SERMON XVIII.

Senfe of Religion more obfervable in the middle and meaner rank of People.

MATT. xi. 25.

I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou haft hid these things from the wife and prudent, and haft revealed them unto babes.

T hath been ever accounted a great preju- SER M dice against any opinion or profeffion, and XVIII. never failed to be urged by the enemies thereof, where the cause would bear it, that it hath been generally received by mean and illiterate fort of people; by fuch as were low in the opinion of the world, and in least reputation for knowledge and quickness of parts and apprehenfion: And this not without a very plaufible fhew of reafon; fince it must be allowed, that ignorance makes men easy and credulous, and this actually difpofes them to fuperftition;

SER M. fuperftition; to a ready affent to error and XVIII. delufion; and such a zeal for what they Ꮙ have once entertained, as makes them refty

and-inflexible in it.

Now because this prejudice feems to lie fo fairly against the Gofpel, which comes openly recommended to the poor and illiterate; which applies itself profeffedly to fuch, and speaks fo plainly of the difficulty there is to be rich and wife to enter into the kingdom of heaven: Therefore my defign from these words is, to remove this prejudice, and juftify the wisdom and goodness of God in this matter.

And this I fhall the rather do, because the enemies of revelation think they have this advantage against us; for though they do not yet, that I know of, urge it openly, however they infinuate that this gives a glofs and colour to all their arguments; namely, that they are the men of converfation in the world, and of a more refined education and greater freedom of thought, who incline to reject and despise revelation. But this is fo far from being any juft prejudice against our cause, that, as I hope will appear, it is much to its advantage; it is no new thing; it was ever fo from the begining of the Gospel. And the great author of our religion is fo far from lamenting it, or being difcouraged with it, that he praises God for it in this hearty form; I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou baft bid these things from the wife and prudent, and haft revealed them unto babes.

Which ejaculation proceeded from a confi-S ER M. deration of that fort of reception his doctrine XVIII. found among men, and the occafion of it was this; when the difciples of John the Baptist had departed from our Saviour, to whom they came on a meffage, to know whether he were the Meffias; he took this opportunity to dif course to the multitude concerning John, and to fhew them how inexcufable they were for no: receiving John's teftimony concerning him.

It is plain, fays he, you all allowed him to be a Prophet; for furely you did not go into the wilderness upon fuch a trifling errand as to fee a reed played upon by the wind; nor did you go out to him to gratify your curiofity in feeing fome great and extraordinary perfonage; you would have gone to court for this, and not to a defart. So that it is evident you all went to him as to a Prophet. And fo far you are in the right, for he is more than a Prophet; for the Prophets and the law only prophefied till John; (i. e.) all that fpoke of Christ under the law, only marked him out at a distance; but John actually points him out and fays, this is he. Now though you acknowledged him to be a Prophet, as he is in truth more than a Prophet; and though ye were all baptized into his doctrine, which was that of the immediate prefence of the Meffias; yet now you act in contradiction both to yourfelves and him, in not receiving

me

SER M. me for the Meffias when he tells you plainly, XVIII. that I am he.

Upon this he obferves to them how they fruftrated all the methods of God for their converfion; especially the Scribes and Pharifees, and Rulers, who of all men had the best title to him and his doctrine, and ought to have received him with the greatest readiness and chearfulness. But on the contrary, from the days of John the Baptift until now, the kingdom of heaven fuffers violence, and the violent take it by force (i. e.) from the beginning of John's baptifm to this very day, it is obfervable how the wifeft and greatest men of the Jews, the generality of the rulers, neglected the high privileges of the Gospel, and defpifed the mercies of God offered to them in Chrift: Whereas the publicans and finners, the profelytes, and mixt multitudes break in upon their inheritance, seize upon their birth-right, and fhare it among them like a prey; and they whose more immediate right the Gofpel is, are totally excluded from any fhare, like perfons robbed and plundered of all their fubftance. Therefore it is that be rejoiced in fpirit, as St. Luke hath it, and offered up this thanksgiving to almighty God, that he had thus hid these things from the wife and prudent, and had revealed them unto babes.

By babes, in this text, we are to underftand innocent, plain, and honeft perfons of a low and meaner rank among men, who are

little in the esteem of the world for their want S ERM. of riches and honour, their learning and parts: XVIII. As they are opposed to the wife, and rich, and powerful men of this world; and they are called babes from that fimplicity and ingenuity of difpofition which is generally remarkable in them, and hardly to be found among thofe whofe minds are full of the knowledge, and the wealth, and grandeur of this life.

The occafion and meaning of these words being thus explained; in enlarging on them I Ihall obferve this method.

1. I fhall be a little more particular in shewing the truth of this faying of our bleffed Sa

viour's.

2. I fhall confider the reafons of this, and where the true caufe of it lies.

3. I fhall fhew where the great wifdom of God appears in this manner of difpenfation.

4. And lastly I fhall draw fome inferences from the whole, and make fome application of it to the two different forts of people mentioned in my text.

I. As for the truth of this faying, it hath appeared in a great degree already from what hath been faid; and perhaps there is not any one thing more frequently and plainly incul cated in the holy fcriptures, than the great indifpofition of the wife, and rich, and powerful, for the reception and practice of the Gofpel; and therefore the poor and ignorant, the people of no figure, or notice in the world, are every were fuppofed to be the only perfons VOL. II. E