cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, whereby the world is crucified unto me, and I unto the world!

I have largely explained the connexion, and thereby opened the meaning of these words of St. Paul: The use I intend to make of them is from thence to shew,

I. First, that whatever excellencies, outward advantages, or privileges, it may be our lot to enjoy; yet it misbecomes us, as we are Christians, to glory in them: but that,

II. Secondly, it highly becomes us to glory in the cross of Christ.

III. Thirdly, by what methods, and in opposition to what enemies of the cross of Christ, we are obliged to glory in it. Of these three points in their order, as far as the time will permit. And,

I. First, I am to shew, that whatever excellencies, outward advantages, or privileges, it may be our lot to enjoy, yet it misbecomes us, as we are Christians, to glory in them.

I do not say, that we are to be insensible of such advantages, to have no relish of them, no complacence in them for neither reason nor religion require such a conduct from us. They are the good things of life, given us by the Author of all good, on purpose that we should, in due measure and season, enjoy them; nor can they of themselves, while our appetites and our opinions concerning such things are well regulated, be hurtful to those who possess them. They may be used, if they are not over-valued; if we do not suffer our affections to cleave too closely to them, and our minds to be in any degree elated, and swelled by a reflection upon them. They may be a part, a small part, of our happiness in this transitory scene of life, provided we always retain in our minds the apostle's directions concerning them, that they who have these things, be as though they had them not; and they that rejoice, as

though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world as not abusing it; for the fashion of this world passeth away; 1 Cor. vii. 30, 31. These worldly advantages, these honours, profits, pleasures, whatever they be, are of uncertain continuance, and may, in a little time, slip away from us; to be sure, we shall, in a little time, slip away from them, and leave them behind us: and therefore, why should we rest in them? Why should we boast of them? Why should we feed and raise, not our appetites and lusts only, but our vanity and pride also, by the means of them?

The christian religion, by the tendency of all its doctrines, (particularly that of Christ crucified), by the manner of its progress, and the mean characters of those who first promulged and embraced it, seems to have been so throughout contrived, as effectually to mortify and beat down any undue complacence we may have in ourselves on such occasions. Ye see your calling, brethren, (says St. Paul, with that wapinoia, that becoming freedom of speech in which he excels, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble are called; but God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and the base things of the world, and the things which are despised hath he chosen, yea, and the things which are not, to bring to nought the things that are, 1 Cor. i. 26. And to what end did he thus order matters in the propagation of his Gospel? Even to this, as it follows, that no flesh should glory in his presence, but that he who glorieth might glory in the Lord; might value himself upon being a serious, sincere Christian, and upon nothing besides it.

Indeed it is enough to disparage all the fine shews and appearances of this life, and to render us indifferent to all the charms of it, if we do but attentively consider that complete instance of suffering greatness and goodness, on which our faith and devotion ought this day

to be employed. For on this day they were all, together with the hand-writing of ordinances, Col. ii. 14. (the ceremonious observances of the law), blotted out, sullied, and defaced, and nailed by Christ to his cross, as the Scripture speaks ; on which, when he was lifted up, he did there crucify the world, and the things of it, eclipse the lustre, and destroy the power, of all its empty vanities. Behold then our High-priest, offering up the great sacrifice required for the redemption of souls! pouring out his own blood on the altar of his cross, and thereby making an atonement for the sins of the whole world! Behold him, I say, by the eye of faith, and you will acknowledge, that though there was never any spectacle so sad, yet neither was there any so glorious, or so worthy of being contemplated and admired by men and angels. Stripped indeed he was of all outward comforts and supports; surrounded he was with every thing that to human nature was grievous: and yet, even in this depth of his humiliation, if we consider the mighty work he was accomplishing, we cannot but despise all the vain pomps of life, in comparison of the splendour of his sufferings. For then, even then, while he hung on the cross, was the great Captain of our salvation fighting our battles, and subduing our enemies; then was he leading captivity captive, spoiling principalities and powers, making a shew of them openly, and triumphing over them in himself; Eph. iv. 8. Col. ii. 15. Then was he vanquishing death by his death, and opening for us a gate to life and immortality: then was he disarming sin of its sting, and hell of its terrors ; and procuring for us those supplies of grace, which might enable us to withstand the temptations of sense, and the wiles of the devil.

Surely the vain glories of this world, when compared with these real triumphs of the cross of Christ, must lose all their force and influence, and grow flat and insignificant in the eyes of a good Christian. Can we look up to Him that was pierced, see him stretched on his cross, enduring the pain, despising the shame of it,

and not look down with neglect and contempt on that scene of sin and vanity which occasioned those sufferings? Is it possible for us to love the world, and the things that are in the world, 1 John ii. 15, while our eyes. are fixed on him, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, Gal. i. 4; that is, on purpose that he might free us from the enchanting power of its empty delights and vain allurements? These he taught us, by his doctrine and by his practice, by his life and by his death, to undervalue; he chose to be without them, and the perfection of his virtue consisted in overlooking and despising them. We, therefore, who profess to be his followers, must certainly degenerate very far from that profession, when we eagerly pursue, greedily enjoy, and highly admire them. Beloved, this our glorying is not good. 1 Cor. v. 6. But,

II. Secondly, it highly becomes us to glory in the cross of Christ, as I proposed in the second place to shew. For since by the alone merits of his cross we gain all the advantages of the christian dispensation, are reconciled to God, and made capable of heaven and happiness, we cannot but glory in that cross, if indeed we value ourselves upon our being Christians.

The cross of Christ is the doctrine to which all the other doctrines of the Gospel refer, and from which they derive all the efficacy and influence they have, towards purging our consciences from dead works; and therefore in that single article they are often all of them summed up and comprised. We preach Christ crucified, says St. Paul, 1 Cor. i. 23; as if that, and that alone, were the subject of all he wrote, and all he spoke : and again, I determined to know nothing but Christ, and him crucified, 1 Cor. ii. 2, as if that were the great point of saving knowledge, to which those who learn, or who teach the religion of Christ, should altogether apply themselves. Can we look upon it, under this view, and refrain from glorying in it? To this article of our faith the enemies of the

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Gospel have always taken the greatest exceptions; and in this, therefore, we ought to triumph most, as being secure against their attacks, and despising their vain objections and reasonings. The first preachers of our faith must in this case be our patterns. They knew that Christ crucified was to the Jews a stumbling-block, 1 Cor. i. 22; but did they therefore dissemble the scandal of the cross for that very reason? No! they boasted of it, they insisted upon it in all their applications to the unbelieving Jews recorded in the Acts, (Acts x. 39.); particularly St. Peter omits no occasion of mentioning to them him whom they slew, and hanged on a tree; as an high reproach to his murderers indeed, but none at all to his disciples and followers.

Very fitly, therefore, has the church of England ap pointed that, after we have been "received into the congregation of Christ's flock by baptism, we should be signed with the sign of the cross, in token, (as she speaks,) that we should not hereafter be ashamed to confess the faith of Christ crucified, but should manfully fight under his banner against sin, the world, and the devil, and continue Christ's faithful soldiers and servants to our lives' end." A ceremony, which whatever fault may have been found with it, is certainly very ancient, very innocent, and very significant too; as it fitly admonishes us, throughout the whole course of our christian warfare, to look upon the cross of Christ as the proper badge of our profession, which we ought not to be ashamed, or afraid to own, whenever he, in whose service we are listed, shall call upon us to take it up and follow him.. But to proceed,. I am to shew

III. Thirdly, by what methods, and in opposition to what enemies of the cross of Christ, we are obliged to glory in it.

1. Now the first step requisite towards our complying with this obligation is, frequently to meditate on the sufferings and death of Christ. We glory in nothing but what we esteem and value; and what we value much,