and solace of
adversity. — Let the tide of prosperity rise ever so
high, and flow, with unebbing fulness, ever so long ;
if the hope of its continuance be destroyed, it is

instantly deprived of ah1 its power to, satisfy. Let
the prosperous man .be certainly assured, fha^his
prosperity is to last, but one day longer, — that at the
close of so short a time its springs are tp be dried up,
and he is "to be left in all the dreariness of universal
desolation,* — would that day, think"you, be enjoyed
by him? ,No. The extinction of hope would be 'the
extinction of joy. — And, Oh! what would adversity
be, without hope! This is the last lingering light
ofthe human bosom, that continues to shine when
every other has been extinguished. ,, Quench it-,44"'
and the gloom of affliction becomes fcb#r very "blackfj
ness of darkness," — cheerless and hnpenetrab^eu JOI
What a view, then, is this of the supreme -.Jiyjejrg
-^the- destroyer ofthe hopes of man ! How un^nijia-
ble ! how severe! how repulsive !, ?9j.j r,. v.
I am aware, that the words were uttered few,
a spirit embittered and overwhelmed by varied and.
accumulated, by unbefriended and unsoothed, calan, .
rnity ; and that our conceptions and pur language are
very powerfully influenced by the circumstances • in
whicfowe are placed, and the consequent frame of
otlri minds : the particular complexion of our feelings
at-the tka& imparting a corresponding tinge to e,very
object with which we are conversant.— »-To the mem^
of prosperity and cheerfulness, all is light. Hjlsj,
spiritfisrfouoyant and sprightly, amidst, the exhila
rating ^scenes, of nature, and he loves to dwell ^pn,;
the bright side ofthe lot of man, — on the plea§ur0n

able ingredients of human life.^I^le^u^ritf^
contrary, tba't is depressed byGikWc{i8H?m$k$lty
thing is apfto wear a gloom. ^ilsSlrf^fflsi8^
with his wonted brightness ; qv\ the I<Mg^tries^0is'
telt to be incongruous and offensive, ine. loveiy
'- v-i - ¦ ¦ • ,. , ... ,• ..blujow-rvnortBloeoD
and animating beauties or creation ipse weir ppwer
to cheer and to fascinate ; and it is samyfel^ l
¦ij7\-y. .j — ."(o^ to noiJanrtza
idgil gn How ill the scene that offers rest, iuodjiw sd
_ r _ And heart that cannot rest, agree. . , _
nsdw >• „ / b couidsrijto
The deep shades in the picture of human life are
then dwelt upon, and its lighter tints are over
looked, or are viewed" through a"sombre and ob
scuring medium. ^fi lo tit .rod* tw ./ r s. indW
Job was quite in a mood for the contemplation
of whatever was gloomy. Yet, in this chapter, his
gloominess is far from being that of absolutely des
pairing melancholy. :) It is finely mingled with the
gl earnings of hope, and the aspirations of piety;
and the air that pervades this part of his address is
that of a sadly pensive yet pleasing solemnity^-^**
The representation given in the text of the conduct
of God towards men, is in perfect harmony with
the brighter and more cheering views that are pre-c
sented of his loving-kindness and mercy; and the'
destruction of human hopes, as to this world, is as
sociated with the communication and fulfilment; of -
hopes infinitely higher and better, for the world > to
come. Jlcl Sl1* no — «n«ra to jol sifrto sbie, jd-ghd sdl

B 2

The context shows us to what period, and con
sequently to what descriptions of hope, the words
of the text refer : — Verse 20. " Thou prevailest for
ever against hiim and he passeth; tlloti- changest
his countenance, and sendest him away."
The reference here is evidently to the frustra
tion and final extinction of all earthly expectations
and prospects, in the hour of the' last sickness, and
at the approach' of death. When the hand of God
comes upon man, in mortal disease, there is no
withstanding it. ! He " prevaileth against " the
creature of his power, — his dependent and feeble
creature, whose breath is in his nostrils. He
"changes his countenance," — overspreading it with
the pale and livid hue of dissolution, fixing' the
glazed eye, hollowing the cheek, sharpening the
features, distorting them, it may be, with convul
sive spasms, suffusing the countenance with the
chilly damps of death, and giving, in various ways,
that presage of departure, which is so tenderly af
fecting, in the altered looks of beloved 'relatives and
friends. And he " sendeth him away ;" away from
life,— away from this world, from all its connec
tions, occupations,' enjoyments, and cares ; termi
nating all his relations to it, all his interests in it;
It is then that the text is Verified ; then that the
hope of man is destroyed : so' that we are left at no
loss to determine what descriptions of hope are in
tendeds — First of all, the hope of life itself 'is then for

ever extinguished.; . There is in the human bosom
a natural clingingito life, so powerful, as seldom to
be overcome by even the severest and the most ac-
curovjlasted, and protracted calamities. But however
strong the desire to live, it becomes, at the destined
hour of departure, utterly unavailing. ", There is
no man that hath power over the spirit, to retain, the
spirit ; neither hath he power in the day of death*."
Every things in body, in mind, and in condition, is
alike impotent against the stroke of the last enemy :
and in i all the successive stages of life, — in infancy
atad childhood, in youth, in manhood, and in age,— -
the time is always uncertain, and the issue equally
sure. . . i .
The brevity and evanescent nature of human life
are beautifully expressed, in strains of plaintive
melancholy, in the beginning of the chapter: —
Verses 1, 2. " Man that is born of a woman is of
few days, and full of trouble. He cometh forth
like a flower, and is cut down ; he fleeth also -as a
shadow, and continueth not." — How often is jfcjle
.life of man, even in its fairest and loveliest, its most
splendid, most admired, and most flattering jap-
pearances, , suddenly and prematurely cut dp.wji,
like the expanding flower ofthe morning, , in all its
vigorous freshness, and all. its glittering pride and
beauty, falUng before the scythe of , the mower !—
And.there is the same possibility pf, fixing, ^giv
ing permanence to human hfe, , as, there is of, arrest-
B3

6
ing the shadow of the cloud that is hurried .before j
the wind. 9 As it flies along the surface of theaarfch,
and vanishes, so flies and vanishes the life of Jnan»>
leaving hor trace behind it. •' " Man giveth up the
ghost, and where is he ?" bruj - bstlgiaii Jbnjj Jliud
?8 But not only is the ; natural desire and hope, of
life itself disappointed and " destroyed ;>' by, thfr
stroke of death ; all the hopes and expectations also
respecting the manner in which life was to be filled,
up, — the" schemes and projects framed for it,' its
promised occupations, acquirements, successes, coat-
nections, and enjoyments, — all of these are not sus
pended merely, but terminated, by the moment of
dissolution :—all fly for ever awayj like a vision
of the night. — "In that very day, his thoughts
perish." an mo kjy: rbirlw
"y- This is a truth that requires, not evidence, but
impression. It is realized in the death of every
human being : and to give the impression of itj
which our minds are naturally so prone to let slip,
depth and constancy, and practical efficiency^ Pro
vidence at times presents to our view the most
•striking and affecting exemplifications of it, fitted
to arrest the attention of the most careless, and to
waken the sensibilities of the most callous and un-
impressible.— Plans of commercial speculation have
been concerted with the profbundest sagacity and
the most sanguine anticipations of success, and suc
cess has seemed to be sure ; when the hopes ofthe

pitgWote'have, in one moment, <b$ffli destroyed,
andfehe»whole has been rendered labortive and ruin
ous, fby the sadden and unanticipated arrest of the
" king of' terrors." — Splendid houses have been
built and finished ; and on the very day when thgy
havei been ready to receive their elated'proprietors,
the intended tenants of 'an earthly palace have been
C&lted'down to the <" narrow house," ,^ the house
app^nted- for all i llvhig." — Lawns and pleasure-
grouhds have been planned with lively interest, and
laid out with exquisite taste and beauty, at an im
mense expense ; and the eye of the lord, of tjje
manor has given them but one survey, has carried
to his heart but one thrill of pleasure, and then ha$
closed in death* — Kingdoms have been won, of
which the conqueror has never worn the crown*-—
Deeds of renown have been performed; and, fere
the laurel could be twined to invest the living; fore
head, death has woven his cypress wreath for the
brows of his unconscious victim. — Many a course
of experiments in science, many a profound inves
tigation in philosophy, has been begun by one and
finished by another : many a train of thought has
been Suddenly broken off) which no one else has
been able to pursue: and many a lofty conception
of genius has perished' in embryo, , then spirit that
generated it having fledawaiy ere it was poesibletor
it1 to see the light— Many a fine prospect of connu
bial enjoyment, many a rising vision of domestic
B4

8
delight, has been dissipated as a dream of the morn
ing. Even on the joys of the nuptial hour itself has
death intruded* and at the very altar has severed
the bonds of hallowed love, turning a scene of glad
ness and animated' hope to one of anguish and
speechless despair .—Many a youthful promise of
literary eminence, of official distinction, of' exten
sive usefulness, has cheered the spirits of parents,
and relatives, andiriends, only to sharpen the pang
of disappointment, and to tdeepen the darkness that
follows the bright illusion.
But to enlarge here were endless. We have an
instance of the precarious vanity of human hopes
this evening before us ; and one more striking and
impressive it is not easy to imagine, were fancy to
select and combine from her store of possibilities :
an instance, to which the minds of all who knew
its circumstances instantly turned, even when the
text was first announced in their hearing.
The loved and honoured youth, whomi we this
evening remember and mourn, mingling our tears
with those of an agonized and desolated parent,
who is present amongst us, and who has so power
ful a claim on the tenderest sympathies of our
hearts, — had no doubt his own hopes* his own
schemes of future occupation, his own visions of
future enjoyment. Of these I shall not speak.
They might <well have been- high, without toeing
chargeable with extravagance or want' of modesty.

-But -his anticipations were far from being all hope,
without fear ; all sanguine assurance, and presump
tuous confidence. In the profession to which, in
purpose, he had devoted his life, he calculated on
difficulties, and had made up his mind to :se,lf-
denying, and possibly to long-continued and unre-
laxing diligence, for meeting, and combating, and
overcoming them, t ¦-• , ,,
But to the eye of paternal love and. affectionate
friendship, there was presented in that youth 0a
promise of future eminence of no ordinary kind.
*^In the days of his early boyhood, he gave indi
cations of an unusual precocity of genius, and ex
traordinary powers of mind. But of these this is
not the place for presenting specimens. For the
first fifteen years of his life, his powers were cul
tivated and, developed by the associated aiid( judi
cious tuition of parents well qualified for- the inter
esting office, — one in heart, in principle,- in judg
ment, in effort, in prayer.— -Of his mental ; higtory
during that early period, although much, I, am
satisfied, might be learned from it, profitable both
to children and to parents, I shall say nothing. I
wish rather to speak of what I have myself seen
and known. He was for three successive winters
under my roof, and had commenced his ifpurth ;
having been, in his - sixteenth year when be came,
and in his nineteenth, when he died.— Seldom, if
ever, have I -known, a young man possessed of a

10
richer combination of excellences. His reading
had been far beyond his years, in kind, in variety^
and in extent; but it had not been • beyond his
understanding. It was well remembered, well-
digested, and ready for application to Use. ! He
Was distinguished i by a ! general maturity of mind,
which evinced itself upon all subjects ; by penetra
tion and comprehensiveness of thought, acuteness
in reasoning, dexterity in detecting and exposing
the fallacies and weak points of ah argument ; by
richness of poetic imagination, chastened and regu
lated by a correct and classical taste ; and by ah
uncommon command of appropriate and elegant
language, displayed in his compositions, both in
prose and verse, and in the facility and eloquence
of oral (communication, — a command which was
the result' of the early and well-directed study of
the most approved and standard writers.
i With these powers and capacities he associated
an amusing playfulness of mind, which highly en
joyed, a little facetious pleasantry,- and at times
sparkled in genuine wit; which occasionally indulged
itself in harmless satire, and good-humoured sophis
try, and now and then frolicked, with the hap
piest effect, in the jeuzv d' esprit of sportive verse.
With his high intellectual qualities there' were
united an excellent natural temper, and dispositions
singularly amiable. Always open and affable, he
was equally distant from the extremes of levity

11
and moroseness. All the while he was under my
roof, I do not iitememberto have seen him even
once out of temper. If he ever, was,, he had the
good sense and, self-command to restrain its im
proper ., expression. He was the pleasantest of
inmates: — 'temperate, regular, chaste, upright and
faithful, ever ready 'to oblige, ever fearful of being
troublesome, iand thoroughly domestic in all his
habits, he was a universal favourite in the family,
with parents, -and .children, and servants.-^— He had
become, .as it were, one of ourselves; and his
absence jis(,fe]t accordingly.
,.As a student, I need not tell either Into teachers
or his fellow-pupils, of the manner in which' he
brought his admirable powers into exercise ;— -of
his ardour, and diligence, and regularity, and per*
severance, of his alertness and promptitude^ his
candour and fairness, and distinguished success.
He, had an eager thirst for knowledge ; and, i what
ever subject came under his investigation, was
always desirous to examine it thoroughly,-— never
satisfied with what was partial and superficial.
He read whatever he could find, of any reputa
tion, relating to it; and few could* with a quicken
perception, catch the scope of an author, ascertain
his, leading principles, and appreciate the amount
of his arguments ; — but still he thought for him
self; and, whilst, he was far above the need, _he
shrunk with indignant scorn from the, meanness,

12
of servile plagiarism.-*— Never,/ I I ,am ;boldi to sky*
did/a student enter the precincts of thei UtiaiiveBsityi,
who fulfilled, its required, and voluntary tasks more
entirely by his own unassistedi powers. I never,
indeed, witnessed a principle of more pure and in
corruptible honour than that by which, Sini this
respect, he was uniformly influenced*, , He did
every thing himself. In! those exercises which
required an accompanying, declaration ,o£n their
leaving been executed without assistance, he would
not even adopt a suggested improvement ; and, in
one instance, when a composition, which had
been hurriedly written, was returned; .ito,, the
author for transcription, although various amend*-
ments occurred to his own mind in re-writing it,
he resisted the temptation to what he conceived
an unfair advantage, and returned the, original with
the copy, to show that he had not availed himself
pfithe opportunity of alteration. ,
1 But, high as this character is, — excellent and
engaging as the portraiture appears,--it is not yet
finished. It wants a principal feature. Or rather,
Idshould say, it wants that, animating soul, that
living and vivifying principle, that " vital spark of
heavenly flame," which imparted to the whole at
once its energy and its loveliness, its finest expres*
sionboth of attractive grace, and of commanding
dignity.1 * I need hardly say, that I mean religion.
I have no hesitation in adding this to, the intellect-

13
ual and' moral 'qualities that have already been"
enumerated. — ^Yes: the splendour of science was,
in him, united* with the mild and holy radiance of
sincere piety; — not the sentimental piety of poetry
and romance, but the intelligent devotion of ex
amined and settled principle. He was a firm
believer , inb divine revelation: and his was1 not a
mind that could ever be satisfied with a belief,
resting 'on mere educational prejudice and prepos
session. True,-j-he had been "brought up-in the
Wurture and admonition of the Lord." He had
seen religion under its most inviting aspects ; (and
every asrJect in which it is seen ought to be invit
ing,. — it is entirely out of character when it is
otherwise) — he had seen it at home associated with
all the (amiable and engaging virtues of domestic
life, with all the loveliness of benevolence and
charity, and all? 'the consistency of personal and
official character. And why should not this 'have
contributed to produce the early impression,' z and
to settle the matured and permanent convic
tion, of its - reality • and its excellence ? Such
manifestations of its influence form a part of the
legitimate and conclusive evidences of its truth. —
But his convictions did not rest on this ground
alone* The truth of the gospel was a question of
which he felt 'the infinite importance, and which
he was early encouraged to examine. HeigEtye*
all his mind, with becoming seriousness, to the

14
inquiry: he ^weighed proofs -j he consideredfiSbj&kf
tions; he searched the Scriptures for him§e4tfd
His faith was thus founded in etidence,[i&Hd as£3ab-
Hshed1 by his own experience of tb& pWei( ofUhto«g[
motives to godliness*1 which the gospel 'JjSresent&titd
the mind.' Amidst the; temptations 'gjfigymuiig &M
especially the fascinatihg4ed«0tibiiS)io£irf fee iftfliq
our that cometh from men/'tlhe— ¦ muilit^m@&>i^x
steady and1 dignified Consistency ; be[4ra^^pabigd
I' am. Well persuaded, of n<S> Un worthy *@ato|jrdia$§©a,
no-timid sacrifice of principle, no mlfittteres&dGoiji
unmanly^acquiesence in what1 he i&mmimtibt&fa&l
erroneous in sentiment, or vicious, in (CO&Uitefc> fiHel
did* hot obtrude his > principles*^ buf he ti&mi* stouiik
from ^th%$ avowal. ; Those who < 'knew! MAvtsb'^tin
had associates &nd competitors in isfcudysgwalli beaut
me witness, that he had n^thiaf abi^itoiM toFgtbel
cant of religion.' He made no^laigb'iaiiiiL-foftbH^iri
pretensions', no effort to appeaHmon®t^iknhe asiteg
ually -was: He was serious' on* sdxtouSiKsabjsdtsto
ahd would riot bear to hear1 theasK'tgeaieifl^sli'ithil
levity. But he was cheerful* and-ppen bscjjthmjdtiyid
He' entered, with a characteri&tiea/iiTvaGh^^uifccfo
eveify^hing connected with 4h@ti«Bi^fesrijei|itiaibfafai
his '^feirisi or of the ' University;' 'I Whdtevefl ap« •
proached to hypocritical affectation or disingejalil
uodsnessi-he held in unqualified aMMKience; iaitd
on no subject \tfas this abhoBrence aaarei i»dig4^fcftfeb
than<! our j the- subject of .^iigibo^ i iof i-vteihiqh ; hun»4;u

1.5
bto, sincerity is the first and most essential attri
bute.-,,- „ ,. ., ,;,
,tr<The testimony of a father may be. considered as
partial:; yet I do believe it is no more than the
truth. " He feared and loved God," says he of
him, addressing .himself to those, .who, living in the
phtpe of his residence, , had every opportunity of
teicfwjfflgjhim, — ",,He feared and loved God' from
his eariicst days. Through divine grace he was
preserved from moral improprieties in language or
in action. He i never, IheUeve, approached a falser
hood, even so near as by,a prevarication. >He never,
I ittn confident, spent a day, from the age of five,
without secret and sincere prayer. He never, once
appydached the confines of intemperance. He never,
from tHeage of three, did or said a thing,, which he,
thcfught would give pain to his mother, his aunty or, ,
idyseMl— All these virtues were founded in a deep
sense of religion, n He^ ever gloried in the, doctrines.,;
of the cross. He felt Christ crucified, and, salva
tion by. free grace, to be at once the only ground of
his hope, and the grand stimulating motive of, his ;
obedience. These doctrines afforded him support
in death, and gave to his departing hours a calm
ness, for which he was eminently distinguished in
life." It is not merely for the sake of eulogising the
dead, — no, nor even for the sake of soothing the
afflicted spirit of the- living, (although this is a pur-

16
pose, wjiich he who commands us to " weep witil
them that weep," will not allow m# to overlook or
to regard without tender intenest)r— -that I have
dwelt so long on the delineation of this character 5
but for the sake of those practical instructions whiok
it affords to my hearers in general, and especially
to the young, .-,»»¦
And first of all, how striking i&the lesson taitgki
by it, of humble dependence, and, entire submission
to the will of God!
Xhere are some pf the divine dispensations,**-*
and this is one of , them, — which, appear as if de
signed to contradict all human calculations' of pro
bability ; in which the (Sovereign disposer of events
seems tp say to the rising doubts and wondering'
questions of unbelief, ", Be, still, and know tha*
I am God !" " My thoughts are not yourithoughts^
neither are your ways my ways : fear as the heave*
i§ Jhigh above the earth, so are my ways higher thaw
your ways, and my thoughts than your .thoughtSi.?i'
I have seldom, if ever, in my own experience^
m#t with a case, to which I have found it more dif
ficult tp bring my mind to a thorough reconciliation.
I have been stunned by it ; and filled with a pain-
fidjby unsettled, and inquisitive wonder., .<•# To what
purpose," I have been tempted to say, " is this
wa^%?" Why have these powers and. talents been
bestowed, why have they been cultivated, and de
veloped, and fitted for use, and never brought to

17
their destined application? — Why has this light
been kindled, merely to show with what splendour
it could burn, and then been extinguished for ever ?
Why have promises so high, so fair, so pleasing,
been held out, only to be frustrated, and dashed to
the ground ? Why has a youth been so admirably
endowed fbr the duties and services of active man
hood, and then been cut down on the very confines
of that sphere of eminence and usefulness for which
these endowments had seemed intended to qualify
and prepare him ? — And why, O my God, why hast
thou thus prematurely laid in the dust the fondly
cherished anticipations of a father's love ? — Why
hast thou thus blasted the blossoms of his hopes ?
Why hast thou quenched this sole remaining light
in his tabernacle ? Why hast thou so severely be
reft him of the only surviving pledge of the purest,
the fondest, the happiest connubial love? — the
darling object of his concentrated affections, — the
light of his eyes, the joy of his heart, the hope of
his future days ! Why hast thou widowed the hus
band, and bereaved the brother, and written the
father childless, and left him in the solitude and
dreariness of domestic desolation !
O my brethren, it is not for us to criticise the
administration of God. " Such knowledge is too
wonderful for us : it is high ; we cannot attain
unto it." His "judgments are a great deep :" —
" his ways past finding out." It is ours, to bow

18

and ' to adore ; resting satisfied* thaty though > the
-rcVeals not the secret reasons of his procedure, his
sovereignty is- not caprice^ ¦ He has reasons, < he has
always reasons, the best, the wisest,1 fthe ! kindest
reasons, for every step in his : dealings with rhis
children; reasons," in perfect harmony iwithu the
assurances of his unchanging Jove, and with -the
faithfulness of all his "exceeding great and pre
cious promises." — "Who is among you thati fear
eth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant,
that walketh in darkness- and hath no light,— -4et
him trust in the name of the Lord and stay- upon
his God." ¦ ¦ -
15}ind unbelief is sure to err,
And scan his work in vain :
God is his own interpreter,
And he will make it plain."
By such events as the, one nowybefojeyjus,
tiiere are ends, and these far fromf being unjmppr-
^tanfc or unprofitable, which, we, may conceiye( to
Hhe answeerd, both tp those, whpna they mos^ near
ly concern, and to all who witness, them*— For ex-
, ,^mple,— (
,_ Jn iffe first place. Is it npt eminently salary
,%us., when, by such strange and startling, and con
founding dispensations, , our minds are impressed
,,mtK,the, sovereignty ,an.d. , independence of sthe
v.Gre^t, Supreme ?— when he makes us^feel ,our

19
distance, our weakness, our utter incapacity to
fathom his counsels ? — We thus learn the humility
which becomes dependent creatures. We are
placed in the attitude of dumb unquestioning sub
mission, which, though it cannot understand,. pre
sumes not , to dispute, and are admonished; to be
'* strong in faith, giving glory to God."
Secondly. Is it not a profitable lesson^ one which,
rightly received and improved, conducts to the
most important practical results, — the lesson, im
pressively taught us by such, occurrences, of the
transitory vanity of every thing earthly, and the , (in
fatuation and folly of seeking our happiness, from
what is necessarily so precarious ? — To this folly we
are, alas ! incessantly prone : and events which are
fitted to force upon our attention a lesson which we
are so backward to learn and so ready to let slip ; —
which make our minds start from their earthly
stupor ; which oblige us to think ; which tear our
souls away from the world, and constrain us to feel
in our hearts, as well as to own with our lips, the
unsatisfying emptiness of all that is bounded 'by the
limits of the present life,— -the vanity of human
wishes, — the uncertainty even of the highest and
noblest, the most rational and honourable, of
the plans and pursuits and expectations of men,
those that have their source in elevated mental ex
cellence ;— such events may be to every one of us
of eminent advantage.— Suppose any young man, of
C 2

20
bright natural endowments,! andextensiveacqinsk
tions in literature and science, shall be • fed -byiJtfyd
dispensation of providence : which we this,< evening
mourn, ;to lay to heart, the importance of still hlgjhefc
knowledge ;— shall listen to the solemn admonition*,,
'^Young man, be sober minded ;'Wshall have (M^
heart wakened to the fear pf God, and shall ih&fcmh
fppth cpnsecrate to Him thpsepowersipf »$#iB?felhM
is tbe Autijipr* and wfecb fit their, ppssesspr .ffinfthejgdw
vancement of his glory ^iffthe, voice frpmj;i^e6d#a"d3
shall reach ti>e ear* ,r, and tbe, conscience*, anjd, Jhe^
heart ofrthe living ;— rif the temporal /deaitl&iq&^nja
shall. thus, through, the; grace of the^sdiePfyS^MStft
tion,fpr,oye the spiritual life of others v-n^fen; j||i%
spirit °f a weeping father will be, cheered* fjjlpye&t
result, so blessed, and through the, tears ^qtnjq
sorrow will he look up to the throne pf . the,jPiKW'?o
mercy, s with the. smile of willing and gTatefuiiiSfiW
mission* orij «>d vcm yfoyil vb£9ik gaoiffixfginim
qT^s4^- T^e afflictions of life ar-e,sfinfc by JJagil
Father,- of mercies, for the spiritual good of ithe gfi&b
ferers 5*?-iand when they befall a; minister of iQ^sfaj
especially, (although the same remark fe applicable,
to Christians in general,) they are; intended not for _.-,
his 'owniperspnalabeieiit merely, but to qualify him
foivthe better fulfilment of his.official trust- , " Blessp
ed be God* the Father, of our Lord Jesus Christ ri
the Father of mercies,, and the God of al]:CQmfojrt,n
who comforteth us in all our ^tribulation, that we
7 '10

21
rmy be able to comfort them who are in any trouble,
by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comfort
ed of God!"* If, then, the surviving parent of this
dear departed youth,1 a; servant Of God in the gos
pel of his Son, shall have his mind more strongly
than ever fastened on eternity, and impressed with
the infinite magnitude of its concerns ; shall have
his heart more thoroughly than ever devoted to the
work of the Lord; and, with increased tenderness
of persuasion, and fervency of entreaty, andweighti-
ness of expostulation and warning, shall " beseech
sinners to be reconciled to God;" as well as " con<-!
firm the souls of the disciples, exhorting them,"
with a -deeper solicitude than ever, " to continue in
tfie faith," and to "cleave unto the Lord with
purpose of heart ;"— who can estimate the amount
of spiritual and eternal benefit which may thus be
produced? The death of his son, giving new life to
ministrations already lively, may be the means of
life everlasting to those who hear him. And the
deep and solemn and affectionate interest excited
by the event in the scene of his ministerial labours,
may, by the blessing of God, effectually contribute
to an issue so desirable.
Fourthly. May not such an event serve to dis-<!
sipate an illusion by which our minds are too often
influenced, both in our estimates of happiness and
in our judgments of Divine dispensations ;— I mean
* 2 Cor. i. 3, 4,
C3

22

Ai

the illusion produced by the inconsiderate' ' confine
ment of our attention to the 'present life ?^Wlieri
a course like that of our departed' ydiitig friend' is
thus, as we are apt to conceive, prematurelycloSed,
we use the language of pittf :—$e cbn^J)asSioriate
one who has thus been cut off' from all that he 'an
ticipated of future years, his progress1 suddenly^iri.
terrupted, and his early' hopes laid low. — In the
same way are we ready to speak of' his p bwers1 anti
talents "as lost,-^as having been bestowed arid cul
tivated to ho purpose, when the life is but short' in
which they should have beeri brought ihtb practibal
application.— But in both cases, we are 'forgetting
the simple arid reasonable principle; of taking into
oux calculations, ' respecting the happiness of any
creature, and respecting the ends of his being; the
entire ' extent of that Creature's existence. — Our
friend has riot ceased to be. He still1 'lives. And
ought we, as far as he is concerned, to speak of him
in tlie terms of comp aSsion and regret, if' we have
i reason for believing that he haS only been' removed
from a worse state to a better, — from an inferior to
. arsupenor, — from deficiency to perfection, — from
earth to heaven? And is it right that We should
speak of his pbwers as if they were ' lost, and as if
4he design of their bestowment were rendered abor
tive, merely because they have nbt 'found their
application in this world?— because they have riot
been brought into use in those spheres of earthly

23
employment to whicb men had destined them(? Np,
my brethren This is a fallacy. His powers are
no|t lost. Xhe end oftheir bestowment has not been
ahortive. God has only shpwn us, that that' end
was not .what we had supposed. They were not
conferred merely for ithe few years of the present
passing life, but for the , whole duration of his ex
istence. They were cpnsecrated, to God in their
igajly .development, arid he has required them for
ibfe, service in a higher sphere. We thought those
powers were preparing their possessor for eminence
an^u^efuhiess in, this world. We were mistaken.
God meant to employ them elsewhere.5 They are
developed to their full expansion, and occupied at
their utmost stretch, in the knowledge and the ser
vice of the upper sanctuary. — I have no idea, that
there the powers of ,al! minds shall be equalized.
.f^here-rshall, indeed, be no felt deficiency. All
• f "f i
shall be.£ujl, to the entire extent of their respective
capacities. , But, the diversities of capacity, there is
no sufficient reason, I think,, to doubt, will still re
main; whilst without pride, or vanity, or mutual
jealousy, with u^dissenibled humility and unmingled
love, the faculties of all souls shall be incessant
ly occupied,; in ways of which here we can form
very indistinct, and uncertain conceptions, ways
which ''eye hatfc(npt seen nor ear heard," in serv
ing and glprifying. God and the. Lamb. .What
diversified departments of knowledge shall there
C4

24.
engage, the nefevsllfed, andoexip^iridbdtipOTfceBsi gfciife
hardly for us to conjecture.! One,fwe fato^riheiM
is, which will have a decided,; andHlmkexsaljsJatals
eternal pi/te-emirience ji i iDiiei which^ocUasiboiiEilpwM
sadly little of the regard of thiscwoilfllslphfcisffif&yid
-^need I say that 1 mean the iwQnddrsarfiridseniD*
ing grace,— s-the jmyatatMstcof rtfaeoierossieJ *(6BiHse
tfeisgaoihg angels desire to look; into. Vid Itotfe^Hslfe
ftsidTJf their observation, ^hiS is)jtliaipoinft»ormsBbiehS
thj^yj, especially delight to idweli;, iand f'the, spifiM
of} jSist.meii oaafe' perfect" jtei^dhem in tbehccfeigfri
rfesea&df^j their ! delightful- discoveries* their hading
cbntemplaticaasji ^itimim
, Fifthly, ji Is there not, to the heart of an agonized
parent* fefeling the dreary blank made in his JSDofetyd
by the absence of such a son,— is there not eohso*'
l^iohjsifircnig consolation,, oin the thought that hea
has seen the object of his love safe before him? Laadbk
may not ibis thought impart peace and jbytoqhfse
sp%i&all the while that he travels ioifaliiafadi the re^r
raa^SABiioi his- pilgrimage ? — s&uppis& he' had; hiinii
self been called first away-^-Conldhelthirikybu, not-
witijBfeBHding, the delight infused into<hiis'tdepaKt{iJg
spjairfcbylhe conviction of that son's faMi and piety
andflstiMlity of principle, — could he have ! left himu
befainfl,dn a world abounding with every variety of_
temptation, without a secret phng ofi apprehension* d
W*thiou6aft'eeIiing offender solicitude about his highest'
interests ?~-But, by the Divine arrangement, every

25
thing of this kihdtisi saved him. He can go through
hfe with the delightful impression, 'v the calmlland
settled eonvictidn;that the son of his heart's love,
his dear dear boy* is safe and happy. And when
he himself shall1 be called away#9 instead of having
to part from him, in that solemn moment, with
emotions of anxious trepidation, it shall be one of
the joys of his departure, that he is going to join*
his company, and to be with him for ever. Thus
he has a new interest in heaven ; and,tin anticipat-1
ing death, a new object of hope before him. £ln-o
stead of wailing in the bitterness of unmingled and
unmitigated wo, like David over a son that had
not only died, — that had been little, — but had died
in unnatural and impious rebellion against his father
and his God, — " O my son Absalom, my son, my '
son Absalom ! would God I had died for thee ! O
Absalom, my son, my son !" — Instead of this, he can I
adopt the language ofthe same royal mourner, when t
,his infant child, for whom he had fasted and prayedf-.
and wept,; was taken away from him, — " I shall go «
to him, but he shall not return to me." to rmdlfea
Our dear departed friend and companion was not
one for whom we sorrow without hope. He was, a
as I have before mentioned, a firm believer of that
gospel by which hfe and incorruption have been
brought, to light; and he felt and exemplified its i
sacred influence. — After. the tidings arrived of the
death of that dear i relative, who was removed sod

26
very recently before him, and who hadbeen to him
as- a second mother, his mind was evidently drawn,
with a peculiar degree of interest and impression*
to the contemplation of eternal things* Hel con
versed, with- solemn pleasure, about death,, and
hekven. His mind was. serious and spiritual. -It
seems as if her departure had been purposely timed
to prepare him for his own ; and he was'in a -frame
of mind for dying, before the symptoms of approach
ing death discovered themselves* .I,, ,. i
During his short and rapid' illness, the difficulty
and indistinctness of articulatiom which was- one, of
its most affecting indications, rendered conversation
impracticable. The testimony, consequently, of his
faith and hope, was, of necessity brief andr limited.
The questions which I felt it my « duty to put to
. him in reference to his prospects for a future- world,
when it became too evident that he* was approach
ing' its confines, were unavoidably, for the reason I
have mentioned, so framed as to require l no more
than a simple negative or affirmative reply. > In
such circumstances we must bet satisfied with' what
we can obtain ; and all who knew the perfect in
genuousness of his character will attach to his an
swers' the full credit of sincerity. — Standing by his
bedside, I took him affectionately by the hand,
andy looking him in the face, repeated these words,
" ' This is' a faithful saying, and worthy of all accep
tation, that* Christ Jesus came into the world

27
to save isinnersi:' — Younhelieve this saying ?"— - 1
, tft®*fignt, as I began to speak, there was an attempt
to restrain the nervous restlessness of the arm, of
which1 L held the hand, and that his countenance as7
sumed a gently pleased and interested expression :
— " Yow believe this saying ?" " Yes."— ".And it
is the ground of your hope before God?" e" Yes."
— " You must have perceived, my, very dear young
friend,! from the medical advice called in, and from
the remedies employed* that your complaints have
beenYof an alarming nature ?" t " Yes." — ".Have
you any fear of dying ?," " No." — " , f I know whom
I have believed,- and am persuaded that he is able
to keep that which I have committed to him against
•tihati day/ You enjoy this persuasion, I trust?"
" Yes." v" I You remember,1 David says, ' Yea,
though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death,
1- will' fear no evil ; for thou art with me.', He could
tojt have had a better reason than this for fearing
no evil ?" u " No." — " And this is the reason why
you fear no evil ?" {/' Yes." — " When God, in the
Bible* tells us not to fear, he always gives us a good
reason f why we should not. "Fear not: for I
- am the first and the last, and the hving one; and
». I was dead, and behold. I am ahve for evermore ;
,t. and have the keys of hell and of death.? 'tFear not,
•< for I am with thee : be not dismayed for I am, thy
God : I will strengthen thee ; 1 yea, si will help
8 thee ; yea, I < will uphold thee with the right hand

of my righteousness.'- -You are ehateleAnMHirie^
to resign yourself to his blessed willa^'n ^'>Yei.Ho
— " You like to hear of Jesus Christ and his salva
tion?" "Yes.".
Such were the pleasing indications 'of the' 'frame
of his spirit in dying; and we could only regret
that the nature of his disorder prevented the more
full expression of it.,
I ought to add, that no patient could* -be *more
thoroughly submissive. lrf From the Commencement
to the termination of his distemper, he never gave
the slightest indication, byword, or look,, pr,sign,
of impatience, or repining, or discomposure, or of
even a momentary hesitation or reluctance to dp,
to. -take, or to bear, whatever was prescribed for'
him. At nb time did this appear to be at all the
u 101. u2c. xx x ta - "U
result of fear. It arose from that firmness of mind
which always distinguished him, accompanied by
a sense of propriety' and dutyj and a spirit of pious
resignation. "He appears to have t begun, at the time wheii'
his ©wn distress was coming on* to compose a
hymn on the death of the Christian friend before
alluded to. The two following verses were found,
in- his writing desk, recently written on a little
slip of paper. The encroach menjt of his'own dis-=
ease prevented his either retouching them,><Jor
adding more. I give them in their first beautrful
and, toughing simplicity.,,^, They show the bearings

of his mind, and might be appropriately inscribed
on his own early tomb : —
" Though to-night the seed be sown in gloom,
Avnjdj darkness, tears, and sorrow,
It shall spring from the tomb, in immortal bloom,
On the bright and glorious morrow.
The tears that we shed o'er holy dust
, , /.Are the tribute of human sadness ;
, r,Iiut the grave holds in trust the remains i of ;^he just,
Till the day of eternal gladness ! "*
* In addition to these pleasing evidences of the state of his mind ; I may
insert here an extract from a letter) which he had in part written tq his fatheriO
after his disorder had begun, but before its true nature was at all apprehendU _
ed, or any fears entertained ; and which its progress prevented him from
finishing. A previous letter, written immediately 'after bearing of his
aunt's death, and containing a full expression of his sentiments and feelings , s
on the mournful event, I have not in my possession ; but, from the account
given of it by his father, it was in a high degree satisfactory. — Tlie unfinished
letter, from which, I take the extract waswritten at intervals under oppressive Ian..
guor, which, to all who know the nature of his distemper, even in its incipient
stages, will at once account for the absence of that correct and easy elegance
by which his compositions were usually characterized. — " My dearest, dearest) J
Father, — Every loss I endure seems, by concentrating, to strengthen rthe
affections; and, as my circle contracts, I fix myself more and more on you.
You have my entire confidence and gratitude. — My dear aunt had myi'
warmest affections. She, however, is gone ; and, we may confidently add,, ( |
gone to glory. Never-ending felicity will now attend her. Neither days
nor nights of sorrow, but an eternal day of felicity and glory. This is; !
indeed, sufficient to dissipate the globm of the separation, and, to obliterated j
even from our minds those past sufferings, which have terminated in ap; j
exceeding and eternal weight of glory. Oh ! may we be enabled, — especially
may / be enabled, — for I know that you are pressing forward , to the heavenly
gate,  may I be enabled tp walk in the footsteps of the holyr d^ad, and^ ( npt
looking at the things of this life, to press towards those that are before, and
thus to make my calling arid election sure! What a Messing is it to look

'30
Thus that God, who, to use the langtfag'e of bur
'text, destroyed1 his hopes of life and health,osbf
'happiness, and honour, and usefulness, -in "this
world, imparted' to him hopes of a higher of der,
hopes for eternity. Yes, my friends: He[whb, by
the stroke of death, lays in the dust all the flolffffly
'. cherished anticipations of time, is not, after all^fhe
destroyer, but the giver of hop*e to man;; of blessed,
and glorious, and certain hope!— TlnV'hop&!4he
patriarch finely expresses in the preceding1 context,
where he evidently looks forward to the end ofthe
world and the resurrection of .the just: — Verses 7
— 15. "For there is hope of a tree,: if it be' cut
down, that it will sprout again, and that the tender
branch thereof will not cease. Though the foot
thereof wax old in the earth, . and the ! st$ck
thereof die irt the ground *¦ yet through the £ceht
of "water it will bud, and bring forth "Kbifgns
like a plant. But man dieth, and wasteth away ;
rnbucqaa'noD '>,;j,b*9 gun: ,i .iswanfi nc. .']f>i
back on a life spent entirely in the'service of God ! . Our.-djear friends, have
doubtless had the common failings of humanity, have needed the pardoning
blood of Jesus, and have been saved by firm con'ndente in the1' great Media
tor. Yet, in the whole course of their lives, they at least sincerely professed
the name of Jesus. We do not, I believe, know a single important, ac
tion in which they have deviated from the strait and narrow path. 'My
dear aunt did not possess the Very brilliant talents: by which my, beloved
mother was so highly distinguished. She. had, 'however, sound and roigojous
sense, and a heart eminently devoted to her God. My-^nother and .yourself
excepted, there never was a human beings for whom' I ielt so 'muen tender
affection as for her. She is gone, however, to her rest, and I would not recall
her. To weep is inevitable; but we ought pot to weep as fbose who are «jth-
out hope. .."

31
yea, man giveth up the ghost, and where is
he ? 4-S the waters fail from the sea, and the
flood decayeth and drieth up ; so man lieth down,
and riseth not : till the heavens be no more,
they shall not awake, nor be raised out of.fheir
sleep. Oh that thou wouldst hide me , in the
grave, that thou wouldst. keep me secret, until thy
wrath be past ; that, thou wouldst. appoint me a, set
time, and. Remember m,e! If a man die, shall he
liye again? AJJL the days of my appointed time
will I, wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call,
an,d I will answer thee : thou wilt have a desire to
the wqrk of thine hands." — The patriarch here, in
bitterness of spirit, entreats for a refuge , in the
grave from the pitiless storm ; not indeed for L ever,
but for "a set time," which he desires that God
would " appoint" to him, and at the close of which
he prays to be "remembered:" and then to the
question, "If a man die, shall he live again ?" he
returns an answer, in terms exactly corresponding
to those in which he had expressed his desire for a
temporary hiding-place in the grave. ,Yes, ,j,he
shall live again : — -" all the days of my appointed
time" — (the " set time" which he had wished
that God would "appoint" him in the grave,)
— " will I wait till my change come. Thou shalt
call, and I will answer thee : thou wilt have a
respect unto the work of thy hands." How
beautiful this thought ! " Thou wilt yearn toward

32
the] work of thy hands :"* that is, towards the
mouldered bodies of his children," the objects of his
love, that have long lain in the dust. His " calling"
is the effect of the yearning of his heart toward
them ; and their " answering," of their confidence
and delight in him : and his desire toward the
work of his hands will be manifested in tlie glory
with which, in its renovation, it shall be invested.
This is the " change" of which Job 'expresses his
assurance. It is the same which is so exquisitely
described by the apostle Paid, in writing to the
Corinthians :— " It is sown in corruption, it is
raised in incorruption ; it is sown in dishonour,
it is raised in glory ; it is sown in weakness, it is
raised in power ; it is sown an animal body, it Is
raised a spiritual body. — The first man is of the
earth, earthy ; the second man is the Lord froin
heaven. — -And as we have borne the image of the
earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heav
enly."'* '
In the verses that have been quoted, therefore,
the~patriarch expresses the same hope, which he
elsewhere utters in terms of so much nervous em
phasis, and so full of animated and exulting de
light : — " Oh that my words were now written !
oh that they were printed in a book ! that they
were graven with an iron pen and lead in the rock
for ever ! For I know that my Redeemer liveth,
* Goode. f 1 Cor- xv- 42—44, 47, 49.

33
anji that he shall stand at tbe latter day upon the
earth : and though after, my skin worms destroy
this body, yet in my flesh shall I see God."*
O that I could infuse this blessed hope into the
bosom of every one who now hears me ! — even
the hope, pf which Christ, in his obedience, sacri
fice, and intercession, is the. ground; and conformity
tfi Christ in his holiness, and glory, and blessedness,
is ,the object. — " Other foundation can no man lay
tj^an that is laid, which is Jesus Christ :" " Christ
in you, the hope of glory." — " When Christ, who
is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear
with him in glory :"t "It doth not yet appear
what we shall be j but we know, that when he shall
appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him
as he is, and whosoever hath this hope in him," (that
is, in or on Christ) " purifieth himself even as he
is pure." — In these last words, the practical inT
fluence of hope, is briefly stated ; and without the
manifestation of this influence, the hope is not truly
and scripturahy enjoyed, but must prove baseless
and delusive. — There is no gospel hope, without gos
pel holiness. If " the grace of God which bringetii
salvation does not teach a man to deny all ungod
liness and worldly lusts, and to live soberly, and
righteously, and godly in this present world," it is
in vain he pretends to be a debtor to that grace
' Job xix. 23 — 26.
f 1 Cor. iii. 11. Col. i. 27. 1 John iii. 2. Col. iii. 4.
D

34
, fog h^, hopes of heaven. He is deceiving hims.elf,
or, he is, deceiving pthers. " He, is without Christ,
and,,withouf hope."
,j ilVIany, my, young friends, are the warnings
addressed, ^p you by Him who is " thc^Godopf
your hfe, and tbe, length of your days,'' — "in
whose, hand is, the, life, of every living thing, #ad
^e^bfeath of all mankind/' They are the warnings
of kindness and lpye ; intended, not to, make ypu
melancholy, ibuj; to make you happy. — You readily
, admjf-< — wbo, ,indeed can deny it ? — the precarious-
ness of life ; its precariousness, even under its.most
flattering appearances :— for where amongst you
all i,s ^ jffame more robust, a constitution more
sound, or a look more full of health, tha?! Mb
whom, sudden disease has, in a few days, shaken to
the dust ? — You admit, top, the certainty of those
prospects which the word and providence of God
admonish you to anticipate, and beseech you to
provide against. — Follow up,; then, let me entreat
you, your conviction. Act upon it. It can serye
no ^eno): but that of increasing your guilt and con
demnation, .if you hold it in your, minds, and do
not obey it, in your lives. Yield ,to it, then. , Sin
cerity, ^nd,, consistency require this, of you. Prur
denee;, requires , it. , God requires it. And , He
requires nothing, .but;; what, is meant J#f your, good.
AJj^tbajk h$\cqy(irpaftd?. amounts to aii injunction^©

35
« consult your own happiness,— to securb'ybuf ' own
best and highest interests ; and all that he forbids
may, in regard to the design of it, be comprised' in
the admonition, " Do thyself no harm."
83"©j'iny friends, it is a solemh thing to die:j Had
you stood, as I did, by the bed-side bf the ex
cellent youth 'whom we this evening deplore,' and
! 'witnessed his parting struggle, you would have deep
ly felt it to be So. I shall not attempt to describe the
scene! It would pierce with too keen a pang the
heart Of a disconsolate father. I shall only say,
that the last strife of nature in a friend' we lovb, ' if
'there were not the hope of the gospel giving the" as
surance of rest, and peace, and blessedness, beyond
it, "would be^a scene of agony altogether insup
portable, rrfjffiou to j iu r 'o'toifi aooi £ io ,bnuoa
By every one of yon, remember, the closing scerte
must sooner oV later be realized. — Your friends shall
stand round your dying bed, in the heart-sinking
stillness of anxious suspense, gazing, through teats
of affectionate anguish, on your changing 'counte
nance, and watching for that breath that shall part
you from them for ever. O that, whether that
breath shall be drawn by you with the softness that
leaves attending relatives uncertain whether 'it has
passed yOur lips, or shall be heaved aloud with the
strong convulsive : gaspings of violent dissolution,
you may possess, in your departure, the blessed
hope of the gospel; — that when' you lie shrouded

36
for the grave, and when you are laid in the man
sions of silence, it may be said over you witaitnuilshs
by surviving friends, " sorrowful yet rejoicing1 ?-*»
" Blessed are the dead that die in the Lord :-r-that
they may rest from their labours ; and their Works
do- follow them." oj ,839nte, i&s 9tBnoiJo9fti3 rijiw
: " Rejoice, O young man, in thy youth, and let1
thy heart cheer thee in the days of thy youth ;8iahft>I
walk in the ways of thy heart, and in the sight of
thine eyes : — but know thou, that for all these things
Gad will bring thee into judgment. > Wherefore re-»9
move, sorrow from thy, heart* and put away j evils
from thy flesh *• for childhood and youth are vanity!.
Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth,
while the evil days come not, nor the years draw
nigh, when thou shalt say, I have no pleasure in
them."* msb 9v> ¦ nov rno moil <}D9iloD9i O
-There are present, I presume, not a few, who':
are pursuing the same course of study which our
friend has so suddenly and prematurely closed ; and
sdme, it may be, of his intimate associates in that
useful and honourable career, — who admired his J
talents, who esteemed his virtues, who enjoyed his
society, who valued his friendship, — and who now,
in- heaviness of spirit, miss him in the class-room,
in the private walk, huthe friendly party, and in
the social discussions of philosophy and literature : C
— " thp<|djig$thift; knew him knowing him no more."
tmi<£flQ3 e£ii «VEca«. xi. 9, 10* xii. i.,Kf fIW" ^ moil

37
— +To sodh let me say-*-Emulat© his ardour in the
acquisition of knowledge : imitate his constant, at- :
tention to his studies, his industry and perseverance*
his honour and openness and candour, his goodj
humour and kindness. ,cBut above all, allow me,
with affectionate earnestness, to beseech you,— r.
follow, him in his piety. You admired his talents :
let his talents recommend the principles of his char-
acterj Let his learning bespeak a favourable re
gard to his rehgion. ci Let the sentiments whjehhe
entertained hef counted worthy of your serious JeaO
aminatiom Treat not with contempt or indiffea-eocer;
what he held in high estimation. And let his tes*;
timony to the religion of the gospel come toyouiH
mindis and hearts, with the solemn interests which
ough^-ito accompany the counsel of a dying friend. ?;
O recollect, from whom you have derived* ,yjn»rli
pawers,v and by whom they are maintained in ex
ercise. Remember, that He who gave andiwhaif;
continues them, can, in a moment, by a single fparw '<
alyzing touch, reduce them to utter impotence, and
turn the thrillings of admiration, in the bosoms^of*
aU, that know and love you, into the meltings.ofj
pity. Forget not, that the possession of superior
powers and superior attainments involves in it a cor*
responding obligation and responsibility. yiBe not :.<
ye guilty of the ingratitude and infatuation of pros-;; t
tituting and alienating them from their Author, and
from the high purposes, for which-, he has conferred

38
them. Whatever may be the profession you chbbse
for the occupation of your future life, whilst
you : sedulously apply your faculties to the fulfil
ment of its duties, O be not unmindful ofthe
claims, the high, the paramount claims of Him who
gave you being,-^who constituted your minds what
they are, and gave you your opportunities for their
improvement. Let all be sanctified by piety ; all
consecrated to God at the foot of the cross ; all
cordially inscribed with " Holiness unto 'the
Lord." — Let God himself be the object that 'sd-
premely engages the powers of your urtderstan do
ings and' the affections of your hearts. Forgetnbt
the Creator, whilst you explore his works. Let
the iphilosophy bbth of mind and of matter draw
your souls, in devout adoration, to the Fountain
of all existence.
O beware of that strangest' and falsest of all tm
associations of thought that have' ever been form
ed in the human mind, — the association of piety
with weakness: — Whatever is excellent kridhondufc
able you have been accustomed, and not without
reason, to connect with eminence in mental qualifi
cations, and with high attainments in useful learn
ing : — nor would I quench, or everi damp, I would
rather stimulate your ardour. But why,'"0 why is
it that with piety should so frequently be associat
ed the impression of imbecility, and a 'secret' con
sciousness of shame and fear of avowal ? There is

39
a higbiiwinded. spirit of independence, that is,f alas !
too captivating to the youthful heart, and tempts it
to ,thrpw off, the restraints of religion, to disengage
itself frorp, : vulgar shackles,~-the shackles of weak
and ordinary minds. But was ever conception
more false? Was ever association of ideas more
presumptuous ? Was ever independence of spirit
niore miserably, imisnamed ? Was ever feeling of
shame more misplaced and groundless ? Was ever
shrinking timidity more basely dishonourable ?-*<¦*¦
Piety weakness ! O what must the infinite God, the
great object of all the sentiments, and affections,
and services of piety,— what must He think of such
a connection of ideas as this! — Piety weakness!
It is, the, purest excellence, and thesublimestielevai-
tion, — the felicity alike and the glory of the most
exalted of created natures. O, there is no illusion
of the youthful mind, no one of the many spells
by which it is, fascinated and bewildered, that I
should bp more earnestly solicitous to break apd to
dissipate than this. Away with it from your minds,!
It is unworthy of a place in the bosom of any, rationr
al, being. , Let the example that is before you this
evening contribute to satisfy you, that true religion,
whilst it may, (blessed be God !) be the happy- inr
mate of ,lhe weakest mind, does, at the, same time,
ennoble the lpf'tiest and most powerful ;— rtiiat
though it can dwell in the most limited,, it can fill
the amplitude ofthe most capacious.

40
What a lesson does a deathJbed teach, of tlie
vanity and unsatisfactoriness of even the best* and
highest and most truly honourable of earthly dis
tinctions; — of every thing* when depended on for
happiness, that is not allied to eternity, ando com
mensurate with its duration ! In that solemn hour.,
the measure of value comes to be simply the capa
city there is in whatever objects come before the
thoughts, to impart peace and hope to the ankid,
in the prospects that are immediately before it, and
are absorbing all its regards. The measure ceases
to be taken from the world we are leaving : it is
taken from that on which we are entering. Every
thing -is then felt to be worthless, that does not tell,
and tell satisfactorily, of good hope for eternity ;
that does not show to the trembling heart a forgiv
ing God, and a safe and divinely authorized way
to heaven. — When the soul is, lingering on the verge
of an everlasting world, and wholly occupied about
the views that are before it, it is not earthly science,
in the largest measure of it that ever was embraced
by any human mind, that can impart satisfaction and
confidence. The mightiest mind, the mind of highest
literary polish, and most extensive scientific acquire
ments, may then, amidst all its multiplied resources,
be at a loss for an answer to its anxious inquiries
respecting acceptance with God, — at a loss fbr a
solid ground on which to fasten the hopes of the
parting spirit. O leave not questions on a subject

41
so infinitehjE. momentous* to be investigated and de
termined bn a deativbed^ You may then have
wither sfckae nor ability granted you for such a pur
pose*, There is no folly, and there is no ifrapiety,
gi^terthanttbat which is involved in such delay.
.fisis leaving the concerns of a never-ending existence
to? the mercies of an uncertain moment ; anditisof-
feriagctorHka who has an immediate claim, and a
claim evtery successive moment of your whole lives,
:on all ycai are and: on all you have,— and offering
from a mere feeEfog of selfish ^fear, the dregs af
your existence, ithe worthless remnant of your days.
*'>Mdw i&the accepted time." — And remember,: it is
to theBible you must have recourse for an answer to
your inquiries. However valuable the instructions
you> may -receive in the schools of philosophy, it Is
not from them you are to learn the way to eternal
life. It is from the word of God, from the philoso-
phy of Christianity alone, that this can be learned.
There is nothing in the wide circle of science and
literature/ that can meet the wishes, and satisfy Itfee
wants, and quiet the fears of a dying sinner, ©espisie
not, then, the dictates of the Bible. There is but
one description of knowledge, and the BibkusfaHie
reveals it, with which eternal life is associated.
With that knowledge, therefore, there can be no
other that will bear a moment's comparison :.-*-
" This is life eternal, that they might know
THEE, THE ONLY ¦ TRUE GOB, AND JESUS ChHIST
7

42
whom thou hast sent." — Look, then, unto Jesus.
" Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the
sins of the world." " All things," says an inspired
messenger of Divine truths — "all things are of
God, who hath reconciled us. to himself by Jesus
Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of recon
ciliation ; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconcil
ing the world unto himself, not imputing their tres
passes unto them ; and hath committed unto us the
word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambas
sadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you
by us ; we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye recon
ciled 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."* — " If to you to live
be Christ, to you to die will be gain."
* 2 Cor. v. 13—21.

THE END.

Andrew .S. John M. DuDcan, Printers to the University, Glasgow.

WORKS BY THE SAME AUTHOR,
sold by
Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, <$• Brown*
LONDON;
AND WARDLAW & CUNNINGHAME,
-.- f ¦¦ . ¦
GLASGOW.

1. Lectures on the Book op Ecclesiastes. 2 vols.
8vo. Price 18s. hoards,— just published.
2. Discourses on the Principal Points ofthe Socinian
Controversy. Third Edition/ 8vo. 12s. .bds.
3; Unitarianism Incapable of Vindication ; a Reply
to the Rev. James Yates? Vindication of Unitarianism.
8vo. 10s, 6d, boards.
4. Three Lectures on the Abrahamic Covenant, and
its Connection, with Infant Baptism. 8vo. 3s.
5. An Essay on Lancaster's Improvements in Edu
cation. 8vo. is. 6d.
6. A Sermon on the Doctrine of a Particular Pro
vidence ; preached on account of the Death of the
Author's brother, who fell at the battle of Salaman
ca. Third Edition, 8vo. Is. 6d.
7. Qualifications for Teaching essential to the Cha
racter of a Christian Bishop: A Sermon. 8vo.
Is.
8. Christian Mercy : A Sermon, preached for the
Glasgow Female Society. 8vo. Is.
9. The Scriptural Unity ofthe Churches of Christ
Illustrated and Recommended : A Sermon,
preached in College Street Chapel, Edinburgh. 8vo.
Is. 6d. 12mo9d.
1 0. An Essay on Benevolent Associations for the Re
lief ofthe Poor. 8vo. Is. 6d.

11. The Contemplation of. Heathen Idolatry an
Excitement to Missionary Zeal; A Sermon,
preached before the London Missionary Society, at
Surrey Chapel. 8vo. Is.
1 2. The Duty of Imitating Departed Worth ; A
Sermon, occasioned by the Death of the late Robert
Balfour, D. D. 8vo. Is. 6d.
13. The Truth, Nature, and Universality of the
Gospel ; A Sermon, preached before the Missionary
Sorciety, Stirling. 8vo. Is. 6d.
1 4. The Christian Duty of Submission to Civil
Government; A Sermon. 8vo. Is.
15. The Purposes of Divine Mercy to the Seed of
Abraham ; A Sermon, preached for the Glasgow So
ciety for promoting Christianity among the Jews. Pub
lished for the benefit ofthe Society. 8vo. Is.
16. The Miscellaneous Discourses and Essays col
lected into One Volume, 8vo. price 14s. bds.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY
III llllllllliiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiniiiii 'Q
™illlllllllllllllllllllllllll|||||||||||||| ;3
3002 01461 9085 is