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So far as charity is the gift of God to us, it arises necessarily from the nature and conditions of the Christian religion; where unity is so conspicuous in all its rites and doctrines. We have one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one spirit to animate us; one hope of our calling: and, in the sacrament of the Lord's supper, we all partake of one bread, and thereby become one body. Thus we are called to unity and love, by all the terms of our faith and worship. God hath made us one, as members of his Church: and so far charity is his gift. How it is to be preserved, we are taught at large in the chapter from whence the text is taken. There it appears, that Christians, who are called to a state of unity, are to keep themselves in it, by kindness and long suffering; by bearing with one another's imperfections and weaknesses; by putting away all envy and opposition, all that carnal vanity, which makes us desire to be distinguished in the sight of men, rather than in the favour of God; by bearing with things that may be disagreeable to us; hoping that things are not so bad as they may seem; and that what is bad will be better; by lamenting the offences of our brethren; not rejoicing at their miscarriages in short, by serving others and reducing ourselves for thus did the son of man come to take upon him the form of a servant, and to minister to the wants of all, rather than to be magnified and ministered to by any. He, who can follow this example, will be a charitable man, and shall inherit the rewards of charity, in that blessed place from whence it cometh. His faith may remove mountains; his hope may lift him above the world; but his charity alone will carry him to heaven.

SERMON XIII.

MY HOUSE SHALL BE CALLED THE HOUSE OF PRAYER.

MATTH. XXI. 13.

ABOUT four hundred years ago, when the corruptions of Popery had overspread this kingdom, and were become insupportable, the office of preaching was almost totally neglected in country parishes: and there were indeed but few of the clergy who were qualified to preach, so that the ministerial duty was reduced in a manner to the offices of baptizing, confessing, praying and administering the sacrifice of the mass. Such gross errors were mixed with the doctrines of the church, and so many abuses were practised in the discipline of that time to supply the avarice of the bishop of Rome, and render the priesthood at home a more profitable trade, that it was thought more advisable to keep the common people in ignorance; who were therefore but meanly provided with preachers. But when the eyes of men began to be opened by the remonstrances of the Reformers, the clergy themselves became sensible of the defect, and preaching was again in fashion. As the people grew more enlightened, their inclination to preaching increased, and the clergy found it their interest, as well as their duty, to gratify it, and to adorn their preaching with a proper degree of learning and eloquence.

But such is the weakness of mankind, that they are always prone to correct one error by running into

another. Religion, which in one age had little or no preaching, in the next had scarcely any thing else. Men of seditious inclinations, who were poisoned with foreign prejudices, took advantage of this humour of the people to inflame them against their governors, and turn their hearts from the apostolical constitution of the Church. In the days of Elizabeth, this spirit wrought furiously, but was kept under by authority, and prevented at that time from doing the mischief it meditated. In the next reign, it was reasoning and plotting, but the nation was not enough prepared till the days of Charles the First; when the combustible materials, which had been gradually introduced, and laid up in store for many years past, by artful and insinuating preachers, took fire at last, and spread a flame over the land, which devoured both Church and State, and was visible to all the western parts of Christendom. Then there was nothing but preaching. The ears of all orders of men, from the highest to the lowest, were filled with it. When one preacher had finished his sermon, another got up into the same pulpit, and then another; so that on great days there was no intermission from morning till night. The people, however, awaking at length from the delusion which had seized upon them, and feeling the misery and oppression with which they had been loaded by their new masters, were surfeited with that preaching which had deceived their understandings, and driven them upon their own ruin, instead of leading them to true Christian godliness. They discovered that there was a great difference betwixt walking with God, and talking with him: the former was the profession of their leaders, but the latter was their practice; and the freedom and sauciness of their language was often

but little short of blasphemy. When there was no preaching, superstition and corruption prevailed; when there was overmuch, it was of a flatulent and inflammatory kind; and it appeared at length so ridiculous, that the style and manner of it was purposely avoided after the Restoration by most men who were regularly educated. But alas! when they did this, they fell into another error, under which we are now suffering. The spirit of prayer and of Christian godliness, having exposed itself in the intemperate and hypocritical effusions of fanatic zeal, was now more coldly affected, and preachers were shy of betraying any symptoms of religious warmth, lest they should be suspected for hypocrites. Interpretations of the Scripture had been made so cheap, and had been so ill managed, that they had given great disgust. The preachers of the former time had made an ostentatious shew of understanding all-mysteries. They could find the Pope's errors and their own fancies any where in the minor prophets; and could tell you the mystical intention of the snuffers and fire-shovels of the tabernacle. This evil was corrected by what was called moral preaching; and unfortunately for the times, a generation of metaphysicians arose, who gave a new turn to the thoughts of Christian scholars, and furnished them with dry, speculative, unprofitable, and sometimes very dangerous matter. The Old Testament, with which the Puritans had held such ridiculous familiarity, came to be much neglected, and of course much misunderstood; of which I could give some frightful examples from writers of high reputation. Where this happens,

every

The celebrated John Bunyan wrote a mystical Exposition of article in Solomon's Temple.

the New Testament can never long maintain its authority; and we are all witnesses, that the neglect of its doctrines by our preachers has offended the common people, and laid them open to the attempts of mercenary enthusiasts, who preach without discretion, and act without authority. Our Dissenters also, are, in general, much departed from their original profession, and, in their discourses, preached and printed, some of them approach nearer to the cold philosophy of Bolingbroke, and the wildness of Voltaire, than to the faith and language of their forefathers and this I would tell them, not out of any ill-will, but that they may consider from whence they have departed, and learn, that soundness of teaching is always brought into great danger, when we affect separate ways of worship. The duty of a Christian minister requires him therefore to know and to avoid all these dangers; to keep up the knowledge of Christian doctrine in the people, by the light of his preaching; and to warn them at all times of the necessity of praying. We may preach again and again; but unless we can preach till we make men pray, it is all to no purpose. Be ye doers of the word, says the Apostle, and not hearers only. But how are we to do it? Hearing only shews us what it is; the grace of God enables us to perform it; and that grace is never to be obtained, but by prayer. St. Paul saw a great light from the heaven which struck him and his companions to the earth; and he heard the voice of Christ himself speaking to him: then he went blind to Damascus, and remained for some time in this dreadful state of suspense, under the hand of God. All this train of miracles was designed only to turn his heart, and bring him to his prayers; and the means, with such an heart to work

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