V. yet unfulfilled. For this was the hour of SERMON the completion of God's ancient covenant. It was the performance of the mercy promised to the fathers. We behold the consummation of a great plan, which, throughout a course of ages, had been uniformly pursued; and which, against every human appearance, was, at the appointed moment, exactly fulfilled. No word that is gone out of the mouth of the Lord shall fail. No length of time alters his purpose. No obstacles can retard it. Towards the ends accomplished in this hour, the most repugnant instruments were made to operate. We discern God bending to his purpose, the jarring passions, the opposite interests, and even the vices of men; uniting seeming contrarieties in his scheme; making the wrath of man to praise him; obliging the ambition of Princes, the prejudices of the Jews, the malice of Satan, all to concur, either in bringing forward this hour, or in completing its destined effects. With what entire confidence ought we to wait for the fulfilment of all his other promises in their due time; even when events are most embroiled, and the prospect is most discoura K 2 V. SERMON discouraging? Although thou sayest, Thou canst not see him; yet judgment is before him, therefore trust thou in him. Be attentive only to perform thy duty; leave the event to God; and be assured, that under the direction of his Providence, all things shall work together for a happy issue. LASTLY, The consideration of this whole subject tends to excite gratitude and devotion, when we approach to God in acts of worship. The hour of which I have discoursed, presents him to us in the amiable light of the Deliverer of mankind, the Restorer of our forfeited hopes. We behold the greatness of the Almighty, softened by the mild radiance of condescension and mercy. We behold him diminishing the awful distance at which we stand from his presence, by appointing for us a Mediator and Intercessor, through whom the humble may, without dismay, approach to Him who made them. By such views of the Divine nature, Christian faith lays the foundation for a worship which shall be at once rational and affectionate; a worship, in which the light of the understanding shall V. shall concur with the devotion of the heart, SERMON and the most profound reverence be united with the most cordial love. Christian faith is not a system of speculative truths. It is not a lesson of moral instruction only. By a train of high discoveries which it reveals, by a succession of interesting objects which it places in our view, it is calculated to elevate the mind, to purify the affections, and, by the assistance of devotion, to confirm and encourage virtue. Such, in particular, is the scope of that Divine institution, the Sacrament of our Lord's Supper. To this happy purpose, let it conduce, by concentering, in one striking point of light, all that the Gospel has displayed of what is most important to man. Touched with just contrition for past offences, and filled with a grateful sense of Divine goodness, let us come to the altar of God; and with a humble faith in his infinite mercies, devote ourselves to his service for ever. K 3 SERMON SERMON VI. On GENTLENESS. JAMES, iii. 17. The wisdom that is from above, is-gentle то be wise in our own eyes, to be wise in the opinion of the world, and to be wise in the sight of God, are three things so very different, as rarely to coincide. One may often be wise in his own eyes, who is far from being so in the judgment of the world; and to be reputed a prudent man by the world, is no security for being accounted wise by God. As there is a worldly happiness, which God perceives to be no other than disguised misery; as there are worldly honours, which in his estimation are reproach; so there is a worldly wisdom, which in his sight is foolishness. Of this worldly VI. 1 worldly wisdom the characters are given SERMON in the context, and placed in contrast with those of the wisdom which is from above. The one is the wisdom of the crafty; the other that of the upright. The one terminates in selfishness; the other, in charity. The one is full of strife and bitter envyings; the other, of mercy and of good fruits. One of the chief characters by which the wisdom from above is distinguished, is gentleness, of which I am now to discourse. Of this there is the greater occasion to discourse, because it is too seldom viewed in a religious light; and is more readily considered by the bulk of men, as a mere felicity of nature, or an exteriour accomplishment of manners, than as a Christian virtue, which they are bound to cultivate. I shall first explain the nature of this virtue; and shall then offer some arguments to recommend, and some directions to facilitate, the practice of it, I BEGIN with distinguishing true gentleness from passive tameness of spirit, and from unlimited compliance with the manners of others. That passive tameK 4 ness, |