66 the mark, for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus!" Then should we realize the touching and beautiful description of David. Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity! It is like the precious ointment upon the head, that ran down upon the beard, even Aaron's beard; that went down to the skirts of his garments; as the dew of Hermon, and as the dew that descended upon the mountains of Zion: for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life for evermore." SERMON VIII. Eighth Beatitude, 5TH. CHAP. OF ST. MATTHEW, THE 10TH, 11TH, AND 12TH VERSES. "Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for their's is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.” A FALSE and pernicious custom has been too widely diffused, of interpreting Scripture as though its most important injunctions related only to the apostolic age, or. or to that which immediately succeeded. Thus the alarming picture of human depravity represented in the Bible, is supposed to belong exclusively to those upon whom the light of the Gospel had never dawned; the exhortations to implicit faith are thought applicable only to those, who had never heard of a crucified Saviour; and conformity to the world, is esteemed a compliance with the outward abominations of Pagan idolatry alone, and the infamous vices which attended them. It is wonderful how completely such characters contrive to neutralize the awful denunciations of God. They find in the Gospel nothing to alarm their security, nothing to dissipate their self-delusion, nothing to humble their pride, nothing to mortify their corruptions. They make the faith, of whose importance, and of whose difficulty, the inspired writers give such vivid descriptions, the mere assent of the understanding to historical evidence, the introduction into the visible church by baptism, an outward conformity to an established creed, or even the the privilege of having been born in a Christian country. Repentance is deemed totally unnecessary for those whom the polish of education has made apparently correct; or whom natural mildness of disposition has rendered amiable. Universal holiness finds a cheap substitute in the maxims of the world, which, while they reform the errors which obstruct our interest, or the vices which undermine our respectability, leave the heart a prey to its corruptions, and generate, or foster, a spirit totally opposite to that of true Christianity. With such dispositions, it is not surprising that the generality of professing Christians, should treat with incredulity or contempt all those passages of Scripture, which clash with that worldly reputation which is their idol, or that worldly ease which they are willing to purchase even by the sacrifice of heaven. If they can serve two masters at the same time it is well. They are ready enough to embrace a system which costs them nothing. As the days of persecution are over, and Christianity |