with Christ has made them free, and not be again entangled with the yoke of bondage. A dwarf shall not approach to offer the bread of his God.

No man with a blemish in his eyes, Lev. xxi. 20, shall be a priest, because he cannot see afar off, therefore can never be a proper person for a seer, while his own understanding is hoodwinked, Matt. xv. 14. Not a man with the scurvy; no, if his own blood be foul, he is liable to infect others; he must be purged with hyssop himself, and then he may speak as God's mouth, from his own experience: "I will cleanse their blood, that I have not cleansed, for the Lord dwelleth in Zion." Not a man scabbed, Lev. xxi. 20. No, one scabbed sheep will spoil the whole flock, as say those who speak in proverbs; and a scabby shepherd is a reproach to the flock. God knows we have all too many spots; but this teacheth humility; and God keeping them from breaking out, shews us where our strength lies. The worst running sores are errors propagated, and the worst dry scabs are errors fixed. We may pronounce such utterly unclean, for the plague is in their head, Lev. xiii. 44.

A man that hath his stones broken, Lev. xxi. 20, 21, shall not be a priest. Be not offended at my quoting the passage; "Every word of God is pure," Prov, xxx. 5. In a gospel sense, this cannot mean a person bodily deficient. No; the eunuch is not to call himself a dry tree, Isaiah lvi. 3. Some have made themselves eunuchs for the king

dom of heaven's sake, Matt. xix. 12; and he was one of this sort, to whom God sent a personal message, Acts viii. 34. Secret members are in scripture called uncomely parts, 1 Cor. xii. 23; yet where they are instrumental in bringing forth a numerous progeny, there is put on them more abundant honour. A barren womb was a dreadful reproach among men, though God is displeased with them who evil intreat the barren that bears not, Job xxiv. 21. Sometimes God has denounced a man childless, in a way of judgment, and sometimes not, Jer. xxii. 30: there must be spiritual secrets in the body mystical, in order to increase the spiritual Israel of God, 1 Cor. xii. 22-26. I read of the secret of God's eternal election being with the righteous, Psalm xxv. 14; Prov. iii. 32; Jer. xxiii. 18; and I read also of the incorruptible seed of God being in the souls of real believers, 1 Pet. i. 23; 1John iii. 9. I likewise read of God's irrevocable decrees being pregnant, and bringing forth, Zeph. ii. 2; therefore that man who denies the irrevocable decrees of God, denies Zion's fruitful womb, whose offspring is to be as the dew of heaven, Psal. cx. 3; and that man who calls himself a father in Christ, and yet is without the election of God in his heart, is no more than a spiritual eunuch, and shall be dealt with as a dry tree. When poor Zion has no better instrumental fathers than these, she may be said to grind under a millstone, Job xxxi. 10; but shall never be said to

grace of

bring forth three measures of meal with true leaven in it, or a body, soul, and spirit, with the the Trinity in them, Luke xiii. 21.

Errors occasion a miscarrying womb, and mock the babes of Christ with a dry breast. I have been in company with many of these strange daughters of Jerusalem, some of whom groaned, like souls in real spiritual travail, but it was only a false conception; and if they seemed to bring forth any thing, all the divines in the world could not tell what it was; for there was neither feature, gender, nor member; and who can call it a new creature, without applying the phrase to a snail? Psalm lviii. 8. I believe a man with an alarm in his conscience, may sound an alarm till many find themselves at Sinai; but if God send not a freeman to sound a jubilee trump, they will compass that mount long enough, Deut. i. 6. A man with the fire of wrath in his heart may cry, fire, till many be awakened; but if salvation by grace be not preached, they will, like Lot's sons, lie down in the flames. It is true, many unbelievers will say,

We have cast out devils in thy name;' and though they have, yet it is never said that they have begotten souls to Christ, in the bonds of the gospel no; the golden oil goes in a golden pipe, Zech. iv. 12. A real spiritual convert is God's seal; but he sets not his seal of approbation to the work of a liar, however Satan may plead this; for I read, he has gone out of his own head: it is true, the Spirit spake by Balaam, but he only used his

tongue; he let Satan reign in his heart, but made him lie still till he had done with him his heart was at the high place, while the Holy Ghost used his organs of speech; and, if he had pleased, he could have done all this by the mouth of the ass; for the ass was more honest and reverend than her rider.

Believe me, I do not speak against the learning of any spiritual labourer in Christ's vineyard: no; I love them dearly, and can see eye to eye with them in a measure; and often hear them own, that God is a free agent, and can raise up an instrument to be a spiritual preacher of the gospel, who can proclaim light, life, pardon, peace, love, and liberty, without being a master of arts and I know astronomy, geography, philosophy, anatomy, botany, &c. have little to do with the conscience of a day-labouring man.' "God hath chosen the poor of this world rich in faith;" therefore he that preaches the wisdom this world teaches, makes the cross of Christ of none effect to such, and can be no better to them than a barbarian; and that man who presumes to make human learning an essential in the ministry, condemns the greatest part of the prophets and apostles; yea, and even Christ himself, John vii. 15; and such may be ashamed, for they cast a reflection on the wisdom of the Holy Ghost, who makes use of the foolish to confound the wise.

About twelve months ago, a young man offered himself to preach at Margaret Street chapel for

me: he came with a deal of pomposity, and in robes, as if he belonged to the establishment; and knowing me to be an illiterate man, he chose a text for the purpose, and entertained my hearers about Moses being instructed in all the wisdom of Egypt, Acts vii. 22. So the wisdom of Egypt was set against apostolic ignorance, Acts iv. 13; and what success he could expect I shall leave to your judgment. As the word of God has not commanded Egyptian wisdom as an essential to the sacerdotal function, I think he might as well have spent his trifling artillery at the devil, as at my ignorance of school learning.

If Moses was forty years old before it came into his mind to visit his brethren, Acts vii. 23; and he had been all that time a pupil in Egypt, it is evident his tuition kept him from the church of Christ. I know not who was the chief tutor in Egypt; but it is certain God was not; for he says, when he went out into the land of Egypt he heard a language that he understood not, Psal. lxxxi. 5; therefore he brought his chosen out from among that people of a strange language, Psalm cxiv. 1. If my congregation had been as blind as the preacher, they might have gone away persuaded that none could preach the mystery of the cross, unless they were qualified by magic art; but they saw through him; so he had his work, and they had theirs. He cried up the wisdom of Egypt, and they cried down the vanity of him.

God called Amos, the herdsman, to prophesy