SERMON XXV.

On the open Profession of our Faith in Christ.

MARK viii. 38.

Whosoever, therefore, shall be ashamed of me, and of my words, in this adulterous and sinful generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his Father, with the holy angels.

AND is it possible, that any of the degenerate race of Adam can ungratefully refuse to acknowledge him, who with infinite love and condescension came to redeem them from their lost condition? Can man, a frail child of the dust, so totally dependent as he is, and who has been so greatly obliged, ever treat with disregard his most bountiful Benefactor? Can that being, who was originally placed in so low an order of God's intelligent creatures, and who has degraded himself by wilful transgression, be ever so absurd in his pride, as to be ashamed of the Lord of life, the Head of all principality and power, to whom all authority in heaven and earth is now committed, and who will hereafter come in the glory of the almighty

Father, attended by innumerable hosts of the holy angels?

Yet, such is the absurdity and ingratitude of degenerate man, that our Redeemer and Lord has too often received this contemptuous treatment, from the time in which he assumed our nature in the form of a servant, and dwelt among us in great humility, to the present moment, when he is highly exalted, and has a name given unto him, which is above every name. The haughty Jews, the descendants of Abraham, and therefore vainly elated with the notion that they were the peculiar favourites of heaven, were ashamed of a Messiah so meek and lowly, so entirely divested of all earthly pomp and splendour. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. They treated him with the grossest indignity. They denied the Holy One, and the Just. They desired a murderer to be granted unto them, while they killed the Prince of life. And, although he was raised from the dead, of which momentous fact there were many competent and faithful witnesses; although he be now seated on the right hand of the Majesty in the heavens, invested with supreme dominion over angels and men; still, he is treated with disrespect by too many of his inconsiderate creatures. They are ashamed of him and of his words. They perversely attempt to tarnish the lustre of his mighty achievements in accomplishing the redemption of mankind. They insult his divinity, reject his atonement, and deny the operation of his grace. Lamentable rashness of beings who were made for eternity, thus to deny him, through whom alone, life and immortality have been brought to light! Pitiable folly of weak and sinful mortals, to be ashamed of him who

ruleth among the armies of heaven, and over the inhabitants of the earth; to whom all judgment is committed; whose last decisive sentence will determine the everlasting condition of the whole human race! Let us inquire into the causes of this ingratitude to our best Friend; of this preposterous shame, where we ought to cherish a spirit of exultation, and even to make our boast in God our Redeemer. Let us consider what is implied in the contrary conduct of confessing him before men-before those who are most inclined to revile and oppose; even before an adulterous and sinful generation. Let us seriously reflect upon the solemn obligations under which we lie, not to deny the Lord who bought us; not to be ashamed of that great Head of the Church, whom to know and acknowledge is our truest bliss, our highest glory.

One cause why even those who believe the Gospel, too often act as if they were ashamed of its divine Author, is the dread of incurring the scoffs of a wicked world. Not that bad men can, in their hearts, despise the virtuous and godly. But, as the advancement of the Redeemer's kingdom necessarily tends to the subversion of that of Satan, they are prompted by the great adversary of all goodness, to combine in opposing the progress of our holy religion: if they cannot entirely extinguish the heavenly fire, they will at least attempt to diminish the brightness of the flame. Conscious that they are in the path which leads to destruction, like the malevolent master whom they serve, they take a cruel delight in constantly adding to the number of those who wander from the right way. Hence, they persecute the good with unrelenting malignity; industriously throwing obstructions in their

way; exaggerating their infirmities, and distorting their virtues; assaulting them sometimes with the insinuations of ridicule, and sometimes with expressions of direct contempt; and the fatal consequence of these virulent attacks is too often a culpable fear of confesssing our faith in Christ, and love of his holy religion.

The desire of obtaining the commendation of those with whom we converse, is a natural propensity of the human mind. But in yielding to this propensity, is it not to be feared that we permit the dread of unjust reproach to control the emotions of a pious heart? We are afraid to let our light shine before men, lest, instead of glorifying our Father who is in heaven, they should only vilify his servants here upon earth. When the wicked are in our sight, to escape the voice of the slanderer and the blasphemer, we keep silence, even from good words, although it be pain and grief

to us.

We are ashamed of Christ, from an unreasonable deference to the opinions of ungodly men.

Another cause of this timidity among those who in some respects entertain a becoming sense of religious obligation, is the dread of being deemed vain pretenders to an extraordinary degree of piety. Daily experience teaches us, that the best things are liable to be abused to pernicious purposes. The mask of religion is sometimes assumed in order to conceal the base designs of vice. Under the sanctimonious countenance, pathetic ejaculations to heaven, and fervent declarations of inviolable attachment to Christ and his religion, too often lurk vanity and affectation-the very spirit of the ancient Pharisees, all whose pretensions to extraordinary piety were designed merely to be seen VOL. II.

36.

of men. Now, the dread of incurring the imputation of this odious vice, has frequently an undue influence even upon the well disposed mind. To avoid one fault, we too hastily run into the contrary extreme. We suppress the natural expressions of attachment to our Lord and Master, lest we should be called mere formal professors. Because sepulchres are sometimes whited and appear beautiful outward, we are afraid to boast of the goodly structure even of true religion; to solicit the attention of mankind to its attractive colours and just proportions.

Again; many of those who are not entirely destitute of religious impressions, shrink from a candid profession of their faith in Christ, and love of his religion, from an unreasonable fear of singularity. Mankind in general are devoted to the business of this life, while the great concerns of eternity are neglected or forgotten. Whithersoever we turn our view, to make provision for the flesh, in order to fulfil the lusts thereof, seems to be the chief incentive to all human thought and industry: one is going to his farm, and another to his merchandise, and the world and the things of it engage their whole affection. These are the common subjects of conversation in almost every company. Professing Christians, instead of building each other up in our most holy faith; instead of mutual exhortation to love and to good works, spend too much of the precious time which might be devoted to religious improvement (like the inhabitants of ancient Athens) in nothing else but either to tell or to hear some new thing. Religion is an antiquated subject, which has no novelty for the curious, no amusement for the gay and profligate, no offers of honour to the ambitious, no