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let us lay our quarrels and animofities, our pride, our petty felf interefts, and hardness of heart-and there will afcend from it the fweet Savour of univerfal Charity.

SERMON

SERMON IV.

ST. MATTHEW, Ch. xvi. V. 18.

66

UPON THIS ROCK I WILL BUILD MY

CHURCH, AND THE GATES OF HELL SHALL NOT PREVAIL AGAINST IT."

THESE words of our bleffed Lord, to

which our attention is directed by the Gospel of this day, could only proceed from a consciousness of his having come from God to establish a religion in the world.

ON any other fuppofition, they indicate fuch abfurd vanity and enthufiafm, as is hardly imputable to any man of ordinary understanding, and utterly inconfiftent with

that

that fobriety and referve by which the conduct of our Saviour on the moft trying occafions was uniformly diftinguished. When Socrates was condemned at Athens, he reasonably concluded, from the history of his own country, as well as from the natural tendency of innocence and truth to prevail over malice and falfehood, that pofterity would do juftice to his metit: but that his notions of moral and religious truth would be embraced, and taught in his name under every change of human affairs, was too arrogant an expectation to enter into his mind; and yet, were we to confider the Grecian fage, and the founder of the chriftian religion, as vefted only with human authority; we might perhaps, on a comparison of the nature of their doctrines, and of the circumstances peculiar to each of them, be juflified in saying, that such a declaration from the mouth of Socrates, would not have appeared fo extraordinary,

as

as the words of the text, from the mouth of our Lord.

Bur our Lord knew that he came forth from God, and had power and authority to establish dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages fhould ferve him; that his dominion should be an everlasting dominion, which fhould not pass away, and his kingdom, that which should not be deftroyed. That the gates of hell have not prevailed against the religion of Chrift, is a fact; that great obftacles have been opposed to it's progrefs, is a fact alfo; that they were fuch as muft have prevailed in the courfe of caufes and effects, had it not been protected and conducted by a power all wife and almighty, has been often and fairly proved.

In what way this almighty power was exerted after the days of the apoftles, and how

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long it fhewed itself in an extraordinary manner, has been the fubject of much difpute; but, as has been obferved, whether we extend its duration to a longer, or limit it to a fhorter period, nay, were we not to avail ourselves at all of the evidence from miracles, commonly fo called, the existence and progrefs of chriftianity, notwithstanding every impediment, is in itself a miracle; and affords a proof of its divine origin, to which, from it's nature, the process of time must give continually additional force.

IF, moreover, thofe very events which were in their obvious tendency moft unpropitious to it, have yet been the means, and, humanly speaking, the neceffary means of bringing it to the state in which it now exifts, the proof of it's divine origin, from the fuccefs with which it was propogated, will be inexpreffibly ftrengthened; for it belongs to God alone, to bring good out of

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