5

I

f

YALE
UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

LECTURES

ON THE

GOSPEL OF ST. MATTHEW;

DELIVERED IN THE

PARISH CHURCH OF ST. JAMES,
WESTMINSTER,
IN THE YEARS 1798, 1799, 1800, AND 1801.

BY THE EIGHT REVEREND
BEILBY PORTE US, D. D.
BISHOP OF LONDON.

in two volumes.
Vol. i.

THE FIFTH EDITION.

LONDON:
PRINTED FOR T. CADELL, AND W. DAVIES, STRAND?
T. PAYNE, MEWS-GATE; AND
V. AN» CRIVINGTON, ST.PAUL's CHURCH-YARD.
180 3'.

MzlZQf

i302f v-X

TO THE
INHABITANTS OF
LONDON AND WESTMINSTER,
THESE LECTURES,
WRITTEN PRINCIPALLY FOR THEIR BSNEFIT,
AND FAVOURED WITH THEIR UNREMITTED
ATTENDANCE FOR FOtJR SUCCESSIVE YEARS,
ARE
WITH VERY SINCERE SENTIMENTS OF REGAR.H
AND, ESTEEM,
AND WITH FERVENT PRAYERS FOR
THEIR HAPPINESS HERE AND HEREAFTER
INSCRIBED, B Y '
THEIR FAITHFUL AND AFFECTIONATE
FRIEND AND SERVANT,
THE AUTHOR.

P ft E F A C JE,

AT thfe time when the Following Lectiires
were first begun, the political moral,
and religious State of this kingdom* wore a
Very unfavourable aspect, and excited no smalt
degree of uneasiness and alarm in every se*
rious and reflecting mind. The enemies of this
country were almost every where triumphant
abroad, and its still rhofe formidable enemies
at home were indefatigably active in their en*
deavours tp diffuse the poison of disaffection*
infidelity* and a contempt of the holy Scrip*
tures, through every part of the kingdom,
more especially among the lowef orders of the
people, by the most Offensive and impious
publications; while at the same time it must
be acknowledged, that among too many of the
higher classes, there prevailed, in the midst of
all

Vi PftEFXCE.
all our distresses, a spirit of dissipation, pro
fusion, and voluptuous-gaiety, ill suited to the
gloominess of our situation, and ill calculated
to secure to us the protection of heaven against
the various dangers that menaced us on every
side. Under these circumstances, it seemed
to be the duty of every friend to religion * mo
rality, good order, and good government, and
moreespecially of the ministers of the Gospel,
to exert every power and^ every talent with
#hich, God had blessed them,' in order to
counteract the baneful effects of those pesti*
lential writings which every- day issued from
the press ; to give some check to the growing
relaxation of public manners ; to state plainly
and forciblycthe evidences of our faith, and
the genuine doctrines of ouj: religion, the true
principles of submission to pur lawful gqy:er-
nors, the mode of conduct in every relation of
life which the .Q os pej prescribes tp .us ; and.tp
vindicate the truth* dignity, and divine; authp*
jtity of :the sacred writings,. AJltthis* after
irmch deliberation,,.! conceived could in np
gj^er way ,be so effectually done as. by; having
recourse tp those writings, themselves, hy going
back tp. the very, fountain of truth and .hoji-
2 ness,

PRE FACE! va
ness, and by drawing from that sacred source
the proofs of dtsown celestiaforigin, and all
the evangelical virtues springing from it, and
branching out into the various duties of civil,
social, and domestic life. ,H^'
l» The result was, that I resolved on discharge
ing my share of these weighty obligations, by
giving Lectures on the Gospel of St.Matthew,
in my own parish church of St.' James, West
minster, every Friday in Lent ; which at the
same time that it promoted my principal ob
ject, might also draw a little more attention
to that holy, but too much1 neglected season,
which our Church rhas very judiciously set
apart for the purpose of retirement and recol
lection, and of giving some little pause and
respite to the ceaseless occupations and amuse-
ments of a busy and a thoughtless world.
I foresaw, however, many difficulties in the
undertaking, particularly in drawing together
arty considerable number of people to a place
pf public Worship, for any length of time, On
a coinmon day of the week. But1 it pleased
God to bless the attempt with a degree of suc
cess far beyond every thing I could have ex-;
pected1 or imagined. And1 as-Thave been:
assured

tfii PREFACE,
s&m»et! thtif several even of those amotigst
my audience^ that disbelieved or doubted the
truth of Christianity j were impressed with a
morq favourable opinion both of its evidences
atid its doctrines, and with a higher veneration
for the" sacred writings than they had before
entertained* I am willing to flatter myself that
similar impressions ma}' possibly be made on
some of that description * who may chance to
cast their eyes on these pages ; and that they
may also tend in some degree to confirm the
faith and invigorate the good resolutions ' of
many sincere believers hi- thfe-Gospeh With
this hope I now offer them to the wor^oV arid'
particularly to those whom Providence has
placed under my more immediate superin*
tendence, and to whom I am desirous to be**
queath this (perhaps) last public testimony of
my solicitude for their everlasting: welfare^
And whatever errors, imperfections, or acci
dental repetitions (arising from the recurrence;
oftbesamesubjects in the sacred narrative) the
critical- reader may discover in this work; he?
will, I trust, be disposed to think them en^>
titled to some degree of indulgence, when he
reflects, .that it was not a very easy task to
v adapt

P,R-EAE^GE^ ^ fa
adapt either- th^ matter pr ,tli$ l^gu^tge, of
such discourses. ,as .J&ese to the variou^phaEap-
ters,conditions?c|r,cunigtances, capacities, and
want$, of ,alL those different ranks .of, people
to whom they were addressed ; and when he
js^alsp tolcj, that these Lectures,. were drawn
up at a very advance^ period of life, and not
iii; the ease, and ^ranquiiljty of literary retire
ment, but at iJjort broken intervals of time,
sn.ph( as could be stolen; from the incessant
occupatipns of an arduous and laborious
station, which would not admit of sufficient
leisure for profound research or finished
composition.

ex)
CONTENTS OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

LECTURE I. Feb. as, i7y»-
A Compendious View of the Sacred Writings.

LECTURE II. . .^rch ?, 1798.
Matthew ii.
The Arrival and" Offerings of the Wise Men at Beihlehem.

LECTURE III. March 9srlTO&
Matthew iii.
History and Doctrines of John the Baptist.

LECTURE IV. March 16, 1798.
Matthew iv.— Former Part.
Temptation of Christ in the Wilderness.

LECTURE V. March 23, 1798.
Matthew iv.— Latter Part.
Choice of the Apos'tlesi— Beginning of Miracles.
LECTURE

CONTENTS. XI
LECTURE VI. March so, 179^.
Matthew v. •
Our Lord's Sermon on the Mount.

LECTURE VII. Feb. 8, .17^9,
Matthew vi. and vii.
Continuation of the Sermon on the Mount.

LECTURE VIII. Fe b. 1 5, , 1 799.
Matthew viii.
Conduct and Character of the Roman Centurion,

LECTURE IX. Feb. 22, 1799.
Matthew x.
Our Lord's Instructions to his Apostles*

LECTURE. X. March 1, 1799.
Matthew xii.
Observation of the Sabbath; Demoniacs; Blasphemy
against the Holy Ghost;

LECTURE XL March 8, 1799,

Matthew xiii.
Nature and Use of Parables;

LECTURE

XU CONTENTS.
LECTURE XII. Majich 15," 1799.
Matthew xiii. continued.
Parable of the Sower explained.

LECTURE XIII. Feb. 28, 1800.
Matthew xiii. continued.
Parable of the Tares explained.

LECTURE t

IT being my intention to give from this
place, on the Fridays during Lent, a,
course of Lectures explanatory and practical
on such parts of Scripture as seem to me best
calculated to inform the understandings and
affect the hearts of those that hear me, I shall
proceed, without further preface, to the execu
tion of a design, in which edification not en
tertainment, usefulness not novelty,* are the
objects I have in view; and in which there
fore I may sometimes perhaps avail myself of
the labours of others* when they appear to ,•
met better calculated to answer4 my purpose
than any thing I am myself capable of pro
ducing. -
Although my observations will for the pre
sent be confined entirely to the Gospel of St.
Matthew* and only to certain select parts even
Vol. I B of

*t LECTURE I.c
of that*" yet 'it may not be improper or un
profitable to- introduce these Lectures by a
compendious view of the principal i Contents
of those writings which g°o under the general
name of tile HpLTiScRifTU.feEs.
That book which we call the Bible (that
is, THE.BooK,by way of eminence) although it
is comprized in one volume, yet in fact com
prehends a,great number of different narratives
and compositions, written at different times by
different persons, in different languages, and
on different subjects. .And.- taking the whole
of the collection together, it is an .unqaestion-
able truth that there is no one hookiextant^in
any language, or in any country, which Gan
in any degree ^be compared with it for anti
quity, for authority j for the importance, *he
dignity, the variety, and the curiosity of the
matter it contains.
¦It- begins with that great and .-stupendous.
event, of all others, the earliest and anost
interesting to the human race, the ^creation of
this world, of the heavens and the earths >&f
the celestial luminaries, of man, and ail the
jnferio^-aniraals, the heribs of ,tibev£.eld, the
sea and its inhabitants. * All this it describes
" : * - with

Z/EOTIUBE L s
%*h)ta brevity and ssaMimity wdk suited to
theitrsagniitiide of .the subject, to >thek dignity
>oftriBfit Almighty Artificer, and unequalled, by
any other writer. The same wonderful scene
•is represented fey: a Roman pOet*, who has
evidently drawn his materials from the narraj
tive of i Moses. Bat though his description is
finely imagined and elegantly wrought up,
-and embellished with much poetical ornamein.t>
yet in true nskjajplkity and grandeur, both «pf
sentiment and of diction, he falls far short of
the sacred historian. Let there be light
astd there was light; is an instance of
the sublime, which stands to this day unri
valled in any human composition.
¦ But what is of infinitely greater. moment,
this history of the creation has settled for ever
that most important question, which the an-
•cient sages were never able to decide ; from
wheaace and iirom what causes this world, with
aillits (inhabitants and appendages, drewits ori
gin; whether from some inexplicable necessity,
&om a fortuitous concourse of atoms, from
jam eternal seariess of causes and effects, or from
one supreme, intelligent, iself-exisfckig Being,
* Ovid.
b % th*

4 LECTURE I.
the Author of all things, himself without be"
gihnihg and without end'. To this last cause
the inspired historian has ascribed the forma
tion . of this system ; and by so doing has
established that great principle aud founda*
tion of all religion" and all morality, and the
great source of comfort to every human be
ing, the exijience of one God, the Creator and
Preserver of the world, and the watchful Su
perintendent of all the creatures that he has
made. The Sacred History next sets before us, the
primaeval happiness of our first parents in pa
radise ; their fall from this blissful state by the
wilful transgression of their Maker's command ;
the fatal effects of this' original violation of
duty ; the universal wickedness and corruption
it gradually introduced among mankind; and
the signal and tremendous .punishment of that
wickedness by the deluge; the certainty of
which is acknowledged by the most ancient
writers, and very evident traces' of which are
to be found at this day in various parts of the
globe. It then relates the peopling' of the
world again by the family of Noah ; the cove
nant entered into by God with that patriarch, the

L.ECTUP I. 5
the relapse, of mankind: into wickedness ; the
calling of Abraham ;, and the choipe of one
family and people, the Israelites (or ;^s they
were afterwards called the ^Jews) who were
separated, from, the rest of the world to pre
serve rthe knowledge and the worship of a
Supreme ; Being, and the great fundamental
doctrine of the Unity ; while. all, the rest of
mankind, even the, wisest and rnqst learned,
were devoted to polytheism and idolatry,. and
the grossest and most abominable supersti
tions* It, then gives us, the hjstory of this
people, with their various migrations, revolu
tions, and principal , transactions. It recounts
their removal from the land ;of Canaan, and
their establishment in.iEgypt under Joseph ;
whose history is related in a mariner so natural,
so interesting and afiepring, fhat it is impos
sible for any man of common sensibility to
read it without the strongest emotions of ten
derness, and delight;. ¦ „; ..*,
. In xlhehbook, of Exodus we have the de
liverance of this people from their bondage
iniEgypt, by, a series of the most astonishing
miracles; and their travels through. the wil
derness fo.r. forty years under the conduct of
B 3 Moses;

6 LECTURE I.
Moses ; during1 which time (besides iflafty
other rules and directions for their moral
conduct) they received the Ten Command
ments, written on two tables of stone by- the
finger of God himself, and delivered by him
td Moses with the most awful and tremetodtffips
solemnity ; containing a code of moral law in
finitely" superior to any 'thing known to the
rest of mankind in those rude and barbarous

The books of Leviticus, Numbers* and
Deuteronomy* are chiefly occupied with the
various other laws, institutions, and regular
tions given to this people, respecting their civil
government, their moral conduct, their reli
gious duties5, and their ceremonial observ
ances. Among these, the. book of Deuteronomy
(which concludes what is called the Pentateuch
or five books of Moses) is distinguished
above all the rest by a concise and striking
recapitulation of the ihnuriierable blessings
and mercies which they had received from
God since their departure from Horeb ; by
Strong expostulations on their past rebellious
conduct, and their shameful ingratitude for
6 all

lECTUfRE I. *
all these distinguishing marks -, of £he Divine
favour; by many forcible and pathetic exhorr
tations to flepewtance and obedience in futures
by promises of the most substantial rewards,
if they returned to, theis duty ; ajidby denuiir
©iatiewas of the severest punishments^ if they
continued disobedient; and all this, delivered
in a strain of the m.fft animated, sublime, and
commanding eloquence. >, / -•
The historical books of Joshua, Judges,
Samuel, Kings, and Chronicles., continue the
history of the Jewish^ nation runder their lead
ers, judges, and ¦, kings, for near, a thousand
years ; and one of the most prominent and
instructive parts of this history is the account
given of the life and reign of Solomon, his
wealth, his power, and all the glories of his
reign; more particularly that noble proof he
gave of his pkty and .munificence, by the
eonstruption of trjat truly magnificent temple
which bore his name;, the solemn and splendid
dedication of this temple to tb,ej service of
God; and that .jnimitabie prayer, which he
^er^foffered, up, to Heaven in the presence of
the whole Jewish people; a prayer evidently
coming from the heart, sublime, simple, ner-
E 4 vous,-

8 LECTURE I.
vous, and pathetic; exhibiting the justest and
the warmest sentiments of piety, the most: ex*
alted conceptions of the Divine nature, and
every way equal to the sanctity, the dignity,
and the solemnity of the occasion, . ¦->-; .
Next to these .follow, the Books of Ezra and
Nehemiah, which contain the history of the
Jews for a considerable period of time aftejj
their return from a captivity of 70 yearsHin
Babylon, about which time the name of, Jews
seems first to have been applied to them- The
books of Ruth ;and Esther are a kind of apr
pendage to. . the ' pubhp records, delineating
the characters of - two very amiable indivir
duals, distinguished by their virtues, and. the
very interesting incidents which befel them,
the one in private, the other, in public life,
and which were in some degree connected
with the honour and prosperity of the nation
to which they belonged. ,
In the book of Job we have the history of
a personage of high rank, qf remote antiquity,
and extraordinary virtues ; rendered remark
able by uncommon vicissitudes,, of fortune, bv
the most, splendid prosperity at one time, by,
accumulation qf the heaviest calamities at
another ;

LECTURE I. 4
afiother ; conducting himself under the former
with moderation, uprightness, and unbounded
kindness to the poor ; and under the latter,
with the most exemplary patience and resig
nation to the will of Heaven. The composi
tion is throughout the greater riart highly
poetical and figurative," and exhibits the no
blest representations of the Supreme Being
and a superintending Providence, together'
with the most admirable iessbris of fortitude
and submission to the will of God under' the
severest afflictions that can befall human na
ture. The Psalms, which follow thisf book,
are full of such exalted strains of piety and
devotion, such beautiful and animated de
scriptions of the power, the wisdom, the
mercy, the goodness of God, that it is im
possible* for any one to read them without
feeling his heart inflamed with the most ar
dent affection towards the great Creator and
Governor of the universe.
The Proverbs of Solomon, which come
next in order, contain a variety of very ex
cellent maxims of wisdom, and invaluable
rules of life, which have no where been ex
ceeded except in the New Testament. They"
afford

to LECTURE L
afford us, as they profess to do at their im?
ilrst outset j " the instruction of wisdom, jus
tice, judgment, and equity. They give suW
tilty to the simple ; to the young man, know
ledge and discretion.'*'
The same may be said of the greater part
of the book of Ecelesiastes, which also teaehea
us to form a just estimate of this world, and
its seeming advantage* of wealth, honour,
power, pleasure, and science.
The prophetical writings present us with
the worthiest and most exalted ideas of the
Almighty, the justest and purest notions of
piety and virtue, the awfullest denunciations
against wickedness of every kind, public
and private ; the most affectionate expostu
lations, the most inviting promises, and the
warmest concern for the public good. And
besides all this, they contain a series of pre
dictions relating^ to our -blessed i Lord,' in
which all the remarkable circumstances of
his birth, life, ministry, miracles, doctrines,
sufferings, and death, are fbretolfch in so mi
nute and exact a manner (more particu
larly in the prophecy of Isaiah) that you
would almost think they were describing all
these

LECTURE I. iv
these things after they had happened, if you
dad not know' that these prophecies were cobh
fe&sediy written many hundred years before
Christ cam© iwto the world, and were all that
time in the possession of the Jews, who were
the mortal enemies of Christianity, and there
fore would never go about to forge prophecies,
which inost evidently prove him to be what
he professed to be, and what they denied him
to be, the Messiah and the Son of God. It
jsutto this part of scripture that our Lord
particularly directs our attention, when he
says, " search the Scriptures, for they are
they that testify of me *." The testimony he
alludes to is that of the prophets; than which
no evidence can be more satisfactory and
convincing to any one that reads them with
qaife and impartiality, ;and ¦; compares their
predictions concerning our Saviour with the
history of his life, given us by those who
constantly lived and n conversed with him.
This history we have in the New Testament,
in that part of it which goes by the name of
$roe Gospels* I * John v. 39, It

12 LECTURE I.
It is these that recount those wonderful and
important e vents-* with ' which* thei Christian
religion and the divine Author of it were
introduced into -the world, and which have'
produced so great a change in the principles,
the manners, the morals, and the ¦ temporal
as well as the spiritual condition of mankind.-
They relate the first appearance of Christ
upon earth ; his extraordinary and miraculous
birth.; the testimony born to him 'by his fore
runner John the Baptist; his temptation in
the wilderness ; the opening of his divine
commission; the pure, the perfect, the sublime
morality which he taught, especially in his ini*
mitable sermon from the mount ; the infinite
superiority which he shewed to every other
moral teacher, both in the matter and man
ner of his discourses; more particularly by
erushing vice in its very cradle, in the first
risings of wicked desires and propensities in
the heart; by giving a decided preference of
the mild, gentle, passive, conciliating virtues,
to that violent, vindictive, high-spirited, unfor
giving temped which has been always too
much the favourite character of the world ; by
requiring

LECTURE I. 13
requiring us to forgive our very enemies, and
to do good to them that. hate us; by exclud
ing from our' devotions, our alms, and all our
other virtues, all regard to fame, reputation,
and f applause ; by laying down two great
general principles of morality, love to God
and love to mankind, anddeducing from thence
every other; human duty; by conveying his
instructions under the easy, familiar, and
impressive form of parables ; by expressing
himself/ in a tone of dignity . and authority
unknown before ; by exemplifying every virtue
that he taught in his own unblemished and
perfect life and conversation ; and above all,
by adding those awful sanctions, which he
alone, of all moral instructors, had the power
to hold out, eternal rewards to the virtuous,
and eternal punishments to the wicked. The
sacred narrative then represents to us the
high, character he assumed ; the claim he made
to a divine original ; the wonderful miracles
he wrought in proof of his divinity; the va
rious prophecies which plainly marked him
out as the Messiah, the great deliverer of the
Jews ; the declarations he made, that he came
to offer himself a sacrifice for the sins of all
mankind ;

U . . LECTURE I.
mankind ; the cruel indignities, sufferings*
and persecutions, to which," in consequence
of this great design, fee was exposed ; >the
accomplishment of it /by the paiolul and ig
nominious death to which he submitted ; by
his resurrection after ^ three days from the
grave ; by his ascension into .heaven ; by his
sitting there at the right hand of God„ and
¦ performing thej office.1 of a mediator and an
intercessor for the sinful sons of men, till he
eomes a second time in his glory to sit in
judgment on all mankind, and decide their
final doom of happiness or misery for ever.ir
sk These are the momentous, the interesting
truths, on which the Gospels principally
-dwell, d'k ¦:¦-.. 'i^ih/.'u^bfni.yas'jdaadiif'B-iiiii-i.i
WiTbe Acts of the AItostles continue
the history of our religion after our Lords
ascension ; the astonishing and rapid propa
gation of it by a few illiterate tent-makers
and fishermen, through almost every part of
the world, " by^emionstratioaa.of.fthe spirit
and of power ;" .without, the aid «£r«l<pq*ft9jifi©
w of force, and in opposition to aid the au^-
dshority, all the power, and all the influence
of the opulent and the great. TjTO
1 The

LECTURE I. 15
The Epistles, that is, the letters ad
dressed by the Apostles and their associates
to different churches and to particular indi
viduals, contain many admirable rules and
directions to the primitive converts 5 many
affecting exhortations, expostulation and
reproofs ; many explanations and illustrations
of the doctrines delivered by our Lord ; to
gether with constant references to facts, cir
cumstances, and events, recorded in the Gos
pels and the Acts ; in which we perceive such
striking, yet; evidently such unpremeditated
and undesigned coincidences and agreements
between the narratives and the epistles, as
form one most conclusive argument for the
truth , authenticity, and genuineness of both *.
The sacred volume concludes, with the.
Revelation of* St. John, which, under the form
of visions and various symbolical representa
tions, presents to us a prophetic history of
the Christian religion in future times, and the
various changes, vicissitudes, and revolutions
it was to undergo in different ages and coun
tries t® «he end of the world *f\ .
! •¦ - 1 :"¦»- -Is
• See the Horee Paulina; of Dr. Paley.
t A fuller and more detailed account of the contents ©f

is LECTURE I.
Is it possible now to: conceive a nobler, a
more comprehensive, a more useful scheme of
instruction than this ; in which the uniformity
and variety, so happily blended together, give
it an inexpressible beauty, and the whole
composition plainly proves its Author to be
divine ?
" The Bible is not indeed (as a great writer
observes*) a plan of religion delineated with
minute accuracy, to instruct men as in some
thing altogether new, or to excite a vain
admiration and applause ; but it is somewhat
unspeakably more great and noble, compre
hending (as we have seen) in the grandest and
most magnificent order, along with -every
essential of that plan, the various dispensa
tions of God to mankind, from the formation
of this earth to the consummation of all
things. Other .books may afford us much
enter*
of the several Books of Scripture1 may be found in Mr.
Gray's Key to the, Old Testament,Bp. Percy's tothe. Nam,
and the Bishop of Lincoln's late excellent work on the
Elements of Christian Theology. That part of it which
relates to the Scriptures has been lately reprinted for the
accommodation of the public at large, in a duodecimo*
volume, which I particularly recommend to the atten
tion of my readers.
* Archbishop Seeker, Y. 6.

LECTURE I. 17
entertainment and much instruction ; may
gratify our curiosity, may delight our imagi
nation, may improve our understandings, may.
calm our passions, may exalt our sentiments,
may even improve our, hearts. But they have
not, they cannot have that authority in what
they affirm, in what they require, in what
they promise and threaten, that the Scrip
tures have. There is a peculiar weight and
energy in them, which is not to be found in
any other writings. Their denunciations are
more awful, their convictions stronger, their
consolations more powerful, their counsels
more authentic, their warnings more alarming,
their expostulations more penetrating. There
are passages in them throughout so sublime,
so pathetic, full of such energy and force upon
th§ heart and conscience, yet without the
least appearance of labour and study for that
purpose; indeed, the design of the whole is
so, noble, so well suited to the sad condition of
Jiuman kind; the morals have in them such
purity and dignity ; the doctrines, so many of
them above reason, yet so, perfectly reconcile-
able with it ; the expression is so majestic, yet
familiarized with such easy simplicity, that
Vol. I. C the

is LECTURE I.
the more we read and study these writings
with pious dispositions and judicious atten
tion, the more we shall see and feel. of the
hand of God in them* " But that which
stamps upon them the highest value, that
which renders them, strictly speaking, inesti
mable, and distinguishes them from all* other
* That accomplished scholar and distinguished writer
the late Sir William Jones, chief juftice of Bengal, at
the end of his Bible wrote the following note; which,
coming from a man of his profound erudition, and per
fect knowledge of the oriental languages, customs, and
manners, must be considered as a most powerful testi
mony, not only to the sublimity, but to the divine inspi
ration of the sacred writings. .
" I have (says he) regularly and attentively read these
Holy Scriptures, and am of opinion, that this volume,
independently of its divine origin, contains move true
sublimity, more exquisite beauty, more pure morality^
jnore inportant history, and finer strains both of poetry
and eloqnence, than can be collected from all other
books, in whatever age or language they may have been
composed. ,. . , ,>,,,'.. ;
" The two parts, of which the Scriptures consist, are
connected by a chain of compositions^ which bear no
resemblance, inform or style,. to any that can be pro
duced from the stores of (precian, Persian, or. even
Arabian learning : the antiquity of those compositions
no man doubts ; and the unstraitied application of them
to events long subsequent to their publicatiorl, is a solid
ground of .belief .that they are genuine predictions, and
consequently inspired." * books

LECTURE I. 19
books in the world, is this, that they, and they
only," contain the. words of eternal life * "
In this respect, every other book, even the
noblest compositions of man, must fail us ;
they cannot give us that which] we most
Want, and what is of infinitely more import
ance to us than all other things put together,
ETERNAL LIFE.
This we must look for no where but in
Scripture. It is there, and there only, that
we are informed from authority, of the im
mortality of the soul, of a general resurrec
tion from the dead, of a future judgment, of a
state of eternal happiness to the good, and
of eternal misery to the bad. It is there we
are made acquainted with the fall of our first
parents from a state of innocence and hap
piness; with the guilt, corruption, and mi
sery, which this sad event brought on all their
posterity; which, together with their own
personal, and voluntary transgressions, ren
dered them obnoxious to God's severest pu
nishments. But, to our inexpressible comfort,
we are further told in this divine book, that
God is full of mercy, compassion, and good
ness.; that he is not extreme to mark what is
*John, vi. 68.
c, 2 done

2(? LECTURE I.
clone amiss ; that he wiUeth not the death of
a sinner, but rather that he should turn from
his wickedness, and save his soul alive. In
pity therefore to mankind, he was pleased
to provide a remedy for their dreadful state.
He was pleased to adopt a measure which
should at once satisfy his justice, shew his ex
treme abhorrence of sin, make; a sufficient
atonement fori the sins of the whole world,
and release all who accepted the terms pro
posed to them from the punishment they had
deserved- This was nothing less than the
death of his son Jesus Christ, whom he sent
into the world to take our nature upon him*
to teach us a most holy, pure, and benevo
lent religion, to reform us both by his. pre
cepts and example ; and lastly, to die for our
sins, and to rise again for our justification.
By him and his evangelists and apostles we are
assured, that if we sincerely repent of our
sins, and firmly believe in him and his Gospel,
we shall, for the sake of his sufferings and
his righteousness, have all our transgressions
forgiven and blotted out, shall be justified ',.
that, is, considered as innocent in the sight of
God, shall have the assistance of his Holy
2 Spirit

LECTURE I. 21
Spirit for our future conduct; and if we per
severe to the end in a uniform (though, from
the infirmity of our nature, imperfect) obedi
ence to all the laws of Christ, shall, through
his merits, be rewarded with everlasting glory
in the life to come.
Since then the utility, the absolute neces
sity of reading the Scriptures is so great,
since they are not only the best guide you can
consult, but the only one" that can possibly
lead you to heaven; it becomes the indis-<
perjsable duty of every one of you most care
fully and constantly to peruse these sacred
oracles, that you may thereby " become
perfect, thoroughly furnished to every good
work*." They who have much leisure should
employ a considerable share of it in this holy
exercise, and even they who are most im
mersed in business have, or ought to have, the
Lord's Day entirely to spare, and should al
ways employ some part of it (more particu
larly at this holy season) in reading and medi-*
tating on the word of God. By persevering
steadily in this practice* any one may, in no
great length of time, read the Scriptures
• 2 Tim. iii- 17-
C 3 through^

22 LECTURE I.
through, from one end to the other. But in
doing this, it will be adviseable to begin with
the New Testament firsthand to read it over
most frequently, because it concerns us Chris
tians the most nearly, and explains to us more
fully and more clearly the words of eternal
life. But after you have once gone regularly
through both the Old Testament and the New,
it may then be most useful, perhaps, to select
out of each such passages as lay before you
the great fundamental doctrines, and most
essentia! duties, of your Christian profession;
and even amongst these, to dwell the longest
on such as express these things' in the most
awful and striking manner, such as affect and
touch you most powerfully, such as make your
heart burn within you, and stir up all the
pious affections in your soul. But it will be
of little use to read, unless at the same time
also you reflect ; unless you apply what you
read to those great purposes' which the Scrip
tures were meant to promote, the amendment
of your faults, the improvement of y Our hearts,
and the salvation of yoursouls.
To assist you in this most important and
necessary work is the design of these Lectures; and

LECTURE I. 03
and in the execution of this design I shall have
these four jobjects. principally, in view:
First, to explain and, illustrate those, pas
sages, of holy writ, which are in, any degree
diffieult and obscure.
2dly- To point, out, as they occur in the
sacred writings, the chief leading fundamental
principles and doctrines of the (Christian re
ligion. , , . . , i
3dly. To confirm and strengthen your
faith, by calling your, attention to those
strong internal marks .of the truth and divine
authority of the Christian religion, which
present themselves to us in almost every page
of the Gospel.
4thly. To lay before you the great moral
precepts of the Gospel, to press them home
Upon your consciences and your hearts, and
render, them effectual to the important ends
they were intended to serve ; namely, the due
government of your .passions, the regulation
of your conduct, and the attainment of ever
lasting life.
These are all of them objects of the very
last importance ; they are worthy the atten
tion of every human being; and they will,
I think, be better attained by a familiar and
c 4 practical

24 LECTURE I.
practical explanation of the sacred writings,
than by any other species of composition
whatever. The plan of instruction adopted by our
blessed Lord was unquestionably the very best
that could be devised. It was not a regular
system of ethics, delivered in a connected se
ries of dry essays and dissertations, like those
of the ancient heathen philosophers ; but it
consisted of familiar discourses, interesting
parables, short sententious maxims, and oc
casional reflections, arising from the common
Occurrences of life, and the most obvious ap
pearances of nature. All these various modes
of instruction are so judiciously blended and
mixed together in the history of our Lord's
life and conversation, delivered to us in the
Gospel (as all the various sorts of pleasing
objects are in the unornamented scenes of
nature) that they make a much deeper im
pression both on the understanding and on the
heart, than they could possibly do in any other.
more artificial form.
Ah exposition of Scripture, then, must at
all times be highly useful and interesting to
every sincere disciple of Christ; but must be
peculiarly so at the present moment^ when so'
much

LECTURE I. 25
much pains have been taken to ridicule and
revile the sacred writings, to subvert the very
foundations of our faith, and to poison the
minds of aH ranks of people, but especially the
middling and the lower classes, by the most
impious and blasphemous publications that
ever disgraced any Christian country*. To
resist these wicked attempts is the duty of
every minister of the Gospel; and as I have
strongly exhorted all those who are under my
superintendence, to exert themselves with zeal
and with vigour in defence of their insulted
religion, I think it incumbent on me to take
my share in this important contest, and to
show that I wish not to throw burthens on
others of which I am not willing to bear my
full proportion. As long therefore as my health,
and the various duties of an extensive and
populous diocese, will permit, and the exigen
cies of the times require such exertions, I pro
pose to continue annually these Lectures. And
I shall think it no unbecoming conclusion
of my life, if these labours of my declining
* About this time, and for some years before, The
Age of Reason, and other pestilent writings of the same
nature, were disseminated through almost every district
ef jthis country with incredible industry. years

26 LECTURE I.
years should tend in any degree to render the
Holy Scriptures more clear and intelligible,
more useful and delightful; if they shall con
firm the faith, reform the manners, console
and revive the hearts of those who hear me ;
and vindicate the honour of our divine Master
from those gross indignities and insults, which
have of late been so indecently and impiously
thrown on him and his religion.

[ 27 ]

LECTURE II.
Matthew ii.
HAVING in the preceding Lecture
taken a short comprehensive view of the
several books of the sacred volume, I now
proceed to the Gospel of St. Matthew ; and
shall in this Lecture confine myself to the two
first chapters of that book*.
The history of our Saviour's birth, life,
doctrines, precepts, and miracles, is contained
in four books or narratives called Gospels,
written at different times, and by four different
persons, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John,
who were among the first converts to Chris
tianity, and perfectly well acquainted with the
facts they relate ; to which two of them were
* For some very valuable observations in some parts
of this, and the third and thirteenth Lecture, I am
indebted to my late, excellent friend and patron, Arah-
bishop Seeker. eye-

28 LECTURE II.
eye-witnesses, and the other two constant com
panions of those who were so, from whom they
received immediately every thing they relate.
This is better authority for the truth of these
histories than we have for the greater part of
the histories now extant, the fidelity of which
we do not in the least question. For few of
our best histories, either ancient or modern,
were written by persons who were eye-wit
nesses of all the transactions which they relate;
and there is scarce any instance of the history
of the same person being written by four
different contemporary historians, all perfectly
agreeing in the main articles, and differing
only in a few minute particulars of no moment.
This however we find actually done in the
life of Jesus, which has been written by each
of the four evangelists, and it is a very strong
proof of their veracity. For let us consider
what the case is, at this very day, in the
affairs of common life. When four different
persons are called upon in a court of justice
to prove the reality of any particular fact
that happened twenty or thirty years- ago, -
what is the sort of evidence which they usually.
give ? Why, in all the great leading: circum stances

LECTURE II. 29
stances which tend to establish the fact in
question, they in general perfectly agree. In
a few other points perhaps they differ. But
then these are points which do not at all
affect the main question, which were too trifling
to make much impression at the time on the
memory of the observers, and which therefore
they would all relate with some little variation
in their account. This is precisely the case
with the writers of the four Gospels; and this
substantial coincidence and accidental vari
ation has much more the air and garb of truth,
than where there is a perfect agreement in
every the minutest article; which has too much
the appearance of a concerted story.
That the books which we now have under
the names of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and
John, were written by the persons whose names
they bear, cannot admjt the smallest doubt
with any unprejudiced mind. They have been
acknowledged as such by every Christian church
in every age, from the time of our Saviour to
this moment. There are allusions to them,
or quotations from them, in the earliest writers,
as far back as the age of the apostles, and
continued down in a regular succession to the
present

30 LECTURE II.
present hour; a proof of authenticity, which
scarce any other ancient book in the world
can produce. They were received as genuine
histories, not only by the first Christians, but
by the first enemies of Christianity, and their
authority was never questioned either by the
ancient heathens or Jews*.
The first of these Gospels is that of St.
Matthew. It was written probably at the
latest not more than fifteen years, some think
only eight years, after our Lord's ascension.
The author of it was an apostle and constant
companion of Jesus, and of course an eye
witness of every thing he relates. He was
called by our blessed Lord from a most lu
crative occupation, that of a collector of the
public revenue, to be one of his disciples and
friends : a call which he immediately obeyed,
relinquishing every thing that was dear and
Valuable to him in the present life. This is a
sacrifice which few people have made for the
* Whoever wishes for further satisfaction on this most
important subject, will not fail of finding it in Dr. Lard-
ner's learned work, The Credibility of the Gospel History,
where this question has been .very ably treated, and, the
authenticity of the Gospels established, on the most solid
grounds. ' -•' ¦.¦jdi-2- sake

LECTURE II. 31
sake of religion, and had Sti Matthew's object
been the applause of men, he might have
displayed the merits of this sacrafice in a light
very favourable to himself. But the apostle,
conscious of much nobler views, describes this
transaction in the simplest and most artless
words. "As Jesus," says he, "passed forth
from thence, he saw a man named Matthew,
sitting at the receipt of custom, and he saith
unto him, Follow me : and he arose and fol
lowed him."
The first thing that occurs in the Gospel of
St. Matthew, is the genealogy of Christ, in
order to prove that > he was descended from
the house and family of David, as the prophets
foretold he should be.
In this genealogy there are confessedly
some difficulties, at which we cannot be much
surprised, when we consider of what prodigious
antiquity this genealogy is, going back some
thousand of years ; and when we know too
that several Jewish persons had the same
name, and that the same person had different
names, (especially under the Babylonish cap
tivity,) which is still the case in India, and
other parts of Asia. This must necessarily create

32 LECTURE II.
' create some perplexity, especially at such a
distance as we are from the first sources or
information. But to the Jews themselves at
the time, there were probably no difficulties
at all ; and it does not appear that they (who
were certainly the best judges of the question)
made any objection to this genealogy of
Christ, or denied him to be descended from
the family of David . We may therefore rea
sonably conclude, that his descent was origi
nally admitted to be fairly made out by the
evangelists, whatever obscurities may have
arisen since. Indeed it is highly probable,
that this genealogy was taken from some public
records or registers of the ancient Jewish fa
milies, which it is very evident from Josephus
that the Jews had, especially with regard to
the lineage of David, and which were univer
sally known and acknowledged to be authentic
documents. I shall therefore only observe
further on tliis head, that St. Matthew gives
the pedigree of Joseph, and St. Luke that of
Mary. But they both come to the same thing,
because among the Jews the pedigree of the
husband was considered as the legal pedigree
of the wife ; and as Mary and Joseph were
nearly

LECTURE II. 33
nearly related, and were of the same tribe and
family, their genealogies of" course must run
nearly in the same line.
After the genealogy of Christ, follows ah
account of his birth, which, as we may easily
suppose of so extraordinary a person, had
something in it very extraordinary. Accord
ingly the evangelist tells us, " that the angel
of the Lord appeared unto Joseph in a dream,
saying, "Joseph, thou son of David, fear not
to take unto thee Mary thy wife, for that
which is conceived in her is of the Holy-
Ghost: and she shall bring forth a son,
and thou shalt call his name Jesus (that is a
Saviour) ; for he shall save his people from
their sins" „
This undoubtedly was a* most wonderful and
-singular and unexampled event. But it was
natural to imagine, that when the son of God
was to appear upon the scene, he would enter
upon it in a way somewhat different from the
sons of men. And in fact we find him appear
ing upon earth in a manner perfectly new,
and peculiar to himself; in a manner, whiek
* Matth. i. 20-
Vol. L D united

34 LECTURE II.
united in itself at once the evidence of prophecy
and of miracle. He was born of a virgin, and
what is no less wonderful, it was predicted of
'him seven hundred years before, that he should
be so born. "Behold," says Isaiah," a- virgin
shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall
call his name Immanuel*;" a Hebrew word,
signifying, God with us. What man, but a
¦vprophet, inspired of God, could have foreseeh
an event so completely improbable, and appa
rently impossible ? What impostor would
"have hazarded such a prediction as this ? and,
what is still of more importance, what impostor
could have fulfilled it? What less than the
jpower of God could have enabled Jesus to
fulfil it ? By that power he did fulfil it. He
only, of the whole human race, did fulfil it,
and thus proved himself to be at the very
moment of his birth, what the whole course
of his future life, his death, his resurrection,
and his ascension into heaven, further declared
him to be, the Son of God.
And as such he was soon acknowledged,
and due homage paid to his divinity by a
very singular embassy, and in a very singular
* Isaiah, vii. 14. mariner.

LECTURE II. 3$
manner. For the evangelist proceeds to tell
us in the beginning of the second chapter,
that " when Jesus was born in Bethlehem
of Judea, there came wise men from the east
to Jerusalem, saying, where is he that is born
King of the Jews? for Ave have seen his star in
the east, and are come to worship him." As
this is a very remarkable, and very important
event, I shall employ the remaining part of
this lecture in explaining it to you at large,
subjoining such reflections as naturally arise
from it.
The name of these persons, whom our trans
lation calls wise men, is in the original pciyot,
in the Latin language, magi, from whence is
derived our English word, magicians. The
magi were a sect of ancient philosophers, living
in the eastern part of the world, collected
together in colleges, addicted to the study of
astronomy, and other parts of natural philo
sophy, and highly esteemed throughout the
east, having juster sentiments of God and his
worship than any of the ancient heathens : for
they abhorred the adoration of images made
in the form of men and animals, and though
d 2 they

36 LECTURE II.
they did represent the Deity under the symbol
of fire (the purest and most active of all mate*
,rial substances) yet they worshipped one only
;God; and so blameless did their studies and
their religion appear to be, that the prophet
Daniel, scrupulous as he was, to the hazard of
his life, with respect to the Jewish religion, did
not refuse to accept the office which Nebu
chadnezzar gave him, of being master of the
magi, and chief governor over all the wise
men of Babylon *. They were therefore evi
dently the fittest of all the ancient heathens to
have the first knowledge of the Son of God,
and of salvation by him imparted to them.
The country from whence they came is
only described in St. Matthew as lying east
from Judea, and therefore rrfight be either
Persia, where the principal residence of the
magi was, or else Arabia, to which ancient
authors say they did, and undoubtedly they
easily might extend themselves; which it is
rwell known abounded in the valuable things
that their presents consisted of; and concern
ing which the seventy-second Psalm (plainly
* Vid. Dan. v. 1 1 . speaking

LECTURE II. 37
speaking of the Messiah) Says, " The kings of
Arabia and Saba, or Sabaea (an adjoining
region) shall bring gifts;" and again, "unto1
him shall be given of the gold of Arabia."
Supposing this prophecy of the Psalmist to
point out the persons whose journey the evan
gelist relates, it will also determine what their
station or rank in life was, namely kings, " the
kings of Arabia and Saba." Of this circum
stance St. Matthew says nothing directly, but
their offerings are a sufficient evidence that
their condition could not be a mean one : and
though there is certainly no proof, there' is on
the other hand no improbability, of their
being lords of small sovereignties, which might
afford them a claim, according to the ancient
usage of that part of the world, to the name
of kings. For we read in Scripture not only of
some small* towns or tracts that had each
of them their king, but of some also which
could not be very large, that had each of
them several -f\
What number of the wise men or magi
pame to our Lord, is entirely unknown, and
* Josh. x. 5. t Jerem. xxv. 20—26.
D 3 perhaps

3S LECTURE IT.
perhaps that of three was imagined for no other
reason, than because the gifts which they
brought were of three sorts. The occasion
of their, coming is expressed by St. Matthew
in their own words : " Where is He that is
born king of the Jews ? for we -are come to
worship him." v .
That a very extraordinary person was to
appear under this character about that time,
was a very general persuasion throughout the
east; as not only Jewish but heathen writers
tell us, in conformity with the New Testa- ¦
ment. And that this person was to have do^
minion over the whole earth, was part of that
persuasion, founded on predictions of the
clearest import. I need produce but one,
from the above-mentioned 72d Psalm, which,
as I before observed, plainly relates to Christ.
" All kings shall fall down before him ; all
nations shall do him service." There were Jews
enough even in Persia, and much more in
Arabia, to propagate this doctrine, and shew
it to be contained in their sacred books ; from
whence therefore the wise men may well be
supposed to have received it. But

LECTURE II, 39
But their knowledge that he. was. actually
born, must stand on some other foundation ;
and what that was, themselves declare, " We
have seen his star in the east*." This must
plainly mean some new appearance, in the sky,
which they, whose profession (as is well known)
led them peculiarly to the study of astronomy,
had observed in the heavens. Now any ap
pearance of a body of light in the air, is called
by the Greek and Latin authors a star, though
it be only a meteor, that is, a transient acci
dental luminous vapour, neither of consider
able height, nor long continuance ; in which
Sense also the Scripture speaks of stars falling
from Heaven f. And such was that which
the wise men saw, as will appear from a cir
cumstance to be mentioned hereafter. Pos
sibly indeed the first light which surprized
them, might be that mentioned by St, Luke,
when the glory of the. Lord descending from
Heaven, shone round about the shepherds,
and his angel came upon them, to bring them
the news, of our Saviour's nativity $, For that
* Matth. ii. 2.
t Matt. xxiv. 29. Mark, xiii. 25, ¦
% L»ke, ii. 9. p 4 , glorv>

40 LECTURE II.
glory, seen at a distance, might have the ap
pearance of a star ; and their seeing the star
in the east, is not to be understood as if they
saw it to the eastward of themselves ; but
means, that they being eastward of Judea,
saw the star, seeming probably to hang over
that country.
Now such an uncommon sight alone, sup
posing their expectation of him raised (as there
was then a general expectation of him) might
naturally incline them to think he was come;
and especially as it was a current opinion
amongst persons professing skill in these mat
ters, that the shining forth of a new star de
noted the rise of a new kingdom, or of a great
and extraordinary prince ; whence, as Pliny
relates*, Augustus the Roman emperor said,
that 'the comet which appeared on Caesar's
death, whom he succeeded, was born for him,
and that he was born in that comet; for so it
¦ ' ¦ '. v
seems he expressed himself
This, I say, being a current opinion, the
wise men would be apt enough to conclude,
that the present star betokened the birth of
* Vid. Plin. Nat. Hist. £. ii. Ch. 25. ithat

LECTURE II. a\
that prince, of whom (as they might easily
have heard) it had been so very long foretold,
'¦' There shall come a star out of Jacob, and a
sceptre shall rise out of Israel*/' And it is
a very remarkable circumstance, that one of
the ancient commentators on the Timaeus of
Plato -j-, alluding to this verv star, expresses
himself in these words : " There is a still more
venerable and sacred tradition, which relates,
that by the rising of a certain uncommon star,
was foretold, not diseases or deaths, but the
descent of an adorable God for the salvation
of the human race, and the melioration of
human affairs ; which star, they say, was ob
served by the Qialdceans, who came to present
their offerings to the new-born God J."
On their arrival at Jerusalem, and making
the enquiry they come for, Herod we find
was troubled, and all Jerusalem with him.
That so jealous a tyrant as Herod fhould be
froubled at this event is no wonder ; and it
is no less natural that the people also should
* Numb. xxiv. %"].. '•
-f Chalcidius.
% See Brucker's History of Philosophy, v. iii. p. 472.
.be

42 LECTURE II.
be, disturbed and alarmed, not knowing whftt
the consequences of so extraordinary a birth
might be. Herod, therefore, calls the chief
priests and scribes .together, and demands of
them, whether it were known where the
Christ should lie born ; and having learnt
from them, that, according to the prophet
Micah, Bethlehem was the place appointed
by Heaven, sends the wise men thither with a
request that they would inform him when
they had found the child, that he also might
go and pay him due homage, intending all the
while to destroy him, when he had obtained^
the requisite intelligence. Accordingly . the
wise men proceeded on their journey from. >
Jerusalem to Bethlehem ; when the same
luminous appearance, which they had obser'v?
ed hi their own country, now attended them,
again to their very great jo\T, and conducted,
them at length to the very house where the
child was; which probably (as is common in..
villages) had no other house contiguous to it,
and therefore might be easily marked by the
situation of the meteor.
When the wise men came into the house
and saw the child, they fell down and wor-r
shipped

LECTURE II. 43
shipped him, that is, bowed and prostrated
themselves before him, in the eastern manner
of doing obeisance to kings. Whether they
designed also paying him religious adoration,
or how distinct a knowledge had been given
them of the nature and rank of the Saviour of
^the world, we cannot say ; but may be sure,
that what they believed and what they did^
was at that time sufficient to procure them;
acceptance with God. Indeed, according to
the opinion of some ancient fathers concerning
their presents, their faith must have been
very great. For they represent the incense,
as offered to our Saviour as God ; the gold to
have been paid as tribute to a king ; and the
myrrh (a principal ingredient used in embalm
ing) brought as an acknowledgment that he
was to die for men. But others interpret the
same gifts very differently, and take them to
signify the three spiritual offerings, which we
must all present to Heaven, through Jesus
Christ ; the incense to denote piety towards
God; the gold, charity towards our fellow-
creatures ; and the myrrh, purity of soul and
body ; it being highly efficacious in preserving
them from corruption. But though either' or

44 LECTURE IL
or both these notions may be piously and iji^
nocently entertained, yet all we know with
certainty is, that in those parts of the world
no one did then or does now appear before a
prince,! without a suitable present, usually of
the most valuable commodities of his country ;
and that three of the principal productions of\
the east, particularly of Arabia, were gold,
frankincense, and myrrh.
How the wise men were affected with the
sight of so unspeakably important a person,
in such mean circumstances ; or Joseph and
Mary, and all that must flock around them,
with so humble an address from strangers of
such high dignity ; and what further passed
in consequence, of this on either side, every
one may in some degree imagine ; but no
one can undertake to relate, since the Gospels;
do not. We are there only told, that these
respectable visitors, having paid their duty in
this manner, and being warned of God not
to return to Herod *, " departed into their
own country another way "
Thus ends this remarkable piece of history,
in which all the circumstances are so perfectly
* Matth. ii. 12. conformable

LECTURE II. u
Conformable to the manners, the customs, the
prevailing opinions and notions of those times,
in which the narrative is supposed to have
been written, that they tend greatly to confirm
the truth and credibility of the sacred history.
I have already in going along touched slightly
on some of these circumstances, but it may
be useful here to draw them all into one
point of view.
1. In the first place, then, the journey of
these wise men, and the object of it, namely,
to find out him who was born king of the
Jews, corresponds exactly to the information
given by several heathen authors*, that there
was in those days a general expectation of
some very extraordinary personage, who was
to make his appearance at that particular
period of time, and in that particular part of
the world- ^
2. If the birth of this extraordinary per
sonage was marked by a new star or meteor in
the heavens, it was very natural that it should
first strike the observation of those called the
wise men, who lived in a country where the
* Vid. Tacit Hist. V. 33. Sueton. in Vita Vesp. c. 4_
stars

46 LECTURE II.
*tars and the planets shonte with uncommon
diistre, where the science of astronomy was (for
that reason perhaps) particularly cultivated,
where it was the peculiar profession of these
¦very magi, or wise men, and where no re
markable appearance in the heavens could
escape the many curious eyes that were con
stantly -fixed upon them.
3. The manner in which these wise men
approached our Lord, is precisely that in
which the people always addressed themselves
" to men of high rank and dignity.
They worshipped him ; that is, they pro
strated themselves to the ground before him,
which we know was then and still is the
custom of those countries.
They offered presents to him ; and it is
well known, that without a present no great
man was at that time or is now approached.
These presents were gold, frankincense, and
myrrh ; and these, as we have before observed,
were the natural productions of that country
whence the wise men are supposed to have
come, namely, Arabia or Sabsea.
Even that dreadful transaction, which was
'the unfortunate consequence of their journey,
* the

LECTURE II. tf
the murder of the Innocents, exactly corre
sponds with the character of Herod, who was
one of the most cruel and ferocious tyrants
that ever disgraced a throne ; and amongst
other horrible barbarities had put to death a
son of his own. No wonder then that his
jealousy should prompt him to murder a
number of infants, not at ail related to him.
All these circumstances concur to prove
that the sacred historians lived in the . time's
and the countries in which they are supposed
to have written the Gospels, and were per
fectly well acquainted with every thing they
relate. Had not this been the case, they
must have been detected in an error,. in some
of the many incidents they touched upon,
which yet has never happened,
4. It is also in the last place worthy of
remark, that every thing is here related with
"the greatest plainness., brevity, and simplicity,
without any of that ostentation and parade
which we so often meet with in Other authors.
Thus, for instance, a heathen writer would
have put a long and eloquent speech into the
mouth of the wise men, and would have pro
vided the parents of the infant with "a suit able

4^ LECTURE II.
able , answer. He would . liave .painted, the
.massacre, of the infants, in the most dreadful
colours, and would have drawn a most affect
ing picture of the distress and agony of their
afflicted parents. But the Evangelists have
not enlarged on these j or any other similar
topics. They have contented themselves with; ,
telling their story concisely and, coldly,. with_
a bare simple recital of the facts, without
attempting to work upon the passions, or
excite the admiration of their readers.
' In fact, it appears from this and a variety
of other instances of the same nature, that,
neither fame nor reputation, nor any otber+
worldly advantage, had the least influence
upon their hearts. Their sole object was the,
advancement of truth, of morality, of religion^
of the eternal welfare and salvation of man
kind. For these great' objects they wrote,
for these they lived, for these they suffered,
and for these they died ; on these their
thoughts were entirely and immoyeably fixgd,
and therefore their narratives mstly claim the
most implicit belief in every thing that relates
to these great ^and important and interesting j
subjects. Another

LECTURE II. 49
Another observation which this part of the
Sacred History suggests to us, is this ; that
no person ever yet appeared in the world to
whom such distinguished marks of honour
were paid from his birth to his death, as our
blesse'd Lord. We are often reproached with
the mean condition of our Redeemer. We
are often told, that He, whom we have chosen
for our Lord and Master, who is the object of
our adoration, and on whom all our hopes are
fix(jd, was the reputed son of a carpenter,
lived in penury and distress, and at last suf
fered the ignominious death of the cross. All
this is true. But it is equally true, that this
man of indigence and of sorrow appeared
through his whole life to be the peculiar fa
vourite of Heaven ; and to have been consi
dered, not indeed by his infatuated country
men, but by beings of a far superior order,
the most important personage that ever ap
peared on this earthly scene. At his birth,
we are told, that the glory of the Lord shon©
round about certain shepherds that were then
keeping watch over their flocks by night; and
there was a multitude of the heavenly host,
praising God and saying, " Glory to God in
Vol. I. E th«

50 LECTURE n-.^
tfeeliig-nest, and on earth peacejj 'good-will -lb-*
wards men*." ? -- bs; - '-' - -;'-'"' i:-' ' "xiW
' -Not long aftef this,' " ai-Trew^star1 or meteor
appeared in the heavens off purpose to an-
fibunce his birth,. -Which accordingly (as we
have just -seen) -attracted the notiee of those
ill ft'striecus^ strangers-, who eame from a distant
country to "pay their homage to the infant
Jesus; whom, notwithstanding the -humility
of his condition and- of his habitation,'1 they-
hailed as king of the Jews. At his baptismi.
the heavens were -opened to him, and he saw'
the spirit of God descending like a dove, and
lighting upon him-f-. After his temptation^
when he had -vanquished -the prince of dark
ness j behold, angels came and ministered untef
him^l. At his transfiguration, his face did
shine as the sun, and his raiment was bright'
as the light, and there appeared Moses and
Elias talking: with him, aiid from the cloud'
which overshadowed them, there eame a voice,
saying, "This is my -beloved Son, in whonl
Lam well pleased ; 'hear ye Mm §." At bis
agony in the garden, there appeared an^ angel
* Luke, ii. 1,4.. + Matth. iii. 16,
'-"% Matth. 'iylYi, §Mattrj:Xvii.^^!Uii ' •.
. unto

LECTURE XL si
Unto him, strengthening him*. At his cm*
cifixion, all nature seemed to be thrown into
convulsions : the sun was darkened ; the veil
of the, temple was rent in twain, from the
top to the bottom ; the earth- did quake, and
the rocks rent ; the graves were opened, and
gave up their dead ; and even the heathen,
centurion, and those that were with him, were
compelled to cry out, "Truly this was the son
o/God -f."; Bpforehis ascension, he said to his
disciples, " All power is given to me in
heaven and in earth; ,and while he yet
blessed them, he was parted from them, and
carried up into heaven; anpL a cloud received
him out of fheir. sight J," There we are
to}d. he sitteth at the right hand of God, mak
ing intercession for the sinful race of man, till
he comes a second time in the glory bf his
Father, with all his holy angels, to judge
the world. -There has, God " highly exalted
him above all principalities and power, andl
might and dominion j and given him a name,
which is above every name ; that at the name
pf Jesus every knee shpuld bow, of things in
heaven, and things in earth, and things under
* Luke, xxii. 48. t Matth. ixviL 54.
J Matth. xxviii. 18. Luke, xxiv. 5*.
£ 1 the

5* LECTUR'E 11.
the earth ; -and that evfery tongue should con<
ffess2, that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of
God the Father* /' -n
When all these circumstances-' are taken to
gether, what-a- magnificent idea do they present
tb- us of the humble Jesus, and how does all
earthly splendour fade and die away under
this overbearing effulgence-of celestial glory!
We need not then be ashamed either of the
birth-, the life, or the- death of Christ, " for
they are the power- of God unto salvation."
And if the great and the wise men, whose
history we have been considering, were in
duced by the appearance of a new star, to
search out, with no small labour and fatigue*
the infant Saviour of ' the world ; if they,
though philosophers and deists (far different
fromthe philosophers anddeists of the present
day) i disdained not to prostrate themselves
before him, and present to him the richest
and the choicest gifts they had to offer ; well
may we, when this child of the Most High
is not :only g^e-wn to maturity, but has lived,
and died, and risen again for us, and is now
*et down at the right hand of God {angels and;
* -Philip, ii. g — u.' principalities

LECTURE II. 53
principalities and powers being made subject
to him) well may we not only pay our ho
mage, but our adoration to the. Son, of God,
and offer to him oblations far more" precious
than gold, frankincense and myrrh ; namely,
ourselves, our souls and our bodies, " as a rea
sonable, holy and lively sacrifice unto him ;'•
well may we join with that innumerable mul
titude in heaven, which is continually praising
faim and saying; " Blessing, and honour, and
glory be unto him, that sitteth upon the
thronej and unto* the Lamb for ever and

ever*,

* Jlev. y. j 3.

E 3

[ 54 ]
LECTURE III
^Iatth.;' £hap. iij.
THE subject of this Lecture will be the
third chapter of Saint Matthew, in
which we have the history of a very extraor
dinary person called John the Baptist;
to distinguish him from another John men?
tioned in the New Testament, who was our
Saviours beloved disciple, arid the author of
the Gospel that bears his name ; whence he is,
called John the Evangelist-
As the character of John the Baptist is in
many respects a very remarkable one, and his
appearance bears a strong testimony to the
divine mission of Christ and the truth of his
religion, I shall enter pretty much at large into
the particulars of his history, as they are to be
found not only in the Gospel of St. Matthew,
but in the other three Evangelists ; collecting
from each all the material circumstances of his
life,

LECTURE III. 55
life, from the time of his first appearance, in
the wilderness, to his murder by Herod.
St. Matthew's account of him is as follows;
* In those days came-Johnthe Baptist, preachs-
ing in the wilderness of Judea, and saying,
repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand. For this is he that" was'spoken of by
the prophet Isaiah, saying, " Prepare ye the
way -of the Lord, .make ^i$ paths- straight.
„ And the same Jofaift had his raiment of camel's
hair* and- .a leathern girdle .about .his loins,
¦ and his 'meat-was. locusts ^and- wild honey.
And there went- out to him Jerusalem and all
Judea, and allr the regions, round about Jorr
; dan, and were baptized of him in Jordan,
confessing their sins." ¦ -- ,
Here then we have .a-, person, who appears to
have been sent intofthe world, on purpose to
be' the precursor of our Lord, to, prepare the
¦ way fo* him- and his religion, here called the
kingdom of -Jteavetij and, as the prophet ex
presses it, to make his paths straight. ~ This-is
a plain allusion to the custom that prevailed in
eastern countries, of sending messengers and
pioneers to make the ways level and straight
* Matth. iii. 1— :5. -. - :¦ ,
e 4 '•'¦ before

«0 LECTURE Itt
jaefbre kings and princes and other great men,
when, they passed through the. country wiAft
large retinues, and with, great pomp and
magnificence. They literally lowered moun^
tains, they raised valleys, they cut down woods*
they removed all obstacles, they cleared/away all
roughnesses and inequalities, and made every
thing smooth and plain and commodious for
the great personage whomNthey preceded. ,
In the same manner was John the Baptist
in a spiritual sense to go before the Lord, before
the Savipur of the world, to prepare his way,
to make his paths straight, to remove out of
the minds of men every thing that opposed
itself to the admission of divine truth, all pre?
judice;, blindness, pride, obstinacy, selfTConceit,
vanity, and vain philosophy ; but above all, to
subdue and regulate those depraved affections,
appetites, .passions, and inveterate habita of
wickedness, which are the grand obstacles to
conversion and the reception of the word of
His exhortation therefore was?-*' Repent
yef renounce those vices and abominations
which at present blind your eyes, and cloud
your understandings, and then ypu will be able
' * ft

LECTURE IIU st
to see the truth and bear the light. This was
the method which John took, the instrument
he > made use of to extirpate out Of the minds
of his hearers all impediments to the march of
the Gospel, or, as the prophetic language most
sublimely expresses it, " He * cried aloud to
them, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make
straight the highway for our God. Let every
valley be exalted, and every mountain and hill
be made low ; let the crooked be made straight,
and the rough places plain ; and the glory of
the Lord shall be revealed, and. all flesh shall
see it,"
What a magnificent preparation is this for
the great founder of our religion ! What an
exalted idea must it give us of his dignity and
importance, to have a forerunner and a har*
binger such as John to proclaim his approach
to the world, and call upon all mankind to
attend to him ! It was a distinction peculiar
and appropriate to hum Neither Moses nor
any of the prophets can boast this mark of
honour." It was reserved for the Son of God,
\\ip Messiah, the Redeemer of mankind, and
* Igajah, xl. 3— *5, was,

58 LECTURE IH.
was well suited to the transcendent dignity of
Jbis person, and the grandeur of his design,
The place, which St. John chose for, the
exercise of his ministry was the wilderness of
Judea, where he seems to have lived constantly
from his birth, to the time of his preaching;
for St. Luke informs us, * *' that he was in the
wilderness till the , time of his shewing unto •
Israel." Here it appears he lived with, great
austerity. For he drank neither wine norstrong
drink ; a rule frequently observed by the Jews,
when they devoted themselves to the stricter
exercises of religion. And his meat was lo-.
custs and wild honey ; such simple food" as the
desert afforded tp the lowest of its inhabitants.
For eating some sorts of locusts was not only
permitted by the law of Moses, but, as travel
lers inform us, is common in the east to this
day. The cloathing of the Baptist was no less
simple than his diet. His raiment, we,, are
told, was of cameFs hair with a leathern girdle,
about his loins ; the same coarse habit which
the meaner people usually wore, and which
sometimes even the rich assumed as" a garb «f
mourning. For this raiment of 'camel' sjuiir was
* Luke, i.. 80. no thing

LECTURE III. 59
-nothing 'else than that sackcloth which we s6
often read of in Scripture. And as almost
evety thing of moment was, in those nations
and those times, expressed by visible signs as..
Well as by words, the; prophets also were
generally cloathed in this dress, because one
principal branch of their office was to call
upon men to mourn for their sins. And par?
ticularly Elias or Elijah is described in the
second book of kings as a hairy man *, that is
a man cloathed in hair cloth, or sackcloth (ag
John was) with a leathern girdle about hi§
loins. Even in outward appearance there?
fore John was another Elias ; but much more
so as he was endued, according to the angel's
prediction, with the spirit %nd power of Elias-j:?
Both rose up among the Jews in times of
universalcorruption ; both were authorized to-
denounce speedy vengeance from Heaven,
phless they repented ; both executed their
commission with the samp intrepid zeal ; both
were persecuted for it : yet nothing deterred
either Elias from accusing Ahab> to his face,
or John from rebuking Herod in the same un
daunted manner.
t 2 Kings, i. 8, + Luke, i. 17.
But

€0 LECTURE lit.
But here an apparent difficulty occurs, and1'
the sacred writers are charged with making our
Lord and St. John flatly contradict each other.1
When the Jews sent priests and Levites
from Jerusalem to ask John who he was, and
particularly whether he was Elias ; his answer
was, I am not *; But yet our Lord told the
Jews that John was the Elias which was id
comef-. How is this contradiction to be re*
concilcd ? Without any kind of difficulty. Th*e
Jews had an expectation founded oh a literal
interpretation of the prophet Malachi J, that
ibefore the Messiah came, that very same Elias
or Elijah, who lived and prophesied in the tirriS
of Ahab, would rise from the dead and appear
again upon earth'. John- therefore might very
iruly say that he was' not that Elias. But yet
as we have seen that he resembled Elias in
many striking particulars; as the angel told
Zaeharias that he should come in "the spirit
and power of Elias ; and as he actually apr
proved himself, in the turn and manner of his
life, in his doctrine and his conduct, the very
same man to the latter Jews which the other
*.John,i. .21. , +Mauh.xi,H?
% Malachi, iv. 5. had.

L'E£TURE HI. 61
had been to the former, our Saviour might
Tftith equal truth assure his disciples that John
was that Elias, . whose coming, the prophet
Malachi had in a figurative sense foretold.
This difficulty wp sep is so easily removed,
that I should not have -thought it worth
noticing in this place, had it not been very
lately revived with much parade in one of
those coarse and blasphemous publications
W-hieh have been dispersed in this country
with so much activity, in order to disseminate
vulgar infidelity among the lower orders of
people, but which are now sinking fast into
oblivion and contempt. This is one specimen
of what they call their arguments against
Christianity, and from this specimen you wiH
judge of all the rest. But to return.
The abstemiousness and rigour of the
Baptist's life was calculated to produce very
important effects. It was fitted to excite great
attention and reverence in the minds of his
hearers. It was well suited to the doctrine
he was to preach, that, of repentance and con
trition y to the seriousness he wished to in
spire, and to the terror which he was ap
pointed to impress on unpenitent offenders. And

62 LECTURE III,
And perhaps it was further designed to inftF;
mate the need there often is of harsh restraints
in the beginning of virtue, as the easy fami-^,
liarity of our Lord's manner and behaviour.
exhibits the delightful freedom which} attends
the perfection, of it. At, least, placing thespj
two characters in. view. of the world, so near-
to each other, must teach: men, this very in
structive Ipsson ; thatthough, severity of con-.
duct may in various cases be both prudent and.
necessary, yet the mildest and cheprfujes^,
goodness is the compleatest ; and they the most
useful to religion, who are able to converse-
among sinners without risquing their inno
cence, as discreet physicians do among the sick.
without endangering their health. :i
It is remarkable however that whatever
mortifications John practised himself, it does
not appear that he prescribed any thing tq
others beyond the ordinary duties of a good
life., His , disciples indeed fashed .often, and
so did many of the; Jews, besides; probably.:
therefore the, former as, well as the latter; by
their own, choice. . Jiis general, injunction was.
only,"* bring forth fruits meet for repentance."
* Matth. iii. 8.
When

LECTUR'E III. $3
When more particular directions were desired,
he commanded all sorts1 of men to avoid more
especially the sins, to which their condition
most exposed them. Thus when the * people
asked him (the common people of that hard
hearted nation) what shall we do ? John an
swered, " He that hath two coats, let him
impart to him that hath none, and he that
hath meat, let him do likewise." That is, let
every one of you according to his abilities
exercise those duties of charity and kindness
to his neighbour, which you are all of you, but
too apt to neglect. The publicans or farmers of
the revenue came to him, and said," -j-Masterj
what shall we do ?" And he said, "Exact no
more than that which is appointed you." Keep
clear from that rapine and extortion of which
y$u are so often guilty in the collection of
the revenue. The £ soldiers too demanded of
him, "¦ What shall we do ?" his answer was,
*'-Do violence to no man, neither accuse any
falsely, arid be content with your wages." That
is, abstain from those acts of injustice, vio
lence, arid oppression,, to which your profes-
* Luke) iii. 16. 11. t- Ibid. 12, 13.
Jlbid. iii. 14. sion

64 L^CTUftE III.
Bton too often leads you. Lewd arid debauched
pmple also applied to" him, to whom no doubt
be gave advice suited to their Case. And!
therefore what he taught was, not >cererMSli*i£
observances, but moral conduct on religious
principle ; and without this heiipronouric&dt1
(however disgusting the doctrine must be to 'a
proud and superstitious people)ithe highest
outward privileges to be of no value at all J -
" Think *not," said he to the Jews, " to -sty
within yourselves ' we have Abraham to our-
lather, and are therefore sure of God's favour,
be our conduct what it may:' for I say untdl*
you that God is able of these stones to raisd
up children unto Abraham ;" is able to mak«
the most stupid and ignorant of these heathen^
whom you so utterly despise, converts to true
religion and heirs of the promises.
Such were the doctrines which .jk*hn
preached to his disciples, and the success which
attended him was equal to1 their 'mtgniiWlt^
and- importance. sltfuneyji .-,<,* coi^i
This was plainly foretold by the angei'thati
announced his birth to his father Zacharias,
" Many -f of the children of Israel (said he)
* Mattb. iii. 9. fL«kei-i6. shall

LECTURE HI. 6$
shall he turn to the Lord their God. Which
in fact he did. For the evangelists tell us
that " there went out unto him into the wil
derness Jerusalem and all Juxhea, and all the
region about Jordan, and were baptized of
him*." > The truth of this is amply con
firmed by Josepbus, who informs us, that
multitudes flocked^ to him ; for they were
greatly delighted with/his discourses -}-."
It might naturally be expected that such ex
traordinary popularity and applause as this
would fill him with conceit and vanity, and h>
spirehimwithamost exalted opinion of his own
abilities, and a sovereign contempt for any rival
teacher of religion. But so far from this^the
most prominent feature of his character was an
unexampled modesty and humility. Though
he had been stiled by Malachi the messenger
of the Lord, and even Elias (the chief prophet
of the. Jews next to Moses) he never assumed
any higher title than that very humble one
given him by Isaiah ; the voice of one crying
in i the wilderness. Far from desiring or at
tempting to fix the admiration of the multitude
* Matth. iii. 5, 6. ¦
-j. Joseph. Antiq, Jud. xviii. 2. Edit.Huds.-
Vo&.Z F on

66 LECTURE JU.
on his own person, he gave notice from his firs,%
appearance of another immediately to fpUo^y
him, for whom he was unworthy to perform/
the most servile offices. Hp made a scruple,
till expressly commanded, of baptizing onp so
infinitely purer than himself, as he knew the
holy Jesus. to be. And when his disciples com
plained that; all menf,; deserted him tp follpw
< Christ (a most mortifying circumstance,,; had
worldly applause, or interest, or power, been
his point) nothing could be more ingenuously
self-denying than his answer ; " Ye yourselves
bjear me witness, that I said I am, not the
Christ, but am sent before him. He that hativ
the bride, is .the bridegroom ; but the"" friend
of the bridegroom, which standeth and heareth
him, rejoiceth. greatly. This my joy therefoue
is fulfilled,. He must increase, but I must de
crease : hp that is of the earth is earthy:'
he that cometh from heaven is above all *?." . >
Of such unaffected and disinterested humi
lity as this,,where shall we find, except inChrist,
another instance? Yet with this, was by no
means united what we are tpo apt to associate
with our idea of humility, meanness and timi-
1 * John, iii, 28, 29, .; 4ity

LECTURE III. 67
dity of spirit ; on the contrary, the whole
conduct of the Baptist was riiarked through
out with the most intrepid courage arid mag
nanimity in the discharge of his duty.
Instead of paying any court either to tlie
great men of his nation on the one hand, or
to the multitude on the Other, he reproved
the former for their hypocrisy in the strongest
terms ; " O generation of vipers, who hath
warned you to flee from the Wrath to come* ?"
and he required the latter to renounce every
one of those favourite sins which they had long
indulged, and were most unwilling to part with.
But what is still more, he reproved without
fear and without reserve the abandonpd and
ferocious Herod, for injuriously taking away
Herodias his brother's wife, and afterwards
jncestuously marrying her, and for all the
other evil that he had done. He well knew the
savage and unrelenting temper of that sangui
nary tyrant; lie knew that this boldness of ex
postulation would sooner or later bring down
upon him the whole weight of his resentment.
But knowing also that he was sent into the
world to preach repentance to all, and feeling
* Matth. iii. 7.
p 3 ft

x§8 LECTURE III.
?J£, b,is, duty-, to cry aloud, arid spare not, to spase
not even the greatest and most exalted of sin-
. nprs, he determined not to shrink from that
duty, but to obey his conscience, andtake,thp
consequences, -, . -,¦
Those -consequenqes were exactly what he
must have foreseen. He was first shut: up in
prison; and not long afterwards, as you all
know, the life of this great and innocent man
was wantpnjy sacrificed in the midst of con
viviality and mirth to the rash oath of a; worth
less and a merciless prince, to the licentious
fasjcinations of a young woman, and the im
placable vengeance of an old one.
After this short history of the doctrines,
the life, and the death of this. extraordinary
man, I beg leave to offer in conclusion a few
remarks- upon it to your serious consideration.
And in the first place, in the testimony of
John the Baptist, we have an additional and
powerful evidence to the truth and the divine
authority of Christ and his religion. , ...
• , If the account given of John m the Gospels
be. true, the history given there of Jesus must
be equally so, for they are plainly parts of O/ne
and the same plan, and are so connected and
5 , interwoven

LECTURE III. $g
mterwbveri with each other, that they must
either stand or "fall together. '
Npw that in the first place there did really
exist such a person ks John theBaptist at the
time specified by the evangelist&vthere cannot
be the smallest doubt; for he is meritioned by
the Jewish historian Josephus, and all the cir
cumstances he relates of him, as far as they
go, perfectly correspond with the description
given of him by the sacred historians.' He
f¥p1resents him as using the ceremoriy of bap
tism. He says that multitudes flocked to him,
for they were greatly delighted with his dis
courses, and ready to observe all his direc
tions. He asserts that he was a good man ;
and' that he exhorted the Jews not to come
to his baptism without first preparing them
selves for it by the practice of virtue ; that is,
in the language of the Gospels, without repent
ance. ^'He relates his being inhumanly mur
dered by Herod1; and adds,* that the Jews in
general entertained so high an opinion of the
innocence^ virtue, and Sanctity' of John, as to
be persuaded that the destruction of Herod's
army, which' happened not long after, was a
F 3 * divine

70 LECTURE III.
divine judgment inflicted on him for his bar
barity to so excellent a man *.
It appears, then that St. John was a person, of
whose virtue, integrity, and piety, we have the
most ample testimony from an historian of un
questionable veracity, and we may therefore
rely with perfect confidence on every thing he
tells us. He was the. very man foretold both
by Isaiah and Malachi, as the forerunner of
that divine personage, whom the Jews ex
pected under the name of the Messiah. He
declared that Jesus Christ was this divine per
son, and that he himself was sent into the
world on purpose to prepare the .way before
him, by, exhorting men to repentance and re
formation of life. If then this record of John
(as the evangelists call it) be true, the di
vine mission of Christ is at once established,
because the Baptist expressly asserts that he
was the Son of God, and that whoever be
lieved in him should have everlasting life-fj.
.Now that this record is true, we have every
reason in the world to. believe, not only he-
cause a man so eminently distinguished- for
* Joseph. Antiq. 1. xviii. c. 6f s-. 2. Ed. Hud*, .if. ..
t John iii. 36; i. 34. every

LECTURE III. 7l
every moral virtue as St. John confessedly
was, cannot be thought capable of publicly
proclaiming a deliberate falsehood ; but be
cause had his character been of a totally dif
ferent complexion, had he for instance been
influenced only by views of interest, ambition,
vanity, popularity; this very falsehood must
have completely counteracted and overset
every project of this nature. For every thing
he said of Jesus, instead of aggrandizing and
exalting himfelf tended to lower and to de*
base him in the eyes ©f all the world ; he as
sured the multitude who followed him, that
there; was another person much more worthy
to be followed ; that there was one coming after
him of far greater dignity and consequence,
than himself; one whose shoes latchet he was
not worthy to unloose* ; one so infinitely supe
rior to him in rank, authority, and wisdom,
that he Was not fit to perform for him even
¦the most servile offices. He himself was only1
come as a; humble messenger to announce the
arrival of his Lord* and smooth the way be
fore him. But the great pessonage to whom
they were to direct their eyes, and' in whom
*Mark,i. 7- Luke,iii, 16.
E 4 they

72 LECTURE Hi
they were to center all their, hopes, was Jesus
.Christ., Is this now the language of a man
who sought only for honour, emolument, or
fa.me, or was actuated only by the fond am
bition of being at the head of a sect? No ¦ one.
can think so. It is not very usual surely for
men of any character, much less for men of
the best character, to invent, and to utter* a
string of falsehoods with t the, professed deTr
sign of degrading ^themselves and exalting
some other person. Yet this was the plain
tendency, and avowed object of John's decla-
rations, and the effept was exactly what might
be expected, and what hp wished and intended,
namely, that great numbers deserted him and
followed Christ*. :> , , ,
But besides bearing this. honest and disin
terested testimony to Christ, the Baptist ha
zarded a measure whiph no impostor or en
thusiast ever ventured upon, withput being
immediately detected and exposed. He .ven
tured to deliver trap propJiecies concerning
Christ; prophecies too whiph were to.be
completed, not .,at some distant period, when
both lie and his hearers might be in their
* John, iii. 26.30; iv. 1. graves,

LECTURE III. 73
graves, and the prophecy itself forgot, but
within a very short space of time, when every
one who heard the prediction might be a wit
ness to its accomplishment or its failure. He
foretold, that Jesus should baptize with the
Holy Ghost and with fir e,- and that he should
be offered up as a' sacrifice for the sins of man-'
kind*. These were very singular things for a
man to foretel at hazard and from conjecture,
beeause nothing could be more remote from
the ideas of a Jew, or more unlikely to hap
pen in the common course of things. They
were moreover of that peculiar nature, that
it was utterly impossible for John and Jesus
to concert the matter between themselves;
for the completion of the prophecies did not
depend solely on them, but required the con
currence of other agents, of the Holy Ghost
in the first instancej and of the Jews arid the
Roman governor in the other; and unless
these had entered into a confederacy with the
Baptist and with Christ, to fulfil what John
foretold, it was not in the power of either to
secure the completion of it. Yet both these
* Malth. iii. 11. John, i. 29. prophecies

74 LECTURE HI.
prophecies were, we know, actually accom*
plished within a very few years after they
were delivered; for our Lord suffered death
upon the cross for the redemption of the
world ; and the Holy Ghost descended visibly
upon the apostles in the semblance of fire on
the day of Pentecost *.
It is evident then that the Baptist was not
only a good man, but a true prophet ; and
for both reasons, his testimony in favour of
Christ, that he was the Son of God, affords
an incontestable proof that both he and his"
religion came from heaven.
2. The history of the Baptist affords a proof
also of another point of no small importance.
It gives a strong confirmation to that great
evangelical doctrine," the doctrine of atone*
ment; the expiation of our sins by the sacri
fice of Christ upon the cross.
We are often told, that there was no need
for this expiation. That repentance and re
formation are fully sufficient to restore the
most abandoned sinners to the favour of a just
and merciful God, arid to avert the punish^
ment due to .their offences.
'*" Acts, ii. 2.
But

LECTURE III. 75
But what , does the \ great herald and fore
runner of .Christ say to this? He came pro
fessedly as. a preacher of repentance. This
was his peculiar office, the great object of his
mission, the constant topic of his exhortations.
" Repent ye, , and bring forth fruits meet for
repentance*." This was the unceasing language
p.f " the voice crying in the wilderness."
If then .repentance alone had sufficient ef
ficacy for the expiation of sin, surely we should
have heard of this from him who came on pur
pose to, preach repentance.. But what is the
case? Does he tell us that repentance alone
will take away the. guilt of our transgressions,
and. justify us in the eyes of our Maker ?
Quite the contrary. Notwithstanding the
great stress he justly lays on the indispensable
necessity of repentance, yet he tells; his fol
lowers at the same time, that.it was to Christ
only, andto, his death, that they were to look
fpr the pardon of their sins. .';' Behold," says
he, "the Lamb of God, which taketk away the
sins pf the world "jr!" And again, " he that
believeth on the Son hath everlasting life ; and
he that believeth not the Son hath not lifej but
• Matth. iii. 2.8. + Luke, i. 29. the

76 lectureMii.
the w*ath of God abideth on him*." -SittcP
then the expiation of sin by the sacrifice of
Christ is a doctrine not only taught- at the
Gospel itself, but 'enforced also by him who
came only - to prepare the • way for it; it is
evident,, fronv-the care taken to apprize the
world of dt even hefhrk Christianity was pro
mulgated, how important and essential:, a* part
this must -be of that divine, religion^fciyqif lo
rui Lastly, it* will, be of use to observe," what
the particular method Was which John made
use of to preprirz. men for the reception and
the belief of the Gospel; for whatever means
he applied to. the attainment of that end, the
same probably we shall find the most effica
cious for a similar purpose at this very day. ai-'
.;? Now it is evident that the Baptist addressed
himself, in the first instance, not to the under"
standing* but to the' heart. >>;He did not afc
te'mptto convince his hearers, jfonfcto reform
them ; he did net say to. them, gpsandlstiady*
the prophets^, examine with care.- ifehei pretend
sions ofchim. whom I announce, and weigh Ac
curately all the evidences, of his . divm#; mis*
siflri ; . he .well knew^how : all this wouid> end,'
•.* Johin hi. 5B. . in

LECTURE HI. 77
in the then corrupt state of their minds. His
exhortation was therefore, \\ Repent ye, for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand." -Kit was on this
principle he reproved with so much severity
the pharisees and sadduces who camp to his
baptism, whom one would think he should rar
ther have encouraged and commended, and
received with open t arms, "Q generation
of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from
the wrath to come ? Bring forth, therefore,
fruits meet for repentance *."• Till you have
done this, till you have purified your hearts
and abandoned your sins, my baptism will be
of no use to you, and all the reasoning in the
world will have no effect upon you. In per
fect conformity to this, Joseph us informs us*
that John exhorted the Jews not to come to
his baptism, without first preparing themselves
for it by the practice of virtue, by a strict ad
herence to the rules of equity and justice in
their dealings with one another, and by mani
festing, a sincere piety towards God. ; -?:
This is the preparation he required ; and
thus it is that we also must ' prepare men for
the reception of divine truth. We must first
* Matth. iii. 7, 8. reform,

78 -LECTURE HE
reform^ and then convince them. It is not
in general the want of evidence, but the want
of virtue, that makes men infidels; let them
ceaseto be wicked, and they will soon cease
to be unbelievers. " It is with the heart,"
says St. Paul (not with the head) ** that man
believeth unto righteousness *." Correct the
heart, and all' will go right. Unless the soil
is good, all the seed you cast upon it will be
wasted in vain. In the parable of the sower
we find, that the only seed which came t6
perfection was thatwhich fell on good ground,
on an honest and a good hpart. This is the
first and most essential requisite to belief. Un
believers complain of the mysteries of revela^
tion ; but we have the highest authority for
saying* that in general the only mystery"
which prevents them from receiving it, is the
mystery of iniquity."'
We hear, indeed, a great deal of the good
nature, the benevolence, the generosity, the
humanity, the honour, and the other innume
rable- good qualities of those that reject the
Gospel ; and they may possibly possess some
ostentatious and popular virtues, and majf
* Rom. x.' l-a * keep

LECTURE III. 79
keep clear .frpm flagrant and disreputable
vices* But whether some gross depravity, some
inveterate prejudice, or some leaven of vanity
and self-conceit, does not commonly lurk in
their hearts, and influence both their opinions
and their practices, they who have an exten
sive acquaintance with the writings and the con
duct of that class of men will fipd no .difficulty
in deciding. , , Jf however this was the decision
pf man only, the justness of it might be con
troverted, arid the competency of thp judge
denied. It, might be said, that it is unbe
coming and presumptuous in any human being
to pass severe censures on large bodies of
men; and that without being able to look
into the heart of man, it is impossible to form
a right judgment of his moral character. This
We dp not deny. But if he who actually has
that power of looking into the heart of man,
if he whp is perfectly well acquainted with hu
man nature, and. all the various characters, of
men.; if he has declared that mew love dark
ness rather than light, became tjieiv iefids are
evil *, who will controvert the truth of that
decision? On this authority then we may
* John, iii. 19. securely

80 LECTURE III.
securely rely, and may rest assured, that what
ever pretences may be set up for rejecting reve
lation, the grand obstacles to it are, indolence,
indifference, vice, passion, prejudice, self-con
ceit, pride, vanity, love of singularity, a disdain
to think withj, the vulgar, and an ambition to
be considered as superior to the rest of mankind
in genius, penetration, and discernment. " It
is by removing these impediments in the first
place Tthat we must prepare men, as St. John
did, fpr embracing the religion of' Christ.
These (to make' use of prophetic language) are
the mountains that must be made low ; these
the crooked paths that must be made straight;
these the rough plaoe» that must be made
plain. Then all difficulties .will be removed,!
and there will be a high way for our God,
Then there will be a smooth and easy approach
for the Gospel to the understanding, as well
as,. to the heart; there will be nothing to op»i i
pose its conquest over the soul. The Glory ,
of.- the Lord-shall fully be revealed.
AlfD ALL FLESH SHALL SEE IT* .
, * Isaiah, xl, 4,

[ SI q.<

LECTURE IV.
Matthew iv. — former part.
*"jp HE fourth chapter of St.- Matthew* at
¦*• which we are now arrived, opens with
an account of that most singular arid extraor
dinary transaction, The Temptation of
Christ in the wilderness. The detail
of it is as follows :
" Then was Jesus led up of the spirit into
the wilderness to be tempted of the devil:
and when he had fasted forty days and forty
nights he ; was afterwards an hungred. And
when the tempter came to him, he said, if thou
be the Son of God^ command that these stones
be made bread. But1 he answered and said, it
is written man shall not live by bread alone,
but by every word that proceedeth out of the
mouth of God*» ' Then the devil taketh hirii;
up into the holy city, and setteth him on a
pinnacle of the temple, and saith unto him, if
thou be the Son of God cast thyself down ;
Vol. I. G for

82 LECTURE-IV.
for it is written, he shall give his angels charge
^concerning thee, and in their hands they shall
bear thee up, lest atany time thou dash thy
foot agairiST a stone, o, Jesus said unto him,
thou shalt not tempt the Lord thy. God.
Agairi thextevil taketh him up into an exceed
ing high mountain, and sheweth him all the
kingdoms of the world and the glory of them,
and saith unto him, all these things will I give
thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me.
Then said Jesus unto him, Get thee hence,
Satan, for it is written, thou shalt worship the
Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.
Then the devil leaveth him, and behold angels
came and ministered unto him*."
Such is the history given by the Evangelists
of our Lord's temptation, which has beenfa
subject of much discussion among learked
men. It is well known in particular that se
veral ancient commentators as well as many
able and pious* men of our own times/- have
thought that this temptation -wasnota real
transaction, but-only, a vision or prophetic
trance, similar to that which Eaekiel describe
•in "the 8th- chapter of his prophecy,' and tp
*:MaEh. iv, ir-^n, that

LECTURE ilV. as
that; which befel St. Peter when;be sawa.ve's-
. .gel descending unto him from heaven, and let
¦ down to the earth *. And it must be acknow
ledged that this opinion is supported by many
specious arguments, and seems to remove
spme considerable difficulties. But upon the
whole there are I think stronger reasons for
adhering i to the literal interpretation, than
for recurring to a visionary representation. :
u; For in the first place, it is a rule admitted
and established by the best and most judicious
interpreters, that in explaining the sacred
writings we ought never, without the most ap
parent and most indispensable necessity, allow
ourselves the liberty of departing from the
plain, obvious, and literal meaning of the words.
Now, I conceive that no such necessity can be
alledged in the present instance. It is true, that
there are in this- narrative many difficulties,
and many extraordinary , surprising, and mira
culous incidents. But the whole history of pur
Saviour is wonderful and miraculous from be
ginning to end ;v and if whenever we meet
with a difficulty or a miracle, we may have
reoouise toJigure, aaetaphor., or vision, we shall
f Ac$s.x-aQ<— 16.
G a SOOU

84 lecture iv:
soon.reducea great part of the sacred writings
to nothing. else.., Besides, these, difficulties wil)
several of them admit of a fair solution ; jand
where they do not, as they affect no article of
faith or practice, they must be left among
those inscrutable mysteries which it is natu*
ral to expect in a revelation from heaven.
This we must after all. be content to /do, even
if we adopt the idea! of vision ; for even that
does not remove every difficulty, and it cre
ates some tliat do not attach to the " literal
interpretation. 2. In the next place, I. cannot find in any
part of this narrative of the temptation the
slightest or most distant intimation that it is
nothing more than a vision. The very first
words with which it commences seem to im
ply the direct contrary. j# Then was ; Jesus
led Up of the spirit into the wilderness to be
tempted of the devil.'VrCDoes not this say in
the most express terms that our Lordwas led,
not in a dream, or trance, or vision, but was
actually and lite rally led by the spirit into tkt8
wilderness of Judaea? There.' is, I know, an
interpretation which explains away thasaafefvkMMi
meaning; But that interpretation rests solely
avfj- on

LECTURE IV, jjs
on the doubtful signification of aisingle Greek
particle, which is surely much too .slender a
ground to justify a departure from the plain
and literal sense of the passage.- Certain it
is, that if any- one had meant to describe a real
transaction,' he could not have selected any
expressions better adapted to that purpose than
those actually made use of by the ^Evangelist;
and I believe no one at his first reading of our
Lord's temptation ever entertained theslightest
idea of its being a visionary representation,
3. There is an observation which has been
made^ and which has great weight in this ques
tion. It is this : All the prophets of the Old
Testament, except Moses, saw visions, and
dreamed dreams, and the prophets of the New
did the samef St. Peter had a vision, St. John
saw visions, St, Paul had visions and dreams :
bjit Christ himself neither saw visions nor
dreamed dreams. He had an intimate and
immediate communication with the Father ;
and he, and no opp else in his days, had seen
the Father, The case was the same with
Moses; he saw God face to face. '.'If there
be a prophet among you," says God tp Aaron,
and Miriam, -I the Lord will makp myself
q 3 known

sw . LicTtrREirw
knoWn to him in a vision, and will speak unfcer
him in a dream- My servant Moses is nof so,-
who is faithful in all my house ; with him will
I speak mouth to mouthy even apparently and '
not in'dark speeches; and the similitude of
the Lord shall he behold*/' ^Now Moses, we*'
all know was a type of Christ ; and the resem
blance holds between them in this instance as1'
well as in many others."1 They neither of them;
had visions or dreams, but bad both an imme-^
diate communication with God. They both:
" zcvr GecL face to face *]-."**< This was a dis-
ii:. :non and a mark-* of dignity peculiar to":
t**ose' two on]y, to the great legislator of thes
Jews, and the-* great legislator of' the Chris4
rians. It7 is* therefore inconsistent with thisi
high privilege, this" mark of superior eminence^
to suppose that our Lord was tempted in m
vision, when we see no other instance of at
Vision in the whole course of his ministry, m
'< 4. The re-is stift another coriside fa tion which?
militates stronglj^against the supposition of a
visionary temptation.1 It-was in itself extreme^
probable that thsre should be a real arid per
gonal conflict between Christ arid Satan,, wfeeH
^'Numb.Xii/Q-s/^ ,:t Eiod.xxx-iii.H. ' '«{

LECTURE- Wr S7-
tfeft former was entering on his- public mi
nistry." ¦:'¦.--.. -
It is well known that the great chief of the
fillen angels, Avho is described in scrip ture under
the various names of Satan? Beelzebub, theDer--
vil, and the Prince of the devils, has ever been an
ir-reeoncileable enemy of the human race, and
has -been constantly giving the most decided
and most fatal proofs of this enmity frpm the
beginning of the world to this hoUr. His hos
tility began with the very first creation of
man upon earth, when he np sooner discovered
our first parents in that state of innocence and
happiness in which the gracious hand of the
Almighty had just placed them, than with a
malignity truly diabolical, he resolved if pos
sible to destroy all this fair scene of virtuous
biiss, and tO phmge them mt0 tiie gulph
pf "sip and misery. For this purpose he ex
erted all his art and subtil ty and powers of
persuasion ; . and how ' well- he succeeded we
all know and feel. From that-bour he estab
lished- and exercised an astonishing dominion
over the minds of men, leading them into
such acts of folly, stupidity, and wickedness,
as can on. np other principle be accounted
g 4 for,

ss ,L'E.eTURE..l.V.
for. At: the time of pur- Saviwr's appearand
Jlis tyranny seems to have arrived at its. utmost
height, and to have extended tp the bodies, a$
well as to the souls.of men, ofrboth whiehhe
sometimes took absolute possession : as we see
in the history of those unhappy perspns men,-
tbned in scripture whom we call demoniacs,
and who were triply said to be possessed'hy the.
devil. , Jt was therefore extremely natural to
suppose,, that when he found there was a great
and extraordinary personage who had just
made his appearance in the,, world, who was,
said to be the Son of God, the promised Sa^
viour of mankind, that seed of the woman whp
was to bruise the serpent's head; it was natural
that he should be exceedingly alar.mpd.at thes^
tidings, that he should tremble for; his domi
nion ; that he should first endeavour to ascer
tain the fact, whether this was realty, the
Christ or not; and if it turned out to be so,-
that he should exert.his utmost efforts to sub
due this formidable enemy, or at least to spduce
him from his allegiance, to God, and divert
him from his benevolent purpose towards man,
Pe had ruined the first Adam, and he might.
therefore flatter himself with the hope of being
equally

LECTURE W. ^
equally successful with the secOndAdam. -He
had entailed a mortal disease on the human
race;- and to prevent their recovery from that
disease, and their restoration to virtue andto
happiness, would be a triumph indeed, a con
quest worthy of the prince of the devils.
. On the other bandit was equally probable
that our blessed Lord would think it a measure
highly proper to begin his' ministry with shew-*
ing a decided superiority over the great adver
sary of man, whose empire he was going to
abolish ; with manifesting to mankind that the
great captain of their salvation wa§ able to
accomplish the important work he had under
taken, and with setting an example of virtuous
firmness to his followers, which might encou
rage them to resist the most powerful tempta
tions that the pripce of darkness could throw
in their way.
These considerations,' in addition to many.
others^ afford a strong ground for believirig
that the temptation of Christ in the wilder
ness was, as thetyiistory itself plainly intimates,.
a reaL transaction, a personal contest 'between
thpi great enemy and the great redeemer' of
the human race ; and in this point of view
therefore

96 LECTURE IV,
therefore I shall proceed to consider somffof
the most remarkable circumstances attending
jt, and the practical uses resulting from it*. •¦
We are told in the first place that *' Jesus
was led up of the spirit into the wilderness,"
that is, not by thepvil spirit but by the spirit <©£
God, by the suggestions and by the impulse of
the Holy Ghost, of whose divine influences he
was then full. For the time when this hap
pened was immediately after his baptism, which
f It i$ an ingenious observation of a learned friend
of mine, that the temptation of Christ in the wilderness;
bears an evident analogy- to the trial of Adam in Para^
dise, and elucidates the nature of that trial in which the,
tempter prevailed and man fell. The second Adam, whq
undertook the cause of fallen men, was subjected' rtf
temptation by the same apostate spirit.. Herein th$
tempter failed, and- the second Adam^n consequenG^
became the restorer of the fallen race of the first. St.
Paul, in more places than one, poirfts out the resem
blance between the first Adam and the second ; and the
temptation in the wilderness exhibits a most interesting
transaction, where the second Adam was actually placed
in a situation very similar to that of the first! The Se
crets of the Most High are unfathomable to short-sighted
mortals; but it would appear from what may be kjflqably,
learnt and inferred from' this transaction, that our blessed
Lord's1 temptation by Satan Was a necesWy part in*-the.
divine Ateconomy towards accord plishir/g- the reWmptibfi
of mankind. .,,, . .

13

LECTURE IV. 9t
i"S related in the conclusion of the (preefding'
chapter. We are there informed that-JesuS
whemhe was baptized went up straightway out
of the water, and lo the heavens were opened,
and he saw thespirit of God descending like a
dove, and lighting upon him., Andlo a voice
from heaven saying, This -is- my beloved son,
in whom I am well pleased*, Then(it irnme-»
diately follows) was Jesus led up of the spirit
into the wilderness to be tempted of the deviL
Jh that moment of exaltation, when he was
acknowledged by a voice from heaven to be
the Son of God, and when the Spirit of God?
had taken full possession of his' soul, then it was>
that Jesus went forth under the guidance of
that spirit in full confidence of his divine powep
into the wilderness, to encounter the prince of
this world, A plain proof that this contest
wfctfa preconcerted design, a measure approved
by heaven, and subservient to the grand de->
sign, in which our Saviour was engaged of res->
Cuing mankind from the dominion of Satan.
Vl The place into which our blessed Lord was
thus led was the wilderness, probably the great
filderttess near the river Jordan, in which Jesus
* Matth. iii. 16, i7. ""*
was

®% LECTURE IV.
was baptized, and soon afterwards tempted;.
This wilderness is thus described by a traveller
of great credit and veracity, who had himself
seen it. f'fna few hours (says this writer) we
arrived at that mountainous desert, in which
our Saviour was led by the spirit to be tempt-'
ed by the devil. It is a mOst miserable- <kf
barren place, consisting of high rocky moun
tains, so torn and disordered as if the earth had
suffered some great convulsion, in which its
very bowels had been turned outward. On
the left hand, looking down into a deep valley,
as. we passed along we saw some ruins of small
cells and cottages, which we were told were
formerly the habitations of hermits retiring
hither for penance* and mortification ; and
certainly there cpuld not be found in the
whole earth a more comfortless and abandoned
place for that purpose,! ,. On descending from
these hills of desolation' into the plain, we soon
came to the foot of, Mount Quarrantaniav
which they say is the. mountain from whence
the devil tempted ouriSavioufc with that vision
ary scene of all thetkingdoms. and, glories of;
this world. It is, as St. Matthew calls, it, an.
exceeding high mountain^ -*and in its ascent
difficult

LECTURE' IV. 03
difficult and dangerous.- It has a-smalfchapel
at the top, and another about half way up, oh
a prominent part of a rock. Near this latter
are several caves and holes in the- sides of the
mountain, made use of anciently by hermits,
and. by-, some at this day for places to keep
their Lent in, in imitation of that of our bles
sed Saviour*." -.-.,. o
This was a theatre perfectly proper for the
prince of the fallen angels to act his part upon,'
and perfectly well suited to his dark malignant
purposes. - - - •
Here then after our Saviour (as Moses and
Elijah had done before him) had endured a
long abstinence from food, the; devil abruptly!
a^nd; artfully assailed i him with a temptation
well calculated to produce a powerful effect on
a person faint and worn out with fasting. " If
thou- be the Son of God, command that these
Stones be made bread." But our Saviour re-*
pelled this insidious $ advice, by quoting the
words of .Moses, to the Israelites in the wilder
ness:. *' Man shall not live by bread alonev
but by every word that proceedeth out of the-
fMauodreU. mouth

94 LECTURE TV.
mouth of God*." That is, he 'that:bro.ugh«
Hie into this wilderness* and subjected me. to
these trials, can support me under the,pre&
sure of hunger, by a variety of means, besides
the common one. of bread, just as he fed the
Israelites in the wilderness with manna, with
, food from heaven, n I will therefore rather
choose to^rely an his gracious providence -for
my support in this exigency, than work a mi
racle myself for the supply of my wants; . . .
: This answer wras perfectly conformable to
the principle on which our Lord acted. through
out the whole of his ministry. All his. miracles
were wrought for the benefit of others, not one
for his own gratification. Though he endured
hunger and thirst, and indigence and fatigue,
and all the other evils of a laborious and an
itinerantlife, yet he never once relieved Jaimself
from any of these inconveniences, or procured, a
single comfort to himself by the working, of
miracles. These were all appropriated to the
grand object of proving the truth of his. reli
gion and the reality of his divine mission; ajid
he never applied them to any other purpose.
And in this, as in all other cases, he acted
* Deut. viii. 3. Mat£h.iv.4. with

' LECTURE IV. 9.$
with the 'most perfect wisdom; for had he al
ways or often delivered himself from the suf
ferings and* the distresses incident to human
nature by the exertions of his miraculous
powers, the benefit of his example would have
been in. a great measure lost to mankind,
and^it would have been of little use to us,
that he was in all things tempted like as we
are*, because he would. have been supported
and succoured as we cannot expect to be.
Having thus failed in attempting to work
upon one of the strongest of the sensual appe
tites, hunger, the tempter's next application
was to a different passion, but one which in
some minds is extremely powerful, and often
leads to great folly and guilt, I mean vanity
and self-importance. "He taketh our Lord
into the holy city, and setteth him on a pin
nacle of the temple, and saith unto him, if
thou be the Son of G od cast thyself down ; fof
it is written, he shall give his angels, charge
concerning thee, and in their hands they will
fbear thee up, lest at any time thou dash thy
foot against a stone -f."
t . .,f.
* Heb. iv. 15. f Matth. iv. 5, 6,
The,

1$ LECTURE 1^.
U The place where our Saviour now st06d fa&$
dn a pinnacle* or rather on a wing of the mag^
nificent temple of Jerusalem,- from whend&
there was a view bf the vast cdncourse of peo
ple who were worshipping in the area below* '
In this situation the seducer' flattered himself
that our Saviour^ indignant' at the ^doubts
which he artfully expressed of his being Jthe
Son of God*' would" be eager to give him and
all the multitude that beheld them a most con
vincing proof that he was so, by casting him*'
self from, the height on which he stood into the
court below, accompanied all the way as he
descended \ by an illustrious host of angels*:
anxiously guarding his person from all danger* •
and plainly manifesting by their solicitude to
protect and to preserve7 him, that they had a
most invaluable. treasure committed 'to their
care, and that he was in truth the beloved Son
of God, the peculiar favourite of heaven.. hi -M
To.a vain-glorious mind nothing could have
been more gratifying, more flattering, -than i
such a proposal as this; more especially as s® •:
magnificent a spectacle in the sight of all the a-
Jews would probably have induced them to-
receive

LECTURE IV; 97
receive h^n- as -their- Messiah,- whom it is well
known they expected to descend visibly from
heaven in some such triumphant manner as this,
•r But on the -'humble mind of Jesus all thi$
had no effect. J To him who never affected pa*
rade or shew, who never courted admiration or
applause, who kept himself as quiet and as re
tired as the nature of his mission would allow,
and frequently withdrew, from the multitudes
that flocked around him, to deserts and to
mountains, to him this temptation carried no
force; his answer was, " Thou shalt not tempt
the Lord thy God ;" thou shalt not rush into
unnecessary danger in order to tempt God, in
order to try whether he will interpose to save
thee in a miraculous manner; much less ought
this to be done as now proposed for the pur
poses of vanity and ostentation.
. The next temptation is thus described by
St. Matthew:
r " Again the devil taketh him up into an ex
ceeding high mountain, and sheweth him all the-
kingdoms of the world and the glory of them;
and saith unto him, all these things will I give
thee, if thou wilt fall down and worship me*."* -
* Matth. iv, 8,9.
t Voi. I. U It;

98 LECTURE; IV,
, Ithasbeen thought an insuperable difficulty
to conceive how Satan could from- any moun
tain however elevated, shew to our Saviour all
the kingdoms of the earth, and the glory of
them. And even they who defend the literal
sense of the transaction in general, yet have
recourse to a visionary representation in this
particular instance. But there seems to me
no necessity for calling in the^ help of a vision
even here. The Evangelist describes the moun
tain on which Christ was placed as an exceed-
ingkigh one; and the traveller * to whom; I
before referred, describes it in the same terms.
From thence of course there must have been a
very extensive view ; and accordingly another
writer, the Abbe Mariti, in his travels through
Cyprus, &c. speaking of this mountain, says,
" Here we enjoyed the most beautiful prospect
imaginable. This part of the mountain over
looks the mountains of Arabia, the country
of Gilead, the country of the Ammonites, the
plains of Moab, the plain of Jericho, the ri
ver Jordan^ and the whole extent of the Dead
sea." These various domains the tempter might
shew to our Lord distinctly, and, might also at
*, Maundrjcll* the

LECTURE IV. 99
the same time point out (for so the original vlord
hntwp.1 sometimes signifies) and direct our
Lord's eye towards several other regions that
lay beyond them, which might comprehend all
the principal! kingdoms of the eastern world.
And he might then properly enough say, " all
these kingdoms which you now see, or towards
which I now point, will I give thee, if thou wilt
fall down and worship me," This explanation
appears to me an easy and a natural one, But
if others think differently, it is sufficient tb
say, that this particular incident is not more
extraordinary than almost every other part of
this very singular transaction ; throughout the
whole of which the devil appears to have been
permitted to exercise a power far beyond what
naturally belonged to him.
But whatever we may decide on this point,
the nature and magnitude of the temptation
are evident. It is no less than an offer of
kingdoms, with all their gfory ; all the ho*
nours, power,-- rank, wealth, grandeur, and
magnificence, that this world has to give',
¦But all these put together could not for one
moment shake the firm mind of our divine
Master, or seduce him from the 4nty he owed
a s to

100 LECTURE IV.
to God, -He rejected with abhorrence ¦¦•?the
impious proposition made to him, and an
swered with a proper indignation, in the
words of scripture, •" Get thee, hence, Satan :
for it is written,,, thou -shalt worship the Lord
thy God,, and.ihim only shalt thou serve *.''
Upon this, we are told that the devil left him,
and that" angels came and ministered unto
him. . :¦. ¦: >:v.-< ; > -- . ' ; , .
Thus ended this memorable scene of Christ's
temptation in the wilderness. The reaspns of
it respecting our Lord have been already ex
plained ; the instructions it furnishes to our
selves are principally these :
1. It teaches us, that even the best of men
may sometimes be permitted to fall into great
temptations, for we see that our blessed
Lord himself was exposed to the severest.
They are not therefore to be considered a#
marks of God's displeasure or desertion of us,
but only as trials of our yirtue ; as means of
proving (as Moses tells thetlsraelite$) whati?
in our hearts, whether we will keep Gopl's
commandments, cr nof ; as opportunities
graciously afforded us to. demonstrate pur sinr
* Matth.iv. 10, ii.-,. f Peut.yiii. 2. cerity,

LECTURE IV. ioi
cerity, our fortitude, our integrity, our un
shaken allegiance and fidelity' to the great
Ruler of the world.
2. Whenever we are thus brought into
temptation, we have every reason to hope for
the divine assistance to extricate us from dan
ger. We have the example of our blessed
Lord to encourage us. We see the great
captain of our salvation assaulted by all the.
art and all the power of Satan, and yet rising
superior to all his efforts. We see him going
before us in the paths of virtue and' of glory,
arid calling upon us to follow him. Though
he was led by the spirit of God himself into
the wilderness in order to be tempted, yet
the saine divine spirit accompanied and sup
ported him throughout the whole of his bit
ter 'conflict,' and enabled him to triumph over
his infernal adversary. To the same heavenly
spirit we also may look for deliverance. If
we implore God in fervent prayer to send
him to Us, he will assuredly grant our peti
tion. He will not suffer us to be tempted
above what we 'are able, but will with the
temptation also make a way to escape (when
H 3 , we

i-ose LECTURE IV.
we ourselves cannot find one) that we may be
able to bear it *.
3, We may learn from the conduct of our
Lord under this great trial, that when temp
tations assail us' we are riot to parley or to
reason with them, to hesitate and deliberate
whether we shall give way to them or not,
but must at once repel them with firmness and
with vigour, and oppose to the dictates of our
passions the plain and positive commands of
God in his holy word. We must say reso
lutely to the tempter, as our Lord did, " Get
thee "hence, Satan -j-," and he will instantly
flee from us as he did from him.
4. It is a most solid consolation to us under
such contests as these, that if we honestly ex
ert our utmost efforts to vanquish the enemies
of our salvation, most humbly and devoutly
soliciting at the same time the influences' of
divine grace to aid our weak endeavours^ the
unavoidable errors and imperfections of' our
nature will not be ascribed to us, nor willGod
be extreme to mark every thing that is done
amiss; for we shall not be judged by one who
has no feeling' of our infirmities, but by one
* 1 Cor. x. IS: f Matth. iv. io, who

LECTURE IV. l03
who knows and who pities them, who was him
self in all things tempted like as. we are, yet
without sin *, and who will therefore make all
due allowances, for our involuntary .failings,
though none for. our wilful, transgressions..
5. And lastly, in the various allurements
presented to our Lord, we see but too faithful
a picture of those we are,, to expect qurselves in
our progress through life. Our Lord's temp
tations were as we have seen sensual gratifica
tions, incitements to vanity and ostentation,
and the charms of wealth, power, rank, and
splendour. All these will in the different
stages of our existence supcessively rise up to
seduce us, to oppose our progress to heaven,
and bring us into captivity to sin and misery.
Pleasure, interest, business, honour, glory,
fame, ^U the follies and all the corruptions of
the world,, will each in their turn assault our
feeble nature ; and through these we must
manfully fight our way to the great end we
have" in view. .. But the difficulty and the pain
of this contest will bye considerably lessened by
a resolute and vigorous exertion of our powers
and our resources/at our first setting out in
, <Aff Jleb. iv. 15.
h 4 life.

104 LECTURE IV.
life, cIt was immediately after bis baptism,
apdat.tfee very beginning of his ministry, that
our Lord was exposed to. all the power and all
the artifices, of the devil, and completely tri
umphing over both, effectually secured him*
self from all future attempts of that implaca
ble enemy. In the. flame manner it is on our
first setting out in life, that we are to look for
the most violent assaults , from our passions
within, and from the world and the prince of
it without. And if we strenuously resist those
enemies of our salvation that present them
selves to us at that most critical and dangerous
period, all the rest that follow in our maturer1
age will be an easy conquest.; On him who in
the beginning of life has preserved himself
unspotted from the world, all its subsequent
attractions and allurements, all its magnifi
cence, wealth, and splendour, will make little
or no impression. A mind that lias been long
habituated to discipline and self-government
amidst far more powerful temptations,, i will
have nothing to apprehend from such assail
ants as these. But after all, our great secu
rity is assistance from, above, which. will never
be denied to those, who fervently apply for it.
4 And

LECTURE IV. m
And with1 the power of divine grace io sup
port us, with the example of our Lord iii
¦the wilderness to animate us, and an eternity
of happiness to reward us, what is "there that
can; shake our constancy or corrupt our fide-
Set yourselves then without delay tc acquire
an early habit of strict self-government, and
an early intercourse with your heavenly pro
tector and comforter. Let it be your first
care' to establish the sovereignty of reason and
the empire of grace over your soul, and you
will soon find it no difficulty to repel the most
. powerful temptations. " Watch ye, stand fast
in the faith ; quit yourselves like men ; be
strong *," be resolute, be patient ; look fre
quently up to the prize that is set before you,
lest you be weary and faint in your minds.
Consider that every pleasure you sacrifice to
your duty here, will be placed to your credit
and encrease your happiness hereafter. The
conflict with your passions will grow less irk
some every day. A few years (with some of
you perhaps a very few) will put an entire end
to it ; and you will then, to your unspeakable
* i Cor. xvi. 13. '
comfort,

106 LECTURE IV.
comfort, be enabled to cry out with St. Paul,
" I have fought a good fight, I have finished
my course, I have kept the faith. Hencei
forth there is laid up for me a crown of righte
ousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge,
shall give me in that day *."
* 2 Tim. iv. j, 8.

I V07 ]

LECTURE V.

Matthew iv. — latter part.

TH E former part of the fourth chapter of
St. Matthew, which contains the history
of our Saviour's temptation, having been ex
plained to you in the preceding Lecture, I
shall now proceed to the latter part of the
chapter, in which an account is given of the
first opening of our blessed Lord's ministry,
by his preaching, by his chusing a few com
panions to attend him, and by his beginning
to work miracles ; all which things are stated
very briefly, without any attempt to expa
tiate on the importance and magnitude of
the subject, which was nevertheless the noblest
and most interesting that is to be found in his-
tory ; an enterprize the most stupendous and
astonishing that ever before entered into the
mind of man, nothing less than the conversion of

io8 LECTURE V.
of a whole world from wickedness and idola
try to virtue and true religiori.
On this vast undertaking our Lord now
entered ; and we are informed by St. Mat
thew, in the l?th verse of this chapter,' in
what manner he first announced himself arid
his religion to the world. His first address to
the people was similar to that of the Baptist,
Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at
hand. The very first qualification he required
of those who aspired to be his disciples was
repentance, a sincere* contrition for 'all past
offences, and a resolution to renounce in fu
ture every species of sin ; for sin, he Well:
knew, would be the grand obstacle to the
reception of his Gospel.
What a noble idea does this present to us
of the dignity and sanctity of our divine reli
gion! It cannot even be approached by the
unhallowed and the profane. Before they can'
be admitted even into the outward courts of
its sanctuary, they must leave their corrupt
appetite and their sinful practices behind
them. ; " Put off ;thy shoes from off thy feet*'*
Said God- to Moses from the burning" bush, <£ for

LECTURE V. log
."' for ,th£,place whereon thpu standest is holy
" ground*." Put off ,a]l(,tby, vicious habits,
says Christ to every one that aspires to be Ins
disciple, .for the religion thou art to embrace
is, a holy religion, and the God thou art to
serve is of purer eyes than to behold evil, and
cannot even.4?p& upon iniquity. In some of
the ancient sects of philosophy ? before any
one could be admitted into, their schools, or
initiated, in their mysteries, he was, obliged
to undergo a certain course pf preparation, a
certain. term of trial and probation, which
however consisted of little more than a few
superstitious ceremonies, or some acts of ex
ternal discipline and purification. But the
preparation for receiving the Christian reli
gion \s the preparation of the hearth The
discipline required for a participation of its
privileges, is,the mortification of sin, the sacri
fice of every guilty propensity and desire.
This sacrifice however the great founder ojf
our religion. did pot require for nothing, He
promised his followers a recOmpence infinitely
beyond the indulgences they were to:r re
nounce ; he promised them a , place^ in his
* Exod.iii. 5.
KINGDOM,

no LECTURE "vV
KiNGDOiii, a kingdom of which he was the
sovereign; a kingdom of righteousness here,
arid of glory hereafter. Repent ye, for the
Icingdom of heaven is at hand*.
He then proceeds to select arid associate
to himself a certain number of persons, who
were to be his assistants and coadjutors in the
establishment and the administration of Ms
heavenly kingdo m. ' u f
' And here it was natural to expect,' thatin
making this choice he should look to men of
influence, authority* and weight; that bei'tfg
himself destitute of all the advantages of
rank, power, wealth, and learning, he should
endeavOur to compensate for those defects in
his own person by the contrary qualities of
his associates, by connecting himself with some
of the 'most powerful, - most opulent, most
learned, and most eloquent men of his time.'-
And this most undoubtedly would have been
his mode of proceeding, had his object been
to establish his religion by mere human means',
by influence or by force, by the* charms of
eloquence, by the powers of reason, by thfe
example, by the authority, by the fashion -of
* Matth. iv. 17. the

9

. LECTURE V, in
the great. But these were not the instruments
which Christ meant to make > use of.... He
meant to show that he was above them all ;
that he had far other resources, far different
auxiliaries, to call in to his support, in compa
rison of which all the wealth and magnificence,
and power and wisdom of the world, were tri
vial and contemptible things. We find there
fore that not the wise, not the mighty, not
the noble, were called* to co-operate with
him ; but men of the meanest birth, of the
lowest occupations, pf the humblest talents,
and most uncultivated minds. " As he was
walking by the sea of Galilee, St, Matthew
tells us, he saw two brethren, Simon called
Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net
into the sea, for they were fishers. And he saith
unto them, follow, me, = and I will make you
fishers of men ; and they straightway left their
netg '.(that is in fact all their subsistence, all
the little, property they had in the world) and
followed him. And going from thence he saw
other two brethren, James the son of Zebedee
and Jp,hn,bi$ brother, in a ship with Zebedee
their father mending their nets; and j$e called
* i Cor.i. 26. them,

H2 LECTURE V.
them* and they immediately left; the ship and
their father and followed him*." These, were
the men whom he selected for his compamons.
and assistants. These fishermenof Galilee were
to; be, under him, the instruments of over
throwing the stupendous and magnificent sys
tem of paganism and idolatry throughout the
world, and producing the greatest change, the
most general and most important revolution in
principles, in morals,and in religion, that, ever
took place on this globe. For this astonishing
work; these simple, illiterate, humble men, were
singled out by our Lord. He chose, as the
apostle expresses it, "the foolish things of the
World to confound the wise, and the weak
things of. the world to confound the things
which are mighty f; that his religion might
not be established by the enticing words of
mans vrisdom, but by demonstration of the
spirit and of power ; that- our faith should not
stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power
of God $•"
- i, Such were the associates, chosen by him,
who was .the delegate, of heaven, and whose.*
• Matth.iv. 18 — 22. f i Cor. i. 27,
% 1 Cor. ii. 4, 5. help

LECTURE V. 113
»
help was from above. We may expect there
fore that an impostor, who meant to rely on
human means for Success,' would take a directly
contrary course. And this we find in fact
to be the case. Who > were the companions
and assistants selectedfby the grand impostor
Mahomet? They were men of the most
weight and authority, and rank and influence,
among his countrymen. The reason is obvi
ous; he wanted such supports; Christ did not;
and> hence the rnarked difference of their
conduct' in this > instance. It is the natu
ral difference between truth and imposture..
That the power of God and not of man was
the foundation on which our Lord meant to
-erect his new system^ very soon appeared; for
the next thing we hear of him is, that he
"went about all Galilee teaching in their syna
gogues, and preaching the gospel of the king
dom, and healing all manner of sickness and
all manner of disease among the people *."
Here then began that demonstration"
OF THE SPIRIT AND OF POWER, which Was
to be the* grand basis of his new kingdom, the
* Matth. iy. 23.
Vol. I. I great

114 ' LECTURE V.
great evidence of his heavenly mission, alt is
indeed probable that the wisdom and the
authority with which he spake, and the weight
and importance of the doctrines he taught,
would of themselves riiake a deep impression
on the minds of his hearers, and produce him
some followers; n But had he stopt here, had
he given his new disciples nothing but words,
their zeal and attachment to him would soon
have abated. For it was natural for these
converts to say to him, " You have called
upon us to repent arid to reform ; you have
commanded us to renounce our vices, to relin
quish our favourite pleasures and pursuits, to
give up the world andits enjoyments, and to
take up our cross and follow you ; and in re
turn for this you promise us distinguished hfcjfci
piness and honour in your spiritual kingdom
You speak, it is true, most forcibly to our
consciences and to our hearts; and we feel
strongly disposed to obey your injunctions*1
and to credit your promises ; > but still the
sacrifice we are required to make is w great:
one, and the conflict we have to go.tbraughrib
a bitter one.- We find it a. most painful strug*
5 gle

L/E'OTUjRE V. 115
gle to subdue confirmed habits, and to part at
once with all our accustomed pleasures and
indulgences. Before then, we can entirely
relinquish these, and make a complete change
in the temper of our souls and the conduct of
our lives, we must have some convincing proof
that you have a right to require this compli
ance at our hands ; that what you enjoin us is
in reality the command of God himself; that
you: are actually sent from heaven, and com
missioned by him to teach us his will, and to
instruct us in our duty ; that the kingdom you
hold out to us in another world is something
more than mere imagination : ,th.at you are in
short what you pretend to be, theSoN ofGod;
and that you are able to make good the pu
nishment you denounce against sin, and the
rewards you promise to virtue."
Our. Lord well knew that this sort of rea
soning must occur to every mans romd' He,
knew that it was highly proper and indis*
pensably necessary to give some evidence of
his; divine commission, to do. something
which should satisfy the world that he was thg
Son of God, ^nd the delegate of heaven- And
i 2 how

116 LECTURE V.
how could he do this so effectually as by per
forming works ; which it utterly exceeded all
the strength and ability of man to accomplish,
and which nothing less than the hand of
_God himself could possibly bring to pass?
In other words, the7 proofs he gave- of his
mission were those astonishing miracles which
are recorded in the Gospel, and which are
here for the first time mentioned by St.
Matthew in the 23d verse of this chapter:
" And Jesus- went about all Galilee, teaching
in their synagogues, and preaching the gos
pel of the kingdom, and healing all manner of
sickness and all manner of disease among the
people." >,f
This then is the primary, the fundamental
evidence of his divine authority, which our
Lord was pleased- to give to his followers. His
first application, as We have seen, was (like that
of his precursor John the Baptist) to their
hearts, " repent ye," lay aside your vices
and your prejudices. Till this was done, till
fhese grand obstacles to the admission of truth
were removed, he well knew that all he
could say and -all he could do would* have no
effect;

LECTURE V. 117
effect ; they would not be moved either by
his exhortations or his miracles; " they would
not be persuaded though one rose from the
dead*." And in fact we find that several of
the (.pharisees, men abandoned to vice and
wickednessj did actually resist the miracles of
Christ, and the resurrection of a man from the
grave ; they ascribed his casting out devils to
Beelzebub ; they were not convinced by the cure
of the blind man, and the raising of Lazarus
from the dead, though they saw them both be
fore their eyes, one restored to sight, the other
to life. This plainly proves how far the power
of sin and of prejudice will go in closing up
all the avenues of the mind against conviction ;
and how wisely our Saviour acted in calling
upon his hearers to repent, before he offered
any evidence to their understandings. But the
way being thus cleared, the evidence was then
produced, and the effect it had was such as
might be expected ; for St. Matthew tells
us, that his fame went throughout all Syria ;
and that there followed him great multitudes
of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis,
and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and
* Luke, xvi. 31.
I 3 from

iig LECTURE V.
from beyond Jordan*; that is, from every
quarter of his own country and the adjoining
nations. 'And indeed it can be no wonder that such
multitudes were convinced and converted by
what they saw. The wonder would have been
if they had not. To those who were themselves
eye-witnesses of his miracles, they must have
been (except iii a few instances of inveterate de
pravity of heart) irresistible proofs of his divine
mission, Wheri they saw him give eyes to the
blind, feet to the lame, health to the fick, and
even life to the dead, by speaking Only1 a few
words, what other conclusion could they pos
sibly d taw than that which the centurion did,
truly this was the Son of God-f. ' To us indeed
who have not seen these mighty Works, and
who live at the distance of eighteen hundred
years from the time when they Were Wrought,
the force of this evidence is undoubtedly less
than it was to an eye witness. But if the reality
Of these miracles is proved to us by sufficient
testimony, by testimony such as no ingenuous
and unprejudiced mind can withstand, they
* Matth. iv. 34, 85. 't Mu\h, xxvii. 54. ought

LECTURE V, 119
ought still to produce in us tjie^.rmest belief
of the i divine power of him \ylip wrought
them*. It . must be admitted at , the same time
that -these, miracles, .being facts of a very
uncommon and very extraordinary nature,
such as, .have never happened in our own
times, and. but very seldom:, even in forrner
times, they require, a much stronger degree
of testimony to support them than common
historical facts, /And this, degree of testi
mony they actually have. They are sup
ported by a body of evidence fully adequate
to the case; fully competent to outweigh all.
the djsadvantages arising from the great dis
tance and the astonishing nature of the events
in question.1. In the, first place these miracles are re
corded m four different histories, written
very near ,toe time of their being performed,
by four : different. . men, Matthew, Mark,
, ..* Mr. JJume's, abstruse and sophistical argument
against miracles, has been completely refuted by Drs.
Adams, Campbell, and Paley.
I 4 Luke,

120" LECTURE V.
Luke, and John; two of whom saw these
miracles with their own eyes ; the other
•two had their account from them 3 who did
the same; and affirm,- that "r< they .had
¦a- perfect knowledge of every thing they
Telate*." They were -plain artless men, without the
•least appearance" of enthusiasm or credulity
about them, and rather slow than forward
to believe' any thing extraordinary and out
of the common course of nature. They
were perfectly competent to judge of plain
matters of fact, of things which passed
before their eyes, and could certainly tell,
without the least possibility of being mis
taken^ whether a person whom they knew
to be blind was actually restored to sight,
and a person whom they knew- to be dead
was raised to life again by a few words
spoken by their master. They wrere men,
who, from the simplicity ; of their manners,
were not at all likely to.* invent and pub
lish falsehoods of so extraordinary a nature;
much less falsehoods by which they could,
*Jjuke, j. 3, gain

LECTURE* V. m
gain* nothing:, and did in fact lose -every
thing. There is not therefore, from the'
peculiar character of these persons, the least
ground for disbelieving the reality-; of any
thing they relate." Nor is there any reason
to doubt whether the writings we now -..have
under their names are those which they
actually wrote. They have been received
as such ever since they were published j
nor has any one argument been yet pro
duced against their authenticity, which has
not been repeatedly and effectually con
futed. 2. Jt is a very strong circumstance in
favour of our Saviour's miracles, that they
were related by contemporary historians,
by those who were eye*-witnesses of them,
and were afterwards acknowledged to be
true by those who lived nearest to the
times in which they were wrought; arid
what is still- more to the point, by many
who were hostile to the Christian religion.
Even the emperor Julian himself, that most
better adversary of Christianity, who had
openly

122 LECTURE V.
openly apostatized from it, who professed
the most implacable hatred to it, whq em
ployed all his ingenuity, all , his acuteness
and learning, which, were considerable, in
combating the truth of it, . in. displaying in
the strongest ^colours every objection he
could raise up against it; even he did not
deny the reality of our Lord's, miracj.es*.
He admitted ^hat Jesus wrought them, but
contended .that he wrought them by die
power of magic. ,
3. Unless \ve admit that the founder of
our religion did actually work the miracles
ascribed, to him by his historians, it is
Utterly impossible to account for the success
and establishment of ., his religion. It coukl
no.t, in short, to all appearance, have been
established by -any other means. r
* Julian apud Cyrillum, L. vi. viii. x. Celsus also
acknowledged the truth of the gospel miracles, in gene-
j$], but ascribed them to the assistance .of. demons.
" The Christians, says he, seem to prevail, Jai^ovw
f'tyav ovonaai not KxrauMawi, by virtue of the name's and
the invocation of certain demons." Orig. contra Celsufli,
ed. Cantab. 1. i. p. 7< ,T ,
. Consider

LECTURE V. 13ft
Consider drily for a moment what the ap
parent condition of our Lord was, when he
first announced his mission among the
Jews, what his pretensions and" what his
doctrines Were, ahd then judge what kind
of a reception he must have met with
among the r Jews, had his preaching been
accompanied by no miracles. A young
man of, no education, born in an obscure
village of obscure parents, without any of
those very brilliant talents or exterior ac
complishments which usually 'captivate the
hearts of men; without having previously
written or done any thing that should
excite the expectation, or attract the atten
tion and admiration of the world, offers
himself at once to the Jewish nation, not
merely as a preacher of morality, but as a
teacher sent from heaven ; nay, what is more,
as the Son of God himself, and as that great
deliverer^ the Messiah, who had been so long
predicted by the prophets, and was then so
anxiously expected, and so eagerly looked
for by the whole Jewish people, He called
upon this people to renounce at once a great
part of the religion of their forefathers, and to

124 LECTURE V.
to adopt that which he proposed to them;
to relinquish all their fond ideas -of a splenr
did, a victorions, a triumphant Messiah, and.
to accept" in his room a despised, a per
secuted, and a crucified master: he re
quired them to give up all their former
prejudices^ superstitions, and traditions, all
their favourite rites and ceremonies, and
what was perhaps still dearer to them, their
favourite vices and propensities, their hypo
crisy, their rapaciousness, their voluptuous
ness. Instead of exterior forms he prescribed
sanctity of manners ; instead of washing
their hands, and making clean their platters,
he commanded them to purify their hearts
and reform their lives. Instead of indulging
in ease and luxury, he called upon them to
take up their cross and follow him through
sorrows, and sufferings; to pluck out aright
eye, and to cut off a right anri; to leave
father, mother, brethren, and sisters j for his
name's sake, and the gospel:
What now shall we say to doctrines
such' as these delivered by such a person
as our Lord appeared to* be ? Is it probable,
is it possible that the reputed son of a poor
mechanic

LECTURE V. 125 t
mechanic could, by the mere force of argu
ment or persuasion, induce vast numbers of
his countrymen to embrace opinions and prac
tices so directly opposite to every propensity
of their hearts, to every sentiment they had
imbibed, every principle they had acted upon
from their earliest years? Yet the fact is,
that he did prevail on multitudes to do so;
and therefore he must have had means of
conviction superior to all human eloquence or
reasoning ; that is, he must have convinced
his hearers by the miracles he , wrought j. that
all power in heaven and in earth was given
to him, and that every (precept he delivered,
and every doctrine he taught, was the voice
of God himself. Without, this it, is utterly
impossible to give any rational account of his
success. i -In order to set this (argument in a still
stronger point of view, let us consider what
the effect actually was in a case where a
new religion was proposed without any sup
port from miracles. That same impostor
Mahomet,? to whom I before aUwded, began
his mission, with every advantage that could arise

126 LECTURE V.
arise from personal figure, from insinuating:
manners, from a commanding eloquence, from
an ardent enterprising spirit, from conside
rable wealth, and from powerful connections*
Yet with all these advantages, and with
every artifice and evfery dexterous contrivance
to recommend his new religion, to his coun
trymen, in the space of' three years he
made only about six converts, and those prin
cipally of his own /family, relations, and
most intimate friends. And his progress
was but very slow for nine years after this,
till he hegan to mate use of force ; and then
his victorious arms, not his arguriientSj car/
ried his religion triumphantly over almost all
the eastern world.
It appears therefore, that without the
assistance either of miracles or of the sword^
no religion can be propagated with such ' ra
pidity, and to such an extent, as the Chris
tian was, both during our Saviour's life time,
•atrid after his death. For therew"is, I be-
'lieve, no instance in thej history of man
kind of such an effect being produced, with
out either the one or the other. Now of
force

LECTURE V. 127
force we know that Jesus never did make
use; the unavoidable consequence is, that
the miracles ascribed to him were actually
wrought by him. -
4. These miracles; being wrought not in
the midst of friends, who were disposed to
favour them, ,but of most bitter and deter
mined enemies, whose passions and whose
prejudices .were all up in arms, all, vigo
rous and active against them and their au
thor, we may rest assured that no false
pretence to a supernatural power, no frauds,
no collusions, no impositions, ,would be suf
fered -,tOi pass undetected . and unexposed,
that every single miracle would be most criti
cally and -mast rigorously sifted and enquired
into, and no art /left ( unemployed to destroy
their credit and counteract their . effect.
And this in fact we fine} . to be the case.
Look, into the ninth chapter of St. John,.
and you will see with what /extreme carC
and diligence, with what anxiety arid so
licitude the pharisees examined and re
examined the blind man that was.xestored
tq sight by our Saviour, and what pains
they took to persuade him, and to make him

123 LECTURE V.
him say, that he was not restored to sight
by Jesus.
" They brought," says, St. John, " to the
pharisees, him that aforetime was blind ; and
the pharisees asked him how he had received
his sight. And he said unto them, Jesus
put clay upon mine eyes, arid I washed, and
did see. A plain and simple and honest re
lation of the fact. But the Jews, not con*;
tent with this, called for his parents, and asked
•them, saying, Is this your son who ye say
was- born blind? How then doth he, now
see ? His parents, afraid of bringing them
selves into danger, very discreetly answered,
We know that this is our son, and that he
was born blind; but by what. means he now
seeth we know not, or who hath opened hi?
eyes we know not; he is of age, ask him, he
shall speak for himself. They then called the
man again, and said to him, Give God the
praise, we know that this man (meaning Jesus)
is a sinner. The man's answer. is admirable:
Whether he be a sinner or no, I know not ;
but this I know, that whereas I. was blinds
now I see. Since the world began, was it not
known1 that any man opened the eyes of
one

LECTURE V.i 129
one that was born blind. If this man were
not of God, he could do nothing. And they
answered him and said/ Thou wast altogether
born iii sin, i and dost thou teach us? And
they cast him out." - A very effectual way it
must be confessed! of confuting a miracle.
. , The whole of this narrative (from which I
have only selected a few of the most striking
passages)ds highly curious and instructive, and
would furnish ample matter for a variety of
very important remarks. But the only use
I mean to make of it at present is to observe,
that it proves, in the clearest manner, how very
much awake and alive the Jews were to every
part of our Saviour's, conduct. It shews that
his miracles were presented not to persons
prepossessed and prejudiced in his favour, not
to inattentive or negligent or credulous spec
tators, but to acute and inquisitive and hos
tile observers, to men disposed and able to
detect imposture wherever it could be found.
Andjit is utterly impossible that the miracles
of Christ could have passed the fiery ordeal of >
so; , much d shrewdness and sagacity * and au
thority and malignity, united, if they had
not been carried through it by the irresistible
Vol. I. , K force

130 LECTURE V.
force of truth, and of that divine power which
nothing could resist.
5. The miracles of our Lord were nbt
merely transient acts, beheld at the moment
with astonishment, but forgot as soon as over,
and productive of no important consequences.
They gave birth to a new religion, to a netf
mode of worship, to several new and singular
institutions, such as the right of baptism, the
sacrament of the Lord's supper, the appro
priation of the first day of the week to sacred
purposes, the establishment of a distinct order
of men for the celebration of divine offices, and
other things of the same nature. Now this
religion and these institutions subsist to this
day. And as the books of the New Testa*
ment affirm that this religion and these institu
tions were first established^ and afterwards
made their way by the power of miracles,
they are standing testimonies to the truth and
the reality of those miracles, without which
they could never have taken - such firm and
deep root at the first, and continued un
shaken through so many ages to the present
time. The magnitude and permanency of
the

LECTURE V. , 131
the superstructure prove that it could not have
had a less solid, a less substantial foundation.
6. And lastly, when we consider the great
sacrifices made by the first converts to Chris
tianity, particularly by the apostles and primi
tive teachers of it; how many deep-rooted
prejudices and favourite opinions they gave up
to it; what a total change it produced in their
disposition, their temper, their manners, their
principles, their habits, and the whole com
plexion of their lives; what infinite pains they
took to propagate it; how chearfully they relin
quished for this purpose all the ease,-the com
fort, the conveniencies, the pleasures, and the
advantages of life; and instead of them em
braced labours, hardships, sufferings, perse
cutions, torments, and death itself; we cannot
rationally suppose that such patience, resigna
tion, fortitude, magnanimity, and persever
ance, could possibly be produced by any less
powerful cause than those evidences of divine
power exhibited in the miracles of Christ ;
which demonstrably proved that he and his
religion had a divine original, and that there
fore the sufferings they underwent for his sake
K 2 in

132 LECTURE V.
in the present life would be amply repaid
by the glorious rewards reserved for them
hereafter. When therefore we put together all these
considerations, they can leave no doubt on any
unprejudiced mind, that the account given
in this chapter of the first commencement of
our Saviour's ministry, and the reasons of his
astonishing success, are perfectly accurate
and true; namely, "that he went about all
Galilee, teaching in the synagogues, and
preaching the gospel » of the kingdom? and
healing all manner of sickness, and all manner
of disease among the people." And our con
clusion from this must necessarily be the same
with that of the great Jewish rulers, who, with
a laudable anxiety to know the truth, came
to Jesus by night, and addressed him in these
words: " Rabbi, we know that thou art a
•teacher come from God : for no man can do
these miracles that thou doest, except God, be
with him*."
* John, iii. 2.

[ 133 ]

LECTURE VI.
Matth. Chap. v.
OU R blessed Lord having by his miracles
established his divine authority, and ac
quired of course a right to the attention of his
hearers, and a powerful influence over their
minds^ proceeds in the next place to explain
to them in some degree the nature of his reli
gion, the duties it enjoins, and the dispositions
it requires. This he does in what is commonly
called his sermon on the mount; which is a
discourse of considerable length, being extend^
ed through this and the two following chap
ters ; and we may venture to say it contains a
greater variety of new, important, and excel
lent moral precepts, than is any where to be
found in 1^ie same compass. At the same
time it. does not pretend to give a regular,
complete, and perfect system of ethics, or to
K 3 lay

134 LECTURE VI.
lay down rules for the regulation of our con
duct in every possible instance that can arise.
This would have been an endless task, and
would have multiplied precepts to a degree
that would in a great measure have defeated
their utility and destroyed their effect*. Our
Lord took the wiser and more impressive me
thod of tracing out to us only the great Out
lines of our duty, of giving us general princi
ples and comprehensive rules, which we may
ourselves apply to particular cases, and the va
rious situations in which we may be placed.
He begins with describing-those dispositions
and virtues which mark the Christian charac
ter, in which the Gospel peculiarly delights,
Tput which the world despises and rejects.
" Blessed, says he, are the poor in spirit,
for theirs is the kingdom of God.
Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall
be comforted.
Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit
the earth.
Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst
after righteousness, for they shajl be filled.
* Vid. John, xx*. 25. Blessed

LECTURE VI. 135
¦ Blessed are the merciful, for they shall ob
tain mercy.
Blessed are the pure in heart, for they -shall
see God.
Blessed are the peace-makers, for they shall
be called the children of God.
Blessed are they which are persecuted for
righteousness sake, for theirs is the kingdom
of heaven. ,
Blessed are ye when men shall revile you,
and persecute you, and shall say all manner of
evil against you falsely for my sake ; rejoice
and be exceeding glad, for great is your re
ward in heaven*."
It is evident that our Lord here meant at
the very outset of his public instructions, to
mark at once in the strongest and most do*
cided terms the peculiar temper, spirit, arid
character of his religion ; and to shew to his
disciples how completely opposite they were
to all those splendid and popular qualities
which were the great objects of admiration
and applause to the heathen world ; and are
still too much so even to the Christian world.
"There are (as a very able advocate for Chris
tianity well observes-^) two opposite characters
* Matth. v. 3 — 12. t Dr.Paley, Y.ii.p.3o.
k 4 under

136 LECTURE VI.
under which mankind may generally be class*
ed. The one possesses vigour, firmness, re
solution, is daring, and active, quick ip its
sensibilities, jealous of its fame", eager in its
attachments, inflexible' in its purposes, violent
in its resentments.
The other, meek, yielding, complying, for
giving; not prompt to act, but willing to
suffer; silent and gentle under rudeness and
insult ; suing for reconciliation where others
would demand satisfaction ; giving way to the
pushes of impudence ; conceding and indul
gent to the prejudices, the wrongheadedness,
the intractability of those with whom he has
to deal."
The former, of these characters is and ever
has been the favourite of the world ; and
though it is too stern to conciliate affectionj
yet it has an appearance, of dignity in it which
too commonly commands' respect.
The latter is, as our Lord describes it,
humble, meek, lowly, devout, merciful, pure,
peaceable, patient, and unresisting. ; The
world calls it mean-spirited, tame, and ab
ject; yet, notwithstanding all this, with the'
divine author of our religion this is the fa
vourite character ; this is the constant topic of
his

LECTURE VI. 137
his commendation ; this is the subject that
runs through all the beatitudes. To this he
assigns, under all its various forms", peculiar
blessings. To those who possess it, he promises
that they shall inherit the earth ; that they
shall obtain mercy ; that theirs shall be the
kingdom of heaven ; that they shall see God,
and shall ^be called the children of God.
The recommendation of this character re
curs frequently in different shapes through
out the whole of the sermon On the mount,
and a great part of that discourse is nothing
more than a comment on the text of the bea
titudes. On these, and a few other passages
which have any thing particularly novel and
important in them, I shall offer some observa
tions. But before I quit this noble and consola
tory exordium of our Lord's discourse, I shall
request your attention to one particular part
of it, -which seems to require a little explana
tion. The part I allude to is this: " Blessed are
the meek, for they shall inherit the earth."
The blessing here promised to the meek,
geems at first sight somewhat singular, and not

138 LECTURE VI.
not very appropriate to the virtue recom*
mended. " ' '
That the meek of all others should be desr
lined to inherit the earth, is what one should
not naturally have expected. If we may judge
from what passes in the world, it is those of a
quite opposite character, the bold, the for
ward, the' active, the enterprising", the rapa
cious, the ambitious, that are best calculated
to secure to themselves that inheritance. And,
undoubtedly, if by inheriting the earth is
meant acquiring the wealth, the grandeur,
the power, the property of the earth, these
are the persons who- generally seize on a large
proportion of those good things, and leave the
meek and the gentle far behind them in this
unequal contest for such advantages. But it
was far other things than these our Lord had
in view. By inheriting the earth, he meant
inheriting those things which are, without
question, the greatest blessings upon earth,
calmness and composure of spirit, tranquillity*
chearfulness, peace and comfort of mind. Now
these, I apprehend, are the peculiar portion
and recompence of the meek. Unassuming,
gentle, and humble in their deportment, they give N

LECTURE VI. 139
give no offence, they create, no enemies, they
provoke no hostilities, and thus escape all
that large proportion of humao. misery which
arises from dissensions and disputes. If diffe
rences do unexpectedly start up, -by patience,
mildness, and prudence, they disarm their ad
versaries, they soften resentment, they court
reconciliation, and seldom fail of restoring
harmony and peace. Having a very humble
opinion of themselves, they see others succeed
without uneasiness, without envy: having no
ambition, ho spirit of competition, they feel
no pain from disappointment, no mortifica
tion from defeat. By bending under the
storms that assail them, they greatly mitigate
their violence, and see them pass over their
heads almost without feeling their force. Con
tent and satisfied with their lot, they pass
quietly and silently through the crouds that
surround them-; and encounter much fewer
difficulties and calamities in their progress
through life than more active and enterprising
men. This even tenor of life may indeed be
called by men of the world flat, dull, and in
sipid.. But the meek are excluded from no
rational pleasure, no legitimate delight 3 and as

140 LECTURE VI.
as they are more exempt from anxiety and
pain than other men, their sum total of hap
piness ' is 'greater, and they may, in the hest
sense of the word, be fairly said to inherit the
earth. I shall now proceed to notice such other
passages of this admirable discourse, as* appear
to me to deserve peculiar attention and con
sideration. The first of these is .that which begins with
the 21st verse: "Ye have heard that it was
said by them' of old time, thou shalt not kill."
and whosoever shall kill, shall be in danger of
the judgment ; but I say unto you, that who
ever is angry with his brother without a cause,
shall be in danger of the judgment; and who
soever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be
in danger of the council; but whosoever shall
say, thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire."
And again in the same manner at the 27th
verse : " Ye have heard that it was said by
them of old time, thou shalt not commit
adultery; but I say unto you, that wbosor
ever looketh on a woman to lust after her
hath committed adultery with her already in
hisheart/' I put

LECTURE VI. ui
. I put these two instances together, because
they both enforce ^the same . great leading
principle, and both illustrate ¦ one great dis
tinguishing excellence of the morality taught
by our Saviour ; namely, that it does not
content itself with merely controlling our
outward actions, but it goes much deeper, it
imposes its restraints, it places its guard ex
actly where it ought to do, on our thoughts
and on our hearts. Our Lord here singles
out two cases, referring to two different
species of passions, the malevolent and the sen
sual, and he pronounces the same sentence,
the same decisive judgment on both; that
the thing to be regulated is the intention,
the passion, the propensity. Former moralists
contented themselves with saying, thou shalt
not kill. But I (says our Lord) go much
further ; I say , thou shalt not indulge any
resentment: against thy brother, thou shalt
not use any, reproachful or contemptuous
language towards him ; for it is these things
that lead.-and provoke. to the most atrocious
deeds. Former moralists have said, thou
shalt, not commit adultery. But J say, let
not thine heart or thine eye commit adultery ;
( for

143 LECTURE VL
for here it is that the sin begins; and here
it must be crushed in its birth.
This is wisdom, this is morality in its most
perfect form, in its essence, and in its first
principles. Every orie that is acquainted
with men and manners must know that our
Lord has here shewn a consummate know^
ledge of human nature ; that he has laid his
finger on the right place, and exerted his au
thority where it was most wantedj in checkf
ing the first movements of our criminal de
sires. Every one must see and feel, "that bad
thoughts quickly ripen into bad actions ; and
that if the latter only are forbidden, and th<i
former left free, all morality will soon be at an
end.~ Our Lord therefore, like a wise physi
cian, goes at once to the bottom of the evil ; ,
he extirpates the first germ and root of the
disease, and leaves not a single fibre of it re
maining to shoot up again in the' heart.
It was obvious to foresee that the disciples,
and the people to whom our Saviour addressed
himself, would consider this as very severe dis
cipline, and would complain bitterly, or at
least murmur secretly;, at the hardships of part
ing with all their favourite passions, of eradi
cating their strongest natural propensities, of
# watching

LECTURE' VI. 145
Watching constantly every motion of their
hearts, and guarding those issues of life and
death, those fountains of virtue and of vice,
.with the most unremitting attention. But
all this our divine master tells them is indis
pensably necessary. All these cautions must
be used, all this vigilance must be exercised,
all this self-government must be exerted, all
these sacrifices must be made. It is the price
we are to pay (besides that price which our
Redeemer paid), and surely no unreasonable
one, for escaping eternal misery, and render
ing ourselves capable of eternal glory. He
therefore, goes on to say, in terms highly figu
rative and alarming, but not too strong for
the occasion, " If thy right eye offend thee,
pluck it out and cast it from thee ; for it is
profitable for thee that one of thy members
should perish, and not that thy whole body
should be cast into hell. And if thy right
-hand offend thee, cut it off and cast it from
thee ; for it is profitable for thee that ope of
thy members should perish, and not that thy
v?hole body should be cast into hell*". Every
one must immediately see that the eye. to be
* Matth. v. 29, 30... plucked

144 LECTURE VI.
plucked out is the eye.of concupiscence, and
the hand to be cut off is the hand of violence
and vengeance ; that is, these passions are to
be checked and subdued, let the conflict cost*-
US what it may.
' This naturally leads our divine teacher, in
the next verse, to a subject closely connected
with one of our strongest passions, and that is,
the power of divorce. Among the Jews and
the Heathens, but more particularly the lat
ter, this power was carried ta a great extent,
and exercised with the most capricious and,
wanton cruelty. The best and most affec
tionate of wives were often dismissed for the
slightest reasons, and sometimes without any
reason at all. It was high time for some stop
to/be put to these increasing barbarities, and
it was a task worthy of the Son of God hir%-
self to standup-as the defender apd protector-
of the weak, of the/most helpless and most op- -
pressed part of the human species. Accordn*
ingly ~ he here, declares, in the most positive
terms, that the only legitimate cause of divor^i
is/adultery, y " It has been said., whosoever^
shall put away his wife, let him give her a
writing of divorcement. But I say unto you,
whosoever

LECTURE VI. 14$
whosoever shall put away his tyife, saving for
the cause of fornication* causeth her to com
mit adultery; and whosoever marriejth, her
that is divorced, comniitteth adultery*. This
has* by the experience of ages* been found,
to be a most wise and salutary provision, and
no- less . conducive to the happiness than to
the virtue of mankind. And we are taught
by the fatal example of other, nation^, that
wherever this Jaw of the Gospel 7has been
abrogated or relaxed* and a greater facility
of divorce allowed, the consequence ha$
constantly been a too visible depravation of
manners; and the destruction of many ©/
the most essential comforts of the married
state. -yxH'- tffr"
The passage to which I shall, next adr
vert is the following : " Ye have heard it
has been said, an eye for an eye, and a
tooth for a tooth. But J say unto you,
that ye resist not evil ; but whosoever shall
emite thee on the right ch^efc, turn to
him the other also ; and if any man will sue
thee at the law, and take away thy coat,

, v. 3,1—3.2.
Vol.L L let

146 LECTURE VI.
let- him have thy cloak also; and whosoever
shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him
Main*." By the Mosaic law, retaliation was per
mitted ; an eye for an eye, and a tooth
for a tooth, might legally be demanded -f:
Among the ancient heathens, private re
venge was indulged--*" without scruple and
without mercy. The savage nations in Ame
rica, as well as in almost every other part
of the world, set no bounds to the per
severing^- rancour and the cool deliberate
malignity with which- they will pursue," for
-years ^together, not only the person- himself
frOrii'-wh'om they "have received an injury,
but sometimes every one related to or con
nected- with him. The Arabs are equally
implacable in their resentments ; and the
Koran t itself* in the case of murder,' allows
private revenge J.
*' It was to check this furious ungovern
able passion,'* so universally prevalent ' over
*JMatth.v. 38-^41.
t- JLevit. xxiv. 20. . Deut. xix. 21.
% Koran, v. 2. c. 17. p. 100. the

LECTURE VL 147
the 1 earth* that; our Saviour delivers the'
precepts now before us. "I say unto you
resist not evil ; but if any one smite thee
on thy right . cheek, turn to him the other
also" vNo one can imagine that this in*
junction, and those of the same kind that
follows, are to be understood strictly and
literally ; that we T are to submit, without
the least opposition, to; every injury and
every insult, that is offered to us, and are
absolutely precluded from every degree of
self-preservation and self-defence. This can
never be intended; and the example of St
Paul, who repelled with proper spirit the
insult offered , him as a Roman citizen* very
clearly proves that, we are not to permit
ourselves to be trampled on by the foot of
pride and oppression, without expressing a
just sense of the injury, done to us* and en
deavouring to avert and repel it. It can
not therefore >be meant, that if, any one* by
a cruel and expensive litigation, should de
prive us of a part of our property* we
should, not only relinquish to him that parti
but request him also to accept every thing
L 2 els*

148 LECTURE VI.
else we have in the world. Nor can it be
meant, that if a man should actually strike
us on one cheek, we should immediately
turn to him the other, and desire the blow
to be repeated. This could not possibly
answer any one rational - purpose, nor con
duce in the least to the peace and happiness
of mankind, which were certainly the ob
jects our Saviour had in view; on the con
trary, it would tend materially to obstruct
both by inviting injury, and encouraging
insult and oppression. Common sense there
fore, as well as common utility, require that
we should consider the particular' instances-
of behaviour under the injuries here speci
fied, as nothing more than strong oriental
idioms, as proverbial and figurative expres
sions, intended only to convey a general pre
cept, and to describe that peculiar temper
and disposition which the Gospel , requires j
that patience, gentleness, mildness, modem*
tion, and forbearance under injuries and
affronts, which is best 'calculated to preserve
the peace of our own minds, as well as that
of the world at large ; which tends to soften
6 resentment

LECTURE VI. 149
• resentment and turn away: wrath ; and with
out which, on one side or the other, provoca
tions must be endless, and .enmities eternal. *
All therefore that is here required of us is
plainly and simply this, /that we should not,
suffer our resentment of injuries to carry us
beyond the bounds of justice, equity, and
Christian charity ; that we should not (as St.
Paul well explains this passage) recompence
evil for evil*) that is, repay one injury by
committing another ; that we should not take
fire at every slight provocation or trivial of
fence, nor pursue, even the greatest and most
flagrant injuries with implacable fury and
inextinguishable rancour : that we should
make all reasonable allowances for the infir
mities of human nature, for the passions, the
prejudices, the failings, the misapprehensions
of those we have to deal with ; and without
submitting .tamely to oppression or insult, or
giving up rights,' of great and acknowledged
importance' should always show a disposition
to conciliate and forgive ; and rather to
recede and give way a little in certain in-r
* Rom.xii. I?..
£ 3 stances,

150 LECTURE VI.
stance, than insist on the utmost satisfac
tion and reparation that we have perhaps a
ftrict right to demand:
The chapter concludes with another remark
able precept, which may strictly be called a nem
commandment; for in no moral code is it to
be found, till our Lord gave it a place ill his.'
The precept is this : " Ye have heard it has
been said, thou shalt love thy neighbour, and
hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, love;
your enemies, bless them that curse you, do
good to them that hate you, and pray for
them which despitefully use 3rou, and persecute
you; that ye may be the children of your
Father which is heaven ; for he maketh his
sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and
sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust*."
So noble, so sublime, and so benevolent a
precept, was never oefore given to man ; and
it is one strong proof, among many others, of
the originality of our Saviour's character and
religion. The Jews were expressly commanded to
love their neighbour ; but this injunction was
I10t extended to their enemies, and they
? Matth. v. 43-^45. therefore

LECTURE VI. 451
therefore thought that, this was, a tacit per
mission to hate them ; a ; conclusion which
seemed to be, much strengthened, by their hew
ing enjoined to wage eternal war with, one of
their enemies, the Canaanites,,,tQ show them
no mercy, but to root them out of tbe4and.
In consequence of this, they did entertain
strong prejudices and malignant sentiments
toward every other nation but their own, and
were justly reproached for this by the Roman
historian; " apudipsosmisericordiainpromptu,
adversus omnes alios hostile odium*:", that
is, towards each other they are compassionate
and kind; towards all others they cherish,, a
deadly hatred. ,¦ But it ought in justice to be
observed, that this remark of .Tacitus might
have been applied, with almost equal aptitude,
both to his own countrymen t^ie Romans, and
to the, -Greeks, , for, they gave to all other
nations, but themselves the name of barbari
ans ; and ..having stigmatized them with this
opprobrious appellation, they treated them, as
if they w,ere. in reality what they had. wantonly
thought fjt to call them- They treated them
* Tacit. Hist. v. 5. t • <
L 4 .. with

1-52 LECTURE VI.
with insblence, contempt, and cruelty. They
treated and carried on unceasing hostilities
against them, and never sheathed the Strord,
till they had* ex terminated or enslaved them.
In private life also, it was thought allowable;
to pursue those with whom they were at vari->
ance with the keenest resentment and most
implacable hatred ; to take every opportunity
of annoying and distressing them, and not to.
rest till they had felt the severest effects of
unrelenting vengeance.
In this situation of the, world, and in this
general ferment of the malevolent passions^
how seasonable, how salutary, how kind, how
conciliatory Was the command to love, not
drily our friends, not only our neighbours),
not only strangers, but even our enemies!
How gracious that injunction, "J say unto
you, love your enemies; do good to thettl
that hate you, bless therh that curse you,, and
pray for them that despitefully use you, arid
persecute you !" And how touching, how irre*
sistible is the argument used to enforce it:
" That ye may be the childrenof your Father,
which is in heaven; .for he maketh his sun to,
¦¦*¦ >A rise

LECTURE VI. 153
rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth
rain ori the just and on the unjust 1"
It is remarkable that the philosopher Senec^,
makes use of the same argument, not exactly
for the' same purpose, but for a similar ©net
*' If (says he) you would imitate the gods,
confer favours even on the ungrateful, for the,
$un rises on the wieked? and the seas are open.
even unto pirates :'ac and again, '* the god$
show many acts of kindness even to the un
grateful*." It is highly probable that the
philosopher took this sentiment from this very
passage of St. Matthew ; for no such sublime
morality is, I believe, to be found in any
fooathen writer previous to the Christian reye?
lation. Seneca flourished and wrote after the Gos
pels were written, and after Christianity had
made some progress. Besides this, he was
brother ytoGallio* the proconsul of Achaia,
before whose tribunal St. Paul was brought
by the Jews at Corinth -f\* From .'him he
Would of course receive much information re
specting* this new religion, and the principal
if Sten.de. Benef.llb.4. c.S6. attd c. £8.
f 'Actsxviti. 12. characters

154 LECTURE VI.
characters concerned in it ; and from the ex
traordinary things he would hear of it from
such authentic sources, his curiosity would na
turally be excited to look a little further into
it, and to peruse' the writings that contained
the history and the doctrines of this new
school of philosophy. This, and this only,
can account for the fine strains of morality we
sometimes meet with in Seneca, • Plutarch,
Marcus Antoninus, Epietetus, and the other
philosophers who wrote after the Christian sera,
and the visible superiority of their ethics to
those of their predecessors before that period.
But to return.
It has been objected to this command of
loving our enemies, that it is extravagant- and
impracticable ; that it is impossible for any
man to bring himself to entertain any real
love for his enemies; and that human nature
revolts and recoils against so unreasonable, a
requisition. ;1
This objection evidently goes upon, the sup
position that We are to love our enemies inthe
same manner and degree, and with the same
cordiality and ardour of affection* that we do
our relations and friends. And if this were
required,

LECTURE VI. 155
required, it might indeed be considered as a
harsh injunction. bBut our Lord was not so
severe a task-master as to expect this at our
hands. There are different degrees of love as
well as of every other human affection ; and
these degrees are to be duly proportioned to
the different objects of our regard. .There
is one degree due to our relations, another
to our benefactors, another to our friends,
another to strangers, another to our enemies.
There is no need to define the precise shades
and limits of each, our own feelings will save
us that trouble ; and in that only case where
our feelings are likely to lead us wrong-, this
precept of our Lord will direct us right.
And it exacts nothing but what, is both rea
sonable and practicable. It explains what is
meant by loving our enemies in the words that
immediately follows ; " Bless them that curse
you, do good to them that hate you, and pray
for them that despitefully use you, and perse
cute you :'' that is, do not retaliate upon your
enemy ;¦ do not return his execrations, his inju
ries, and his persecutions, with similar treat
ment ; do not turn upon him his own weapons,
Jjut endeavour to subdue him with weapons . of

156 LECTURE, VI,
of a Celestial temper, with kindness and conv»
passion. This is of all Others the most effec*
tual way of vanquishing an enraged adversary,
The interpretation here given is amply con
firmed by St, Paul in his Epistle to the Rot
maris, which, is an admiral comment pn this
passage, . " Dearly beloved, says he, avenge
not yourselves, but rather give place unto
wrath ; for vengeance is mine, I will, repay,
saith the Lord, Therefore, if thine enemy
hunger, feed him \ if he thirst, give him drink.
Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil
with good*." This then is the love, that we
are to show our enemies ; not that ardour of
affection which we feel towards our friends, but
that lower kind of love,, which is called Chris-;
tian charity (for it is the same wprd in the
original) and which we ought to exercise to-i
ward every human being, especially in distress
If even our enemy hunger, we are to, feed
him J if he thirst, we are to give him drink;
and thus shall obtain the noblest of all tri7
umphs, " we shall overcome evifwith good/'-
The world if they please may call this mean
ness of spirit; but it is in fact the truest mag-
, - . * Rom. xii. 19—21. nanimity

LECTURE VI. 15?
ilanimity and elevation of soul. It is far more
glorious and more difficult to subdue our own
resentments, and to act with generosity and
kindness to our adversary, than to make him
feel the severest effects of our vengeance. It
isthis noblest act of self-government, this con
quest over our strongest passions, which our
Saviour here requires. It is what constitutes
the highest perfection of our nature :' and it is
this perfection which is meant in the conclud-
ing= Verse of this chapter; "Be ye therefore
perfect, as your Father which is in heaven is
perfect*;" that is, in your conduct towards
your enemies' approach as near as you are
able to that perfection of mercy which your
heavenly Father manifests . towards his ene
mies, towards the evil and the unjust, on
whom he maket'h his sun to rise as well as on
the righteous and the just. This sense of the
word perfect is established" beyond contro
versy by the parallel passage in St.Luke;
where, instead of the terms made use of by
St. Matthew, " Be ye therefore perfect, as
your Father which is in heaven is perfect,*
* Matth. v. 48. the

158 LECTURE VI.
the evangelist expressly says, "Be ye therefore
merciful, as your Father also is. merciful*.
This then is the perfection which you are
to exert your utmost efforts to attain; and if
you succeed in your attempt, your reward shall
be great indeed ; youshall, as our Lord assures
you, be the children of the Most Highf.
Having now brought these- Lectures to a
conclusion for the present year,. I cannot take
my leave of you without expressing the great
comfort and satisfaction I have derived from
the appearance of such numerous and;atten?
live congregations as I have seen in this, place.
That satisfaction, if I. can at all judge of my
own sentiments and feelings, does not origir
nate from any selfish gratification, but from
the real interest I take in the welfare, the
eternal welfare of every one here present ;
from the hope I entertain that some useful
impressions may have been made upon your
minds; and from the evidence which this
general earnestness to hear the word of, God
explained and recommended affords, that , a
deeper sense of duty, a more serious attention
* Luke vi. 36. -f Matth. v. 45. to

LECTURE VI. 159
to the great concerns of eternity, has, by the
blessing' of God, been awakened in your soulsi
If this be so, allow me most earnestly to en
treat you not to let this ardour cool ; not to
let these pious sentiments die away ; not to let
these good seeds be choked by the returning
cares and pleasures of the world. But go,
retire into your closets, fall down upon your
knees before your Maker, and fervently im
plore him to pour down upon you the overrul
ing influences of his Holy Spirit ; to enlighten
your understandings, to sanctify your hearts,
to subdue your passions, to *< confirm your
good resolutions, and1 enable you to resist
every enemy of your salvation:
The world will soOn again display all its
attractions before you, and endeavour to extin
guish every good principle you have imbibed.
But if the divine truths you :have heard ex
plained and enforced in these Lectures have
taken any firm root in your minds ; if you are
seriously convinced that Christ and hig religion
came 'from heaven, and that he is able to
make good whatever he has promised and
whatever he has threatened,1 there is nothing;
surely in this world that can induce you to
' risque

160 LECTURE VI.
risque the loss of eternal happiness, ot the in-?
fliction of never-ceasing punishment.
Least of all wifl you think that this is thj
precise m.oment f°r setting your affections
on this world and its enjoyments ; that thes*j
are the times for engaging in eager pursuits.
after the advantages, the honours* the plea
sures of the present life; for plunging into
«ice, for dissolving in gaiety and pleasure*
for suffering every trivial, every insignificant
object, to banish the remembrance , of youf
Maker and Redeemer from your hearts, where
they ought to reigrt unrivalled and Supreme-
Surely amidst the dark clouds that now hang
over us*, these are not the things that will
brighten up our prospects, that will lessen
our danger, that will calm our apprehenf
sions, and speak peace and comfort to our
souls. No, it must be something of a very
different nature; a deep sense' of our ovffi
unworthiness, a sincere contrition for our past
offences, a prostration of ourselves in all hur
mility before the throne of Grace, an earnest
application fpr pardon and acceptance through
t&? writs of him who died for us (whose death
* In March 1798. , ,. and

LECTURE VI. 161
and sufferings' for our sakes the approaching
Week will bring fresh before our view), an ar
dent desire to tnanifest our love and gratitude,
our devotion and attachment to our Maker and
our Redeemer, by giving them a decided prio
rity and predominance in our affections and
our hearts ; by making their will the ruling
principle of our conduct; the attainment of
their favour, the advancement of their glory,
the chief object, of our wifhes and desires.
These are the sentiments we ought to cultivate
and cherish if we with for any solid comfort
under calamity or affliction, any confidence in
the favour and protection of Heaven ; these
alone can support and sustain our souls in the
midst of danger and distress, at the hour of
death, and in the day of judgment.
And how then are these holy sentiments,
these heavenly affections to be excited in our
hearts ? Most certainly riot by giving up all
our time and all our thoughts to the endless
occupations, the never-ceasing gaieties and
amusements of this dissipated metropolis ; but
by withdrawingourselves frequently from this 4
tumultuous scene, by retiring uito'our cham-
Vol. I. M- * " ** ber,

16*2 LECTURE VI.
ber, by communing with our own hearts, by
fervent prayer, by holding high converse with
our Maker, and cultivating some acquaintance
with that unseen world to which we are all
hastening, and which, in one way or other,
must be our portion for ever.
Many of those whom I now see before me
have, from their high rank and situation in
Me, full leisure and ample opportunities for
all these important purposes; and let them
he assured, that a strict account will one day
he demanded of them in what manner and
with what effect they have employed the ta^
lents, the time, and the many other advan
tages with which their gracious Maker has in
dulged them.
And even those who are most" engaged*. i»
the busy and laborious scenes of life,, have at
-least one day in the week which they may,
and which they ought to -dedicate to the great
•concerns of religion. . Let then that day be
kept sacred, to its original destination by all
ranks Of men, from the highest to the lowest.
Let it not be profaned by, needless journie§,
.by splendid entertainments, by crowded asr
.sesahfies,

LECTURE VI. 163
semblies, by any thing in short which pre
cludes either ourselves, our families, or our
domestics, from the exercise of religious duties,
or the improvement of those pious sentiments
and affections which it was meant to inspire.
Let me not, however, be misunderstood. I
mean not that it should be either to the rich
or the poor, or to any human being whatever,
a# day of gloom and melancholy, a day of su
perstitious rigour,and of absolute exclusion from
all society and all innocent recreation. I know
of nothing in Scripture that requires this ; I
know of no good effects that could result from
it. On the contrary, it is a festival, a, joyful
festival ; a day to which we ought always to
look forward with delight, and enjoy with a
thankful and a grateful heart* But let it be
remembered at the same tune, that it is a day
which God claims as his own; that he has
stamped upon it a peculiar mark of sanctity ;
and that it ought to be distinguished from
every other day, in the first place, by resting
from our usual occupations, and giving rest to
our servants and our cattle ; in the next, by
attendance on the public worship of God ; and
in the remaining intervals, by relaxations and
m % enjoy-

164 LECTURE VI.
enjoyments peculiarly its own ; not by quotU
dian tumult, noise, and dissipation ; but by the
calm and silent pleasures of retirement, of re
collection, of devout meditation, of secret
prayer, yet mingled discreetly with select so
ciety, with friendly converse, with sober recre
ation, and with decent cheerfulness through
out the whole.
It was to draw off our attention from the;
common follies and vanities of the week, and
to give the soul a little pause, a little respite*
a little breathing from the incessant importu
nities of business and of pleasure, that this holy
festival was instituted. And if we cannot give
up these things for a single day, if we cannot
make this small sacrifice to Him from whom we
derive our very existence, it is high time for
us to look to our hearts, and to consider very
seriously whether such a disposition and terii-
per of mind as this will eter qualify us for the
kingdom of heaven. M ::¦ .
-" Could ye not watch with me one hour?"
said our divine Master to his slumbering com-:
panions.*. - Can ye not give me owe day out of
Seven."1 may he now say to his thoughtless dis«
<%Mg.rk xiv. 37.:
. .-. ciples.

LECTURE VI. res
eiples. Let none of us then ever subject our
selves to this bitter reproach. Let us resolve
from this moment to make the Christian sab
bath a day of holy joy and- consolation; a day
of heavenly rest and refreshment ; and above
all, a day for the attentive perusal of those sa
cred pages which have been the subject of these
Lectures, and of your most serious attention.
It is to be hoped, indeed, that we shall not
confine our religion and our devotion to "that
day only ; . but even that day properly em
ployed, will in some degree sanctify all the rest.
It will disengage us (as it was meant to do)
gradually and gently from that world, which
W.e must soon (perhaps sooner than we ima^
gine) quit for ever; it will raise our thoughts
above the low and trivial pursuits of the pre
sent scene, and fix them on nobler, and wor<-
thier objects ; it will refine and purify, exalt
and spiritualize our affections ; will bring us
nearer and nearer to God, and to the world of
spirits ; and thus lead us on to that celes
tial SABBATH, that EVERLASTING REST,
for which the Christian sabbath was meant to:
prepare and harmonize our souls.
TA 3

[ 1«« ]

LECTURE VII.

Matth. Chap. vi. and vii.

IN these" two chapters our Lord continues
and concludes his admirable .discourse
from the Mount.
The first thing to be noticed here is a strong
and repeated caution to avoid all show and
ostentation in the performance of our religious
duties. - The three instances specified are the acts of
giving alms, of praying, and of fasting.
The direction with regard to the first is,
" Take heed that you do n6t your alms be
fore men, to be seen of them, otherwise ye
have no reward of your Father which is in hea
ven. Therefore when thou doest thy alms, do
not sotinda trumpet before thee as the hypo
crites do in the synagogues and in the streets,
that they may have glory of men ; verily I
say

LECTURE VII". 167
say unto you, they have their reward. But
when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand
know what thy right hand doeth, that thine
alms may be in secret ; and thy Father which
seeth in secret himself shall reward thee
openly*/' In the same manner with regard to prayer;
the rule is, " When thou prayest thou shalt
not be as the hypocrites are, for they love to
pray standing in the synagogues and in the
corners of the streets, that they may be seen
of men ; verily I say unto you they have their
reward. But thou, when thou hast shut thy
door, pray to thy Father which is in secret ;
and thy Father which seeth in secret shall
reward theesopenly -f."
Lastly, a similar precaution applies also to
the act of fasting ; " When ye fast, be not as
the hypocrites of a sad countenance, for the^
disfigure their faces that they may appear1
unto men to fast ; verily I say unto* you they
have their reward. But thou, when thou fastest*
anoint thy head and wash thy faee, that thou
appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy
* Matth. vi. i~- 4- t Ibid. 5—6.
m 4 Father

i69 , LECTURE VII.
Father which is in secret ; and thy Father
wjhich seeth in secret shall reward thee
.Openly*." _ In all these passages the point to be noticed
is a strong, and marked disapprobation of
every thing that looks like ostentation, parade,
vain-glory, insincerity, or hypocrisy, in the
discharge of our Christian duties. They show
in the .clearest light the spirit and temper of
the Christian religion, which is modest, silent,
retired, quiet, unobtrusive, shunning the ob
servation and. the applause of men, and look-.
ing only to the approbation of him who seeth
every thought of our hearts, and every secret
motive pf our actions.
They establish this as the grand principle.
of action for every disciple of Christ, that in
every part of his moral and religious conduct;
he is to have n6 other object in view but the
favour of God, This is the motive from
which all his virtues are to flow, If he is ac*
tuated by any other; if he courts the applause
<jf the world, or is ambitious to acquire, by a
show pf piety, a character of sanctity among .
men, he may perhaps gain his point; but it is,
* Matth. yi. 16— .18,

LECTURE VII. 169
all he will gain. He will have his reward
here ; he must expect none hereafter.
Having made this general observation' upon
the whole, I shall now proceed to remark on,
the particular instances adduced, in order to
establish the leading principle.
And first, we are directed to give our alms
so privately, that {as our Lord most emphati
cally and elegantly expresses it) " our left hand
shall not know what our right hand doeth."
This evidently implies the utmost secrecy in
the distribution of our charity ; and this Is
undoubtedly the rule we are in general to ob
serve, But it is by no means to be inferred
from hence that we are never, on any occasion,
to give our alms in public. In some cases,
publicity is so far from being eulpable, that it
is necessary, useful, and laudable, In con
tributing, for instance, to any public charity,
or^to the relief of some great calamity, private
or public, we cannot well conceal our bene-'
ficence, or if we could we ought not. Our
example may induce many others to exert a
similar generosity ; and besides this there are
persons in certain situations who are expected
to be charitable, and who should give proofs to
the

170 LECTURE VII.
the world that they are so. And accordingly
in these and in such like cases we are required
to make our " light so shine before men, that
they may see our. good works, and glorify our
Father which is in heaven *." As far there
fore as the reason of this command goes, it
is not only allowable, but our duty, to let our
generous deeds be sometimes known to the
world.. But then we ought to take especial
care at the same time that we bestow a much
larger proportion of our alms in secrecy and
in silence ; that we suffer no one to witness
our beneficence but Him who must see every
thing we do, and that we have no other object
whatever in view- but his approbation, and his
immortal rewards.
The next instance adduced to confirm the
general principle of seeking the approbation
not of men but of God, is that of prayer.
" When thou pray est, thou shalt not be as
the hypocrites are, for they love to pray stand
ing in the synagogues and in the corners of
the streets, that they may be seen of men ;
verily I s£y unto you, they have their reward.
But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy
* Matth. v. 16. .1
closet,

XECTURE VII. m
closet, and when thou hast shut the door, pray to
thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father
which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly,"
This passage has been made use of by some
writers as an argument against all public
prayer, which they say is here plainly prohi
bited. But for this there is not the smallest
foundation. It is of private prayer only that
our Lord is here speaking; and the hypo
crites whom he condemns were those osten
tatious Jews, who performed those devotions
which ought to have been confined to the
closet, in the synagogues, and even in the pub
lic streets, that they might be noticed and
applauded for their extraordinary piety and
sanctity. But this relproof could not possibly
mean to extend to public devotions in places
of worship. This is evident from the corners
of streets being mentioned; for those are
places in which public. devotions are never per
formed. But. besides this, we find in Scrip
ture that public worship is enjoined as a duty
of the highest importance. It made a consi
derable part of the Jewish religion, and the
Mosaic law is filled with precepts and direc
tions concerning it. God declares, by the
prophet

172 LECTURE VII,
prophet Isaiah, " that his house shall be called
a house of prayer for all people*." Our
Saviour quotes these very words when he cast
out those that polluted the temple ; and was
himself a constant frequenter of divine worship,
both in the temple and in the synagogues.
He taught his disciples (as we shall soon see) a
form of prayer, which, though very proper to
he used by any single person in private, yet is-
throughout expressed intbe plural number, and
adapted to the use of several persons praying.
at the same time. *' If two of you," says he to
his disciples on another occasion, " shall agree
on earth touching any thing that they shall
ask, it shall be done for them of my Fathey-
which is in heaven ; for where two or three
are gathered together in my name, there am
I in the midst of them-j-." By St. Paul we are
commanded "not to forsake the assembling of
ourselves together, as the manner of some is J;"
And we find, that after our Saviour s ascen
sion his followers " continued stedfastly in the
apostles doctrine and fellowship, and in prayer
and supplication, praising God, and having
favour with all the people §."
* Isaiah lvi. 7. % Heb. x. 25, .
t Matth. xviii. 19 — 20. § Acts ii. 43. 47. It

LECTURE VIL 173
It is therefore incontestably clear, that our
Saviour could not possibly mean to forbid that
public worship which he himself practised and
commanded. His intentions could only be
to confine our private prayers to private
places, in which we are to keep up 'a secret
intercourse with our Maker, withdrawn from
the eye of the world, and unobserved by any
other than that Almighty Being to whom our
petitions are addressed.
The last instance produced by our Saviour
is that of fasting. " When ye fast, be not as
the hypocrites of a sad countenance, for they
disfigure their faces that they may appear unto
men to fast ; verily I say unto you, they have
their reward. But thou, when thou fastest,
anoint thy head and wash thy face, that thou
appear not unto men to fast, but unto thy Fa
ther which is in secret; and thy Father which
seeth in secret shall reward thee openly."
There is very little necessity to dwell on
this precept here, for there are scarce any
in these times and in. this country who seem
disposed to make a show of fasting, or to be
ambitious of acquiring a reputation for that
kind of religious discipline ; on the contrary, it

174 LECTURE VII.
it is by great numbers entirely laid aside, and
too frequently treated with derision and con
tempt. Yet from this very passage we may
learn that it ought to be considered in a much
more serious light ; for although our Saviour
did not command his disciples to fast whilst he
was with them, yet he himself fasted for forty
days. He here plainly supposes that his dis
ciples did sometimes fast; and gives them
directions how to perform that duty in a man
ner acceptable to God. And it appears also,
that if they did so perform it, if they fasted
without any ostentation or parade, with a de
sign not to catch the applause of men, but to
approve themselves to God, he assured them
they should have their reward.
Before we quit this division of the chapter,
we must go back a little to that admirable
form of prayer which our Lord gave to his
disciples, after cautioning them against all
ostentation in their devotions.
This prayer stands unrivalled in every cir
cumstance that constitutes the perfection of
prayer, and the excellence of that species of
composition. It is concise, it is perspicuous*
it is solemn, it is comprehensive, it is adapted
2 to

LECTURE VII. 175
to all ranks,; conditions, and classes of men ; it
fixes our thoughts on a few great important
points, and impresses on our minds a deep
sense of the goodness and the greatness of that
Almighty Being to whom it is addressed.
It begins with acknowledging him tp be
our most gracious and merciful Father; it
begs that his name may every where be reve
renced, that his religion may.spread over the
earth, and that his will may be obeyed, by
men with the same ardour and alacrity and
constancy that it is by the angels in heaven.
It next entreats the supply of all our essential
wants, both temporal and spiritual; a suffi
ciency of those things that are absolutely ne
cessary for our subsistence ; the forgiveness of
our transgressions, on condition that we for
give our brethren; and, finally, support under
the temptations that assault our virtue, and
deliverance from the various evils and calami?
ties that every where surround us ; expressing
at the same time the utmost trust and confi
dence in the power of God, to grant whatever
he sees it expedient and proper for his crea
tures to receive. The

176 LECTURE VII.
The full meaning then of this admirable*'
prayer, and of the several petitions contained
in it, may perhaps be not improperly expressed
in the following manner :
O thou great Parent of the universe, our
Creator, our Preserver and continual Benefac
tor, grant that we and all reasonable creatures
may entertain just and worthy notions of thy
nature and attributes, may fear thy power,
admire thy wisdom, adore thy goodness, rely
upon thy truth; may reverence thy holy
name, may bless and praise thee, may worship
and obey thee. ' <¦
Grant that all the nations of the earth may
come to the knowledge and belief of thy holy
religion; that it may every where produce
the blessed fruits of piety, rightesusness, cha
rity, and sobriety ; that, by a constant endea
vour to obey thy holy laws, we may approach,'
as near as the infirmity of our nature will al
low, to the more perfect obedience of the
angels that are in heaven ; and thus qualify
ourselves for entering into thy kingdom of
glory hereafter. / ,..-.,. , . .
Feed us, we beseech thee, with food, convex
nient for us. We ask not for riches and he- "
--- nours;

LECTURE VII. 177
nours ; give us only what is necessary for our
comfortable subsistence in the several stations
which thy providence has allotted to us; 'and
above all, give us contented minds.
We are all, 0 Lord, the very best of us,
miserable sinners* Be not extreme, we beseech
thee, to mark what we have done. amiss, but
pity our infirmities, and pardon our offences.
Yet let us not dare to implore forgiveness from
thee, unless we also from our hearts forgive
our offending brethren.
We are surrounded, on every side, with
temptations to sin; and such is the corrup
tion and frailty- of our nature, that with
out thy powerful succour we cannot always
Hand upright. Take us then, O gracious
God, under thy almighty protection; and
amidft all the dangers and difficulties of our
Christian warfare, be thou our refuge and sup
port. Suffer us not to be tempted above
what we are able to bear, but send thy holy
spirit to strengthen our own weak endeavours,
and enable us to escape or to subdue all the
enemies of our salvation.
Preserve us also, if it be thy blessed will,
Vol. I. N not

m LECTURE VII.
not only from spiritual, ?but from temporal
evil. Keep us ever by. thy watchful, provi
dence, both outwardly in our bodies, and, in
wardly in our souls ; that thou, being in all
cases our ruler: and guide, we may sq^ pass
through things temporal as finally to lose not
the things eternal, ; ,
„ Hear us, O Lord our governor, from
.feeaven. thy dwelling place; and when thou
nearest, have regard to our petitions. They
are offered up to thee in the fullest confidence
that thy goodness will dispose, and thy power
enable thee to grant whatever thy vrisdona
seest to be convenient for us, and conducive
to: our final happiness.
The next thing which peculiarly demands
pur attention in this, chapter is the declaration
-contained in the 24th verse, which presents to
.us.anpther fundamental principle of the Chris
tian religion ; namely, the necessity of giving
ithe^V^ place in, pur hearts and our,, affections
to .God and religion, and pursuing other things
only in subordination, to those, great objejftsr
-" No man," says pur Lord, " can serve two
masters j for either he will hate, tjie, one and
Iov*

LECTURE VII. m
love the other* or else he will hold to the one
and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God
and;

mammon

*.

The word mammon is generally interpreted
to mean riches only ; but the original rather
directs us to take it in a more general sense, as
comprehending every thing that is capable of
being an object of trust or a ground of confi
dence to men of worldly minds; such as wealth,
power, honour, fame, business, sensual plea
sures* gay amusements, and all the other va
rious pursuits of the present scene. ]t is these
that constitute what we usually express by the
word world, when opposed to religion. Here
then: are the two masters who claim dominion
over us, God and the world ; and one of these
we must serve ; both we cannot, because their
dispositions and their commands are in gene
ral diametrically opposite to each other. The
world invites us to indulge -all our appetites
without controll; to entangle ourselves in the
cares and distractions of business; to engage
with eagerness in endless contests for supe
riority in power,' Wealth* and honour ; or to
give up ourselves, body and soul, to gaiety,
* Matth. vi. 24.
n 2 amusement,

180 LECTURE VIL
amusement, pleasure, and every kind of. luxu
rious indulgence. These are the Services
which one master requires. But there is an*
other master, whose injunctions are' of a very
different nature. That master is GoD,'iand
his commands are, to give him our hearts"; to
love him with all our heart, and soul*^ and
mind* and • strength : to die temperate in aU
things; to make our moderation known unto
all men ; to fix our affections on things above;
to have our conversation in heaven; to cast
all our care Upon' him; and to take up our
cross and follow Christ.
Judge now whether it be possible to serve
these two masters at one and the same time,
and te obey the commands of each; com
mands so perfectly contradictory to each
other. Yet this is what a great. part of mankind
most absurdly attempt; endeavour to divide
themselves between God and mammon^ to
compromise the matter as well as they can be
tween the commands of ©ne and the seduc
tions of the other; to vibrate perpetually be
tween vioe and virtue, between piety and plea
sure, between inclination and duty ; to render
a worldly

•LECTURE VH. !g i
a worldly Kfe and a religious life consistent with
each other ; and to take as much as they can
of the enjoyments and -advantages of the pre
sent world, without losing their hold on the
rewards of the next. . < ..-
Yet* in direct contradiction to so extrava<-
gant and preposterous a system as this, Christ
himself assures us>here that we cannot serve
two masters; that we cannot. serve God and
mammon. Our Maker expects to, reign ab
solute in our hearts ; he will not be served by
halves ;; he will not accept of a divided empire ;
he will not suffer us to halt between two opi
nions. We must take our choice, and adhere
to one side or the other. " If the Lord be God,
follow him; but if Baal, then follow him *."
But what then are we to do ? Are we to live
in a state of perpetual warfare and hostility
with that very world in which the hand of Pro
vidence has placed us, and which' is prepared
in various ways for our reception and accom
modation? Are we never. to taste of those va
rious delights which our Maker has poured so,
bountifully around us ? Are we never to in
dulge those appetites which he himself has >
* x Kings, xviii. 21.
n 3 planted

i Ss LECTURE VH
planted in our breasts ? Are we so entirely to
confine ourselves to the paths of righteousness*.
as never to enter those that lead to power, to
honour, to wealth, or to fame ? Are we to en
gage in no secular occupations, to make no
provision for ourselves and our families ? Are
we altogether to withdraw ourselves from the
cares and business and distractions of the
world, and give ourselves wholly, up to so
litude, meditation, and prayer ? Are we never
to mingle in the chearful amusements of so
ciety ? Are we not to indulge ourselves in the
refined pleasures of literary pursuits, nor wan
der even for a moment into the delightful
regions of science or imagination ? '
Were this, a true picture of our duties, and
of the sacrifices which Christianity requires
from. us; were these the commands of our di
vine lawgiver, well might we say with theastor
nished disciples, (i who then can be saved ?" •
But the God whom we serve is not so hard
a master, nor does his religion contain any
such severe restrictions as these. Christianity
forbids no necessary occupations, no reason
able indulgences, no innocent relaxations. It
allows us to use the world, provided we do not
abuse

xectttre-vii: -rs.3
aouse it; -• It does ntot spread before uk a deli-
ciousibanquet, and then -come -with a "touch
not, taste not, handle -not*." , All it requires
-is, that our liberty degenerate not into licen
tiousness, our amusements into dissipation, our
industry into incessant toil, our carefulness into
extreme anxiety and endless solicitude. So far
from forbidding us to engage in business, it ex-
.pressly commands us not to be slothful in it-}-,
and to labour with our,hands for the things that
-be needful; it enjoins every one to abide in-
the calling wherein he was called j:, and per
form all the duties of it. It even stigmatizes
those that provide not for their own,- with tel
ling them that they are worse than infidels §.
When it requires us " to be temperate || in ail
things," it plainly tells us that we may use all
-things temperately ; when it directs us " to
-makej our moderation known unto all men ^f,"
thii evidently implies that within the bounds
of moderation we may enjoy all the reasonable
'conveniences and comforts of the present life.

¦* Coloss. ii. 21.

-¦¦¦'.- ,R ZC<.

§ i Tim. v. 8.

*f Rom. xii. ii'.

1 Cor.iv. 12.

|| i Cor.ix:. 25.

% i Cor. vii. 20.

«ff Philip, iv. 5.

¦ •: . 3sf 4

But

184 lecture >yil
_. But hpjv. then are we to reconcile this.par-
ticipation, in the. concerns of . the present life,
with those very strong. ^declarations .of. serip-*-
ture, " that we are not to be .conformed to this
world; that the friendship of the world is. en?
mity with Gael,; that we are to. take na. thought-
for the morrow; that we, are to .lay up trea-.
sures no where but in heaven j, that we are to
pray without ceasing ;, that weiare to. do all
things to the glory of God ; that we are not
only to leave father, mother, brethren, and
sisters, for the sake of Christ and his gospel,
but that if we do not. hate all these near and
dear connections, and even our own lives, we
cannot, be his disciples *."
These, it must be acknowledged, are very
strong expressions, and taken in their strict
literal sense, do certainly imply that we are to
abandon every thing that is most dear and
valuable and delightful to us in this fife, and '
to, devote ourselves so entirely to the contemn
plation and love and. worship of God, as not:
_ ¦< , v '¦¦»¦ ¦ - v sd '¦* o - - '•:"
* Kom.xii. 2." Jam. iv. 4. Matth. vi. 20.34.
1 Thess.v. 17s. !* Ephes.-vi,-i8. ' 1 Cor. x. ^x.^l^^i
xjv- 26. ¦ - "-* ----- XQ

LECTURE VIL 18s
td'b'estOw a single thought dri any thing else,
or to give ourselves'the smallest concern about
the affairs of this sublunary state. 'v
But can any" one imagine this to be the real
doctrine of scripture?" "You may rest assured
that nothing so~uHre&sonable and extravagant
is: to be fairly deduced from these sacred
writings-; -lent ,-vr.vio.
In order then to "clear up this most important
point, three thingsare to be considered.
First, that werethese injunctions to be un
derstood in their literal signification, it would
be utterly impossible for us to continue a week
longer in the world. v If for instance we were
bound to pray without ceasing, arid to take
no thought whatever for the morrow, we must
all of us quickly perish for want of the com
mon necessaries of life,
'•-¦ 2dly. It must be observed that all oriental
write rs^i both sacred and profane, are accus
tomed- to express themselves in bold ardent
figures? and metaphors, which, before their
true meaining can be ascertained, require very
considerable, abatements, . restrictions, and li
mitations, 3dly,

186 LECTURE>VII.
3dly. :What is: most of all to the purpose*
these abatements are almost.'constantly pointed
out by scripture itself; and whenever a very
strong and forcible idiom is made use of, you
will generally find, it explained and modified
by a different expression of the same senti*-
ment, which either, immediately follows, or
occurs in some other passage- of Scripture, ol
Thus in the present instance, when Christ
says, "Ye cannot serve God and mammon;
therefore take no thought for your life what
ye shall eat and what ye shall drink, nor yet
for your body what ye shall put on:" thisismost
clearly explained a! few,, verses after in these
words, " Seek yefirji the kingdom of God ahcl
his righteousness, and all these things fhall be
added unto you*." The meadirig therefore of
the precept is evidently this ; not that we- are
absolutely to take no thought for our life, and
the means of supporting it; but rthat ouf
thoughts are not to' be wholly or principally
occupied with these things: x.<; We are riot .to,
indulge an immoderate and unceasing anxiety
and solicitude about them:., for that indeed is*
, *. Matth. vi. 25, 33. the

LECTURE VII. 187
ihe true meaning of the original word [tepifivau.
In our English Bible that word is translated
take no thought; but at the time when our
translation was made, that expression signified
only be not too careful. Oup hearts, as it is
expressed; in another place, are not to be
¦overcharged with the cares of this life*, so as
td exclude all other concerns, even those of
religion.
. In the same manner with respect to plea
sures, we are not forbid to have any love for
them ; weare only commanded not to be lovers
of pleasure more than lovers of God-f*.
When therefore it is said, ye cannot serve
God and mammon, the point contended for
in respect to God is not exclusive possession,
but exclusive dominion. Other things may
occasionally for a certain time, and to a cer
tain degree, have possession of our minds, but
they must not rule, they must not reign over
them. We cannot serve two masters ; we can
serve but one faithfully and effectually, and
that one must be God. The concerns and
pomforts of this life may have their due place
* Luke, xxi. 34. f 2 Tim, iii. 4. in

188 LECTURE VII.
in our hearts, but they must not aspire to thg
first ; this is the prerogative of religion alone;
religion /must be supreme and paramount
ever all. Every one, it has been often- said,
has his ruling passion. The ruling passion of
the Christian must be the love of his Maker
and Redeemer. This it is which must jpn'ra-
cipally occupy his thoughts,, his time, his at
tention, his heart. If there be any thing
else which has gained the ascendancy over our
souls,; on which our desires* our wishes, oar
hopes, our fears, are chiefly: fixed, God is then
dispossessed of his rightful. dominion over us;
we serve another master, and we shall think
but little of our Maker, or any thing belong^
ingtohim. His empire over our hearts must, in short
at all events be maintained. When this point
is onee secured, every inferior gratification)
that is consistent with his sovereignty, his
glory, and his" commands', is perfectly allow
able; every thing that is hostile to them
must at once be renounced.
This is a plain rule, and a very important
one. It is the principle which our blEssed
- 5- Lord

LECTURE VII. 189
Lord meant here to establish, and it must be
the governing principle of our lives.
Next to this in importance is another com
mand, which you will find in the 12th verse
of the seventh chapter;- " All things whatso
ever ye would that men should do to you, do
ye even so to them; for this is the law and the
prophets "i- As the former precepts which we
have been considering relate to God, this re
lates to man ; it is the grand rule by which
we must in all cases regulate our conduct to
wards our neighbour ; and it is a rule, plain,
simple, concise, intelligible* comprehensive,
and every way worthy of its divine author.
Whenever we are deliberating how we ought
to act towards our neighbour in any parties
lar instance, we must for a moment change
situations with him in our own minds, we must
place him in our circumstances and ourselves
in his, and then whatever we should wish him
to -do "to Us, : tkat we are to do to him. This
is a process, in which, if we act fairly and im
partially, we can never be mistaken. Our
own feelings will determine our conduct' at
once better than all the casuists in the world. But

W LECTURE VII.
But before we entirely quit the considera
tion of this precept* we must take some notice
of the observation subjoined to it, which will
reqtrire a little explanation.
*' Whatsoever ye- would that men should do >
to you* do ye even so to them ; for this is the
law and the prophets."
- The concluding clause, this is the law and
the prophets, has by some been interpreted to
mean, this is the sum and substance of all
religion ; as if religion consisted solely in be
having justly and kindly to Our fellow crea
tures, and beyond this no other duty was re
quired at our hands. But this conclusion is
as groundless as it is dangerous and uri-
scripturaL There are duties surely of another order,
equally necessary at least, and equally im
portant with those we owe to our neighbour.
. There are duties, in the first place* owing to
oUr Creator, whom we are bound to honour,
to venerate, to worship, to obey,' and to love
with all our hearts and souls, and mind, and
strength. There are duties owing to our Re»
deemer of affection, attachment, gratitude, faitn

, LfECTUR^BL 191.
faith in his divine mission, andreliance on the
atonement he made for us on the cross. There
are- lastly, acts of discipline and self-govern
ment to be exercised over our corrupt propen
sities and irregular desires. Accordingly, in
the very chapter we have just been consider
ing, we are commanded to seek first the king
dom of God and his righteousness. We are
in another place informed, that the love of
(jpd is the first and great commandment,
and the love of our neighbour only the second;
and, we are taught by St. James that one main
branch of religion is to keep ourselves unspotted
from the world*. It is impossible therefore
that our blessed Lord could here mean tp say,
that our duty towards our neighbour was the
whole of his religion; he says nothing in fact
of his religion ; he speaks only of the Jewish
religion,. ,,the - law and the prophets; and pf
these he only says that one of the great ob
jects they have in view is to inculcate that
same, equitable conduct towards our brethren,
which he here recommended-'j-. .
< * Jamesj. 27. ...',' 'j;.,...
f Se^ chap, xxiu, 40. Jtom, xiii. 8. Gal. v. 14, and
Crotius on this verse*
Let

192 LECTURE VII.
Let no one then indulge the vain imagina*
tion that a just, and generous, and compas*
sionate conduct towards his fellow creatures
constitutes the whole of his duty, and will
compensate for the want of every other Chris
tian virtue.
This is a most fatal delusion ; and yet in
the prfesent times a very common one. Be-
nev6lence is the favourite* the fashionable vir
tue of the age ; it is universally cried up by
infidels and libertines as the first and on'ly
duty of man ; and even many who pretend
to the name of Christians, are too apt to
rest upon it as the most essential part of their*
religion, and the chief basis of their title
to the rewards of the gospel. But that gos
pel, as we have just seen, prescribes to ui
several other duties, which require from us
the same attention as those we owe to our
neighbour; and if we fail in any of them*
we can have no hope of sharing in the be
nefits procured for us by the sacrifice of Our
Redeemer. What then God arid nature, as
well as Christ and his apostles, have joined to
gether,

LECTURE VII. 193
gether, let no man dare to put asunder. Let
no one flatter himself .Wjith obtainins: the re-
wards, or even escapipg -the punishments of
the Gospel, by performing only one branch of
his duty ; npr let him ever suppose that under
the shelter of benevolence he can either on
the one .hand evade the first and great com
mand, the loxe of his .Maker ; or on the other
hand that he can securely indulge his favour
ite passions, can compound aa it were with
God for his sensuality by acts of generosity,
and purchase by his wealth a general licence
to sin. This may be, very gpod pagan nior
rality, may be very good modern philosophy,
but it is not Christian godliness.
As it is my purpose to touch only on the
most important and most generally useful parts
of our Saviour's discourse, I shall pass over
what remains of it, and hasten to the con
clusion, which is expressed by the sacred his
torian in these words : " And it came to- pass,
that when Jesus had finished these sayings,
the people were astonished at his doctrine ;
for he taught them as one having autho
rity, and not as the scribes*." Both his
*' Matth. vii. 28, 2q.
Vol. I. O matter.

194 LECTURE VII.
matter and his manner were infinitely beyond
any thing they had ever heard before. He did
not, like the heathen philosophers, entertain
his hearers with dry metaphysical discourses
on the nature of the supreme good, and these-*
veral divisions and subdivisions of virtue ;» nor
'did he, like the Jewish rabbies, cqntent him
self with dealing out ceremonies and traditions,
with discoursing on mint j and cummin, and
estimating the breadth of a phylactery ; but
he drew off their J attention from these trivial
and contemptible' things to the greatest and
the noblest objects ; the existence of one su
preme Almighty Being* the Creator, Pre
server, and Governor of the universe : the first
formation of man; his fall from original inno
cence ; the consequent corruption and depra
vity of his nature ; the remedy: provided for
him by the goodness of our Maker and] the
death of our Redeemer; the nature of that
divine religion which he himself came to reveal
to jnankind ; the purity of heart and sanctity
of life which he required ; the communications
of -God's holy spirit to assist our- own feeble
endeavours here, and a crown of immortal
glory to recompense trs" hereafter. The

LECTURE VII. 195
The morality he taught was theipurest, the
soundest, the sublimest, the most perfect that
had ever before entered into the imagination,
or proceeded from the lips of man, < And this
he delivered! in a manner the most striking
and impressive. ; in short, sententious, solemn,
important, ponderous rules and maxims, or in
familiar, natural, affecting similitudes and pa
yables. He shewed also a most consummate
¦knowledge of the human heart, and dragged
to -light all its artifices, subtleties, and eva
sions. He discovered every thought as it
arose in the mind ; he detected every irregu
lar desire before it ripened into action. He
manifested at the same time the most perfect
impartiality. He had no respect of persons.
He reproved vice in every station wherever he
found it, with the same freedom and boldness ;
and he. added to the whole the weight, the
irresistible weight of his own example. He
and he only of all the sons of men, acted up in
every the minutest instance to what he taught ;
and his life exhibited a perfect portrait of his
religion. But what completed the whole was,
that he taught, as the evangelist expresses it,
with authority, with the authority of a divine
o 2 . teacher.

i-gs LECTURE YIL
teacher. The ancient philosophers could dd
nothing more than give good advice to their
followers ; they had no means of enforcing
that advice J but our great Lawgiver s pre
cepts are all divine commands. He spoke
in the name of God : he called himself the
Son of God* He spoke in a tone of superio
rity and authority, which no one before bad
the courage or the right to assume : and final-
ly, he enforced every thing he taught by the
most solemn and awful sanctions, by a promise
of ' eternal felicity to those who obeyed him*
and a denunciation of the mOst tremendous
punishment to those who rejected him.--
'These were the circumstances which gave
our blessed Lord the authority with which he
spake. No ' wonder then that the people
" were astonished at his doctrines ; and that
they all declared he spake as never man
spake*." * John vii. 46*

[ 197 'J

LECTURE Vltf

Matth. viii,
r| ^ H E eighth .-chapter of St. Matthew^ a
-*»¦ part of which will, be the subject, of
this Lecture, begins with the miraculous cure
of the leper, which is related. in the -following
manner: ,u
" When our Lord was come down from the
mountain great multitudes followed him, and
behold there came a leper and worshipped him, '
saying, Lord, if thou wilt thou oanst make me
clean. And Jesus put .forth his hand and
touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean :
and immediately his leprosy was cleansed..
And Jesus saith unto him, see thou tell no
man; but go thy way, shew thyself to the
priest, and offer the gift that Moses coniT-
'manded, for a testimony unto them?"
The leprosy is a disorder of the most mar
lignant and disgusting nature. It was once
o 3 -common

198 LECTURE VHT.
common in Europe. Those infected with it
were called Lazars, who were separated from
all human society (the disease being .highly
contagious) and were confined* in hospitals
called lazarettos, of which it is said there
were no less than nine thousand at one. time
in Europe. For the last two hundred years
this distemper has almost entirely vanished
from this and other countries of Europe, and
an instance of it now is but seldom to be met
with. In the East it still exists to a cer
tain degree ; and there in former ages it had
its source and origin, and^ raged for a great
length of time with extraordinary violence.'
In the law of Moses there are very particu
lar directions given concerning the treatment
of lepers, and a ceremonial appointed for the
examination of them by the priest vMen they
were supposed to be cured. But no naUifal
remedy is prescribed by Moses for the* cure' of
it. It was considered by the Jews as a disease
sent by God** and to be cured only by his in
terposition. There could' not therefore be a
stronger proof of our Saviour's divine power
than his curing this most ' loathsome disease,

IlE-CI URE-VIH. 199
»f whiclf manyiinstances besides^'this occur in
the G ospels. do The manner ; too. in- which he
performed this cure was equally, an evidence
that all the fulness* of the Godhead dwelt in
him * ; it was instantaneous, with a touch,
and a few words,/, and those words the most
sublime and dignified that can be imagined :
I will; be thou clean : and, immediately
the leprosy departed from him. This was
plainly the language as well as the. act of a
God. I will; be thou glean.
Yet with all this supernatural power there
was no ostentation or parade, no arrogant con
tempt of ancient ceremonies and institutions
{which an enthusiast always tramples under
foot) ; but on the contrary a perfect submission
tp the established laws and usages of his, coun
try. He said to the man who was healed,
" See thou tell no man ; but go thy way, shew
thyself to the priest, and offer the gift that
j Moses commanded, for a testimony unto
them." Here he gave at once a striking ex
ample both of humility and obedience. r; He
enjoined the man to keep secret the astonish
ing miracle /he had wrought, and he com-
* Coloas. ii. 9.
p 4 manded

200 LEC^tlrtE Mil
matided Mm to comply with the injunctions of
Moses ; to shew himself to the priest* to un
dergo the examinatiffri, and to offer the sa
crifice prescribed by the law*; fahich at the
same time that it shewed his disposition to
fulfill all righteousness, established the truth
of the miracle beyond all controversy* by
making the priest hifnself the judge of the
reality of the cure. This'1 was not the mode
which an impostor would have chosen.
After this miracle, khb next incident that
occurs is the remarkable and interesting story
of the centurion, whose servant was cured of
the palsy by our Saviour. ¦ The relation of this
miracle is as follows ; " When Jesus was en
tered into Capernaum, there came unto him a
centurion, beseeching him and saying, Lord,
my servant lieth at home sick' of the palsyi
grievously tormented -j-. Arid Jesus saith unto"
.•;';',; -.•' him,
* Lev. xiv.
f In the parallel passage of St. Lifke, chkp. vii. itis said
that thecentiirion sent messengers to Jesus; bitt no men*
tion is made of his coming to him in person. Thisfdiffi-
culty may be; cleared up by observing, that in seriptiire-
what any person does by- his messengers he-i's.frgqutfntty'
represented as doing by himself. Thus Christ, who
preached to the Ephesiahs by his apostles, is said to have
preached

LECTURE VIII. soi
him-, I will come arid heal him.,. The centu
rion answered and saids, Lord-, I am not worthy
that thou shouldest come under my roof, but
speak the word only, and my servant shall he
healed. For lam a man under authority,
having soldiers under me ; and I say ittnto this
man go, and he goeth ; and to another come*
and he cometh ; and to a third do this, and
he doeth it. When Jesus heard it, he mar
velled, and said to them that followed him^
Verily I say unto you, I have not found so
great faith, no, not in Israel. And Jesus said
unto the centurion, go thy way ; and as thou
hast believed, so be it done unto thee : and
his servant was healed in the self-same hour."
preached to them himself. Eph. ii. 17- But it seems to
me not at all improbable, 'tiiat the cetoturidn may bdih
have sent messengers to Jesus, and afterwards igone to
him in person. " JNot thinking himself worthy" (as he
himself expresses it)'to goto Christ in the first instance,
he sent pro'bably the elders 6f the JeWs, and then some
of 'his friends, to implore our Lord to heal 'his servant,
nqt meaning tp give him the trouble of coming to his
house. But when he found that Jesus was actually oa
his way to him, what was more "natural for him than to
hasten out of his houfe to meet him, andto 'make his
acknowledgments to hhn in.person. ?

202 LECTURE VIII.
This is the short and edifying history tof the
Roman eenturion ; and the reason of its being
Recorded by the sacred writers was, in the first
place, to give a most striking evidence of our
Saviours divine power, which enabled him to
Testore the centurion's servant to health at a
distance, and without so much as seeing him ;
and in the next place to set before us, in the
^character of the centurion, an illustrious ex
ample of those eminent Christian virtues, hu
manity and charity, piety and generosity,
humility and faith. _ m „
Of the former of* these virtues, humanity
and charity, he gave a very convincing proof
in the solicitude he shewed for the welfare of
his servant, and the strong interest he took in
the recovery of his health. And this1 is the
more remarkable and the more honourable
to the centurion, because in general" the treat
ment which the servants of the Romans < ex?
perienced from their masters was very different
indeed, from what we see in the present in
stance. .¦¦ These servants werev almost all of
them skives, and were too commonly treat?
ed with extreme : rigour and 'druelty.cn They
were often strained tp labour beyond! their
strength,

LECTURE "VIII. 203
strength, ¦ were confined to loathsome dun-
georis, were loaded with chains, were scourged
and tortured without reason, were deserted in
sickness and old. age, and put to death for tri
vial faults andslight suspicions, and sometimes
out of mere wantonness and cruelly, without
any reason at all. Such barbarity as this,
which was at that time by no means uncom
mon, which indeed has in a greater or less
degree universally prevailed in every country
where slavery has been established, and which
shows in the strongest 'light the danger of
trusting* absolute power of any kind, political
or personal, in the hands of such a creature
as man ; this barbarity, I say, forms a most
striking contrast, to the kindness and compas
sion of the centurion, who, though he had so
much power over his slaves, and so many in
stances of its severest exertion before his eyes,
yet made use of it as we here see, not for
their oppression and destruction, but their
happiness, comfort* and preservation.
The next virtues which attract our notice
in the centurion's character are hi$ piety and
generosity. These were eminently displayed
in the affection he manifested towards the
Jewish

C04 LECTURE VIII.
Jewish people, and his building them a place
of worship at his own expence ; for the elders
of the Jews informed Jesus, " that he loved
their nation, and had built them a syna-
gogue ,
The Jews, it is well known, were at this
time under the dominion of the Romans,
Their country was a Roman province, where
this centurion had a military command ; and
they who are acquainted with the Roman
history know well with what cruelty, rapacity,
and oppression, the governors and command;-
ing officers in the conquered provinces too
commonly behaved towards the people whom
they were sent to keep in awe. So far were
they -from building them temples or syna?
»gogues, that they frequently invaded even
those sacred retreats, and laid their sacrilegi
ous hands on every thing that was valuable in
them. Of this we have abundant proofs in
the history of Verres, when governor of Sicily ;
and Verres was in many respects a faithful re-^
;presentative of too large a part of the Roman
governors. In the. midst of this brutality and
insolence of power does this gallant soldier
* Luke vii. 5. stand

LECTURE VIII. 205
stand up to patronize and assist a distressed
and an injured people ; and it is a testimony
as glorious to his memory as it is singular and
almost unexampled in his circumstances, that
he loved the Jewish nation, and that he gave
a very decisive and magnificent proof of it,
by building them a synagogue ; for there
cannot be a stronger indication both of love
to mankind and love towards God, than
erecting places of worship where they are
wanted*. Without buildings to assemble in,
there
* There is a most dreadful want of this nature in the
western part of this great metropolis. From St. Mar-
tin's-in-the-Fieldsto Mary bone church inclusive, a space
containing perhaps 200^000 souls, there are only five
parish churches, St. Martin's, St. Anne's Soho, St.
James's, St. George's Hanover Square, and the very
small church of Marybone. There are, it is true, a few
chapels interspersed in this space ; but what they can
contain is a mere trifle, compared to the whole number of
inhabitants in those parts, and the lowest classes are al
most entirely excluded from them. The only measure
that can be of any essential service, is the erection of
.several spacious parish churches, capable of receiving
very large congregations, and. affording decent accom-?
modations fpr the lower and inferior, as well as the higher
orders of the people. In the reign of Queen Anne, a
considerable sum of money was voted by Parliament for
fifty new churches. It is most devoutly to be wished that

206 LECTURE VIII.
there can be no public worship. Without
public worship there can be no religion ; and
what kind of creatures men become without
religion; into what excesses of barbarity, fe
rocity, impiety* and every species of profli
gacy they quickly plunge, we have too plainly
seen ; God grant that we may never feeL
The next remarkable feature in the cha
racter of the centurion is his humility. How
completely this most amiable of human vir
tues had taken possession of his soul, is evident
from the manner in which he solicited our
Saviour for the cure of his servant : how cau
tious, how modest, how diffident, how timid,
how fearful of offending, even whilst he was
only begging an act of kindness for another !
Twice did he send messengers to our Lord,
that the present Parliament would, to a certain extent
at least, follow so honourable an example'. It is, I am
sure, in every point of view, political,- moral, and reli
gious, well worthy the attention of the Britjsh legislar ,
ture. A sufficient number of new parish churches,
erected berth in the capital and in other parts of the
kingdom where they are wanted, for the use of the mem
bers of the church of England of all conditions, w,oj^
very essentially conduce to the interests of religion, and
'the security and welfare of the established Church. as

LECTURE VIII. 207
as thinking, himself unworthy to address him
in his! own person ;'< and when at our Saviours
approach to his house he himself came out to
meet him, it was only to entreat him not to
trouble himself any further; for that he was
not worthy that Jesus should enter under his
roof. This lowliness of mind in the centurion is
the more remarkable, because humility, in the
gospel sense of the, word, ,is* a virtue with
which the ancients, and more particularly the
Romans, were totally unacquainted. They
had not even a word in their language to de
scribe it by. The only word that seems to
express it, humilitas, signifies baseness, servi
lity, and meanness of spirit, a thing very dif
ferent from true Christian -humility ; and in
deed this was the only idea they entertained
pf that virtue. Every thing that we call
meek and humble, they considered as mean
and contemptible. A haughty imperious
overbearing, temper, a high opinion of their
own virtue and wisdom, a contempt of all
other nations but their own, a quick sense and
a keen resentment, not only of injuries, but
even of the slightest affronts, this was the fa
vourite

208 LECTURE VIII.
vourite and pr^d^fpajnantcharaoter among fckg*
^lon1a«Js; andfthat gentleness ©f ,disposition>f
that low estimation of our owji , merits^; that
ready preference of otheRs to* ourselves, ¦ that ;
fearfulness of giving offence^ tiiat- abasement
of ourselves in the sight of God which we calir
humility, they considered as the mark<of a-
tame, abject, and unmanly mind. When-
therefore we see this virtuous centurion dif*
fering so widely from his countrymen in this
respect, we may certainly conclude that his
notions of morality were of a much higher
standard than theirs, and that his disposition
peculiarly .fitted him for the reception of the ,
Gospel. For humility is that virtue, which,;
more than any other, disposes the mind to!
yield to the evidences, and embrace the doc*1
trines of the Christian revelation. It is that
virtue which the Gospel was peculiarly meaiidf>
to produce, on which it lays the greatest stress*
and in which perhaps,- more than any otheiv
consists the true essence aad vital principle of ^
the Christian temper. '' We therefore find the
strongest exhortations to it in almost every
page of the Gospel. '* I say to every man'
that is among you," says St. Paul, " not to
m think

-LECTURE^ VIH. %o%
think more highly of himself than he Ought
to think,;but to think soberly, ii Mind not high
things : be not wise in your own conceits,
but condescend to men o'f low estate. -Stretch
not ypurselves beyond your measure. -Blessed
are the poor in spirit, says our Lord, for
theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever
shall humble himself as a little child, the
same . is greatest in tile kingdom of heaven.
Though the Lord be high, yet hath he respect
to the lowly. As for the proud, he beholdeth
them afar off. Humble yourselves in the sight
of the Lord, and he shall lift you up. God
resisteth the proud, but giveth grace to the
humble. Learrt of me, says our Saviour, for
I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall
find rest unto your souls *."
I come now lastly to consider that remark
able part of the centurions character, more
particularly noticed by our Lord, <i mean his
faith. " I say unto you I have not found so
greatfaith, no, not in Israel." Now the reason
of the high encomiums bestowed on him by
* Rom. xii. 3. 6. 2 Cor. x. 14. Matth. v. 3.
xviii. 4. Psalm cxxxyiii. 6. James, iv. 6. 10. Matth.
xi. 29.
Vol. I. P our

si* Lecture viil
our Saviour5 on. this account was, because '$h
reasoned himself into a belief of our Lord <
power to work miracles, even at andistance :
because be who had been bred up in the prin
ciples of heathenism, and whose only .guide
was the light of nature* did notwithstanding
frankly submit himself to sufficient evidence,
and was induced by the accounts he had re
ceived of our Saviour's doctrines and miracles,
to acknowledge that he was a divine person.
Whereas the Jews, to whorir he was firsthand
principally sent, who from their infancy were
instructed in the Holy Scriptures, in' which
were such plain and express promises of the
Messiah, and who actually did expect his com1
ing, about that time, suffered themselves to he
so blinded by their prejudices and passion^
that neither the unspotted sanctity of Iiis life,
the excellence of his doctrine, nor the repeat?
ed1 and1 astonishing miracles which he wrought*
could1 make the- slightest' impression on the,
greater part of that stubborn people. £ Hence
we may see how impossible it is for any dej
gree of evidence, to eonrince those, whobare
determined 'not to be convinced ; and what
little hopes there, are pf ever satisfying mo-
5 dern

mm infidels* if j they vrilt: not rbe' content
with ..'the proofs ithey already -kaue^ ./They
are cont inually eompkimngrfohiwai?* of evi->
dende ; and so were the Je^siJilwa^feaeB^Jng
out for new signs and new wonders, even
when miracles were daily wrought before their
eyes. We -may therefore say 'of the former
what our Saviour said of the latter, ** if they
bear not Moses and the prophets* neither will
they be persuaded, though One rose from the
dead*.!'l«It is possible, we find, for incredu
lity to resist even ocular demonstration; and
when obstinacy*sijs$fiity, and vice have got tho
rough possessions of the heart, they will not only
subdtie reason and enslave the understanding^
but even bar up all the senses, and shut out
conviction at every inlet to thevmind. > Thi^
was most eminently the case with some of the
principal Jews. Because our Saviour's appear
ance did not correspond to their erroneous and '
preconceivedidea of the Messiah, becausfe^he
wsfirnnH a triumphant ipririce, a tierrJpofal herd
and deliverer ; bufcklkere{a11, ¦ becatfise 'foe up"
braided them .with: their vices, and' preached
?rlLiik^ Xvi&i.

212 BJTCTTBRE VHL
up repentanceuahd reformation, every testi*
mony that he. could give of his. divine autho*
rity and power was rejected with: seoraxK ?In
vain did he feed, thousands with a handfbi of
provisions ; in vain did )he «end awsajr disease^
with a word;; in vain did he make tiffibgEeraa
give back their dead, rebuke the windsaaad
waves, and evil spirits still more nrwulyiahd
obstinate than they. ^ In answer* to* all -ithia
they could say, "Is not this the carpenter^
son ? Does he not eat and drink with pufefo
Cans and sinners, and with unwashen hand&<?-
Doeshe not even break the sabbath, by cdm*
mahding sick men to carry their beds on thai?
sacred day* t" These, doubtless* were unaiGH
swerable arguments against miracles, signs/
and prophecies* against the evidence of sense
itself, against the universal voice of matu>e9
bearing testimony to Christ.** j - <i . _- - j--ii
!>' The honest centurion, on the^co^frary^wijh<4
Qiit any Judaical prejudices t0^dtetort?4iisi&ii8
dersranding, with out a«kitfga^
impertinent questions afob\it the birth mf&mfflfl
of Christ, attends ^nlyt'o1 the ^facts; Wfew hhrlP
" * Matth. ix. 1 1. xiii. 55." twle/xi. 38. JoJin^ VV lU v"

EECTJUIEJEV Villi 213
had j heard of Jesus, had heard: of. his un
blemished* Me, his heavenly doctrines, his nu
merous and astoiiislaafg* miracles, had heard
them confirmed by^mtehrtefttimony as no in-
getauBBii* mind could resist, v.' He immediately
surrenders himself up to such convincing evi
dence j, and so far from requiring (as the Jews
continually did, and as modern sceptics still
do'Xrhore and stronger proofs, he seems afraid
ofrafeewingthe slightest distrust of our Saviour's
power. -tU He declares his belief of his being
able tQ performv<a ;miracle at any distance;
and entreats him mot to give himself the trou*-
ble of coming to his house in person* but to
speak the word only and ihis servant should
be healed. nmii^if0B'-tU\Hi'>.\ip%^: "*id?,* i-W
This* then, is the disposition of mind we
ought more particularly to cultivate; that
freedom from self-sufficiency and pride and
prejudice of every kind, that simplicity and
singleness of heart which is open to conviction,
and receives, without resistance, the sacred im-
prjessionsi of truth. , It is the want of this, not
of evidence, that still makes infidels in Europe
as it did at first in Asia. '\ It is this principle
operating in different ways which now imputes
P 3 to

:2 u B® C T wm % .;in.
±0 fraud ami eoHtision. those miracles4midi the
.Jews -ascribed to : Beelzeboab ; i which now. re*
jeers alL human testbnony, as it formerly, did
reVen the percepiions ¦0fisen$&Atiw?9m*tv v- •?
,:: Such were the distinguished virtues of? this
•^excellent . centurion, the; contemplatien ibf
,whase character t suggests* to us* a wdriety..^f
^important remarks. t3audiWfc Bu&ttfjteffeflhtWrr
¦L The .'first is, that the. miracles of our Lofd
. had the full^t credit give& to them, nM mty
(as is sometimes asserted) by -low, ^bscM^fejrig*
Koran t, and illiterate men, <but by **Ae^f*v:bf
-rank and ichawswaterj by men of the>world^by
men perfectly icarrrpetenti to ns©er-tairi the
-truth of any facts presented to their obsfcrvai
tion, land .not likely to be imposed- Upon by
•false, pretences. -Of » this description. was the
centurion here mentiotsedy thg: Romferi pro-!
r consul Sergius Paulus,v©ionysius a in^rflfeei
, of the: supreme court of Areopagiaa al'^fehMty
rand several ;otj»frs:o|^flal^i^i^and.#n4
sequence- ' r ?*>'>' ' - ' '" ¦'' ; : '-»k.#- - <¦ v. ' '•v-jA'*!
^ 'Secondly, the ArstdByo of ¦:; the centurion.
'teaches us»:thatthereris;.no situation ^idife,
ho occupation^ no .profession, however unfa-
- vourable itimayb 9ppjeat;tif the ^ItiyatitJri^of
."" 7 - religion,

I/ECf UREVIII. 215
religion* which precludes the possibility or ex-
emptsruafrom the obligation of acquiring those
good dispositions, and exercising those Chris*
tian virtues which the Gospel requires; j Men
:bf the world are apt to imagine that religion
was not made for them ; that it was intended
•only1 for those who pass their days in obscurity,
retirement, and solitude, where they meet with
'nothing to interrupt their devout eonterripla-
tionv no allurements to divert their attention,
and seduce their affections from heaven and
¦¦ heavenly things. ¦«¦ But as to those whose lot is
¦ past in the busy and the tumultuous scenes of
Hfe,, whoare engaged in various occupations
and? <pwfes$ion8, or surrounded with gaieties,
with pleasures and temptations, it cannot fee
Expected that: amidst all these impediments,
intemrptions,: and attractions, they can give
riip niach of theiir time and thoughts to another
cgaadafid-fetantworki^when they have so many
ftter^sethat|H«sl9iipon them and arrest their
attention in this. >i#f*>j:p -
nn^fege, ^lam persuaded, are the real senti
ments, and they are perfectly conformable to
the actual practice of a large part of mankind.
But to? ttU, these pretences the instance of the
p 4 centurion

gpswer^ lie was by hjfetei#B8*bfi in life -aysaan
of the world. . His pTplesjjioji mfotk&imbkk
pf.all others is 'generallyeorisideFed^cas'/m^t
adverse to ^religious sentiments and v habrfcg,
jnost .; contrary to the peaceful,: bumane*q wsd
gentle spirit of the Gospel^ and most exposed
to the fascination of gaiety, pleasure, thought
lessness, and dissipation-. Vet amidst all tfeasft
obstructions to purity of heart, tQcmaoldnass
of; disposition and sanctity of manners, we; see
this illustrious cbnturiost risingaboveialhthte
disadvantages of his situation, and instfiadiiof
sinking into, vice and^frejigion, becomkigfa
model of piety and humility, and aH these
virtues which necessarily spring from sjaApriril
ciples^sr/This is an unanswerable .prop$ that
whenever men abandon themselves toampifeljfs
infidelity,^ and profligacy, the fault is not in
the situation but in the heart ; and that there
is no mode of life, no employment or proies>
sion, .which may not, if we please, be naadi
consistent with a sincere belief in the- Gospel}
and with the practice .-. of every duty we owe
to our. Maker,-j our Redeemer, f our fellow^
creatures, and ourselves,. ,< No?

£ECOTM^vnr. fir
i" Nor is this theonly instanee>in point ; for it
is extremely remarkable, and well Worthy out
attention;, that among1 all thfe various charac
ters we meet within the New Testament, there
are few represented in a more amiable light,
m spoken of in stronger terms of approbation,
than. those of certain military men. Besides
tinfe? centurion who is the subject of this Lec
ture* it was a centurion who at our Saviour's
crucifixion gave that voluntary, honest, and
unprejudiced testimony in his favour, *' Truly
this was the Son of God* ." It was a centurion
who generously preserved the lifeof St. Paul,*
when a proposition was made to destroy him
after hi® shipwreck on the; island of Melita -j-.
It was a centurion to whom Saint Peter was
sent by the express appointment of God, to
make him the > first convert among the Gen
tiles :i a; distinction of which he<; seemed, in
every respect, worthy ; being, as we are told,
*f a just and a devout man, one that feared*
God with all his house, that gave much alms
to the people, and prayed to God alway %."&<,>
6 "We See then that our centurion was not the
only military man celebrated in the Gospel for
* Matth. xxvii. 54, t Acts, xxyii. 43; % Acts* x. Q,Jk
his

sis LECTURE VIIL
last pjiet^jland' virtue 5. nor tare there* wanting,
¦fibamfcGod, distinguished instances-of the same
-kucui''ini our? own age,. in our :own matiioali^
among j our own oommandlersi" andiaitheeTe*
uentjnerhsoryi of every one hiei».pi«sen^ $^fli
which lexamples tend 'to oonfirm tkey&lrisesv)®*
toon already made; of the perfect consistency
«&-a military, and every other, ifiodenof lifei
with aiwara belief in the. doctrines and a con*
scientions obedience to the precepts Qfieligio^.
Thirdly, there is still another reflection aris
ing from this circumstance, with which I shall
conclude the present Lecture ; and this is, that
when we observe men bared up in arms repeat
edly spoken of in scripture in such strong terms
of commendation as those we have mentioned,
we are authorized to conclude, that the profes
sion they are engaged in is not, as a mistaken
sect of Christians amongst us professes to think,
an unlawful one. On the contrary, it seems
to be studiously placed by the sacred writers
in a favourable and an honourable light ; and
in this light it always has been and always
ought to be considered. He who undertakes
an occupation of great toil and great danger,
for the purpose of serving, defending, and pro
tecting

LECTURE VIII. 219
tecting his country, is a most valuable and
respectable member of society; and if he can-
ducts diimself with valour, fidelity, and human
ity, andiamidsti the horrors of war cultivates
the gentle manners of peace,' and the virtues
of a devout and holy life, he most amply ide-
<gerves, and will assuredly receive the esteem^
the admiration, and the applause of his grate
ful country* and what is of still greater im*
jjortaace, fthe^ approbation pf his God, >

[ MO ]

LECTURE IX.
, Matthew x.

i 'h>

I NOW proceed to the consideratiojii of $m
10th Chapter of St. Matthew.
In the preceding chapter we find our Savi
our working a great variety of miracles. He
healed the man that was sick of the palsy,
and forgave his sins ; a plain proof --of his" divi
nity, because none but God has the power and
the prerogative of forgiving sins ; and there
fore the Jews accused him of blasphemy for
pretending to this power. He also cured the
wpman who touched the hem of bis garment,,
He raised to life the deceased daughter ofthef
ruler of the synagogue. He restored to sight:
the two blind menthat followed, him ; and he.
cast, opt from a dumb- man the devil?, with
which hewas possessed, apd restored him to his
speech. These., miracles are particularly re
corded :

LECTURE IX. 221
corded: but besides these there must have been
a prodigious number wrought by him, of
which no distinct mention is made ; for we
are informed in the ' 3,1 st verse that he werit
about all. the cities and villages teaching in
their synagogues, and preaching the gospel pf
the kingdom, and healing every sickness and
" every disease among the people.
These continued miracles must necessarily
have produced a great number of converts.
And accordingly we find the multitude of his,
followers was now so great, that he found it
necessary to appoint some coadjutors to him
self in this great work. " The harvest truly
is plenteous, says he to his disciples, but the
labourers are few;" pray ye therefore the
Lord of 'the harvest, that he would send forth"
labourers into his harvest*."
These labourers he now determined to
send forth i' and in pursuance of this resolution
We!fmd him iri the beginning of this chapter
calling together his disciples, out "of whom he
selected twelve^ called by St. Matthew apos
tles or mbs&feHgef s, whom he sent forth to
preach the ^gSs^el*,1 arid furnished them with
-'-'r * Mwh.ix. 37/33; ample

ample powers for that purpose ; powers "silok
&s:, nothing less than Omnipotence , could bed
stow* The names of thes apostles wero^s
follows: Peter, Andrew* James, John, Philip*
Bartholomew* Thomas,! Matthew,^ another;
James* Thaddeus or Jude, Simon/'Juda& Isjsa*
riot*. These twelve persons* St.- Matthew tells-.
us* Jesus sent forth* and commanded them&,
saying, " Go not into the way of the Gentiles*.
and into any cities of the Samaritans enter y€t
not; but go rather to the lost sheep of the
house of Israel; and as ye go, preach, sayings
The kingdom of heaven is at hand*." ? This:,
was the business which they were sent to ac*
complish; they were to go about the; count fy,
of Judaea, and.jto preach to the Jews in the*
first place the holy religion which their divine <
master had just began to teach. ^Then follows
their powers; " heal the sick, cleanse the le*
pers* raise the dead, cast out devils/' ^ srn--r(h
After this come their instructions, and a
variety of directions how-to conduct tbe©r*>I
selves in the discharge of their arduous and,.-
important mission, of which I shall take notice*/
hereafter i but must first »pffer to your consul t
* Matth, x, a-r-3. deration

LECTURE IX. ***
deration a few remarks on this extraordinary"
designation of the apostles to their important
office;"/ fiu'taoua mli -[iQ't-vjitam' &':'i' jv>-\:
And in the first place* who were the men
singled out by ouft blessed Lord -for the puiv-
pose of diffusing his religion through the
world ; that is* for the very singular purpose
of persuading men to relinquish the religion
of their ancestors, the principles they had im-*
bibed from . their infancy, the customs, 'the
prejudices, the habits, the^ways of thinking
which they had for adong course of years in-*
dulged, and to adopt in their room a system "
of thinking and r acting in- many respects di-»*
rectly opposite to them ; a religion exposing
them to many present hardships and severe >
trials, and referring them for their reward to';
a distant period of time, and an invisible*
world. Was it to be* expected that such a
change as this, such a sudden arid violent re-
ydiition in the minds" of men,**1 could be
brought about by common and ordinary in- '<"
struments ? Would it not require agents of af
very superior order, of eonsiderable influence ¦'•:
from their birth and wealth and' situation in 1
life, men of the profoundest erudition, of the
x>r "•¦r.? brightest

224 LECTURE IX-
brightest talents, of the most consummate
knowledge pf the world and.the human heart,
of the most insinuating manners, of the most
commanding and fascinating eloquence ?
Were then the apostles of this description?
Quite the contrary. They were plain, hum
ble, unpretending men, of low birth and low
occupations, without learning, without educa
tion, without any extraordinary endowments,
natural or acquired, without any thing in
short to recommend them but their simplicity,
integrity, and purity of manners. With
what hopes of success could men such as these
set about the most difficult of all enterprizes,
the reformation of a corrupt world, and the
conversion of it to a new faith ? Yet we all
know that they actually did accomplish these
two most arduous things, and that on the
foundations they . laid the whole superstruc
ture of the Christian church has been raised,
and the divine truths of the Gospel spread
through all parts of the civilized world. How
then is this td be accounted for ? It is utterly
impossible to account for it in any way but
that which Christ himself points out, in this
very charge to his apostles : " Heal the sick,*' says

LECTURE if. . ill
says he to them in the 8 th verse, cleanse the
lepers, 'false the dead, cast out devils." Here
is the explanation of the whole mystery. It
was tKe powers with' which they were invested,
the miracles they were, enabled to perform,
which procured such multitudes of converts.
The people saw that God was with them, and
that therefore every thing they taught must
be true.
Here is at once a sufficient cause assigned.
for the effect produced by agents, apparently
'so unequal' to the production of it. We chal
lenge all the infidels in the world to assign
any other adequate cause. They have never
yet done it; and we assert with confidence
that they never can.
These then were the powers the Apostles
carried'aloiig with them ; and where shall we
find the sovereign that could ever, furnish his
ambassadors with such qualifications as these ?
If they we're asked with what authority they
were invested, and what proofs they could
give that they were actually commissioned to
instruct mankind iii the principles pf true- re
ligion, by that great personage the Son of
God, whose servants and ministers they pre-
Vol. I. Q- -tended

226 LECTURE IX.
tended to be, their answer was short and de
cisive" ; bring us your sick, and we will heal
them ; shew us your lepers, and we will
cleanse theiri; produce your dead, and we
will restore them to life. It would not be
very easy to dispute the authenticity of such
credentials as these. ;¦-¦
It is further to be observed on this head,
that the circumstariee of our Saviour not only
working miracles himself, but also enabling *
others to perform them, is an instance of dL-
vine power, to which no other prophet or
teacher before him, true or false, ever pre
tended. , In this, as in many other respects,
he stands unrivalled and alone.
After this follow some directions, no less
singular and new. " Provide neither goldo
nor silver, nor brass in your purses, nor scrip :.
for your jourriey, neither two coats, neither )
shoes, nor yet staves*." ¦...-•;
That is, they were to take a long journeys
without making any other _ provision for it
than. the staff in their hand, and the clothes
they had on, for, says Jesus, the .workman
is worthy of his meat; an intimation that the
* Matth, x. 9 — 1*0. providence

LECTURE IX, ^7
providence of God would watch oyer and: sup
ply their wants; This required some confi
dence in their Master ; and unless they had
good grounds for thinking that it was in his
power to engage Providence on their side
(or in other words, that he was actually the
Son of God) they would scarce have run the
risk of so unpromising an expedition. But
this conclusion grows infinitely stronger when
we come to the declaration in the next and
following verses. " Behold I send you forth
as sheep in the midst of wolves ; be ye there
fore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
But beware of men ; for they will deliver you
up to the councils; and they will scourge you
in the synagogues ; and ye shall be brought
before governors and kings for my name's
sake, for a testimony against them and the
Gentiles ; and the brother shall deliver up
the brother to. death, and the father the child ;
and the children shall rise up against their
parents, and cause them to be put to death ;
and ye shall be hated of all men for my
name's sake*." * Matth. x, 16, 17, 18, 21* 22,

228 LECTURE IX.
What now shall we say to this extraordi
nary and unexampled declaration ?
When a sovereign sends his ambassadors to
a foreign country, he makes an ample pro
vision for their1 journey, he assigns them a
liberal allowance for their support, and gene<-
rally holds out at the same time the prospect'
of a future reward for their labours and their
services to their country on their return from
their embassy. And without this few men
would be disposed to undertake the com
mission. But here every thing is the reverse; in
stead of support, they were to meet with' per-'
secution ; instead of an honourable reception,
they were to experience universal hatred and'
detestation ; instead of reward, they were to
be exposed to certain ruin and destruction,
and to be let loose like so many sheep among-'
wolves. Can we now conceive it possible that any
men in their senses should, without some very
powerful and extraordinary r motive, volun* ;
tarily undertake such a commission as this, in
which their only recompence was to be afflic
tion, misery, pain, and death ; in which all
3' the

L'ECTURE IX. 229
the- natural affections of the human heart were
to be-extinguished or inverted, and their near
est relations, their parents, children, or bre
thren, were to he their persecutors and exe
cutioners ? Is it usual for human beings wan
tonly and needlessly to expose themselves- to
such evils as these, without the least prospect
of any advantage to themselves or their fami-
Jies ? You may say perhaps that simple, igno
rant, uneducated men, like the apostles, might
easily be deluded by an artful leader, and
betrayed into very dreadful calamities, and
that we see multitudes thus deceived and
ruined every day. It is true ; but where in
this case is the art of the leader, or the delusion
of his followers ? In the cases alluded to, men
are induced to embark in perilous undertak
ings, and to run headlong into destruction, by
fair promises and tempting offers, by promises
pf liberty, of wealth, of honour, of popularity,
of glory. But here, instead of employing any
art, or making any attempt to deceive his fol
lowers, our Saviour plainly tells them they
are to expect nothing but what is most dread
ful to human nature. Whatever they suffered
q 3 therefore

230 LECTURE IX.
therefore they suffered with their eyes open,
and -frith their own free choice and consent.
It is true they were plain ignorant men; but
they could feel pain, and they could have no
more fondness for misery and death than other
people. Yet this they did actually and chear-
fully undergo at the command of their Lord.
How is this to be explained and accounted
for ? Is there any instance upon record before
this in the annals Of the world, where twelve
grave sober men, without any reason, and
without being misled by any artifice or delu
sion whatever, voluntarily exposed themselves
at the desire of another person to persecution,
torment, and destruction ! There must have
been some most cogent reason for such a
conduct as this ; and that reason could- be
nothing less than a full and perfect conviction*
arising from the miracles which they saw with
their own eyes, and which they themselves
were enabled to perform, that Christ was
what he pretended to be, the Son of God;
that all power was given to him in heaven and
pn earth* and that he was able to fulfil the
promises he had made them of a recompence

LECTURE IX. 231
in -a future life, - infinitely surpassing in mag
nitude and in duration all the sufferings they
could experience in the present world.
This is the only rational account to be given
of their conduct, and it presents to us in a
short compass a strong convincing evidence of
the truth of the Christian revelation.
In order to fortify the minds of his disciples
against the severe trials they were to undergo,
our blessed Lord, in the 28th verse, adds the
following exhortation : " Fear not them which
kill the body, but are not able to kill the
soul; but rather fear him which is able to
destroy both soul and body in hell."
This passage contains a decisive proof of two
very important doctrines, the existence of a
soul distinct from the body, and the continu
ance of that soul after death (both of which,
in direct opposition to this and many other
passages of- scripture, some late writers have
dared to controvert); and it plainly refers the
apostles to the consideration of a future life, in,
which all their views, their hopes and fears,
were to center, and by which their conduct
in this world was entirely to be regulated.
The worst their enemies could do to them in
q 4 this

232 LECTURE I£.
this life was to kill the body, which must some
time or, other be destroyed by age or disease.
But God was able to kill the soul, which 'was
formed ' for immortality, to annihilate it at
bnce, or to condemn it to everlasting punish
ment. It was therefore of infinitely more
consequence to avoid his displeasure, and to
secure his approbation by performing their
duty, than by shamefully deserting it to escape
the infliction of the bitterest evils that theif
fellow creatures could bring upon them.
In conformity to this advice he tells therri,
*' that he that endureth to the end shall be
saved : and that he who loses his life for his
sake in this world, shall find it in a far more
exalted sense, in the next*,"
This was solid comfort and substantial supr
port. But unless, our Lord had given them"
irresistible miraculous evidence of the reality
of this future reward, unless they had abso*-,
lute demonstration pf its certainty, it was ut
terly impossible that they could be so mad as
to sacrifice to this expectation every thing
most valuable in this life, and even life itself,
* Matth- x. 22—39, ;
As

LECTURE IX. 233
, . As a still further suppprt under the terrify
ing prospect which our blessed Lord had held
up to. the apostles, he assures them that the
providence of God would continually super
intend and watch pyer there.
" Are pot two sparrows, says he* sold fpr
a farthing, and one of them shall not fall to
the ground without your Father; but the
-very hairs of your head are all numbered.
Fear ye not, therefore, ye are of more, value
than many sparrows*."
Here we have that most important and
comfortable doctrine of a particular Provi
dence plainly and clearly laid down.
That he who erected the immense and
magnificent fabric of the universe will continue
to regard and to preserve the work of his own
hands, and piaintain what is called the general
order of nature, apd the ordinary course of
human affairs, is so consonant to reason and
Common sense, that few even of the pagans
who believed the being of a God, entertained
any doubt of this general superintendence of
the Deity over the worlds he has created, and
the inhabitants he has placed in them. But
* Matth. x,j3Q, 30, 31. > when

234 LECTURE IX.
when we descend from this comprehensive
view of things to the several constituent parts
of the general system, and to every individual
of every species of animated beings dispersed
throughout the whole; when we reflect how
very inconsiderable a place this globe that, we
inhabit holds amongst the celestial bodies, how
very small a portion it occupies of unbounded
spaceSi and how infinitely minute and insig
nificant every human creature must appear in
the vast mass of created beings, we can hardly
think it possible that the care of the Supreme
Being should extend to ourselves ; we cannot
help fearing that we shall be }ost and over
looked in the immensity of creation, and that
We are objects far too small and minute to
fall within the sphere of our Maker's observa^
tion. The more we reason on this .subject,
the more ground we shall find for these appre
hensions ; and there is nothing, I will venture
to say, in the whole compass of what is called
natural religion or modern philosophy, that
can in the smallest degree tend to allay or to
remove these natural, these unavoidable mis
givings of the human mind.
Here then is one of those . many instances in

LECTURE IX. 235
m which we can have no certainty, no solid
ground for the sole of our foot to stand upon,
but in the Gospel of Christ. Our reason, though
sent out ever so often in search of a resting
place, returns to us, like Noah's dove, when
the waters covered the earth, without any
token of comfort. It is scripture only which
in this important point can give rest unto our
souls. There we are assured that every indi
vidual being, even the least and most contemp
tible, even the sparrow that is sold for less
than a farthing, is under the eye of the Al
mighty ; that so far from man being too in
considerable for the notice of his Maker, the
minutest parts of his body, the very hairs of
his head, are all numbered. These very strong
instances are plainly chosen on purpose to quiet
all our fears, and to banish from our minds
every idea of our being too small and insigni
ficant for the care and protection of the
Almighty. , This most consolatory doctrine of a par
ticular Providence, of a Providence which
watches over every individual Of the human
race, places the .Christian in a situation to
tally different from that of every one who
disbelieves

235 LECTURE IX.
disbelieves revelation. The latter must con
ceive himself under no other government
but that of chance or fortune, and of course
must consider the whole happiness of his life
qs exposed every moment to the mercy of the
next accident that may befal him. The true
believer on the contrary has the most perfect
conviction that he is constantly under the pro
tection of an almighty and merciful God, in
whom he lives, and moves, and has his being ;
*' whose eyes are over the righteous, and whose
ears are open to their prayers ;" that there-*
fore if he lives, so as to merit the approbation
of his heavenly Father, he has every reason
to. hope for such a degree of happiness, even
here, as the iriiperfection of human nature will
admit ; and he is certainjhat nothing dreadful
can befai him without the knowledge and per
mission of his great Protector, who will even
in that case support him under it, and render
it ultimately conducive to his good.
The next passage in this chapter to which
I shall direct your attention, is that very re
markable one which has furnished the enemies
of Christianity with so much pretence for oblo
quy and invective against the Gospel, and has
been

LECTURE JEX. 237
been the source of no small uneasiness arid
dismay to some of its warmest friends. The
passage I mean is this; " Think not" (says our
Lord) " I am come to send peace on earth, I
came not to send peace but a sword; for I am
conie to set a man at variance against his
father, and the daughter against her mother,
and the daughter-in-law against her mother-
in-law, and a man's- foes sha'H'Jbe those of his
own household*."
What shall we say now (exclaims the infi
del) to this extraordinary declaration ? Here
we have' the Author of the Christian religion
himself openly and explicitly avowing that he
came to send a sword upon earth, to dissolve
all the tender endearing ties of domestic af
fection, to set the nearest relatious at variance,
and to arm them with inextinguishable rase
and rancour against each other.
But can this be really the sense of our Sa- '
viour's words? Can He mean to denounce war
and destruction to the human species ? He
whose Whole religion breathes nothing but
peace, gentleness, kindness, and compassion, to
every human being ; who made charity or the
love of man the great characteristic mark, of
* Matth. x. 34, 35; 36. his

238 LECTURE IX.
his religion : who expressly'forbade hisdisci^
pies " to call down fire from heaven" on those
who had. insulted them; who in this very
chapter commanded them " to be harmless as
doves; and declared that he came not to de
stroy men's lives, but to save them * ?" It is
evidently impossible that the author of such
precepts and such professions could mean lite
rally to spread ruin and desolation, over the
earth. What then was his meaning ? It was
to obviate an error into which the apostles
would be very apt to fall, and which probably
our Saviour saw rising in their minds. You
tell us (they perhaps said within themselves),,
you tell us that we shall be persecuted, tor
mented, and put to death, and that, even by
those who are most nearly connected with us*
But how is this possible ? How can all this
happen under your protection, under the reign
of the Messiah, the Prince of Peace,
under whom we have always been given to
expect tranquillity, repose, and happiness ? To
this supposed reasoning our Saviour answers;
You are mistaken in your idea of that peace,
which I, your Messiah, am to give you. . It is
not immediate temporal, peace, but peace in
• Matth. x. 16. Luke.ix. 56. a spiritual

LECTURE IX. 239
a spiritual sense, peace in your own minds, and
peace with God. Ultimately indeed I shall
establish peace in every sense of the word, and
" shall make wars to cease in all the world*;"
but at present, and indeed for many years to
come, I shall not bring peace but a sword
upon earth. The promulgation of my reli
gion will be productive of much dissension,
cruelty, and persecution, not only to you, but
to all those who for many ages afterwards
shall preach the Gospel in purity and truth.
The true cause of this will be the wickedness
and the ferocious passions of men ; but the
occasion and the pretence for it will be the holy
religion which you are to promulgate. In this
sense, and in this only, it is that I may be
said to bring a sword upon earth ; but they
who really bring it, are the open enemies or
pretended friends of the Gospel.
Still it is said by the adversaries of our
faith, that however these Words may be inter
preted, the fact is, that Christians themselves
have brought a sword, and a most destructive
sword, upon earth: that. they have persecuted
one another with inconceivable rancour and
* Ps. xlvi. 9- . , fury;

240 LECTtRE fe
fury,' arid that their dissensions have' pro
duced more bloodshed, misery, and desolation,
airiorig mankind, than all the other Wars of
contending battens put together.'
To this I answer in the first jilace, that the*
charge as here' stared is not tru'e. It is' not
true that wars of religion have bee*ri more fre
quent and more sanguinary than any others.
On ,the contrary, it may be proved in the'
clearest manner, from the most authentic facts,
that by far the' greatest number of wars'! alj'
well as the lorigest, most extensive,' and most
destructive, have beeri bwirig to causes purely
political, and those too sometimes of the most'
trivial nature. And if we can allow m'eii to1
harass and destroy One another for a me*re*
point of honour, or a'fe\v acres of land, why
should we think it strange to see them defend-'
ing, with the same heat and bitterness, what1
they conceive to be the most essential requi
site to happiness both here and hereafter ?'
2dly'.' I must observe, that a very large part1
of those ' ariimositiesjwars', and massacres, which''
have" been usually stiled religious, and with4
the entire giiilt of which Christianity has been"
very unjustly loaded, have been altogether, or at' '

LECTURE IX. 2*1
at least in a great measure, owing to causes of
a very different nature ; tp the ambitions the
resentment, the avarice, the rapacity of prin
ces and of conquerors* who assumed the mask
of religion to veil their real purposes, and who
pretended to fight in thp pause of Gpd^nd,
his phurph, when they had in reality nothing
else in view than to advance their power or
extend their dominions. All history is full of
instances of this kind.
.. 3dly. It should be remembered, that the
wildest excesses of religious persecution did
not take place till the world was overrun with
•barbarity, ignorance, bigotry, and superstition ;
till military idea? predominated in everything*
in the form of government, in the temper of
the laws, in the tenure of lapds* in the ad
ministration of justice itself; and till the
Scriptures were shut up in a foreign tongue,
and were therefore unknown to the people.
It was not therefore from the Gospel,, but
from a total ignorance of the Gospel, from a
total perversion of its true temper,. -genius,
and spirit, that these excesses and enormities
arose. 4thly. That this is the real truth of the case
Vol. I. R appears

24s LECTURE* iX.
appears demonstrably from this circumstance,
v that when after the reformation the Scrip?
tures were translated into the several verna?-
- cular languages of Europe, and the real na-r
«ture of the Christian revelation became, of
course more generally known,'tbe violence of
-persecution began to abate; and as the saw
cred writings were more and more Studied*
and their true sense better/understood, the
baneful spirit of intolerance lost ground every
day, and the divine principle of t Christian
charity and benevolence has been continually
gaining freshj strength; till at length, at the
present moment, persecution by Christians on
the score of religion only has almost entirely
vanished from the face off the earth ; and we
may venture to indulge the hope, that wars of
religion, strictly so called,* will be heard of no
rnore.- >*-oqx- biuow .uu*. tbIiovr odi
i;I now proceed to explain the verses immerb
diateiy folio wing that which we have been jus^f
eonsidering. .znoiidm;
<¦ >J "I am come, says outLord, to set a manat
variance against his father, and the daughter,!
against her mother,, arid the daughter-in-law
against her mother-in-law, and a. man's foes
shall fee those of his own&ousehold." This

LECTURE IX J 243
« This passage is a clear proof that the cala
mities and miseries predicted in the. preceding
verse relate- primarily and principally to the
apostles themselves, because these words are
almost a repetition of what our Lord applied
to t hem in the 2 7th verse, " The brother shall
deliver up the brother to death, and the father
the child ; and the children shall rise > up
against their parents, and cause. them to Jae
put to death *."-Qi,.v"> "C^auM..:. j^niq.. i
Now as these cruelties were inflicted on^the
apostles, not by believers, but by unbelieving
Jews and heathens', that is* by the enemies of
the Gospel, it is evident, that when our Sa
viour says he came to' set a man at variance
against his father, and so on, he meant only
to say, that the religion which he taught would
meet with the most violent opposition from
the world, and would expose his apostles and
disciples to c the 'most unjust and inhuman
treatment, even sometimes from their nearest >
relations* .*rr u$rs ¦¦¦&
* Our Lord then goes on to say, ".He that
loveth father and mother more than me, is not
worthy of me -f." This has an evident refe-,
'-'-""¦ *'MatthiX. gl.tWfii-m-t Matth. x, 37.: ?,;• -y^
" bULs^.R 2 v;.r*ev ¦-•¦¦¦on-r rence

244 LEQTURE IX.
rence to the two preceding verses ; in which
our Lord had declared, that amidst the va
rious miseries that would be occasioned by the
wickedness and barbarity of those who re
jected and resisted the Christian religion, dist
sentions would arise even among those most
nearly connected ' with each other,, and the
true Christian would sometimes find his bit
terest enemies even in the bosom of his own
family. A father would perhaps persecute
his own son, and a mother her daughter,, on
account of her religion opinions, and would
by argument and by influence endeavour to
persuade, or by: authority and power to. com
pel them to abjure their faith. In cases such
as these our Lord/here intimates,, that- when
the choice is between renouncing our nearest
relations and renouncing our religion, we must
not hesitate a moment what part we. are to
take ; we must, to obey God rather: than man*
we must give up-all and 'follow Christ. ;*' He
that love th father and mother more than me,
is not worthy of me; and he that loveth son
and daughter more thari me,: is not worthy of
me*." That is evidently when the nearest and
* Acts, v. 29. dearest

LECTURE IX; 245
dearest ""relations come in competition with
our belief in Christ, and obedience to his
commaiid's, our affection for them and defe-
rehce to their opinions must- give place to
love for our Redeemer and attachment to oust
Maker. ' In the parallel place of St. Luke this pre
cept is expressed in still stronger terms. *' If
any man come to me, and haie nothis father
and mother* and wife, and Children, and bre
thren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he
cHimet be my disciple *!/'
The mind of the reader is at the first view
a-pt to revolt attihe seeming ^harshness of this
^eclaratiOfl ; : beftit is evidently nothing more
than a bolder and ¦more "figurative way (ac
cording to a well-known Hebrew idiom)- of
conveying the very "same sentiment fihat St.
Matthew clothes in gentler iawgtoage. It
means nothing more than that we ought to
entertain a more ardent affection for our hea
venly Father ^h&n for our earthly parents ;
and that his eomtnainds must be preferred to
theto'S "Whenever they happen to interfere. And-
* Luke, xiv. 26.
R 3 in

\f6 LECTURE IX.
in the same mariner several other ''apparently
severe injunctions in' the "'Gospel aretobe ex
plained "arid mitigated brothers of the same
import, but more perspicuously : and more
mildly expressed; - .^$?i • l\:\w
But we are not only enjoined to love Christ
and his religion more than, our nearest rela
tions, where they happen tointerfere, but even
more than our own life, ''. He that taketh
not his crossLand followeth' after me, is not
worthy of m,ef .''.,. This plainly alludes to. the
custom of persons who were going to be cru
cified bearing r their own cross; and the lite
ral and primary meaning is,: that we should
be ready, if called upon„to undergo even that
-painful and ignominious death, rather than
^renounce our faith. This indeed is a most
.severe trial ; but it is a trial which it, is not only
our duty but our interest to, undergo, if reduc
ed to the necessity either of forfeiting our life,,
or renouncing our allegiance to Christ. For
we are told here by our Lord himself, that
" he who findjeth his life shall lose it, and he
that loseth his life for his sake, shall find \tj\-."
That is, whoever to save his life apostatizes
* Matth. x. 3ft. „ f Ibid. 39. from

LECTURE IX. 247
from h^, faith, shall he,, punished with the loss
p£ that life which alone .deseryes the name,
life everlasting. But he who sacrifices his life
fto his religion in this world,, shall be rewarded
with eternal life in the world to come.

i '24$ j

LECttJRE X,

Matthew xii.
^TH H E next chapter which seems more pe-
-*- culiarly to deserve our attention, and to
require some explanation arid illustration, is
the 1 2,th chapter of St, Matthew.
. It begins thus : " At that time Jesus went
on the sabbath-day through the corn, and his
disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck
the ears pf corn and to eat; ]3ut when the
Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, behold
thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do •
on the sabbatl>day. But he said unto them,
have ye not read what David did when he
was an hungred, and tliey that were with him j?
How he entered into the, house of God, and
did eat the shew-bread, which it was not law*;
ful for him to eat, neither for them which were •
with him, but only for the priests £ Or have ye

LECTURg X. . 249
ye riot read ih the law* how that on the sab
bath-day the priests in the temple profane
the sabbath, and are blameless ? But 1 say
Urito you, that in this place is ? one greater
than the temple. But if ye had known what
this mearieth, I will Imve mercy and, not shcH-
itfiee, ye would hot have condemned the guilt
less ; for the Son of rrian is Lord even of the
sabbath-day .: And wheri he was departed
thence* he went into the synagogute. Arid
there was a rrian which had hfe harid witherefl;
and ^he'y asfeed him, saying, is it lawful to
heai oh 'the sabbath-d'ay"? that they might ac*
cuse him. Arid fee 'said: unto them, fifoai man
shall there be among you that shall have dne
sh'eep, arid if it fail into a pit on the sabbath-
day, will he riot lay hold on it, arid lift it out?
How much then is a mail better than a sheep ?
Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the feab-
bath-day. Then kaifh hfe to the m'an, stretch
forth thine ha'nd. Arid he stretched it forth,
arid it #as 'restored whole like the other."
Alth'Orighh'ere are two different transactions
related, that 6f p'ln'ckiWg-'thte ears of corri, arid
healing the withered harid, yet as they are
closely connected together by the evangelist,' and

250 LECTURE X.
and relate to the same subject, the observation
of -the sabbath, I. have recited J the whole pas
sage comprehending both, these incidents at
length, that you might have before you,-; at
one view all that our Saviour has said on this
important -'"branch of our duty, and that we
might fully understand what kind of rest it is
that our blessed Lord judged to be necessary
on the Jewish sabbath, and what limitations
and exceptions to it he admitted ; from whence
we may form some judgment what our. own
duty is on that holy day which we justly call
The Lord's Day, and which must be. con
sidered as the Christian sabbath. : k _ <bs*u
From 'this- passage., as. well .as from many
others, it appears, that the Jews had their, eyes
constantly fixed on Jesus and his followers,
and most anxiously sought out for pppojtuni-
-ties of fastening some ¦, guilt upon them.. It
appears also -that they.. were extremely unfor
tunate in these attempts,. and compelled (as
in the presentinstance) to. have recourse, to.tho
silliest and most, trivial charges ; and eyen these
* tpraed Out to. be perfectly ,unfojunded.,i Prom,
.whence I think we may fairly draw this infe-
rencevtkat the character and .conduct of our
Lord

LECTURE X- 251
Lord and his disciples were perfectly blame
less; since with all the industry of so many
sharp-sighted observers, so extremely well dis
posed to discover guilt or to make it, they
could fiidd no real fault in him.
The pretence on this occasion was, that the
disciples, by plucking a few ears of corn and
eating them as they passed through a corn
field on the sabbath day, had violated the rest
of that holy day, and thus transgressed the
Mosaical law. . But to this our Lord replied,
that in cases of extreme necessity the severity
of that law might be dispensed with and re
laxed. As a proof of this, he. appealed first
to the example of David* the man after God's
own heart, who (as may be seen in 1 Samuel,
xxi. 6.) when he and his men were reduced to
great streigbts for want of food, asked and ob
tained from i^himelech the priest a part of the
consecrated bread which had been taken from
the altar, apd which it was not lawful for any
but the priests to eat- The other instance he
adduced was that of the priests themselves,
who ip the necessary service of the temple on
the sabbath-day were obliged to work with
their own hands, by lighting J;he fhs&s, killing
t' the

252 LECTURE X.
thfe vi'ctirhs, offering up the sacrifice's, &c,
This iri ahy other persons would havebe¥n
cbri'sidered as profanations of the sabbath ; but
in the priests who Wvere engaged in the duties
of religion it was hot.
These arguments addressed to a Jew were
in thterrisfelves unanswerable ; befcaiise they ap
pealed to the practice of persons whom the
Jews held sacred,' and whose conduct they
iduTSt not condemn. But they went still fur
ther than this; they werit to establish this
general principle, that there might be obliga
tions of a force superior even to the law1 bf
Moses, arid to which it ought in certain cases
to 'give way ; as in the first instance to the
pressing demands of necessity, irith'e other to
the services of the temple.
alf theii ih these cases the law might be dis
pensed with, s'tilimore might it be overruled by
kf powder paramount- to every other power, by
him Who Was far greater and holier than the
temple itself, fS*ho was Lord even of the sab-?
batfi, who was indeed supreme Lord over all,
arid might therefore authorise his disciples, in
a case of recall Urgency, to depart a little from
the Tigouf" of ttta sabbatical rest. v v- .
-- . It

LECTURE^ X. 255
It should be observed here, that where St.
Matthew says, " the Son of man is Lord even
of the sabbath-day ;" St. Mark, in the paral
lel place, expresses himself thus : "• The sab
bath was made for man, and not man for the
sabbath." , That is, the sabbath was given to
man for his benefit, for the improvement of
his soul, as well as for the rest of his body ;
and the latter, when necessary, must be sa->
erified to , the former. For man was not
made for the sabbath ; was not made to be a
slave to it, to be so servilely bound down to the
strict pharisaieal observance of it, as to lose
by that rigorous adherence to the fetter, op
portunities of doing essential service tp him-
selfand his fellow creatures.
To this irresistible force of reasoning our
blessed Lord adds another argument of con
siderable weight: " If ye had known, says he,
what this meaneth, I zeill have mercy, and not
sacrifice, ye would not have condemned tfe&
guiltless." The quotation is from the prophet
Hosea ; the words are supposed to be those of
God himself; and the meaning is, according
to a well-known Jewish idiom, I prefer mercy
to sacrifice ; that is, when any ceremonial in>-
stitution

254 LECTURE X.
stitution interferes with the execution of a"ny
charitable or pious design,' the former must
give place to the latter; as in the present
instance, a strict observance of the sabbath
must not be suffered to deprive my disciples
of that refreshment which is necessary to sup
port them under the fatigue of following me,
and dispensing to mankind the blessings of
the gbspel. ,We see then with, what supersti
tious rigour the Jews adhered to the letter of
their law respecting the Jewish sabbath ; arid
with what superior wisdom and dignity our
Lord1 endeavoured to raise their minds above
such trivial things to the true spirit of it, to
the life and soul of religion. .'
The fault however here reproved and Cor
rected is not one into which we of this country
are likely to fall, nor is there any need to
warn us against imitating the Jews in this in
stance. ¦'•' There is no danger that we should
carry' the' observance of our sabbath too far,'
or that we should be too scrupulously niceirin
avoiding - every the minutest infringement "of
the' rest and Sanctity of that holy day. The
bent and tendency of the1 present times is too :
evidently to a contraiy extreme, to ah exces-
c - ' sive

LECTURE" X. 25^
sive relaxation instead of an excessive strict^,
ness in t\ie regard shewn to the Lord's day.
I am npt now speaking of the religious duties.
appropriated to the Lord's day, for these are
not new; before us, but, solely of, the rest, the
repose which it requires. This rest is plainly-
infringed, whenever the lower classes of people .
continue their ordinary occupations on the
sabbath, and whenever the higher employ.
their servants and their cattle on this day .
in needless labour. This, however, we see too
frequently done, more particularly by select
ing Sunday as a day for travelling, for taking
long journies, which might as well be per
formed at any other time. This is a direct
violation of the fourth commandment, which
expressly gives the sabbath as a day of rest to
our servants and our cattle.
This temporary suspension of labour, this
refreshment and relief from incessant toil, is
most graciously allowed even to the brute
creation, by the great Governor of the uni
verse, whose mercy extends over all his works.
It is the boon of heaven itself. It is a small .
drop of comfort thrown into their cup of mi-
sery; and to wrest from, them this only pri
vilege,

256 LEQTURE X.
vilege,this sweetest consolation of their wretch
ed} existence, is a degree pf inhumanity for
which there wants a name ; and of which few
people I am persuaded, if thpy could be
brought to reflect seriously upon it, woujd
ever be guilty.
These profanations of the sabbath are
however sometimes defended on the ground
of the very passage we have been just consi
dering. Jt is alleged, that as,our Lord here
reproves the Jews for too rigorous an atten,-;
tion to tJie rest of the sabbath, it conveys an
intimation that we ought not to be, too exact
and scrupulous jn that respect; and that
many things may in fact be allowable which
timid minds may consider as unlawful. But
jt should be observed, thajt Jesus condemns no
thing in the conduct of the Jews but what was
plainly absurd and superstitious ; apd he air;
lows of no exceptions to that rest from* la?-.
bour which they observed on the sabbath,
except simply works of necessity and charity;
such for instance as tliose very. cases which
gave occasion to the conversation in this chap
ter between Christ and the Jews, that of the
disciples plucking the ears of corn on the
j-iw«: i sabbath-

LECTURE X. 257'
sabbath-day to satisfy their huriger, and that
of our Saviour's restoring the withered hand*
It is lawful, in short, as our Saviour expresses
itv'to do well on the sabbath-day ; to preserve
ourselves, and tp benefit our fellow creatures.
Thus far then we may go, but no farther.
In other respects, the res? of the Lord's day is
to be observed ; and those very exceptions
which our Saviour makes are a proof, that in
every other case he approves and sanctions
the duty of resting on the sabbath-day. It
is also remarkable, that our own laws, ground^
ing themselves no doubt on this declaration
of Christ, make the same exceptions to the
rest of the sabbath that he does ; they allow.
works of necessity and charity, but no others'*.
To these therefore we ought to confine our*
selves as nearly as may be ; and with these
exceptions, and these only, consecrate the sab™
bath as a holy rest unto the Lord.
This rest the Almighty enjoined, no% as is
sometimes pretended, to the Jews only, but
to all mankind. For even immediately after
the great work of creation was finished, we are
told, ' " that God ended his work that he had
* See the Statute of 29 C. 2, c 7.
Vol,. I. S wade,

*5S LECTURE X.
made, and he "rested on the seventh day from
all the work Which he had made ; and God
blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it; 'be
cause 'that in it he had rested from all' his
Work which God created and made*.'' ft is
evident therefore that the seventh day was to
be a day of rest to all mankind, in memory of
God having on that day finifhed 'his great
Work oforeation ; and this seventh day, after
our Lord's .resurrection, was changed by his
apostles to the first day Of the week, on which
our Lord rose from the dead, and rested from
Ms labours; so that the rest of this day is
noW commemorative of both these important?
events, the creation and the resurrection. :
"I now proceed to consider the consequences
of this conversation between our Lord and the
Pharisees ori the subject of the sabbath . One
should have expected that so wise and rational
an explanation of the law respecting that' day,
releasing men from the senseless severities' im
posed Upon them1 by the servile fears of super
stition, but at* the same tirrie requiring all that
respite frorri labour which is really conducive to
the glory of' God1 arid the happiness of man*;
-•-"¦¦•¦-- •i'~ ' *,Gen.ii. 2/3. '-' '
one

LECTURE X. 859
one should have expected, I say, that such
wisdom and such bepevolence as this would
have triumphed oyer even pharisaical pbsti»
nacy, and extprted the admiration ancf ap«
plause of his hearers. But stubbprp preju
dices, and deep-rooted malignity, are not so
easily subdued. For see what actually .fol
lowed. " The Pharisees went out," says the
evangelist, -' and held a council how they
plight destroy him." Destroy him ! for what?
Why forgiving ease to timid minds and scru^
pulous consciences, and for restoring the
Withered hand of a, poor decrepid map. Arid
were these deeds that deserved destruction ?
Would it not rather haye been the just reward
of those inhuman wretches who were capable
of conceiving so execrable a project : apd
"would not our Saviour have been justified in
jQalling down fire from heaven, as he easily
might, to consume them ? But his heart ab*
honed the thought. He pursued a directly
opposite, conduct ; and instead of inflicting
Upon them a punishment which .might have
destroyed them, he chose to set them an ex
ample that might amend them. He chose to
shew them the djfferenqe between their tern-
s % per

260 LECTURE X.
per and his own, between those malignant
vindictive passioris which governed themi and
the mild, gentle, conciliating disposition which
his religion inspired; between the spirit' df
the world, in short, and the spirit of the
Gospel. He withdrew himself silently and
quietly from them ; and great multitudes fol
lowed him, and he healed them all; and,' to
avoid all irritation aridall contest, he charged
them that they should not make him knowrf.
" Thus was fulfilled, says the evangelist, that
which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, say
ing, Behold my servant whom I have cho-s
sen ; my beloved, in whom my soul is well
pleased. I will put riiy spirit upon him, and
"he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.' He
shall hot strive nor cry; neither shall any
man hear his voice in the streets. A bruiSe$
reed shall he hot break, and smoking''1 flax
shall he not quench, till he send forth judg
ment unto victory*." A most sublime pasMg$;
which may thus be paraphrased. Behold ritjr
servant whom I have chosen, hiy beloved, in
whom my scml is well pleased!' I will putiny
•spirit upon him, and he shall teach true reli-
* Isaiah, xiii, 1—3. gion,

LECTURE X. 26I
gipn, not pnly to the, people of Israel, but to
the heathens also ; and this he shall do with
the utmost tenderness, mildness, and meekness,
without contention and noise, without tumult
and disturbance. A bruised reed shall he not
break ; he shall not bear hard upon a wounded
and contrite, and truly humble and penitent
heart, bowed down with a sense of its infirmi-
|t;ies, And smoking flax shall he not quench ;
the faintest spark of returning virtue he will
not extinguish by severity ; but will cherish
and encourage the one, and will raise and ani
mate and enliven the other ; till by these gentle
eoncUiating means he shall have triumphed
over the wickedness and malevolence of his
enemies, and completely established his reli
gion throughout.the world. Whatan amiable
picture is here given us of the divine Author
of our faith ! and how exactly does this pro
phetic description correspond to the whole
tenor of his , conduct in the propagation of
^}is religion !
i(, The next remarkajdenccurrences which pre
sent themselves i|y|his ^chapter are those of
our Saviour castnT^fa^eyil^out of a man that
was both blind ancW dumb; the reflections
s 3 which

ftftft LECTURE £.
Which the Pharisees threw upon him in corise»
qiience of this miracle, and the effectual matt*
her in which he silenced them* and repelled
their calumny.
The passage is as follows : u Then was brought
Unto him One possessed with a devil, blind and
dumb, and he healed him, insomuch that the
blind and dumb both spake and saw* And all
the people were amazed, and said, is not this
the Son of David ? But when the Pharisees
heard it, they said* this fellow doth not cast
, out devils but by Beelzebub the prince of the
devils. Arid Jesus knew their thoughts* and
said unto them, every kingdom divided against
itself is brought to desolation ; arid every city
or house divided against itself shall not stand.
And if Satan cast out Satan, he is divided
against himself* how shall then his kingdom
stand ?"
¦ftiis passage affords room for a variety of
observation. In the first place it is evident from this* as
well as from many otherMfflsages of holy writ,
that at the time_whgri ouiBfcviour prOmulged
his religion* there was aKuamity incident to
the human rac% of WlrWh at present we know
nothing*

LEOTURE X, 26s3
"nothing, and that is, the .possession of their bo
dies by evil spirits or devils (as they are usu
ally called in scripture) which occasioried great
torments to, the unhappy sufferers, and often,
deprived them, botrj of their sight and hearing,
as in the present instance. Such possessions
having long since ceased, they have appeared
to several learned men so incredible, that
they have been led to deny that they ever
existed, and to maintain that they were only
diseases of a violent and terrifying nature,
attended with convulsive or epileptic fits; that
this sort of disease was ascribed by the Jews
to the operation of evil spirits ; and that our
Saviour, in compliance with their prejudices,
treated them as cases of real possession, and
pretended to cast out devils, when in fact he
only cured the disorder with which the patient
was afflicted.
This opinion is supported by great names ;
but however great and respectable they may
be, it appears to me utterly indefensible.
Every expression that our Lord makes use
pf with respect to these demoniacs plainly
supposes them to be really possessed ; and it is
H 4 not

ft&t LEGtUftEX.
not eafey to assign any admissible reason why*
he should, treat them as .such, if they were
hot so, and why he should not correct instead
Of countenancing so gross an error ; as such a
conduct could answer no one good purpose*
and seems hard to reconcile with his own uni
form fairness and sincerity of mind. -" To have
dpne it to magnify his Own powerin casting
Out the evil spirits* would have been, to all ap
pearance, a, very. needless expedient ; because
the immediate removal of a natural disease {if
it was one) would have been an equal proof of
his divine power. But besides this, there is
,eVery where a plain ¦ distinction made: between
common diseases and. demoniacal possessions-;
which shews that they were totally different
things. In the fourth chapter of this Gospel,
where the very first mention is made of these
possessions, it is said, thatour Lord's fa me went
throughout all Syria, and they brought unto
him all sick people that were taken with divers
diseases and torments, and those which5 were
possessed with devils, and he, healed them.
Here you see those that were taken with
divers diseases and, torments* and those pos
sessed with devils, are mentioned as distinct and

£ECrrURE X. -2^
¦and separate persons ; a "plain proof that the
demoniacal possessions were not natural dis
eases ; and the very same distinction is made
iri several Other passages of holy writ.
There can be no doubt therefore that the
demoniacs were persons really possessed with
evil spirits ; and although it may seem strarige
to us, yet we find from Josephus, and other
historians, that it was in those times no un-
commop case. In fact, it appears that about
the time of our Lord's ministry, that tre
mendous spirit, Satan, or, as he is sometimes
called in scripture, the Prince of this world,
had obtained an extraordinary degree of
power over the human race, inflicting upon
them the cruellest pains and torments, de
priving them of their senses, rendering them
wretched in themselves, and terrible to all
around them. To subdue this formidable
and wicked being, and to destroy him
that had the power of death, that is, the
devil', was one great object of our Saviour's
divine mission ; and it seems to have been in
dispensably necessary for accomplishing the
redemption of mankind, that the kingdom of
Satan should in the first place be destroyed, and

266 LECTURE X.
and that the sons of men should be rescued
from that horrible and disgraceful state of sla
very in which he had long held them enthral
led. One of the first steps therefore that our
Lord took before he entered on his ministry
was, to establish his superiority over this great
enemy of mankind: which he did in , that
memorable scene of the temptation in the, wil
derness; and among the earliest of his miraqles
recorded, is that of casting out deyils from
those who were possessed by them. And per
haps one reason why these possessions were per
mitted, might be to afford our Lqrd an oppor
tunity of giving the Jews a visible and ocular
demonstration of his decided superiority apd
sovereignty over the prince, of the deyils, and
all his agents, and of his power tp subdue
this great adversary of the human species, He
appears indeed to have been in a state of
constant hostility and warfare with this, wicked
^spirit; and in this very passage Satan is (<"k>
scribed by our Saviour upder the image of a
strong man, whom it was necessary to fo'^ej be
fore you could spoil his house, and exterpiinate
him and his coadjutors, as Jesus was thPn
4 doing.

LECTURE X. 267
doing. Yet so little were the Jews sensible of
this enmity between Christ and Beelzebub,
that on the contrary they charged them with
being friends and confederates. They said,
"This fellow doth not cast out devils but by
Beelzebub the prince of the devils." The
answer of our Lord to this was decisive and
satisfactory to every reasonable mind. " Every
kingdom divided against itself is brought to
desolation ; and every city Or house divided
against itself shall not stand. And if Satan
cast out Satan, he is divided against himself,
how shall then his kingdom stand?" His
argument is this : How absurd and prepos
terous is it to suppose that Satan will act
against himself, by expelling his own ministers
and agents whom he has sent to take possession
of the minds and bodies of men, and by assist
ing me to establish my religion, and thereby
diffuse virtue and happiness throughout the
World, which it is his great object to destroy,
and to introduce vice and misery in their
roofn. This must clearly end in his ruin, and
the overthrow of his empire over mankind. It
is evident then that it is not by his assistance,
but by the - power of God, that I cast out
devils ;

268 LECTITRE X.
devils; and if so, it is clear to demonstration
that I am commissioned by heaven to teach
true religion to mankind.; ..
. I cannot quit this subject of miracles with
out observing, what a remarkable difference
there is between the sentiments of modern in
fidels and those of the first enemies of the Gos
pel respecting the miracles -of Christ. The
former assert, that our Saviour wrought no
real miracles ; that miracles are in their own
nature incredible and impossible; and that
no human testimony whatever can give credit
to events so contrary to experience, and, so
repugnant to the ordinary course of nature.
But go to those unbelievers who lived in the
earliest ages of the Gospel, and even to those
who were eye-witnesses to our Lord's miracles,
and they will tell you a very different story.
They assert, that Jesus did work miracles; they
acknowledge that he did expel evil spirits
out of those that were possessed. They ascribed
the miracle indeed to the power of Beelzebub,
not of God. But this we know to be ab
surdity and nonsense. The fact of the miracu-
.lous cure they did not dispute ; and this at
once establishes the divine mission of our
Lord.

LECTURE X. 2-6S
Lord. To which then of these two descrip
tions of infidels shall we give most Credit, to
those who lived near eighteen hundred years
after the miracles were performed, or to those
who saw them wrought with their own eves :
and though they detested the author of
them, admitted the reality Of his wonderful
Works ?
'¦' Our Lord then, continuing his conversation
with the Pharisees, addresses to them, in the
3 1 st verse, these remarkable words : / '
" Wherefore I say unto you, all manner of
sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men ;
but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost
shall not be forgiven' unto men. Arid whoso
ever speaketh a word against the Son of man,
it shall be forgiven him ; but whosoever speak*-
eth agairist the Holy Ghost, it shall not be
forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in
the world to come."
Our Lord's meaning in this obscure and
alarming passage seems to be this ; there is
no other sin or blasphemy which argues such
a total depravation of mind, but that it may
be repented of and forgiven. Even he that
speaks against me, the Son of God* and is not
1 convinced

270 LECTURE" K.
convinced by my preaching, rnay yet be af
terwards converted by the power of the Holy
Ghost, by the miracles which she enables me
and my disciples to work, and may obtain
remission of his sin. But he that shall obstir,
nately resiat this last method of conviction
(that of miracles wrought before his eyes)
and shall maliciously revile these most evident
operations of the spirit of God, contrary to
the reason of his own mind and the dictates
of his own conscience,, such an one has no fur
ther means left by which he may be convinced
and brought to repentance, and therefore can
never be forgiven.
From this interpretation, which is, I believe,
generally admitted to be the true one, it ap
pears that there is no just ground >for. the ap
prehensions sometimes entertained by nious
and scrupulous minds, that they may themselves
be guilty of the sin here declared to be unpar
donable, the sin against the Holy Ghost ; for
we see that it is Gonfined solely and, exclusively
to the case before us, that is to the criine pf
which" the Pharisees had just been, guilty, >the
crime of attributing those miracles , tp th^
agency -of evil spirits, which were plainly
wrought

LECTURE X. 271
wrought by the spirit of <£fod, and which they
saw with their own eyes, "i b *<.'? - g.H
What confirms this interpretation is, that
this crime is here called* not as is generally
supposed, the ski against the Holy Ghost, but
-blasphemy against the Holy^Ghost* which evi
dently refers not to actions but to words ; not
to any thing done 'but to something said
against ttie Holy Ghost. This being the case,
it is clear that as miracles have long since
ceased, and this blasphemy against the Holy
Ghost relates solely to those who saw miracles
perforriied with their own -eyes, it is impossible
for ariy one in these times to be literally guilty
of this impious and unpardonable kind of blas
phemy in its full extent. ,.- >
Our Lord then addresses himself more di-
reotly to the authors of this spiteful calumny:
~" Either make the tree good and his fruit
good, or else make the tree corrupt and his
fruit corrupt; for the tree is known by its
fruit :" that-is, be uniform and consistentwith
yourselvesr If you pretend to'holiness and sin
cerity of heart, suffer not your mouths to
utter these blasphemies ; or if you persist in
such behaviour, lay aside all claim to religion,
jilpt, with

272 LECTURE X.
with which this obstinate malice is as incon
sistent, as it is for a tree not to discover its
nature by the quality of the fruit it produces.
He then adds, " Q generation of vipers, how
can ye, being evil, speak, good things ; for out
of the abundance of the heart themouth speak-
eth. A good man, out of the good treasure of
his heart, bringeth forth good things ; and an
evil man, out of the evil treasure of his heart,
bringeth forth evil things." The import of
which words is this : But it is impossible that-
you should speak otherwise than evil. You are
a perverse and malicious generation, a,nd the
thoughts of men's hearts will of course shew
themselves by their words. They arise im
mediately from the. fund within, and, will
necessarily discover whether it be good, or
bad. Then follows another very remarkable, de
claration of our Lord's in the 36th verse :
" I say unto you, that every idle, word that,
men shall speak, they shall give account
thereof in the day of judgment." From, hence
some have imagined, that, at the day of judg
ment we shall be called to an account, and
punished for every idle and unprofitable, every
trifling

L'ECTLJRE X. 27S
triflirig arid ludicrous" word that We have ever
lettered in the gaiety of the heart during the
whole course of our liveW' ' If this be the case,
h!6w hard is it, will the ehemiesftf the Gos
pel say, lri~" the Author of your religion, to
exact from you 'what is utterly inconsistent
with the infirmities of hutriari nature, and
which must completely destroy1 all the freedom,
all the ease, all the cheerfulness, all the com
forts of social converse, and render itnecessarjr
for every man that hopes to be saved to seclude
himself from society, and like the once cele
brated fathers of the order of La Trappe, im
pose ifpdft themselves an everlasting silence !
That this must be the Consequence of the sen
tence here pronounced by our Lord, if it is to
be understood in that strict, literal, and ri
gorous sense which has just been stated, and
which at the first, view the words seem to
import, cannot be denied ; and therefore we
may fairly conclude, that it is not the true
meaning of the passage in question ; because
we know that we do not serve a hard master,
who requires more from us than our strength
will bear ; but one who can be touched with
Vox. t T the

274 LECTURE X.
the feeling of our infirmities, and who has
declared, that " his yoke is easy, and his (bur
then light."
tU: In order then to set this text of scripture in
its true light, we must look back to what had
justpassed; we must remember that the Pha
risees had a 'little before reproached our Lord
-with having cast out devilsth rough Beelzebub
the prince of the devils; and it is this, ca
lumny that he*alludes to in the words before
Jus-; for they are a continuation of that very
same conversation which he was holding, with
the Jews. Now the words made use of by the
Pharisees in the above mentioned- charge are
not merely idle, or foolish, or trifling words,
they are in the highest degree malevolent,
false, and wicked; they'eonstitute one of the
grossest, most detestable, and most infamous
calumnies, that ever was uttered by man.' Con
sequently by idle words our Saviour plainly
meant, false, lying, and malicious words, such
as- those which the Pharisees had a few mi
nutes before applied to him. ¦ >';q*U
"In confirmation of this it should be ob
served, that the language then spoken, by the
-Jews was not their primitive tongue, but one
•f-":t t mixed

LECTURE X. 275
mixed and made up of the dialects and idioms
of the several nations, that. surrounded them,
particularly of the Chaldeans, Syrians, and
Arabians. In this our Saviour delivered all his
instructions, and held all his discourses. In
this (as some learned men think) St. Mat
thew originally wrote his Gospel for the use
of the Jewish converts .: and it has been re
marked, that in almost all the languages of
which this miscellaneous one is made up, by
idle or , unprofitable words are meant, false,
lying, malicious, and scandalous calumnies.
But though in the passage before us the
phrase of idle words refers more immediately
to the malignant calumny of the Pharisees
against Jesus ; yet it certainly includes all
false, slanderous, and vindictive accusations
ofourneighbour ; alldiscourse which is in any
respect, injurious to God or man, which is
contrary to truth, tp decency, and evangelical
purity, of heart. All conversation of this sort
is plainly inconsistent with the sanctity of our
religion, and must of course subject us to
God's displeasure here, and his judgments
hereafter. And even in. the literal and most
obvious sense of idle words, though we are
t 2 not

276 LECTURE X.
not excluded from the innocent cheerfulness
of social converse, yet we must beware of
giving way too much to trifling, foolish, un-
' profitable and unmeaning talk. ? Even this,.
when carried to excess) becomes in some de
gree criminal ; it produces, or at least increases
a frivolous turn of mind ; unfits us for the
discharge of any thing manly and serious;
and indicates a degree of levity and thought
lessness, not very consistent with a just sense
of those important interests, which as candW
dates for heaven We should have constantly
present to our thoughts, nor suitable to those
awful prospects into eternity which the Chris
tian revelation opens to our view, and which
ought to make the most serious impressions on
every sincere believer in the Gospel of Christ...

277 "]

LECTURE XI.

Matthew xiii.

WE are now arrived at the thirteenth
chapter of St. Matthew, in which our
blessed Lord introduces a new mode of con
veying his instructions to the people. Hitherto
he had confined himself entirely to the plain
didactic method, of which his sermon on the
mount is a large and noble specimen. But
his discourses' now assume a different shape,
and he begins in this chapter, for the first time,
to address his hearers in parables. "The
same day, says the evangelist, went Jesus out
of the house, and sat by the sea-side ; and great
¦multitudes were gathered together unto him,
so that he went into a ship and sate : and the
whole multitude stood on the shore, and he
$pake many things unto them in parables."
T3 The

278 LECTURE XI.
The word parable is sometimes used in
scripture in a large and general sense, and
applied to short sententious1, saymgs, maxims,
or aphorisms, expressed iit a figurative, pro
verbial, or even poetical manner.
But in its strict and appropriate meaning,
especially as applied to our Saviour's parables,
.it signifies a short narrative of some everit or
fact, real or fictitious, in which a continued
comparison is carried on between sensible and
spiritual objects; and under this similitude
some important doctrine, moral or religious,
is conveyed and enforced.
This mode of instruction has rpariy advan
tages over every other, more particularly in
recommending virtue, Or reproving vice.
1. In the first place, when divine and spi
ritual things are represented by objects well
known and familiar to us, such as present
themselves perpetually to our observation, in
the common occurrences i of life, they are much
more easily comprehended, especially by rude
and uncultivated minds (that is, by the great
bulk of mankind) than if f hey, Were proposed
in their original form. 2. In

LEC-TURE- XL 279
2. In .allages of the wOrld there is nothing
with which mankind hath been so much del
ighted as with those little, fictitious stories,
which,, go under the name of fables or apo
logues among the ancient heathens, arid of
parables in the sacred writings. It is found
by experience, that this sort, of composition
is .better calculated to command attention, to
captivate the imagination, to affect the heart,
and to make deeper and more lasting impres-
,$ipns on the memory, than the most ingenious
and most elegant discourses that the wit of
man is capable of producing.
.3. The very obscurity in which parables are
sometimes involved, has the effect of exciting
a greater degree of curiosity and interest, and
of urging the mind to a more vigorous exer-'
tion of its faculties and powers, than any other
mode of instruction. There is something for
the understanding to work upon; and when
the concealed meaning is at length elicited, we
are apt to value ourselves on the discovery as
the pffect of our own penetration and discern
ment, and for that very reason to pay more
regard to the moral it conveys,
T 4 4. When

280. LECTURE XI,
4-.{ When the; mind is under the influence
of: strong prejudipes, pf violent passions, or in-?
veterate habits, and when under these circum*
stances it; becomes necessary to rectify errors
to dissipate delusion,, to reprove sin, and bring
the offender to a sense of his. danger and his
guilt ; tfyere is no way in whiph this difficult
ta-slt can be so well executed, and the painful
truths that must he told so successfully insi
nuated into the mind, as by disguising them
under the veil of a welh-wrpught and interest
ing parable.
This observation cannot be better illustrat-?,
ed than by referring to , ,twe parables, One in
the, , New Testament, the other in .the Old,
which will amply confirm the truth* and un
fold the meaning of the preceding remarks.
, The first of these whiqhi I allude to is thei
celebrated parable of the good Samaritan. «
The Jewsj as we learn from our Lord him
self, had established it as a maxim that they
were to love their neighbour and to hate their ;
enemy*; and as they considered none as their
neighbours but their own countrymen; the
,* Matth. v. 43. ''"-
.consequence

LECTURE XI. 281
<
consequence was, that they imagined them
selves at liberty to bate all the rest of the
world; a liberty which they indulged without
reserve, and against none with more bitterness
than the contiguous nation of the Samaritans,
When, therefore, the lawyer in the Gospel
asked our Lord, who was his neighbour? had
Christ attempted to prove to him by argument
that he was to consider all mankind, even his
enemies, even the Samaritans, as his neigh
bours, the lawyer would have treated his an
swer with contempt and disdain ; all his native
prejudices and absurd traditions would have
risen up in arms against so offensive a doc
trine ; nor would all the eloquence in the
world, not even the divine eloquence of the
Son of God himself, have been able to sub
due the deep-rooted prepossessions of the
obstinate Jew.
Jesus' therefore, well knowing the impossi
bility of convincing the lawyer by any thing
he could say, determined to make the man
convince himself, and correct his own error.
With this view he relates to him the parable
of the Jewish traveller, who fell among robbers,
was stripped and wounded, and left half dead
upon

282 LECTURE XI.
upon the spot; and though passed by with un
feeling indifference and neglect by his own
countrymen, "was at length relieved and .re
stored to health by a compassionate Samari
tan. He then asks the lawyer, who was neigh
bour to this distressed traveller? If- was im
possible for , the lawyer not. to answer, as he
did (not foreseeing the consequence) He. that
showed mercy to him ; that is, the Samaritan.
Here then he at once cut up- his own absurd
opinion by the roots. For if the Samaritans,
whom of all others the Jews most hated, were,
in the true and substantial sense of the word,
their neighbours, they were bound by their
own law, by their own traditions, and by this
man's own confession, to love and to .assist
them as such. The conclusion was therefore,
Go and do thou likewise. . i
This then affords a striking proof of the effi
cacy of parable in correcting strong prejudices
and erroneous opinions. But, there is anptf^er
thing still more difficult to be subdued, and
that is, inveterate wickedness and hardened
guilt. But this too was made to give way and
humble itself in the dust by the force of para
ble.; I mean that of Nathan. .,,.. ,,_.^. There

LECTURE XI. 28$
¦ There seems reason to believe that King
David, after he had committed the compli
cated crime of adultery and murder, had by
some means'or other contrived to lull his con
science to sleep, and to suppress the risings of
any painful reflection in- his mind. This ar>
pears almost incredible, yet so the fact seems
to have been ; and it shews in the strongest
light the extreme deceitfulness of sin, its asto
nishing power over the mind of man, and the
inveterate depravity of the human heart. When
we see a man who had perpetrated such atro
cious deeds, totally insensible of his guilt, and
not discovering the slightest resemblance to his
own casein the affecting and awakening story
which the prophet related, it affords a striking
arid a melancholy proof what human nature is
when left to itself even in the best of men ;
even in those who, like. King David, are, in
the general tenor of their life, actuated by right
principles, arid even animated (as he evidently
Was) with the 'warmest sentiments of piety and
devotion. And it demonstrates in the clearest
manner the absolute necessity of that help from
above in the discharge of our duty, which the
Christian revelation holds out to us, and which men

484 LECTURE XI.
men of the world areso'apt tb despise and, de
ride as a weak delusion and fanatical imagina
tion; I mean the divine influences of the Holy
Spirit : without which there is not a single in
dividual here present, however highly he may
think of the natural rectitude and invincible
integrity of his own mind, who may riot in
an evil hour, when hp least thinks of it, be
betrayed by some powerful arid unexpected
teriiptation into as .much guilt, and become
as blind to his own situation, as was that un
happy prince of whom we are now speaking.
It was indispensably necessary tb rouse the
sinner out of this dreadful lethargy; but how
was this to be done? Had Nathan plainly and
directly charged him with all the enormity of
his guilt, the probability is, that either in the
first transport of his resentment he would have
^driven the prophet from his presence, br that
he would have attempted to palliate, to soften,
to explain away his crime ; would have pleaded
thestrength of his passion or the violence of
the temptation, and perhaps claimed. some iri-
dulgence of his rank and situation in life. But'
all these pleas were at bnce silenced, and his
ret rest completely cutoff, by making him the
5 judge

LECTURE XI. 285,
judge of his own case, and forcing his con
demnation out of his own mouth. Tor after
he had denounced death pn the riqh man for
taking away the ewe lanib of the, poor one, ha.
could with, no decency pretend that he who
had destroyed the life pf one fellow-creature,
and the innocence of another, was deserving
of a milder sentence.
¦There was nothing then left for him but to
confess at once, as he did, " that he had sin
ned against the Lord ;" and his penitence we
know was as severe and exemplary as his crime
had been atrocious.
It. is much to be lamented that these indi:
rect methods should be found necessary, in or
der to show men to themselves, and acquaint
them with , their real characters, especially
when it is their own interest not to be mis
taken in so important a concern. But the
wise and the virtuous in every age have con
descended to make use of this innocent, arti
fice ; the necessity of which is founded in the
sad corruption of human nature, and in that
gross and deplorable blindness to their own
sins and follies, which is observable in so large
a part of mankind. They engage with warmth and

•in

286 L-ECTURE XL
and eagerness in worldly pursuits, which em
ploy their attention and excite their passions;
so that they have little time, and less inclina
tion, to reflect calmly and seriously on their
own conduct, in a moral and religious point of
view. But if their thoughts are at any time
forced inwards, and they cannot help taking
a view of themselves, a deeper source of delu
sion is still behind. . The same actions which,
when committed by others, are immediately
discerned to be wrong, are palliated, explain
ed, qualified, and apologized away, when we
happen to be guilty of them ourselves- The
circumstances in the two cases are discovered
to be perfectly different in some essential point;
our passions were ungovernable, the tern pta^-
tion irresistible. In short, somehow or other,
all guilt vanishes away under the manage
ment of the dextrous casuist, and the i intru
sion of self-condemnation is effectually pre
cluded, iii an c
"i." Still there remains, it may be said, the ads
monition of some zealous friend or faithful in
structor ; but zeal is generally vehement,' and
often indiscreet. By exciting the resentment,
and inflaming the anger of those it means to
reform,

LECTURE -XI. 287
reform, it frequently defeatsits own designs.
For whoever is offended instantly forgets his
own faults, and dwells wholly npon those of
his imprudent 'monitor. But when the veil
of parable conceals for a moment from the
offender that he is himself concerned in it, he
may generally be surprized into a condemna-
.. tion of every one that is guilty of a base dis
honourable action ; and when the unexpected
application, Thou art the man, comes thunder
ing suddenly upon him, and points out the
perfect similarity of the supposed case to his
own, the astonished criminal, overwhelmed
with confusion, and driven from all his usual
subterfuges and evasions, is compelled at
length to condemn himself.
It was probably the consideration of these
delusions, and the other reasons above assign
ed* which gave rise to so general and so an
cient a custom of conveying moral instruc
tion under the cover of imaginary agents
and fictitious events. We find traces of it in
the earliest writers ; and it was more peculiarly
cultivated in the east, the region where re
ligion and science first took their rise. The
most ancient parables perhaps on record are
*.;,n^- those

288 LECTURE. XL
those we meet with in the Old Testament |
that of Jotham, for instance, where the trees '
desired the bramble to reign over -them* 3
that of Nathan -f; that of the woman of Te-
koah'!, in the reign of David ; and that of
the thistle and the cedar of Lebanon §,* by Je-
hoash, king of Israel. From the east this
species of composition passed into Greece and
Italy, and thence into the rest of Europe;
and there- are two celebrated writers, one in
the Greek, the other in the Roman tongue*
whose fables every one is acquainted with
from their earliest years. These, it must be
owned, are elegant, amusing, and, in a cer
tain degree, moral and instructive. But they
are not in any degree to be compared with
the parables of our blessed Lord, which infi
nitely excel them, and every other composi-*
tion of that species, in many essential points. ,
1 , In the first place, the fables of the an-r M
cients are many of them of a very trivial na
ture, or at the bent contain nothing more than
Hiaxims of mere worldly wisdom and com-
* Judges, ix. 14. ^ J 2 Sam. xiv. v,
T 2 Sain. xii. 1. §2 Kings, xiv. 9.
mon

LECTURE XI. 289
mon prudence, and sometimes perhaps a little
moral instruction. ,
But the parables of our blessed Lord relate
to. subjects of, the very highest importance ; to
the great leading principles of human con
duct, to the essential duties of man, to the
nature and progress of the, Christian religion,
to the moral government of the world, to
the great distinctions between vice and vir
tue, to the awful scenes of eternity, to the
divine influences of the Holy Spirit, to th$
great work of our redemption, to a resurrec
tion and a future judgment, and the distribu
tion .of rewards and punishments in a future
state ; and all this expressed with a dignity
of sentiment, and a simplicity of language,
perfectly well suited to the grandeur of the
subject. 2. In the next place, the fables of the
learned heathens, though entertaining and
well composed, are in general cold and dry,
and calculated more to please the understand-,
ing than to touch the heart. Whereas thosej
of our blessed Lord are most of them in the
highest degree affecting and interesting. Such
for instance are the parable of the lost sheep,
Vol.. I. U of

290 lecture:xi/
of the prodigal son, of the rich man and La
zarus, of the Pharisee and Publican, /of the
unforgiving servant, of the good Samaritan.
There is nothing in all heathen antiquity to
be compared to these; nothing that speaks so
forcibly t to our tenderest feelings and affec
tions, and leaves such deep and lasting im
pressions upon the soul. «ft him >'i :h tiWMhr
3dly. The Greek and Roman fables i are
most of them founded on improbable or im
possible circumstances, and are supposed con
versations between animate or inanimate be
ings, not endowed with the power of speech;
between birds, beasts, reptiles, and trees ; a
circumstance which shocks the imagination,
and of course weakens the force of the in-
stractiom • t.u"}£* "»%?0iJ -ujo :$ vjnoit
.Our Saviours parables on the contrary
are all of them images and allusions taken
from nature, and from occurrences which are
most familiar to our observation and experi-f
ence in common life ; and the events related
are not only such as might very probably1
happen, but several of them are supposed to
be such as actually did; and this would hayO
the. effect of a- true historical narrative, which' we

LECTURE XI. 291
we all know to carry much greater weight and
authority with it than the most ingenious fic
tion, Of the former sort are the rich man
and Lazarus, of the good Samaritan, and of
the prodigal son. There are others in which
our Saviour seems to allude to some historical
facts which happened in those times ; as that
wherein it is said, that a king went into a far
Country, there to receive a kingdom.
This probably refers to the history. of Ar-
chelaus* who, after the death of his father,
Herod: the Great, went to Rome to receive
from Augustus the confirmation of his father's
will,1 by which he had the kingdom of Judiea
left to him.
These circumstances give a decided supe
riority to our Lord's parables over the fables
of the ancients ; and if we compare them with
those of the Koran, the difference is still
greater. The parables of Mahomet are trif
ling* uninteresting, tedious, and dull. Among
other thirigs which he has borrowed from
Scripture, one is the parable of Nathan, . in
which he has most ingeniously contrived to
destroy all its spirit, force, and beauty; and
has so completely distorted and deformed its
u 2 whol*

292 LECTURE XL
whole texture^, and , composition,! that if the
commentator had not informed you, in very
gentle terms, that it is the parable of Nathap
a little disguised, you would , scarce ,. haye
known it to be the same. Such is the dif
ference between a prophet who is really
inspired, and an impostor who pretends to
be so.
Nor is it only in his parables, but in his
other' discourses to the people, ."that j Jesus
draws his doctrines and instructions from the,
scenes of nature, from the objects that sur
rounded him, from the most common occur
rences of life, from the seasons of the year, from
some extraordinary incidents or remarkable
transactions. " Thus," as a learned and in^e-
nious writer has observed *, upon curing a blind
man, " he styles himself the light of the world,
and reproves the Pharisees for the,ir spiritual.
.^blindness and inexcusable obstipacy in refusing
to be cured and enlightened by him. On littlp
children; being brought to him, he.i-ecommends
the innocence, the simplicity, the ri^eejkness,
the humility* the dPfiUity, of that, lovely
* See Bishop Lajr's Considerations on the Theory of
•Religion. "' •' '-¦ '*¦¦*¦""-
age,

l'ecture xi: 293
'dge/ as indispensable qualifications for those
that would ehter'into the kingdom of heaven.
Beholding the flowers of the field, and the fowls
of the" air, he ! teaches his disciples to frame
right and worthy notions of that Providence
which supports and adorns them, and will
therefore assuredly not neglect the superior
order of rational beings. Observing the fruits
of the earth, he instructs them to judge of men
by' their' fruitfulness under all the means of
"grace. From the mention of meat and drink,
he leads • them to the sacred rite of eating
his' body and* drinking his blood in a spiritual
'sense!- ' Frbrti external ablutions, he deduces the
necessity of purifying the heart', and cleansing
the affections1. Those that were fishers, he
teaches to be fishers of men ; to draw them by
the force of argument and persuasion, aidedby
the influence of divine grace, to the belief and
practice of true religion. Seeing the moneys '
changers,1 he exhorts his disciples to lay out
their several talents to the best advantage.
Being among the sheep-folds, he proves him
self the true Shepherd of Souls. Among vines
he discourses of the spiritual husbandnian and
vine-dresser, and draws a parallel between Ms.
u 3 vineyard

294 LECTURE XI.
vineyard and the natural one. Upon the ap
pearance of summer in the trees before him, he
points out evident signs of his approaching
kingdom. When the harvest comes on, he
reminds his disciples of the spiritual harvest,
the harvest of true believers ; and exhorts
them to labour diligently in that work, arid
add their prayers to Heaven for its success.
From servants being made free in the sabba-'
tical year, he takes occasion to proclaim a
nobler emancipation and more important re
demption from the slavery of sin, and the
bondage of corruption, by the death of Christ.
From the eminence of a city standing on a
hill, he turns his. discourse to the conspicuous
situation of his own disciples. From the tem
ple before him, he points to that of his Own
body ; and from Herod's unadvisedly leading
out his army to meet the king of Arabia, who
came against him with a superior force, and
defeated him, a lesson is held out to all who
entered on the Christian warfare, that they
should first well weigh and carefully compute
the difficulties attending it, and by the grace
of God resolve to surmount them/'
¦ . 5 la

Lf CTyRE-jXJ.,. 2v95
-In the same manner, when he delivered the
parable of the sower, which we find in this
chapter, and which will, be the next subject of
ojir "Consideration, it was probably seed-time,
apd from the ship in which he taught he might
observe the husbandmen scattering their seed
upon the earth. . From thence he took occa^
sion to illustrate, by that rural and familiar
image, thedifferent.effects which the doctrine^
of Christianity had on different men, according
to the different tempers. and dispositions that
they happened, to meet with.
., " Behold,'! says he, " a sower Ment forth
to sow. And when he sowed, some fell by the.
way-side, .and ... the fowls came and devoured
them up. Some fell upon stony places, where
they had not, much earth, and forthwith they
sprung up, because they had no deepness of
earjli ; and when the sun was up_ they were
scorched, and because they had no root they
"j^theijed away. And some fell among thorns,
and- the fhorns sprang up and choked them.
But Other fell into good ground, and brought
forth fruit, some a hundred fold, some sixty
fold, some thirty fold/' As our blessed Lord,
soon after he had uttered this parable, ex-
u 4 plained

296 LECTURE -XL
plained it tphisr disciples, it is highly proper
thatyou should have this explanation jn his own
words. "vHear ye therefore," says he, "the
parable of the sower. When 4ny one heareth
the. word of the kingdom and understandeth
it not, then, cometh the wicked one, and catch-
eth away that which was sown in his heart.
This is he which received seed by the ; way
side. But he that received the seedinto stony
places* the same is he that heareth the word,
and anon with joy receiveth it ; yet hath he
not root in himself* but dureth for a while ;
for "when" tribulation or' persecution ariseth
because of the word, by and by he is offended.
He also that received seed among the thorns,
is he that heareth the word, and the cares of
this world and the deceitfulness of riches
choke the word, and he becometh unfruit
ful. But he that received seed into the good
ground, is he that heareth the wOrd and un
derstandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and
_bringeth forth some a hundred fold, some
sixty, some thirty."
Such is the parable of the sower, and the
explanation of it by our Saviour, which will
furnish us with abundant matter for a great
i variety

LECTUttE XL 297
variety of very important reflections. But as
these cannot be distinctly stated and suffici
ently enlarged upon at present, without going
to a considerable length of time, and tres
passing too far on that patience arid indul
gence which I have already but too often
put to the test, 1 must reserve for my next
Lecture the observations I have to offer on
this very interesting and instructive parable.

P 298 J

L E C T UR E XII.
Matthew xiii. continued.

THE last Lecture concluded with a recital
of the parable of the sower, and our
Lord?s explanation of it ; and I now proceed
to lay before you those reflections which it
has suggested to my mind.
In the first place then it must be observed,
that this parable, like' many others, is pro
phetic as well as instructive ; it predicts the
fate of the Christian religion in the world, and
the different sorts of receptibn it will meet, with
from different men. ' And as this prediction
is: completely verified by the present state of
religion, as we see it at this hour existing
among ourselves, it affords one very decisive
proof of Christ's power of foreseeing future
events, and of course tends strongly to
establish

LECTURE XII. 299
establish the truth of his pretensions, and the
divine authority of his religion.
In the next place it is evident that there
are four "different classes of men here described,
which comprehend aljl the different religious
or irreligious characters that are to be met
with in the world. The first consists of those
*' that hear the word of the kingdom (as our
Lord expresses it) and understand it not; then
cometh the wicked one and catcheth away
that which was sown in their hearts. These
are they, says he, which received seed by the
way-side." By these are meant those persons
whose minds, like the beaten high road, are hard
and impenetrable, and inaccessible to convic
tion. Of these we all know there are too many
in the world ; some who have imbibed early
and deep-rooted prejudices against Christiani
ty ; who either conceiving themselves superior
to the rest of mankind in genius, knowledge,
and penetration, reject with scorn whatever the
bulk of mankind receives with veneration, and
erect favourite systems of their own, which
they conceive to be the very perfection of hu
man wisdom ; or, on the other hand, having been

300 LECTURE XII.
been unfortunately very early initiated in the
Writings of modern philosophists, implicitly
adopt the opinions of those whom they con
sider as the great luriiinaries and oracles of the
age, receive ridicule as' argument,' and asser- 1
tion as proof, and prefer the silly witticisrriis,
the specious sophistry, the metaphysical sub
tlety, the coarse buffoonery, which distinguish
many of the most popular opporierits of our
faith, to the simplicity, dignity, and sub
limity of the divine truths of the Gospel.
These are the professed infidels, or, as they
choose to style themselves, the disciples of phi
losophy and reason, and the enemies of priest-
Craft, fanaticism, and superstition.
But besides these there is another descrip
tion of men, on whom the good seed makes
little or no impression ;' these are the thought
less, the inattentive,' the inconsiderate, the
trifling, the gay, who think of nothing beyond
the present scene, arid who do not fcorisider
themselves as in the* smallest degree interested
in any thing else. These men, without profes
sing themselves unbelievers, without formally
and explicitly rejecting the Gospel, yetdoiri
fact never concern themselves about it. It
forms

LECTURE XII. 301
forms no part of their system, it does not at
all enter into their plans of fife. The former
sort above described? are infidels on principle ;
these are practical infidels, without any prin
ciple at all. , Being born of Christian parents,
and instructed perhaps in the first rudiments
of Christianity, they call themselves Chris^
tian; they attend divine service,- they repeat
llieir prayers, they listen to the discourses of
the preacher, they make no qbjections to
what they, hear, they question not the. pro
priety of what they are taught ; but here their
religion ends ; it never goes beyond the sur
face, it never penetrates into their hearts, it
lies on the hard beaten highway. The instant
they leavg the church, every idea of religion
vanishes out of their thoughts ; they never re
flect for one moment on what they have
heard ; they never consider the infinite im
portance of what is to happen after death; the
awful prospects of eternity never present them
selves to their minds, neither excite their
hopes nor ,alarrn their fears. "With their
months indeed , they confess the Lord, Jesus,
but they do not believe with their, hearts unto
salvation ;" and although perhaps in flie wide
waste

302 LEC-TIT RE XIL
waste of a trifling ihsigriificatit life, a few wor
thy actions or a few solitary virtues appear,
yet their affections are not set bn thirigs above,
their hopes are not centered there, their views
do not tend there ; their treasure is on earth**
and there is their heart also.
These two characters, the hardened unbe
liever, and the mere nominal Christian, con
stitute the first class described by out Saviour
in the parable of the sower. These are they
which receive the seed by the way-side, where
it lies neglected upon the surface, till " the
fowls of the air devour' it, or the wicked one
catcheth it Out. of their hearts;" and there is
an end at once of all their hopes Of salvation,
perhaps for ever.
'Secondly, 'There is another sort of soil men
tioned in the parable, which gives the seed at
first a more.favourable reception. When it falls
on stony ground, it finds no great difficulty in
gaining admissibri into a little loose earth
scattered upon a rock; it springs"1 up with
atnazirig rapidity; but no sooner " does the
sun rise upon it with its scorching heat,
than it Withers away for want of depth of
earth, root, and moisture."
What

LECTURE XII, 303
What* a lively representation is this of
weak and unstable Christians ! They receive
Christianity; at first with gladness ;" they are
extremely ready to be made eternally happy,
and .suppose that they have nothing else to
do but to repeat their creed, and. take pos
session of heaven. But whep they find that
there are certain conditions to be performed
on their parts also ; that they must give up
their favourite interests and restrain their
strongest passions, must sometimes even pluck
out a right eye or tear off a right arm ; that
they must take up their cross and follow a cru
cified Saviour through many difficulties, dis->
tresses, and persecutions, their ardour arid ala
crity are instantly extinguished. They want
strength of mind, soundness of principle, and
sincerity of faith to support them. No won
der then that they fall away and depart from
their allegiance to their divine Master arid
Redeemer. , This is the second sort of hear
ers described in the parable, " that receive
the word at first withjoy; but having no
root in themselves, when tribulation and per
secution arise because of the word, by and by
they are offended." , This refers more im
mediately

301 LECTURE XII.
mediately to the first disciples and firs^preach-
ers of the Gospel, who were exposed in the
discharge of their high office to the severest
trials, and the crudest persecutions from their
numerous and powerful enemies; Some of
them undoubtedly, who had hot sufficient
root in themselves, gave way to the storms
that assailed them, and made shipwreck of
their faith, as our Lord here foretels that they
would. But others we know stood firm and
unmoved, amidst the most tremendous, dan
gers, and underwent, with unparelleled forti
tude, the most excruciating torments. The
description which the writer to the Hebrews
gives of the saints and prophets of old, may,
with the strictest truth, he applied to- the
apostles and their successors in the first ages
of the Gospel, under the various persecutions
to which they were exposed. " They had
trial of cruel mockings and scourgings, yea
moreover of bonds and imprisonments. They
were stoned, they were sawn asunder, were.
tempted, were slain with the sword, were des
titute, afflicted, tormented"*." All these bar
barities they endured with unshaken patience
• Heb. xi. 37. and

LECTURE XIL 305
and firmness, and thereby, bore the strongest
possible testimony, not only to their own sin
cerity, but to the divine and miraculous influ
ence pf the religion which they taught. ,. For.it
is justly and forcibly observed by the excel-
lept,Mrti Addison, that the astonisliing and*
unexampled fortitude which was shewn by in
numerable multitudes of ^martyrs, in those
slow and, painfol torments, that were inflicted
on .them, is nothing less than a standing mi
racle during .the three first centuries. "I.
cannot, says , he, conceive a man placed in
the burning iron chair of Lyons, amidst the
insults and mockeries . of ; a crowded ampin*:
theatre, and .still keeping his seat ; or stretch
ed, upon a grate of iron over an intense fire,
and breathing out his soul amidst the exqui
site sufferings of such a tedious execution, ra
ther than renounce his, religion, or blaspheme
higjSaviour, without supposing something su
pernatural. Such trials seem to me above the
strength of human nature, and able to over
bear duty, reason, faith, conviction, nay, and
the most absolute certainty .of a future state.
We caji easily imagine, that a few persons in
so good a' cause mi^ht.^ave laid down their
Vol. I. X lives

30$. LECTURE XII. ,
liyesat the gibbet, the stake, or the, block >•
but that jnulfjt&des of each sex, of every age*
of .different countries and, conditions, should*
for. near three hundred years together, ex
pire leisurely amidst the most exquisite tor
tures, rather than apostatize from the truths-
has something in it so far beyond the natural
strength and force of mortals, that one can
not but conclude there was some miraculous
power to support the sufferers; and if so, here
is at once a proof* from history and from fact*
of the divine origin of our religion*/'
There is a third portion of the seed that falls
dsmong thorns. This wants neither root nor^
depth of earth. It grows up; but the mis
fortune is* that the thorns grpw up with it<
The fault of the soil is not that of bearing no
thing* but of bearing too much ; of bearing:
what it ought not, of exhausting its strength
and nutrition on vile and worthless produc* ,
tions, which choke the good peed* and prevent ,
it from coming to perfection. ^Jfjiese-, are
they, says our Saviour, in the parallel place of
St. Luke, which, when they have- heard, go
fosglh, . and are i choked with cares, and riches,
^-.AddiBPiVs Eyidences, S, 7. -and

LECTURE XII. 307
and pleasures of this life, and bring ho fruit
to perfection." In their youth perhaps they
receive religious instruction* they imbibe
right principles, and listen "to good advice;
but no sooner do they go forth, no sooner do
they leave those persons- and those places
from whom they received them, than they
take the road either of business or of pleasure,
pursue their interests, their amusements, or
their guilty indulgences with unbounded.
eagerness, and have neither time nor inclina
tion to cultivate the seeds of religion that
have been sown in their hearts, and to eradi
cate the' weeds that have been mingled with
them. The consequence is, that the weeds
prevail, and the seeds are choked and lost.
Can there possibly be a more faithful pic
ture of a large proportion of the Christian
world ?' Let us look around us, and observe
how the greater part of those we meet with
are employed. In - what is it that their
thoughts are busied, their views, their hopes,
and their fears centered, their attention occu
pied, their hearts and souls and affections
engaged? Is it in searching the Scriptures, in
meditating on its doctrines, its precepts, its
xr 2 exhortations.

308 LECTIIRE .XII.
exhortations, it's promise?, and its threats? Is
it in communing with their own hearts, in
probing them to the very bottom, in looking
carefully whether there .be.,, any. way of wick
edness in them, in. plucking out every noxious
weed, and leaving room for the good seed to
grow and swell and expand itself, and bring
forth fruit tp perfection ? Is it in cultivating
purity of manners, a spirit of charity towards
the whole human race, and the most exalted
sentiments of piety, gratitude, and Jove towards
their Maker and Redeemer? These I fear are
far from .being the general and principal occu
pations of mankind. Too many of them are,
God knows, very differently employed. They
are overwhelmed with business, they are de
voted- to amusement, they are immersed in
sensuality, they are mad with ambition, they
are idolaters of wealth, of power, of glory, of
fame. On these things all their affections are
fixed. These are the great objects of their
pursuit; andifany accidental thought of .re
ligion happens to cross their way, they in
stantly dismiss the unbidden, unwelcome guest,
with the answer of Felix to Paul, " Go thy
way for this time ; when we have a conveni
ent season we will send for thee." But

LECTURE XIL , 309
But. how then, it is said, are we to conduct
ourselves ? If Providence has blessed us with
riches, with honour, with power, with reputa
tion, are we to reject these gifts of our hea
venly Father; or ought we not rather to ac
cept them with thankfulness, and enjoy with
gratitude, the advantages and the comforts
which his bounty has bestowed upon us?
Most assuredly we ought. But then they
are to be enjoyed also with innocence, with
•temperance, and with moderation. They must
not be allowed to usurp the first place in our
•hearts. They must not be permitted to sup
plant God in our affection, or to dispute that
pre-eminence and priority which he claims
over every propensity of our nature. This
and this only can prevent the good Seed from
being choked with the cares, the riches, and
the pleasures of the present life.
We now come in the last place to the seed
which fell on good ground, which our Lord
tells" us in St, Luke, denotes those that in an
honest and good heart, having heardthe word,
keep it, and bring' forth fruit with patience,
some an hundred fold,, some sixty, some
thirty. x 3 We

310 LlCTURE XII.
9"* We here see that the first and principal
qualification for hearing the word of God, for
keeping it, for rendering it capable of bring-
fng forth fruit, is an hohest and d good heart ;
that is, a heart free from all those evil disposi
tions and corrupt passions which blind the
eyes, distort the understanding* and obstrufct
the admission of divine truth ; a heart per
fectly clear from prejudice, from pride, from
vanity, from self-sufficiency,- and self-conceit;
a heart sincerely disposed and earnestly desir
ous to find out the truth,- and- firmly resolved
to embrace it when found ; ready to acknow
ledge its own ignorance, and weakness, and cor
ruption, and "to receive. with meeknesS-the in
grafted word, which is able to save the soul."
This is that innocence and simplicity and
singleness Of mind, which we find so frequently
recommended and so highly applauded hy
our blessed Lord, and which is so beautifully
and feelingly described when young children
• were brought to him that lie" should- touch
them, arid were checked by his disciples.
"Suffer little children to come unto -me,
say's he, and forbid them- not, for of such, is
the kingdom of heaven ; £md then he adds,
whosoever

LECTURE XII. -aw
whosoever shall not receive thekingdom of God
as a little child he. shall, not enter therein V
Here, in a few words, and by a most signify
cant and affecting emblem, is expressed that
temper and disposition of mind which is the
<most essential qualification for the kingdom of
^heaven. Unless we come tp the Gospel with
that meekness, gentleness, docility, and guile-
rjess simplicity, which constitute the character
of a child, and render him so lovely and cap
tivating, we cannot enter into the kingdom of
heaven ; we cannot either assent to the evi
dence, believe the doctrines, or obey the pre
cepts of the Christian religion- Hence we see
the true reason why so many men of distin
guished talents have rejected the religion of
.Christ. It is not because its evidences are de
fective, or its, doctrines repugnant to reason ;
j.t is because their dispositions were the very
reverse of what the Gospel requires ; because
(as their writings evidently . slmw) they were
high-spirited, violent, proud,, conceited, vain,
disdainful, and sometimes profligate too ; be
cause* in short, they wanted that honest apd
good heart, which not only receives thf,good
?Mark, x.. 14> 15:
x 4 seed,

312 LECTiURE XII.
seed, but keeps it, and nourishes it with un
ceasing patience, till it faring forth fruit to
-perfection. They could not enter into the
iterriage feast because they had not on the
oaaedddng garment, because they were' not
idathedwith Mmitity *. For " God resisteth
the proud, but giveth grace to the humble.
-Them that are meek shall he guide in judg
ment, and such as are gentle them shall he
learn his way-f-."
But here arises a difficulty on which the
-enemies of our faith lay great stress, and fre
quently alledge as an excuse for their infidelity
and impiety ,f If, say they, the success of the
good seed depends on the soil in which it is
sown, the success of the Gospel must, in the
same manner, depend (as this very parable is
meant to prove) on the temper and disposition
of the recipient, of the person to whom it is of
fered. Now this temper and disposition are
riot of our own making : they are the wbrk of
nature ; they are what our Creator has 'given
us. If then, in any particular instance, they
a¥e unfortunately such as disqualify us for the
; reception of the Gospel, the fault is not ourj;
* 1 Pet. v, 5. t James, iv. 6. Psalm xxv. 9. it

LECTURE XII. 313
it is in the soil, it is in our natural constitution,
for which surely we cannot be held responsible,
... This plea is specious and plausible; but it
is nothing more. The fact is, that the imbe
cility and corruption introduced into our mo
ral frame by the fall of our first parents, is in
some measure felt by all ; but undoubtedly in
different individuals shews itself in different de
grees, and that from their very earliest years.
Look at any large family of children living to
gether under the eye of their parents, and you
will frequently discover in them a surprizing
variety of tempers, humours, and dispositions;
and although the same instructions are given
to all, the same care and attention, the same
discipline, the same vigilance exercised over
each, yet some shall be, in their general con
duct, meek, gentle, and submissive ; others
impetuous, passionate, and froward; some ac
tive, enterprizing, and bold ; others quiet,
contented and calm ; some cunning, artful,
and close ; others open, frank, and ingenuous ;
some* in short, malevolent, mischievous, and
unfeeling ; others kind, compassionate, good-
natured, and though sometimes betraying the
infirmity

31-4 LECTURE XII.
infirmity of -human, nature by casual omissions
pfduty andLerrors of conduct, .yet^oon made
sensible of itheir faults, and easily . led back to
-regularity, .1 order, ,, piety, and virtue,
-Here then .is unquestionably the difference
of, natural constitution contended for. But
what is the true inference ?„, Is it that those
whose dispositions, are, the worst are to give
themselves up for lost, , are to abandon, all
hopes of salvation, and to alledge their de
praved nature as a sufficient apology for infi
delity or vice, as constituting a, complete ina
bility either to believe or tp obey thp.Gospel ?
No such thing, On the contrary, it is a strong
¦ and powerful call, first upon their parents and
the guides of their youth, and afterwards upon
themselves, to watch over, to restrain, to cor
rect, , to amend, to meliorate their eyi}. dispo
sitions, and, to supply, by attention, by. disci
pline, and by prayer, .what has, been ?depied
by nature, It may be thought hard, perhaps,
.that all this care, and labour, and painful con
flict, shouki be necessary to some, and pot (in
the same degree at least) to others; apd that
* -so marked a 4istinctipp tin so important a point
should

LECTURE XII. 315
should be made between creatures of the same
species. But is not the same distinction made
in ^other points of importance ? Are not men
placed from their very birth by the hand of
Providence in different situations of rank,
power, wealth? Are not some indulged with
every advantage, every blessing that their
hearts can wish, and others sunk in obscurity,
penury, and wretchedness ? Are not some fa
voured with the most splendid talents and ca
pacities for acquiring knowledge; Others slow
in conception, weak in understanding, and al
most impenetrable to instruction ? Are not
some blessed from their birth with strong,
healthy, robust constitutions, subject to no
infirmities, no diseases; others weak, sickly,
tender, liable tb perpetual disorders, and with
the utmost difficulty dragging on a precarious
existence ? Yet does this preclude all these dif
ferent individuals from improving their condi
tion ; does it prevent the lowest member of so
ciety frbm endeavouring to raise himself into
a superior class ; does it prevent the most in
digent from labouring^ to acquire a fortune by
jhdustry, frugality, and activity; doesit pre
vent

316 LECTURE XII.
vent the most ignorant from cultivating their
minds, and furnishing them with some degree
of knowledge ; does it prevent those of the ten-
defest and most delicate frames from strength- •
eniftg, confirming, and invigorating their
health, by management, by medicine, and
bv temperance ? We see the contrary every
day ; we see all these different characters suc
ceeding in their efforts beyond their most
sanguine expectations, and rising to a degree
of opulence, of rank, of power, of learning,
and of health, of which at their outset they
could not have formed the most distant idea.
And why then are we not to act in the same
manner with regard to our natural tempers* dis
positions, propensities, and inclinations? Why
are we not to suppose them as capable of
improvement and melioration as our condi
tion, our fortune, our intellectual powers,
and otir bodily health ? Why are we to al-
ledge impossibility in one case more than in
the others ? The truth is, that a bad consti
tution of rhind as well as of body may, by
proper care and attention, and the powerful in
fluences of the Holy Spirit, be greatly, if not
wholly, amended. Arid as it sometimes hap-
* pens

LECTURE XII. 317
,pens that they who have the weakest and
most distempered frames by means of an
exact regimen and an unshaken perseverance
in rule and method, outlive those of a ro-
buster make and more luxuriant health ; so
there are abundant instances where men of
the most perverse dispositions and most de
praved turn of mind, by keeping a steady
guard upon their weak parts, and gradually,
but continually, correcting their defects, apply
ing earnestly for assistance from above, going
on from strength to strength, and from one
degree of perfection to another, have at length
arrived at a higher pitch of virtue than those
for whom nature had done much more, and
who would therefore do but little for them
selves. Let us then never despair. If we have not
from constitution that honest and good heart
which is necessary for receiving the good seed,
and bringing forth fruit with patience, we may
by degrees, and by the blessing of God, gra
dually acquire it. If the soil is not originally
good, it may be made so. by labour and culti
vation ; but above all, , by imploring our hea
venly Father to shower down upon it the plen tiful

318 LECTURE XII.
tiful effusions of his grace, which he has pro
mised to all that devoutly and fervently and
constantly pray for it. This dew from heaven,
"shed abroad on our hearts*," will refresh
and invigorate and purify oUr souls; will cor
rect the very worst disposition ; will soften and
subdue the hardest and most ungrateful soil,
will make it clean and pure and moist, fit for
the reception of the good seed ; and notwith*
standing its original poverty and barrenness^
will enrich it with strength and vigour suffi
cient to bring forth fruit to perfection,
I have now finished these Lectures for the
present year, and must, on this occasion, again
tan treat you to let those truths, to which you
have listened with so much patience and per
severance, take entire possession of your hearts.
They are not vain, they are not trivial things,
they are the words of eternal life ; they relate
to the most important of all human concerns^
to the most essential interests and comforts of
the present life,/ and to the-destiny, the eternal
destiny of happiness' or misery that awaits
you in the next. - * Rom. v, 5.
You

LECTURE XII.I 319
, You have just heard the parable of the sower ¦
explained, and it behoves you to consider in
which of the four classes of men there de*
scribed you can fairly rank yourselves^ Are'*
you in the number of, those that receive the ¦*
seed by the way-fide, on hearts as impenetra
ble and inaccessible to conviction as the hard «
beaten high road ? or .of those that receive the
seed on a little loose earth scattered ona rock,
where it quickly springs up, < and, as i quickly
withers away ? or off those in whom the seed1"
is choked with thorns, with the occupations
and pleasures of this life ? or* lastly, of those
who receive the seed on good ground, on an
honest and good heart*, and bring forth fruit,
some a hundred fold* some sixty, some thirty ?
It becomes every one of you to ask yourselves
this question very seriously, and to answer it ><
very honestly ; for on that depends the whole
colour of your future condition here and here
after.- oo asaim! Ihs jo 'ins):
There are none I -trust here present, there
are few I believe in this country, who fall
under the first description of professed and har- if
dened unbelievers ; and amidst many painful j
circumstances of these awful and anxious times
- "7 it

320 LECTURE XIL
it is some consolation to us to reflect, that the
incredible pains which have been taken ip a
multitude of vile publications to induce the
people of this country to apostatize from their
religion, have not made that general and per-:
manent impression on their minds which might
naturally have been expected from such ma
lignant and reiterated efforts to shake their
principles and subvert their faith. But there
are other instruments of perversion and cor
ruption, much more formidable and more
powerful than these. Theve are rank and
noxious weeds and thorns, which grow up
with the good seed and choke it, and pre
vent it from coming to maturit}'. These are,
as the parable tells us, the cares, the riches,
and the ' pleasures of this world, which in
our passage through life lay hold upon our
hearts, and are moi\e dangerous obstructions
to the Gospel than all the speculative argu
ments and specious sophistry of all itsk adver
saries put together. It is but seldom, I believe,
comparatively speaking, that men are fairly
reasoned out of their religion. But they
are very frequently seduced, both from the
qAi practice

LECTURE XII. 32I
practice and the belief of it, by treacherous
passions within and violent temptations from
without, by " the lust of the flesh, the lust of
the eye, and the pride of life," These are in
fact the most common, the most powerful ene
mies of our faith. These are the weeds and
the thorns that twist themselves round every
fibre of our hearts, which impede the growth
and destroy the fruitfulness of every , good
principle that has been implanted there, and
form that third and most numerous class of
hearers described in the parable of the soAver,
who, though hot professed infidels, are yet
practical unbelievers, and who, though they
retain the form, have lost all the substance, all
the power, all the life and soul of religion.
It is then, agairist these most dangerous cor
rupters of* our fidelity and allegiance to our
heavenly Master, that we must principally be
upon our guard ; it is against these we must
arm and prepare our souls, by summoning all
our fortitude and resolution, and calling in to
our aid all those spiritual succours which the
pdwer of prayer can draw down upon us from
above. It was to assist us in this arduous con
flict that the compilers of our liturgy ap-
Vol. I. Y pointed

3^2 LECTURE XII.
pointed the season of Lent, and -metre parti
cularly the offices of the, concluding, week,
which, from the sufferings of our Saviour at
that time, we call Passion week. ..It was
thought, and surely it was wisely thought, by
our ancestors, that to fortify ourselves against
the attractions of the world, and the seductions
pf sin, it was necessary to withdraw ourselves
sometimes from the tumultuous and intoxicat
ing scenes of business and of pleasure, which,
in the daily commerce of life, press so close on
every side of us ; and to strengthen and conr
firm our minds against their fatal influence,
by retirement, by recollection, by self-com
munion, by self-examination, by meditating
on the word of God, and, above all, by fre
quent and fervent prayer. To give us time
for these sacred occupations, a small portion
of every year has been judiciously set apart
for them by our church; and what time could
be so proper for those holy purposes, as that
in which our blessed Lord was suffering so
much for our sakes? I allude more particularly
to that solemn week which is, now approaebr
ing, and to which Imust beg to call the most
serious attention of every one here present. i0 ¦
In

LECTURE XII. 32^
In that week all public diversions are, as
you well know, wisely prohibited by public au
thority ; andinconformity to the spirit of such
prohibition, we should, even in our own fami
lies and in Our own private amusements, be
temperate, modest, decorous, and discreet.
Think not, however, that I am here recom
mending gloom and melancholy, and a seclusibh
from all society ; far from it. This could an
swer no other purpose but to sour your minds
and to deaden your devotions. The cheerful
ness of social converse and friendly intercourse
is by no means inconsistent with the duties of
the week ; but all those*tumultuous assemblies,
which are too strongly marked with an air of
levity, gaiety, and dissipation, and may in
fact be ranked in the number of public di
versions, are plainly repugnant to that seri
ousness and tenderness of mind, which the
awful and interesting events of that week
must naturally inspire. Let me oply request
you to read over, when you return home,
that plain, simple, unaffected, yet touching
narrative of our Saviour's sufferings, which is
selected from the Gospels, in the daily offices
of the next week; and then ask your own
''¦¦ i% $ hearts

324 LECTURE XII.
hearts' whether, at the very time when
your Redeemer is supposed to have passed
through all those dreadful scenes ,for your
sakes and *for your salvation, from his first
agony in the garden, to> his last expiring
groan upon the cross, whether, at this very
time you can bring yourselves -to pursue the
pleasures, the vanities, and the follies of the
world, with the same unqualified eagerness and
unabated ardour as if nothing had happened
which had given him the slightest pain, or in
which you had the smallest interest or con
cern. Your hearts, I am sure, will revolt
at the very idea, and your own feelings
will preserve you from thus wantonly sport
ing with the cross of Christ. And if
to a prudent abstinence from these things
you were to add a careful i enquiry into
your past conduct, and the present state pf
your souls, if you were to extend your views
to another world, and consider what your con
dition there is likely to be ; what reasonable
grounds you have to hope for a favourable
sentence1 from your Almighty Judge ; how far
you have conformed to the commands of your
Maker, and. what degree of affection and gra
titude

LECTURE XII. 323
titude you have manifested for the inexpressible
kindnessof your Redeemer ; this surely would
be an employment not inconsistent with your
necessary occupations, and not unsuitable to
humble candidates for pardon, acceptance,
and immortal happiness.
Is this too great a burthen to be im
posed upon us for a few days ; is it too great
a sacrifice of our time, our thoughts, and our
amusements to an invisible world and a re
versionary inheritance of inestimable value ?
It certainly is, if the Gospel be all a fabri
cated tale. But if it contain the words of
soberness and truth ; if its divine authority is
established by such an accumulation of evi
dence of various kinds as never before con
curred to prove any other facts or events in
the history of the world, by evidences spring
ing from different sources, yet all centering in
the same point, and converging to the same
conclusion; if even the few incidental proofs
that have been offered to your consideration
in the course of these Lectures have produced
that conviction in your minds which they seem
to have done, what then is the consequence ?
Is it not that truths of such infinite importance
• y 3 well

326* LECTURE XII.
well deserve all that consideration for which I
am, now contending; and that we ought to
embrace with eagerness every appointed
means and every favourable oppbrtunity that
is thrown in our way, of demonstrating our
attachment and our gratitude to a crucified
Saviour, who died for our sins and rose again
for our justification, and will come once more
in glory to judge the world in righteousness,
and to distribute bis rewards and punishments
tb all the nations of the earth assembled be
fore him ? At that awful tribunal may we all
appear1 with a humble confidence in the me
rits of our Redeemer, and a trembling hope
of that mercy which he has promised to every
sincere believer, every truly contrite and peni-*
tent offender !

[ 327 T]

LECTURE XIII.

Matthew xiii. continued,
THE Lectures of the last year concluded
with an explanation of the parable of
the sower ; -and immediately after this follow*
in the Gospel the parable of the tares, which
will be the subject of our present considera
tion*^. t , , ., , v
The parable is as follows: "The kingdom,
of heaven is hkened unto a man which, sowed
good seed in his field ; but while men slept,
his enemy came and sowed tares among the
wheat, and went his way. But when the
blade was sprung up, and brought forth fruit,
then appeared the tares also. So the ser*
vants of the householder came and said unto
him, Sir, didst thou not sow good seed in thy
field ; from whence then hath it tares ? He
said unto, them, an enemy hath done this.
* Matth. xiii. 24.
y 4 The

328 LECTURE XIII.
The servants said unto him,, wilt thou' then
that we go and gather them up* But he said
nay, lest while ye gather up the tares* ye root
up also the wheat.with'them. Let both grow
together unto the harvest; and in the" time
of harvest I -will say to the reapers* gather ye
together- first the tares, and bind them up in
bundles to burn them, but gather the wheat
into my barn."
After our Lord had delivered ¦ this parable,
and one or two more very short ones, we are
told that he sent the multitude away, and
went into the house ; and his disciples came un
to him, saying, " Declare unto us the parable
of the tares of the field. He answered. and
said unto them, he that soweth the godd Seed
is the Son of man. The field is the world ;
the good seed are the children of the king
dom, but the tares are the children of the
wickpd one. The enemy that sowed1- themis
the devil. The harvest is the end of the
wprld, and the reapers are the angels.' As
therefore the tares are gathered and burned
in the fire, so shall it be-in the end of this
world. The Son of man -shall send forth his
angels,"

LECTURE XIII. 329
angels," and they shall gather out of his king
dom all things that offend, and them which
do iniquity* and shall cast them into a fur
nace of fire, there shall be weeping-and gnash
ing of teeth.. Then shall the righteous shine
forth as the sun inthe kingdom of their Fa
ther : who hath ears to hear let him hear."
This parable well deserves our most serious
consideration, as it gives an answer to two
questions of great curiosity and great import
ance, which have exercised the ingenuity and
agitated the minds of thinking men from the
earliest times to the present, and perhaps were
never, at any period of the world, more inte
resting than at this very hour.
The first of these questions is, how came
moral evil into the world ?
The next is, why is it suffered to remain a
single moment ; and why is not every wicked
man immediately punished as he deserves ?
The first of these questions has, we know,
in almost all ages, and in all countries, been
a constant subject of investigation and contro
versy among metaphysicians and theologians,
and has given birth to an infinity of fanciful
theories and systems, to one more particularly in

33* LECTURE XIII.
in our own times, by a man of very distin
guished talents* ; all which however havei
failed of solving the difficulty, and have proved
nothing more than this mortifying and hu
miliating truth, namely, the extreme weak.-.
ness of the human intellect, when applied to
subjects so far above its reach, and the utter
inability of man to fathom tht counsels of the
Most High, and to develop the mysterious ways
of his providence, by the sole strength of un
assisted reason -j--. That those who were never
favoured with the light of revelation should
indulge themselves in such abstruse, specula*
tions, can be no great. wonder; but that they
who have access to the original fountain of
truth, and can draw from that sacred source
the most authentic information on this point,
* Soame Jenyns. • -' .
•% Among the dissertations of Plutaich (which go by
the name of his morals), there is a very curious and inge
nious one, intitled vreft-Tav otj-o-ts ®eiou fyetbka$ TifXafHfuivcnt)
concerning those whom the t>eity is slow in punishing.
Jn this, amongother just , remarks^ he observes, "that
niany things which great generals, and legislators, and*
statesmen'do, are to common observers incomprehen
sible. What wonder is it then, says he^if w£ cannot
linder^tand why the gods inflict v punishinent on the
yicked, sometimes at an earlier, sometimes at a laie£
period? "Plut* Ed. Xyland. v. 2. p'li549.-' F. wo >,.i-jV
5 should

LECTURE XIII. 331
should have recourse to the fallible conjec
tures of human ingenuity, and should hew out
to themselves "cisterns, broken cisterns, that
can hold no water," is a most unaccountable
error of judgment, and a strange misapplica
tion of talents, and waste of labour and of
time. -We are told in the very beginning of
the Bible, that he who first brought sin or
moral evil into the world, was that great ad
versary of the human race, the devil, who first
tempted the woman, and she the man, to act
in direct contradiction to the commands of
their Maker.
This act of disobedience destroyed at once
that innocence and purity and integrity of
mind, with which they came out of the hands
of their Creator ; gave an immediate and
dreadful shock to their whole moral frame,
and introduced into it all those corrupt pro
pensities and disordered passions which they
bequeathed as a fatal legacy to their de
scendants ; of which we all now feel the bitter
fruits, and have, I fear, by our own personal
and voluntary transgressions, not a little im
proved the wretched inheritance we received
from our ancestors. This is the true origin of
moral

335 LECTURE XIII.
moral evil ; and it is expressly confirmed by
our Saviour in the parable before us ; in which,
when the servants of the householder express
their surprise at finding tares among the
wheat, and ask whence they ; came, his an
swer is, an enemy hath done this ; and that
enemy our Lord informs us is the devil ; that
inveterate implacable enemy'(as the very name
of Satan imports) of the human race, the ori^
ginal author of all our calamities* and at this
moment, the prime mover and great master-
spring of all the wickedness and all the misery
that now overwhelm the world.
To this account great objections have been
made, and no small pains taken to confute, to
expose, and to ridicule it. But after all the
wit and buffoonery which have been lavished
upon it* it may safely be; affirmed, and might
easily be shown,' that it stands on firmer
ground, and is encumbered with fewer diffi
culties than any other hypothesis that has
bepn: yet proposed.'' - ' uis.
But still, as I have already observed, there
remains another very important question to
be answered. Why is the wickedness of
man, from whatever source it springs, suffered to

LECTURE XIII. 333
to pass unobserved and unpunished by the
Judge of all the earth? Why is not the bold
offender stopped short in his career of vice, and,
iniquity ? , Why is he permitted to go on tri
umphantly, without any obstacle to his wishes,
to insult, oppress, and harass the virtuous and
the good, without the least check or control,
and, as it were to brave the vengean.ce of the
Almighty, and set at nought the great .Gover
nor of the world ? Why, in short, in the lan
guage of the parable, are the tares allowed to
grow up unmolested with the wheat, to choke
its vigour, and impede its growth ? Why are
they not plucked, up -instantly with an indig
nant hand, and thrown to the dunghill* or
-committed to the flames ?
This has been a most grievous " stumbling
stone, a rock of offence," not only to the un
thinking crowd, but to men of serious thought
and reflection in every age ; and scarce any"
thing has more perplexed and disturbed the
minds of the good, or given more encourage
ment or audacity to the bad, than' the little
notice that seems to be taken of the most enor-t
mous crimes, and the little distinction that
is apparently made between " the wheat and the

334 LECTURE XIII.
the tares, between the righteous and the
\ricked, between him that ¦ serveth God, arid
him that serveth him not."
The reflections which these mysterious pro
ceedings are apt to excite even in the best and
humblest of men, are most inimitably ex
pressed by the royal Psalmist in the 7 3d Psalm,
where you see all the different turns and work
ings of his mind laid open without disguise,
and all the various ideas and sentiments that
successively took possession of his soul in'the
progress of his enquiry, described in the most
natural, and affecting manner. " Truly, says
he (with that piety which constantly inspires
him) God is loving to Israel ; even unto such
as are of a clean heart ; nevertheless my feet
were almost gone; my treadings had well nigh
slipped. And why ? I was grieved at the
"Wicked ; I do also see the ungodly in Such pros
perity. For they are in no peril of death, but
are lusty and strong. They come in no mis
fortune like other folk ; neither are they
pklgued like other men. And < this is the
cause, that they are so holden with' pride, and
overwhelmed, with cruelty. Their eyes swell
ajryith fatness, and they do even what they lust.
They

LECTURE XIII. 335
They corrupt other, and speak of wicked blas
phemy ; their talking is against the Most High. ,
Tush, say they, how should God perceive it;
is there knowledge in the Most High? Lo,
these are the ungodly. These prosper in the
world, and these have riches in possession.
And I said, then I have cleansed my heart in
vain, and washed my hands in innocency ?"
Sentiments such as these are, I believe,
what many good men have found occasionally
rising in their minds, on observing the pros
perity of the worthless part of mankind. But
never were they before so beautifully and so
feelingly expressed as in this passage. These
complaints, however, soon pass away with men
of pious dispositions, and end in meek submis
sion to the will of Heaven. But not so with the
wicked and profane. By them the forbear
ance of Heaven towards sinners is sometimes
perverted to the very worst purposes, and made
use of as an argument to encourage and con
firm them in the career of vice. This effect
is well and accurately described in the book of
Ecclesiastes. " Because sentence against' an
evil work is not executed speedily, therefore

336 LECTURE- XHIJ
the hearts of the sons of men are fully set in
them to do evil*." W*"/
; It was to obviate these fatal consequences^
as 'well as to give support and consolation to
the good, that our Lord delivered this patfabl©
of the tares and the wheat, which will enable
us to solve the arduous question above-men
tioned, arising from the impunity and pros
perity of the wicked, and to vindicate in this,
instance the ways of God to man.
, But before I begin to state and explain the
reasons of that forbearance and lenity towards
sinners, which is so much objected to in the
divine administration of the world, I must take
notice of one very material circumstance in the
case, which is, that the evil complained of is
greatly magnified, and represented to be much
more generally prevalent =¦ than it really is.
The fact is, that although punishment does
not always overtake the wicked in this life,
yet it falls upon them more frequently and
heavily than , we are aware of. They: are *
often punished when we do not observe it;
but they are also sometimes punished in the
most public and conspicuous manner.
* Eccles. viii. 11, "'"'•¦ •
The

LECTURE XIH. 337
¦•¦ The very first offence committed by man
after the creation of the world was, as we
know to our cost, followed by immediate and
exemplary punishment. The riext great'Crimi--
nal, Cain, was rendered a fugitive and a vaga
bond upon earth, and held Up as an object of
execration and abhorrence to mankind. When
the whole earth was sunk in wickedness,' it was
overwhelmed by a deluge. The abominations'
of Sodom and Gomorrah were avenged by
fire from heaven. The tyrant Pharaoh and
his host were drowned in the Red Sea. Korah,'*
Dathan, and Abiram, and their rebellious
.companions, were buried alive in the bowels
of the earth. It was for their portentous
wickedness and savage practices that the Ca-
naanite nations were' exterminated by the Isr
raelites; and it was for their idolatries, their
licentiousness, and their rebellions against
God, that the Israelites themselves were re
peatedly driven into exile, reduced to slavery,
and at length their city, their temple, and their
whole civil polity utterly destroyed, and them
selves scattered arid dispersed over every part
of the known world, and every where treated
with derision and contempt. It will be said,
Vol. I. Z perhaps,

338 L*ErrURE x$t
perhaps, that these were (the eonsequences
of, the, peculiar theocratic iprm of their- go
vernment, .under which tho rewards and the
punishments i were temporal and immediate,
apd that they are not to be expected in the
present state of human affairs. Still however
they are proofs, and tremendous proofs, that
(^od'is not an inattentive, and unconcerned
spectator of human wickedness. But let us
come to our own times, and to the fa-tea andlfor-
tunes of individuals, undeu our own observation.
Ejo we not continually see that they who m-
(Julge their passions without control, atpd<give
an unbounded loose to every corrupt propen
sity of their, hearts, are sooner or later the
yiotiin.s; of their own, intemperance and licen-
tippsp^ss.? Do they not. madly sacrifice to, the
love, of pleasure, and frequently within a very
short space of time, their health, their fortune,
the^ir, characters, their peace of mind, and that;
tpp? completely ,an4 effectually, and beyond
all hopes of recovery ? The instances of t^jpis,
are many and .dreadful, without taking ..into
the account^, such flagrant, crimes a§ deliver
nien pver, into the hands of public,. justice.
. Nqw what is all this. but the sentence of Qocb.
4 speedily

LECTURE Xiii. 339
speedily executed against evil works? It may
be alleged, that these are only the natural
consequences of wrong conduct, and not the
immediate judicial inflictions of Heaven. But
who is it that has made these evils the natural
consequences of vice ? who but the great Au
thor of nature ? He hath purposely formed his
world and his creature man in such: a manner,
that these penalties shall follow close upon
wickedness, as a present mark of his abhor
rence and detestation of it ; and they fall on
many offenders, both so speedily and so' hea
vily, that till second thoughts correct the first
impression, it seems almost an impeachment
of his- goodness" that he inflicts them.
Still it must be confessed that wickedness
is sometimes triumphant; and so also does
vfolly sometimes meet with success in the world ;
. but it is« true notwithstanding, that it labours
under great disadvantages, andimmoral con
duct under still greater. The natural tendency
of sin is to 'misery. Accidents may now and
then prevent this-, but not generally; ; art arid
cunning may evade it,, but not nearly so often
asmen imagine. z 2 But

340 LECTURE XIII.
- But supposing the guilty to escapeifor $
time all sufferings, and in consequence of it, to
please themselves highly ^with the-pfudefnce^of
their choice; yet still punishment, though
slow, may overtake them1 at k-st. ; The blind
ness of such men to consequences is quite
astonishing;! One man evades hhe1 • penalties
of human laws in a few instances, !a?rid there
fore concludes he shall never be overtaken' by
them.*5* Another preserves his reputation for
a time, and thence imagines it to be perfectly
secure, "f A third finds his health hold out a
few years, and therefore has not the least
suspicion that what he is always undermining
must fall at last, ijpsm. <hr, irtttU-.fe^W -pyj;t^«
Wow each v of r these may, if he pleases,
applaud his own wisdom; but every one else
must see his extreme stupidity and 'folly-.' In'
fact,*' whoever commits sin lj has swallowed
poison, which from' that moment begihs to
operate ; at first perhaps by a -'pleasing in toxical
tiop, -afterward- by slow and uncertain' degrees.!
but still the disease is withinVand is:inb¥fal|
and since it may every instant break "Out'*witfr
fatal violence, it is a melancholy thing to- see
the

LECTURE XIIL 3-41:
the ' person infected filled,- with ¦ a'mradrjoy*:
which must end in heaviness and death. r> -> ;
Vice* especially ,of some softs, affects to-
wear a smiling countenance, and the days that
are spent in it passale-ngfor a, time. pleasantly
enough ; but, little do the/ poor wretches thai?
are deluded by it reflect what bitterness i they
are treasuring up for the rest of life, and, how
soon they may come to taste it in such conse
quences, as i even the* completest reformationj-
and the strictest care afterwards, will very im-»-
perfectly either prevent or. cure.
After all, however, it must be acknow
ledged, that there are numbers of worthless
and profligate men* who go on for a consider
able length of time, perhaps even to the end
qf their days* in a full tide of worldly prosper
rity, blessed with everything that is : though^:
most valuable in this life, wealth, power, ranker
health* and strength, and enjoying all these
advantages without interruption and alloy,
'*¦ oomipg-inipo misfortune like other folk, and
not plagued or afflicted .like other men " - h|;
These, it must be confessed,? are strong'
symptoms of happiness* if we are to judge
from appearances only. But does riot every
one know that happiness depends infinitely
z 3 less

342 LECTURE' XIII.
less upon external circumstances than on the
internal comfort, content, and satisfaction Of
the mind ? May I not appeal to every- one
here present, whether some of theacutest suf
ferings, and the most exquisite joys he has
experienced, are not those which are confined
to his own breast, which he enjoys in'secrecy
and in silence, in his retired and private mo
ments, unobserved by the world, and indepen
dent on all exterior show ? *"' The heart only
(says the wise man most truly) knoweth its
own bitterness, and a stranger doth not inter
meddle with its joy *." This then is the stand
ard by which you must measure human happi
ness. You must not too hastily conclude that
prosperity is felicity. In order to know whe
ther these men are truly what they seem to
be, you mustfollowtheminto their retirements,
into their closets, and to their couches; and
if you could then see the interior of their
hearts, you would probably find them objects
rather of pity than of envy. Whatever they
may pwftend, or whatever air of eheerfulness
they may assume, it is utterly impossible that
theys whose sole object is to -gratify their -pas
sions without the least regard to the -feelings of
* Pr'ov; xiv. 10. ¦ **
others ;

LECTURE XIII. a43
others j who are corrupting all around them
by their conversation and their exarriplei or;
spreading ruin, misery, and desolation Oyer
the world by their inordinate ambition ; whp
not only live in a constant violation of the
commands of their Maker, but^perlmps even
deny his existence," renounce his authority,
and treat every thing serious and ; religious
with derision apdoontempt : it is, I say, utterly
impossible that these men, whatever external.
magnificence or gaiety fnay surround them,
can enjoy that peace and comfort and content
of mind, which alone constitutes real and siib-
stantial happiness, arid without which every
thing else is insipid and Unsatisfactory. A se
cret consciousness that they are acting wrong,
that they are degrading &nd" debasing their
nature, and wasting their time in mean, un
worthy, and mischievous pursuits ; frequent
pangs of remorse for the irreparable injuries
they have done to those whom they have' be
trayed or oppressed, and whose peace and
comfort they have for ever destroyed ; a drea,d
; of that Almighty Being whom they have re
sisted and insulted; a fear of death, and an
apprehension of that punishment hereafter,
Z.4 which,

344 LECTURE
which* though they affect. to disbelieve and
despise, they, cannot help knowing: to be pos^
sible, and feeling that they deserve i alL these
reflectiops, whjich, in spite of their utmost, gf-
fprts to stifle; them, will very often force them-
selvesu upon, their minds, are sufficient i to
counteract every qther advantage they possess,
and to embitter ; every enjoyment) of their
lives. ,A11 shall look outwardly gay and, happy,
and a)l within ; shall be joyless and gloomy.
They shall seem to have every thing, they
wish, and in fact, have nothing that affords
them any genuine satisfaction,,, or preserves
them from the internal wretchedness that per
petually haunts then?. " God (as the -Psalmist
expresses it) gives them their hearts desire, and
sends leanness withal, into their souls * ;" that
is, a tptaj, in capacity of deriving any true com
fort from the blessings they possess. , ->q^, »..
T.,am not; here drawing imaginary (pictures
pf misery, or describ,ing situations which have
neyjer exited; I could. refer you to well-known
example?,' whichf could amply confirm the
truth of my assertions, and. would clearly, show
i that the prosperity of the wicked is no proof
* Psalm cvi. I.'i.' _,, :of

LECTURE XIII. 345
of their' happiness ; that external calamities and
corporeal pains, acute sufferings, disease," or
death, are not the only instruments of ven
geance which the Almighty has in his hand for
the correction of sinners; but that he has other
"engines of punishment far more; terrible than
these; that he can plant daggers in the breast
of the most triumphant libertine ; and that
. even when their worldly blessings are exalted,
his secret dart can pierce their souls, and wririg
them with tortures sharper than a two-edged
sword, yet invisible to every mortal eye *. !
It appears, therefore, that sinners are in
fact much oftener and' much more severely
punished than we are aware; that God is even
v now exercising a moral government over the
world ; that he is filling them with the fruits
of their own devices*- and chastening them in
a variety of ways, riot always discernible by
us, ; admonishing some by gentle corrections
to sin no more, lest a worse thing come unto
them; but crushing some by severer strokes,
* " As itialefactors, when they go to punishment., carry
their own cross^ so wickedness generally carries its Own
torment along with, it, and is a most^kilful artificer of
its own misery, filling the mind- with terror, remorse,
and the most agonizing reflection." Plut. Ed. Xyland,
v. 2. p- 554. A. " that

346 LECTURE XIII.
" that others may hear and fear, and do np
"more any such wickedness*."
- Still however it must 'be owned, that pu
nishment does not always overtake the of
fender either speedily or immediately ; and
therefore I proceed to show, that when this
is the case, there are sufficient reasons for
the delay.
, : It is obvious that every scheme which com
prehends a great variety of intentions and
views, cannot permit all of them to be accom
plished at once, but some things, by no means
to be omitted entirely, must however be
postponed* Now such a complicated system
is that of the government of the world, in
which God may have many designs altogether
unknown to us; and of those which we- know
best, we are far from being judges M'hich it
is right for him to prefer, whenever they hap
pen to interfere -f. Offenders, whom zj^are
impatient to see punished as they deserve, he
, ¦*:.DHnt. xiii. 11, . f- .-
•|- " It. is as absurd, for us to blame the gods .for not pu
nishing, the wicked at the time and in the manner which
we think the fittest, as it would be for an ignorant clown
to censure a physician for not administering the most
efficacious, medicines, fp his patient at those, times which
fie, the said clown, judges to be the most proper." Plut.
V. 2. p. 549- F.
may

LECTURE XHL U7
may see it expedient, for various reason's, to
spare. One of these reasons is given brush*
parable before us. When the servants of the
householder represented to him that there was
a'great number of tares intermixed and grow
ing up with the wheat, and asked whether they
should not go and root them up ; his answer
was, nay; lest while ye gather up the tares, ye
root up the wheat also with them. The mean
ing is, that in the present imperfect scene of
things, the virtuous and the wicked are so in
termingled and so connected with each other,
that it is frequently impossible to punish the
guilty without involving the innocent in their
sufferings. In the case of sinful nations, or any
large bodies of men, this is very apparent. It
may happen that a very considerable1 part of
a great "community may be guilty of the most
eriormous crimes, of oppression, injustice,
ambition, cruelty, murder, and impiety, and
We are apt to call out for immediate and
exemplary vengeance on such wretches as
these. But if this vengeance was to be exe
cuted ifl all its extent, if this people was to be
'extirpated1 by fire and sword, or to <be de
stroyed by famine, by pestilence, or earth-
"" quake,

&s * LECTURE Xlff.
ijaake, it is evident that great numbers of
innocent persons must perish in this general
wreck, and that the wheat would , be roqted
up with the fares/ Jnstead therefore of cen
suring the dispensations of the Almighty in
these iristarices* we ought to praise and adore
him for exercising his mercy when we should
have no compassion, and for sparing the wicked.
lest he should destroy the righteous.
But though this reasoning may be allowed
in the case of guilty nations, yet it maybe
thought not. to. hold good with respect to in
dividual's* It may be alleged, that single of
fenders at least may be cut off, without doing
ahy injury to the innocent or the virtuous;
But is this a fact which can at all times be
safely assumed? 3s the criminal, whom you
wish to see chastised, a perfectly unconnected*
solitary, and isolated being? Has he no wife
or children, no relations,, no dependents, no
persons of any description, that look up to him
for protection, support, or assistance ? If he
has, are you, sure that all these persons are as
worthless and as, deserving of correction, as
himself ? ' May' they hot, on the contrary, be
as eminent in virtue as he is in wickedness; or
! at

LECTURE XIII. 349
at the Jeast, may they not be exempt from
many of those flagrant sins that call for im
mediate and exemplary punishment? If so,
would you have these innocent, and perhaps
excellent persons, involved in the ruin of the
great delinquent, on whom they entirely de+
peitid ? Would you have the righteous Go
vernor of the universe make no distinction in
the infliction of his punishments? Should we
not rather adopt the pathetic language of
Abraham, when he is pleading with the Al
mighty for Sodom and Gomorrah? " Wilt thou
slay the righteous with the wicked ? That be
far from thee. Shall not the Judge of all the
earth do right*?" You see then that there may
be the best and most substantial reasons for
delaying the punishment of the wicked, both
with respect to nations and individuals; and
that when we ate rashly calling out for imme
diate ven|eance,' ' the Judge of all the earth is
full of •tehderriess and pity, and sees the best
reasons for respiting even the most notorious
offenders. ,, . ,. .
But besides this, there are other reasons
for God's forbearance towards sinners. They
* Gen. "xviii. 25.J ,.-.¦-.., are

t** LECTURE xilt
sjtse sometimes,' as the jsrophet expresses i%, the
rod of his anger *.: He makes use of them
as> instruments to chastise each ofcher, or to
jqorrect the faults of those who ar#onuch betr
ter than themselves. And it frequently hap-^
pens that their punishment is only delayed till
they have . completely finished the work for
which they were raised up, ^ and that then
they are made to justify the dispensations of
the. Almighty by the awful spectacle of a
conspicuous and terrifying fall, tjr, ¦¦.$&£
i To instance only the case of one notorious
offender. That miscreant Judas Iscariot,
long ibefore he betrayed his master, gave
proofs of a most depraved; and corrupt dispo"
sition> He was intrusted with the little stock
that belonged in common to our Lord and
the apostles; he kept the bag, and he robbed
it. j <» This flagrant, breach -of trust certainly
i deserved the severest punishment;' and no
doubt the disciples secretly murmured in their
hearts, and condemned their divine masteu
xfor too great lenity towards so vile a wretchj
But they knew not what he knew, that he was
reserved for an. important, though neferioas
* Isaiah x. 5>. purpose,

LECTURE XIII. 35*
purpose, and was to be,* the instrument of be?
traying. the Saviour of the world into thq
hands of his murderers, a deed for which his
former crimes showed him to be perfectly well
qualified. When this work of darkness was
done,- his doom was, sealed, his punishment
instantly followed ; and* what increased its
bitterness, it was inflicted with his own, hand.
There is still another very important con
sideration, which may frequently occasion a
delay in punishing even grievous offenders ;
and that is, the goodness and long-suffering
of God;, who is. not willing that any should
perish, but that all should have time for re?-
pentance. He who looks, into the hearts of men, may
see various reasons for sparing those. whom we.
would consign to immediate destruction. He
may discern some good qualities in them which
are unknown to us, some good dispositions arid
good principles, which have entirely escaped
our, observation. He may, perceive: that they
have been betrayed into the crimes they
have committed, more by unfortunate circum-*
stances, by.error of judgment, by mistaken zeal,
by wrqng education, .by? the, solicitation and the

35 2 LECTURE XIIL
the influence of worthless companions, than foy
an incurable and inveterate depravity of heart.
He may see, that amidst a multitude of vile
weeds, there are still some seeds of virtue re
maining in their breasts, which, if duly che
rished and fostered, and cultivated with care
and' tehde-rness-, may produce most yaluablo
fruits of righteousness. M He is unwilling
therefore to break the bruised reed., or to
quench the smoking flax*." He is unwil
ling to destroy what may still possibly be re
stored ; he is unwilling; to extinguish, , by se-r
verity, the faintest sparks of latent goodness.
He sees, in short, that if they have time for
reflection, if they have space for repentance,
they will repent, and he graciously gives* them
a respite for that purpose -j-.
;....-.• And,
* Matth. xii. 20. . I „ti\
f " Those offenders whom the Deity knows tp be ah-*
solutely incurable, he destroys ; but to those in whom
he discovers some good dispositions, ,and a probability
of reformation, he gives time for amendment;. Thus
by immediate punishment he- corrects a. few, but by
sometimes delaying, it he recovers and.reforms mmy"
Plut. v. 2. p. 551. C. P.
To this may be added another fine observation of
the same author ; " that God is sometimes slow in pu
nishing the wicked, in order to leach us mortals a lesson of

VECTUR15 ~KX1I. 353
And: shall we repine or murmur at this
forbearance, this indulgence of God towards
sinners ?r- Are not Ave ourselves all of us sin-*
ners,- miserable sinners : and do we think that
God treats us with too much indulgence ? Is
there any one here present who would be con
tent that God should immediately, and with
out mercy, inflict on himthe utmost punish
ment which "his sins justly deserve? What*
aks ! would become o£ the very best of us, if
this was the case ; and who could abide these
judgments of the Lord ? And how then can
we refuse- to others that mercy of which we
stand so much in need ourselves? ,i
It is evident, and we see it every day, that
men who once were profligate have in time
become eminently virtuous ; and what pity
would it have been if extreme or untimely se
verity had either suddenly cut them off, or
hardened therii in their wickedness ! Great
of moderation ; to repress that vehemence and precipita
tion with which we are sometimes impelled to avenge
ourselves on those that offend us in the first heat of our
passion immediately and immoderately ? and to induce
us to imitate that mildness, patience, and forbearance-,
which He is pjten so mereiful as to exercise to wards
those that have incurred his displeasure." P. 550. F...
Vox. I. •-¦'--• - A A, minds

354 LECTURE XIII.
minds are sometimes apt to fly out into ex
cesses at their first outset, but afterwards, upon
reflection, and with proper culture, rise up to
the practice of the noblest virtues. And it is
mercv worthy of God to exercise, and which
men instead of censuring ought to admire and
adore, if he chooses the milder, though slower
methods, with those who are capable of being
reformed by them. These sentiments cannot
hie better illustrated than by the example of
St. Paul. That illustrious apostle was we know
once, as he himself confesses, the chief of sin-
ners; he was a fiery zealot,: and a furious per
secutor of the first Christians, breathing out
continually threatening and slaughter against
them, making havoc of the Church, entering
into every house, and haling men and women
to prison; arid being, as he expresses it,' ex
ceedingly mad against them, he persecuted
them unto strange cities, and when they were
put to death, he gave his voice against them.
In the eye of the Christian world then at that
time, he must have been considered as one of
the fittest objects of divine vengeance, as a per'
secutor and a murderer, who ought to be cut
off in an instant from the face of the earth. But

Lecture xiii. 355
But the great Discemer of Hearts thought
otherwise. He saw that all this cruelty, great
as it undoubtedly was, arose, not from a dis
position naturally savage and ferocious, ; but
from ignorance,, from early religious preju
dices, from misguided zeal, from a firm per
suasion that by these acts of severity against
the first Christians he was doing God service.
He saw that this same fervour of mind, this
excess of zeal, properly informed and properly
directed, would make him a most active and
able advocate of that very cause which he had
so violently opposed. Instead therefore of
an extraordinary act of power to destroy him,
he visibly interposed to save him. He was in
a miraculous manner converted to the Chris
tian faith, and became the principal instru
ment of diffusing it through the world. We
see then What baneful effects would sometimes
arise from the immediate punishment even of
notorious, delinquents. It would in this case
have deprived the Christiau world of the abi
lities, the eloquence, the indefatigable and
successful exertions of this learned and intre
pid apostle, whose conversion gave a strong
additional evidence to the truth of the Gos-
A a 2 pel,

•156 LECTURE XIII.
pel, and who laid down his life for the religion
he had embraced. >
Yet: notwithstanding all the. reasons for
sometimes delaying the punishment of guilt in
the preserit world, it cannot be denied :that
there are some instances of prosperous wicked
ness, which cannot well be accounted for by
any of them; and therefore, for a complete
vindication of the moral government of God*
we must have recourse to the concluding part
of the parable, which will give us the fullest
satisfaction on this interesting subject. 5To
the question of the servants, whether they
should gather up the tares from the midst of
the wheat, the householder answers, " nay; lest
wjhile ye gather up the tares, ye root up the
wheat also. Let both grow together until the
harvest, and in the time of harvest I will say
to., , the reapers, gather ye together first the
tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them,'
but gather the wheat. into my barn." The
harvest, our Lord tells, us in his explanation,
is the end of the world, at which awful period
the Son of man shall send forth his angels,
and they shall " gather out of his kingdom all
things that offend,' and them which do ini-
- -5> quity,

LECTURE XIII. 357
quity, and shall cast them into a furnace of
fire-; there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth. Then^ shall the righteous shine forth
as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.
He that hath ears to hear let him hear*."
' Here then is the great master-key to the.
whole of this mysterious dispensation of Hea
ven. God, we see, has appointed a, day when
every deficiency in his administration shall be
supplied, and every seeming disproportion and
inequality shall be rectified -j-.
- Even, in this world it appears that wicked
ness is punished in some measure, and to a cer
tain degree ; and we have seen that the inte
rests of virtue itself, among other considera
tions* require that it should not be instantly
* Matth. xiii. 41, 42, 43.
•y " As the soul survives the dissolution of the body
(says the excellent Plutarch) and exists after death, it is
most probable that it will receive rewards and punish-,
'ments in a future state; for it goes through a kind of
contest during the present life, and when that is over,
it will have its due recompence hereafter." 56l. A.
How nearly does this approach to the doctrine of
the Gospel, which had been promulgated near one hun
dred years before Plutarch wrote. But thanks be to
God, what this great man thought only probable, we
have the happiness of knowing to be certain. punished

358 LECTURE XIII.
punished to the full extent of its deserts. God
is perpetually showing, even in [the present
life, his different regard to right and wrong,
by every such method as the constitution of
the world- which he has created^admrtt*8 ; and
therefore no sooner shall that world come to
an end, and all obstacles; to an equal admini
stration of justice be taken out of the way,
than he shall come to execute righteous judg
ment upon earth. . '
" He is not slack as men count slackness*/'
that is negligent and remiss ; he only waits for
the proper season of doing all that hitherto re
mains undone. Human weakness indeed, by
a small delay of punishing, may lose the power
of doing it; for ever. " But in the Lord Je
hovah is everlasting strength -\" . Human in-
-eonstancy may be vehement apd passionate at
first ; ' then negligent and languid. The sense
of an unworthy action.that does not iniure us',
quickly wears opt of our mind ;. and if we take
no immediate notice of it, we shall possibly take
none at all. But we must not think God to be
such a one as ourselves. Eternity itself will
make no change in Ms abhorrence of wicked-
* 2 Pet. iii. 9. f Isaiah ;xxvi.< 4.

ness,

LECTURE XIII. 359
ness, nor will any thing either transport Rim
to act before his appointed time, or prevail
upon him to give a respite when that time
•comes. The sinners of the antediluvian world,
abusing the long space of one hundred and
twenty years which he allowed for their re
pentance, perished at the end of it without
mercy. The angels who fell from their first
estate before this earth was created, he has
reserved for torments, that shall not finally
take place till it is consumed*.
The same important period his infinite wis
dom has marked out for the final judgment of
men. And undoubtedly it may produce ad
vantages of unspeakable moment thus to de
fer justice, with a design of rendering some
chosen parts of duration meriiorable through
out the universe, by a more extensive and
illustrious exercise of it. For it must needs
make an inconceivably strong and lasting im
pression upon every order of beings that shall
then be present at the solemn scene, to hear
the final doom of a whole world pronounced
at once ; and to behold sins that had been
committed thousands Of years before, punished
with the same attention to every circumstance
as if they had been but of yesterday.
* Jude vi. 2 Pet. ii. 4.
How

360 LECTURE XIII.
How far off these judgments of the Lord
may be, we none of us know. But with re
gard to ourselves, they are near, they are even
at the door. The few days we have to pass
in this transient scene will determine our con
dition for ever, and bring us into an eternal
state, compared with which the continuance
of the present frame of nature, from its very
beginning, will be as nothing. Then every
act of the government of God will be seen in
its true light ; the imagined length of dis
tance between guilt and its punishment will
totally disappear ; and offenders will lament
in vain that sentence is executed so speedily
as it is against evil works. But with peculiar
severity will it be executed on them, who,
despising the riches of that goodness which
would lead them to repentance, " treasure up
for themselves wrath against the day of wrath
and" revelatioh of the righteous judgment of
Pod*." Upon the whole then let not either the
sinner triumph, or the virtuous repine, at the
apparent impunity or even prosperity of ,the
wicked in the present life. To the audacious
sinner we apply, those most apposite and most
* Rom. ii. 5. . . ;
awfh)

LECTURE Xiii; jfff
awful words of the son of Sifach. " Say hot,
who shall control me for -my works, for the
Lord shall surely avenge fhy pride/ Say not,*
I Have sinned, and what harm hath happened
Unto me; for the Lord is indeed long-suffer
ing, but he will in no wise let thee go. Say
not, his mercy is great, he will be pacified for
the multitude of my sins ; for both mercy and
wrath come from him, and his indignation
festeth upon "sinners. Make therefore no
tarrying to turn unto the Lord, and put not
off from day to day ; for suddenly shall the
wrath of the Lord come forth, arid in thy se
curity shalt thou be destroyed, . and perish in
the day of vengeance*.1"
To, the religious and virtuous on the- other
hand we say, " Fret not thyself because of the
ungodly* neither be thou envious against the
evildoers. Hold thee still in the Lord, and
abide patiently Upon him ; but grieve not thy-
self at him whose way doth prosper, against the
man that doeth after evil counsels. Wicked
doers shall be rooted out ; and they that pa
tiently abide the Lord, those shall inherit the
land-f'." " Be patient therefore, brethren,
* Eccles. v. 6.-„ f Psalm xxxvii, 7;
Vol. I. Bb unto

3«s LECTURE XIIL
unto the coming, of the Lord. Behoid the
husbandman waiteth for the ^precious fruits of
the earth, and hath long patience for it, until
he receive the early and the fatter rain. Be
ye also patient, for the coming of the Lord
draweth nigh*."
. It is not indeed always an easy task to ex
ercise this patience, when we see conspicuous;
instances either of individuals or of nations^'
notorious for, their profligacy, triumphant angb
prosperous in all their ways. We can scarce;
repress our discontent, or forbear joining with,
the prophet in his expostulation with the. Ah-
mighty, " Righteous art thou,, O Lord!, yet
let me talk with thee of thy judgments. ^Why-
dp the ways of the wicked prosper ? Why are
all they happy that deal .very treacherously *f*?''<j
To this we can now, answer in the words pf
Job : " Knowest thou not this, since manwaSb
placed upon the earth, that the triumphing of
the wicked is short, and, the joy of the hypo^:
crite hut fof q, moment. Though, his expe^r,
lency mou-nj; unto the heavens, and his head-
reach unto the clouds, yet he shall peris.h for
ever, and they thatj have sepn him shall say,
where is he J ?."
* James v. 7- +' Jerem. xii. 1. •*$: Job xx. 5.
i In

LECTURE Xflt &9
"-'In fact it has been proved, ift' the course
of this enquiry, that in such an immense and
complicated system as that of the universe,
there are many reasons which we can discern,
and a thousand others perhaps totally un
known to us, which render it necessary that
the virtuous should suffer a temporary depres
sion, and the wicked enjoy, a temporary tri
umph. But let not these apparent irregulari
ties dispirit or discourage us : for whenever
the purposes of Providence in these mysterious
dispensations shall have been accomplished,
every disorder shall be rectified, and every
appearance of injustice done away. The time
and the season fbr doing this God has reserved
in his own power; and we must not presume
to prescribe rules to the wisdom of the Al
mighty. To men excruciated with pain, every
moment seems an age ; and tb men groaning
under oppression, their deliverance, if it come
not instantly, may seem extremely distant.
But let them hot despair: in due season they
shall reap if they faint not. At the period
marked out by infinite wisdom, and which it
is their duty to await with patience, God shall
cause his judgment to be heard from heaven, and

S&fc lectuhi XIII.
and the .earth 'shall tremble and be still. He
shall then demonstrate to the whole wbrld
" that his hand is not shortened that it can-*
pot redeem, and that he still retains the power
to save*." He shall prove, in a manner the
most awful and most satisfactory, " that verily
there is a reward for the righteous, and a pu^-
nishment for the wicked ;¦ that doubtless there1:
is a God that judgeth the earth -j~."
" Isaiah, 1, 2. t Psalm lviii. 10.

END OF THE FIRST VOLUME.

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

3 9002 08837 8402

'

r.
r i.fIr