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odious mixture of truth and error, Christ and Belial, light and darkness: you ought, to exercise your senses to discern good from evil. It is this inseparable connection of your duty with ours, which determined me to explain the text. It directly regards the various methods of the preachers of the gospel: but as the terms are metaphorical and obscure, it will be necessary to develop the meaning of the apostle in the following manner.

First we will examine what gave occasion for the words -next we will observe the design of the apostle in writing them in the third place we will explain the several figures made use of-and lastly we will apply the subject to prac

tice.

I. The occasion of the text will appear by a little attention to the connection in which it stands. St. Paul had been endeavouring to put an end to the divisions of the church at Corinth, and to destroy the party spirit of the Corinthians. Ought we to be astonished, that churches are so little unanimous now, when we see the diversity often among apostles and primitive christians? If peace, left by Jesus Christ as an inheritance to his apostles, could not be maintained in churches gathered by these blessed men, where must we look for it? Perhaps, division was partly owing to the imprudence of some preachers in their primitive churches: but certainly their hearers had a chief hand in fomenting them. The teachers had different gifts, and their hearers divided into parties under their ministry. It is always allowable to distinguish men, who have received great talents from God, from such as have received abilities not so great; but these Corinthian christians affected to exalt those of their ministers, who, they thought, were men of the most eminent abilities, to the depression and discouragement of the rest, and under pretence of paying homage to God the giver of these talents, they very indiscreetly idolized the men who had received them. Moreover, they made as many different religions, as God had given different commissions, and different abilities to ministers to execute them. Each party at Corinth chose out of these pretended religions that, which appeared most conformable to its prejudices. The converted pagans were for St. Paul, to whom the conversion of the Gentiles had been committed, and who brought them to the knowledge of Jesus Christ, and they said, for our parts,' we are of Paul. Such as had a taste for eloquence were for

Apollos,

Apollos, who was an eloquent man, and mighty in the scriptures, and they said, we are of Apollos. The converted Jews were for Peter, who discovered a great deal of moderation toward their ceremonies, and who had even compelled the Gentiles to live as the Jews did, that is to mix the simple worship of the new testament with the ceremonial observances of the law, and they said, as for us, we are of Cephas. And those Jews, who obstinately continued the ceremony of circumcision, pretended that they had no need of the authority either of Paul, or of Apollos, or of Cephas, for the example of Jesus Christ, who had himself been circumcised, was sufficient for them, and for their parts, they were of Christ

St. Paul tells these Corinthians, that, as long as they should continue in this disposition, he should consider them as novices in the christian religion, able at most only to understand the first principles, not to comprehend the whole design. He tells them, that there were in this religion. treasures of wisdom and knowledge, but into which men could never enter, who mixed their passions with truths intended to mortify them; and that this defect in them prevented him from attempting to lay before them these riches. I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ." I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto were not able to bear it, neither yet now are ye able. For ye are yet carnal, for whereas there is among you envying and strife, and divisions, are ye not carnal, and walk as men, 1 Cor. iii. 1-3. that is, as men of the world?

ye

Having reproved the folly, and repeated the descriptive censure, he leads them to the true motive, that should induce them to avoid it. Although, as if he had said, the talents of your ministers are not all equal, yet they all received them from the same source, that is, from the grace of God; and how amply soever any of them may be endowed with abilities, they can have no success, except the same grace bestows it. Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believed, as the Lord gave to every man, ver. 5. that is, as the blessing of God accompanied their ministry? I have planted, Apollos watered: but God gave the increase. So then neither is he that planteth any thing, neither he that watereth, but God that giveth the increase, ver. 8. A great lesson for those, to whom God hath given gifts to preach the gospel!

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A fine

A fine example of humility, which they ought always to have before their eyes! And what were the gifts, with which God enriched the first heralds of the gospel? What is a little vivacity of imagination, a little grace of elocution, a little reading, a little justness of reasoning? What are these talents in comparison with the gifts of men, who spoke several foreign languages, who understood all mysteries, who altered the laws of nature, who were dispensers of the divine power, who raised the dead, who slew the wicked with the breath of their lips, who struck dead at their feet Ananias and Sapphira, and, to say more still, who were immediately conducted by the Spirit of God in their ministry? Yet behold the man, who was first in this class of extraordinary men, behold this chosen vessel, behold the man, who could say, I was not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles, 2 Cor. xi. 5. behold him, doing homage for all his own talents, and all those of his colleagues to that grace, from which they came, and which blessed the administration of them. Who is Paul? Who is Apollos? He that planteth is nothing, he that watereth is nothing, but God that giveth the increase.

II. It was to be feared (we proceed to the design of the text) it was to be feared, that under pretence that all the ministers of the gospel were united in one point of equality; under pretence that none of them were any more than servants of God, and canals by which he communicated himself to the church; I say it was hazardous, and much to be suspected, whether teachers themselves would not abuse this equality by applying what the apostle meant only of the abilities of preachers to the very doctrines themselves, which they taught,

If this were doubtful in regard to the preachers, it was no less so in regard to the hearers. People have, I think, a natural biass to superstition. They easily shew that respect, which is due only to the character of a minister of the living God, to all that put it on, even to such as use it only for the perverting of the gospel, yea to those who endeavour to subvert it entirely. Because we ought not to hear the gospel in a spirit of chicanery and sophistry, it is supposed we ought to lay aside a spirit of discernment. Hence this way of speaking, so superstitious, and at the same time so common among us, that is, that whatever difference there may be in preachers, yet they all preach the word of God. But

is it not impossible, that from a text, which is the word of God, explications may be given, which are only the word of man. Not impossible, did I say! I believe it seldom, if ever happens, that two ministers treat of one subject without at least one of them mixing with the word of God some expressions which are only the word of man. Why? Because the conformity of their sentiments can never be so perfect, but they will differ on some questions. Now, of two men, one of whom takes the affirmative side of a question, and the other the negative, one of them must of necessity, in this respect, preach the word of God, and the other the word of man. You should not, therefore, pay a superstitious attention to our discourses. You should not, under pretence that all your ministers thus preach the word of God, confound the word of God with the word of man. Whatever patience you may be obliged to have with our imperfections, you ought not equally to esteem two discourses, the greatest part of one of which you call, and have reason to call, the word of God, and the greatest part of the other the word of man.

The design of St. Paul in our text is to rectify our judgment on this subject. For this purpose he divides preachers into three classes. The first are such as preach the word of man, not only different from the word of God, but directly in opposition to it. The second preach the pure word of God without human mixtures. The third do indeed make the word of God the ground of their preaching, but mix with it the explications and traditions of men. The apostle characterizes these three kinds of preachers, informs us of their destination, and what account God will require of their ministry.

1. Other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid. This is directed against such ministers as preach the word of man in direct opposition to the word of God, or the doctrine taught by Jesus Christ. What will be the destination of such ministers? St. Paul tells us by affirming, no man can preach, no man can lay any other foundation than that which is laid. No man can! not that this can never happen. Alas! This hath too often happened; witness many communities, which under the christian name subvert all the foundations of the christian religion. But no man can do so without rendering himself guilty of the greatest crime and exposing himself to the greatest punishment.

2. If any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones. These are ministers, who preach the pure word of God. They not only retain all the fundamental points of the christian religion, in opposition to the former who subvert them: but they explain these truth so as to affirm nothing inconsistent with them. All the inferences they draw from these great principles naturally proceed from them, and their whole doctrine is agreeable to the foundation on which it is built. On this account it is compared to gold, silver, and precious stones. What shall be the destiny of these ministers in the great day of judgment, when their doctrine shall be examined? They shall receive a reward. They shall share the glorious promises made to faithful ministers of religion.

3. If any man build upon this foundation, wood, hay, stubble. These are ministers, who really make the word of God the ground of their preaching: but who mix the word of man with it, and disfigure it with their fanciful sophistry. When the doctrine of these ministers shall be examined in the great day of judgment what shall their destiny be? They, themselves shall be saved, because they have taught nothing directly contrary to the essential truths of christianity: but they shall have no reward for exercising a ministry, in which they rendered the word of God of less effect by mixing with it the traditions of men, and they shall be saved, yet so, as by fire, that is with difficulty, because their preaching occupied the time and attention of their hearers in a manner unworthy the disciples of Jesus Christ.

This is, my brethren, a general view of the design of our text: but this is not sufficient to give an exact knowledge of it. In a discourse intended to prevent, or to eradicate a certain kind of superstition, nothing ought to be proposed that is likely to cherish it. You should not be required to believe any thing without the most full and convincing evidence. Having therefore shewn you the general design of the text, we will proceed to our third article, and explain the several metaphors made use of in it.

III. Although all these figurative expressions are selected with caution, and very bold, yet they are not all alike obscure to you. Which of you is such a novice, I do not say only in the style of the inspired authors, as not to know the idea affixed to the term foundation? In architecture they call

those

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