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divine condescension; and in the simple narrative of angels sitting down at the table of a patriarch, or conducting by the hand, from the impending ruin of a guilty city, the tottering steps of age and of female irresolution; or of God foretelling in dreams the fortunes of in, dividuals and of nations; we ever distinguish the same invariable characters of his watchful and "most visible providence." Even when we read of that perplexed and laborious law which was only the shadow of good things to come, which was imposed upon the stiff necks of a rebellious people, and which confined, under the trammels of authority, men, who were incapable of judging right; when we go on to contemplate the light which was occasionally imparted during the progress of this dark and mysterious dispensation to the glowing minds of holy prophets; and, finally, when we behold the arrival of Him who sealed up the law and the prophecy, who proclaimed the salvation of God to all mankind, and who confirmed his doctrines by his blood; however, in all these passages, many things strange and unlooked for may occur, yet one thing is most remarkable, which runs through them all, and which the heart of man is most anxious to find, the assiduous care and attention bestowed upon the interests of the human race by that almighty and incomprehensible Being "who inhabiteth eternity.”

Here then, my brethren, we find the natural wishes of the human soul met in all their extent, and in a manner greatly beyond expectation; we find the Sovereign of Nature descending from his inaccessible throne, and conversing with man as a friend; we find him commanding, encouraging, entreating, and using every possible

means to bring his sheep into his fold, and to raise the eyes of men to that better kingdom" wherein dwelleth righteousness. It is no longer the silent and invisible Governor of the Universe, inshrined in his own majesty, whom we contemplate at a distance; it is one who sympathizes with all the wishes of the beings whom he has formed, and who, in his last and most remarkable manifestation of himself, when he " spoke to us by his Son,"-" the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person," formed a union with his people so close and condescending, that the Creator seemed for a time to be lost in the creature.

It is thus that, in a manner inconceivably beautiful, the revealed word of God has supplied every thing that was defective in the voice of nature; and this, if no other consideration were to be added, would be a sufficient call upon us to search and study it with thankfulness and diligence. In pursuing the same train of thought, however, let me, in the third place, suggest to you the great accession of happiness and of virtue which these sacred writings have been the means of introducing among the human race: happiness which is to be found where men least look for it, and virtue where it has least outward encouragement-in the bosoms of those who are unknown to the world, and who are often in the lowest and apparently the most unfortunate circumstances. "Not many wise men after the flesh (says the apostle), not many mighty, not many noble are called." Those whom the world regards with admiration and envy, as the favourites of fortune, and the great monopolizers of the happiness of their species; how often, alas! do they miss that true joy which is found and re

lished by those who are commonly regarded as the victims of wretchedness! The humble widow, whose nightly pillow is moistened with her tears; the poor man in his unnoticed cottage; the sinner whose conscience is wounded with repentance; the miserable of every description whose hearts are not hardened and debased, find in the consolations of the Spirit of God that comfort and well-grounded hope, which the pride of learning or abilities, or wealth, or power, so often seeks for in vain! While now, as in all former ages, some are plying the beaten road of crime and conquest, flaming for a time the passing meteors of their age, how many in the retired vale of unregarded privacy are deriving from the volume of salvation those principles of true ambition which will enable them at last to "shine as the brightness of the firmament, and as the stars for ever and ever!"

There is something inexpressibly striking in the rè flection, that the great Sovereign of the Universe, that mysterious Being whom philosophy has so often searched after in vain, deigns, in the pages of inspiration, to converse with the lowest and humblest of his creatures; that those who are ignorant of every thing else, may yet here be instructed by him who knoweth all things, in those points which it is chiefly material for them to know; that "to the poor the gospel is preached;" and that the "High and Holy One who inhabiteth eternity, here condescends to dwell with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit."

These reflections, my brethren, will, I trust, be. thought not entirely unworthy of your attention, and they will perhaps have some tendency to awaken a greates

regard to the instructions contained in the sacred writings than it is usual with many to bestow upon them. Every thing, indeed, may be overdone; and the religious views of men, if confined to any one direction, may lead into a narrow manner of thinking, and into confined and illiberal sentiments. Scripture, like every thing else, is liable to very extraordinary interpretations; and when men enter upon the study of it with a disposition to search into mysteries, or with a prepossession for any peculiar set of tenets, and a desire to establish these in preference to every other, they no doubt may run into the most extravagant imaginations, and find, in the words of God himself, something like a colour for all the perversions and follies of their own disordered minds. The disposition for receiving most advantage from the scriptures is that which I have attempted to show. Scripture was designed to meet the humble but earnest wish natural to the human heart, to become acquainted with God, to receive instruction from him, to be comforted with the consolations of his spirit, and with the hopes of immortality.

To these leading points all doctrines and peculiar tenets of faith are subservient; and those are probably the best suited to every particular person, which the most readily conduct his mind to the knowledge of these sublime truths." All scripture (says St. Paul) is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works" "but (as he says in another place) avoid foolish questions, and genealogies and contentions, and strivings about the law, for they are unprofitable and

vain."

SERMON III.

ON THE CHARACTER OF WISDOM.

PROV. xvii. 24.

"Wisdom is before him that hath understanding, but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.”

IT is the object of the writings of Solomon to point out the superiority of wisdom to every other human acquisition. "Wisdom (says he) is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom, and, with all thy getting, get understanding." Not that he ever undervalues the common objects of human pursuit, such as riches, power, or pleasure: his only aim is to enforce a lesson which long experience had taught him,-that to a man who is unwise these advantages are really of very small importance, and that a wise man can at all times reconcile himself to the want of them.

Two questions, however, here present themselves: What is wisdom, and in what manner may it be attained? To the first of these inquiries, the answer of Solomon is in these words: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; and the knowledge of the holy is understanding." Or, in other “words, man is then wise, and then only, when, with a

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