66

All, then, who are here present, I would recommend to remember, that this life is, as it must necessarily have been, a state of trial and probation; and, as by the transgression of our first parents, our nature became sinful and inclined to evil, so it required the extraordinary interposition of God to enable us to perform that which is right and acceptable to Him. The necessary aid is, consequently, granted us by the operation of His Holy Spirit ; notwithstanding which, after we have done all that we can do, we shall have left many things undone which we ought to have done, and be therefore accounted unprofitable servants." This deficiency, however, the Almighty has promised to pardon for the sake of his Son Jesus Christ, who equally partook of the divine and human nature; yet even in his latter capacity was perfectly righteous, and, therefore, bore the penalty due to our unrighteousness. For these reasons did we enter into a covenant with God at our baptism, agreeably to the outline I have just given of our Christian faith the promises which were then made by others, were renewed and taken upon ourselves at the solemn ordinance of Confirmation. I would, therefore, exhort all to reflect on these promises with seriousness and devotion, and pray their Almighty Creator that he will send his Holy Spirit to assist them in these their laudable endeavours, for the sake of his Son Jesus Christ, their Mediator and Redeemer.

SERMON XI.

KINDNESS AND FORBEARANCE INSEPARABLE

FROM TRUE RELIGION.

66

ST. JUDE, 3.

Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."

a

It will not be impertinent to the present occasion, to remind you that this day has been appropriated by the church, from her earliest infancy, to the commemoration of two of our Saviour's apostles, St. Simon and St. Jude. In the catalogue of the twelve apostles, it will be remembered that each of these names is applied to two different persons. There were Simon Peter and Judas Iscariot, and likewise the two apostles commemorated on this day, Simon called Zelotes, and Jude, or Judas, the brother of James b.

On an occasion of this sort it would have been desirable to take a slight historical survey of the

a The festival of St. Simon and St. Jude.

b St Luke, vi. 14, 15, 16.

lives and characters of these two Christian apostles, whom the church has thought proper to couple together as objects of our pious meditation. The scanty materials, however, with which either the Scriptures or ancient writers have supplied us for this purpose, altogether preclude the possibility of effecting it. And by such a reason has the church herself been prevented from making any direct allusion to them in the service of this day, except in that portion of it which she has selected from the short catholic or general epistle of St. Jude. It would, therefore, be equally vain and presumptuous in me to endeavour to overcome a difficulty to which the compilers of our excellent liturgy have been compelled to submit: I shall rather follow the example which they have given, by taking a portion of the epistle, which has been selected by them, as a groundwork for such observations and reflections as I am now about to offer, which, under the blessing of our Saviour Christ, will I trust be such as to induce you to encourage, as much as in you lies, and pray for, the good estate of the Catholic Church; that it may be so guided and governed by God's good Spirit, that all who profess and call themselves Christians may be led into the way of truth, and hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life."

to "

By a reference to the epistle it will be perceived, that the first two verses contain the apostle's salutation to the Christian Church, and it concludes thus:

Mercy unto you, and peace and love be mutiplied;"

an exhortation, brethren, this, which I lament to say is too frequently disregarded by many who call themselves disciples of Him to whom the divine attributes of mercy, peace, and love, are peculiarly and preeminently applicable. It afforded, nevertheless, an excellent introduction to the words of our text, which states the reason of the apostle's writing his epistle. "Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints."

Now look again at the two passages we have just quoted, and you will perceive that while people are earnestly counselled to contend for the pure faith of the Gospel, as it was formerly delivered unto the saints by its divine founder, yet at the same time that they do this, are they to be merciful, peaceful, and loving towards one another. Inasmuch as mercy, peace, and love are the peculiar attributes of Christ, so are they likewise the distinguishing features of his gospel. We are indeed, brethren, to contend for that faith in virtue of which we love one another even as God has loved us; yet are we not, nor indeed are we enabled, to contend for this faith, at the same time that we neglect and set at nought its most earnest injunctions. Such an exhortation as this, based as it is upon the precepts and example of the Saviour, and enforced by the subsequent addresses of his apostles, ought never to be beyond the range of our view while we lift up our voices in

behalf of the crucified Jesus, and endeavour to propagate his gospel among men. It is evident that mercy and peace are both implied in the attribute of love, and the commandment that we have from God, is none other than this: "That he who loveth God love his brother also.""

Enough, brethren, must have been said to convince you that love, in its most unlimited and comprehensive sense, is the true and only test of the purity and genuineness of the religion of him who calls himself a Christian, and that the opposite of thisenmity, or hostility of any kind, or evil-speaking against a brother, is an equally correct and decided proof of the inefficiency of that man's religion to whom this opposite, whatever name it might assume, applies. It is God, recollect, and God alone, who judgeth the "hearts" and the "reins;" hatred, therefore, for such for brevity's sake at least is the the name which I give to this opposite of love, is not to be excused even on the plea that we do not consider this or that individual to be sincere in his Christian profession. If, indeed, the practice of any professed member of Christ's Church be such as militates against the precepts of the gospel, in such a case, most assuredly, should the advice of St. Paul be followed, and we ought to hold no communion with such a person-to "purge out the old leaven," lest the whole lump should become affected. Such an act, however, it must be admitted, is far different from that of resorting to the unchristiana 1 John, iv. 21.