the former. They regarded the Gentile nations as little better than beasts, and thought it no crime to take away their lives, or deprive them of their property. Too much of the same spirit has been found amongst the professed followers of the meek and humble Jesus. The blind bigots of a party cannot bear the least opposition, but would, if possible, exterminate all those who embrace sentiments different from their own. "Wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" is the language of a furious and intemperate zeal, which Christ reproved, as contrary to the genius of his religion, by saying, "Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.”

2. To the churlish, fretful, uncharitable; such was Nabal, whom his servants represent as such a son of Belial that a man could not speak to him: and such are all those who take offence at mere trifles, or make their own foolish jealousies the ground of their indignation. Esau and Shemei seem to have been of this cast; the one of whom cursed David, laying to his charge things which he knew not; and the other purposed to have destroyed his innocent brother Jacob, and would no doubt have executed his design, had not Providence remarkably interposed for the prevention of it. How different from this that charity which behaveth not itself unseemly, is not easily provoked, and thinketh no evil! How different the temper exemplified by the apostle Paul, who "endured all things for the elect's sake, and became all things to all men, if by any means he might gain some!"

3. To the fraudulent and oppressive, the disturbers of the peace, and invaders of the rights of mankind. Such was Nimrod, who is said to be "a mighty hunter before the Lord;" which is supposed to refer not only to the devastation which he made among the beasts, but to the tyrannical power that he exercised over men: and Ishmael, concerning whom it was foretold, that "he should be a wild man," a person of a savage disposition; "his hand should be against every man, and every man's hand against him:

and the same thing is observed to this day concerning the Arabs, his descendants. Their turbulent spirit makes them vexatious to all their neighbours. How different the temper of his father Abraham, who rather chose to give up his just rights, and submit to his inferior, than to have any contention subsist between them. "Let there be no strife," says he to Lot," between thee and me; is not the whole land before thee? If thou wilt take the left hand, I will go to the right; or if thou depart to the right hand, then I will go to the left." Credit, honour, and advantage, should both give way to his love of peace. Such an one also was David; "I am for peace," says he; "but when I speak, they are for war."

4. The context leads me to apply this particularly to persecutors, who "killed the Lord Jesus," says the apostle, "and their own prophets, and have persecuted us." The seed of the serpent will still retain its enmity to the seed of the woman, and Cain, as Luther expresses it, will kill Abel to the end of the world. It is the glory of the gospel to turn the lion into a lamb; but where the light of the gospel is not come, nor the power of it felt, the savage disposition of the lion still remains. With what propriety may this character, then, be applied to those professors of religion who have assassinated kings, depopulated kingdoms, ravaged countries, fired cities, and murdered millions of innocent persons under a pretence of religion! Surely a religion that turns cruelty into a virtue, and canonizes the slaughterers of mankind, cannot be the religion of the merciful Jesus, who came not to destroy men's lives, but to save them. It may be said of true zeal, as it is of true wisdom, it is first pure, then peaceable; whereas a blind, bitter, persecuting zeal rather deserves the title of madness and thus he who had been once a persecutor calls it," And being exceedingly mad against them, I persecuted them, even unto strange cities." What he once thought to be piety he now sees to be phrenzy.

From what has been said, we may learn that the friends of

God are the best friends to society. Those who make it their business to serve and please the Creator are most likely to promote the true interests of their fellow-creatures. "Hateful, and hating one another," is the character of wicked men ; but the christian emper is all made up of love. "Who is weak," says the apostle, "and I am not weak; who is offended, and I burn not?" Carnal men seek their own things distinct from, nay, often in opposition to, those of others. If they swim, they do not care who sinks; but the language of the benevolent saint is, "I will seek thy good, O Jerusalem." This is beautifully illustrated in the character of Job: "I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame; I was a father to the poor, and the cause which I knew not I searched out." No wonder then that the ear which heard him blessed him, and the eye that saw him gave witness to him. Men of a public spirit will always be the objects of public regard.

SERMON XLVII.

THE REJECTION OF THE WICKED. ·

JOEL III. 4.

Yea, and what have ye to do with me?

HERE the King of heaven seems to lift up his royal standard, and bid defiance to all his enemies. "What have ye to do with me?"-that is, with my people; the favours conferred upon them I esteem conferred upon me, and the injuries done unto them as done unto me, and will resent them accordingly. Thus, in another place he says, "He that toucheth you toucheth the apple of my eye;" and to him at whose feet Stephen's murderers laid their garments, he cried, "Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou me?"

But what is thus spoken to those who daringly insult and provoke God may, by way of accommodation, be profitably applied to those who, with seeming civility, and in a suppliant manner, approach unto him, as,

1. To the openly wicked and profane, who cast the divine laws behind their back, and obstinately persist in their evil courses. Now these are sometimes in great agonies of conscience, through distressing apprehensions of the wrath which they have deserved. Then they fly to the throne of grace, confess how sinful they have been, and how good they design to be; make protestations of, and perhaps begin a reformation; in a word, they confess their

the former. They regarded the Gentile nations as little better than beasts, and thought it no crime to take away their lives, or deprive them of their property. Too much of the same spirit has been found amongst the professed followers of the meek and humble Jesus. The blind bigots of a party cannot bear the least opposition, but would, if possible, exterminate all those who embrace sentiments different from their own. “Wilt thou that we command fire to come down from heaven and consume them?" is the language of a furious and intemperate zeal, which Christ reproved, as contrary to the genius of his religion, by saying, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of."

2. To the churlish, fretful, uncharitable; such was Nabal, whom his servants represent as such a son of Belial that a man could not speak to him: and such are all those who take offence at mere trifles, or make their own foolish jealousies the ground of their indignation. Esau and Shemei seem to have been of this cast; the one of whom cursed David, laying to his charge things which he knew not; and the other purposed to have destroyed his innocent brother Jacob, and would no doubt have executed his design, had not Providence remarkably interposed for the prevention of it. How different from this that charity which behaveth not itself unseemly, is not easily provoked, and thinketh no evil! How different the temper exemplified by the apostle Paul, who "endured all things for the elect's sake, and became all things to all men, if by any means he might gain some!"

3. To the fraudulent and oppressive, the disturbers of the peace, and invaders of the rights of mankind. Such was Nimrod, who is said to be "a mighty hunter before the Lord;" which is supposed to refer not only to the devastation which he made among the beasts, but to the tyrannical power that he exercised over men: and Ishmael, concerning whom it was foretold, that "he should be a wild man," a person of a savage disposition; "his hand should be against every man, and every man's hand against him:"