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men of like paffions with ourselves; you will be as grossly mistaken, as we would be, did we expect that even holy perfons amongst you, fhould know and act, as the angels in heaven.-Are we often obliged, in judging of your characters, to admit, that the gold may be real, though mingled with much drofs? and have we not a claim, upon you, for the fame candour in judging of ours?

By all this we mean not to infinuate, that troublers of the church may not fometimes be found, in one or another corner amongft ourselves; nor that, if they are fuch, in the fcripture views of the character, you may not wish and pray for their excifion we only intend to caution you against forming your judgments of minifters and elders, upon the opinions of others, especially, if of a different communion from them; upon the prejudice of education; upon fuch fentiments of your own minds, as may only be raw and indigefted; or upon any other rule of judging, whatever, than the written, the unerring, word of God. If that ftandard was judiciously applied, to every individual, we doubt not, that, in fome inftances, your former apprehenfions might be found just; at the fame time, it is a thousand to one, but fome likewise, most dandled on the popular knee, and thereby least exposed to the lafh of your cenfures, might be found greatly, perhaps grofsly, wanting. For, hath not be, who fpake as never man did, affured us, that "ma66 ny who are firft fhall be laft, and the laft firft?" Matth. xix. 30.

SER

SERMON IV.

THE

CONVERSION

OF THE

GENTILE S

ILLUSTRATED *.

MATTH. viii. 11.

I fay unto you,

That many shall come from the and fball fit down with Abraham, and Ifaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of

caft and west,

Heaven.

N

OTHING can be more encouraging to Chriftians, in the performance of duty, than God's promife of fuccefs; and, as no part of holy obedience is more interefting than humble endeavours toward the propagation of the gospel, no duties have greater variety of engaging promifes annexed to them.

If

* This fermon was preached before the fociety in Scotland, for propagating Chriftian knowlege, at their anniversary meeting, in the High Church of Edinburgh, on Friday, June 6th, 1766.

If the defign of our meeting be to recommend fuch generous endeavours, as well as to pray for a blefling upon them, the propriety of effaying to illuftrate this paffage, will bear no difpute.

Our Lord, who improved every occurrence in providence for the inftruction of mankind, took an opportunity, from the faith of a Roman officer, to inform the world, what vaft defigns of grace his heavenly Father had in referve toward Gentile finners; and thefe chearing and charming news he hath tranfmitted to us in the words of our text.

If the words are a prophecy, in delivering it, our Lord acted as the great Prophet of his church: but if a promife, in making it, he acted as God our Saviour, though dwelling in flesh; than either of which views, nothing can be more expreffive of the obligations we are under, by a believing dependence, to give him the glory of his faithfulness. Doth the Prince of the kings of the earth fpeak? And shall we not hear! Doth wisdom lift up her voice? And fhall we not regard!

What we propose, through divine aid, is,

"To illuftrate the defigns of Grace upon Gen"tile finners, expressed in this passage, with a view "to animate your endeavours toward the propaga"tion of Christian knowlege among them."

Though God hath fecured the end by immutable promises, duty on our part is not the lefs incumbent. Though he "will have all men to be fav "ed," means of bringing them "to the knowlege of the truth," Tim. it. 4. are nevertheless to be ufed. And though faving converfion is effected exclufively by himself, we are, in a way of duty, to be "workers together with him," 2 Cor. vi. 1. That God had defigns of grace upon Gentile

finners

finners, while they made no part of his church, and were not called by his name, appears from their being brought, once and again, into the line which terminated in the Meffiah, and thereby becoming fuch neceffary links in the genealogical chain from Abraham to Christ, that without them, the connection would have been broken, the chain incomplete. Accordingly, we find Thamar a Syrian, Matth. i. 3. Rachab a Canaanite, Matth. i. 5. and Ruth a Moabite, Matth. i. 5. all Gentiles, to whom originally pertained neither the adoption nor the glory, numbered among the ancestors of Jofeph.

The defigns of Grace under confideration are ftill more evident from many express atteftations of fcripture. "I will give thee (faid the Father to "his Anointed) the heathen for thine inheritance, "and the uttermoft parts of the earth for thy pof"feffion," Pfal. ii. 8. "The abundance of the "fea fhall be converted unto thee; the force of "the Gentiles fhall come unto thee," If. lx. 5. And, "From the rifing of the fun, even unto the going down of the fame, my name (faith the "Lord) fhall be great among the Gentiles," Mal. i. 11. When, therefore, the time was fulfilled,, Paul faid to the Jews at Rome, "The falvation of "God is fent unto the Gentiles, and they will "hear it," Acts xxviii. 28.

66

The commiffion which our Lord first gave to his apostles contained, indeed, a claufe which feemed unfavourable for the nations: "Go not (faid he) "into the way of the Gentiles; and into any city "of the Samaritans enter ye not," Matth. x. 5.

But

* Thefe Gentiles are no lefs among the ancestors of Mary; for, from Abraham to David, the line is the fame as to both.

But then, as the head of apoftolic authority, he took fuch steps in the exercife of his perfonal miniftry, as plainly fhewed, that both Gentiles and Samaritans were eventually to partake of the com. mon falvation. As to the Gentiles, we are informed, by one Evangelift, that Jefus fhewed judgment unto them, and caufed them to truft in his name, Marth. xii. 18, 21. of which the converfion of the Syrophoenician woman was a ftriking inftance, Matth xv 21, &c. And, with respect 10 the Samaritans, another Evangelift hath affured us, that by the interpofition of Immanuel's grace, many of them were speedily, but favingly, converted: "He told

me (faid one) all things that ever I did ;" and, "We believe, (faid numbers) for we have heard "him ourselves," John iv. 29, 42.

Nor is this only the doctrine of fcripture in gene. ral, but, undoubtedly, the meaning of this paffage in particular. The faith, you fee, of a Gentile gave rife to the declaration before us: "I have not

(faid our bleffed Lord) found fo great faith, nc, "not in Ifrael," Matth. viii. io. And the jews are called the children of the kingdom," Matth. viii. 12. to distinguish them from the people who fhould "come from the east and the weft;" and, as it is in the parallel paffage, "from the north and "fouth," Luke xiii. 29.

This very circumftance of their coming from the four cardinal points, is a corroborative evidence, that Gentile finners are particularly intended. Let the redeemed of the Lord, fays the prophet, celebrate his mercy, who "gathered them out of the "lands, from the caft and from the weft, from "the north and from the fouth;" Pfal. cvii 3. plainly intimating, that finners, not only in Judea, where the pofterity of Jacob then chicfly refided,

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