said, that the early Christians never heard of many of the positions which this Creed contains, I assert, with equal confidence, that they did not believe the contrary. Confessions of faith, such as the Athanasian Creed, may be compared to weapons laid up in an armoury in time of peace. They are not always wanted for active warfare, and many may be unacquainted with the use of them. But when the enemy is in the field, they must be put into the hand of every faithful subject, and when called upon to choose his party, he cannot remain neuter. I would willingly admit, that salvation may be obtained without a knowledge of the Athanasian Creed. Thousands and millions of Christians have gone to their graves, who have either never heard of it, or not understood it and I would add, that let a man believe the Scriptures, let him profess his faith in Christ in the plain and simple language of the New Testament, and he may pass through life as piously and happily, he may go to his grave with as quiet a conscience, and more than this, he may rise again as freely pardoned and forgiven, as if he had dived into the depths of controversy, and traced the nature of the Deity through the highest walks of metaphysics. But when we say this, let it be remembered, that it is one thing not to have heard of a doctrine, and another not to believe it. To assume that all persons, who are ignorant of the Athanasian Creed, would refuse to believe it, is the part, neither of a sound nor of a candid reasoner. The question which I would again put is, would they believe the con

trary? We need not suppose the Church to mean, that every Christian is bound to have studied all the clauses of that Creed: but she assumes this to be his faith, if he has not heard of controversy; and if he has heard of it, she points out the conclusions which he must allow to be true, or he must give up points of faith, to which he had already assented. Thus she provides him with tests against the errors of the Sabellian, the Arian, and the Socinian Creeds: she would be happy, if her members were in no danger of being assailed by these errors but if they are, she endeavours to protect them: she knows that faith in Christ, as the begotten Son of God, is the foundation of a Christian's hope; and she cannot knowingly permit these words to be looked upon as unmeaning, to be explained away, or evaded.

SERMON XIII.

CHRISTIAN FRIENDSHIP.

JOHN xiii. 34.

A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another.

It has been objected to the Gospel by those who have either openly attacked it, or who have not deeply and in their hearts considered its precepts, that it is defective as a rule of life, and that whether we view it as a moral or a political code, it takes no notice of some of the strongest principles, which act upon the mind, and which are essential to the existence of society. Thus we may hear it said, that the Bible no where inculcates patriotism as a duty, nor speaks of it as a thing which is worthy of admiration or praise. So also it has been observed, that throughout the same book no rules have been laid down for friendship; nor have any of the public and private virtues been recommended and explained with the same clearness and precision, which are to be met with in the works of heathen moralists.

That the Bible does not contain a regular digest of ethical precepts, is a point which no one would

deny and good reasons have been given why our Lord and his apostles did not adopt that method of teaching. It might easily be shewn, that when patriotism is said to be omitted in the New Testament, it is from a worldly, a narrow, a selfish view of patriotism, that such a complaint is made. Enquire of the lover of his country in former times, or enquire of the politician in our own, and the patriot is he who, though he sinks his own good in that of his country, yet places his country's good above that of all mankind. But how can a virtue such as this find a place in the same page, which tells us to love all men, and to pray even for our enemies? It might easily be shewn, that the true patriot is he, who makes his country great, because he makes it good; who teaches it to cast away the mean and miserable notion, that one country is to rise upon the ruins of another; who inculcates that great truth, which even human calculations are now beginning to confirm, that no community and no country can be prosperous, unless it is also the cause of prosperity to others. This was a patriotism which the heathen never knew, but of which we may read in every page of the Gospel. So it is with friendship. It is not defined with the same accuracy; its duties are not analysed with the same minuteness; rules and directions are not given for every contingency; and yet I say with confidence, that the friendship of the Gospel is as much a higher and holier principle than that of the heathen moralist, as the souls of men are more precious than their bodies, and as eternity is

longer than a moment.

It is in this proportion,

that the morality of the Gospel surpasses that of the Grecian or Roman sages: and it will be my object at present, to offer some remarks upon friendship, considered as a Christian virtue.

It is very far from my wish to depreciate what has been written upon this subject by the philosophers of old. Much of what they have said, might be transferred with advantage to the pages of Christian writers; and the evils of life might be smoothed, and its graces beautified, if much of it was written upon our own hearts. But when I say this, I would be understood to speak of hearts which have been trained and tutored by the precepts of the Gospel for without this previous culture, we are dropping the good seed by the wayside, or upon the barren rock. It may be doubted whether many persons have been directly benefitted in their principles or their practice by rules and systems of morality. Their memories may be exercised; their reasoning powers may be improved; and if they are led to compare the heathen morality with that of the Gospel, they will not have thrown away their time or their labour. But I again say, that rules and systems, though they may exercise the head, do not go far in improving the heart. No No persons would practise the precepts which are given by Aristotle or Cicero, unless they are in accordance with their own natural feelings: and if they do practise them, it is in obedience to those feelings, and not to Aristotle or Cicero.