SERMON XII.

ST. PAUL AT ATHENS.

ACTS xvii. 23.

Whom ye therefore ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.

THE Apostle St. Paul having, as has been seen in the former discourse, noticed with approbation the approach which the Athenian people had inade towards true religion, in erecting an altar to the Supreme spiritual God, under the name of the "unknown God," proceeds to impart to them that information which was the main purpose of his address. The accusation had been brought against him, that he was a setter forth of strange gods. He now informs them that he came not to introduce amongst them a new god, but to unfold to them the nature and attributes of One whose existence they already acknowledged, but whom they worshipped in

ignorance of His real nature, of the true service which He claims from His creatures, and of His providential dealings and future judgments. Thus, in proceeding to instruct them in the great doctrines of true religion, he instils into them, in the first instance, those more just and adequate feelings respecting the one true God, which might draw them off most effectually from their heathen idolatry: and, in the second place, he opens to them the knowledge of a future state, and of a resurrection from the grave to a day. of equal judgment; that knowledge which instructs the mind of man in the nobler ends of his being, and binds him to virtuous exertion by the most animating hopes.

The part of his address, which respects the former of these subjects, shall form the matter of the present discourse.

And I would, in the first place, remark, how peculiarly the plan, which the Apostle adopts, is calculated to effect his purpose without giving too violent a shock to the religious prejudices of his hearers. He does not begin by inveighing against them for their ignorance, impiety, and folly, with that warmth which the occasion might well demand, with that glow of indignant eloquence, which was peculiarly his. He does not address to them an earnest call to desert the altars of idols formed from wood and stone, of

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beings subject to common human infirmities, the tenants of earthly temples made with hands, the powerless superintendants of some confined district. But he infuses into their minds such an august notion of the great and only God, of Him, who is the author and the lord of all creation, who dwells not in narrow confines, but spreads through all immensity; who is subject to no earthly wants or weaknesses, but is independant, spiritual, endowed with every perfection: that from a proper feeling of what he said, a contempt for their low and degraded idols would immediately ensue. Thus he evidently intends, by the course which he pursues, that the change of sentiment, which was to be generated in their minds, should rather seem to result from the spontaneous conclusion of their own reason, than to be the immediate end and aim of his address. The Apostle, it fully appears from this proceeding which he adopted, was very well aware on how cautious and delicate a plan all interference with religious prejudices must ever be conducted. He knew, with how strong and deep a root such prejudices strike into the mind of man; how they wind themselves around the heart, pervert and bend towards themselves every other feeling, and become under certain circumstances the most powerful and stirring principle of action within us. It matters not, what

may be the source and foundation of any such religious prejudices; how closely they may be associated with the most degrading superstitions, the most revolting vices, the most enormous corruptions; how entirely they may be opposed to every conclusion of reason, when that reason is allowed to exert its real bent and force: still they so completely subdue to themselves the whole disposition, so marshal on their side all other prejudices, that every attempt to root them out, must be conducted with the most delicate and cautious touch.

The Apostle then, in well judged pursuance of his important design, dwells on three circumstances explanatory of the nature of the Supreme Being, admirably calculated to strike their apprehensions, and to remove their leading errors. He tells them, in the first place, (v. 24.) that "God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that He is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands."

In the second place, (v. 25, 26.) he states that, "seeing He giveth to all life and breath, and all things, and hath made of one blood all nations of men to dwell on the face of the earth-He is not to be worshipped by men's hands, as though He needed any thing;" in other words, since He is the source of every blessing to His creatures, and

governs and provides for them by His sovereign power, He is not to be worshipped as if He were a dependant being, who stands in need of gifts and offerings from men.

In the third place, (v. 29.) he informs them, that, "forasmuch as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that He is like unto gold or silver or stone, graven by art, or man's device;" in other words, since He has formed man with a rational and understanding soul, and endowed him with many high and excellent qualities, He must be Himself an intelligent and spiritual Being, possessing in the most exalted degree every faculty and quality which He has bestowed upon others; and therefore He cannot worthily be represented in any bodily form, the work of man's device.

He begins then by announcing the great God, in the first instance, as the Creator, in the second instance, as the Lord of universal nature; and hence he presses on them the conclusion that His presence cannot be confined to any earthly edifices made with hands.

The annunciation of the truth that one supreme God exists, the author of created nature, was in no slight degree needed by those persons: to whom it was addressed. Obviously as such a truth appears to be a natural deduction of unassisted reason; it had not been felt and understood by persons whose minds were clouded