"chofen by the Heads of Colleges only, and by "no others, in the room adjoining to the Printing-Houfe, between the hours of ten in the

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morning and two in the afternoon, to preach "eight Divinity Lecture Sermons, the year following, at St. Mary's in Oxford, between the "commencement of the laft month in Lent Term, "and the end of the third week in Act Term.

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"Alfo I direct and appoint, that the eight Di"vinity Lecture Sermons fhall be preached upon "either of the following Subjects-to confirm "and establish the Chriftian Faith, and to con"fute all heretics and fchifmatics-upon the di"vine authority of the holy Scriptures-upon

the authority of the writings of the primitive "Fathers, as to the faith and practice of the pri"mitive Church-upon the Divinity of our "Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift-upon the Di"vinity of the Holy Ghoft-upon the Articles "of the Chriftian Faith, as comprehended in the "Apoftles' and Nicene Creeds.

"Alfo I direct, that thirty copies of the eight Divinity Lecture Sermons fhall be always "printed, within two months after they are “preached, and one copy fhall be given to the "Chancellor of the University, and one copy to "the Head of every College, and one copy to the "Mayor of the city of Oxford, and one copy to "be put into the Bodleian Library; and the ex

"pence

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pence of printing them fhall be paid out of the "revenue of the Land or Eftates given for eftablishing the Divinity Lecture Sermons; and "the Preacher shall not be paid, nor be entitled "to the revenue, before they are printed.

"Also I direct and appoint, that no person "fhall be qualified to preach the Divinity Lec"ture Sermons, unless he hath taken the Degree " of Mafter of Arts at least, in one of the two "Univerfities of Oxford or Cambridge; and that "the fame perfon fhall never preach the Divinity Lecture Sermons twice."

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SERMON I.

JOHN Xviii. 36.

My kingdom is not of this world.

WISDOM and craft, it has frequently been observed, are principles of distinct nature, and incompatible fo far as they are diftinct. They differ in the objects to which they are respectively directed, in the means which they employ, and in the refults which they are calculated to produce. As the grafp of wisdom is ftrong and comprehenfive, fo its aim is permanent fuccefs. The views of craft, on the other hand, are limited by actual emergency. Though acute in the difcernment, and ingenious in the application of present resources, it afcends not from the contemplation of parts to an enlarged conception of the whole. Wifdom preserves unviolated the precepts of an elevated morality, abftains from every particular expedient of which the general confe

quence would be prejudicial, and trufts its future, though perhaps diftant triumph to the undoubted efficacy of truth. Craft, lefs fcrupulous in its ambition, is lefs exact alfo in its cafuiftry; and, where an immediate interest may be advanced by politic falfehood, either is not aware of, or does not regard, that certain progress, by which falfehood, though it may profper for a time, yet terminates eventually in defeat.

Various are the questions which this dif tinction might be employed fuccessfully to elucidate, and occafions will arife in these Difcourses to examine many of its most important confequences. At prefent, however, I fhall content myself with stating, that it will be found to fupply an accurate criterion, by which the truth of Chriftianity may be determined, without entering into any difcuffion on the credibility of miracles, and without denying the full importance of all those natural causes, to which alone the propagation of our faith has of late been artfully afcribed. Such a criterion must be particularly adapted to obviate those objections to our religion, which the ableft of its recent adverfaries have propofed, and which contribute more powerfully than any other difficulties to perplex the

doubtful