myself to prove that the enemies of our Lord, when he was upon earth, were very unreasonable and unjust in treating him as they did, I should have an easy task, and, I suppose, the ready assent of all my hearers. But there may be persons present, who, though they little suspect themselves, are equally misled by prejudices; and, under a semblance of zeal for a form of godliness, oppose the truth and power of it, upon the same principles, and in the same spirit, as the Jews and Heathens did of old. The Jews who condemned MESSIAH to death, blamed their forefathers for persecuting the prophets who foretold his appearance; but their own conduct towards him was a proof, that had they lived in the days of the prophets, they would have acted as their fathers had done. So the resentment that many, who bear the Christian name in this day, discover again the doctrines of the Gospel, and against the ple who profess them, is a proof that they have concurred with those who crucified of glory, had they lived in Jerusalem In this prophecy, David, under t1 the Holy Spirit, speaks of the " present. He saw the resist made to the person and the powers of the worl their force and po1

"whom hono

ply with

the law

to

ed and died lamented, that elves and their families in the which they unjustly punished ed their protection. For,

n to MESSIAH and his kingdom is and ineffectual, than unreasonable and Nor is it vain only, but ruinous to engage in it. What did the Jews build ney rejected the foundation stone which nad laid in Zion? They acted, as they ght, with precaution and foresight. They said, f we let him thus alone, all men will believe on

set a great value upon the blessings of civil and religious liberty; I reverence the constitutional rights of nations, particularly of our own. But they are all dependent upon the will of our Lord; and I know not by what means they can be preserved to a people, when their sins have made them ripe for judgement. But "let the dead "bury their dead."* God will never want instruments, when it is his pleasure to relieve the oppressed, or to abase the proud. For these purposes, he over-rules the counsels and affairs of men, pours contempt upon the designs of princes, and takes the wise in their own craftiness. The subjects of his spiritual kingdom have only to commit their cause to him, to wait upon him, to observe and to admire his management. Their best interest is always safe. And even the troubles they meet with, are appointed for their good. But if they so far conform to the world, as to take an active and decided part in the disputes and contentions around them, they usually dishonour their Christian character, and obstruct their own peace and comfort. There may possibly be some exceptions. God may sometimes place a servant of his, by the leading of his providence, in a post of high political importance, as he did Joseph and Daniel, but I believe such instances are few; and if any venture of their own accord beyond the proper line of their calling as Christians, the event is usually grief and loss to them. They are described in his word, as those "who "are quiet in the land," and such should be their deportment.

We are sure it was thus, in the first and golden days of Christianity. The Roman government

*Matt. viii. 22.

+ Psal. xxxv. 20.

was then absolute, arbitrary, and oppressive. Tiberius, Caligula, Nero, and others, who presided over it, and bore the name of Roman emperors, were beyond measure vile and abominable: one of them was, by a decree of the Roman senate, sentenced to death as a public enemy to mankindbut the Christians neither disputed their right, nor disobeyed their authority. Kings and rulers, therefore, have nothing to fear from the Gospel of Christ. The maxims of sound policy would engage all their influence in facilitating its progress; for true Christians will assuredly be good subjects. Impatience of subordination, contempt of lawful authority, tumults, riots, and conspiracies, are evils which would have no place if the Gospel was generally received. But princes have been usually exposed to the flattery of designing men, who, by their arts and misrepresentations, have seduced them to act contrary to their true interests. Their mistaken efforts to suppress that cause, which, if maintained, would have been the best security of their thrones, have often stained the annals of their reign with innocent blood, and filled their dominions with misery. History furnishes many instances of kings, who might otherwise have lived beloved and died lamented, that have involved themselves and their families in the calamities with which they unjustly punished those who deserved their protection. For,

2. Opposition to MESSIAH and his kingdom is no less vain and ineffectual, than unreasonable and groundless. Nor is it vain only, but ruinous to those who engage in it. What did the Jews build when they rejected the foundation stone which God had laid in Zion? They acted, as they thought, with precaution and foresight. They said, "If we let him thus alone, all men will believe on

"on him; and the Romans shall come and take

66

away both our place and our nation."* Foolish politicians! Did they preserve their city by crucifying the Son of God? The very evil they feared came upon them; or rather, being abandoned of God to their own counsels, they brought it upon themselves. In a few years the Romans, with whom they appeared so desirous to keep upon good terms, destroyed their city with an unheard-of destruction, and exterminated them from the land. This was an emblem of the inevitable, total, irreparable ruin, which awaits all those who persist in rejecting the rule of MESSIAH. The nation, the individual, that will not serve him, must surely perish.

Ah! if sinners did but know what the bonds and cords are, which they are so determined to break; if they knew that "his service is perfect "freedom;" if they were aware what more dreadful bonds and chains they are rivetting upon themselves, by refusing his easy yoke, they would throw down their arms and submit. They think, if they yield to the Gospel, they must bid adieu to pleasure. But what will become of their pleasure, when, the day of his forbearance being expired, he will speak to them in his wrath, and fill them with hopeless horror and dismay?

Bless the Lord, ye favoured few, whose eyes are opened, whose hearts are softened, and who are become the willing people of this Saviour. Yet a little while and he will appear again, and then you also shall appear with him in glory!

*John, xi. 48.