same quality are bred in the minds of greedy men: distempers as unaccountable, as infectious, and as deadly as that which is bred in dogs. When they lose their religion, and all sense of another world, they are often given up to this malady; and when one man hath it, he is as eager as a raving dog to communicate the same to others. The doctrine of equality; what is it, but the bite of a mad dog? The "rights of man” is another bite: The doctrine of election, as the fanatics understand it, is another; and as the dog under his distemper leaves his home, and runs wild into the fields, aud woods; so do men with this notion in their heads, leave the church and go off into schism. In all these cases, we see how fast the infection spreads; and how often it is incurable: reason and argument cannot reach it. What can the event be, but that men shall worry and devour one another to the end of the world, unless God of his infinite mercy shall find some remedy? And what does all this arise from but a dog-like greediness after this world? This it is which makes men the enemies of God, the enemies of truth, and the enemies of one another. A second quality of the dog is impudence; the most antient of heathen poets compares a man to a dog on account of his impudence-he calls one a shameless dog. With the greediness of the dog, there commonly goes the impudence of the dog. There is scarcely any property which distinguishes a bad man from a good one more than his impudence: therefore impudent men are great favourites with the author of evil. Blessed are the meek, says the Saviour: blessed are the impudent, says the destroyer: and if there be any sort of grace, which it is in the power of Satan to bestow, it is certainly this of impudence: ye may call it the devil's blessing. If he employs any person about his own works and designs, he seems commonly to provide in the first place, that he be impudent. A love of truth, an honest heart, and a good intention, will make a man bold: piety and trust in God will make him patient: but a bad heart and a mischievous intention will make him impudent; and unless he is so, he will have but little chance of succeeding in his undertakings. If an honest man is met by any one in the road to evil, he is easily abashed, and his modesty saves him but an evil man, if confronted and disappointed, begins again: his conscience feels no more than his flesh would do, if it had been seared with a hot iron: if confuted and exposed, he feels no shame; nothing hurts him, unless it be the loss of some worldly object, or a miscarriage in some base design: and even then he is not discouraged, but still perseveres ; repeats his old lies, renews his old attempts, and as he begins, so he goes on, stedfast and unmoveable. These are the men in whom Satan delights, and whom he employs upon the best of his enterprizes. Look at some of the principal of those persons, who at this time are leaders in public mischief: see if there is a modest man amongst them: it cannot be such a man would be of no worth in that party. And indeed you will generally find, that the man whose face can oppose every thing, goes naturally into opposition: that is the stage on which his talents are displayed: the face of an hog can make its way through an hedge of thorns. But there is another quality remaining; which is that of uncleanness. For this the two animals of our text are brought together by St. Peter. Christians are called away that they may escape the pollutions of the world: but many return to them again, and become as they were before. This is illustrated in the following words.-It happened unto them according to the true proverb: the dog is turned to his own vomit again; and the sow that was washed to her wallowing in the mire. These practices are loathsome; but they are no more than a sign of the more loathsome ways of those people, who forsake the grace of God for the pollutions of the world. Nothing is really unclean in the sight of God, but sin, which defileth the soul and spirit. Devils are called unclean spirits from their wickedness; though in them there can be no such thing as bodily impurity. A soul defiled with sin is as contrary to the nature of God, as a beast wallowing in the mire is hateful and adverse to man; and a soul returning to the sin it had forsaken, falls into as loathsome an habit as that of the dog; who never can be raised above his nature, and cured of his odious manners; education will never mend him; he will be a dog still as he was before. When we meet with men of these ill qualities, of such men we, as Christians, are to beware; for we shall do them no good, and if they can they will do us harm: therefore, says the apostle, beware of dogs; for there were persons, particularly the unbelieving Jews at that time, who beset the preachers of the Gospel, as dogs fall upon a stranger. Ill men arm themselves against those who reprove them; and if a man is given up to this world, nothing provokes him more than when he is told of another world. It was declared, in the language of prophecy, that Christ should be persecuted by evil men, in that passage of the twenty-second Psalm-" many dogs are come about me, the council of the wicked layeth siege against me." It is the same with the followers of Christ at this day they who do not receive the truth, will always hate, and despise, and contradict, and persecute, SERMON XXX. JESUS SAITH UNTO HIM, I AM THE WAY, AND THE TRUTH, AND THE LIFE. JOHN XIV. 6. HE who would be happy in this world, and in the world to come, must know Jesus Christ, and love him, and keep his Commandments.-By knowing him, I do not mean that we should have personal knowledge of him, as Peter had, when he said, Lord, thou knowest that I love thee. It is sufficient for us to know what he is to receive him with the heart and affections; though it be not possible that we should see him with the eyes of the body. To the eye of faith he is visible enough, for all the purposes of salvation; and so the words of St, Peter imply, where he says-whom having not seen ye love; in whom, though ye now see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory. Such joy must every man feel, when his eyes are opened, and Jesus Christ is revealed to him ; and no words can reveal him to us more effectually than the words of this text.-Blessed are the eyes which can see him as he is here described! That you may be able to do this, I shall make them as plain and easy as I can; and if there be any among you, who have not seen him yet, may God bring such out of darkness into light; that their eyes may not be closed in death, till they have seen the salvation of God! I proceed to shew you, how truly these three terms, the way, the truth, and the life, describe to us the character of Jesus Christ and first I shall shew, how he is the way. : We are all departed from God: our disobedience drove us from Paradise, to wander about this world; and nothing but disappointment and misery can attend us, till we find God whom we had lost, and return to him again. We are all gone out of the way and instead of seeking after God, we are always seeking after something else. We have some vision of happiness before us, to which God is not necessary; in which he has no share-God is not in all their thoughts, saith the prophet. Here are two very bad circumstances: first, that we are lost, and next, that we have neither power nor inclination to return. The poor sheep, straying in the wilderness, when wolves are.. abroad, cannot be in a worse case. It was the wolf which first made us wander. Such doctrine as a wolf would give to a sheep, such did the tempter give to and in consequence of it, he has been wandering ever since he is in a wilderness where there is no way; no footsteps are to be seen: we may go over the whole world, and find no way that will lead us to God every way of man carries us farther from him. The way in which he commonly walketh is called a shadow; it is only an image and outward semblance of life, which, like a shadow, soon departeth. Try all his ways by this rule, and you will find them all alike. When he is in the way to be rich, he is laying up for some other to gather when he is gone. If he is in the Ff VOL. IV. |