The illuftration of its spirit would fhew this abundantly. It is difficult to do this by fingle paffages. A temper fo heavenly, meek, holy, cha ritable, patient, yet fervent, pious, and humble, runs through the whole. Take a fentence or two. by way of fpecimen.

"Chrift is their's, who are poor in fpirit, and "lift not up themfelves above the flock, but are (6 content to be low in the church."-" Let us

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obey our spiritual paftors, and honour our elders, " and let the younger be disciplined in the fear of "God. Let our wives be directed to what is "good, to follow chastity, modefty, meeknefs, fincerity. Let them evidence their power of "felf-government by their filence, and let them "fhew love not in the fpirit of a fect or party, "but to all who fear God." Again, "the strong defpife the weak, and let the weak "reverence the strong. Let the rich communi"cate to the poor, and let the poor be thankful "to God, for thofe through whom their wants "are fupplied. Let the wife exert his wifdom, "not merely in words, but in good works. Let "the humble prove his humility, not by teftifying of himfelf how humble he is, but by a "conduct, that may occafion others to give tef timony to him; let not the chafte be proud of "his chastity, knowing that from God he has "received the gift of continency." "Have we not all one God, one Chrift, one Spirit of Grace poured upon us, and one calling in Chrift? Why do we feparate and diftract the members "of Chrift, and fight againft our own body, and "are come to fuch an height of madnefs, as to "forget that we are members one of another."

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"Is any among you ftrong-in faith, mighty in knowledge, gifted in utterance, judicious in "doctrines,

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"doctrines, and pure in conduct! The more he appears exalted above others, the more need has "he to be poor in fpirit, and take care, that he "look not to his own things, but that he ftudy "to promote the common good of the church." Every one, whofe heart has any good degreet "of the fear and love, which is the refult of our "common hope, had rather that he himself be exposed to cenfure than his neighbours; and "had rather condemn himself, than break that "beautiful bond of brotherly love, which is de"livered to us."

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After preffing the beautiful example of the charity of Mofes recorded in the book of Exodus, he fays, "who of you has any generosity "of fentiment, or bowels of compaffion, or ful"nefs of love? Let him fay, if the ftrife and "schifin be on my account, I will depart, where"ever you pleafe, and perform whatever the "church fhall require. Only let Chrift's flock "live in peace with their fettled paftors. Surely "the Lord will fmile on fuch a character."

III. The reader will not expect that I should folicitously regifter the names, and record the opinions and acts of thofe, who are commonly called heretics. I have only to view them in one fingle light, as they deviated from the spirit of the Gofpel. Let us keep in view what it really is. The fimple faith of Chrift as the only Saviour of loft finners, and the effectual influences of the Holy Ghoft in recovering fouls altogether depraved by fin, these are the leading ideas.

When the out-pouring of the Spirit began, these things were taught with power, and no fentiments which militated against them, could be fupported for a moment. As, through the prevalence of human

* Ex. xxxii.

human corruption and the crafts of Satan, the love of the truth was leffened, herefies and various abuses of the Gofpel appeared; and in eftimating them, we may form fome idea of the declenfion toward the end of the century, which doubtless was not confined to the Jewish Church, but appears in a measure to have affected the Gentiles alfo.

The epiftolary part of the New Testament affords but too ample proof of corruptions. The Apostle Paul guards the Romans against false teachers, one mark of whose character was, "that by good words and fair speeches they deceive the hearts of the fimple*." Corinth was full of evils of this kind. There falfe apoftles transformed themselves into the appearance of real ones. The Jewish evil of felf-righteoufnefs, which threatened the deftruction of the Galatian church, has been diftinctly confidered. Many Chriftians, fo called, "walked as enemies of the cross of Chrift, whose "end was deftruction, whofe god was their belly, "whofe glory was in their fhame, who minded earthly things+." So Paul tells the Philippians, "So and with tears of charity.

That amazing mafs of aufterities and fuperfti tions, by which in after-ages the purity of the faith was fo clouded, and that felf-righteoufness which fuperfeded men's regard to the mediation of Jefus, and the glory of Divine Grace, were beginning, even in the Apostle's days, as the epiftle, to the Coloffians fhews.

The prophecy of Antichrift, in the first epistle of Timothy, chapter the fourth, exprefsly intimates, that its spirit had already commenced by the exceffive valuation of celibacy and abftinence. And the corrupt mixtures of vain philofophy had already

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* Rom. xvi. † Philip. iii.

already feduced fome from the faith. Under the gradual increase of these evils, a meaner tafte was formed, in feveral churches at least, who could even bear to admire fuch injudicious writers as Hermas and the Pfeudo. Barnabas, *Peter, and Judet, have graphically defcribed fome horrible enormities of nominal christians, little if at all inferior to the moft fcandalous eruptions of the fame kind in thefe latter ages. The fpirit of fchifm we have feen again breaking out in the church of Corinth. But let us obferve more diftinctly the heretical opinions of the first Century.

Ecclefiaftical hiftorians, who have paffed by the moft glorious scenes of real christianity, have yet with minute accuracy given us the lifts of heretics, fubtilized by refined fubdivifions without end. It feems more ufeful to obferve them, as they ftand contradiftinguished to that faith which was once delivered to the faints. Tertullian reduces the herefies in the apoftolic times to two, the Docete and the Ebionites. Theodoret alfo gives the fame account of them.

Of the inftruments of Satan in these things, Simon, who had been rebuked by Peter in Samaria, was the most remarkable, the father of the Gnoftics or Docetæ, and of a number of heretical opinions and practices of the first century. However obfcure the hiftory of Simon himself may be, the leading opinions of the Docetæ are obvious enough. They held, that the Son of God had no proper humanity, and that he died only in appearance on the crois. Cerinthus allowed him a real human nature, but fuppofed, that Chrift, whom yet all the heretics looked on as properly inferior to the fupreme God, defcending from heaven, united himself to the man Jefus.

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The Ebionites were not much different from the Cerinthians; they removed the appearance of myttery from the fubject, for the most part looked on Jefus Chrift as a mere man born of Mary and her husband, though a man of a most excellent character. Whoever thinks it needful to examine these things more nicely, may confult Irenæus. The account of Ebion is in Eufebius, short, but fufficiently clear.

It is not to be wondered at, that with fuch low ideas of the Redeemer's perfon, the Ebionites denied the virtue of his atoning blood, and laboured to establish justification by the works of the law. Their rejection of the divine authority of St. Paul's epiftles, and accufation of him as an Antinomian, naturally arife from their fyftem. Tertullian tells us, that this was a Jewish fect, and their observance of Jewish rites demonftrates that he is right in the obfervation.

Thefe two heretical schemes, the one oppofing the humanity of Christ, the other annihilating the divinity, were the inventions of men leaning to their own underftandings, and unwilling to admit the great mystery of godliness, God manifeft in the flesh. The primitive chriftians held, that the Redeemer was both God and man, equally poffeffed of the real properties of both natures, and no man, willing to take his creed from the New Teftament, ever thought otherwise; the proofs of both natures in one perfon, Christ Jefus, being pretty equally diffufed through the facred books. One verfe in the ninth chapter to the Romans, the fifth, expreffing both, would confound all the critical powers of heretics, and therefore forces them, on the flightelt grounds, to have recourse to their ufual method of fuf