was a righteous man;" Truly this was "the "Son of God." He confidered it as the effect of the infinite love of God, who fent his only begotten Son to die for our fins. He confidered it as an infinite price paid for the pardon of our offences, as the only way of deliverance from guilt, as the fure and certain pledge of peace to an awakened confcier.ce. In this view, how does it rife in his esteem? While others aredifpofed to fcorn, pitying their madness, he is conftrained to worship and adore. Think of it, Chriftians, how different were the fentiments of his infulting enemies and his mourning disciples, when he hung upon the cross. The one confider him as a guilty fufferer, the other as a loving Saviour. The hearts of the one were boiling with hatred, or filled with contempt; the hearts of the other were fwallowed up in admiration, or melted with love.

A

2. The apostle's glorying in the cross, implied his having a ftrong though humble confidence of his own relation to and interest in it. I think it is impoffible to separate this from our idea of the apostle's meaning. We do not glory or boaft of any thing in which we have no concern. man of great genius, or uncommon worth, I may admire and honour, merely for the eminent qualities of which he is poffeffed, and I may do him all juftice by commendation; but I am never difpofed to glory in him, nor have I any title to do it unless he is fomehow related to me: but if I add, that he is my child, or he is my brother, I

may

may be truly faid to glory in him, or to boaft of him, because the honour that is given to him, is, in fome meafure, reflected upon myfelf. Again, I may speak of the riches and magnificence of fome great city; but I am then only faid to glory in it, if I add any circumstance of relation; as that it is the place of my nativity, or the place of my refidence, or the place in which I have property and intereft. When therefore the apoftle fays, "God forbid that I fhould glory "fave in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ," it certainly implies a humble perfuafion of his own intereft in it, and his happiness to flow from it. This indeed naturally arifes from a real and spi ritual discovery of its proper glory. None can fee the tranfcendent beauty of this object, till they have seen their own guilt and mifery in the fight of a holy God. And no fooner do they difcover the excellence of this atonement, its perfect fufficiency for all, and the unrestrained offer to all, than they fly to it as their fecurity, and rest on it as the ground of their hope. The word here translated glorying, fignifies at the fame time exulting, or rejoicing; and therefore to glory in the crofs, is the fame thing as to rejoice in the Saviour. The truth is, it is but feldom that this apostle mentions the death of Christ without fome appropriating expreffion: Phil. iii. 8." Yea doubtless, and I count all "things but lofs, for the excellency of the know"ledge of Chrift Jefus my Lord: for whom I "have fuffered the lofs of all things, and do "count them but dung, that I may win Chrift;"

Gal.

Gal. ii. 20. "I am crucified with Chrift: never"theless I live; yet not I, but Chrift liveth in

"

me and the life which I now live in the flesh, "I live by the faith of the Son of God, who lo"ved me, and gave himself for me.”

3. To complete the idea of the apostle's glorying in the crofs, it implies fuch a fenfe of its comparative worth, as prompts him to a public and open profession of esteem, with a fovereign contempt of the judgement or conduct of others, who fet themfelves in oppofition to it. Glorying always fignifies the declaration of our mind to others; and is not ill illuftrated by that expreffion of the apostle Paul in writing to the Romans, chap. i. 16. "For I am not afhamed of "the gofpel of Chrift: for it is the power of "God unto falvation, to every one that belie "veth, to the Jew firft, and alfo to the Greek." The oppofition between the fentiments of o thers, and his own, he often mentions; as r Cor. i. 18. "For the preaching of the cross "is to them that perish, foolishness: but unto "us which are faved, it is the power of God.” And ver. 23. "But we preach Chrift crucified, "unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the "Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are "called, both Jews and Greeks, Chrift the power "of God, and the wisdom of God." When he glo. ries in the cross, therefore, it implies an open and refolute adherence to this defpifed caufe. This meaning is particularly carried in the word cross. It had been lefs wonder, if he had faid, he gloried in his.Saviour's divine power exerted before his crucifixion,

crucifixion, or that he gloried in his triumphant refurrection, and exaltation to the right hand of God after it; but, instead of this, he fays he gloried in his cross, in his very abasement, in what was most vile and contemptible.

A late very eminent writer and champion for the cross, in a fermon on the fame fubject, makes a remark to the following purpose: “* That "through the veneration of many ages, and the "difufe of that punishment among us in the ex"ecution of malefactors, the word cross does not carry fo base an idea to our minds; but "that in the ear of a Galatian, it founded as if "the apostle had faid, he gloried in a gallows, "( a gibbet, or a halter." And in a note upon

this paffage of the fermon, when published, he expreffes himself thus: "Some perfons, I am "informed, were difgufted at these words, hal

ter, gallows, gibbet, they are fo horridly con"temptible: to whom I would reply, That the "crofs, in point of ignominy, implied all this; "and in point of torture, much more. Unless "the English reader forms to himself some such "image as this, he will never be able to appre "hend the fcandalous nature and fhocking cir"cumftances of his divine mafter's death. The "words, I muft confefs, were diverfified, and "the fentiment reiterated, on purpose to affect "the mind with this aftonishing truth. Neither can I prevail with myfelf to expunge the expreffions, unless I could fubftitute others of a

46

* Mr Harvey.

"more

"more ignominious and execrable import in "their room. Only I would beg the serious read"er to spend a moment in the following re"flection. Is it fo, that a polite and delicate

ear can hardly endure fo much as the found of "the words? How amazing then was the con"defcenfion, how charming and adorable the "goodness of God's illuftrious Son, to bear all "that is fignified by thefe intolerably vile terms, "bear it willingly, bear it chearfully, for us "men, and our falvation!"

Before concluding this head, it will be proper to obferve, in what it was the apostle did not glory. There is plainly a tacit oppofition in the form of his expreffion, to fome things in which others were apt to glory, and he as heartily defpifed: "God forbid that I fhould glory fave in "crofs of our Lord Jefus Chrift." He fays in general, Phil. iii. 7. "But what things were

gain to me, thofe I counted lofs for Chrift.” We find elsewhere, in his writings, exprefs mention of those particulars which he renounced as any subject of boafting. 1. His learning as at fcholar; 2. His privileges as a Jew; 3. Even his zeal and activity as a minifter of Chrift. Let us confider each of thefe by itfelf.

1. He would not glory in his learning as a scholar. The apostle Paul had been brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, and feems to have been well accomplished in every branch of human fcience. Yet he speaks of it with great neglect, or rather with a noble difdain, when compared