SERMON XIII.

THE TEMPORAL ADVANTAGES OF CHRISTIANITY,

EPHESIANS, iv. 8.

Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.";

THESE words, my brethren, express very beautifully the nature of those blessings which have been conferred on the human race by the Son of God. "When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive;" he rescued men from the bondage of sin and death; overcame the rulers of the spiritual darkness of this world; and opened up that new and living way, by which the pure in heart may draw near to God, as children to an indulgent parent..

It is to the concluding words of the text, however, that I wish at present to confine' your attention. "He gave gifts unto men." The apostle explains immediately to what kind of gifts he refers: " he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of

the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ."

The extraordinary providence of God, in the early progress of the gospel, naturally attracted the peculiar at. tention of the apostle. The spirit of God was visibly moving upon the face of the waters, and dividing the light from the darkness. The beauty of the moral world was now breaking forth into view, and the great Parent of all was seen looking upon it also, and beholding it to be very good. The mind of the apostle evidently labours with the mighty scene that was before him; and here, as in many other passages of his writings, he seems incapable of finding words to express the magnitude of his conceptions. It was his lot to behold the infant church striking root,-the grain of mustard seed thrown into the earth. He saw the hand of him who planted it pouring upon it the dew of heaven; and his prophetic eye looks forward to the time when it should become a great tree, and the birds of the air should lodge in its

branches.

It was impossible, therefore, in those times, to avoid perceiving the constant presence of Christ with his church, or to overlook the gifts which he was so liberally dispensing among men. But now the case is different: the religion of Jesus has long been established; the miraculous gifts of the spirit have ceased; the tree has become great, and the birds are now lodging in its branches. The object is in fact greater and more stupendous than it was in the days of the apostle, but we naturally give it less of our attention. The magnificent arrangement of the heavens, and the beauties so liberally scattered over the face of the earth, are proofs of the

divine wisdom and goodness, no less now than on the first day of creation, "when the morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy;" but custom has so inured our minds to the splendid spectacle, that we scarcely contemplate it with admiration. In like manner, having been born and educated under the influence of Christianity, we lose sight of many of the advantages which we have derived from it; and are apt to impute most of the blessings which we enjoy to nature, and to the course of events, which yet, when rightly understood, are to be ascribed to our religion.

To this subject I beg leave at present shortly to direct your attention, both as it is very interesting in itself, and as it will naturally lead me to speak of that charitable institution*, to which we have this day been invited to contribute.

It is very generally acknowledged, that the state of the world is, on the whole, greatly improved since the introduction of the gospel; and, whatever may be said of the mischiefs occasioned by superstitious and perverted views of Christianity, it cannot be denied, that the natural tendency of a religion which declares all men to be the children of one common parent, and which speaks of charity as the end of the commandment, must ever have been to produce "glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace and good will toward

men."

These effects have followed from Christianity in no common degree. Even in the times of the darkest superstition, there have been men who caught the true spirit

*The Public Dispensary.

of the gospel, and were " as cities set upon a hill, that could not be hid." How much happiness was disseminated among men in the worst of times, by the faith and charity of those individuals who have been true followers of Christ, it is impossible for us to calculate; but we may be assured that, although we meet not in the page of history with any detail of their humble but glorious efforts, yet the effect produced was not inconsiderable; and that, while in those gloomy periods we are accustomed to discern nothing but superstition and misery, still the footsteps of the Son of God were to be traced among the dwellings of men, and the light from above was still cheering and animating many an honest heart.

The advantages of the gospel, however, are more apparent in times of civilization and knowledge. We then find Christianity promoting and sanctifying every exertion which is made for the benefit of the human race. We find it giving an impulse to every sound and liberal inquiry, and extending the bounds of the science and the wisdom of man. We find its spirit entering into the counsels of nations, and gradually striving to appease the animosities by which they are divided. We find it unbinding the chains of the captive, and breathing over the whole world the maxims of impartial justice and of enlightened benevolence.

Are these distinguishing characteristics of the christian world to be ascribed solely to the progress of civilization and philosophy? Why, then, were they not to be found in the ancient world? Some of the nations of antiquity were greatly advanced in all the arts and improvements by which social life is benefited and

adorned; but they were far from possessing the same principles of wisdom, of humanity, and of justice, which are now understood at least, if they are but imperfectly brought into action. We are in the habit of boasting greatly of our advantages in point of civilization and philosophy; but we are not always very willing to acknowledge the source from which these advantages are derived to us. I will not, however, hesitate to affirm, that unless a steady beam from heaven had opened up to man the path of truth and of wisdom, the world would still have exhibited the melancholy spectacle of the blind leading the blind; and instead of that fair and increasing fabric of knowledge and of improvement which we now behold rearing around us, which is founded upon the rock of ages, and which the winds and the rains of time assail in vain, we should still have beheld the efforts of man wasted on some tower of Babel, beginning in extravagance, and terminating in confusion,

From these extensive views, let us turn to the more familiar consideration of the influence of Christianity on the habits of private life. How beautifully have these been improved by it! How much have the grosser vices been extirpated, or driven into obscurity! There is a sanctity and purity in the private life of good men, and by a kind of necessity in the domestic life of all men, which was far from prevailing in the world before the introduction of the gospel. Even politeness, and the manners of good society, however artificial they may be, are yet, in a great measure, produced by the influence of christianity on the public mind. The amusements of men are regulated by the same spirit. There is a decency prevalent, which is expressive of