some persons both superfluous and unnecessary in an assembly of professed Christians but those alone can be such who confess this to be the foundation-stone of our most holy faith, by the power of the Spirit of God enlightening, renewing, sanctifying, and sealing, this testimony in the heart; and as living witnesses we set our seal that God is true, by exemplifying his divine character in our lives. O then be lively oracles, living oracles, to bear witness to the truth! And may we of the priesthood be a holy priesthood; may the nation be a holy nation, a peculiar people, bringing forth the fruits of righteousness, to the praise and honor and glory of God! We then, as the ministers and stewards of the manifold mysteries of God, must exhort and warn you to "take: heed to yourselves, and to all the flock over whom the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which," mark the expression! "he hath purchased with his own blood." That God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in times past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who being the brightness of

his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high," ie. in the glory of the Father, "being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. For unto which of the angels said he at any time, Thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee? and again, I will be to him a Father, and he shall be to me a Son? And again, when he bringeth in the first-begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him. And of the angels he saith, Who maketh his angels spirits, and his ministers a flame of fire. But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever; a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom." The Holy Spirit, my friends, will assuredly witness in the heart of every true believer, that he cannot deny the Son without denying the Father also; "for in him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." Christ saith, (John xv. 23.) "He that hateth me hateth my Father also ;" for "I and my Father are one." And at the 26th verse, "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceed.

eth from the Father, he shall testify of me." And St. John (iii. 5.) expressly declares, that, "Except a man be born again of the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God." Conformably therefore to these words, with the internal and full persuasion of the truth of the assertions, are the words of St. Paul in my text. And this very apostle, as also St. Peter and St. Jude, hath foretold that infidelity and apostacy in these last perilous days, which we see fulfilled in those characters who are as it were daringly defying and confronting the Most High: but these very things are decisive proofs of the truth of Christianity: these men are living evidences of its truth. That the Messiah would not only be despised, but rejected of men, was, we know, clearly foretold by the prophets, (see Dan. ix. 26. Zech. xii. 10. and Isaiah liii.) and as exactly fulfilled. In reference to which our Saviour saith, "This cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled which was written in their law, They hated me without a cause."

I shall now endeavour briefly to explain the two points in my text; first, “No man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed." It has been thought' this

See Nathaniel Taylor on Deism, p. 60, 61.

refers, in general, to the test put on Christians by their persecutors, "that they should not only deny but blaspheme Christ. This the gentiles indeed required." And St. Paul, before his conversion, acknowledges that he compelled men to blaspheme. And Dr. Owen' is of opinion this re fers to the Jews, who, while they uttered blasphemies against Christ, (see 1 Tim. i. 13.) and extorted them, if possible, from those they apprehended to be his disciples, (Acts xxvi. 11.) pretended to the gifts of the Spirit, by which they undertook to cast out devils and perhaps they might imitate some of the exorcisms which Christians under the operation of the divine Spirit performed. Such a caution therefore might be very useful. (Compare 1 John iv. 1. 3.) The Jews sometimes concealed their blasphemy under the initial letters of three Hebrew words, which signify "Let his name and memory be blotted out;" which is equivalent to Anathema, or, Let him be accursed.

But surely this equally applies to all those of our own times who are now blaspheming, and do, in fact, crucify the Lord afresh;

See Pliny, Epistle x. 97. Eusebius Eccl. Hist. iv. 15.

* See Doddridge.

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many of whom have been baptized in the name of Christ, and whose sponsors will tell you, that they were then regenerated, and received the Spirit of God! But these men are assuredly treasuring up wrath against the day of wrath, when the Lord will, at his second coming, be revealed with power in flaming fire, taking vengeance on those who deride his holy name; ridiculing and blaspheming the truths of the gospel, "to whom," unless they repent, will be reserved the blackness of darkness for ever."

Let us observe, secondly, That no one can sincerely say "that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." St. Chrysostom hath well remarked, "that this phrase of calling Jesus the Messiah, must be supposed to proceed from true faith in him; and the expression is used to import a man's being a true Christian, because such strong temptations lay against professing Christ under this character, that they who maintained this doctrine were in heart real believers."

This seems as plain a proof as could be desired, that true faith is the work of the Spirit of God upon the heart. It is indeed by his almighty power, that any one pos sesses this faith to the saving of his soul. By grace, therefore, are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves: it is the gift