thy favour, to live in increasing virtue and happiness for ever.

And here cause our deepest gratitude to overflow at the reviving thought, that thou, most high and holy, shouldest show us such condescending regards, as to visit us and speak to us for our good, and to draw us out of the abyss of sin, and misery, and ruin, in which we had plunged ourselves, by thy prophets of old time, and last of all by the blessed Jesus, thy most beloved son and

servant.

Suffer us not to debase ourselves, and lose sight of thee, and this thine immense goodness, through the grovelling cares and defiling pleasures of this passing world; but aid us to lift up our hearts always unto thee, who art to be found of all that diligently seek thee.

And dispose us to take pains and labour in this great work of our immortal state, without which nothing valuable is to be acquired by us; and remove every attachment to this world, and that most baneful sloth and indolence which bar all access to thy truth; that we may be in a right state of mind to

VOL. I.

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receive

receive and profit by it, and may be possessed of those virtuous dispositions which may fit us for those heavenly and eternal abodes, which are thy gracious promise to us by Christ our Lord. Now unto Thee, O Father, &c.

The Lord bless us, &c.

December 19, 1779.

SERMON

SERMON IX.

JOHN Xi. 45, 46..

Then many of the Jews which came to Mary, and had seen the things which Jesus did, believed on him. But some of them went their ways to the Pharisees, and told them what things Jesus had done.

THE things which the sacred historian refers to, as done by Jesus, which had produced such different dispositions in these men, were what had within a few moments passed before their eyes, in that astonishing event of his raising Lazarus from the dead. I propose to consider the circumstances of credibility which attended it, and which justify the belief of it, and its attestation to the character of Christ as a divine messenger; and shall also endeavour to account for the contrary effect upon others.

which it had

But I must beg leave first to premise a few

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remarks

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remarks on the manner of the evangelists in relating these great things done by Jesus; as it will serve both to illustrate and confirm the matter and argument before us.

I.

Now, in perusing the history of Christ in the New Testament, every one must have observed with pleasure those singular marks of veracity and integrity in the writers of it, who were among his first followers ;-that they never say any thing in praise of their divine Master; contenting themselves with telling plain facts, leaving you to draw your own conclusions from them; never show any eagerness or design to set him off by enlarging upon the great things wrought by him; but, on the contrary, use great modesty and reserve in speaking of them.

Very many of his miracles they have all of them omitted. (John xxi. 25.) There are good grounds to believe that he raised other dead persons to life, besides those recounted by them. And of the three persons only, whom they have mentioned,-the ruler of the synagogue's daughter, the widow of Nain's son, and Lazarus,-Matthew and Mark take

notice only of the former, omitting the widow of Nain's son cited by Luke alone; and the account of Lazarus is given us only by the apostle John.

It was necessary to recite and record the miracles which Jesus did, because they were the proofs of his divine mission, of his being the Messiah, the great expected prophet of God. But the sacred historians show no disposition to aggrandize him in this respect. They seem to have had chiefly in view, to tell such extraordinary facts as might serve for the confirmation of that excellent doctrine that leads to eternal life, and to bring men to listen to him, (John iii. 2.) as a teacher come from God.

We have good historical evidence to believe, that one design of St. John's composing his Gospel, was to supply what had been omitted by the other evangelists, who wrote some little time before him, and whose writings he had seen; which may account for his inserting this narrative, concerning Lazarus's being raised to life, which the three others had omitted.

But there is another reason to be given for

it,