deduce from principles of natural reason; because reason was able to judge from the internal marks of his doctrine, that it was worthy God, and accommodated properly to advance human nature and human happiness. But for all this,―reason could not infallibly determine that the messenger of this doctrine was the Messias, the eternal Son of the living God:-to know this required an illumination; -and this illumination, I say, seems to have been Vouchsafed at that instant as a reward,--as would have been sufficient evidence by itself of the disposition of his heart.

I have now finished this short essay upon the character of St. Peter, not with a loud panegyric upon the power of his keys, or a ranting encomium upon some monastic qualifications with which a popish pulpit would ring upon such an occasion, without doing much honour to the saint, or good to the audience; but have drawn it with truth and sobriety, representing it as it was, as consisting of virtues the most worthy of imitation, and grounded, not upon apocryphal accounts and legendary inventions, the wardrobe from whence Popery dresses out her saints on these days, but upon matters of fact in the sacred Scriptures, in which all Christians agree. And since I have mentioned popery, I cannot better conclude than by observing, how ill the spirit and character of that church resembles that particular part of St. Peter's which has been made the subject of this discourse.— Would one think that a church, which thrusts itself under this apostle's patronage, and claims her power under him, would presume to exceed the degrees of it, which he acknowledged to possess himself? But how ill are your expectations answered, when, instead of the humble declaration in the text, Ye men of Israel, marvel not at us, as if our own power and holiness had wrought this ;"-you

hear a language and behaviour from the Romish court, as opposite to it as insolent words and actions can frame;

So that, instead of "Ye men of Israel, marvel not at us,”-Ye men of Israel, do marvel at us,hold us in admiration. Approach our sacred pontiff (who is not only holy, but holiness itself); approach his person with reverence, and deem it the greatest honour and happiness of your lives to fall down before his chair, and be admitted to kiss his feet.

Think not, as if it were not our own holiness which merits all the homage you can pay us. It is our own holiness, the superabundance of it, of which, having more than we know what to do with ourselves, from works of supererogation, we have transferred the surplus in ecclesiastic warehouses, and, in pure zeal for the good of your souls, have established public banks of merit, ready to be drawn upon at all times.

Think not, ye men of Israel, or say within yourselves that we are unprofitable servants;-we have no good works to spare; or that if we had, we cannot make this use of them ;-that we have no power to circulate our indulgences, and huckster them out, as we do, through all the parts of Christendom. -Know ye by these presents, that it is our own power which does this, the plenitude of our apostolic power operating with our own holiness, that enables us to bind and loose, as seems meet to us on earth;—to save your souls or deliver them up to Satan; and, as we please or displease, to indulge whole kingdoms at once, or excommunicate them all;-binding kings in chains, and your nobles in links of iron,

That we may never again feel the effects of such language and principles, may God of his mercy grant us! Amen.

SERMON XXXII.

THIRTIETH OF JANUARY.

EZRA IX. 6, 7.

And I said, O my God, I am ashamed and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God:-for our iniquities are increased over our head, and our trespass is grown up unto the Heavens.Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day.

THERE is not, I believe, throughout all history, an instance of so strange and obstinately corrupt a people as the Jews, of whom Ezra complains:for though, on one hand, there never was a people that received so many testimonies of God's favour to encourage them to be good ;-so, on the other hand, there never was a people which so often felt the scourge of their iniquities, to dishearten them from doing evil.

And yet, neither the one nor the other seemed ever able to make them either the wiser or better; -neither God's blessings nor his corrections could ever soften them;-they still continued a thankless, unthinking people, who profited by no lessons, neither were to be won with mercies, nor terrified with punishments; but, on every succeeding trial and occasion, extremely disposed against God, to go astray and act wickedly.

In the words of the text, the prophet's heart overflows with sorrow upon his reflection of this unworthy part of their character; and the manner of his application to God is so expressive of his humble sense of it, and there is something in the words so full of tenderness and shame for them upon that score, -as bespeaks the most paternal, as well as pasto

ral concern for them.-And he said," O my God! I am ashamed;-and blush to lift up my face to thee, my God!"-No doubt the holy man was confounded to look back upon that long series of so many of God's undeserved mercies to them, of which they had made so bad and ungrateful a use: -he considered, that they had all the motives that could lay restraints either upon a considerate or a reasonable people ;-that God had not only created, upheld, and favoured them with all advantages in common with the rest of their fellow-creatures,but had been particularly kind to them;-that when they were in the house of bondage, in the most hopeless condition, he had heard their cry, and took compassion upon their afflictions, and, by a chain of great and mighty deliverances, had set them free from the yoke of oppression. The prophet, no doubt, reflected at the same time, that, besides this instance of God's goodness in first favouring their miraculous escape, a series of successes, not to be accounted for from second causes and the natural course of events, had crowned their heads in so remarkable a manner, as to afford an evident proof, not only of God's general concern, but of his particular providence and attachment to them, above all people. In the wilderness he led them like sheep, and kept them as the apple of his eye; he suffered no man to do them wrong, but reproved even kings for their sake;-that when they entered into the promised land, no force was able to stand before them;-when in possession, no army was ever able to drive them out;-that nations, greater and mightier than they, were thrust forth from before them:-that, in a word, all nature for a time was driven backwards by the hands of God, to serve them; and that even the Sun itself had stood still in the midst of Heaven, to secure their

victories; that when all these mercies were cast away upon them, and no principle of gratitude or interest could make them an obedient people,-God had tried by misfortunes to bring them back ;—that when instructions, warnings, invitations, miracles, prophets, and holy guides had no effect, he at last suffered them to reap the wages of their folly, by letting them fall again into the same state of bondage in Babylon, from whence he had first raised them. Here it is that Ezra pours out his confession. It was no small aggravation to Ezra's concern, to find that even this last trial had no good effect upon their conduct;-that all the alternatives of promises and threats, comforts and afflictions, instead of making them grow the better, made them apparently grow the worse. How could he intercede for them but with shame and sorrow!—and say, as in the text, "O my God! I am ashamed, and blush to lift up my face to thee!-for our iniquities are increased over our heads, and our trespass is grown up unto the Heavens. Since the days of our fathers have we been in a great trespass unto this day."

Thus much for the prophet's humble confession to God for the Jews, for which he had but too just a foundation given by them;-and I know not how I can make a better use of the words, as the occasion of the day led me to the choice of them, than by a serious application of the same sad confession in regard to ourselves.

Our fathers, like those of the Jews in Ezra's time, no doubt have done amiss, and greatly provoked God by their violence;-but if our own iniquities, like theirs, are increased over our heads; -if, since the days of our fathers, we have been in a great trespass ourselves unto this day,--'tis fit, this day, we should be put in mind of it;-nor can