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TO LORD NORTH,

ONE OF HIS MAJESTY'S SECRETARIES OF STATE.

MY LORD,

YOUR office in the State has rendered you as conspicuous to the people of this nation, as the achievements carried on under your administration have made you famous over all Europe. Your name and transactions will stand recorded in history, with a peculiar emphasis. It is on account of this, my Lord, that I have taken the freedom of inscribing this volume of SERMONS to you, that, under the sanction of so remarkable a name, these Discourses might be more generally received in the world than they would have been were they published under the mere signature of the Author. For though, my Lord, the name of MURRAY, us times go, is far from being a name of little consideration in many special respects, for, as the Author has never figured in any public walk of life, he was afraid to trust to a name without first doing something that might be worthy of it. Under the patronage of your name, Exigit monumentum ære perennius, regalique situ pyramidum altius; for your Lordship's name, my Lord, will not soon be forgotten.

These Sermons may serve for an amusement when your Lordship retires from the weighty and fatiguing studies of the State; when you divert your mind from the hurry of business by enjoying the sweets of the country. They may suggest some useful hints to refresh your memory concerning things that are past, and inform you of what is yet to come. All the reward the Author desires for this Dedication is, that your Lordship will be pleased to read these Sermons, and recommend them to your friends.

"Multa petentibus

Desunt multa. Bene est cui Deus obtulit

Parcâ quod satis est manu."

I am,

Your Lordship's humble Servant,

JAMES MURRAY.

SERMONS

ΤΟ

MINISTERS OF STATE.

SERMON I.

MARK, XVI. 15.

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.

As
S the words that follow are a little uncourtly, I have left
them out, lest my audience, by being disgusted in the be-
ginning of my discourse, should not be disposed to give attention
to what I have to say in the following parts thereof. The words
of the text are the words of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ,
who had lately risen from the dead, and was declared to be the
Son of God with power. He had now finished a work which
all the hosts in heaven, and men upon earth, by their united
wisdom and power, could not have performed. He had given
a greater display of the divine attributes than had hitherto been
seen in all the works of creation and providence. By fulfilling
righteousness, and pleasing God, by magnifying the law, and
making it honourable, and by shewing the harmony between
justice and mercy in the forgiveness of the ungodly, he had
now laid a sure foundation of preaching peace to the worthless of
all ranks and degrees in the world. He had laid the foundation
of publishing mercy to mankind in his own blood, and has
thereby fully shewn, that, without shedding of blood, there
would have been no remission of sin. Perhaps it may appear
strange to my noble audience, that a personage of so mean a
visible character in the world should have pretended to perform
such extraordinary works, and claim such prerogatives, as Jesus
of Nazareth did, and still doth. It is, my Lords, exceeding
strange and wonderful, beyond even the comprehension of all the
cabinets in Europe. It is amazing that a God, who can make
a world by his word, should have been at so much pains with
this guilty and corrupt world, as to send his beloved Son to die
for it. Your Highnesses and your Reverences must remember,

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and ye ought to know, that all mankind were in actual rebellion against the Sovereign of heaven and earth: they first transgressed his law, then hated him, and pursued the course of their rebellion with unrelenting malignity. Is it not amazing that Omnipotence did not punish them for their rebellion, and for ever exclude them from all hopes of mercy and favour? That, instead of pursuing them according to the strictness of law and justice, in their own persons, he was pleased in mercy to accept of an atonement from his own Son, whom he sent into the world on purpose to save them! Before he drove the first man out of Paradise, which he had forfeited, he was mercifully pleased to make a better provision for him, and to restore him to a more glorious state of liberty;-and, my Lords, what is still more strange, to free his enemies from the fear of his indignation, he put his beloved Son to grief and mortal sorrow. "It pleased Jehovah to bruise him and put him to grief; when he shall make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities."* All this is so surprising, that you never heard of any thing like it in the annals of time. The great, supreme, omnipotent Jehovah, who created this universe by a word out of nothing, and who "counts the nations as a drop of a bucket, and as the small dust in the balance," could have destroyed all sinners with a word, as well as he made the world thereby. But he is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and of great kindness; "he pours not out all his anger at once, because he delights in mercy." You are surprised, are you not, to hear of so much mercy in a Being possessed of absolute power and authority? Truly, it is a rare thing; a thing not to be met with where pride prevails; it is not to be found in the kingdoms of this world. And it is a good reason why no should have absolute power and authority over others, because they are not possessed of a sufficient degree of mercy to regulate that power. Suppose, my Lords, you had as much might as you have inclination, what would become of those whom you account your enemies. Would you imitate the Almighty in forgiving their offences, and shewing them mercy? Or would you not rather choose to exert your power in making them feel the heavy effects of your vengeance and indignation?

men

The Saviour, who uttered these words in our text, is a kind, gracious, and merciful Lord; he has shewn his kindness by the most expressive actions of benevolence and regard; "he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows;" and, by his obedience unto death, he hath obtained eternal redemption for men, in whose name, and for whose sakes and interests, he appears as an high priest over the house of God in heaven, to manage all their spiritual concerns through time unto eternity. He is now, my

* Isaiah, liii. 10.

Lords,

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