Jefus himself could not but have found, and have felt, this difadvantage; and if he had not been deterred by it from his undertaking, he must have had fuch an immoderate and abfurd conceit of himself, as could not but have appeared in his general conduct, and must have expofed him to contempt. Such is always the cafe if any perfon in fimilar circumstances with us attempt any thing above his fphere of life. It frequently happens that men of no education, and, even of low occupations, step out of their sphere, and become preachers, but they are feldom attended to, except by perfons like themselves, and they generally appear ridiculous in the eyes of others. But fuch was not the cafe with Jefus. He was revered and dreaded, by the chief perfons of his nation; and the contempt they fometimes expreffed for him was either affected, or conceived before they had fufficient knowledge of him. The manner in which they at length proceeded against him, fhews that they were most seriously alarmed, and thought their own credit and safety depended on their destroying him.

Some perfons, deftitute of the advantages of birth and education, have great natural talents,

lents, which fupply their place, and give them great influence. But Jefus does not appear to have had any advantage of this kind. Like Mofes, he was neither an orator, nor a warrior. He could, indeed, speak pertinently upon proper occafions, and he discovered great prefence of mind in critical circumftances. But this is not very uncommon, and there was nothing in his manner of speaking to captivate an audience, by moving the paffions. He never attempted any thing of the kind, and the admiration with which his discourses were heard, was excited not by any thing that we call eloquence, but by the importance of what he delivered, and his authoritative manner of fpeaking, which a consciousness of a divine miffion naturally gave him. It is evident that he avoided as much as poffible all occafions of drawing a crowd after him, and when, from the fame of his miracles, this was unavoidable, he always withdrew as foon, and as privately, as he could.

2. If we confider what it was that Jefus undertook, we fhall find that it was of a nature least of all calculated to ftrike and captivate the Jews. All that we know of them, of their general character and views, make it evident

evident that the only perfon likely to gain their favourable attention was one who would perfonate their Meffiah, who was then expected to make his appearance, to deliver them from the state of fubjection they were then under to the Romans, and to give them the empire of the world. Except Jefus himself, and his forerunner John the Baptist, no other perfon ever gained any confiderable number of followers among the Jews, who did not flatter their ambition, by advancing that pretenfion, or in fome other form erect the ftandard of liberty among them. But with thefe pretenfions they never failed to gain many followers in that nation. Jefus, however, established a permanent intereft in the affections of thousands of that country, all prepoffeffed with the idea of a temporal deliverer (at first, indeed, fondly hoping that he was the perfon) though he carefully disclaimed all fuch pretences. And what is more extraordinary, his disciples and followers increased after his death, when every idea of that kind must have been given up.

By setting himself alike against the Pharifees and Sadducees, Jefus not only rendered himself obnoxious to all the higher orders of perfons

perfons in the country, but must have been less likely to fucceed even with the common people, by whom the Pharifees were held in the highest esteem. Indeed, it cannot be said that there was any clafs or defcription of perfons to whom he paid court, or was at all ftudious to recommend himself. One of his difcourfes to the people was of fuch a nature, that all his audience left him, except the twelve apostles, and yet he was not concerned or difcouraged by it; but, turning to the twelve, he calmly faid, Will ye alfo go away? Of what kind, then, must have been the ambition of Jefus, which was equally independent of the favour of the great, and of that of the commonality? What could he have expected but universal contempt ?

A Jew, whofe object had been to draw attention as a prophet, would naturally have affumed the habit and manner of the ancient prophets of that nation, which had in them much of aufterity. And by this means John the Baptist, who did not pretend to work miracles, was highly and generally respected. But Jefus, though with that example before him, adopted a very different manner. He appears to have dreffed, and to have lived,

like other perfons, without any peculiarity whatever. Whenever he was invited, he did not decline being prefent at entertainments, and his prefence does not appear to have been at any time a check upon their innocent feftivity. This was fo much the cafe, that his enemies faid' of him, that he was a gluttonous man and a winebibber, as well as a friend of publicans and finners.

Befides, that, in a civil refpect, the appearance and pretenfions of Jefus were ill adapted to favour any ambitious views, he taught nothing with respect to religion that was likely to recommend him to his countrymen. He did not pretend to teach any doctrine that was properly new, but his expofing of the abfurd comments of the authorised expounders of the law of Mofes, together with their perfonal vices, was certainly hazardous. The general object of his preaching was to inculcate the strictest and pureft morality, fuch as is found in the ancient prophets. But he drew the attention of his hearers in a more particular manner to a future ftate, much more than had been done by any of the prophets who had preceded him.

The doctrine of a refurrection was at that