should be, I had almost said, proud of this golden sentence, "There is one God, and one Mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus." Conceal what, the perfections of God? Hide what, the life of the world, "the light of men," Christ Jesus? Blush at what, that "God is not ashamed to be called our God;" that Christ is not "ashamed to call us brethren ?" This is not the pride of a beggar; this is the rage and madness of a devil: a sullenness that should have no quarter in the bosom of a Christian.

66

66

It

Consider the eminence of the love of Christ. would be saying little to affirm that he gave us his time, his advice, his apostles, his friendship and good wishes; he did more; he gave us "himself: his own body on the tree to heal our stripes;" his character to be disgraced with that of transgressors; his liberty as that of a sheep under the hands of her shearers; and his soul to be "poured out unto death," an offering for sin❞ to justify many. Brethren, we celebrate the praise of such men as love their country so as to " expose their lives unto death in the field," especially if they "take no gain of money;" we call such men "stars in their courses," fighting against Sisera; we say of such men, they came to the help of the Lord against the mighty" robbers and murderers of his creatures; in such cases of extreme danger, we forgive a woman forgetting for a moment her sex, and shedding a tyrant's blood, and we praise the soft hand for taking for once "the nail and the workman's hammer," and "piercing through the temples" of the chief of plunderers; we say of her, "Blessed above women shall she be !" If the saviour of our liberties and properties and natural lives be so worthy of publication and praise, what must we think of him, who without fee or reward, from principles of the strictest justice and the greatest love, redeemed us from Bin, and all its fatal consequences? Conceal what, perfect justice and disinterested love? Hide what, that Christ, when we were without strength, died for the ungodly ?" Blush at what, that "when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, and that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so

shall grace reign through righteousness, unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord? Ungrateful shame! do we "thus requite the Lord that bought us?"

Fearful soul! observe the worth of the doctrine of Christ. David thought the law "better than thousands of gold and silver." What would he have said, if he had received along with the law all the Prophecies, and all the New Testament? The man, who had these, called them "treasures of wisdom and knowledge, unsearchable riches" of Christianity. Every part of the doctrine of Christ is wise and good, and there is not a line of his Gospel that needs concealment. His doctrines are not a troop of robbers lurking in darkness to work mischief, but they are an army to defend in broad daylight the worship of God, and all the just rights of mankind. I lay aside the whole, though each part would bear the most strict scrutiny in this view; and I confine myself to one character of the whole Christian religion stated and explained by the apostle Paul. He says, that there were in his doctrine "all riches of the full assurance of understanding to the acknowledgment of the mystery of God, and of the Father, and of Christ, wherein" (see the margin of your Bibles), wherein "are hid all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge." By the mystery of God, and so on, the Apostle means the Christian religion, which had been formerly a mystery, or a secret, but which was then "made known unto the sons of men." In this religion, he says, all treasures of wisdom and knowledge are hid, that is, every article of information necessary to our salvation is contained. One chief excellence of the wisdom contained in the Gospel is, that it hath a character of evidence; it is rich in proof of its truth and goodness, so rich as to produce the "full assurance of the understanding." The Christian religion doth not direct its professors to say, Perhaps there is a God, possibly he might create the world, may be he sent his Son to instruct and bless mankind, peradventure we may be good and happy by believing and practising this religion: language fit enough for a drowsy Rabbi uttering traditions of men; but a language not proper to a wise God, and his inspired messengers.

"Thus saith the Lord," said the prophets; "This commandment have I received of my Father," said Jesus Christ; "We preach not ourselves," said an apostle; "God hath shined in our hearts, and the excellency of the power is of God and not of us." This is the Gospel, of which you, feeble and timorous souls, are ashamed! There is one point, which I ought not to conceal fromyou, for perhaps you may err more through ignorance than malice. "know not the man." Perhaps, you

Have you attended to one word of the apostle Paul concerning the subject, of which we are speaking, which we just now called proof, or evidence of the truth of the Christian religion, and which the apostle calls “manifestation of the truth?" That word is conscience. Hear our apostle. "By manifestation of the truth we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God." Now, if you mistake conscience for convenience, and address the Gospel not to the natural justice, but to the pride and prejudices of mankind, you may very well tremble for the fate of the Gospel, and be ashamed of prófessing such an inconvenient religion. If, on the contrary, you appeal to the consciences of men, the very worst will be obliged to own, that the morality of the Gospel is holy, and every part of it just and good; and that if that which is good, works dislike in any, it is because they are carnal, and sold under sin. What we affirm of the morality of the Gospel, we affirm of the just principles on which it is founded, and the just motives by which it is enforced. Now we affirm, with the Apostle, that the truth hath not only a character of evidence to the conscience, but that the proofs are innumerable, and beyond all valuation. They are riches, riches of assurance, riches of full assurance, producing "steadfastness of faith in Christ."

If you think fit to pursue this subject further, you may inquire after the worth of the doctrine of Christ among poor, sick, afflicted, persecuted, and dying Christians; they will tell you, it is their only support, and their all-sufficient consolation: or you may ask the young, the rich and prosperous disciples of Christ, and they will tell you, it "puts more gladness into their

hearts than all the times in which their corn and their wine increased :" in short, in the " temple of God every one speaks of his glory," and every one saith to the bashful Christian, "Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness by giving unto him the glory due unto his name." There is nothing to be ashamed of in the doctrine of Christ, nor need any man blush for believing what all the reasonable part of the world allow to be true. Let us not creep slily to worship God, and render by our meanness "the table of the Lord contemptible." Let us listen to him, who saith, "A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a Father, where is mine honour?" Let us reply to this gentle reproof, "The Lord is my light, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life, of whom shall I be afraid? Though an host should encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war should rise against me, in this will I be confident."

Should I proceed to examine the excellence of the example of Christ, our obligations to him, and his kind intentions towards us, it would appear, that Jesus Christ ought not to be hid, and that those servants who thought his livery fit only to be worn within doors, and that of the world most proper to appear in abroad, have not well understood the Christian religion. Their conduct implies an abominable error, a cruel slander upon the best of masters, that is, that there is some error, some injustice, or some impropriety in the Christian religion. Such people look less like the disciples of Christ, "whom God hath exalted to be a Prince and a Saviour," than the followers of " Theudas, who boasted of himself to be somebody, and to whom a number of men joined themselves, but who was slain, and all his followers scattered and brought to nought."

Let us remark, finally, that Jesus Christ cannot be hid. Long before we were born "the Lord multiplied visions, and used similitudes, and spoke of him by the ministry of the prophets." When he made his public appearance, "innumerable multitudes trod one upon another" to hear him. When he died, he was lifted up from the earth, and drew the attention of "all men

unto him." The Pharisees could prevail nothing; but exclaimed, "Behold, the word is gone after him." Many nations have said, "How beautiful are the feet of them, that preach the Gospel of peace! Have they not heard? yes, verily, the sound went into all the earth, and the words unto the ends of the world. Did not Israel know?" Did not Ephesus and Antioch know? Did not Rome know? Did not Spain, Britain, and all the provinces of the empire know? These "foolish nations asked not after him," but he was found of them though they sought him not. It is now too late to think of concealing a person so well known, and whom every eye shall see in the day of judgment.

As the person of Christ cannot be hid, so neither can his doctrine. There is, my brethren, a beautiful connexion established in the world between the condition of man and the compassion of God. Blessings are prepared for our necessities, and our necessities prepare us to receive these blessings. Doth God intend to incline the Egyptians to support the children of Jacob? A long train of events, with a dreadful famine in the land shall endear a son of Jacob both to the prince and the people. The wise frugality of Joseph is a preparation for famine, and famine is a dicipline to bring the Egyptians acquainted with Joseph, and perhaps with Joseph's God. It was God, who both "called for a famine and sent a man before" to provide for it. Did the Egyptians, when the famine was very sore in the land "cry unto Pharaoh for bread? Pharaoh said, Go unto Joseph." The necessity of the Egyptians, and the office of Joseph rendered it impossible for him to be hid. He was known, Pharaoh called him a "revealer of secrets," and the Egyptians honoured him with the name of" tender father." Thus the necessities of mankind oblige them to look out for a bosom of pity and love. And such an one is that of Jesus Christ. "He could not be hid," saith my text, "because a certain woman, whose young daughter had an unclean spirit, heard of him, and came and fell at his feet, saying, Lord, help me; the dogs under the table eat of the children's crumbs." Numbers in the time of Christ were in conditions as bad or worse than that of this woman, and they must see him or die.