SERMON LXIV. The Duty of Reproving our Neighbour....... "Thou shalt not hate thy brother in thy heart: thou shalt in any PAGE The case of Reason Impartially Considered................ 182 "Brethren, be not children in understanding: howbeit in malice be SERMON LXXIII. "I beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, with all lowliness and meekness, with long-suffering, forbearing one another in love; endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is PAGE MON LXXX. On Friendship with the World..... "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore desireth to be a friend of the world is an enemy of God."-JAMES iv. 4. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: and God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."-1 COR. x. 13. "Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good plea- "Will the Lord absent himself for ever? And will he be no more "They that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful desires, which drown men in destruc- "Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel! But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the orna- ment of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of SERMON LVII. ON THE FALL OF MAN. "Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.” 1. WHY is there pain in the world; seeing God is "loving to every man, and his mercy is over all his works?" Because there is sin: had there been no sin, there would have been no pain. But pain (supposing God to be just) is the necessary effect of sin. But why is there sin in the world? Because man was created in the image of God; because he is not mere matter, a clod of earth, a lump of clay, without sense or understanding, but a spirit like his Creator, a being endued not only with sense and understanding, but also with a will exerting itself in various affections. To crown all the rest, he was endued with liberty; a power of directing his own affections and actions; a capacity of determining or himself, or of choosing good or evil. Indeed, had not man been endued with this, all the rest would have been of no use: had he not been a free as well as an intelligent being, his understanding would have been as incapable of holiness, or any kind of virtue, as a tree or a block of marble. And having this power, a power of choosing good or evil, he chose the latter: he chose evil. Thus "sin entered into the world," and pain of every kind, preparatory to death. 2. But this plain, simple account of the origin of evil, whether natural or moral, all the wisdom of man could not discover till it pleased God to reveal it to the world. Till then man was a mere enigma to himself; a riddle which none but God could solve. And in how full and satisfactory a manner has he solved it in this chapter! In such a manner as does not indeed serve to gratify vain curiosity, but as is abundantly sufficient to answer a nobler end; to "Justify the ways of God with men." To this great end I would, first, briefly consider the preceding part of this chapter; and then, secondly, more particularly weigh the solemn words which have been already recited. I. 1. In the first place, let us briefly consider the preceding part of this chapter. "Now the serpent was more subtile," or intelligent, "than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made;" (verse 1;)-endued with more understanding than any other animal in the brute creation. Indeed, there is no improbability in the conjecture of an ingenious man, that the serpent was endued with reason, which is now the property of man. And this accounts for a circumstance whic, on any other supposition, would be utterly unintelligible. How comes Eve not to be surprised, yea, startled and affrighted, at hearing the serpent speak and reason; unless she knew that reason, and speech in consequence of it, were the original properties of the serpent? Hence, without showing any surprise, she immediately enters into conversation with him. "And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden?" See how he, who was a liar from the beginning, mixes truth and falsehood together! Perhaps on purpose, that she might be the more inclined to speak, in order to clear God of the unjust charge. Accordingly, the woman said unto the serpent, (verse 2,) *The late Dr. Nicholas Robinson. |