fruits of his mediation; that we may not be the occafion of caufing him to be regarded by the world as an impoftor, and his religion as a fiction of human device; what remains, I fay, but that we ftrive to be like minded, and join our beft endeavours to promote all Chriftian holiness in ourfelves and others, efpecially union and love? It is not in our power indeed to unite all men, or to reconcile them to one another, any more than to the truth; but let us lament the diforders which we cannot cure, and commend the cure of them to the wifdom and goodnefs of our heavenly Father. Who knows how far the united prayers and tears of a fingle church, animated by the spirit of Chrift, may go towards. the benefit of the whole Chriftian world? Above all, let us be examples of that holy tnion and peace which ought to reign among all Chriftians; ever preferving and cherishing a generous, difinterefted, catholic fpirit, and abounding in love one towards another, and to all men. If others differ in opinion from us, let us not judge or defpife them merely on that account; but whilft they walk by the fame rule that we do, and their lives appear to be Chriftian, let us fay, "Peace be on "them, and on all the Ifrael of God." If they judge or condemn us, merely because we differ from them, let us regard them rather as objects of our pity than of our resentment? they and we both muft appear one day before the judgement-feat of Christ.

We

We are now going to celebrate that ordinance which Jefus Chrift hath inftituted for the remembrance of himfelf; and which he intended, among other excellent purposes, to be an external token of the inward cordial union and fellowship of all his difciples: "For "we being many," fays the apoftle, "are one "bread, and one body; for we are all par"takers of that one bread." Let us perform this fervice with Chriftian difpofitions; and then, though we may appear outwardly to be feparated from many who are called Chriftians, we shall be truly one with all thofe in every, communion whom Jefus Chrift will acknowledge for his difciples. For whatever multitude of feparate churches and communions there may be in the Chriftian world, it is not to be doubted but Jefus hath "his "fheep" in every fold; that is, men of a truly Christian temper and behaviour, who, though they may be at a great diftance from one another with regard to place, and often are unknown to each other, are nevertheless well known to him; and who, in fact, all think the fame things in the main, and are all united in promoting the great defign of the gofpel; which is, the knowledge of truth, and the practice of righteoufnefs, from the hope of immortality, without regard to worldly interefts. All thefe, where-ever they are fcattered upon the face of the earth, and however different they may feem in their outward forms and modes of worship, belong to "the

"general

"general affembly and church of the first "born, whose names are written in heaven;" and they will all be brought together into one bleffed fociety, in that " day when Jesus Christ ❝ fhall come to be glorified in his faints, and to be admired of all them that believe.” With these men, my brethren, and like these men, let us communicate, at the fame time that we communicate with one another; and thus truly our fellowship fhall be with the Father, and with his Son Jefus Chrift. To whom be bleffing, and honour, and glory, and power, for ever and ever. Amen.

SER

SERMON X.

The fuccefs of the first publishers of the gofpel a proof of its truth.

By GEORGE CAMPBELL, D. D.

Preached before the Society in Scotland for propagating Chriftian Knowledge, at Edinburgh, June 6. 1777.

I

I COR. i. 25.

-The foolifbnefs of God is wifer than men, and the weakness of God is ftronger than men.

PART I.

T would fcarcely be poffible to conceive a

more

new religion attended with more disadvantageous circumftances, than was the Chriftian religion on its first appearance; and of which, confequently, the fuccefs in the world, would, humanly speaking, be more improbable. Nothing could be worse adapted to the prejudices that prevailed among Jews and Gentiles than its tenets nothing could be lefs accommodated to the universal depravity of manners than its precepts. Both the obfcurity and the fate of its founder feemed alike infuperable obsta

cles

And as

cles to the advancement of his caufe. to the perfons whom, under the title of apoftles, he felected to be the instruments of promulgating his doctrine, they were fuch as, in the judgement of all reasonable men, would have been fufficient, though every other circumftance had been favourable, to render the fcheme abortive. Truly, therefore, may we fay, that if this counsel or this work had been of men, it must have come to nought. Any one of the particulars above mentioned would have been enough to stifle it in the birth; how much more would all of them when combined together? But "there is no wisdom, 68 nor understanding, nor counfel, against the "Lord *." His thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are our ways his ways. Juftly is this divine inftitution reprefented in the prophetic. language under the emblem of a stone, fomething at first to appearance inconfiderable, cut out without hands, not by human fkill or dexterity, which became a great mountain, "and filled the whole earth +." For the foolishness of God, as ye have it in the paffage read to you as the foundation of this difcourfe, is wifer than men, and the weakness of God is ftronger than men.

The apoftle, in these words, is far from infinuating that there can be any thing in the fupreme all-perfect mind, analogous to what we understand by the terms folly and weak

*Prov. xxi, 30. VOL. III.

† Dan. ii. 34. 35.

ness.