SERMON XI,

LUKE iv. 31.

AND THEY WERE ASTONISHED AT HIS DOCTRINE, FOR HIS WORD WAS WITH

POWER.

T

IT

is evident from this, and many other fimilar paffages of the New Teftament, that our bleffed Lord's discourses made a very uncommon and wonderful impreffion on the minds of his hearers. We are told, in various places, "that the common people heard him "gladly; that they wondered at the gracious "words which proceeded out of his mouth, "and declared, with one voice, that never man "fpake like this man*." Expreffions of this fort, which continually occur in relation to our Saviour's preaching, we never find applied in

• Mark xii. 37. Luke iv. 22. John vii. 46.

Scripture to any other teacher of Religion; neither to the prophets who preceded, nor to the apoftles that followed him. And we may be fure, that the effects of his doctrine muft have been very extraordinary indeed, when it could draw fuch strong language as this from the Evangelifts, who, in general, express themfelves with much calmnefs and fimplicity; and frequently describe the most astonishing miracles, and deliver the fublimeft doctrines, without any apparent emotion, or remarkable energy of diction.

What, then, could it be which gave fuch furprizing force to our Saviour's inftructions, fuch power to his words? He employed none of those rhetorical artifices and contrivances, those bold figures and unexpected strokes of overbearing eloquence, which the most celebrated worldly orators have generally made use of, to inflame the paffions and gain the admiration of the multitude, Thefe, certainly, were not the inftruments employed by our Saviour to command attention. The caufes of these surprizing effects which his preaching produced, were of a very different nature.

Some

Some of these I fhall endeavour to enumerate and illuftrate as concifely as I can.

1. The first was, the infinite importance and dignity of the fubjects he difcourfed upon. He did not, like many ancient and many modern philofophers, confume his own time, and that of his hearers, with idle, fruitless fpeculations, with ingenious effays, and elaborate difquifitions on matters of no real use or moment, with fcholastic distinctions, and unintelligible refinements; nor did he, like the Jewish rabbins, content himself with dealing out ceremonies and traditions, with difcourfing on mint and cummin, and eftimating the breadth of a phylactery; but he drew off the attention of his followers from these trivial, contemptible things, to the greatest and nobleft objects that could engage the notice, or intereft the heart of

man.

He taught, in the first place, the existence of one Supreme Almighty Being, the creator, preferver, and governor of the universe. To this great Being he taught men how to pray, to worship him in fpirit and in truth, in holinefs and purity of life. He laid open all the depravity of human nature; he pointed out

the

way,

the only effectual remedy for it; belief in himfelf, the the truth, and the life; repentance and amendment; an entire and abfolute renovation of heart, and an unreferved fubmiffion to the will and the law of God.

The morality he taught was the pureft, the foundeft, the fublimeft, the most rational, the most perfect, that had ever before entered into the imagination, or proceeded from the lips of man. And the uniform tendency of all his doctrines, and all his precepts, was to make the whole human race virtuous and happy; tó compofe them into refignation and content; to infpire them with fentiments of justice, equity, mildness, moderation, compaffion, and affection towards each other; and to fill them with fure hope and truft in God for pardon of their fins, on moft equitable terms, and the affiftance of his holy fpirit to regulate their future conduct.

And, finally, to give irrefiftible force to his commands, he added the moft awful fanctions, the doctrines of a future refurrection, a day of judgment and of retribution, a promife of eterpal rewards to the good, and a denunciation

of