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THE EXCELLENCY 
 
 THE LITURGY, 
 
 IN 
 
 FOUR DISCOURSES, 
 
 PREACHED BEFORE 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CAIVIBRIDGE, 
 
 IN NOVEMBER, 1811. 
 
 ALSO, 
 
 UNIVERSITY SERMONS, 
 
 CONTAINIIfG 
 
 I. THE CHURCHMAN'S CONFESSION, OR AN APPEAL 
 
 TO THE LITURGY. 
 IT. THE FOUNTAIN OF LJVING WATERS. 
 
 III. EVANGELICAL AND PHAJUSAIC RIGHTEOUSNESS 
 
 C031PARED. KB ' '^\ 
 
 IV. CHRIST CRUCIFIED, ^-g J#ri ^ )) 
 
 ^^^"^^ BY THE 
 
 REV. CHARLES SIMEON, M. A. 
 
 TEXLOW OF king's COLLEGE, CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 NEW-YORK : 
 
 PUBLISHED BY EASTBURN, KIRK, & CO. 
 KG. 86, BROADWAY, & W. W. WOODWARD, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 1813. 
 
^5 
 
 >^^^/ 
 
 PHAr & BOWEX, PRINTEHS, BROOKLTIT. 
 
^^ OF THS '/^ 
 
 [UNIVERSITY] 
 
 mm 
 
 Deut. V. 28^ 29. 
 
 TAey iiare well said all that tlietj have 
 spoken : that there were such an heart 
 in them. 
 
 THE historical paj-ts of the Old Testa. 
 ment are more worthy of our attention than 
 men generally imagine. A multitude of facts 
 recorded in them are replete with spiritual 
 instruction^ being intended by God to serve 
 as emblems of those deep mysteries which 
 were afterwards to be revealed. For in- 
 stance : What is related of our first parent, 
 his creation^ his marriage, his sabbatic rest, 
 was emblematic of that new creation wbicli 
 God will produce in us, and of that union 
 
 B 
 
14 
 
 with Christ whereby it shall be effected;^ 
 and of tlie glorious rest to which it shall in- 
 troduce us^ as well in this world as in the 
 world to come. In like manner the pro- 
 mises made to Adam^ to Abraham^ and to Da- 
 vid^ Avhatever reference they might have to 
 the particular circumstances of those illus- 
 trious individuals^ had a farther and more 
 important accomplishment in the Lord Jesus 
 Christy Avho is the second Adam^ the Pro^ 
 mised Seed^ the King of Israel. 
 
 The whole of the Mosaic dispensation 
 w^is altogether figurative, as we see from 
 the Epistle to the Hebrews, in which the 
 figures themselves are illustrated and ex- 
 plained* But there are some facts which 
 appear too trifling to afibrd any instruction 
 of this kind. We might expect indeed that 
 so remarkable a fact as the promulgation of 
 the law from Mount Sinai should have in it 
 something mysterious ; but that the fears of 
 the people on that occasion, and the request 
 dictated by those fears, should be intended 
 by God to convey any particular instruction^ 
 
iS 
 
 we sliould not liave readily supposed : yef 
 by these did God intend to sliadoiv forth the 
 whole mystery of redemption. We are sure 
 that there was somewhat remarkable in the 
 people^s speech^ by the commendation which 
 Grod himself bestowed upon it : still however, 
 unless we have turned our minds particular- 
 ly to the subject, we shall scarcely conceive 
 how much is contained in it. 
 
 The point for our consideration is, The 
 request which the Israelites made in con- 
 sequence of the terror with tchich the dis- 
 play of the divine Majesty hadinspired them. 
 The explication and improvement of that 
 point is all that properly belongs to the pas^ 
 sage before us. But we have a further view in 
 faking this text : we propose, after considerr 
 ing it in its true and proper sense, to take it 
 in an improper and accommodated sense 5 
 and, after making some observations upon 
 it in reference to the request which the Is- 
 raelites then offered^ to notice it in refpr- 
 ence to the requests tchich we from time to 
 time make unto God in the Liturs;y of our 
 Established Church. 
 
The former view of the text is that whicli 
 we propose for our present consideration : 
 the latter will be reserved for future discus- 
 sioiK 
 
 The Israelites made an earnest request to 
 God : and God expressed his approbation 
 of it in the words which we have just recit- 
 ed ; " They have well said all that they 
 have spoken : O that there were such an 
 heart in them V^ From hence we are nat- 
 urally led to set before you The sentiments 
 and dispositions which God approves ; the 
 sentiments ; '' They have well said all that 
 they have spoken f^ the dispositions ; " O 
 that there were in them such an heart /^ 
 
 1st. The sentiments which he approves. 
 
 Here it will be necessavy to analyse^ as 
 it were^ or at least to get a clear and distinct 
 apprehension of, the speech which God com- 
 mends. It is recorded in the preceding con- 
 text from the 33d verse. " And it came to 
 pass^ when ye heard the voice out of the 
 midst of the darkness^ (for the mountain did 
 
17 
 
 burn with fire^) that ye came near nnto me, 
 even all the heads of your tribes, and your 
 elders ; and ye said, Behold, the Lord our 
 God hath shewed us his glory, and his great- 
 ness, and we have heard his voice out of the 
 midst of the fire : we have seen this day, that 
 God doth talk with man and he liveth. 
 Now therefore why should we die ? for this 
 great fire will consume us : if we hear the 
 voice of the Lord our God any more, then 
 we shall die. For who is there of all flesh 
 that hath heard the voice of the living God 
 speaking out of the midst of the fire, as Ave 
 have, and lived ? Go thou near, and hear all 
 that the Lord our God shall say : and speak 
 thou unto us all that the Lord our God shall 
 speak unto thee ; and we will hear it and 
 do it.'^ Then it is added, " And the Lord 
 heard the voice of your words when ye 
 spake unto me ; and the Lord said unto me^ 
 I have heard the voice of the words of this 
 people, which they have spoken unto thee : 
 they have well said all that they have 
 spoken,^^ 
 
 B 3 
 
18 
 
 N^ow in this speech are contained the fol- 
 lowing things ; An acknowledgement that 
 thev could not stand before the Divine Ma- 
 jesty; — A desire that God would appoint 
 some one to mediate between him and them ; 
 — and lastly^ An engagement to regard ev- 
 ery word that should be delivered to them 
 through a Mediator^ with the same obedi- 
 ential reverence^ as they would if it w ere 
 spoken to them by Grod himself. And these 
 are the sentiments^ on which the commenda- 
 tion in our text was unreservedly bestowed. 
 
 The first thing then to be noticed is, Their 
 acJcnoicledgment that they could not stand 
 before the Divine Majesty, 
 
 Many things had now occurred to produce 
 an extraordinary degree of terror upon their 
 minds. There was a blackness and dark- 
 ness in the sky, such as they never before 
 beheld. This darkness was rendered more 
 visible by the whole adjacent mountain bla- 
 zing with fire, and by vivid lightenings flash- 
 ing all around in quick succession. The 
 
i9 
 
 roaring peals of thunder added an awful 
 solemnity to the scene. The trumpet sound- 
 ing with a long and increasingly tremendous 
 blast^ accompian^d as it was by tlie moun- 
 tain shaking to its centre^ appalled the trem- 
 bling multitude : and Jehovah^s voice^ ut- 
 tering with inconceivable majesty his au- 
 thorative commands^ caused even Moses 
 himself to say, I exceedingly fear and 
 quake.* In consequence of this terrific 
 scene we are told that the people " removed 
 and stood afar off/^t ^^^t the fire should 
 consume them, or the voice of God strike 
 them dead upon the spot.J Now though 
 this was in them a mere slavish fear, and 
 the request founded upon it had respect only 
 to their temporal safety, yet the sentiment 
 itself was good, and worthy of universal 
 adoption. God being hidden from our sen- 
 ses, so that we neither see nor hear him, 
 we are ready to think lightly of him, and 
 even to rush into his more immediate pre- 
 sence without any holy awe upon our minds : 
 
 * Compare Exod. xix. 16 — 19. with Heb. xii. 18 — ^1. 
 t Exod. XX. 18, 19. 
 t Ver. 2U above cited. 
 
20 
 
 but when he speaks to us in thunder or by an 
 earthquake, the most hardened rebel is made 
 to feel that " with God is terrible majesty^^' 
 and that ^^ he is to be had in reverence 
 '' by all that are round about him.'^ This 
 is a lesson which God has abundantly taught 
 us by his dealings with the Jews. Among 
 the men of Bethshemesh;> a great multitude 
 were slain for their irreverent curiosity in 
 looking into the ark ; as Uzzah also after- 
 wards was for his well-meant but erroneous 
 zeal in presuming to touch it. The reason 
 of such acts of severity is told us in the his- 
 tory of Nadab and Abihu^ who were struck 
 dead for offering strange fire on the altar of 
 their God: they are designed to teach us^ 
 '' that God will be sanctified in all that 
 come nigh unto him^ and before all the peo- 
 ple he will be glorified.'^^ 
 
 The next thing to be noticed is^ Their 
 
 desire to have some person appointed ivho 
 
 should act as a mediator between God and 
 
 them. They probably had respect only to 
 
 * Lev. X. 1-^8. 
 
I SI 
 
 ilie present occasion ; but God interpreted 
 their words as general^ and as importing a 
 I request that he would send them a perma- 
 nent Mediator, who should transact all their 
 biisiaessj as it wcre^ with God, making 
 known to him their wants, and communi- 
 cating from him the knowledge of his will. 
 That God did construe their words in this 
 extended sense, we are informed by Moses 
 in a subsequent chapter of this book. In 
 18th of Deut. and 15th and following ver- 
 ses, this explanation of the matter iz given. 
 ^' The Lord thy God will rai^e ui unto 
 thee a Prophet from the midst of thee of 
 thy brethren like unto me ; unto him shall 
 ye hearken, according, to all that thou desir- 
 edst of the Lord thy God in Horeb in the 
 day of the assembly^ sayings Let me not hear 
 again the voice of the Lord my God^ neither 
 let me see this great fire any more^ that I. die 
 not. tindthe Lord said unto me^ they have 
 well spoken that ichich they have spoken. 
 
 I WILL RAISE THEM UP A PrOPHET FROM 
 AMONG THEIR BRETHREN like UUto theC, 
 
 and will put my words in His mouth ; and 
 
38 
 
 Hie shall speak imto them all that I coiii 
 mand him : and it shall come to pass^ tlig 
 whosoever will not hearken unto my word 
 which He shall speak in my name^ I wi 
 reqiibe it of him/' Who this Prophet was 
 we are at no loss to declare ; for the apos 
 tie Peter^, endeavouring to convince th 
 Jews from their own Scriptures that Jesu 
 was the Christy, and that Moses himself ha 
 required them to helieve in him^ cites tJies 
 very words as referring to Christy and call 
 upon them to regard him as that very Me 
 diator, whom God had sent in answer to th 
 petitions which had been offered by thei 
 forefathers at Mount Horeb.^ 
 
 Here it should be remembered that w 
 are speaking not from conjecture^ but froi 
 infallible authority ; and that the construe 
 tion we are putting on the text is^ not a far 
 ciful interpretation of our own, but God' 
 own exposition of his own words. 
 
 Behold then the sentiment expressed i 
 our text; and the commendation given to i 
 
 * Acts iii. 23, 2S. 
 
y Grod himself; it is a sentimeut wliicliig 
 
 [the very sum and substance of the whole 
 
 gospel ; it is a sentiment, which whosoever 
 
 embraces truly, and acts upon it faithfully, 
 
 can never perish, but shall have eternal life. 
 
 IThe preceding sentiment, that we are inca- 
 
 pable of standing before an holy God, is 
 
 ^good, as introductory to this ; but this ig 
 
 Jtlie crown of all; this consciousness that 
 
 pWe cannot come to God, and that God will 
 
 ^not come to us, but through Christ. Tliis 
 
 acquiescence in him as the divinely appoint- 
 
 e|ed Mediator ; this acceptance of him as 
 
 1,1^^ the Way, the Truth, and the Life ;'^ ihig 
 
 sentiment^ I say, God did, and will approve, 
 
 wheresoever it may be found. The Lord 
 
 grant that we may all embrace this senti- 
 
 Jment as we ought ; and that, having tasted 
 
 its sweetness and felt its efficacy, we may 
 
 attain by means of it all the blessings which 
 
 a due reception of it will insure ! 
 
 The third thing to be noticed is, ITieir 
 engagement to yield unqualified obedience to 
 every thing that should be sjpoken to them by 
 
84 
 
 the Mediator. This, if viewed only as a 
 general promise of obedience, was good, 
 and highly acceptable to God ; since the 
 obedience of his creatures is the very end 
 of all his dispensations towards them. It 
 is, to bring them to obedience, that he alarms 
 them by the denunciations of his wrath, and 
 encourages them by the promises of his gos- 
 pel : when once they are brought to love his 
 law, and obey his commandments, all the 
 designs of his love and mercy are accom- 
 plished ; and nothing remains but that they 
 attain that measure of sanctiftcation, that 
 shall fit them for the glory which he has 
 prepared for them. 
 
 But tliere is far more in this part of our 
 subject than appears at first sight. We will 
 endeavour to enter into it somewhat more 
 minutely, in order to explain what we con- 
 ceive to be contained in it. 
 
 The moral law was never given with a 
 view to men's obtaining; salvation by their 
 obedience to it ; for it was not possible that 
 
26 
 
 they who had transgressed it iu any one 
 particular^ should afterwards be justified by 
 it. St. Paul says, " If there had been a 
 law given which could have given life^ verily 
 righteousness should have been by the 
 law.^^* But tlie law could not give life to 
 fallen man : and therefore that way of ob- 
 taining rigliteousness is for ever closed. 
 With what view then was the law given ? 
 I answer, to shew the existence of sin, and 
 the lost state of man by reason of sin, and 
 to shut him up to that way of obtaining mer- 
 cy, which God has revealed in his gospel. 
 I need not multiply passages in proof of this ; 
 two will suflRce to establish it beyond a 
 doubt : " As many as are under the law, 
 are under the curse : for it is written. Cursed 
 is every one that continueth not in all things 
 which are written in the book of the law to 
 do them.'^ Again, " The law is our school- 
 master to bring us unta Christ, that we 
 might be justified by faith. ^^f But when 
 the law has answered this end, then it has 
 a further use, namely, to make known to us 
 * Gal. iii. 21. f Gal. iii. 10 — 24; 
 
 c 
 
26 
 
 the way in which w^e should walk. In the 
 first instance we are to flee from it as a 
 Covenant^ and to seek for mercy through 
 the Mediator : but when we have obtained 
 mercy through the Mediator-, then we are to 
 receive the law at his hands as a rule of 
 life^ and to render a willing obedience to it. 
 
 Now all this was shadowed forth in the 
 history before us. God gave Israel his law 
 immediatelv from his own mouth : and, so 
 given^ it terrified them beyond measure^ and 
 caused them to desire a Mediator. At the 
 same time they did not express any wish to 
 be liberated from obedience to it : on the 
 contrary, they engaged^ that, whatever Crod 
 should speak to them by the Mediator, they 
 would listen to it readily, and obey it unre- 
 servedly. This was right ; and God both 
 approved of it in them, and will approve of 
 it in every child of man. 
 
 We are afraid of perplexing the subject^ 
 if we dwell any longer on this branch of it j 
 because it would divert your attention from 
 
the main body of the Discourse : We will 
 therefore content ourselves with citing one 
 passage, wherein the whole is set forth in 
 the precise point of view in which we have 
 endeavoured to place it. We have shewn 
 that the transactions at Mount Sinai, were 
 intended to shadow forth the nature of the 
 two dispensations, (that of the law and that 
 of the gospel,) in a contrasted view ; that 
 the terrific nature of the one made the Israel- 
 ites desirous to obtain an interest in the 
 other ; and that the appointment of Moses 
 to be their Mediator, and to communicate 
 to them the furtlier knowledge of his will 
 with a view to their future obedience, was 
 altogether illustrative of the gospel ; which^ 
 whilst it teaches us to flee to Christ from 
 the curses of the broken law, requires us 
 afterwards to obey that law : in a word, we 
 have shewn, that though, as St. Paul ex- 
 presses it, we are " without law,'^ (eonsi^, 
 dered as a Covenant) we are nevertheless 
 ^' not without law to God, but under the law 
 to Christ :'^^ And all this is set forth in the 
 ISth chapter of the Epistle to the Hebrews, 
 * i Cor, ix. 2U 
 
2* 
 
 in the following words : " Ye are not come 
 unto the mount that might be touched, and 
 that burned with fire^, nor unto blackness 
 and darkness and tempest, and the sound of 
 a trumpet and the voice of words ; which 
 voice they that heard, intreated that the 
 word should not be spoken to them any 
 more : (for they could not endure that which 
 was commanded : and so terrible was the 
 sight, that Moses said, I exceedingly feaf 
 and quake :) but ye are come unto Mount 
 Sion, and unto the city of the living God, 
 the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innume- 
 rable company of angels, to the general As- 
 sembly and Church of the first-born, whick 
 are written in heaven, and to Grod the Judge 
 of all, and to the spirits of just men made 
 perfect, and to Jesus the Mediator of the 
 JVew Covenant^ and to the blood of sprink- 
 ling which speaketh better things than the 
 blood of Abel.^^* 
 
 I would only observe, in order to pre- 
 vent any misconception of my meaning, that 
 I do not suppose the Israelites to have had 
 *Heb. :^i. 18—2*. 
 
m 
 
 a distinct view of these things, such as we 
 have at present ; but that they spake like 
 Caiaphas the liigh-priest, when he said, 
 ^^ It was expedient for one man to die for 
 the people;, rather than that the whole nation 
 should perish :^^^ they did not understand 
 the full import of their own words; but 
 God overruled their present feelings so that 
 they spake what was proper to shadow 
 forth the mysteries of his gospel ; and he 
 then interpreted their words according to 
 the full and comprehensive sense in which 
 he intended they should be understood. 
 
 We could gladly have added somewhat 
 more in confirmation of the sentiments which 
 have been set before you, and particularly 
 as founded on the passage we are consider- 
 ing; but your time forbids it; and there- 
 fore we pass on to notice in the 
 
 lid place,^ The dispositions which God 
 approves^ These must be noticed with a 
 tlirect reference to the sentiments already 
 ^ i John xi. 49*-«<0^« 
 
30 
 
 considered ; for God having said^ ^' They 
 have well said all that they have spoken^^^ 
 adds^ " O that there vs^ere such an heart in 
 them V^ 
 
 It is but too common for those desiren 
 which arise in the mind under some pecu- 
 liarly alarming circumstances, to prove only 
 transient, and to yield in a very little time 
 to the rooted inclinations of the heart. 
 This, it is feared, was the case with Israel 
 at that time: and God himself intimated, 
 that the seed which thus hastily sprang up, 
 would soon perish for want of a sufiRcient 
 root. But the information which we de- 
 rive from hence is wholly independent of 
 them : whether they cultivated these dis- 
 positions or not, we see what dispositions 
 God approves. It is his wish to find in all 
 of us, A reverential fear of God — Jl love 
 to Jesus as our Mediator — and •5w unfeign^ 
 ed delight in his commands. 
 
 First he desires to find in us a ei reveren- 
 tial fear of God. That ease^ that indiffer- 
 
31 
 
 ence, that security which men in general 
 indulge^ is most displeasing to him. Be- 
 hold how he addresses men of this descrip- 
 tion by the prophet Jeremiah : " Hear now 
 this, O foolish people, and without under- 
 standing; which have eyes and see not; 
 which have ears and hear not : Fear ye not 
 me ? saith the Lord : will ye not tremble 
 at my presence, which have placed the sand 
 for the bound of the sea by a perpetual de- 
 cree, that it cannot pass it; and though the 
 waves thereof toss themselves, yet can they 
 not prevail ; though they roar, yet can they 
 not pass over it? But this people hath a 
 revolting and a rebellious heart ; they are 
 revolted and gone : neither say they in 
 their heart. Let us now fear the Lord our 
 God.^'^ Hear too what he says by the 
 prophet Zephaniah : " I will search Jeru*. 
 salem with candles, and will punish the 
 men that are settled on their lees.^^f It is 
 thought by many, that, if they commit no 
 flagrant enormity, they have no cause to 
 fear : but even a heathen, when brought to 
 * Jer. V. 21^^. t Zeph. i. 12. 
 
S3 
 
 a right mind, saw the folly and impiety of 
 such a conceit, and issued a decree to all 
 the subjects of Ms realm, that they should 
 all " tremble and fear before the God of 
 Daniel, who is the living God and steadfast 
 forever.'^* Such a state of mind is dread- 
 ed, from an idea that it must of necessity 
 be destructive of all happiness. This how- 
 ever is not true : on the contrary, the more 
 of holy fear we have in our hearts, the hap- 
 pier we shall be. If indeed our fear be 
 only of a slavish kind, it will make us un- 
 happy ; but, in proportion as it partakes of 
 filial regard, and has respect to God as a 
 Father, it will become a source of unspeak- 
 able peace and joy. The testimony of So- 
 lomon is, '^ Happy is the man that feareth 
 always.^^t Nor should we shun even the 
 slavish fear, since it is generally the pre- 
 lude to that which is truly filial ; the spirit 
 of bondage is intended to lead us to a spirit 
 of adoption, whereby we may cry, Abba,^ 
 Father.J xVnother ground on which men 
 * Dan. vi. 36. t Prov. xxviii. I4<v 
 % Rom* viii. \5. 
 
endeavour to put away the fear of God is^ 
 that it argues weakness of understanding 
 and meanness of spirit : Wt we are told on 
 infallible authority^ that " the fear of the 
 Lord is the beginning of wisdom : a good 
 understanding have all they that do his 
 commandments : his praise endureth for 
 ever.^^* Permit me then to recommend to 
 you this holy disposition. Learn to " fear 
 that gloriously and fearful name, The Lord 
 THY GoD.'^t Stand in awe of his Divine 
 Majesty : and dread his displeasure more 
 than death itself. Bethink yourselves, How 
 you shall appear before him in the day of 
 judgment. Settle it in your minds, whethejr 
 you will think as lightly of him when you 
 are standing at his tribunal, with all his ter- 
 rible Majesty displayed before your eyes, 
 as you are wont to do now that he is hid 
 from your sight. Examine carefully whe- 
 ther you are prepared to meet him, and to re- 
 ceive your final doom at his hands. 1 well 
 know, that such thoughts are not w elcome 
 to the carnal mind : but I know also that 
 they are salutary, yea, and indispensa- 
 * Ps. iii. 10. t Dent, xxviii. 58. 
 
bly necessary too for every child of man* 
 I would therefore adopt the language of the 
 Angel, who flew in the midst of heaven^ 
 having the everlasting gospel to preach to 
 them that dwell on the earth, even to every 
 nation and kindred, and tongue and people ; 
 and like him I would say with a loud voice, 
 ^^ Fear God, and give glory to him ; for the 
 hour of his judgment is come :'^"^ it is come 
 already in the divine purpose ; and it will 
 speedily come to every individual amongst 
 us, and will fix us in an eternity of bliss or 
 woe. 
 
 The next disposition which God would 
 have us cultivate, is, tl love to Jesus as our 
 •Mediator. In proportion as we fear God, 
 we shall love the Lord Jesus Christ, who 
 has condescended to mediate between God 
 and us. Were it only that he, like Moses, 
 had revealed to us the will of God in a less 
 terrific way, we ought to love him : but he 
 has done infinitely more for us than Moses 
 could possibly do : he has not only stood 
 between God and us, but has placed him» 
 *Rev, xiv. 6, 7^ 
 
36 
 
 self in Our steady and borne the wrath of 
 God for us. He has not only silenced the 
 thunders of Mount Sinai, but '* has redeem- 
 
 I ed us from the curse of the law, being him- 
 self made a curse for us.^^^ In a word, 
 
 I ^^ he has made reconciliation for us by the 
 blood of his cross ;^^ so that we may now 
 
 \ come to God as our Father and our Friend ; 
 and may expect at his hands all the bless- 
 ings of Grace and glory. " Through him 
 we have access to God,^^ even to his 
 throne; and by faith in him we may even 
 now receive the remission of our sins, and 
 rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Shall 
 we not then love him ? Shall we not honour 
 him ? Shall we not employ him in his high 
 office as our Advocate and Mediator? Shall 
 we not glory in him, " and cleave unto him 
 with full purpose of heart ?^' It was said by 
 the prophet Isaiah, "* Surely shall one 
 say, In the Lord have I righteousness and 
 strength ; even to him shall men come : and 
 all that are incensed against him shall be 
 ashamed, — ^In the Lord shall all the seed 
 * Gal. iii. 13, 
 
36 
 
 of Israel be justified^ and shall glory.'^^ O 
 that this prophecy may be fulfilled in us ; 
 and that there may henceforth " be in every 
 individual amongst us such an heart V^ 
 
 Lastly, God would beliold in us An un- 
 feigned delight in his commandments. This 
 will be the fruit, and must be the evidence, 
 of our love to Christ : '' If ye love me, 
 says our Lord, keep my commandments :'^t 
 and again, '^ He that bath my command- 
 ments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth 
 me/^J Indeed without this, all our senti- 
 ments or professions are of no avail : " Cir- 
 cumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is 
 nothing, but the keeping of the command- 
 ments of God.'^ J 
 
 When persons hear of our being ^^ deliv- 
 ered from the law,'^ and '' dead to the law/' 
 they feel a jealousy upon the subject of mo- 
 rality, and begin to fear that we open tci 
 men the flood-gates of licentiousness : but 
 
 * Isai. xlv. 24*, 25. t John xiv. 15, 
 I 1 Cor. rii. 19. § John xiv. 31.- 
 
37 
 
 their fears are both unnecessary and tin 
 scriptural ; for the very circumstance of our 
 being delivered from the law as a covenant 
 of works, is that which most forcibly con- 
 strains us to take it as a rule of life. Hear 
 how St. Paul speaks on this subject: ''1 
 through the law am dead to the law, that I 
 might live unto God .-'^^ and again, " My 
 brethren, ye are become dead to the law 
 by the body of Christ, that ye should be 
 married to another, even to him who is 
 raised from the dead, that we should hving 
 forth fruit unto God.^^[ You perceive then 
 that the liberty to which we are brought by 
 Jesus Christ, has the most friendly aspect 
 imaginable upon the practice of good works, 
 yea rather, that it absolutely secures the 
 performance of them. Whilst therefore 
 we would urge with all possible earnest- 
 ness a simple affiance in Christ as your 
 Mediator, we would also intreat you to 
 receive the commandments at his hands, 
 and to observe them with your whole 
 hearts. Take our Lord^s Sermon on the 
 
 * Gal. ii. 19. t Rom. vii. 4. 
 
 D 
 
38 
 
 Mounts for instance ; Study with care and 
 diligence the fall import of every precept 
 in it. Do not endeavour to bring down 
 those precepts to your practice^ or to the 
 practice of the world around you ; but ra- 
 ther strive to elevate your practice to the 
 standard which he has given you. In like 
 manner, take all the precepts contained in 
 the Epistles^ and all the holy dispositions 
 which were exercised by the Apostles ; and 
 endeavour to emulate the examples of the 
 most distinguished saints. You are cau- 
 tioned not to be rigJiteoiis over-much ; but 
 remember that you have at least equal need 
 of caution to be righteous enough. If only 
 you walk in the steps of our Lord and his 
 Apostles^ you need not be afraid of excess ; 
 it is an erroneous land of righteousness^ 
 against which Solomon would guard you^ 
 and not against an excessive degree of true 
 holiness ; for in true holiness there can be 
 no excess. In this we may vie with each 
 other^ and strive with all our might. St. 
 Paulj says^ " This is a faithful saying ; and 
 tliese things I will that thou affirm con^ 
 
 i 
 
39 
 
 I itantly; that they who have believed i^ 
 God might be careful to maintain (or as 
 the word imports) to excel in good works. ^' 
 I By these we shall evince the sincerity of 
 ! our love to Christ ; and by these we shall 
 be judged in the last day. I would there, 
 fore recommend to every one to ask him- 
 self, What is there which I have left un- 
 done? What is there which I have done 
 defectively? What is there which I have 
 done amiss ? What is there that I may do 
 more earnestly for the honour of God^ fol* 
 the good of mankind^ and for the benefit of 
 my own soul ? O that such a pious zeal per- 
 vaded this whole assembly ; and " that 
 there were in all of us such an heart V^ To 
 those amongst us in whom any good measure 
 of this grace is foundy we would say in the 
 language of St. Paul^ " We beseech you^ 
 brethren^ and exhort you by the Lord Je- 
 sus, that as ye have received of us how ye 
 ought to walk and to please God, so ye 
 would abound more and more/^-^ 
 
 * 1 Thess. iv. 1. 
 

 :^.'^^*...WW!M ■ 
 
 ^ 
 
SERMON IT. 
 
 Deut. V. S8, 39- 
 
 They have well said all that they have spo^ 
 ken : that there ivere such an heart in 
 them ! 
 
 WHEREVER the word of God admitB 
 of a literal interpretation, its primary sense 
 ought to be clearly stated^ before any spirit^ 
 ual or mystical application be made of it : 
 but when its literal meaning is ascertained^ 
 we must proceed to investigate its hidden 
 import, which is frequently the more impor- 
 tant. This has been done in relation to the 
 passage before us ; which primarily expres- 
 ses an approbation of the request made by 
 the Jews, that God would speak to them by 
 th^ medlatifin of Moses, and not any longer 
 b^ t he terrific thunders of Mount Sinai ; but 
 ec'^f-;tly it conveyed an intimation, that we 
 sb< .1 1 all seek deliverance from the curse 
 of the law through the mediation of that 
 
43 
 
 great Prophet, whom God raised up like 
 imto Moses, even his Son Jesus Christ. 
 
 The farther use which we propose to 
 make of this passage, is only in a way of ac- 
 commodation ; which however is abundant- 
 ly sanctioned by the example of the Apos- 
 tles ; who not unfrequently adopt the lan- 
 guage of the Old Testament to convey their 
 own ideas, even when it has no necessary 
 connexion with their subject. Of course, 
 the Liturgy of our Church was never in the 
 contemplation of the Sacred Historian : yet, 
 as in that we constantly address ourselves 
 to God, and as it is a composition of unrival- 
 led excellence, and needs only the exercise 
 of our devout affections to render it a most 
 acceptable service before God, we may w ell 
 apply to it the commendation in our text ; 
 -• They have well said all that they have 
 spoken : that ther^ were such an heart ia 
 (hem V^ 
 
 As in the coarse of the month two other 
 occasions of prosecuting our subject will oc- 
 
43 
 
 cur, we shall arrange our observations oa 
 the Liturgy, so as to vindicate its use — dis- 
 play its excellence — and commend to your 
 attention one particular part, which we con- 
 ceive to be eminently deserving notice in 
 this place. 
 
 In the present Discourse we shall confine 
 ourselves to the vindication of the Liturgy ; 
 first, Generally, as a service proper to be 
 used ; and then, Particularly, in reference to 
 some objections which are urged against it. 
 
 Perhaps there never was any human com- 
 position more cavilled at, or less deserving 
 such treatment, than our Liturgy. Nothing 
 has been deemed too harsh to say of it. In 
 order therefore to a general vindication of it, 
 we propose to shew, that the use of it is law* 
 ful in itself — expedient for us — and accep-^ 
 table to God.. 
 
 It is laufal in itself. 
 
 The use of a form of prayer cannot be in 
 itself wrong, for, if it had been, God would 
 
4* 
 
 not have prescribed the use of forms to the 
 J e wish nation. But Grod did prescribe them 
 on several occasions. The words which the 
 priest was to utter in blessing the people of 
 Israel, are thus specified : ^' Speak unto 
 Aaron, and unto his sons, saying, On this 
 wise ye shall bless the children of Israel, 
 saying unto them, The Lord bless thee and 
 keep thee ; the Lord make his face to shine 
 upon thee and be gracious unto thee ; the 
 Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and 
 give thee peace.^'^ In like manner, w hen a 
 man that had been slain was found, inqiiisi- 
 tion was to be made for his blood ; and the 
 elders of the city that was nearest to the 
 body, were to make a solemn afRnnation be- 
 fore God that they knew not who the mur- 
 derer was, and at the same time in a set 
 form of prayer to deprecate the divine dis- 
 pleasure, f At the offering of the first- fruits, 
 both at the beginning and end of the service, 
 there were forms of very considerable lengthy 
 which every offerer was to utter before the 
 Lord.J 
 
 * Numb. iv. 23—^6. f Dent. xxi. 7j 8 
 t Dent xxvi, 3. 5-*-10. 13>— 1/5. 
 
45 
 
 Wlien David brought up the ark from the 
 house of Obed-edom to the tent which he 
 had pitched for it iu Jerusalem, he compos- 
 ed a form of prayer and thanksgiving for 
 the occasion^ selected out of four different 
 Psalms,^ and put it into the hand of Asaph 
 and his brethren for the use of the whole 
 eongregation. In all following ages the 
 Psalms were used as forms of devotion : 
 Hezekiah appointed them for that purpose 
 when he restored the worship of God which 
 had been suspended and superseded in the 
 days of Ahaz ;t as did Ezra also at the lay- 
 ing of the foundation of the second temple.J 
 Nay, the Hymn which our blessed Lord 
 sang with his disciples immediately after he 
 had instituted his Supper, as the memorial 
 of his death, jl was either taken from the 
 Psalms, from 113th to 118th inclusive, or 
 else was a particular form composed for that 
 occasion. AH this sufficiently shews that 
 forms of devotion are not evil in themselves. 
 
 * Compare 1 Chron. xvi. 7 — 36. with Ps. cv. 1—15. 
 and xevi. l — 13. and cxxxvi. 1. and cvi. 47, 48. 
 t 2 Chron. xxix. 30. J Ezra iii. 10, 1^. 
 !1 Matt. xxvi. 30. 
 
*6 
 
 *r But some think, that though they were not 
 evil under the Jewish dispensation, which 
 consisted altogether of rites and carnal ordi- 
 nances, they are evil under the more spirit- 
 ual dispensation of the Gospel. This how- 
 ever cannot be ; because our blessed Lord 
 taught his disciples a form of prayer, and 
 not only told them to pray after that manner^ 
 as one Evangelist mentions, but to use the 
 very words^ as another Evangelist declares. 
 Indeed the word ouTo^f , by which St. Matthew 
 expresses it, is not of necessity to be con- 
 fined to manner ;^ it might be taken as re- 
 ferring to the very words : but, granting 
 that he speaks of the manner only, and pre- 
 scribes it as a model ; yet St. Luke certain- 
 ly requires us to use it as a form : '' Jesus 
 said unto them. When ye pray^ say^ Our 
 Father which art in heaven.^^f According- 
 ly we find, from the testimonies of some of 
 the earliest and most eminent Fathers of the 
 Church,J that it was constantly regarded 
 * Matt. vi. 9. t Luke xi, 2. 
 
 I Tertullian — Cyprian — Cyril — Jerom — Augus- 
 tine — Chrysostom—- Gregory. See Bennet's London 
 Cases, p. d2. 
 
47 
 
 and used in the Church as a form from the 
 very times of the Apostles. As for the ob- 
 jection, that we do not read in the New Tes- 
 tament that it was so used^ it is of no weight 
 at all ; for we are not told that the Apostles 
 ever baptised persons in the Name of the 
 Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; 
 but can we therefore doubt whether they did 
 use this form of baptism? Assuredly not ; 
 and therefore the circumstance of such an 
 use of the Lord's Prayer not being record- 
 ed, especially in so short a history as that 
 of the Apostles;, is no argument at all that it 
 was not so used. ^^i-^ n^^^;^ 
 
 Nor was this the only form used in the 
 apostolic age. Lucian^ speaking of the first 
 Christians, says^ " They spend whole nights 
 in singing of Psalms ;'' and Pliny, in his fa- 
 mous Letter to Trajan, which was written 
 not much above ten years after the death of 
 John the Evangelist, says of them, '^ It is 
 their manner to sing by turns a hymn to 
 Christ as God. " This latter, it should 
 seem, was not a Psalm of David, but a 
 
48 
 
 bymu composed for the purpose : and it 
 proves indisputably, that even in the apos- 
 tolic age, forms of devotion were in use. If 
 we come down to the times subsequent to 
 the Apostles, we shall find Liturgies compos- 
 ed for the service of the different Churches. 
 The Liturgies of St. Peter, St. Mark, and 
 St. James, though they w ere corrupted in 
 later ages, are certainly of high antiquity : 
 that of St. James was of great authority in 
 the Church in the days of Cyril, who in his 
 younger years, at the end of the third or be- 
 ginning of the fourth centui^y, wrote a Com- 
 ment upon it. And it were easy to trace the 
 use of them from that time even to the pre- 
 sent day. Shall it be said then, that the use 
 of a pre-composed form of prayer is not law- 
 ful ? Wouhl God liave given so many forms 
 under the Jewish dispensation ; and would 
 our blessed Lord have given a form for the 
 use of his Church and people, if it had not 
 been lawful to use a form ? But it is worthy 
 of observation, that those who most loudly 
 decry the use of forms, do themselves use 
 forms, whenever they unite in public wor- 
 
49 
 
 ship. What are hymiis^ but forms of pray- 
 er and praise ? and if it be lawful to worship 
 God in forms of verse^ is it not equally so in 
 forms of prose ? We may say therefore^, our 
 I adversaries themselves being judges^ that 
 I the use of a form of prayer is lawful. 
 I 
 
 I As for those passages of Scripture which 
 
 : are supposed to hold forth an expectation 
 
 that under the Gospel we should have ability 
 
 i to pray without a form ; for instance^ that 
 
 I ^^ God would give us a spirit of grace and of 
 
 supplication/^ and that ^' the Spirit should 
 
 lielp our infirmities and teach us what to 
 
 pray for as we ought ;'^ they do not warrant 
 
 us to expect^ that we shall be enabled to 
 
 speak by inspiration, as the Apostles did, 
 
 but that our hearts should be disposed for 
 
 prayer, and be enabled to enjoy near and 
 
 I intimate communion with God in that holy 
 
 I exercise : but they may be fulfilled to us as 
 
 ! much in the use of a pre-composed form, as 
 
 I in any extemporaneous effusions of our own : 
 
 \ and it is certain, that persons may be very 
 
 fluent in the expressions of pmyer without 
 
 E 
 
m 
 
 the smallest spiritual influence upon their 
 minds; and that they may, on the other 
 hand, be very fervent in prayer, though the 
 expressions be already provided to their 
 hand : and consequently, the promised as- 
 sistance of the Spirit is perfectly consistent 
 with the use of prayers that have been pre- 
 composed. 
 
 But the lawfulness of forms of prayer 
 is in this day pretty generally conceded. 
 Many however still question their expedi- 
 ency. We proceed therefore to shew next, 
 that the use of the Liturgy is expedient for 
 
 Here let it not be supposed that I am 
 about to condemn those who differ from us 
 in judgment or in practice. The Legisla- 
 ture has liberally conceded to all the sub- 
 jects of the realm a right of choice ; and 
 God forbid that any one should wish to 
 abridge them of it, in a matter of such high 
 concern as the worship of Almighty God. 
 If any think themselves more edified by 
 
SI 
 
 extempore prayer, we rejoice that tlieir soulsi 
 are benefited, though it be not precisely in 
 our way ; but still we cannot be insensible 
 to the advantages which we enjoy ; and 
 much less can we concede to any that the 
 use of a prescribed form of prayw is the 
 smallest disadvantage. / ^u>i^^ 
 
 We say then, that the Liturgy was of 
 great use at the time it teas made. At the 
 commencement of the Reformation, the most 
 lamentable ignorance prevailed throughout 
 the land : and even those who from their 
 office ought to have been well instruc- 
 ted in the Holy Scriptures, themselves 
 needed to be taught what were the first prin- 
 ciples of the oracles of God. If then the 
 pious and venerable Reformers of our 
 Church had not provided a suitable form of 
 prayer, the people would still in many thou- 
 sands of parishes have remained in utter 
 darkness ; but by the diffusion of this sacred 
 light throughout the land, every part of the 
 kingdom became in a good measure irradiate 
 with scriptural knowledge, and with saving 
 
52 
 
 truth. The. few who were enlightened^ 
 might indeed have scattei'ed some partial 
 rays around them ; but their light would 
 have been only as a meteor, that passes 
 away and leaves no permanent effect. More- 
 over, if their zeal and knowledge and piety 
 had been. suffered to die Avith them, we 
 should have in vain sought for compositions 
 of equal excellence from any set of gover- 
 nors from that day to the present hour : but 
 by conveying to posterity the impress of 
 their own piety in stated forms of prayer, 
 they have in them transmitted a measure of 
 their own spirit, which like Elijah's mantle, 
 has descended on multitudes who have suc- 
 ceeded them in their high office. It is not 
 possible to form a correct estimate of the 
 benefit which we at this day derive from 
 having such a standard of piety in our 
 hands ; but we do not speak too strongly if 
 we say, that the most enlightened amongst 
 us, of whatever denomination they may be, 
 owe much to the existence of our Liturgy ; 
 which has been, as it were, the pillar and 
 ground of the truth in this kingdom, and 
 
53 
 
 has served as fuel to perpetuate the flame> 
 which the Lord himself, at the time of the 
 Reformation^ kindled upon our altars. 
 
 But we must go further^ and say, that the 
 use of the Liturgy is equally expedient still. 
 Of course, we must not be understood as 
 speaking of private prayer in the closet j 
 where though a young and inexperienced 
 person may get help from written forms, it 
 is desirable that every one should learn to 
 express his own wants in his own language j 
 because no written prayer can enter so mi- 
 nutely into Ws wants and feelings as he him- 
 self may do: but in public, we maintain, 
 that the use of such a form as ours is still 
 a& expedient as ever. To lead the devo- 
 tions of a congregation in extempore prayer 
 ; is a work for which but few are qualified. 
 j An extensive knowledge of the Scriptures 
 \ must be combined with fervent piety, in or 
 \ der to fit a person for such an undertaking : 
 and I greatly mistake if there be found a^ 
 humble person in the world, who, after en- 
 
54 
 
 gaging often in that arduous work^ does not 
 wish at times that he had a suitable form 
 prepared for him. That the constant repe- 
 tition of tlie same form does not so forcibly 
 arrest the attention as ne^' sentiments and 
 expressions would do^ must be confessed : 
 but^ on the other hand, the use of a well- 
 composed form secures us against the dry, 
 dull^ tedious repetitions which are but too 
 frequently the fruits of extemporaneous de- 
 votions. Only let any person be in a de- 
 vout frame, and he will be far more likely 
 to have his soul elevated to heaven by the 
 Liturgy of the Established Church, than 
 he will by the generality of prayers which 
 he would hear in other places of worship : 
 and, if any one complain that he cannot en- 
 ter into the spirit of them, let him only ex- 
 amine his frame of mind when engaged in 
 extemporaneous prayers, whether in public, 
 or in his own family ; and he will find, that 
 his formality is not confined to the service 
 of the Church, but is the sad fruit and con- 
 sequence of his own veakness and corrup- 
 tion* 
 
Here it may not be amiss to rectify the 
 notions which are frequently entertained of 
 spiritual edification. Many, if their imagi- 
 nations are pleased, and their spirits eleva- 
 ted, are ready to think, that they have been 
 greatly edified : and this error is at the root 
 of that preference which they give to extem- 
 pore prayer, and the indifference which they 
 manifest towards the prayers of the Estab- 
 lished Church. But real edification consists 
 in humility of mind, and in being led to a 
 more holy and consistent walk with God: 
 I and one atom of such a spirit is more valua- 
 Ible than all the animal fervour that ever was 
 (excited. It is with solid truths^ and not 
 \wiih fluent words^ that we are to be impres- 
 
 ised ; and if we can desire from our hearts 
 
 i 
 
 Ithe things which we pray for in our public- 
 forms, we need never regret, that our fancy 
 was not gratified, or our animal spirits rais- 
 ed, by the delusive charms of novelty. 
 
 In what we have spoken on this subject 
 it must be remembered, that we have spo- 
 ken only in a way of vindication : the true, 
 
36 
 
 the exalted, and the proper ground for a 
 Member and Minister of the Established 
 Church, we have left for the present un- 
 touched, lest we should encroach upon that, 
 which we hope to occupy on a future occa- 
 sion. But it remains for us yet further 
 to remark, that the use of our Liturgy is 
 acceptable to God. 
 
 The words of our text are sufficient to 
 shew us, that God does not look at fine 
 words and fluent expressions, but at the 
 heart. The Israelites had '^ well said all 
 that they had spoken :^^ but whilst God 
 acknowledged that, he added, ^^ that there 
 were such an heart in them V^ If there be 
 humility and contrition in our supplications^ 
 it will make no difference with God whe- 
 ther they be extemporaneous or pre-compos- 
 ed. Can any one doubt whether, if we were 
 to address our heavenly Father in the words 
 which Christ himself lias taught us, we 
 should be accepted of him, provided we ut- 
 tered the different petitions from our hearts ? 
 As little doubt then is there that in the use^ 
 
57 
 
 t>f the Liturgy also we shall be accepted^ 
 if only we draw nigh to God with our hearts 
 as well as with our lips. The prayer of 
 s faithj whether with or without a form, shall 
 never go forth in vain. And there are thou- 
 sands at this day who can attest from their 
 own experience, that they have often found 
 God as present with them in the use of the 
 public services of our Churchy as ever they 
 did in their secret chambers. 
 
 Thus we have endeavoured to vindicate 
 the use of our Liturgy generally. We now 
 come to vindicate it in reference to some 
 particular objections that have been urged 
 against it. 
 
 The objections may be comprised under 
 two heads ; namely, That there are except 
 tionable expressions in the Liturgy ; and, 
 That the use of it necessarily generates 
 formality. 
 
 To notice all the expressions which cap- 
 Hious men have cavilled at, would be a waste 
 
of time. But there are one or two which 
 with tender minds have considerable weighty 
 and have not only prevented many worthy 
 men from entering into the church, but do 
 at this hour press upon the consciences of 
 many, who in all other things approve and 
 admire the public formularies of our church. 
 A great portion of this present assembly 
 are educated with a view to the ministry in 
 the establishment ; and, if I may be able in 
 any little measure to satisfy their minds, or 
 to remove a stumbling-block out of their 
 way, I shall think that I have made a good 
 use of the opportunity which is thus afforded 
 me. A more essential service I can scarcely 
 render unto any of my younger brethren, 
 or indeed to the Establishment itself, than 
 by meeting fairly the difficulties which oc- 
 cur to their minds, and which are too often 
 successfully urged by the enemies of out 
 church, to the embarrassing of conscientious 
 minds, and to the drawing away of many.j. 
 who might have laboured comfortably an^ 
 successfully ia this part of our Lord^e vine 
 yard. 
 
5% 
 
 There is one circumstance in the forma- 
 tion of our Liturgy which is not suflRciently 
 adverted to. The persons who composed 
 it were men of a truly Apostolic spirit ; un- 
 hampered by party prejudices^ they endea- 
 voured to speak in all things precisely as 
 i the Scriptures speak : they did not indulge 
 in speculations and metaphysical reason- 
 ings ; nor did they presume to be wise 
 above what is written : they laboured to 
 I speak the truth, the whole truth, in love : 
 I and they cultivated in the highest degree 
 that candour, that simplicity, and that cha- 
 irity, which so eminently characterised all 
 the Apostolic writings. Permit me to call 
 your attention to this particular point, be- 
 f cause it will satisfactorily account for those 
 iexpressions which seem most objectionable ; 
 iand will shew precisely in what view we 
 may most conscientiously repeat the lan- 
 jguage they have used. 
 
 i In our Burial Service we thank God for 
 jdelivering our brother out of the miseries of 
 |this sinful world, and express a sure and 
 
60 
 
 certain hope of the resurrection to eternal 
 life, together with a hope also that our de- 
 parted brother rests in Christ.^ Of course, 
 it often happens, that we are called to use 
 these expressions over persons, who, there 
 is reason to fear, have died in their sins; 
 and then the question is. How we can with 
 propriety use them ? I answer, that, even 
 according to the letter of the words, the use 
 of them may be justified ; because we speak 
 not of his^ but of the^ resurrection to eternal 
 
 * The Burial Service in the Liturgy of the Pro- 
 testaDt Episcopal Church, in the United States oi 
 America, is altered in the parts here quoted. In- 
 itead of offering " thanks that it hath pleased God 
 to deliver our brother out of the miseries of this sin- 
 ful world ;" the collect in the Burial Service of th( 
 American Liturgy, stands thus — " We give thei 
 hearty thanks for the good examples of all those thi 
 servants, who, having finished their course in faith 
 do now rest from their labours." And the use of thi 
 collect is left at the discretion of the minister. In 
 fitead of the words '' in sure and certain hope of thj 
 resurrection to eternal life ;" the following are use 
 in the Burial Service of the American church- 
 " looking for the general resurrection at the las 
 day, and the life of the world to come." [Jim. Ed.} 
 
61 
 
 I life; and because, where we do not abso» 
 I lately know that God has not pardoned a 
 \ person, we may entertain some measure of 
 j hope that he has. But, taking the expres- 
 sions more according to the spirit of them, 
 they precisely accord with what we contin- 
 ually read in the Epistles of St. Paul. In 
 ihe First Epistle to the Corinthian church, 
 he says of them, "I thank my God always 
 on your behalf, that in every thing ye are 
 enriched by him in all utterance, and in^ all 
 knowledge, even as the testimony of Christ 
 was confirmed in you, so that ye come be- 
 hind in no gift^ waiting for the coming of 
 our Lord Jesus Christ.'^ Yet, does he in- 
 stantly begin to condemn the same persons 
 for their divisions and contentions ; and 
 afterwards tells them '' that they were car« 
 nal, and walked, not as saints, but as men,^^ 
 that is, as unconverted and ungodly men.^ 
 In like manner, in his Epistle to the Phi- 
 lippians, after saying, ^' I thank my God 
 upon every remembrance of you, for your 
 fellowship in the gospel from the first day 
 * 1 J5^pi:,,i, 4 — 7. and iii. 3. 
 
63 
 
 luitil now ; being coniiilent of this very tilings 
 that he who hath begun a good Avoik in 
 you Avill perform it until the day of Jesus 
 Christ/'^ he adds^ " Even as it is meet for 
 me to think this of you all:^^^ Yet does 
 he afterwards caution these very persons 
 against strife, and vain-glory, and self-love ; 
 and tell them that he will send Timothy to 
 them shortly, in order to make inquiries into 
 tlieir state, and to give him information re- 
 specting them : and he even mentions two 
 byname^ Euodias and Syntyche, whose no- 
 torious disagreements he was desirous to 
 heaL 
 
 A multitude of other passages might be | 
 cited to the same effect ; to shew that the i 
 Apostles, in a spirit of candour and of love, jl 
 spoke in terms of commendation respecting I' 
 all, when in strictness of speech they should ' 
 have made some particular exceptions. 
 And, if we at this day were called to use 
 the same language under the very same 
 circumstances, it is probable that many 
 * riiii. i. 3-~r. 
 
63 
 
 \ would feel scrnples respecting it, and espe- 
 
 I eially, in thanking God for things, wliicli, 
 
 \ if pressed to the utmost meaning of the 
 
 I words, might not be strictly true. But 
 
 surely, if the Apostles in a spirit of love 
 
 and charity used such language^ we may 
 
 safely and properly do the same : and 
 
 hnowing in what manner^ and icith what 
 
 vieicSj they spake^ %ce need not hesitate to 
 
 deliver ourselves with the same spirit and 
 
 in the same latitude^ as they.^ 
 
 In the baptismal Service we thank God 
 for having regenerated the baptized infant 
 by his Holy Spirit. Now from hence it ap- 
 
 * To guard against a misapprehension of his mean- 
 ing, the xiuthor wishes these words to he distinctly 
 \ noticed ; because they contain the whole drift of his 
 argument. He does not mean to say, that the Apos* 
 ties ascribed salvation to the opus operatwn^ the out- 
 ward act of baptism ; or, that they intended to assert 
 distinctly the salvation of every individual wli^ had 
 been baptized ; but only that, in reference to these 
 subjects, they did use a language very similar to that 
 in our Liturgy, and that therefore our Reformers 
 were justified, as we also are, in using the same* 
 
6i 
 
 pears tliat^ in the opinion of ouv Reformers^ 
 regeneration and remission of sins did ac- 
 company baptism. But in what sense did 
 they hold this sentiment? Did they main- 
 tain that there was no need for the seed then 
 sown in the heart of the baptized person to 
 grow up, and to bring forth fruit ; or that he 
 could be saved in any other way than by a 
 progressive renovation of his soul after the 
 Divine image ?* Had they asserted or coun- 
 
 *Jn proof of the correctness of tins sentiment, 
 it may be observed that the church evidently distin*- 
 acuishes between re":eneration and renovation. She 
 considers regeneration as that change of spiritual sfafe 
 or condition^ v^hieh takes place in baptism) and rew- 
 ovation^ as a change of heart and life^ by the influen- 
 ces of the Holy Spirit. This change, Mr. Simeon 
 describes as " a progressive renovation of the soul 
 after the divine image." 
 
 The distinction between regeneration and renova^ 
 Hon, is expressly noted in the collect for Christmas 
 day; in which the church directs her members to 
 pray, " Grant that we, being regenerated, may daily 
 be renewedhy thy Holy Spirit." 
 
 The primitive fathers uniformly preserve this dis- 
 tinction, and call baptism the " laver of regeneration J 
 
65 
 
 tenanced any such doctrine as that^ it Would 
 have been impossible for any enlightened 
 
 The distinction is founded on scripture. The 
 apostle in the epistle to Titus (ch. iii. ver. 5,) speaks 
 of " the washing of regeneratumj^^ evidently meaning 
 baptism, and " the renewing of the Holy-Ghost.'* 
 
 Following scripture and primitive authority^ the 
 church therefore very properly applies the term re- 
 generation to baptism^ in which sacrament that 
 change takes place in our spiritual state or condition^ 
 which the term describes. Thus the baptismal offi- 
 ces, and the office of confirmation speak of every 
 baptised person as " being regenerate,^^ The cate- 
 ehism, in reference to baptism, declares, that " being 
 by nature born in sin, and the children of wrath ^ we 
 are herehy^^ (by baptism) "made the children of 
 grace.^^ The baptised person is taught to profess, ia 
 the catechism, that ia baptism, on the conditions^ 
 of repentance and faith he was made " a member of 
 Christ, a child of God, and an inheritor of the king- 
 dom of heaven." And in the same admirable sum- 
 mary of christian instruction, he is taught to "thank 
 his heavenly Father who hath called him to tlii^ 
 state of salvationJ^ 
 
 But, as Mr. Simeon justly maintaias, the churek 
 enforces a change of heart and life as esgentia.1 to secur- 
 
66 
 
 person to concur with them. But nothing 
 can be conceived more repugnant to their 
 sentiments than such an idea as this : so far 
 from harbouring such a thought^ they have, 
 and that too in this very prayer^ taught us 
 to look unto God for that total change both 
 of heart and life,, which^ long since their 
 days, has begun to be expressed by the term, 
 
 ing the privileges of baptism. The baptised person^ 
 she teaches, must " die to sin, and rise again unto 
 righteousness ;" must '' crucify the old man and ut- 
 terly abolish the whole body of sin;" and must 
 ^^ continually mortify all his evil and corrupt affec- 
 tions, and daily proceed in all virtue and Godliness 
 of living;" in other words; he must be reneived by 
 the Holy Spirit. 
 
 It is much to be lamented that many divines of the 
 church of England, have not attended to this distinc- 
 tion between regeneration and renovation ; and ap- 
 ply the former term to that change of heart and life, 
 which the reformers of the church, agreeably to 
 Scripture and the primitive Fathers, denoted by the 
 term, renovation. Mr. Simeon very properly ob- 
 serves, that " the total change of heart and life, long 
 since the days of the reformers^ began to be expressed 
 by the term regeneration," »^wi. Ed, 
 
67 
 
 regeneration. After thanking God for re- 
 generating the infant by his Holy Spirit, 
 we are taught to pray, " that he, being dead 
 unto sin and living unto righteousness may 
 crucify the old man, and utterly abolish the 
 whole body of sin :^^ and then declaring that 
 i total change to be the necessary mean of his 
 obtaining salvation, we add, " So that 
 finally, with the residue of thy holy Church, 
 he may be an inheritor of thine everlasting 
 kingdom ?^^ Is there I would ask, any per- 
 son that can require more than this ? or does 
 God in his word require more ? There are 
 [ two things to be noticed in reference to this 
 subject ; the term^ Regeneration, and the 
 thing. The term occurs but twice in the 
 Scriptures ; in one place it refers to baptism, 
 and is distinguished from the renewing of 
 the Holy Ghost ; which however is repre- 
 sented as attendant on it : and in the other 
 place it has a totally distinct meaning un- 
 I connected with the subject. Now the term 
 \ they use, as the Scripture uses it : and the 
 i thing they require, as strongly as any per- 
 I son can require it. They do not give us 
 
68 
 
 any i*easoa to imagine that an adiilt person 
 can be saved without experiencing all that 
 modern Divines have included in the term 
 Regeneration : on the contrary they do, 
 both there and throughout the whole Litur- 
 gy insist upon the necessity of a radical 
 ehange both of heart and life. Here then, 
 the only question is, not, whether a baptiz- 
 ed person can be saved by that ordinance 
 without sanctification ; but whether God 
 does always accompany the sign with the 
 thing signified ? Here is certainly room fcnr 
 dijfference of opinion : but it cannot be posi- 
 tively decided in the negative ; because we 
 cannot know, or even judge, respecting it 
 in any instance whatever, except by the 
 fruits that follow : and therefore in all fair- 
 ness it may be considered only as a doubt- 
 ful point : and, if we appeal, as we ought to 
 do, to the holy Scriptures, they certainly 
 do in a very remarkable way accord with the 
 expressions in our Liturgy. St. Paul says^ 
 '' By one Spirit are we all baptized into one 
 body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles^ 
 whether we be bond or free 5 and have beea 
 
I 69 
 
 a//«iade to drink into one Spirit :^^ and this 
 I be says of all the visible members of Christ's, 
 body.^ Again^ speaking of the whole na- 
 ; tion of Israel, infants as well as adults, he 
 i says, '' They were all baptized unto Moses^ 
 I in the cloud and in the sea, and did all eat 
 \ the same spiritual meat, and did all 
 \ drink the same spiritual drink ; for they 
 drank of that spiritual rock that follow-, 
 Qd them ; and that rock icas CJirist.^^ 
 (1 Cor. X. 1 — 4.) Yet behold, in the very 
 next verse he tells us, that '^ with many of 
 them God was displeased, and overthrew 
 them in the wilderness.'^ In another place 
 he speaks yet more strongly still : '' As 
 many of you, says he, as are baptized into 
 Chvhtf have put on Christ :^^ (Gal. iii. 27.) 
 Here we see what is meant by the expres- 
 I »ion " baptized into Christ ;'' it is precisely 
 I the same expression as that before mention- 
 ! ed, of the Israelites being ^^ baptized unto 
 Moses ;'' (the preposition « r is used in both 
 places) it includes all that had been ini-r 
 tiated into his religion by the rite of bap- 
 tism : and of them universally does the apos- 
 * 1 Cor. xii. 13. 27. 
 
 k 
 
70 
 
 tie sajj " lliey have put oyi Christ J^ Now 
 I ask^ Have not the persons who scruple 
 the use of that prayer in the baptismal ser- 
 vice, equal reason to scruple the use of these 
 different expressions ? 
 
 Again — St Peter says, Repent and be 
 baptized every on^ of you for the remissiou 
 of sins ; (Acts ii. 38, 39.) and in another 
 place, '' Baptism doth now save us :'^ (1 Pet. 
 iii, ^1,) And speaking elsewhere of baptiz- 
 ed persons who were unfruitful in the know- 
 ledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, he says, 
 ^' He hath forgotten that he was purged from 
 his old sins,'^^ Does not this very strong- 
 ly countenance the idea which our Reform- 
 ers entertained. That the remission of our 
 sins, as well as the regeneration of our souls, 
 is an attendant on the baptismal rite ? Per- 
 haps it will be said, that the inspired Wri- 
 ters spake of persons who had been baptiz- 
 ed at an adult age. But, if they did so in 
 some places, they certainly did not in 
 others ; and, where they did not, they must 
 l^e understood as comprehending all, whether 
 *2Pet. i. 9. 
 
71 
 
 iafauts or adiilts : and therefore the lan- 
 I guage of our Liturgy, which is not a whit 
 1 stronger than theirs^, may be both subscribed 
 and used without any just occasion of of- 
 fence. 
 
 Let me then speak the truth before God : 
 Though I am no Arminian, I do think that 
 the refinements of Calvin hare done great 
 harm in the church : they have driven mul- 
 titudes from the plain, and popular way of 
 speaking nsed by the inspired writers^ and 
 have made them unreasonably and unscrip- 
 turally squeamish in their modes of ex- 
 pression ; and I conceive that, the less 
 addicted any person is to systematic accu- 
 j racy, the more he will accord with the in- 
 spired writers^ and the more he will ap- 
 prove of the views of our Reformers. I do 
 not mean however to say, that a slight alter- 
 ation in two or three instances would not 
 be an improvement ; since it would take off 
 a burthen from many minds, and supersede 
 {the necessity of laboured explanations : but 
 ' I ^0 mean to say, that there is no such ob- 
 
7S 
 
 Jeetion to these expressions as to deter any 
 conscientious person from giving his un- 
 feigned assent and consent to the Liturgy 
 altogether, or from using the particular ex- 
 pressions which we have been endeavour- 
 ing to explain. 
 
 The other objection is, that the use of a 
 Liturgy necessarily generates formality. 
 
 We have before acknowledged that the re- 
 petition of a form is less likely to arrest the 
 attention than that which is novel : but we 
 by no means concede that it necessarily 
 generates formality ; on the contrary we af- 
 firm, that, if any person come to the service 
 of the church with a truly spiritual mind, he 
 will find in our Liturgy what is calculated 
 to call forth the devoutest exercises of his 
 mind far more than in any of the extempo- 
 raneous prayers which he would hear if 
 other places. 
 
 We forbear to enter into a fuller eluci * 
 datiou of this point at present, because wi 
 
73 
 
 should detain you too long, and we shall 
 have a better opportunity of doing it in our 
 next Discourse. But we would here in- 
 treat you all so far to bear this objection in 
 your minds, as to cut oif all occasion for it 
 as much as possible, and, by the devout 
 manner of your attendance on the services 
 of the Church, to shew, that though you 
 worship God with a form, you also wor- 
 ship him in spirit and in truth. Dissenters 
 themselves know that the repetition of fa- 
 vourite hymns does not generate formality ; 
 and they may from thence learn tliat the re- 
 petition of our excellent Liturgy is not really 
 open to that objection. But they will judge 
 from what they see amongst us: If they 
 see that tlie prayers are read amongst us 
 without any devotion, and that those who 
 hear them, are inattentive and irreverent dur- 
 ing the service, they will not impute these 
 1 evils to the true and proper cause, but to the 
 Liturgy itself: and it is a fact that they do 
 5 from this very circumstance derive great 
 advantage for the weakening of men^s at- 
 tachment to the Established Churchy and 
 
74 
 
 for the augmenting of their own societies. 
 Surely then it becomes us who are annually 
 sending forth so many ministers into every 
 quarter of the land;, to pay particular atten- 
 tion to this point. I am well aware that 
 where such multitudes of young men are, it 
 is not possible so to controul the inconsid- 
 erateness of youth, as to suppress all levity, 
 or to maintain that complete order that might 
 be wished; but I know also that the ingen- 
 uousness of youth is open to conviction 
 upon a subject like this, and that even the 
 strictest discipline upon a point so inter- 
 woven with the honour of the Establish- 
 ment and the eternal interests of their own 
 souls, would, in a little time, meet with a 
 more cordial concurrence than is generally 
 imagined : it would commend itself to their 
 consciences, and call forth, not only their 
 present approbation, but their lasting grati- 
 tude : and if those who are in authority 
 amongst us would lay this matter to heart, 
 and devise means for the carrying it into 
 full effect, more would be done for the up- 
 holding of the Establishment; than by ten 
 
75 
 
 thousand discourses in vindication of it : 
 and verily, if but the smallest progress 
 should be made in it, I should think that I 
 had ^^ not laboured in vain, or run in vain.^' 
 
 But let us not so think of the Establish- 
 ment as to forget our own souls : for after 
 all^ the great question for the consideration 
 of us all is, Whether we ourselves are ac- 
 cepted in the use of these prayers ? And 
 here, it is not outward reverence and de- 
 corum that will suffice ; the heart must be 
 engaged, as well as the lips. It will be to 
 little purpose that God say respecting us, 
 " They have well said all that they have 
 spoken,^^ unless he see his own wish also 
 accomplished, " O that there were in them 
 such an heart !^^ Indeed our prayers will 
 be no more than a solemn mockery, if there 
 be not a correspondence between the v/ords 
 of our lips and the feeling of our own 
 souls : and his answer to us will be, like 
 that to the Jews of old^ " Ye hypocrites, in 
 vain do you worship me.^^ Let all of us 
 then bring our devotions to ihh ic^.^U and 
 
76 
 
 look well to it^ that, with ^' the form we 
 have also the pcnver of godliness. ^^ We 
 are too apt to riisli into the Divine presence 
 without any consciousness of the importance 
 of the work in which we are going to be 
 engaged, or any fear of his Majesty, whom 
 we are going to address. If we would pre- 
 vent formality in the house of God, we 
 should endeavour to carry thither a devout 
 spirit along with us, and guard against the 
 very first incursion of vain thoughts and 
 foolish imaginations. Let us then labour 
 to attain such a sense of our own necessities 
 and of God^s unbounded goodness, as shall 
 produce a fixedness of mind, whenever wc 
 draw nigh to God in prayer ; and for this 
 end, let us ask of God the gift of his Holy 
 Spirit to help our infirmities : and let us 
 never think that we have used the Liturgy 
 to any good purpose, unless it bring into 
 our bosoms an inward witness of its utility, 
 and a reasonable evidence of our aecep* 
 tance with God in the use of it. 
 
jgp|:i^^:;M^ t^0 
 
 rf~-'f^ . 
 
 ip^ SERMON IIL 
 
 Deut. v. 28, 39. 
 
 TJiey have well said all that they have spo^ 
 ken: O that there were such an heart in 
 them ! 
 
 IN our preceding discourses on this text^ 
 we first entered distinctly and fully into its 
 true import, and then applied it, in an ac- 
 commodated sense, to the Liturgy of our 
 Established Church. The utility of a Li- 
 turgy being doubted by many, we endea- 
 voured to vindicate the use of it, as lawful 
 in itself, expedient for us, and acceptable 
 to God. But it is not a mere vindication: 
 only which such a composition merits at our 
 hands: the labour bestowed upon it has 
 been exceeding great : Our first reform- 
 ers omitted nothing that could conduce to 
 the improvement of it r they consulted the 
 most pious and learned of foreign Divines^ 
 and submitted it to them for their correc- 
 
7» 
 
 tion : and^ since their time^ there have been 
 frequent revisions of it, in order that every 
 expression which could be made a subject 
 of cavil, might be amended : by which 
 means it has been brought to such a state of 
 perfection, as no human composition of 
 equal size and variety can pretend to. 
 
 To display its excellence is the task, 
 which agreeably to the plan before proposed, 
 is now assigned us ; and we enter upon it 
 with pleasure ; in the hope, that those who 
 have never yet studied the Liturgy, will 
 learn to appreciate its value, and that all 
 of us may be led to a more thankful and 
 profitable use of it in future. 
 
 To judge of the Liturgy aright, we 
 should contemplate Its spirituality and pu^ 
 vity — Its fulness and suitableness — Its 
 moderation and candour. 
 
 1st. Its spirituality and purityo 
 
 It is well know n that the services of the 
 Church of Rome, from whose communion 
 
79 
 
 we separated, were full of superstition and 
 error : they taught the people to rest in car- 
 nal ordinances, without either stimulating 
 them to real piety, or establishing them on 
 the foundation which God has laid. They 
 contained, it is true, much that was good : but 
 they were at the same time so filled with 
 ceremonies of man's invention, and with 
 doctrines repugnant to the Gospel, that they 
 tended only to deceive and ruin all who 
 adhered to them. In direct opposition to 
 those services we affirm, that the whole 
 scope and tendency of our Liturgy is ta 
 raise our minds to a holy and heavenly 
 btate, and to build us up upon the Lord 
 Jesus Christ as the only foundation of a 
 sinner's hope. 
 
 Let us look at the stated services of our 
 church ; let us call to mind all that we have 
 heard or uttered, from the introductory sen- 
 tences which were to prepare our minds, to 
 tVe Dismission Prayer which closes the 
 wKole ; there is nothing for shew, but all 
 for edification and spiritual improvement,. 
 
Is humility the foundation of true piety ? 
 What deep humiliation is expressed in the 
 General Confession; and throughout the Li- 
 tany^ as also in supplicating forgiveness 
 after every one of the Commandments^ for 
 our innumerable violations of them all ! Is 
 faith in the Lord Jesus Christ the w^y ap- 
 pointed for our reconciliation vs^ith God? 
 We ask for every blessing solely in his 
 name and for his sake; and with the holy 
 vehemence of importunity, we urge with 
 him the consideration of all that he has done 
 and suffered for us, as our plea for mercy : 
 and, at the Lord's Supper, we mark sc 
 fully our affiance in his atoning blood, thai 
 it is impossible for any one to use those 
 prayers aright, without seeing and feeling 
 that " there is no other name under heaven 
 but his, whereby we can be saved.'^ ,§ 
 
 The same we may observe respecting th< 
 occasional services of our Church. FroE 
 our very birth even to the grave, our Chur J 
 omits nothing that can tend to the edification 
 of its members. At our first introductio 
 
81 
 
 into the Churchy with what solemnity are we 
 dedicated to God in our Baptismal Service ! 
 •What pledges does our Church require of 
 our Sponsors that we shall be brought up 
 lin the true faith and fear of God ; and how 
 jearnestly does she lead us to pray for a pro- 
 [gressive, total, and permanent renovation of 
 lour souls ? No sooner are we capable of 
 [receiving instruction, than she provides for 
 jus, and expressly requires that we be well 
 jinstructed in, a Catechism, so short that it 
 iburthens the memory of none, and so com- 
 iprehensive that it contains all that is neces- 
 jsary for our information at that early period 
 |of our life. When once we are taught by 
 (that to know the nature and extent of our 
 baptismal vows, the Church calls upon us 
 to renew in our own person the vows that 
 were formerly made for us in our name y 
 and, in a service specially prepared for that 
 purpose, leads us to consecrate ourselves to 
 God ; thus endeavouring to confirm us in 
 our holy resolutions, and to establish us in 
 the faith of Christ. Not content with hav- 
 ing thus initiated, instructed, and confirmed 
 
83 
 
 her members in the religion of Christ, the 
 Church embraces every occasion of instil- 
 ling into our minds the knowledge and love 
 of his ways. If we change our condition 
 in life, we are required to come to the altar 
 of our God, and there devote ourselves afresh 
 to him, and implore his blessing, from which 
 alone all true happiness proceeds. Are 
 mercies and deliverances vouchsafed to any, 
 especially that great mercy of preservation 
 from the pangs and perils of child birth ? 
 the Church appoints a public acknowledg- 
 ment to be made to Almighty God in the 
 presence of the whole congregation, and 
 provides a suitable service for that end. In 
 like manner, for every public mercy, or in 
 time of any public calamity, particulai 
 prayers and thanksgivings are provided 
 for our use. In a time of sickness there h 
 also very particular provision made for ou] 
 instruction and consolation : and even afte: 
 death, when she can no more benefit tin 
 deceased, the Church labours to promot; 
 the benefit of her surviving members, by ; 
 service the most solemn and impressive tlw 
 
i 
 
 ^ ever was formed. Thus attentive is she to 
 supply in every thing, as far as human en« 
 deavours can avail, our spiritual wants; 
 being decent in her forms, but not supersti- 
 tious ; and strong in her expressions, but not 
 
 Jerroneous. In short, it is not possible to 
 
 Jread the Liturgy with candour, and not to 
 see that the welfare of our souls is the one 
 
 ^object of the whole ; and that the compilers 
 of it had nothing in view, but that in all our 
 
 ^works, begun, continued, and ended in God^ 
 we should glorify his holy Name. 
 
 The excellencies of our Liturgy will yet 
 further appear while we notice, next, Its 
 fulness and suitableness. 
 
 I Astonishing is the wisdom with which 
 
 Mhe Liturgy is adapted to the edification of 
 
 ievery member of the Church. There is no 
 
 jjcase that is overlooked, no sin that is not 
 
 deplored^ no want that is not specified, no 
 
 ^blessing that is not asked : yet, whilst 
 
 every particular is entered into so far that 
 
 every individual person may find his own 
 
64 
 
 ease adverted to^ and his owii \vislies"ex 
 pressed, the Avhole is so carefully worded, 
 that no person is led to express more than 
 he ought to feel, or to deliver sentiments, in 
 which he may not join with his whole heart. 
 Indeed there is a minuteness in the petitions 
 that is rarely found even in men's private 
 devotions ; and those very particularities 
 are founded in the deepest knowledge of the 
 human heart, and the completest view of 
 men's spiritual necessities ; for instance, 
 We pray to God to deliver us, not only in 
 all time of our tribulation, but in all time 
 of our tvealth also ;^ because we are quite 
 as much in danger of being drawn from 
 God by prosperity, as by adversity ; and 
 need his aid as much in the one as in the i 
 other. 
 
 In the intercessory part of our devotions 
 also, our sympathy is called forth in be- 
 half of all orders and degrees of men, under 
 every name, and every character that can 
 
 * '<> In all time of our prosperity ;" in the American 
 Liturgy, dm, Ed. ...t^,.^.^,;. 
 
85 
 
 i 
 
 he conceived. We pray to him to strengthen 
 
 such as do stand^ to comfort and help the 
 
 weak hearted^ and to raise up them that 
 
 fallj and finally, to beat down Satan under 
 
 our feet. We intreat him also to succour, 
 
 I help, and comfort all that are in danger , 
 
 \ necessiiyy and tribulation. We further sup- 
 
 I plicate him in behalf of all that travel whe- 
 
 ■ ther by land or water ^ all women labouring 
 
 \ of child^^ SiW sick persons^ and young chil^ 
 
 I dren, and particularly intreat him to have 
 
 I pity upon all prisoners and captives. Still 
 
 S further, we plead with him to defend and 
 
 [ ^YOYiA^foY the fatherless children^ andtrfi- 
 
 I ews^ and all that are desolate and oppressed : 
 
 and, lest any should have been omitted, we 
 
 i beg him ^^ to have mercy upon all men ^'^^ gen- 
 
 I erally, and more particularly " to forgive our 
 
 enemies^ persecutors^ and slanderers^ and 
 
 to turn their hearts.^^ In what other prayers^ 
 
 whether extemporaneous or written, shall 
 
 we ever find such diffusive benevolence as 
 
 this? 
 
 ^ * " AH women in the perils of cliild-birtli,^' in the 
 A-merican Litufgj. Am, Ed. 
 U 
 
86 
 
 111 a wordj there is no possible situation 
 in which we can be placed^ but the prayers 
 are precisely suited to us ; nor can we be in 
 any frame of mind wherein they will not 
 express our feelings as strongly and force- 
 ably, as any person could express them 
 even in his secret chamber. Take a bro- 
 ken-hearted penitent ; where can he ever 
 find words, wherein to supplicate the mer- 
 cy of his God, more congenial with his feel- 
 ings than in the Litany, where he renews 
 his application to each person of the Sa- 
 cred Trinity for mercy, nnder the charac- 
 ter of a miserable sinner? Hear him when 
 kneeling before the altar of his God : '^ Al- 
 mighty God, Father of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, Maker of all things. Judge of all 
 men, we acknowledge and bewail our mani- 
 fold sins and wickedness which we from 
 time to time most grievously have commit- 
 ted, by thought, word, and deed, against 
 thy Divine Majesty, provoking most justly 
 thy wrath and indignation against us. We 
 do earnestly repent, and are heartily sorry 
 for these our misdoings : the remembrance 
 
of them is grievous unto us: tlie burthen of 
 them is intolerable. Have mercy upon us ; 
 have mercy upon us, most merciful Father : 
 for thy Son our Lord Jesus Christ^s sate, 
 forgive us all that is past ; and grant that 
 we may ever hereafter serve and please 
 thee in newness of life, to the honour and 
 glory of thy name, through Jesus Christ 
 our Lord.^^ I may venture to say that no 
 jBnite wisdom could suggest words more 
 suited to the feelings or necessities of a pen- 
 itent, than these. 
 
 Take, next, a person full of faitli and of 
 the Holy Ghost, and if he were the devout- 
 est of all the human race, he could never 
 find words wherein to give scope to all the 
 Exercises of his mind more suitable than in 
 the Te Deum: ^^ We praise thee, O God, 
 we acknowledge thee to be the Lord. All 
 the earth doth worsliip thee, the Father 
 everlasting. To thee all angels cry aloudy 
 the heavens, and all the powers therein : 
 To thee Cherubin and Seraphin continually 
 do cry, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of 
 
88 
 
 Sabaoth : Heaven and earth are full of tlie 
 Majesty of thy glory.'^ Hear him also at 
 the table of the Lord : " It is very meet, 
 rights and our bounden duty^ that we should 
 at all times and in all places give thanks 
 unto thee;, Lord, holy Father^ almighty^ 
 everlasting God : Therefore with angels, 
 and archangels, and with all the company 
 of heaven, we laud and magnify thy glo- 
 rious name, evermore praising thee, and 
 saying, Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God of 
 hosts, lieaven and earth are full of thy 
 glory ; glory be to thee,^ O Lord most high.'^ 
 
 Even where there are no particular exer- 
 cises of the mind, the Liturgy is calculated 
 to produce the greatest possible good : for 
 the gravity and sobriety of the whole service 
 are fitted to impress the most careless sin- 
 ner ; whilst the various portions of Scrip- 
 ture that are read out of the Old and New 
 Testament, not only for the Lessons of the 
 day, but from the Psalms also, and from the 
 Epistles and Gospels, are well adapted to 
 arrest the attention of the thoughtless^ and to 
 
89 
 
 convey instruction to the most ignorant. In- 
 deed I consider it as one of the highest ex-- 
 cellencies of our Liturgy, that it is calcula- 
 ted to make us wise, intelligent, and sober 
 Christians : it marks a golden mean ; it af- 
 fects and inspires a meek, humble, modest, 
 sober piety, equally remote from the cold- 
 ness of a formalist, the self-imporj;ance of a 
 systematic dogmatist, and the unhallowed 
 fervour of a wild enthusiast. A tender se« 
 riousness^ a. meek devotion and a humble joy 
 are the qualities which it was intended, and 
 is calculated, to produce in all her members^ 
 
 It remains that we yet further trace the- 
 excelleuce of our Liturgy in its Moderation 
 and Candour. 
 
 The whole Christian ^^ orld has from time 
 to time been agitated with controversies of 
 different kinds ; and human passions have 
 grievously debased the characters and ac 
 tions even of good men in every age; But 
 Si should seem that the compilers of our Li^ 
 turgy were inspired with a wisdom and ma- 
 H S 
 
90 
 
 deration peculiar to themselves. They kept 
 back no truth whatever through fear of giv- 
 ing offence ; yet w^ere careful so to state 
 every truth, as to leave those inexcusable 
 who should recede from the Church on ac- 
 count of any sentiments which she main- 
 tained. In this they imitated the inspired 
 penmen ; who do not dwell on doctrines af- 
 ter the manner of human systems, but intro- 
 duce them incidentally, as it were, as occa- 
 sion suggests, and bring them forward al- 
 ways in connexion with practical duties. 
 The various perfections of God are all stated 
 in different parts ; but all in such a way as, 
 without affording any occasion for dispute, 
 tends effectually to encourage us in our ad- 
 dresses to him. The Godhead of Christ is 
 constantly asserted, and different prayers 
 are expressly addressed to him ; but noth- 
 ing is said in a way of contentious disputa- 
 tion. The influences of the Holy Spirit,^ 
 from whom all holy desires, all good coun- 
 sels, and all just works do proceed, are 
 stated ; and " the inspiration of the Holy 
 Spirit is sought; in order that we may per^ 
 
91 
 
 cBylove Grod, and worthily magnify his 
 aoly Name :'' but all is conveyed in a way 
 3f humble devotion, without reflections upon 
 athers^ or even a word that can lead the 
 thoughts to controversy of any kind. Even 
 the deepest doctrines of our holy religion 
 are occasionally brought forth in a practical 
 view, (in which view alone they onght to be 
 regarded ;) that, whilst we contemplate them 
 as truths, we may experience their sanctify- 
 ing efficacy on our hearts. The truth, the 
 whole truth, is brought forward, without 
 fear ; but it is brought forward also without 
 offence : all is temperate ; all is candid ; all 
 is practical ; all is peaceful ; and every word 
 is spoken in love. This is an excellency that 
 deserves particular notice, because it is so 
 contrary to what is found in the worship of 
 those, whose addresses to the Most High God 
 depend on the immediate views and feelings 
 of an individual person, which may be, and 
 not unfrequeutly are, tinctured in a lament- 
 able degree by party- views, ami unhallowed 
 passions. And we shall do well to bear in 
 mind this excellency^ in order that we may 
 
m 
 
 imitate it ; and that we may shew to all, tlia 
 ijhe moderation which so eminently eharac 
 terizes the Offices of our Church, is no le^ 
 visible in all her members. 
 
 Sorry should I be when speaking on this 
 amiable virtue, to transgress it even in thcS 
 smallest degreer: but I appeal to all wh« 
 hear me, whether there be not a want of this 
 virtue in the temper of the present times j 
 and whether, if our Reformers themselves 
 were to rise again and live amongst us, theirj 
 pious sentiments and holy lives would not be 
 witli many an occasion of offence? I need 
 not repeat the terms which are used to stig- 
 matize those who labour to walk in their 
 paths ; nor will I speak of the jealousies 
 which are entertained against those, who 
 live only to inculcate what our Reformers 
 taught. You need not be told that even the 
 moderate sentiments of our Reformers are at 
 this day condemned by many as dangerous 
 errors ; and the very exertions, whereby 
 alone the knowledge of them can be com- 
 municated unto men, are imputed to vanity 
 
m 
 
 M3ed witli blame. But^ though I thus 
 jpeak, I must acknowledge to the glory of 
 Grodj that in no place have moderation and 
 candour shone more conspicuous, than in 
 ^his distinguished seat of literature and sci- 
 ence : and I pray God, that the exercise of 
 these virtues may be richly recompensed 
 Prom the Lord into every bosom, and be fol- 
 lowed with all the other graces that accom- 
 pany salvation. 
 
 From this view of our subject it will be 
 naturally asked, Do I then cousider the Li- 
 turgy as altogether perfect ? I answer. No : 
 it is a human composition ; and there is noth- 
 ing human that can claim so high a title as 
 that of absolute perfection. There are cer- 
 tainly some few expressions which might be 
 altered for tiie better, and which in all pro- 
 bability would have been altered at the Con-^ 
 ference which was appointed for the last 
 'revision of it, if the unreasonable scrupulosi- 
 ty of some, and the unbending pertinacity of 
 \ others, had not defeated the object of that 
 I assembly. I have before mentioned tw% 
 
m 
 
 wliich^ tliougli capable of being vindicated^ 
 might admit of some improvement. And^ as 
 I have been speaking strongly of the mode- 
 ration and candour of the Liturgy ^ I will 
 here bring forward the only exception to it 
 that I am aware of ; and that is found in the 
 Athanasian Creed.^ The damnatory clauses 
 contained in that Creed, do certainly breathe 
 a very different spirit from that which per- 
 vades every other part of our Liturgy. As 
 to the doctrine of the Creed, it is perfectly 
 sound, and such as ought to be universally 
 received. But it is matter of regret thai 
 any should be led to pronounce a sentence 
 of damnation against their fellow-creatures^ 
 in any case where God himself has noi 
 clearly and certainly pronounced it. Yei 
 whilst I say this, permit me to add, that 1 
 think this Creed does not express, nor evei 
 was intended to express, so much as is gen. 
 erally supposed. The part principally ob- 
 jected to, is, that whole statement, which h 
 contained between the first assertion of the 
 
 * The Athanasian Creed is omitted in the Americat 
 Liturgy. Anin Ed, rTirw-*»,nrwi»f^i#*<r#* 
 
i - - 95 
 
 ioctrineof the Trinity, and the other articles 
 jf our faith : and the objectiouis, that the dam- 
 natory clauses which would be justifiable, if 
 confined to the general assertion respecting 
 the doctrine of the Trinity, become unjnstifia- 
 ible, when extended to the whole of that which 
 lis annexed to it. But, if we suppose that 
 this intermediate part was intended as an 
 explanation of the doctrine in question, we 
 still, I think, ought not to be understood as 
 iaffnming respecting that explanation all 
 that we affirm respecting the doctrine itself. 
 If any one will read the Athanasian Creed 
 with attention, he will find three damnatory 
 clauses ; one at the beginning, which is con- 
 fined to the general doctrine of the Trinity ; 
 another at the close of what, for argument 
 sake^ we call the explanation of that doc- 
 trine ; and another at the end, relating to 
 the other articles of the Creed, such as the 
 ancarnatio% death, and resurrection of 
 fChrist, and his coming at the last day to 
 ijudge the world. Now whoever will com- 
 ipare the three clauses, will find a marked 
 .difference betweeu them ; those which re- 
 
late to the general doctrine of the Trinity^ 
 and to the other articles of the Greedy are 
 strong ; asserting positively that the points 
 must be believed^ and that too on pain of 
 everlasting damnation : but that which is 
 annexed to the explanation of the doctrine, 
 asserts only, that a man who is in earnest 
 about his salvation ought to think thus of 
 the Trinity. The words in the original are, 
 Qui vult ergo salvus esse, ita de Trinitate 
 sentiat : and this shews in what sense we 
 are to understand the more ambiguous lan- 
 guage of our translation : ^' He therefore 
 that will be saved, (i. e. is willing or desi- 
 rous to be saved,) must thus think (let him 
 thus think) of the Trinity.^^ Thus it ap- 
 pears that the things contained in the be- 
 ginning and end of the Creed are spoken of 
 as matters of faith ; but this which is in- 
 serted in the midst, as a matter of vpinion 
 only ; in reference to the first and last parts, 
 the certainty of damnation is asserted ; bu< 
 in reference to the intermediate part, noth- 
 ing is asserted, except that such are the 
 views which we ought to entertain of the 
 
97 
 
 point in question. Now I would ask, was 
 this difference the effect of chance ? or ra- 
 ther, was it not actually intended, in order 
 to guard against the very objection that is 
 here adduced ? 
 
 This then is the answer which we give 
 ' on the supposition that the part which ap- 
 pears so objectionable, is to be considered 
 as an explanation of the doctrine in ques- 
 tion. But what if it was never intended as 
 * an explanation ? What if it contains only 
 ' a proof of that doctrine, and an appeal to 
 our reason that that doctrine is true? Yet, 
 if we examine the Creed, we shall find this 
 to be the real fact. Let us in few words 
 point out the steps of the argument. 
 
 The Creed says, " The Catholic faith is 
 this : that we worship one God in Trinity, 
 I and Trinity in Unity ; neitlier confounding 
 i the persons, nor dividing the substance;^' 
 I and then it proceeds, ^^For there is one 
 [ person of the Father,'^ and so on ; and then, 
 \ after proving the distinct personality of 
 
98 
 
 the Father, of the Son^ and of the Holy 
 Ghost^ and their unity in the Godhead, it 
 adds, " So THAT in all things, as is afore- 
 said, the Unity in Trinity, and the Trinity 
 in Unity, is to be worshipped. He there- 
 fore that will be saved, must thus think of 
 the Trinity.^' Here are all the distinct 
 parts of an argument. The position affirm- 
 ed — the proofs adduced — the deduction 
 made — and the conclusion drawn in refer- 
 ence to the importance of receiving and ac- ; 
 knowledging that doctrine. \ 
 
 From hence then I infer, that the damna- ' 
 tory clauses should be understood only in | 
 reference to the doctrine affirmed, and not I 
 be extended to the parts which are adduced ! 
 only in confirmation of it: and, if we be- ; 
 lieve that the doctrine of the Trinity is a j 
 fundamental article of the Christian faith, | 
 we may without any breach of charity ap- I 
 ply to that doctrine what our Lord spake i 
 of the Gospel at large, ^^He that believeth | 
 and is baptized, shall be saved, and he that 
 believeth not shall be damned.^' 
 
99 
 
 Thus, in either view, the use of the Creed 
 may be vindicated : for, if we consider the 
 obnoxious part as a7i explanation^ the terms 
 requiring it to be received, are intentionally 
 softened ; and if we consider it as a proof) 
 it is to the doctrine proved, and not to the 
 proof annexed, that the damnatory clauses 
 are fairly applicable. 
 
 Still, after all, I confess, that if the same 
 candour and moderation that are observable 
 in all other parts of the Liturgy, had been 
 preserved here, it would have been better. 
 For though I do verily believe, that those 
 who deny the doctrine of the Trinity, are 
 in a fatal error, and will find themselves so 
 at the day of judgment, I would rather de- 
 plore the curse that awaits them, than de- 
 nounce it ; and rather weep over them in 
 my secret chamber, than utter anathemas 
 against them in the house of God. 
 
 I hope I have now met the question of 
 our Liturgy fairly. I have not confined 
 myself to general assertions, but have set 
 
100 
 
 forth the difficulties which are supposed to 
 exist against it^ and have given such a so- 
 lution of them, as I think is sufficient to 
 /satisfy any conscientious mind; though it 
 is still matter of regret that any laboured 
 explanation of them should be necessary. 
 
 Now then, acknowledging that our Li- 
 turgy is not absolutely perfect, and that those 
 who most admire it would be glad if these 
 few blemishes were removed ; have we not 
 still abundant reason to be thankful for it? 
 Let its excellencies be fairly weighed ; and 
 its blemishes will sink into nothing : let its 
 excellencies be duly appreciated, and every 
 person in the kingdom will acknowledge 
 himself deeply indebted to those, who with 
 so much care and piety compiled it. 
 
 But these blemishes alone are seen by 
 multitudes ; and its excellencies are alto- 
 gether forgotten : yea, moreover, frequent 
 occasion is taken from these blemishes to 
 persuade men to renounce their communioi 
 with the Established Church, in the hopes 
 
101 
 
 of finding a purer worship elsewhere. With 
 what justice such arguments are urged, will 
 best appear by a comparison between the 
 prayers that are offered elsewhere, and 
 those that are offered in the Established 
 Church, There are about 11,000 places of 
 worship in the Established Church, and 
 about as many out of it. Now take the pray- 
 ers that arc offered on any sabbath in all 
 places out of the Establishment ; have them 
 all written down, and every expression sift-- 
 ed and scrutinized as our Liturgy has been : 
 then compare them with the prayers that 
 have been offered in all the Churches of the 
 kingdom ; and see what comparison the ex- 
 temporaneous effusions will bear with our 
 pre-composed forms. Having done this for 
 one sabbath^ proceed to do it for a year} 
 and then, after a similar examination, com- 
 pare them again : were this done, (and done 
 it ought to be in order to form a correct 
 judgment on the case,) methinks there m 
 scarcely a man in the kingdom that would 
 not fall down on his knees and bless God 
 for the Liturgy of the Established Church. 
 i3 
 
103 
 
 All that is wanting is^ an heart suited to 
 the Liturgy^ and cast as it were into that 
 mould. It may with truth be said of us, 
 '^They have well said all that they have 
 spoken : O that there were in them such an 
 heart V^ Let us only suppose that on any 
 particular occasion there were in all of us 
 such a state of mind as the Liturgy is suited 
 to express ; what glorious worship would 
 ours be ! and how certainly would God de- 
 light to hear and bless us t We will not 
 say that he would come down and fill the 
 house with his visible glory, as he did in 
 the days of Moses and of Solomon ; but 
 we will say, that he would come down and 
 fill our souls with such a sense of his pre- 
 sence and love, as would transform us into 
 his blessed image, and constitute a very hea- 
 ven upon earth. Let each of us then adopt 
 the wish in our text, and say, '' O that there 
 may be in me such an heart V^ Let us cul- 
 tivate the moderation and candour whichi 
 are there exhibited ; divesting ourselves or 
 all prejudice against religion, and receiving 
 with impartial readiness the whole counsel 
 
lOS 
 
 of our God, More particularly, whenever 
 we come up to the house of Grod, let us seek 
 those very dispositions in the use of the 
 Liturgy, which our reformers exercised in 
 the framing of it. Let us bring with us into 
 the presence of our God that spirituality of 
 mind that shall fit us for communion with 
 him, and that purity of heart which is the 
 commencement of the Divine image on the 
 soul. Let us study whenever we join in 
 the different parts of this Liturgy, to get our 
 hearts suitably impressed with the work in 
 which we are engaged ; that our confes- 
 sions may be humble, our petitions fervent^ 
 our thanksgivings devout, and our whole 
 souls obedient to the word we hear. In a 
 word, let us not be satisfied with any at- 
 tainments, but labour to be holy as God 
 Mmself is holy, and perfect even as our 
 Father which is in heaven is perfect. If 
 now a doubt remain on the mind of any in- 
 dividual respecting the transcendent excel- 
 lence of the Liturgy, let him only take the 
 \Litany, and go through every petition of it 
 
104 
 
 attentively, and at the close of every peti- 
 tion ask himself, What sort of a person 
 should I be, if this petition were so answered 
 to me, that I lived henceforth according to 
 it? and what kind of a world would this be, 
 if all the people that were in it experienced 
 the same answer, and walked according to 
 the same model? If, for instance, we were 
 all from this hour delivered ^^from all 
 blindness of heart, from pride, vain- glory, 
 and hypocrisy ; from envy, hatred, and 
 malice, and all uncharitahleness ; if we 
 were delivered also " from all other deadly 
 sin, and from all the deceits of the world, 
 the flesh, and the devil; what happiness 
 should we not possess ? How happy would 
 the church be, if it should " please God to 
 illuminate all bishops, priests, and deacons 
 with true knowledge and understanding of 
 his word, so that both by their preaching 
 and living, they did set it forth and shew it 
 accordingly V^ How blessed also would 
 the whole nation be, if it pleased God to 
 *^ endue the Lords of the Council, and all 
 
105 
 
 the riobility, with grace^ wisdom, and under- 
 standing ; and to bless and keep the magis- 
 trates, giving them grace to execute justice 
 and to maintain truth ; and further to bless 
 all his people throughout the land V^^ Yea, 
 what a icorld would this be, if from this 
 moment God should ^^ give to all nations 
 unity, peace, and concord !^^ Were these 
 prayers once answered, we should hear no 
 more complaints of our Liturgy, nor ever 
 wish for any thing in public^ better than 
 that which is provided for us. May God 
 hasten forward that happy day, when all 
 the assemblies of his people throughout the 
 land shall enter fully into the spirit of these 
 prayers, and be answered in the desire of 
 their hearts ; receiving from him an '^ in- 
 crease of grace, to hear meekly his word, 
 to receive it with pure affection, and to 
 bring forth the fruits of the Spirit V^ And 
 to us in particular may he give, even to 
 every individual amongst us, "tvue repent- 
 
 * The prayers for civil rulers are adapted in the 
 American Book of Common Prayer, to the gov- 
 ernment of the United States, dm* Ed* 
 
106 
 
 ance ; and forgive us all our sins^ negligen- 
 ces^ and ignorances ; and endue us with the 
 grace of his Holy Spirit, that we may 
 amend our lives according to his holy 
 word.'^ Amen and Amen. 
 
SERMON IV. 
 
 Deut. V. S8, S9. 
 
 TTiey have well said all that they have sha- 
 ken : that there were such an heart in 
 them ! 
 
 THE further we proceed in the investi- 
 gation of our Liturgy^ the more we feel the 
 difficulty of doing justice to it. Such is the 
 spirit which it breathes throughout^ tliat if 
 only a small measure of its piety existed in 
 all the different congregations in which it is 
 used, we should be as holy and as happy a 
 people, as ever the Jews were in the most 
 distinguished periods of their history. If 
 this object has not been yet attained, it is 
 not the fault of our Reformers : they have 
 done all that men could do, to transmit to 
 the latest posterity the blessings which they 
 themselves had received : and there is not 
 a member of our Church who has not rea- 
 6oa vO bless God every day of his life for 
 
108 
 
 their labours. But they knew that it would 
 be to little purpose to provide suitable forms 
 of prayer for every different occasion, if they 
 did not also secure, as far as human wisdom 
 could secure, a succession of men, who, ac- 
 tuated by the same ardent piety as themselves, 
 should perform the different offices to the 
 greatest advantage, and carry on by their per- 
 sonal ministrations the blessed work which 
 they had begun. Here therefore they bestow- 
 ed the utmost care ; marking with precision 
 what were the qualifications requisite for the 
 ministerial office, and binding in the most so- 
 lemn manner all who should be consecrated 
 to it, to a diligent and faithful discharge of 
 their respective duties. 
 
 When we first spake of the Liturgy, we 
 proposed, after vindicating its use, and dis= 
 playing its excellency, to direct your atten- 
 tion to one particular part, which on thai 
 account we should reserve for a distinct anil 
 fuller consideration. The part we had in 
 view was, The Ordination Service. \^'c 
 are aware indeed that, in calling your at- 
 
109 
 
 tention so particularly to tliat^ we stand on 
 delicate ground : but being aware of it, we 
 shall take the greater care that no one shall 
 have reason to complain of want of delica- 
 cy. It is the candour that has invariably 
 manifested itself in this congregation, that 
 emboldens me to bring this subject before 
 you. Any attempt to discuss the merits of 
 the Liturgy would indeed be incomplete, if 
 we omitted to notice that part, which so 
 pre-eminently displays its highest excellen- 
 cies, and is peculiarly appropriate to the au- 
 dience which I have the honour to address* 
 I trust therefore I shall not be thou2:ht as- 
 ' suming, as though I had any pretensions to 
 I exalt myself above the least and lowest of 
 my brethren. I well know, that, if my 
 own deficiencies were far less than they are, 
 it would ill become me to take any other 
 than the lowest place ; and much more, 
 when I am conscious that they are so great 
 and manifold. For my own Immiliation, no 
 less than that of others, I enter on the task; 
 and I pray God, that, whilst I am shewing 
 whdit our Reformers inculcated as pertain- 
 
 K 
 
110 
 
 iiig to the pastoral office^ we may all apply 
 the subject to ourselves^ and intreat help 
 from God^ that, as ^^ we have well said all 
 that we have spokeri; so there may be in us 
 such anheart.'' 
 
 There are three things to be noticed iii 
 the Ordination Service, Our professions^ 
 our promises^ and our prayers : after con- 
 sidering which, we shall endeavour to ex- 
 cite in all that desire, which God lias so 
 tenderly, and so affectionately, expressed 
 in our behalf. 
 
 Let me begin then with calling your at- 
 tention to the professions which we make, 
 when first we become candidates for the 
 ministerial office. 
 
 So sacred was the priesthood under the] 
 Law, that no man presumed to take it up 
 himself but he who was called to it by Go 
 as Aaron was. And though the priesthoo«| 
 of our blessed Lord was of a totally distinc 
 kind from that which shadowed it forth 
 
If- *** 
 
 *' yet did he not glorify himself to be made 
 an high priest/^ but was so constituted by 
 his heavenly Father, who committed to him 
 that oflRee " after the order of Melchize- 
 dec/^ Some call therefore, as from God 
 ^himself, is to be experienced by all who 
 devote themselves to the service of the sanc- 
 tuary. Of this our Reformers were con- 
 vinced; and hence they required the or- 
 daining bishop to put to every candidate 
 that should come before him this solemn 
 interrogation ; " Do you trust that you are 
 inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take 
 upon you this office V^ to which he answ ers^ 
 '' I trust so.^^* 
 
 * The church also insists on the irecessitj of it 
 regular external calL or commission : For the bishop 
 demands of the candidate, " Do you trust that you 
 are truly called, according to the will of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and according to the canons of this 
 church, to the ministry of the same^'* And the pre- 
 face to the ordination offices declares, "IVo man shall 
 be accounted or taken to be a lawful bishop, priest,^ 
 or deacon in this church, or suffered to execute any 
 of the said functions, except he be called, tried, ex- 
 amined and aduiitted thereunto, according]: to the 
 
lis 
 
 Now I am far from intimating that this 
 call^ which every candidate for Orders pro- 
 fesses to have received^ resembles that 
 which was given to the Apostles : it is cer- 
 taialy not to be understood as though it 
 were a voice or suggestion coming directly 
 from the Holy Ghost : for though God may 
 reveal his will in this manner, just as he 
 did in the days of old^ yet we have no rea- 
 son to think that he does. The motion here 
 spoken of is less perceptible : it does not 
 carry its own evidence along with it ; (as 
 did that which in an instant prevailed on 
 the Apostles to forsake their worldly busi- 
 ness, and to follow Christ ;) but it disposes 
 the mind in a gradual and silent way to en- 
 ter into the service of God ; partly from a 
 sense of obligation to him for his redeeming 
 love, partly from a compassion for the ig- 
 norant and perishing multitudes around us, 
 and partly from a desire to be an honoured 
 instrument in the Redeemer\s hands to estab- 
 lish and enlarge his kingdom in the world. 
 
 form hereafter following, or liath had episcopal con" 
 secration or ordination." Jim, Ed. 
 
113 
 
 111 this cannot reasonably be sup- 
 posed to be comprehended in that question r 
 and the way to answer it v* ith a good con-^ 
 science is^ to examine ourselves whether 
 we have an eye to our own ease, honour, or 
 preferment ; or whether w^e have really a love 
 to the souls of men, and a desire to promote 
 the honour of our God ? The question, in 
 this view of it gives no scope for enthusiasm, 
 nor does it leave any room for doubt upon 
 the mind of him that is to answer it : every 
 man may tell, whether he feels so deeply 
 the value of his own soul, as to be anxious^ 
 also for the souls of others ; and whethei> 
 independent of worldly considerations, he 
 has such love to the Lord Jesus Christy as 
 to desire above all things to advance his 
 glory. These feelings are not liable to be 
 mistaken, because they are always accom- 
 panied with corresponding actions, and al-^ 
 ays_ productive of appropriate fruits. 
 
 N*ow in all cases where this professioB 
 has been made, it may be said, ** They 
 have well said all that they ha.ve spoken./^ 
 
 k2. 
 
114 
 
 For this profession is a public acknow- 
 ledgment that such a call is nece&sary : and 
 it serves as a barrier to exclude from the 
 sam-ed office many^ who would otherwise 
 have undertaken it from worldly motives. 
 And though it is true^ that too many break 
 through this barrier^ yet it stands as a wit- 
 ness against them^ and in very many instan- 
 ces an effectual witness ; testifying to their 
 consciences^ that they have come to God 
 with a lie in their right hand, and making 
 them to tremble, lest they should be con- 
 demned at the tribunal of their God, for 
 having, like Ananias and Sapphira, lied 
 unto the Holy Ghost. Yes, very many, 
 who have lightly uttered these words when 
 they first entered into the ministry, have 
 been led by them afterwards to examine 
 their motives more attentively, and to hum- 
 ble themselves for the iniquity they have 
 committed, and to surrender up themselves 
 with redoubled energy to the service of 
 their God. Though therefore we regret 
 that any should make this profession on in- 
 sufficient grounds^ we rejoice that it is re 
 
quired of all : and we pray God, that all 
 who have made it^ may re-consider it witb 
 the attention it deserves ; and that all who 
 propose to make it, may pause, till they 
 have maturely weighed the import of their 
 assertion, and can call God himself to attest 
 the truth of it» 
 
 Let us next turn our attention to^Hfiepro- ^-'^^4 
 mises by which we bind ourselves on that 
 occasiona 
 
 In the service for the Ordination of Priests^ 
 there is an exhortation from the bishop, 
 which every minister would do well to read 
 at least once every year. To give a just 
 view of this part of our Liturgy, we must 
 briefly open to you the contents of that ex- 
 hortation ; the dijBferent parts of which are 
 afterwards brought before us in the shape of 
 questions, to every one of which a distinct 
 and solemn answer is demanded, as in the 
 presence of the heart-searching God. The 
 exhortation consists of two parts ; in the first 
 of which we are enjoined to consider the im^ 
 
118 
 
 portance of that high office to tchich we art 
 called ; and in the second^ we are urged to 
 exert ourselves to the uttermost in the dis- 
 charge of it. 
 
 In reference to the former of these it 
 speaks thus : " Now we exhort you in the 
 name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that you 
 have in remembrance, into how high a dig- 
 nity, and to how weighty an office and, 
 charge ye are called : that is to say, to be 
 Messengers, Watchmen, and Stewards of 
 the Lord ; to teach and to pre-monish, to feed 
 and provide for the Lord's family ; to seek 
 for Christ's sheep that are dispersed abroad^ 
 and for his children who are in the midst of 
 this naughty world, that they may be saved 
 througli Christ for ever/' 
 
 Where in such few words can we find 
 so striking a representation of the dignity 
 of our office, as in this address ? We are 
 " Messengers" from the Most High God to 
 instruct men in the knowledge of his will,, 
 and to commuuicate to them the glad tidings 
 
117 
 
 •f salvation through the mediation of his 
 
 Son : We are " Watchmen/' to warn 
 
 them of their danger, whilst they continue 
 
 without an interest in Christ: And we are 
 
 \^' Stewards/^ to superintend his household, 
 
 [and to deal out to every one of his servants 
 
 I from day to day whatsoever their respective 
 
 I necessities require. Now if we occupied 
 
 such an office in the house of an earthly 
 
 monarch only, our dignity were great ; but 
 
 to be thus engaged in the service of the 
 
 jKing of kings, is an honour far greater than 
 
 jthe temporal government of the whole uni- 
 
 j verse. Should we not then bear in mind 
 
 Iwliat an oiBce is devolved upon us ? 
 
 From speaking thus respecting the dig^ 
 nily of the ministry ; it proceeds to speak of 
 like importance of the trust committed to us : 
 ^^ Have always therefore printed in your re- 
 membrance how great a treasure is commit- 
 ted to your charge. For they are the sheep 
 of Christ w^hicli he bought with his death^ 
 and for whom he shed his blood. The con- 
 gregation whom you must serve^ U his 
 
118 
 
 spouse, and his body.^^ What a tender and 
 aifecting representation is here ! The souls 
 committed to our care are represented as 
 *'the sheep of Christ, which he bought with 
 his death, and for which he shed his blood. '^ 
 What bounds would there be to our exer- 
 tions, if we considered as we ought, that we 
 are engaged in that very work, for which 
 our Lord Jesus Christ came down from the 
 bosom of his Father, and shed his blood 
 upon the cross ; and that to us he looks for 
 the completion of his efforts in the salvation 
 of a ruined world ? Further still, they are 
 represented as " the spouse and body oi 
 Christ,^^ whose welfare ought to be infinite- 
 ly dearer to us than life itself. We know 
 what concern men would feel, if the life oi 
 their own spouse, or of their own body, werii 
 in danger, though they could only hope tif 
 protract for a few years a frail and perish 
 able existence : what then ought we not tc 
 feel for " the spouse and body of Christ,^ 
 whose everlasting welfare is dependent m 
 our Exertions ! 
 
119 
 
 After thus impressing on our minds the 
 importance of our olBRce^ the exhortation 
 proceeds in the next place to urge us to a 
 diligent performance of it. It reminds us^ 
 that we are answerable to God for every 
 isoul committed to our charge : that there 
 r must be no limit to our exertions^ except 
 what the capacity of our minds and the 
 strength of our bodies have assigned. It 
 I calls upon us to use all the means in our 
 I power to qualify ourselves for the discharge 
 j of it^ by withdrawing ourselves from worldly 
 I cares, w^orldly pleasures, worldly studies, 
 worldly habits, and pursuits of every kind, 
 I in order to fix the whole bent of our minds 
 ] on the study of the Holy Scriptures, and of 
 1 those things which will assist us in the un- 
 derstanding of them. It directs us to be 
 instant in prayer to God for the assistance 
 of his Holy Spirit, by whose gi'acious in- 
 fluences alone we shall be enabled to fulfil 
 our duties aright. And, finally, it enjoins 
 tis so to regulate our ow n lives, and so to 
 govern our respective families, that we may 
 be patterns to all around us; and that we 
 
120 
 
 may be able to address our congregations 
 io the language of St. Paul, ^' Whatsoever 
 ye have heard and seen in me, do : and the 
 God of peace shall be with you.'^ But it will ^ 
 be satisfactory to you to hear the very 
 Words of the exhortation itself: " If it 
 shall happen the same church, or any mem- 
 ber thereof, to take any hurt or hindrance 
 by reason of your negligence, ye know the 
 greatness of the fault, and also the horrible 
 punishment that will ensue. Wherefore 
 consider with yourselves the end of your 
 ministry towards the children of God, to- 
 wards the spouse and body of Christ; and 
 see that you never cease your labour^ your 
 care and diligence^ until you have done all 
 that lieth in you^ according to your bounden 
 duty ; to bring all such as are or shall be 
 committed to your charge unto that agree- 
 ment in the faith and knowledge of God, 
 and to that ripeness and perfectness of age 
 in Christ, that there be no place left among 
 you, either for error in religion, or for 
 viciousness of life.'^ 
 
131 
 
 '^ Forasmueli then as your office is both of 
 so great excellency, and of so great diffl- 
 culty, ye see with how great care and study 
 ye ought to apply yourselves, as well that 
 ye may shew yiiuVselves dutiful and thank- 
 ful unto that Lord who hath placed you in 
 so high a dignity ; as also to beware that nei- 
 ther you yourselves offend^ nor be occasion 
 that others offend. Howbeit ye cannot have 
 a mind and will thereto of yourselves ; for 
 that will and ability is given of God alone : 
 therefore ye ought, and have need to pray 
 earnestly for his Holy Spirit. And seeing 
 that you cannot by any other means com- 
 pass the doing of so weighty a work, per- 
 taining to the salvation of man, but with 
 doctrine and exhortation taken out of the 
 ! Holy Scriptures, and with a life agreeable 
 I to the same; consider how studious ye 
 I ought to be in reading and learning the 
 Scriptures, and in framing the manners botli 
 of yourselves and of them that specially 
 pertain unto you, according to the rnle of 
 j the same scriptures: and for this self-same 
 ! cause, how ye ought to forsake and set 
 
1S3 
 
 aside (as much as you luay) all worldly 
 cares and studies.'^ 
 
 Here let us pause a moment, to reflect^ 
 what stress our Reformers laid on the Holy 
 Scriptures, as the only sure directory for 
 our faith and practice, and the only certain 
 rule of all our ministrations. They hav€ 
 clearly given it as their sentiment, that to 
 6tudy tlie word of God our.s elves, and to 
 open it to others, is the proper lahoar of a 
 minister; a labour, that calls for all his 
 time, and all his attention : and, by thi.« 
 zeal of theirs in behalf of the Inspired Yo 
 lume, they were happily successful in bring 
 ingit into general use. But, if they could 
 look down upon us at this time, and sei 
 what an unprecedented zeal has pervadcc 
 all ranks and orders of men amongst us, foi 
 the dissemination of that truth, which they 
 at the expence of their own lives, trans 
 mitted to us ; how would they re'joice an< 
 leap for joy ! Yet, methinks, if they cas 
 an eye upon this favoured spot, and sa\\ 
 that, whilst the Lord Jesus Christ is thu 
 
133 
 
 exalted in almost every otlier plaee^ we are 
 lukewarm in his cause ; and whilst thou- 
 sands all around us are emulating each 
 other in exertions to extend his kingdont 
 through the world, we, who are so libe^ 
 I ral on other occasions, have not yet appear- 
 icd in his favour; they would be ready to 
 \ rebuke our tardiness, as David did the in- 
 : difference of Judah, from whom he had rea- 
 ison to expect the most active support j 
 a Why are ye the last to bring the king 
 I back to his house, seeing tlie speech of all 
 Israel is come to the king, even to his 
 house ?^^^ But I am persuaded, that there 
 lis nothing wanting but that a suitable pro« 
 iiposal be made by some person of influence 
 'iamongst us; and wc shall soon approve oiir- 
 ffielves worthy sons of those pious ances- 
 tors : I would hope there is not an individ- 
 ual amongst us, who would not gladly lend 
 his aid, that ^' the word of the Lord may 
 run and be glorified,^^ not in this kingdom 
 only, but, if possible, throughout all the 
 eartho 
 
 * e Sam. xix. 11> 
 
124 
 
 But to return to the bishop's exhortation. 
 " We have good hope that you have w ell 
 Aveighed and pondered these things with 
 yourselves long before this time ; and that 
 you have clearly determined^ by God's 
 grace, to give yourselves wliolly to this of- 
 Jice^ wliereunto it hath pleased God to call 
 you ; so that, as much as lieth in you, you 
 will apply yourselves wholly to this one i 
 thing, and draw all your cares and studies 
 this way; and that you will continually 
 pray to God the Father, by the mediation 
 of our only Saviour Jesus Christ, for the 
 heavenly assistance of the Holy Ghost; 
 that by daily reading and weighing of the 
 Scriptures, ye may wax riper and stronger ia 
 your ministry, and that ye may so endeavour 
 yourselves from time to time to sanctify the 
 lives of you and yours, and to fashion them 
 after the rule and doctrine of Christ, that 
 ye may be wholesome and godly examples 
 and patterns for the people to follow.'' 
 
 After this, the bishop calling upon thtj 
 candidates in the name of God and of hii 
 
ehurcb, ta give a plain and solemn answer 
 to the questions which he shall propose to 
 them^ puts the substance of the exhortation 
 into several distinct questions j two of which 
 only, for brevity sake, we will repeat: 
 '^ Will you be diligent in prayers, and ia 
 reading of the Holy Scriptures, and in such 
 studies as help to the knowledge of the same, 
 laying aside the study of the world and the 
 flesh ?^' To which we answer, "\ will 
 endeavour myself so to do, the Lord being 
 my helper *y^ Then he asks again y " Will you 
 be diligent to frame and fashion your own 
 selves and your families, according to the 
 doctrine of Christ, and to make both your- 
 selves and them, as much as in you lieth, 
 wholesome examples and patterns to the 
 flock of Christ?^' To which we answer, " I 
 '' will apply myself thereto, the Lord being: 
 my helper.^^ 
 
 These are the promises which we make 
 
 before God in tlie most solemn manner at 
 
 the time of our Ordination. Now I would 
 
 -ask, Can any human being entertain u 
 
 5.3 
 
136 
 
 doubt^ whether in making these promises, 
 we have not " well said all that we have 
 spoken V^ Can any of us say^ that too much 
 has been required of us ? Do we not see 
 and feel^ that, as the honour of the office 
 is great, so is the difficulty of performing it 
 aright, and the danger of performing it in a 
 negligent and heartless manner ? If a man 
 undei'take any office that requires indefa- 
 tigable exertion, and that involves the tem- 
 poral interests of men to a great extent, we 
 expect of that man the utmost diligence and 
 care. If then such be expected of the ser- 
 vants of men^ where temporal interests only 
 are affected, what must be expected of the 
 servants of God^ where the eternal interests 
 of men, and the everlasting honour of God, 
 are so deeply concerned ? I say again, W© 
 cannot but approve the promises we have v 
 made ; and methinks, God himself, when 
 he heard our vows, expressed his approba- 
 tion of them, saying, " They have well said 
 all that they have spoken*'^ 
 
 We come, lastly, to mention our prayers^ 
 which werft offered to God on that occasion* 
 
And here we have one of the most piotiSj| 
 and affecting institutions that ever was esJ 
 tablished upon earth. The bishop, whc 
 during the preceding exhortation and ques- 
 tions has been seated in his chair, now rises 
 up, and in a standing posture makes his ear- 
 nest supplication to God in behalf of all the 
 candidates, in these words ; " Almighty 
 God, who hath given you this will to do all 
 these things, grant also unto you strength 
 and power to perform the same ; that he 
 may accomplish his work which he had 
 begun in you, through Jesus Christ our 
 Lord. Amen.^^ After this a request is 
 made to the whole congregation then pre- 
 sent, to offer up their prayers in secret to 
 God, and to make their supplications to God 
 for all these things. And, that they may 
 have time to do so, it is appointed, that su 
 lence shall be kept for a space ; the pub- 
 lic services being for a while suspended, 
 in order to give the congregation an oppor- 
 tunity of pouring out their souls before God 
 in behalf of the persons who are to be or- 
 dained. 
 
What an idea does this give us of the 
 sanctity of our office, and of the need we 
 have of Divine assistance for the perform- 
 ance of it ! And how beautifully does it 
 intimate to the people the interest they have 
 in an efficient ministry ! Surely, if they 
 felt as they ought their need of spiritual in- 
 struction, they would never discontinue 
 their prayers for tliose who are placed over 
 them in the Lord, but would plead in their 
 behalf night and day. 
 
 After a sufficient time has been allowed 
 for these private devotions, a hymn to the 
 Holy Ghost is introduced j {the candidates' 
 all continuing in a kneeling 'posture ;) a 
 hymn, wliich in beauty of composition and 
 spirituality of import cannot easily be sur- 
 passed. Time will not allow me to make 
 any observations upon it ; but it would be a. 
 great injustice to our Liturgy, if I should 
 omit to recite it ; and it will be a profitable^ 
 employment, if, whilst we recite it, we all- 
 adopt it as expressing our own desires, and 
 
i2Q 
 
 add our Amen to every petition contained 
 in it. 
 
 ^^ Come Holy Ghost^ oar souls inspire, 
 And ligliten with celestial fire. 
 Thou the anointing Spirit art, 
 Who dost thy seven-fold gifts impart. 
 Thy blessed unction from above, 
 Is comfort, life, and fire of love. 
 Enable with perpetual light 
 The dulness of our blinded sight. 
 Anoint and cheer our soiled face 
 With the abundance of thy grace. 
 Keep far our foes ; give peace at home ; 
 Where thou art Gruide, no ill can come. 
 Teach us to know the Father, Son, 
 And thee, of both, to be l;)ut one : 
 That through the ages all along, 
 This may be our endless song ; 
 Praise to thy eternal merit. 
 Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.^^ 
 
 In this devout hymn the agency of the 
 Holy Spirit, as the one source of light, and 
 
130 
 
 peace, and holiness, is fully acknowledged^ 
 and earnestly sought as the necessary means 
 of forming pastors after God's heart ; and 
 it is well entitled to the encomium which 
 has been already so often mentioned, " They 
 have well said all that they have spoken,'^ 
 
 Passing over the remaining prayers, we 
 conclude this part of our subject with ob- 
 serving, that no sooner is the imposition of 
 hands finished, and the commission given to 
 the candidates to preach the gospel, than 
 the newly ordained ministers consecrate 
 themselves to God at his table ; and seal, as 
 it were, their vows, by partaking of the bo- 
 dy and blood of Christ; into whose service 
 they have been just admitted, and whom 
 they have sworn to serve with their whole 
 hearts. 
 
 Thus far then " all is well said ;'^ and if 
 our hearts be in unison with our words, ver- 
 ily we shall have reason to bless God to all 
 eternity, " O that there wei^e in us such an 
 heart V^ 
 
181 
 
 Olad should I bc^ if your time would ad^ 
 init of it, to set forth at considerable length 
 the benefits that would accrue from a con- 
 formity of heart in us to all that has been 
 before stated : but the indulgence with 
 which I have hitherto been favoured must 
 not be abused, I shall therefore close the 
 subject with only two reflections, illustra- 
 tive of the wish contained in the text. 
 
 First, if such an heart were in us, how 
 liafpy should ive he in our own souls ! Men 
 may be so thoughtless, as to cast off all con- 
 cern about futurity, and to say, " I fehall 
 have peace, though I walk in the imagina- 
 tion of my heart/' But, if once v/e begin 
 to indulge any serious reflections, we cannot 
 avoid thinking of our responsibility on ac- 
 count of the souls committed to our charge, 
 Theuy if we bring to mind that solemn de- 
 claration of God, that '' the souls of our 
 people shall be required at our hands,'' we 
 must of necessity tremble for our state. 
 The concerns of our own souls are of more 
 weight than all other things in the world ; 
 
13S 
 
 and the thought of perishing under the 
 weight of our own personal transgressions 
 is inexpressibly awful : but the thought of 
 perishing under the guilt of destroying hun- 
 dreds and thousands of immortal souls, is so 
 shocking, that it cannot be endured : if once 
 admitted into the mind, it will fill us with 
 consternation and terror ; and the excuses 
 which now appear so satisfactory to us, will 
 vanish like smoke. We shall not then 
 think it sufficient to have fulfilled our duties 
 by proxy ; since others can but perform 
 their own duties ; nor can any diligence of 
 their's ever justify our neglect : having 
 sworn for ourselves, we must execute for 
 ourselves ; nor ever be satisfied with com- 
 mitting that trust to others, which at the bar 
 of judgment we must give account of for 
 ourselves. Nor shall we then think it suf- 
 ficient to plead, that we have other engage- 
 ments, which interfere with the discharge of 
 our ministerial duties ; unless we can be as- 
 sured, that God will wave his claims upon 
 us, and acknowledge the labours which we 
 have undertaken for our own temporal ad- 
 
133 
 
 vantage, more important than those, which 
 respect his honour, and man^s salvation. 
 On the other hand, if we have the testimony 
 of our own consciences, that we have en- 
 deavoured faithfully to perform our Ordina- 
 tion vows, and to execute, though with 
 much imperfection, the work assigned us, 
 we shall lift up our heads with joy. Mat- 
 ter for deep humiliation indeed even the 
 most laborious ministers will find : but at 
 the same time they will have an inward con- 
 sciousness, that they have exerted them- 
 I selves sincerely for God, though not so ear- 
 nestly as they might : and, in the hope that 
 the Saviour^ whose love they have proclaim- 
 I ed to others, will have mercy upon them, 
 [ they cast themselves on him for the accep- 
 tance of their services, and expect through 
 him the salvation of their souls. Moreover, 
 if we have been diligent in the discharge of 
 our high office, we shall have a good hope 
 that we have been instrumental to the sal- 
 vation of others, whom we shall have as our 
 joy and crown of rejoicing in the last day. 
 With these prospects before us, we shall 
 
 M 
 
134 
 
 Jabour patiently, waiting, like the husband- 
 man, for a distant harvest. Trials we shall 
 have of many kinds ; and many arising sole- 
 ly from our fidelity to God : but we shall 
 bear up under them, going '' through evil 
 report and good report,*^ till we have fought 
 our fight, and finished our course : and then 
 at last we shall be welcomed as faithful ser- 
 vants into the joyous presence of our Lord, 
 Who would not wish for such happiness as 
 this ? Only then let our hearts experience 
 what our lips have uttered, and tliat happi- 
 ness is ours : only let our professions be 
 verified, our promises fulfilled, and our 
 prayers realized, and all will be well : God 
 will see in us the heart which he approves, 
 and will honour us with testimonies of his 
 approbation to all eternity. 
 
 My second observation is. If there were 
 in us such an heart. What hlessijigs ivould 
 result to all around us ! The careless min- 
 i^ter may spend many years in a populous 
 parish, and yet never see one sinner con- 
 veiied from the error of his ways, or turn 
 
IBS 
 
 ed auto God in newness of life. But the 
 faithful servant of Jehovah will have some 
 fruit of his ministry. God will answer to 
 hira that prayer at the close of the Ordina- 
 tion Service^, ^' Grant that thy word spoken 
 by their mouths^ may have such success, 
 that it may never be spoken in vain/^ God 
 indeed does not make all equally useful ; 
 but he will leave none without witness, that 
 the word which they preach is his Word, 
 and that it is ^' the power of God unto the 
 salvation of men.^^ Behold, wherever such a 
 minister is ftxed, what a change takes place 
 in reference to religion ! The obstinately 
 wicked, who either hear him with prejudice, 
 or turn their backs on his ministry, may pos- 
 sible be only more hardened by the means 
 he uses for their conversion : and circum- 
 stances may arise, where those who would 
 once have plucked out their own eyes for 
 him, may become for awhile his enemies ; but 
 still there are many that will arise and call 
 him blessed : many Avill acknowledge him 
 as their spiritual father ; many will bless 
 God for him, and shew in their respective 
 
136 
 
 circles the happy effects of his ministry. 
 They will love his person ; they will enjoy 
 his preaching ; they will tread in his steps ; 
 and they will shine as lights in a dark 
 world. What then might not be hoped for, 
 if all who have undertaken the sacred of- 
 fice of the ministry, fulfilled their engage- 
 ments in the way we have before describ- 
 ed ? What if all prayed the prayers instead 
 of reading them ; and laboured out of the 
 jpul}nt as well as in it ; striving to bring all 
 their people, " not only to the knowledge 
 and love of Christ, but to such ripeness and 
 perfectness of age in Christ, as to leave no 
 room among them either for error in religion, 
 or for viciousness of life ?^^ If there were 
 such exertions made in every parish, we 
 should hear no more complaints about 
 the increase of Dissenters. The people^s 
 prejudices in general are in favour of the 
 Establishment : and the more any persons 
 have considered the excellence of the Li- 
 turgy, the more are they attached to the Es- 
 tablished Church. Some indeed would 
 entertain prejudices against it, even if all 
 
137 
 
 the twelve Apostles were members of it^ 
 and ministered in it ; but, in general, it is a 
 want of zeal in its ministers, and not any 
 want of pnrity in its institutions, that gives 
 such an advantage to Dissenters. Let me 
 not be misunderstood, as though by these 
 observations I meant to suggest any thing 
 disrespectful of the Dissenters ; (for I hon- 
 our all that love the Lord Jesus Christ in 
 sincerity, of whatever church they be ; and 
 I wish them from my heart every blessing 
 that their souls can desire:) but, whilst I 
 see such abundant means of edification ia^ 
 the Church of England, I cannot but regret, 
 ' that any occasion should be given to men to 
 seek for that in other places, which is so 
 I richly provided for them in their own 
 ! church. Only let us be faithful to our en- 
 gagements, and our churches w ill be crow- 
 ded, our Sacraments thronged, our hearers 
 I edified: good institutions will be set on 
 ) foot ; liberality will be exercised, the poor 
 i benefited, the ignorant enlightened, the dis- 
 I tressed comforted ; yea, and our ^^ wilderness 
 world will rejoice and blossom as theros^e.'^^ 
 u2 
 
138 
 
 that we might see this happy day ; which, 
 
 1 would fondly hope, has begun to dawn ! 
 O that God A¥ould arise and " take to him 
 his great power, and reign amongst us V^ 
 O that he might no longer have to express a 
 wish, ^^that there were in us such an 
 heart ;'^ but rather have to rejoice over us 
 as ^possessed of such an heart ; and that he 
 would magnify himself in us as instruments 
 of good to a ruined world ! The Apostle to 
 the Hebrews represents all the saints of 
 former ages as witnesses of the conduct of 
 those who were then alive ; and he urges it 
 as an argument with them to exert them- 
 selves to the uttermost : " Having then, 
 •!fays he, so great a cloud of witnesses, let 
 us lay aside every weight, and the sin 
 that doth so easily beset us, and let us 
 run with patience the race that is set be- 
 iwe us,^' Thus let us consider the Re- 
 formers of our Church as now looking 
 down upon us, and filled with anxiety for 
 the success of their labours : let us hear 
 them saying, ^^ We did all that human fore- 
 sight could do : We shewed to ministers 
 
139 
 
 what they ought to be : we bound them by 
 the most solemn ties to walk in the steps of 
 Christ and his Apostles : if any shall be 
 luke-warm in their office, we shall have to 
 appear in judgment g^gainst them, and shall 
 be the means of aggravating their eternal 
 condemnation/^ Let us, I say, consider 
 them as spectators of our conduct ; and en- 
 deavour to emulate their pious examples. 
 Let us consider likewise, that the Liturgy 
 itself will appear against us in judgment, if 
 we labour not to the utmost of our power 
 to fulfil the engagements which we have 
 voluntarily entered into : Yea, God him- 
 self will say to us, "Out of thine own 
 mouth will I judge thee, thou wicked ser- 
 vant/^ May God enable us all to lay these 
 things to heart; that, whether we have 
 already contracted, or are intending at a 
 future period to contract, this fearful respon- 
 sibility, we may duly consider what ac- 
 count we shall have to give of it in the day 
 of judgment. 
 
THE 
 
 CHURCHMAN'S CONFESSION^ 
 
 OH, 
 
 AJ^* APPEAL 
 
 TO 
 
 THE LITURGY. 
 
 A SERMON 
 
 PREACHED BEFORE 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE. 
 
 REV- CHARLES SIMEON, M. A. 
 
 FELLOW OF KING'S COLLEGE. 
 
 FOURTH EJDITIOJ^. 
 
 \ NEW-YORK : 
 
 PUBLISHED BY EASTBURX, KIRK, U CO. 
 NO. 86, BROADWAY. 
 
 1813. 
 
SERMON, 
 
 We write none other things unto you than 
 what you read or acknoieledge.,.,2 Cor. 
 i. 13. 
 
 AS tlie testimony of one^s own conscience 
 is the strongest support under false accusa- 
 tions, so an appeal to the consciences of 
 others is the most effectual means of refuting 
 the charges that are brought against us. To 
 this species of argument God himself con- 
 descended to have recourse, in order to con- 
 vince his people^ that the evils which they 
 imputed to him^ originated wholly in their 
 own folly and wickedness : ^^ O inhabitants 
 of Jerusalem and men of Judah^ j^^^g^^ I 
 pray you, betwixt me and my vineyard. 
 What could have been done more to my 
 vineyard, that I have not done in it ? and 
 
144 
 
 wherefore, when I looked that it should 
 bring forth grapes, brought it forth wild 
 grapes V^^ ^^ Have I been a wil- 
 derness unto Israel ? a land of darkness ? 
 wherefore say my people, We are Lords, 
 we will come no more unto thee P^^f " Ye 
 say. The way of the Lord is not equal. 
 Hear now, O house of Israel, Is not my way 
 equal ? are not your ways unequal V^X The 
 inspired writers also not unfrequently vin- 
 dicate themselves in a similar manner. St. 
 Paul, for instance, had been represented by 
 some at Corinth as fickle and inconstant, be- 
 cause lie had not come to them at the time 
 they had expected him. To clear himself 
 from this imputation, he informs them, that 
 he had met with insuperable obstacles in 
 Asia, which had prevented him from prose- 
 cuting his intended journey ; and that in the 
 whole of his conduct towards them he had 
 been actuated, not by temporizing motives 
 and carnal policy, but by the most strict un- 
 blemished integrity. He declares, that he 
 had " the testimony of his own conscience^' 
 
 * Isaiah v. 3, 4. f Jer. ii. 5. 31. \ Ezek. xviii. 2j. 
 
145 
 
 respecting this ;^- and that he had a further 
 testimony in their consciences also, respect, 
 ing the trutli of what he said ; that, in as- 
 serting these things, " he wrote no other 
 things than what they read in his former 
 epistle, and were constrained to acknow- 
 ledge ; and he trusted they should acknow- 
 ledge even to the end.^' 
 
 The faithful Minister of Christ derives 
 great advantage from being able to appeal 
 to records, the authority of which is acknow- 
 ledged by his hearers. By referring them 
 to the holy Scriptures in proof of all that he 
 advances, he establishes his Avord upon the 
 most unquestionable authority, and fixes 
 conviction upon their minds. The minis- 
 I ters of the Church of England have a yet 
 ! further advantage, because, in addition to 
 I the Scriptures, they have other authorities 
 j to which they may refer in confirmation of 
 the truths they utter. It is true, we are not 
 to put any human compositions on a level 
 with the inspired volume : the Scriptures 
 * 2 Cor. i. 12. 
 N 
 
146 
 
 alone are the proper standard of truth ; but 
 the Articles^ Homilies, and Liturgy of the 
 Church of England are an authorized ex- 
 position of the sense in which all her mem- 
 bers profess to understand the Scriptures. 
 To these therefore we appeal as well as to 
 the sacred Records. But because it would 
 occupy more time than can reasonably be al- 
 low ed^ for one discourse to appeal to all at 
 ance, we shall content ourselves w ith calling 
 your attention to the Liturgy, and especially 
 to that part of it which we call the general 
 Confession. We will briefly state what 
 doctrines we insist upou as necessary to be 
 received ; and under each we will compare 
 our statements with w hat wc " read'^ in the 
 Scriptures^ and " acknowledge'^ in our 
 prayers : And we trust that, after having 
 done this, we shall be able to adopt the lan- 
 guage of the text, and say, " We write none 
 other things unto you than what ye read^ 
 ^nd acknowledge/^ 
 
 There are three things which, as it is our 
 duty J, so also it is our continual labour, to 
 
147 
 
 make known ; namely, Our lost estate---- 
 The means of our recovery — and The path 
 of duty. 
 
 Permit me then to state what we declare 
 respecting the first of these points, Our lost 
 estate. 
 
 We declare, that every man is a sinner 
 before God : that both the actions and the 
 hearts of men are depraved : that whatever 
 difference there may be between one and 
 another with respect to open sin^ there is no 
 difference with respect to our alienation from 
 God, or our radical aversion to his holy will. 
 We aflRrm, that on account of our defection 
 from God, we deserve his heavy displea- 
 sure : that the most moral and sober, as wqII 
 as the base and profligate, are under con- 
 demnation on account of sin : and that all 
 of us without exception must perish, if we 
 do not turn to God in the way that he has 
 prescribed. 
 
 We think, yea we are sure, that we liave 
 abundant proof of these things in the holy 
 
148 
 
 Scriptures. The universality of our de- 
 parture from God, and of our danger in con- 
 sequence of it, is declared in the strongest 
 terms by St. Paul in his Epistle to the Ro- 
 mans. " There is none righteous/^ says 
 he, *'^ no, not ojie : there is none that under-^ 
 standeth ; there is none that seeketh after 
 God : they are all gone out of the way, they 
 are together become unprofitable ; there is 
 none that doeth good, no not one.'^ To this 
 he adds, '^ that every mouth must be stop- 
 ped, and all the world become guilty before 
 God.'^^ We could wish you particularly 
 to notice what an accumulation of words 
 there is in this short passage to prove the 
 universality of our guilt and misery. Of 
 righteous persons, there is ^^ none,'^ ^' none,^' 
 ^^ none,^^ '^ no not one,'^ ^' no not one :'^ 
 ^' air^ are guilty, all ^^ together,'^ even 
 ^' every^^ person, and " all the world. '^^ Will 
 any one, after reading tins passage, presume 
 to think himself an exception ? 
 
 Nor is the depth of our depravity less 
 clear than its universality. ^' The heart^^' 
 * Rom, iii. 10 — 19. 
 
149 
 
 says Jeremiah^ ^^ is deceitful above all 
 things, and desperately wicked ; Who can 
 know it ?^^^ This is spoken, not of some 
 particular person or age or country, but of 
 mankind at large, even of our whole race. 
 Solomon affirms the same, when he says, 
 " The heart of the Sons of men is full of 
 evil ; madness is in their hearts while they 
 live, and after that they go to the dead/^f 
 And to the same effect is that declaration of 
 St. Paul, that ^^ the carnal mind is enmity 
 against God, for it is not subject to the law 
 of God neither indeed can be.^^J Ta these, 
 general affirmations of Scripture, we may 
 add the confessions of the most eminent 
 Saints. Joby who was the most perfect man 
 on earth in his day, no sooner attained the 
 knowledge of his real character than he ex- 
 claimed, " Behold, I ana vile.^^H St. Paul 
 also, speaking of himself and of all the other 
 Apostles, says, '^ We all had our conver= 
 sation in times p-ast in the lusts of our fleshy. 
 
 * Jer. xvii. 9, t Eccl. ix. 3. | Rom, viii* 7 
 
 II Job xl. 4f. 
 
150 
 
 fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the 
 mind ; and were by nature the children of 
 wrath^ even as others/^* 
 
 In labouring to establish these awful 
 truths we are often considered as libelling 
 human nature^ and as representing men in 
 such an humiliating and distressed state as 
 to fill them with melancholy^ or drive them 
 to despair. Let us then, in vindication both 
 of ourselves and of our doctrines, compare 
 these assertions with our public acknow- 
 ledgments. We begin our confession with 
 saying, " We have erred and strayed from 
 thy ways like lost sheep.^^ This is a pecu- 
 liar expression that must not be overlooked. 
 We apprehend it does not mean merely that 
 we have departed from Gpd, but also that 
 we have never sought to return to him : for 
 other animals will find their way back when 
 they have wandered from their home ; but 
 it is rarely, if ever, known that the sheep 
 traces back its footsteps to the fold from 
 
 * Eph. ii. 3, and Tit. iii. 3. 
 
151 
 
 whence it has strayed : if it return at all, it 
 is not by any foresight of its own. How just 
 a picture does this exhibit of our fallen race ! 
 That we have departed from God is too 
 plain to be denied : but in how few do we 
 behold any solicitude to return to him ! How 
 few are there who search the Scriptures 
 daily^ in order to find their way back ! How 
 few who implore help and direction from 
 their God with an earnestness at all propor- 
 tioned to the urgency of their case ! 
 
 Is it inquired^ wherein we have so great- 
 ly erred? Our own acknowledgments con- 
 jtain the most satisfactory reply : " We have 
 IfoUowed too much the devices and desires of 
 \eur own hearts J^ How true is this ! liook 
 iat all mankind ; see them from infancy to 
 jyouth, and from youth to old age ; What 
 !are they all following? are they obeying 
 |anreservedly the commands of God ? are 
 jfliey, in compliance with his will^ mortify- 
 ing every evil propensity, and doing the 
 (things which are pleasing in his sight? 
 Alas ! nothing is further from their minds 
 
im 
 
 than this. Their pursuits indeed vary ac- 
 cording to their age, their circumstances, 
 their habits ; but whatever they be, they 
 are no other than the devices and desires of 
 their own hearts : if in any thing they ap- 
 pear to do the will of God, they do not act 
 from a pi'inciple of love to him, but from a 
 desire to conform to the customs of their 
 country, and to lay a foundation for self- ap- 
 plause. The whole tenor of our lives 
 is but too justly marked in those follow- 
 ing acknowledgments, ^^ We have offended 
 against thy holy laws ; we have left undone 
 those things which we ought to have done . 
 and have done those things which ice ought 
 not to have doneJ^^ Permit me to ask 
 Which of the laws of God have we not vio 
 lated times without number ? Shall we say 
 We have not committed murder or adulte 
 ry ? How vain the boast, if we interpret thi 
 commandments in, their full latitude, am 
 call to mind the declarations of our Lord 
 that an angry word is murder, and a wantow 
 look adultery !^ To go into all our sins o" 
 * Matt. V, 27j 28. 
 
 B 
 
153 
 
 emission^ and commission^ wei'e an endless 
 task. Suffice it to say, that in ten thou- 
 sand instances ^^ we have sinned, in thought, 
 word, and deed, against the Divine Majes- 
 ty ;'' and have habitually neglected the in- 
 terests of our souls. 
 
 Perhaps it may be said, ^^ Our actions in- 
 deed have been evil, but our hearts are 
 Igood.'^ But ho\t does this accord with that 
 jwhich in our Confession forms the summit 
 |of the climax, ^^ There is no health in us P^ 
 jHere our Church has taught us to trace all 
 (the evils of oar life to the fountain-head, a 
 jcorrupt and wicked heart. In this expres- 
 •sion she evidently refers, either to that con- 
 fession of the Apostle, " In me, that is, in 
 my flesh, dwelleth no good thing ;^^* or 
 rather to that most humiliating declaration 
 ef the Prophet, ^^ From the sole of the foot 
 even to the head, there is no soundness in 
 as, but wounds and bruises and putrifying 
 ^ sores. ^^t The import of the words is plain : 
 we confess before our God, that we are al- 
 together depraved ; that we are disordered 
 * Bom. vii. 18. t Isaiah i. 5, 6* 
 
154 
 
 in every member of our body, and in every 
 faculty of our vsoul ; that our understanding 
 is darkened, our will perverse, our affections 
 sensual, our memory treacherous, our con- 
 science seared, and all our ^^ members, in- 
 struments of unrighteousness and sin.'' 
 
 Thus far then we are fully vindicated, 
 vindicated too, we trust, in yoar consciences. 
 in all that we have aflBrmed respecting the 
 lost estate of man. We do indeed repre- 
 sent the whole human race, as in a most dei 
 plorable condition : but no Member of ouil 
 Establishment can controvert our position? 
 without denying the plainest asseverations 
 of Holy Writ, and contradicting his owi 
 most solemn acknowledgments. 
 
 Let us now turn our attention to the se 
 cond point which we proposed to notice 
 namely, The means of our recovery frou 
 this state. 
 
 We affirm that, in order to obtain salvd 
 tion, two things are necessary, " Repeni 
 ance towards God, and Faith in our Lor 
 
155 
 
 Jesus Chtist.^^* By repentance, we do not 
 mean that superficial work which consists 
 in saying, " I am sorry for what I have 
 done ;^^ but in such a deep sense of our guilt 
 and danger, as leads us with all humility of 
 mind to God, and stirs us up to a most ear- 
 aest application to him for mercy. We 
 must feel sin to be a burden to our souls : 
 we must be made to tremble at the wrath of 
 ;&od which we have merited : we must cry 
 jto him for deliverance from it^ as Peter cri- 
 ed for preservation from the- waves, " Save^ 
 jLord, or I perish :^^ and this must be our 
 faxperience, not merely after some flagrant 
 l^ansgression, or on some particular occa- 
 ^9ion, but at all times : it must be^ as it were^ 
 [the daily habit of our minds. 
 
 i Is it needful to confirm this from the holy 
 IScriptures ? Surely we need not be remind- 
 ed of what our Lord ha« repeatedly affirm- 
 led ; " Except ye repent, ye shall all per- 
 lish.^'t We need not be told that it is " the 
 weary and heavy laden'' whom Christ in- 
 ^ Acts xx. 21. t Luke xiii. 3. ^, 
 
156 
 
 vites :^ that it is ^^the broken and contrite 
 heart which God will not despise :^^f that we 
 must'^^ lothe ourselves for all our abomina- 
 tions :''{ that we must " sow in tears, and 
 go on our way weeping :'^|| that we must 
 cry with Paul, " O wretched man that I am, 
 who shall deliver me ?'^1f and with Job, 
 " I repent and abhor myself in dust and 
 ashes.'^*^ 
 
 # Yet, when this is insisted on, and pressed 
 upon the conscience as of universal, abso- 
 lute, and indispensable necessity, we are 
 toid, that we carry matters to excess : thai 
 however ^uch bitter contrition may suit the 
 profligate and abandoned, it is unnecessary 
 in the case of the more moral and decent: 
 tliey have never done any thing that requires 
 such deep humiliation; they have no such 
 cause to fear and tremble ; they have indeed 
 sinned, but are in no danger of perisliing ; 
 nor have they ever merited the wrath ol 
 God. 
 
 * Matt. xi. 2S. t Ps. li. ir, \ Ezek. xxxvi. 31, 
 II Ps. cxxvi. 5, 6. ^ Horn. vii. 2*. ** Job xlii. 6. 
 
157 
 
 But is it not astonishing that any mem- 
 ber of the Established Church should be 
 so ignorant as to make these vain asser- 
 tions? What are the terms in which we 
 address the Divine Majesty every time that 
 we attend his worship ? ^* Do thou^ O Lordf 
 have mercy upon us^ miserable offenders : 
 Spare thou ihem^ O God^ which confess 
 their faults : Restore thou them that are 
 Ipenitent.^^ Have we then been dissem- 
 [bling with God all our days: calling our- 
 iselves '' raiseral)le ofienders/- when we feel 
 jno misery at all; and when, instead of be> 
 {wailing our offences, we think ourselves 
 lalmost, if Dot altogether, as good as wc need 
 to be ? In this prayer we do not presume 
 even to expect mercy, except as persons 
 deeply penitent and contrite. And let it be 
 remembered, that these petitions are put 
 into the mouths of all the congregation; 
 there is not one form for one class of per- 
 sions, and another for another; but all pro- 
 jfess to approach God as the repenting pub-, 
 ilican^ ^' Smiting upon their breasts, and 
 o 
 
158 
 
 crying. Grod be merciful to me a sinner !^^*^ 
 We mean not to say, that no person can 
 hope for mercy^ who does not feel such or 
 such a measure of contrition^ (for all who 
 pray in sincerity ^ may hope for acceptance, 
 though their hearts be not so contrite as 
 they could wish^) but to shew, that all 
 members of the church of England acknow- 
 ledge that penitence is highly suited to their 
 state. 
 
 But, besides their repentance, we ob- 
 served, that faith also was necessary, even 
 faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. This we 
 invariably and inflexibly affirm. As it is; 
 not our good works and meritorious life 
 that will save us, so neither will our re- 
 pentance save us. If we could shed rivers 
 of tears, they never would avail to cleanse 
 us from one single sin. It is the blood of 
 Christ, and that alone, that can atone for 
 moral guilt: JViat is ^Uhe fountain that 
 was opened for sin and for uncleanness:'^! 
 and as long as the world shall stand,, we* 
 * Luke xviii. 13. t Zech. xiii. i. 
 
139 
 
 must requite of sinners to wash in it, in 
 order that they may be clean. And, for as 
 much as men are with great difficulty turn- 
 ed from endeavouring " to establish their 
 own righteousness/^^' or to unite their own 
 fancied merits with the merits of Christ, 
 we guard them strongly against this fatal 
 error ; we declare to them, that, if they do 
 ihis, they will invalidate the whole gospel ; 
 and that, if ever they be saved at all, it 
 must be by a humble, simple reliance uj)on 
 the Lord Jesus Christ. That there are 
 blessings promised to the penitent, and to 
 the obedient, we very willingly allow: and 
 on proper occasions we are glad to bring 
 ; forward those promises in order to encou- 
 -;e men to repent and obey : But that men 
 are justified by their repentance or obedi- 
 ence, or in any other way than by faith in 
 the Lord Jesus Christ, we utterly deny. 
 And we declare that, if men seek to be 
 
 lifted in any other way, '^ Christ shall 
 
 vfit them notliing/'^t 
 
 *Rom. X.3. t Gal. V. 2. 
 
160 
 
 And do \ve^ in affirming these things) 
 deviate at all from what we read in the 
 holy Scriptures? Does not onr blessed 
 Lord expressly say, '' I am the way, the 
 truth, aiid the life ; no man cometh nntothe 
 Father but by me?^^^ He tells us plainly^ 
 that " he who believeth on him, hath ever- 
 lasting life ; and that he who believeth not, 
 shall not see life, but the wrath of Grod 
 abideth on him ;''t and again, '^ He that 
 believeth, shall be saved ; and he that be- 
 lieveth not, shall be damned.J To the 
 same effect also is the testimony of his 
 apor3tles: We find them invariably direct- 
 ing penitents to believe in him as the only, 
 and effectual means of obtaining acceptance! 
 with God. When tiie jailor came in to Paul 
 and Silas trembling, and crying, " Sirs, 
 what shall I do to be saved V^ the answe? 
 given him was, " Believe on the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.^^lj 
 Instead of varying their directions accord- 
 ing to the different characters they address- 
 
 * Johu xiv. 6. t John iii. 36. |Mark xvi. 16* 
 
 !} Acts xvi. 30, 31^ 
 
161 
 
 eil/they affirm^ in the atrongest manneiv 
 i that " there is no other foundation whereon 
 any man can build/'^-^ '' nor any other name 
 whereby any man can be saved.''! And 
 iwhen they saw in any a disposition to unite 
 the observance of some ceremonial or moral 
 duties as a joint ground of their hope^ they 
 warned them plainly, that their salvation 
 must be " wholly of grace or wholly of 
 works ;''J and that if they relied in any 
 measure upon their works, '^^they were 
 fallen from grace/' they were " become 
 debtors to do the whole law/' and that 
 " Christ was become of no effect unto 
 them/' II with respect to them ^^he Avas 
 dead in vain.'^§ 
 
 Offensive as these statements are, and 
 reprobated as being of a licentious tendency, 
 v^hereiu do they differ from our own ac- 
 knowledgments ? We pray that God Vv ould 
 '* restore to his favour them that are peni- 
 ifent/' but how, and in what manner, da 
 
 1 Cor. iii. 11. t Acts iv. 12. \ Rom. xi* 6. 
 !iGaLv.35 4. § Gal. ii. 21. 
 
 O S 
 
163 
 
 we expect that restoration to be accomplish- 
 ed? Is it uncoveiiauted mercy that we 
 ask? Or is it according to our own good 
 works that we desire to find acceptance? 
 Ko ; we profess that our reliance is alto- 
 gether on God^s promises as they are re- 
 vealed in the gospel ; " Restore us^ accord" 
 ing to thy promises declared unto mankind 
 in Christ Jesus our Lord.^^ Among the 
 promises to w hich we may be supposed to 
 refer^ the following must certainly be num- 
 bered : " Look unto me, and be ye saved ;'^^ 
 ^' Come unto me, and I will give you rest.^^t^ 
 ^' Him that cometh unto me, I will in na 
 wise cast out.'^J '' The blood of Jesus 
 Christ cleanseth from all sin.'^H ^^ A.11 that 
 believe, shall be justified from all things.H^^ 
 ^' Thougli your sins be as crimsoi>, they 
 shall be white as snow/^** But whatever 
 the promises be, whether their reference td^ 
 Christ be more or less plain, we are assured 
 that it is in him, and in him alone, that the 
 
 * Tsai. xlv. 22, t Matt. xi. 28. ^ John vi. 2V. 
 Jt i Johni. r. ? Acts xui, 80 ^*Isai. I ts. 
 
ir 
 
 183 
 
 ^jpromises are confirmed to us ; for the Apos- 
 tle says, " All the promises of God in Him 
 are yea, andiNHiMameii.'^* It is in Christ 
 alone that God can " be just, and at the 
 same time the justifier of sinners.'^f and 
 therefore when we plead that promise, that 
 ^' if we confess our sins, God is faithful and 
 just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us 
 from all unrighteousness,'^ J we can expect 
 its accomplishment in no other way than 
 through faith in Christ. 
 
 f Thus under this head also may be seen a 
 
 c perfect harmony betw^een those things which 
 
 we have affirmed, and those which you 
 
 ^' read '^ in the Scriptures, and " acknow- 
 i ledge '^ in your prayers. 
 
 Nor do we doubt a similar issue to our 
 inquiries, while under the last head of our 
 discourse we state to you 21ie path of duty. 
 
 We inculcate the practice of every per- 
 sonal and relative duty. But we are not 
 
 * 2 Cor. i. 3a. I Rom. iii. 26. J 1 Jolm i. 9; 
 
164 
 
 satisfied with that standard of holiness 
 which is current in the world: we require 
 a higher tone of morals : in addition to so- 
 briety and honesty, we insist upon a life 
 entirely devoted to God ; we affirm, that it 
 is every man's duty to " delight himself in 
 God ;''* to have such a lively sense of 
 Christ's love to him, as shall constrain him 
 to an unreserved surrender of all his facul- 
 ties and powers to the service of his Lord.f 
 We must live for God : we must be like a 
 faithful servant, who inquires from day to 
 day what his master's will is : and inquires, 
 in order that he may do it. As a servant 
 who had neglected all his duties through 
 the day, would feel ashamed and afraid of 
 his master's displeasure, so should we feel 
 ashamed and afraid, if any day pass with- 
 out having executed to the utmost of our 
 power the duties of it. We should walk 
 as on the confines of the eternal world, and 
 act as persons who must shortly give account 
 of every talent that has been committed to 
 
 * Job xxvii. 10. & Ps, xxxvii. 4. f 2 Cor. v. 14. 
 
165 
 
 ihem. To be ^' dead unto the world/^* 
 and " alive unto God j^^f to attain more and 
 more of the divine image ; J to ^' grow up 
 into Christ in all things ;^^§ to enjoy fellow, 
 ship with God^ll and anticipate the enjoy- 
 ments of heaven^^ this is our duty, and 
 should be our daily study and delight. 
 
 In requiring so muchj, we are supposed 
 to require what is altogether impracticable, 
 or, at least, what, if practised, would unfit 
 us for all the common offices of life. But 
 what do we read in the holy Scriptures ? 
 Do they require of us less than this ? Do 
 they not teach us to " yield ourselves liv- 
 ing sacrifices to God as our most reasonable 
 service ?^'*^ Do they not enjoin us to " live 
 henceforth not unto ourselves, but unto him 
 that died for us, and rose again P^^ff Do 
 they not require that " whether we eat or 
 drink, or whatever we do, we should do all 
 to the glory of God ?^^J J And is not the 
 
 ♦ Gal. vi. 14, t Rom. vi. 11. | 2 Cor. iii. 18. 
 § Eph. iv. 10. II John i 3. f Eph. i. 13, 14. 
 
 »* Rom. xii. 1. ft ^ Cor. v. 15. tl 1 Cor. x.Sl. 
 
166 
 
 Holy Spirit, (tlirough whose divine agency 
 alone we can do any thing that is good) pro- 
 mised to us for this very end^ to renew us 
 after the divine image in righteousness and 
 true holiness ? 
 
 And wherein do our own acknowledg- 
 ments differ from tliis ? Let us attend to the 
 supplications which we offer before God ; — 
 ^^ Grants O most merciful Father^ for 
 Christ^s salcey that we may hereafter live a 
 godhjy righteous^ and sober life^ to the glory 
 of thy holy nam,eJ^ Here so far from put- 
 ting godliness out of our thoughts^ we pro- 
 fess to desire it in the first place ; and just- 
 ly do we ask that first, because, without 
 that, all our acts of righteousness and so- 
 briety would be no better than splendid 
 sins ; they would want the motives and prin- 
 ciples which alone distinguish them from 
 heathen virtues. Mark too the measure 
 and degree in which we desire these virtues : 
 w^e are not satisfied w^ith that w^hicli shall 
 gain us a name among men ; we ask (and 
 let it ever be remembered that without the 
 
167 
 
 influences of God's Spirit all onr own ef- 
 forts will be in vain) that we maybe enabled 
 to attain such a degree of piety^ as that God 
 may be glorified in us, and that the tran- 
 scendant excellence of Christianity may be 
 visibly exhibited in our lives. 
 
 We appeal then to all : What do we, or 
 what can we ask of you more than this ? 
 And if these high attainments be not neces- 
 sary, why do you ask of God for Christ's 
 sake to give them to you? If, on the other 
 hand, they are necessary, why are we deem- 
 ed enthusiastic and over-righteous for re- 
 quiring them at your hands ? If in your 
 prayers you mean what you say, you justify 
 us ; and if you do not mean what you say, 
 you condemn yourselves^ you confess your- 
 selves to be hypocrites and dissemblers with 
 God. 
 
 We have now finished our consideratioH 
 ©f that truly scriptural prayer : and we will 
 conclude with commending it to you as a 
 test in a two-fold view* 
 
168 
 
 First, take it as a test whereby to try the 
 discourses which you hear. As Members 
 of the Church of Eagland, we have a right 
 to expect that the discourses of Ministers 
 shall correspond with the Liturgy of our 
 Church. Certainly, in the first instance,^ 
 the holy Scriptures are to be our guide : 
 but, as all profess to have the Scriptures on 
 iheir side, let us bring to our aid that excel- 
 lent compendium of religion which we have 
 been considering. 
 
 Are there any who discant upon the dig- 
 nity of our nature, the goodness of our 
 hearts, and the rectitude of our lives ? What 
 appearance do such sentiments make when 
 brought to the touchstone of this prayer? 
 Are they not as opposite as darkness is to 
 light ? and should we not regard such state- 
 ments as the effusions of pride and igno- 
 rance ? should we not tremble for those 
 who hear them, lest being ^^ blind followers 
 of the blind, they all together should fall 
 into the ditch ?''* 
 
 * Matt. XV. 44. 
 
169 
 
 Are there others who tell us that we are 
 to be saved by our works^, and who would 
 thereby lull us asleep in impenitence, and 
 divert our attention from the Saviour of the 
 world ? Let us not be deluded by the syren 
 song. Let us turii toour own confessions^ to 
 refute such anti-christian doctrines : Let us 
 learn from them the necessity of humiliation 
 and contrition^ and of '^ ileeing to Christy as 
 to the refuge that is set before us/^ As for 
 the idea^ that the founding of our hopes upon 
 Christ and upon the promises made to us in 
 him^ will lead to a neglect of good works, 
 let us see what the Compilers of our Litur- 
 gy thought of that, and what they have put 
 in the mouths of all believing penitents ; do 
 not the very same persons who seek for mei^- 
 cy through Christ, intreat of God that they 
 may be enabled to " live a godly, righteous, 
 and sober life, to the glory of his holy 
 name ?^^ And is it not notorious that the 
 very persons who maintain most steadfastly 
 the doctrines of faith, are uniformly con- 
 demned for the Excessive and unnecessary 
 strictness of their lives ? 
 p 
 
lyo 
 
 In the same manner, if there be any who 
 plead for a conformity to the world, and 
 decry all vital godliness as enthusiasm, we 
 may see what judgment is to be formed 
 of them also. They may call themselves 
 Christians ; but they have nothing of Chris- 
 tianity, except the name. 
 
 Lastly^ if there be any who separate the 
 different parts of religion, inculcating some 
 to the neglect of others ; magnifying works 
 lo the exclusion of faith, or establishing faith 
 to the destruction of good works, or con- 
 founding faith and works, instead of distin- 
 guishing them as the fruit from the root ; if 
 such, I say, there be, let their statements be 
 contrasted with the order, tlie fulness, and 
 the harmony of this prayer ; and the errone- 
 ousness of them will instantly appear. We 
 do not wish to produce critical hearers ; 
 but it is the duty of every man to " prove 
 all things, and to hold fast that whicli i^ 
 good ;'^^ and as we have the advantage of 
 an authorized standard of divine truth, we 
 * 1 Thess. V, 31. 
 
' 174 
 
 invite all to search tha.t^ as well as the hol;y 
 Scriptures : and we do not hesitate to say 
 of this prayer in particular^ what the pro- 
 phet speaks of the inspired volume, " To 
 the law, and to the testimony ; if Ministers 
 speak not according to this word^ it is be- 
 cause there is no light in them.'^ ^ 
 
 Next, let us take this prayer as a test 
 whereby to try our oivn experience. We 
 may now discard from our minds all that 
 this or that Minister may lay down as neces- 
 sary to our salvation. We have here, what 
 no man can reasonably dispute, our own ac- 
 knowledgments. We have here as beauti- 
 ful, as just, as scriptural a summary of ex- 
 perimental religion, as ever was penned 
 from the foundation of the world. The man 
 that from his inmost soul can utter this pray- 
 er, is a real Christian. Whatever be his 
 views with respect to some particular doc- 
 trines, (those I mean which are distinguish- 
 ed by the name of Calvinism) his heart is 
 right with Grod. Whether he admit or re- 
 * Isai. viii. 20. 
 
r7% 
 
 jec^ those abstruser points^ he ig accepted 
 of God ; and if he were to die this moment, 
 he w ould be in heaven the next : the termi- 
 nation of his warfare would be to him the 
 commencement of everlasting felicity. But 
 is this the experience of us all? Would to 
 God it were ! All will repeat the words : but 
 it is one thing to repeat, and another to feel 
 them. Let us then bring ourselves to this 
 test ; and never imagine that we are in a 
 Christian state, till we can appeal to God, 
 that this prayer is the very language of our 
 hearts. In examining ourselves respecting 
 it, let us inquire, whether from our inmost 
 souls we lament the numberless transgres- 
 sions of our lives, and the unsearchable de- 
 pravity of our hearts ? When we cry to 
 God for mercy as miserable offenders, do 
 we abhor ourselves for our guilt, and trem- 
 ble for our danger ? Do we indeed feel that 
 we deserve the wrath of Almighty God ? 
 Bo we feel this not only on some particular 
 occasions, but, as it were, daily and hour- 
 ly ? Is the consciousness of it wrought into 
 us and become the habit of our minds, so 
 
that we can find no peace but in crying unto 
 God^ aad pleading with him the merits of 
 his dear Son ? Is Christ, in this view\, " pre- 
 cious'' to our souls ?^ Is HE "our wisdom^ 
 HE our righteousness, he our sanctification, 
 HE our complete redemption ?''t Having 
 nothing in ourselves, do we make him our 
 '' all in all ?" J Are we at the same time 
 " renewed in the spirit of our minds ?'' Do 
 we hate sin, not merely as it is destructive, 
 but as it is defiling, to the soul ? Do we ac- 
 count " the service of God to be perfect 
 freedom ;'' and instead of wishing his law 
 reduced to the standard of our practice, do 
 we desire to have our practice raised to the 
 standard of his law ? Is it our labour to 
 " shine as lights in a dark world,'' and " to 
 shew forth in our own conduct the mrtnea 
 of him that has called us?"|| Let us all 
 put these questions to ourselves ; and they 
 will soon shew us what we are. If this be 
 not the state of our souls, we are in an aw- 
 ful condition indeed. Our very best ser- 
 * 1 Pet. ii. r. t rCor. i. 30. t Col. iii. 11. 
 
 P 2 
 
17* 
 
 vices have been nothing but a solemn mock, 
 ery : iu our prayers we have insulted^ 
 rather than worshipped^ the Majesty of 
 Heaven ; we have come before our God 
 " with a lie in our right hand ;'^* O that it 
 might please God to discover to us the hein- 
 ousness of our guilt ; and that we might all 
 be " pricked to the heart,^^ ere it be too late ! 
 Let us^ the very next time we attempt to use 
 this prayer, take notice of the frame of our 
 minds : let us mark the awful incongruity 
 between our professions and our actual ex- 
 perience : and let a sense of our hypocrisy 
 lead us to repentance. Thus shall the re- 
 turning seasons of worship be attended with 
 a double advantage to our souls : in praying 
 for what we ought to seek, we shall be 
 stirred up to seek it in good earnest : and 
 through the tender mercy of our God we 
 shall attain the experience of those things, 
 which too many of US;^ it is to be feared, have 
 hitherto hypocritically asked and ignorantly 
 condemned. 
 
 ^ Isaiah xliv. 20. 
 
« THE FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATERS." 
 
 A 
 
 SERMON 
 
 PREACHED BEFORE 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE^ 
 
 ON SUNDAY, MAY 14, 1809. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. CHARLES SIMEON, M. A. 
 
 EEXXOW OP king's COilEGB, CAMBRIDGE, 
 
ADVEEri^iiMEiKT. 
 
 j THIS Set^mon was written hastilyf and not 
 ^with the smallest view to publication: and it i$ 
 printed only in deference to the opinions and wishes 
 of some of the author^s more judicious friends^ 
 \in hopes that the candid attention with which it 
 ]Was heard, might pi^ocure for it a favourable 
 reception with the public at large. 
 
,„jfei. .,«J1IIS« .,«.-R*- 
 
 isi 
 
A 
 
 SERMON, 
 
 Jer. II. 13, 13. 
 
 Se astonished^ Oye heavens^ at this, and he 
 horribly afraid^ be ye very desolate ^ saith 
 the Lord. For my people have commit- 
 ted two evils; they have forsaken me, 
 the FOUNTAIN of LIVING WATERS, and 
 hewed> them out cisterns^ broken cisternsy 
 that can hold no water. 
 
 RELIGION may be considered as of 
 two kinds, theoretical, and practical. In 
 the term theoretical^ I include every thing 
 that is necessary to prove the truth of chris* 
 tianity : and under the term practical^ what- 
 ever is required of those who embrace it. 
 To understand the theoretical part, is desi- 
 rable ; to perform the practical is necessary ; 
 The two kinds, however, are not neces- 
 
180 
 
 sarily united ; the theoretical may exist 
 where the practical is disregarded ; and 
 the practical may exist^ where the theoret- 
 ical is unknown. Thousands of pious per* 
 sons have neither leisure nor talent for 
 collating manuscripts, or for weighing the 
 evidences that may be adduced in favour 
 of particular hypotheses : and to say that 
 these cannot be religious^ because they are 
 Wanting in critical acumen^ would be as 
 absurd, as to say that a man cannot be 
 honest, because he has not sufficient know- 
 ledge of the laws to be a judge. The un- 
 lettered Christian assumes the truth o1 
 Christianity; and he finds it true by its 
 effects. And such persons may well refei 
 to the effects in proof of the truth of tlia 
 religion which they profess. But it is oiit 
 thing to refer to practical effects, and au 
 other to ground their faith on any transien 
 feelings : This no man of reflection can do 
 the other, no man of piety can forbear 
 Feelings may be excited by erroneous no 
 tions, as well as by those which are just 
 but holiness, radical and universal holiness 
 
181 
 
 can be produced by Christianity alone. Wie 
 Avill appeal to all the religions that ever 
 appeared upon the face of the earth, and 
 ask, whether any of them ever produced in 
 their votaries such effects as were visible in 
 Christ and his Apostles ? The reason is 
 plain : It is the Spirit of God who sancti- 
 fies ; and he is promised to those only who 
 believe in Christ : and consequently, his 
 I sanctifying energy, in its full extent at least, 
 can be found in them alone. I grant that 
 it would be wrong to rest the truth of our 
 religion on that ground only; but surely 
 i it may properly be referred to, as an addi- 
 tional and corroborating proof of our reli- 
 I gion. If this be not a proper test of our re- 
 lligion, whereby shall the superior excel- 
 ilency of Christianity be known? If the 
 Bible produce no better effects than the 
 Coran, I do not hesitate to say that it is no 
 
 better than the Coran : but if its effects be 
 
 [i 
 
 f such as no other religion can produce, then 
 will those effects be, though not the only, 
 yet a solid and inipoitant proof of our reli- 
 gion: And those who cannot enter in:o 
 Q 
 
 
183 
 
 learned disquisitions about tlie credibility 
 of the Scriptures^ have reason to thank God 
 that they have within themselves an evi- 
 dence of the truth of Christianity, which 
 the objections of infidels can never set 
 aside.* The error lies in confounding the 
 
 * The author does not meaTi, that this is the only 
 evidence which unlearned men have of the Divine 
 authority of the Bible. They, as well as the learned, 
 have other grounds for their faith. They see the 
 provision, which the Bihle makes for their restora- 
 tion to happiness, to be precisely such as thevr 
 necessities required. They see also, that the purity 
 «f its commands has a wonderful tendency to elevate 
 their nature, aiid to produce universal happiness : 
 and these two things form in their minds a strong 
 internal evidence of the Divine origin of the Bible ; 
 whilst the general and long continued reception of 
 that book amongst those who have spent their whole 
 lives in investigating its authenticity, serves in 
 their minds as a strong external evidence, that the 
 Bible is really given by inspiration of God. Never- 
 theless, their actual experience of a change of heart 
 and life, wrought in them by the Bible, is to them a 
 strong additional evidence of its Divine authority. 
 Of course, this change cannot produce any conviction 
 in the minds oi* oihers ; because none but God and a 
 man's own conscience can know the full extent of 
 that change. 
 
188 
 
 two kinds of religion. They are distinct; 
 and they should be kept so. 
 
 To enter deeply into the theory of reli- 
 Igioo, much strength of intellect^ much gen- 
 I eral knowledge^ and much patient investiga- 
 ttion^ are requisite. To have just^ and even 
 I enlarged views of the practical part^ little 
 is wanting but a humble teachable mind, 
 I enlightened by the trutlis^ and sanctiiied by 
 the influence of the gospel of Christ. The 
 former, when possessed in the highest de- 
 gree, will consist with all manner of evil 
 tempers and evil habits : the latter neces- 
 sarily involves in it a change both of heart 
 and life. The former is of importance prin- 
 cipally to those, whose office calls them to 
 defend the outworks of Christianity against 
 the assaults of infidels : the latter is essen- 
 tial to the happiness of every individual. 
 To the foi'mer your minds are now directed 
 from time to time by a zealous and learned 
 Professor,^ who is giving us the result of 
 
 * The Rev. Herbert Marsh, D. D. of St. John's 
 iCoUege, Lady Margaret's Profegjgor of Diviaity ; 
 
184 
 
 his own laborious researches, and commen- 
 dably exerting his talents to promote 
 amongst us the too much neglected study of 
 sacred literature. To the latter, which w^e 
 consider as more appropriate to the ordina- 
 ry services of the Church, we would on the 
 present occasion solicit your attention. 
 
 The subject which we would submit to 
 your consideration, is a solemn charge, 
 brought by God himself against his people 
 of old. They were guilty of gross idolatry; 
 and for that, in part, they are here re- 
 proved : the very heavens are summoned 
 to bear witness against them, and to express 
 with utter astonishment, their abhorrence of 
 such impiety. But another complaint against 
 them was, that, in their straits and diMcul- 
 ties, they were ever looking to Egypt and 
 Assyria for help, instead of relying on the 
 Lord their God. Now if in respect of gross 
 idolatry, the passage be thought more im« 
 
 who is giving Public Lectures in the University 
 Church, on the principal subjects connected with 
 Theological Learning. 
 
185 
 
 mediately applicable to them, it wil! never- 
 theless, as a charge of spiritual idolatry, 
 be found to contain ample matter of accu- 
 sation against ourselves. 
 
 Let us then consider, 
 4, The evils which God lays to our charge. 
 8. The light in which they should be viewedo 
 
 The evils which God lays to our charge 
 are, that we have forsaken him, and bought 
 our happiness in the creature ratiier than in 
 the Creator. He justly calls himself " the 
 fountain of living waters ;^^ for he is, and 
 must be acknowledged to be, the only source 
 of all good. What is there in the visible 
 creation, that is not the product of his pow- 
 er, and the gift of his grace? or what is 
 ibere that can afford satisfaction to the souls 
 of men, or to the bright intelligences of 
 heaven, which does not emanate from his 
 I presence and love? If it be replied, that 
 many sources of consolation are opened for 
 us in the contemplations of reason, or the 
 gratifications of sense; we answer, that the' 
 
 Q S 
 
186 
 
 very capacity to communicate or receive 
 pleasure is the fruit of his hounty ; and that 
 the creature can be no more to us than what 
 he is pleased to make it. 
 
 What then does he require of us? He 
 calls us to regard him as the one source cf 
 happiness to ourselves ; to acknowledge him 
 in all that we have, and to trust in him for 
 all that we stand in need of. He calls us 
 to resemble our first parents in their primi- 
 tive state ; yea^ to resemble the very angels 
 around his throne ; and to delight ourselves 
 in him, as our Friend, our Portion, " our 
 eternal great reward.'' By sin, indeed, we 
 are become incapable of fulfilling these du- 
 ties, or of experiencing these enjoyments, 
 to the extent we ought ; but still God desires 
 to restore us to the felicity which we have 
 lost, and to communicate to us all those 
 blessings which we liave forfeited by our 
 trans2;ressions. 
 
 -'i!?' 
 
 Happy would it be for us, if we were du- 
 ly impressed with this unmerited kindness 
 
187 
 
 and unbounded mercy ! But, instead of seek- 
 ing blessedness in him, we forsake him ut- 
 terly : we cast off his yoke, we trample on 
 his laws, we put him far from us, and as 
 much as we can, we cast him even out of 
 our thoughts* 
 
 Now let us see what is that rival which 
 we prefer : it is the creature, justly called 
 ^^ a broken cistern/^ Some look for hap- 
 piness in the gratifications of sense ; others, 
 in the attainment of wealth or honour ; 
 others, in the pursuits of science or philoso- 
 phy. We beg to be clearly understood 
 when speaking on this subject : we do not 
 mean to condemn pleasure, honour, wealth,^ 
 or science, as evil in themselves : they all 
 have their legitimate and appropriate use, 
 and all may be pursued and enjoyed in per- 
 fect consistency with a good conscience. It 
 is quite a mistake to think that religion is 
 opposed to any of these things : on the con- 
 trary, it leads to the richest enjoyment of 
 created good, and enjoins, instead of pro- 
 hibiting, a diligent performance of every 
 
188 
 
 known duty. If subordinated to religion^ 
 and pursued for God, we repeat it, that the 
 pleasures of sense may be possessed, and 
 the duties of every station discharged : nay 
 more, we declare that no man can be reli- 
 gious without endeavouring to fulfil the du- 
 ties of his calling, whether they be com- 
 mercial or military, philosophical or reli- 
 gious. But the evil incident to these things 
 consists in making ihem the great end of 
 life; in suffering them to draw away our 
 hearts from God, or to occupy that place in 
 our affections which is due to God alone. 
 It is in this view that we are to be under- 
 stood as denominating the pursuit of these 
 things ''evil f^ and we doubt not but that the 
 consciences of all, attest the truth of our 
 statement, and accede fully to that apostolic, 
 that incontrovertible position, that to " love 
 and serve the creature more than the Crea» 
 tor'^ is idolatry. 
 
 We have digressed a little, for the pur- 
 pose of being more clearly understood. Let 
 us now return to our observation, that the 
 
189 
 
 creature, which is suffered to rival God in 
 our affections, whatever it may be, is only 
 ^^ a broken cistern.'^ Who will venture to 
 say that he has ever found solid and perma- 
 nent satisfaction in the creature ? Who has 
 lived any considerable time in the world, 
 without learning by his own experience, the 
 truth of Solomon's observation, that '^ all 
 below the sun is vanity ?'' Yet whatever our 
 experience has been, we still follow our 
 own delusions, and run after a phantom, 
 which, while we think to apprehend it, 
 eludes our grasp. We think that the plea- 
 sures of he world will make us happy : we 
 follow them ; and for a moment dream that 
 we are happy ; but we wake, and find that 
 it was but a dream. We next try wealth 
 or honour : we run the race ; we attain the 
 prize ; and find at last that we have been 
 following a shadow. We imagine, perhaps, 
 that science and philosophy, being so much 
 more elevated in their nature than the com- 
 mon concerns of life, will form a kind of 
 paradise for us : we labour, we press for- 
 ward, we become distinguished for high at- 
 
190 
 
 tainments^ but are as far off from solid hap- 
 piness as ever : and are constrained to join 
 onr testimony to that of the wisest of men, 
 after he had ^' sought out all things that are 
 done under the heaven/^ that even wisdom, 
 with all its high attainments, is only " van- 
 ity and vexation of spirit.'' 
 
 Such is the charge which God has ex^ 
 hibited against us ; and we appeal to every 
 man's conscience for the truth of it. Is 
 there so much as one amongst us whose 
 conscience does no tell him, " Thou art the 
 man ?" We are God's people, as much as 
 the Jews of old were : " He hath nourished 
 ^and brougtit us up, and yet we have rebel- 
 led against him : The ox knoweth his owner, 
 and the ass his master's crib ; but Israel 
 doth not know, my people doth not consi- 
 der." Notwithstanding a secret conviction 
 that God was the only source of real hap- 
 piness, we could not prevail upon ourselves 
 to seek after him : and notwithstanding our 
 daily experience of the insufficiency of the 
 creature to make us happy, we could not re« 
 
191 
 
 linquish the vain pursuit. We have hewed 
 out one cistern^ and found it incapable of 
 retaining any water : we have then renewed 
 our labour, and hewed out another ; which 
 we have found as unproductive of solid ben- 
 efit as the former. We have even worn 
 ourselves out with the pursuit of various and 
 successive vanities, yet have persisted in 
 our error, untaught by experience, and un- 
 wearied by disappointments. Even to the 
 close of life " we hold fast deceit ;'' " we 
 refuse to return ;'^ " a deceived heart hath 
 turned us aside, so that we cannot deliver 
 our souls, or say, Is there not a lie in my 
 right hand V^ 
 
 Will any contend, that these pursuits are 
 not evil? Surely they are evil in the sight 
 of God. So far from passing over the 
 whole as of small account, he disjoins and 
 separates the different parts of his charge, 
 and declares, that on account of each we 
 are involved in guilt. Our neglect of him 
 has been exceeding sinful, as our attach- 
 ment to vanity has also l)een : " My people 
 \ have committed two evil^/^ 
 
193 
 
 But on this part of our subject we shall 
 enter more fully, whilst we consider 
 
 Sdly, In what light we should vrew these 
 evils. 
 
 We are apt to palliate our conduct, and to 
 say, " What great harm is there in these 
 things ?'' But if we look to our text, we 
 shall see that they are both heinous in them^ 
 selves^ and terrible in their consequences. 
 In respect of heinousness^ I scarcely know 
 whether is greater, their guilt or their /(?%. 
 Only let us consider what advantages we 
 have enjoyed for the knowledge and service 
 of God. Is it nothing that we have been 
 endowed with such noble capacities, and 
 neglected to improve them ; insomuch that 
 the progressive enlargement of them has 
 tended rather to increase our alienation from 
 God, than to bring us nearer to him ? Is it 
 nothing that we have had the inspired vol- 
 ume in our hands, and yet have scarcely 
 differed at all, except in speculative notions, 
 
 from the heathen ? Is it nothing that we ( 
 
 f 
 
193 
 
 liave provoked God to jealousy with things 
 wliicli cannot profit^ and preferred even the 
 basest lust before him ? Is it nothing that 
 we have despised Redeeming love^, trodden 
 under foot the Son of God, counted the 
 blood of the covenant an unholy thing, and 
 done despite to the Spirit of grace ? Should 
 we account it a light matter, if we ourselves 
 were treated thus by our servants and chil- 
 dren ; if they cast off all regard for us, and 
 poured contempt upon us, and set at nought 
 our authority, neglecting every thing that 
 we commanded, doing every thing that we 
 forbade, and persisting in such conduct for 
 years together, in spite of every thing v/e 
 could say or do to reclaim them ? And if we 
 should resent such conduct, shall not God 
 much more ? But, whatever we mav think 
 of these things, God calls them '^ evils^^^ 
 and such too as may well excite " astonish- 
 ment ^^ amongst all the hosts of heaven : 
 ^' Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this V^ 
 
 Nor is the folly of such conduct less thau 
 the malignity. Suppose only that one half 
 
i9i 
 
 the; labour which we have used iu the pur- 
 suit of vanities^ had been employed in the 
 service of our God : or suppose that only 
 the Sabbaths (a seventh part of our time) 
 had been improved with that assiduity and 
 constancy which we have exerted on other 
 days in the pursuit of this world: I will 
 venture to say^ that had even that measure 
 of piety been exercised by us^ we should 
 have been far happier here^ and should 
 have had infinitely better prospects in the 
 eternal world. What amazing folly, then^ 
 have we been guilty of! Truly, if the 
 fact were not proved beyond a possibility of 
 doubt, it w ould not be credited, that per- 
 sons possessed of reason could act so irra- 
 tional a part. But, to view it in a proper 
 light, w^e should attend to the representation 
 given of it in the text. It is true, the pic- 
 ture is so strong, and yet withal so exact, 
 that we shpJl scarcely endure to look at it. 
 But let us contemplate it a moment : let us 
 imagine to ourselves a person dwelling 
 close to a perennial spring of water, and 
 yet with great labour and fatigue hcAving 
 
195 
 
 out first one cistern, and then another, aiid^ 
 after mnltiplied disappointments, dying at 
 last of thirst. By what name should we desig- 
 nate this ? Should we be content with calling 
 it folly ? Should we not soon find for it 
 a more appropriate and humiliating term ? 
 Let us take this then as a glass wherein to 
 view oiir own likeuess : it is no exaggerated 
 representation, hut the precise view in 
 which God sees our conduct. We are 
 aware, that the idea suggested, implies such 
 a degree of infatuation as almost to provoke 
 a smile : but the more humiliating the pic- 
 ture, the more need there is that we should 
 contemplate it : and my labour will not 
 have been lost, if a few only of the present 
 assembly be led to bear it in remembrance, 
 and to meditate upon it in their secret re- 
 tirement. 
 
 We have further to remark, that these 
 evils are represented in the text as terrible 
 also in their consequences. Men do not 
 like, in general, to hear of this ; they wish 
 rather to have it kept out of sight. But it 
 
196 
 
 is melanclioly that they should m labour to 
 deceive their own souls. If by concealing 
 the consequences of sin, we could prevent 
 them, we should be the last to bring them 
 forward to your view : but if it be the sur* 
 est way to draw them down upon you, 
 surely we should deserve ill at your hands 
 if we forbore to warn you of them. It is 
 not thus that the Prophets aud Apostles 
 acted : nor is it thus that God would have 
 us act. He bids us to " vinarn the wicked of 
 their evil ways :^^ and declares, that if we 
 neglect to do so, he " will require their 
 blood at our hands.'' In order, then, that 
 the danger of such sins as are here laid to 
 our charge may appear, consider what are 
 the representations given of it in the Holy 
 Scriptures. If there be one image more 
 terrible than another, it is that of lying down 
 in a lake of fire and brimstone, ever to be 
 consuming and unconsumed ; yet that is 
 the image repeatedly employed by Christ 
 himself, in order to represent the misery 
 that awaits the impenitent and unbelieving 
 world. This will account for^ the extreme 
 
197 
 
 anxiety and sorrow which holy men of old 
 expressed^ when contemplating the danger 
 to which their fellow-creatures were expos-^ 
 ed : " Rivers of waters run down mine 
 eyes^^^ says David^ " because men keep not 
 thy law :'^ And again^ " I am horribly 
 afraid for the ungodly that forsake thy law.'' 
 Indeed^ hoAV is it possible to entertain light 
 thoughts of this, if we only consider what 
 have uniformly been the feelings of men^ 
 the very moment that they have come to a 
 just sense of their state ? See the jailor's 
 agitation ; or hear the cries of the three 
 thousand on the day of Pentecost. Nay, 
 we need only consider what our own ap- 
 prehensions sometimes have been^ wheu 
 sickness has come upon us;, or death ap^ 
 peared to be nigh at hand. But if yet 
 we be disposed to doubt^ let us ask^ Where- 
 fore is it that God calls on the heavens to 
 •^ be horribly afraid, and to be very deso- 
 late ?" Is tliere no cause for such laD.«;ua2:e ? 
 Is it intended only to alarm us^, and to ex; 
 cite unfounded apprehensions ? No, surely ; 
 ' it is founded in truth: it is the effusion of 
 
utibounded love ; the compassionatiB warning 
 of a tender Father. Permit me^ then, once 
 Hioretosay, that the forsaking of the Foun- 
 tain of Living Waters is an evil, a great evil; 
 and that the hewing out of broken cisterns 
 for ourselves is also a great evil. God views 
 these evils in all their malignity : the angels 
 also that are around the throne, view them 
 with deep solicitude, anxiously desiring to 
 see us escape from them, and waiting in 
 readiness to rejoice over our return to God. 
 O tliat we might no longer indulge a fatal 
 security I no longer '' say. Peace, peace^ 
 lest sudden destruction come upon us with- 
 out any way to escape V^ If God were a 
 hard master, and his service irksome, there 
 would be some shadow of excuse for such 
 conduct. But who ever sought after God 
 in vain, provided he sought in sincerity and 
 truth? and, who ever found him, without 
 finding in him all that could comfort and en- 
 rich the soul ? God himself puts the ques- 
 tion; ^^What iniquity have your fathers 
 found in me, that they are gone far from me.^ 
 and have walked after vanity, and are be^ 
 
199 
 
 Gome vain ?'^ ^^ Have I b6en a wilderness to 
 Israel ? a land of darkness ? Wherefore 
 say my people, We are Lords ; we will 
 come no more unto tliee V^ 
 
 Shall we plead, as an excuse, that reli- 
 gion is a source of melancholy ? Surely they 
 who harbour such an opinion, have never 
 known what religion is. That a neglect of 
 religion will make us melancholy, is clear 
 enough, as well from the dissatisfaction 
 which, notwithstanding our diversified en- 
 joyments, generally prevails, as from the 
 disquietude which men feel in the prospect 
 of death and judgment. But religion, true 
 religion, brings peace into the soul : it leads 
 us to the Fountain of Living Water, where 
 we can at all times quench our thirst, and 
 taste beforehand the felicity of heaven. Our 
 blessed Lord invites us to him in this view : 
 ^' If any man thirst, let him come unto me 
 and drink ;'^ and ^<^the water that I will 
 give him shall be in him a well of water, 
 springing up unto everlasting life.^^ Lis- 
 ten, then, to that expostulation of the pro- 
 phet ; '^ Wherefore do ye spend your money 
 
soo 
 
 for that which is not bread^ and your labour 
 for that which satisfieth not? Hearken dili- 
 gently unto me, and eat ye that which is 
 good^ and let your soul delight itself in fat- 
 ness.^^ Return to the Fountain^ and make 
 the experiment at least : See whether there 
 be not more happiness in turning from 
 vanity, than in embracing it; in seeking 
 after God, than in forsaking him ; in the 
 holy exercises of prayer and praise, than in 
 a brutish neglect of these duties ; in apply- 
 ing to your souls the promises of Christ, 
 than in a profane contempt of them ; and^ 
 lastly, in obtaining sweet foi'etastes of hea- 
 venly bliss, than in reluctant approaches 
 towards an unknown eternity. O that I 
 might not commend this Fountain to you in 
 vain ! All ranks and orders amongst you 
 are beginning to shew a laudably atten- 
 tion to the theory of religion : O that you 
 might begin to shew it to the practice also ! 
 You are not backward to manifest your ap- 
 probation of that zeal which directs you to 
 the evidences of religion : be ye not there- 
 fore offended with that, which solicits youp 
 attention to its effects. 
 
Evangelical and Pharisaic Righteousness 
 compared. 
 
 A 
 
 SERMON 
 
 PREACHED B£FOK£ 
 
 THE XINIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, 
 
 ON SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 1809. 
 
 BY THE 
 
 REV. CHARLES SIMEON, M. A. 
 
 BELLOW OF king's COIXEGE. 
 
 THIRD EDITIOM 
 
A 
 
 SERMON, 
 
 Mat. v. 20. 
 
 For I say unto you^ that except your rights 
 eousness shall exceed the righteousness 
 of the Scribes and Pharisees^ ye shall in 
 no case enter into the kingdom of heaven. 
 
 IT would be a gratification to many to 
 know the lowest degree of piety that would 
 suffice for their admission into the kingdom 
 of heaven. But to have such a line drawii 
 for us^ would be by no means profitable : 
 for it may well be doubted^ whether any, 
 who under present circumstances are sloth-^ 
 ful in their pursuit of holiness, would be 
 quickened by it ; and there is reason to fear 
 that the zeal of many would be damped* 
 Information; however, of a nature not very 
 
204 
 
 dissimilar, is given us ; and it will be found 
 of the highest importance to every child of 
 man. Our blessed Lord has marked out 
 for us a line, that must be passed by all who 
 would be numbered amongst his true dis- 
 ciples. There were certain characters, very 
 numerous among the Jews, characters much 
 contemplated and much admired ; these, he 
 tells us, must be surpassed. To equal the 
 most exalted among them will not suffice : 
 our righteousness must exceed theirs, if 
 ever we would enter into the kingdom of 
 heaven. The persons we refer to, were the 
 Scribes and Pharisees ; the former of whom 
 were the learned Teachers and Expositors 
 of the LaAv ; the latter were a Sect, who 
 affected peculiar sanctity, and were regard- 
 ed by the people as the most distinguished 
 patterns of piety and virtue. The two were 
 generally associated together in the Scrip- 
 tures, because the Scribes, though not ne- 
 cessarily, yet for the most part, belonged to 
 the Sect of the Pharisees : and, so united, 
 they where considered as having all the 
 learning and piety of the nation concentred in 
 
S05 
 
 them. But, notwithstanding the high esti- 
 mation in which they were held, our Lord 
 most solemnly affirmed, that none of them 
 could, in their present state, be admitted into 
 heaven ; and that all who would be counted 
 worthy of that honour, must attain a higher 
 righteousness than theirs. 
 
 This information, I say, is valuable ; be- 
 cause, though it is not so definite as to 
 encourage any to sit down contented with 
 their attainments, it serves as a standard by 
 which we may try our attainments, and a 
 criterion whereby we may judge of our real 
 state. 
 
 In investigating the subject, there arc 
 two things to be considered ; 
 
 I. Wherein our righteousness must tx- 
 I eed theirs ; and, 
 
 II. Why it must exceed theirs. 
 
 To prepare the way for shewing wherein 
 our righteousness is to exceed theirs, we 
 
206 
 
 must begin with stating as clearly as we 
 can, v/liat righteousness they possessed. 
 But in doing this, we shall be careful nei- 
 ther to exalt their character too much, on 
 the one hand, nor to depress it too much, on 
 the other. Indeed, precision in this part 
 of our statement is of peculiar importance ; 
 for, as a comparison is instituted between 
 their righteousness and ours, we are con- 
 cerned to have the clearest knowledge of 
 that by which our estimate must be formed. 
 Their character was a mixture of good and 
 evil. They had much which might be con- 
 sidered as righteousness ; and at the same 
 time had great defects. Their righteous- 
 ness, sueh as it was, was seen ; their defects 
 were unseen : their righteousness consisted 
 in acts; their defects, in motives and prin- 
 ciples : their righteousness was that which 
 rendered them objects of admiration to men ; 
 their defects made them objects of abhor- 
 rence to God. 
 
 Let us begin with viewing the favoura- 
 ble side of their character. And here w« 
 
S07 
 
 cannot do better than refer to the aceoimt 
 wliieli the Pharisee gives of himself, when 
 addressing the most high God ; and which 
 our Lord particularly adverts to, as charac- 
 terizing the more distinguished members of 
 their community. After thanking God that 
 he was " not as other men are/'^ he first tells 
 us what he had not done: He was " not an 
 extortioner/"" nor could be accused by any 
 man of demanding, on any account what- 
 ever, more than was his due. He was ^* not 
 unjust'^ in any of his dealings, but, whether 
 in commercial transactions or in any other 
 way, he had done to all as he would be done 
 unto.^ " Nor was he an adulterer -/^ com- 
 mon as the crime of adultery was among the 
 Jews, and great as his advantages had been 
 for insinuating himself into the affections of 
 others, he had never availed himself of any 
 opportunity to seduce his neighbour's wife. 
 In short he had avoided all those evils^ 
 which the generality of Publicans and Sin- 
 Hers committed without remorse. 
 
 * Such as " oppressing the hirehng in his wages,-' 
 See. The expression must ol tourse be confined to 
 
 ai:ts of justice* 
 
208 
 
 He next proceeds to specify what lie had 
 done. He had '' fasted twice every week^^^ 
 in order to fulfil the duties of mortification 
 and self-denial. He had been so scrupu- 
 lously exact in paying his tithes, that not 
 even '^ rnint^ or rue/^ or the smallest herb 
 in his garden^ had been withheld from God : 
 ^' he paid tithes of all that he possessed. ^'^ 
 
 From other parts of Scripture we learn, 
 that tlie Pharisees were peculiarly jealous 
 of the sacred rest of the Sabbath ; insomuch 
 that they were filled with indignation against 
 any one, who^ even by an act of the greatest 
 necessity or mercy, should presume to vio- 
 late it.f They prayed to God also, and 
 that not in a mere cursory manner, hurry- 
 ing over a form which they got through as 
 quick as possible ; no ; " they made long 
 .prayers,'^ as well in the corners of their 
 streets, as in the midst of their syna- 
 gogues.J As for the purifications ap- 
 pointed by the law, they were punctual in 
 
 " liuke xviii. 11, ±2. t Mark iii. 2* 5, 6. 
 t Matt, rl 5. and ^3. 14. 
 
S09 
 
 tlie observance of them ; tliey even multi- 
 plied their lustrations far beyond what the 
 law required ; and were so partial to them^ 
 that they never came home from the market, 
 or sat down to their meals, without washing 
 their hands : they even wondered that any 
 one who pretended to religion, could be so 
 profane, as to eat without having first per- 
 formed these important rites.* Nor must 
 we forget to mention, that they abounded in 
 alms-givings ; regarding themselves not so 
 much the owners, as the stewards, of the 
 property they possessed.f In a word, Re^ 
 ligion in all its visible branches, was, in 
 their eyes, honourable ; and, iu token of 
 their high regard for it, they made their phy- 
 lacteries broader than any other sect, and 
 '' enlarged the fringes of their garments f^ 
 thus displaying before all men their zealous 
 attachment to the laws of God.t Nor were 
 they content with thus fulfilling their own 
 duties : they were desirous that all should 
 honour God in like manner : persuaded that 
 they themselves were right, they strove to 
 * Mark vii. 5'— 5, f Matt. vi. 2, i Matt, xxiii. 5. 
 s S 
 
the iitterinost to recommend their tenets and 
 practices to others, and would even " com- 
 pass sea and land to make one proselyte/^* 
 
 Of course, the attainments of all were not 
 exactly alike: some would excel more in 
 one branch of duty, and others in another 
 branch. St. Paul himself was of that sect, 
 as his parents also had been before him ; 
 and he was as fair a specimen of them, as 
 any that can be found in all the records of 
 ^antiquity. He was, " as touching the law, 
 u Pharisee ; concerning zeal, persecuting 
 the church, (whom he considered as ene- 
 mies to God ;) and, as touching the right- 
 eousness which is in the law, blameless.^/ 
 
 Having thus ascertained what their right- 
 eousness was, we can now proceed to point 
 out wherein ours must exceed it. 
 
 But here it will be proper to observe, that as^ 
 all were not equally eminent in what may be 
 called their righteousness, so, on the other 
 * Matt, xxiii. 15. 
 
hand, all were not equally faulty in the 
 vicious part of their character. We must 
 take the Pharisees as a body, (for it is in 
 that view that our Saviour speaks of them 
 in the text ;) and must not be understood to 
 impute to every individual the same precise 
 degree either of praise or blame. Nor must 
 we be considered as saying, that no one of 
 that sect was ever saved : because, previous 
 to the coming of our Lord, there doubtless 
 were many who served God according to 
 the light that they enjoyed : but this we must 
 be understood distinctly to affirm, that no 
 person who enjoys the clearer light of the 
 gospel, can be saved, unless he attain a bet- 
 ter righteousness than the Scribes and Phar- 
 isees, as a body, ever did attain, or than any 
 
 I one of them, while he rejected the gospel, 
 
 j could possibly attain. 
 
 i 
 
 I I am well aware that, when we consider 
 their fastings, their prayers, their alms- 
 deeds, their strict observances of all the rit-^ 
 ual laws, together with their zeal in promot- 
 
 ' ing the religion they professed ; and take 
 
21S 
 
 into the account also, that they were free 
 from many of the more gi'oss and common 
 sins^ we shall seem to have left no room for 
 superiority in our ohedience. But, what- 
 ever may be thought of their attainments, 
 our righteousness must exceed theirs : it 
 must exceed theirs, first, in the nature and 
 extent of it, and next, in the principle and 
 0nd of it. 
 
 First, in the nature and extent of it. 
 
 From what has been already spoken, it 
 sufficiently appears, that the righteousness 
 of the Scribes and Pharisees was for the 
 most part external and ceremonial ; or, 
 where it seemed to partake of that which 
 was internal and moral, it was merely of a 
 negative kind, and extremely partial in its 
 operation. Now the Christian's righteous- 
 ness must be totally dijfferent from this ; it 
 must be internal and spiritual : it must de- 
 scend into the heart, and have respect to 
 the whole of God's revealed will. The true 
 Christian will affix no limits to bis exerf 
 
^M3 
 
 tions, he will set no bounds to his heavenly 
 desires. He does not limit the conimand- 
 nients to their literal sense, but enters into 
 their spiritual import^ and considers a dis- 
 position to commit sin, as nearly equivalent 
 to the actual commission of it. He consi- 
 ders himself as accountable to God for every 
 inclination, affection, appetite ; and endea- 
 vours not only to have their general tenden- 
 cies regulated according to his law, but to 
 have ^' every thought brought into captivity 
 to the obedience of Christ.'^ In a word 
 he aspires after perfection of every kind : 
 he desires to love God^ as much as to be 
 saved by him ; and to mortify sin, as much 
 as to escape punishment. • Could he have 
 his heart's desire, he would be '' holy, as 
 God himself is holy,'' and '{ perfect^ as God 
 himself is perfect." 
 
 Thus, in the nature and extent of the 
 two kinds of righteousness, there is an im- 
 ^ mense difference : nor is there a less differ- 
 ence in their 'principle and end. 
 
 \ 
 
gl4 
 
 Would we know what was the principle 
 from which the Pharisaic righteousness pro- 
 ceeded ? We can assert on the most im- 
 questionable authority, even that of Christ 
 himself^ that ^^ all their works they did to 
 be seen of nien.^^^ And St. Paul no less 
 strongly marks the end^ to which all their 
 zeal was directed. He confesses that '^ they 
 had a zeal of God, but not according to 
 knowledge : for being ignorant of God'S 
 righteousness, they went about to establish 
 their own righteousness, and would not sub- 
 mit themselves unto the righteousness of 
 God.^^t Ii^ these respects then we must 
 differ from them. We should shtin ostenta- 
 Hon and vain glory, as much as we would 
 the most enormous crimes. We should bear 
 in mind, that any thing done with a view to 
 man's applause, is altogether worthless in 
 the sight of God : whatever it be, we have 
 in the applause of men the reward we seek 
 after, and the only reward that we shall ever 
 obtain. We should also dread self -right- 
 eousnes.^^ as utterly inconsistent with a 
 * Matt, xxiii. 5, t Rom. x. 2, 3. 
 
215 
 
 Christian state. St. Paul assures us, that 
 ^^ the Jews who sought after the law of right- 
 eousnessj did not attain to [any justifying] 
 righteousness^ because they sought it not by 
 faith, but^ as it were, by the works of the 
 law ; for they stumbled at that stumbling- 
 stone/'* The making of our own works 
 the foundation of our hope towards God, 
 argues a contempt of that " foundation which 
 God has laid in Zion :'' it thrusts out from 
 his office the Lord Jesus Christy " who of 
 God is made unto us wisdom and riarhteous- 
 Bess/' and who, from that very circum- 
 stance, is called " The Lord our Righteous- 
 ness.'' A truly Christian spirit will lead us, 
 even " after we have done all that is com- 
 manded us, to say, We are unprofitable ser- 
 vants, we have done that [only] which it 
 was our duty to do." See this exemplified 
 in the Apostle Paul, than whom there never 
 was but one brighter example of piety in 
 the world : he, after all his eminent attain- 
 ments, " desired to be found in Christ, not 
 j having his own righteousness which was of 
 * Rom. k. 31, «J^. 
 
the law, but the righteousness which is of 
 God by faith in Christ.^^^ 
 
 Now then, compare the righteousness of 
 the two parties ; the one, '^ cleansing care- 
 fully indeed, and superstitiously, the outside 
 of the cup and platter, whilst within they 
 were full of many unsubdued lusts ;^' the 
 other, allowing not so much as an evil 
 thought, but " cleansing themselves from 
 all fiUhiness both of flesh and spirit, and per- 
 fecting holiness in the fear of God :'^ the one 
 filled with a high conceit of their own good- 
 ness, and claiming heaven itself on account 
 of it, whilst they aimed at nothing but the 
 applause of man ; the other, in the midst of 
 their most strenuous exertions to serve and 
 honour God, renouncing all dependence ou 
 themselves, and " glorying only in the cross 
 of Christ:'^ the one, a compound of pride, 
 unbelief, and hypocrisy; the other, of hu- 
 mility, and faith, and heavenly-mindedness. 
 Whatever may be thought by those who 
 know not how to appreciate the motives and 
 * Phil. iii. 9- 
 
principleg of meu, we do not hesitate to ap- 
 ply toljthese parties the distinctive characters 
 assigned them by Solomon^ and to say^ that 
 ^^^ Wisdom exeelleth folly, as much as light 
 excelleth darkness. ^'^ 
 
 If now we proceed to the second point of 
 our enquiry, and ask, JVIijj our righteousness 
 must exceed theirs, the text furnishes us 
 with a sufficient answer : If we be no better* 
 than they, the Lord Jesus assures us, <^^that 
 we shall in no case enter into the kingdom 
 of heaven. '^ Under the expression, " the 
 kingdom of heaven,^' both the kingdom of 
 grace on earth, and the kingdom of glory in 
 heaven, must be comprehended ; for they 
 are, in fact, the same kingdom; and the sub- 
 -^ects in both are the same ; only in the one, 
 they are in an infantine and imperfect state, 
 whereas, in the other, they have attained 
 maturity and perfection ; but from both shall 
 me be alike excluded, if we possess not a 
 hetter righteousness than theirs ; the Lord 
 * Eccl ii. IS. 
 T 
 
218 
 
 Jesus will no more acknowledge us as his 
 disciples here^ than he will admit us into his 
 beatific presence hereafter. 
 
 We cannot then without this be partakers 
 of ihe Jcingdom of grace. Tlie Lord Jesus 
 Christ has told us plainly, that he does not 
 regard those who merely " say unto him, 
 Lord, Lord,^^ however clamorous they may 
 be, or ostentatious of their zeal for him: he 
 approves of those only " who do the will of 
 his Father which is in heaven. ^^ We may 
 assume the name of his disciples, and be num- 
 bered amongst them by others ; we may as- 
 vsociate ourselves with them, as Judas did, 
 and be as little suspected of hypocrisy, as 
 he ; we may even deceive ourselves as well 
 as others, and be as confident that we are 
 Abraham's children as ever the Pharisees of 
 old were ; we may like them be quite indig- 
 nant to have our wisdom and goodness cal- 
 led in question ; " Are we blind also V^ " in 
 so saying, thou condemnest us :'' But all 
 this will not make us Christians. A sepul- 
 
319 
 
 ehremay be whitened and rendered beauti- 
 ful in its outward appearance ; but it will be 
 a sepulchre still ; and its interior contents 
 will be as loathsome as those of a common 
 grave. It is to little purpose to " have the 
 form of godliness, if we have not the power ;^^ 
 to " have a name to live, whilst yet we are 
 really dead.'^ God will not judge of us by our 
 profession, but our practice : ^^Then are ye 
 my friends, says our Lord, if ye do whatso- 
 ever I command you.'^ To this effect is 
 that declaration also of the Psalmist ; hav- 
 ing asked, ^'^ Who shall ascend into the hill 
 of the Lord ? or who shall stand in his holy 
 place V^ he answers, " He that hath clean 
 hands, and vi pure heart.^^ The truth is, 
 that those whom Christ will acknowledge as 
 his disciples, have been '^ born again ;'^ they 
 are '^ renewed in the spirit of their minds ;'^ 
 ^' they are new creatures ; old things are 
 passed away, and all things are become new : 
 they have been taught the spirituality and 
 extent of God's law ; to know, that an angry 
 word is murder; and an impure desire, aduL 
 
220 
 
 tery; and in that glass tlicy have seen them- 
 selves guilty^ polluted^ and condemned 
 sinners : they have been stirred up by this 
 view of themselves to flee unto Christ for 
 refuge^ as to the hope set before them in tlie 
 fiospel : having " found peace with God 
 through the blood of his cross/^ they devote 
 themselves unfeignedly to his service^ and 
 strive to " glorify him with their bodies and 
 their spirits which are his.'^ Here is the 
 true secret of their obedience ; " The love 
 of Christ constraineth them ; because they 
 thus judge, that, if one died for all, then 
 were all dead : and that he died for all, that 
 they who live, should not henceforth live 
 unto themselves, but unto him that died for 
 them and rose again. ^^ This is conversion ; 
 this is regeneration ; this is what every 
 Scribe and Pharisee must be brought to : 
 even Nicodemus, " a master in Israel,^^ must 
 become a disciple of Christ in this way : 
 for our Lord declared to him in the most 
 solemn manner, that, " unless he should be 
 [thus] born again, he could not enter into 
 the kins;dom of God/' 
 
S31 
 
 The same is true in relation to the king- 
 dom of glory. Whilst we are in this world, 
 the tares and the wheat which grow toge- 
 ther, may so resemble each other^ that they 
 cannot be separated by human sagacity. 
 The Jewish tares, (as I myself know by 
 ocular inspection,) cannot even when full 
 grown, be immediately distinguished from 
 wheat by a common observer:^ the differ- 
 ence, however^ is soon found by rubbing 
 
 * The learned are not agreed what the (i(civ*cc. 
 were. Farkhurst's account of them, in his Lexicon, 
 isj that they were " a kind of plant, in appearance 
 not unlike corn or wheat, ha^Jing at first the same 
 kind of stalk, and the same viridity ; but bringing 
 forth no fruit, at least none good." Macknight is 
 precisely of the same opinion. Linnaeus, speaking 
 of that very species which the Author here refers to, 
 designates them as the zizanla. Later Botanists de- 
 ny that that plant grew in Judea ; and represent it 
 as of American growth. Whether Linnaeus was 
 right, is no part of the Author's intention to discuss. 
 He merely mentions the fact, that he has seen (in a 
 Green-house at Bristol,) that plant, which Linnaeus 
 identifies with the zizania of Judea 5 which in our 
 translation of the Bible, is called tares ; and which, 
 though to all appearance useless and unproductive^. 
 
the ears, which in the one are"nearly empty, 
 and in the other are full of grain. The 
 same may be noticed also in .the religions 
 world. Not only common observers, but 
 even those who have the deepest insight 
 into characters, and the best discernment of 
 spirits, may be deceived; butOod can nev- 
 er be deceived : however specious we may 
 be in our outward appearance, he w ill dis- 
 may easily be mistaken for wheat in full ear. In this 
 Tiew, whatever it be oalled, it illustrates his subject : 
 andj if it be the zizanlon^ it reflects a beautiful light 
 also upon the Parable of the Tares, Matt. xiii. Some 
 indeed think, that because the servants distinguished 
 the zizaniafY{}txn. the wheat, there was no resemblance 
 between them. But that argument is by no means 
 conclusive : for the servants who m ere constantly 
 habituated to the sight of taix^s and wheat, might 
 easily discern that they were mixed in the field, whilst 
 yet the difference might not be so great, but that a 
 number of persons employed to pull them all up, 
 might make innumerable mistakes, and root up much 
 of the corn with them. The parable indeed may he. 
 explained without supposing any resemblance be- 
 tween the two y but such an interpretation destroys, 
 m the Author's apprehension, much of the force and 
 beauty and importance of the parable. 
 
2m 
 
 cem our character through the thickest Ycii ? 
 ^^ he seareheth the hearts, and trieth tlie 
 reins :^^ or^ as it is yet more strongly ex- 
 pressed^ ^^he weigheth the spirits :^^ he 
 knows exactly the qualities of w.hieh every 
 action is compoundeil^ and can separate 
 with infallible certainty its constituent 
 parts : and^ when we shall stand before him 
 in judgment^ he will distinguish the upright 
 Christian from the hypocritical and specious 
 Pharisee, as easily " as a man divideth his 
 sheep from the goats /^ Then shall the final 
 separation take place; ^^the wheat shall 
 be treasured up in the garner^ and the tares 
 shall be burnt witli unquenchable fire/^ 
 Here then is a further reason for the asser- 
 tion in our text. If an outside religion would 
 suffice/ we might rest satisfied with it : but 
 if we have a Judge, '^ whose eyes are as a 
 flame of flre/^ to whom the most secret re- 
 cesses of the heart are ^^ naked and open,^^ 
 just as the inwards of the sacrifices w ere to 
 the priest appointed to examine them ; and 
 if, as he has told us, ^' he will bring to light 
 the hidden things of darkness, and make 
 
2S4 
 
 manifest the counsels of tlie heart/^ then 
 must we be^ not specious Pharisees^ but 
 real Christians^ even " Israelites indeed^ and 
 without guile :^^ we must not be contented 
 with being " Jews outwardly^ but must be 
 Jews inwardly^ and have, not the mere cir- 
 cumcision of the flesh, but the inward cir- 
 cumcision of the heart, whose praise is not 
 of men, but of God.^^* *T**,*r»«^r^ 
 
 The peculiar importance of the subject, 
 we hope, will plead our excuse, if we tres- 
 pass somewhat longer than usual on your 
 time. In our statement we have been as 
 concise as would consist with a clear exposi- 
 tion of the truth. In our application of it 
 we shall also study brevity, as far as the 
 nature of the subject will admit. An audi- 
 ence habituated to reflection, like this, will 
 never grudge a few additional moments for 
 an investigation so solemn, so weighty, so 
 interesting as the present, ^m^im^ 
 
 1. The flrst description of persons, then, 
 to whom our subject is peculiarly applica- 
 * Rom. ii. 58,29. 
 
225 
 
 ble^ and for "w hose benefit we are desirous 
 to improve it^ is that class of hearers tvho 
 come short of the righteousness of the 
 Scribes and Pharisees. 
 
 Many tliere are^ it is to be feared, who, so 
 far from ^* not being as other men are/^ can- 
 not at all be distinguished from the gene- 
 rality of those around them : who^ instead of 
 ^' fasting twice a week,'^ have never fasted 
 twice, nor even once, in their whole lives 
 for the purpose of devoting themselves more 
 solemnly to God : who, instead of ^^ mak- 
 ing long prayers/^ never pray at all, or only 
 in so slight, cursory, and formal a manner, 
 as to shew that they have no pleasure in that 
 holy exercise. Instead of keeping holy the 
 Sabbath-day, they '^ speak their own words, 
 do their own work, and find their own plea- 
 sure^' almost as much as on other days ; or 
 if, for decency's sake, they impose a little 
 restraint upon themselves, they find it the 
 most wearisome day of all the seven. In- 
 stead of paying tithes with scrupulous ex- 
 actness, they will withhold the payment 
 
236 
 
 both of tithes and taxes^, if they can do it 
 without danger of detection ; thus shewing, 
 that they have not even a principle of hon- 
 esty to " render unto Caesar, the things that 
 are Caesar's^ and unto God the things that 
 are God^s.'^ Perhaps they may now and 
 then give away somewhat in charity ; but 
 they do not consecrate a portion of their in- 
 come to God as a religious act, nor even ac- 
 count it their duty so to do, notwithstanding 
 '^ every man'' is expressly commanded to 
 " lay by him in store for charitable uses, 
 according as God has prospered him.'^ In- 
 ' stead of being able to appeal to God that 
 they have never been guilty of whoredom 
 or adultery, they stand condemned for one, 
 or both, of these things in their own con- 
 sciences ; or, if they do not, their chastity 
 has proceeded from other causes than either 
 the fear of God, or the hatred of sin. In- 
 stead of honouring religion in the world, 
 they have been ashamed of it, yea perhaps 
 despised it, and held up to scorn and ridi- 
 cule those who were its most distinguished 
 advocates ; thus, so far from labouring to 
 
337 
 
 proselyte people to righteousness^ they have 
 used all their iufluence to deter men from it. 
 
 What shall we say then to these charac- 
 ters? Shall we encourage them with the 
 hopes of heaven? Must we not rather 
 adopt the Apostle^s reasonings " If the right- 
 eous scarcely be saved^ where shall the un- 
 godly and the sinner appear V^ Yes ; If 
 the Pharisees, with all their righteousness, 
 could not enter into heaven, how shall they 
 come thither, who are destitute of their at- 
 tainments ? If every one must perish who 
 does not exceed their righteousness, what 
 must become of those who fall so short of 
 it ? O that this argument might have its pro- 
 per weight amongst us ! O that men would 
 not trifle with their souls, on the very brink 
 and precipice of eternity ! " Consider, Bre- 
 thren, what I say ; and the Lord give you 
 understanding in all things V^ 
 
 2. Next we would solicit the attention of 
 those who are resting in a pharisaical right- 
 eousness. This is the kind of religion 
 
SS8 
 
 which is held in esteem by mankind at large. 
 An outward reverence for the ordinances of 
 religion^ together with habits of temperance^ 
 justice^ chastity^ and benevolence;, consti- 
 tute, what the world considers a perfect 
 character. The description which St. Paul 
 gives of himself previous to his conversion^- 
 is so congenial with their sentiments of per- 
 fection, that they would not hesitate to rest the 
 salvation of their souls on his attainments. 
 But what said he of his state, when once 
 he came to view it aright? ^' What things 
 were gain to me, those I counted loss for 
 Christ : yea doubtless, and I count all things 
 but loss for the excellency of the knowledge 
 of Christ Jesus my Lord.^^ He saw, that 
 brokenness of heart for sin, a humble af- 
 fiance in the Lord Jesus Christ, and an un^ 
 reserved devotedness of heart to his service^ 
 were indispensable to the salvation of the 
 soul. He saw, that, without these, no at- 
 tainments would be of any avail ; yea, that 
 a man might have all the Biblical learning 
 of the Scribes, and all the sanctified habits 
 of the Pharisees, and y et never be appro veii 
 

 9 
 
 of the Lord iii this world, nor ever be ac- 
 cepted of him in the world to come. Is it 
 not then desirable, that those who are in re- 
 pnte for wisdom and piety amongst us, 
 should pause, and inquire, whether their 
 righteousness really exceeds that of the 
 Sci^ibes and Pharisees ? Would they not do 
 well to siutly the account which St. Paul 
 gives of himself previous to his conversion, 
 and to examine wherein they surpass him? 
 Alas ! alas ! We are exceedingly averse to 
 be undeceived ; but I would earnestly in^ 
 treat every one of my hearers to consider 
 deeply what our blessed Lord has spoken of 
 such characters ; " Ye are they which justi- 
 fy yourselves before men ; but God knoweth 
 your hearts ; for that which is highly es- 
 teemed among men, is abomination in the 
 sisrht of God,^^^ "^t.w":*?F^'*r'^*'^v^'?'*f*\^^^*? 
 
 3, Lastly, we would suggest some profit- 
 able considerations to those who profess to 
 have attained that superior righteousness 
 spoken of in our text. 
 , -^^-^^^y * Luke xvi. 15. 
 
230 
 
 You need not be toltl^ that the example.^ 
 t)f Christ and his Apostles^ and indeed of all 
 the jirimitive Christians, were offensive, 
 rather than pleasing, to the Pharisees of old. 
 The same disapprobation of real piety still 
 lurks in the hearts of those who " occupy 
 the seat of Moses ;^'^ and you must not 
 wonder if your contrition be called gloom ; 
 your faith in Christ, presumption ; your de- 
 light in his ways, enthusiasm ; and your de- 
 votion to his service, preciseness or hypoc- 
 risy. Well, if it must be so, console your- 
 selves with this, that you share the fate of 
 all the saints that have gone before you ; and 
 that your state, with all the obloquy that at- 
 tends it, is infinitely better than that of your 
 revilers and persecutors : you may well be 
 content to be despised by men, whilst you 
 
 * By this expression is meant, Those who profess- 
 ing, like tlie Pharisees, to reverence the Scriptures 
 as the word of God, expound them as they did, and 
 make use of them to discourage, rather than promote, 
 real piety. But it is not to he limited to any order of 
 men whatever. See the Author's Letter to Dr, 
 Pearson. 
 
^31 
 
 are conscious of the favour and approbation 
 of God. 
 
 Bat take care that '' you give no just oc- 
 casion to the enemy to speak reproachfully. '' 
 The world^ and especially those who re- 
 semble the Scribes and Pharisees^, will 
 watch your conduct narrowly^ just as their 
 forefathers did that of our Lord himself ; 
 and happy will they be to find occasion 
 against you. As for your secret walk with 
 God^ they know nothing about it : your 
 hopes and fears^ and joys and sorrows, are 
 nothing to them : these are the things which 
 they deride as airy visions and enthusiastic 
 cant. They will inquire into those things 
 which come miore under their own observa- 
 tion, and on which they set an exclusive 
 value : they will inquire how you demean 
 yourselves in your several relations of life ; 
 whether you are temperate in your habits, 
 modest in your demeanour, punctual in your 
 dealings, true to your word, regular in your 
 duties, and diligent in your studies. They 
 will point to many of their own followers as 
 
S33 
 
 highly exemplary in all these particulars ; 
 and;, if they find you inferior to them in any 
 respect^ they will east all the blame upon 
 Religion^ and take occasion from your mis- 
 conduct to confirm themselves in their pre- 
 judices. Permit me^ then^ to say to all my 
 younger Brethren^ and especially to all who 
 shew any respect for Religion, that Religion 
 if true and scriptural, is uniformly and uni- 
 versally operative ; and that it is a shame 
 to a religious person to be surpassed by a 
 Pharisee in any duty whatsoever. Though 
 I would be far from encouraging any of you 
 to boast, I would intreat all of you so to act, 
 that you may, if compelled by calumnies, 
 adopt the language of the Apostle ; ^' Are 
 they Hebrews ? so am I : Are they Israel- 
 ites ? so am I : Are they of the seed of Abra- 
 ham ? so am I : Are they ministers of 
 Christ ? I speak as a fool ; I am more ; in 
 labours more abundant.^^ Thus be ye also 
 prepared to repel comparisons, or to turn 
 them to your own advantage : and shew, 
 that, in all the social and relative duties, 
 and especially in those pertaining to you as 
 
233 
 
 Students^ you are^ " not a whit behind the 
 chiefest among them ;^^ but that even in the 
 things wherein they most value themselves^ 
 '' the righteous is more excellent than his 
 neighbour.^^^ 
 
 * Prcv. xii. 20, 
 
Christ Crucified. 
 A 
 
 SERMON 
 
 PREACHED BEFORE 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY OF CAMBRIDGE, 
 
 OIV SUNDAY, MARCH 17, 1811, 
 
 BY THE 
 
 KEY. CHARLES SIMEON, M. A. 
 
 TEIXOW OF king's COMEGE^ 
 
A 
 
 SERMON, 
 
 i Con. 11. g. 
 
 I determined not to Tcnow any thing among 
 you^ save Jesus Christ and him crucified^ 
 
 IN different ages of the world it has pleas- 
 ed God to reveal himself to men in different 
 ways, sometimes by visions, sometimes by 
 voices, sometimes by suggestions of his Spi- 
 i*it to their minds : but since the completion 
 of the sacred canon, he has principally made 
 use of his written word, explained and en- 
 forced by men whom he has called and 
 qualified to preach his gospel. And though 
 he has not precluded himself from conveying 
 again the knowledge of his will in any of the 
 former ways, it is through the written word 
 only that we are now authorized to expect 
 
2S8 
 
 his gracious instructions. This, whether 
 read by ourselves or published by his ser- 
 vants, he applies to the heart, and makes 
 effectual for the iliuniination and salvation 
 of men. It must be confessed however^ that 
 he chiefly uses the ministry of his servants, 
 whom he has sent as ambassadors to a guilty 
 world. It was thus that he conveyed the 
 knowledge of salvation to the Ethiopian Eu- 
 nuch^ who wa^ reading an interesting por- 
 tion of Isaiah's prophecies. He might have 
 opened the understanding of this man at 
 once by the agency of his Spirit; but he 
 chose rather to send his servant Philip to 
 join the chariot, and to explain the Scrip- 
 ture to him. When the Centurion also had 
 sought with much diligence and prayer to 
 know the way of salvation, God did not in- 
 struct him by his Word or Spirit, but in- 
 formed him where to send for instruction; 
 and by a vision, removed the scruples of 
 Peter about going to him ; that so the estab- 
 lished ministry might be honoured, and the 
 Church might look to their authorized in- 
 structors, as the instruments, whom God 
 
239 
 
 would make use of for their edification aud 
 salvation. Thus it is at this time : God is 
 not confined to means ; bat he condescends 
 to employ the stated ministry of his word 
 for the diflTusion of divine knowledge : " The 
 priest's lips keep knowledge ;'' and by their 
 diligent discharge of their ministry is know- 
 ledge transmitted and increased. 
 
 But this circumstance^ so favourable to all 
 classes of the community, imposes on them 
 a duty of the utmost importance. If there 
 be a well from which we are to receive our 
 daily supplies, it becomes us to ascertain 
 that its waters are salubrious : and in like 
 manner, if we are to receive instruction from 
 men, who are weak and fallible as ourselves, 
 it becomes us to try their doctrines by the 
 touchstone of the written word, and to re- 
 ceivefrom them those sentiments only, which 
 agree with that unerring standard ; or, to use 
 the words of an inspired Apostle, we must 
 " prove- all things, and hold fast that which is 
 good.'' To Preachers also there arises an aw- 
 ful responsibility; for, as the people are " to 
 
2A0 
 
 receive the word at their mouth^'^ and their 
 ^' word is to be a savour of life or of death 
 to all that hear it/^ it concerns them to be 
 well assured, that they set before their peo- 
 pie '' the sincere unadulterated milk of the 
 word ;'' that in no respect they " corrupt 
 the word of God/* or " handle it deceitful- 
 ly ; but by manifestation of the truth com- 
 mend themselves to every man's conscience 
 in the sight of God.'^* 
 
 ELence it appears that we all are deeply 
 interested in this one question, What is 
 truth? what is that truth, which ministers 
 are bound to preachy and which tiieir peo- 
 ple should be anxious to hear ! There will 
 however be no diflBculty in answering this 
 question^ if only we consult the passage 
 before us ; wherein St. Paul explicitly de- 
 clares what was the great scope of his min- 
 istry, and the one subject which he labour- 
 ed to unfold. He regarded not the subtil- 
 ties which had occupied the attention of 
 
 * See 2 Cor. ii. 15 — 17. a»d iv. 3. 
 
2il 
 
 philosophers ; nor did he affect that species 
 of knowledge which was in high repute 
 among men : on the contrary^ he studiously 
 avoided all that gratified the pride of human 
 wisdom^ and determined to adhere simply 
 to one subject, The crucifixion of Christ 
 for the sins of men : " I came not unto you,'' 
 says he, " with excellency of speech or of 
 wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony 
 of God : for I determined not to know any 
 thing among you, save Jesus Christ and 
 him crucified/' 
 
 To explain and vindicate this determina- 
 tion of the Apostle is our intention in this 
 discourse. 
 
 I. To explain it — 
 
 By preaching Christ crucified, we are not 
 to understand that he dwelt continually on 
 the /ac* or history of the crucifixion; for 
 though he speaks of having " set forth 
 Christ as it were crucified before the eyes'' 
 V of the Gralatians, and may therefore be sup- 
 w 
 
S43 
 
 posed occasionally to have enlarged upon 
 the sufferings of Christ, as the means of ex- 
 citing gratitude towards him in their hearts, 
 yet we have no reason to think that he con- 
 tented himself with exhibiting to their view 
 a tragical scene, as though he hoped by that 
 to convert their souls : it was the doctrine 
 of the crucifixion that he insisted on ; and 
 he opened it to them in all its bearings and 
 connexions. Tiiis he calls '^ the preaching 
 of the cross :^^ and it consisted of such a 
 representation of " Christ crucified, as was 
 to the Jews a stumbling-block, and to the 
 Greeks foolishness ; but to the true believer, 
 the power of God and the wisdom of God.'^^ 
 There were two particular views in which he 
 invariably spoke of the death of Christ ; 
 namely, as the ground ofourhopes^ and as 
 the motive to our obedience^ 
 
 In the former of these views the Apostle 
 not only asserts, that the death of Christ 
 was the appointed means of effecting our re- 
 conciliation with God, but that it was the 
 
 * 1 Cor. I. 23. 21. 
 
 I 
 
213 
 
 only means by wliicli our reconciliation 
 could be effected. He represents all, both 
 Jews and Gentiles, as under sin, and in a 
 state of guilt and condemnation : he states 
 that, inasmuch as we are all condemned by 
 ihe law, we can never be justified by the 
 law, but are shut up unto that way of jus- 
 tification which God has provided for us in 
 the gospel.^ He asserts that ''' God hath 
 set forth his Son to be a propitiation through 
 faith in his blood, to declare his righteous- 
 ness in the remission of sins, that he may be 
 just, and the justifler of them that believe 
 in Jestis.'^t He requires all, Jews as well 
 as Gentiles, to believe in Jesus, in order to 
 the obtaining of justification by faith in 
 him '4 and so jealous is he of every thing 
 that may interfere with this doctrine, or be 
 supposed to serve as a joint ground of our 
 acceptance with God, that he represents the 
 smallest measure of afloiance in any thing 
 else as actually making void the faith of 
 Christ, and rendering his death of no avail. !| 
 
 * Gal. iii. 22, 23. t Rom. iii. 25, 2^. 
 
 I Gal. ii. 15, 16. II Gal. v. 2—4^, 
 
Nay more, if he himself, or even an angel 
 from heaven, should ever he found to pro« 
 pose any other ground of hope to sinful 
 man, he denounces a curse against him; 
 and lest his denunciation, should be over- 
 looked, he repeats it with augmented ener- 
 gy : " As we said before, so say I now 
 again, If any man preach any other gospel 
 unto you than that ye have received, let 
 him be accursed.'^* 
 
 To the death of Christ he ascribes every 
 blessing we possess. We are ^^ reconciled 
 to God by the blood of his cross ; we are 
 " brought nigh to him,'^ " have boldness 
 and access with confidence'^ even to his 
 throne ; we " are cleansed by it from all 
 sin ;'' yea, " by his one offering of himself 
 he hath perfected for ever them that are 
 sanctified/' But there is one passage in 
 particular wherein a multitude of spiritual 
 blessings are comprised, and all are refer- 
 red to him as the true source from whom 
 they flow* The passage we speak of is in 
 * Gal. i. 8, 9, 
 
249 
 
 tlie first chapter to the Ephesians^, where, 
 within the space of eleven verses, the same 
 truth is repeated at least eight or nine times. 
 In order to enter fully into the force of that 
 passage, we may conceive of Paul as main- 
 taining the truth in opposition to all its most 
 determined adversaries, and as labouring 
 to the uttermost to exalt Christ in the eyes 
 of those who trusted in him : we may con- 
 ceive of him, I say, as contending thus : 
 " Have we been chosen before the founda- 
 tion of the world ? it is in Christ : Have 
 we been predestinated unto the adoption of 
 children? it is in and by him: Are we ac- 
 cepted P it is in the Beloved: Have we re- 
 demption^ even the forgireness of sins ? it 
 is in him^ through his blood. Are all both 
 in heaven and earth gathered together un- 
 der one head ? it is in Christy even in him : 
 Have we obtained an inheritance ? it is in 
 him : Are we sealed with the Holy Spirit 
 . of promise ? it i« in him : Are we blessed 
 with all spiritual blessings? it is in Christ 
 Jesus. When the Apostle has laboured 
 thus to impress our minds with the ideatliat 
 w S 
 
 li 
 
246 
 
 «ur whole salvation is in, and by, the Lord 
 Jesus Christ, is it not surprising that any 
 one should be ignorant of it ? yet we appre- 
 hend that many persons who have even stu- 
 died the holy Scriptures, and read over 
 this passage a multitude of times, have yet 
 never seen the force of it, or been led by it 
 to just views of Christ as the Fountain " in 
 whom all fulness dwells,^^ and " from 
 whose fulness we must all receive, even 
 grace for grace/^ 
 
 But we have observed that there is another 
 view in which the Apostle speaks of the 
 death of Christ, namely, ai5 a motive to our 
 obedience. Strongly as he enforced the ne- 
 cessityof relying on Christ and founding our 
 hopes of salvation solely on his obedience 
 unto death, he was no less earnest in pro- 
 moting the interest of holiness. Whilst he 
 represented the believers as '' dead to the 
 law^' and '* without law,'^ he still insisted 
 that they were '^ under the law to Christ,'^ 
 and as much bound to obey every tittle of it 
 as ever :^' and he enforced obedience to it 
 * 1 Cor. ix. Sl» Gal. iu 19. 
 
S47 
 
 in all its branches^ and to the utmost possi- 
 ble extent. Moreover^ when the doctrines 
 which he had inculcated were in danger of 
 being abused to licentious purposes, he ex- 
 pressed his utter abhorrence of such a pro- 
 cedure,^ and declared, that " the grace of 
 God which brought salvation, taught them, 
 tiiat denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, 
 Ahey should live righteously, soberly, and 
 / godly in this present world.^^f A life of 
 holy obedience is represented by him as the 
 great object which Christ aimed to produce 
 in all his people : indeed the very name, «7e- 
 sus^ pi'oclaimed, that the object of his com- 
 ing was " to save his people from their sins/^ 
 The same was the scope and end of his 
 death, even to " redeem them from all ini- 
 quity, and to purify unto himself a peculiar 
 people zealous of good works,^^ His re- 
 surrection and ascension to heaven had also 
 the same end in view ; for " therefore he 
 both died, and rose, and revived, that he 
 might be the Lord both of the dead and liv- 
 ing/'^ Impressed with a sense of these 
 * Roin. vi. i,iO. t Tit. ii. 11, ±2. 
 
^48 
 
 things himself, St. Paul laboured more 
 abundantly than any of the Apostles in his 
 holy vocation : he proceeded with a zeal 
 which nothing could quench, and an ardour 
 which nothing could damp : privations, la- 
 bours, imprisonments, deaths were of no ac- 
 count in his eyes; ^^none of these things 
 moved him, neither counted he his life 
 dear unto him, so that he might finish his 
 course with joy, and fulfil the ministry 
 that was committed to liim.'^ But what was 
 the principle by which he was actuated? 
 He himself tells us, that be was impelled by 
 a sense of obligation to Christ for all that he 
 had done and suffered for him : ''the love 
 of Christ constraineth us,'^ says he, " be- 
 cause we thus judge, that if one died for all, 
 then were all dead : and that he died for 
 all, that they who live should not henceforth 
 live unto themselves, but unto him who died 
 for them and rose again,^^^ This is that 
 principle which he desired to be universally 
 operative, and endeavoured to impress on 
 the minds of all : " We beseech you, bre. 
 * 2 Cor. V. 14, 15, 
 
249 
 
 thren/^ says he, ^^ by the mercies of God, 
 that you present your bodies a living sacri- 
 fice, holy^ acceptable to God, which is your 
 reasonable service.^^^ What mercies he 
 refers to, we are at no loss to determine ; 
 they are the great mercies vouchsafed to us 
 in the work of redemption : for so he says 
 in another place, " Ye are bought with a 
 price ; therefore glorify God in your body 
 and in your spirit which are his.'^f 
 
 Now this is the subject which the Apostle 
 comprehends under the term " Christ cru- 
 cified ;^^ it consists of two parts ; first, of 
 affiance in Christ for salvation^ and next, of 
 obedience to the law for his sake : had either 
 part of it been taken alone, his views had 
 been imperfect, and his ministry without 
 success. Had he neglected to set forth 
 Christ as the only Saviour of the world, he 
 would have betrayed his trust, and led his 
 hearers to build their hopes on a foundation 
 of sand. On the other hand, if he had neg- 
 lected to inculcate holiness, and to set forth 
 * Rom. xii. 1. f 1 Cor. vi. 19, 20. 
 
250 
 
 redeeming love as the great incentive to obe- 
 dience^ he Would have been justly charge- 
 able with that which has been often falsely 
 imputed to him^ an antinomian spirit : and 
 his doctrines would have merited the odium 
 which has most unjustly been cast upon 
 them. But on neither side did he err : he 
 forgot neither the foundation nor the super- 
 structure : he distinguished properly be- 
 tween them^ and kept each in its place: 
 and hence with great propriety adopted the 
 determination in our text. 
 
 Having explained hig determination^ we 
 shall now proceed^ 
 
 II. To vindicate it. 
 
 It was not from an enthusiastic fondness 
 for one particular pointy but from the fullest 
 conviction of his mind^ that the Apostle 
 adopted this resolution : and so the word 
 in the original imports ; " I determined as 
 the result of my deliberate judgment^ to 
 know nothing among you save Jesus Christ 
 
and him crucified : I have made it, and will 
 ever make it, my theme, my boast, and my 
 song.'' The reasons why he insisted on this 
 subject so exclusively, and with such de- 
 light, shall now be stated : He did so, 
 
 1st, Because it contained all that he was 
 commissioned to declare. 
 
 " It pleased God to reveal his Son in the 
 Apostle that he might preach him among 
 the heathen :'' and accordingly St. Paul tells 
 us, that " this grace was given to him to 
 preach the unsearchahle riches of Christ.'^ 
 This I say, was his office ; and this too is 
 the ministry of reconciliation which is com- 
 mitted to ministers in every age ; " to wit, 
 that God was in Christ reconciling the world 
 unto himself, not imputing their trespasses 
 unto them.'-* To the Apostles indeed the 
 commission was to " go forth into all the 
 world, and to preach the gospel to every 
 creature ;'' whei-eas to us is assigned, as it 
 were, a more limited sphere : but the subject 
 
 * 2 Cor. V. I85 19. 
 
S53 
 
 of our ministry is the same with theirs : we 
 have the same dispensation committed uato 
 us ; and " woe will be unto us^ if we preach 
 not the gospel.'^ 
 
 But as though men needed not to be evan- 
 gelized now, the term evangelical is used 
 as a term of reproach. We mean not to 
 justify any persons whatsoever in using un- 
 necessary terms of distinction, more especi- 
 ally if it be with a view to depreciate others, 
 and to aggrandize themselves : but still the 
 distinctions which are made in Scripture 
 must be made by us ; else for what end has 
 God himself made them ? Now it cannot be 
 denied that the Apostle characterizes the 
 great subject of his ministry as the gospel ; 
 nor can it be denied that he complains of 
 some teachers in the Galatian church as in- 
 troducing another gospel, which was not 
 the true gospel, but a perversion of it.* 
 Here then he lays down the distinction be- 
 tween doctrines which are truly evangelical, 
 and others which have no just title to that 
 *Gal. i. e^y. j '^mv^'^- 
 
253 
 
 name. Of course wherever the same differ- 
 ence exists between tiie doctrines maintain- 
 ed^ the same terms must be proper to dis- 
 tinguish them ; and a just view of those dis- 
 tinctions is necessary in order to our being 
 2:uarded asiainst error, and established in 
 the truth. 
 
 But we bes: to be clearlv understood in 
 reference to this matter. It is not our de- 
 sign to enter into any dispute about the use 
 of a tevm^ or to vindicate any particular 
 party ^ but merely to state, with all the clear- 
 tiess we can^ a subject^ about which every 
 one ought to have the most accurate and 
 precise ideas. 
 
 We have seen what was the great subject 
 of the Apostle^s preachings and which he 
 emphatically and exclusively called the gos- 
 pel : and if only we attend to what he has 
 spoken in the text^ we shall see what really 
 constitutes evangelical preaching. The sub- 
 ject of it must be ^' Christ crucified f^ that 
 is; Christ must be set forth as the only foun- 
 
 X 
 
25^ 
 
 dation of a sinners hope : and Holiness in 
 all its branches must be enforced; but a 
 sense of Christ's love in dying for us must 
 be inculcated as the mainspring and motive 
 of all our obedience. The manner of set- 
 ting forth this doctrine must also accord w^ith 
 that of the Apostle in the text : the impor- 
 tance of the doctrine must be so felt^ as to 
 make us determine never to hnow any thing 
 else, either for the salvation of our own 
 souls, or for the subject of our public min- 
 istrations. Viewing its ti'anscendent excel- 
 lency, we must rejoice and glory in it our- 
 selves, and shew forth its fruits in a life of 
 entire devotedness to God ; we must call 
 upon our hearers also to rejoice and glory 
 in it, and to display its sanctifying effects in 
 the whole of their life and conversation. 
 Thus to preach, and thus to live, would 
 characterize a person, and his ministry, as 
 evangelical, in the eyes of the Apostle : 
 whereas indifference to this doctrine, or a 
 corruption of it, either by a self-righteous 
 or antinomian mixture, would render both 
 the person and his ministry obnoxious to 
 
255 
 
 Iiis censure 9 according to the degree in 
 which such indifference^ or such a mixture 
 prevailed. We do not mean to say, that 
 there are not different degrees of clearness 
 in the views and ministry of different per- 
 sons, or that none are excepted of God or 
 useful in the Chnrcli, unless they come up 
 to such a precise standard : Nor do we con- 
 fine the term Evangelical to those who lean 
 to this or that particular system^ as some are 
 apt to imagine : but this we say, that, in 
 proportion as any persons, in their spirit and 
 in their preaching, accord with the example 
 in the text, they are properly denominated 
 evangelical ; and that, in proportion as they 
 recede from this pattern, their claim to this 
 title is dubious or void. 
 
 Now then we ask, What is there in this 
 which every Minister ought not to preach, 
 and every Christian to feel ? Is there any thing 
 in this enthusiastic ? any thing Sectarian? 
 any thing uncharitable ? any thing worthy of 
 reproach ? Is the Apostle's example in the 
 text so absurd, as to make an imitation of him 
 
256 
 
 blame-worthy^ and a conformity to liimcon 
 temptible ? Or, if a scoffing and ungodly world 
 will make the glorying in the cross of Christ 
 a subject of reproacli, ought any who are re- 
 proached by them to abandon the gospel for 
 fear of being called evangelical? Ought 
 they not rather, like the Apostles^ ^' to re- 
 joice that they are counted worthy to suffer 
 shame, if shame it bsy for Christ's sake ?^^ 
 The fact is indisputable^ that the Apostle^s 
 commission was to preach Christ crucified : 
 to preach, I say, that chiefly, that constant- 
 ly, that exclusively : and therefore he was 
 justified in his determination to ^' know no- 
 thing else :^^ consequently, to adopt that 
 same resolution is our Avisdom also, whe- 
 ther it be in reference to our ov/n salvation, 
 or to the subject of our ministrations in the 
 church of God. 
 
 We now proceed to a second reason for 
 the Apostle's determination. He determin- 
 ed to know nothing but Christ and him cru- 
 cified, Because it contained all that could 
 conduce to the happiness of man. There 
 
 1 
 
357 
 
 are other things which may amuse; but 
 there is nothins; else that can contribute to 
 man's real happiness. Place him in a situa- 
 tion of great distress ; let him be bowed 
 down under a sense of sin ; let him be op- 
 pressed with any great calamity; or let 
 him be brought by sickness to the borders 
 of the grave : there is nothing that will sat- 
 isfy his mind but a view of this glorious 
 subject. Tell him of his good works; and 
 he feels a doubt^ (a doubt which no human 
 being can resolve^) what is that precise mea- 
 sure of good works which will insure eter- 
 nal happiness : tell him of repentance^ and 
 of Ohi'ist supplying his deficiencies ; and he 
 will still be at a loss to ascertain Avhether 
 he has attained that measure of penitence or 
 of goodness, which is necessary to answer 
 the demands of God. But speak to him of 
 Christ as dying for the sins of men, as 
 >^ casting out none that come unto him,'' as 
 " purging us by his blood from all sin/' and 
 as clothing us with his own unspotted righ- 
 teousness ; yea, as making his own grace to 
 abound not only where sin has abounded 
 xS 
 
S58 
 
 but infinitely beyond our most abounding 
 iniquities ;* set forth to him thus the free- 
 ness and sufficiency of the gospel salvation, 
 and he wants nothing else : he feels that 
 Christ is " a Rock, a sure Foundation y^ 
 and on that he builds without fear, assured 
 that '^ whosoever believeth in Christ shall 
 not be confounded.^' He hears the Saviour 
 saying, " This is eternal life to know thee the 
 only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou 
 hast sent ;" and having attained that know- 
 ledge, he trusts that the word of Christ shall 
 be fulfilled to hiin : he already exults in the 
 language of tlie Apostle, ^^ Who is he that 
 condemneth ; it is Christ that died, yea ra- 
 ther, that is risen again, who is even at tha 
 right hand of God, who also maketh inter- 
 cession for us.'^t 
 
 But if a sense of guilt afflict some, a want 
 of victory over their indwelling corruptions 
 distresses others ; and to them also the doc- 
 trine of Christ crucified administers the only 
 effectual relief* The consideration of eter- 
 Bal rewards and punishments affords indeed 
 * Rom. V. 20j 2U t Rom. viii. a*. 
 
a powerful incentive to exertioVi^ilt efforts ^. V 
 springing from those motives only^ Will al- 
 ways savour of constraint ; they will never 
 be ingenuous, hearty, affectionate, unreserv- 
 ed. But let a sense of redeeming love oc- 
 cupy the soul, and the heart becomes enlarg- 
 ed, and " the feet are set at liberty to run 
 the way of God's commandments.'^ We 
 say not that every person who prof&sses to 
 have experienced the love of Christ, will 
 always walk consistently with that profes- 
 sion ; for there were falls and offences not 
 only in the Apostolic age, but even among 
 the Apostles themselves : but this we say, 
 that there is no other principle in the uni- 
 verse so powerful as the love of Christ ; 
 that whilst that principle is in action, no 
 commandment will ever be considered as 
 grievous ; the yoke of Christ in every thing 
 will be easy, and his burthen light ; yea, 
 the service of God will be perfect freedom ; 
 and the labour of our souls will be to " stand 
 perfect and complete in all the will of God.'^ 
 This the Apostle found in his own experi- 
 ence J and this he found to be the effect of 
 
260 
 
 his ministry on the hearts cf thousands. 
 What then could he wish for in addition to 
 this? Where this principle was ineffica- 
 cious, nothing was effectual; and where 
 this was effectual, nothing else was wanted : 
 no wonder then that he determined to insist 
 on this subject, and nothing else; since, 
 w^hether in the removing of guilt from the 
 conscience, or of corruption from the soul, 
 nothing could bear any comparison with 
 this. 
 
 Further, He determined to know nothing 
 but this subject. Because nothing could be 
 added to it ivitliout weakening or destroying 
 its efficacy. The subject of Christ cruciJB.ed 
 may, as we have before observed, be consi- 
 dered as consisting of two parts, a foundation, 
 and a superstructure. Now St. Paul de- 
 clares, that if any thing whatever be added 
 to that foundation, it will make void the 
 whole gospel. If any thing could have been 
 found which might safely have been added 
 to it, we might suppose that the rite of cir- 
 cumcision might have claimed that honour, 
 
§61 
 
 because it was of God's special appointment, 
 and liad had so great a stress laid upon it 
 by God himself : but St. Paul says in refer 
 ence to that rite^ that if any person should 
 submit to it with a view to confirm his in- 
 terest in the gospel^ " Christ should profit 
 him nothing :'' such a person would have 
 ^' fallen from grace/' as much as if he had 
 renounced the gospel altogether. Again, if 
 any person who had the foundation rightly 
 laid within him, should build upon it any 
 thing l3ut the pure, the simple, the essential 
 duties of religion, " his work should be 
 burnt up as wood or stubble /' and though 
 he wshould not entirely lose heaven, he should 
 lose much of his happiness there, and be 
 saved only like one snatched out of the de- 
 vouring flames. With such a view of the 
 subject, what inducement could the Apostle 
 have to add any thing to it ? 
 
 But the Apostle speaks yet more strongly 
 respecting this. He tells us not only that 
 the adulterating of the subject by any base 
 mixture will destroy its efficacy, but that 
 
263 
 
 even an artificial statement of the truth MnW 
 make it of none effect. God is exceedingly 
 jealoii«5 of the honour of his gospel ; if it be 
 plainly and simply stated, he will work by 
 it^ and make it effectual to the salvation of 
 men : but if it be set forth with all the orna- 
 ments of human eloquence, and stated in 
 " the words which man^s wisdom teacheth/^ 
 he will not work by it ; because he would 
 have '' our faith to stand^ not in the wisdom 
 of men, but in the power of God.^^ Hence 
 St. Paul, though eminently qualified to set 
 it forth with all. the charms of oratory, pur- 
 posely laid aside " all excellency of speech 
 or of wisdom in declaring the testimony of 
 God/^ and '^ used all plainness of speech,'' 
 lest by dressing up the truth *^ in the en- 
 ticing words of man's wisdom he should 
 make the cross of Christ of none effect.''* 
 
 Further vindication than this is unneces- 
 sary : for, if this subject contained all that 
 he was commissioned to declare ; if it con- 
 tained all that could conduce to the happi- 
 * 1 Cor. i. 17, and ii. 1. 4, «>. 
 
263 
 
 ness of man ; and if nothing could be added 
 to it without weakening or destroying its ef- 
 ficacy ; he must have consented to defeat 
 the ends of his ministry altogether^ if he had 
 not adopted and maintained the resolution 
 in the text. 
 
 If then these things be so^ we may ven- 
 ture to found upon them the following ad- 
 vice. 
 
 First, Let us take care that we know 
 Christ crucified. Many because they are 
 born and educated in a Christian land are 
 ready to take for granted that they are in- 
 structed in this glorious subject: but there is 
 almost as much ignorance of it prevailing 
 amongst Christians as amongst the heathen 
 themselves. The name of Christ indeed is 
 known, and he is complimented by us with 
 the name of Saviour ; but the nature of his 
 office, the extent of his work, and the ex^ 
 cellency of his salvation, are known to few. 
 Let not this be considered as a rash asser- 
 tion; for we will appeal to the consciences 
 
364 
 
 of all ; Do we find that the Apostle's views 
 of Christ are common? Do we find many so 
 filled with admiring and adoring thonghts of 
 this mystery, as to count all things but loss 
 for the excellency of the know ledge of it ; 
 and to say, like him, ^' God forbid that I 
 should glory, save in the cross of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ?^' On the contrary, do we not 
 find that there is an almost universal jeal- 
 ousy on the subject of the gospel : that those 
 who most labour to tread in the Apostle's 
 steps, are often most branded with oppro- 
 brious names ? Do we not find that his views 
 of the gospel are calumniated now, precisely 
 as they were in the days of the Apostle him- 
 self ? Verily, we should be glad to be found 
 false witnesses in relation to these things, 
 and would most joyfully retract our asser- 
 tions, if it could be shewn that they are not 
 founded in truth. We do hope Iiowever 
 that there is an increasing love to the gospel 
 pervading the whole land : and I pray God 
 it may prevail more and more, and be em- 
 braced by every one of us, not superficially, 
 partially, theoretically, .but clearly, fully, 
 practically. 
 
263 
 
 Secondly, Let us adopt the JlpostWs de- 
 termination for ourselves. Doubtless, as 
 men and members of society^ there are many 
 other things which we are concerned to 
 know. Whatever be onr office in life, we 
 ought to be well acquainted with it, in or- 
 der that we may perform its duties to th© 
 advantage of ourselves and others ; and we 
 would most particularly be understood to 
 say, that the time that is destined for the ac- 
 quisition of useful knowledge, ought to be 
 diligently and conscientiously employed. 
 But, as Christians^ we have one object of 
 pursuit, which deserves all our care and all 
 our labour : yes, we may all with great pro- 
 priety determine to know nothing but Christ 
 and him crucified. This is the subject 
 which even ^^ the angels in heaven are ever 
 desiring to look into,^' and which we may 
 investigate for our whole lives, and yet 
 leave depths and heights unfathomed and 
 unknown. St. Paul, after preaching Christ 
 for twenty years, did not conceive himself 
 yet awhile to have attained all that he might, 
 and therefore still desired to know Christ 
 
266 
 
 more and more " in the power of his resur- 
 rection^ and in the fellowship of his suffer- 
 ings,'^ This therefore we may w^ell desire, 
 and count all things but loss in comparison 
 of it. 
 
 Lastly, Let us make manifest the ivisdom 
 of our determination by the holiness of our 
 lives. 
 
 The doctrine of Christ crucified, ever did, 
 and ever will appear ^' foolishness'^ in the 
 eyes of ungodly men : so that, if it be preach- 
 ed by an Apostle himself, he shall be ac- 
 counted by them a babbler and deceiver. 
 But there is one way of displaying its ex- 
 cellency open to us, a way in which we 
 may effectually '' put to silence the ignorance 
 of foolish men :'' namely, '' by well-doing ;'^ 
 that is, by shewing the sanctifying and 
 transforming efficacy of this doctrine. St. 
 Paul tells us, that ^^by the cross, of Christ 
 the world was crucified unto him, and he 
 unto the world:''* and such is the effect 
 * Gal. vi. 14. 
 
S67 
 
 that it should produce on us : we should 
 shew that we are men of another worlds and 
 men too of " a more excellent spirit :^' we 
 should shew the fruits of our faith in every 
 relation of life : and^ in so doings we may 
 hope to ^^win by our good conversation'' 
 many^ who would never have submitted to 
 the preached word. 
 
 But we must never forget where our 
 strength is, or on whose aid we must entire- 
 ly rely. The Prophet Isaiah reminds us of 
 this ; " Surely shall one say, In the Lord 
 have I righteousness and strength:' ' and 
 our Lord himself plainly tells us, that 
 ^^ without him we can do nothing/' Since 
 then " we^have no sufficiency in ourselves to 
 help ourselves," and " God has laid help 
 for us upon One that is mighty," let us " live 
 by faith on the Son of God," " receiving 
 daily out of his fulness that grace" that 
 shall be " sufficient for us." Let us bear 
 in mind, that this is a very principal part 
 of the knowledge of Christ crucified : for, 
 as *' all our fresh springs are m Christ," 
 
S68 
 
 so must we look contiuaally to him for '* the 
 supplies of his Spirit/^ and " have him for 
 our wisdom, our righteousness, our sancti- 
 fication and redemption. 
 
 THE END. 
 
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