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Upon this verse it behoves us to remark, that the end proposed by the miracles of the Redeemer was not merely that of affording testimony to the divinity of his mission, but that of stirring to a godly repentance the beings, who were privileged to behold the super-human exhibition. There are many in our own days who receive miracles as attestations to the authority of Christ; and having thus used them as a kind of outwork or defence, discard them as unavailable to any more practical purposes. But the inhabitants of Chorazin and Bethsaida might have gone just as far as these modern believers in miracles, and yet not have attained to the knowledge of the better way; they might have been moved by the wonderworkings they beheld, to recognize in the Saviour a teacher come from God, and yet have stopt short of that hearty reception of him under his leading offices, which can alone ensure any participation in the benefits of his mission and thus an historical belief in miracles in itself is utterly worthless. And if I believe that Christ wrought miracles, and yet repent not at his preaching, I am then an open infidel; for I confess all that gives his preaching authority, and yet I neglect and defy that preaching as if it possessed no authority.

Let us lay down, therefore, as an established position, ere we enter upon the difficulties of our subject, that the miracles wrought by Christ consisted of a sufficient machinery for stirring to repentance every beholder; so that they who saw those miracles, and yet repented not, must have hardened themselves in their obstinacy, and closed wilfully their hearts against con.. viction. I forget not while I lay down this position, that there must be an in

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ternal miracle in the salvation of man, the place of which can never be supplied by external miracles. But I am speaking of the earliest elements of conversion; and I affirm, that the outward working of supernatural power which Christ Jesus put forth, should have sufficed to bring the spectators into the attitude of humble and submissive enquirers, and have prepared them for those operations of the Spirit whereof they would then have assuredly been the subject. It is no infringement on the indivisibility of redemption to affirm, that the Almighty doth work herein by means of such a process as this of miraculous power, which was calculated, not indeed to convert the soul, but certainly to make way for that new creation which arises always from beneath the influences of the Spirit. He who hardeneth himself against miracles may be said to have slain the fair voice of conversion; he doth, in fact, shut up his heart against the plough which was sent to break and soften the soil; thus destroying salvation while yet in its most incipient state, just as an oak may be crushed by crushing an acorn.

With these remarks premised on the means of grace which had been afforded by miracles, I proceed to the consideration of that remarkable denunciation of wrath which is contained in the passage before us. "Woe unto thee, Chorazin! woe unto thee Bethsaida; for if the mighty works which were done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes."

Now I call this denunciation a remarkable denunciation, not so much on account of its implying, that neglect of the means of grace would call down an especial torrent of vengeance; for

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the whole tenor of the Bible leads us to expect, that privilege despised and vengeance provoked will invariably be found to walk side by side: but the passage appears almost literally to affirm, that to one set of men God grants greater means than he allows to another, while at the same time it intimates, that had the means and opportunities been more equal, many would have repented who have died in rebellion. | And herein moreover it is, that we are called on for the exercise of meek and submissive dispositions. The subject involves God's sovereignty, and the sovereignty of God must be reverenced rather than scrutinized by beings like ourselves of finite intelligence. there had been wrought in Tyre and Sidon the works of which Chorazin and Bethsaida had been the scene, then we are assured by the lips of infinite truth, that clothing themselves with sackcloth and covering themselves with ashes, Tyre and Sidon would have long ago repented.

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There are two questions suggested by this representation, the replies to which will furnish two topics of discourse. In the First place, Does God grant to all men a sufficiency of means for repentence?-and in the Second, Is it any contradiction to his granting sufficiency, that he should have given to Chorazin opportunities which he denied to Tyre, knowing that they would have been sufficient where withheld? In these questions are condensed all the difficulties of the subject.

When I read that Tyre would have repented with the same means of grace which were vouchsafed to Chorazin, I naturally enquire, whether the means afforded to Tyre were in themselves sufficient; and if I satisfy myself on this point, then I as naturally ask, If Tyre only wanted additional means, which additional means were allowed to Chorazin, to have repented, how can it be consistent with the justice of God's dealings, to have refused those means, and thus left Tyre and Sidon to perish? Now I lay down as an axiom, that the Judge of all the earth must invariably do right, and that there is no solitary individual throughout the tribes of human population, with whom God does not deal with the strictest measure both of justice and goodness. When the thrones shall be set and the

books shall be opened, we nothing doubt that it will be made manifest to the assembled universe, that all who are condemned shall be self-condemned, and that the whole scene of final assize will be one stupendous display of mercy proffered to every rational creature, accepted by this man and scorned by that. You observe, that the comparison in our text is between the heathen who never heard the Gospel, and the Jews unto whom it was published with all the accompaniments of superhuman manifestation-between Tyre, through whose streets the Redeemer had never passed, and Chorazin, whose walls had re-echoed his teaching. Although there is a palpable disproportion between the means afforded, it cannot be supposed that there was not a sufficiency in the one case just as well as in the other.

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Now I would not go into bold assertions; but I think there would be no small difficulty in proving, that considered relatively to the dispensations in which they lived, Chorazin and Bethsaida enjoyed privileges vastly greater than did Tyre and Sidon. look at Chorazin and the Gospel is preached unto them-we look at Tyre and the Gospel is not preached unto them; and then we hastily conclude, that if Chorazin had sufficiency of means, Tyre could not have had sufficiency of means; whereas Chorazin and Tyre were under different dispensations; the one was under the Gospel dispensation, and the other was not under the Gospel dispensationthe one was to be judged by the standard of revelation, and the other was not be judged by the standard of revelation. And what is there unreasonable in the supposition, that the means afforded to Tyre for exciting her to the obedience required at her hand, were just as ample as those given to Chorazin for raising her to that loftier dedication which the Gospel demanded? We have no right to compare means of grace abstractedly and independently; means must be viewed in connection with the end; and by this connection, and this alone, must their difference or their equality be decided. I will exemplify my meaning by a simple illustration. man be required to lift a thousand tons weight, and another a single ton weight,

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the arm of either must receive a communication of strength before that arm can accomplish the task. But they do not both require the same communication; and it is no proof that sufficiency has not been vouchsafed to each, because there is given to one only a thousandth part of the vigour infused into the other. Apply this to the case under review. You say that Tyre could not have had sufficiency of means, because, as compared with Chorazin, there was a vast inferiority in her means; but if Tyre had only the single ton, and Chorazin the thousand tons, who can prove to me, that, relative to the task, Tyre had not as much strength given her for the lesser, as Chorazin had for the greater? I am aware of the numerous and pressing difficulties which crowd on us when we contemplate the case of the heathen, who have never been blessed by the preaching of the Gospel: whereas it is undeniable from the verse preceding our text, speaking of these heathens as if they were to be judged by the Gospel of Jesus Christ, that there will be for them a standard of trial most nicely proportioned to their means of improvement. "I say, It shall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon at the day of judgment than for you." And since where less has been given there also shall less be required, it seems to be matter of demonstration, that Tyre and Chorazin might be practically on an equality, more being expected where more had been imparted, and the nicest proportion in each case maintained between what God gave in assistance, and what God demands in obedience.

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lasting covenant ordered in all things and sure. Now this doctrine hath to many proved a grievous stumbling block; and the slightest allusion to it calls up a host of warring emotions; and we are instantly told, that if the especial assistances of the Spirit are necessary to salvation, then it is idle to talk of the general assistances as if they were sufficient. It were a foolish attempt to sweep away all mystery from the doctrine of election. I would not embark in this attempt; I rather confess the mystery, and bow before it: I pretend not to measure nor to penetrate its deep recesses. suppose it to be quite undeniable, that God does more for one man than he does for another; and while I can only resolve his dealings into his absolute and inscrutable sovereignty; still I am in no sense driven from my position, that he doth sufficiently for all men. I shall take the case of the present congregation. You are all gathered to receive a message from the Almighty Maker of heaven and earth. I shall deliver that message to you with all plainness and fidelity; and I will tell you, that there is not one among you who lies not under the wrath and curse of the Most High. tell you that the wages of sin is death; "the soul that sinneth it shall die"and that the law hath included all under sin-that we are no better than condemned criminals waiting the execution of the tremendous sentence. Then I would further tell you, there hath been a mighty interposition on behalf of our outcast race-that Deity hath come down and clothed himself with flesh, so that the cause of enmity hath been removed, and blood hath been shed by which the soul may be cleansed, and a righteousness wrought out in which she may be arrayed. And I go on to a still more cheering announcement; and I tell you, I am commissioned to invite you, and earnestly to beseech the very poorest and unworthiest of you all, to draw nigh and We are accustomed to believe-and accept this great salvation. There is I know not, as I told you this morn- to be no money, no worth, no recoming, how the Bible can be attentively mendation. Are you willing? Then, read, and this belief be rejected-that whomsoever will, let him come. Now, God hath set apart to himself a be- if there be no jugglery, no deception in lieving remnant, which in his own this message-if I exceed not the bounds good time he effectually calls, their of my commission when I entreat you salvation being secured by the ever-in the name of the Omnipotent Creator

But while the case of the heathen, as contrasted with that of the Christian, furnishes strictly no argument against the supposition, that God grants to all men sufficiency of means for repentance, still the question requires a closer examination; and I would meet it, not so much by national, as by individual comparison.

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condemned for having rejected the Gospel. There is not one among you who will have the hardihood to send forth a negative answer. Why should men stand splitting hairs and quibbling about technical niceties, just as if it were not demonstrable even to a child's capacity, that, if I had assistance enough to justify my being condemned for rejecting salvation, I must have had enough to enable me to accept salvation? Election has no right to enter into the calculation: men take refuge in God's election, just for the purpose of varnishing over the perversion of their own election. And I demand of you a personal enquiry: I once more tell you, I come charged with an individual message-a message which is full of the proffers of mercy-a message whose every syllable breathes nothing but the most unshackled redemption. I deliver this message-I press home this message : you listen, it may be, with an eager attention, and you hang on the lips of the preacher while he tells you, that "God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself." and there is a kind of thrill running throughout the assembly, when the cross is exhibited with its retinue of glories and manifestations.

to come with all your sins and with all | enmity with God, he will be justly your wretchedness, and to receive the full and free redemption which hath been provided by Christ-(for I told you this morning that the whole world has been redeemed; "Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world:" and how can those who bolster themselves up in their selfish notions of privilege, get rid of those words without perverting the language?) -I say, if I am not playing the part of a false teacher, when I tell you that readiness to be saved is practically synonymous with being saved, then what becomes of the assumption, that God affords not to every one among us a sufficiency of means? Suppose you never had heard of election-suppose there were no such doctrine as election, would you then deny that the means were sufficient? If any man lack wisdom let him ask of God." "Come unto me all ye who labour and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you." "The blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth from all sin." "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so shall the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life." I would put forth such portions of Scripture as these before a man who knows nothing, who has heard nothing of election; and I am persuaded that he will own they are explicit enough, and clear enough, and that whosoever fails of salvation must fail by his own fault and folly. And if his decision is right when ignorant of election, it ceases not to be right when he is made acquainted with election. Either the means are sufficient or they are insufficient. But we judge sufficiency by a most erroneous criterion, when we determine that, in order to be sufficient, they must needs be effectual; that, in short, they must produce salvation before they can be enough for salvation. God might, if he so pleased, have saved each of us against his will; but no man will argue that nothing can be sufficient which stops short of compulsion. And if it be demanded that I give a definition of sufficiency, I affirm it must be fetched from the future life rather than from the present; and that each of us is in the possession of such means of grace, that if he die at

Now if any of you go away from the Church with an offer of mercy and gracious deliverance ringing in his ears, and if he lie down to rest without availing himself of this mercy, and the morning watch find him stretched in the coldness and stiffness of death-I only ask, whether, on his sudden appearance before the tribunal of God, he will dare to say, "O Father, I have no interest in thy Son; but the cause is, I had no interest in thy election." Will he not rather stand self-convicted by the memory of this our present assembly? And in the place of pleading, "If greater means had been vouchafed, my soul would have been saved"-will he not exclaim, "If I had employed the means actually given, my soul would never have been lost?" I do assert, that the only just criterion of sufficiency of means is, the justness of condemnation. If enough has been given to condemn me, enough must have been given to save me; condemnation being just only so far

answer to such a question in all the range of theology, unless it be this, "Even so, Father, for so it seemeth good in thy sight." The enquiry has reference to the sovereignty of the Most High; and reverential silence is the best reply when so inscrutable an

But without presuming to be wise above what is written, I would throw out one or two hints on the point that appears most mysterious in the text.

as salvation has been placed within, my reach. Therefore, to repeat my own words, I throw the doctrine of election utterly out of sight: all who perish, perish not by God's election, but by their own election. And so evident is this, that unless you are prepared to overturn the whole doc-attribute forms the subject of research. trine of the moral government of the universe, that sufficiency, though not equality of means, is afforded to all I might answer the first question by paraphrasing the words of our text,Woe unto thee, Tyre! woe unto thee, Sidon! for if mightier works indeed have been wrought in Chorazin and Bethsaida than in you, and you would have repented had I poured upon you more overwhelming tokens, and had arrested you by more paralysing discoveries, even then you could not complain: but enough has been imparted even unto you: you have rejected light, you have rejected evidence; and therefore you also shall perish, though not beneath so tremendous a vengeance as shall overtake others, favoured more and instructed more, and assisted more. And now, if I have at all successfully grappled with the difficulties of our first question, there will remain comparatively but little to bring forward in answer to the second: for if we are satisfied that a sufficiency of means is granted to all, there can be nothing unjust in God's vouchsafing especial assistance to some.

If it be true that enough was imparted to Tyre and Sidon, then those cities could have no right to complain because more was bestowed on Chorazin and Bethsaida: their sufficiency was in no way affected by their neighbour's superiority. And when God has dealt equally with the human race, granting unto each individual means of grace, which if rightly improved would be adequate to their emergencies, he cannot be accused of violating equity if he adds particular to general assistance. I have no intention of denying, that there is something that almost staggers the mind in an announcement that does seem to imply that Tyre and Sidon perished through want of means, which were freely given to Chorazin and Bethsaida; and we are tempted to ask, Why were means granted where God knew they would be useless ?-why denied where they would be effectual? There is no

Had Tyre enjoyed the same means as Chorazin, Tyre would have repented, though Chorazin was obdurate: and it strikes us as a species of hardship, that Tyre should have been left without privileges which confessedly she would have really improved. Now, ifthere be really any hardship it can only be in that which follows. If Tyre acted up to the extent of her means, and perished simply through lack of additional means-had this have been the case there might have been hardship: but I deny altogether that such was the case. I have shown you already, that Tyre had a sufficiency of means; and if therefore she had acted up to the extent of her means, those means being sufficient, she would clearly have been saved. So that when she perished, she perished not through the want of greater means, but simply through the non-improvement of the lesser. Aye-but why not give her the greater, and thus secure her salvation? Brethren, man is a responsible agent; and it is inconsistent with his responsibility that he should be saved by compulsion. It is quite clear, that if whenever man is rushing to an act of transgression, the Almighty should unsheath the sword of vengeance before him, or make the flames of hell burst forth in his path, the sinner would be arrested and not dare to proceed; and thus he might be kept in the pathway of obedience, not as a moral agent, not as a man, but only as a machine; because there is in every case, either national or individual, an incentive or stimulus, beyond which if means of grace advance, they cease to be means, and become restraints: and it is utterly at variance with the responsibleness of man, that God should employ a mechanism which leaves man no choice: and yet most probably, this is the very mechanism, the absence of which we make the hardship of Tyre.

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