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towards the world? Is it feeking that honour which comes from above, or the honour which comes from men? Can you imagine that the man, who has not courage enough to venture a little of his eafe and worldly tranquillity by expreffing his resentment at the corruptions that furround him, would have refolution enough to expose his life in a day of trial for the fake of the religion which he profeffes?

Let us examine ourselves on this head if we think it an happy choice to facrifice the honour of God and of religion to a corrupt generation, and to screen ourselves from the indignation of the world by a profeffed indifference, is it not directly prefering the good will of men to the good will of God? And can we complain, if we are left to seek our recompence from the world, whofe fervants we are?

In a word whenever men act in oppofition to the truth, or diffemble the truth in compliance with the world; when they wink at iniquity, and make a way for it to escape with impunity; when they give credit to vice and irreligion by a profeffed indifference, and help to establish iniquity by affecting to feem eafy and contented under the growth of it in all thefe cafes, the words of the text belong to them; They receive honour one of another, and seek not the honour which cometh from God only.

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DISCOURSE XLVIII.

MARK viii. 38.

Whofoever therefore shall be ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and finful generation, of him alfo fhall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.

AT the thirty-fourth verfe of this chapter our Lord, having called the people and his difciples to him, declares openly to them upon what terms the profeffion of the Gofpel was to be undertaken. He allures them not by the hopes of temporal profperity, nor promises any countenance or affiftance from the great and powerful; but foretels them of the evils and calamities that should attend his followers, and of the fufferings prepared for them in this life; against which the providence of God ftands not engaged for their protection, fince his will is, that all the faithful should, after the example of the Author and Captain of their falvation, be made perfect through fuffering. Whofoever, fays our Lord, will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me. How ftrong the expreffion of denying himself is, and how much it includes, we

learn from the next verfe, where our Saviour himself extends it even to the parting with our lives for his and the Gospel's fake: Whofsoever will fave his life, fhall lofe it; but whosoever fhall lofe his life for my fake and the Gofpel's, the fame shall fave it.

You fee, by comparing these paffages together, that the text immediately relates to the times of perfecution, and expreffes the duty of a Chriftian to refift even unto blood in maintenance of his holy religion, whenever the providence of God calls him to fuch trial. This indeed is not our cafe at prefent, and therefore I fhall not spend the time in fortifying your minds againft terrors, removed, I hope, at a great diftance from us: but it must be owned, that an adulterous and finful generation has more ways than one of making men afhamed of Chrift, and of his words. Though our eyes have not beheld any frightful fcenes of perfecution, yet we have feen, and daily fee, many who are afhamed of .Chrift. If the temptation to this crime be now less than in times of distress, the guilt is certainly greater, and in equity the punifhment muft be fo too. Which reafon will bring the threatening of the text home to every man, who, in compliance with a corrupt age, does either wickedly reject, or bafely diffemble, the faith of the Gofpel.

But that we may not rafhly accufe either the age in general, or any men in particular, of this great crime, but rather open a way by which men may eafily examine their own confciences upon this head, and avoid the like evil for the future; let us,

First, Inquire into the nature of the crime of being afhamed of Chrift and of his words; and,

Secondly, Into the feveral temptations that lead to it.

The duty opposed to this crime is expreffed in the language of Scripture by confeffing Chrift before men; and therefore to be ashamed of Chrift and of his word is to deny or difown Chrift and his doctrine before men. In this language both parts are expreffed in the tenth of St. Matthew : Whofoever, fays our Lord, fhall confefs me before men, him will I confefs alfo before my Father which is in heaven. But whofoever shall deny me before men, him will I alfo deny before my Father which is in hea

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If we were under no obligation to confefs Chrift before the world, there would be no iniquity in difsembling our knowledge of him; we might keep our faith and our religion to ourselves, and by fo doing avoid many inconveniencies, to which the open and fincere profeffors of the Gospel are oftentimes expofed. There have not wanted fome, in all times, to juftify the prudence of concealing our religious fentiments, and to encourage men to live well with. the world, in an outward compliance with the cuftoms and opinions of thofe about them, provided their hearts be right with God, and fincere in the inward belief of his truth. To fupport this doctrine, we are called upon to remember that religion is, in the nature of the thing, internal, and has its feat and refidence in the heart, and not in the lips or tongues of men that our virtue and obedience will be estimated by our integrity, and not by the outward fhews and profeffions which we make: that God, who knows the heart, will judge us by it at

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