SERM. their palates. But the history of our SAVIOUR, CXCII. his life and death, and refurrection, and the plain

precepts of his doctrine, were dry and infipid things to them, and were so far from having a fhew of wifdom and philofophy, that they appeared foolish and ridiculous to them.

But the defign of GOD in the chriftian religion, being not to please the humour, and gratify the curiosity of men; but really to do them good, and to reform the manners of mankind, he used quite another method; which how offenfive foever it might be to those who thought themselves wife, yet it was really the wifest and most powerful means to that end: fo the apostle tells us here in the text'; "but we "preach CHRIST crucified, to the Jews a ftumb6c ing-block, and to the Greeks foolishness: but cc unto them that are called," that is, to those whose minds are duly prepared to confider things impartially, and to receive the truth, "the power of GOD, " and the wisdom of God;" a most wise and powerful means to reform the world, an eminent instance of the divine power and wisdom.

In these words we have these two things confiderable:

First, the exception which the world took at the doctrine of the gofpel, upon account of our SAVIOUR'S fufferings: "CHRIST crucified was to "the Jews a ftumbling-block, and to the Greeks "foolishnefs."

Secondly, that notwithstanding the feeming unreasonableness and abfurdity of it, it was a most wise and effectual contrivance for the end to which it was defigned and appointed : "But unto them which

are called, both Jews and Greeks, CHRIST the

66 power

power of GOD, and the wifdom of GOD." ISERM. shall speak fomething to each of thefe, as briefly and CXCII. plainly as I can. I begin with the

First, the exception which the world took at the doctrine of the gospel, upon account of our SAVIOUR'S fufferings. The world were generally offended at it, but not all upon the fame account; the Jews took one kind of exception against it, and the Heathen another. "We preach CHRIST Cruci"fied, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto "the Greeks foolishness." They were both offended at the fame thing, the low and fuffering condition of our SAVIOUR; but not upon the fame reafon. The Jews thought, that this mean appearance and condition of our SAVIOUR, was unfuitable to the power of God; and the Heathen, that it was not agreeable to the wisdom of men.

The Jews from the tradition of their fathers, to which (just as the church of Rome does now-a-days) they paid a greater reverence, than to the written word of God, were poffefs'd with a strong perfuafion, that the Meffias whom they expected, and was foretold by the prophets, was to be a great temporal prince, to appear in great fplendor and glory, to be a mighty conqueror, and not only to free them from the Roman yoke, which they were then under; but to fubdue all nations to them, and fo bring them under their dominion and government. And this did fo generally prevail among them, that even the disciples of our SAVIOUR were as ftrongly poffefs'd wtth this conceit, as any of the reft; infomuch that the mother of James and John made it her folemn request to our SAVIOUR, that "her two fons ❝ might fit, one on his right hand and the other on

❝ his

SERM." his left, in his kingdom." And though he had told CXCII. his difciples juft before, that "he muft go up to Je"rufalem, and fuffer many things of the fcribes and

pharifees, and be betrayed and put to death;" yet the other conceit of his temporal dominion and greatnefs did fo poffefs their minds, that they could "not understand this faying, and it was hid from them "that they perceived it not," as St. Luke tells us, Luke ix. 45. Nay, even after his death and refurrection, when he appeared to them, this ftill ftuck in their minds, as appears by that quefton which they afk'd him immediately before his afcenfion, Acts i. 6. "When they were come, together, they afk'd of "him, LORD, wilt thou at this time reftore again "the kingdom to Ifrael?" They took it for granted, the Meffias would do it one time or other, and they enquire of him, whether that were the time.

So that the Jews being fo firmly fix'd in this conceit of the temporal reign of the Meffias, nothing could be a greater ftumbling-block to them, than the mean and fuffering condition, in which our SAVIOUR appeared. The meannefs of his birth and life was a great objection against him; but when they faw him put to death fo ignominiously, and that he did not then fhew his glory and power, to fave himself from that cruel and shameful death, they could rather believe any thing than that this was the Melfias foretold, and whom they had fo long expected. They made full account that the Meffias, whenever he came, would live in great splendor and glory, and do great things for the advantage and honour of their nation; the least they expected from him, was their deliverance from the Roman yoke, and the esta blishing of the throne of David for ever; or if his beginning

CXCII.

beginning had been obfcure, that he would at laft SERM, break forth in great luftre and majefty; or, if they could have fuppofed that the Meffias should be perfecuted, and condemned, and nailed to the cross, yet they doubted not but then GOD would have given teftimony to him by fome fign from heaven, and have rescued him from the crofs in a miraculous manner but feeing nothing of all this, nothing but poverty and meannefs, reproach and fuffering attending him, they concluded, whatever miracles he pretended to, this could not be the Son of God, the true Meffias.

On the other fide, the heathen philofophers, who were not poffefs'd with thofe conceits about the Meffias, they were offended at the unreafonableness and folly, as they thought, of the apostle's doctrine, who went about to perfuade the world, that a man who had lately suffered and was crucified at Jerufalem, was a great prophet come into the world; nay, the Son of GOD, in whom all men ought to believe, and by whom they ought to hope for life and falvation as if it were reafonable to think, that GOD would have expofed the most innocent and virtuous person that ever was, to fo great reproach and fufferings, that the Son of GOD fhould die, and that life and immortality were to be hoped for from him, who was crucified and put to death. This they looked upon as a ftory fo ill framed, that to all wife and fagacious men, it deftroy'd its own credit and belief. For though they faid he was rifen again from the dead, yet before that could be entertained by men of philofophical minds, there were many deep points to be determined, as concerning the nature of the foul, and whether it can fubfift feparately from the

body,

SERM. body, and whether a body once dead can be restored CXCII. to life again, and re-united to the foul?

And as for his doctrine, which the apostles pretended to deliver, it was a plain, and rude thing, without art or eloquence, nothing of deep fpeculation, or ftrict demonstration in it: in fhort, so far from being worthy of " a teacher come from God." that it was below the pitch of an ordinary philofopher. Thefe and fuch like things were, in all probability, the exceptions which the heathen philofophers took at the apoftles preaching, concerning our SAVIOUR'S death, and his doctrine; and they had fome colour in them.

But upon impartial examination, it will appear, that notwithstanding these exceptions, the sufferings of our SAVIOUR, confidered with all the circumstances that belong to them, were a very wife and effectual method made ufe of by almighty God, for the reforming and faving the world. Which brings me to the

Second thing I propounded to speak to from these words, namely to vindicate the wisdom of this defign and contrivance of almighty God, for the falvation of mankind by the fufferings of his Son, from the feeming abfurdity and unreasonableness of it. "But "unto them that are called, both Jews and Greeks, "CHRIST the power of God, and the wisdom "of GOD." And,

First, the Jews had no fufficient ground to be fo much offended at the fufferings of the MESSIAS. For,

I. They had no reason to expect that the MESSIAS fhould be a great temporal prince, if they had attended to the predictions of their prophets concerning