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You may here remark the heroism and magnanimity of St. Paul. His faith seems to defy all the powers of nature. He assembles them all-life-death-angels, &c. to triumph over them, and to exult in their defeat. This language marks a full persuasion of the favour of God, and an invincible confidence in his love.

Such remarks as these may be made upon many expressions of Jesus Christ, wherein are discovered dignity and majesty, which cannot belong to any mere creature; as when he says, Before Abraham was, I am-Whilst I am in the world, I am the light of the world-All mine are thine, and thine are mine, and I am glorified in themYe believe in God, believe also in me--Whatsoever ye shall askin my name, that will I do. There are many passages. of the same kind.

XVI:

COMPARE WORDS AND ACTIONS WITH SIMILAR WORDS

AND ACTIONS.

The Evangelist speaks of the things that Jesus began to do and to teach, Acts i. 1. Now he says the same of Moses, He was mighty in words and in deeds, Acts vii. 22. Here you may observe, that these two things joined together, doing and teaching, are distinguishing characters of a true prophet, who never separates practice from doctrine. You may then make an edifying comparison between Moses and Jesus Christ: both did and taught; but there was a great difference between the teaching of one and that of the other. One taught justice, the other mercy-one abased, the other exalted-one terrified, the other comforted. There was also a great difference between the deeds of the one, and those of the other.

Most

of the miracles of Moses were miracles of destruction, insects, frogs, hail, and others of the same kind, with which he chastised the Egyptians. But the miracles of Jesus Christ were always miracles of benevolence, raising the dead, giving sight to the blind, &c.

So again, when the infidelity of the Jews, in rejecting the Messiah, is discussed, you may examine their prejudices and their maxims, as they are narrated in the Gospel; and these you may compare with those of the

church

church of Rome in rejecting the reformation; for they are very much alike.

So again, when you consider St. Paul's answers to the objections of the Jews, who pleaded that they were the people of God, and that his covenant belonged to Abraham and his posterity, you may observe, that these answers are like ours to the Roman church, when they affirm they are the church of God. As the apostle distinguisheth two Israels, one after the flesh, and the other after the Spirit, so we distinguish two churches; one, which is only so in outward profession before men, possessing the pulpits, the churches, and the schools; and the other, which is the church in the sight of God, having a holy doctrine, and a lively faith. These answer precisely. to the apostle's Israel after the flesh, and Israel after the Spirit. As the apostle applies the promises of God, and their accomplishment, not to Israel after the flesh, but to the Israelites after the Spirit, so we also apply the promises which God has made to his church, not to those who occupy the pulpits, the churches, and the schools, but to them who believe and practise the pure doctrine of the Gospel. As St. Paul defines the true people of God to be those whom, God, by his electing love, hath taken from among men, so we define the true church by the same electing grace, maintaining that the Lord has made all the excellent promises, with which Scripture abounds, to his elect only, and that his elect are such as he has chosen according to his good pleasure, without any regard to particular places, conditions, or qualifications among men.

XVII.

REMARK THE DIFFERENCES OF WORDS AND ACTIONS
ON DIFFERENT OCCASIONS.

When a weak scrupulosity or a tenderness of conscience was in question, which put some of the faithful upon eating only herbs, St. Paul exhorted the strong to bear the infirmities of the weak; Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not, judge him that eateth; for God hath received him. Rom. xiv. 3. But when the same St. Paul speaks of false teachers, who

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wanted to impose a yoke on conscience, and who, under pretext of meats and days, were attempting to join Moses with Jesus Christ, as if Christians were yet obliged to observe the ceremonial law, then the apostle has no patience with them, but condemns and anathematises them, as people who preached another Gospel, and exhorts the faithful to stand fast in the liberty wherewith Christ had made them free, and not to be entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Gal. v. 1.

So again, when you find in the Gospel that Jesus Christ sometimes forbad. his disciples to publish the miracles that he wrought and to declare his divinity, and at other times, that he ordered them to publish upon the housetops what they had heard in private, and to preach to all nations the mysteries of his kingdom, you must remark, that this difference is owing to different occasions. While. Jesus Christ was upon earth, the mysteries of his kingdom were covered with the veil of his humiliation, it being necessary in some sense to conceal them; but after his exaltation, it became proper to publish them to the whole earth.

The same diversity may be remarked in what the Lord' Jesus said to the Canaanitish woman-that he was only sent to the lost sheep of the house of Israel—and that it was not meet to give the children's bread to dogs. This seems contrary to an almost infinite number of passages of Scripture, which affirm, Jesus Christ is the light of the Gentiles to him shall the gathering of the people be. These, and all other such passages, will perfectly agree, if you distinguish time and occasion. While Jesus Christ was upon earth, he was. the minister of the circumcision, as St. Paul speaks; that is, his personal ministerial commission was only to the Jews: but when he was exalted to glory, his ministry extended over the whole earth.

XVIII.

CONTRAST WORDS AND ACTIONS.

Thus you may oppose the agonies and terrors which seized Jesus Christ at the approach of death, against the constancy and joy of the martyrs, who flew to martyrdom as to a victory! This contrariety of emotions is accounted

for

for by the difference of the persons. Jesus Christ was the Mediator of men towards God, bearing their sins, and engaging with the eternal justice of his Father: but the martyrs were believers, reconciled to God, fighting under Christ's banner, and, as mystical soldiers, main taining his righteous claims. One was filled with a sense of God's wrath against men: the others were filled with a sense of his love. Christ met death as an armed enemy, and as one who, till that time, had a right to triumphover mankind: but martyrs approached him as a vanquished enemy, or rather as an enemy reconciled, who having changed his nature, was become favourable to men. In one word, Jesus Christ was at war with death; whereas death was at peace and in friendship with the martyrs.

In general, we may affirm, that contrast is one of the most beautiful topics of Christian rhetoric, and that which furnishes the most striking illustrations. Great care, however, must be taken that the oppositions be natural, easy to comprehend, and properly placed in a full clear light.

XIX.

EXAMINE THE GROUNDS, OR CAUSES OF AN ACTION OR AN EXPRESSION; AND SHEW. THE TRUTH OR EQUITY OF IT.

For example, When the incarnation of Jesus Christ is in question, as in this text, The Word was made flesh, you may recur to the foundations of this truth, as revealed in Scripture, in order to shew that a divine person did take upon him real true humanity, in opposition to the notions of some ancient heretics, who imagined that the human nature of Christ was only apparent. For this purpose you must look into the ancient prophecies for such passages as attribute two natures, the human and divine, to the one person of the Messiah. To the same purpose you may also apply New Testament texts, which speak of the same subject; and you may farther observe such reasons of this singular economy as theology furnisheth, and which are taken from the design of our salvation,

In like manner, when you treat of the resurrection of Christ, or his ascension to heaven, you must take this

topic,

topic, and shew the fidelity and credibility of the testimony borne by his apostles. Your argument may be established by observing what followed his resurrection and ascension; as the effusion of the Spirit, the abolition of the empire of the devil and his idols, the conversion of whole nations to the worship of the one true God, miracles, prophecies, &c.

The same method is proper when some predictions are your subjects; as the destruction of Jerusalem, and the rejection of the Jews: for you may either narrate history to shew the execution, or you may reason upon the subject to shew how wonderful the divine wisdom was in that dispensation: the whole will evince the truth of the predictions.

I said also, the grounds and causes of an action or expression might be examined, to shew the equity and truth of either. This principally takes place when any thing surprising and uncommon is in question, for such things at first seem to shock the minds of auditors; or when you are pressing home an exhortation to the practice of any duty which cannot be performed without difficulty. For example: The Pharisees complain in the Gospel, that the disciples of Christ did not keep the traditions of the elders. In order to justify the disciples, shew the foundations of Christian liberty; and remark, that the true worship of God does not consist in the observation of external ceremonies, much less in the observation of human traditions and customs; but it consists of true piety, real inward holiness, and actual obedience to the commandments of God.

So again, when Jesus Christ, after he had healed the paralytic man, commanded him to sin no more, lest a worse thing should come unto him. You must go to the grounds of the expression to shew its equity. Now these are, that some sins had drawn the wrath of God upon him before--that, if he continued in them, that wrath would certainly return--that the favours which we receive from God engage us to glorify him by good works, &c. This topic is of great use in explaining the commandments of the law, the equity of which must be made to appear; for it must be proved that they are all founded in nature, and have an inviolable fitness in the order of things.

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