It required all its professors to come out from the world. The success of all other religions which have ever prevailed has greatly depended on the worldly honours which they have promised; had these been withdrawn, the motives for embracing them would have been greatly diminished. But this cannot be asserted of the Christian religion; for it disappointed all the hopes, and blasted all the prospects, of those to whom it was first offered. It does not recognise this world except as a state of probation, a scene of suffering and warfare. I know there was a time in the history of the church when worldly honours crept into it; but that was an awful time; that is a black page which "no fuller on earth" can whiten. Man added to religion what God had prohibited. The church lost its compass, and its iniquities hid from it the Sun of righteousness; at last its piety vanished, and God raised up another people to serve him. When worldly honours creep into any church, and are used as motives to induce men to love God, the glory of that church has departed. If religion be embraced at all, it must be embraced for its own sake; and while man has a carnal mind, nothing can induce him to love God but the Holy Spirit operating on his nature, enlightening his understanding, and purifying his affections. And if man would be saved, he must not

resist the Holy Ghost. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts."

III. Does Christianity offer its followers ease and quiet? On the contrary, it ensures trials, persecutions, and afflictions as the earthly portion of all its votaries. Surely there must be something supernatural in the spread of a religion which is contrary to the disposition and wishes of man, and at the same time deprives him of worldly honours and worldly ease. From the life of the Saviour, the founder of the Christian religion, we might safely predict the sufferings of his followers, since "the servant

is not above his master." He did indeed lead a life of

sorrow.

He had not where to lay his head. He was exposed to earthly inconveniences and hardships, and suffered as no man can suffer. He wept as no man can weep. Behold him at the grave of Lazarus. Hear his lamentation over Jerusalem, and from the language of his lips infer the agony of his soul: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not!" See him in the garden of Gethsemane, and imagine the poignancy of that grief which caused the bloody sweat. And then follow him to the cross, and as the soldier drives the nail, mark well that quivering flesh, that mangled nerve. What was that mental anguish which caused him to cry out, "My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?" "He was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief."

But the sufferings of his followers were not left to be found out by experience. He plainly told them that they must take up the cross; that if the world persecuted him, it would persecute them also. His apostles went forth in the same manner, and, by their sufferings as well as by their words, taught all men that they must "through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God;" and that those who "will live godly in Christ Jesus, shall suffer persecution." Nothing softened the repulsiveness of these assertions, but the voice of the Redeemer as he unfolded the realities of eternity: "To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.” These declarations have been verified in the experience of every saint who has reached heaven. He has " out of great tribulation." They must be verified in the

come

experience of Christians in all coming ages, till the world shall be brought into subjection to Christ; for Christ "must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet."

If you will look back upon the history of the church, you will find ample proof of the truth of Christ's words. Follow the church during the three centuries succeeding the crucifixion of her Lord. See her wading through suffering and afflictions; mark how every step of her progress is stained with the blood of her truest friends. O! had not the Holy Spirit, the blessed Comforter, breathed comfort into their souls, and sustained them by his heavenly aid in all their trials and afflictions, the progress of religion must have ended for ever. Instead of the triumphant song of the dying martyr, would have been heard the sigh of agony, and the wail of despair.

Behold also the sufferings of the people of God when the Roman Catholic power triumphed over all Europe, and set at naught all law, human and divine. Read the history of the Waldenses, that pious people who fled to the valleys of the Alps that they might, unmolested, love and serve their God. There, my brethren, you will learn the fiendish character of that "infallible, unchanging church," which now threatens the destruction of all that is dear to us in civil and religious liberty. There you

will read tales of anguish which will harrow up your souls, and cause your blood to chill within you. There you may hear notes of suffering which should sound an alarm throughout every village and city of our country, in the ear of every patriot and Christian, and cause him to put on the armour of the gospel, and pray mightily to the God of Israel for assistance. Wake up, sinner! Come up at least to the defence of civil liberty! "Wake to righteousness, and sin not." You may be called to suffer with the church, but, unless converted, you cannot share in the rewards of eternity.

The history of the church teaches us that she has always been persecuted; she has always been burning, but is not consumed: while the Spirit of the Lord of hosts is in her midst, she can never be consumed. But on what other principle can you account for her existence? What but the Spirit of God has preserved her so that her enemies have not long since triumphed over her? Has any other cause been abused so much? Has any other cause triumphed so widely? Has any other cause sustained itself at all under such combined and mighty efforts for its destruction? No! The existence of the Christian church can be accounted for only by the existence and continued protection of that God who "causeth the wrath of man to praise him"-who shall give to his Son Jesus Christ "the heathen for his inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for his possession." "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts."

IV. Can the influence of mere learning account for the success of Christianity? Knowledge always tends to enlighten the understanding, and enlarge the mind. It shows man the reasons which should prompt him to action; but it has no impelling force. It cannot make him act contrary to his will; it cannot procure for him the drawings of the Spirit; it can only teach him that there are such drawings. Now Christ hath said, "No man can come to me, except the Father, which hath sent me, draw him.” Nor can knowledge carry on the work of grace in the heart; for it cannot secure the assistance of Christ, and "without me," saith Christ, "ye can do nothing;" it cannot procure faith, and "the just shall live by faith." Now as knowledge cannot convert one man, nor carry on the work of grace in his heart, of course it cannot do this for any number of men; and cannot, therefore, account for the spread of Christianity.

We do not undervalue knowledge, however, but rejoice in its diffusion; we believe that ministers of the gospel should acquire all the knowledge which they possibly can, and that the church should be engaged, heart and hand, in the cause of education. Knowledge, if under the control of the Spirit of God, will be instrumental in the advancement of religion; but if not, it will prove a curse. Paul was a man of learning, and he used it all in defence of religion; but it was not his learning which converted souls; he himself said, "I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase." Yes, God made use of Paul's learning to promote his own cause; it was the Holy Spirit that applied the truth to the hearts of the apostle's hearers. To say that Paul's learning converted souls, would be as absurd as to say that the hammer drives the nail; the fact is, the man drives the nail with an instrument, that is, a hammer; so God uses instruments in extending his cause. Hence we see the importance of knowledge to Christians, whether ministers or private members. God does not now work miracles in bestowing it upon them; but if they possess it, he uses it as an instrument in his cause; if they have it not, of course all that good is lost which it might have been instrumental in accomplishing. It is not reasonable to suppose that the fathers of the church, that Luther, Wesley, and men of later times, could have been instrumental in doing what they did for the church, had it not been for the learning which they acquired and consecrated to the cause. We see also the rank which knowledge must hold; it must be under the control of the Holy Spirit. It must be sanctified in order to be of any service. And thus you again see, my brethren, how every thing depends on the Spirit of God. "Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts.”