Says

and sorrow, says, "Lord, hadst thou been here, my brother had not died." Do you perceive, Martha did not believe he had the power to raise him, when he was once dead? But there was another thing indicated in these words, "Lord, hadst thou been here, my brother would not have died," namely this, "You have come too late. I might have had a brother now living, had you come in season, but the season is past; the opportunity is gone, and I am destitute of a brother and a friend!" Jesus, "Where have you laid him?" and advances to the sepulchre. Then she exclaims again, "Lord, by this time he stinketh; for he hath been dead four days." Now there is something very peculiar in this. It indicates, in the first place, that she believed, and reasoned within herself, thus, "If Jesus had been here, my brother would not have died." In the second place, "If he had come before corruption had commenced, he might have raised him from the dead." All this can be clearly seen, for the moment he asked where the body lay, she immediately thought he was going to attempt his resurrection. When, as it seems, she granted that he might have been raised, if it had been attempted sooner, as she had probably seen Jesus exercise similar power on others; but now, she thinks, it is too late, it has been so long delayed, that his resurrection is impossible. She had gone in fact to the ne plus ultra of her faith. She sets it down as a lost case, because corruption had begun, and she says, "Lord, it is too late, for the power of resurrection to bring him forth." There sat the glory of heaven, in all the lustre of his pure holiness, and with the voice of heaven, he said, "Lazarus, come forth!" Now, Martha was convinced of one fact, which she never conceived possible

before. She was now convinced, that corruption, itself, was no barrier to the power of her Lord and Master. Her faith is perfected; but she seemed to step along, until the power of resurrection stopped her, and then her living brother stood before her.

I name these things, that I may communicate to you, my hearers, this one idea: When people are setting bounds to the mercy of Jesus Christ, they are only telling us how little they know-that their faith is weak; but if they attend to these circumstances and their consequences, generally, all that will be found wanting, is not wanting in the grace of God, but in rightly understanding the expression, "Growing in grace and knowledge." Do not suppose you know enough. Do not suppose you have learned all that there is to learn.

Do

you not know, that the most ignorant people are always the most knowing in their own estimation? Yes. Then be careful not to fail in that particular. The way to know things, is, to investigate them. Do not be afraid of investigating every thing, and inquiring into the cause and effect of every thing. By these means, you will learn, and you will be surprised to see, that so many religious people have so long continued to believe what some old popes and cardinals have taught them. You may be mortified that you have not learned the truth before, but that is no matter. Humble yourselves before God, and listen to that testimony, which will enable you to grow in grace. Do not grow in contention or animosity among each other; do not grow in a spirit of revenge or retaliation towards your enemies, but walk honestly, uprightly, and peaceably, and may God almighty bless you, and cause your goings forth to be like the morning, like a morning without clouds, which shineth brighter and brighter unto the perfect day.

SERMON VII.

GALATIANS] I. 11.

BUT I CERTIFY TO YOU BRETHREN, THAT THE GOSPEL, WHICH WAS PREACHED OF ME, IS NOT AFTER MAN.

A system of doctrine, which is according to man, must, of necessity, have its origin in the wisdom of man; must partake of the peculiar qualities which distinguish man, and, of necessity, in all respects wherein man deviates from his Maker, that doctrine which he shall produce, will deviate from the doctrine which has its origin in God, and which the wisdom of God has produced. The apostle considered it of importance, that he should certify his brethren, that the gospel of Jesus Christ was not after man-that is to say, it was not the production of the "wisdom of this world," that cometh to nought. It was not fashioned according to the peculiarities of imperfect man; but his sentiment is evidently this, that the gospel, which was preached by Christ, was the production of the wisdom of God; and was fashioned, in all respects, according to the mind of God.

I shall attempt, my friends, to shew you three peculiar characteristics of the doctrine of man, which, will always prove to your understandings, that any doctrine which partakes of any of these three characteristics, or all of them, certainly, is not from God, but is the production of human invention. In opposition to doctrines of this description,

an attempt will be made to illustrate the doctrine of God as dissimilar, in all respects, from the doctrines of men; and to discover it to have the qualities of God, and of God alone.

The peculiar characteristics which are always discoverable in false doctrine, are the following:

1st. Inconsistency. A doctrine that is and must be communicated in terms, which indicate contradiction and inconsistency, bears on the face of it the peculiar characteristic, which proves it to be the production of human wisdom, and not the production of God. There is no doctrine ever produced by the wisdom of this world, that does not bear this characteristic; and it is certain, that no doctrine which is inconsistent with itself, is the doctrine of God.

2nd. Partiality marks all the false doctrines that are in the world, or ever were in the world; and partiality always proves a doctrine to be false, and not from God; for, certainly, no doctrine that is partial can be the production of divine wisdom; for that is described by St. James, thus; "The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocricy." But, my friends, when you hear a doctrine preached, and declared to be directly from Heaven, examine it with caution, and if it partake of partiality, set it down to be false, and attribute it to the wisdom of the world which cometh to nought.

3d. Unmerciful wrath. And this is the conclusion of the description that distinguishes and marks all the doctrines of the world, all the systems of men, and proves them to be not of God, but of the wisdom of the world, that cometh to nought.

Inconsistency, partiality, and unmerciful cruelty! Put these three together, and they prove a doctrine to be false, and not of God.

I will now ask your attention to a few observations, which may be made upon certain tenets that have been looked upon as essential articles of the Christian faith, and so essential as to be absolutely indispensable; without which, we are told, we deny the Christian faith; and, therefore, are not worthy to be called Christians. What are these? I will bring forward a clause from the Westminster Catechism with profound reverence, however, and honor to the memory of those who framed it, for their labors and their learning, as well as for their piety; but with no respect for their errorsno honor for falsehood. It is perfectly right to try their creed by the standard of reason, by the standard of the word of God; and we have a right to try it by the standard of itself. If it be an inconsistent creed, it is false-if it be a partial creed, it is false-and if it be an unmerciful creed, it is false; and if it have all these characteristicks, it is unworthy the faith of believers in our Lord Jesus Christ.

The sentence I shall recite to you, is in answer to this question: "Into what a state did the fall bring mankind? A. All mankind, by the fall, lost communion with God-fell under his wrath and curse-and so were made liable to all the misery of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of Hell for ever." "Is not that true?" says the hearer. not that the fact?" We will not be in haste to answer. We are trying to see if it be true or not. I will now rehearse to you the very next answer in the catechism. It is to this question :

"Is