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is it imposture? is it self-delusion? If it be, I could almost say--what has been said with more zeal than judgment in a less sacred cause-I had rather err with St. Paul, than think rightly with his opponents and traducers.

Compare the conduct of that great Apostle with that of the unbeliever; the one earnestly and affectionately persuading mankind to the profession of a religion, which, if it be true, will secure their eternal welfare; and if not, will at all events ensure their present rectitude of conduct and tranquillity of mind: the other, not content with being himself tossed in an ocean of uncertainty and doubt; but labouring to shake the pious confidence of others, and to bereave them of their dearest hopes; to take from them their only stay and support in the conflicts of the flesh with the Spirit; to fill them with anxious surmisings and fearful forebodings in this life; and to ensure their condemnation if there be another. To which of these characters, my brethren, shall we, as reasonable and accountable beings, desire to assimilate our own? Shall we, with the heartless and unfeeling sceptic, scoff at what he is pleased to term the reigning superstition? Shall we deprive our simpler brethren of the satisfaction which they feel, in believing that

Jesus died to make atonement for their sins, and that as he died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus shall God bring with him?* Shall we see Christianity beaten down, and wounded, and trampled upon, and pass by unconcerned on the other side? Or shall we rather count all things loss, for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord; and, under a full conviction of its inestimable value, not only embrace it heartily ourselves, but, for the sake of others, earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered to the saints?‡ Of this at least we may be assured; that if we maintain the truth and authority of the Gospel, and strengthen the kingdom of Christ upon earth, both by our precept and example, we shall have the satisfaction of knowing that we can do no harm to the real interests of mankind, and most probably shall do incalculable good.

In the last place I may remark, that St. Paul has been regarded by some pious and learned men, as a type of the Jewish nation, both in his unbelieving and his converted state. He was, as I have before observed, in the strictest and fullest sense of the term, a Jew; education, by zeal for the law.

by birth, by

Nor did he,

* 1 Thess. iv. 14.

+ Phil. iii. 8.

‡ Jude 3.

when he became an Apostle, cast off all affection for his Jewish brethren, but declared that he was willing to perish for them:* but they were obstinate and immovable, and therefore he turned from them to the Gentiles, declaring at the same time that there was a day predetermined in the counsels of God for their restoration and reception into the Church of Christ. He persecuted and oppressed Jesus Christ, and was struck blind; but upon repentance he received his sight. So were the Jews, for their obstinate hardness of heart, stricken with a judicial blindness of understanding; and even unto this day the veil is upon their heart. Nevertheless, when it shall turn to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away.‡

But St. Paul was converted by a special interposition of divine power, and by the glorious manifestation of Christ himself: it may be---and beyond that we do not venture, for it is one of the hidden counsels of God-it may be, that the conversion and illumination of the Jews, when the fulness of the Gentiles shall come in, will be sudden, and with power.

Many reflections crowd upon my mind, when I view in all its bearings the conversion of the * Rom. ix. 3. † Rom. xi. 25. 2 Cor. iii. 15.

great Apostle of the Gentiles.

But I can now

only submit to you one of the most important. The example of St. Paul is sometimes urged, as a ground of confidence, either to hope for the sudden conversion of notorious sinners; or to encourage the sinners themselves, when they resolve to forsake their sins. But in point of fact it is not a legitimate argument in either case. It is a case which ought to be set aside, and contemplated with admiration, as a special instance of the wonderful way, in which God sometimes accomplishes his great designs. The question itself cannot now be discussed; but this I may say, that although we do not pretend to limit the efficacy of God's grace, or to say that it cannot turn a sinner at any moment of his life from the error of his ways, or that such conversions never happen; yet the instance of St. Paul is not applicable to the case of a professing Christian, who sins against the light and the obligations of the Gospel. St. Paul was a religious man, serving God to the best of his knowledge and judgment; mistaken, but sincere; zealous for the honour of God, and of the religion which he believed to be true: and therefore his case bears little or no analogy to that of an immoral Christian, or a careless unbeliever.

Besides, his was truly an extraordinary case. His conversion was to be a striking proof of Christianity; he was an instrument specially required for a particular purpose; and therefore God thought fit to employ special means for appropriating him to himself. The salvation of the Gentile world was wrapped up in the conversion of St. Paul. But unless an object of equal importance is to be answered, we cannot with certainty argue, from this case, that a special conversion may be looked for beforehand in any other. With more assurance of reason, and under a more constraining necessity, may we pray to Him, who manifested his power in so wonderful and singular a change, that the ordinary means of grace which he employs, his word, and ordinances, and the ready aid of the Spirit, may be inquired after by the Christian world with greater earnestness of affection, and used with more of diligence and perseverance; that we may be gradually, yet effectually transformed by the renewing of our mind;* and exhibit in our practice the purifying, and strengthening, and supporting influence of that grace, which is given to every one of us according to the measure of his faith in Jesus Christ.

*Rom. xii. 2.

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