SER M. nified by his fpeaking with authority, he
XXXI. fpoke the truth impartially, opened to them

all their errors, and reprehended their vices:
his bufinefs was to deliver the will of God,
though it was contrary to the opinions and
practices of
every fort and degree of men a-
mong them; infomuch that he was most fe-
vere upon those who had the greatest reputa-
tion among the people for fanctity and holi-
nefs. This courage of his in reprehending all
forts of vice, and declaring the truth on all
occafions, the people took great notice of, Lo
he fpeaketh boldly, and they fay nothing unto

him.

Now this authority with which he delivered himself, and the confirmation of what he faid with miracles, gave his words a power and influence beyond all human eloquence; this was peculiar to him, and therefore inimitable. However, there is fo much of that authority derived down upon us, as gives our preaching a virtue and efficacy beyond what is merely human; our commiffion is from God and not from man, as my Father fent me, So fend I you. From thefe words we first derive our power and authority; from hence it is, that we are, as the Apoftle fpeaks, 2 Cor. viii. 23. The mesengers of the churches, and the glory of Christ. This word glory, is ufed in Scripture, to fignify the divine prefence in any place or perfon; and the meaning of it here is, that the prefence of Chrift is in us, his authority and power goes along with our ministry,

ftry, and in this fenfe it is, that he himself SER M. fays, Lo, I am with you even to the end of the XXXI. world.

When the Apoftles were filled with the Holy Ghost, the effect of it was that they Spoke the word of God with boldness; and St. Paul exhorts the Ephefians to pray for him, that utterance might be given to him, that he might open his mouth boldly, to make known the mystery of the Gospel. We are to be followers of them, as they were of Chrift, and put on the fame courage and refolution, and deliver ourselyes with that decent authority that becomes the dignity of our truft; not that imaginary femblance of authority put on by a haughty brow or threatning look, by violence or paffion, or extravagance in the voice or geftures; these are the weakneffes of human nature, and have nothing of the power of Christ. This we must leave to enthufiafts, thofe awkward mimicks of true infpiration; we are not of that manner of Spirit. The boldness and affurance I fpeak of is, that which proceeds from a firm perfuafion of our divine commiffion, and the concurrence of that Holy Spirit which attends the execution of it; from a true zeal for the glory of God and his Church; from a consciousness of the fincerity of our own repentance, and of a regular piety and habitual holiness of life. Thefe are the things that infpire a divine orator with decent courage and affurance; that raife him above all the terrors and the flatteries of the world, fo

that

1

SER M. that no profpect of worldly intereft or granXXXI, deur can byafs his mind, or give a wrong turn

to his thoughts; that on all occafions that require it, he is ready to declare himself for the truths of God, to own and acknowledge them in the midst of dangers, to make publick confeffion of them, and never conceal any part of the truth for the advantage of religion, but leave the fuccefs to God, who beft knows upon what foundations to establish his Church.

2. Another great advantage beyond all men living, which our Saviour was endued with towards fpeaking, was, his divine knowledge, that excellent fpirit of wisdom, by which he had a full comprehenfion of all the truths of God, and the hidden things of nature; he grew in wisdom as in ftature, and was wife as he was good by nature, and this made people wonder fo often, when he was a child difputing with the doctors; they wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth; and again, Whence hath this man this wisdom? And How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? But the Spirit was upon him without measure, and confequently his knowledge infinite; it must have been the fame with that of God, and therefore it is, that the Apoftle St. Paul fays, in bim are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge; it was this that enabled him to fpeak things beyond the reach of all men, because he knew fo much more than any other man, and particularly of the fecret will of

God,

God, which he came to reveal to us: he SERM. plainly declared that all things were delivered XXXI. to him of his Father, and that no man knoweth the Son but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, (i, e.) the true nature and the mind of God, fave the Son, and he to whom the Son will reveal him (a strong proof this text is, that we can have no dependence on any of our reafonings about the nature and will of God, and his purposes relating to mankind, but what is grounded on the Gospel of his Son Chrift Jefus.) Now if the things themselves which he declared, had not been the refult of wisdom and knowledge, the most happy expreffion could never have fo powerfully enforced them on his hearers. Now this very thing in which our Saviour excelled by nature, is laid down by all who treat of rhetorick and oratory, as the main foundation of all true eloquence. Where there is not by nature a folid judgment and quickness of apprehenfion, a good invention and lively fancy, they are not to be had otherwife than by inspiration, which no man can now expect; they may be improved, but never obtained by labour; they are the gift of God, not by inspiration but by a felicity of

nature.

Nor is this fufficient to make a man divinely eloquent, unless these natural endowments are improved by education and learning; for we can no more be learned and knowing, than we can be virtuous, by nature,

as

SERM. as our Saviour was, and therefore we must acXXXI. quire thefe by labour and industry, and furnish our minds with a stock of learning and knowledge by thofe methods, which are laid down for that purpose. Nemo, fays Cicero, poterit effe omni laude cumulatus orator, nifi erit omnium magnarum rerum et artium fcientiarum confecutus; and what he fays of Brutus, one of the most eloquent men of the age, is, erat in Bruto natura admirabilis, exquifita doctrina et induftria fingularis.

Now these are no lefs neceffary to divine than human oratory, and the truths of the Gospel should be taught and enforced with fome degree of that knowledge by which they were firft revealed. From whence appears the folly and arrogance of those enthufiafts, who take upon them the performance of this most important and difficult work, without either parts or learning; for want of that good sense which is the life and foul of oratory, they are but as founding brass or a tinkling cymbal, and while they set up for a more immediate imitation of Chrift and his Apoftles, are beyond all others the fartheft from them; little confidering that fulness of fenfe there was in all he and they faid, and that clofeness of confequences, and wisdom of the application, which are things they never think of.

The one great fundamental rule of eloquence is, to confult good fenfe, and to be ftrictly rational in all we fay, even when we are leaft argumentative; dicere nemo bene po

teft