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YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THE LIBRARY ASSOCIATES

Gift of
WILMARTH S. LEWIS

SERMONS,

ON

PRACTICAL SUBJECTS.

BY THE LATE
Rev. SAMUEL CARR, D.D.
PF.E5ENDARY OF ST. PAUL's;
RECTOR. OF ST. ANDREW UNDEftSHAFT, LONDON;
AND or
riNCHLEYj MIDDLESE.X.

IN THREE VOLUMES.

VOL. I.

LONDON:
PRINTED FOR F. AND C. RIVINGTON,
N°62, ST. Paul's CHURCH-yARo;
J. ROBSON, NEW EOND-STRBETJ AND
W. RICHARDSON, CORNHILL.

M.DCC.XCV.

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K.

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M.
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CON-

CONTEN TS.

SERMON I.
Gen. xxiv. 6^.

Page

/fND Ifaac went out to meditate in the
field at the eventide - - _ j
SERMON II.
1 Thess. v. t.-x.
p ->
the very God of peace fanBify you wholly.,
and I pray God your whole fpirit and
foul and body be preferved blamelefs, unto
the coming of our Lord fefus Chrifi - 19
SERMON in.
Gen. xxii. i, 2.
And it came to pafs after thefe things, that
God did tempt Abraham, and fai d unto
him, Abraham. And he faid. Behold,
here I am. And he faid, take now thy
fm.

CONTENTS. Page
foti, thine only fon Ifaac, whom thou
lovef, and get thee into the land ofMo-
riah, and offer him there for a burnt-
offering, upon one of the mountains,
which I will tell thee of - - 37
SERMON IV.
Luke xix. 41.
Aitd when he was come near, he beheld the
city, and wept over it - - 61
SERMON V.
Prov. xxiv. 21.
My fon, fear thou the Lord and the King ;
and meddle not with them that are given
to change - - - 79
SERMON VI.
Luke xi. 2.
And he faid unto thetn. When ye fray,
fay. Our Father, which art in heaven - 99
SERMON VII.
Luke xi. 2.
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed
he thy nam? - . _ 1^12
SER-

CONTENtS.

Page

SERMON VIIL
Luke xi. 2.
thy kingdom come - - 135
SERMON IX.
Matt. vi. 9.
thy will be done in earth, ai it is in heaven 1 57
SERMON X.
Matt, vi, xi.
Give us this day our daily bread - ij^
SERMON XL
Matt, vi, 12,
And forgive us our trefpaffes, as we for
give them that trefpafs againf us - j 9 1
SERMON XII.
Matt. vi. 12.
Forgive us our trefpaffes, as we forgive
them that trefpafs againf us - a 00
SER-

CONTENTS. Page
SERMON XIIL
Matt, vi, 13.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver
us from evil. For thine is the kmgdom,
and the pozver, and the glory, for ever
and ever. Amen. - - 221
SERMON XIV.
2 Kings v. 1,2, 3.
Now Naaman, the captain of the hojl of
the king of Syria, was a great man
with his mafer, and honourable ; becaufe
by him the Lord .had given deUverance
to Syria ; he was alfo a mighty man in
valour ; but he was a leper. — And the
Syrians had gone out by companies, and
had brought away captive out of the
¦ land of Ifrael a Uttle maid, and fhe
waited' on NaamarC s wife. — And fhe
faid unto her mifrefs. Would God my
lord were with the prophet that is in
Samaria ; for he would recover him of
his leprofyl - - - 239
SER-

CONTENTS. SERMON XV.
2 Kings v. 13 — ^17.
And his fervants came near, and fpake
unto him and faid. My father, if the
prophet had bid thee do fome great
thing, would/i thou not have done it?
H.w much rather then, when he faith
unto thee, waff), and be clean ? — then
went he down and dipped himf elf f even
times in Jordan, according to the faying
of the man of God: and his fiejh came
again like unto the fleff of a little child,
and he was clean. — And he returned to
the mon of God, he and all his company,
and came and /i:od before him : and he
faid. Behold, now I know, that there is
no God in all the earth but in Ifrael:
now therefre, I pray thee, take a bleff-
ing of thy fervant. But he faid. As
the L rd liveth, before whom I fand,
I will receive none. And he urged him
to take it ; but he refufed. — And Naa
man faid. Shall there not , then, I pray
thee, be given to thy fervant two mules
burden of earth ? — For thy fervant will
hence-

Pagc

CONTENTS. Page
henceforth offer neither burnt-offering nor
facrifce, unto any other God, but unto
the Lord - - - ^SJ
SERMON XVI.
2 Kings v, i8, 19,
In this thing the Lord pardon thy fervant,
that when my mafer goeth into the houfe
of Rimmon to wqrfhip there, and hekan-
eth on, ny h^^d, and I bow myfelf in the
houfe of Rimmon ; when I bow down my
felf in the houfe of Rimmon, the Lord
pardon thy fervant in this thing. — And
he faid unto him. Go in peace - 273
3 E R M O N XVIL
% Kings v. 20 — 27.
But Gehazi, the fervant ofFUffa the inan
of God, faid. Behold my mafer hath
fpared Naaman the Syrian, in not re
ceiving at his hands that which he
brought ; but as the Lord liveth, I wilt
run after him, and take fomewhat of
him. — So Gehazi followed after Naa
man: And when Naaman faw him run- nincr

CONTENTS.

Page

ning after him, he aUghtcd do-ivn from
his chariot to meet htm, and faid. Is all
well?— And he faid, AU is well. My
mafer hath f ent me faying. Behold even
now there be come to me from mount
Ephraim two young men of the fons of
the prophets ; give them, I pray thee, a
talent offilver, and two changes of gar
ments. — And Naaman faid. Be content,
take two talents. ^ And he urged him,
and hound two talents of fiver in two
bags, with two changes of garments,
and laid them upon two of his fervants,
and they bare them before him. And
•when he came to the tower, he took them
from their hand, and befowed them in
the houfe, and he let the men go, and
they departed. — But he went in, and
food before his ma/ler. And Flifhafaid
unto him. Whence comefl thou, Gehazi?
And he faid, t'hy fervant went no whi
ther. — And he faid unto him. Went not
mine heart with thee, when the man
turned a,gain from his chariot to meet
thee ? Is this a time to receive money,,
and to receive gg,rments, and olive-yards.
Vol. I. a and

CONTENTS.

Page

tt,

md vineyards, and fhe ep, and oxen,, and
me?i-fervants and maid fervants ? — the
leprofy therefore of Naaman fall cleave
unto thee and imto thy feed for ever.
And he went ^. out from his pref ence a
leper, as white as fiow - - 293

SERMON XVIII.
2 -Peter iii. 5.
But the day of the Lord will come as a
thief in the night ; in the which the hea
vens fall pafs away with a great noife^
and the elements f hall melt with fervent
heat; the earth alfo, and the works that
are ther em; fall be burned up - o(Dy
SERMON XIX.
2 Tim. i. 10.
But is now made rnantfef hy the appearing
of our Saviour fefus Chrif, who hath
abolfhed death , and hath brought life and
immortality to Ught throu_^h the Gofpel 325

SER.

CONTENTS.
SERMON XX.
Matt. xi. 4, 5.

Page

Jefus anfwered and faia unto them. Go,
and few John again thofe things which
ye do hear and fee : t'he blind receive
their fight, and the lame walk, the
lepers are cleanfed, and the deaf hear,
the dead are raifed up, and the poor have
the Gofpel preached unto them - - ^55
SERMON XXL
2 Sam, i. 23.
Saul and Jonathan were lovely and pleafant
in their lives, and in their death they
were not divided - - 381

SER-

™.

SERMON L

Genesis, Chap. xxiv. Ver. 63}*
And Ifaac went out to meditate in the'- field
at the eventide;

IT Is impoffibie tb view the {implicit^ of
ancient times, as recorded in Scripture,
without a mixture of pleafure and Ihrprife.
We there fee natufe in hef artlefs fofm : we
there behold man in his genuine dignity^ with
the recent imprefs of his God upon him — '
fuch as he Came from the hands of his Makefj
and liich as he certainly was iiitended always
to remairii
Vn f .. L ti gut,

2 SERMONI.
But, at the fame time, the comparifon \^'e
cannot help making between thofe times and
our own, will naturally give pain to every
confiderate mind. When we look back upon
what man has been, and confider what he
now is, we can fcarce forbear crying out, in
the language of the Prophet of old, " how
" art thou fallen, O Lucifer, fon of the
" morning !"
And perhaps no part of fcripture affords a
more ftriking contrail: between the manners
of antient and prefent times, than the words
now read to you. They defcribe to you a
man of the firll: rank and eminence in his
country, the heir to a very noble fortune, in the
prime and vigour of life, iurrounded with every
apparent blefling. You would therefore na
turally expeft, according to the prefent fyf-
tem of manners, to find him amidft the gay
fcencs of pleafure and diffipation, furrounded
with companions of the midnight revel or
devouring dice. But the wife fon of Abra
ham had better learned the value of life and
the bleffings he enjoyed. He knew, that
they were too precious to be fquandered away
in thoughtlefs folly or fmful enjoyment. He
-Was unwilling to buy repentance at fo great

SERMONI. 3
a price. Nature and innocence had to him
fuperior charms. He therefore went out into
the fields to meditate at the even-tide.
And there would he find fufRcient fcope
for his meditation. The great volume of
nature was before him, with all its beauties
and wonders. The fun, declining in blaz
ing majefty, and hading to enlighten other
worlds ; the flowers of the field, arrayed
in all their various glories ; the gradual
approach of ftill evening and folemn dark-
nefs ; the pale moon and flarry hoft of hea
ven, in the lerenity of an eaftern climate,
would all have their feveral charms for a con
templative mind ; would all teach him to
look up from nature to that great God of na
ture, by whom they were formed in " num-
" ber, weight and meafiire,"
He had alfo other fubjefts for his folltary
meditation. The recent death of an affec
tionate mother, and the approaching dilfo-
lution of a venerable father, would naturally
call forth, in a dilpofition like his, every
tender and affefting thought ; would remind
him of the fhortnefs of human life, and of
the neceffity of fummoning every faculty to
the

Ai

i SERMONI.
the difcharge of his duty, whilft youth and
vigour yet enabled him to perform it. The
profpedl of his approaching marriage alfo,
however pleafing it might be, would fome
what contribute to the ferioufnefs of his dif-
pofition, when rightly Weighed. " I am
*' now entering," would he fay, " upon all
*' the cares and concerns of life. Thofe kind
*' parents, by whofe friendly hand I have
hitherto been foftered, by whofe wife pre
cepts I have been formed and guided, like
yonder declining fun, have now run their
race of glory, and are gone to enjoy the
rewards of their piety in a better world.
I am now to follow their fteps. I am now
to ad as becomes the fon of Abrahara, the
friend of God, the Father of the faithful.
But what an arduous talk is this, and how
unequal do I find myfelf to the accom-
pliftiment of it ! I am now going likewife
to enter upon that ftate, which, though
it increafes the happinels of life, yet alfo
multiplies its cares. I am- to fiapport the
awful charafters of a mafter, hufband,
father. I am to anfwer for my own con-
dudt; and I am alfo to watch over the
condud of others, in all thefe untried fcenes
" and

it it

SERMONI. 5
<' and relations of life. It will become me,
" therefore, well to weigh and examine the
*' duties I am going to undertake : it will
*' become me to guard and fortify my foul
*' by ferious meditation, to which this fo-
" lemn ftillnels of approaching night invites
" me."
Such might probably be the fubjeds of
Ifaac's meditation. And would to God we
could all of us be perfuaded to imitate his
wife and inftrudive example ! But the mis
fortune is, we are generally either triflers,
and do not confider at all, or we are fo much
engaged in other matters, that we have not
time to confider what ought to be the prin
cipal objed of our concern : many live as it
were extempore, and without any thought
beyond the news of the day, the flutter of
drefs and diverfions, or the fubjed of a play
or a novel ; the reft are the unwearied flaves
of bufinefs, pride, or ambition. And from
thefe caufes arifes the greateft part of that
multifarious wickednefs, which fo much pre--
dominates in the world : for it is impoffibie
that any man fhould be deliberately wicked
from day to day, and year to year, who would
B 3 allow

6 SERMON 1
allow himfelf time to confider ferioufly, that
there is a God above and a life to come, that
there is a heaven and a hell.
It cannot therefore but be of the greateft
importance to every rnan to imitate the ex
ample of Ifaac ; to ftand ftill and confider
what he is, and what he fliould be ; to pry
into the fecret fprings and motives of his ac
tions ; to examine the fecret tendencies and
inclinations of his heart ; to fortify his foul
by ferious meditation ; before " the night
" cometh when no man can work."
And indeed, what is there that {Jo well de^
ferves our regard and attention, as the faculty
of confideration ? It is this, by which man
is difcriminated fron^ the brute of the field,
It is this, by which he can look up to the
nobleft of all objeds, the God that made him.
It is this, by which we can pervade the bound-.
lefs regions of fpace, or look forward intq
the regions of eternity, It is this alfo, by
which we can look into our own breafts and
adions, The man, therefore, who does not
fonfider, knows not the value of this diftin-.
fuiffiing

S E R M O N L 7
guiffiing faculty ; knows not the higheft pri
vilege and dignity of his own nature.
And again, if we confider the various ufes
atid advantages of meditation, what is there
fo valuable and important to man ?
It ^^'as the juft obfervation of a great man,
when he retired from his military employ
ments, that there ought always to be fome
time for recoUedion, between the life of a
general and his death. And the fame obfer
vation will hold true with regard to every
other employment. We all know that a life
of buftlg and conftant engagements in the
world is a life of danger, Tofled as it were
on the ocean, and driven about by the con-
fliding elements, we live in a ftate of agita
tion and confufion : we are delivered over
from toil to toil, or from diffipation to diffi
pation, without power to ftand ftill, to ex
amine and confider. Now, this danger is di-
miniffied by frequent meditation. It fets the
world and its views at a diftance from us. It
gives us time to refied where we are, and
what we are. The ftill eventide of refledion
drives out of our minds the cares and concerns
B 4 of

8 SERMONI.
of the day : the calm folitude of the field
chafes away from our thoughts the tumults
and projeds of the crowded haunts of men.
Our paffior^s too have then time to cool, and
to view things in their proper colours. The
rage of ambition will fubfide, when refledion
fhews us the cmptinefs of earthly honours,
The fire of luft will burn with lefs violence,
when reafon has time to tell us, that remorfe
^nd ftiame are its infeparable companions,
The ftings of animofity and revenge will ope
rate lefs forcibly, when we will give ourfelves
leave to remember, that friends and foes will
foon lie down together in the duft. The ar
rows of afflidion will give us lefs pain, when
meditation informs us that they are but for a
pioment, and cannot follow us to that better
pountry, where all ^ears; are wiped away fron^
all faces.
It is another advantage of meditation, that
it teaches us that beft of all knowledge, whicl^
therefore the antients fuppofed came downs
frorn heaven, I mean the knowledge of our
felves. In the language of the Pfalmift, tq
f commune with our own heart," to pry intc^
4t5 fecret %ings and motives of adion, to
fxamine

SERMONI. 9
examine its favourite tendencies and propen*
fities, may be no pleafing talk, but certainly
is a very neceflary and profitable one. It will
teach us, where the firft alTault of temptation
is likely to be made, and therefore, where wc
ought moft to be on our guard. It will IheW
us the variety of our own imperfedions, and
therefore teach us to be humble and forgiving
to others. It will point out to us the uncer
tainty of every earthly advantage, and there
fore will incline us to extend that charity to
the diftreffed, of which we ourfelves may one
day ftand in need. And laftly, it will teach
us the juft value of our life itfelf, which alone
carries with it more inftrudive leffons of mo
rality than all the eloquence of antient fages
^nd learned philofophers.
But the greateft advantage of meditation
\s, that it will bring us acquainted with God.
*' Acquaint now thyfelf with him, and be at
^' peace," is the language of holy writ ; and
certain if is, that till we are acquainted witli
him, there can be no true peace. It is there
fore an ineftimable advantage of meditation,
|hat it is the means of bringing about this
acquaintance. — It gives us the opportunity of
confidering

10 S E R M O N L
confidering his glorious being and perfcdions ;
which will imprint an awful reverence of his
majefty on our minds. — It acquaints us with
his all-feeing care and univerfaf prefence ;
which will confirm our reliance on his pro
vidence. — It teaches us, that he is the Father
of the friendlefs and diftreffed ; uhich will
embolden us to approach his throne, pour
out our griefs before him, and make known
our wants. — It informs us, that nothing hap
pens in heaven or in earth without his direc
tion or permiffion ; and therefore will inftrud
us to look up with comfort to him, on all oc-
cafions ; as knowing that both we and our's
are fafe under the, ffiadow of his wings, fo
long as we endeavour to deferve his favour
and protedion. And can there be a greater
confolation than this, to a frail and helplefs
being like man ; — to know that he is always
under the care of an Almighty Governor, who
fees all his wants, and whofe perfedions are
hourly employed for his welfare and fupport .?
Surely, therefore, it is every man's intereft,
as well as his duty, to make himfelf ac
quainted with this glorious being, and to me
ditate day and night on all his wohderous
works ; that when all the vain friendffiips of
th«

S E R M O N L u
the world ffiall fail, and the world itfelf be
diffolved, he may have an " anchor of the
*' foul, fure and ftedfaft."
Thefe are fome of the advantages of me
ditation. Many others, I dare fay, your own
underftanding, and, I hope, your own expe
rience, will fuggeft to you. Give me leave
however to mention two or three cautions,
which may be of ufe to thofe, who wiffi to
reap thefe or any other advantages from reli*
gious meditation,
The firft is, that this meditation muft not
be fuperficial or irregular. Many are apt to
fancy that they pradife this duty, if they now
and then make a few refledions, at fome hour
of ferioufnefs or mortification, when they are
out of humour with the world, or incapable
of reliffiing its pleafures, I would not wil
lingly difcourage even the fmalleft dawnings
of piety, But, I am afraid, thefe irregular
and temporary ftarts of meditation are of lit
tle ufe. They are only -what the Apoftle calls
*' looking in a glafs, and ftraitway forgetting
" what manner of men we are." But the
|ruth is, it is th? duty of a Chriftian to meditate an4

12 S E R M O N L
and confider at all times : every night ffiould
account to God and his confcience for the
follies of the day ; fince none of us can tell,
whether we may live to do it to-morrow.
Secondly, this confideration or meditation
muft be univerfal : it muft extend to all our
fins and follies, to all parts of our duty to God
and man, and to all the branches of our holy
Religion. It is the fault, I fear, of too many,
to fatisfy themfelves with repenting of fome
fins, though they ftill retain one favourite
vice or darling luft,. Others again endeavour
to improve the fervour of their faith and de
votion by frequently meditating on what
Chrift has done for them, but do not care to
remember what they are to do for themfelves.
And I think I may, without any violation of
Chriftian candour, fay, that this Ipecies of
delufion has been too much encouraged by
thofe ignorant teachers, who, by laying an
undue ftrefs upon the efficacy of faith, have
led many of their followers to ffippofe that
Chrift has done fo much for them, that they
need do nothing for themfelves. But the
true religion of Chrift will teach us, to ex
tend our thoughts and pr^dice to all thofe great

SERMON L 13
great moral duties, which neceffarily Ipring
out of a true faith ; and whilft we gratefully
acknowledge and meditate upon the. great
things which Chrift has done for us, to re
member that there are alfo great things, which
we are to do for ourfelves.
Thirdly, as our meditations, on the one
hand, ought not to be cold and languid, lb
they ought to be carefully guarded againft vi-
fionary flights and enthufiaftic fervours on the
other. Meditation, when it is the child of
genuine devotion, and under the guidance of
a fober mind, is one of the nobleft employ
ments of human nature. But if it be fuffered
to run out into all the extravagancies of a
heated imagination, if it blow men up with
an idea of their own fingular importance, if
it fill their minds with ungrounded notions
of fecret illapfes and particular illuminations
of the divine Spirit, if it Jead them to delpife
human ordinances as unprofitable or unne-
ceffary, if it tend to withdraw men froni the
world, or from a difcharge of the proper du
ties of life,-^it then becomes dangerous and
.ridiculous, and rather deferves our contempt
than our admiration* For

14 g E R M O N t.
For examples of this miftaken piety, 'and
of its bad confequences, I am lorry to fay,
we need not look far. We all of us know
to what lengths the church of Rome has car
ried the notion of a fpiritual retreat from the
world, fo as to fill every part of the papal do
minions with lazy or vicious afcetics, to the
great hurt of fociety and fcandal of religion.
And our own times will furniffi us with a
melancholy inftance of the power of a mif-
guided devotion, in thofe numerous fedaries
around us, who, whilft they fancy themfelves
aduated by a fuperior zeal for God, and a
higher degree of fpiritual illumination, fee
not that they are ading in open defiance of
the laws of their country, are incurring the
heavy guilt of unneceffarily dividing the unity
of the church, are breaking down the fences
of ecclefiaftical order and authority, arc in
vading the property and province of the law
ful paftors of^ the church, are fetting them
felves up as guides and teachers, amid their
temerarious followers, without authority,
without ability, and without caufe.
But let not their abufe of this duty difcou-
ragp us from endeavouring to reap the advan
tages of it, which are fo great and many.

SERMON! 15
Wouldft thou then enjoy real and lafting
happinefs, feek it not in crowds and tumults,
amidft the giddy train of lawlefs riot or
thoughtlefs diflipation : — genuine happinefs
ever loves folitude, refledion and retirement,
and therefore dwells not there. It is only to
be found with Ifaac in the fi.ilds at eventide,
in the ftill hour of meditation, when the paf-;
fions are calin and undifturbed, when the
cares and competitions of the world are ba-
niffi.ed, when the clamour of intereft is
filenced, and the ftill fmall voice of reafon
can be heard. Thither then dired thy fteps
in perffiit of fo ineftimable a treafiare. Set
the world from before thee, with all its cares
and pleafures, Confider what thou art, and
what thou oughteft to be. W^eigh well thy
paft adions, and mark with a cautious eye
thy various failures and deviations from the
great line of God's law, and from thence
learn caxition and humility. Look forward
alfo into the various fnares and temptations
which furround thee, left innocence ffiould
fall a prey to furprize and incogitancy. Art
thou in danger of falling into any fin, ftop a
moment, and alk thyfelf this queftion : What
^m I going" to do? Life is ffiort, and death is
certain :

16 S E R M O N L
certain : Will then the momentary enjoy*
ment I promife myfelf from the commiffion
of this fin compenfate for the lofs of inno
cence and reputation, the favour of God, and
the hopes of eternal happinefs ? Where is the
luft, where is the pleafure that can ftand fuch
a queftion as this ? — But, if this be not a fuf-
flcient fence againft the power of temptation,
anticipate in thought that awful moment,
when death ffiall put a period to all thy hopes
and joys. Sober and impartial reafon will di
red thee to think thus with thyfelf. — I had
once a father, who has now paid the laft debt
of nature. I myfelf am made of the fame
frail materials, and therefore, like him, muft
foon lie down upon the bed of mortality.
And when that awful moment ffiall approach,
when the ftores of medicine are unable to re
lieve my afflided body, when my weeping
friends have taken their final adieu, and the
awful profped of eternity is before me t what
will then be my opinion of all the pleaffircs
and temptations, which now fo ftrongly al
lure and captivate my foul ? Will Wealth or
title fpeak comfort to my foul ? Will guilty
pleafures fupport my finking fpirits .^ Will
the fong of riot accord with dying groans ?
Why

S E R M O N L 17
Why then ffiould I now embitter my. dying
moments by doing that, which, for one ffiort
moment of pleafure, will entail upon me an
eternity of pain ? .
Every man is fenfible of the force of thefe
queftions, when he is awaked to reafon by
the preffure of calamity, or is alarmed by the
fear of death. He muft be infenfible to the
beft impreflions of nature, who has not felt
the force of them, at fome period of his life.
But the grand misfortune is, that men will
not fuffer juft and ferious thoughts to enter
frequently, or at leaft to continue long in
their minds. They fly to diffipation and riot,
to the worft of company and the greateft of
mifery, to avoid that fober refledion, which
would enfure to them peace and happinefs.
For ffirely, if happinefs is to be had on this
fide the grave, he bids the faireft for it, who,
by meditation, prepares himfelf for all events.
He has weighed the ftorms and dangers of life,
and therefore fears them not. He has feen
the fallacious funffiine and frailes of fortune,
and therefore is guarded againft their treache
rous allurements. Under oppreffion, re
proach, or mifery, he has confidered what
man can do, and therefore dreads not him
'"' whofe

i8 S E R M O N L
whofe greateft power is, that he can kill the
body. He has anticipated, by meditation,
the various forms and approaches of the great
King of terrors, and therefore ffirinks not at
his uplifted arm. In all things he is inftruded,
both to be full aiwl to be hungry, both to
abound and to fuffer need ; having learned,
in whatfoever ftate he is, therewith to be
content. Keep then in view, by frequent medita
tion, the great bufinefs and end of life. Your
happinefs and your virtue depend upon it.
It will fecure to you peace, amidft the changes
and chances of the prefent world, as far as
per..^e can belong to man. And when death
ffiall fummon you to prepare for another, it
will fave you the hazard of trufting the review
of a whole life to a few hours, at a time when
you are leaft fit for fuch a taflc, or of being
cut off in a moment, without the power of
ability 'to undertake it.
May therefore the Holy Spirit of God fb
dired your ways in the difcharge of this duty^^
that the meditations of your hearts may al
ways be acceptable in the fight of God, who
is your only ftrength and your Redeemer !
SER

SERMON IL

I Thessalonians v, 23,
The very God of peace fanEiify you wholly %
and I pray God- your whole fpirit and foul
and body be preferved blamelefs, unto the
coming of our Lord Jefus Chrif.
IT has been juftly remarked by two writers
of diftinguiffied eminence ', that the elo
quence of St, Paul bears a ftriking refem-
blance to that of Demofthenes, the greateft
of all the antient orators, I think, however,
that though they both agree in fublimity of
fentiment -and energy of expreffion ; — though
they '¦ alike rife from earth to heaven, in all
the refiftlefs majefty of unbounded imagina
tion; — ^yet, where the tender paffions are con-
* Vide Smith's Longinus. Blackw. Sacred Cfaffics,
Vol.^I. pag. 299.
* Vide Blackw. pag. 301. C 2 cernedj

io S E R M O N II.
ceriied, where the heart is to be touched, as
well as the underftanding convinced, the
Chriftian orator has infinitely the advantage
over the Athenian. There is a ftrain of melt
ing affedion, there is a flow of winning and
pathetic earneftnefs, which runs through all
his writings, which it is impoffibie to read
without the moft lively emotions of tender-
nefs and fenfibility. It would be needlefs, it
would be endlefs, to give all the examples of
this. Let any man only read his farewel ad-
drefs to the Ephefian elders, and if it has not
the fame effed upon him, which it had upon
St, Poul's audience, who all wept fore and fell
upon his neck and kiffed him, he muft have
a heart incapable of the finer feelings of na
ture, a ftranger to the amiable ebulHtions of
human fenfibility.
There is fomething no lefs folemn and af-
feding in this prayer of St, Paul for the Thef-
falonians, contained in the text ; expreffive
both of his own love and affedion for them
and alfo of that great earneftnefs and fince-
rity, with which he laboured to promote the
falvation of fouls. And

S E R M O N IL 21
And the devout fervency, with which he
offers it up to heaven, ^^'ill appear in a ftill
more forcible and amiable light, if we con
fider the peculiar circumftances of the Thef-
falonians, to whom he writes.
Theffalonica, or, as it is now called, Sa-
lonica, was at that time the capital of Mace-
don. The greater part of its inhabitants were
not only heathen idolaters, but alfo men of
diffolute and abandoned lives ; the reft were
Jews, exceedingly jealous of the traditions
and fuperftitions of their fathers. It might
naturally therefore be concluded, that both
would be very averfe to a religion, which ftruck
at all the wickednefs of the .one, and all the
ffiperftitious rites and ceremonies of the other.
Accordingly we find ', that St. Paul had not
preached the Gofpel there more than three
weeks, before a tumult was raifed againft him,
and compelled him to fly to Berea, It was 1:^0
wonder therefore he ffiould exprefs the moft
tender concern for the infant colony of Chril^
tians he had left behind him. He knew they
were as ffieep without a ffiepherd, in the midlt
©f ravenous wolves, who would ^lot fail tQ
* Ads, Chap, xvii,
^ " diftr«fa

22 S E R M O N n.
diftrefs them by every art of barbarity and
perfecution ; and therefore they ftood in need
of every advantage, both of celeftial aid and
human confolation, to guard them from apof.
tacy, and to keep them blamelefs to the cora
ing of their great Lord and Mafter, Jefus
Chrift. He therefore lifts up his hands and
voice to heaven in their favour, with all the
fervency of a parent, anxious for the welfare
of a beloved child, expofed to the "attacks of
an enraged and unrelenting eneray : *' the
*' very God of peace fandify you wholly;
*' and I pray God your whole fpirit, and foul.
*^ and body be preferved blamelefs, unto the
*' coming of our Lord Jefijs Chrift,"
But it is not in this light only, that thef^
words deferve oUr attention and admiration :
they contain alfo a defcription of every Chrif-
tian's moral duty, highly deferving our moft
ferious confideration. For though we may
not be able to reach the ftandard of perfedion
laid down by St, Paul, yet it will become us
never to lofe fight of it, but rather, on all
occafions, to remember, that it is our duty
to endeavour at leaft, *' that our whole IpU
" rit

S E R M O N IL 23
" rit and foul and body may be preferved
" blamelefs to the coming of Chrifi."
When St, Paul here fpeaks of fpirit and
foul and body, it feems pretty clear, that he
fpeaks the language of the antient philofo
phers, who diftinguiffied between fpirit and
foul, and therefore reprcfented man as a three
fold compofition. By fpirit they underftood
that principle of knowledge and reafon, that
noble intelle£tual faculty, which diftinguiffieth
man from brutes, by which we are capable
of refleding, judging, reafoning and deter-!-
mining ; that celeftial emanation of divinity,
which makes us bear the image of God, who
is a fpirit. By foul they underftood that ani
mal principle of hfe and motion, which is
in fome fort common to man with brutes,
and which is tl^e fountain of all our fenffiaj
appetites and inclinations,
However, without entering into the pro
priety of this diftidion*, it is fufficiently
clear, that St. Paul means by thefe words,
the whole and entire man, with all his fa^
gyil%ks and operations, The firft rule th^rq-.
! Vide Le Clerc, Whitby &c,
Q 4 ' fof?

24 S E R M O N II.
fore deducible from them is, that a Chrif-
tian's integrity muft be univerfal, muft ex
tend to every faculty of his foul and body, all
of which muft be preferved blamelefs, as far
as human infirmity will permit.
It will not therefore be fufficient for us to
change one part only, to have fome good
thoughts, to refift fome paffions, to abftain
from fome fins, or to perform fome good
adions. No : the whole life of a Chriftian,
the whole entire man, with all his facul
ties, thoughts, inclinations and judgments,
his whole fpirit, foul and body, muft be de
voted to the fervice of God and man, or elfe
he cannot be preferved blamelefs.
The fecond part of this prayef of St. Paul
for the Theffalonians is, that they may be
preferved blamelefs before God,
A prayer truly important and intereft ino- !
Fqr we may appear blamelefs before men^;
we may do our alms before men ; we may
feem unto men to faft ; the uplifted eye
or l)ended knee may have the femblance
of devotion ; in ffiort, we may appear out
wardly

S E R M O N IL 25
wardly to be fair and virtuous, and yet with
in, like whited fepulchres, be full of rotten-
nefs and all uncleannefs. But we ffiould re
member, that God feeth not as man feeth.
The eye of mortality difcerns not beyond the
furface of things ; but the eye of Omnipo
tence pierceth the very reins and heart. If
therefore we \^''ould reach St, Paul's idea of
Chriftian perfedion, we muft lay afide the
mafk of hvpocrify, we muft ftrip off every
difguife, and walk before God in fincerity and
truth, without which we cannot be blame
lefs before him.
Thirdly, our holinefs muft be attended
with conftancy and perfeverance. This is St.
Paul's meaning, when he prays " that the
*' Theffalonians may be preferved blamelefs
*' before God, unto the coming of our Lord
" Jeffis Chrift," For it is not enough to
ftart in the Chriftian race, unlefs we alfo per-
fevere in it to the end. We may remember,
that our Saviour's language is, " bleffed is
" that fervant, whom his lord, when he
" cometh, ffiall find fo doing." And affur-
edly thofe, and thofe only, will be bleffed,
whofe days are crowned with a firm and un-
ffiaken

>6 S E R M O N IL
iliaken piety, and whofe virtue ends not btrt
li^th their lives. A confideration highly de-
fe:rving the attention of thofe, who have been
trained in their eariy years in the ways of vir-
tioe and piety, but, in a more advanced age,
fall into divers lufts and temptations, which
draw them from their duty, and will„ in the
end, drown them in eternal perdition : for
as the prophet faid of old, even fo it is alfo
BOW : " when the righteous naan turneth
*' away firom his righteoufiiefs, and com:-
*'• mitteth iniquity, and doth according to all
*' the abominations that the wicked man
** doth, ffiall he live ? No : all his righte-
•* oufnefs that he hath done ffiaU not 1^ men-
** tioned ; in his trefpafs that he hath tref-
*' paffed, and in his fin that he hath finned,
** in them ffiall he die." Sach then is St,
FauFs idea of Chriftian perfedion ; it muft
extend to the whole fpirit, foul, and body ;
it muft be blamelefs in the fight of God ; and
laftly, it muft continue to the laft moment
of our lives, *' to the coming of ovir Lord
*' Jefus Chrift."
If fiich then be the iraportance of Chrif-
taaa holinefs, we ffiall naturally be led to in-?

SERMON IL 27
^quire, how it is to be obtained ? The farae
Apoftle will tell us. For when he prays,
that God would wholly fandify the Thefla-
lonians, he plainly points hira out to us, as
the author of that fandification, which wc
are cornmanded to feek for by eaiTieft prayer.
And various are the means, which God
makes ufe of for this purpofe. For, ftridly
freaking, every ad of his providence, whe
ther tending to promote our happinefs or in-
creafe our mifery, is an inftrument in his
hands to bring us to holinefs. The principal,
however, and more immediate inftruments
for this purpofe, are his word and the Holy

By his word, he enlightens our minds,
lays before us the raoft prevailing arguraents,
gives us the moft falutary inftrudions, points
out the moft engaging examples, to lead and
allure us to the pradice of holinefs : thq word
is therefore juftly, on this account, called in
jferipture, .the power of Qod unto falvation,
^nd an incorruptible feed. But

28 S E R M O N II.
But we are not to fuppofe, that God has
done, all he defigns to do for us, when he
caufes the word of God to be preached among
us, and the feed of the Gofpel to be fown in
our hearts. The fcriptures farther teach us,
that he not only ads outwardly upon us, by
the preaching of the word, but alfo inwardly
in our hearts, by the power of his Spirit, This
is what St. Luke means, when he tells usr,
*' that the Lord opened the heart of Lydia,
" fo that ffie attended unto the things which
*' were fpoken by Paul," This is alfo what
the writer to the Hebrews means, when, in
his prayer for them, he fays, "¦ the God of
" peace make you perfed m every good work
*' to do his will, working in you that which
" is well-pleafing in his fight." And St, Paul
iays, in the text, to the fame purpofe, " the
** very God of peace fandify you wholly.*'
All which expreffions clearly fuppofe, that
all is not done when the word is preached,
, but that ftill it remains for God, by his Holy
Spirit, to give life to the feed fown, and
make it bring forth fruit, fome fixty fold, and
ibme an hundred fold. There

S E R M O N IL 2f
There are indeed fome men, who, from the
ridiculous notions which fanatics and enthufiafts
have too often given of the operations of the
Holy Spirit of God, have been unhappily led
to deny altogether its influence on the human
mind. But fiirely that Almighty Being, who
holds the hearts of all men in his hands, can
ad as powerfully upon our minds, to raife in
us holy thoughts and pious refolutions, as he
does upon our bodies, to produce thofe va
rious perceptions arid feniations, which wc
daily experience. He who can ftop the per
turbed waves of the fea, and fay to the ftorm,
•' peace, be ftill," can alfo fix a wandering
mind, and govern an unruly imagination : he
can prevent the effeds of prejudice and paf-
fion, he can difarm our malice, awaken our
flumbering confcience, bend our ftubborn
will, melt our fteeled hearts, fill us with
compundion and remorfe, and draw us to
himfelf by the tender cords of love and duty.
And indeed this has not only been the con
ftant dodrine both of the Jewiffi and Chriftian
church, founded on the clear teftimony of fcrip
ture, but alfo, every man, who rightly weighs
thefrailtyand corruption of hisownnaLure,who recol-

3© S E R M O N IL
recolleds the frequent and pathetic lamenta
tions of Socrates and others of the beft hea
thens, who felt the feeblenefs and infuffi-
ciency of the guidance of unaffifted reafon,
will want no other argument to convince him
cf the neceffity of fome farther aid, to carry
him through the compafs of his duty ; and
therefore will thankfully accept that which is
offered, though he knows neither the modes
nor meaffires of its operations. He will blels
the hand that fupports his weaknej^, though
he fees it not ; he will adore the God that
preferves him, though, like Job, he cannot
find him but in his effeds : " Behold, I go
" forward, but he is not there ; and back-
*' ward, but I cannot perceive him ; on the
" left hand, where he doth work, but I can-
*' not behold him ; he hideth himfelf on the
*' right hand, that I cannot fee him :" and
*' yet the pillars of heaven tremble, and are
*' aftoniffied at his reproof,"
And indeed this divine affiftance is not only
neceffary, in the beginning of life, to lead
us to God, but alfo to guide and condud us
to the end of our fpiritual warfare. For look.
round you in the world, and recoiled the
6 many

S E R M O N IL 31
many fatal examples of men, who once did
run well, who have appeared with honour
and reputation for a time, but, for want of
divine grace to ftrengthen them, have fallea
into the moft deftrudive fins.
There, for example, lies a haplefs youth,
whofe morning of life promifed a long con
tinuance of bleffings, to reward the watchful
care of an affedionate parent : but, too fooa
deferted by the grace of God, he gave way
to deftrudive paffions, and fell a facrifice to
thofe falfe notions of honour, which too oftca
bring down the gray head with ferro w to th©
grave. See another, once -happy in every circum-
ftance of life! An affedionate wife ffiared
with him the joys of innocence and virtue,
and a group of innocents looked up to him
for guidance and fupport : but in an unhappy
hour, giving way to the fatal phrenzy of
gaming, he involved himfelf and his family
in diftrefs and ffiame, and to ffiun the cen-
fure of the world, and the ftings of his owa
confcience, he terminated his hfe by fuicide.
Whilft he lived, he nouriffied in his brealt the

32 S E R M O N IL
the worm that never dieth, and too foon, it
is to be feared, he plunged headlong into tha
fire that cannot be quenched.
See a third, whofe earlier days integrity and
induftry had crowned with fhccefs and re-
fped ! The way was open for him to that
higher degree of opulence and efteem, which
feldom fails to reward perfeverance and pro
bity. But alas ! a diipofition to convivial
merriment foon produced in him a fatal at-
tachrnent to drvinkennefs : in proportion as
this increafed, the fprings of induftry were
flackened, his credit and fuccefs declined in
the world, and he now exifts, I will not fay
lives, like an oak blafted by the lightning
from heaven, a monument of divine ven-
geance, and a warning to others of the dan
ger of quenching the fpirit of God,
Who can withhold the tribute of forrow,
when he calls to mind another well known ex
ample of the fatal derelidion of divine grace,
in a perfon once of diftinguiffied eminence in
the facred order, A man, on whom heaven
had beftowed all her united accompliffiments :
a perfon to command affedion and refped :
the

S E R M O N li. 33
the voice of eloquence to enforce and adorn
the precepts of divine wifdora : yet, capti
vated by the falfe glitter of idle ffiew and un
profitable parade, regardlefs of thofe divine
precepts he once fb well taught, after having
paffed the meridian of life, when prudence
generally ftands as a cautious guard over the
paffions, he was tempted to commit a crime
never to be forgiven in a commercial coun
try, and therefore fell a facrifice to the vin-
didion bf the law, as a fad warning to pofte-
rity, that no talents, however captivating and
refplendent, can ward off ruin and infamy,
without the affiftance of divine grace.
" Wherefore let him that thinketh he ftand-
" eth, take heed left he fall."
You fee then, how neceffary a continuance
of divine grace is, and therefore, how wifely
St, Paul prayed, that the God of peace would
preferve the Theffalonians blamelefs to the
end, or, as he expreffes himfelf in another
place, " that he, which had begun a good
" work in them, would perform it until the
" day of Jefus Chrift."
Since God thei> is the giver of every good
gift, let us all, like St. Paul, daily offer up
Vot.. I. D our

34 S E R M O N IL
our humble and earneft prayers to him, that
he would put into Our minds good defires,
that he would proted us from all error, and
would lead us into all truth ; and that he will
give us ffich a meafure of holinefs, as may
entitle us, through the merits of his Son, to
his favour and protedion.
There are, indeed, other means of improv
ing in holinefs, which we may ufe with ad
vantage : but, without this of prayer, all
others will be vain and fruitlefs. We may
profit, by reading the word of God, or by the
¦perufal of books of piety, with which our lan
guage abounds in a more eminent degree,
perhaps, than any other. We may profit
too, by hearing the inftrudions of the minif-
ters of the GofpeL But we ffiould ever re
member, that the fublimeft books of devo
tion, nay even the book of God himfelf, can
be no further ufeful, than as they lead us to
the pradice of devotion and piety. We
" ffiould remember too, that theminiftersof God,
*' though they could fpeak with the tongue
*' of men and angels," unlefs they lead us to
devotion, are no better tous, than founding
brals or a tinkling cymbal. But

SERMON IL 35
But no man ever pradifed the duty of con
ftant and fervent prayer, without finding the
advantage of it, in every part and ftage of
life. It is our ffiield in the hour of tempta
tion, it is our comfort in the hour of diftrefs,
it is our joy in profperity, it is our fupport
againft defpair ; and when all our earthly
hopes and fears begin to vaniffi, when we lie
down on that bed of ficknefs and mortality
from which we ffiall never rife, it will be
our beft fupport againft the horrors of diffo-
lution and the agonies of death.

*o^

Let us then daily, both in public and pri
vate, fall down on-our knees before the foot-
ftool of God, And may God fo gracioufly
accept the imperfed prayers we offer to him,
that when we ffiall ftand together in judg
ment at his throne, they may plead for us,
and that our " whole fpirit and foul and body
" may be prefented blamelefs," at that great
and awful hour !

D 2 SER-

SERMON III.

Genesis xxii. i, 2.
And it came to pafs after thefe things^ that
God did tempt Abraham, and faid unto him,,
Abraham. And he faid. Behold, here I am.
And he faid, t'ake now thy fon, thine only
fon Ifaac, whom thou lovefi, and get thee
into the land of Moriah, and offer him there
for a burnt-offering, upon one of the mouti"
tains, which I will tell thee of.
THE pages orprophane hiftory record
many inftances of heroic fortitude and
refolution, which juftly challenge our pro-
foundeft adrairation and efteem. When, for
example, we fee a Brutus or a Manlius Tor-
quatus, rifing up from the feat of judgment,
to pronounce the fentence of death upon their
own children, and with firm and unaltered
looks, beholding their bodies mangled by the
D 3 bloody

38 SERMON IlL
bloody axe of the executioner, — we cannot
forbear admiring the determined feverity of
that virtue, which could prefer the didates
of duty to the feelings of natural affedion,
and which thus enabled fhe uprightnefs of the
judge to triumph over the tendernefs of the
parent. But, allowing to thefe examples their
due ffiare of merit and commendation, there
is ftill fomething much more afieding, much
more deferving of admiration, in the con
dud qf Abraham, now before us. It re
quired, indeed, no fmall degree of fortitude in
the Roman fathers, to ftifle the ftrong plead
ings of nature in favour of their offending
fons : but, at the fame time, it muft be re
membered, that thofe fathers had been edu
cated with the raoft ardent and enthufiaftic
notions of the love of their country, and
therefore were ready to facrifice every thing
to it ; and that their fons had been guilty of
high mifderaeanors, which juftice, which
the fafety of their country, and the fupport
of military difcipline, loudly required to be
puniffied with exeraplary feverity.
But, in the hiftory before us, the circum
ftances are widely different. TheJcbild-^to bc

SERMON IIL 39
be facrificed was an only fon, was the fon of
his father's old age, and, what was above all,
was a dutiful and unoffending child, who had
never tranfgreffed his father's command, at
any time. The father too, was not only to
be prefent at the execution, but himfelf was
to be the executiqner, — was himfelf to plunge
the bloody knife into the heart of the young
and unoffending vidim. Nor was the fen
tence to be executed in a ffiort moment,
whilft the command of God ftill founded in
his ears ; — but three whole days intervened,
before he reached the place deftined for the
bloody feene, A long and melancholy interval
of ffifpence indeed ! which muft have planted
a thoufand daggers in the heart of any parent
but that of Abraham ! But fee the wonderful
power of religion, where a juft fenfe of the
divine Majefty is firmly rooted ! He haftes,
without a- murmur, to the land of Moriah, —
he binds the youthful vidim upon the altar,
without a tear, — he lifts up his knife, with
out repining, to flay that very fon, who was
the promifed feed, in whom all the nations
of the earth ffiould be bleffed ! ,
Before I proceed to the farther confidera
tion of this pathetic ftory, 1 think it neceffary
. D 4 to

40 SERMON III.
to remark feme expreflions made ufe of by
the divine hiftorian, in his account of it.
The firft thing obfervable is the word tempt :
Mofes fays, that " God did tempt Abraham,"
By which we are not to underftand, that God
intended to lead him on to commit a wicked
adion : for God can neither be tempted with
evil himfelf, neither tempteth he any man to
evil : but rather, that he placed him in cir
cumftances, where duty and natural affedion
feemed to draw him different ways ; that, by
a ready fubmiffion of his own will to the will
of God, in the moft trying moment of his
life, he might approve the ftedfaftnefs of his
-own faith, and fet an illuftrious example of
obedience, to all fucceeding generations.
When again, the hiftorian introduces God, as
faying, " Now I know that thou feareft
*' God;" we are not to underftand, that
God was ignorant of it before : for he know
eth all things, paft, prefent, and to come,
and underftandeth even our thoughts, long
before : but rather, that he intends, by that
expreffion, to declare his full affurance and
approbation of Abraham's obedience : " I
** approve of thy condud, and fubmiffion to
" rtiy

SERMON IIL 41
?' my didates, of which thou haft now given
" lb fignal a proof." When again, Abra
ham, at the foot of the mountain, tells his
fervants, that '* he and the lad would go and
*' worffiip, and come again to them," we
are not to accufe the venerable Patriarch of
deceiving them by a falfehood, in faying,
that both of them would return together.
For though it was certainly his full refolution
to facrifice the child, in obedience to God*s
command, yet he was no lefs fully perfuaded,
that God would raife him to life again, and
that he would return with him. He knew,
that from him the Meffiah was to defcend ;
he knew, that God would never, by any
fubfequent order^ cohtradid what he had
before fo folemnly promifed : he therefore
could have no doubt that God would, in
fome way or other, reftore that life, which,
by his order, he was then haftening to take
from him ; or, as the Epiftle to the Hebrews
expreffes it ', " accounting that God was able
" to raife him up even frora the dead ; from
*' whence alfo he originally received him in
** a figure;" that is, under circumftances
equally hopelefs, confidering his own advanced
• Heb. xi. 19. age.

4^ SERMON IIL
age, and the deadnefs of Sarah's womb, f
think there can be no doubt, that this fa
crifice of Ifaac was a type of a much greater
facrifice ; that *of the Son of God, who was,
offered up on Mount Calvary, for our redemp-
tiSn ; and nailed to the crofs, a vidim of
obedience to the commands ..of his Father.
It has therefore been admitted as fuch, by
Chriftians of all ages, from a juft confidera
tion of the exad correfpondence, not only in
the effential parts, but even in the minuteft
particulars, between the two perfons. The
births of both were miraculous, and foretold
by a meffenger from heaven ; they were both
only fons : the names of both of them were
appointed by a divine defignation : they were
both of them, by God's comraand, offered
up in facrifice ; the one figuratively, the other
in reality, as a completion of the prefigured
facrifice. Ifaac was figuratively dead for the
Ipace of three days ; that is, frora the tirae
of God's command to flay him, to the tirae
of his being bound on the altar, and Chrift
lay dead three days, in the bowels of the
earth : they were both reftored again to life :
Ifaac carries the wood, on which he was to
be facrificed, and Jefus was compelled to bear the

SERMON III. 43
the crofs, on which he was to die. So that,,
amidft fuch a glaring multiplicity of corre-
fpondent circumftances, it would be the height
of madnefs to deny, that God intended the fa
crifice of Ifaae as a type of the future facri
fice of the Meffiah, who was, to fpring from,
his family. It is not, however, in this view, i
that I mean to recommend this hiftory to
yovir confideration : I ffiall not, therefore,
enter into a detail of many mOfe particulars,
which, if it were neceffary, might be brought
to fupport the correfpondence between the
typical death of the fon of Abraham and the
real death of our great deliverer, the Son of
God. Should any queftion the right of Abraham
to facrifice his fon, as being an ad clearly
contrary to the eftabliffied law of reafon and
nature ; I anfwer, that the command of God
was a fufficient warrant for his doing it. He
knew, that the fame God who gave, had
a right to take away ; and that as he had,
contrary to the ordinary courfe of things,
made him the author of his being, fo alfo he
had a right to make him the inftrument of his
deftrudion ; and that, therefore, it was his
duty

44 SERMON IIL
duty to fiibmit to the divine will, in this hard
trial, though he knew neither the reafons
nor the end of it. Had there, indeed, been
any ground to doubt of its being the com
mand of God, it would have been highly
culpable in Abraham, to prefer a doubtful
order of heaven to the clear law of nature,
imprinted on his breaft by the finger of God,
But Abraham was too well acquainted with
the nature of divine revelations, to have any
doubt in this. His long experience of fuper-
natural operations, and his frequent inter-
courfe with God, added to a calm teraper and
^ell grounded faith, made him little likely
to be impofed upon, by enthufiaftic ardors or
diabolical illufions. It is plain too, that the
Very precife mountain, in the land of Moriah,
was pointed out to him, by fome fupernatural
power, as a clear corroboration of the voice
from heaven, which commanded him to flay
his fon. Having therefore no doubt that he,
who is the lord of life and death, had called
him to be the executioner of his fon, he
knew, that it was his indifpenfable duty to
obey the order, however hard or contrary it
might feem to flcffi and blood. The

SERMON IIL 45
The cafe, therefore, feems fufficiently clear,
with regard to the lawfulnefs of Abraham's
facrificing his child. But what ffiall we fay
to another ad of parricide, recorded in our
bibles, which admits of no ffich juftification,
and therefore muft fill every breaft with hor
ror ; I mean that of Jephthah's offering up
his daughter, for a burnt-offering, in confe-
quence of a raffi vow made by him, in his
war with the children of Ammon ? Is it pof-
fible to conceive that a man, and that not a
wild barbarian, ffiould fo far forget the dic
tates of juftice and humanity, as to offer up
an innocent and virtuous maid ? Is it poffiblp
to conceive, that a parent ffiould be fo deaf
to every feeling of nature, as to devote to the
flames a child, an only child, a dutiful and
unoffending child, the objed of his prefent
joy and future hope ? Is it pofflble to conceive,
that a leader of Ifrael % '* upon whom the
•' Spirit of the Lord was," and who is ' enu
merated among the moft pious heroes of the
Old Teftament, ffiould ad fo diredly con
trary to the will of God, as to offer up his
child in facrifice to him, though he knew
that human vidims were an abomination to
* Judges xi. 29. ' Heb. xi. 32, him?

46 SERMON IIL
him ? Forbid it reafon, forbid it humanity, for
bid it every principle of nature and of piety !
But how then, it wifl be afked, ffisfll we
remove the crime, fo exprefsly iraputed to
him, inTtTie language of our bibles ? I anfwer,
by a very obvious and fimple change in the
tranflation, perfedly agreeable to the ftrideft
laws of criticifm, and ftill more agreeable to
the genuine laws of reafon and humanity.
The vow of Jephthah, according to the pre
fent tranflation, is this : "If thou ffialt with-
*' out fail dehver the children of Ammon
*' into mine hands, then it ffiall be, that
" whatfoever cometh forth of the door of
" my houfe to meet rae, ffiall furely be the
*' Lord's, and I will offer it up for a burnt-
*' offering." Here then is a plain and un
changeable vow of offering up to the Lord,
as a burnt-facrifice, whatever ffiould firft meet
him, from his houfe, at his return ; which
he is accordingly fuppofed to have executed
upon his unfortunate daughter. But if we tranf-
late the fingle particle *, which comes between
the two material parts of his vow, disjunc
tively, inftead of conjundively, as it is pro-
? Fau. perly

SERMON III. 47
perly tranflated in the margin of the Bible,
the whole of this bloody imputation will va
niffi, and a clear and confiftent fenfe will ap
pear in his vow, in thefe words : " If the
" Lord will deliver the children of Ammon
" into my hands, then it ffiall be, that what-
*' foever cometh forth of the doors of my
" houfe to meet me, ffiall furely be the
*' Lord's % or I will offer it up for a burnt-
*' offering;" that is, in other words, if it
be a man or woman that firft meets me, they
ffiall be confecrated to the Lord, and if it be
any other creature, I will offer it up for a
burnt-offering. And the whole of what fol
lows, fo clearly points out a dedication of his
daughter to the fervice of God, * according to
the cuftom of thofe days, rather than the ^-
crifice of her, as to add the greateft ftrength
to this interpretation. For what can we pof-
ftbly underftand by her bewailing her virgi
nity upon the mountains, for two months
before the execution of the vow, and by the
expreffion, after the execution of the vow,
' It is fo tranflated in the margin of the Bible; and alfo
in Gen. ii. 6. Exod. i. lo. Deut. xxvii. 9. Ifa. vii. 6.
&c. • Witnefs the NazareneSj Samuel, &c. *' that

48 SERMON IIL
** that ffie knew no man," but that ffie Ipent
her life in the fervice of God, as one of thofe
virgin-priefteffes, fo frequently mentioned in
antient writers.
Should it be alked. Why then doth Jeph
thah exprefs fo deep a forrow at his daughter's
coming out to meet him I 1 anfwer, that,
even according to tfe>s interpretation of his
vow, he had ftill great and fufficient caufe for
forrow. Every man has naturally a defire to
fee his name continued in a flouriffiing pof-
terity. The Jews, in particular, had this
defire ; both becaufe the want of iffue was a
curfe and reproach amongft them, and alfo,
becaufe every one of them entertained the
vain, but flattering idea, that the promifed
Meffiah ffiould fpring from his feed. When,
therefore, the unhappy father faw himfelf,
by an iriconfiderate vow, cut off from thefe
pleafing hopes ; — ^when he confidered his un
offending child as doomed, by his raffinels,
to hve and die under the reproach of being
childlefs, — we cannot much wonder, that he
ffiould rend his cloaths, and cry out, " Alas !
?* my daughter, thou haft brought me very
*? low," Should it be farther alkcd, Why
6 then

SERMON lit 49
then did the daughters of Ifrael go yearly to
lament the daughter of jepthah, four days in
, a year ; I anfwer for the fame reafons, which
caufed her father's lamentation, that is, her
being doomed to an unalterable ftate of celi
bacy ; which, like him, they might juftly
confider as a curfe and reproach. I muft,
however, remark farther, that the Hebrew
word*, which is here tranflated to lament,
fignifies alfo to talk or difcourfe with ; a fenfe
perfedly agreeable to the interpretation now
given ; as implying, that the companions,
who joined with her in bewailing her virgi
nity upon the mountains, went annually, fo
long as flie lived, to vifit and confole her,
in her ftate of religious dedication to the fer
vice of God.
I am not ignorant, that it has generally
.been imagined, that the ftory of Iphigenia's
facrifice at Aulis, and the raffi vow of Ido-
meneus, made during his voyage from
Troy, — to flay whatever ffiould firft meet
him, at his return home, are both founded
on this hiftory of Jephthah ; and therefore
* Thanah : vide Judges, ch. v. ver. ii. and it is fo
tranflated in the margin of th-e Bible.
Voj.. I. E may

^o SERMON IlL
may feem to countenance the idea of Jeph--
thah's having facrificed his daughter. But
to this I" need only anfwer, — ift, that it is
not clear, that Iphigeiiia was facrificed,
fince many Writers tell us, that ffie was car
ried away from the altar, by Diana, that is,
like Jephtha's daughter, devoted to perpetual
virginity ; — 2dly, that if ffie was facrificed,
it was not by any order of her father, but by
the command of Diana, and the craft of
Ulyffes ; — 3dly, that the vow of Idomeneus
was executed upon a fon, and not upon a
daughter; — and, laftly, that, even if the cir
cumftances of both bore a ftronger refem-
blance than they do, to this facred hiftory,
ftill it would be abfurd to draw any conclu-
fions about it, from the obfcure fables of
pagan and mythologous antiquity.
But it is high time to return from this di-'
greffion, into which I have been led, from
a defire of throwing light upon a part of
fcripture, which, in its prefent form, muft
always appear harffi and unnatural, and highly
derogatory from the charader of Jephthah,
who is exprefsly ranked, in fhe Epiftle to-
the Hebrews, with the moft faithful and dif>
.tinguiffied

S E R M O N IIL SI
tinguiffied fervants of God, recorded in the
Old Teftament".
Having then explained the myftical part
bf the facrifice of Ifaac, as it typically rela
ted to the death of Chrift, I ffiall now pro
ceed td confider the moral . and inftrudive
jpart of it; as applicable to ourfelves. And
I ft. We may learn, from this hiftory, the
true nature of a genuine and approved faith ;
that it m\ift be grounded on fufficient evi
dence, and muft alfo ffiew itfelf by good
Works and obedience. There are too many,
with whom every ftart of imagination, or
fudden heat of paffion, paffes for a divine
impulfe, and drives them on to break through
the fences of reafon and good order, under
pretence of illuminations from above. There
are others who fatisfy themfelves with a for
mal and empty belief of the great truths re
vealed to them from heaven, but take no
care to exemplify them in their lives and
* See, on this fubjeft, De Lyra, Junius, and Tremel-
iius, Oliander, L. Cappellus de Vot. Jephthse, Mar-
fliam's Can. ^gypt. fed. 9. g. 3. Saubertus de Sacrifi
ciis, c. 21. p. 516. Schedius de Diis German. 1. 2.
c. 31.
E 2 condud.

5i SERMON IIL
condud. Both thefe would do well to ftudy
carefully the example of Abraham, now be
fore us, who neither believed without the
ftrongeft evidence, nor, when he had believed,
hefitated a fingle moment, to ffiew his belief
by his obedience ; and therefore was juftified
by his righteoufiiefs, and thought worthy of
being called, " the friend of God,"
2dly, This example of Abraham will fur
niffi us with an experimental proof of the
power pf religion, and will ffiew us the great
duties of our calling, reduced to pradice, by
a man o£ like infirmities with ourfelves.
When, indeed, to ftir us up to the exercife
®f thofe noble virtues, which the Gofpel re
quires of us, the example of our heavenly
father is propofed to us, and we are exhorted
to " be follow^ers of God as dear children,"
the greatnefs of the pattern is apt to ter
rify us,* and to make us cry out, " Who
" is fufficient for thefe things ?" Or again,
¦when we are reminded of the hiftory of
our Redeemer, to encourage us to walk as
he walked, who left us an example, that we
fhould follow his fteps, we are ready to plead
-the infirmities of our frail nature, againft his

SERMON IIL 53
perfed innocence, who was undefiled and
feparate from finners, and to confider him,
not as a man like unto us in all things, but
as the eternal Word, in whom dwells all the
ftillnefs of the Godhead, bodily.
But in Abraham we have a pattern, con-
feffedly within the reach of our imitation ;
a man ; a father ; who marks out to us the
glorious example of a confummate obedience
to the divine laws ; who is fenfible of the
difficulties to which he is called, and the
weaknefs of fleffi and blood, yet conquers
both, by the power of a lively faith and obe
dience. What a cloud of objedions would
fome have raifed againft that voice from
heaven, " Take now thy fon, thine only fon,
?• and offef liim up for a burnt offering ?" —
<^an fuch an order as this be agreeable to the
preceding prorpife of God, " I am thy ffiield,
?' and thy exceeding great reward?" — Is this
then the recompenfe fo often promifed ? Is
the lofs of an only fon then, the effed of the
divine protedion ? Is it poffible, that God
j[hould require a facrifice fo contrary to reafon
and nature ? How many contradidions pre•^
fent themfelves, which feem irreconcileable
1^3 ^«

54 SERMON IIL -
to every received and eftabliffied human prin^
ciple ? God is cood, aud reafon fells us, that
piety ought to be rewarded, by the fupreme
governor of the world ; and Abraham, wq
know, hid not been wanting in his duty or
fubmiffion : Yet this good God, this juft go
vernor, commands a father to lay violent"
hands on his innocent fon, and, by a crue|
piety,, to purchafe the fayour qf heayen, a^
the expence of the ftrongeft tye. of humanity,
parental affedion, — Again, God had fworn
to Abraham, " to mtiltiply his feed as the
" ftars of heaven," in this very fon, and
" to eftabliffi his covenant with him for aiy
" eyerlafting covenant :" Yet he commands
him to be cut off, in the flower of his youth,.
when Abraham could have no profped of a-
future progeny, to be :he ftaff of his old age,
or to inherit the promifes of God, Under
fuch circumftances, how naturally would the
feelings of a parent fuggeft, that there mufl
be fome error in the heavenly voice ; that a
God of juftice and mercy could never pio-
nounce fo feverc a decree, or be pleafed witl^
the blood of a chUd, ftream-ing, through a
parent's hands ? But, amidft all thefe feem-
ing^ difficulties, Abraham was convinced that
; '¦¦" ' - ¦ - - -qq^

SERMON III; S5
God commanded, and therefore he obeyed,
without pretending either to queftion or to
unravel the decrees of him, whom he knew it
was his dyty to reverence, *' though his ways
*' were paft finding out."
He not only obeyed too, but he alfo obeyed
readily, " He rofe up early in the morn-
" ing," he inftantly performed every neceC»
fary office himfelf, to expedite the execution
of the divine order, he faddled his afs, he
clave the wood for a burnt-offering, and
went to the place which God had told him.
With what cheerfulnefs alfo and ferenity
does he obey the divine order ? Not a mur
mur is heard, not a figh is uttered, not a
fear ftarts forth : All is fubmiffion, all is
compofure and refignation. Nay, when
they were near the place of execution, and
the child, with an innocent curiofity, propos
fes to him that cutting quelT:ion, " my father,
*' behold the fire and the wood : but where
*' is the lamb for a burnt-offering?'' with
what an unparalleled fortitude and ferenity
does he aiffwer, " my fon, God will provide
*< himfelf a lainb fqr a burnt-offering?"
S 4 fiow

56 SERMON IIL
Hovw-ifinely then does the example of Abra
ham teach us to adore and fubmit to the-
will of God, though we cannot comprehend
the reafons on which it is founded L— He be
lieved and obeyed, when God fpake, though
the voice feemed contrary to reafon : — And
Purely, then, it can be no hardffiip for us to
believe and obey, when God fpeaks what is
above our reafon, and to fubmit the pride of
human underftanding to the depths of infinite
wifdom. Whenever, therefore, our thoughts
recoil at the fublime myfteries of the Gofpel,
and refufe to believe what they cannot com
prehend, let us remember the humble docility
of the good old Patriarch, and receive the
dodrines of heaven with the meeknefs of
little children.
Again : How nobly does this example
teach us, that even the deareft of our enjoy
ments are cheerfully to be facrificed to the
good pleafure of God, whenever he thinks fit
to recal what he had lent to us, but for a few
moments ! — ;^It is hard, indeed, to weep over
-the grave of a beloved parent, or to follow
the blafted remains of an affedionate huffiand
or wife : — ^it is hard to fee a child, a favorite childj

S E R M O N IIL SI
child, an only child, cut down, in the prime of
life, and withered like an untitnely flower :^—
it is hard, like Job, to be bereaved of a whole
family, a flouriffiing progeny of fons and
daughters, in one day : yet thefe are forrows,
to which we are all of us called, in turns, and
to which we muft be called, fo long as change
and chance prevail in the world. We ffiould,
therefore, prepare our fouls to bear with for
titude, what we cannot avoid. We ffiould
remember, that, even in our fevereft triak
of afflidion, we are not commanded to bind
our beloved fon, to lay him on the altar, and
ftretch forth our hand to give the ftroke of
death. \ ct Abraham cheerfully fubmitted
to fo hard a talk, becaufe i? was the wiU of
his Father in heaven. L-et us, therefore,
learn from him to bear the ftrokes and cor-
redions of God with refignation; and though
we muft be forry as men, yet let us not be
*' forry as men without hope;" fince we
know, that the fame God, who gave, and
hath now taken away, can alfo reftore the
objeds, once of our love^ now of our forrow
and regret. Laftly, let the example of Abra
ham teach us to believe £rmly that moft im
portant article of all our faith and hopes, that

58 SERMON IIL
God is able to raife us up from the dead. That
venerable Patriarch, when called to the fer
vere trial of flaying his child, cheerfully went,
though he knew neither the reafons nor the
event of his journey. But of this, as the
writer to the Hebrews tells us, he was firmly
perfuaded, that God was able, if it ffiould be
neceffary, to raife hirn up, even from the
dead. And the fame perfunfion ffiould be
pur confolation, amidft all the trials we fuf-?
fer. We ffiould remember, that our fpffer-
|ngs are but for a few moments, and that
after our releafe from the miferies of this fin-?
ful world, God is able to raife us up to life
eternal. And ffirely we have much more
feafon to be|ieve this important article, than
^braham could poffibly have. His views
wei'e afar qff, and therefore dirn and obfcure :
but ours are near at hand, and illuminated
with the irrefiftible rays of demonftration,
We have not only the voice of God tq affure
us, that the dead in Chrift ffiall be raifed^
but we have feen the dead themfelves come
|brth. We have feen the Redeemer of thp
world flanding, amidft a family of forro\y,
at the grave of Lazarus : we have heard that
godlike Gomrnand, "Lazarus, cpn^e forth ;'*
we

SERMON III, 59
wq have beheld the aftoniffied prifoner of the
grave ftart into life : and, laftly, we have
feen the fame Redeemer of the world triumph
over death and the ^raye, to affure us, that
if we die with him, we ffiall ^Ifo live with
him. Since then the evidences we have, are fq
much ftronger than thofe qf the devout Pa
triarch, let not our faith and obedience be
weaker than his : — let not the enlightened
Chriftian ftagger, where the lefs-informe^
Jew overcame : — let not the difciple of grace
be inferior to the difciple of promife : — but
rather, let us endeavour to tread in the fteps
of Abraham, the friend of God, by a ftedfaft
faith, by a ready obedience, by a cheerful
refignation of ourfelves and ours to his will ;
that, when this frail and uncertain hfe is
ended, we may be carried by angels into
Abraham's bofom.

S E Hi

SERMON IV.

Luke xix. 41,

And zvheji he tvas come near, he beheld the city^
and wept over it.
AN D well might he weep ! — Well
might his " eyes run down with
" tears, and his eyelids guffi out with wa,-
*' ters," when he refleded on the impend->
ivg miferies of the city he then beheld !
Jerufalem, the glory of nations, the feat
of prophets, the dwelling place of God,—
within a few years, to be utterly deftroyed,
and become " an habitation of dragons !"
Jerufalem, the highly-favoured city, once
the fcene of fo many fingular mercies and
providences, within a few months, to become
the theatre of the bloodieft tragedy the fun
ever

52 S E R k O N IV.
ever faw, — even the ignominious death df
the Son of God himfelf !
Thefe are refledions, which would have
drawn tears from the eyes of an unfeeling
{avage :— what fenfations then muft they have
awaked, in the breaft of the coihpaffionate
and tender Jefusj — himfelf a Jew^ — ^himfelf
•the gracious meffenger of heaven, whofe
<.rnefcies ffie rejeded, — himfelf the lamb, who
Was to be flairt within her walls, — himfelf
that guilflefs vidim, whofe unexpiated blood
¦ was to draw down vengeance and ruih, upon
her temples and palaces !
And how muft his forrow have been erri-
bittered by refleding, that all thefe things
were to come upon it, not through any un
fortunate chance, or natural difafter, whifch
even good men may fometime^ ffiffer, — biit
t through its manifold and cryhig fins, its
whoredom's, its adulteries, its oppreffions, and
other great and flagrant eriormities, which
called down the juft vifitation of heaven !
What an aggravation, again, hiuft it have
been to his grief, to refled, that there was a
6 time,

S E R M O N IV, 6^3
time, when ffie might have known " the
** thiiigs which belonged to her peace ;" —
that there was a time, when the Almighty
Would have " gathered her children to-
*' gether, even as a hen gathereth her chick-
" ens under her wings ;" — that there Was a
time, when he warned her by his prophets,
and invited her to repentance, by his promi
fes ; — but that thefe things were, now, hid
from her eyes ; — that her doom was, now,
unchangeably fixed; — that nothing, now^
remained, " but a certain fearful looking for
" of judgment and fiery indignation/' for
all her fins, and " for all the righteous blood
*' ffied Upon the earth, from the blood of
" righteous Abel, to the blood of Zacharias,-
*' fon of Barachiasj who was flain betweew
*' the temple and the altar !"
Such were, pfobably, the caufes, whicli
made the Son of God weep over jerufalem,
when he beheld it, — And, I dare fay, your
thoughts have anticipated me, in the appli
cation of thefe affeding words, to this great
and flouriffiing kingdom, — It is a thought^
which naturally arifes from confidering the
fate of one once-mighty nation, to refled a
moment.-

«4 S E R M 0 N IV.
moment, what alio may be the fate of ano*
-ther. And would to God there was not too much
room for the parallel ; too much room fof
•every one, that beholds this great and finful
nation, like Jefus alfo, to weep over it ! —
It is an ungrateful tafk, to hold up to view
the crimes and follies of our fellow-creatures
and fellow-fubjeds : — as a private individual,
I abhor the tafk : — but ungrateful as it is, it
muft be done : where the danger is great,
filence is guilt : — ;important, though unwel
come, truths, are not to be diffembled :—
ill would it become the prophets of the Lord,
to cry Peace, Peace, where there is no
peace. — It was the curfe of the Jews, to bc
lulled in a fatal fecurity : but fet it not bc
ours, who have their fate before us, for au
example. If, therefore, I lay open to your confide
ration, without difguife, a portrait of guilt,
.which will ftartle the feelings of humanity,
the intention muft juftify the fad: — For,
where difeafes are dangerous and inveterate, feverer

S E R M O N IV. Cs
feVjCrer remedies become neceffary and com
mendable. I will begin With what ought ever to be
firft in our thoughts, the fervice and reve
rence we owe to the God that made Us.
And in this, I am ffiocked to fay, that we
are many degrees worfe, than the Jews
themfelves. They had, indeed, loft the fpi
rit and genius of their religion ; — they were
blind and perverfe ; — they wafted their time
in ffiperftitious purifications and ridiculous
ceremonies, unworthy of the exalted majefty
of God. But then, the light they enjoyed
was originally fmall, in comparifon of ours ;
and even that little had been gradually ob-
feured by a long fucceffion of ages, in which
they had been left to their own guidance :
and yet, after all, though they had loft the
vital power, they, at leaft, retained the form
of godlinefs : they fometimes thought errone-
oufly, but they always both thought and
fpoke with reverence, of God and religion.
But have not we, who enjoy the glorious
light of the gofpel, the farae, or even greater
crimes to anfwer for, and with much greater
Vol. I. F degrees

66 SERMON IV.
deg-fees of assravation ? The beams of life
and immortality, have, indeed, ffione upon
our hearts ; but can it be denied, that they
have alfo ffione in vain ? Do not Atheifm
and Infidelity ftalk, with unbluffiing impu
dence, through the land, meet us in every
place qf refort, and inffilt our underftandings,
in e^ery publication ? Does not a general
contempt of religion run through the higher
and lower ranks of men, and an avowed;
negled of it through all ?
We are, indeed, the pvireft part of the
pureft religion, in our dodrines and difci
pline : we have been emancipated, by the
blood of martyrs, from the galling yoke of
papal tyranny, and papal fuperftition : but
what will this avail us, if our lives correfpond
not to the purity and freedom of the religion
we profefs ! We may laugh, if we pleafc, at
the ffiperftitious corruptions of the church of
Rome : it is perhaps impoffibie not to do fo i
one muft bluffi for the weaknefs of human
nature, to fee a poor zealot, kneeling at the
flirine of a fmoaky faint, or bowing with
reverence, to a time-worn reli que : yet,
even fomething may be learnt from this mil-
guided

S E R M O N tv. 67
guided zeali, when it proceeds, as no doubt
it often does, from a heart truly contrite and
devout : it may juftly reproach that coldnefs
and indifterence, v> hich is too much feen
amongft the generality of proteftants. It is,
no doubt, the perfedion of rehgion, Vv'here
zeal and knowled^ are .united : and would
tb God thev were ever fo united ! But, ff they
muft be feparated, ffirely it wiU be no pre-
ffimption to lav, that God will fooner accept .
zeal without knowledgCj than knowledge
without zeal. And whether ours is not the
latter cafe^ no man, that weighs the ftate of
rehgion amongft us, can one moment doubt.
In the general commerce of the worid, is
there the fmalleft trace of it to be feen ?
Does it give firmnefs to the commercial con-*
trad, or infpire . decency into the haunts of
fecial refort ? Is it tolerated among the poHte,
or named with refped among the vulgar ?
In ffiort, do we behold any thing, but our
churches and our ceremonies, that difcrimi-
nate the metropolis of Britain, from idola^
trous Memphis or pagan Romei
And if we turn from the general inter-
Gourfe of man "s^dth man, to thofe times and
F 2 places,

68 S E R M O N IV.
places, which are fet apart for the immediate
intercourfe of man with his Maker ; how
little do we there find of tbe fpirit, or even
the appearance of religion ? It were not be
yond the truth to affirm, that, whilft every
other multiplying place of refort is crouded,
the temples of God, alone, are deferted : —
every fooliffi amufement, every trifling avo
cation, ferves as a plea for not attending them.
And, where our churches are attended,
how little does a fpirit of devotion, too often,
appear ? — Enter the doors of the fanduary :
fee the congregation employed in whifpers,
fmiles, andfalutations, — often loft in the infen-
fibility of fleep, or, at the beft, attending with
a cold and liftlefs indifference ; — is it poffible
to imagine, that they are addreffing them
felves to a God of infinite power, for a blef-
fing on themfelves and their families, fqr
every thing that is defireable in heaven, or
valuable on earth ? Yet ffich is the behaviour,-
every where vifible, in our churches : and
even where attention ffiews itfelf, is it not,
too often, confined to a fanatic tone, or thea
tric gefture, to the crude effufions of enthu-
fiafm, or the florid abfurdity of declamation, in

S E R M O N IV. 69
in thofe novel affembiies, which every where
abound ; whilft the nobleft compofition in
the worid, next to the book of God, I mean
the Liturgy, is negleded and defpifed, as a
dead and unprofitable letter ?
And if fuch be the cafe, with regard to our
public devotions, how much is it to be feared,
that our private ones are ftill lefs regarded!
But the devotions of the ciofet arc open to
God alone, and, therefore, I will not preffime
to condemn what cannot be known by man*s
judgment : in thefe, to his heavenly Mafter,
every Chriftian ftandeth or falleth.
But if we pafs from the adoration of the
Almighty, to that reverence, which is due
to him upon other occafions, what abundant
matter ffiall we find, for melancholy reflec
tion and humiliation ! — Is it not ffiocking, to
fee that holy religion, which he fent down
his only Son, from heaven, to teach, made
the inftrument of helliffi contention by per
verfe or defigning men, diftorted into abfurd
meanings by illiterate fedaries, profaned by
daring iiifidels, and negleded by wicked
Ch,riftian5 ?
F 3 And

70 S E R M O N IV-
And if, from this melancholy view of re-^
ligious, we pafs on to focial duties, ffiall we
not find equal caufe for jeproach and con
demnation ? — As a nation, may we not juftly,
on many occafions, be branded with the moft
opprobrious cruelty and injuftice ? Can me
mory, can hiftory, can fatire produce a fcene
of raore atrocious villainy, than has repeats
edly been executed by the inhabitants of fome
of our foreign fettlements ? Let: depopulated
nations, ftripped of their territories, their
commerce, their treafures, their lives, with-:
out even a fliadow of right or juft pretence; —
let folemn treaties, violated without any pro-r
vocation or ground, for the fake of rapine; —
fet men like ourfelves, bought and fold, fed
and beaten, like brute beafts; — let minifte-
rial fortunes, raifed on violence and bloqd-
ffied ; — let Afiatic luxury, and a fpirit of de-
fpotic tyranny, imported with Afiatic wealthj
into this unhappy land,^ — let all thefe fay,
whether we haye not deferved the fevereft
reproaches that can be laid upon us ; — whe
ther we haye not equalled the helliffi machi-^
nations qf Spaniffi barbarity, or inquifitorial
vengeance,

S E R M O N IV. 71
And are we at all better, in our private
capacities ? Has not an immoderate thirft of
pleafure and expence, diredl)- contrary to the
wffe frugality of our anceftors, and effentially
deftrudive to a commercial nation, infeded
all ranks among us ? Has not this introduced
the moft fatal and fraudulent methods of
fupporting that expence ? From this poifoned
fountain, derive we not the itch of gaming,
the phrenzy of lotteries, the chicanery of
law, the invention of new frauds, pretended
bankruptcies, fiditious credit, falfe infurances,
wilful fires, and ten thoufand other fchemcs
of defperate villany, unheard of and unknown
to former ages ?
Nor let any one tell me, that this repre-
fentation of our vices, is the gloomy pidure
of fpleen, or the declamation of enthufiafin ; —
that it has been the faffiion of all ages, to
complain of the badnefs of the times ; but
that we are, in reality, no worfe than our
anceftors. I will readily allow "him, that
the times have been always bad ; that hu
man nature has been, and ever will be, cor
rupt and perverfe ; but the ruin of antient
nations, brought on by a gradual advance in
wickednefs, will leave no room to doubt,
F 4. that

72 S E R M O N IV.
thaf the guilt of a nation is, commonly, of
a progreffive nature ;— that ftates, like men,
have their periods of rife and decline ;— and I
will farther add, that, however fome indivi
duals of former times may have been corrupt,
to as great a degree as in the prefent, yet, that
wickednefs was never fo glaring and univer
fal, never fo fyftematically digefted, or fo
openly profeffed, never appeared in fo various
and prodigious inftances, never triumphed
over virtue with fo much effrontery, and fo
much fuccefs.
And, if this reprefentation of our vices be
true, it is, in the fecond place, no lefs true,
that thefe vices tend to the deftrudion of the
ftate: — " For a general corruption of man-
*' ners is not only the certain fymptom and
" prefage, that a nation is ripe fqr ruin, but
" is the natural caufe and principle of the
" decay and deftrudion of all governments .*"
For, where an inordinate love of pleafure pre
vails, it naturally extinguiffies every manly
and generous fentiment in the breafts of a
people. Where felfiffinefs and party-fpirit
h^ve taken root, it is impoffibie that public
* Moyle, fpirit

SERMON IV. -j^
(pirit ffiould long fubfift. Where crimes are
fupported by numbers, and countenanced by
example, few will be ambitious of doing well,
none will be affiamed of doing ill. And,
when virtue has once loft her hold upon the
confciences of men ; wffien private intereft is
preferred to public advantage ; when fame
and honour are becorae empty names ; when
men contend not, who ffiall excel in fupport
ing the falling interefts of their country, but
rather, in extending private influence, and
enlarging their own property ; when, in
thefe contentions, every bound of decency,
juftice, and humanity is overleaped, — every
art of violence, falfehood, and chicanery is
pradifed ; what is there, that can uphold the
credit and well-being of a ftate ? What is there,
that can prevent a total relaxation and con
tempt of order and authority ? What will avail
the fences of legal reftraint, or royal dignity ?
What ffiall enforce fubmiffion abroad, or
check lawlefs riot and defiance at home ?
What, in ffiort, ffiall ffiield us from general
ruin, that ftands ready to meet us, in a thou
fand ffiapes ? The virtue of individuals may,
indeed, it is to be hoped, a while refpite our
fate, and prevent the accompliffiment of that
deft-rudion,

74 SERMON IV,
deftrudion, we have deferved. But let not
this hope carry us too far : the ^'irtue of in
dividuals may fufpend, but it cannot flop, the
ruin of a nation. This onlv can be eftcdcd
by a general change of manners and princi
ples. Nor, without this change, can even
this pri^'ate virtue itfelf be of long duration :
for, though the branches mav, for a time,
retain the appearance of verdure, Aet, A\here
the root is thus wounded and corrupted, they
will foon partake of the general decay, and,
with the parent tree, m ill tend, by a hafty
progrefs, to inevitable ruin.
If, therefore, our fins bc fb flagrant and
enormous, and thefe fins lb ccrtainh- tend to
ruin and extirpation ; have wc not juft caufe
taweep over this our Jcrulidem, and to fear
the fignal judgments ot God hanging over
us ? Nor let any fancy themfelves uncon
cerned in the dreadful confequences, to be
apprehended from our multiplied fins: for,
ho\\e\-er the beft of us may fiatter ourfelves
\N'ith fecurity, from our o\\n righteouliicls,
it is a truth, not to be difputed, that, in na
tional judgments, ail muft fuficr. The pious
Abraham, indeed, reverently faid, — " to de-
" ftroy

S E R M O N IV, 75
»' ftroy the righteous with the wicked, that
'" be far from thee ;" but events prove, thaf
deftrudion, like the grave, knows no dif-
findion, When, therefore, the judgments of God
are abroad in the earth, let none flatter them
felves with vain hopes of exemption or fecu
rity. The way, and the only way, fo avoid
them, is a general and unfeigned forrow and
humiliation before God : for national crimes
demand national expiation ; and, where every
man, by his fins, has contributed his ffiare tq
the danger of his country, every man, by his
repentance, muft contribute to fave it. But
they ffiould, efpecially, take the lead in this
important duty, whofe ftations, or fuperior
rank, whofe influence, or authority, have
contributed to infed the manners of the
people with corruption, and therefore may,
and_ ought alfo to take the lead in reftoring
true piety, and unfeigned virtue. If, there
fore, any part of the guilt of this land has
begun at the fanduary, where it ought leaft
fo have begun, it is fhe duty of the priefts,
the minifters of the Lord, to weep between
^he pqrch and the altar, for their qwn fins, and

76 S E R M O N IV-

and the fins of the people. — If venality, luft,
and impiety have been derived, from fhe
nobles ofthe land, to the lower orders amono;
us ; let them be the firft, to exert the influ
ence, which they receive from their fuperior
rank, to repair the breaches of the Lord, and
to humble themfelves before God, in fack-
cloth and affies, — If the magiftrates, by neg-
leding to enforce thofe falutary laws, with
the execution of which they are entrufted,
have given ftability to violence, and confi
dence to impiety ; let them atone for their
paft negligence, by exemplary penitence and
devotion, and by a fteady, vigorous and im
partial exercife of their power. — And, if the
mafters and guardians of families have, by
their example and pradice, countenanced a
negled of God's fabbaths, and his divine
worffiip, or the pradice of vice and profane^
nefs ; let them, for the future, repair to the
houfe of God, with their fons and their
daughters, their men-fervants and their maid-
fervants, that the houfe of God may be full,
and that they may fall down, with united
hearts and voices, before the Lord their
maker : and, at the fame time, let them, at
home, be patterns to their children and de
pendents,

S E R M O N IV. 77
pendents, in repentance, meeknefs, fobriety,
and every other Chriftian virtue.
And this repentance is incumbent upon
every one of us, my brethren, from the
ftrongeft motives, that can adu ate a reafon-'
able creature, — a regard for ourfelves^ our
country, our church, and our pofterity. And
furely, fuch arguments as thefe, cannot want
any additional weight : — they need not elo-
qvience to enforce, or perffiafion to recom
mend them ; — they fpeak for themfelves, by
an irrefiftible power : for, let every man fe
rioufly afk himfelf only thefe plain and obvious
queftions; — Is it nothing, that I am devoting
myfelf to the flames of hell, — that I am be
traying that country to deftrudion, for whofe
defence the blood of fo raany brave Britons
has been fpilf ; — that I am fubverting the
foundations of that pure church, which is the
glory of proteftantifm, and the pillar of Chrif-;
tianity itfelf; — that I am entailing flavery and
vengeance upon my pofterity ? — Let any man
afk himfelf thefe queftions, and it is impoffi
bie not to forefee what anfwer he muft re
turn ; — it is impoffibie not to forefee, that the
duties of repentance and obedience will prefs
themfelves

yi S E R M O M iv.
themfelves upon him with redoubled force
and energy;
To thefe great arguments, therefore, let
me call upon you ferioufly to attend. As rea-
fonable creatures^ weigh and confider the con-^
fequences of your adions. Let not mifguid^
ing cuftom, or erroneous example, thought
lefs diffipation, or prevalent intereft, be your
only guides : ye have much nobler views to
dired you, if ye will but attend to them :
they can but lead you to prefent deftrudion,
and future mifery ; but prefent glory awaits
the paths of virtue, here, and the gates of ¦
immortality are open to her, hereafter.
Begin, therefore, the great and important
work of repentance, whilft it is yet in your
power. Behold this great and finful nation,
and in earneft weep over it. — In this your day,
at leaft, know the things which belong to your
peace ; left the fatal fentence of Jerufalem
ffiould, too foon, be added, — " but now thefe
things are hid from thine eyes."

(«

SER*

SERMON V-

Proverbs xxiv. 21.
My fon, fear thou the Lord and the King ; and
meddle chans.e.

meddle not with them that are given to

'£>'

WH E N a daring fpirit of anarchy and
confufion feems to prevail through
the world, it becomes the duty of every man,
whofe fituation in life gives him the oppor
tunity, to inculcate the leffons of obedience
and fubordination, contained in fhe words of
the text ; and to endeavour to extinguiffi that
torch of fedition, which, in the hands of a
few mifguided zealots, is ready to fcatter fire
and devaftation through the land. I need not
tell you, that the Book of Proverbs, from
which thefe words are taken, was penned by
that excellent fpirit of wffdom, which de-
fceiideth from above, and is, therefore, de-
8 ferving

8o S E R M O N v.
ferving of our higheft attention. And, In-'
deed, were we ignorant of this circuraftance,
the various precepts it contains, would fuffi
ciently recommend themfelves to our efteem,
by their intrinfic worth and importance ; as
being grounded on unqueftionable truth, ex-
preffed in very intelligible language, and, by
their lententious brevity, eafy to be retained.
We are not, however, vainly to imagine,
that all fhe precepts there delivered, are to be
underftood in rigorous ftridnefs of fpeech, or
in the utraoft feverity of conftrudion. We
are rather to interpret them according to thaf
equitable confideration of circumftances and
times, which every general propofifion re
quires ; which, though generally true and
fitting, will always admit of fome exceptions.
Thus, for example ; where this wife King
tells us, " Train up a child in the way he
" ffiould go, and, when he is old, he will not
" depart from it ;" we can have no doubt of
the general truth and propriety of the precept.
But ffiould we from thence conclude, that no-
child, who has been well educated, ever de
viates from the good way in which he has
been trained, we ffiould only expofe ourfelves, to

SER MO N V. 81
fq ridicule, by contradiding the experience
of all ages. For, though the greater part of
thofe, who fall under the juft vindidion of
the law, owe their ruin to a negleded or vi
cious education, yet there are too many alfo
amongft them, the unhappy offspring of vir
tuous and honeft parents, whom no precepts
of wifdom could control, whom no influence
of example could fway, whom no reftraints
of ..parental authority could guard from de
ftrudion. And, with the fame equitable con
ftrudion, are we to underftand that precept
in the text, which forbids us " to meddle
*' with thern that are given to change."
For, though there can be no doubt, that a
meddling and contentious fpirit, which is
ever hunting after imaginary ' grievances and
caufes of difcontent, is highly to be con
demned, and avoided, yet, on the other
tiand, there are occafions, where change be
comes neceffary, and where the firft prin^
ciples of nature, and of fociety, and of rea-
fe)n, call upon us " to meddle with them that
" are given to change," And, in the fame
qualified fenfe alfo, are we to underftand
the precept here delivered, of " fearing the

*^ king.

Vol. I. G Fear

83 SERMON v..
Fear is, in itfelf, the moft ignoble paffioii
that inh-bits the human breaft. If we con
fider its origin, it is ever the child of guilt
and difobedience : for, when man came from
the hands of his Maker, pure and unfpotted,
he was fearlefs, becaufe he was innocent :
but, no fooner had he forfeited that inno
cence, than fear fucceeded : " I heard thy
*' voice," faid our unhappy firft parent, to
his offended God, " and was afraid." If,
therefore, our fear of the king ffiould origi
nate from confcious guilt, or the dread of
impending evil, it would be flaviffi and ab-
jed, and, therefore, can never be ffippofed
to be recommended to us by the pen of in-
Ipired wifdom. And indeed, who would
wiffi to inculcate into the breafts of their fub-
jeds, fuch a fear as this ; except ffich monf-
tefs in human ffiape as a Tiberius or a Ca
ligula, who could willingly be content to be
hated, fo long as they were feared.
But the fear here recommended, is a filial
fenfe of love and duty^ which will lead us
to ffiew our reverence to the king, by a -ftrid
obedience to his laws, and by a juft refped
to hk perfon and government. In one word, it

S E R M O N V; 83
it is what St. Peter means, when he com
mands us to " fear God, and honour the
g-"

•" kiiip-

Having thus cleared the words of the text
from thofe inconvenient confequences, which
would follow from too ftrid and rigorous ail
interpretation of them, I ffiall proceed to lay
before yoUj
Firft, The lieceffity of fearing God ;
Secondly, The diity of honouring the King ;
kndj Thirdly, The danger of ineddling with fuch
as are given to change,
I need h®t, perhaps, inform you, that the
fear of God is here put for the ffim and fub-
ftance of religion ; whichj in fcripture lan
guage,- is frequently expreffed by feme of its
leading and conftituent parts. Thus, the
knowledge of God and of his Son Jefus Chrift,
whom he hath fent, is fometimes faid to be
eternal life : and agaiuj fometimes Faith is
called the qnly requifite for falvation; as
G a where

84 S E R M O N V.
where it is faid, " He that believeth, and h
*^ baptized, ffiall be faved," And, in the
fame manner,., the fear of God is put for the
whole duty of man ; efpecially by the writers
of the Old Teftament, who feem always to
confider it as the fountain of knowledge and
wifdom, of temporal and eternal happinefs.
We muft, however, remark, that it is not
every fear of God, which anfwers to thefe
high and glorious charaders of wifdom and
illumination. For there is a flaviffi and ab-
jed fear of him, which proceeds from a.
dreadful apprehenfion of his power and juf
tice, and which, therefore, pourtrays his ma
jefty in flames of terror, which no man dares
approach unto. But fuch a fear as this is far re
raoved from that true and religious fear, which
is here recommended. It is rather the child
of guilt and ignorance, which, knowing not
how to Worffiip God aright, has recourfe to
ffiperftitious and vain rites, to flattering and
childiffi devotions, or to oftenfatious works
of penance or fupererogation. And from this
fervile fear, fprang all that innumerable cata
logue of heathen Deities, which difgrace the
annals of Paganifm : " Primes in orbe Deos
" fecit

S E R M O N V. 85
•' fecit timor," faid the poet very juftly : and
from the fimie fruitful fburce their temples
were ereded, their groves confecrated, their
images adored, and their ffirines enriched.
But though we are no where commanded
to entertain this bafe and abjed dread of the
power and juftice of God, yet there are fuf
ficient reafons to induce every thinking per
fon to preferve that filial awe and reverence
of him, which the facred writings every
where inculcate.
The firft I ffiall mention is, that all the
kind promifes and bleffings of God, both tq
individuals and communities, are everywhere
exprefsly annexed to it, and depend upon it.
*' They that honour him, he will honour,
*' and they that defpife him, ffiall be lightly
" efteemed," is the conftant and invariable
language of holy writ. And this is no lefs
true with regard to kings, than fubjeds. Fqr
as by God alone kings reign, fo alfo, by him
alone they reign in glory. And the whole
ftrain of facred hiftory bears feftimony to the
truth of this, in every period. Thus, when
the froward and unthinking Ifraelites had re-
Q 3 jeded

86 S E R M O N V.
jeded that wonderful theocracy, by which
they had long been guided and preferved, the
firft injundiqn laid upon them was, " to fear
" the Lord, and to ferve him in truth, and
*' with all their heart ;" an injundion
ftrengthened by this alarming denunciation,
that *^' if they did wickedly they ffiould be
*' confumed, both they and their king-"
And this both king and people found to be
triie by melancholy experience : for when
they had forfaken his covenant, and broken
down his altars, he alfo forfook them, and
brake the ftrength of their martial prowefs :
he made thern flee, when nq man perfued,
and gave them over for a prey unto their ene
mies : he fmote them with difeafes of -body,
perplexity of mind, with poverty, oppreffion,
and captivity ; fq that, like their prefent
¦wretched defcendants, they became a hiffing
and a by-word, among all nations where they
were fcattered. From thefe judgments qf
God, therefore, let all fhe nations of the
earth learn righteoufiiefs ; learn to fear God,
and ferve him in truth, and with all their
heart, left both they and their kings ffiould
he cpnfum^d, ^u^

S E R M O N V. 87
But, befides this reafon for fearing God,
¦grounded on a regard for the public welfare,
there are alfo other confideratioiis, no lefs
important, which will lead us to fear and
ferve him, out of a regard for our own pri
vate happinefs. " O fear the Lord," fays
holy David, " ye that are his faints : for

ti

they that fear him lack nothing." And
again : " He hath given meat to them that
*¦' fear him ; he will ever he mindful of his
*•' covenant. God is therefore very greatly
'^ to be feared in the council of the faints,
*¦' and to be had in reverence of all them that
'¦* are round about him ;*' as being the fpring
and fountain of every temporal bleffing.
And if, to thefe, we add the fpiritual ad
vantages derived from the fear of God, the
argument will rife ftill higher, and prefs more
forcibly upon us. '* The fecret of the Lord is
'* among them that fear him," fays the royai
Pfalmift, " and he will ffiew them his cove-
?•' nant." — " His falvation is nigh them that
" fear him, that glory may dwell in our land."
Can there be more glorious privileges annexed
to any duty ? Can there be ftronger argu?
gif ^its to recommend the fear of God ?
Q 4 If

88 S E R M O N V,
If, again, we confider the natural effed qf
fearing God, upon the feveral members of
civil fociety, what abundant caufe have we
to wiffi, that the pradice of this duty were
univerfal. Juftice might then ffieath her
avenging fword, and the folemn pomp of ju
dicature would no longer ftrike terror into
every feeling breaft. We ffiould then fee the
happy accompliffiment of that predidion of
the future kingdom of the Meffias, fo beau
tifully defcribed by the prophet Ifaiah : " The
*^ wolf ffiall dwell with the lamb, and the
^' leopard ffiall lie down with the kid ; and
*' the calf, and the young lion, and the fat-
*' ling together, and a little child ffiall leacl
" them : they ffiall not hurt nor deftroy in
" all my'holy mountain :'for the earth ffiall
" be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as
*' the waters cover the fea," And where this
fear or knowledge of God is wanting, how
vain and fruitlefs is every other fence, againft
the invafion of fecret depredation or open vio
lence. Our penal laws are multiplied, beyond
the example of former ages and nations : our
executions (though, from the natural huma
nity of our gracious ibvereign, juftice is amply-
tempered with mercy) are doubled; new
modes

S E R M O N V. §9
modes of puniffiment are devifed alfo : and
yet, notwithftanding all this, neither life nor
property, at leaft in the vicinity of the me
tropolis, neither the dwellings of man, nor
the altars of God himfelf, are for a moment
fafe ; our prifbns fwarm with abandoned
wretches ; the robber ftill walketh in dark->
nefs, and the ruffian deftroyeth at noon-day ;
nay, to fuch a pitch of wickednefs are we ar
rived, that audacious villany laughs at the
impotent terrors of legal vindidion, and legi-
flative wifdom is unable to provide adequate
remedies for the new, and various, and mul
tiplying frauds of artffil deception.
Secondly, After this neceffary fear of God,
the wife author of my text recommi,ends the
duty of fearing, or honouring, the king.
And for the performance of this duty, how
ever httle, at prefent, regarded, among the
numerous demagogues who are daily ftarting
out of the prolific foil of fadion, many ani
cogent reafons may be affigned.
I ft. Kings are God's deputies, or vice-ge-
^ents, here upon earth. They derive their
power

90 S E R M O N V.
power from him, and are the inftruments,
which his providence has made choice of, to
govern and proted the world in peace and
quietnefs. And this was not only clearly al
lowed by Chrift and his apoftles, in their doe-
trine, but was alfo fully confirmed by their
own pradice and demeanour. Thus, when
the tribute-money was brought to our Savi
our, let the rights of Caefar be what they
would, he clearly dejermines that it is a duty
to render unto Casfar the things that are Cae-
far's. Nor is there a fingle word in the writ
ings of the Apoftles, which tends either to
the queftioning, or limitation, of the powers
in being : for, ffink and debafed as thofe.
powers were, the difciples of Chrift confi
dered them as ordained of God, and there
fore, in all things lawful and honeft, ffiewed
a ready and willing obedience to them, with
out pretending to difpute, control, or ffibverf
their authority. And in their dodrines, in
ftead of inveftigating the origin of govern
ment, or defining the prerogative of princes,
or ftating the pretended unalienable rights of
individuals, the novel language of modern
days, they exhort men, in the ftrongeft terms, id

S E R M O N V. 9t
to obey fuch as have the rule over them : to
ipbrnit to every oidinance of man, for the
Lord's fake : to pray for kings, and all thgt
are in authority. And both St. Peter and St.
paul threaten ffich as defpife dominion, ^nd
fpeak evil of dignities, with fome heavy judg?
ment ; which our tranflators render by the
fevere word damnation.
And, indeed, the very heathens themfelves
fo clearly faw the neceffity of fupporting the
.dignity of imperial charaders, that we find
the Romans conftantly ftiling their magiftrates
facred ; that fo, having, as it were, the name
and charader of God upon them, the people
might leverence their perfons, and venerate
their office. Nor was this wife and falufaiy
idea removed, till the violence of tribuniciaii
phrenzy levelled all diftindions, and converted
the mildnefs of a dutiful and fubmiffive peo
ple, into the favage fury of a wild and ungo
vernable monfter,
2dly, We are bound, by every principle of
gratitude, to honour kings, both on account
pf the troubles they undergo in fhe neceffary
adminiftra-

92 S E R M O N V.
adminiftration of government, and alfo, in
refped of the benefits accruing to us from
their care and attention.
There are, I believe, few crowns which
are not, like thaf of our great Mafter, plaited
with thorns : I mean, that every prince, who
pays a due regard to the duties of his ftation,
is in a ftate of continual anxiety. The re-
drcfs of growing grievances muft fpring from
his paternal forefight and affedion. The mif-
takes or mifcarriages of his minifters wound
his reputation, and, what is ftill more aggra
vating, the wifdom of the prince is too often
unjuftly traduced for fhe people's folly, which
will not fuffer him to perfue the neceffary
meaffires for the fupport of his dignity, and
the fafety of his kingdom. So that what the
Roman annalift faid of war may, not unfitly,
be applied to government : " Iniquiffima haec
*' bellorum conditio eft : profpera omnes fibi
" vindicant : adverfa uni imputantur '."
Again, the height of a prince's fituation fets
him above all the deareft pleafures of fociety
* This is the hard and unjuft condition of war :
every one lays claim to a fliare of its profperous events:
its rnifcarriages are imputed to one alone, and

S E R M O N V- 93
and friendffiip, and, in their place, ffibfti-
tutes all the forms and impertinence of cere
monial reftraint : he can neither fit down
without care, nor walk abroad without
trouble : fo that he is certainly lefs to be en-
^ied for the pageantry which accompanies
him, than to be pitied for the hardfliips it
brings with it. And therefore, if kings, for
the fake of public advantage, and the fecurity
of individuals, will fubjed themfelves fo thefe
inconveniencies, it is certainly the duty of
fubjeds, in return, to pay every reafonable
acknowledgment of gratitude and refped to
wards them. And this, firft, by reverencing
their perfons and government.
It has been toq much the faffiion of the
prefent times to rail at fuperiors, and to fpeak
evil of ffich things as we do not underftand,
and which, in fad, do not belong to us, if
we did. But men would do well to remem
ber, that, though this may for a time anfwer
the purpofes of party, by diftreffing thofe to
whom the public welfare isintrufted, yet it
is ever attended with the greateft danger to
all, by obliterating thofe ideas of fubordina
tion from the minds of the populace, with-i out

94

S E R M 6 JsT V.

out which no fociety can long fubfift. For
it ffiould always be remembered, that the
madnefs of the people, when once excited,
becomes like the raging of the waves, fierce
and uncontrolable, and has, not unfrequently,
overwhelmed thofe very perfons who have
been the moft forward in exciting iti
However, therefore, we rhay differ in opi
nion from thofe who govern, we ought tb
be extremely cautious of expreffing any dif-
refped for their perfons, or of weakening the
operations of their government, by an incau
tious or intemperate cenfure of its meafures;
3dly. We ought to ffiew our refped to the
king, by a ready obedience to his laws.
" To obey," we are told irt holy writ, " is
" better than facrifice, and to hearken, than
" the fat of ranis." And if this be the cafe
even of kings themfelves, in relation to God,
who in that refped are no other than fubjeds
to the King of kings, it cannot be otherwife
with us who are their fubjeds. And, what
ever men m-^y pretend, under the fpecious
names of j atriotifm or pubhc good, it is as
great

SERMON V. 9j
great a folecifm in politics, for a man to call
himfelf a good fubjed, who lives in contempt
and defiance of the laws of his country, as
it is in religion, for a man to call himfelf a .
good chriftian, who lives in dired contradic
tion to the precepts of the gofpel. Such a
mafk is too thin to deceive any but the cre
dulous and unthinking vulgar, and will never
impofe on thofe who, in political as well as
religious matters, think it the wifeft and fafeft
way not to give credit to every pretender to
ffiperior excellence, on his own word, but
rather, to judge of the tree by its fruits.
Laftly, We ought to ffiew our refped to
the king, by not " meddhng with thofe who
" are given to change."
The neceffa]^ qualifications which fome
politicians havgj'equired in a leader of fadion,
are much eloquence and little underftanding :
much eloquence to perfuade and miflead
others, but not underftanding enough to fore-
fee the dangers arifing from his own condud,
left he ffiould be difcou raged from his ruinous
enterprifes. And men of thefe qualifications
are to be found in etery ftate ; who, under
pretence

0 S E R M O N V.
pretence of redreffihg imaginary grievance^j
or of reforming abufes, which never exifted,
are ever ready to turn the world upfide down.
But, before men give way to their infidious
harangues, they would do Well to confider,
what the experience of all ages will teach
them, that, however fpecious the pretences
of fuch demagogues may be, felf-infereft ge
nerally lies at the bottom of all they do of
fay ; that, however fome grievances ma,y and
touft exift, even in the beft and wifeft civil
Conftitution, yet that an imperfed admini
ftration is preferable to that anarchy and vio
lence, which always follows the fubverfion of
legal and fettled government ; and, laftly,
that, however the powers of government
may change hands, yet that the people are
feldom gainers by the change. And ffiould
any man doubt the truth of thefe pofitions,
we need only refer him fo the confideration
of thofe unhappy times in our own country,
when regal authority was aboliffied, and the
powers of government uffirped by fadious
difturbers or canting zealots ; or again, to
thoie fucceffive revolutions in the Roman
ftate, by which the governing powers were
transferred, in turns, to kings, conffils, tri-
I bunes.

S E R M O N V- 97
bunes, triumvirates, decemvirdtes, and em
perors, and in each of which fhe people, ever
ffiifting, ever reftlefs, gained only an accu
mulated load of mifery and oppreffion. If^
indeed, our conftitutional liberties were taken
from us, — if we were forcibly diffeized of
our property, — if the laws were trampled
under foot, and the iron hand of power, or
the wide-ftretched grafp of prerogative. Were
ready to ffiatch away our facred claims or
chartered rights, — we might then juftly com
plain, and think it time to look for expe
dients and defenders. But the reVerfe of all
thefe things is true ; and, for a ftriking proof
of this, I need only appeal fingly, to the im
partiality with which juftice is adminiftered
to all ranks of people, by men of the firft
abilities, and now happily independent of the
will of the Crown, fo convince every rea
fonable man that he is a free member of the
moft mild, wife, and equitable government
in the world ; which, therefore, it is his in
tereft, as well as his duty, to ffipport by every
mark of chearful obedience in himfelf, and
by difeouraging every fadious innovation in
others. Let, therefore, paft experience teach
us wifdom; and, whilft we fit every man
Vol. L H under

It
6'

^g S E R M O N V.
under his own vine and under his own fig
tree, let us " fear God and honour the King
let us ftudy to be quiet, without pretending
to interfere in things which no way belong
to us, and without meddling with thofe that
sre given to change.

S E R-

SERMON VL

Lu

ke XI. 2.

And he faid unto them. When ye pray, fay^
Our Father, which art in heaven^
THE difciples of our bleffed Saviour
having requefted him to teach them
to pray, as John had taught his difeiples, he,
with that readinefs with which he ever lit-
tened to the real wants and infirmities of
men, condefcends fo inftrud them in that
form, which is the moft expreffive of all the
real wants and infirmities of men, and the
heft fuited to all times and occafions. It
has, accordingly, been wifely adopted by our
Church in her feveral offices : — we teach if
to our children in their earlieft rudiments of
Chriftian knowledge : — we conclude all our
own imperfed addreffes to heaven with it : —
and would to God I could alfo fay, that we
H 2 are

106 S Ei R M O N VL
are as earneft as we ought to be, whenever'
our lips are opened to pronounce it !
Since, therefore, it is of ffich general ufe
and importance, I hope that fuch a ffiort and
familiar explanation of it, as may lead us to
confider the nature and importance of it,
however it may want the charms of novelty,
will neither be unneceffary nor unprofitable,
efpecially to the younger part of my audience,
to whom I wiffi to be confidered as now more
immediately addrefling myfelf.
Before I enter upon the confideration of
the particular parts, of which this excellent
prayer is compofed, it may not be improper
to make two general remarks :
Firft, Thaf it Was intended for all capaci
ties, and, therefore, is plain and fimple : —
it was intended for all degrees, high and low,
rich and poor, and is, therefore, comprehen-
five, and expreffive of the wants of all : —
and, af the fame time, it is ffiort ; teaching
us thereby, that the God to whom we addrefs
ourfelves wants no information ; and' alfo, that

SERMON VL IOI
that not the length, but the fincerity, of our
petitions, will be regarded by him,
Secondly, I would remark, that the feveral
parts of this prayer are difpofed in the wifeft
and moft becoming order. It is addreffed to
God, our heavenly Father : his honour and
veneration are therefore, fitly, firft confidered,
We pray, that his name may be hallowed by
men, his kingdom enlarged, and his will done
upon earth, with the fame alacrity as it is
done in heaven. And, having thus declared
our zeal for God's glory, we next pray to him
for a ffipply for our own wants and infirmities,
as well for the body ^s fhe foul : — thaf he will
fupply our daily neceffities with daily fupport ;
that he will forgive us thofe paft fins, which
wound and lacerate our confciences, and guard
us from thofe future affaults, which may en
danger our virtue. And, laftly, we acknow-;
ledge his power to do all this, by declaring him
fhe fovereignLord, to whom belongs the king
dom, power, and glory, fqr eyer and ever.

After thefe two general remarks, let us
proceed fo confider the feveral parts, of which
|his excellent prayer is compofed,
H3 It

I02 S E R M O N VL
It begins with a prefatory addrefs to God,
in thefe comprehenfiVe words, " Our Father,
I" which art in heaven," This leads us tq
cqnfider him, fq whqm we addrefs qurfelyes,
Firft, As fhe great Authqr of the univerfe,
who formed the heavens and the earth, whp
appointed the revolving fucceffion of times
and feafons, who created beafts and creeping
things, and, above all, who called man into
life, the beft and nobleft of his works ; who
formed him in his own image, and gave hirq
dominion over all the reft of the creation.
Secondly, As the Prefever of all : — and of
man above all, who moft wants his fupport.
Every man feels the ffiperintending hand of
God, from his youth up : — through his pro
vidence he has been held up, ever fince he was
born ; every man, therefore, ffiould gratefully
own it, when he calls upon God by this title.
In thefe two fenfes, of a Creator- and Pre-
ferver, God is a common Father fo all. The
fcattered trjbes of Ifrael, the untutored favages
and remoteft nations, however disjoined by
fituation, or diverfified by culture, are all the
children

SERMON VL 103
children of his care and love : in the language
©f the prophet, " they have all one Father,
" one God hath created them." But we
have a peculiar and more diftinguiffied title
to call hira our Father : for, to the Chriftian
he is a Father indeed ; having given to him
a power, in a more efpecial manner to be
called the child of God, through faith in
Chrift Jefus, We had, indeed, before, ,the
common right to call God our Father ; but
it was, then, a name furrounded with inex-
preffible terror : — we were the guilty offspring
of a rebellious parent, and, therefore, dared
not to look up to our heavenly Father with
comfort ; but, through the blood of his dear
Son, being now reconciled to him, we ap
proach him with humble confidence, and are
enabled to cry out, in the language of recon'
filiation, " Abba, Father,''
But, whilft we are thus addreffing him un
der the endearing title of a Father, if cannbt
efcape our notice, that the following words,
*' which art in heaven," at the fame time,
lead us to remember him alfo under the awful
title of a God, He is, indeed, our Father,
tut he is our Father, who is in heaven t — He
H4 is

I04 S E R M O N VL
is that high and lofty One, who inhabiteth
eternity : — heaven is his throne, and earth
his footftool. Not that God is limited to any
particular place ; for he filleth all fpace, and
is prefent every where, nqr are the heaven qf
heavens abfe to contain him : but he is called
our Father in heaven, becaufe there he mpre
immediately dvyells in light inacceffible ; there
is the throne of his glory, from whence his
commands are iffued, and from which he
looketh down upon the children of men, and
confidereth all their works.
Upon the whole, then, every Chriftian,
who addreffes himfelf to God under the cha
rader of his Father in heaven, muft be under
ftood to fpeak this language: — ¦
I apply myfelf to thee, O God, as the Cre
ator ofthe world, who formedft all things by
thy power : — I apply myfelf to thee, O God,
as the greatParent of the uniyerfe, who calledft
rne and all i-nankind into life, and ftill conti-
nueft to preferve and fupport me by thy pro
vidence : — I apply myfelf to thee, O God, as
the Father of mercies, and God of all com
fort, who formedft the gracious plan of man's
redemption.

S E R M O N VL loj
Redemption, and vouchfafeft to pardon my
fins, thrqugh the all-fufficient merits qf thy
dear Son : — I tremble, indeed, at thy majefty,
becaufe thou art in heaven, ^nd I on earth : —
I fear to approach fhy prefence, becaufe thov?,
art a God, and I am a poor worm of mor-r
tality : — yet thy love emboldens rae to draw
near thee with faith : — I corae to thy altars
with filial confidence, becaufe thou conde-
fcendeft to acknowledge thyfelf my Father,
And what then are the affedions and fen-
timents, which this awful addrefs ought fo
fuggeft to every one that ufes it ?
Firft, then : Is God the Creator of the
World, and all that it contains ? How little
reafon, then, have we to overvalue ourfelves
on account of any thing we poffefs in it ?
How will all our boafted accompliffiments
ffirink into nothing, when we confider, that
they are only the gift pf God, beftowed upon
us without any merit or concurrence of our
pwn. We are the clay, and he is fhe potter,
and we all are the work of his hands, who
called us from nothing intq exiftence ; — who
called us from mingling with the clods of the
valley

io6 SERMON VL
valley, to the powers of reafon and the hopes
of immortahty. Let us, therefore, adore the
hand that made and faffiioned us, and let vis
not preffime to make idols of ourfelves, or
vainly fancy, let our ftation or abilities be
what they will, that we are any thing better
than finful duft and affies.
Secondly, Were the God to whom we arc
commanded to addrefs ourfelves, a hard and
fevere mafter, — were he extreme to mark
what is done amifs, — we ffiould all of us draw
near him with terror ; fince all of us have of
fended him too often, and have much to be
pardoned. But, bleffed be his holy name,
he is not a God of terrors, but of love.
He does not furround his throne with the
blaze of ineffable majefty, which nq man
dares approach unto, but with fhe milder
luftre of paternal love, which invites us to
come unto him. Is he then our Father?
How will this allure the afflided fo open their
forrows to him ? How will it invite the dif
treffed to repofe all their cares upon him ?
How will it raife the defponding heart and
feeble knees ? How will it encourage the felf-
condemned finner to hope for his mercy ?
Draw

SERMON VL 107
Draw near then, with faith, thou child of
fin and afflidion, to the throne of grace,
Thou art, indeed, a man of forrows and ac
quainted with grief: — yet God is thy friend.
Thy fins have taken fuch hold upon thee,
that thou art not able to look up : — yet the
Almighty is thy Father, Thou art a rebel
lious and difbbedient child : — yet he gave his
Son to die for thee. Flee then to his altar
for reffige : yet let thy confidence in his
mercy be tempered with reverence of his ina-
jefty. It is thy Father, to whom thou art
applying for mercy ; — but remember, it is
thy Father in heaven, Whilft, therefore, ffis
kindnefs gives thee affurance, let his greatnefs
teacii thee humility and obedience.
Thirdly, Is God a Father? Then his chil
dren fhould behave with refped and reve-
j-ence before him. The name of parent is a
title of love, but if alfo carries authority with
it. The true filial duty, therefore, which
we owe to him, is that qf fear tempered by
love. We ffiould love him as a parent, but
fear to offend him as a God. It was the juft
language of God himfelf fo the Jews, " Ifl
H be a parent, where is my honour?" It is,
therefore,

io8 SERMON VL
therefore, our firft duty to honour God, at
all times : but it is ftill more efpecially our
duty, when we approach his prefence in this
folemn place. We ought, then, to fuffer
none of the folHes and vanities of the world
to occupy our thoughts. We are on our
knees before a God ; therefore man and his
trifling concerns ffiould vaniffi. Our eyes are
raifed to the wide expanfe of eternity ; there
fore the petty views of limited time ffiould
not engage our notice ; we ffiould take up the
language of the patriarch of old, " Surely this
*' is none other than the houfe of God !
^' Surely this is the gate of heaven !''
Fourthly, Is God our Father ? The com-^
mon parent of all mankind, who made all
nations of men qf one blood, to d^i^ell upon
the face of the earth ? How ought this to
check every proud and contemptuous thought,
when I confider that, however the providence
of God pfiay have made the neceffary diftinc-
tions of high and low, in fhe prder of hu
man fociety, yet, when we come into his
prefence, all diftindions ceafe, and even the
king and the beggar are upon a level before
him, who is King of kings, and Lord of
lords I

SERMON Vt ib9
lords ? Both have the fame common wants :
both have the fame common parent : both
have the fame common redeemer : both have
the fame rio;ht .to come before the throne of
grace : and both have the fame common
promife of acceptance, if they come before it
with pure hearts and hallowed lips.
How, again, will this enlarge our hearts
and affedions for all the world, who ftand in
the fame common relation with ourfelves to
the great parent of the world ? Will not this
teach us to love them, to pray for their wel
fare, to promote their happinefs, to forgive
their trefpaffes, and, even in a foe, to behold
a brother ? Can I addrefs that God, who is our
common fupporter, preferver, and redeemer,
with partial and narrow thoughts, or wiffi to
monopolize his bleffings ? Can I addrefs God
with pride, which is a contempt of others,
who were made by the fame hand with my
felf ? Can I approach him with envy, which
is maligning thofe bleffings he is pleafed to
give them ? Can I come to him with malice,
which is a deteftation of thofe who are chil
dren of the fame God, and heirs of the fame
hopes ? Muft I not rather imitate this my hea
venly

no S E R M O isr vt
venly Father, whom I am addreffing, whd i^
kind to all, and fendeth his rain upon the juft
and the unjuft ? Muft I not rather, like him^
ftudy to forgive their faults, the common
faults of that humanity of which I myfelf
^m a partaker; to pity their infirmities, to
confole their misfortunes, to relieve their
neceffities ? Will it not better become_ me^
when I am on my knees before God, to con
fider myfelf as the common intercelfor for
the whole human race ? Will it not better
become me, whilft I am begging a bleffing
upon myfelf, to cry out, in the pathetic laii'*.
guage of Efau, " Haft thou but one bleffing*
*' my Father ? Blefs them, even them alfoj
" O my Father." Blefs the diftant favage
and barbarous infidel : blefs the unbelieving
Jew and deluded Turk ; blefs the whole race
of mankind, wherefoever difperfed, or how-
foever diftreffed ; wherefoever placed, or how-
foeyer divided, in language, manners, or af
fedions : O Lord, fave thy people, and blefe
thine inheritance : for thou art the fame com*
mon parent of all : thou art our Father : all
the earth doth worffiip thee, the Father uni-
vecfal and everlafting.

'O'

Every

S E R M O N VL III
Every man, who rightly confidcrs, will
naturally have ffich thoughts as thefe. May
we fo confider, that we may never begin this
divme prayer without them I May we learn
from the condefcending title of parent, to
come boldly to the throne of God's grace ;
yet, at the fame time, let the awe of his- ma
jefty fill our fouls with reverence. When we
take upon us to fpeak to the Lord, let our
words, our thoughts, our geftures, be all ex
preffive of that humility, which becomes fin
ful duft and affies. Let no levity or inatten
tion be feen in our countenances, but let this
folemn refledion ever be uppermoft in our
thoughts, that we are addreffing a God of in
finite majefty, for a bleffing upon ourfelves,
our families, our kingdom, upon the whole
race of mankind, for every thing that is dear
to us in this life, and every thing that is va
luable in a better. And above all, let all our
addreffes to God be offered up in the name of
that Saviour, who, in compaffion to our in
firmities, taught us how to pray, and through
whofe merits alone, our prayers can hope fo
find acceptance at the throne of God, our
Father in heaven. SER-

SERMON Vll.

L'CfKE xi. 2.
Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be
thy namck
IT was always a matter of great uncer
tainty and perplexity, even in the moft
enlightened parts of the heathen World, in
what way men ffiould addrefs their devotions
to the fupreme Governor of the univerfe, un
der whatever forms they conceived him to
exift. Without a guide to dired their foot-
fteps, and without light to refine and illumi
nate their conceptions, they wandered araidft
doubts and ffiadows ; fometimes raifed to the
vifionary elevations of a blind enthufiafin, at
other times finking into the dark abyfs of de-
Ipair, and, at aU times, the fporf of every
gale of novelty, the prey of every vain phan
tom of delufion.
Vol. L I In

114 SERMON VIL
In fuch a ftate, therefore, we cannot won
der to find them breaking;; out into the tender
language of the prophet of oid : " Where-
" with ffiall I come before the Lord, and
" bow myfelf before the high God ?" — ear-
neftly, as it were, calling out for fomebody
to take them by the hand, and to dired thofe
devotions which they were.willing, but knew
not how, to dired aright to the throne of
God. Nor, for the fame reafon, can we
wonder to find them flying to every fpecies of
fuperftition, which a fearful, or a fanciful
imagination didated. The uncertainty of all
. expedients, led them to try every expedient.
And hence aroie that multitude and variety
of ritual inftitutions, facrihces^ and oblations,
which ovcrfpread the earth ; — the inflidion
of corporal aufterities, — the libations from the
pure elements, — the rivers of oil, — the blood
. of flain beafts, — and the more fhocking and
deteftable rites of thofe, v^'ho offered their
fons and daughters unto devils, the fruit of
their body for the fin of their foul. And from
this fame perplexing. uncertainty it was, that
the admirable Socrates, who ft-rongly felt and
owned the necefiity of fome fuperior guide
to carry him through the whole of his duty,
. • declared

SERMON VIL 115
declared it to his noble pupil Aleibiades, a:s a
matter of the greateft joy and confolation,
" that, in due time, a divine perfon ffiould
" come into the world, who, out of his care
" and tender regard to mankind, ffiould re-
" move all their doubts, difperfe all darknefs,
" and fully inftrud them how to prefent their
" prayers and praifes and religious offerings,
" to the fupreme Being, in a pure and ac»-
" ceptable manner."
This remarkable predidion of a wife and
good heathen, we have the happinefs to have
feen fully accompliffied, in the perfon of our
divine Mafter, who came down from heaven
to ffiew us the infalhble way thither, and
who has taught us to dired all our petitions
thither, with full affiirance of fficcefs, in that
admirable form of prayer which he left be
hind him, as the rule, the pattern, and the
ground- work of all our addreffes to God. It
is, therefore, with great joy and confolation,
that every Chriftian can pray to his Father in
heaven ; fince he is affured, that he fpeaks in
a language acceptable to him, and Utters no
requefts, but fuch as are fit to be made known
unto God.
I 2 The

ii6 SERMON VIL
The firft petition we are taught to prefent
to him, is that contained in my text, hal
lowed be thy name.
And, indeed, we cannot but remark, that
there is a peculiar fitnefs and propriety in thus
beginning our addrefs to God, with expreff
ing our zeal for his glory and majefty. For
if we are, in truth, the children of God, it
will be our firfl duty to confider and promote
the advancement of our Father's honour.
Nor would it be decent or becoming to fo-
ficit temporal bleffings for ourfelves, in pre-i
ference to^ the veneration of his great and ador
able name, from whora thofe bleffings are all
derived. The Apoftle, therefore, very fitly
tells us, " feek ye firft the kingdom of God,
*' and his righteoufnefs ;" both as being the
moft decent, and alfo the moft likely way,
of obtaining temporal bleffings.
After this remark, I ffiall confider,
Firft, What is meant by hallowing the
name of God ; and.
Secondly, What are the fentiments and
duties fuggefted to us, from the" ufe of this
petition, 9 To

SERMON VIL 117
To hallow fignifies properly, to-feparate and
fet apart, or to regard, as holy.
In the former of thefe fenfes, God is faid,
in fcripture, to hallow the fabbath-day ; that
is, to feparate and fet it apart as a holy day,
peculiarly appropriated to himfeff, and to the
exercife of thofe religious duties which he
commanded. And, in the latter fenfe, men
are commanded to hallow the fabbath ; that
*s, to regard and ufe it as holy, by a ftrid
obfervation of thofe holy purpofes for which
the fabbath was inftituted.
And we ffiall fee a very clear neceffity for
attending to this diftindion, if we confider
the word as applied to God, or to his creatures.
For, as applied to God, it certainly cannot
imply a wiffi, that he may be fet apart or
made holy, who is in himfelf effentially holy,
and the fountain of all holinefs in others : we
can only mean by it, to exprefs our own ve
neration and regard for his fovereign majefty,
and effential purity, and our devout wiffies,
that his tranfcendent hoUnefs may everywhere
be known, and admired ; that all the nations
gf the world may adore him ; and that his
I 3 name,

i,i8 SERMON vn,
name, which is great, wonderful, and holy,
may every where be duly reverenced and ac
knowledged. As applied to his creatures, whether things
pr perlbns, it expreffes only a defignation and
application to religious ufes : and, in this
fenfe, the petition will imply our wiffi, that
whatever belongs, or is dedicated, more im
mediately to God and his feryice, may be
treated with reverence and decency, not as
having any intrinfic holinefs in themfelves^
but for his fake, to whoni they belong.
We are taught to requeft, that the name
pf God may be thus hallowed.
Now the name of God is ufed in various
fenfes. Let us fee, therefore, ^yhat thefe are.
And I ft, The name of God fignifies the
true God ; whom, by way of eminence, \h,e
c Jews call the Name. Thus, in fcripture,
to forget the name qf G.o4, is tq fqrfake him,
and ferve ftrange gods : to v/alk in his name,
is tq worffiip the one true Gpd, in oppqfition
to idqls.

SERMON VIL 119
2dly, The name of God fignifies his fupe-
riqt' excellence and dignity, as poffefling, in
the higheft degree, every natural and moral
pe'i'cdion. Thus God himfelf proclaims his
name by his diftinguifhing charaders of ex
cellence, in the book of Exodus : "And the
*' Lord defeended in the cloud, and ftopd
*' with him there, and proclaimed the name
" of the Lord : The Lord, the Lord God,
*' merciful and gracious, long-fuffering, and
*' abundant in goodnefs and truth."
And, in this fenfe, the hallowing his name
will be to frame worthy conceptions of his
nature and attributes,- to adore him in thp
wonders of his' creation and providence, where
his feveral perfedions are fo fignally difplayed,
and to acknowledge him in both, to be great,
wife, wonderful, and holy. ;
3dly, The name of God fignifies his au
thority, or delegated power. Thus, when
the angel was fent to condud the children of
Ifrael, it is faid, " my name is in him," that
is, .he ads by my authority. And, in the
fame fenfe, our Saviour fays, *' I am come in
*' xny Father's name." I 4 And,

I20 SERMON Vit
And, in this fenfe, we ffiall hallow his
name, by paying a regard to eyery duty he
has enjoined, by Ihewing a refped to his
laws, and by ffibmitting ourfelves to all, who
ad by his divine authority and appointment.
Laftly, The name of God fignifies the ap-
pellatipn by which we exprefs, in common,
the Supreme Being, as Jehovah, Lord, or
God. And, in this fenfe, we havejJie fame
expreffipn in the third commandment : "Thou
** ffialt not take the name of the Lord, thy
'^' God in vain."
Now to hallow the name of God, in this
fenfe, will be, to avpid all light, irreverent,
or unneceffary ufe pf it ; all profane curfing
and fwearing, and that ftill greater profana
tion of the name of God, which confifts in
perjury and blafphemy.
Inftead of ffich bafe pradices as thefe, we
^ould rather endeavour to copy the example
of a great and excellent philofopher of pur
own country, who, from a long contempla-
tion of the wonderful works of diyine provir
dence, had wrought in himfelf fe> profound a
veneration

SERMON VIL 121
Veneration of the great God of heaven and
earth, that, for more than twenty years of
his life, the very name of God was never
mentioned by him, in his common difeourfe,
without a vifibfe paufe and ftop, expreffive of
his reverence and devotion %
And indeed, even the Jews, whom we are
apt tp hold in much contempt, are fo im-
preffed with a veneration for the Deity, that
jthey think it a profanation pven to pronounce
the word, which they conceive moft expref-
liye of the majefty of his divine name.
Upon the whole, when we offer up this
petition, having a regard to all thefe feveral
fenfes, we pray,— that God wPuld difpofe us
and all mankind to own him, as the one true
God ;— to give honour to him, as the pure
fountain of all perfedion ; — fo love him, as
the giver of all good things ; — to adore him,
as the foyereign Lord of the univerfe ;^to
admire him, as the wife difpofer of all events ;
—to fear him, as the tremendous and juft
<Grovernor, to whom we muft give an account
^f pur adions;- — whofe name ought to fill
* Bovlttn^s Life of Boyle, page 21. our

122 SERMON VIL
our fouls with reverence, and cur lips with
praifes : a name, which is above every name,
holy and reverend, to which, therefore, every
knee ffiould bow, of things in heaven, and
things on the earth, and things under the
earth. The ufes fuggefted to us from thefe notions
of hallowing the name of God, are thefe,
I ft. That we ffiould endeavour to cultivate
in ourfelves, and advance in others, juft ideas
of God ; which are not only the bafis^ of all
rehgion, but alfo of the greateft ufe in life.
For here it well deferves your attention to
remark, that all the leading charaders of
God, which we can either derive from the
light of reafon, or are delivered to us in fcrip
ture, are fuch as are not intended to lead our
minds to idle and unprofitable fpeculation,
but rather to eftabliffi an immediate relation
between God and his creatures, and to beget
in us a habit of pradical virtue, from the
confideration of this relation. Thus, if from
regarding that excellent wifdom, which ffiines
forth in eveiy part of the vifible creation, we
are led to confider God as all-wife ; that con-
fideratiQi:j

SERMON VII, 123
fideratiqn will teach us to bear our lot in life,
however lowly or embittered it may be, with
patience and refignation, as bein^; the ap
pointment of him' who cannot err. If, again,
from contemplating that variety of perception
and intelligence, which we difcover in all the
parts of the moral v/orld, we are led to con-
ii;:ier God as all-knowing, and extending his
providential eye over the whole creation ; —
that confideration will teach us to demean
.ourfelves with decency, purity, and reve
rence, as being ever in the prefence of our
alL feeing judge, who is about our path
and about our bed, and fpieth out all our
ways. Nor will the other attributes of the
Deity, if rightly confidered, have lefs influ
ence upon our moral pradice in life. His
juftice will teach us to refped and obey his
laws, as not being the mandates of a capri
cious tyrant, but the decrees of a righteous
Governor: nor wiU his mercy be lefs effica
cious in inftruding us to love him, as a kind
parent, and to have a fteady fruft in him,
amidft all the tumultuous waves of life, and
diftraded wanderings of the foul.
And, whilft thefe right notions of God are
thus ufeful to us in the common condud of
"  "  life.

124 SERMON VIL ¦
life, they will be no lefs ufeful to us in our
religious fpeculations and opinions : for where
the foundation of religious inquiry is once
firmly laid, upon the well-grounded bafis of
a juft_iipprehenfion of God and his attributes,
we ffiall neither be in danger of falling into
the blind errors of fuperftition, on the one
hand, nor the wild phrenzies of enthufiafm,
on the other ; we ffiall neither implicitly be
lieve every thing that is offered to us by the
credulity of miftaken zeal, nor wantonly re-
jed the clear evidences of revelation, becaufe
we cannot comprehend thofe myfteries, which
infinite wifdom has wrapped up in inferu table
darknefs : for, whilft our idea of fhe divme
perfedions will teach us not to believe every
fpirit, it will alfo guard us againft denying
the fpirits that be of God.
Secondly, Having formed in our minds
right conceptions of God and his perfedions,
oTir next care ffiould be to hallow his narae,
by a ftrid and conftant attention to the wor
ffiip of him, and alfo by endeavouring to
worffiip him aright. With

SERMON VIL 125
With regard to fhe former of thefe, it is a
duty fo clearly deducible from our ideas of
God ; — fo confonant, though under different
modifications, to the pradice Of all ages and
nations ; — fo exprefsly commanded everywhere
in fcripture ;— and, laftly, fo effential to the
prefervafion of a fenfe of God and religion in
the world; — that it would be a mere lofs of
labour to go about to prove that it is a duty,
and a moft important one too. —
I can only lament, — and, with much fin«
cerity I do lament, — ^that what is fo plain,
and reafonable, and important, ffiould be fo
generally negleded and difregarded ; — that
neither a refped for the laws of God and raan,
nor a regard for the welfare of themfelves,
their children, their fervants, and the cora
raunity in general, all of which are deeply in-
teiefted in this point, can prevail upon rauch
the greater part of almoft every chriftian pariffi
to pay even a tolerable attention to the divine
worffiip of Almighty God, though they both
fee and experimentally feel the bitter fruits
of that overflowing iniquity, which is, and
ever rauft be, the Qeqeffary confequence of
a negled bf it. As

126 SERMON VIL
As to the latter duty, that of endeavouring
to worffiip God aright, we cannot have a
clearer diredion, than that which is given
us, in few words, by our divine Mafter him
felf: — " God," fays he, " is a fpirit, and they
" that worffiip him, muft worffiip him in
*' fpirit and in truth ;" that is, with unfeigned
fincerity, and in a manner fuitable to his re
fined and fpiritual nature. We are not, how
ever, vainly to imagine from hence, as the
Quietifts would idly perffiade us, that our inter
courfe with God either caii or muft be fpiri
tual alone, abftraded from all corporeal fenfe :
for though God be a fpirit, man is not fo; he
is a compound of fjsirit and fenfe, and the
feelings of the former cannot be expreffed
without the organs of the latter. He, there
fore, that would worffiip God aright, muft
firft imprefs a juft and awful fenfe upon his
mind of his majefty and perfedions, and-then
endeavour to exprefs that fenfe by proper and
decent language, accompanied with fuch.pof-
tures and geftures as are either produdive, or
expreffive, of humility and devotion ; — pro
vided always they are fuch as do not contra-
did, the eftabliffied order of pubhc worffiip,
or, by their fingularity or excefs, interrupt the

SERMON VIL 127
the attention of thofe who are engaged in the
fervice of the fame God with himielf, — And
here we may juftly remark the peculiar hap
pinefs of our eftabliffied church, which has
guarded us againft the danger of approaching
God in an improper manner, eitlier in our
words or geftures, by furnifhing us with the
excellent language of our liturgy, and by
direding, in our ritual, fuch decent changes
of pofture as are fuitable to the feveral parts
of divine worffiip in which .we are employed ;
in* every part of her public fervices, keeping
equally clear of the crude effufions and ridi
culous gefticulations of enthufiafm, and the
oftentatious pomp and mummery of papal
fuperftition. Thirdly, Are we fincere in offering up this
petition, it will become us to ffiew our fin
cerity by carefully avoiding all profane thou gh ts
and words, all irreverent jefting on things
facred, and by ffiewing a decent refped to
every thing which bears a peculiar relation
to the Almighty,: — to his word, to his fab
baths, to his fanduary, and to his minifters.
Nor are thefe things trifles, however the
fpirit of a licentious age may deem them fo.
They

,28 SERMON Vit
They are, indeed, the coramon ffibjeds of
merriment in feenes of diffipation and fefti-^
ylty, and he is often thought the brighteft
wit, who can moft fuccefsfully turn them to
ridicule, and, with too many, ridicule is con
fidered as the infallible teft of truth. — I well
know, therefore, the ground on which I ftand
in attempting to defend them : — I well know
k the charges of ignorant weaknefs, or bigotted
credulity, which will recoil on the head of
eyery man who attempts to defend them. But
it would ill become a minifter of the Gofpel
of truth to be deterred by fuch arguments
from defending truth. — Sooner, therefore, ffiall
my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth,
than either a criminal filence, or ^ cowardly
conceffion, ffiall betray the interefts of that
Mafter in heaven, whofe fervant I am, and
in whofe prefence I ftand. Nor will I fcru-
ple to repeat, even in this age of hcentious
irreverence, when things facred and profane
are treated with equal contempt, that a juft
reverence is due from every man, not only
to God himfelf, but alfo to every thing,
which, by his fpecial appointment, bears an
immediate relation to his feryice, fuch as the
time, the place, and the minifters of his'
worffiip. TKpfe

SERMON VIL 129
Thefe things are not, indeed, we freely
Confefs, the foul and fpirit of religion itfelf ;
but they are the neceffary guards with which
infinite wifdom thought neceffary to fence it:
and, we may fafely fay, has done fb on t^e
beft grounds ; for, if thefe fences be once
broken down, the more important parts of re
ligion M ill foon follow.™ God's name defpifed^
will foon lead to n contempt of every duty^
religious an-i civil, — A negled of his fabbaths
would bring uzi a negled of God himfelf j
for men are too ealily engaged by the perfllits
of the world, which bring prefent profit or
pleaffire with them : it is, therefore, abfo^
lutely neceflary to fet apart one day, at leaft^
to recall their wandering thoughts from fenfe
.to fentimentj from earth to heaVeiii
Nor are appropriate places df wbrfhip lefi
neceffary,— God may, indeed, be found in the
field or in the defert, the felf-commiffioned
enthufiafts will tell me ; who boaft of having
mountains for their pulpits, and the heavens
for their founding-boards. It is true^ the
;^Almighty may be found there ; for he fills all
ipace : — " the earth is fhe Lord's^ and the
*' fulnefs thereof; the round world, and they
V©L. L K " that

130 SERMON VII.
'^' that dwell therein :" but it is no lefs tru^j
that man, diverted by the various calls of pre
fent engagements, would foon forget to feek
him there. It is, therefore, highly expedient
to have ftated and convenient places of wor
ffiip, where all may have an opportunity of
affembling, in which ferioufnefs ffiould be
infpired from confidering ourfelves as in the
more immediate prefence of the Almighty,
and in which we may all join together in ac
knowledging our dependence on one common
God and Father, and our own mutual relation
as brethren. — Nor, again, is it lefs fitting,
that thefe places appropriated to divine wor
ffiip, ffiould be hallowed by a becoming regard
to decency and good order : for, though we
want not, we wifli not for, the coftly anil
meretricious ornaments of Romiffi pageantry,
yet we ffiould, at leaft, take care, that no
thing ffiould offend the eyes or ears of thofe
who affemble to pay their devotions at the
throne of God, or take off from that reve
rence, which ought ever to be impreffed upon
our minds, when we enter the houfe of God.
It was the language of Solomon of old, when
Ipeaking of the temple he intended to build ;
" the houfe which I build is great; for great

SERMON V4L xji
*' is our Lord above all gods :" and, to the
lame purpofe, David faid ; "the work is
*' great ; for the palace is not for man, but
*' for the Lord God." — Nor; again, is there
lefs reverence due to thofe who minifter about
holy things, whether we confider the relation
they bear to God, or the fervices they are em
ployed in for the benefit of man : and, though
they may not always keep up to the dignity
of their high and important charader ; (for
we own ourfelves men of like paffions and
infirmities with you, and poffefs our treafure
in earthen veffels ;) yet it ffiould, in juftice^
be remembered, that fome refped is always
due to the office, if not to the man ; that the
failures of individuals ffiould not be extefided
to the whole order, to the great detriment of
rehgion itfelf; and, finally, that every man
ffiould be cautious of throwing the ftone of
reproach at them, who is not confcious of
being perfed in his own ftation.
We mean not, however j to offend any man
by laying fo great a ftrefs upon thefe things,
as fome men have incautioufly and unwar
rantably done : a pharifaic feverity in them,
on the one hand, is as much to be avoided,'
K :? as

1^2 SERMON VIL
as an indecent levity on the other : for,
though we think it expedient, in the lan
guage of the Apoftle, " that every thing
*' ffiould be. done decently and in order ;"
yet we wifli not to fee religion reduced to
mere forms and outward obfervances ; thefe
ffiould be confidered as the means and helps
to religion, but not as religion itfelf. Our
firft care, therefore, ffiould be to hallow our
hearts and lips, by a fincere loVe of God, and
a deep fenfe of his goodnefs : and I will ven
ture to fay, that, where thefe are found, a
juft reverence for the things pertaining "to
God will never be wanting.
Laftly, We ffiould, above all, ffiew our
fincerity in making this petition, by endea
vouring to hallow the name of God by the
purity and uprightnefs of our converfation ;
for this is fhe beft proof we can give of
our reverence of God. The uplifted eye
and bended knee, whilft they implore, with
feeming fervency, that the great name of
God may be hallowed, may be joined with a
heart hj'pocritical and regardlefs of his glory :
but a life direded in obedience to the com
mands of God ; a zeal that ffiews itfelf in
good

SERMON VIL 133
good adions ; a faith that worketh by love ;
thefe fpeak a language which cannot either
be fufpeded or miftaken. And, whilft they
declare our own reverence for God, they will
alfb ftir up others, by the power of ffiining
example, to hallow his holy name, and be a
means of extending the bleffed kingdom of
God, which, in the next petition of our Lord's
prayer, we are taught to requeft may come.
Let, therefore, every one of you, that
nameth the name of God, depart from ini
quity ; and may your light fo ffiine before
men, that they may fee your good works,
and by them be induced to glorify the name
of our one great common Father in heaven ;
and, that after a life of holinefs fpent upon
earth, ye may be qualified for the fociety of
faints and angels, of the affembly of the firft-
born, of Jefus, the mediator of the new co
venant, and of that God, the great judge of
all, whofe name is great, and cannot worthily
be praifed, who is more to be feared than all
gods,

K 3, S E R-

SERMON Vni,

Luke xi. 2.
thy kingdom come.

IN the preceding petition of this holy
prayer, we are taught to pray, that the
name of God may be hallowed and glorified.
In thefe words, therefore, we proceed to re
queft, that fuch fteps and methods may be
perfued, as are moft likely to advance that
glory. And this end cannot better be an^
fwered, than by the coming of God's king^
dom. But what then are we to underftand, here,
by this kingdom of God ?
T^his I ffiall endeavour firft to explain, by
considering the various fenfes, in which this
phrafe is ufed in fcripture ; and, fecondly, I
Y, 4 ffiaU

136 SERMON VIIL
ffiall lay before you fuch obfervations as arife
from the nature of the petition.
And firft. The kingdom of God is expref
five qf his univerfal dominion over nature :-—
That, as the Creator of the world, he ruleth
pver all ; — he is King of kings, and Lord qf
Iqrds ; — there is no end of his greatnefs.
But it cannot be the defign of our wiffies,
in this petition, thaf this khigdom of God
ffiquld come : for, we know, it is ever pre
fent, and hath been eftabliffied ever fince the
world began. All things obey his direding
power : animate and inanimate nature alike
feels his controlling hand, and is compelled to
fubmit to the laws of his univerfal kingdom.
Fire and hail, fnow and vapours, wind and
ftorm, fulfil his word : the pillars of heaven
tremble at his reproof: and even man himfelf,
the petty tyrant of the lower world, is but as
the duft of the balance in his fight : "for he
" doth according to his will in the army of
" heaven, and among the inhabitants of the
*' earth, and none can ftay his hand, or fay
*c* unto him, what doeft thou?"

But^

SERMON VIIL 137
But, though we cannot, with propriety,
pray, that this univerfal kingdom of God over
nature may come, which, in the conclufioii
of the prayer, we acknowledge to be for ever
and ever ; yet we may juftly rejoice, that it
is adually prefent ; that we are not left to the
guidance of blind chance or unrelenting fate,
but are the fubjeds of a wife and juft go
vernor, who orders all things in number,
weight, and meafure, " The Lord is King;
*' the earth maybe glad thereof; yea, the
*' multitude pf the ifles may be glad thereof.'*
Secondly, The kingdom of God is expref^
five of his dominion as the moral governor of
the world. And this is not a dominion over
fenfelefs raatter, or uninteUedual beings ; but
it is a more noble one, oyer rational crea
tures, — over the children of his care. — It is
that univerfal dominion over nations and
people, which the Pfalmift fo finely expreffes
in various places: " The Lord is King, be the
" people never fo impatient ; he fitteth be-
*' tween the Cherubim, be the earth never
f ' fo unquiet — All the ends of fhe world ffiall
^' remember and turn unto the Lord, and all
^^ the kindreds of the nations ffiall wbrfhip
" before

J38 SERMON VIIL
" before him : for the kingdom is the Lord's,
*' and he is the governor among the nations.''
And if we look into the exercife of this
dominion, we fliall find it ever worthy of
God. His laws are not the mandates of an
arbitrary or capricious tyrant ; but they are
wife, and juft, and good.
And this dominion over man is alfo found
ed in, and agreeable to, the conftitution of
man : God ads upon his reafon, his confci
ence, and by the impulfes , of his Spirit ; yet
he leaves him . finally to chufe for himfelf,
whether he will fubmit to the divine laws, or
not. Mah, therefore, though he is bound
both by duty and intereft to obey, yet, as
being a free agent, it is in his power to dif-
obey, and to oppofe the kingdom of his wife
governor. And to what nation or people ffiall we go,
where this has not been the cafe ? If we look
back to the very infancy of t;he world, we fee
this kingdom of God oppofed by the difobe
dience of his firft fubjeds. And if we carry
pur view through the fucgeeding agei, what
fcenes

. SERMON VIIL 139
fcenes of horror prefent themfelves to our eyes !
See here the feientific Egyptian, amidft all his
ftores of knowledge, proftrating the image of
God before four-footed beafts and creeping
things ! — See there the proud philofopher of
Greece, amidft all his boafted refinements,
falling down to ftocks and ftones, the repre-
fentatives of his fabulous and unknown gods !
— See here, again, martial Rome, boafting of
her thirty thoufand deities, within her impe
rial walls, and yet ignorant of the one true
God 1 — and, to compleat the pidure, behold
there the bloody devotees of Moloch, facri
ficing their fons and their daughters to devils!
Nor were the manners of antient nations
lefs corrupt, than their worffiip was bafe and
impure. For fee here the fierce barbarians of
the north, more favage than the beafts they
perfued, and loft to every fenfe of human
feeling ! — there the voluptuous and effeminate
millions of Afia, funk in vice and floth, and
regardlefs of eyery noble and rational objed!
— Here the tyrants of mankind, ruling the
ffibjeds of the fame common God with a rod
pf iron ! and there the proud conqueror,
panting for univerfel empire, and marking his
pailage

I40 SERMON VIIL
paftage through remote nations, in charaders
of rapine, violence, and blood !
It is true, that God, in pity to mankind,
preferved fome traces of his kingdom in one
comer of the world, among a people peculiarly
llis : and yet even they too foon loft fight of
thofe miraculous interpofitions, by which they
had fo often been refeued, and fell into all
the grofs corruptions of idolatrous worffiip and
immoral pradice ; fo that, though the moral
kingdom of God was ftill vifible, it was vifible
Ctnly in its ruins ; it exhibited to the view no
thing but fome disjointed and ffiattered rei
jnains of that beautiful ftrudure, which he
©figinally founded.
Thirdly, To recall men, therefore, to their
obedience, and to reftore the moral govern-
ment of the world, a new kingdom was efta-
bJiffied, under the Meffias, founded on clearer
information than that of reafon, and ftrength^
cne'd by the additional fandion of a full dif-
povery of a future ftate of rewards and pu-
Biffiments ; and which, in due time, ffiould
bring aU men to an acknowledgment of the
truth.

SERMON VIIL 141
truth, and to a ftate of perfed allegiance to
the one true God.
This kingdom was but as yet in its infancy,
when our bleffed Saviour inftruded his difci
ples in this divine formulary, and therefore
he had juft reafon to teach them to pray, that
the kingdom of God and his Son (which is
here comprehended in one expreffion) might
come, and that all nations might acknowledg-s
his divine miffion, and be converted to the
purity of the chriftian faith. It was, there
fore, clearly, the primary intention of this
petition to requeft, that the boundaries ox
God's kingdom might be enlarged every
where, by an outward profeflion of the chrif
tian religion, and by an in\i;^rd conformity t^
its holy precepts.
And much caufe have we ftill to contintie
the ufe of this petition, if we confider, how
imperfedly the glorious things, which are
fpoken of this kingdom, are yet fulfilled ia
the world.
It was exprefsly predided, that the GoTpef
of Chrift ffiould be^preaehed-to-all the world ; —
that

142 SERMON VIIL
that all kings ffiall fall dow'h beforfe him, and
all nations do him fervice ; — that his name
ffiall be great, from the rifing up of the fun to
the going down of the fame ; — that the earth
ffiall be ffiU of the knowledge of the Lord,
as the waters cover the fea ; — and, above all,
that the whole nation of the Jews ffiall be
converted to Chriftianity, and become one
fold, under one ffiepherd, Jefus Chrift.
Yet look into the world, and fee how little
all this is fulfilled. — Caft your eyes over the
wide- extended empires of Afia, or through
the uncivilized tribes of African, or Ame
rican, or infular favages : — how many mil
lions yet fit in darknefs and the ffiadow of
death, and have never fo much as heard of
the name of Jefus, but are ftill falling down
before ftocks and ftones, the work of mens'
hands ? How many, again, have fo blended
the purity of the chriftian faith with the bafe
alloy of Mahometai\ impofture, as to have
loft the name of Chriftians ? How many, in
this age of growing licentioufnefs, have caft
off their former faith, and become worfe than
infidels ? And, what is more deferving of
coiffideration than all the reft, how fignally does-*

SERMON vm. 143
does the whole body of the Jews ftill remain
out of the pale of the chriftian church ? — -
though, amidft all the revolutions of empires^
and changes of nations ; though fcattered, as
they are, into all lands ; they ftill continue a
feparate and unmixed people, retain their ori
ginal faith, name, and language ; as if they
were incapable of that civil amalgamation, by
which we daily fee men of all nations, by
frequent intercourfe, reduced, as it were, into
one homogeneous mafs ; and this, clearly, for
fome remarkable defignation and purpofe of
providence, to be fulfilled in its due time.
We cannot but fee then, that Chrift's
kingdom is not yet fully come, nor the glo
rious things, v/hich were predided of its ex
tent and univerfaiity, yet accomplifl-ied : yet
let us not defpair of the accomplifl-iment of
them, Man is a creature of a dav, but God
is the rock of ages : he is the fame yefterday,
to-day, and for ever ; his promifes, therefore,
cannot fail. The prophetic kingdom of the
IMeffias, we ov.ai, is not yet eftabhffied, yet this
wiffied-for time of univerfal peace and good
will, will one day come : it is in the hands of
an unerring providence, which will bring it to
pafs

144 SERMON Vllt
pafs in due feafon. And, in the mean time^
it is our duty fo co-operate with God's gra
cious defign ; to pray earneftly, that his king
dom may come in its ffill extent, and that all
nations raay acknowledge the kingdom of God
and his Son, to whom he hath not yet been
Ipoken. If, again, we confider this kingdom of Godj
as intended to bring raen into the obeffience
of faith, and to produce in them the fruits
of righteoufnefs, how much caufe have we
ftill to pray earneftly, that the kingdora of
God may come : for, even among thofe, upon
whom his name is called, how few acknow
ledge fincerely the dominion of Chrift ? Among
his fubjeds, how few obey his laws ? Look
into the chriftian world, and where is that
purity which Chrift taught ? Where is that
juftice which he commanded ? Where is that
univerfal love which he recommended ? If
we meet with fome few inftances of this obe
dience, — and few, indeed, I fear, they are, — <
their bleffed effeds will difpofe us to wiffi,
that this obedience were univerfal, and thaf
all would own the kingdora of their L©rd by
a conforraity to his coraraands. The

SERMON VIIL 145
The prophets, again, call this kingdom of
the Meffias, a kingdom of peace. But where,
alas ! ffiall we find this prophecy accompliffied ?
Haye nations yet beat their fwords intoplough-
ffiares, and their fpears into pruning-hooks ?
Where is that happy region to be found, fo
invitingly defcribed by the prophet Ifaiah,
where the wolf dwelleth with the lamb, and
the leopard lieth down with the kid ? Where,
rather, is not man a foe to man, and the
image of God ftained with cruelty and blood-
ffied ? Surely, therefore, eyery friend to man
kind muft devoutly wiffi, that this bleffed
ftate of peace may begin, and this kingdom
of God come.
- Fourthly, There is alfo a kingdom of God,
which is a kingdom of glory.
And this is, in the moft perfed and ex
alted fenfe, his kingdom: — it is that kingdom,
which ffiall have no end: — it is that kino-- o
dom, which ffiall commence at that awful
period, when, death and fin being van-
quiffied, Chrift ffiall come in his glory, to
put an end to- the generations of men, and
to give to every man according to his works :
Vol, L L to

146 SERMON VIIL
to them, who, by patient continuance ia
well-doing, feek for glory, and honour,
and immortality, eternal life ; but to them
that are contentious, and do not obey the
truth, but obey unrighteoiifnefs, indignation
and wrath, tribulation and anguiffi, upon
every foul of man that doeth evil ; of the
Jew firft, and alfo of the gentile.
And with refped to this fenfe, we, there
fore, here pray, that God would haften his
eternal kingdom ; — that, this life of fin and
forrow being ended, we, with all thofe that
are departed out of this life in the true faith
and fear of God, may reign for ever in glory.
Having thus explained the various fenfes,
in which the kingdom of God is ufed in
fcripture, I ft. As meaning God's abfolute dominion
oyer nature ;
adly. His moral kingdom, in the govern
ment of mankind ;
3dly, The kingdom of the Meffias ; as ef
tabhffied either in the outward profeffion of
the

SERMON Vllt 147
the Gofpel, or in the inward purity and obe
dience of its profeffors ; and,
Laftly, His future kingdom of glory, when
death ffiall be fwallowed up in vidory, and
pain and forrow ffiall be no more.
I now come to the confideration of thofe
duties, which are ffiggefted to us from fhe
ufe of this petition.
And now then, if we are fincere in pray-
ffig that God's kingdom may come, we ffiould
remember, I ft. That it is our duty fo endeavour to
advance it, by ffiewing ourfelves good fub
jeds, by obeying the laws of our divine
fovereign, and by promoting his honour.
For it is not enough to wiffi ; w^e are alfo to
ad. We ffiould, therefore, both live in obe
dience ourfelves, and alfo, in our feveral fta
tions, inftrud the ignorant, reprove the li
centious, exhort the carelefs ; — and this more
efpecially among thofe, who are committed
to our care by the providence of God, or over
whom our authority or example are likely to
have a prevailing influence. And,

14S SER M O N VIIT.
And, 'indeed, this is not only the beft proof
we can give of our fincerity in making this
petition, but is alfo the moft likely method
of bringing it to pafs. For, as the holy lives
of the firft profeffors of Chriftianity, contri
buted above all things to the fuccefs of the
kingdom of Chrift, fo there is no caufe,
\*'hich has fo rauch contributed to obftrud it,
as the carelefs and immoral lives of Chriftians,
And fo it ever muft be :, for in vain will the
mouth proclaim the purity of the Gofpel pre
cepts, if our adions fpeak the language of
Spaniffi rapine and barbarity, or in the fan-
guinary tone of Romiffi vindidion and in
quifitorial cruelty.
2dly, I^ we are filicere in making this pe
tition, it will become us to ffiew our fince
rity by co-operating with the providence of
God and the labours of pious men, in fpread-
ing the kingdom of Chrift. There are yet
many dark corners of the world, where the
light of the Gofpel has never ffione. There
are many nations, where reafon has loft her
empire over the paffions. And many there
are, even where Chrift has been preached, in
which little is known of real Chriftianity, through

SERMON VIIL 149
through thofe manifold corruptions and fuper-
ftitiorffl, which ha\^e been blended with it.
Here then is a wide field, in which we may
ad. Here we' may truly ffiew our zeal for
the advancement of Chrift's kingdom, by
joining our prayers and our liberality to the
pious endeavours of- thof"e, who are now la
bouring to give light to them that fit in darl>
nefs, and the ffiadow of death.
3dly, Do we pray in earneft, that Chrift's
kingdom on earth may come, let us remember,
that one efpecial part of it is peace and univer
fal love, Inftead, therefore, of dividing the
unity of his kingdom by needlefs contentions,
or bitter ftrife and envying, it will better be
come us to preferve the unity of the fpirit ia
the bond of peace. We are taught here to
pray for the kingdom of Chrift in general,
without any diftindion of fed or party :
wherever, therefore, his name is fincerely
profeffed, all denominations of Chriftians have
a right to an intereft in our prayers ; and,
though we may lament, that fbme ffiould
caufe, what may appear to us, needlefs di«-
vifions, yet we are to treat them witii ten
dernefs and charity ; hoping, that though
L 3 they

I50 SERMON vm.
they may be, in our opinion, in fome things
miftaken, yet, fhat we have all the fame
common intereft and objed in view, and
wiffiing, that, at the end of our journey,
however we may haye perfued different roads,
or even fometimes have fallen out by the
way, we may finally all meet together, in
Chrift's eternal kingdoni of glory,
4thly, Do we pray in earneft, and there-.
fore fincerely believe, that God's kingdom will
come ; — let this teach us to bear with pa^
tience, the common evils and misfortunes of
the world.
We know, that forrow is the natural lot
and birth-right of rnan, and, therefore, we can
have 110 claim to be exempted from it^ even
under the moft perfed eftabliffimenl; of hu
man affairs. But we know likewife, that the
kingdom of God is not yet come, either in
its full purity or extent, and, therefore, we
muft exped to find the natural forrows inci
dent to our ftate, much increafed by the
frauds and villainies of a corrupt and unre^
generate world. From this petition, .how
ever, we may learn, both to be prepared for
them.

SER MO N VIIL 151
thera, and alfo to be comforted under them.
For he, who taught us to pray, that his king
dom may come, plainly, thereby, tells us,
that the finful, turbulent, and felfiffi paffions
of men are not yet fubdued, and, therefore,
will continue to produce their natural effeds,
in difturbing the happinefs and order of the
world. But then we are hereby alfo taught
to remember, that there will be a future
khigdom of glory, in v/hich all our prefent
toils and grievances will be amply compen-
fated, and, therefore, that we ought to bear'
them with patience and moderation.
Laftly, If we pray in earneft, that God's
kingdom of glory may come, we ffiould alfb
take care to prepare for its coming : for,
wiffiout preparation, who may abide its com
ing ? " Seeing that ye look for fiich things,"
fays St, Peter, that is, " the coming of the
" great day of God, what manner of perfons
" ought ye to be in all holinefs and godly
" converfation ?" Nor let us deceive our
felves in the nature of that preparation, which
is neceffary to fit us for the coming of this
great and terrible day. If is not the feeble
effort of a dying hour ; it is not the prayers
L 4 pf

152 SERMON VIIL
of the man of God ; it is not the late-de
ferred remembrance of a Redeemer's death ;
which will fitly prepare us for the coming of
Chrift's kingdora. Thefe may, indeed, chear
the natural horrors of our laft fcene, and con
tribute to make us depart in peace, in the eye
of the world : — but the beft, and only fafe
preparation, is a life of virtvie, joined to an
adive faith. The kingdom of God muft be
within us ; — muft begin in the heart, and
ffiew itfelf in righteoufnefs, and true holi
nefs ; — without which, all external ads and
profeffi'ons, all our attendance upon divine
ordinances, will avail us nothing.
If then we hope to be joined to faints and
angels in glory ; — if we hope to be re-united
fo thofe friends, whom, for a time, we have
loft ; — we muft follow their virtues, and imi
tate their perfedions ; and then the kingdom
of God will come to our joy.
But, to ufe the awful language of the pro
phet, " Woe unto you that defire the day of
" the Lord without preparing for its coming I
" To what end is it for you? The day of
" the Lord is darknefs and not light.'- For, ff

SERMON VIIL is3
if we are corrupt and vicious ; — if we have
the name of Chrift, without any of his graces ;
— we have no intereft in his kingdom : — nay,
happy would it be for us, if that kingdom
might never come ! — For it will only come
to our forrow and confufion: — it will' only
come, to expofe our folly before men and an
gels : — it will only come, to fentence us to be
the companions of the worm that never dieth,
and the fire that cannot be quenched.
I ffiall conclude the whole with our Sa
viour's awful defcription of the beginning of
his future kingdom of glory, which contains
in it more forcible incentives to a ferious pre
paration for its coming, than any which the
feeble voice of man can fuggeft ; and to which ,
therefore, I ffiall not add any thing but my
warmeft wiffies and entreaties, that it may
receive that attention from your ears, and
make that impreffion upon your hearts, which
it fo v/ell deferves.
*' When the Son of Man ffiall come in his
" glory, and all the holy angels with him,
" then ffiall he fit vipon the throne of his
?' glory: and before him ffiall be gathered all
" nations:

154 SERMON VIIL
" nations: and he, ffiall feparate them one
" from another, as a ffiepherd divideth his
*' ffieep from the goats : and he ffiall fet his
" ffieep on the right-hand, but the goats on
"'the left. Then ffiall the King fay unto
" them on his right-hand. Come, ye bleffed
" children of my Father, inherit the king-
*' dom prepared for you from the foundation
" of the world : for I was an hungred, and
" ye gave me meat ; I was thirfty, and ye
" gave me drink ; I was a ftranger, and ye
" took me in ; naked, and ye clothed me ;
*' I was fick, and ye vifited me ; I was in
" prifon, and ye came unto me. Then ffiall
" the righteous anfwer him, faying. Lord,
" when faw we thee an hungred, and fed
" thee ; or thirfty, and gave thee drink ?
*' When faw we thee a ftranger, and took
" thee in, or naked and clothed thee ? Or
*' when faw we thee fick, or in prifon, and
" came unto thee ? And the King fhall an-
" fwer and fay unto them. Verily I fay unto
?' you, inafmuch as ye have done it vmto one
*' ofthe leaft of thefe my brethren, ye have
" done it unto me,
** Then ffiall he fay alfo unto them on the
" left-hand," (mark well the tremendous words.

SERMON VIIL 155
words, ye whofe fins are leading you on to
this unhappy number) " Depart from me,
*' ye curled, into everlafting fire, prepared
" for the devil and his angels : for I was an
*' hungred, and ye gave me no meat ; I was
*' thirfty, and ye gave me no drink ; I was
" a ftranger, and ye took me not in; naked,
*' and ye clothed me not ; fick, and in pri-
*' fon, and ye vifited me not. Then ffiall
'* they alfo anfwer him, faying. Lord, when
" faw we thee an hungred, or athirft, or a
" ftranger, or naked, or fick, or in prifon, and
" did not minifter unto thee ? Then ffiall he
" anfwer them, faying. Verily I fay unto you,
^' inafrnuch as ye did it not to one of the leaft
'^ of thefe, ye did it not fo me. And thefe
" ffiall go away into everlafting puniffiment,
*' but the righteous into life eternal."
Wherefore, my beloved brethren, be ye
ftedfaft, unmoveable, always abounding in
the work of the Lord, forafmuch as ye know,
that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.

SER-

SERMON rX.

Matthew vi, 9.
thy will be done in earth, as it is ih heaven.
I KNOW not whether it may be thought
worth the while to remark, that, in ftrid
nefs of modern language, this petition fliould
be tranflated, thy will be done on earth, as
it is in heaven : as alfo the firft petition ffiould
be. Our Father, who art in heaven. I muft,
however, do fo much juftice to the tranfla
tors of our bible, as to fay, that they expreffed
themfelves, in both petitions, agreeably to
the mode of the times in which they wrote.
For there can be no doubt, that in earth is a
common expreffion in our older Engliffi wri
ters, and the authority of the beft gramma
rians will fupport me in faying, that the re
lative pronoun which, though now ufed in
relation to things only, was formerly ufed in
relation both to perfons and things. But

158 SERMON IX.
But, leaving thefe minutias of verbal criti
cifm, to thofe who dehght in fuch barren
difquifitions, let us proceed to examine what
is more important, the fenfe and fubftance of
the petition before us.
I have already obferved, that the feveral
parts of this divine prayer have a manifeft and
well arranged connedion with each other.
Thus, in the firft petition, we pray, that the
name of God may be hallowed, and that
whatever belongs to him and his feryice
may be treated with decency and refped. In
the fecond, we pray, that his kingdom may
come, and that his religion may become uni
verfal. But how could this be, if his will
alfb was not to be done ? How could he be a
kffio-, if no obedience were to be paid by his
fubjeds ? With great propriety, therefore,
we here pray, that his will raay be done in
earth, as it is in heaven.
My prefent bufinefs ffiall be to ffiew,
Firft, What this will of God is :
Secondly, What is the meafure of our obe
dience' to it : and, Thirdly,

S E R M O N IX. 159
Thirdly, The reafonablenefs of doing it.
Firft, The will of God fignifies his provi
dential power, by which he governs the world;
And this will is, in fome fort, always done.
All nature hears his voice, and is obedient.
" Whatfoever the Lord pleafed, that did he,
" in heayen, and in earth, and in the feas,
" and in all deep places." Private events
and public revolutions are all conduded by
his defign and order. And even thofe who
will not do, are yet compelled to ffiffer his
divine will. The fceptic ridicules a divine
providence, and the fool fays in his heart,
there is no God : but both the one and the
other are forced to yield to thaf controlling
hand of omnipotence, which guides and di-
reds the feveral component parts of the great
machine of the univerfe.
We cannot, therefore, pray, that this will
of God may be done : for it cannot be re-
fifted. But we may pray, that we may chgar-
ffiUy acquiefce in it, and fubmit to our def-
tiny ; that in all fhe changes and chances of
life, we may acknowledge and adore his re
fiftlefs will, who ruleth over all. Secondly,

i6o SERMON IXi
Secondly, The will of God more efpecislly
here means that law of obedience, which he
has preferibed to rational and free agents, as
the guide of their condud. This law was
originally contained in the clear didates of
reafbn and confcience ; which are, therefore,
called in fcripture " the law written in their
*' hearts ;" and, " the light that enlightens
" every man that cometh into the world."
But alas ! this natural light foon became dim
and obfcure. The corrupt paffions of man
kind, the power of prejudice, and the preva
lence of error fbon confpired together, either
wholly to eradicate the firft principles of duty
and virtue, or, at leaft, to leave no traces of
their efficacy in regulating the adions and
condud of the greater part of the world,
God, therefore, after having preferved a
knowledge of his will among one peculiar
people, for the fpace of fifteen hundred years,
by a particular revelation, at length gracioufly
condefcended to make it known in a more
ffill and general way, by the revelation of his
Son, whom he fent into the world for this
very purpofe, that all men might corae to
the knowledge of the truth, and be faved. We

S E R M O N IX. i6i
We Chriftians, therefore, well know the will
of God. It is laid down in the Gofpel, in
terms fo clear and exprefs, that he that runs
may read it. But though the will of God is
eafily known by us, it is not fo eafily pradifed,
amidft the infirmities of a corrupt nature, and
the temptations of a dangerous world. We
are, therefore, here taught to pray, both for
ftrength fo obey it ourfelves, and alfo that
others may do the fame.
But fecondly. We are not only to do the
will of God, but the meaffire and manner of
our obedience is alfo here preferibed to us,
when we pray, that the will of God may be
done on earth, as it is in heaven.
By which expreffion ^ fome have thought,
that our Saviour alludes to the fteady, regu
lar, and uniform motion of the heavenly bo
dies, which God hath eftabhffied for ever and
eyer, and given them a law, which ffiall not
be broken : and that man ffiould be as punc
tual and conformable in his obedience to the
will of God, as the moon, which is appointed
for certain feafons, and the fun, which
* Vide Grotii comm. in loc.
Vol. I. M knoweth

i62 SERMON IX,
knoweth his going down. And, indeed, it
muft be owned, the regular order and fuc
ceffion of thaf hoft of heaven, which God
hath ordained, may but too well ferve to re
proach the difbrder and irregularity of man,
the only rebel of the created world ; who
ffiould be the nobleft of God's works, as be
ing made in his own image, and yet, in his
adions, is too often funk below the very
brute that periffieth.
I ffiould rather, however, chufe to under
ftand the words of this petition as alluding to
the ready and chearful obedience of the an
gels in heaven, which is a fit pattern for man
to imitate on earth.
How they obey, indeed, w^ are no where
particularly and exprefsly informed in fcrip
ture. But, from the charaders under which
they are there defcribed, we ffiall find no great
difficulty in colleding what is the nature of
their obedience. Thus, they are defcribed,
as being able " to difcern what is good and
" bad:" they have, therefore, a perfed know
ledge of God's will. They are reprefented,
as excelling in ftrength : their obedience, therefore.

SERMON IX. 163
therefore, is adive and vigorous. They are
called his^ minifters, a flame of fire : their
obedience, therefore, is pure and fervent.
They are his meffengers and heralds, that do
his commandments, and hearken to the voice
of his word : their obedience, therefore, is
ready and chearful. Thefe then are the qua
lities, which man is to copy in his obedience
to the divine will, and which are peculiarly
the fubjed of this part of the petition. And
much need he has to pray, that God would
enable him more and more to refemble thofe
divine fpirits, in the difcharge of his duty.
The angels of God, we fee, excel in know-
ledge : but man is blind, and feeth few things
aright. We have need, therefore, in the
firft place, to beg of God the affiftance of his
Holy Spirit, to dired us to the knowledge of
his will, and to lead us into all truth,
2dly, Man, again, is weak ; but the angels
of God are ftrong. We are, therefore, to
beg of God -to ftrengthen our infirmity, and
to give us grace to imitate the facred minif-
ters of heaven, in a hvely and adive obe
dience to his will. ,M 2 3dly,

i64 S £ R M O N IX.
3dly, Again, the minifters pf God are as a
flame of fire ; purged from all drofs and im^
purity, and, therefore, ready and fervent in
difcharging the will of their divine Mafter,
without any alloy or mixture of imperfedion.
But man is encompaffed with ftubborn affec
tions, and the corruptible body preffeth down
the foul. His beft fervices, therefore, are
imperfed, and the ftruggles of the fleffi againft
the fpirit will always counterad his moft pious
refolutions. We haye need, therefore, to
pray earneftly, that we may have the pure
and refined fervour of angels, in performing
the will of God, and in keeping ourfelves
undefiled. 4thly, Once more, Man grows weary and
fluggiffi in his duty, and, too often, performs
it with fturdy reludance, or cold indifference :
but the angels of God are ever on the wing
to execute the commands of their great Sove
reign, and rejoice to do his pleafure. This
will teach us, therefore, to pray, that we
may referable their zeal, that we may run
the way of God's commandments, and do
his will, with the fame joy and alacrity, with
which they do it. 5thly,
I

SERMON IX. 165
5thly, The angels of God perform his will
from a principle of real obedience, and there
fore perform it univerfally. They have no
corrupt will of their own to ffiiflead them ;
they have no finifter views or oblique confi
deratioiis to warp their judgments ; they have
no end in view but to obey, becaufe it is God
that commands. But where, alas ! ffiall we find
this univerfaiity and fimplicity of obedience in
man ? Wavering and unfteadyin our principles,
we know not how to ad aright, and whilft in
fbme things we obey the will of God, in
others we are all of us the fervants qf a very
different mafter. And even in what we feem
to do aright, how little proceeds from a real
principle of obedience, abftraded from thofe
worldly confiderations of intereft, prudence,
or oftentation, which too often are the foun
dation of the moft ffiining adions of mankind.
We have need, therefore, to pray to, thaf
Qod, who fearcheth the hearts of men, not
only that we may do his will, but alfo do it
on thofe principles of pure and fincere obe
dience, on which alone we can hope to be
rewarded for dping it.
6thly, The will of God is done by all
the angels in heayen : for thofe unhappy fpi-
M 3 rits.

i66 S E R M O N IX,
rits, which kept not their firft eftate, have
long left that celeftial habitation, once their
own, and are now referved in everlafting
chains, under darknefs, unto the judgment
of the great day. There is, therefore, an
univerfal fubjedion to the will of God, in
heaven. But where, alas ! ffiall we find this
univerfal fubjedion and obedience to his will,
on earth. Nay, rather, where is not that
will univerfally difobeyed, by open infidelity
or profanenefs, by fecret fin or avowed rcr
bellion ? I fear, even the beft of us may take
ffiame to ourfelves on this account, and may
recoiled many fad inftances, in which we
have oppofed the will of God, by ading
contrary to his laws, by fubverting the em
pire of reafon, by refufing to liften to the ad
monitions of confcience, and by quenching
the Holy Spirit within us. We, therefore,
here pray both for ourfelves and others ; that
we may all have grace to obey the will of
God ; that the whole race of mankind may
become true and faithful fubjeds to their great
Sovereign, and do his will as univerfally, as
it is done by all his angels and faints in hea-f
ven. Laftly,

SERMON IX, 167
Laftly, The will of God is done, in hea
ven, with the profoundeft reverence and hu
mility. The celeftial meffengers are defcribed
in fcripture, as being thoufands and ten times
ten thoufand in number, and enlightening
the earth with their glory : yet fo great is
their veneration of the Deity, that they pre-
fume not to look up to him, but are repre-
fented*in the majeftic vifion of Ifaiah, as co
vering their faces with their wings, unable
to behold the brightnefs of his majefty. If
then thefe glorious and inteffigent courtiers,
who have no fins or infirmities to cover their
faces with confufion, perfoi^m their Maker's
will with fuch deep humility, with what in
finite reverence, with what profundity of
adoration, ffiould his finful creatures on earth
obey his commands, when they confider the
immenfe difparity between a God of om
nipotence and a v^'orm of mortality ; between
a bemg of infinite purity and a wretched com
pound of finful duft and affies. This then is
the fubjed of our prayer ; thefe the meafures
of our obedience. And much reafon have
we, if we rightly confider, to pray earneftly,
that God would fb ftrengthen our weaknefs,
M 4 that

i68 S E R M O N IX.
that we may truly do his bleffed will on earth,
even as it is done in heaven.
For, thirdly. As no duty is more neceffary,
than that of doing the will of God, fo alfo
none is more reafonable,
I. God made the world, therefore, furely,
has the beft right to govern it. Shall man,
then, dare to invade this right ? Shall the
thing formed defy him that formed it ? Shall
duft and affies prefume fo oppofe Omnipo
tence ?
2. Again : God is thy fupporter and pre
ferver : in him thou liveff, moveft, and haft
thy being. Does it not become thee, then,
to obey him on whom thou dependeft ? Does
it not become thee to tremble at his will, who
is able to recall the bleffings he gave, and to
make thee, in a fingle moment, the fame
lifelefs, breathlefs duft, frpm which thou waft
originally taken ?
3. God is thy benefador. He has fhowered
down his bleffings upon thee with an unfpa-
ring hand, and given thee all things richly to

S E R M O N IX, 169
to enjoy : He has commanded the fun ,to
cheer and enlighten thee, the breezes to re-
freffi thee, the former and the latter rain to
defcend in their feafon, for thy ufe : and, what
is above all. He has redeemed thee from fin
and death, and opened to thy yiew the gate
of immortality. Wouldeft thou, then, rejed
fhefe bleffings, or defpife that will, which is
hourly employed for thy benefit ?
4. Remember that the will of God is thy
only fecurity. Man is blind and ignorant,
and hardly feeth a few things aright : he
knoweth not what to afk for himfelf, nor
how to guide his fteps amidft the dark mazes
of the world. It is furely, therefore, the
greateft of bleffings, that the Almighty con
defcends, as it were, to take thee by the hand,
and to guide thee by his will ; — that thou art
fecure in his wifdom, and ftrong in his power.
And who, then, but a madman would throw
off the reins of divine government, when he
knows that he is incapable of governing him
felf ? Who would prefer the dark glimmer
ings of his own feeble underftanding, to the
bright effulgence of heavenly wifdom ?
5. This

170 SERMON IX,
5, This duty recommends itfelf to thee by
its advantages. For the man who knows that
he is doing the will of God, muft unavoid
ably be happy in every ftate and circuraftance
of life. This is a thought, which will make
his religion eafy, his duty pleafant, his afflic
tions light, and his heart always chearful :
for he knows, whether he abounds or ffiffers
need, whether the world frniles or frowns
upon him, that both the one and the other
^re the will of God, and are alike direded by
that almighty hand, which holds men and
kingdoms, as it were, in a balance: — he is,
therefore, refigned, contented, happy.
But compare now with fuch a man the bold
railer againft providence, — the fool, who hath
faid in his heart, there is no God : — howdifr
ferent, how dreadfully different, is his fitvia-
fion ! If he ads virtuoufly, he has no joy in
refleding, that he is doing the will, and
therefore deferving the approbation, of a
gracious mafter in heaven. If he profpers,
he has no comfort in thinking that his fficcefs
is the reward and favour of a juft God : he
can, only attribute it to blind chance, which
fcatters her undiftinguiffiing bounties at ran-
dom.

S E R M O N IX. 171
dom. And if he is unfuccefsful, he has no
fource of comfort : he may rail, indeed, at
fate or providence, but he cannot help him
felf; he muft fubmit to, though he will not
acknowledge, the uncontrollable mandates of
Omnipotence, How much better, therefore, is it to fub
mit chearfuUy, and to do that juft and kind
will of God, which no power can evade, and
which alone can fecure and eftabliffi the hap
pinefs of man I
If then, my brethren, you are fincere in
making this petition, let your fincerity appear
in your lives and converfation. Every day
and every hour will furniffi you with oppor
tunities of ffiewing your obedience and fub
miffion to the divine will. Ye cannot plead
ignorance what or where it is: — it is before
you and around you.
His written will is in the Gofpel, which is
plain, and not to be miftaken, and extends
itfelf to every adion of your lives. And his
providential will is no lefs clear and intelli
gible. We feel it every day of our lives. —
Am

173 S E R M O N IX,
Am I in ficknefs or poverty ? it is the will pf ^
God. — Am I envied or defpifed ? it is the
will of God. — Have I loft a friend or a
fortune ? it is God's will. — Am I bereaved
of children, or robbed of my good name ? it
is the will of the fame juft Gqd, who knows
what is beft and moft fitting for me.
In thefe, therefore, and all other events,
purs ffiould be the language of old Eli ; — " it
*' is the Lord, let him do what feemeth him,
*' good." And though, at firft, we may find
fome difficulty in bringing the ftubbornnefs
of fleffi and blood to this refigned temper, yet
let us not be difcouraged. Submiffion in frnall
things will pave the way to it in greater :
and we may reft affured, that time and per
feverance will confirm what piety has begun ;
for the tree, which is conftaiiitly bent, how
ever ftubborn by nature, will become flexible
and pliant at the laft.
And ffiould we want any example to ani
mate us in the difcharge of this duty, we need
but look up to him, who was the Author and
Finiffier of our faith. — The fame Jefus, who
taught us to pray, that the will of God may be

S E R M O N IX. 173
be done on earth, was himfelf alfo the nobleft
example of doing it. In the midft of ago
nies unfupportable, — within fight of that crofs,
which was to terminate his life in pain and
ignominy, — his language was only this, " Not
*"• my will, but thine be done."
Let not man, then, plead fhe impoffibility
of doing the will of God. His divme Mafter
x^'as content to do it in the worft of circum
ftances, and to be made perfed through fuf-
ferings. Let not, therefore," the fervant ex
ped to be above his Lord : — let him rather
think it his higheft honour to be as his Lord;
to be as ready and chearful in his obedience,
as humble and contented in doing the will of
his Father, which is in, heaven.
When, then, we look up to the Author
and Finiffier of our faith, we ffiall learn pa
tience and fubmiffion to our heavenly Mafter.
And when we confider thofe glorious fpirits,
who minifter in his prefence, and fall down
before him with never-ceafing hallelujahs, it
will warm our devotions with a heavenly
flame, it wiU teach us to purify our hearts
and affedions, and to cleave to fhe Lord with full

174 S E R M O N IX.
full purpofe of heart, in all events ; that after
having done the will of God on earth, we
may join that angelic chorus in heaven, which
ceafeth not, day or night, to M'orffiip him that
liveth for ever and ever, faying, " Thou art
*' worthy, O Lord, to receive glory, and ho-
^' nour, and power : for thou haft created all
" things, and for thy pleafure they are, and
*' were created."

SER-

SERMON X.

Matt, vi, ir.
Give us this day our daily bread.
HAVING, in the former part of this
divine prayer, expreffed our wiffies for
promoting the honour of God, the eftablifh-
ment of his kingdom, and the performance
of his will, on earth ; we now proceed to
afk of him a fupply for our own neceffities,
both of body and foul.
The former of thefe is contained in the
petition now read to you, " Give us this day,"
or, as St, Luke expreffes it, " Give us, day
" by day, our daily bread :" — a petition
feemingly very plain and obvious, and which
yet has been the ffibjed of much controyerfy
among the learned, 1 ffiall,

i-jG S E R M O N X.
I ffiall, therefore, firft endeavour briefly to
explain the precife . meaning of the words ;
and, fecondly, to fliew, what important lef
fons of duty we are taught by offering up this
petition to God,
Firft, then. By bread we are here to under
ftand whatever is neceffary for the preferva
fion and comfort of our being. It is empha
tically called in fcripture, " the ftaff of life;"
and the facred writers exprefs all the horrors
of want and derelidion, by breaking the ftaff
of bread. When, therefore, we afk bread of
God, we afk of him whatever is neceflary
for our temporal happinefs, agreeably to the
ftation and rank we hold in life.
Indeed fome of the ancient Chriftians ex
tended the fenfe of this petition ftill farther,
as containing a requeft for the fupply of our
fpiritual wants, efpecially in the participation
of the facramental elements, which they con
fidered as the bread of life, and which, from
their receiving it daily, they called " their
" daily bread." But

SERMON X. ¦ 177
But we ffiall eafily fee, that there is no juft
foundation for this refined and myftical ex
planation, if we confider that it was impof
fibie for our Saviour to teach his difciples to
pray for that facramental bread of life, of
^vhich they had then never heard, and of
which no mention e^er appears to have been
made, till the inftitution of the Sacrament,
in the night preceding his fuffering.
Secondly, We are here taught to pray for
our daily bread.
The original word sirniirwi/, which we
tranflate " daily," has been taken m a va
riety of fenfes.
I ft. The African fathers, \^ho underftood
this petition as relating to fpiritual food, en
deavoured to countenance their opinion by
tranflating it " fuper-fubftantial," or " extra-
" ordinary." But as their opmion had no
foundation in truth, fb it is equally certain,
that this interpretation of the word is alto
gether contrary to the ufage and analogy of
the Greek language.
Vol. L N 2dly.

178 SERMO N X.
2dly, Others, having a view to the com
pofition of the original Greek word, con
clude it to mean the bread neceffary for our
fubfiftence, or, in the language of Agur,
" the food that is convenient for us." And
it muft be owned, that this tranflation is
agreeable enough to the fenfe of the petition,
but not fo to the idiom of the Greek language,
which, according to this interpretation, would
neceffarily require us to read eTf^a-tov, inftead
of lirrdCiov '.
3dly. Others, with more propriety, tran
flate it " the bread of to-morrow ;" that is,
either of the next fucceeding day only, or,
as St. Jerome thinks, of the whole remainder
of our lives. I ffiould, however, chufe to
adhere to the former of thefe two fenfes, and
to underftand the petition fimply as a requeft
to God, that he would give us, this day, bread
fufficient for the morrow ; in order that we
may be free from that iA,ipi^va,, or anxious
thought, for the morrow, which our Saviour
forbade, as inconfiftent with the faith and
duty of a Chriftian.
' Vid. Schmidii not. in Matt. vi. 11. But,

S E R M O N X; 179
Biit, leaving thefe minuti* of critical ob
fervation, let us proceed to what is much
more important, that is, the confideration of
thofe ufeful leffonsj which this petition ought
to fuggeft to every man who repeats it.
And I ft. It ought to teach us a grateful
acknowledgment of the kindnefs and bounty
of divine providence. The God that made
the world has ftored it with a variety of blef
fings, for our comfort and pleafure. He has
commanded his fun to chear us in the day
time, and the moon to give her light in the
night feafon : — He maketh the clouds drop
fatnefs, and the grafs to grow iipon the moun-t
tains, and herb for the ufe of man: — He ar
rays the lilies of the field in more than royal
fplendor, to adminifter to our delight : —
wherever we turn our eyes; united beauty
and convenience, the gifts of a kind provi
dence, meet us, and confpire to fill fhe heart
with joy and gladnefs. With how much
gratitude, therefore, ffiould we venerate that
invifible hand, which feeds and ffipports us !
With what love and filial homage ffiould we
regard that indulgent Father in heaven, whd
N 2 eon-

i8o S E R M O N X.
condefcends to fupply our daily wants with
daily bread !
2dly, This petition ought to teach every
one who ufes it, a firm truft and dependence
upon God, We have been left unto him
ever fince we were born ; he was our hope,
from the time we hanged upon our mother's
breafts, to the prefent hour; and he hath not
yet left or forfaken us. Our paft experience,
therefore, fliould beget in us a patient reli
ance upon his bounty, even in our greateft
diftreffes : for,' what though the clouds may
lour, and the ftorms of adverfity blow hard
upon us ; " although," in the beautiful lan
guage , of fcriptvire, " the fig-tree ffiall not
" bloffom, neither ffiall fruit be in the vines ;
" though the labour of the olive ffiall fail,
" and the 'fields ffiall yield no meat ; though
" the flock ffiall be cut off from the fold,
" and there ffiall be no herd in the ftall ;
" yet will I rejoice in the Lord ; I will joy
" in the God of my falvation," We are in
the hands of a juft and powerful God, who
is able to difpel the darknefs that hovers over
MS, and to reftore peace and plenty to our
afflided

S E R M O N X. i8i
afflided fouls. He has taught us to pray for
our daily bread, and' he would never teach us
to pray for what he did not •intend to grant.
He is our Father in heaven, and,, therefore,
if his children afk bread, he ¦ Vidl ¦ not give
them a ftone.
The fear of want is, indeed, natural to all,
and is wifely implanted in our breafts. But
it is the intention of this fear, not to lead us
to a diftruft of providence, but to guard againft
the danger of poverty, by a cautious fore-
fight and honeft induftry. If, therefore, we
are afraid of being reduced to want, even daily
bread, we ffiould redouble our prayers to God,
and our own endeavours againft it, but pa--
tiently leave the event to him, who feedeth
the young ravens that call upon him.
And truly, if we confider the common
courfe of human affairs, there is little reafon
to fear the evils of real poverty, if M'^e are
not wanting to ourfelves. There are, indeed,
too many who feel them : but, I am afraid,
if we trace back their misfortunes to their
proper fource, we ffiall much oftener find
them the effeds of indifcretion or idlenefs,
N 3 thau

i82 S E R M O N X.
than either the defertion of God's providence,
pr the negled of man : for God's blefling,
which is never wanting where it is deferved,
added to a chearful induftry, will feldom fail
to produce a competent ffiare at leaft of the
neceffaries of life.
If, indeed, men will call themfelves poor
and deferted, becaufe they want the luxuries
and fuperfluities of life, they may eafily fancy
that the kindnefs of providence does not cor
refpond to their own wiffies. But fuch per
fons ought to be told, that what they call po
verty is no real evil. The purpofes of fociety
muft ever require a fubordination in rank and
fortune, and thaf fome fliould abound, whilft
others, comparatively, fuffer need. But fo
long as they have food to eat, and raiment to
put on, fuitabfe to their humble ftation, they
have all they ought to require, — they have
all their Saviour had upon earth, — they have
all he taught them to pray for to their Father
in heaven. For,
3dly, We ffiould remember, that all we
are here taught to pray for, is our daily bread.
Had God commanded us, any where, to pray
^  'for

S E R M O N X. 163
for the delicacies or luxuries of life, we might
have thought ourfelves hardl\ dealt with, if
we had not obtained them : but he, who beft
knows what is ufeful for us, has taught us to
pray only for the neceffaries of life, referving
to himfelf the diftnbution of his ferther blef
fings to eyery man feverally as he pleafeth.
It is, however, certain, that what we call
the neceffaries of life, will ever vary accord
ing to the rank and fituation a man holds in
it. Every man, therefore, who uies this pe
tition, may lawfully be fuppofed to requefl: of
God fuch a fupply and competency, as is
fuited to his ftation : for the fame God, who
has appointed different ranks in life, can never
have made it unlawful to afk fuch things as
are neceffary to fupport thofe ranks. It is
not, therefore, unlawful to requeft fuch a
ffiare of riches, or credit, or honour, as are
fuited to our condition, provided it is our de
fign to apply them always to their proper ufes ;
that is, to promote the glory of God, and the
welfare of mankind. Some men, indeed, talk
of the plainnefs and iimpiicity of the Gofpel,
as utterly incompatible with every thing be
yond what mere neceffity requires. But,
N 4 when

i84 a i^ K M O N X.
when I turn my eyes towards the fplendor of
that civil and religious polity, which God
himfelf eftabliflied among the Jews ; when I
farther confider the liberal and enlarged genius
of the Gofpel ; I cannot prevail upon myfelf
to believe, that it was ever the intention of
its divine Author, to contrad the bounds of
chriftian liberty into fo narrow a compafs,
Expreflions there may be in the apoftolic
writings, which have the found of inflexible
feverity in this point. But furely it would
be the height of madnefs to extend cautions
or precepts, derived from rigorous neceflity,
d.nd direded to the difciples of Chrift when
under a ftate of perfecution, to Chriftians in
very different circumftances; or to argue from
Chriftianity in an infant and oppreffed ftate,
to Chriftianity when arrived at full maturity,
and fecured by the fences of national eftabliffi-
ment. On the contrary, if we allow that
God forefaw thaf kings ffiould one day be
come its nurfing fathers, and queens its nur-
fing mothers, we muft, at the fame time,
allow, that he has no where difapproved of
thofe innocent, though not effential, orna
ments, which have, in all ages, been the
conftant appendages of royalty. 4t%,

S E R M O N X. 185
*
4thly, When we confider that weaknefs
and inability of our nature, which brings us
upon our knees day by day, to afk of God a
daily fupport, it ought to teach the proudeft
heart a leffon of deep humilitv. For furely,
when 1 refled that I am, every day and hour,
the penfioner of heaven's bounty ; when I
confider, that the fame God, who to-day
gives fruitful fliowers, and bleffes the increafe
of our land, can to-morrow, as it is expreffed
in fcripture, " make the heaven that is over
" our head to be brafs, and the earth that is
" under us, iron ;" I cannot but be fenfible,
how poor and helplefs a creature I am ; — I
cannot but be fenfible, how weak and fooliffi
are all the pretenlions of fupercilious pride
and vaunting ambition; — I cannot but be fen
fible of the truth of that antient remark, that
man, in his beft eftate, is altogether vanity.
Sa long, then, as thou art forced, day by day,
to afk bread of thy God, think not highly of
thyfelf, nor defpife thy poor brother, who,
however low in thy efteem, is upon a level
with thyfelf before the throne of God, in
making this petition. Nor, on the other
hand, can the poor haye a greater confola
tion to their fufterings, nor a ftronger motive to

iS6 S E R M O N X.
to their frequenting the houfe of God, than
to refled, that they are here on a level with
the greateft of mankind ; and that a time is
ffiortly coming, when they may be ranked,
not only with the higheft'of mortal men, but
even with angels and archangels.
5thly, Whilft we implore of God a fupply
of daily bread to ourfelves, let us learn to
commiferate and relieve the diftreffes of our
afflided brethren. God has various ways of
conveying his bleflings and bounty to man
kind :— to fome they defcend in rain and fruit
ful ffiowers, which make the vallies to laugh
and ling :¦ — to others they are conveyed in
profperous gales, which bring the long ex-
peded veffel into the haven where ffie would
be. But many, alas ! are doomed to receive
their daily bread from the hand of human be
nevolence. The man, therefore, who with
holds from the poor that relief, which heaven
wifely defigned them to receive through his
hands, is unfaithful to his truft, and contra-
dids the intention of providence, which cer
tainly meant, that the abundance of the rich
ffiould be a fupply, I do not fay for the pro
fligate vagrant or fturdy begga,r, buit for the
honeft

S E R M O N X. J87
honeft and induftrious, but unfortunate and
diftreffed poor and needy. And furely we
ffiall appear with an iU grace before fhe throne
of God to requeft farther bleffings from him,
if our confcience tells us, that we have been
guilty of mifapplying thofe we have already
received ; — if the cries of the fatherlefs and
widow bear witnefs againft us, that we have
neither fed the hungry nor cloathed the na
ked. And many, I fear, indeed, there arc,
who ftand in need of this relief : for though,
as I before obferved, the lazy and the vicious
conftitute the bulk of thofe, who labour under
the evils of poverty ; yet, when we confider
the common accidents of life, to which thou
fands are daily expofed ; when we refled upon
the unavoidable misfortunes incident to every
profeffion, we cannot wonder to find, in a
wide-extended world, too many deferving
objeds, v/ho call for our protedion and
^ffiftance. Whilft, then, we kneel to God for our
daily bread, let it touch our hearts to refled,
that there are many, who are as much the
children of God as ourfelves, who in ear
lieft want a morfel of bread. Let us not,
therefore,

i88 S E R M O N X.
therefore, grudge them the crumbs which
fall from our tables, the fmall and fcanty fu
perfluities of our abundance. Let us not
think it much to have fpared one article of
fuperfluous ornament or luxury, or to have
been abfent from one place of expenfive di-
yerfion, for the fake of having it in our power
to have relieved a poor member of Jefus Chrift.
Let us now and then retire from the circles
of extravagant and voluptuous gaiety, to con-
verfe^ with the more wretched part of our
Ipecies,— the melancholy inhabitants of hof-
pitals and cottages, the unflieltered guefts of
pold ftreets, the unpitied prey of famine and
difeafe. They will not, indeed, entertain our
eyes with the magic of theatric reprefentation,
or delight qur ears with the fyren voice of
melody ; but they will teach our hearts a lef
fon qf invaluable -wifdom ; —they will teach
us to remember, what v^retched beings we
are, when left to ourfelves, and how much
we are indebted to that providence, which
has placed us above the ftings of want and
the miferies of dependence, by fupplying our
daily neceffities with daily bread, Laftly,

S E R M O N X. 189
Laftly, Whilft ^^'e aflc of God, day by day,
our daily bread, let it admonifh us of the un
certainty of hfe, and of eyery thing we pof
fefs in, it, and, therefore, of the neceffity of
attaining that bread of life, which he that
eateth fliall never hunger. Our Saviour no
Vv'here teaches us to take thought, that is,
I mean, anxious thought, for the morrow.
He well knew, that we are but creatures of
a day, and that the prefent moment is all we
can call our own : He, therefore, thought it
fufficient for us to afk for prefent fupport,
-leavmg futurity to the difpofal of him, who
governs the changes and chances of life. It
will become us, therefore, to live daily in a
fenfe of our uncertain condition, to form no
diftant fchemes of pleaffire or ambition ; but
rather, whilft it is yet in our power, to pre
pare for that great and awful change which
awaits us, — knowing that the tenure of life,
like the fupply of our bodily wants, is but
from day to day.
' Whilft, then, we bend the knee to God
for that daily bread, which is the neceffary
ftipport of our frail and feeble bodies, for a
few years, let us remember alfo to requeft that

190 S E R M O N X.
that nobler fpiritual food, which is neceffary foi"
the comfort of our fouls, through ages a.unli-
rmted as their own exiftence ; that wiien the
great and terrible day of the Lord ffiall come,
it may not find us unprepared ; but that,
having done the will of God on earth ; ha
ving bid adieu to all thofe wants and infir
mities, which now bring us, day by day, to
alk our bread of God ; we may be received
into thofe manfions of glory, where the cry
of forrow and the cravings of hunger are' not
heard; — where all tears are wiped frora all
faces ; — and where that God, who is now
hidden from us m impenetrable darknefs,
will condefcend to admit us to the fuUnefs
of joy in his prefence for evermore.

SER.

SERMON XI.

Matt. vi. 12,
And forgive us our trefpaffes, as we forgive
them that trefpafs againf us.

7

"^H I S is a petition, which requires no
particular explanation. Every man
knows the nature of forgivenefs, — eyery man
knows that it is his duty to forgive, — every
Chriftian knows, if he believes the fcrip
tures, thaf his own falvation depends upon it.
The only difficulty is, to bend our ftubborn
hearts and vinchriftian tempers to the pradice
of what we all well underftand.
Inftead, therefore, of wafting your time
by unneceffary inquiries into the nature of
forgivenefs, I ffiall diredly apply myfelf to lay
before you the unreafonablenefs and guilt of
revenge, and to anfwer fuch objedions as are
fome-

192 S E R M O N XL
fometimes urged to palliate or juftify this dia
bolical pafiion.
You will, however, juft permit me to re
mark, that this is the only petition of the
Lord's Prayer, which was not taken by our
Saviour from the antient Jewiffi liturgies,
and, therefore, may be confidered as contain
ing a dodrine truly chriftian, as being the pe
culiar language of him, who came down
from heaven to give peace on earth, and who
taught us, both by precept and example, to
pray for our enemies, and fo blefs them that
perfecute us.
And firft then. Let it be confidered, that
the breach of this law of forgivenefs is highly
mjurious to God, Vindidive juftice is an ad
of fovereign authority, which God alone has
a right to exercife : he, therefore, that takes
it to himfelf, invades his prerogative in the
higheft inftance, " To me belongeth ven-
" geance and recompence," fays God : and
who art thou, O man, that replieft againft
God ? We thinlcat reafonable, that an earthly
fovereign ffiould forbid his fubjeds to inflid
puniffiment upon one another, and command them

S H R M b N XL 193
them fo refer all their quarrels and difputes
to proper judges and fixed laws : now God
has referved the fame right to himfelf, over
high and low, rich and poor, who are all
equally his fubjeds : the revengeful man,
therefore, by difobeying this law, invades the
right of omnipotence, and is unjuft and con
tumacious to his Maker,
Secondly, The revengeful man is unjuft to
hi^ neighbour ; and that whether we confider
the caufe or the effeds of his revenge. For
as to the caufe ;¦ — what is it in generalj that
kindles this irreconcilable hatred in his breaft ?
His neighbour, perhaps, has difcovered his
fraud and injuftice ; or will not comply with
what he thinks unreafonable ; or does not pay
him that refped, which he thinks due to his
fancied importance or increafing wealth ; or
refufes to grant him fome favour, which he
has no right to demand : — in any of thefe
cafes, his anger prefently boils oyer, and he
becomes his enemy, and feeks his ruin, with^*-
out either fufficient caufe or juftice.
And the cafe is the fame, if we confidef
the. effeds of his revenge. For, in the firft
Vol. L O place.

194 SERMON XL
place, men feldom obferve the proportion that
ought to be between the puniffiment and the
offence. They are ready fo ftand up for the
law of retaliation, and cry an eye for an eye,
and a tooth for a tooth ; not confidering, that
thefe words, in the Jewiffi law, related to
him that gave the offence, to reftrain the
violence of his paffion, by fetting before him
fhe dangerous confequences of. his violence,
which would draw down upon himfelf the
fame injury which he offered to others, an
eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, and
not to encourage a fpirit of revenge in him
that received the injury. Again ; it feldom
happens, that men obferve the rules of juf
tice in perfuing their revenge, but think every
thing lawful againft an enemy. Thus, to
fatiate their thirft of vengeance, they are
often guilty of lying and defamation, and
fometimes will not fcruple to build their re
venge upon the bafis of perjury and falfe- wit
nefs ; fo that a man's reputation, and even
' life itfelf are in danger, through the violence
of this truly diabolical paffion.
Thirdly, The revengeful man is unjuft to
himfelf: for, by not forgiving others, he de-
8 prives

S E R M O N XL 195
i)riyes himfelf of the common right of being
forgiven himfelf: and no man's life is fo
blamelefs, as not to ftand in need of forgive
nefs, at fome time or other, God has com
manded us to love one another with the
fame affedion that we love him : he hath
told us, " that if we bring our gift to the
' DC?
" altar, and there remember that our brother
" hath ought againft us, we muft leave our
" gift before the altar, firft be reconciled to
^' our brother, and then come and offer our
" gift :" which plainly implies, that we are
riot fit to enter the houfe of God, or tread his
Courts, — that we are not capable of ferving God
acceptablyj fo long as we harbour any thoughts
bf revenge in our breafts, — and that we can-
iiot obtain mercy from God, unlefs we firft
ffiew mercy to men.
And wifely was this condition enjoined us
by the decree of God. He knows our un-
wilhngnefs to forbear and to forgive : — he
ftands, therefore, as a barrier between us, to
compofe our animofities, and reftrain our re
venge : — he has made our forgiving others the
indifpenfable condition of receiving his for
givenefs ; that the fear of eternal vengeance
O 2 might

196 SERMON XL
might reftrain thofe, whom the milder tIeS
of tendernefs and humanity could not reftrain, *
Highly, therefore, muft he be unjuft t© him
felf, who, by perfuing his revenge, forfeits
all title to forgivenefs from man, and to mercy
from God.
it has, indeed, fometimes been objeded,
fhat he that forgives one injury, invites his
adverfary to do him another. But we every
day find the contrary true by experience. A
mild and forgiving fpirit will win over our
bittereft enemies : it difarms their rage and
difables their malice, which, like the winged
lightning of heaven, ads only with violence,
where it meets with refiftance. But injuries
revenged beget implacable and hereditary ha
treds, which, like the flre of hell, which
kindles them, are never quenched.
Again, it is often faid, that to forgive dif-
jcovers meannefs and bafenefs of fpirit, but
revenge is a fign of magnanimity and great
nefs of foul. But this falfe and deftrudive
maxim can proceed from no tiling but from a
moft ungovernable fpirit of pride, or fuch an
infafiable thirft of doing mifchief, as puts us
upon

SERM ON XL 197
upon a level with wild beafts, and, if fol
lowed, would make men -w^orfe monfters
than howl in the favage deferts. Even the
very heathens had more exalted notions of
humanity, and taught their difciples, that to
forgive injuries was an indifpenfible moral
duty, incumbent upon every man. " We
" ought not to return an injury, nor to do
" any damage, or mifchief, to any perfon in
" the world, whatfoever we may have fuf-
" fered by him," faid the divine Socrates, in
a temper and language truly Chriftian. And
I appeal to every man's own experience, whe
ther his heart does not fecretly approve and
applaud every inftance of a meek and forgiv
ing temper in others, and whether his con
fcience does not, in the filenf hours of cool
refledion, condemn every revengeful thought
m himfelf, as bafe, barbarous, unmanly and
unchriftian. But fome may fay, if they forgive, men
will impute if to cowardice, and not to reli-
,gion ; and therefore their honour is concerned.
jBut what is this phantom of honour, which
thus keeps the world in awe ? Are men then
fbliged to l^crifice their reafon, their confci-
Q 3 ence,

198 S E R M O N XL
ence, their hopes of immortality, to popular.
opinion ? Is not the only true honour in ad
ing like men, and hke Chriftians ? Is it not
far better to ffiffer the reproaches of fooliffi
men, than the torments of hell ? Befides, dp
thefe men, who pretend to ffich nicety of ho
nour in this point, take care to keep their
honour inviolable upon all other occafions ?
Honour requires us to be true and juft in ,all
our dealings, faithful in our promifes, to ab
ftain from ads of fraud, injuftice, and op
preffion, and to do to others, as we would they
ffiould do to us. Yet the man of honour fel
dom troubles himfelf about thefe weightier
matters of the law ; though they are, in re
ality, the only things which conftitute true
honour. He cannot bear a lie to himfelf, yef
he will affront his God with ten thoufand
oaths. He cannot pafs by a reproach from
any man, yet he will defraud many, by re-
ffifing to pay his juft and honeft debts. He
cannot forgive the flighteft injury, yet he will
do the greateft. His honour will not let him
bear a frown or a jeft, but it will let him fe-*
duce the wife of his deareft friend, plunge a
fword into the heart of the man whom he has
injured, and leave an innocent and often dif-

S E R M O N XL 199
treffed family, to bewail the diabolical effeds
of revenge and ungoverned paffions. Such
is that honour, which tramples upon the wif
dom of the gofpel, and would teach men to
reverfe that amiable precept, " even as Chrift
*' forgave you, fo alfo do ye !" He, there
fore, who regulates his adions by the opi
nions of men of ffich honour as this, — who
can condefcend to purchafe their approbation
at the price of his own innocence — who dares
to prefer their decrees to the commands of
the univerfal Sovereign, — will have little rea
fon to applaud his wifdom, when he awakes
to ferious refledion, and ftill lefs, when he
awakes to thofe judgments, which are re
ferved for the implacable and unforgiving.
But fome will tell me, perhaps, it is a
hard tafk to forgive. But let me afk, in re
turn, if it be not a harder ftill fo revenge ;
by which nothing is gained but lofs of quiet,
and a mind continually racked with hatred,
cruelty, envy, and all thofe diabolical paf-
fipns, which add to fhe torments c f hell itfelf?
And here I might naturally attempt to
paint the charader of a heart thus torn and
O 4 diftraded

2O0 S E R M Q N Xt
diftraded with the implacable defire of fC:-
venge : — but, here, in fpeaking to thofe who
have long been witneffes fo the tenor of my
condud in life, I hope, it will be no affeda-
tion or breach of mpdefty to fay, that I find
myfelf unequal to the taflc :^for fure I am,
jthat none can paint it to the life, but thofe,
who have adually felt it. It would not be
too much to fay, that hell is begun within
them : for they burn, day and night, with a
cpnfuming fire. The image of the perfon
they perfecute ftares them in the face, like
an evil genius, and haunts them in their clofeft
receffes and midnigh): hours. If their enemy
probers, who can exprefs their rage ? If men-
ffiew him refped, how great is their indigr
nation ? If he is promoted to honour, how
outrageous is their envy ? Thus a thoufand
contendffig paffions are hourly working in the
breaft of the revengeful man, which by turns
afflid and diflrefs his foul : yet the wretch,
like a flave condemned fo the galleys, ftill
drags his chain, apd, after a thoufand times
the pains to accompliffi his revenge, which
it would have coft him to forgive his offend
ing brother, he at laft cries out, that it is too
hard for fleffi and blood to forgive. And,
i il^deed,

SERMON XL 2Q1
indeed, juftly he might fo cry out, had God
annexed half the miferies and anxieties to the
duty of forgivenefs, which the revengeful
man feels in accompliffiing his favage and un-
chriftian purpofes !
But you will fay, fhat the defire of revenge
is not to be refifted, as being the ftrongeft of
all human paffions. But furely it is not
ftronger than fhe love of heaven and eternal
happinefs. Even ffiould we allow that God
has commanded us hard things, yet we ffiovild
alfo remember, that he has promifed us great
ones. Let, therefore, the recompence of the
reward atone for any fancied difficulty in the
difcharge of our duty. Let us remember too,
that the forgivenefs of others is the condition
of our own forgivenefs, and the difficulty of"
this duty will appear ftill lighter. Doubtlefs,
our own life has not been without its fpots
and blemiffies, which call for vengeance from
God at leaft, if not from man : can it, there
fore, be hard to be told, — forgive and ye
ffiall be forgiven ; — pardon your enemies, and
your fins ffiall be pardoned in heaven, be they
jiever fo greatand many ? Is there nqf rather,
jl" I may be allqwed the expreffion, mufic in
the

c

202 S E R M O N XL
the found, which ought to fill our fouls with
gratitude to God, for providing fo eafy a me
thod qf obtaining his fayour ?

If, therefore, any man be under the laffies
of his confcience, he has here a fure mark of
his acceptance with God ; if, in the midft of
his penitential tears, he can lay his hand upon
his heart, and with fincerity fay, I forgive
thofe who have injured me, for the fake of
that Saviour who forgave me, he may reft
affured, that his pardon is fealed before God,
But, on the contrary, if he retains any malice
or hatred in his heart, though, in the lan
guage ofthe prophet, " his eyes were tears and
*' ffis head a fountain of waters," they would
not fuffice to waffi away his fins. For Chrift
hath exprefsly told us, " if ye forgive not
*' men their trefpaffes, neither will your hea-
*' venly Father forgive you your trefpaffes."
Nay, the more ftrongly to enforce the ne
ceffity of performing this duty, he hath even
obliged us to condemn ourfelves in the face
of heaven, if we do not forgive our brother ;
** forgive us, heavenly Father, as we forgive
** others :" that is, forgive me, O my Fa-r
ther, as I forgive my offending brethren : ex
tend

SERMON XI, 203
tend the fame compaflion to me, which I
Ihew to them : pardon my infinite tranfgref-
fions againft thee, my God, as I pardon the
frailties of my offending fellow-creaturesagainft
myfelf It is on this condition only I can look
for thy favour ; it is on this condition only I
can hope to die in peace ; it is on this con
dition only I can hope to find mercy in that
awful hour, when I ffiall moft ftand in need
pf mercy.
And furely, in fuch a requeft as this we
cannot be cold or infenfible. It is a wiffi that
muft lie near the heart of every man, that God
would pardon his manifold tranfgreffioiis and
infirmities. For, whatever be our fituation
in life ; however we may live in the funffiine
pf fortune, or in the fmiles ofthe world, we
cannot be happy without a fenfe of God's for
givenefs : guilt is ever anxious and trembling :
it leaves a load in our breafts, which no fmiles
pf fortune can remove, and which will con
tinue to prefs us down with mifery fo the very
-end of our days, if we have not fomething to
fly to for reUef And this relief is to be found
from God alone, on the condition of forgiv
ing our enernies. For, if we forgive not men
their

204 SERMON XL
their trefpaffes, neither will our heavenly Fa
ther forgive ours.
But,, perhaps, the example of God may
prevail upon us more than his precepts. If,
therefore, we want farther motives to perfuade
us to forgivenefs, let us behold our Redeemer
dying upon the crofs. If ever any man had a
right to revenge, it was certainly Jefus Chrift.
He fuffered the greateft indignities ; he was
defpifed, buffeted, fcourged, nailed to a crofs
between two thieyes ; had gall given him to
druik; was loaded with curfes and reviled
with infults. And all this he fuffered, though
he was perfedly innocent, in word and deed ;
¦^ — though he was the Son qf God ; — though
he came into the" world to redeem thofe very
perfecutors. And yet he cries, '^ Father, for-
" aive them," He does not fay, O thon
righteous judge of quick and dead, avenger
of oppreffed innocence, revenge my paufe ;
— but. Father forgive them :— pardon their
perjury, calumny, malice, and falfe witnefs:
— Father, forgive this ungrateful people,
whom I preferred before all nations :— for-
o-ive Judas, who betrayed me; — ^forgive the
Pharifees, who delivered me up ; — Herod, wh®

SERMON XL 205
Avho mocked me ; — the falfe witneffes, who
accufed me ; — Pilate, who condemned me ;
— and the very murderers, who nailed me to
the crofs: — Father, forgive them all; for
they know not what they do.
This was the way that the Son of God re
venged his death ; — even by praying for his
murderers. And doth not his example fpeak
to us in the moft forcible language,' — " even
" as I forgave, fo alfo do ye," Shall Chrift
forgive his very murderers, and ffiall we
fcruple fo forgive our brethren ? Shall the
Creator pardon the infults of the creature he
had formed, and ffiall man be wroth with
man ? Shall God forgive us the immenfe ffim
of our fins, and ffiall we refufe fo forgive one
another the fmalleft matters ? Shall an angry
word, an affront, a negled, a blow, provoke
us to thirft for the blood or ruin of a fellow-
creature ? Shall a difference in opinion, a jeft,
a flight, or an imaginary or petty trefpafs,
incite us to harafs the fortunes, or mangle
the reputation of a neighbour, which is dearer
to him than life ? No : God forgave us for
the fake of his Son, and let us forgive one
another for the fake of God. Let us follow ouv

2o5 SERMON xi.
our Redeemer's command of loving one anb-
ffier, and his example of forgiving our bit
tereft enemies.
Laftly, if, after this, we can want any far-
. ther arguments, for forgivenefs and reconcih
ation, let us well confider, how vain and
' foolifli all our angry and implacable thoughts
will one day appear, even to ourfelves. Can
we forget that the prefent life foon draws to
an end ? That foon will all our joys and cares,
our friendffiips and hatreds, our rival hopes
and jealous fears, give way to profpeds of a
very different kind? And when this period
arrives, little diftant perhaps from fome of us,
and certainly not far diftant from all, — when
we lie down on fhat bed of mortality, from
which we ffiall never rife till the trump of the
archangel awakes us, — which of us will not
then wiffi to fay, which of us can forbear to
lay ; I am now going to bid a laft farewell to
a vain and tirefome world i I am now taking
a laft leave of my feUow-travellers through a
painful and laborious journey : — I may, per
haps, have fallen out with them by fhe way :
fome of them, perhaps, have treated me with
fefs kindnefs than I could have wiffied, and
others

SERMON Xt 207
others have embittered my paft days with
more enmity and unkindnefs than I think I
deferved. — But I am now going, whither the
hand thaf injured, or the head that over
reached, can never more approach to hurt me.
And ffiall I then carry my refentments into
the other world ? Whilft I myfelf am mor
tal, ffiall I make roy weak paffions and frail
ties immortal ? Will this recommend me to
a God of mercy ? Will this plead for me at
the throne of mercy ? No : let me rather for
get all thofe little grievances, which fprung
from men, vain and frail like myfelf: — let
me rather pity and forgive thofe various un
ruly paffions, which they are left behind to
ftruggle with, and congratulate my own good
fortune, that I am arrived at the end of my
journey, — that I am now laying down a frail
and wretched exiftence, which has too long
expofed me to the affaults of ungovernable
affedions, and made me a prey to devouring
paffions. Thefe are thoughts which all of us will
one day certainly entertain. What, there
fore, we ffiall then in vain wiffi fo have
done, let us now do, whilft it is yet in our
powen

228 S £ R "k O N Xt
power. If there be any root of bittefnefs
among us, let us root it up. — If any trefpafs,
offence, or injury, have for a tirae warmed
our temper and inflamed our refentment, yet
let thera not always dwell upon our minds : —
there is a time to forgive, as well as to refent :
— therefore, in the beautiful language of fcrip
ture, let not the fun go down upon our
wrath, left we ffiould not rife to-morrow, to
have it in our power to be reconciled to ouf
brother. Let us heartily and in earneft take
up the fervent prayer of our Litany, " May it
*' pleafe thee, O God, to forgive our ene-
*' mies, perfecutors, and flanderers, and to
" turn their hearts!" And, as we hope to be
forgiven ourfelves at the laft great day, let
each of us lay his hand upon his heart, and
with fincerity add, " Son of God, we befeech
*' thee to hear us !"

SER-

SERMON XII.

Matt. vi. tz.
Porgive us our trefpaffes, as loe forghe them
that trefpafs againfl Us.
I HAVE already, in part, Confidered the
nature and tendency of this petition ; per
haps ffifficiently to convince every difpaffionate
hearer of the reafonablenefs and neceffity of
forgiving injuries : I cannot, however, yet
take a final leave of the ffibjed ; partly, on
account of its importance, but more efpeci
ally, through a defire to curb and reftrain that
impetupus and implacable fpirit of revenge,
which is fo oppofite to the whole tenor of the
Gofpel, and fo deftrudive of the peace and
harmony of civil fociety.
To enforce, therefore, the dodrine con
tained in this petition of the Lord's Prayer,
^ Vol. L P ftiU

2IO SERMON XIL
ftill farther, I ffiall confider firft, what the
duty of forgivenefs requires frora us ; and,
fecondly, fuggeft fome rules and confidera
tions, which may be of ufe in reftrgining the
violence of our refentments.
And I ft. The duty of forgivenefs undoubt
edly requires, that we do not feek revenge,
or return thofe injuries upon our adverfary,
which he hath done to us. For, if we are
commanded in fhe Gofpel to be reconciled to
our adverfary, if is fufficiently clear, that we
are thereby forbidden all pradices towards
him, which are inconfiftent with peace and
affedion. And fhis is the exprefs dodrine of
our Saviour himfelf, in words which cannot
he miftaken : " But I fay unto you, that ye
*' refift not evil ; but whofoever ffiall fmite
*.' thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the
" other alfo." — So patient muft the fervant
qf the Lord be to all men ; not rendermg evil
for evil, or railing for jailing, but contrari-
wife bleffing.
And we muft farther remark here, that in
the eftimation of thefe things, we muft not
follow the didates pf qur own pride or paf^
8 fion.

SERMON XIL 211
fion, which account nothing little, but mag
nify every indignity into an unpardonable
fault. Thefe will be ready to whifper to us,
thaf eyery trefpafs deferves a profecution, and
eyery reproachful word a ftab : but in thefe
cafes, neither pride, nor the fooliffi opinions
of honour and gallantry ffiould be our coun-
fellors : — thefe we folemnly renounced at our
baptifm, when we were made Chriftians :
they muft either, therefore, be ffibdued by us,
or we break our compad with God, and
therefore forfeit the benefit- of the chriftian
covenant, 2dly, In chriftian reconciliation it is far
ther required, that we forgive him that hath
injured us, from our hearts, without retaiuT
ing any fecret grudge againft him, or any
wiffi to return injury for injury. The pro
vidence of God hath given us fuch natures,
and placed us in fuch circumftances in life,
that we have not only daily opportunities,
but alfo the ftrongeft engagements, to ffiew
mutual kindnefs and goodwill, — We are all
made of one ftock : we refemble each other
in the features and propqrtiqns of our bodies;
we ftand in need of each other's help : we
P 2 make

212 SERMON XIL
raake voluntary contrads, and enter into the
bonds of civil fociety, of which love is the
heart. And, upon thefe natural fendencies
to mutual goodwill, our Saviour hath ffipjer-
induced the ftronger obligation of the chrif-
tian law, which teacheth us to love our ene
mies, to blefs them that curfe us, and to
pray for thera that defpitefully ufe us : fo that
not only all retaliation of injuries is exprefsly
forbidden, but we are not even to wiffi our
enemy harm, to cheriffi revengeful paffions
againft him in our heart, to curfe him fe
cretly, or to triumph and rejoice at thofe
calamities which befal him in the world.
3dly, It is farther required, that we re
compenfe good to our offendmg brother, if
he ftand in need of our affiftance and charity.
It is not enough to forbear the return of in
juries, but we are obliged alfo, by the laws of
Chriftianity, to exercife zeal and pofitive ads
of raercy towards him ; to feed him, if he be
hungry ; to clothe him, if he be naked ; to
corafort him, if he be dejeded and in afflidion^
But perhaps you will lay, — he needs no
fuch affiftance, — his condition in life is prpf-
perous,

SERMON XIL 213
perous, — or his malice is fuch, that he is not
to be mollified by any thing I can do. If fo,
the fin lies at his own door : his blood ffiall
be required, but thou haft delivered thy foul.
StiU, however, there is one way left, whereby
thou mayeft prevail over his obftinacy, and
do him good in fpite of hirafelf : thy prayers
are in thine own power ; he cannot refufe the
affiftance of them ; he cannot defeat that cha
rity thou ffieweft for him in this way. To
that heaven, then, which , is always open to
the addreffes of the faithful, fend up thy
prayers for him, that the wickednefs of his
heart raay be forgiven, and that he may be
endued from above with a fpirit of peace and
charity. And furely he muft be little of a
Chriftian indeed, who cannot thus recom
mend the bittereft enemy he has in the world,
to the divine mercy.
But how far, you will fay, rauft this duty
of forgivenefs extend ? Does the obligation
lie all on one fide ? Muft I forgive, though
my adverfary makes no fteps towards a recon
cihation, or even continues to add injury to
injury } ?3 Tc

214 SERMON XIL
To thefe queftions let our Saviour give the
proper anfwer, in his reply to Peter, who
made fhe fame fort of inquiry, how often he
ffiould continue to forgive ffis brother : " I fay
*' not unto thee, until feyen times, but until
*' feventy fimes feven ;" plearly implying,
that nq tranfgreffipns of our brother, however
frequent pr aggravated, ffiould exclude him
ifrom our charity, or place him beyond the
bounds of reconciliation. But ftill it will
be faid, is not this hard and unreafonable ?
Does it not contradid the ftrongeft inclina
tions of human nature ? — I anfwer, it contra-;
dids the corrupt paffions of human nature,
but not that impartial light of reafon, which
ought to be the guide of our condud : for
ffirely it is more agreeabfe to reafon, to be
meek and gentle, than to be violent and im
placable ; to make peace, rather than fow di-
vifion ; to lift up, rather than caft down ; tp
pity and conceal, rather than expofe and
avenge the infirmities of men like ourfelves.
But, if we ftill think there is any hardffiip
in the duty pf forgivenefs, let us weigh well
the example of .Him Y^^ho enjoined it, and who.
requires nothing of us, but what he pra'difed himfelf

S E R^M O N XIL 215
himfelf in the higheft degree. Can we think
of his great condefcenfion in coming doWii
from heayen, and converfing with finners in
the moft meek and affable manner ; — of his
aftoniffiiilg love and boundlefs corapaffion to
his murderers ; — his patient fubmitting to all
fhe forrows and raiferies of an afflided life ;— ?
his enduring all the contradidions, affronts,
and reproaches of enraged malice ; — can we
think of thefe things, and fuffer ourfelves to
be proud and haughty, uncharitable and cruel ;
to be overcome with paffion, to be tranfported
with ffiry, to be aduated by a revengeful and
intolerant fpirit ?
Coiffider farther the difference between the
me?k 3nd gentle Chriftian, and thofe unhappy
men, who are ever devoured with turbulent
and implacable paflions. They enjoy, indeed,
the fame mercies and providences in common
with other men, but they have not the fame
bleffing and effed upon them : — they do not
finooth their tempers or mollify their hearts ;
they do not raife any devout and grateful fenfe
of that goodnefs, which is beftowed upon
them : like the beafts pf the foreft, they
^^ rife early in the morning, and feek after
P4 " their

»i6 SERMON XIL
?' their prey, and in the evening lie them
?* down in their dens: but they regard not
*' the works of the Lord, nor confider the
*' operations of his hands.'! But to the meek
and gentle, whofe hearts are not foured by
malevolence, every occurrence of providence,
every mercy of heaven, yields a new argu
ment of gratitude and happinefs. In the
morning, they rife from their beds, full of
devotion and thankfgiving to God, and of
charity and goodwill to men ; and in the
evening, the fun gogth not down upon their
wrath : — their hearts are as benignant and
unconfined as his beams : — they fee God in
every providence of the day, and loVe their
fellow-creatures in every thought of their
breafls ; and, therefore, the night covers them
' with its ffiades, fecure and unruffled, cheen»
fill and happy.
And noy/, then,' let jiny revengeful mar^
lay his hand upon his heart, and alk himfelf,
whether it is not ^s much his intereft as his
duty tc? forgive, even if the prefent life only
were cpncerned in if. But the comfort of
Ifhe prefent life is not all that is' at ftake: Qod
prefers this chriftian and charitable difpofition
¦ ' '-'¦¦' ' ^ ^ •'  ¦¦•¦¦ -d

SERMON Xlt^ 217
pf fpirit before all outward ads of devotion ;
and, therefore, the man who Wants it can
have no claim or expedation of the divine
favour. — I will have mercy, and not fabrifice,
is fhe language of heaven : and we may ob
ferve, that bbth the Old and New Teftament
are more frequent and exad in ftating the
mutual offices of goodwill and charity from
man to man, than in the outward expreffions
of our devotions towards God. And God
himfelf feldom reproaches the Jews fpr the
want of thefe ; but the defeds of the other
fill the law and the prophets. And our Sa
viour, in like manner, proportions the fates
of men at the laft day, fo their obfervance or
pegled of the duty of forgivenefs.
It is, therefore, the pradice of this duty,
which gives us the greateft confidence in the
mercies of God, that he will hear our pray
ers, and accept our perfons.-—" Go thy way,
f firfl be reconciled to thy brother, and then
*? come and offer thy gift ;" then, ?.nd then
only, will both thy gift and thy repentance
be accepted. And to the fame purport is the
reafomng of God, where he hath been re-
proving the Jews for their vain oblations, their

2i8 SERMON XIL
their new moons and fabbaths, telling them
that all thefe were ineffpdual, becaufe their
hands were full of the blood of revenge.
But though this chriftian temper be always-
thus neceffary to recommend us to God, yet
we, as Chriftians, ffiould remember, thaf we
have a peculiar obligation to forgive, as often
as we approach the table of the Lord, to com
memorate the mercy of a dying Redeemer,
It is the wedding garment required by God
in fcripture ; it is the ornament of a meek
and quiet fpirit, which is in the fight of God
of great price. If we are, therefore, in ear-
riefi in commemorating the death of our heft
friend and benefador, we cannot but feel the
ftrongeft obhgations upon our fouls., to put
pn, as the eled children of God, bowels of
iriercy, kindnefs, meeknefs, Iqng-fuffering,
forgiving one anpther, if any man have a
quarrel againft any, even a,s Chrift forgave
us. If, then, we have formerly been fo un
happy as to forget this great example of mercy
and forgivenefs ; if we have been guilty of any
injury or malevolence fo our neighbour; if
we have wronged him in his eftate, if M'e
have wounded him in his good name, if
we have wiffied ill to him in our heart ; let us.

SERMON XIL 219
us make hafte to be reconciled to him, befpre
the fun go down, left the darknefs of night
overtake us, when we cannot work the work
pf reconcffiatipn-
And now, unable to add ftrpnger argu
ments than thofe which I haye laid before
you, or to give greater force fp fp many
weighty confiderations, I can only add fup-
plication to argument ; that is, my iiitreaty
to you and my prayers to God, that what has
been faid may have fuch influence as tp make
it effedual upon your pradice and converfation
in life. Certain it is, that it is the great, the
particular, the indifpenfable law pf Chrifti
anity ; and, therefore, it is fome wonder to
me, that men, who are commendably atten
tive to other duties of religion, ffiould lay
fo little ftrefs vipon this : that they ffiould
not refled, how much they daily owe to the
niercy of heaven, and what need themfelves
have of fayour and pardon : that, though the
pffences of raan againft thera are raany, yet
|:heir own againft God are infinitely raore :
that in fhe one cafe, it is but the offence of
inan againft raan, between whom there is no
effential difference; but in the other, it is
the

220 SERMON XIL
the offence of the creature againft the Crea
tor ; of a worm of mortality againft Omnipo
tence ; of the criminal againft his judge : fPr
God is a righteous judge, ftrong and patient,
and yet he is provoked every day.
I ffiall leave the whole of what has been
laid upon your minds, with thofe excellent
words of the Son of Syrach, which ffiould
always be remembered as a proper com.'^eiic
upon this petition of the Lord's Pray, r —
** Forgive thy neighbour the hu; t -' he
*' hath done thee, fo ffiall fhy f hs aJi » 'c^
** forgiven thee, when thou p.'-ye<l;.. One
** man heareth hatred agauift another, thi
** doth he feek pardon from the Loid ? He
** ffieweth no mercy to a man like himielf,
*' and doth he afk forgivenefs of his own fins
*' from God ? If he that is but fleffi, nouriffi
** hatred, who ffiall intreat for his fins ?" —
Who ffiall intreat for his fins, at fhat awful
day, when the fecrets of all hearts ffiall be dif--
elofed, and when every man's private malice
or difguifed hatred ffiall be naked and open tq
Him, who ffiall fit on the throne of judgment,
\.o reward every man according to his works,

SERMON XilL

Matt. vi. 13.

And lead us mt into temptation, but deliver us
from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and the
power, and the glory, for ever and ever.
Amen.
HAVING, in the laft petition of this di
vine prayer, requefted of God the for
givenefs of our paft fins, we now proceed to
afk of him to guard us againft future tempta
tions. A requeft truly interefting to every
one, who has either rightly weighed the im-
becillity of his own nature, or the raanifold
dangers, with which he is ffirrounded in
Ufe! I ffiall firft confider the nature of this pe
tition ; and fecondly point ouf thofe affedions
of mind, with which we ought to make it.
Temp-

22* SERMON XIIL
Teraptation fignifies either a trial of our
ftrength, for the iraproveraent of our virtue,
or an allureraent to fin.

Ll the former of thefe fenfes, God himfelf
is faid to tempt to men ; i, e, to caU them
to fome hard and fevere conflid in their fpi
ritual warfare ; that their virtue, being fried
like gold in the furnace, may ffiine forth with
redoubled and increafing fplendor. It was
thus he tempted Abraham to facrifice his only
fon. It was thus he proved the children of
Ifrael in the wildernefs, to try their obedience,
and to know what was in their heart. And,
for this reafon, we are coraraanded in the
Gofpel " not to think it ftrange cpncerning
*' the fiery trial fhat is to try us;" but rather
to glory in tribulations, and to count it all
joy, when we falj into ffivers temptations ;
knowing fhat the trying of our faith worketh
patience, and patience experience, and expe
rience hope.
But, however glorious thefe temptations
maybe, when overcome, we have all of us
juft reafon fo wiffi not to be fed into them.
How Abraham behaved under fo great a trial as

SERMON XIIL 223
as fell tp his lot^ the fcriptures tell us : but
how we ffiould behave, he only knows, from
whora no fecrets are hid. Yet, when we
confider the weaknefs of our faith, and the
natural imbecillity of our nature, we have
juft reafon to fear, that even fhe beft of us
would but ill receive the affeding language of
God to Abraham, " take now thy fon, thine
" only fon, whora thou loveft, and offer him
" up for a burnt-offering." Since then we
cannot be certain of the event of thefe great
trials, it becomes us to pray earneftly to God,
that he would not fuffer us to be tempted
above what we are able to bear.
2dly, Teraptation here particularly figni
fies allurement to evil.
Now, in this fenfe, God cannot be pro
perly faid to tempt us: for he tempts no man
to evU. Yet, fince nothing can happen with
out his permiffive providence, we find even
this kind of temptation, figuratively, afcribed
to God in fcripture ; and we therefore here
pray to him, that he would keep us from the
hour of temptation ; that he would not leave
us to plirfelves ; that he would not fuffer us to

324 SERMON XIIL
to be led into thofe fnares, which may fen*
danger our virtue. And this we have juft
reafon to pray for, if we rightly confider our
fituation in life : for danger is around usj
within us, and in every form.
If we confide in our own hearts, they are
deceitful above all things. Like bafe cowards
or faithlefs allies, on the firft attack, they
throw away their arms, and furrender at dil*
cretion to the enemy of our fouls.
If we, think to fly from the dangef, where
ffiaii we find a place or fituation in life^ that
is not full of temptation ? Are we in the ffih-
ihine of fortune, furrounded with its gilded
titles and honours ? How liable are we to
grow giddy with erainence, and to forget
God or ourfelves ? Are we furrounded with
the gaieties of life, and neither want ability
nor inclination to enjoy them ? How likely
are we to fall an early facrifice to riot and dff-^
fipation, or, if we efcape this, to drag on a
miferable exiftence, burthened with the fol
lies ,and guilt of youth ? If we are ffink in the
vale of poverty, and furrounded with diftrefs^
how great is the temptation to murmur againft
God,
6

S E R M d isr XIIL it's
God, or fo invade our neighbour's property ?
Do we retire from the world, fick of its va
nities, vexations^ and deceits ? We raay by
fo doing avoid the dangers of exaraple and
multitude, but we are not fafe from the cor-
rofions of malevolence, fpleen, and difcon
tent ; — we may have our paffions to contend
with, even in the retirement of the cloifter^
or the folitude of the ciofet: — though we fly
the guilty haunts of public refort, yet the
tempter can follow us into the cell or the
wildernefs. ,
Every age, too, as well as every ftate, has
its peculiar temptations. For the young and
thoughtlefs, there is a world- of pleafure,
dreffed up in fyren fmiles to allure and cap
tivate. — To maturCr age, the paths of honour
and the wide-extended field of ambition are
open. — For the old, wealth has its charms,
which, inftead of being impaired in their in
fluences, gain ftrength by time, and, tOP
pften, become at length irrefiftible.
Since, then, life is ever thus full of dangers^
and nature ever prone to fall a vidim td
temptation, we have juft reafon to pray, as
Vol, L Q w#

226 SERMON XIIL
we do in the words following, that God
would deliver us from evil ; that is, either
from the evil of fin, which is the confequence
of being overcome by temptation ; or frora
the evil one, that is, the devil, who is ever
ready to tempt and devour us ; or, as it is
well expreffed in the catechifm of our church,
" that he would deliver us from all fin and
*' wickednefs, from our ghoflly enemy, and
" from everlafting death ;" always remem
bering, that however willing the fpirit may
be to refift temptation, yet the flefh is too
often weak and yielding, unguarded and de-
fencelefs. The affedions of mind, with which we
ought to make this petition to God, are briefly
thefe. I ft, Whilft we pray that Gpd would not
lead us, or fuffer us to be led, into the dan
ger of temptation, we ffiould endeavour our
felves, by every art of prudence and circum-
fpedion, to avoid temptation, or elfe we pr^y
in vain. It was the language of our Re-,
deemer himfelf, on another occafion, "watch
** and pray, fhat ye enter not into fempta-
" tion;'*

SERMON XIIL ^27
" tion :" and it is a language we muft liften
to and obey on all occafions, if we wiffi in
earneft to avoid the fins, which fo eafily be-
fet us.

2dly, It is a proof of our prudence, as
well as of our fincerity, in making this peti
tion, not to court danger or invite tempta
tion. Every man knows the quarter from
which his danger arifes,- and the feelings of
his own heart will tell him, where he is vul
nerable. Here, therefore, he is to place the
ffiield of caution. How this is beft to be
done, every man muff judge from his own
experience. The attacks of temptation are
fo numerous and various, that no art can lay
down the proper rules of fecuring ourfelves
againft them. This, however, may be faid^
that the wifeft way, in general, is, as much
as poffible, to avoid them. If danger arifes
from company, fly from it. If idlenefs be
the nurfe of vice, feck innocent and con
ftant employment. If folitude beget vicious
thoughts or defires, take reffige from them
in virtuous fociety. But, above all things^
hold no parley with temptation : for the man
that once dehberates on the brink of vice, is
0^2 tod

¦2iB SERMON xm.
too furely in danger of being loft in its hot-
tomlefs abyfs.
3dly, If we are in earneft in praying thaf
God would not lead us into temptation, .ve
fliould be very cautious not to lead others
into temptation. It is, indeed, a kind of fport
with many to fead young perfons, or for them
to lead each other, into fcenes of debauchery
and riot : but affuredly it is the fport of devils,
and not of men ; it is making profelytes to
the kingdom of darknefs, at the expence of
our own falvation, and that of others alfo :
and whoever thou art, that delighteft in this
diabolical employment, thou wilt one day
find, that thou haft fins enough of thy own
to anfwer for, without drawing down upon
thy head thofe of others alfo.
4thly, When we confider that weaknefs,
which leads us to pray againft temptation, it
ffiould 'each us humility in ourfelves, and
charity to others. For do we feel ourfelves
too feeble to ftand without God's affiftance,
and ffiall v/e pretend to boaft of our ftrength ?
Or, again, are v.^e every m.oment liable to
fall ourfelves, and ffiall we be- fevere to the
flips

SERMON XIIL 229
ffips of others, who are men of liTce paffions
and infirmities with ourfelves ? No : rather
let our own weaknefs teach us caution an4
humility: — fet our own pali frailty and error^
teach us to extend that compaffion and indul-
geiice to others, which we ourfelves ftand
daily in need of from God ; and,* whilft we
pray to God that we faU not into temptation,
let us pity, not condemn, thofe, who have
been tempted above what they were able to
bear. As our Saviour begins this divine prayer
with an addrefs to God as our Father, who is
willing to grant what we afk ; fo alfo he fitly
concludes it with an acknowledgment of his
univerfal power, to ffiew that he is able to
do it : " For thine is the kingdom, and the
*' power, and the glory, for ever and ever."
It muft, indeed, be owned, that this con-
clufion is not in St. Luke, and probably was
not originally in St. Matthew, and, therefore,
we find if commonly omitted in our church
liturgy : however, it is certainly of very an
tient ufe, and very properly expreffes the uni-
Vgrfal foyereignty and pow^r pf him to whoi^
0^3 we

230 SERMON xm.
we pray.—" For thine is the kingdom :" —
And whither ffiall we go, where this kingdom
of God is not vifible? If we endeavour to fly
from him, he filleth all fpace, and, therefore,
is ever near us, — " Am I a God at hand,''
faith the Lord, " and not a God afar off"?"—
Can any hide himfelf in fecret places, that I
ffiall not fee him ? Do not I fill heayen and
earth ?
If we think, again, that time will blot ouf
crimes from his memory, we deceive our
felves in vain : for he filleth all time, and in
habiteth eternity. To him paft, prefent and
future are vifible at one all-comprehenfive
view ; and, therefore, nothing can efcape his
notice. His, too, is the power, and from him all
power is derived. The ftrongeft arm would
wither, and the nobleft genius dwindle into,
idiotifin, in one moment, without his ffipport
and aid. We talk, indeed, of chance, nature,
deftiny, and fortune ; but thefe are idle words,
without meaning and without propriety. God
is the mafter-fpring of all : in the fublime
language of fcripture, " his incorruptible fpi-

SERMON XIII. 231
** rit is in all things :" — he forms the light
and creates darknefs : — the ftars obey him in
their courfes : — at iiis command, the fea and
its proud waves are fl:ayed. If man be the
onlv rebel amidft the creation, he has the
more reafon to take ffiame to himfelf, and to
be humbled in the duff before the Lord his
maker. His, too, is the glory; — the glory of what
ever is good and excellent in the world, — the
glory of whatever we either do or enjoy. To
him, therefore, man ffiould think it his higheft
honour to fubmit ;~to him kings ffiould bow
their fceptres with reverence and gratitude: —
to him angels and ferapbs ffiould ftoop, and
cry out. Thine is the glory ; for thou art
worthy to receive glory, and honour, and
power : for thou haft created all things, and
for thy pleafure they are and were created.
With trembling feet, and at an awful dif
tance, I have thus far preffimed to follow the
fteps of Omnipotence, and to explain the di
vine language of Him, who fpake as never
man fpake : it- now only remains, therefore,
fpr me briefly to recall to your memories the
0^4 fubftance

¦ii32 SERMON XIIL
fubftance of what I have before faid in a more
full and comprehenfive manner, and to give
what I conceive tq be fhe fenfe of this divine
prayer, in a ffiort paraphrafe upon it.
Thou, God, — who art our Father, and
therefore moft willing,^who art in heaven,
and therefore moft able, to relieve the wants
of thy diftreffed children upon earth ; I ac
knowledge thy divine power and authority,
with all the reverence and humility becoming
a wretched and finful creature : yet, embold
ened by that paternal kindnefs, by which thou
haft permitted me to cry, Abba, Father, I
dare to look up from earth to heaven ;— to
raife miy voice in prayer, from this region of
fill and mifery to that throne of ineffable ma
jefty, qn wffich thqu haft been feated frqm^
all eternity.
But, let me not preffime to utter my own
wants, till I have firft expreffed that vene
ration, which is due to thy adorable effence
and attributes :- may, therefore, thy name be
hallowed ! may it never be uttered but with
pure and hallowed lips ! may it be known and
^dored by all the nations of the world ! may ^hy

SERMON XIIL 233
thy divine ir.ajefty be above all things glori
fied and honoured ! and may whatever more
immediately relates to thee or thy feryice,
ever be treated with becoming decency and
refped !
Yet, where, alas ! is thaf decency and re-
Iped to be found ? where, ra.:her, is not thy
name defpifed, and thy authority trampled
upon, by open wickednefs or fecret hypocrify,
by careiels indifference or avowed infidelity ?
To corred, therefore, this rebellious temper
of thy preffimptuous creatures, may thy king
dom come ! Make all the world to acknow-«
ledge the kingdom of thy dear -^on, by em
bracing his dodrine, and obeying his precepts;
rule in our hearts by thy kingdom of grace,
that we may live as becometh the Gofpel of
Chrift ; and haften thy kingdom of glory ;
^hat, when this life is ended, we, with all
thofe that are departed in the true faith and
fear of Chriff, may reign with thee in glory
for ever. And in order to this, may thy will
be done in earth, as it is in heaven ! May we
patiently fuffer whatever thou art pleafed tp
Jay upon us, in our paffage through this vain
^nd tranfitory world ; ever looking up to our

234 SERMON XIIL
great Exemplar, who, in the midft of agony
unfupportable, was enabled to cry out, Not
my will, but thine be done ! And may thy
frail creatures on earth, in proportion to their
ftrength and abilities, endcivour to execvte
thy commands with the fame xaithfulnefs and
alacrity, as they are done by thy holy angels
and minifters in heaven ; who ceafe not, day
and night, to encircle thy throne, and are
ever on the wing to perform the facred man
dates of their great Mafter.
But, though we cannot be thus perfed in
our obedience, yet we know, thou wilt not
be extreme to mark what is done amifs ; —
thou wilt pity what thou canft not approve ;
and wilt not leave us deftitute, though we
liave no right to thy favour. Relying, there
fore, on that gracious difpofition, whofe na
ture and property is ever to have mercy, we
farther requeft thee to give us this day our
daily bread. Beftow upon us, little as we
deferve them, the neceffaries and conveni
ences of a mortal body, which, day by day,
our various Wants and infirmities oblige us to
call for ;— -and ftill more efpecially, give us,
day by day, that better bread of life, which is

SERMON XIIL 23^
is neceffary for the fupport of our immortal
fouls here, and without which we muft die
eternally. And whilft we thus bend the knee to thee
for a ffipply of our own wants, O melt our
hearts to? a tender confideration of the wants
of others. Teach us to pity and comfort
thofe afflided thoufands, whofe hard lot is
mifery and diftrels, and wnofe unffieltered
nakednefs is expofed to the cold winds of
heaven, and the piercing calls of unfatisfied
hunger. And, fince in this mortal ftate we cannot
be free from fin, luffer us to requcf: from chee
the forgivenefs of tiiat fip : — Forgive us our
trefpaffes, — our treipallcs agaiuit thee aGod,—
even as we forgive the trcSpaucs and infirmi
ties of men, we^k and fallible like ourfelves.
I know, O gracious Father, that my tranf^
greffions againft thee are many : 1 feel, tiiere
fore, the neci-ffity of thy fbrgivensfs, without
which 1 can have no comfort here, and mifery
jnuft be my portion hereafter. 1 know, too,
that

zs6 SERMON XIIL
that thou haft promifed that forgivenefs on
the condition only of my forgiving others
their trefpaffes : I do, therefore, with grati
tude and joy, accept the gracious condition :
I do now in thy prefence, to whom all hearts
are open, from the bottom of my heart for
give all thofe, who have injured me in 'thou ght,
word, or deed ; and I refolve to make this
readinefs fo forgive, the leading principle of
my condud through life, even as I hope to
find forgivenefs at that awful hour, when
naked and defencelefs before thy throne, I
can have no hope or refuge, — no anchor of
my foul,— but in that mercy, which thou haft
promifed through Chrift fo the gentle and
forgiving. But ah ! what have I faid ? Can I hope,
then, to preferve this unfinning obedience ?
Dare I prefume thus far on the frailty of hur
man nature ? Alas ! whilft I do in all fince
rity thus profefs to make thy law the rule of
my condud, I know, O God, whereof we
are made,— I reraember thaf M^e are but duft,
O ftrengthen me, therefore, by thy aid in
thefe hqly refolutions ; — fuffer me not to be
Iried

SERMON xm, 237
tried above what I am able to bear ; — ffiffer
not my Weaknefs to be enffiared by the temp
tations of the world, the fleffi, or the devil ; —
give me not up in anger to the power of my
own heart's lufts, by which, without thy aid,
1 am ffire to be overcome ; but either keep
me from the hour of temptation, or by thy
grace and prefence ffipport me under it.
And deliver us from evil : — from that evil
one, who is daily fe eking whom he may de
vour ; — from the evil and mifchief of fin ; —
and from the evil of mifery; that is, thy
wrath and everlafting damnation, which is
ever the confequence of fin.
And this, we acknowledge, thou art able
to do : For thine is the kingdom ; the autho
rity and right of dominion over all, whether
men or things : — Thine is the power ; the
ability and ftrength fo command all : — Thine
is the glory ; the glory and honour of all that
is perfed, excellent, or amiable in the world ;
and that, not only af prefent, but through all
ages, — from everlafting to everlafting, for
ever and eyer. Let

238 SERMON XIIL
Let all the people, with united hearts ancj
voices, fay. Amen !
And raay thaf God, who fitteth fupreme in
heaven, ever condefcend to hear and grant
our petitions, whenever we addrefs him in
the words of this divine prayer, through the
merits of Jefus Chrift our Lord.

SER-

SERMON XIV

2 Kings v. i, 2, 3.
Now Naaman, the captain of the hof of the
king of Syria, was a great man with his
mafer, and ho7ioiirahle ; becaufe by him the
Lord had given, deliverance to Syria ; he was
alfo a mighty man in valour ; but he was a
leper.
And the Syrians had gone out by companies, and
h^d brought away captive out of the land of
Ifrael a Uttle maid, and ffe waited on Naa
man s w'fc.
And fhe faid unto her mifrefs. Would God my
lord were with the prophet that' is in Samaria ;
for he would recover him of his leprofyl
THE penman of the, holy fcriptures is
God : the defign of them is the in-
Ilrudion of man. We may, therefore, be
affured, that there is no part of them but
- may

240 SERMON XIV.
may be turned to our fpiritual advantage, if
we read theni with an honeft heart and teach»>
able dif]3ofition. But perhaps there is no part
more full of ufeful ir. ftrudion for the coiidud
of life, than the feveral hiflonc chapters, v/hich
our church hath wifely appointed to be ifead
in the order of its public lcr\ ice : for, how
ever they may be confidered by the ignorant
and unthinking, as mere rnatters of hiftoric
information, they will affbrd to the wife and
confiderate Chriftian, aiuple matter for profi
table meditatjon ; by fetting before him the
great wifdom and guidance of providence,
the wonderful fates and revolutions of kings
and kingdoms, the furprifing depravity of
the human heart, the pious examples of holy
perfons, and the juft vengeance of God upon
profperous or prefumptuous guilt.
Having thefe confiderations in view, I have
made choice of the hiftoric words contained
in the text ; partly, as I hope to drav/ frofii
thera forae obfervations which may be of ge
neral ufe ; and partly, as they will furniffi a
fpecimen of that inftrudion in righteoufnefs,
which an attentive mind will draw from the
feveral

SERMON Xtv. Mi
feveral hlftories related to us in the Old Tef
tament. The facred hillorian defcribfes Naaman, the
fubjed of our prefent confideration, in thefe
words : — " Naaraan, captain of the hoft of
" the king of Syria, was a great man with
*' his mafter, and honourable ; becaufe by
*' him the Lord had given deliverance td
*' Syria ; he was alfo a mighty man in va-
" lour ; but he was a leper." It appears^
then, that he was a great warrior ; that he
Was commander-in-chief of the troops of
Benhadad, king of Syria ; that he was a fa
vorite of his mafter, and in great efteem
at court, which he had acquired by his bra-
¦yery and military exploits, being, as the Jews
conjedure, the man, who " drew the bow
" at a Venture j and fmote the king of Ifrael
" between the joints of the harnefsi" How
ever, he was certainly the perfon, as the fa
cred penman tells Us, " by whom the Lord
*' had given deliverance to Syri^,^' Here^
then^ we fee, that this great captain was nP
more than an inftrument in the hand of God,
to execute ffis defigns. His valour, his wff-
iom, his pohtical and mffitary virtues ^ werd
Vol. h R all

242 SERMON XIV.
all the gifts of heayen, which v/ere beftowed
and employed by the King of kings, to cliaf-
tife and humble the rebellious Ifraelites. Let
this, then, ferve as a reproof to thofe, who
afcribe all events to fecond caufes, and deny that
the finger of God is vifible in fieges and battles ;
who look iiot beyond the furface of things,
but raflily conclude, that the prudence of the
commander, or the courage of the foldiers,
gives vidory and fuccefs. Let them learn
from holy David, that " no king can be faved
*' by the multitude of an hoft, nor any mighty
" man be delivered by much ftrength," except
God be on his fide. — If Naaman is valiant, it
is the Lord that gives him valour : if he de-
livers the Syrians, it is the Lord that delivers
them by his hand.
But the text tells us farther, this great man
was a leper. It does not concern us to in
quire, what fort of leprofy this was ; but it
was doubtlefs of that, deadly fpecies, which
prevailed in Syria, and was deemed incurable.
See here, then, the true eftimate of all hu
man felicity I — The favourite of a great king,
the firft in power and reputation in the ar-
/ mies

SERMON xm 243
mies of Syria, cannot fecure himfelf from the
ravages of a vile and noxious diforder. Let
us, therefore, eat our bread in content and
quietnefs, without cnVying the fplendor or
opulence of the great, though our condition
be low ; knowing that thorns are often en^^
twined in the crown of royalty, and that
every ftation in life has its leprofy.
But, though there was no remedy fof
Naaman in Syria, there was in Judaea, in
mount Carmel, where the prophet Eliffia
dwelt. And there he goes to feek a remedy
for his difeafe, guided by a particular provi
dence, which had determined to ffiew an ex
traordinary mark of his mercy and power, in
him. But let us obferve, a? we go alo'ngj the
very plain and ordinary methods made, ufe of
by God to bring abo.ut this great defign.-^ — A
party of foldiers fally out from the Syrian
camp, make an incuffion into the land of
Ifrael, and carry away a little maid prifoner
into their own country. She^ according to
the Cuftom of thofe times, is fold^ and be
comes a flave in Naaman's houfe. The mis-
R 2 . fortune

244 SERMON XIV,
fortune of her mafter being there known ta
her, ffie thinks of an expedient that migh^
probably be attended with advantage to him;
and ffie faid to her miftrefs, " Would God my
" lord were with tbe prophet that is in Sa-
" maria ; for he would recover him of his
'* leprofy." The difcourfe of this little cap
tive maid comes to Naaman's ears, who tells
it to the king, and, in conclufion, her advice
is followed. Naaman fets out for Juda;a,
and is miraculoufiy cured of his leprofy; and,
what is ftill more extraordinary and import
ant, is cured of his mental leprofy, that is,
of his idolatry, and converted to the worffiip
of the true God,
Now if we confider this chain of circum
ftances, which all contributed to the cure and
converfion of the Syrian general, there is no
thing in it but what is common and natural,
and what daily happens. But if we view it^
with an eye of faith, we ffiall clearly perceive
in it the guiding hand of providence, which-
'overrules all things, even the fmalleft, and*
can, by the moft inconfiderable means, bring-
• about the greateft events ; or, in fhe elegant
language of the pfalmift, *'^ out of the mouth
*' of babes and fucklings, ordaineth-ftrength." Let

SERMON XIV. 245
Let VIS, therefore, never pafs judgment on
the train of things that are before us. God.
may have defigns to anfwer by them, which
we forefee not. We cannot fathom the
depths of his wifdom : for who hath known
the " mind of the Lord, or who hath been
" his counfellor ?" In his hand the mof^
feeming improbabilities and diftant -circum^
ftances confpire to form the fame great event, ,
Naaman, we fee, muft be a leper to under
take a journey tb Judica; where Eliffia at the
fame time expeds hun, by the command of
God, A company of Syrians muft take cap
tive a daughter of Ifrael, that Naaman may
know that there is a prophet in Ifrael, capa
ble of healing his leprofy. This iittfe maid,
though ffie might have been the fpoil of any
other, muft be a flave in his houfe, and con^
cerned for the misfortune of her mafter, that
this leper might be made whole. Without
all thefe concurring circumftances, Naaman
had never been healed of his leprofy, nor
come to the knowledge of the true God ;
nor had the king and court of Syria known,
that there was a God ffi Ifirael, greater than
the gods of the nations, and who doeth won-
4exous things alone. 'Who art thou, then,
R J that

246 SERMON XIV,
that fayeft to the Almighty, why doeft thou
fo ? Canft thou, in the falling acorn, the food
of fwine, difcern the future tree, the vehicle
of commerce, the biilwark of nations ? Canft
fhou behold i i Naaman's leprofy his fucceed
ing conver< on from idolatry? Look, then, to
his fate, and learn fubmiffion to thaf wife
providence, which, from the fmalleft begin
nings, can call forth the greateft ends ; froni
a dark chaos can command the light to ffiine ;
from a mafs of ffiapelefs matter can form ^
jvorld. But it may be afked, perhaps. What occa
fion was there for fo many circumftances,
when God might haye done the fame thing
by a nearer and fliorter way ? Or, what ne
ceffity was there for fhe concurrence of fo
many fecond caufes, when the firft alone
would have been fufficient ?
To this queftion I might juftly anfwer in
tlie animated language of St, Paul, " Shall
?' the thing formed fay to him that formed
f it, why haft thou made me thus ?" We
yveak mortals know but a fmall part of the
ways of the Almighty, and, therefore, it is
c not

SERMON XIV. 247
not for us to fcrutinize his proceedings, or to
judge of his laws.
But to give a more dired anfwer to this
objedion, we may fafficiently vindicate the
ways of God to man in this cafe, by ffiewing,
that many wife purpofes were anfwered by
ffiis method of procedure : for it contributed
at once to convert Naaman, and to make his
converfion the more confpicuous and memo
rable : it was a ftanding proof of the power
of the God of Ifrael over all the falfe gods of
the nations, and, at the fame time, a durable
monument to after ages, that the feeds of the
knowledge of the true Ged had once been
fown among the idolatrous Syrians: and yery
probably it might alfb anfwer other purpofes,
either with regard to the kingdom of Ifrael,
or Naaman's own family, or to Gehazi, the
fervant of Eliffia, and to thofe who were the
witneffes of this great miracle. So that there
might be abundant reafon for all the circum
ftances which accompanied Naaman's journey
into the land of Iff^el,
No fooner had Naaman obtained the con-,
i^nt of his royal mafter, than he departed,
R 4 taking

248 SERMON XIV.
taking with him fen talents of filver, fix
thoufand pieces of gold, and ten changes of
raiment ; probably as a prefent for the pro
phet : and, to make fure of his fuccefs, he
carries with him- a letter from the king of
Syria to the king of Ifrael, couched in thefe
words : " Novi^ when this letter is come unto
" thee, behold, I have therewith fent Naa-
f man ray feryant to thee, thaf thou mayeft
*' recover him of his leprofy." The ftile of
this letter could not be very agreeable to the
king pf Ifrael : for the fcripture tells us,
** wheii he had read it, he rent his clothes,
** and faid, Am I a Gdd, to kill and to make
*' ahve, that this man dpth fend unto me to
f recover a man of his leprofy ? Wherefore
*' confider now, I pray you, and fee, how
*' he feeketh a quarrel againft nie,'^ Had his
anger bee;^ levelled only againft the arrogant
ftile of the letter, which required from hin^
^ thiipg which was in the hands of God alone,
— there being none but he who killeth and
maketh ahve, that could ftop the ravages of
^11 incurable difeafe, Joram would have had
juft caufe for his indignation. But it is more
brobable that he rent his clofhes out of vexa-
fipn at feeing himfelf, as he thought, threat ened

SERMON XTV. 249
ened with the arms of the Syrians. For he
faw the vahant Naaman at his court, whofe
courage had before routed fhe Ifraehtiffi army,
and he concludes, by the ftile of the letter
he brought with him, that he was reduced
to this hard alternative, either that he muft
cure him of his leprofy, which he knew him
felf unable to do, or be expofed fo fhe fury
pf Beiffiadad : he fays, therefore, " Confi-
" der, I pray you, and fee, how he feeketl^
?'a quarrel againft me."
Had he indeed had any communication or
ffitercourfe with Ehffia, he might foon have
been pafed of the anxiety, into which this
letter had thrown him, and have known,
that it was not from himfeff, but from the
prophet of God, that the cure of Naaman
was expeded. But religion was no part of
Jehoram's concern, and, therefore, he paid
little regard to fhe prophets of the Lord. He
had forgot, or did not care to remxcmber, the
miracles he had feen wrought by Elifha ; or,
perhaps, was loth to fee any farther demon
ftration of ffis power with God, and, there
fore, never thought of fending to him upon
this diftreffing eraergency. And

255 SERMON XIV.
And fo will it ever happen to thofe, who;
ffi their profperity, defpife God and his mef
fengers. When they moft ftand in need of
comfort and affiftance, they will be moft un
able to find it : " They fliall cry, but there
*' ffiall be none to hear them,"
However, Naaman's arrival at court, the
caufe of his coming, and Joram's inquietude,
foon reached the ears of the man of God in
Samaria, Knowing, therefore, the power
which was given him from on high, " he
*' fent to the king, faying, Wherefore haft
^' thou rent thy clofhes ? Let him come now
"to me, and he ffiall know that there is a
*' prophet in Ifrael,"
Probably thofe words carried with them a
fecret reproach to the king and his falfe pro
phets. As if he had faid, " 'Tis confcious
^' guilt alone that makes you tremble at the
" prefence of this ftranger. Ye know that
*' ye have abandoned the God of Ifrael, and,
*? therefore, have no right to claim his pro-
*' tedion. But let this Syrian come now to
<=' me, and I wifl ffiew him, that God has
^' net forfaken his people; — that the God
" whon)

S E'RM O N XIV. 251
*^' whoml worffiip and ye have forfaken. is
*' ftill mighty to fave, — and that there is yet
*' a prophet in Ifrael, who can fpeak com-
" fort, when all the falfe prophets of Baal
*' are dumb and confounded."
Naaman, being informed of the prophet's
difcourfe, and, no doubt, impatient to know
the iffue of a matter fo interefting to himfelf,
loft no time, but " came," we are told, " with
*' his horfes and his chariot, and ftood at the
" door ofthe houfe of Eliffia ;" perhaps ex-
peding that the prophet would come out to
meet him, or rather unwilling to go in, till
he had firft acquainted him with the reafons,
pf his coming.
The favourite of a great king humbly wait
ing at the door of a prophet, will probably
feem a little ftrange in thefe days ; and per
haps it will feem ftill ftranger, that the pro
phet did not go out to meec him,- but only
fends a meffenger to inform him what he muft
do to effed the cure of his leprofy,' .There
are, however, feveral fiifficient reafons to be
affigned for this part of the prophet's beha-
•yiour. He might not care to approach near
a leprous

252 SERMON XIV.
a leprous man, with whom the Jews were
exprefsly forbidden to have any communica
tion ; — he might be willing to humble the
pride of Naaman, and to ffiew him, that the
greateft men ought to lay down their pride,
and become like little children before the God
of Ifrael, if they expeded to enjoy his affift
ance and help ;— he might intend to try his
faith ; or, perhaps, fo convince ffim, that
his recovery was a thing fo eafy to the God
of nature, that there was no occafion for
more, than to fpeak a word at a diftance, to
effed it. However this might be, the prophet
did not think fit to fpeak to him himfelf, but
only direds him by a meffenger, to waffi fe
ven times in fhe river Jordan, with a promife
that, if he did fo, he ffiould be cured of his
feprofy. Not that fhefe wafers had any pe
culiar virtue in them ; but it was the pro
phet's intention, by the fimplicity of the
means preferibed, to ffiew more ftrongly the "
miraculoufnefi of the cure. Nor again, was
there any peculiar charm in the number feven
times ; it might be only mentioned as a trial
of his faith and fubmiffion, that he ffiould
waffi in Jordan fo many times, or out of a
puftqmary ufe of that number, which was
held

SERMON XIV. 253
held in great veneration among the Jews, from
the feptenary day of reft from their labours,
in commemoration of the creation, and of
their deliverance from Egyptian bondage.
Little, however, was this order reliffied by
Naaman. For the facred hiftorian tells us,
" He was wroth, and went away, and faid,
*' I thought, ffirely he will come ouf to me,
" and call upon the name of his God, and
" ftrike his hand over the pb.ce, and recover
'* the leper. Are net Abana and Pharpar,.
** rivers or Damafcus, better than all the
*' wate.s of Ifrael ? May I not waffi in them,,
*' -jud be clean ? So he turned and went away

in a rage."

Thus it Is ever with the fooliffi vanity of
men ! They flight common and eafy things,
and"^ admire only what is difficult and rare ;
they rejed the means which heayen pre-
fcribes for their welfare, if they happen not tq
fuit with their own fond conceits and ridicu
lous prepoffeffions.
But in this anfwer Naaman more particu
larly ffiewed his pride and his fuperftition.
Accuftomed to the homage and refped of a
king's

254 SERMON Xm
king's favourite, he could ill brook the treat-
ment he met with from the prophet, fo very
unlike the fervile adulation of an eaftern court;
" I thought," fays he, " he will furely come
*' out, and ftand and call on the name of
*' his God." He, therefore, was difpofed
to rejed the prophet's advice, becaufe it was
not fweetened with that complaifance and re
fped to his greatnefs, to which he had long
been accuftomed.
But this was not all. Habituated to the
falfe pomp and pageantry of fuperftition, he
expeded fome folemn rites or ceremonies to
have accompanied the promifed cure, " I
" thought," fays he, " he will furely come
" out to me, and call upon the name of ffis
" God, and ftrike his hand over the place,
" and recover the leper." As if the invoca
tion or touch of the prophet had more power
than the command of his God ! But thus it
ever is, Superftition deals in outward pomp
and ceremony : it requires altars, reliques,
proceffions, and gods fo go before fhe people.
The waters of Jordan were too plain and
fimple, without fome parade of external rites,
to fatisfy the ffiperftitious Syrian : inftead,
therefore,^

SERMON XIV. 255
therefore, of going tov^^ards Jordan, in obe
dience to the man of God, he contemptu-
oufly prefers the rivers of Damafcus to all the
waters of Ifrael, and then turned, and went
away in a rage,
I ffiall conclude my remarks upon this part
of Naaman's hiftory, with this one impor
tant obfervation ; that it is our wifeft way,
in all cafes, to fubmit to the methods and
dilpofals or Providence, without prefuming,
like Naaman, to call in queftion the fitnefs
and wifdom of them, God is in heaven, we
on earth. Whilft, therefore, the limited yiew
of mortality takes in but a fmall part of cre
ated things, the unbounded eye of Omnif-
cience furveys the whole, God is, there
fore, the beft and only true judge of what is
fitting and convenient for us. We are not,
however, to fit ftill, expeding miracles, likp
that of Naaman, to be wrought in our favour.
For though we are not to refift, yet we are
furely to co-operate, as far as is in our power,
with the methods of Providence for our con
verfion and cure. Our modern pretenders
indeed to infpiration tell us of fudden illapfes
and moraentaneous illuminations, by which the

256 SERMON XIV.
the converfion of finners is wrought. But
fuch operations are neither agreeable to the
ufual courfe of Providence, nor the tenor of
fcripture : it is much, therefore, to be feared,
thaf they are the delufions of thofe fpirits,
which are not of God, It will, therefore, be
our fafer way to rely on the merits of Chrift, -
rather than on thofe deceitful affurances of
^falvation, which are held out to their igno
rant followers, by falfe teachers ; — to co-ope
rate with the grace of God in working out
our own falvation by fincere repentance and
adive holinefs, rather than to truft to a pre
tended juftification, which is wrought in us
we know not why, and which ads in a way
we cannot explain, and, therefore, is much to
he fufpeded to be the produdion of a diftem-
pered brain, or heated imagination, of an art
ffil delufion or mercenary invention, rather
than the good work of God to promote our
falvation.

S E R.

B E R M O .N , XVi

i Kings v, 13, 14-, 15, 16, 17.
'Snd his fervants came near, and fpake unto
him and faid. My father, if the prophet
had bid thee do fome great thing, wouldfl
thou not have done it ? Hiw much rather
then., when he faith unto thee, waff, and
be clean? — then went he djwn and dipped
himfelf feven times in Jordan, according to
the faying of the man of God: and his
fiefh came again like unto the fleff of a Uttle
child, and he was clean. — And he returned to
the man of God, he and all his company, and
came and food before him : and he faid. Be
hold, now I know ^ that there is no God in
all the earth but in If del: now therefere, I
pray thee, take a bleffing of thy fervaHt. But
he faid, As the Lird Uveth, before whom I
fiand, I will receive none. And he urged
him to take it ; but he refufed.-^— And Naa
man faid. Shall there Hot, then, I pray thee.
Vol. L S ke

258 SERMON XV.
be given to thy fervant two mules burden of
earth ? — For thy fervant will henceforth of
fer neither bU'rnt-offering nor facrifice, unto
any other God, but unto the Lord.
TH E converfion of a finner is reprefented
in fcripture under various fimilitudes,
expreffive of the greatnefs of the change that
is wrought in him. Sometimes it is called a
chaftge into the image of God : " We are
" changed into the fame image from glory
" to glory," Sometimes if is called a refur-
redion from the fleep of death : " Awake,
" thou that fleepeft, arife from the dead,
" and Chrift ffiafl give thee light." And in
other places it is defcribed as " a new crea-
" tion," as a " putting off the old man,
" which is corrupt, and putting on the new
" man, which after God is created in righ-
" teoufnefs and true holinefs,"
And this is the change we are going to
confider in Naaman, concerning whom the
words of the text are fpoken, after he had
waffied in the waters of Jordan, From a
fierce and intradable idolater, he became a
meek and zealous worffiipper of the one true
God.

S E R M O N XV. 259
God. The facred hiftorian defcribes him, as
enraged at the feeming incivility of the man
of God, and returning -to his own country,
without fo much as condefcending fo try the
eafy remedy preferibed for his recovery. But
when his fervants faw him thus blind to rea
fon, and ading contrary to his own intereft,
they had the wife refolution to argue the cafe
coolly with him ; — " they came near, and
" fpake unto him and faid. My father, if the
" prophet had bid thee do fome great thing,
" wouldft thou not have done it ? How much
" rather then, when he faith unto thee, waffi
" and be clean?" They foften the boldnefs of
their addrefs to him, we fee, by giving him the
honourable title of my Father, which was a
term of refped ufually given in the Eaft to all
ffiperiors, fuch as kings, magiftrates, and pro
phets, to denote a reverence for, and depen
dance upon them ; but, at the fame time,
they were very far from flattering him in his
obftinacy or refentment : they reprefent to-
him, that the advice was that of a prophet
ading under the influence of God ; that he
might have preferibed to him fome hard or
painful remedy, and that, even then, it
would have been his duty to fubmit to it :
S 2 how

i6o S E R lil O N XV.
how much raore, therefore, was it fo, when
he oiily required him to waffi and be clean I
Naaman was not fo ftupified with rage,
but that he could hear the voice of reafon :
he therefore yielded to the advice of his fer
vants, and determined at leaft to try the pre
feribed remedy, which he had undertaken fo
long a journey to obtain : " He went down,
*' and dipped ffimfelf feven times in Jordan,
*' according to the faying of the man of God."
And well was he repaid for his obedience
and recolledion : " For his fleffi came again
" like tbe fleffi of a little child, and he was
" clean."
There can be no doubt, I think, but that
this fudden and perfed cure was the effed of-
a divine influence, then communicated to the
river. For, if the waters of Jordan had pof-
feffed any natural virtue of curing the leprofy,
the many fepers we read of in Ifrael, would
not have failed to ufe a remedy fo falutary,
and fo near at hand. But we find no other
inftance than this before us, of the cure of
this horrible diforder, till that Son of God
came into the world, by whom " the lepers
*' were

SERMON XV. 261
'' were cleanfed, and the dead raifed," And
indeed our Saviour plainly intimates, that this
was a miraculous cure, when, to convince
the people of Nazareth thaf they were un
worthy of the benefit of miracles, vbecaufe of
their infidelity, he tells them., " that there
" were many fepers in Ifrael in the time of
^' Elifeus the prophet, and none of them was
" cleanfed, iaye Naaman the Syrian."
This cure, then, was the work .of heaven,
the effed of a fupernatural virtue. And it
appears that Naaman confidered if as fuch ;
for he w^s fo affeded with if, that hp w^
immediately converted to the worffiip of the
.God of Ifrael, whofe goodnefs and power he
had fo whnderffilly experienced.
Being thus cured, then, of his feprofy, and
finding a ray of heavenly light dart into his
foul, his firft care was to acquit himfelf to
his benefadors, the God of Ifrael, and his
fervant the man of God, and to pay thofe
acknowledgments of gratitude, which were
fo juftly due to them, A condud how dif
ferent tffis from theirs, who earneftly beg
fijercies and deliverances from heaver^ but
$ 3 when.

262 S E R M O N XV.
when they have received them, often too foon
forget the hand from whence they come ;
who, like the nine lepers in the Gofpel, think
not of returning back to give glory to God,
but go their way, and forget what manner of
men they were.
Not fo the wifer Syrian leper. He knew,
that the only way to draw down new bleffings
upon his head, was to make a proper ufe of
thofe he had already received. However de-
firous, therefore, he.^ might be to pay his duty
to his royal raafter, or to receive the congra
tulations of his friends, he thought, that there
was a fuperior duty due to the God of hea
ven, who had reftored him. " He, there-
*' fore, returned to the man of God, he and
" all his company, and came and ftood before
" him."
Here his firft care was to acknowledge the
fovereignty of the God of Ifrael over all the
falfe and pretended gods of the gentile world ;
*' Now know I," fays he, " I experimen-
*' fally know, by this great miracle which
*' has been wrought upon me, that there is
?* no God in all the earth, but in Ifrael," • Thus

S E R M O N XV, 263
Thus, whilft with his heart he beheved unto
righteoufnefs, with his mouth alfo he made
a noble confeffion unto falvation ; and that
not in private, before the prophet only, but
before all his fervants and company ; declar
ing, that " he would henceforth offer neither
" burnt-offering nor facrifice to any other
" God but unto the Lord,"
His next care was to reward the prophet,
the man of God : " Now, therefore," fays
he, " I pray thee take a bleffing of thy fer-
" vant." And here we may remark the
change which is wrought in him by the mi-
raculoys cure he had received. He, who be
fore went away in a rage, becaufe he thought
the prophet was wanting in a proper refped
to him, now calls himfelf his fervant : " I
" pray thee," fays he, " take a bleffing of
" thy fervant," In fad, he now thought
him fhe minifter of the true God, the inftru
ment which heaven made ufe of in effeding
his cure, and that, therefore, no refped cpuld
be too great for him.
For the fame reafon, he offers him a pre-
ient, as a mark of his gratitude ; and that,
S 4 if

26| SERMON XV,
if we may judge frpm the reward he forrnerly
brought with him, no inconfiderable pne.
But Eliffia, who was mych mpre foUcitous
for the honour of his God, than intent upon
his qwn advantage, ftrenuoufly refufed it ;
" As the Lord livetl|, before whprn I ftand,
" I will receive iipne. And he urged him
^' to take it, but he ftill refufed it :'^' pro
bably to conyince him, that the fervants of
the God of Ifrael were not like fhe merce
nary priefts pf the heathen gods, but, like the
great mafter they ferved, had a pleafure in
doing good to ma^ikind, hoping for nothing

again.

Naaman, not being able to prevail upon
the prpphet to accept his prefent, propofes a
pretty remarkable queftion to him, which
has been the fubjed of much conjedure
amongft the learned : " Shall there not then,
" I pray thee, be given to thy fervant twp
^' mules burden of earth •'"
Some haye thpught that this queftion topk
its rife from the remains of fuperftition in Naa
man, and that he concluded, that there was
more intrinfic hqlinefs in th^ earth of Ifrael,
than in that of Syria.
8 The

3 E R M O N Xy. 365
The Jewiffi commentators fancy, that he
defired to haye this prefent out of Eliffia's
houfe, pr even from under his feet ; thinkr
ing, perhaps, that there was a peculiar lacred-
nefs ill every thing the prophet had touched,
pr that he wpuld infufe a peculiar virtue mtp
it by his bleffing, as he ha4 dpne info the wa
ters of Jordan.
Others pretend fo find here an inftance of
veneration and devotion to hply things, and
that he defired this earth, as a facred reliquc
pf the prophet, to make an objed of worffiip
in his own hpufe.
There are pthers, again, whp think he de
fired it to build a monument in his own coun
try, agreeably to the cuftom of thofe times,
as a public teftimony of gratitude, and a mer
morial of the mercy he had received in the
laiid pf Ifrael.
But, not to have recourfe to myftery, or
to wafte your time in confuting opinions,
which have no foundation in the facred text,
^t will be fufficient to fay, fhat the reafon of
^his queftion is very clearly explained in the
^prds

266 S E R M O N XV.
words immediately following it : " Shall there
*^ not, I pray thee, be given to thy fervant
*' two mules burden of earth?" And whfi
" For thy feryant will henceforth offer iiei-
" ther burnt-offering nor facrifice to any
"^ other god, but unto the Lord." It is
plain, therefore, that his intention was to
build an altar with it to the God of Ifrael,
He probably was not ignorant, that by the
Jewiffi law he was not permitted to offer fa-
crifices to God out of the Holy Land, which
God had particularly chofen for the place of
his worffiip. Since, therefore, his duty to
his prince would not fuffer him to refide in
the Holy Land, he at leaft wiffied to haye an
altar in Syria, formed of that holy ground to
which God had affigned the bleffing of his
peculiar prefence, that he might daily teftify
bis 'gratitude for the mercy he had received,
that he raight openly declare his renunciation
of idolatry, and that he might keep up a
communication, by a fimilitude of worffiip,
with the chofen pgpple, the Ifrael pf God.
The prefent tirae will not allow me to eiir
ter upon the conclufion of this hiftory ; as it
contains a point of nice and difficult difcuf- fion.

S E R M O N xv: 367
fion. I ffiall, therefore, content myfelf with
making two or three obfervations upon that
part of it, which we have already confidered.
And I ft, Naaman's cure and converfion,
we fee, was a miracle of God's peculiar mercy
to him. But let us refled what were the'
methods, which God made ufe of, to bring
him to a fit difpofition for receiving this great
mercy : were they not pain and difeafe, the
miferies of a worn-out and afflided body }
The Almighty, doubtlefs, could have found
out other ways of converting this honeft Sy
rian, and of bringing him into his covenant.
But he chofe difeafe and ^ifflidion, as the
ffireft way to bring him to a fight of himfelf:
it was a naufeous and inveterate leprofy that
carried him into Judisa, to receive the falva
tion of his foul, as well as the heahng. of his
body. See here, then, an inftrudive leffon, by
which we may be taught the ufefulnefs and
efficacy of afflidions, and the advantages we
may reap from them. Math regard fp our fpi'p
ritual welfare ! How often have difeafes and
palamities weaned mens affedions from the
world.

568 SERMON XV.
world, when they had, as it were, fold them*
felves to commit iniquity, and were running
headlong to deftrudion ? How often have
ficknefs and afflidions awakened finners, who
were flumbering fecurely in thp bofom of vo-
luptuoufnefs, though on the very brink of ruin
and eternal mifery ? How often, again, haye
thofe judgments, which God has inflided
ppon mankind, either in public or private
calamities, ftruck terrpr and remorfe, when
the ftill voice of reafon has been negleded
and defpifed ? So that, however painful af
flidions may be to us, we may juftly fay with
holy David, " It is good for me that I have
** been in trouble. Before I was troubled
*' I went wrong, but now will I keep thy
*' comniandments.''
2dly, We may obferve froni Naaman's
cafe, upon what eafy terms God is pleafed tq
beftow his mercies. The man pf Gpd re
quires no more of him, than to waffi feven
times in Jordan, to be healed of his invete
rate leprofy. And what cquld he have re
quired lefs, for fb great and wqnderful a cure ?
And what is it that the Lqrd yqur God re-:
quires of you all, for the healing that fpiritual leprofy

SERMON XV. i6^
leprofy of fin, with which the whole race of
mankind is infeded ? Only to repent and to
believe. And what could he haye required
lefs ? How inexcufable, therefore, muft they
be, who negled fo eafy a remedy for fin, that
worft difeafe and leprofy of mankind ? May
we not juftly fay to them, as the fervants of
Naaman faid to their mafter, *' My father,
*' if the prophet had bid thee do fome great
*' thing, wouldft thou not haye done it ?
*' How much rather then, when he faith to
** thee, waffi, and be clean?"
Laftly, Confider the unexpeded bounty of^
God towards this poor afflided Syrian. He
went offiy into Judica to be healed of his bo
dily infirmity, but God grants him, at the
fame time, a fpiritual cure of much greater
importance : he admits him into his covenant,
adopts him into the number of his eled chil
dren, and gives unto him etemal life.
And in the fame manner bur bleffed Re-
deeraer aded towards thofe, who carae to bo
healed by him. The woman of Canaan afked
only for the crumbs which fell frora fhe table ;
but he gave her the bread of life. The poor
paralytic

270 S E R* M O N XV.
paralytic man wiffied only to be reftored tP
his limbs ; but Jefus reftored him alfo to the
favour of his God. The thief on the crofs
requefted only to be remembered in his king
dom ; but his dying Saviour anfwered, " To-
'^ day ffialt thou be with me in paradife."
And afk your Confciences, how often this
has been your own cafe ? Have I not received
bleffings, which I never fohcited ? Haye I
not .found favour, where I deferved puniffi
ment ? Do I not enjoy more raercies, than
I have ever acknowledged as they deferve ?
May I not juftly fake up the humble confef
fion of the good patriarch, " O God of my
" fathers, I ara not worthy of the leaft of
" all the mercies, and of all the truth, which
" thou haft ffiewed unto thy fervant : for with
*' my ftaff, fingle and unfupported, without
*' friends and without wealth, I paffed over
*' this Jordan : and now, by thy favour, I
*' am become two bands of men."
How happy, therefore, are we to ferve fo
good, fo merciful, and fo gracious a Mafter,
who is ever ready to do exceeding abundantly
for us, above all that we can afk or think !
And

S E R M O N XV- 271
And how does it become us, on all occafions,
to acknowledge his raercies, to obey his cora
raands, and to love him with all our heart,
and with all our foul, with all our ftrength,
and with all our might, and to endeavour
that, both by ourfelves and others, his name
may be for ever glorified, and his bleffed
wUl be done in earth as it is ffi heaven !

S E R-

G E R M O N XVI.

2 Kings v. i8, 19.
3i this thing the Lord pardon thy fervant, that
when my ma/ler goeth into the houfe of Rimmon
to worjhip there, and he leaneth on my hand,,
and I bow mvfelf hi the houfe of Rimmon ;
when I bow down myfelf in the houfe ofRtm~
mon, the Lord pardon thy ferva7tt in this
thing.
And he faid unto him. Go in peace.
HAVING already confidered the leffons
of moral inftrudion deducible from
the hiftory of Naaman, I am now led to the
confideration of a paffage, which has given
np fmall employment to the thoughts and
pens of the learned world. And indeed it is
a paffage, which manifeftly carries with it
fome difficulty and femblance of obfcurity, at
Vol. L T the

274 SERMON XVL
the firft appearance. For it cannot but feem
ftrange to' every reader, that the Syrian con
vert, after he had made the ftroilgeft profef-
fions of his acknowledgment of the God of
Jfrael, and folemnly declared, that he would
henceforth offer neither burnt-offering nor fa
crifice unto any other gods, but unto the Lord
only ; ffiould yet immediately requeft Eliffia's
permiffion to go with his mafter into the tem
ple of Rimmon, and bow down before a Syrian
idol. And it may feem ftill ftranger, that the
prophet ffiould appear to confent to his pro-
pofal, and bid him go in peace.
But, whilft the learned have been thus
bufied in vindicating the fincerity of Naaman,
the corrupt and deceitful have been no lefs
forward in wrefting his example to counte
nance their own hypocrify and diffimulation
in matters of religion. Like him, they know
no other God, but the God of heaven and
earth : like him, they are ready, in private,
to pay him . the fpiritual worffiip that is his
' due : like him, they are willing to build an
altar to his name, and raife their hearts, in
fecret, to the Ged that made the world : but,
at the fame time, they are no lefs ready -to
faU

SERMON XVL 275
fall down before an idol, or to join for Con
venience in any way of worffiip ; pretending
by this example of Naaman, to filence the
reproaches of confcience, and to be able to
anfwer for their condud before God.
i^raidft this variety of contention and learned
labour, if ffiall be my prefent bufinefs, firft,
to fet the words of the text in as clear a light
as I can, from confidering one or two of the
principal interpretations, which haye been
given of them ; and, fecondly, to ffiew, that
this fort of hypocrify has no foundation in the
example of Naaman.
And I ft. It has been fuggefted by two
learned writers 'j before whole refpedable
authority I bow down with becoming reve
rence and hurriility, that Naaman here afks
pardon of God, not for any thing that he waa
going to do, but for an adion fhat was al
ready , paft ; for a fin committed in the time
of his ignorance, before he was enlightened
with the knowledge of the true God. And,
therefore, agreeably fo this interpretation, the
Words ought to be thus tranflated : " In this
' Lightfoot and Bochart,
T 2 " things

1^^ S E R M 6 N XVL
*' thing the Lord pardon thy fervant, that wtieti
*' my mafter formerly went into the houfe of
*' Rimmon to worffiip there, and he leaned on
*' ray hand, and I bowed myfelf in the houffe
* ' of Riramon ,— the Lord pardon thy fervant i n
*' this thing." And in fupport of this interpre
tation it has been urged, firft, that it is much
more probable that Naaraan ffiould fupplicate
God's forgivenefs for a crime already com
mitted, than for one which he was going to
commit ; fecondly, that this interpretation is
much more confiftent with his forraer renun
ciation of idolatry ; and, laftly, that it is very
agreeable to the idiom of the Hebrew lan
guage. But, in aiifwer to thefe feveral arguments,
I would briefly obferve,
Firft, That the inany circumftances here
mentioned by "^^^aman, plainly ffiew, that
fomething more! v?as meant than a bare ge
neral renunciation of idolatry. Secondly, That
a deprecation of his paft fin in bowing down
toRiraraon was noway, at this tirae, neceflary ;
fince he had already declared his intention of
worffiipping God only, for the future, whP, by

SERMON XVL t^-^
by the miracle wrought in his favour, had
clearly expreffed his acceptance of him.
Thirdly, That there is no appearance of his
ffipplicating forgivenefs for a paft fin, accord
ing fo any reafonable interpretation. And,
laftly. That, though this interpretation may
be fairly reconciled to the idiom of the He
brew language, yet it will not from thence
/pllow, that it is true.
A fecond interpretation, with greater pro
bability, fuppofes, that Naaman does not re
queft leave to go into the temple of Rimmon
with his mafter to worffiip the idol, or even
to pretend to do it, but only propofes a fcru^
pie to him about his attending him thither,
by virtue of that temporal employment which
he held under him.
To underftand the nature of fhis interpre
tation aright, we muft confider Naaman on
the one hand, as a faithful fubjed to his royal
piafter, and on the other as a fincere profelyte
to the worffiip of the true God. As a faithr
ffil fubjed, he was ready to pay all obedience
to his king ; hut as a fincere profelyte, he was
^(nwilling to do any thing that might offend
T 3 }m

278 SERMON XVL
his God. Being doubtful, therefore, how far
his duty to the one was compatible with his
^reverence to the other, in the inftance men
tioned in the text, he propofes his fcruple to
Ehffia, and ftates it with all its circumftances.
— " In this thing," fays he, " the Lord par-
" don thy fervant, that when my mafter
*' goeth into the houfe of Rimmon fo wor-
*' fhip there, afid he leaneth- on my hand,
" and I bow myfelf in the houfe of Rimmon ;
*' when I bow dpwii myfelf in the houfe of
*' Rimmon, the Lord pardon thy fervant in
" this thing.'-' As if he had faid, — I am
fully determined to cleave to the worffiip of
the God of Ifrael, and to renounce the wor
ffiip of idols. But I forefee that the duty I
owe to my prince will lead me into a fitua
tion, which will have the appearance of prac-
tifing or countenancing idolatry ; — will lead
me to enter into the idol temple with him, to
bow down when he bows down, and, after
the eaftern cuftom, to ffipport him whilft he is
making his adoration to the idol-deity: — Ma,y
I, therefore, without offending God or wound
ing my confcience, continue in the exercife
of this duty ? May I enter into the temple pf
Rimmon, when my mafter enters there ? May
I bow

SERMON XVL 279
I bow down when he bows down ? God is
my witnefs, that I will never worffiip the idol,
or even pretend to do it : He, therefore, who
knows my heart and the purity of mv inten
tions, will in this thing, I hope, pardon his
fervant, and not impute it to hira as a crime.
To this the- prophet anfwers, " Go in
*' peace :" which, being a common form of
valedidion amongft the Jews, does not indeed
contain any dired approbation of Naaman's
requeft, but certainly does not carry with it
any mark of difapprobation : and, therefore,
wc may fairly conclude, that the prophet did
not think, that fuch an attendance upon his
mafter would be finful.
Againft fhis interpretation it has been, in
deed, objeded, that an Iffaehte was forbid
den to bow before an idol, whatfoever his
mind or intention was in that ad, and, there
fore, it is not likely that the prophet ffiould
give his confent to Naaman's doing it.
To this I anfwer, that that prohibition was
obligatory upon Ifraelites, but not upon ftran-
gers. They, who were defeended from the
T 4 ftoc^

'28o SERMO N XVL
ftock of Abraham, were fied down to the o|p-
fervation of the whole law ; as were alfo the
adopted Jews, or Profelytes of the Covenant :
but the Gentile ftrangers, or Profelytes ofthe
Gate, were confined only to fhe worffiip of
the true God, and the pradice of the moral
duties contained in the feven precepts fup
pofed to be delivered fo Noalh. Naaman,
therefore, being only a Profelyte of the Gate,'
might innocently keep his office af court, as
Jofeph did ill Egypt, and Daniel in Babylon;
and alfo perform fhe civil duties of his office
in the temple of Rimmon, fo long as the fer
vice was paid f o the man and not to the idol ;
fo long as he was clean from that profeffed
teverence,' which conftitutes the effence of
Spiritual adoration.
It has, again, been faid, in oppofition fo
this inferpretafion, that if this fort of indul-
^efice were allowable to Naaman, there would,
have been no occafion for Daniel in the court
of Nebuchadnezzar, or fpr old Eleazar araong
the officers of 'Antiochus, to have expofed
therafelves to' thofe dreadful torments, ' to
which they Were condeihried : the one might
have falferi down before the golden image
" " ¦ '  '  ¦ - which

SERMON XVL 281
whigh Nebuchadnezzar had fet up, and the
other have eaten fwine's flefli, fo long as they
did it, not out of a principle of idolatry, but
only in obedience to the king's command.
To this I anfwer, that the cafes are by no,
means fimilar. Thefe feveral ads were ex
prefsly required of Daniel and Eleazar as a
formal renunciation of the true God, and an
acknowledgment of idolatry : every comph
ance with them, therefore, _ would have been
in the higheft degree finful. But Naaman's
was barely the difcharge of a civil duty, with
out any ffich idolatrous conditions. On the
contrary, he clearly profeffes his defign of not
keeping his religion a fecret from his mafter,
by declaring his converfion publickly, before
all his fervants, and by carrying into Syria
two mules burden of earth, to build an altar
to the God of Iifael. And it feems as clear,
frora fhefe circumftances, that he did not
iraagine that his mafter would deny him the
free ufe of his own religion, or exped frora
him any idolatrous conditions : — his requeft,
therefore, is not that God would pardon him
for differabling his faith, and paying an out
ward reverence to the Syrian idql, to avoid
perfecution ;

282 SERMON XVL
perfecution ; but only, that he might be al
lowed to accompany his mafter to the houfe
of Rimmon, and to perform thofe offices of
refped to him, which belonged to the favo
rite, on whofe hand the king, according to
the eaftern cuftom, condefcended to lean.
1 proceed, fecondly, to ffiew, that Naaman's
condud affords no countenance or juftification
to thofe, who deny or diffemble their religion,
to avoid perfecution, or to promote their tem
poral interefts.
And here fhe point in queftion is not,
whether we are always obliged to declare what
rehgion or perfuafion we are of, when nobody
afks us ; or, whether we may not lawfully
conceal it, when we are afked by thofe, who
have no right to do if : for, I fuppofe, the
ftrideft cafuift will allow, thaf there are many
cafes, in which wc may innocently bc filenf.
Nor, again, are we required fo invite perfe
cution or ruffi into danger : on the contrary,
we may lawfully ufe every innocent e:xpedient
to avoid it, ThQ

SERMON XVI. 283
The point inquefKon is, whether, in a coun
try, differing from us in religious principles,
we may be juftified in differabling our own
religion ; — whether we can with a good con
fcience join in fuch religious worffiip as we
know to be contrary to the word bf God ;
that is, in ffiort, whether a man may be a
Papift at Rome, a Proteftant in England,
and a Mahometan or Idolater at Conftanti-
nople or Japan, provided he retains the pu
rity of the Chriftian Faith in his heart.
And here it cannot be denied, that they
who would juftify this kind of diffimulation
by the pradice of Naaman, muft fuppofe that
the holy fcripture is ftrangcly contradidory to
itfelf, and allows in one place what it ex
prefsly forbids in another : for, if there be
any fin clearly and exprefsly forbidden in fcrip
ture, it is that of hypocrify and diflimulation
in religious worffiip : and if there be any duty
clearly and exprefsly coraraanded in fcripture,
it is that of bearing witnefs to the truth by an
honeft and open profeffion of our faith, when-.
ever we are called upon to raake it by lawful
authority. We are not allowed to half be
tween Baal and the Lord. We are not to
ferye

284 SERMON XVI.
ferve God and raaramon. God will have the
whole, or none, of our fervice. How can
we, therefore, iraagine that Eliffia, who aded
by the Spirit of God, ffiould countenance and
allow in Naaman what the fame Holy Spirit,
in every other place, forbids ? Were this the
cafe ; had either Naaman requefted, or the
prophet granted, leave, to pay an outward
worffiip to the idols of Syria, whilft he in
wardly acknowledged the God of Ifrael ; the
one would have been a falfe prophet, who
prophefied deceits ; and the other an ungrate
ful profelyte, yfho knew God, only to diffio-
nour hira by a bafe and fervile corapliance
with the corruptions of his idolatrous mafter.
But, in reality, there is not^the leaft ffia
dow of ffich diffimulation in Naaman's con
dud ; not the leaft appearance of temporifing,
with a view to preferve the profits of his em«
ployment, or the favour of his prince.
For, I ft, we clearly fee, he makes a gene
ral renuntiation of all thofe falfe gods, whom
he before worffiipped,' and declares that he
will henceforth know no God, but the Lor4
only. ?dlyt

SERMON XVL 285
ijdly, He publicly declares his refolutions,
without any difguife or referve, in the pre
fence of the prophet and his own fervants.
3dly, He defires to carry away with him
fome of the earth of Ifrael info his own coun
try, to build an altar unto the Lord, and that
he raight thereby keep up a correfpondence
with the church of God.
4thly, He ffilly profeffes, that he will hence
forth offer neither burnt-offering nor facrifice
to any othei god, but unto the Lord. —
Surely, therefore, there cannot be the leaft
room for accufing him of hypocrify in his re
ligious condud.
But it will be afked, perhaps, if his inten
tions were fo fincere and free from diffimula
tion, why did he leave Judaa to return info
his qwn idolatrous country ; and why did not
the prophet advife him to relinquifh all his
-employments, rather than expofe hirafelf to
the danger of relapfing into idolatry, and
paying a bafe fubmiffion to the will of his
prince ? To

286 S E R M O ISJ XVL
To this I anfwer, it never was the defigil
of any part of God's rehgion to free men from
the obligation of their natural duties. The
feryice every man owes to his king and to
his country, is a clear and ffindaraental part of
the law of nature, from which nothing can
difcharge him, fo long as thaf fervice binds
hira to nothing finful. Though Naaman,
therefore, was converted from idolatry, yet
he was by no means abfolved from his alle
giance. Had, indeed, his allegiance to his
royal mafter and his duty to God been incom
patible, he would have aded wifely, perhaps,
in not returning into his own country. But
the cafe feems to have been much otherwife.
Benhadad appears to have entertained a fincere
and well-founded regard for him, in confide
ration of his paft fervices, and, therefore,
Naaman never expreffes the leaft doubt of
being allowed to worffiip the God of Ifrael,
Why, then, ffiould he defert his native coun
try, to which his fervices were juftly due, and .
in which he had a grateful foyereign, and,
probably, a numerous train of friends, prepared
lo welcome his return and congratulate his
recovery ? perhaps,

SERMON XVL 287
Perhaps, too. Providence raight haye fome
great, though unknown, defign to bring about
by his return to an idolatrous court ; which
would certainly tend to imprefs upon the
Syrian nation an awful idea of the fuperior
power of the God of Ifrael, and, at the fame
time, demonftrate that great truth, that in
every nation, he that feareth God and work
eth righteoufnefs, is accepted with him.
And, laftly, fhe Syrian captain might pro
bably be as little likely to relapfe into idolatry
in his own country, where he would meet
with nothing to efface the reverential impref
fion he had received of the true God, as if
he had remained in Judaea, where the wor-
ffiippers of that God, though they were bleffed
with the cleareft knowledge of his will, were
yet polluted too frequently with all the abo
minations of the Gentiles.
From what has been faid, we may, in the
firft place, obferve the weaknefs of thofe,
who, under the pretence of Religion, break
through the eftabliffied rules of decency and
order; — who, by an affeded fingularity of
drefs, or ruflicity of manners, feparate them felves

488 SERMON XVL
felves frora the world ; as if we rauft ceafe
to be raen before we can be Chriftians.— A
condud very widely different frora that of
Naaraan, who thought the difcharge of his
civil duties, ahd even an accoraraodation to
the weaknefs Of a ffiperftitious prince, no way
inconfiftent with his duty to God, fo long as
he preferved his own integrity. And the
cafe is ftill the farae under the Chriftian, as
it was under the Jewiffi difpenfationi We
have no reftraints laid upon our Chriftian li
berty, fo that we do not abufe it. There are
in every nation wife and eftabliffied cuftoras.
Convenient and fettled rules of decorura^ the
fences of good order, and the neceffary laws
of intercourfe between man and man : to thefe
our Saviour hirafelf conftantly conforraed, and
to thefe we raay alfo innocently conform,
where they are not contrary to the laws of
truth and virtue. And I believe it may gene
rally be faid, that that affedation of fuperior
purity, which ffiews itfelf in precifenefs of
manners, in fingularity of drefs, and feverity
of cenfure j in oppofition to the received
modes and cUftoras of the world, proceeds
rather from a weaknefs of head or hypocrify
of heart, from the arrogance of pride or the
fournefs

SERMON XVt 28^
foUrnefs of fpleen, than frora a truly chriftiail
fpirit, warraed by zeal and ghided by charityi
But 2dly, Though we raay fafely conforrii
to the innocent cuftoras and forms of thig
world, yet we muft, at the fame firacj be
ware, that we do not fuffer our integrity to
fall a facrifice to our complaifance. We are
not, indeed,^ hke Naaman, tempted to fall
down before idols of wood and ftone ; yet
there are other idols no lefs dangerous to -yir-
tue. The houfe of Rimmon is not confined
to Syria alone : it is to be found in every
kingdora and nation. His images iheet us irt
every place, under the fpecious difguifes of
pleaffire, profit, pride, and ambitioui
If, thefefofd, we make thefe the objeds of
our private adoration, or fuffer them to divide
our affedions with the God of hcayen,^^we
not only bPw down in the hoiife of Rimmon^
but, what is worfe, we bow down to the
iraage of Rimmon : — we are idolaters and-
not Chriftiansr"^
If, a^airt, we diffemble Ouf religion befofe
men ; — if we abftain from its ordinances td
Vol. L y avoid

290 SERMON XVL
avoid ridicule on ourfelves, or tamely fubmit
to hear it ridiculed by others ; we are bafe
and fervile worffiippers of that painted idol,
popular opinion ; — we fall far ffiort of the in
tegrity of the honeft Syrian, who, though he
was willing fo ffiew a due refped to the per
fon of his foyereign, yet feorned to facrifice
his heavenly allegiance to his earthly one, and,
therefore, nobly avowed his refolution of of
fering neither burnt-offering nor facrifice to
any god but the Lord, though he was the
fubjed of an idolatrous king, and in the land
of an idolatrous people. Let us not, how
ever, vainly imagine, that Religion confifts
in attachment to forms, or feds, or names,
of any kind. If the principles we profefs are
founded on convidion of their truth, it is
our duty fteadily to adhere to them, without
temporizing or diffimulation : but if, ^ as a
wife author expreffes himfelf, we owe our
Religion to the font in which we were bap
tized, or to the clime in which we were born,
we are much miftaken, if we think we have
a right to aflbme the honourable title of
Chriftians. Let us, therefore, attend more
to the effence than the forms qf Religion;
* Vide Browne's Religio Medici. more

SERMON XVL 291
more to the pradical duties which the Gofpel
clearly enjoins, than to the fpeculative opi
nions of falhble men ; which may lead us
into errors, uncertainty, or infidelity, but can
not forward us one ftep in the way, which'
leadeth to eternal life. FinaUy, ffiffer rae to
addrefs you in the affedionate language of
Joffiua to the Ifraelites : — " Now, therefore,
" fear the Lord, and ferve hira in fincerity
" and truth, and put away the idols from
" among you." And let your's be the noble
anfwer of the fame Ifraelites, — " God forbid
" that we ffiould forfake the Lord, to ferve
" other gods!"

U^ SER-

SERMON XVII.

2 Kings v. 20 — 27.
But Gehazi, the fervant of Eliffa the man of
God, faid. Behold my mafer hath fpared
Naaman the Syrian, in not receiving at his
hands that which he brought ; but as the Lord
liveth, I will run after him, and take fome
what of him.
So Gehazi followed after Naaman: And when
Naaman faw him running after him, h^
alighted down from his chariot to meet him,
- and faid. Is all well?
And he faid. All is well. My mafer hath fent
- me, faying. Behold even now there be come
' to me from mQunt Ephraim two young men
of the fons of the prophets', give them, I pray
thee, a talent of filver, arid two changes oJf
Mrmetiti^ U 3 Jni.

294 SERMON XVIL
And Naaman faid. Be content, take ftvo talents.
And he urged him, and bound two talents of
filver in two bags, with two changes of gar
ments, and laid them upon two of his fervants,
and they bare them before him. And when
he came to the tower, he took them from their
hand, and befowed them in the houfe, and he
let the men go, and they departed.
But he went in, and food before his mafer.
And Elifha faid unto him. Whence comef thou,
Gehazi? And he faid, thy fervant went no
whither.
And he faid tmto him. Went not mine heart with
thee, when the man turned again from his
chariot to meet thee? Is this a time to receive
money, and to receive garments, and olive
yards, and vineyards, and ffe ep, and oxen,
and men fervants, and maid fervants ?
t'he leprofy therefore of Naaman ffall cleave
unto thee and unto thy feed for ever. And
he went out from his prefence a leper, asnvhite
as fnow.
AN infpired Apoftle tells us, " The love
" of raoney is the root of all evil." —
And tffis is true, not only with regard to thofe
frauds

SERMON XVIL 293
frauds- and villanies, which it prompts men to
commit, but alfb with regard to the miferies
and evils which it draws upon them : and,
therefore, the fame apoftle very juftly adds,
" Which, whilft fome have coveted after,
" they have pierced themfelves through with
" many forrows,"
Of both thefe the hiftory of Gehazi affords
us a very ftriking example. He no fooner
faw the gold and the filver, which Naaman
m vain had offered to his mafter, than his
avaricious heart was fet upon them : and no
lefs readily had he recourfe to fraud and villany
to accompliffi his purpofe of partaking of them.
But the refentment of the prophet and the
vengeance of heaven as quickly fficceed :— •
the rapacious plunderer, by a juft fentence,
is driven from the comfort of human. fo
ciety:— the unbluffiing liar is branded with
the leprofy of Naaraan, to be franfraifted, as
a memorial of his guilt, to his lateft pofterity.
But let us exaraine the circumftances of
this tranfadion a little more particularly,
V 4 Naamattj

tq6 SERMON XVIL
Naaman, haying now obtained the wiffied-
for cure of his leprofy, had taken leave of the
prophet, and was returning to his own coun
try.' And, perhaps, upon this occafion, if will
not be eafy to fay, which was happier ;— the
Syrian, in having received the reftoration of
ftis health, and the converfion of his foul ; or
the prophet, in having difplayed the generofity
pf his own he^rf and the power of his God,
No doubt, too, the fervants of Naaman had
their fhare of pleafure in feeing their maftei;
return back to his country and expeding
friends, free frora fh^t naufeous diforder,
which had rendered Hfe a burden to hira.
Atpidft this general joy, Gehazi was the
pnly difcbntented perfon. " He had feen the
tfeaffires of Naaman, and, what was flillmore
mortifying, he had feen them, too, refufed by
his difihterefl;ed mafter. This was too much,
therefore, ' for his mercenary foul to bear. — ¦
The venom of avarice rankled al; his heart,
and foon ffiewed iffelf in his adions. He co
veted, and, therefore, he determined to ob
tain, fome part of that wealth, which the
grateffil Syrian had brought to reward the
prophet, sJKnd

SERMON XVIL 297
And here let us ftop to obfei-ye, that there
is no place, however facred, which the devil
will not enter, to lay his fnares for the de
ftrudion of men. He entered into paraffife
to feduce our firft parents, even when they
were juft come out of the hands of their
Maker. He entered into Judas, when he
was at ffipper with his heavenly Mafter. He
overthrew the faith of Peter, when he had
even refolved to die with his Saviour. And,
in the inftance before us, he entered info the
heart of Gehazi, when he was in the houfe
of a prophet, and alraoft ftill in fight of the
n^iraculous power ofthe God of Ifrael; who,
he raight well have fuppofed, was as mighty
to deftroy as to fave.
How great need, therefore, have the chil
dren of God to be watchful, even in their
beft. employments and moft facred retire
ments ! The fanduary of God himfelf is not
always, fafe frora impure thpughts, nor the
ciofet of the. faint fecure from dangerous
temptations. How much need, therefore,
have we all to keep in mind the exhortation
of the Apoftle, " Watch and pray, rny brc-
** thren, left ye enter into tenaptatipn." No

298 SERMON XVIL
No fooner had Gehazi forraed this defign,
than he began to put it in execution. — " Be-
" hold," fays he, " my mafter hath fpared
" Naaman the Syrian, in not receiving at
" his hands that which he brought ; but as
" fhe Lord liveth, I will run after hira, and
" take fomewhat of him. — So Gehazi fol-
" lowed after Naaman."
Naaman feeing Gehazi thus running after
him, did not ftay till he came up to him, but,
to ffiew his refped to the prophet, alights from
his chariot to meet him, and greets hira with
this queftion, " Is ah weU?" To which Ge
hazi as readily anfwers, " All is well,"
And was, indeed, all well ? Did thy heart
tell thee, thou faithlefs fervant, that all was
-well, when thou waft deceiving the honeft
Syrian, and injuring thy kind raafter ? Couldft
thou fancy that all was well, becaufe no hu
man eye was witnefs to thy villany ? Was not
the eye of Providence looking down upon
thee ? — Say not, then, thou who imitateft the
crimes of Gehazi, — All is well ; becaufe thou
efcapeft the vengeance of man. Afk thy heart
firft, if all be well wiffiin.— Alk thy confci-
9 ence,

SERMON XVII. 299
ence, if all be well above. Thou raayeft be
fefe here, indeed ; but fo long as the bleeding
tears of injured innocence can witnefs againft
thee, — fo long as the cries of the orphan and
fhe fatherlefs can reach the throne of God, — ¦
be affured, thaf all is not well.
The reft of Gehazi's difcourfe is all a com^
pound of fidion and falfehood, to cover his
villany. He knew that the requeft he was
going to make in the name of the pro
phet muft appear fomewhat ftrange to Naa
man, after what had juft before paffed be
tween them ; and, therefore, to give a little
colour of probability to it, he dreffes up a
fiditious ftory of the unexpeded arrival of
two young men of the .fons of the prophets
frora raount Ephraira, to whora his raafter
wiffied to pay a corapliraenf by raaking them
a prefent of a talent of filver and two changes
of garraents. And, to give the greater credit
to his impofture, he pretends to raake a con
fcience of exceeding his raafter's orders : fo
that Naaraan is forced to urge hira, before he
can prevail upon his affeded delicacy of ho
nour, to accept of two talents. — " And he
*' faid, My raaft^ hath fent me, faying, Be-
" hold.

300 SERMON XVIL
** hold, even now there be come to me from
** mount Ephraim two young men of the fons
*' of the prophets ; give them, I pray thee,
**¦ a talent of filver, and two changes of gar-
•' ments. And Naaman faid. Be content ;
*' fake two talents. And he urged him, and
*' bound two talents of filver in two bags,
** with two changes of garments."
You fee that lying, then, was fhe great
inftrument of his avarice. And is it not ftill
the fame fatal inftrument in the hands of all,
who, like Gehazi, raake hafte to be rich ? —
It is painffil to fpeak fevere truths, but it
would be crirainal in a rainifter of the Gofpel
of truffi to ffifferable them. — Let me fay,
therefore, that no ferious mind can look upon
the various arts which are pradifed in almoft
every branch of trade and coraraerce, without
juft indignation and concern. — Let me afk,
and I afk it with a real forrow, whether in
this land of Chriftianity, for one that keeps
within the bounds of truth in buying and fell-
mg, there be not thoufands that have recourfe
to lies, frauds, and even perjuries ?-^Not thai
they had not rather grow rich by fair and
honeft raethods : but fhe misfortuiie is, fuch;
methods gire too flow to keep pace with their
^varicipui

SERMON XVIL 30t
avaricious defires and immoderate expences ;
and, therefore, the buyer and feller are equally
prorapted by the farae motives to circurayent
and deceive. And fo it unavoidably muft
happen : — for, fo long as men are aduated by
the bafe principles of Gehazi, they will alfo
perffie the bafe arts of Gehazi.
Gehazi, having thus fraudulently obtained
what he wiffied, his next care was to fecure
it. The facred hiftorian tells us, therefore,
" when he carae to the tower, he took the
** two talents of filver, and the changes of
" rairaent, and beftowed thera in the houfe,
" and let the men go, and they departed."
And now, his crime being compleated, his
fears and anxieties begin. He had deceived
Naaman, but he had ftill the dread of defec
tion frora his raafter, — And thus it ever will
be with fhe confcious finner. Guilt is reft
lefs and. uneafy. Hence proceed thofe ftrug-
glings and inward conflids of raind, which
go before it ; and thofe terrors and apprehert-
fipns, which follow after it : — the downcaft
look, and- unfteady gait ; the fufpicious ear,
and midnight palenefs. The

302 SERMON XVIL
The better, however, to fucceed in his
defign, this wicked wretch endeavours to
conceal his crirae by his irapudence : — with
an affedation of the intrepidity of confcious
ffinocence, he went in, and ftood before his
raafter. But Eliffia, who well knew his guilt, foon
found means to give a check to his impudence :
— " Whence comeft thou, Gehazi ?"
How rauch Gehazi muft be thunder-ftruck
af this unexpeded queftipn, I leave you to
judge. He endeavours, however, fo recover
himfelf, and with that ready afffirance, which
the father of lies never fails to beftow on his
children, anfwers, " Thy fervant went no
" whither."
But the prophet was not fo to be deceived.
To convince him, therefore, that he was no
ftranger to what had paffed, he recapitulates
the feveral circumftances of his guilt, and re
proaches him with the unfifnefs of the time
to add to the crimes of the Jewiffi nation,
which was already, on account of its fins, in
danger of being carried into captivity. —
" Went

SERMON XVIL 303
" Went not mine heart with thee," fays he,
" when the man turned again from his cha-
" riot to meet thee ? Is it a time to receive
" money, and to receive garments ?" And,
to conclude all, he adds that dreadful puniffi
ment of his guilt : — " Therefore the leprofy
" of Naaman fliall cleave to thee and to thy
" feed for ever." And no fooner was this
fentence pronounced, than it was alfb exe
cuted : for the facred hiftory tells us, — " He
" went out frorn his prefence a leper, as white
" as fnow."
Let this example of Gehazi, then, teach
us to guard our hearts againft the fnares and
temptations of riches, — to be contented with
our condition, — and to prefer an honeft medio
crity, or a virtuous poverty with a good con
fcience, to the greateft affluence without it.
You fee how dear the love of riches coft Ge
hazi : — with what rapidity it, hurried him on
from one fin to another, fill it brought him
to deftrudion. And thus it ever will be. A
covetous man will ftick at nothing in the way
to his ' beloved treaffire. Nor perjuries, nor
frauds, nor treachery, nor violence will ffiock
his confcience, fo long as they proraote his
intereft.

364 SERMON XVlt
intereft. The ties of blood and nature, the
bonds of fociety, or the duties of religion, are
vain and ineffedual, where the flrPnger call
of lucre founds in his ears. Were his deareft
friend in the way, laden with the treafures of
Naaman, his language would be that of Ge
hazi, — " As the Lord liveth, I will run after
*' him, and take foraewhat of him." — Learn,
then, in time, to fet bounds to your defires,
and in all cafes prefer the riches of heaven
before thofe of earth ; remerabering thofe two
wife and invaluable leffons contained in your
Bibles ; — " Thaf a fraall thing that the righ-
** teous hath, is better than great riches of
** the ungodly ;" and that " they that will
*' be rich, fall info temptation, and a fnare,
*' and into raany fooliffi and hurtful lufts,
** which drown raen in deftrudion aiid per-
« dition."
2dly, If We have fallen into any ffiare of
teraptation, through the love of riches, let
us not, like Gehazi, have recourfe to lying
to cover our fin. It is enough that we have
offended God by one 'fin. Without adding to it
another, which he hates and abhors. Befides^
what wiU it avail us to hide our fin from men, if

SERMON XVIL 305
if God is privy to it ? We raay, indeed, efcape
their cenfure, but we cannot efcape his judg
ment. For in his book are all our adions
written. And at the day of account will that
book be opened, and all our hypocrifies, lie's,
and fecret fins, called forth by that God, who
is able to bring to light the hidden things of
DO O
darknefs, and make manifeft the counfels of
the heart. And then will aU the Gehazis
of this world, the liars, the oppreffors, and
the covetous, appear in their proper colours
before men and angels.
Think, therefore, when thou art tempted
to conceal thy guilt by lying, what it will
avail thee before Him, from whora no fecrets
are hid. When thou ftandeft at the throne
of God, and that dreadful queftion is propofed
to thee, " Whence comeft thou, Gehazi ?"
will it avail thee any thing to anfwer, " Thy
" fervant went no whither ?" Will fuch an
anfwer deceive a God of knowledge, by whom
all thy adions are weighed ; whofe heart goes
with thee in every moment of thy life ; who
is about thy path and about thy bed, and fpieth
out all thy ways ? — No : thou canft not fly
from his prefence, or go from his fpirit. — If
Vol. I. X thoH

3o6 SERMON XVIL
thou climb up into heaven ; he is there : if
thou go down into hell ; he is there alfo : if
thou couldeft take the wings of the morning,
and remain in the uttermoft parts of the fea;
even there alfo his hand ffiould find thee, and
his right hand ffiould hold thee : — Shouldeft
thou fay, Peradventure the darknefs ffiall co
ver me ; then thy night ffiall be turned to
day ; yea, the darknefs is no darknefs with
him, but the night is as clear as the day ; the
darknefs and light to him are both alike.

*o

Seeing then we have a God to deal with,
who cannot be deceived, let us not vainly
pretend to diffemble with him, or to deny our
fins : let us rather approach him in the humi
liating language of the prophet, " Righteouf-
" nefs belongeth unto thee, O Lord, but unto
*' us confufion of face ;" knowing, that " if
*' we fay that we have no fin, we deceive
" ourfelves, and the truth is not in us ; but
*' if we confefs our fins, God is faithful and
*' juft to forgive us our fins, and to cleanfe us
*' from all unrighteoufnefs."

SER-

SERMON XVIII.

2 Peter iii. 5.

But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in
the night ; in the which the heavens ffall pafs
away with a great noife,"^ and the elements
ffall melt with fervent heat ; the earth alfo,
and the works that are therein, ffall be burn
ed up.
COULD We behold the dreadful fore
runners of the day of judgment here
defcribed, we ffiould want no other argument
lo excite our repentance, and warra Our de
votion. — A world in flaraes, and a God de-
fcending fo judgment, would appal even the
boldeft finner, and make him cry out, in the
language of the aftoniffied jailor of old,'^
" What ffiafl I do to be faved ?"
Whence, then, is it, thaf this great and
important event, which muft one day cer-
X 2 taifily

3o8 SERMON XVIII.
tainly happen, makes fo little impreffion upoB
us ? Why do we flumber on in our compli
cated fins and follies, when we cannot but
know, not only that judgment is certainly
hanging over our heads, but alfo that the day
of the Lord may come, in an hour when we
look not for it.
Thefe are great and folemn queftions,
which all men are concerned to anfwer ; and
yet, I ara afraid, no anfwer can be given to
thera, which will not reproach our folly.
Thofe whora education and refledion have
enabled to confider this great fubjed aright,
want not additional arguments to ftrengthen
their faith in this point. But the unlearned
Chriftian, — the Chriftian, who has neither
time nor talents for elaborate inveftigation, —
will fuffer me to lay before him, in terms
fuited to the plaineft capacity, the folly and
weaknefs of thofe various pretences, which
lead men to difregard the awful impreffions
of a future day of account.
The firft caufe, which hinders men from
fufficiently weighing the terrors of a judg
ment to come, is a fpirit of infidelity. And
what

SERMON XVIIL 309
v.hat is this, in other words, but a fpirit of
the greateft folly and infatuation ? For, if
ever any truth was clear and undeniable ; if
ever any evidence was full and fatisfadory ;
that of a future judgment muft be fo, to every
impartial enquirer ; whether we confider it as
founded on the information of fcripture or the
didates of reafbn. Both the Old and New
Teftament unanimoufly reprefent it in the
fame colours, and under the fame figures.
Our Saviour has only explained what the proi-
phets faid of it before him : and this he did in
the ffiUeft manner. He conftantly declared,
both privately to his difciples and publicly to
the world, that there would be ffich a judg
ment. He has defcribed the preparatives and
circumftances, with which it will be attended.
He has told us the very terms, which the
Judge wiU make ufe of in pronouncing fen
tence. And, that he might omit no conffi-
mation which could add weight to fo import
ant a matter, he ratifies the truth of what he
fays, with a folemn affeveration, which he
feldom ufes but on fuch iraportant occafions :
" Verily I fay unto you, heaven and earth
" ffiall pafs away, but my words ffiall not
" pafs away." X 3 And

310 SERMON XVIIL
And this great truth is not confined. to Re-;
Velation only : for all nations and all religions
in the world have, in forae fort, acknowledged
it. It feems to bs a notion inferibed on the
hearts of men by the finger of Him that form
ed them, that there is a juft and righteous
God, 'who will reward virtue and puniffi vice.
Hence it is, that to this judgment of God we
fee men, as it were, inftindively appealing,
in thofe folemn, but common, expreffions; — •
" God is my judge; — He is witnefs that what
*' I fay is true ; — to Him I appeal." The
fame inftindive notion of a future judgment
we always find too the great comfort of man
kind under the injuries they fuffer : it is the
conftant language of oppreffed innocence, —
f God fearches my heart and knows my in-
*' nocence, and will do me juftice, hereafter,
" for all the wrongs I fuffer." What is it
alfo but the fame inftindive notion, which
checks our vicious inclinations, and makes us
afraid to commit fin ? And when we have
committed it, though we have efcaped the
cenfure of the world, and have been juftified
in the eyes of men ; yet there is fomething
within that tells us, all is not right ; there is
a hand-writing on the wall ; there is a fecret voice

SERMON XVIIL 311
voice which alarms our fears, which makes
us tremble and look pale in the dark hour of
midnight ; which whifpers us, that we muft
one day ftand before a Judge, who can neither
be deceived nor eluded.
And whence then is this notion common
to aU the nations of the world, and extends
itfelf through all ages ? Can it be error ? Can
it be fuperftition ? No : it is the voice of na
ture, — it is the language of reafon, which
points out an hereafter, the comfort of the
virtuous and the terror of the wicked. —
Wretched they, who refufe to hear its dic
tates ! who ^^'ill not believe the power of an
almighty Judge, till they fee Him come,
armed with tenfold terrors, to take vengeance
on them that have not known Hira !
A fecond caufe, which hinders men from
paying due attention to a future judgment, is
the fuppofed diftance of it. Diftant evils, we
all know, lofe much of their due force : what
may not happen till after a long courfe of years,
we are apt to think may never happen. On
this the fenfual man builds all his hopes ; the
finner all his dependence : he thinks the day of
X ^ wrath

312 SERMON xvm.
wrath is yet, perhaps, many ages off ; and is
ready to cry out with the fcoffers of old, — '
" Where is the promife of his coming ? For
" fince the fathers fell afleep, all things con-
" tinue as they were from the foundatipn of
" the world."
Buj;, miftaken man, judgment is nearer
than thou imagineft : for though the fatal
hour in which God will finally judge the
world is known only to the Father, and thofe
to whora he w\\\ reveal it ; yet every man
knows, that we are every moment drawing
nearer to that peripd, which will feal our
eternal doom. The terrible figns of God's
coming raay not perhaps appear to this gene
ration ; but for every man, as foon as death
has elofed his eyes, the predidions of it are
all accompliffied :— To him the fun is for
ever darkened, and the heavens paffed away ;
the elements are diffolved, and the earth, with
all its works, vaniffied: — To him the book is
opened, the events of his paft life laid open
to the all-fearching eye of his Judge, and the
fentence of eternal happinefs or mifery ready
to found in his ears. For in the grave there
is no change to be made in our fate :'^as the
tree

SERMON XVIIL 313
tree falls, fo it muft lie to eternity ; for there
is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, in.
the grave. To us, therefore, the grave is the
beginning of judgment, and the nearer we
approach to it, the nearer we are to falling
into the hands of the living God. The day
of judgment, then, cannot be far frora eyery
one of us. The eye of Providence may al
ready have marked fbme of us for the unwel
come ftroke of death : — the lot may be mine,
or it may be thine. And were we fure of
this ; — could we fee fhe uplifted hand of fate
ready to fmite us with its inevitable force, —
with what confufion ffiould we fly to God,
lament our fins, implore his mercy, and fpurn
at all the temptations and vanities of fhe world.
— Say, we were fcire it ffiould happen, even
within a year, with what caution ffiould we
walk, with vsffiat earneftnefs ffiould we pray,
with what fervency ffiould we endeavour to
work out our falvation?
And is it not probable, that forae of us will
be fummoned to appear before the throne of
God, ere twelve ffiort raonths are expired ?
Are not our friends daily dropping around us ?
Has not the laft year furampned fome of them to

314 SERMON XVIIL
to pay the laft tribute of nature ? And as
furely as the autumnal leaves annually ovcr
fpread the ground, fo furely will the lamp of
life be foon exfinguiffied" in many of thofe,
who now rejoice in its light. What folly
then is It to be unprepared for an event, which
cannot be far diftant, and may be very near
us ;¦ — which certainly approaches by the ine
vitable fteps of advancing age, and may come
with the hafty and unlooked-for fpeed of a
thief in the night !

¦'o

To ffiew the unreafonablenefs of this fpiri
tual procraftination ftill farther, let us confi
der how very different is the condud of man
kind on moft other occafions ! They are ever
difpofed to carry their fears of worldly evils too
far, and wear out their lives in apprehenfion
of imaginary danger. One man ftarves him
felf through fear of want in his latter days ;
another pmes away in anxious folicitude for
the future welfare of his children ; a third
dreads the lofs of a friend or a fortune ; thus
embittering life with the apprehenfion of
events which raay never happen, whilft they
are regardlefs of that great event which infal
libly rauft happen.
What

SERMON XVIIt 315
What a furprize, therefore, will it be to
fuch raen to fee all thefe worldly fears, which
gave thera fo rauch uneafinefs, vaniffi away,
and, in their ftead, to find a judgraent which
was not in all their thoughts, and an eternity
for which they have raade no provifion ? With
what grief and defpair will it fiU their fouls,
to have employed their time and care in pro
viding for a periffiable body, whilft the noble
and immortal part was negleded and for-r
gotten ?
Fancy not, then, ye thoughtlefs fluff erers,
that carelefly fport on the ocean of life, that
the hour of judgment is far off: if is no far
ther diftant, than the period of your lives ;
and how far that may be, is known to God .
alone. But that it cannot- be yery remote,
the repeated knells of departed fpirits, and
the fable train of forrow that almoft daily
meets your eyes, will tell you : — and, that it
niay not be this very night ; that the eye
which fparkles with joy to-day, may not to
morrow be elofed in eternal darknefs ; — which
of us ffiall dare to fay ? A third

3i6 SERMON XVIIL
A third thing, which hinders men from
ftanding in awe of a ffiture judgraent, is,
that they look round about them, and fee
that the generality of the world live in the
iame carelefs and irreligious manner with
therafelves. They are, therefore, apt to rea-'
fon thus with therafelves, if any uneafy fore
bodings of futurity arife in their breafts : —
" If I ara ading wrong, if I have any thing
" to fear, there are thoufands befides myfelf
*' in the fame condition ; I fee we all tread
" much in fhe fame fteps, and my life is as
*' virtuous as that of my neighbours : — why,
f' therefore, ffiould I be more anxious about
" my ffiture -^i^elfare than they?"
But, confidereft thou not, O vain man,
that thou wilt not be judged by other mens'
adions, but thine own ; — that it is not thp
cuftom of the world, which is to be the rule
of thy condud, but the coraraands of the
Gofpel; — not the exaraple of men that is to
be thy pattern, but that of Jefus Chrift? —
Tffink not, therefore, that a multitude of fin
ners will either juftify thy coraraiffion of fin,
pr fecure thee frora the puniffiment of it.
This

SERMON xvm. 317
This may, indeed, happen among men, where
the arra of juftice is often too feeble to reach
a combined multitude of offenders. But the
Judge thou haft to fear, is not a man, but a
God ; — a God who is able to weigh the hea
vens in abalance, and to whom the whole
univerfe is but as a point. No power of
numbers, therefore, will fave thee from his
juft judgments. His avenging arm was able
to drive a combined hoft of rebellious angels o
from heaven, and deftroy a difobedient world
by an irrefiftible deluge : how then ffialt thou
efcape his power, or whither ffialt thou flee
from his prefence ? Couldeft thou climb up
into heayen ; he is there : Wilt thou go down
into hell ; he is there alfo : Couldeft thou take
the wings of the morning, and remain in the
uttermoft parts of the fea ; even there alfo his
hand can follow thee, and his right hand hotd
thee : Sayeft thou, Peradventure the darknefs
ffiall coyer me ; the darknefs is no darknefs
with him, but the night is as clear as the day;
the darknefs and light to him are both alike.
Let not, then, example or multitude lead thee
on to ruin. Wide, indeed, isthe gate, and
broad is the way, in which ffie raultitude
walk ; but remember alfo, that it leadeth to
deftrudion.

3i8 SERMON XVIIL
deftrudion. Be it thy care, therefore, tb
enter in at the ftrait gate, which leadeth to
eternal life, amidft the happy few that find it.
A fourth reafon, which hinders men from
fearing a future judgment, is a prefumptuous
dependence upon their good works. There
are raany, who live without committing any
flagrant or notorious fin, attend the outward
ordinances of religion, exercife fome moral
virtues, perform fome charitable and laudable
adions. If thefe men, therefore, have any
thing to fear, they think it is not for them
felves, but for their neighbours : — they are
grieved for the corruption of fhe age in which
we live, are fearful of the welfare of raan
kind, are concerned to think, how thou-
fends, whofe deftrudion they have already
flronounced, will anfwer before God. As for
themfelves, they have no fears :— they are
children of grace, the eled of God : they de
pend upon their zeal for religion, and a life
unpolluted with any notorious fin ; they think
their ftretched-out hands and uphfted eyes
will witnefs the fincerity of their devotion,
and fecure to them a place in heaven. But

SERMON XVIIL 319
But this is that wicked prefumption, which
the Son of Syrach fays, is fprung up to cover
the earth with deceit. To be righteous over
much, and defpife others, is the language of
the tabernacle and the eiithufiaft, but it is not
the language of Chriftianity and good fenfe,
Jt was St, Paul's advice to the Philippians, to
work out their falvation, not only with fear,
but with trembling too. And yet thefe were
the very Philippians, whom he comraends for
their alms, their works of charity, their con
ftancy in ffiffering perfecution, and their pa
tient taking the fpoiling their goods. Not
withftanding all which, he does not bid them,
fear for others, but for themfelves ; to work
out their own falvation with fear, and' to
leave others to the mercy of their proper
Judge. And with the fame confcious humi
lity, when David, the man after God's ov/n
heart, had watered his couch with peniten
tial tears, and exercifed ffimfelf in the law of
God, day and night; all that he requires in
return is, that the Almighty would not be
too fevere in his examination, too extreme to
mark what is done amifs : — " Enter not,"
lays he, " into judgraent with thy fervant,
" O Lord ; for in thy fight fhaU no man

" living

32i> SERMON XVIIL
" living be juftified." Let no man, there
fore, arrive at ffich a pitch of folly as to pre
fume upon his own fufficiency, or to con
demn others. It will be enough for him,
that he can anfwer for himfelf at the day of
judgment. It will, therefore, be his higheft
wifdom, and the beft evidence of his religion,
to think humbly of himfelf and charitably of
others ; knowing that all his own fufficiency
is derived from the fame God, to whofe raercy
their failings are to be left.

£>"

Another reafon, which hinders raen from
fearing a future judgment, arifes from their
belief, that the mercies of God are infinite ;
that he is a being of unbounded goodnefs ;
that he did not create man to make him eter
nally miferable. Far be it from me to fet
limits to that mercy of God, which I, and
every man living, ffiall too much ftand in
need of at the great day of account. God is,
mdeed, good : we fee it every day ; we feel
it in every adion of our lives ; we are our
very felves the fruit and offspring of his good
nefs, which called us out of nothing into life.
But then, is he not alfo juft as well as mer-
ciffil ? And will not that juftice obhge him to

SERMON xvm. 321
to punifli unrepented fins ? Where, then, is
the falfe confidence of the finner in the mercy
of God ? That mercy will, indeed, incline
him to feek the converfion of the finner in
this life ; hue we fliould make a raonfter of
him, and not a God, ffiould we fuppofe him
not to puniffi fin hereafter. He did not, in
deed, create man upon earth to make him
miferable : but man may make himfelf fo.-
Neither did he create the fallen angels with
a defign to make them miferable : yet we
know, that they are referved under chains
of darknefs for ever, having preffi\nptuoufly
abufed the mercy of heaven. Let no man,,
therefore, prefume upon the goodnefs of God,
too far. His mercies are the hope of the fin
cere, though infirm, Chriftian ; but they ar«
not the fanduary of the wilful and deliberate
finner : they will rather be an aggravation of
his guilt, and add to that heavy fentence
which awaits it ; for they that defpife his
raercies, ffirely deferve raoft to feel his judg
ments. Let, therefore, no falfe pleas, ray brethren,
or fallacious hopes, remove our thoughts from
Vol. L Y the

322 SERMON XVIIL
the terrors of a judgment fo come. If there
be any certainty in reafon, or truth in reve
lation, we muft one day ftand together af the
bar of a juft God ; where no deceitful pleas,
or mafk of hypocrify, will avail us. If, there
fore, we would efeape the feverity of God's
judgments, and obtain a favourable fentence
at that great day, we muft prepare for its
coming by a holy and virtuous life. We muft
often examine the ftate of our fouls, and live
continually in the fear pf God. We m^uft
often retire from the cares of this vain world,
and exercife our thoughts in the contempla
tion of a better. We muft weigh all our
adions in the balance of the fanduary, and
walk as ftrangers and pilgrims upon earth,
upon which we have no abiding city. And,
above all, we muft daily proftrate ourfelves
at the throne of mercy, in a deep fenfe of our
own unworthinefs, faying with holy Job,
" I am afraid of all my forrows ; I knovy
" that fhou wilt not hold me innocent."
And then, when the day pf the Lord com
eth, though it be as a thief in the night ;
when the heavens ffiall pafs away with ^
great

SERMON XVIIL 323
great noife, and the elements ffiall melt with
fervent heat ; when the earth alfo, and the
works that are therein, ffiall be burned up ;
we ffiall not be afraid with any amazement,
but ffiall cheerfully prepare to meet our Judge,
who now fitteth at the right hand of God, to
intercede for us, and to help our infirmities,

Y 2- SER-

SERMON XIX.

2 Tim. i, lo.
But is now made manifef by the appearing of
our Saviour Jefus Chrif, who hath ahoUJhed
death, and hath brought life and imtnortality
to Ught through the Gofpel.
IT is the peculiar unhappinefs of mankind
in general, to overlook, or be diffatis-
fied with, prefent bleffings. Prone to change,
and fond of novelty, their reftlefs fancies are
ever on the wing : regardlefs of what is in
their power, they place their hopes of felicity
in what is not fo ; and thus, hourly bufied in
the perffiit of fantaftic enjoyments, or im
poffibie attainments, ffiould heaven and earth
confpire to make them happy, they would, in
fpite of both, contrive to make themfelves
miferable. And in nothing hath this perverfe temper
ffiewn itfelf more ftrongly, than in what re-
Y 2 lates

326 SERMON XIX.
lates to matters of religion. Favoured as they
have been, at fundfy times and in divers
manners, with fuch illuftrations of the divine
wiU, as God's wifdom thought fit to beftow,
or their own neceffities required, they have
ftill, in every period, found out fomething to
repine at ; fome idle pretence for rejeding
thofe means of happinefs, which were gra
cioufly offered to them.
Thus the heathen, left to the guidance of
reafon and confcience, by whofe laws he was
to be judged, inftead of perfuing their clear
and unerring didates, which pointed out the
great lines of his duty in legible charaders,
fpent his time in lamenting the ignorance of
human nature, and complained of the want
of fome farther light to guide him, at the
very time fhat he was ffiutting his eyes againft
that light, which God had given hira already.
And the Jews were no lefs diffatisfied with
their condition. They had, indeed, raany
important difcoveries of revelation, fuperadded
to the light of reafon ; they had Mofes and
the Prophets, from whora they might learn
the clear will of God ; yet all this availed no
thing :

SERMON XIX. 327
thing : they fpent their time in idle wiffies
for their, expeded deliverer; and negleding
that knowledge which God had vouchfafed to
give them, cried out with the woman of Sa
maria, " the Meffias cometh, which is called
" Chrift : when he is come, he will tell us
" all things."
And now, when we have feen the accom
pliffiment of this great ' event ; when God,
who, in times paft, fpake unto the fathers by
the prophets, hath, in thefe laft days, fpoken
unto us by his Son, whom he raifed from the
dead ; yet ftill the fame perverfe temper con
tinues to operate, and the Chriftian is no lefs
-ready to rejed the counfbl of God againft
himfelf, than the blind heathen or ftubborn
Jew. He cannot, indeed, like them, com
plain of the want of a farther manifeftation
of God's will, and, therefore, fteering a new
courfe, he boldly denies the neceffity of it :
it is his aim to difparage that life and immor
tality which is brought to light through the
Gofpel, and, by magnifying the powers of rea
fon, as ffifficient for ail the purpofes of man
kind, to deftroy the credibihty of revelation.
Y 4 I hope,

32S SER M O N XIX.
I hope, however, that, without entering
into any dired proof of the trirth of Chrifti
anity dra^vii from its external evidences, I
ffiall be able to ffiew, in the following dif
courfe, that the Chriftian revelation, though
promulgated only by a handful of illiterate
fiffiermen, carries with if fuch manifeft proofs
of its utility and importance to mankind, of
its wifdom and confiftency, of its fuperiority
over every other fj'ftem to be found in the
gentile and Jewiffi -ivorld, as will fufficiently
demonftrate its divine original, and, there
fore, ffiould induce us to become not only al
moft, but altogether Chriftians.
The ffift excellence of fhe chriftian re
velation, which points out its divine origi
nal, confiils in its having given vis clear and
fatisfadory notions of God and his worffiip,
which are the foundation of all religion. o
We need not look far into the volumes of
heathen antiquity to be convinced, how vague,
uncertain and abfurd were the notions of all
the gentile worid concerning the nature and
exiftence of a Deity. In the early ages of the
^vorld, the groffeft degree of polytheifm pre
vailed.

SER M O N XIX. 329
vailed, wiiich led men to pay divine honours
to heroes and diemons, to foar-footed beafb,
and creeping things, nay even to vegetables,
ftocks and ftones. Strangers fo the one t.<-ue
God, who dwelleth not in temples made wit'k
hands, they multiplied the number of theisr
falfe ones to an almoft incredible degree ; in-
fomuch that iac are told by a veiy learned an
tient writer % that not lefs than thirty thou
fand gods were worffiipped within the walls
of Roi-ne.
Nor was their adoration of thefe deities ieJs
ridiculous and brutal, than their exiftencs
was falfe and fiditious. The fame darkne-S
of fuperftition, which drew men to worffiip
thefe vanities of a diflempered imagination,
impelled them alio to worffiip them in th^e
groffeft and moft impure manner. Their fa
cred rites were a mixture of the moft favage
.cruelty, the moft abominable lewdnefs, znd
the moft ridiculous buffoonery, that ever dif-
graced human nature : fuited, indeed, to the
Hiouftrous and corrupt idols to whom they
were addreffed, but unworthy of that High
and Lofty One, who inhabiteth eternity.
* Varra ThiS

2S'^ SERMON XfX.
This fpecies, however, of idol-worffiip,
was too grofs fo gain credit or efteem in the
more enlightened ages of the world. Its fol
lies and abffirdities were too glaring to ftand
the teft of fober reafon and philofophical en
quiry. Accordingly, we find fome faint at
tempts in a Plato or a Socrates, to introduce
fomething more refined and reafonable ; either
deduced from their own laborious refearches,
or, more probably, derived from fome com
merce with the Jewiffi writings or teachers.
And, indeed, many others of the wifer fort,
though in their outward pradice they con
formed to the fuperftitions of their country,
yet, inwardly and in their writings, con
demned and defpifed them. And how was
it poffible for them to do otherwife, amidft
fuch a' mafs of debafing and inexplicable ideas
of their attributes ? But what then was the
confequence of all this? They faw, indeed,
the follies of thefe falfe gods ; but the mifts
of prejudice and ignorance had fo blinded
their underftandings, that they were ftill un
able either to difcover the true God, or to
point out the relation he bore to man, or the
fervice that was due to him from man, In
ftead, therefore, of growing wifer than their
deluded

SERMON XIX. 331
deluded forefathers, they either fell into total
atheifm or irrefblute fcepticifin ; either to ac
knowledge no God, or to doubt of all.
Such was the ftate of the heathen world,
a mixture of darknefs, fuperftition, and doubt,
even in the moft enlightened ages, and when
they had carried almoft every fpecies of know
ledge, which depended not on divine revela
tion, to the higheft degree of human per
fedion. The Jews indeed, it muft be acknowledged,
had once clearer and better conceptions of
the Deity, The Almighty had revealed him
felf to his chofen people, in plain and legible
charaders, and had given the moft fignal dif-
play of his- glorious nature and attributes, both
in his written word and the wonders of his
providence. Yet all thefe were infufficient to
preferve a grofs and carnal people from falling
into notions and pradices unworthy of their
divine Legiflator, For, even in the earlieft
ao-es, when God himfelf condefcended, as it
were, to lead them by the hand, they were ever
prone to fink into the idolatry of fhe neigh
bouring nations, and to cry out, " Make us
I " gods.

332 SERMON XIX.
" gods, which ffiall go before us," And, in
later times, their Rabbis and wife men, falfcly
fo called, had grafted fo many fuperftitions
upon the pure worffiip of the God of their
fathers, that the Jewiffi faith and ritual were
little purer than the belief and fervices of gen-
file idolatry.
It reraained, therefore, for the chriftian
dodrine to bring life and immortality to light,
by baniffiing thefe falfe and peftilential no
tions, and to lead men to right conceptions
of their religious belief and duty, by acquaint
ing them with the real nature and perfedions
of the one true God, and the neceffary con
fequences of them : and this if has done in
thS plaineft and moft effedual manner, by
affuring us, that there is one, eternal, inde
pendent, unchangeable, omnip^efent, infinite,
alltrwife, all-powerful being, without body,
parts, or paffions, without beginning or end
of days, the maker, preferver, and governor
of all things, of infinite goodnefs, juftice, and.
truth, endued with every moral ahd natural
perfedion, in whom we live, move, and
have our being ; whora, therefore, we arc
bound to love, adore, and obey, with the
raoft

SERMON XIX. 333
moft fervent affedion, the moft profound re
verence, the moft unfeigned humility, and
the moft pure and refined fentiments of a
devout heart.
It farther points out to us his exiftence in
the charader of three perfons, united in one
God ; to each of whom we ftand in a pecu
liar relation, though we cannot fathom or
comprehend their myilerious effence ; to the
Father, as our creator and parent ; to the
Son, as our redeemer frora fin and death ; and
to the Holy Spirit, as the fandifier of our
hearts, fhe comforter of our drooping fpirits,
and our guide into all truth.
This is a defcription of the Deity, fo new
and before unheard of, fo full and fatisfadory,
fo agreeable to the pure didates of our reafon
and underftanding, as is fufficient fo baniffi
all erroneous and falfe conceptions, to fatisfy
the moft inquifitive mind, to imprefs the moft
humble and reverential awe, to excite the
moft fervent love and gratitude, and to in
fpire every confiderate man with a fincere de
fire of approving himfelf and his condud to
fo great and good a being. Juft reafbn, there--
forpj have we both tp belieye, and to be
thankful

234 SERMON XIX.
thankful for, the Gofj^el revelation, which
has brought us out of darknefs into this glo
rious light, by making known to us the one
true God, of whom are all things, and by
pointing out to us that juft, pure, and rea
fonable fervice we owe to him. : I
A fecond excellence of the chriftian reli
gion confifts in its having pointed out a clear
and fatisfadory method, by which finners
may be entitled to pardon, and reftored to
the loft favour of God : a point of the ut-
moft importance to the happinefs of mankind,
and yet very little knqwn either to the Jewifli
or gentile world.
It was, indeed, ardently to be wiffied for
by the weaknefs qf human nature, and juftly
to be hoped from the goodnefs of God, that
he would be reconciled to offending finners :
but, when men began to confider by y/hat
paiticular way this reconciliation was to be
effeded, human nature was at a ftand, and
the beams of hope were over- clouded by thp
gloom of defpondency. For ffiould the fin
ner confefs himfelf to the Almighiy, and pro
fefs obedience for the fviture ; ftill that obe-
diengp

SERMON XIX. 335
dience muft ever be imperfed, and, there^
fore, muft itfelf ftand in need of pardon,
And, even if it were poffible to be perfed,
yet it could be no reparation for fins already
committed, and, therefore, could give no
juft affurance or comfort to a mind loaded
with the ftinging fenfe of paft guilt ; much
fefs affbrd any hope of - that fife and immqrT
tality, after M'hich the mind of man naturally
afpires with irrefiftible longings, and without
which, life and its beft enjoyments wpuld be
come tedious and inffipportable,
Amidft., therefore, this anxious ftate of un
certainty and folicitude, we cannot wonder
fo find the poor trembling gentile flying to
every fpecies of fuperftition, which offered
one ray of hope, or could afford one moment's
eafe to his diftraded mind- The firft, which
i^aturally offered itfelf, was that of a vicarious
atonement : and hence arofe that multitude
and variety of facrifices, which overfpread
fhe earth, as mens fears or humours led the
way. The uncertainty of all expedients led
them to try every expedient : they were all
ready to cry out in the language of the pro
phet, " Wherewith fhaJi I come before the
" Lord,

33^ SERMON XIX.
**¦ Lord, and bow myfelf before the high
** God? Shall I come before him with burnt-
** offerings, with calves of a year old ? Will
** the Lord be pleafed v/ith thoufands of rams,
"• or with ten thoufands of rivers of oil ?
'* Shall I give my firft-born for my tranf-
*' greffion, the fruit of my body for the fin
"• of my foul ?" And yet, after all their en
quiry, they were ftill left in the fame ftate of
l^rplexing uncertainty about the placability
©f the Deity and the pardon of their own guilt.
For, however fatisfadory thefe bloody rites
plight be to the unthinking multitude, the
wifer part faw, and plainly confeffed, that
man could have no claim to forgivenefs, from
cfffering to God what was already his own by
right of creation ; that there was no vifible
or neceffary connedion between the ad and
the end propofed ; and that, therefore, it was
pot poffible to imagine, that the blood of
IxiUs and of goats ffiould take away fin.
Such was the dreadful uncertainty of the
gentile world in this important article. The
Jews, it muft be owned, were in a rauch
more defireable fituation, and had much clearer
joformatioa. They had their legal expiations and

SERMON XIX. 33^
and atonements, ordained by God himfelf, to
cleanfe and purify the people, as types and
ffiadows of that one great facrifice, which, in
due time, was to be offered for the fins of
the whole \^-orld. Yet even thefe, we have
apoftolic authority to fay, could never make
the comers thereunto perfed : they could,
indeed, remove the temporal puniffiment of
fmaller offences, and legal offerings could
purge away legal tranfgreffioiis ; but for thofe
moral violations of duty, which draw down the
wrath of heaven ; thofe greater crimes which
gall and wound the confcience, which fill the
foul with fears and terrors ; for that venge
ance which awaited them in another life, no
atonem.ent was found ; neither " gifts nor
" facrifices could expiate them, nor raake
" him who did the feryice perfed, as per-
" taining to the confcience."
Is it not, therefore, an invaluable bleffing
and privilege, that Chriftians know their re
demption by Jefus ; that they are freed from
all thofe fears and terrors, which muft ever
opprefs a guilty foul ; that, amidft all their
anxiety, they can fly to the extended arms of
his mercy, with ffill affurance that their Al-
VoL. L Z naighty

338 SERMON XIX.
mighty Father will accept their penitentiaf
tears, and their reddeft fins ffiall be waffied
away in the blood of the everlafting covenant,
through his raerits, whom " God hath ex-
" alted with his right-hand, to be a prince
" and a Saviour, to give repentance and for-
" givenefs of fins."

A third excellence of the Chriftian religion
confifts in its giving us an affurance of the
aids and coraforts of the Holy Spirit.

The infirraity of huraan nature has been
the ffibjed of juft complaint in all ages ; a
complaint in which Jews and gentiles have
equally joined. So feeble is the guiding hand
of reafon, and fo violent the fallics of head-
ftrong paffion, that the greater part of raan
kind, without refiftance, gave up the un
equal ftruggle, and refigned therafelves to
the impulfes of corrupt nature. And even
thofe, who faw fhe neceffity of refifting the
fury of lawlefs paffion ; who liftened to the
invifible monitor within them, and were fin
cerely defirous of conforming to the light of
reafon ; yet Were forced to lament the inffif-
ficiency of human ftrength, and to acknow ledge

SERMON XIX. 339
ledge its inability to carry them through the
whole compafs of their duty. And, indeed, fo
many are the dangers to which human weak
nefs is expofed from our own hearts, which
are deceitful above all things ; frora the influ
ence of exaraple or the fnares of furprife j
from the power of defire or the cogency of
diftrefs ; frora the allurements of hope or the
depreflions of fear ; that he muft either have
a very imperfed knowledge of the world, or
a very overweening opinion of hirafelf, who
hopes to rife fuperior to every teraptation,
and to make his condud conformable to the
line of his duty.
It is, therefore, ffirely, of all confolations
to a ferious mind the greateft, to be affured
of the ever-prefent aid of the Holy Spirit of
God, to guard us in the hour of teraptation,
to ftrengthen the weaknef* of our nature, to
ftimulate our languiffiing affedions, to curb
our unruly defires, to warn us of our dangers,
and to guide us through the dark mazes of a
deceitful world to eternal happinefs. And
this confolation the Chriftian religion affords
us in the ftroAgeft raanner, by afffiring us
that our heavenly Father will give this Holy
Z 3 Spirit

340 SERMON XIX.
Spirit to thera that aflc him in fincerity and
faith. And weU may we, therefore, cry out
with the enraptured Apoftle, " thanks be to
*' God, who giveth us the Vidory through
*' our Lord Jefus Chrift !"
A fourth excellence of the Chriftian reli-
giPn confifts in its clearly difcovering to us a
future ftate of eternal rewards and puniffi-
ments. How far this important point is difcover-
able^by fhe light of reafon, and how far it
was difcovered by the gentile world, has af
forded ample matter of difpute araong the
learned. On the one hand, it rauft be al
lowed, that fome of the wifer heathens ex
preffed very ftrongly their perfuafion of a life
to corae, in which the unequal diftributions
of Providence in this life would be correded
by unerring juftice. But, on the other, it
cannot be denied, thaf this belief was founded
upon no certain promife of the Deity, and,
therefore, could only be raatter of opffiion at
the beft ; that it was chiefly held out to view,
as a motive to enforce the pradice of virtue
in this life, for the benefit and happinefs of
Z fociety ;.

SERMON XIX. 341
fociety ; that it V7as totally unknown to many
nations, and to the lower cla:fe of peopfe in
all ; fhat it was fteadily denied by fome whole
feds of pffilofophers ; and, laftly, that, even
among the wifeft and beft enquirers, if was^
mixed with great doubt and perplexity, fo as
at times to ftagger their hopes, and confound:
their moft laboured dedudions of reafon.
That the Jewiffi law was founded only up
on teraporal promifes, and confirmed by tem
poral fandions, we need but open our bibles
to be convfficed. Health, length of days, a
numerous offspring, and affluence pf the com
forts of the prefent life, is all that is promifed
to the righteous: ficknefs, calamity, want,
deprivation of life and iffue, is all that is
threatened to the finner. And, though there
can be no doubt, thaf the antient and wifer Jews
had a full confidence of future and eternal hap
pinefs, founded either upon feme clear tradi
tional promife of God, or upon a fecondary and
fpiritual fenfe which they put upon forae gene
ral promifes contained in their fcriptures; — ^yet
Jofephus himfelf owns that the generality of
them, who looked not beyond the letter of the
Z 3 law,

342 SERMON XIX.
law, either faw not, or were little influenced
by, a diftant and future expedation *.
To the Gofpel therefore, and to the Gofpel
alone, we rauft go for a clear and general dif-
covery of a future ftate, which can alone ex
plain and unravel the oeconoray of provi
dence in this. And there our warraeft ex-
pedations will not be difappoiiited. It will
tell us, in plain and legible charaders, that fhe
prefent life is but a ftate of trial and proba
tion, and, therefore, a mixture of forrow and
jpy, wickednefs and virtue, folly and wifdom ;
that our hopes and views will notperiffi in the
grave ; but that there ffiall be a refurredion,
bpth of the juft and of the. unjuft, and that
the rightepus Governor of the world hath ap
pointed a day in the which he will judge the
yvorld in righteoufnefs, by that man whom
he hath ordaii:ied.
Whilft, therefore, with pity we look back
uppn the nations who were ignorant of eter
nal life, and wandered amidft perplexities and
ffiadows; whilft we fympathize with thofe
hitter pangs they rauft have felt, when they
* Vide Jofeph. Antiq, Jud, 1. xviii. c. 2. fuCs

SERMON XIX. 343
fucceffively committed their deareft friends to
the grave or funeral pile, without any hope
of ever meeting them again ; whilft we con
fider thaf dark night of ignorance and defpair,
in which we ourfelves muft have remained,
had all our hopes terminated in fhe grave ; — ¦
what juft reafon have we to cry out with the
fervent gratitude ofthe Apoftle, " Bleffed be
" the God and Father of our Lord Jeffis
" Chrift, who according to his abundant
" mercy has begotten us again to a lively hope,
" through the refurredion of Jefus Chrift
" from fhe dead, to an inheritance, incor-
" ruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not
" away, referved in heaven for fuch as arc
*' kept through faith unto falvation,"
A fifth excellence of the Chriftian religion
confifts in its affording us a moft perfed rule
of life and manners, by recommending fo out
pradice " whatfoever things are true, what-
" foever things are honeft, whatfoever things
" are juft, whatfoever things are pure, what-
" foever things are lovely, whatfoever things
" are of good report," And this it has done in
^ raanner far exceeding the raoft refined pre-
Z 4 pept*

344 SERMON XIX.
cepts of wifdom ever before delivered either
to the Jewiffi or gentile world.
To point out the numerous and fundamen
tal errors of fhe feveral feds of philofophers, —
to trace the infufficiency of human wifdom,
even m a Plato or a Socrates, — to mark the
defedive and partial morality of Judaic obfti
nacy, would be a long and arduous tafk ; but
a brief recapitulation of a few leading parti
culars will abundantly fuffice to ffiew the fu
perior excellence of the Gofpel, as a rule of
life and manners, in the feveral branches of
our duty, whether they relate to God, to our
neighbour, or to ourfelves.
The religious rites of the gentile world,
we have already feen, were a raixture of cru
elty, obfceffity, and fuperftition, fuited to fhe
monftrous objeds, whom they worffiipped
under the narae of gods, and fo the grofs con
ceptions of their blind and corrupt adorers.
And, though the Jewiffi worffiip was free
from fhe bafe and idolatrous pollutions of hea-
thenifm, yet, in corapliance with the carnal
notions of a ftubborn nation, ever prone to
idolatry, and hankering after fenfible objeds of

SERMON XIX. 345
of worffiip, it v/as burthened with cumbrous
ceremonies and obfervances, with external
rites and corporeal fervices ; ufeful, indeed,
to a depraved generation, but derogatory
from the majefty of God, But the Chriftian
religion, by teaching us that God is a fpirit,
and, therefore, is to be worffiipped only in
fpirit and truth, has at once cut off all pre
tences fpr external expreffions of our reve
rence, farther than as they minifter to, or
proceed from, the interrnal reverence of a
devout mind. It commands us, therefore,
not fo offer to him the blood of flain beafts,,
but the better facrifice of an humble and con
trite heart : — not to circumcife the flefli, but
fhe fpirit, with the lufts and paffions thereof:
— not to obferve new moons and fabbaths,
but to keep the weightier matters of the law,
mercy, judgment and truth : — not to abftain
from the leaven of bread, but from the lea
ven of malice and wickednefs :— not fo raake
clean the outfide of the cup and of the plat
ter, but to cleanfe the extortion and excefs
that is within :— in one word, to ffiew our
reverence of the Supreme Being, not by po
fitive and ritual obfervances, or corporeal fe-
verities, but by pure and undefiled hearts ; by
a meek

346 SERMON XIX.
a meek and gentle fpirit ; by unfeigned con
trition for our paft fins ; by fincere gratitude
for the bleffings we have received ; by a hum
ble ffibraiffion to his will ; by a fteady obe
dience to his coraraands ; ,and by a firm reli
ance upon his providence, amidft all the
changes and chances of this mortal life. This
is the worffiip commanded in the Gofpel, —
this the adoration of a Chriftian :---pure, ra
tional, and eafy ; equally removed from the
unhallowed abominations of gentile corrup
tion, and the burthenfome pomp of Judaic
obfervances. Nor is the Gofpel dodrine lefs excellent in
the feveral branches of duty, which relate to
our neighbour and ourfelves. For what vir
tue is there, which can make perfed the man
of God, which is not there taught and en
joined, in its utmoft purity and extent ? — Was
it faid to them of old time. Thou ffialt not
kill ? The Gofpel cutteth off all tendency to
murder, by exprefsly forbidding all caufelefs
anger againft our brother, all contemptuous
treatment, or even harffi and hafty condem
nation of him ; which are generally the fore
runners of this black and horrid crime. — Was it

SERMON XIX. 347
it faid to thera of old tirae. Thou ffialt not
commit adultery ? The Gofpel not only for
bids the adulterous ad, but all adulterous
thoughts ; — commands us to reftrain the firft
incentives to luft, by plucking out the adul
terous eye ; — declaring, that " whofoever look-
*' eth upon a woman to luft after her, hath
*' already comraitted adultery with her in his
" heart." — ^Was it faid to thera of old time,
" Thou ffialt not forfwear thyfelf, but ffialt
** perform unto the Lord thine oaths ?" The
Gofpel not only forbids perjury, but all raffi,
vain, and idle fwearing, as proceeding frora an
evil principle, and as being derogatory frora the
reverence due to the Suprerae Being. — Was
it faid to them of old time, " An eye for an
*' eye, and a tooth for a tooth ?" The Gofpel
forbids us to harbour any revengeful thoughts,
jtequires us to bear fmall injuries with patience,
and even to fuffer the greateft without malice
or anger. — ^Was it faid to them of old time,
" Thou ffialt love thy neighbour and hate thine
** enemy?" The Gofpel, on the contrary, com
mands us to love all men, even our yery ene
mies, to blefs them that curfe us, to do good
to them that hate us, to pray for thera that
(defpitefully ufe us and perfecute us : — in one
wordy
3

348 SERMON XIX.
word, in all circumftances of life, to do to
others what we would they ffiould do unto
us ; as being all members of the fame family,
all children of the fame God, all ffibjed fo
the fame coraraon infirmities, and, therefore,
all ftanding in need of rautual forbearance
and forgivenefs.
Nor is the morality of the Gofpel lefs new
and perfed in other inftances, which relate
more immediately to ourfelves. It commands
us to baniffi all felfiffi paffions ; to deny all
un godlinefs and worldly lufts ; to keep our fa
culties in their due ffibordinatipn to rpafon ;
to hunger and thirft after righteouffiefs ; to.
be meek and lowly in heart ; to defpife the
riches of the world ; to fet our affedions on
things above ; to bear evil without repining,
and good without preffimption ; to be con
tented in our ftation; in one word, to be
patterns and exaraples of righteouffiefs, fo
briety and godhnefs, and to endeavour to be
perfed, even as our Father, which is in hea
ven, is perfed.
Such are the pradical duties taught and
enjoined by the Chriftian religion; which
contain

SERMON XIX. 349
contain 'all the raorality of forraer times, aug
mented, refined, and improved ; digefted in
to one clear and uniform fyftem ; enforced by
the wifeft and moft cogent raotives ; delivered
in the raoft pathetic, intelligible, and perffia-
five language ; and fuited to every raan's par
ticular circuraftances, ftation, and capacity in
lffe. And, laftly, what is another excellence of
the Chriftian religion, it affords us the nobleft
examples of the pradicability of thefe duties,,
in the lives of its divine author and his dif
ciples. Had the Chriftian religion been the pro-
dud of fequeftered wifdom and inadive fpe
culation ; had it been taught, like the philo-
fophy of old, only in porticos and groves, we
might, we muft have admired it as a raoft
ingenious and fublime theory: — but we ffiould
never, perhaps, have thought of executing
what it enjoined, or of reaching that excel
lence we admired. We ffiould haye been apt
to have confidered it as the bafelefs fabric of
a vifion, beautiful, but unfubftantial ; pleaf
ing to the imagination, but ufelefs to the
comraon

3^0 SERMON XIX.
coramon purpofes of life. But when we fee
all its precepts drawn forth into adion, and
humanity able to do what divinity taught ; —
when we behold our great Lawgiver fubmit
ting to his own laws, and himfelf performing
what he requires of others ; — when we fee
him meek and lowly in heart, fubmitting to
poverty, infult, tortures and death, -\Aathout
complaint or murmur ; — nay, what is more,
when we fee men of like paffions with our
felves, poor, illiteratej timid fiffiermen and
mechanics, reaching the fublimeft heights of
this pure religion, and pradifing its moft ar
duous duties amid the corruptions and oppo
fition of the world ; — our opinion muft then
be changed, and we can haye no pretence
either for denying the truth of Chriftianity,
or the poffibility of becoming Chriftians in
deed. And fuch examples almoft every page
of the New Teftament holds forth to our
yiew ; it ffiews us a fet of men called forth to
almoft unparalleled trials and fufferings, for a
long courfe of years, without any fupport but
what they derived from their religion ; and
yet, amidft them all, firm and unffiaken, re-,
fifting every foliqitation of fenfe ; ftruggling
againft natural infirmity ; oppofing the com
bined

SERMON XIX. 351
billed powers of prejudice, intereft, and ffi-
perftition ; rejeding, with a noble difdain,
every overture of prefent eafe and temporal
advantage, and at laft fubmitting with joy
and tranfport to death and ignominy ; ani
raated with a firm perfuafion of the heavenly
trviths they defended, and the glorious pro
fped of an eternal reward. Such examples
as thefe carry with thera irrefiftible convic
tion of the truth and pradicability of the du
ties of Chriftianity ; and, whilft its precepts
teach us what we ought to be, its examples
ftill more ftrongly demonftrate what we may
be. And now then, if the Gofpel be thus pro
fitable for dodrine, for reproof, for correc
tion, for inftrudion in righteoufnefs ; — if it
has recovered us from a ftate of ignorance,
-guilt, and corruption ; — if it has given the
pureft and fublimeft ideas of the divine na
ture ; — if it contains the moft perfed rule and
exemplification of all our moral and religious
,.duties ; — if it promifes fhe moft powerful af-
fiftances in the difcharge of them ; — if it opens
a view of the nobleft rewards, to animate our
hopes and encourage our perfeverance : — to
what

352 SERMON XIX.
what ffiall we attribute the eredion and fup
port pf fo glorious a fabric, but to the finger
of God himfelf, fignally difj^layed for the in
ftrudion a^id happinefs of a world buried in
favage ignorance and brutal corruption ? What
ffiall we think of thofe, who would afcribe fo
wonderfiil and unheard of a difplay pf wif
dom, illumination and eloquence, to the un
affifted efforts and invention of a defpifed car
penter's fon, aud a group of illiterate fiffier
men, without any one profped of advantage
to themfelves, or, rather, with every profped
before their eyes of certain death and inevit
able torments ? And, laftly, what ffiall we
think of thofe unhappy men, who rejed this
life and immortality, who ffiut their eyes
againft the glorious light, whereby fhe day-
fpring from on high hath vifited us, and
would bring us back from the excellency of
the knowledge of Chrift Jefus our Lord, fo
the dark conjedures and gloomy expedations
of unaffifted reafon ? W^hat can We think,
but that either they have not fufficiently con
fidered thefe ftrong and irrefragable evidences
of Chriftianity, or, what is more probable,
that the God of this world, their corrupt lufts
and paffions, has fo blinded their eyes, that
feeing

SERMON XIX. 3S3
feeing they do not fee, and hearing they do
not underftand.

But, whilft with pity We look down upon
thefe unhappy men, wffio rejed the counfel
of God againft themfelves, let us look up
with gratitude to heaven for thofe bleffings
we enjoy. And the beft way of ffiewing our
gratitude is, by living agreeably to that light,
which he hath given us. For, if we do in
earneft endeavour to lay hold on that eternal
life which is offered to us, — if we fincerely
labour to walk as children of the light, — if to
our knowledge we add temperance, patience,
godlinefs, brotherly kindnefs, and charity ; —
we then ffiall anfwer his gracious purpofe in
delivering us from the power of darknefs,
and tranflating us into the kingdom of his
dear Son,
But, on the contrary, if we are wicked or
carelefs, — if we walk as other gentiles walk,
in the vanity of their mind, being alienated
from the life of God, through the ignorance
that is in them, — our greater knowfedge will
be fo far from being an advantage to us, that
it will only ferye to increafe our condemna-
VoL. I. A a tion.

354 SERMON XIX. • '
tion. For, as it has been excellently obferved,
" though we certainly have the beft rehgiort
*' in the world, yet we as certainly are in fhe
" worft condition of all mankind, if that re-
" ligion does not make us good."
Be it our care, therefore, to walk worthy
of the vocation wherewith we are called, with
all lowlinefs and meeknefs, with long-fuffer
ing, having our loins girt about with truth,
and having on the breaft-plate of righteouf
nefs, and our feet ffiod with the preparation
of the gofpel of peace ; that when Chrift,
who is our chief ffiepherd, ffiaU appear, we
may alfo appear together with hira in glory,
and be partakers of that bleffed life and im
mortality, which he hath gracioufly brought
to light through the Gofpel.

SER-

SERMON XX.

Matt. xi. 4, 5.
Jefus anfwered and faid unto them. Go, and
ffew John again thofe things which ye do
hear and fee: the blind receive their fight,
and the lame walk, the lepers are cleanfed,
and the deaf hear, the dead tire raifed up, and
the poor have the Gofpel preached unto them.
THE Chriftian Religion, in whatever
light it is confidered, carries vi^ith it fuch
undeniable marks of ffipernatural power and
wifdom, as will leave us no room to doubt of its
divine original. The purity of its dodrines, the
reafonablenefs of its precepts, the excellence
of its motives, the fpotlefs innocence and in
tegrity of its Author, do all with concurring
force proclaira it to be the raighty power of
God unto falvation.r But, having already at-y
A a 2. tentively

3s6 S E R.M O N XX.
tentively confidered the force of this internal
evidence of the truth of Chriftianity ; I ffiall
now proceed to examine the external evi
dence, arifing from miracles and prophecy.
And I ft. The pofitive and dired proof of
our Saviour's divine commiffion, are the va
rious miracles, which he wrought in confir
mation of his dodrines. To thefe, there
fore, we find him conftantly appealing, as the
ftrongeft and moft irrefragable evidence of
his heavenly power and authority ; as fpeak
ing fully and clearly to the fenfes of mankind,
and, therefore, not to be eluded by any fo-
phiftry or evafion of perverfe or defigning
men. Thus, when the Jews fought to kill
him, " becaufe he faid that God was his Fa-
" ther, making himfelf equal with God;" he
teUs them, that he might, indeed, appeal to
the teftimony of John the Baptift, for the
truth of what he had faid : But why, fays he,
need I do this? — " I haye a greater witnefs.
*' than that of John: for the works whicji
" the Father hath given me to finiffi, the
" fame works that I do, bear witnefs of me,
" that the Father hath fent me." Thus alfo,
in the inftance before us, when John himfelf fent

S E R M O N XX. 3S1
fent two of his difciples, and faid unto him,
" Art thou he that fliould come," that is,
the promifed Meflias, " or look we for ano-
" ther ?" he does not return a dired anfwer,
but appeals to the miracles which he wrought
before their eyes, as a fufficient anfwer to this
enquiry : " Go, and ffiew John again thofe
" things which ye do hear and fee : The blind
" receive their fight, and the lame walk, the
" lepers are cleanfed, and the deaf hear, the
" dead are raifed up, and the poor have the
" Gofpel preached unto them:" As if he had
faid, — The fcriptures of the Old Teftament
foretold, that the Meffias ffiould be endued
with a divine power from above, by which
" the eyes of the blind ffiould be opened, the
" ears of the deaf unftopped, the lame maii
" ffiould leap as an hart, and the tongue of
" the dumb fiiig :" Thefe things ye now fee
fulfilled before your eyes this day : ye can,
therefore, haye no doubt of my divine com
miffion ; ye muft, indeed, be convinced, that
I am He that ffiould come; the Deliverer fo
long proraifed fo your fathers.
Thus we fee that oUr Saviour thought the
yv'orks which he did a fufficient evidence of
A a ^ his

358 S E R M O N XX.
his diyine power, and of the trufh of his re
ligion- And, indeed, abundantly fufficient
they are to every candid and unprejudiced
enquirer after truth. But, in this age of
fcepticifra and licentioufnefs, there have not
been wanting fome, who will not acknow
ledge their force, and havp even impioufly
dared to call in queftion the truth and reality
of thofe miracles, which are recorded to have
been wrought by our Saviour and his difciples,
and to afcribe the progrefs of the Gofpel, not
fo the finger of God, extraordinarily difplayed
in its ffipport, but to a combination of natural
and ordinary caufes.
Though I am perfuaded, therefore, that I
am principally addreffing myfelf tp thofe who
believe the Gofpel, and, therefore, acknow
ledge the hand of God to haye been vifibly
difplayed in fhe fupport of the religion we
profefs ; yet, I hope, if will not be deemed
an ufelelS or unneceffary tafk to examine at
large the grounds upon vvhich thefe pretended
doubts are founded, left the fophiftry of a
Gibbon ffiould be miftaken for argument, or
the reveries of a Rouffeau pafs for unanfwer-
a,ble dempnftration ; and to fhew that we have the

SERMON XX. 359
the moft inconteftible proof, that the blind
did indeed receive their fight, and the larae
walk, the lepers were cleanfed, fhe deaf
heard, and the dead were raifed up.
And ift. It has been pretended, that the
perfons on whora, or before whora, the rai-
racles of our Saviour were performed, raight
poffibly be impofed upon by fome fraud or
artifice. To this I anfwei;, that there appears not
the leaft ffiadow of foundation for fuch a fup-
pofition as this. For, as our Saviour's miracles
were plain matters of fad, and an appeal to
the outward fenfes, it is impoflibfe that men
ffiould be fo irapofed upon without exprefsly
contradiding what they both heard and faw.
Can we ffippofe that a father, whofe beloved
foil lies at the point of death, can be miftaken,
when he hears our Saviour, who was not pre
fent, fay, "Go fhy way, thy fon liveth;" and
finds that " from thaf hour the fever left
" him?" Can a whole company be deceived,
when they fee a man that was dead, and laid
four days in the graye, raifed to life by the
gWtherity of a word,— "Lazarus, corae forth ?"
A a 4 Can

360 SERMON XX.
Can a vaft multitude be cheated, when they
fee no lefs than five thoufand men fed with
five barley loaves and two fmall fiflies, and ,
twelve bafkets filled with the fragments, which
rem-ained over and above ? or can we fuppofe
that they would have followed Jefus, if they
had not known the miracle to be real ? Is it,
again, poffible for a woman difeafed with an
iffue of blood for twelve years, not to know
that ffie was healed ? Could the paralytic man
poffibly be ignorant, that the ufe of his limbs
was reftored to him ? Can a man that is born
bhnd receive his fight, and not be fenfible of
the change ? Can ten men that are lepers be
cleanfed, and fent to the prieft to offer facri
fice ; and all this in imagination only ? — the
bafelefs fabric of a vifion ? — Is it poffible, that
ail theworld could be deluded, when they faw
fuch numbers poffeffed with devils, reftored
to their right mind, who before wandered
about in frantic rage or gloomy defpondency ?
— But, why do I multiply words ? There is
not one of fhe miracles recorded in the Gof
pel, which can be fairly charged with any
appearance of fraud ; and many of them are
done with fuch corroborating circumftances
of truth and authenticity, as would caft forth
a bluffi,

S E R M O N XX. 361
a bluffi, if denied, upon the hardened brow
of infidelity itfelf.
But, ' 2dly, Some have pretended to objed,
that thofe, whom we call D^emoniacs, fan
cied themfelves poffeffed with devils, when
in reality they were not. Should we allow
this to have been true in fome later inftances,
in a church notorious for its impoftures, furely
it can weigh nothing againft thofe who were
poffeffed with devils iu the time of our Sa
viour, For where is the improbability that
God, when he fent his Son into the world to
deftroy the works of the devil, ffiould provi
dentially fo order it, that the devil and his
angels fliould vifibly poffefs the bodies of men,
that Chrift might openly triumph over the
powers of darknefs, and demonftrate that aU
power was given to him over things in hea
ven, and things on earth, and things under
the earth ? But if we pretend to conclude,
becaufe fome men have falfely fancied that
they were poffeffed with devils, that, there
fore, there never were any daemoniacs ; we
might with equal propriety conclude, becaufe
fome gloomy mortals torment themfelves with
imaginary maladies, that there never VA^as any
real

562 S E R M O N XX.
real ficknefs or diftemper. Whereas the truth
is, as men would never have been haunted
with the terrors of imaginary maladies, if they
had never known real ones ; fo they would
never have dreamt of being poffeffed with
devils, if there had been no real daemoniacs.
But, even if we ffiould grant, that thefe,
whom we call daemoniacs were only epileptic,
or otherwife difordered perfons, this concef
fion will no way affed either the greatnefs or
credibility of the miracle wrought upon them ;
for furely to reftore health to the fick, by a
word, and without the application of human
means, is as much a contradidion to the efta
bliffied laws of nature, — that is, is as rauch
a miracle, — as to caft out devils.
It is objeded, 3dly, That fince faith was
required in thofe that were healed, it is likely,
that as fancy occafioned the diforders of fome,
fo fancy alfo accompliffied the recovery of
others. Should we allow this fuppofition, for
once, not fo be an abfolute contradidion to
the known laws of caufe and effed ; we may
afk in return, what can be a greater miracle
than to give a man ffich ftrength of imagina
tion, as will immediately cure a ftubborn and
ffiveterate

S E R M O N XX. 363
inveterate difeafe, without any danger of a re
lapfe ? But if, indeed, imagination has fuch
power as is pretended over the bqdies qf men,
it muff furely feem a little ftrange, even fq
infidels themfelves, that no fimilar effed was
eyer produced at any other period of time ;
that men ftill labour under- a thoufand tor
menting diforders, and that no one unhappy
fufferer has been able to reftore himfelf to
health and eafe, by virtue of fo pleafing and
powerful a remedy as a ftrong and fportiVe
imagination, which often falls to fhe lot
even of the weakeft of the huraan race.
But the folly of this, as well as of many
other objedions, againft the truth of revealed
religion, plainly ffiews the true fpirit and ge
nius of infidelity. Its advocates pretend that
they receive or rejed nothing through pre
judice, but that they cannot embrace what
they cannot comprehend. And yet they
fcruple not to attribute the miraculous cures
of our Saviour to the power of imagination ;
as if it were eafier to believe thaf mens' fan
cies can cure the moft inveterate difeafes,
than fhat they were cured by the fupreme
Qod, as an infallible teftimony to the doc
trine

364 SERMON XX.
trine and miffion of his Son. What is this
but the moft wilful oppofition to God and
truth ! What is it, but, like the finners of
old, to prefer darknefs to light ; and, we may
add, for the fame reafon too, — becaufe their
deeds are evil !
But after all, though our Saviour generally
required Faith as a neceffary condition in them
that were fo be healed ; yet we find that he
wrought many rairacles without this condi
tion. Thus, in a ftorm at fea, he rebukes
the wind and waves ; and immediately there
is a great calm. This then furely will not
be attributed to any faith or power of imagi
nation in the elements that obeyed his voice.
Was it, again, the operation of fancy that
made the barren fig-tree wither away at his
word ? — Dead raen furely were not raifed to
life by their faith ; nor can we fuppofe that
the faith of a father could operate upon a fon,
who never faw Chrift, and yet was healed by
him. — " O faithlefs and perverfe generation,
*' how long ffiall I be with you, how long
" ffiall I fuffer you," were the exprefs words.
of our Saviour to the multitudes that re
quefted the perforraance of a rairacle; and
> yet

S E R M O N XX. 365
yet he granted their requeft. Though faith,
therefore, was generally required in thofe that
came fo be healed ; yet we fee, that he could
as eafily work their cure without it : fo that,
when we find it written, " he did not raany
" mighty works in his own country, becaufe
" of their unbelief ;" we are not to under
ftand that their unbelief ffiortened the power
of his almighty arm, that he was unable to
do any miracle ; but that they wanted that
condition, which might make it fit for him
to do any ; that teachablenefs and humility of
dilpofition, which might render them proper
objeds for the exertion of his miraculous
power and benevolence.
But, fince the reality of thofe furprifing
operations, which we call miracles, cannot
be denied ; it has, 4thly, been pretended, that
the perfons, on whom thefe rairacles feemed
to be wrought, might be privy to the im
pofture, and concur with Chrift in deceiving
the world. But, what a wild and ridiculous
fuppofition is this I Did any man ever under
take or fupport an irapofture without fome
.temptation, fome profped of intereft or ad
vantage to himfelf? And what advantage could

366 S E R M O N XX.
could either Chrift or his followers propofe
to themfelves by impofing upon the world ?
Did not they live in poverty, and die in mi
fery ? Did not they know and foretell, that
all manner of fufferings awaited them, for
the dodrines they profeffed ? Did not, again,
thofe very dodrines exprefsly forbid all man
ner of lies, fraud, and impofture, under the
penalty of eternal torments ? Where then
could be the probability or the temptation of
fupporting an impofture, which, if their own
principles were true, they were fure to die
for here, and to be damned for hereafter ?
But, fuppofe that Chrift and his apoftles
had confpired with fome fallacious impoftors
. to deceive the world ; yet the winds and ele
raents could not be in the fecret, when they
obeyed the voice of their heavenly Mafter.
Had the herd of fwine, into whom the un
clean fpirits entered, confpired together to
deceive the world, when, contrary to the
principle of felf-prefervafion, which operates
in every creature, they ran violently down a
fteep place, and periffied in the waters ? Did
men counterfeit themfelves blind from their
mother's womb, larae or paralytic before Chrift was

SERMON XX. 367
was born, that they might afterwards coun
tenance an impofture by feeming to be healed
by his affiftance ?
Were not, again, thefe miracles performed
in a manner the m.oft remote frora fufpicion
of impofture, — in the face of the fun, and in
fight of great multitudes? — Was it a fit time
to ad an impofture, in raifing the widow's
fon to life, when the bier was followed by a
great corapany, and much people of the city
was with her ? Was not that city too a noted
and populous one, where the fad might eafily
have been contraffided, if it had been falfe ?
But, for a decifive argument thaf there
was no impofture in the cafe, we need only
to appeal to the teftimony of the Jews thera
felves, who cannot be fufpeded of favouring
the caufe of Chriftianity. Chrift and his
apoftles, we well know, raade it their con
ftant bufinefs to overturn the ffiperftitious
cuftoras of the Jews, and to aboliffi the legal
rites and cereraonies, which had their final
accomphffiraent in him. The Jews, there
fore, of courfe, would not be wanting, and,
in fad, we know, were not wanting, in their
endeavours

368 S E R M O N XX.
endeavours to fift his authority to the utmoft,
and to fix upon him fome brand of impofture,
to vilify him, and to juftify their own infide
lity. And furely we cannot pretend, that
they wanted the means of deteding the im
pofture, if any had really been, — The tefti
mony of the ffiepherds, who heard a multi
tude of the heavenly hoft praifing God, and
celebrating the birth of the new-born Sa
viour ; — the coming of the wife raen from
the Eaft, to adore him ; — the miraculous birth
of John the Baptift, his forerunner; — the pu
niffiment of Zacbarias for his want of faith ; —
the defcent of a dove in a bodily ffiape, fhe
heavens opened, and a voice declaring frora
heaven. This is my beloved Son, in whom
I am well pleafed ; — thefe are all circum
ftances, furely, which could neither efcape
their notice, nor elude their enquiry ; fince
the time and place of their happening are
exprefsly mentioned. It was ffirely eafy for
thera to inform themfelves of what paffed at
Gennezaret, Capernaura, Jericho, or Bethany,
places not remote, and from whence numbers
came every year, as was the cuftora of the
Jews, to celebrate the feaft of the Paffover.
They could nqt be ignprant upqn what moun tain.

is E R M b ]^ XX. 5^9
tain, or in what } j:.r, Chrift taught, or whb
Were the Wit-.e^ies ot the many n iracles per-i
formed by him, which filled all Judasa with
his fame. They muft know who Jairus wasj
"as being a great man, and one of the rulers of
the fynagogue. They could not but know
the country of the Gergefenes, and, therefore,
might fcrutinize the truth of the miraculous
deftrudion of the herd of fwine. They might
eafilv be informed of the fynagogue and of
the fabbath-day, when he healed the wom.an
*' who had a fpirit of infirmity eighteen years^
" and was bowed together, and could in no
*' wife Ifft up herfelf." They might find out
the Pharifee, in whofe houfe Cr.rift healed
the^man that had the dropfy. — Could none of
thofe raultitudes be found, whole fick Jefus
healed, when they followed hirn into a c ,:;rt
place apart ? Could he drive the buyers and
fellers out of the temple without their know
ing it ? Did not the children in the teffiple
proclaim his power, by crying outj Lfolanna
to the Son of David .'¦ Was not the multitude
fo great at Capernaum, that they were forced
to uncover the roof of the houie where he
Was, to let down a man fick of jje paify ?
Did not he, even in Jerufalem itfelf, periorm
Vol, I. B b ,- f^

370 S E R M O N XX.
fo many fignal miracles, that many of the
people believed on him, and faid, " When
" Chrift cometh, will he do raore miracles
" than thefe, which this man hath done?"
Did he not, even to the laft, ffiew this mira
culous power in the fight of thoufands, by
healing the ear of Malchus, when they came
with fwords and ftaves to feize him as a thief
and a malefador ? — But the time would fail
me, ffiould I repeat all the miracles, which
Jefus is recorded to have done within the
reach of the knowledge of the Jews : and
yef even thefe are but a fmall part of his mi
raculous works ; for one of the evangelifts
exprefsly tells us, " There are alfo many
*' other things which Jefus did, the which
" if they ffiould be written every one, I fup-
" pofe, that even the world itfelf could not
" contain the books that ffiould be written."
Amidft. this glaring multipHcity of fads,
then, it cannot be pretended, that the Jews
were ignorant of our Saviour's miracles, or
wanted the neceffary means and opportunities
of examining the truth of them. And as
little can it be pretended, that they Wanted
mclination to have deteded the fraud and fal
lacy

S E R M O N XX. 371
lacy of them, had there been any room for
them to do fb. ' For furely they, who were
fo forward to flay the Lord of life, would not
have been backward to juftify their cruelty,
by murdering his reputation too. They would
have painted in glowing colours the artifices
of him and his followers, and with pleaffire
have tranfmitted them down to the lateft po
fterity. And yet we do not find any traces
of fuch information, in any of the Jewiffi
writings, — What then can be the reafon of
this ?
The truth is, they could not, they dared
not, deny the miraculous operations of Chrift
and his followers : they were wrought in the
fight of thoufands, and, therefore, were not
to be denied. They might with equal mo-
defty have queftioned the fliining of the fun
at noon-day. What, therefore, could not be
denied, they fooliffily attempted to difparage.
In order, therefore, to leffen the,credit and
weight of our Saviour's miracles, we find the
Jewiffi writers ridiculoufly afcribing them to
the power of magic, or to the art of pronounc
ing the name of God in a myfterious man
ner. Can there then be a greater evidence of
B b 2 the

3/2 SERMON XX,
the authenticity of bur Saviour's miraclei,
than that his bittereft enemies and murderers,
the jews, who lived in the very tirae and
country of their performance, could not,
dared not, to call them in queftion ?
To this teftimony of the Jews we may add
that of Julian the Apoftate, and of the hea
then philofophers- The former had been ini
tiated into all the myfteries of the Chriftian
Religion, from which he revolted, and there
fore well knew, if it was founded on falfe
fads and impofture ; and the latter, out of
hatred to Chriftianity, which ftruck at the
root of their favourite idolatry, ufed every
art which wit could invent or malice execute,
to aboliffi it : and yet neither of them dared
to deny the miraculous fads upon which it
was grounded. They well knew thaf fuch
an attempt would only expofe them to the
ridicule of men, who could not be perfuaded
out of the truth of things fo recent and pub
lic ; and, therefore, whilft they were labour
ing to extirpate Chriftianity by the united
powers of violence and fraud, they were
forced to leave the works of Chrift to bear
witnefs of him ; — they were forced to own that

S E R M O N XX. 373
that thofe things were true, which all meu
faw and heard, that the blind received their
fight, and the lame walked, the lepers were
cleanfed, the deaf heard, and the dead were
raifed up.
It is equally plain, then, from the teftimony
of friends and the coiffeffion of enemies to the
caufe of Chriftianity, that there was no fal
lacy or impofture in the miracles of Chrift.
One would think, therefore, that the matter
was here decided, and that no man would
dare to deny the diyine miffion of our Sa
viour, and the truth of his religion. But
infidelity fprings from the corruption of the
heart, which blinds the underftanding, and,
therefore, is not to be convinced by the
cleareft arguments. It has its fubterfuges and
lurking-places, as well as its ftrong holds, and,
when driven from one, never fail? to ta,ke
ffielter in the other.
When, therefore, the evidence, upon which
pur Saviour's miracles refts, could not be
ffiaken or invalidated ; it has been pretended,
5thly, that there are in nature certain necef
fary and fixed laws, which they never faw
P b 3 altered^

374 SERMON XX.
altered, which, therefore, they think cannot
be altered, and, confequently, that there can
be no fuch thing as miracles.

o

But fay, thou daring and profane infidel,
what are thefe fixed laws of nature but the
abfolute wiU and appointment of God, ading
upon matter, which is itfelf incapable of any
laws or fixed order ? Where then is the diffi
culty of fuppofing that He, who firft made,
and preferves ftill, thefe great laws by which
nature is governed, can alfo alter them, if
He thinks fit ?
Canft thou, contrary to the eftabliffied law
of gravitation, lift thy impious arm againft
heaven ; and wouldft thou ffiorten the arra
of the Almighty, that he ffiould not be able
to fufpend thofe very laws, which he himfelf
eftabliffied ? Shall He, who made yon celef
tial bodies to move in their orbits, be unable
tb fay, " Sun, ftand thou ftill upon Gibeon,
*' and thou raoon, in the valley of Ajalon?"
Shall He, who raifed man from the duft, and
breathed into him the breath of life, be un
able to recall that life, and to fay to a dead
Lazarus, "Corae forth?" ShaU the Creator of

SERMON XX. 37^
of the world, in whofe book were all thy
members ^^'ritten, when as vet there was none
of them, be thought unable to reftore them
to their natural fundions; — to make the deaf
to hear, the lame to walk, the bhnd to fee,
and the dumb to fpeak? — Where then is thy
pretended impoffibility of miracles ? — Ceafe
thy vain and empty cavils, and own with
reverence that there is a God who doeth
wonders, and has declared his power among
the children of raen, by a feries of moft afto-
niffiing operations, equally beneficial to the
boffies and convincing to tiie fouls of men.
Upon the whole, then, I think I may fairly
be aUowed to conclude, in defiance of all the
attacks of infidelity, that the evidence of our
Saviour's miracles is clear and inconteftible,
and that by his almighty word the blind re
ceived their fight, the lame walked, fhe fe'-
pers were cfeanfed, the dead were raifed, and
thaf, therefore, he was He that ffiovild come,
the promifed Meffias.
And though, indeed, we do not, like the
Jews and John's difciples, fee and hear thefe
things as prefent before us ; yet the accounts
15 b 4 pf

376 SERMO N XX.
of them have been conveyed down to us in a
manner fo remote from all fufpicion, that
even infidelity itfelf wants the brow to call in
queftion its aui-henticity. Though our faith,
therefore, be in tins poi,nt, as it neceffarily
muft be, traditional ; yet it is as ftrongly
grounded as any realonable man can pofiibly
exped or wiffi it to be ; fincp we muft pither
admit ou: Saviour's miracles on traditional
evidence, or rejed the whole of our know
ledge, which is built exadly on the fame
foundation. But here a difficulty occurs, which, though
it has not been ftarted, as far as I know, by
any infidel writer, may perhaps be thought
not undeferving of a fliorf explanation.
Our Saviour, we fee, exprefsly here grounds
the proof of his being the Meffias, on his
performing thofe miracles, which Ifaiah had
foretold the promifed £aviour ffiould perform ;
Whence then is it, thatwe find him, in many
other places, endeavouring to conceal his mi
racles, and ftridly charging, that no man
ffiould know them ?

To

S E R M O N XX, 37J
To underftand the reafon of this, it will
be neceffary for us to attend to the following
remarks ;
ift, That this charge of concealment was
riever made with refped to the rairacles per
forraed by our Saviour araongft the heathens,
to Mffiora he openly declared his rair^culous
power, and proclaimed himfelf the Meffias ;
as having nothing to fear from their intem
perate hatred, or ill-judged zeal.
But, 2dly, The cafe ftood very differently
with refped to the Jews, and, therefore,
called for the utmoft circurafpedion in our
Saviour's condud. For, whilft, on the one
hand, the Scribes and Pharifees and Herodians,
who thought that he was come to deftroy the
law, burned with implacable hatred towards
him, and, therefore, were conftantly endea
vouring fo entrap him in his words, feeking
to get fomething out of his mouth, that they
might accufe him, and taking counfel toge
ther how they might deftroy him ; on fhe
other hand, another part of the Jewiffi nation
wa§_ no lefs inflamed with an Ul- timed zeal, and,
4

37S SERMON XX.
and, under a notion -of his being a temporal
prince and deliverer, when they faw his mi
racles, wanted to take hira by force, and make
him a king.
It was, therefore, highly neceffary for our
Saviour to ad with equal caution and circura
fpedion with refped to both parties. He,
therefore, feems to haye concealed the great
nefs of his miracles from the one, that they
might not through envy be provoked to cut
him off before his time was come ; and from
the other, that fhey might not be led, 'from
feeing the greatnefs of ffis power, to raife tu
mults and feditions, and, by aiming to efta-r
bliffi his kingdom by force, give a handle to
his enemies fo accufe him as a difturber of
the people,
What h^s been faid would afford a variety
of ufeful refledions ; but, having already
trefpaffed tqo much upon your patience, I
fliall clofe the whole with this one weighty
pbfervafion : — That, as it was nq fmall thing
for the great God of heayen and earth to
difplay his almighty arm in the perfqrmance
" ¦ ¦ pf

SERMON XX. 379
of thefe raighty works ; fo alfo it will be no
fmall crime in us to rejed or defpife a reli
gion founded on fuch evidence : for, though
we may feem, for a ffiort time, to triumph
in our wickednefs v^'ith impunity, we fliall,
in the end, find, that it is a fearful thing to
faU into the hands of the living God.

SER-

SERMON XXI.

a Sam. i, 23.
Saul and Jonathan were lovely find pleafant i»
tl:eir lives, and in their death they were .nM
divided.
AMIDST the numerous attacks whidi.
have been made upon Chriftianity, in
all ages, fince its firft promulgation, it has
fometimes been urged, as a very heavy asad
capital objedion againft the facred writings,
that they have, no where, inculcated the da-
ties of friendffiip, which has ever, and de-
fervedly, held a diftinguiffied place in the
rark of focial virtues. But, had the noble
writer, v/ho firft flarted, or the herd of ig
noble foUowers, who have fince implicitly
adopted, this notion, recolleded either the
numberlefs precepts of univerfal benevolence,
which are, eyery where, inculcated in the
fcriptures; or the examples, ftiU more for-
ciblq

3^2 SERMON XXL '
cible than precept, of the tendereft love and
affedion, fb often difplayed in them ; I truft
we ffiould never have heard of fo groundlefs
and frivolous an objedion. For furely, when
we are commanded to love our very enemies,
it is impoffibie to fuppofe, that we are not
taught to value and efteem our friends, whonl
nature, as well as Chriftianity, recommends
¦to us : and, when we fee the man after God's
own heart, — nay, what is more, when we fee
the Son of God himfelf, ftanding amidft a
faraily of forrow, and paying the juft tribute
of affedion to diftreffed or divided friend
ffiip, — it is ftill raore irapoffible to fiippofe,
that the duties of friendffiip are not included
m the fcripture fyftem.
Ineed not tell you, that the words of the
tex6 are part of David's lamentation oyer his
friends, Saul and Jonathan, who had fallen
in an unfuccefsful engagement with the Phi-
liftines, upon mount Gilboa : nor, perhaps,
-.need I teU you, that this divine elegy of Da
vid's has always been defervedly efteemed,
by the beft judges, oneof the finell fpecimens
. of eaftern poetry ; as containing fentiments
of the utmoft tendernefs and propriety, ex
preffed
6

SERMON XXL 3%^
preffed in the raoft beautiful and poptic lan

guage.

With what a fbleran and raournful firapU-
city the divine threnodift opens the melaa.-
choly fubjed of his forrows! — " The beauty
" of Ifrael is flain upon thy high places: How
" are the mighty fallen!" ^
And having thus briefly declared the un
happy fate of his beloved friends, the firft
thought which ftrikeshim, is the joy it would
afford to the bitter and inveterate enemies of
Ifrael: He, therefore, breaks out into a natu
ral, though unavailing, wiffi, that fo difgrace-
ful a misfortune ffiould be kept from their
knowfedge: — " Tell it not," fays he, " in
" Gath, publiffi it not in the ftreets of Aflce-
*' lon ; left the daughters of the Philiffines
" rejoice, left the daughters of the uiicir-
*' cumcifed triumph," He. then proceeds,
in all the bitternefs of forrow, to pour forth
execrations upon the mountains of Ifrael,
which had been the ftage of this bloody tra
gedy ; addreffing himfelf to them, by a very
noble and animated apoftrophe, as if they had
been adually\prefent before him,: — "i' Ye
" mountains

384 S E R M b N xxt
" raountains of Gilboa, let there be no deWi
*' neither let there be rain upon you, not
*' fields of offerings; for there the ffiield of
** the mighty is vilely caft away, the fliield
*' of Saul, as though he had not been anointed
" withoiL"
Left, however, ahy ffiould imagine, that
this unhappy cataftrophe had arifeii from the
cowardice or imbecility of his beloved friends,
he imraediately takes occafion to celebrate
their railitary prowefs and valour, in terras
of the higheft coraraendation: — " Frora the
*' blood of the flain, frora the fat of the
" raighty, the bow of Jonathan turned not
*' back, and the fword of Saul returned not
*' empty : they were fwifter than eagles, they
" were ftronger than lions."
Having then declared the greatnefs of their
rautual love and affedion in life, " they were
" lovely in their lives," he falls upon an idea
of the utraoft tendernefs, yet which feeraed
to afford forae kind of raelancholy pleafure
and confolation to his diftreffed raind: " They
" were lovely," fays he, " in their lives,
" and, in their death, they were not divided ;"
intimating,

SERMON XXL 385
intimating, that though they were unhappy
in falling fo iraraaturely, yet they were at
leaft happy in fhis refped, that they fell to
gether ; that " in their death they were not
" divided."
And having now ffiraraoned, as a chorus
of beauteous raourners, the afflided daughters
of Ifrael, " fo weep over Saul, who clothed
" them in fcarlet, and put ornaments of gold
*' upon their necks;" he takes his laft leave
of his poor departed friend, Jonathan, in fo
pathetic and raoving a raanner, as would raife
pity and corapaffion, even in the breaft where
they had been ftrangers before: — " How are
** the mighty fallen in the midft of fhe bat-
** tie ! O Jonathan, thou waft flain in thy
*' high places ! I ara diftreffed for thee, my
*' brother Jonathan ! Very pleafant haft thou
*' been unto me : thy love to rae was won-
** derful, paffing the love of woraen.. How
*' are the raighty faUen, and the weapons of
war periffied I"

ti

The words of the text thus explained, ob-
vioufly lead me to cqnfider,
Vol. I. C c Firft,

386 S E R Mf O N XXL
Firft, The bleffings "and advantages of a
well-grounded chriftian friendffiip.
Secondly, The mifery and misfortune of
being deprived of it.
^And, thirdly. To offer a few words' of con-
.folafion to thofe, who, like David, mourn
in anguiffi over the memory of the friend
they loved.
'By friendffiip, I would be mtderftood to
mean a reciprocation of efteem and affedion,
founded on a'fimilitude of virtuous and ami
able qualities : — I fay, virtuous a.nd araiible
qualities : — ^for though, I well know, there
"are what are called friendffiips, founded on
very different principles ; ffich as a fimilitude
of vicious inclinations, a regard to felf-inte-
reft, or an infidious hypocrify ; yet I wquld
no raore dignify thefe with the i facred narae
of friendffiip, than the wretched affociations
of raidnight ruffians to affaffinate, or of 'law
lefs banditti to plunder.
The firft advantage bf a virtuous friendffiip is.

SERMON XXL 387
is, that it increafes our happinefs, by adding
to the enjoy raents of life.
Man is formed for fociety, and he cannqt
be happy without it. The firft emotion. OVff
hearts. feel, is the defire of attaching thpm-
felyes to Lome other -heart,; fays an amiable
writer '. The riches of Golconda, pr the
pleaffires of paradife, wpuld be alike taftelefs,
if they were to be poffeffed, like the treaffires
of the mifer, without a ffiarqr. Nay, even
the very mifanthrope himfelf cannot enjoy
his gloomy and peculiar fpecies of happinefs,
without fociety : for, though he wiffies not
to communicate pleafure to, any, yet he muft
himfelf want the only joy he is capable of
feeling, that of giving vent to his raalignant
fpleen, if placed ffi a ftafe of folitude.
It is not, however, in the crouds that ffir-
round us thatwe are, to look. forthe happinefs
arifing from friendffiip. The greater part of
fhe world are as incapable as.they^are unde
ferving of friendffiip. We rauft, therefore,
lopk for nearer and. better affociates, to ffiare
with us the bleffings. of lffe. Sorae, natyre
' March, of Lambert.
C c 2 has

388 SERMON XXL
has provided for us, at our entrance into life,
under the various ties of cognation : others
we provide for ourfelves, who are united to
us by affinity, or the ftronger bands of a firai-
litude of fentiments and inclinations. And
from thefe it is we receive an increafe of hap
pinefs, in every bleffing we enjoy. For whilft,
as it were frora a coramon center, we difffife
the beams of pleafure on the fraall circle of
friends that ffirround us, we, at the fame
time, ffiare their enjoyments, and receive an
additional warmth, frora the refleded Irradia
tions of love and efteera.
A fecond advantage of friendffiip is, that
it leffens raifery, by dividing our griefs.
Griefs we all rauft have. Some, the wif
dom of God has annexed to our being, and
others, the villainy of man will ever take
care that we ffiall not want. It is, there
fore, of all confolations the greateft, to have
a friend, who will ffiare with us in our for
rows, and is ever ready " to weep with them
"that weep." We therefore naturally fly
to the ear of friendffiip on fuch occafions,
and find an incredible rehef in pouring forth the

SERMON XXL 389
the tale of diftrefs. Nay, when our breafts
throb with anguiffi, and the burden of forrow
is too heavy for us to bear, we find it become
lighter even by the f^mpathy of indifferent
perfons. And how rauch greater, then, muft
be the aUeviation, when the balm of friend
ffiip, thaf raedicine of life, as the c on of Sy
rach elegantly calls it, is added to the com
raon fympathy of humanity ! Nor is it in the
misfortunes of life only, that we feel the ad
vantage of a filicere friend : " on fome fond
" breaft even the parting foul relies *." The
hand of frfendffiip will equally cheriffi and
fupport us, in the laft great trial of nature,
and in the hour of death.. For, to borrow
an expreffion" of the poet's, " Friendffiip,
*' like hope, travels through, nor quits us
" when we die,"
A third advantage of friendffiip is the be
nefit of fincere and neceffary advice.
The language of St, Paul, on another oc
cafion, may, not unfitly, be applied to the
prefent : " We fee, here, through a glafs
*^ darkly :" our profped of things is io ob-
" Gray,
C c 3 fcured

390 SERMON XXI .
fcured by prejudices, paffions, and interven-r
irig ffiades of one kind or other, that we fel-:
dom fee (hem in their proper colours, or na
tural pofitions. It is, therefore, of the uf-
tnoft confequence, to have a faithful friend
at hand, who will guard us from the dangers
we are every moment incurring, who will
point Out our true intereft to us, who will
dlyeft us of our hurtful prepoffeffions, and
who will take the pains tp lead us out of the
paths of error and delufion.
And, if this advice be fo neceffary and ufe-r
ful in our teniporal Inferefts, it is ftill more
fo in our eternal ones. We have all of us
ffiany temptations in life to encounter ; we
have many dangerous and infidious adverfa-
ries ; we have a feeble and pHant portion of
reafon ; we have headftrong and enfnaring
paffions ; we have a heart, deceitful above all
things ; a tongue, prompt to uffer, and a
hand ever too ready to execute, what is
xvicked or diffionourable. Happy the man,
therefore, who has found that counfellor of a
thoufand, who will ftand his friend iii fuch
dangers, and take fhe part of his foul, againft
the ^yorld, the fleffij apd the devil ; who will
jdop his arm, when uplifted to fwallow the
poifoi^

SERMON XXI. 39j;,
polfon of corruption ; who will fupport his
fteps, when tottering on the brink of perdi
tion ; who will roufe his flurabering faculties,,
and invigorate his languiffiing piety ; who
wUl point out to hira the deformity and dan,-
ger of fin, and, like a guardian angel, beckon
him forward to the gate of heaven. Thefe.
are noble offices of friendffiip indeed.; as rauch
exceeding thofe, which are coramonly prae-
tffed, as the foul is raore noble than, the body,
or the circle of eternity exceeds the fpan of
life. Too feldora, indeed, they are thought
of Ul this age of folly, wffien, by a prepof-
terous kind of coraputation, temporal inte»
refts are thought of more value than eternal
ones, a mortal and frail body preferable fo an
iraraortal foul. Yef a wife heathen thought
them of fo much confequence, that he ex
prefsly includes, in his definition of friend
ffiip, a confent in divine, as well as human
matters ', and lays it down, as an indifpenf
able duty of friendffiip, both to giye and re-
-ceive advice in both.
A fourth advantage of friendffiip arifes
frora an, union of abihties and power.
? Divinarum humanarumque rerum confenfio.
Cicero de Amicitia.
C c 4 The

392 SERMON XXL
The powers of man are inadequate to hig
neceffities, when fingle and fplitary. His
wants, therefore, as well as his natural incli
nations, drive him to feek for fociety, and his
weaknefs will as ftrongly incline him to feek
for the fupport of friendffiip in that fociety :
for, without fuch a ffipport, he would, like
an infulated coluran, be unable to fuftain the
ffiocks and outrages of raen, and the changes
and chances of the world. But when he Is
confcious that he has a friend, who will ffiare
with hira in all difficulties, who will ftand by
hira with united heart and ftrength, he will
profecute the bufinefs of life with firranefs and
vigour, and, therefore, will feldora fail of
fuccefs. It happened, indeed, otherwife, to
the unfortunate friends, who were the fubjed
pf David's lamentation. They fought with
united hearts and hands, yet fought unfuccefs-
fully. This, however, will rarely be the
cafe. And even, with refped fo them, -we
cannot doubt but that Saul muft have re
ceived unfpeakable comfort from refleding
that his faithful and beloyed. fon was engaged
in the fame caufe with himfelf, and that Jo,-
nathan had no lefs pleafure in knowing that
he was defending the life of a parent, who
woul(^

SERMON XXI. 393
would never leave him or forfake him : and,
though finally they faded of the juft rewards
of their valour, to anfwer the wife defigns of
providence, in transferring the kingdom to
another faraily, yet they had, at leaft, this
reward of their piety, that they efeaped the
mifery of a furvival, which, on either fi^e,
muft have been bitter and excruciating: *' in
?' their death they were not divided."
This leads rae to confider, fecondly. The
mifery and raisfortune of being deprived of a
fincere and well-grounded friendffiip.
And here, I am fenfible, I muft enter up-«
pn a tafk little agreeable to the tender feel
ings of every human breaft. For few, I fear,
there are araong us, fo corapletely happy, as
never to have felt the bitter pangs of fuch a
feparation from thofe we loved. The wound
of anguiffi will, therefore, naturally bleed
afreffi, and the ftreara of forrow be renewed,
at the recolledion of fo painful an event.
Yet it is a recoUedion foraetimes neceffary^
and always ufeful, if we have the wifdom to
spply it to Its proper purpofe^ that is, if we arc

394 9- E R M O N XXL
are taught by it to number our own days^
and to apply our heasrts unto wffdom.
To fee a man, who is the raoft perfed
ftranger to us, funk under the power and ty
ranny of death, and ftripped, in one moment,
of. every joy and comfort in life, is a fight
fhocking enough to human nature, on ac
count of the near relation we bear to him, as
one of our fellow-creatures. To fee a neigh-.
bour under the fame circumftances, is ftill
more ffiocking,. becaufe of our famlharlty and
acquaintance with hira. But when the con
nedion comes nearer home, to ourfelves ; when
we fee the friend we loyed, lying pale and
breathlefs before us, infenfible of all the plea-
fiire he could once give or receive ; when,
for example, the helplefs orphan weeps over
the grave of an affedionate parent, or, what
is more ffiocking to humanity, when the
difconfolate parent is doomed to fee the or
der of nature, as it were, inverted, and to
follow a beloved child to his long home,
withered in his prime, and blafted like
an untimely flower ; or when, again, the
mournful widow, deprived of a faithful part
ner, is compelled to water her folitary couch
8 with

SERMON XXL 395
with her tears, or an afflided huffiand to la
ment over the aflies of a beloved wife : thefe'
are circumftances of mifery and diftrefs, which
neither language is able to exprefs, nor ima-.

gination to conceive.

And we have, in fuch circuraftances, hot
only the mifery of lofing the friend we loved',
but we haye alfo the misfortune of being
deprived of all the advantages of a weU- founded
friendffiip. For where is, then, the chearful
companion, to fiiare with us in the innocent
and virtuous joys of life ? Where is the faith
ful hand, to fupport us in the changes and
chances of fortune ? Where is the friendly
counfellor, fo advife and inftrud us in all
our difficulties, and to guide our fteps through
the rugged paths of an earthly pilgrimage, to
the land of promife ? Thefe, and many more
advantages, the devouring grave has fwallowed
up with our friend, and we are left to force
our way through life, as well as we are able,
expofed to the infults of fortune, and the
treachery of eneraies, feeble and unfupported,
•yoid of counfel, and with all the anguiffi of
a divided affedion and wounded heart. Yet

396 SERMON XXL
Yet let not the chUd of forrow, on fuch.
occafions, lie down In defpair, or yield to the
ffiapuffes of an unavailing regret. In the lan
guage ofthe Gofpel, let him be forry, " but
*' not as men without hope." He has loft
indeed, perhaps, an invaluable treafure, which
it would be a brutal infenfibility not to be-
walL Yet fet him reraeraber, that he has
ftill a friend in heaven, fuperior, in power
and ability, to all the united ftrength of earthly
connedions. He has there a Father, ever
ready to hear his cry ; gi Son, ever difpofed
to intercede for his infirmities ; and a Holy
Spirit, ever at hand to fupporf him in his dif
treffes, and guide him in his difficulties.
Thither, therefore, let him fly for comfort ;
let hira " acquaint hirafelf with God, and be
*' at peace,"
2dly, Let the lofs of our friends teach us
this iraportant leffon, not to fet our affedions
on things below. The great and irreverfible
law of nature is this : " Man that is born of
*^ a woman hath but a ffiort time to live, and
" is full qf mifery : he cometh up, and is cut
" down like a flower, he fleeth as it were ^
" ffiadow, and never continueth in one ftay,"
What^

SERMON XXL 597
Whatever, therefore, raay be our raoft valu
able enjoyraents In life, let us never forget,
that raortality is inferibed upon them in the
moft legible charaders. Our affedions, there
fore, ffiould be taught to afpire to fomething
more fixed and permanent : they ffiould fife
from this vale of change and chance, f o a fe-
jpener and better cliraate, frora the vain and
mortal creature, to the great and immortal
Creator. 3dly, Let us not forrow for our departed
friends " as men without hope."
Melancholy rauft have been the fituation of
the poor heathen, w^ho beheld the dear objeds
of his affedion fficceffively torn from him by
death, and committed to that duft, from
which he could have no certain hope of ever
feeing them return. But the religion we pro
fefs, as it teaches the nobfeft leffons of friend
ffiip, fo it alfo gives us the ffireft corafort
under the lofs of it ; by teaching us, that
*' as in Adara aU die, even fo in Chrift ffiall
*' all be raade alive." For furely, when we
refled that the friends we have loft are gone
before us but a little way ; — that their fun is
feti^

398 SERMON XXL
fet, only fo life again with increafed fplen
dor ; — rand that the hour is coming, when it
is ill our power to meet again, never to feel
a fecond feparation : we muft acknowledge,
that thefe are thoughts ffifficient to difarm
death of its fting, and forrow of its pain.
But laftly, let us reraeraber, that, though
we rauft meet again, yet there is but one
way, by which we can meet again with com
fort. The moraentary feparation of a raortal body,
at the hour of death, we well know, is fuf
ficiently painful to the breaft of friendffiip.
But alas ! what Is it, when corapared to fhe
everlafting feparation of foul frora foul, at
¦the day of judgraent ! And yet this is a fepa
ration which rauft take place, if we are -not
careful to follow the good exaraples of thofe
who have gone before us in the chriftian race.
Whenever, therefore, our .devotion flags, or
our virtue is in danger, let thefe confidera
tions have their due weight upon our. rainds :
Have La wiffi to be united, to the parent, the
child, the friend, the huffiand I loved ? Can I
ftand the ffiocking thought of havffig all ray
criraes

SERMON xxt 39^
criraes and follies laid open to their view, before
raen and angels ? Can 1 fuftain the idea of be
ing torn from thera for ever and ever ? Can I
ffipport the horrors of being fentenced, in
their prefence, to a ftate of endlefs torraents ?
And, if thefe weighty confiderations have the
happy effed of keeping us ftedfaft In our duty,
or add even a little force to the various argu
ments ill favour of a virtuous life, then the
friends we lament will not have died in vain.
We ffiall mourn oyer their affies with a de
cent and pious forrow ; we ffiall catch the
flame of virtue frora a recolledion of their
departed excellencies ; we ffiall labour, like
thera, to ftand foreraoft in the chriftian race,
and to excel in the difcharge of every raoral
and chriftian duty, being fully affured, that,
though we have been, for a few ffiort rao
raents, divided frora thera by death, yet we
ffiall, by thus copying their good exaraples,
be united to thera again for ever, by a joyffil
reffirredion to life eternal.

END OF VOL, I,

YALE UNIVERSITY L

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