SERMON XXVI.

THE ABSURDITY OF LIBERTINISM AND INFIDELITY.

PSALM XCIV. 7—10.

They say, the Lord shall not see: neither shall the God of Jacob regard it. Understand brutish among ye the people and ye fools, when will be ye wise? He that planted the ear, shall he not hear? He that formed the eye, shall he not see? He that chastiseth the heathen, shall not he correct? He that teacheth man knowledge, shall not he know?

Not to multiply examples, let it suffice to In the style of the sacred authors, partiremark, that if ever there were men who cularly in that of our prophet, to deny the deserved such odious names, they are such existence of a God, the doctrine of Provi

dence, and the essential difference between | pain.' Tolerable reflections in a book, plaujust and unjust, is one and the same thing. sible arguments in a public auditory! But Compare the psalm out of which I have taken weak reflections, vain arguments, in a bed my text, with the fourteenth, with the fifty- of infirmity, while a man is suffering the third, and particularly with the tenth, and pain of the gout or the stone! you will perceive, that the prophet confounds them, who say in their hearts, there is no God, with those who say, ' God hath forgotten; he hideth his face, he will never see it,' Ps. x. 11.

In effect, although the last of these doctrines may be maintained without admitting the first, yet the last is no less essential to religion than the first. And although a man may be a deist, and an epicurean, without being an atheist, yet the system of an atheist is no more odious to God than that of an epicurean, and that of a deist.

I shall therefore make but one man of these different men, and, after the examble of the prophet, I shall attack him with the same arms. In order to justify the titles that he gives an infidel, I shall attack,

1. His taste.

II. His policy.

III. His indocility.

O! how necessary is religion to us in these fatal circumstances! It speaks to us in a manner infinitely more proper to comfort us under our heaviest afflictions! Religion says to you, 'Out of the mouth of the Most High proceedeth not evil and good,' Lam. iii. 38. He formeth light, and createthi darkness; he maketh peace, and createth evil,' Isa. xlv. 7. 'Shall there be evil in the city, and the Lord hath not done it?' Amos iii. 6. Religion tells you, that if God affiicts you it is for your own advantage; it is, that, being uneasy on earth, you may take your flight towards heaven; that your light affliction, which is but for a moment, may work for you a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,' 2 Cor. iv. 17. Religion bids you not to think it strange, concerning the fiery trial, which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you,' 1 Pet. iv. 12, but to believe, that 'the

IV. His logic, or, to speak more properly, trial of your faith, being much more precious

his way of reasoning.

V. His morality.

VI. His conscience.

VII. His politeness and knowledge of the world.

In all these reflections, which I shall proportion to the length of these exercises, I shall pay more regard to the genius of our age than to that of the times of the prophet: and I shall do this the rather, because we cannot determine on what occasion the psalm was composed of which the text is a part.

than that of gold, which perisheth, will be found unto praise, and honour, and glory, at the appearing of Jesus Christ,' chap. i. 7.

But religion is above all necessary in the grand vicissitude, in the fatal point, to which all the steps of life tend; I mean, at the hour of death. For at length, after we have rushed into all pleasures, after we have sung well, danced well, feasted well, we must die, we must die. And what, pray, except religion can support a man, struggling with 'the king of terrors? Job xviii. 14. A man, who sees his grandeur abased, his fortune distributed, his connexions dissolved, his senses benumbed, his grave dug, the world retiring from him, his bones hanging on the verge of the grave, and his soul divided between the horrible hope of sinking into nothing, and the dreadful fear of falling into the hands of an angry God.

I. If you consider the taste, the discernment, and choice of the people, of whom the prophet speaks, you will see he had a great right to denominate them, most brutish and foolish. What an excess must a man have attained, when he hates a religion without which he cannot but be miserable! Who, of the happiest of mankind, does not want the succour of religion? What disgraces at In sight of these formidable objects, fall, court! What mortifications in the army! fall, ye bandages of infidelity! ye veils of What accidents in trade! What uncertain- obscurity and depravity! and let me perceive ty in science! What bitterness in pleasure! how necessary religion is to man. It is that What injuries in reputation! What incon- which sweetens the bitterest of all bitters. stancy in riches! What disappointments in It is that which disarms the most invincible projects! What infidelity in friendship! monster. It is that which transforms the What vicissitudes in fortune! Miserable most frightful of all objects into an object of man! What will support thee under so ma- gratitude and joy. It is that which calms ny calamities? What miserable comforters the conscience, and confirms the soul. It is are the passions in these sad periods of life! that which presents to the dying believer How inadequate is philosophy itself, how another being, another life, another economy, improper is Zeno, how unequal are all his other objects, and other hopes. It is that followers, to the task of calming a poor mor- which, while the outward man perisheth, tals when they tell him, 'Misfortunes are reneweth the inward man day by day,' 2 Cor. inseparable from human nature. No man iv. 16. It is that which dissipates the hor should think himself exempt from any thing rors of the valley of the shadow of death,' that belongs to the condition of mankind. If Ps. xxiii 4. It is that which cleaves the maladies be violent, they will be short; if they be long, they will be tolerable. A fatal necessity prevails over all mankind; complaints and regrets cannot change the order of things. A generous soul should be superior to all events, it should despise a tyrant, II. Having taken the unbelieving libertine defy fortune, and render itself insensible to on his own interest, I take him on the public

clouds in the sight of a departing Stephen; tells a converted thief, 'to-day shalt thou bein paradise,' Luke xxiii. 43, and cries to all true penitents, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord,' Rev. xiv. 13.

SERMON XXV.

THE SUPERIOR EVIDENCE AND INFLUENCE OF CHRISTIANITY.

1 JOHN iv. 4.

Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.

THAT appearance, which is recorded in the second book of Kings, chap. vi. 8, &c. was very proper to embolden the timid servant of Elisha. The king of Syria was at war with the king of Israel. The wise counsel of the prophet was more advantageous to his prince than that of his generals was. The Syrian thought, if he could render himself master of such an extraordinary man, he could easily subdue the rest of the Israelites. In order to ensure success he surrounded Dothan, the dwelling place of the prophet, with his troops in the night. The prophet's servant was going out early the next morning with his master, when on seeing the numerous Syrian forces, he trembled, and exclaimed, Alas! my master, how shall we do? Fear not, replied Elisha,' they that be with us, are more than they that be with them.' To this he added, addressing himself to God in prayer, Lord, open his eyes that he may see!' The prayer was heard. The servant of Elisha presently saw the sufficient ground. of his master's confidence; he discovered a celestial multitude of horses, and chariots of fire, which God had sent to defend his servant from the king of Syria.

which we are going to fix their attention,

'Greater is he that is in them, than he that is in the world.' Amen.

Two preliminary remarks will elucidate our subject:

1. Although the proposition in my text is general, and regards all Christians, yet St. John wrote it with a particular view to those persons to whom he addressed the epistle from which we have taken it. In order to ascertain this, reflect on the times of the apostles, and remark the accomplishment of that prophecy which Jesus Christ had some time before delivered. He had foretold, that there would arise in Judea false Christs, and false prophets, who would show great signs and wonders, insomuch that (if it were possible), they would deceive the very elect,' Matt. xxiv. 24. This prophecy was to be accomplished immediately before the destruction of Jerusalem: and to that period learned men assign the publication of this epistle. St. John calls the time in which he wrote, 'the last time,' chap. ii. 18, that is to say, in the Jewish style, the time in which the metropolis of Judea was to be destroyed: and adds the sign by which Christians might know, How often, my brethren, have you trem- that it was the last time; as ye have heard bled at the sight of that multitude of enemies that Antichrist shall come, even now are which is let loose against you? When you there many Antichrists; whereby we know have seen yourselves called to wrestle, as St. that it is the last time.' Remark those words, Paul speaks, not only against flesh and as ye have heard:' the apostle meant by blood, but against principalities, against pow-them, to remind his readers of the prophecy ers, against spiritual wickedness in high pla- of Jesus Christ. ces; against the sophisms of error, against I do not pretend now to inquire what seduthe tyrants of the church, and which is still cers Jesus Christ particularly intended in this more formidable, against the depravity of prophecy. Simon the Sorcerer may be playour own hearts: how often in these cases ced in the class of false Christs. There is a have you exclaimed, Alas! how shall we do? very remarkable passage to this purpose in Who is sufficient for these things? 2 Cor. the tenth verse of the eighth chapter of Acts. ii. 16 'Who then can be saved? Matt. It is there said, that this impostor had so 'bexix. 25. witched the people of Samaria, that all, from the least to the greatest, said, This man is the great power of God.' What means this phrase, the great power of God? It is the title which the ancient Jews gave the Messiah. Philo, treating of the divine essence, establishes the mystery of the Trinity, as clearly as a Jew could establish it, who had no other guide than the Old Testament. He speaks first of God; then of what he calls the logos, the word (the same term is translated word in the first chapter of the gospel of St. John), and he calls this word the great power of God, and distinguishes him from a third person, whom he denominates the second power. Moreover, Origen says, Simon the sor cerer took the title of Son of God, a title which the Jews had appropriated to the Messiah.

But take courage, Christian wrestlers! 'they that be with you are more than they that are against you. O Lord! open their eyes that they may see! May they see the great cloud of witnesses,' Heb. xii, 1, who fought in the same field to which they are called, and there obtained a victory! May they see the blessed angels who encamp round about them, to protect their persons, and to defeat their foes! May they see the powerful aid of that Spirit which thou hast given them! "May they see Jesus, the author and finisher of their faith, Ps. xxxiv. 7; 1 John iii. 24, and Heb. xii. 2, who animates them from heaven, and the eternal rewards which thou art preparing to crown their perseverance! and may a happy experience teach them that truth, on

2. But this produces another difficulty, and the solution of it is my second article. It should seem, if the apostle had reason to say of them who had persevered in Christianity, that he who was in them was greater than he who was in the world,' seducers also had reason to say, that he who was in those whom they had seduced, was greater than he who was in persevering Christians. Satan has still, in our day, more disciples than Jesus Christ. Can it be said, that Satan, is greater than Jesus Christ? Can it be said, that the means employed by that lying and murder

As there were false Christs in the time of St. John, so there were also false prophets, that is, false teachers. These St. John has characterized in the chapters which precede my text; and the portraits drawn by the apostle are so exactly like those which the primitive fathers of the church have exhibited of Ebion and Cerinthus, that it is easy to know them. A particular investigation of this subject would divert our attention too far from our principal design; and it shall suffice at present to observe, that these impostors caused great mischiefs in the church. Simon, the sorcerer, indeed, at first, renouncing spirit to seduce mankind, are superior to ed his imposture; but he soon adopted it again. Justin Martyr informs us, that, in his time, there remained some disciples of that wretch, who called him the first intelligence of the divinity, that is, the word; and who named Helen, the associate of Simon in his imposture, the second intelligence of the divinity, by which title they intended to describe the Holy Ghost. Only they, who are novices in the history of primitive Christianity, can be ignorant of the ravages, which Ebion and Gerinthus made in the church.

But Jesus Christ had foretold, and all ages have verified the prediction, that the gates of hell should not prevail against the church,' Matt. xvi. 18. The most specious sophisms of Ebion and Cerinthus, the most seducing deceptions of Simon and his associates, did not draw off one of the elect from Jesus Christ; the faithful followers of the Son of God, notwithstanding their dispersion triumphed over false Christs, and false teachers. St. John extols their victory in the words of my text; Ye have overcome them (says he), because greater is he that is in you, than he

that is in the world.'

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It seems almost needless precisely to point out here whom St. John means by him, who is in believers,' and by him who is in the world;' or to determine which of the different senses of commentators seem to us the most defensible. Some say, the apostle intended the Holy Spirit by him who is in you;' others think, he meant Jesus Christ; and others suppose him speaking of the principle of regeneration, which is in Christians, and which renders them invulnerable by all the attacks of the world. In like manner, if we endeavour to affix a distinct idea to the other terms, him who is in the world;' some pretend that St. John means Satan; others, that he expresses, in a vague manner, all the means which the world employs to seduce good men. But, whatever difference there may appear in these explications, they all come to the same sense. For if the apostle speaks of the inhabitation of Jesus Christ, it is certain, he dwells in us by his Holy Spirit; and if he means the Holy Spirit, it is certain he dwells in us by the principles of regeneration. In like manner in regard to the other proposition. If it be Satan, who, the apostle says, is in the world, he is there undoubtedly by the errors which his amissaries published there, and by the vices which they introduce there. The design of the apostle, therefore, is to show the superiority of the means which God employs to save us, to those which the world employ to destroy us.

those which the Holy Spirit employs to illuminate them? No, my brethren; and our answer to these questions, which requires your particular attention, will serve to elucidate one of the most obscure articles of religion. We will endeavour to express the matter clearly to all our attentive hear ers.

We must carefully distinguish a mean applied to an irrational agent from a mean applied to an intelligent agent. A mean, that is applied to an irrational agent, can never be accounted superior to the obstacles which oppose it, unless its superiority be justified by success. A certain degree of power is requisite to move a mass of a certain weight; a degree of power superior to the weight of a certain mass will never fail to move the mass out of its place, and to force it away.

But it is not so with the means which are applied to intelligent beings; they are not always attended with that success which, it should seem, ought to follow the application of them. I attempt to prove to a man, on whom nature has bestowed common sense, that if an equal number be taken from an equal number, an equal number will remain. I propose my demonstration to him with all possible clearness, and he has no less faculty to comprehend it, than I have to propose it. He persists, however, in the opposite proposition: but his obstinacy is the only cause of his error; he refuses to believe me, because he refuses to hear me. Were an attentive and teachable man to yield to my demonstration, while the former persisted in denying it, could it be reasonably said then, that motives of incredulity in the latter were superior to motives of credulity? We must distinguish, then, a mean applied to an intelligent being, from a mean applied to an irrational being.

Farther. Among the obstacles, with which intelligent beings resist means applied to them, physical obstacles must be distinguished from moral obstacles. Physical obstacles are such as necessarily belong to the being that resists, so that there is no faculty to remove them. I propose to an infant a conclusion, the understanding of which depends on a chain of propositions, which he is incapable of following. The obstacle, which I find in him, is an obstacle merely physical; he has not a faculty to remove it.

I propose the same conclusion to a man of mature age; he understands it no more than the infant just now mentioned: but his ignorance does not proceed from a want of those faculties which are necessary to com.