1.

SERMON XVI.

THE SAME SUBJECT ILLUSTRATED BY THE CHARACTER OF THE GOOD CENTURION.

MATTHEW, viii. 8.

"The centurion answered and said, Lord, I am not worthy that thou shouldst come under my roof; but speak the word only, and my servant shall be healed.”

THERE are few circumstances, in the writings of the sacred historians, more useful or important, than those occasional incidents which they have related concerning the conduct and characters of men, who had no immediate connection with the mission of our Saviour. In such instances, we can trace most easily the natural operation of virtue or vice upon the human heart. In the character of our Lord himself, however beautifully it is softened down to the weakness of man, and however natural it appears in the midst of its perfection, there is yet a height and a purity of principle which we can but faintly comprehend, and much more faintly imitate. In the characters of the apostles we discover, indeed, very distinctly, the usual tendencies both of virtue and of vice, by which the heart of man is influenced; yet the sphere of action in which they were engaged was so singular and lofty, that we are apt to class

them in our imaginations with a higher order of be. ings, and, in the splendour of their supernatural endow ments, to lose sight of that common nature by which we are connected with them.

It is with such characters as the centurion in the text that we can most readily compare ourselves; men engaged in the common professions, and exercising the common duties of life, whose religious impressions were derived from no miraculous call, and who were rather spectators of the great scheme of divine Providence, at that time transacting in the world, than them. selves actively engaged in carrying it on. The incident recorded in the gospel for this day* naturally leads me to make some reflections on the character of that excellent person to whom I have now alluded; a character simple and unpretending, but in the highest degree estimable, and which drew from him, to whom the human heart was known, that noble and sublime encomium, that he had "not found so great faith, no, not in Israel."

The leading feature in the mind of this worthy man seems to have been fairness or honesty, which equally influenced him in the conduct of his understanding, and in the regulation of his life. The faith which our Saviour commends in him so highly was plainly the result of this disposition. As a Roman citizen, he must have been disposed to look with indifference, if not with contempt, on the religious sects and opinions of a conquered people; and nothing but that honest love of truth, which seems to have been the guiding principle

* Third Sunday after the Epiphany.

of his understanding, could have prompted him to inquire into the foundation of the reports in circulation, concerning the character and the miracles of Christ. When he made the inquiry, he appears to have conducted it with much coolness and deliberation; and the firm persuasion in which it terminated, was established in his mind by a natural process of reasoning, derived from the habits of his own life. He himself, he knew, was a man under authority, having soldiers under him; and, likening the great government of the world to that little part of it with which he was conversant, he now believed that he had found the chosen minister of heaven, to whom all authority was committed over nature and man.

While the faith of this remarkable person was thus cautious and deliberate, it yet seems to have rested on no superfluous or impertinent curiosity. We have no reason to suppose, from the sacred historians, that he had himself witnessed any of our Lord's wonderful works, or that he had so much as seen him till he went to implore his assistance for the relief of his servant. The faith, therefore, in which his mind reposed, does not appear to have been of that overwhelming nature which could not be resisted: it was not the faith of the eyes; but it was more,-it was the faith of the understanding and of the heart.

The strength of his faith, indeed, from these sources, seems rather to have made him avoid the opportunity of having any direct intercourse with our Saviour. He was satisfied with hearing of him and worshipping him at a distance; he felt himself unworthy that so great a person should come under his roof; and, had not the

call of humanity at last forced him to break through his restraint, it is probable that the humility of his mind would have still kept him from entering into the presence of the Master whom in secret he served. It is not to be wondered at then, my brethren, that, when our Lord had conversed with this good centurion, he should have spoken of him with such distinguished approbation; or that, when he contrasted the genuine and self-taught faith of this unenlightened heathen with the blind and unconquerable incredulity of the chosen people of God, he should indeed have said, that he had not found so great faith, no, not in Israel."

It is not, however, the greatness of the centurion's faith that is alone admirable. The same just and correct feelings which prompted his belief, freed it likewise from every thing enthusiastic or extravagant. He had faith enough certainly to have become an apostle, and he could have followed his Lord into prison or to death. But to this office he was not called, and his humility forbade him to aspire. A mind less duly regulated might, in his circumstances, have formed the splendid purpose of preaching the gospel to the gentiles; but his qualifications, he knew, were of a different description, and the line of his duty had already been marked out by Providence. He was the master of a family, and, in this capacity, had many private duties to perform. He had likewise a public situation; "he was a man under authority, having soldiers under him;" and, in the faithful discharge of the duties which this office imposed upon him, he felt he could be of more essential service to his country and to mankind, than by starting out into a sphere for which he was not

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qualified by his previous habits. After having obtained from our Lord, therefore, a favourable answer to his request, he immediately returns to the duties which he had left behind him; he is no more mentioned in the history of our religion; his name even is unknown, like the names of innumerable worthy individuals which are nowhere preserved in the records of men, but which are written in the books of God.

How well the humble duties of his station were performed; how admirably the character of his life corresponded with his religious impressions; how plainly the same principle of a conscientious and honest mind led to both, will appear evidently from the short notices of his private history which the evangelists have left us. It is evident, in the first place, that he was well acquainted with his own public duty, and enforced the performance of their duty upon others. "I am a man under authority (says he), having soldiers under me, and I say unto this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it." He was, therefore, deserving of trust in a public station; orderly and active in having the business of it performed; and employing those only on whose obedience and alacrity he could depend.

While he was thus steady in enforcing the obedience of those under his authority, his kindness and humanity is equally apparent. His authority was strict, but it was merciful and compassionate. Nothing can be a plainer proof of this than the interest which he took in the sickness of his servant. We often hear in the Gospels of men applying to our Lord for the relief of their own infirmities, or those of their near relations, but, perhaps,