preached Jesus Christ, and him crucified *! For endeavouring to persuade their hearers to place their whole hope and dependence upon one whom they had never seen, but who had been publicly executed as a malefactor; and to affirm that this Jesus, who died upon the cross, was yet alive+; that he, who could not save himself from an ignominious death, was the author of eternal salvation to those who believed on him; for these strange assertions, they were pitied or despised as visionaries, by those who did not revile then as hypocrites. Thus Festus, who seemed to have a favourable opinion of St. Paul's integrity, when he heard him relate the manner of his conversion, thought that no man in his sober senses, could talk so; and therefore he said, with a loud voice, "Paul, thou "art beside thyself."

But his Lord and master was treated thus before him, and upon similar grounds. His zeal for the honour of his heavenly Father, and his compassion for the souls of men carried him so far, that we read, his friends, that is, his relations according to the flesh, and who really wished him well, sought to lay hold of him, and restrain him; for, they said, he is beside himself §.

The apostle Paul was not mad; he spoke the words of truth and soberness; he knew whom he had believed; he knew the worth of immortal souls, and the importance of eternity. He had once fiercely opposed. the Gospel, breathed out threatenings || and slaughter against the disciples, and, not content with the mischief he had done in Jerusalem, was hastening to Damascus to vex and wrong the believers there; but he was arrested in his journey by a light and a voice from heaven;

* 1 Cor. ii. 2. Mark iii. 24.

Mark xv. 31.
Acts ix,

Acts xxvi. 24.

he found himself in the power of that Jesus whom he had persecuted, and who is pleased to consider all that is done, either for or against his people, as done to himself. The furious Paul of Tarsus, was humbled, pardoned, and, in a few days, commissioned to preach that faith which he had so pertinaciously laboured to destroy. From that hour renouncing all connexion. with his former friends, the chief priests and council, and all expectations from them, renouncing likewise that righteousness of the law in which he before had boasted, he devoted himself to the service of his Lord and Saviour, and of the cause which he had opposed. His ardour was astonishing and exemplary. Unwearied by labour, undismayed by danger, unaffected by hardship and suffering, but supported and cheered by the presence of him whom he served, he preached the Gospel in season and out of season, publicly and from house to house, in Judea, in Asia, in Greece, in Italy, and many other parts of the Roman empire. For this zeal in seeking to promote the good of others, of strangers, of enemies, at the expense of all that was dear to himself as a man, he found, as he expected, in almost every place which he visited, open oppositions, and secret conspiracies against his life: he was Scourged by the Jews, beaten with rods by the Romans, and confined in prisons and chains. He was likewise the marked object of general contempt; the wise men of the times despised him as a babbler; he was regarded by many as the filth of the world, and the offscouring of all things; many said, "Away with such

a fellow from the earth, it is not fit that he should "live!" Acts xxii. 22. But when, in defiance of all discouragements, he still pressed forward, as if he had done nothing while any thing more remained to be done, accounted the disgrace he met with his honour, and gloried in his chains, Acts xxviii. 20. we cannot Vol. II. S

wonder if the more moderate of his observers, who knew not his princples, thought that he was surely beside himself.

The only apology he saw fit to make is expressed in my text. The bulk of mankind in Christendom, by whatever name they are distinguished, pay little more regard to the Gospel than the Jews or heathens did in the apostle's days. The heart of man, in its natural state, is the same in all ages, devoid of either taste or inclination for the things of God till visited by power from on high. Faithful ministers are still liable to be thought beside themselves; by some, for the subjectmatter of their discourses; by others, for the importunity and freedom of their addresses to the consciences of their hearers. We are, however, encouraged by St. Paul's example, and we adopt his apology: If we are beside ourselves, it is to God. We speak in his name, and the message we deliver, so far as agreeable to the Scripture, is from him, and to him we are responsible. If we are sober, if we expostulate and reason with you in familiar language upon the uncertainty of life, the certainty of death, and a future judgment, and other truths, which none but infidels will venture to deny, it is for your sakes.

The word enthusiasm is often used, by the same person, in two very different senses. It is a term of commendation when applied to orators, poets, painters, or sculptors, and expresses the energy of genius. No one is expected to excel in the fine arts without a portion of enthusiasm, and it is supposed essential to military prowess. But it has quite another acceptation in religious concerns. If a minister of the Gospel is warm and earnest, he is frequently stigmatized as an enthusiast, that is, as the imposers of the name would have it understood, a person of a weak mind and disordered judgment, if he be really sincere; for, many

are willing to suppose that his enthusiasm is no more than a mask or veil, assumed to cover the artful views of a designing hypocrite.

For myself, it is a small thing for me to be judged by man's judgment, 1 Cor. iv. 3. At my time of life, nearly the close of my seventy-fifth year, it behoves me to think it very possible, yea, not improbable, that every time I appear in the pulpit may be my last; and when I look round upon this respectable congregation, I doubtless see some persons before me who will never hear me again. Perhaps we shall meet no more in this world; but we shall certainly meet before the tribunal of the Great Judge, to whom all hearts are open, all desires known, and from whom no secrets are hidden. Then I must give an account of my ministry, and you must give an account of yourselves to God. Surely, if I believe what the Scripture teaches of the evil of sin, the glory of the Saviour, the worth of the soul, and the importance of eternity, you will allow me to speak with the same degree of emotion. As this may be my last opportunity, if there were but one person amongst us, who has not yet attended duly to these great subjects, I must not let him depart as he came ; I must warn him by the terrors of the Lord; I must beseech him by his tender mercies: 2 Cor. v. 11.; Rom. xii. i. I am desirous to save both my own soul and the souls of those that hear me, 1 Tim. iv. 16. Whether I be beside myself, or sober, it is for the cause of God and for your sakes. The love of Christ

constraineth me.

We may observe from this passage,

I. The grand leading motive of the apostle's con duct, "The love of Christ constrains us."

II. Two doctrines which virtually comprehend the whole subjects of the Gospel-ministry: 1. The provision which the mercy of God made for the recovery

of fallen man," One died for all;" whence he infers, 2. “Then were all dead.”

III. The end he had in view, and which he hoped and expected to obtain, by insisting on these truths wherever he went: That they which live should not, "henceforth live to themselves, but to him who died for them and rose again."

I. The love of Christ was the apostle's chief motive; it constrained him, uvey; bore him along like a torrent, in defiance of labour, hardship, and opposition. Many of us know the force of love in social life, and feel a readiness to do, bear, or forbear much for those whom we greatly love. But there is no love to be compared with the love of Christ. He is the brightness of the Father's glory, Heb. i. 3. 1 Tim. iii. 16; the express image of his person, God manifest in the flesh; all things were created by him, and for him; for this high and lofty One, who inhabiteth eternity, Isaiah lvii. 15. in the fulness of time, assumned our nature into personal union with himself, was born of a woman, made under the law, to redeem those that were under the law, that sinners, believing in his name, might not only escape deserved condemnation, but might receive the adoption of sons, Gal. iv. 4, 5. For this great purpose he emptied himself: and though in the form of God, he appeared upon earth in the form of a servant ; submitted to a state of poverty, reproach, and opposition, was despised and rejected of men, lived a suffering life, and terminated his sufferings by a cruel and ignominious death; for, he became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Phil. ii. 8. Therefore, God highly exalted his human nature, and has given him a name above every name. The Lamb once upon the cross, is now the Lamb upon the throne, possessing and exercising all power in heaven and on earth. Yet he is still mind.