estate God hath had respect unto him. Let him take comfort in that he is made like unto his Saviour, and endeavor daily to become more and more like him, by bearing his lot with patience, contentment, and resignation.

The hour was now come that Jesu should be brought to the temple, whither Simeon resorted, not out of curiosity, interest, or hypocrisy, motives which too often lead men thither, but by the immediate direction of superior influence; "he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law," and the priest, as was usual, embraced the presented child, and blessed him; then the good old man, transported and overcome at the so much desired sight, could no longer contain himself; but taking the holy infant in his arms, he poured forth with that voice which was soon to be heard no more, the most melodious strains of gratitude and praise, bidding farewell to the world in the words of that hymn which we are taught by our church to recite on the evening of each day, and which to the good man, at the close of life, will be sweet indeed

The sacrifices offered in old time for atonement and redemption tended to point out to the world this great and concerning truth, that offenders should be saved from death, and that God would one day accept a person in their stead, who should suffer what they deserved, and bestow upon them what they did not deserve. As the person thus destined to take away the sins of men was to be an innocent person, the most innocent creatures were generally chosen to represent him; among beasts the lamb, among birds the dove-a bird not armed with beak or talons, and having no design or desire to injure its fellows; noted for purity and fidelity, for meekness and mourn ing; sociable, and friendly, and delighting" Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart to be about the dwellings of men. Such, after the example of our Master, ought we in temper and disposition to be, and then to offer up" ourselves, our souls and bodies, a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable, through him, to God, which is our reasonable service."

Among those in Jerusalem who expected the appearance of a Redeemer about the time when he did appear, was a man named Simeon. Stricken in years, and feeble in body, he possessed a mind and a faith vigorous and active. Not like the Pharisees of that day, studious only to be thought "a just and devout man," he really was such, full of religion and the love of God, of an exact justice and sincere charity towards his neighbor; looking forward, while he lived upon earth, to the life of heaven, and desiring nothing more than that, before he died, he might see Him whom the Jews and all the world did look for, the promised Messiah, the consolation of afflicted Israel. A devout Jew, who understood the Scriptures of the Old Testament, waited for the first advent of Messiah in the weakness of mortal flesh: the devout Christian now waits for his second advent in the majesty of immortal glory.

Such being the character of Simeon, it had pleased God to reward his extraordinary faith and piety with a gracious promise that the wish of his heart should be granted, "that he should not die, till he had seen the Lord's Christ." So good is it to live in the fear of God, in the expectation of his Son, and under the guidance of his Spirit.

in peace, according to thy word: for mine eyes have seen thy salvation, which thou hast prepared before the face of all people : a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel." God had performed his promise, had shown him the Messiah, had filled his heart with joy, and made his old age honorable. Simeon had now gazed upon the sun, and thenceforth became blind to the beauties of this lower world. Earth had no charms for him. He desired to depart. Thus will it be with the just and devout Christian, whose heart is set upon the Lord's Christ, and the consolation of Israel; who is led by the Spirit into the temple, there to find, to behold, and to embrace him, by faith, in his holy ordinances. If any dispute the truth of what is said, and be disposed to ask Nathanael's question, "Can any good thing come out of Galilee " the answer must be in the words of Philip-COME AND SEE.

Joseph and Mary, whose understandings, we may suppose, were gradually opened to the wonders about to be unfolded and accomplished, "marvelled at those things which were spoken "by Simeon, who "blessed them, and," in the ardor of the prophetical spirit, "said unto Mary, Behold this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spoken against, that the thoughts of many hearts may be revealed; yea, a sword shall pierce through thine own soul also." I recite these words last, that the sense may appear clearer; as, in the place where they stand, they are evidently parenthetic.

sons when we fondly expect them, yet at
the last they will come, and crown all our
wishes with a sight of the Redeemer, and a
participation of his joy that we are al-
ways most likely to receive spiritual com-
forts in the temple. There it was, that this
devout person had for so many years poured
forth her heart unto God;
and there it was,
that it pleased him to reward her, by caus-
ing her to come in at the instant when
Jesus was to be seen there. In holy places
the Holy One doth chiefly manifest himself:
he goeth in the sanctuary, and blessing go-
eth with him. The man who absents him-
self from the house of God, may miss the
very sermon that would have brought him
to consideration, to repentance, to faith, to
pardon, and to peace; he may miss an op-
portunity of finding his Saviour, which may
may not be offered to him again.

This is a short description of what passed | recorded by the Spirit of truth: that the at the time, and has been passing in the returns of prayer and the blessings of piety, world ever since. It is not, as many seem though not bestowed, perhaps, at the seato imagine, a matter of indifference, when Christ is preached, whether he be received or rejected. It is necessarily productive of great effects; the fall of some, to whom he becomes a stone of stumbling and offence; the rising of others, who find in him a fortress and rock of salvation. Every one, therefore, should most diligently, from time to time, examine the state of his own mind, respecting the doctrines and the precepts of our Lord, whether he gives them a kind and hearty reception, or secretly slights, and contemns, and is ashamed of them. For the Gospel is a touchstone, by which the grand trial is made of the spirits of men; the thoughts of whose hearts are soon revealed by their words and actions; since, where it comes, they cannot long refrain from discovering their sentiments and inclinations, one way or other.. Deep were to be the sorrows occasioned in the heart of her who bare the holy child, by the opposition raised against him, and the sufferings sustained by him. "A sword shall pierce through thine own soul also." The piercings of this sword must now be felt by those who love him, when he is again become "a sign "by so many "spoken against." But as it was with the sufferings of his person, so will it be with those of his name"Weeping may endure for a night; but joy cometh in the morning."

To conclude-We are taught, by this example of Anna, what returns we should make to Heaven for the knowledge of salvation communicated to us. We should glorify God, and edify our neighbor. For she first " gave thanks unto the Lord;" and then "spake of Christ to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem." Some such there are at all times; and they should converse together, to improve and to comfort one another; hoping, at the end of their days, to behold the Lord's Christ, the conWhile this curious and interesting scene solation of Israel, the light and the glory was exhibited in the temple, "one Anna, a of the church universal, in the true temple, prophetess, a widow of about fourscore in the heavenly Jerusalem: where, let us and four years, who served God with fast-beseech God, that "as his blessed Son was ings and prayers night and day, coming presented in the earthly temple, in the subin that instant, gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem." On her story we may observe, that a life regularly and uniformly conducted according to the discipline of religion and the ordinances of the church, attracts the notice of Heaven, and is thought worthy of being

stance of our flesh, so we may all be presented unto him, with pure and clean hearts, by the same Jesus Christ, our Lord;" to whom, with the Father and the Holy Ghost, be ascribed, as is most due, all blessing, and honor, might, majesty, and dominion, for ever and ever. Amen.

DISCOURSE XLIV.

THE NECESSITY OF BELIEVING.

MARK, XVI. 15, 16.

And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature. He that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned.

It has been matter of wonder and offence | prightness did their best, according to the to many, that in the great concern of man's knowledge vouchsafed them during the dissalvation so much stress should be laid upon pensations under which they lived. He faith. "He that believeth shall be saved; who holds up his hand at the bar of eternal but he that believeth not shall be con- judgment, will not be there tried by a law demned." Innumerable are the passages which he never knew. The apostle to the in different parts of the Scriptures, which Romans is express, that the Jews, who evidently speak the same thing. They are have sinned in the law, shall be judged by well known, and need not be now cited. the law; and the Gentiles, who were withThe point is one of great importance, and out that law, shall, be judged by the rule I shall endeavor to clear it to your appre- they had derived in part by tradition from hensions by, their ancestors, and improved and enlarged by their own reasonings and disquisitions. But then, as the same apostle argues at large, every man, whether Jew or Gentile, who is tried by a law of works, will, in strictness of speaking, be cast; because it will be proved upon him, that he has broken it. All the world are become guilty before God, and must place their hope in the mercies of that redemption which is by Christ Jesus.

I. Removing out of the way those objections which have been made, and perhaps have already arisen in your own minds; and then,

II. Stating the grounds and reasons on which this divine determination is founded. I. Of the objections, some respect the persons who are to believe, and others the doctrines to be believed.

Thousands and ten thousands, it may be said, never heard of Christ or his Gospel. The same limitation must of course take It is true; and to them most certainly the place in the case of infants, idiots, persons determination does not extend. It can ex- insane, and any way so defective in undertend to such alone as have the Gospel standing, as to.be incapable of learning and preached to them. "Go ye, and preach the believing aright. He who made us, knowGospel; he that believeth"-that is, believ-eth whereof we are made; he knoweth what eth the Gospel so preached to him-" shall be saved," &c.

But what, then, shall be the lot of all those who lived and died strangers to Christianity? They are in the hands of a gracious God, who may bestow on them the mercies of a redemption of which they never heard. Without the death of Christ no flesh could have been saved. But who can say, to how many, and in what different ways, the merits of that death may be applied? For his sake the sins may be pardoned of all those who in honesty and up

is in man-in every man; and will not exact the tale of bricks, where he hath not thought proper to furnish straw.

We may conclude in like manner concerning what is called invincible ignorance, or ignorance so circumstanced as to admit of no remedy. "How can they hear without a preacher?" Where nothing is taught,

แ

nothing can be learned.

But let a man be very cautious how he attempts to shelter himself under this plea. At the great day it will be inquired very minutely, not only what we did know, but

We cannot see

also what we might have known, had we | years. Such is our case.
so pleased; had we been in earnest, and
taken due pains. In the whole compass of
speculation, there is not a more awful and
alarming thought than this. The sinner
may say, I did not know; but it will be re-
turned-Why did you not? Had you no
opportunities, which you neglected; no
books, no persons, to whom you might ap-
ply? Did you ask, did you search, as you
would have done, if likely to lose your
health, or your estate? Or did you account
it a matter not worthy your inquiry, and
so, in a careless manner, dismiss it to take
its chance? How have you been em-
ployed? How have you passed your time?
A very small proportion of the hours spent
in one single amusement would have brought
you acquainted with all that it behoved you
to know and believe for your soul's health.
I mention this to show, that however it
may fare with heathens, and others in
a state really destitue of information, and
where it was impossible to be obtained,
we shall in vain attempt to excuse our un-
belief or ill practices by our ignorance.
Nothing at the day of trial will more shock
and confound us, than when the times and
the places shall be pointed out in which we
were called to know and to do better, but
refused to obey the call. Let none, there-
fore, deceive themselves in this very weighty
particular.

God; we cannot see the Father, the Son, and
the Holy Spirit; we cannot see how they
are three, and how they are one. But shall
we therefore, in opposition to the authority
and word of God himself, deny that they are
so? We may reason and dispute upon the
subject for ages; but in that instant when
we are admitted to his presence, and " see
him as he is," every doubt and difficulty will
vanish at once; and we shall know-how
little we did know, or possibly could know,
before. Tell a blind man, your sight can
travel over the space of one hundred millions
of miles, as soon as it can move the distance
of ten yards-how full of absurdity, contra-
diction, and impossibility, must this assertion
appear to him, who can conceive a motion
only in slow succession! Yet it is a certain
truth: for let a person be led forth, in a clear
night, with his eyes closed, on opening them
he will see the remotest star in the firmament
that can be seen at all, as soon as he will see
a candle at the distance only of a few yards
from him.

Respecting the doctrine's to be believed, it is objected, that they are mysterious; they relate to persons and things in another world, which are therefore hidden from us: we can neither see them nor hear them : none of the senses with which we are at present endowed, can reach or perceive them. What then is to be done? Why, certainly, we must believe the account which God, by his prophets and apostles, has been pleased to give us, and we must form our notions of them, as well as we can, by comparison with those things which are the objects of our senses. Our state, with regard to God and the glories of his heavenly kingdom, is exactly like the state of a blind man with regard to the sun and the light thereof. He cannot see the sun or the light that issues from it; yet he would be unreasonable, should he refuse to believe what his friends, who do see it, tell him concerning it; though, after all, they can give him but a very poor, imperfect idea of it. If it pleased God to open his eyes, and bestow on him the blessing of sight, he would know more of the matter in one single moment, than description, study, and meditation could have taught him in a hundred years, or a thousand years, or ten thousand

This instance may serve to show, how very ill qualified we are to dispute with our Maker concerning his own nature and existence, and the things of another and invisible world. Of the truth of revelation we have the most decisive evidence, that of the senses, in the miracles wrought by Christ and his apostles, of which the eyes and ears of men were sufficient judges. Knowing therefore assuredly that God hath spoken, and giving diligent attention to that which he hath spoken, it is our part at present to believe what we shall one day be permitted to see.

Another objection to the doctrines of which we are treating is, that learned men have been engaged in controversies about them for many hundred years, and are not yet agreed: what, therefore, must the unlearned do?

To this it may be answered, in the first place, that learned men have carried on controversies about every thing. Some have thought there is no revelation at all; some that there is no providence, some that there is no God; and while some have denied that there is any world but this in which we live, others have maintained that this world itself is a dream and a fancy, existing only in our own minds, and that in reality there is no such thing. So that if we wait till all learned men shall agree, we shall believe nothing, know nothing, and do nothing.

2. All the disputes concerning the Trinity have been owing to one single circumstance, namely, the vain, idle, and presumptuous curiosity of man, who instead of believing that which God hath revealed, will ever be

prying into that which God hath not revealed. That there is in the Deity a distinction and an union; that God is three in some respect, and one in some other respect; this is what we are required to believe and who can prove that it is not so? or why should any man dispute it? But we are not content, unless we know precisely the manner how the three Persons are one God; how the Son is generated, and the Holy Ghost proceeds. Hence all our misfortunes; hence the subject has been overwhelmed and confounded by an inundation of scholastic and metaphysical controversy, which it requires. no small degree of penetration and sagacity, as well as of learning, to understand; if indeed some of it can be understood at all. If you ask, what the unlearned are to do, with regard to this dispute-I answer, they are happy in their ignorance, in which I would wish them ever to continue. Two learned physicians may differ in opinion, as to the manner in which the human body is nourished by its food; they may perplex each other with hard words; they may argue themselves out of temper, and lose their appetite; while an unlearned, plain, honest countryman eats his meal in quietness, gives God thanks for it, goes forth in the strength of it to his labor, and in the evening receives his reward.

published this word, can it be a matter of indifference whether we believe it or not? Can any man in his senses possibly think it such? Surely not: the Lord of heaven and earth is not with impunity to be insulted and trifled with in this manner. "He that believeth not the record which God hath given of his Son," as the beloved disciple has justly observed, "makes God a liar." If man give the lie to man, it is judged an offence to be expiated only by the blood of the offender. Can man then give the lie to his Maker, and be blameless?

The divine word is not an insignificant word; it is set, like its Author, for the falling or rising of many. It is not without its effect in every one to whom it is preached. If we will not suffer it to avail to our salvation, it will avail to our condemnation. "The word that I speak," says our Lord," that shall judge him, at the last day."

What is it that distinguishes a Christian from a Jew, a Turk, or a heathen? It is his faith, his knowleuge of Christ and the Gospel, his belief in all that has been revealed. When he no longer retains that belief, he ceases to be a Christian; he ceases to have any share or interest in Christ; he becomes an apostate from his religion.

A strange doctrine has of late years been In the concerns of this world, as well as diffused among us, that sincerity is every of another, the most interesting truths are al-thing; that if a man be but sincere, it matways the plainest; they are matters of fact, on which we may depend, without being solicitous to know exactly how they are brought about. Who can tell by what means a small seed, buried in the earth, and there becoming, to all appearance, dead and putrid, shoots forth into a blade, and an ear, producing thirty, forty, or sixty seeds of its own kind? A man, calling himself a philosopher, might defy the husbandman to show How this could possibly be. The husbandman's common sense would direct him to answer, that it was not his concern to show how it could be; that he knew it certainly would be, and therefore should continue to sow which should he, upon the strength of the philosopher's arguments, neglect to do, the world must be starved.

Objections thus removed, let us now,

II. Consider the grounds and reasons on which is founded the divine determination in the text, namely, that when the Gospel is preached, it is necessary, in order to a man's salvation, that he should believe it.

And this point will require but little to be said upon it. For to what purpose is the Gospel preached, unless that it should be believed? When God, with so stupendous a preparation of prophecies and miracles, has

ters not what he believes, or what he does. If this principle be carried to its full extent, it must take away all distinction between truth and falsehood, right and wrong; it sets upon a level those who crucified Christ, and those who accepted him as their Lord and Master; those who persecuted the Christians, and the Christians who were persecuted. Many who assisted at the crucifixion of Christ, might really imagine that he was a deceiver, and that they did right in so punishing him. But was he therefore a deceiver, or did they do right? St. Paul tells us, that in his unconverted state, he "verily thought he ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth;" and, accordingly, he "was exceedingly mad against the disciples," and would have extirpated that name from the earth, had it been in his power. But was he justified in endeavoring to do this, because he had taken up a false persuasion ? Undoubtedly not. He confesses himself to have been, on this account, the greatest of sinners, and that he obtained mercy only through the unreserved grace and goodness of God. The case is this-Before a man can lay any claim to sincerity, in the full and proper sense of the word, he must be able to show, when God, to whom all things are