fhould be rewarded or punifhed accordingly. And can any thing be faid more to the advantage of a rational way of evincing the doctrines of morality, and the truths of the gospel, than that St. Paul practifed it? He practifed it, not on this only, but on many other occafions: In his feveral apologies for himfelf and for his gofpel, recorded in the Acts, throughout his epittles fent to the feveral churches he planted, we find this great apoftles of the Gentiles continually reafoning; not merely propofing doctrines in an authoritative manner, by virtue of his apoftlefhip and commiffion from God, but proving and making good what he proposes by inference and argument. Thus he frequently did; and by fo doing has fanctified reason to the purposes of religion, and fhewed us that one fort (indeed the best fort) of good preaching, confists in good arguing.

Some pious and well-meaning Chriftians have a very wrong notion concerning edifying difcourfes, and profit ng by fermons. They relish nothing from the pulpit, but what is addreffed to their paffions, and fet out with all the advantages of a popular eloquence, and moving delivery. By this means they find themselves inwardly affected and warmed; and that heating of their fancy they esteem and call fpiritual edification. But when any point of doctrine is handled in a clofe and argumentative manner, it appears flat and unfavory to them, has nothing in it of the life and power of godliness, and is all mere human reafoning. But herein they are widely miftaken; for it is a far greater and more useful

work,

work, to inform the understandings, and con. vince the judgments of men, than to raise their paffions, and that difcourfe, which is moft ine ftructive, and beft fupported by reafon, is cer❤ tainly, if men attend to it as they ought, moft edifying too. A vehement and voluble tongue, a languithing tone of voice, a pious fett of phrases, or the like, will very powerfully move the affections of fome fort of hearers: but the warmth by that means raised, is momentary, and vanishing, without any true, found, lasting, spiritual improvement. To compaís that, the way, we find, which the mighty and fuccesful preacher St. Paul took, was to reafon. Though he were divinely inspired and fpake therefore as the oracles of God, with an uncontroulable authority; tho' he were endued with fupernatural powers, and could therefore have confirmed the truth of what he uttered by miracles; yet, in compliance with the way in which human nature, and reasonable creatures are ufually wrought upon, he reafoned. But thefe reflexions, have been, in fome degree, anticipated; and therefore, without enlarging further upon them, I hasten to confider the

III. Third and ft thing obfervable in the text, the wonderful effect that followed upon St. Paul's thus re foning on thefe important fubjects; Fenx trembled. His mind was filled with horror at the remembrance of his paft crimes, and the apprehenfion of a future reckoning; and these inward fears and forebodings appeared in the outward and visible marks of a great confternation.

Though he was one of the mightiest men on earth, and Paul, a poor dispised prisoner; tho'

he

he was then fitting on the feat of judgment, where it behoved him to do nothing that misbecame his high place and character; yet could he not dif femble the pangs and agonies of his uneafy mind, be trembled !

1. From whence it is natura' to observe the great force and efficacy of the word of God, duly hanled and applied: It is (according to the account of it, given by this very apoftle in another place} "quick and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged fword, piercing even to the dividing asun der of foul and fpirit, and of the joints and mar. row, and is a difcerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, Heb. iv 12. There is no fin fo fe

eret, but that it will find it out and expofe it; nơ heart fo hard, but that it can soften it; no confcience fo far plunged in a lethargic sleep, but that it will rouze it. Strange are the inftances of this kind recorded in holy Writ! Our Lord opens the prophecies, and expounds the Scriptures concerning himself, to the two difciples travelling towards Emmaus; Luke xxiv. 13. and while he is doing it," their hearts burn within them." Philip points out to the eunuch the meaning of a chapter in Ifaias: immediately light and conviction rush into his mind; he confefles Jefus, and demands baptifm, Acts viii. 35. St. Peter preaches the gospel to a great multitude of the Jews, who had juft before been instrumental in the crucifixion of Chrift: They no fooner hear him, than they are pricked to the heart, and cry out, men and brethren what shall we do? Acts ii. 37. and traitway there are added to the faith no lefs than

three

three thoufand fouls by this fingle fermon, Acts ii. 41. And here in the text, while St. Paul « reafoning of righteousness, temperance, and judg ment to come, Felix trembles. Such is the won derful power of truth, when particularly bleffed by the God of truth, and bid to go forth and profper! Such is the great and aftonishing influ ence of the word of God, when afflifted and en livened by his Spirit! It prevails over all difficul ties, all oppofition, and is "mighty to the pulling down of strong holds," 2 Cor. x 4. Remarkable to this effect is the different fuccefs of Tertállus's and St. Paul's pleading. Tertullus, we may prefume, was one of the moft famous pleaders of his time, elle the high priest and elders, in the cause of fuch confequence (which they themselves went from Jerufalem to Cafarea on purpose to profecute) would not have pitched upon him for their advocate. And yet this great orator, with all his ftudied art and eloquence, made no impreflion on Felix; whereas St Paul's fpeech foon afterwards moved, terrified, confounded him. The reafon of which different effect feems to have been, that the one was with good words to varnish over an ill caufe, and by the power of oratory to fupport a falfe and lying accufation: Whereas the other had right and truth on his fide, and therefore preffed them earnestly: He himself felt what he fpake, had an inward and vital fenfe of thofe truths he delivered; and therefore he made others feel them too; he fpake from his own heart, and to the hearts and confciences of thofe that heard him; and therefore he prevailed.

How should this inftance of the operative virtue

of

of God's word reproach our sluggishness and inə fenfibility? An impure and wicked Heathen (we hear) trembled at St. Paul's doctrine. The fame doctrine founds every day in the ears of negligent Chriftians, without terrifying, without alarming them. The fame apoftle ftill reafons with them in his epiftles, concerning "righteoufnefs, temperance, and judgment to come:" But he reasons to no purpose; his "words feem to them as idle tales;" they neither feel their force, nor regard their meaning. Surely for this Feux fhall one day rife up in judgment against them; for he heard and trembled.

I obferve (Secondly) that though Felix fhewed great concern on that occafion, yet Drufula, the partner of his crimes, did, for ought appears, fit by altogether unmoved with the apostle's difcourfe. The most probable account of which feems to be this; that fhe, being born and bred a Jewefs, had better opportunities of knowing the will of God and her own duty, and greater obligations to practife what the knew, than those who were guided only by the light of nature and reafon. And yet, notwithstanding the mighty reftraints which her religion laid upon her, the had forfaken her marriage vows, and gone from the bed of her husband, who was circumcifed, into that of uncircumcifed heathen. For which reafon, her guilt was of a much deeper dye than that of Felix was; and confequently her heart more obdurate, and infenfible of reproof. From: whence we may raise to ourselves this general and useful reeflexion; that the more advantages any man has towards difcovering the truth, and

1

the