now far beyond the reach of any such abu- [ Spirit to heal our diseased natures, and sive treatment. He is now exalted to his thereby render us meet for the perfection Father's right hand, where he is adored of our happiness, in the enjoyment of that and worshipped with the most lowly rev- God who cannot behold iniquity: so that erence by all the heavenly host. But yet we do not properly express our esteem of there are some other, and no less criminal him, unless we acknowledge him in that respects, in which he is still despised and important character, and pay to him those rejected of many. I speak not here of practical regards which it claims. To those baptized infidels, who openly deny honor him, is to acquiesce thankfully in the Lord "that bought them," and tra- this ordinance of God for redeeming his duce the whole of his religion as a mere fallen creatures; it is to renounce all hope human contrivance; neither shall I take of being justified or saved by any other much notice of those who, while they pro- means, and to rely wholly upon the sacrifess a general regard to Christ, do, at the fice and intercession of this High Priest same time, entertain and publish opinions for the pardon of our sins, and the acevidently inconsistent with a real esteem ceptance of our persons with God; it is of him, though it cannot be wholly over- to apply that blood to ourselves which looked, that such there are in the Chris-" cleanseth from all sin," and to receive tian world; some denying his divinity, his Spirit to dwell within us, and to sway and others his satisfaction; some disowning the necessity, and others the virtue and efficacy of his grace: all which are so many different ways of vilifying the great Redeemer, and detracting from his true honor and dignity. But, passing these, my design is to show, that even among such as you, my brethren, who I trust are not tainted with these doctrinal errors, it is possible to find some who ungratefully despise and reject the Saviour. May God open their hearts to receive conviction, that they may no longer delude themselves with " a name to live," while they are spiritually "dead," and liable to everlasting destruction. In general, then, all who are grossly ignorant of the religion of Jesus, must necessarily be reputed despisers of him; for as the means of acquiring knowledge are so easy, and the opportunities of receiving instruction so frequent, it must be owing to some culpable neglect of their own, if any who are capable of learning other things be unacquainted with the great doctrines of Christianity; and this neglect too plainly betrays a contemptuous disregard of Christ himself. More particularly, men may be said to despise Christ, when they do not receive him as their alone Saviour, as the true, the living, nay, the only way to the Father. He is set forth in Scripture as the sole mediator between God and man; who, by his atoning sacrifice, hath satisfied divine justice, and purchased the Holy the sceptre over all the powers and faculties of our souls. A lawyer is honored when men employ him, and commit their cause to his management; a physician is honored when men apply to him for advice, and use his prescriptions for their cure:-In like manner, the great Advocate with the Father, and the Sovereign Physician of souls, is honored, not when men talk well of him, and verbally profess an esteem of him, but when they actually commit their cause to him, and place their entire dependence upon him for pardon and grace and complete salvation; and they that come short of this are in reality no other than despisers of Christ; and, as such, shall be disowned by him at his second coming. Again, Christ is despised and rejected of men when they practically deny his authority by breaking his commandments. We are expressly told, "that all power is committed to him in heaven and on earth; for God hath put all things under his feet, and given him to be head over all things for the church." Now, to honor him in this character, is to yield a cheerful and unreserved obedience to his laws; it is to acknowledge his sovereignty over us, and his property in us, not only as our Creator, but likewise as our Redeemer, who hath bought us with his blood; and in consequence thereof, to glorify him both with our bodies and our spirits, which are his. Therefore, all they who make their own will the rule of their Thus have I endeavored to show in what respects it may be said, even at this present time, that Christ is despised and rejected of men. conduct, who do not resign themselves | estrangement and disregard, that it is entirely to the disposal and government hard for me to conceive how any person of this King of Zion, whatever their pro- can persist in it, who doth not in his heart fession be, they certainly despise and re- despise the Saviour. ject him; and, though not in words, perhaps, yet by their deeds they say with the rebellious Jews, "We will not have this man to reign over us." Why call ye me Lord, Lord," said our Saviour, The causes of this contempt are the se"and do not the things which I say?" cond thing to be inquired into. And I plainly intimating, that all outward ex-apprehend the first and main cause of this pressions of esteem are mere hypocrisy contempt of Christ, among the hearers of and empty grimace, without a sincere and unlimited subjection to his laws. Further, men despise Christ when they do not give him the chief room in their hearts, nor prefer him in their choice to every thing else. The language of a true disciple is, "Whom have I in heaven but thee? and there is none upon earth whom I desire besides thee." If Christ be not esteemed and loved above every thing, he is not truly esteemed or loved at all; and this I take to be the meaning of these strong expressions, (Luke xiv. 26.) "If any man come to me, and hate not his father and mother, and wife and children, and brethren and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." They who are not willing to part with ease and pleasures, with riches, and honors, and friends, with whatever is dear to them in a present world, nay, with life itself, for Christ's sake, plainly discover that they have no just sense of his worth and excellence. They who do not prefer him to the whole world, and cannot rest in his love as a sufficient portion, without any thing else, pretend what they will, they do not truly esteem him. And, to conclude this head, They too must be numbered among the despisers of Christ, who do not publicly confess him before men, or who wilfully neglect any of those ordinances he hath instituted, as the methods of testifying our subjection to him, and the means of receiving benefits from him. I really do not see how any man can be said to esteem Christ, who doth not embrace every proper opportunity of conversing with him, or of hearing tidings concerning him; and, in particular, the habitual neglect of social worship, either in the family or in the church, hath such a strong appearance of the gospel, is a secret unbelief which they are not aware of. For did they truly be lieve the doctrine concerning the Saviour; that he only "is the way, the truth, and the life; and that no man cometh," or can come," to the Father, but by him;" -that he is God's beloved Son, in whom he is well pleased;--and that without an interest in him, and entire subjection to him, they cannot be saved; it would be impossible to despise him in any of these ways I have mentioned: for to them who thus believe, Christ is, and must be precious. But men deceive themselves: they have a vague, confused, and indeterminate opinion, and are accustomed to say in the general, that the Scriptures are the word of God; but they never saw the evidence of their truth in such a light as to be thoroughly persuaded of it. They think the doctrines contained in the Christian revelation may be true; but here they stop; and because they are not downright infidels, they fancy themselves believers, when in truth they are not. 2dly. The love of this world is another cause of men's contempt of Christ, and of his gospel. They can afford him honorable titles, and external homage; but to follow him fully will not consist with their worldly desires and aims. Such was the young ruler, who addressed that important question to our Saviour, "Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?"-Luke xviii. 18. He appeared thoughtful and serious, beyond what might have been expected from his age and rank, and had gone an uncommon length in an outward conformity to the law; but when our Lord commanded him "to sell all, and give to the poor, he was sad at that saying, and went away sorrowful, because he had large possessions." Of this we have 4th place. Not a few pour contempt upon Christ, and reject his offers from day to day, from an opinion that they may obtain his aid at what time soever they shall choose to ask it. They say not indeed with the Atheist, "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die;" neither do they say with the gross Antinomian, Let us sin without fear, seeing Christ hath died for us, and is therefore determined to save us at any rate. But they say what is equally absurd, Let us take a full draught of the sweet poison of sin, seeing the remedy is so near at hand that we may apply it when we please. O that this were not too common! I am afraid it will appear, upon inquiry, that there is too, too much of this vile presumption in our hearts. But can there be a greater dishonor done to Christ? Must his bloody sufferings, and unparalleled love, support our rebellion, and embolden us to sin? Can any thing be more criminal ? this I shall have occasion to speak of immediately; and shall only say at present, that thousands, and ten thousands, have perished, who once had the remedy as near them as you have, and who also, perhaps, dreamed of the same facility in applying it. To which I may add, that out of your own mouths you shall be condemned at last, and shall find nothing to plead in arrest of judgment, when God shall say to you, Why did you not repent, and believe in the Saviour, seeing you thought it so easy, that you could do it when you pleased? But a striking illustration in the parable of the | feel not their diseases, and therefore treat marriage-supper, which is recorded in the the physician with contempt and scorn. 22d chapter of Matthew's gospel. The in- Once more, in the vitation is very warm and pressing at the 4th verse: "Behold I have prepared my dinner: my oxen and my fatlings are killed, and all things are ready: come to the marriage." But it follows immediately, They made light of it, and went their ways, one to his farm, another to his mer chandise." This, my brethren, still con tinues to be a very common cause of men's despising and rejecting Christ. They see the world, but they see not the celestial glory; the one is present, the other only future, and therefore too remote to work upon their affections. If both could be obtained, they would no doubt be very well satisfied; and if religion and their worldly interest take one road, they will be ready enough to pay the compliment to our Lord, and say that they follow him: but when these separate, then their contempt discovers itself; they cleave to the world, and forsake Christ." Demas hath for saken me," said Paul, "having loved this present world."-So true is that saying of the apostle John (1 Epist. ii. 15), "If any man love the world, the love of the Father," and with equal reason we may add, the love of the Redeemer," is not in him." A third cause of this contempt is men's ignorance of their own condition; like the church of the Laodiceans, they "boast that they are rich, and increased with goods, and standing in need of nothing; and know not that they are wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked." Some have so high an opinion of their own understanding, that they see no need of a prophet to instruct them. Others have such low thoughts of the evil of sin, and such a conceit of their own righteousness and worth, that they see as little need of a priest to expiate their guilt, and reconcile them to God. A third sort lay so much stress on their unassisted powers, and the efficacy of their own resolutions and endeavors, that a king to subdue them by his grace and spirit appears altogether superfluous. Thus Christ is despised through men's ignorance and pride; unacquainted with their state of darkness, guilt, and corruption, they reject him who cometh in the name of the Lord to save them; they O that men were wise! that they understood these things, and would consider, in this day of their merciful visitation, the things that belong to their peace, before they be for ever hid from their eyes! I cannot allow myself to think, that any of you are already acquainted with all the deformity of the sin I have been speaking of; and that, after viewing it in its full dimensions, you are perfectly reconciled to it, and resolved to persist in it. I would gladly hope that this is not the case; but rather that the great enemy of your happiness has hitherto kept you in the dark, and in great measure concealed from you both your guilt and your danger. Perhaps, to this moment, you have never seriously thought upon your ways, but blindly followed the fashion of the world, and suffered yourselves to be carried along with the crowd, without any suspicion that you are chargeable with crimes of such a hellish nature as are included in despising and rejecting the Saviour. I shall therefore proceed, in the shed in vain, nay, trampled under foot, as an unholy thing? Will you "crucify the Son of God afresh," and say, by your neglect of his great salvation, "Away with him! away with him!"—"We have loved strangers, and after them we will go?" Surely you cannot, you will not, pretend to justify this conduct; there is something in it so disingenuous and perverse, so shocking and unnatural, that I am persuaded, when you attend to it, you must loathe and abhor yourselves on account of it. God with folly, when you reject the terms of the gospel-covenant; for your behavior plainly implies one of the following accusations; either that this method of salvation is unnecessary, and that God from all eternity hath employed his counsels about a needless affair; or else that it is ineffectual, and that the person whom God hath chosen to execute this design is not worthy to be depended upon; or that the terms proposed are so rigorous and severe, that a wise man would rather choose to perish than submit to them. Thus dost thou arraign thy God, O sinner! And art thou able to make good thy charge? Dost thou hope to prevail in the day when God shall plead with thee? Third place, To give a short representation of the malignity of this sin; which, if duly attended to, may be of use to dissolve the enchantment, by which the god of this world hath so long blinded your eyes, and But this is not the whole of your guilt: rendered you insensible to the misery of Your ingratitude is heightened by the your condition. most insolent contempt both of the wisConsider, then, that to despise and re-dom and goodness of God. You charge ject such a Saviour, is the blackest ingratitude that can possibly be imagined. It was a cutting question that Christ put to the Jews when they went about to kill him: "Many good works have I shewed you from my Father, for which of these works do ye stone me?" To render evil for good, hatred for love, is accounted monstrous among men; and the person who behaves in such a manner towards his fellow-creature, is justly condemned and abhorred by all: and yet the most heinous and detestable instance of ingratitude among men is as nothing when compared with your ingratitude towards God. Did he, without any solicitation from you, and not only without, but even contrary to, your desert, send his own Son into the world to save you? Did the Lord Jesus Christ, "the brightness of the Father's glory, and the express image of his person," assume your nature, become a man of sorrows, and acquainted with griefs; lead a poor, afflicted, persecuted life, and at last die a shameful, painful, and accursed death, to satisfy offended justice, and to render your happiness consistent with the honor of the divine government? And is this your requital? I beseech you, my brethren, to bestow some attention upon this; and if your hearts have any softness at all, such unparalleled baseness cannot fail to make the deepest impression upon them. Does this astonishing, undeserved goodness merit no regard? Doth God's unspeakable gift to men deserve no returns of gratitude and praise? Shall the blood of Christ be Nay, further, by despising and rejecting Christ, you openly proclaim war against the Most High, and bid him defiance. He hath "set his King upon his holy hill of Zion,” and “ put all things. under his feet:" he hath ordained, by an irreversible decree, that "all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father:" he hath published to the world that there is no other name given among men, by which they can be saved, but the name of Jesus; that this glorious Mediator is constituted the final Judge of mankind; and that they who do not bow to the sceptre of his grace, shall be dashed. in pieces with his rod of iron, in that day when he shall be revealed from heaven, with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, to take vengeance upon those who knew not God, and obeyed not this gospel which we now preach to you: And yet, in the face You of all these declarations, you proudly say | inquiry into your esteem of Christ, accordby your conduct, "We will not have this man to reign over us we neither fear his power nor court his grace, but are determined to stand on our own defence." Such, my brethren, is the malignity of your sin it includes the blackest ingratitude, heightened by the most insolent contempt, nay, an open defiance of the omnipotent God; rejecting his offered mercy, and daring him to execute all the rigor of his justice. I do not mean that you are at present conscious of this complicated impiety; I rather suppose that you are startled when you hear it mentioned, and are ready to reply, as Hazael did to Elisha, "Is thy servant a dog, that he should do these things?" But be assured, all I have now said shall be made good against you at last, if you continue to despise and reject the Saviour: and the greatest mercy that can befall you in the mean time, is, to get those eyes opened which Satan hath so long closed, that you may see and abhor your guilt in this matter. O be exhorted then, deliberately to weigh the representation I have given you! and think what must become of you, if you go out of this world with such a dreadful load of guilt as I have endeavored to describe. : ing to the marks I formerly gave you. By this time you must all see your concern in this subject. I have told you that it is possible, even among such as Thus, my brethren, have I held up the you, who attend upon ordinances, and pro-glass, in which, if you are not wilfully fess a general esteem of Christ, to find blind, you may behold your true picture: despisers and rejecters of him I have and if you have attended, and suffered mentioned sundry instances of contempt, conscience to do its office, some of you, I which persons, who are neither Jews nor am persuaded, must be convinced that you infidels, but who call, and even think them- are the persons who have hitherto despised selves the disciples of Jesus, may be and rejected the Saviour; and therefore guilty of; and you have just now heard it is time for me to ask, What is your the heinous nature and the high aggrava- present resolution? Is this a state to be tions of this sin: so that you see they are continued in? Would any of you, if left no trivial matters I have been talking of, to your own choice, be willing to be found but matters which infinitely concern the in this condition at last? Brethren, this whole Christian world, and yourselves in is a serious question, and ought not to be particular. I now come to point out the slightly passed over: The Lord Jesus now improvement, which I humbly wish, and waiteth upon you for an answer; but refervently pray, that every one of you, my member, that ere long you must wait upon dear friends and brethren, would make of him for a doom. As therefore you would this subject. be found of him in peace, come now to a speedy and firm determination. You have despised him too long already; O do not add this farther instance of contempt, to hesitate, while I now plead with you, I would have you, then, as the best and most necessary improvement of all that you have heard, to enter immediately into your own hearts, and make an impartial |