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reward, would have been an incumbrance. And we know in fact the apoftles never did abound in worldly poffeffions, but were for the most part deftitute and poor. The recompence then here promised must have been of a very different nature; it is that internal content and fatif faction of mind, that peace of God which passeth all understanding, thofe delights of a pure confcience and an upright heart, that affectionate fupport of all good men, thofe confolations of the Holy Spirit, that truft and confidence in God, that consciousnefs of the divine favor and approbation, thofe reviving hopes of everlasting glory, which every good man and fincere Chriftian never fails to experience in the discharge of his duty. These are the things which will cheer his heart and sustain his spirits, amidst all the discouragements he meets with, under the preffure of want, of poverty, of affliction, of calumny, of ridicule, of perfecution, and even under the terrors of death itself, which will recompence him a hundred fold for all the facrifices he has made to Chrift and his religion, and impart to him a degree of comfort and tranquillity and happiness, far beyond any thing that all the wealth and fplendour of this world can bestow. That this is not a mere ideal reprefentation, we may fee in the example of thofe very persons to whom this difcourfe of our Saviour was addressed. We may fee a picture of the felicity here defcribed, drawn by the masterly hand of St. Paul, in his Second Epiftle to the Corinthians. "We are, fays he (fpeaking of himself and his fellow-labourers in the Gofpel) we are approving ourselves in much patience, in afflictions, in neceffities, in diftreffes, in ftripes, in imprisonments, in tumults, in labours, in watchings, in faftings; by pureness, by knowledge, by long-fuffering, by kindness, by the Holy Ghoft, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of righteousness on the right hand and on the left, by honor and dishonor, by evil report and good report; as deceivers, and yet true; as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold we live; as chaftened, and not killed; as forrowful, yet always rejoicing; as poor, yet making many rich; as having nothing, and yet poffeffing all things." We have here a portrait, not merely of patience and fortitude, but of cheerfulness and joy under the accuteft fufferings, which

is no where to be met with in the writings of the most celebrated heathen philofophers. The utmoft that they pretended to was a contempt of pain, a determination not to be fubdued by it, and not even to acknowledge that it was an evil. But we never hear them expreffing that cheerfulness and joy under fuffering, which we here fee in the appoftles and firft difciples of Chrift. Indeed it was impoffible that they should rife to these extraordinary exertions of the human mind, fince they wanted all those fupports which bore up the appoftles under the feverest calamities, and raised them above all the common weak. neffes and infirmities of their nature; namely, the consciousness of being embarked in the greatest and noblest undertaking that ever engaged the mind of man, an unbounded trust and confidence in the protection of heaven, a large participation of the divine influences and confolations of the Holy Spirit, and a firm and well grounded hope of an eternal reward in another life, which would infinitely overpay all their labors and their forrows in this. Thefe were the fources of that content and cheerfulness, that vigour and vivacity of mind, under the feverest afflictions, which nothing could deprefs, and which nothing but Chriftian philofophy could produce.

Here then we have a full explanation of our Lord's promise in the paffage before us, that every one who had forfaken houses, or brethren, or fifters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for his name's fake, fhould receive a hundred fold, fhould receive abundant recompence in the comfort of their own minds, as described in the correfponding paffage of St. Paul, juft cited; which may be confidered not only as an admirable comment on our Lord's declaration, but as an exact fulfilment of the prediction contained in it. For that declaration is plainly prophetic; it foretels the perfecution his difciples would meet with in the discharge of their duty; and foretels alfo, that in the midst of these perfecutions they would be undaunted and joyful. And there cannot be a more perfect completion of any prophecy, than that which St. Paul's defcription fets before us with respect to this.

But we must not confine this promise of our Saviour's to his own immediate followers and difciples; it extends

1

to all his faithful fervants in every age and nation of the world, that part with any thing which is dear and valuable to them for the fake of the Gofpel. Whoever has paffed any time in the world, must have seen that every man who is fincere in the profeffion of his religion, who fets God always before him, and who feeks above all things his favor and approbation, must fometimes make great and painful facrifices to the commands of his Maker and Redeemer; and whoever does fo, whoever gives up his pleafures, his interefts, his fame, his favorite pursuits, his fondeft wifhes, and his ftrongeft paffions, for the fake of his duty, and in conformity to the will of his heavenly Father, may reft affured, that he fhall in no wife lose his reward. He fhall in a degree proportioned to the felfdenial he has exercised, and the fufferings he has undergone, experience the prefent comfort and fupport here promifed to the apostles; and fhall alfo, though not to the fame extent, have an extraordinary recompence in the kingdom of heaven.

Let no one then be deterred from perfevering in the path of duty, whatever discouragements, difficulties, or obftructions he may meet with in his progrefs, either from the struggles he has with his own corrupt affections, or from the malevolence of the world. Let him not fear to encounter, what he must expect to meet with, opposition, contumely, contempt and ridicule; let him not fear the enmity of profligate and unprincipled men; but let him go on undaunted and undismayed in that uniform tenor of piety and benevolence, of purity, integrity, and uprightnefs of conduct, which will not fail to bring him peace at the laft. Let him not be furprized or alarmed if he is not exempt from the common lot of every fincere and zealous Christian; if he finds it by his own experience to be true, what an apostle of Chrift has long fince prepared him to expect, that whofoever will live godly in Chrift Jefus fhall in one way or other fuffer perfecution. But let him remem

ber at the fame time the reviving and confolatory declaration of his divine Mafter; "Bleffed are ye when men fhall revile you and perfecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falfely for my fake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad; for great is your reward in heaven."

LECTURE

MATTH. xxii.

XVIII.

I

NOW país on to the twenty-fecond chapter of St. Matthew, in which our bleffed Lord introduces the following parable:

But

"The kingdom of heaven is like unto a certain king, which made a marriage for his fon, and fent forth his fervants to call them that were bidden to the wedding, and they would not come. Again he fent forth other fervants, faying, tell them which are bidden, Behold I have prepared my dinner; my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready; come unto the marriage. they made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandize; and the remnant took his fervants and entreated them fpitefully, and flew them. But when the king heard thereof, he was wroth; and he fent forth his armies, and deftroyed thofe murderers, and burnt up their city. Then faith he to his fervants, the wedding is ready, but they which were bidden were not worthy. Go ye therefore into the highways, and as many as ye fhall find, bid to the marriage. So thofe fervants went out into the highways, and gathered together all as many as they could find, both bad and good, and the wedding was furnished with guefts. And when the king came in to see the guests, he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment. And he faith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither, not having on a wedding garment? and he was fpeechlefs. Then faid the king to his fervants, bind him hand and foot, and caft him into outer darkness; there fhall be weeping and gnashing of teeth; for many are called, but few are chofen."

The primary and principal object of this parable is to reprefent, under the image of a marriage feaft, the

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