poffible; I mean, the scandal which arises. from the miscarriages of those who profess it. Offences of this kind must come, but wo to them by whom they come*. There were pretended Chriftians, even in the apostles times, who were enemies to the cross of Christ †, and by their evil conduct, caufed the ways of truth to be evil spoken of. And, therefore, we cannot be furprized that there are fuch perfons now. But you that love the Lord hate evil. There are many who watch for your halting, and are ready to fay, There! there! fo we would have it. It will be in vain for minifters to declare that the doctrines of grace are doctrines according to godliness, unless our testimony is fupported by the tempers and conduct of our people : the world will probably judge, rather by what they fee in you, than by what they hear from us. Nor will it fuffice that they cannot say you are an adulterer, a drunkard, a miser, or a cheat. If you efpouse our doctrine, they will expect you to be humble, meek, patient, and benevolent; to find integrity in all your dealings, and a punctual discharge of your duty in every branch of relative life. What * Matt. xviii. 7. † Phil. iii. 18. Pfal. xcvii. 10. muft must the world think of our principles, if they who avow them are fretful, envious, cenforious, discontented, flothful, or unfaithful; or, if they are niggardly and hard-hearted, or voluptuous and diffolute, or implacable and revengeful! They who thus lay ftumblingblocks before the blind *, and confirm the prejudices of the ignorant, will have much to anfwer for. II. It is farther faid, He was a man of forrows, and acquainted with grief. He was furrounded with forrows on every fide, and grief was his intimate, infeparable companion. Surely this confideration, if any, will animate us to endure the cross, and to despise the Shame we may be exposed to for his fake. The illuftration of this fubject will offer more fully in the fequel. It fhall fuffice, at present, to affign three caufes for his continual forrows. 1. The outward courfe of life, to which he fubmitted, for the fake of finners, expofed him to want, wearinefs, contempt, and oppofition. And though his refignation, and patience, were perfect, yet he was truly a man, and partaker of our nature, with all its affections and fenfibilities, which do not imply VOL. I. *Lev. xix. 14. fin. fin. His feelings, therefore, were human, fimilar to our own in fimilar circumstances, and they were often painfully exercised. Once, and again, we read that he was hungry and had no food; he was thirsty * and was nearly refused a little water to drink, when wearied with his journeying in the heat of the day. His character was afperfed, his perfon defpifed, his words infidiously wrested, his actions mifrepresented. He was mifunderstood even by his friends, betrayed by one disciple, denied by another, and forsaken by the reft. It is hardly poffible for his followers to meet with any outward trial, which may not remind them, of fome part of the hiftory of their Lord and mafter, who left them an example of fuffering, that they should cheerfully follow his fteps ‡. 2. His perfect knowledge and forefight of thofe fufferings, which we, emphatically, call, His Paffion. How often does he speak of -them, and defcribe the circumftances as if they were actually prefent? Futurity is, in mercy, concealed from us. It would often bereave us of all present comfort, if we knew what the next year, or, perhaps, what the Matt.iv.9. xxi. 18. John iv. 2. ↑ John vii.5. ‡ 1 Pet.ii.21. next day would bring forth. If fome of you, could have foreseen, many years ago, what you have fince been brought through, you would probably have funk under the apprehenfion; or, the stouteft of us, might fink now, if we were certainly to know what may be yet before us. But Jefus, long before he made atonement for our fins, had counted the coft. And though his love determined him to fave us, the profpect, which was continually present to his view, of the approaching unutterable agonies of his foul, of all that he must endure from God, from the powers of darkness and from wicked men, when he should be made a curse for us to redeem us from the curfe of the law*; I fay, this tremendous profpect, was, doubtless, a perpetual fource of forrow. 3. The frame of his fpirit. Whoever has a measure of the mind that was in Christ, must be proportionally burdened and grieved, like righteous Lot in Sodom +, with the wickednefs around him, if he lives in fociety. Who that has any regard for the honour of God, or the fouls of men, can hear and fee what passes every hour; how the authority of God * Gal. iii. 13. † 2 Pet. ii. 8. is afrontal, his goodnets abuted, and his mercy defpiled, without emotions of grief and compation? If we are fpiritually-minded, we must be thus affected; and we thould be more fo, if we were more fpiritual. But the holinels of MESSIAH, and, confequently, his hatred of fin, was abfolutely perfect. His view, of the guilt and mifery of finners, was, likewife, comprehenfive and clear. How muft he be therefore grieved, by the wickedness and infenfibility, of thofe with whom he daily converfed! especially as he not only obferved the outward conduct of men, but had an intimate knowledge of the evil heart, which is hidden from us. In this fenfe, his fufferings and forrows began with his early years, and continued throughout the whole of his life. He undoubtedly could fay, with an emphafis peculiar to himfelf, I beheld the tranfgreffars and was grieved; Rivers of waters run down my eyes, because men keep not thy law *. We call ourfelves the followers and fervants of him, who was defpifed of men, and encompaffed with forrows. And fhall we then Seek great things for ourselves †, as if we belonged to the present world, and expected no * Plal, cxix. 156, 158. + Jer. xlv. 5. portion |