Parochial and Plain Sermons

"' These all d;ed in faith, of haring q'eceiced the promises, bltf havh;.q seen them afar q and were persuaded of them, and emb.raeed them, ad cooEessed that they were strangers and pilgrlms on te eaq'th..'"

IIAT St. Paul hcre plainly states is a. paradox t, many persons of this da3-, riz. that any should have faith, and ver should hot have the promise. Yet the whole of this chapter is about the faith of the o]d fathers; and ag'ain and again in thc come of it does the Apostle deny them the object of their faith. "They died in /'aith," yet "hot having received the promises," being "persuaded of thcm, and embracing them," yet only " seeing them athr "" ou, and "confessing that they were strangers and pilgrims on thc earth." " By faith Isaac blessed Jacob and Esau:" concerning what? "about things fo corne." Again he says, "These all, having obtained a good report throug'h faith, received hot thc promise." And observe in the text the strong, words. '" persuaded of them, and embraced he»;" in noden language, their faith a2»'eheded the promise, yet j«Maisn of/I« l-9"csc/ D«j,. they had i hot. If is one rhino, th(« b fo have faith, another thin fo receive the promise throuh fiith.? • [a(th does nof. involve in itscli" the rcccipt, of thc promise. It is equally elcar ««'«tl the promise is whieh is spokel of',—regeneration. " This is the eovenant that I will mal;e with the house of ]srael,"—flms was it announeed in the prophets," Afler those days, saith the Lord, will put My laïc" in their inw:u-d parts, and write it their hearts." Again, "I will pour My 8d;ir;t thv seed, and Mv ].lessin upon Oine oflprin." And again, " A +,e,v eart also will 1 R'ive you, and a.irit will I put within you.. And I will put Mv $);i+'i[ within you." keeordinly, when our Lord was oing away, tIe said to His Apostles, " Behohl, I send the romise of My l ather upon you." A@ain, "AVait [br they;romise of the Father, whieh, saith ]Ie, ye bave heard of Me." And henee, when the multitude asked St. Peter what fo do, he said, " epent, and be ay;tized... for the remission of sins, and ye shall reeeive the gift of the Holy Go.ç[; for theromi«e is unto you, and to your ehildren." And St. Paul, in like manner, says that we reeeive "the ;+'o+;i,'e of the8ddrit throuh.fid[." 8oon afler he speaks of" the 3;romise by of Jesus Christ t. '' Elsewhere he speaks of our being "sealed with that Holy 8y;iri[ of promise." If appears, then, that thith g'ains the promise, and that he promise is the great g'iff of the 8pirit; and moreover (flore the instance of the old 1 athers, spoken t Jer. xxxi. 88. Isa. xliv. 8. Ezek. xxxvi. 26, 27. Luke xxiv. 49. Aets i. 4; ii. 88, 89. Oal. iii. 14. 22. Eph. i. 13.

7 6 7«d«is»z of thc Prcscet D«,. of iu the ehapter ff'oto whieh t.he ex is takeu), that it i no the saine thin fo have faith, so as to embraee and alprchend thc promise, aud fo eajoy i; tiret faith is  condition of Christ's 'race, and yet. hot a. token. A man may bave truc faith, aud still n(»t yet, l»e justified; he may havc a fifith for justification, he nmy bc ordained uuto justifi(.ation, yct. the rime,.f justification ot yet ]rave m'rived; or, rnthcr, ihoug.h.iustificaiion is hot yet his, still in God's secret comsels he mav be ordained unto if. This doetriue seems fo me a vcrv consolatory one af this lime, when so nmny persous have hot, or have no certainly, the g'rant ofjastifying" race. Vhe we consider that baptism of water is solemnly eonneeted with regener:tion by our Lord, aud that sueh numbers among us either are noç baltized at. aH, or in sueh a way, or by sueh persons, or under sueh eircumst:mces, as fo make if very doubtful whether it is real ecaeious baptism or no, if is  great eonsolatim to believe, that, though they are o1 new-boru and justified, ye they may bave thith, as the old saints had, who were hot justified in the Spirit; and that if theb" have fifith, even though they have hot Christian justification to the day of their death, they are but in the condition of the old believers; and IIe who allowed the latter to die without reeeiving the promise, lle who jusçified martyrs of old rime, hot throuh baptism, but in their streaming blood, may af the moment of death, or belote death, should if so please tlim, justify them too, even thouh unbapfized, in His own secret way. This, of course, allows no one fo slight bapfism when he ean

tdaism of lhe Present Da3,. 177 obtain it, nor to quench the whispers of grace within him, sug.,esting to hinl the neeessity of baptism; nor does if warrant us rashly fo assert that this or that unbaptized person has truc fifith, mueh less that he is justified; nor fo suppose that such persons as are in a lneasure aeeepted without baptism, wou|d not have  mueh higher aeeeptance wîth it; but it coinforts us with the thought, that ", man has thith, he has or will bave jnstifieation. Sooner would an Angel deseend 'om heaven, or an Aposfle be provided, than oue, whose prayers and ahns had gone np belote God, should hot, atoue tilne or another, reeeive the g'ift. Ahnighty God has deelared the ilunmtability of His eounsel fo the heirs of promise; that whom IIc ealls, them He justifies; whom He justifies, them I[e glorifies. The when and the where are with Him. He will doit in His rime;as, aeeording to His will, sooner or later, He takes ff-oto earth and bring, s into paradise those whom He has justified, so, sooner and later, does He translate from the world into the Chureh, through His Spirit, those whom He has ealled by faith.:But it is hot for us "to know the tilnes or the seasons whieh the Father hath put in His own power. '' Now there can be no doubt that Christ meant no length of time fo interfere between faith and the eleansing" and justi'in nev birth. A long and dreary interval had intervened in past ages, but that was over. St. Peter's words are suffieient fo show this, "Repent

 7 8 u&ff«lJz,of/he tgrcscu/ ami be baptized," or our Lord's, "" IIe that believeth atd is baptîzed shall be saved .'" Sufl]eient too is the histo T of Cornelius, fo whom regeneration was conveyed ],y a. series of miracles; and still, nevertheless, in Cornelius's istauee, some interwd there was; and thus in the case of Cornelius aud of the dews we bave speeimens ffiven us, at leas in kind, of that long and miserable delav whieh so offert oecurs n.w, when the rimes of the La.w seem fo bave returned, and men believe md embraee what/hey die without possessinff. Now it" we lmve in various wavs oue back unwittinffy fo the slate of the Law; if without our [mlt, leing thlsely cducated, or ibr other reasons, we bave rested on faith solely, in an unscriptural way, and negleeted God's ordinanees; if we lmve remained without I»aptism or bave hot been eontlrmed, or bave hot been fi'equent af the Lord's Table, or bave fallen nvzy fo reliious bodies where that saered rite emmot be administered, or in any wy lmve been deprived of that fidl eirele of privilees which Holy Chureh dispeuses; if we ]mve thus been at disadvantag'e ia one or other wy, and yet are hot without 6th; if, I say, we have fallen into t Jewish 't«te, if might be expected that we should displ:y als,, a Jewish eh,tracter " iul and eottrse  eomh«l, and should exemp]it)" in ourselves that paradox, whieh we so wonder af when recorded of the Jews in the text, of embraeing" promises whieh we do hot or do but partially ei,,y;and we are,  think, in sueh circum- tances, a I now proceed fo show.

If the Jews had hot reeeived the promised Spirit, itis hot wonderful that they did hot show forth the speeial tYuits of that Spirit which was promised. Now the ottlee «,ç the lwomised Spirit wa¢ to mortit" the flesh, to write the law in our hcarts, to enablc us t,, fill the righteousness of thc law, fo pour into out hearts " that lnOSt. excellent @içt «»ç h»ve," fo enable, us fo do works acceptable to God, and lo l»e c«»nt}wmed in body, soul, and spirit fo IIim. Ïhe Jews were aided hv God'd graee (else they eould hot bave had thith), but. they were nc, t inhabited bv if; they did g'ood aetions, they had hoir desires and tempers, but they had nof tha regenerate lire within them which Christians are promised. I ana hot speakin of this or that. highly-fhvoured saint, but of the pel)le; they were at best gaat now, and little again; in some l»»ints high, and in others low with one Crace, and hot another. Some g'races they had, beeause they had fi6th; ail thcy had hot, because thev had hot the Indwelling Spirit. This is seen in smne of the instances of fidth given by St. Paul in the chapter immediatelv belote us. For instance, he says, faith the haAot Rahab perished noç with them tha 1)elieved hot;" and what is still more to the purpoe, he refers fo Samson and Jephthah as examples of truc and acceptable fi6th; yet is the hist, wy of these men, particularly of Samson, eoside[ with their faith? Nay, did we possess merelv the Old Testament, and knew re, t. of St. Paul's inspired c,)mment upon it, should we sav thaç Sams¢,n had fhith af ail? Sec what if is to be in that middle state between faith and jutitlcation of the Spirit, between tltle and possession.

And hence it lins been the belief of many, thaL the old aLhers did hot, after deparLin this li[ç , af once enjoy the blessed resL of a justified people, till ChrisL came, and, havin overeome death and risen aain, ave them Lobe justified by Oint faith, with which they had so lon waited for Him,:md fo become members of His spiritual kin'dom. Again, the Apostle says, "By faith they passed throug:h the Red Se;t:s by dt T hmd." Nov this is said of tlmt people " whose crcases fell in the wilderness," mad who couhl hot enter into the promised land: —wh"? "because of «,tbeliç" as St.. Paul tells us iu the s:me Epistle. Ilere, you sec, even their faith failed them. ]Iow different is if with the faith of Christ's diseiples " Simon, Simon," said our Lord to St. Peter, "behold Satan hath desired fo bave you, that he might siçt 'ou as wheat; but I ]rave prayed for thee that thy faith.]àil tot ." Peter had before this been commended tbr his fidth, and now it was in jeopardy; but in truth that faith was hot ff'oto flesh and blood, iL was atteuded with the beginnings of those Gospel gitts whieh the Jews had hot; and which are "withouL repentante,'" for they are as iuward habits, and He who begins a good work in us, in His merey carries iL forward fo an end. Agaiu; St. Paul, in his own histo-y, gives us-an account of the state of the Jews, whose faith was hot supported, strengthened, spiritmdized by the gift of iuwardjustifieation. "The law is spiritual, but I am earnal, sold uuder Sil; or that whieh I do, I allov hOt; for what I would, that do I not j but what I hate, that do I. 0 wretched lnan that I ara, who shall deliver me froln the body of this death!" IIow ditlbrent this ri'oto St. John's description,_,f the lrue regeueratiou; "Whosoever is born of God doth hot eomlnit sin, for IIis,eed remaineth in him'what is that seed but the Spirit?" IIis seed relnainelh in him, aud he ealmot sin, beeause he is born of God ." Sueh is the case of th,,se xvho have fi,ith, Ct are hot 3"et justified with the graee of the Gospel; and lnay we hot, with all reverenee fo so g'reat and holy a prophet, say this lu a measure even of David? Surely if is no irreverenee fo speak of what he seems fo have been in the flesh, if we think that now he is with Christ in the spirit, in the h,t of the blessed, and the ligllt of the justified, though in his earthlv lire the fiflness of that gift had not 3"et beeu aeeorded fo hiln. Surely it is no irreverenee to speak of what he xvas belote he had reeeived the promise, now lhat he has reeeived if, more than fo speak ofwhat St. Paul was when he was Saul. Nay, far less, if we mav talk of less where lhere is none. For St. Paul was even under God's disl,leasure 1,cri,re he was Christian; but David wns the man after (;od's own heart, and an inspired prophet. IIis Psahns are out portion even fo this day. We reverenee him as one who was favoured on earth, and destined fo be more favoured in heaveu. We sec iu him lnueh aetually seeured, though we allow that lnueh was but in rudi- ment. And theref,,re even ne, without blame mav notice, and pr,-,fitahly eonsider, the imperfections of" holy David's litç in ihis point «,f -iew, riz. as showing the state in whieh men are fmmd when thev hne faith, but have hot ver reeeived lhe promise. Cnsider, then, the hig'h exeellenees of his eharacter; xiew him leadin the w,,rshippers to the house of (lod; think of his zeal for God's service; his loftv devotional spirit; the tenderness and the piety of his th,mg'hts; his dutiflness to God's eommands; his hmnility, simplieity, ffenerosity, m,l,leness, and afleti«maeness; and then, on the other hand, x'iew him in tlmse partieular passnges of his history whieh inspiration reeords for out instruction, and vou will, I lhink, sec 1,v the instance even of so great a light, what the case was wilh the multitude, who, however int.l'ior t,» him in g'ifls and graees, had faith, yet had hot vet Gospel justitieation. And now, afler these remarks on the state of the Je,'s,!et me ask vou fo tll'll to the present state of this country, and to sav whether numl,ers are hot, bv their own confession, ilt that sanie Jewish state; and therefore whether if is hot truc of them, ns of the Je,vs, in a eerfain sense, that, granting thev have faith (and it is a consolation to l,elieve thev have), yet they are at best, in matter of fact, in tiret inlermediate, provisional, unspiritual state in whieh t'e view them, who hold tha the 8aeraments of the Chureh nre, over and above faith, neeessa D- for àustifieation. lçI say, àustifieati, m is eonveved through Baptism and the other saered rites, those who rejeet *l,e latter, either have hot reeeived, or bave lost the former. But on the other hand, if truc faith gives men a title to be justified, thên they will be justified in G,,d's own rime, provided their thith endure. Sueh, then, 1,ein" the state of good mon who, fi'onl invohmtary i'norance are in dissenL or in other g'rievous ecclesiastical error, they noL Certainly; for the Jews had faith, yet had n»t ver received the promise of the Spirit, which is Cristian justification. Wcll then, ] tel)caL if tlis l»e so, wc should expeet that their o2i»io,s «ml lires wouhl nctually short, that they were lu a Jewih state. This is what I ana now insisting" on. I lmve said what thc state of thê Jcws was, moral and spiritual, and now I ara going to show that just in that state, and in no other, according fo their own confession, are Christians IlOW, who ueglect the justit3in  ordimmces of the Church. And, 1. Great numbers absolutely eonfêss aud beliêvê, that flic Christian ordilmnees are just the saine as the Jewish. They ozt'g themselvês to be in the state in whieh the Chureh lay before ('hrist suflbred and rose aain. They distinetly assert that Baptism is no more than eireumeision. Thus thêy bear witnêss ag'ainst thêmselves. ïhey do hot look fi»r any high mvsteri,us gift in Holy Communion, but thêy think if the saine as the Jewish Passover; eaeh, as they think, figures out Lord's passion; the differênee beinff that, in the one case, it was yet to corne, in the other it is past. The Passover prefigured, the Lord's Supper eommemoratês it; the Jews looked forward, Christians look baek. This is what they hold. Thêy c[ai»z fo be in the state of the

 84 tc[aisu f lhc t:'rcsct Jews, in the state of those who had faith without Gospe] j ustification. g. Next, let if be observcd, that. they consider.justification fo be nothin lllOl'e tlmn God's aceomdi»y them righteous, whieh is just what justification was fo the Jews. Justification is God's aeeounting" a. man righteous; yes, lnt if is, in the case of the Christian, something more; if is God's mal'iu him righteous too. As beasts lire, and men lire, and life is life, and yet ]ife is hot t]e saine in man and bcast; but in man consists in thc lWesence of a smfl; so in somcwhat thc saine way Jews were j ustifie, and Christians arc j ustified, and in thc case of lth justification means God's accountinz men rihteous; but in Christians it means hot only an aceountin¢,but it invoh'es a making; so ihat as the presence «,f a soul is the modc in whieh (lod gives man life, so the presence of thc IIoly Spirit is the lnode in whieh God ives him righteousness. This is that promise of the Spirit of lire, because of whieh thc Gospel is ealled « ministration of" ",- s " nhteou, ness. But the lnultitude of l'eligious proIbssors af his day whom I speak of, do hot adroit tlis; thcy evcn protest against the notion. They think justification fo be something', irai inward, but merely oulward; that is, they aeknowledge thcmselves, lhey claire to be, in the state of the Jews, mad though of course they eontend that they are justified, yét they own that their on jnstifieation is hot more tlmn an -utward or ilnputative justitleation. There is no room here fr differenee in the use of words, and mutual misunderstandings. If we maintain that they have hot inward justification, if is hot as if they nmintained that they had, as if they aspired fo it; it is 11o more than they allow as well as ve. They only contend they are justified in their sense, hat is, in sueh sense as we allow they mav be, if thev have truc faith; I nlean iii that sense in whieh the Jews were justified, who died, no having reeeived fle prolnise. 3. Again. They lay an espeeial stress upon ibr salvation, and eomparatively ncg'lect love; they put ihith boEore love. Now, is hot this in so manv words to assent to us when we place them with lhe Jews? For, whereas faith is the essence of all relig'ion, and of the Jewish inclusive, love is the great graee of Christianity; Christianity is religion, and somethilg more; and the spirit of love is faith, and somcthing more. £ristiut thith is faith dcvelopcd into love, it lives in love, and love is g'reater than faith, beeause if is ils Gospcl perrection, aeeording fo the Apostle's deelaratioll, "Nov abideth thith, hope, eharity, tlese three; but the greatest of these is eharitv." " The just shall live by ihith," is a. Jcwish truth as well as a Christian " Love is the fulfilling of the Law," is Christian OlflV. When these persons say that çaith is all in all, what do lhey but allow that they are on a level wilh the Jews, —with those who had indeed faith, but had hot yet attained the Christian promise? 4. Again. The Jews, as I have said, had the will without the power; whereas Christ has unfettered the will, and enabled it fo obcv. "Awake, thou that sleepest, and arise fronl the dead," lle says. "The Law of the Spirit of Life hath ruade me free from the law of sin and death 1.,, Christ, by fulfillin the Law for us, has given us also 1)ower te) fllfil if afier our measure, "' who walk hot af'ter the flvsh, l»ut aller the Spirit." The veçç test ()f a mature Christia, of a true saint, is consisteney in ail thinffs. Now, is if hot a very remarkal)le fiet, that he 1)odies of men I sl)eal of unhesitating'ly al)l)r(,l)riate tha mehmt.holy seveuth chai)ter (he R«)maus, (,) whieh I have l>cen retçrring', and claire it. as l)eiu aeeratelv deseril)tive «)f (heir own state? Nay, so str.ng'ly and earuestly, (hat s()metimes thev will even sav (hat ne) «)ue is, in their sense, a (rue Christian who (l()es nof ehfim if als();and whv? beeause thev say that if a man does hot tind Ais ou' 1)car witness fo the truth of the Ap(:)stle's statemen tha e]ml)ter, he ea)n,)t l)OSSess (hat tate of lnind whieh they eousider es»ential to ail 1)elievers. O truc confession fo tle miserv t)f having" faith withott inward justification [ Thev make the test of a true Christian fo be, hot sl)iritual 1)ert..ti()n, but «(-)fession of sin. Thus thev g'lory, I will u) ay in their shame, bu in their luisibrtuue. Thev are in bondag'e; they are earnal, sold under sin; thev eonfess i; they a'e like the Jews, and they 'all this a sl)iritual miud, ad say hat none are true Christiaus lmt (h()se who are in  similar s(a(e. )«) I m('an fo p'omise meu that they shall be af once and altog'ether free froln their natural bondage it" they follow Christ i His Chute.h? Do 1 mean fo sav that. we do hot, as well as the Jews, in a certain sense reeogHze those miserable cries of human nature as out 1 EI)ll. v. 14. Rom. viii. 2.

own? No, bu{ I nlean fo s3, that «o j;«r as we feel them, we loo are in an inçerior Jewish state; tha{ there ia a higher state, ihat we nre 1,ound fo seek al'ter if, and that. we ean attain fo it.. But lhe multiludes m¢,+t that their peculiar and intended condition, that state {o which {hey g'ive {he naine o spiritual, is one in whieh the Spirif has no power. Sueh is the t'onsequenee of starting' with thith rig'htly, but sic,pi,in R" shor o£ the Saeralnel{S wrong'ly. 5. Once more. There is c,ne virtue whieh ,f old rime good lnen espeeially had hot. Indulgences were allowed t.ho aews Oll aeeount of the hardness of their hearts. Divorce of marriage was allowed them. More wives than one aç oneo were no denied them. If there is one 'raee in whieh Christianity s{ands in espeeial eontrast fo the old relig.ion, if is {ha of purity. Christ was bOrll of a Virgin; IIe remained a, virgin; llis beloved diseiple was a virR'in; fie abolished polygalny and divorce; and fie said tha there were those who fi»r the kingdom of heaven's sake would be even as lle. 'ow, as the Apostle says, "Everv mnn hath his proper g'it ot" (lod." I aeeept the word; I do 11o{ outstep if; but as sureh" as eaeh has his gift, so, aeeording fo the Apostle, S(,llle have lais gift. lu[ re»w, my brethrelb who will question tha[ the wav of {he world at present, is to denv that there is sueh a gift? I am n«,{ objeeting here, wondering, tha[ all men have if no; but what I wonder ai is, tha[ oe have i{.; and there were no other reason, show, {hat we have ihllen baek into a aewish state? It is now a reeognized prineiple wi{h the world, that there enn be no eer{ainty of holiness exeepg in,,aarried lire; and tha eelibaey is ail but a state of sin. Ny, so far has this gone, that some of the grcatest masters of the doctrine of faitll without love and sacraments, have aetually sanetioned bigamy in particular cases, and advocatcd polygamy in writing. Too well then does that religion, which they promul- ated, bear witness against itscl, that, though fifith still be amon ifs tbllowers, which I ara thr ff'oto denying, and have eomfi»rt in thinkin, yet it is but the fifith of Jews, who had a law in their members wanqng against the law of thcir mind, aud who died indced in fifith, but without havin reeeivcd the promise. To eont'ludc, thoug'h if is our Church's l»lessedness to bave withstood the torrent of that error to whieh I have becn l'e[k, rring, yet. if could hot be expected that her individual members should have kept themselves ff-ce ff'oto it. Aud in proportion as the aets of individuals eaa eounteraet her own intentions, so far doubtless we have suffered as others bave, and in no slight degree. It is out business, instcad of exnlting ourselves over others, to repent of our own sins, and fo trv to escape ff'oto the disadvautaes under whieh we find ourselves afler al]. Especially should we tm'n out thoughts fo the consideration of lIoly Communion, which in ancient rimes was uscd in m:my or most places fo be eelebrated d:fi]y, but now is eelebrated commonly but three or four rimes a vear. If that holy ordinance be the continual lire of the Churt.h, if the Jews "did eat nmnna in the wilderness, «md are dead," but if any man " eat of this bread he shall lire for ever, '' is it wonderfid that t]lose of us who relin-  John ri. fil.

.7"udai«»z of thc P'csczt)9c9'. 18 9 quish this Gospel gift, aml -est in out faith fi:)r salw- tion, shouhl fall baek ino a state like the 3ews? Is if wonderfifl that we who are the t.hildren of promise should hot enjoy the promise, seein we will n«)t aeeel)t it; seeig we thik it enouh to believe that we alreadv have if, or though God offers if, will lmt put out our hand fo take if?. Is if w«mderfifl that we bave lin eommand over ourselves, whm we do hot. e.»me fo Christ, "' that our sinful bodies may be ruade ele:m bv tlis body, nd our sou]s washed thl'ough Ilis most preeious l.lood?" I if wonderfid that we are so ineonsistent and variable, when we will hot seek of Ilim sueh dailv sustenanees of raee as IIe offers to us?when we do hot pray fo Ilim daily, or seek ]Ils house daily,that day by day we may walk with lIim, md mt nfter out own hearts? Is if wonderful that we have no hve, whel we neglect altogether that great ordinauee whereby love is mlrtured, abstinence and fasting? 'e cnnnot hinder others thus aetiu; we calmot change the course of things, nor heal what is slek, nor bind up what is broken, af our will. But we eun aet for ourselves, whether men will hear, or whether they will forbear; and, while we so aet, they may oppose us, but, through God's graee, they will af length be moved to follow us, till af length He will fulfil in them " all the good pleasure of His goodness, and the work of faith with power."

ERSONS who choose their religion for themselves, «w who wamler al,out fl',,m one «omnumion of Christians to nnother at their will, often urge upon us WllO wish fo be disciples of the One Faith, which was once delivered to the saints, this passage of Scripture. They say tha Christians luay tbllow sri'ange teaehel's, wh,, c,,me in their way, beeause our Saviour did llOt allow St. John fo hindër the strang'er mentioned in the text ri'oto casting out devils in our Saviour's Naine. St. John came to Christ, and tdd IIim that lle and the other Apostles had fallen in with a. man who, though he wrought miracles, yet did hot follow the Apostles,:md that they in consequence had forbidden him. To

The F«llowshi of the Itostlcs. x 9  whieh out Lord answered, " Forbid him nof." Therefore they arôue, as the Apostles were IIIIL allowed fo çorbid this stranger, neither mav thc ('hurch tbrbid strange teaehers and lwea«hel'S; lhat. all have a rig'ht fo preaeh, whether t.hey fi, llow lhe Chureh or no, so that they do bu preaeh in the Naine of Jesus, without. any molestation. Such is the ol,jecti«m, and I propose now fo eonsider if. Now I deny that the case in the text is ai all paralM to thaI whieh if is broughL to justi', as a few remarks will show. l trst, then, lhis man was hot preachin; he was easting out devils. This is a greaL dittbreneehe was «hfing  miracle. Out Saviour savs so expressly; "There is no man whieh shall do a miracle in My Naine, thaL ean lightly speak evil of Me." Now any one ean preaeh; hot every one ean easg ont devils. Very tw ean east out devils; nay, ai first sigM., iL would seem thaL none but a servant of (lod ean easL ou devils. 3Iau eannot overeome the devil, Christ only overeomes him. If  man east out a devil, he has power ri'oto Christ; and if he has power ri-oto Christ, he musL have a eommissiou ri'oto Christ; and who shall forbid one, to whom Goal givès commission te., do miracles, ri'oto doin them? That would be fighting against God. But., on the other hand, many  man m:ty preaeh withou being sent t¥om God and having" power ri'oto Him; tbr ChrisL expressly warns us ag'ainst thlse prophets, and Ile says lhat "many shall eome in His Naine, saying', I ana Christ, and shall deeeive many." Il does hot ff.llow, then, beeause we must hot prohibit

 ga T/e FdLovs/@ of t/e ApostL«s. those who eome with a Divine commission froln workin miracles, tha therefore we lnnX  hot prohibit those who do no eome with a commission fi'om preaehing. . But if may bc said, "The cffects of 1)reaching are . lnincle. A good preacher eonverts pcrsons, that is, he easts out devils from the hearts of those vhom he changes fi'om sin to holiness; and this is a miracle. This ho could hot do wiIhont power ri'mn (lod. Thereff)re he is sent ri'oto Gt»d, and therefi,re he ought not fo be forbidden. The question turns on this, whether lis preaehin x is vith power or hot, whcthcr he is influential, whether he tom.hcs he henrts t,f his hearers. If he does, nu natter whether he follows the AposIles or hot. For the Apostles werc but messengers from God, and he is a messenger from God beeause he is able to do God's work, and one messcnger need hot follow anoIher messenger? What is Paul? or what is Al)ollos? He is as little bound to follow the AposIles, as the Apostles fo f«,llow him: he has just as mueh right to forbid the Chureh to preach, as tlw Church to forbid him. And sinee we may hot fi,rbid him, we may fi)llow him." This is what is said. I answer, that thou sueh a person's preaehinvere M1 thaf it is said to be, thouffh if did work wha looks like a lniraele, this would not prove that he came from God; for the filse propleIs against whom out Saviour warns us, are to do "sis and wonders, to seduee, if it were possible, even the elcet ." I do not suppose that they will work miracles sueh as God's servants work, but what seem fo be sueh, what are suffieiently like )Iark xiH, 22.

miracles o perplcx those who sec them; vc these prophe¢s, ofcourse, are hot fo l»e listened fo. And, therefore, if a prea«her, who kcp apar fi'om the Chureh, were said to do mu«h g'««»d te» the smtls of others, I should verv mueh reoi«e te» hear the report of if, but I should pause and require mnnv thins te, be deeided tirst, bebre I could l»e sure that g'«»od rcallr was de,ne; o, if so, that it was his &,ing'. Wlmt SPClliS ood, is o{ten hot ood. Persons who henr l»reaehing • otten takc up n. strieras lire fi,r a lime, and thon 'et tilvd of it. Or they l»r«tbss:r great, dcM more th:m thcy tbel, and think thclnselves nlore in earncst lhan thcy arc; or thcy take tlmt fo bc truc religion whieh is hot; or they ehangc one bad state of mind for anothcr, and aeeount certain feeling% or tcmpers, or opinions, or doins fo be pleasin fo God, whieh arc hot so. For all thcsc rcasons it is not af all an case mattcr fo detcrmine that the self-appointcd preachers in question do reallv convert the hearts of men, that is, do east out devils, do work lniraeles, as thev say they do. 3. But axain; exen it" sinners «re eonverted upon sueh tr one's preaehing, this would hot show that he did the work, or, at least, that he had more than a share in it. The miracle aRer M1 might belong fo thc Chureh, hot fo hiln. If sinners are eonverted, it is partly in eonsequenee of their havinç been baptized, and perhaps hot owing fo thc prcaeher in question more than fo any other accident. Men are touehed, md roused fo think of religion eontilmally, by a variety of strikin accidents, whieh God uses indced, whieh He overrules for ood, but whieh do hot therefore neeessarily eome'om

Him. Supposin a lll,-ill falls into sin, and that ruscs his conscience, fills him with remorse, mnkes him tir { od tbr pardon, leads him to repentante and newness of" litb; ail this (,«,mes t]'Olll his having conamitted this larti«ular sin, whatever if is; but who wouhl sav lhat the «i came ri'oto God? od fi, rbid; lhe sin came ri'oto the mau's own seltçwill, and (;od lnercifidly overruled if to him fiw R'o,d;:md, in like mnnner, G«d may ««mdesecnd to overrule lhe prea«hin of those who preach af their own will, and no ri'oto Ililn, without eountenanein them thereby in so preaching. Thev are but the occa«io,z of the miracle, hot. the btstrumett of i. And let i be «dserved, that persons who take up with new religions, and leave the Chureh to follow preaehers, often granç the Chureh. Well, if so, the Chureh, as they themselvcs say, has a share in the sork wrought in them. The Chureh did part of the miracle. Ilow many a man, who lhinks he is convered by this or prea«her, gains the benefit after all ri'oto the parents or Ihe clm'g'ymen who have taught him when young, and trained him up in holiness, flough he did hot profit by their instructions aç the lime, and who, now thaç he ]ives more religiousls, ungratefldly forgets /hem, and refers if all fo some strange preachcr who, ai the very farthest., did bnt put lae finishing stroke to the work, who led him to profiç by wha he had been already taug.h, who rêkiudled what once before was lighted, and who, perhaps, la rekhdling hurts the flame, so tha instead of being pure, serene, and heavenly, smoulders, and is full of smoke, m" blazes and sink by fits and start.s, or flares wildIy and lights a conflag'ration! For all these reas,ms, then, it would seem as if the instance in the text did hot apply fo persons who teaeh new relig'ions now: we may tbrbid them, first, beeanse they do hot work miracles, as the nlall in lhe text did; and next, even thoug'h thev seemed iii part.ieular cases fo eonvert the souls of their hearers, whieh «'onld be n miracle, it would be verv difcult fo prove that thev rêally have done this, both beeause what.seems conversiml ot'tell is hot. real conversion iii spirit and truth; and, again, because though it be real emlversion, yet, perhaps, the are hot the doers of if, but the Chureh itself before theln. Ïo proeeed; 1. It should be observed, then, lhat if out Saviom" says on this occasion, " Ile that is hot against us is on,mr part,")'et elsewhere He s;ys, " fie tlla is hot with Me is ngainsg Ie. '' The truth is, while n system is making way against, an existing" state of things, help of any kind advanees if; hut when it is established, the smne kind of prot[,ssed help tells against if. Belote the Gospel was reeeived, those who did hot oppose the Apostles aetually aided them; when it vas reeeived, the very same parties interfered with them. Let us eonsider when it was that out Saviour sp&e the words in the text. It was af a rime when there was ito Chureh, when He had hot yet. set up His Chureh; we have no wamm, then, for saying, that because men mig'ht work in Christ's name, wiflmut tbllowing" the Apostles,.before

196 Thc t«llowshi of thc IIe had built u 1) llis Chureh, and had ruade them tle found:tious or" if, theret)»re sueh persons may do lawfilly since. ]Ie did ot set p Ilis Church, and the Apostlcs in it, till after Ilis resurrection. Whcn He spoke fo St. John in the text, IIe had hot g'iven fo St. John and the rest thcir eonmission; eve though thc man who cast out devils had no commission, still the Apostles lmd u,,ne cither. In this respect he was inferior to St. John, vho, tlmugh nearer fo Christ, was hot as yet Hi representative. Our Lord had said fo St.. Peter, " Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I wil  1 build 3Iy ( hureh," it ws still fitture; but after I[is resurrection lIe founded it. Then lIe said fo him, " Simon, sou o" ffonas, lovest thou 3[e? feed 3Iy lambs, fced My sheep. '' Iu like manner He had said fo ail the Apostlcs belote IIis resurrection, " Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven;" the rime was hot 3-et eome; bt after if, He said, "As Father hath sent 3le, even so send I you. '' Then tic did, what belote ]Ie promised; henceforth all men must join themselves to the Apostles, whieh they were hot .old to do beIUre. Accordingly, we read in the second • ehapter of the Aets, that those who were converted and baptized, "continued stedfastly in he Apostles' doctrine,"but hot only doctrine, if was hot enon'h to preaeh and hold the saine doctrine as they, but it is added, in the Apostles' "fellowship,"they "contimmd stedthstly in the Apostles' doctrine aud fellowship. "'

Thc F«llowship of thc -lpostl«s.  97 OEhat. is, they./dlo«'ed tle Apostles; and if they had wished fo depart ri'oto tha.t tllowship, the Apostles would have./brb;dd«» if, nor would out Lord have said to them then, " 1,'orl,id hem hot." According'ly, wheu the Christians,,t' Corinth went into parties, and set up fiwms of doctrine of their ovn, and neg'leeted St. Paul their Al,ostle, what, did he say? did hc./brear fo forbid them? 1,, ho fi,r],adc them. And he gave this reason; " What?" he said, "came thc word of G.d out. fi',)m vou I?" that is, did the word of (h,d origina/e with vou? And in like manner we lnaV sav to those wh,, set. up a distinct seet or e«,mmunion ],r thcmslves, Where did vou g'ct vour knowledg'e of t, he truth? You mav think the word of God came out ri'oto you, but reallv it came to vou./)vm ax; nor have vou reeeived what vou teach, as thr as it is truc, execpt thron'h that Chureh whieh vou opp«sc. ]'hat Chureh ruade you what you are, as thr as v,»u are Christian; and the Chureh that, ruade you has a ig'ht fo rule you, and fo protest a'ainst wm wlwn vou will hot be ruled; she has a right fo bid y,»u fill,,w her, and to claire jurisdiction over you, f,,r vou are hers; whel'eas the man in the text who cast, out, devils hal hot received the power throuh the Apostles, and therefore the Apostles had no claire (,n him fo submit fo them. Afterwards, however, the Apostles were the sole elmnnels of graee; and as they were the sole gracegivers umler Christ, so they were the st,le g'overnor% under IIim, of all Christian people; and as thev translnitted lire, so the.v elaimed obedienee. For instance, St. J,,hn the Baptist's disciples were believers, l'elig'ious men, and in G,,d's favour; but, when «race the Church wns set up, thev were oblig'ed fo submit t,»,ho Church, and fo leave the seet, though divinelv tbunded, la whi«h thev belong'cd. We rend, in *he Aets of the Apostles, ot" Al, dh»s, " an eh«luent man, and luighty in lhe S«riptures," who was "instrueted in the wav of the ],U'tl, nnd 1,eing. fervent iii the spirit, spalçe and taug'ht dilig'enlly the thing's ot" the Lord, knawin¢ oulv lhe 1,:q,lism of dohn." All this availed, and was aet.epted with ¢;od, till ]Ie hnd set up IIis Chureh; but wheu mwe it wns se* up, it avniled Ap,,lh,s nothing, Ilmug'h eloquent, tlmug'h scriptural, nny, mig'hty in the 8«viptures, tlmug'h instrucled in *he L,»rd's way, thong'h tkq'Vellt in spiri*, thoug'h diligent in si,eaking and teaching', nnd lhat boldly, *hough 1,elong'ing o the sec* and bap*ized with lhe baptism of him lhan whom, alllollg {hoso l»orn of women, no prophe* was greater. The ]laptist had limg.h* hiln truc doctrine, had tnug'hI him lhat Christ was the Son of Goal, the Immb of (;od, out kIonin" Sacrifice; and this Apolh,s doubtless taug'hl in *urn. lVhat did he lmt teaeh whieh lml-SOns n,,w teaeh who eall lhelnselves especially Gospel ll'eaehel's? ]lut as the Baptis* sui> mitted to Christ, so lllllS{ the Baptist's followers SUblnit o Christ's fillowers, Al«,lh,s fo the Chureh. Apollos must hot s*nd apnrt and so preneh Him wlm *aketh awar the sin of the world; but he must corne to those servants of IIis, who alone eould eonvcr thc Spirit; ho nmst corne for Christian Btq,tism, in spitc t" his knowlcdgc of thc Gospcl. So Aquila and Pris«illa " took hiln unto them, nd expounded unto him the war of God mç, re l>erfeetly. '' Almther inst:mee is g'iven us directly after, in the beg'inning" of the nineteenth cluqtcl'. St. Paul tbund certain disciples wlm had been haptized int« Jt, hn's haptism, lle t»ld thcm this wns nul enoug'h, necording']y ther were baptized in the 3)t»e of the Iord,lesus; mM were next e«,nfirmed, md rcceived the II,lr Ghost, even Ilis miraculous 'itts. And here I would olserve that, for what we know, the very man in the tcxt wns one of St. J»hn's disciples, or, if hot, «me had reeeived his religions impressions ti-om John; mig'ht, lawful]y remain as he wts, and enst out devi]s in the Naine of Jesus, without, joining" the Apostles, lill the Apostles received the gitt of the Ilolr Ghost, and thon he was bmmd fo join 2. And here t,o we have lig'ht thrown upon an expression in the text whieh I have just. used, and whieh af first sia'ht nmr seem fo need n, exl,lzmation: "In I" Xame." Out Iord Sl,eaks of those ho do miracles " il Ilis Nmne." Now what is imp]ied this? At fil'st sig'ht we might think that everr one who ««e« the Naine of Jesus, «md prot)sses to work in and by if, does do wlmt hê de,es i llis ))»e. But this is hot so; as is plain from another part of the ehapter already quoted, where e read of eertnin vagabond Jews, " who took upon them fo eall over

2oo T; F«llowshi of/hc them whieh had evil spirits the Naine of the Lonl Jesus." l[ere, then, were pers, ms who did no fifllow the Apostles, IIshl the Gord's Naine; but e,,uhl thev in e,nsequenee l,e said reallv to.ye«k in Ilis Naine? o; for what happened? 'rhe evil spirit whom they were a,ttempting" fo expel, east it in their teeth, tha lhey did 1o1 f.lh,w he kl)ostles. l[e answered, "' Jesus I know, and P««I I know" (1 know the Ap¢,sfle Paul) "but wh, are ve?'" And now, in like manner, the h,sts of evil mav say fo thoe who lweach without 1,einz sent» " Jesus l know, an{l the Chuveh I kn,w; 1,ut who are ye?" 5lerely, theu, lo use the Naine ot" Jesus is hot enou'h 1o eonstitute what Seriplure lneans bv peakilg- in Naine of the Grd; we mu,t l,,ok fiw lhat saered Naine, and use that saered Naine, ckere lIe has lod'ed if. l lis Naine is a Naine of power; we must eek ««'k«re IIe has ]odged IIis power, if we would speak with power. IIe bas hot le IIis Naine af large in the worhl, but lle bas loded llis Naine in a secure dwellin¢-plaee; and we have that -alne eng'raven on us onlv when we «ce la tiret dwelling'-plaee. For instance, you reeolleet the aeeount of the Anel who led the Israelites out of ]':gyl,t into the land «,t' promise, how God klmighty speaks of hiln. " Behdd, ] send an.kngel belote lee, to keep lhee in tle way, and fo bring thee into the place whieh I bave prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voiee, and provoke him hot, for he will pardon your transgressions, for 3[y )«e i.s" la hiu '.'"

The Israelites were fo,,'o firward in the N-ame of the Lord; but if was hot euoug.h fo use Ilis Naine, if was necessary fo seck it ,',''«' IIe had lmt that awfld aln. ]le had lodg'ed il with the Ang'el; and fo I,e mder the Name's protection, it was neeessarv fo follow the Angel, and obey him. Again, w]:en thev ealne into the promised land, we lld still that thev mig'ht any religion they chose, and use it in God's ;ame, but that they lnUSt seek and lise the ame «,f (od where Ile pla«ed it; thr M»es speaks thus lhe place whieh the Lm'd v,mr G«,d shall caoose aut of ail v«mr tribes l«, put Ilis 'ame there, even unto lti. «il«lioa shall ve seek, and tailler thou shalt corne. Ye shall,wl do afer all lhe thing's that we do here this day," that is, in the wilderness; " everv nmn whatsoever is rig'ht iii his own eves. Fro" ve are n,,t as vet emne to the test and to L,,rd your God giveth you. '' The ISl'aelites in wilderness were somewhat in the condition of Christ's fidlowers hefin'e Christ had set up Ilis Church, and put tlis 'allle there..[ell might lise 1Ils A-ame wilhout tbllowing IIis Apostles then; but when once He had put IIis 'ame in the Chureh, thel thm were bound '" unto IIis habitatim to seek» nnd /hithvr to corne.'" And, that 1Ils -alne» which was once plaeed iii Shiloh and in Jerusaleln,. is now named upon the Chul'eh, plain from the prophef Jeremiah, who tlrst says, speaking of Christ, " This is IIis Naine, wherebv Ite dmll be ealled," that is, under the {{ospel, "The Lord out lighteousness; '' and next applies this speeial title tt, ! lhe (h treh, thus,—i his lhirtx-third elmper, " This is lhe ame wherebv..he shall he ealled, The Lord ouv llig'hteousness." Ilis Naine is ni»on her; Ilis 'ame is her Naine. And hence the 1)l'ol)het [alwhi, speaking.f the Chuv(.h Catholic, and ifs perpetual feast of ],read;md wine in ll,,lv C«mmunion, says, " l"fore lhe rising",,f the sun unlo lhe g'oing" down of the saine, 31# shall ]»e gveat am«m the (;entiles; and in every place ineense shall ],e.tt,red unto _1[# _)c,e, and a. pure olt.rin¢ tw 3[y ç»e shall ]»e g'vea{ amon the heathen, saith tlw Lord «»ç llostse. '' IIis Naine is theve, where is the predieled " pure On {le whole, lhen, if wouhl appeav that the strang-er in the text mi-h[, use the Naine of 3esus without fi,ll.wing the Apostles, beeause lhey, thçm¢ Christ's Apostles, lmd n.t ver had lhe Naine of Christ ammed upon them, in ovdev fo their tbrming tog'ether IIis Chureh; ]rot tha{, ever sinee IIis l'esurreetion that Chureh has existed, and has home I[is Namae; and use I[is -ame exeept in and undev the Chm'eh, is fo treat lIis saered Naine irreverently, whieh whoso does, God will hot hohl him g'uiltless, unlegs he does i in ig'norance; and then, th,,u¢ his work will perish, he will be s«ved, Yet so as ],v tire. And henee sueh enrnest exhortations are g'iven us ]w St. Paul against divisicm tmd disobedienee; for instance, "Iavk them who cause divisions and offenees eontvary fo the d«wtrine whieh ye have learned, and avoid tan he intbrrcd from the text,thoug'h we take if ever so literally, or alTly if ever so exactly fo the prescrit rimes, —n(,thing', 1 rel,eat it, tan bc iufi, rred in favour of those who.ç«y)u)'u/c from the (Jhurch, who set +ff ayait.s'l the Chureh, or who itteJé«e with it, and h'ot«ble if. But there are a number of persons to whom the text d.es more or lcss al,ply, and w]mm we ougt to treat aecordin" t) ils spirit. There are a number of pevsons meml»crs of the Church, who neither bave themsclves Scl)arated fi'«)m if, nor ol,pose if, nor usurp its place, but who are more or lcss in ihe conditi.n of le man in the text, "" hot tidh»winR" us," yet usinR" the Naine of Jesus. Many seeis and parties in this country are of standing'; nmny men are l.wn in them; manv men have had no OlTortmfities of knowiu the truH. A'ain, it nmv so h:qTen they are exerting" themselves [br the cause o[" Christ in 1,laces here the Chm'ch is mknown, or where if does hot extend itsclf. And, moreover, it may so be that they have upon them nmnv eonsolatorv proofs of serious,ess and earnestuess, of a true love fi)r Christ, and desire t, of,er lIim and hot fo mag'nify lhêmselves, llere, then, out Lord seems to say, " bid them hot in their preaehin." The 'reater part of the world is in heathen darkness seetaries,t" vari»us descriptif)us will be round sendin out missi)us tbr the conversion ot" souls to Christ, into places whither the Chureh has hot sent missionaries. Now we are hot bound fo support them, for this reason, 1)eeause they dç» hot h.ld the whole truth of the Gospel. But we are hot fo behave towards them lu a hostile way; rather we oug'ht to bless God for whatever they mean well hl doillg', and pr«y Ilim that they nla 3" mean and aeL still botter. Or, g'ain, even in a eouutrv ido whlch he Church is sendinff missions, iL seems the duIy of those whom she sends thiher to be kind ad tolermt ownrds nll Christiau bodies who are l:d»ouring" ihere in the smle cause, asJ;tr us these l:dter do nt actively ilterfel'e with her, or oploSe her doctrine, which, alas  will otten be the case. We are lOt bound to.i,,in them, were their d»crine ever so like ours, any more thau the Apostles were bound fo follow the strang'er who did uot follow the»t, which no one will say; but we are fo surfer them to g'o their way, while we 'o ours. And again; evell aL home there are manv paris of the country into which the Chureh llas l«»t dulr corne, and wfiieh perhaps owe what ther bave,f the Gospel to tlle labours of sectal'ies, l[ere, too, as is evident, we are bound to act very diflbreutlv from hat would bc our duty in plees where the- had established themselves in the face of the Chureh, and ag'tinst the Chureh; and, without oing" into details, if is evident that here is a sense in which our Lord's words in the tex apply fo On the whole, theu, I would say this; when strang'ers fo the Chureh preach g'reat Christi:m truths, and do oppose the Chulx.h, then, thoug'h we nm" not follo» them, thoug'h we may hOt join thcm, yet we are hot allowed fo forbid them; but in pl'oportiola as they preach wha is in itself untrue, and do ae/ively oppose God's ffrea Ordinanee, so far they are hot. like the man whom our Lord told His Apostles hot to lori»id.

But. in ail cases, whether they preaeh truc doctrine or ne, t., or whether they Ol,pOSe us or nç, t, so nmch we may learn, riz. lhat we must overeome hem, hot so much by refltting lhem, as by preaehin lhe [rtt[..s we are told fo overeome evil with g'ood, so must we overeome t51sehood with truth; and as in baptism the eurse of Adam is removed by the in/(.omin  t,f Divine raee, so in like manner the reign of heresy is put o flight, n-t by merely a/taeking;t, but by the manifestation of the 1,ure («spel instead. Let us be fiir more bent on lwea«hin out own d«,ctrine than on refiting" another's. LeL us 1,e fir more set up,_,n alluring" souls into the right wav than on forbiddin them the wrong'. Let be like raeers in a course, who do n«,t impede, but to ou/strip each other. Let us outstrip others in out lires and conversation, " ly pureness, by knoxvledg'e, bv lonç-suflç, rin, by kindness, by/he IIoly Ghost, by love untbi'ned, by the word of truth, by the poxver of God, by the armour of righteonsness on the rig'ht hand and on the left, by honour and dishon«,ur, by evil report and good rel,«,rt." Let us eonquer bv meekness, gentleness, f«wbearance, and perseveranee. When the voiee of error and stri[b is loud, let us keep silence; le us hot be nnwilling" fo be trimnphed over as blind and prejudieed persons, as 1,igots, or as fana/les, or as zealots, or to be c:lled any other hard names by the world. Let us frbid tliem not. God will avenge us in His own way and a Ilis own rime. The weak shall be strong, and the,lespised shall beeome honourable. " He shall make out righteousness as elear as the light., and out just dealin as the noon-day. Leave off wrnth and leL go displeasure;

ri'et hot. thyself, else shalt thou l,e moved to do evil. Hope th«,u in the Lord and keep I[is way, aud I[e shall promote thee, tha thou shalt, poess the land. Keep imloeeuey, ami take heed uuto the thing" tha is rig'ht, fi)r tha shall ]»ring" a man peace a the ]asL*. "'