I.

SERM. gent in kind fervices to his fellow members of my family. We have clear intimations in the gofpel hiftory, that the difciples of our Lord were often engaged in fuch contention, about place and dignity in our Saviour's kingdom; and this might be expected, and that they fhould want to have the matter determined by their master. But it is plain, they were dreaming all this while of a temporal kingdom, fuch as the Jews expected that of their Meffiah to be; and that they had no idea of a kingdom, not at all of this world, and in which there was no temporal power or authority to be shared.

The other incident we meet with in

Luke xxiv. 19. When the two difciples were going from Jerufalem to Emmaus, and talking together of the crucifixion and death of our Saviour, he drew near and went with them, but unknown to them, (the hiftorian tells us, that their eyes were holden, that they should not know him) and fell into converfation with them. Upon his afking, what they were talking about, fo fad, and melancholy, they tell him, it was about Jefus of Nazareth, a prophet mighty in word and deed before

God

God and all the people; and that the SERM. chief priests and rulers had condemned him I. to death and crucified him; adding, they trufted it had been he, which should have redeemed Ifrael; intimating, that now all their hopes were gone. This fhews, that' they had no idea of that kind of redemption, which our Saviour was to effect. It was owing to the fame mistaken way of thinking, that Peter rebuked our Lord, when he had a confiderable time before told his disciples what he should fuffer for the Jews; * Be it far from thee, Lord, this fhall not be unto thee. And upon other occafions they fhew, that they had no notion of our Saviour's fuffering unto the death, and of being by that means raised to his kingdom. Nay, after his refurrection, they were still in expectation of a temporal kingdom; † Lord, wilt thou at this time restore the kingdom to Ifrael? that it is plain, a fpiritual redemption and a fpiritual kingdom was what they had no notion of; and indeed it is not to be fup pofed, that ever they would have thought of fuch a defign, or fet themselves to plan out fuch an adminiftration: A government,

So

I.

SERM. in which the fon of God, as his Father's minifter, exerciseth all power and authority in heaven and earth, and giveth unto his faithful fervants eternal life; fealed for this purpose by the father, that she should carry into execution the glorious purposes of his grace but in which administration, the Jews were not to be diftinguished by any advantages above other nations, farther than that the gospel should be firft preached to them; but all nations in the world, without distinction between Jew or Gentile, Barbarian or Scythian, bond or free, were to be one in Chrift Jefus, and intitled to the fame privileges; than which, nothing could be more difagreeable to the fenfe of things, which then prevailed amongst the Jews, or more inconfiftent with the vain hopes, which, as the feed of Abraham, they had conceived,

From these and several other paffages it feemeth to be plain, that the apostles did not at the first understand our Saviour's real

defign; but thought, as the other Jews did, of a great prince in a glorious earthly kingdom. And, as hath been obferved, it is no way probable, that a kingdom intirely of a spiritual nature, as that of our Lord

Lord really is, fhould have ever entered SERM. into their thoughts. But if they are fup- I, pofed, being disappointed in their first views, to have fet themselves to frame another and quite different fcheme, and capable of fucceeding in it, it is beyond all conception, that they should have left upon record their own grofs mistakes in their first attempts, and have not only, upon their disappointment in one scheme, gone into another, but told their readers they did fo, expofing their own weakness to the cenfure of all men. But this I fhall have occafion afterwards to illustrate more particularly.

Upon the whole, here is a character and a design to be served by it, which are worthy of one another; and the design executed in a manner fo extraordinary, that it may be truly said, they are beyond all the creations of human genius; much more above the contrivance of a few poor illiterate perfons, who seem to have had no fort of intention, but to perfuade the world to believe what they themselves faw, and heard, and knew, to be true. Nay, the evangelifts do not appear, to have so much as confulted together, and compared the

accounts

SERM. accounts, which they were feverally to lay beI. fore the world; but each to have represented.. things, as they were fuggefted to his own mind, which occafioneth that diversity in their accounts, with refpect to fome particular circumstances, that hath given rife › to many objections, though indeed frivo-> lous, against them: they have apprehended no ill confequence from this, have been at no pains at all to prevent it. One may. venture to say, that Christianity will never be overthrown by argument, while fuch a character as that of our Saviour, and fo fupported, lieth open to the ingenuous and impartial. How came we to have it here?. is a question, to which a perfon, who doth not believe Chriftianity, will never be able: to give a substantial answer.

It may be, perhaps, fuggefted by per-> fons, who are acquainted with the history: of the world, and the theology, which obtained among fome Pagan nations, that it. is not fo wonderful a thing, that the writers: of the New Teftament fhould have got an idea of fuch a divine perfon as the son of God, and have framed a scheme of his. appearing in human nature and converfing. with mankind, Mapy nations, which are accounted