calculated to take off the odium which, from this circumstance, was reflected upon Christianity. It is even no

wonder that, considering the death of Christ in all its connexions, and especially with his resurrection and his apointment to great power and dignity, they should boast of it as if the whole of Christianity centred in it.

It is on a similar account that faith in Christ is often mentioned as the only condition of salvation, though faith alone, or the mere belief of the truth of Christianity, is so far from ensuring salvation, that it will aggravate the guilt, and enhance the condemnation, of any person who believes the gospel without obeying it. But in faith, as a condition of salvation, we are always to include the proper consequences of faith, namely, obeying the gospel, as well as believing the truth of it. However, as advantage has been taken of this concise manner of speaking, and faith, or mere belief, has been made by many to be the sole and proper condition of salvation, exclusive of good works; so we cannot wonder that the same persons should have represented the death of Christ, exclusive of every thing connected with it, especially his resurrection and future glory, as the sole procuring cause of men's redemption from sin and death.

Thus, my brethren, have the Scriptures been wrested and perverted. But an attention to the general tenor of the whole, will easily bring us to a right interpretation of any. particular parts. And the same good sense and just discernment which teach us that faith without works is dead, and of no avail, will likewise inform us, that the death of Christ, considered without any regard to his resurrection, and what followed upon it, is of no consequence at all to the Christian scheme, but, on the contrary, would have been fatal to it. But taking both these together, with their natural connexions and dependencies, that is, connecting works with faith, and the consideration of the resurrection of Christ with that of his death, we justly make our boast of faith in Christ, and also of the doctrine of the cross; that is, we make our boast of the gospel, which, by means of the death and resurrection of Christ, brings life and immortality to light.

By this gospel we are, as it were, created and born again to a new and better life; not an uncertain mortal life like this, but to a permanent and immortal one; not a life like the present, in which our very subsistence is scanty and precarious, but to a great and ample inheritance, “an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not

away;" not, indeed, the object of sight or of sense, but of faith, being surely reserved in heaven for us." By this new creation and new birth, we become "heirs of God, and joint heirs with Christ Jesus," who is styled our elder brother, and called [Rev. i. 5]" the first-begotten of the dead," being the first who, after death, was raised to that state of immortality which is destined for all his faithful followers.

I shall conclude this Discourse with a practical observation. If, with the apostle, we glory in the cross of Christ, or in that religion which could not have been confirmed. without his death, let us not only be careful to govern our lives by the precepts of it in general, but more particularly be prepared to suffer whatever the strictest profession of it may call us to. Let us remember that our Saviour hath said, if any man will be his disciple, he must take up his cross and follow him, that is, he must be ready to do it, rather than abandon the profession of his gospel, or whatever the strictest purity of it may require. A true Christian is no more of this world than his Lord and Master was of it. With him every thing here below is but of secondary consideration. He must not only patiently and joyfully bear the spoiling of his goods; he must not only think it an honour to him to suffer reproach for the sake of Christ, but he must even not account his life itself dear unto him, if it would prevent his finishing his course with joy. But this we must remember for our consolation, that if, in time of persecution, he that keepeth his life shall lose it, he that loseth his life for the profession of the gospel, shall keep it to life eternal. If we suffer with Christ, we shall also reign with him, and be glorified together. [Matt. x. 39; Rom. viii. 17.]

TAKING THE CROSS AND FOLLOWING CHRIST.

LUKE xiv. 27:

Whosoever doth not bear his cross, and come after me, cannot my disciple.

be

WE shall not understand the full force of this language, or have a just idea of the manner in which it would be received by those to whom it was addressed, if we do not consider with what views most, if not all, of our Lord's disciples, the apostles themselves not excepted, crowded after him.

They expected that he would soon assume the character of their promised Messiah, who, they imagined, was to be a great temporal prince, destined to rescue the Jews from their subjection to the Romans, and to give them the empire of the whole world. So far, therefore, were any of them from expecting to be losers by their adhering to Christ, that they had no doubt of their being great and immediate gainers, of having the first places of honour, profit, and power in his kingdom, and not to suffer, but to reign with him.

What, then, must have been their astonishment, to hear our Lord, in his first discourse of any length, promise the kingdom of heaven, which they were looking for, to the meek, and the persecuted for righteousness' sake; to hear him speaking, on another occasion, of the danger of their being ashamed of him, and now saying that no person could be his disciple who did not take up his cross and follow him! Such, however, was the uniform language of our Lord through the whole of his ministry; and, backward as the apostles were to enter into these views whilst he was with them, they very readily did it after he was gone, when they found that his kingdom was not of this world, and yet were well assured that a kingdom was reserved for him, and for all his faithful followers, in another. Then they themselves adopted a language similar to this of their Master, and among others, Paul said, [2 Tim. iii. 14,]" all that will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution."

This, you may say, was requisite in the circumstances in which the apostle wrote, Christianity being then in a state of persecution, which no person retaining the profession of it could avoid; but now that the church is at rest from persecution, those sufferings are no longer necessary, and we may be, at this day, as good Christians without any hardships, as in those days they who were exposed to them could be.

I am far from saying that this is not possible; but many persons, I fear, deceive themselves by this view of things, and imagine that much less is now necessary to make a Christian than really is so. Whereas, the terms on which we become Christians (and, of course, become entitled to the rewards of Christianity in a future world) are the very same that they ever were, and, upon the whole, perhaps not less difficult. As it greatly behoves us to form just ideas on this subject, I shall endeavour to give you some assist

ance with respect to it; and for this purpose, I beg you will attend to the following observations.

In the first place, though the actual suffering of the loss of goods, of liberty, of life, or of reputation (which is often more valuable than life) be not always required of Christians, the temper of mind which would enable them to bear the loss of all these, if the sacrifice should be demanded, is always required of us. All Christians are required now, as much as in the times of the apostles, to cultivate a superiority of mind to this world, and all the enjoyments and pursuits of it. They are required to have their affections so set on heaven, and heavenly things; they are so to have their treasure and their citizenship in heaven, as that no earthly consideration shall be able to make them swerve from their duty. If any thing as dear to them as a right hand, or a right eye, would lead them to wrong conduct, they must cut it off, and cast it from them. They must not even hold their lives dear unto them, if it would prevent their finishing their course, or discharging the duty of a Christian, and that with joy, in every situation in which it shall please Divine Providence to place them. Our particular duties change with our circumstances, but the principle which leads to all duty, must ever be the same. This never

changes; and where it really exists, it will not fail to make our duty, in all cases, eligible and joyful. A good man and a good Christian fears nothing but God, and hates nothing but sin.

Have we, then, my Christian brethren, this principle of duty within us? Have we that steady attachment to Christianity, and that firm faith in a future life, and the rewards which Christ has promised to his disciples there, that would enable us to bear persecution, and even death, rather than swerve from it? If we have, we are Christians, and shall undoubtedly receive the proper rewards of Christianity, whether we be actually called to suffer persecution and death, or not; as that soldier who keeps his rank, and holds himself ready to engage when called upon, is justly entitled to share the rewards of victory with those of his fellow-soldiers who happened to be called to the hottest action; because he would have engaged, and with as much alacrity, if it had been his place.

But, my brethren, (and it behoves us seriously to question ourselves on the subject,) if we be not ready and determined, when called upon, to bear persecution, and even unto

death, in the cause of Christ, we are no true Christians. If we be not prepared to suffer with Christ here, neither shall we reign and be glorified with him hereafter. If, in such a case, we would, in fact, deny him, he also will deny us. And though it does not now appear to the world, or may not even be known to ourselves, what our behaviour in time of persecution for conscience' sake would be, it is always known to God. He sees and judges by the heart, and whatever our final destination may be, we shall then be satisfied of the equity of his decision.

2. That I may not lead persons to think too unfavourably of their state of mind and general character, when, on putting the question to themselves, whether they should be able to forsake 'all and follow Christ, they might be apprehensive that they should not be able, but that they should shrink from torture and death, I would observe, that there is something in great emergencies which rouses the mind to uncommon exertion, so that, in the hour of actual trial, many have been able to bear what, in their cooler moments, they would have dreaded the thought of.

This receives abundant confirmation from the history of persecutions. Then many of the reputed first were the last, and the last, first. Many whom their fellow-christians looked up to, as those who would be the foremost to brave danger and death, have betrayed the greatest timidity, and have been the first to make shipwreck of faith and of a good conscience; while others, who, in the eyes of their brethren, and in their own eyes, appeared as nothing, have stood foremost, and have borne the greatest and the most lingering tortures without a groan, calmly praying for their friends and their persecutors.

Let no person, therefore, conclude that because he shudders at the idea of pain, when he is thinking calmly on the subject in his closet, he should certainly deny Christ and abandon Christianity, if there should be no alternative but doing this, or dying, even in torture. We are all of us, in a great measure, strangers even to ourselves, and cannot tell with certainty how we should act in new situations.

Besides, when a persecution is seriously begun, (as you may perceive in the histories of such events,) a sense of honour, and dread of shame, come in aid of a principle of pure piety and conscience, and will not suffer persons to disgrace their profession, or be behind their fellow-christians in the glorious contest.

But what is more than all, and more to the purpose, is,