measure reflected upon myfelf. Again, I may fpeak of the riches and magnificence of fome great city; but I am then only faid to glory in it, if I add any circumftance of relation; as that it is the place of my nativity, or the place of my refidence, or the place in which I have property and intereft. When therefore the apoftle fays, "God "forbid that I should glory, fave in the cross of our Lord "Jefus Chrift, it certainly implies a humble perfuafion of his own intereft in it, and his happiness to flow from it. This indeed naturally arifes from a real and spiritual difcovery of its proper glory. None can fee the transcendent beauty of this object, till they have seen their own guilt and mifery in the fight of a holy God. And no fooner do they discover the excellence of this atonement, its perfect fufficiency for all, and the unreftrained offer to all, than they fly to it as their fecurity, and rest on it as the ground of their hope. The word here tranflated glorying, fignifies at the fame time, exulting, or rejoicing; and therefore to glory in the cross, is the fame thing as to rejoice in the Saviour. The truth is, it is but feldom that this apostle mentions the death of Chrift without fome appropriating expreffion: Phil. iii. 8. "Yea doubtless, and “I count all things but loss, for the excellency of the "knowledge of Chrift Jefus my Lord: for whom I have "fuffered the lofs of all things, and do count them but

dung, that I may win Chrift;" Gal. ii. 20. "I am cru"cified with Chrift: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but "Chrift liveth in me: and the life which I now live in "the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."

3. To complete the idea of the apoftle's glorying in the crofs, it implies fuch a fenfe of its comparative worth, as prompts him to a public and open profeffion of esteem, with a fovereign contempt of the judgment or conduct of others, who set themselves in oppofition to it. Glorying always fignifies the declaration of our mind to others; and is not ill illuftrated by that expreffion of the apostle Paul in writing to the Romans, chapter i. 16. "For I am not "afhamed of the gofpel of Chrift: for it is the power of "God unto falvation, to every one that believeth, to the

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"Jew firft, and also to the Greek." The oppofition between the sentiments of others, and his own, he often mentions; as 1 Cor. i. 18. For the preaching of the "cross is to them that perifh, foolishness: but unto us "which are faved, it is the power of God." And verse "But we preach Chrift crucified, unto the Jews a ftumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolifhnefs; but "unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, "Chrift the power of God, and the wifdom of God." When he glories in the cross, therefore, it implies an open and refolute adherence to this defpifed caufe. This meaning is particularly carried in the word cross. It had been less wonder, if he had faid, he gloried in his Saviour's divine power exerted before his crucifixion, or that the gloried in his triumphant refurrection, and exaltation to the right hand of God after it; but, instead of this, he says he gloried in his cross, in his very abasement, in what was molt vile and contemptible:

A late very eminent writer and champion for the cross, in a fermon on the fame fubject, makes a remark to the following purpose: "That through the veneration of "many ages, and the difufe of that punishment among "us in the execution of malefactors, the word cross does "not carry fo base an idea to our minds; but that in the "ear of a Galatian, it founded as if the apostle had faid, he "gloried in a gallows, a gibbet or a halter." And in a note upon this paffage of the fermon, when published, he expreffes himself thus: "Some perfons, I am informed, "were difgufted at thefe words, halter, gallows, gibbet, they are fo horridly contemptible: to whom I would reply, That the cross, in point of ignominy, implied all "this; and in point of torture, much more. Unless the

English reader forms to himself fome fuch image as this, "he will never be able to apprehend the fcandalous na"ture and shocking circumftances of his divine mafter's "death. The words, I must confefs, were diverfified, and "the fentiment reiterated, on purpose to effect the mind "with this astonishing truth. Neither can I prevail with

• Mr. Hervey.

"myself to expunge the expreffions, unless I could fub"ftitute others of a more ignominious and execrable im"port in their room. Only I would beg the ferious reader "to fpend a moment in the following reflection. Is it fo. "that a polite and delicate ear can hardly endure fo much "as the found of the words? How amazing then was the "condefcenfion, how charming and adorable the goodness "of God's illuftrious Son, to bear all that is fignified by "these intolerably vile terms, bear it willingly, bear it "cheerfully, for us men, and our falvation!"

Before concluding this head, it will be proper to observe, in what it was the apoftle did not glory. There is plainly a tacit oppofition in the form of his expreffion, to fome things in which others were apt to glory, and he as hearti ly despised: "God forbid that I fhould glory, fave in the "crols of our Lord Jefus Chrift." He fays in general, Phil. iii. 7. "But what things were gain to me, thofe I "counted lofs for Chrift." We find elfewhere, in his writings, exprefs mention of thofe particulars which he renounced as any subject of boasting. 1. His learning as a fcholar; 2. His privileges as a Jew; 3. Even his zeal and activity as a minister of Chrift. Let us confider each of these by itself.

1. He would not glory in his learning as a fcholar. The apostle Paul had been brought up at the feet of Gamaliel, and feems to have been well accomplished in every branch of human science. Yet he speaks of it with great neglect, or rather with a noble difdain, when compared with the doctrine of the crofs: 1 Cor. i. 17. "For "Chrift fent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel : I not with wifdom of words, left the crofs of Chrift fhould "be made of none effect," And again, verfe 19, 20. "For "it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wife, and "will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent. "Where is the wife? where is the fcribe? where is the "difputer of this world? hath not God made foolish the "wildom of this world?" It may perhaps be asked, What is the meaning of this renunciation of human learning and wisdom? Is there any real oppofition between learning and the cross? Would not the legitimate ufe of human

wisdom lead us to embrace it? To this I anfwer, that it feems to imply these three things.

(1) An admiration of the divine glory in that which had not on it any of the marks of human wifdom: in confequence of this, a ftedfaft adherence to the doctrine of the crofs, though those who were wife in their own conceit might be tempted to defpife it, and to defpife him for its fake. This great scholar, then, was not unwilling to suffer the derifion and contempt of other scholars for his glorying in the cross.

(2) It implies fuch a fuperlative admiration of this glo. rious and interesting object, that all the knowledge he poffeffed, and the honor he could otherwise acquire, feemed to him unworthy of regard: his attention was wholly fixed upon, and his affections wholly engroffed by, his Redeemer's cross.

(3) It implied, that though he certainly ought, and certainly did use the noble parts and accomplishments of which he was poffeffed, with zeal in his mafter's caufe: yet he did it with that humility and felf-denial, with that noble contempt of vain embellishments, which showed he was not building a monument to himself, but seeking the honor of his Saviour. The doctrine of the crofs fhould be treated in a manner fome how correfpondent to it; not with a learned and oftentatious felf-fufficiency, but with a meek and truly evangelical felf-denial.

Mistake me not, my brethren: I am not speaking against learning in itself; it is a precious gift of God, and may be happily improved in the fervice of the gofpel; but I will venture to fay, in the spirit of the apoftle Paul's writings in general, and of this paffage in particular, Accurfed be all that learning which fets itfelf in opposition to the cross of Chrift! Accurfed be all that learning which difguifes or is afhamed of the cross of Chrift! Accurfed be all that learning which fills the room that is due to the cross of Chrift! And once more, Accurfed be all that learning which is not made fubfervient to the honor and glory of the cross of Chrift!

Well then, the learned and eloquent apoftle renounced the wisdom of words; and how do we apply this in gene

ral? By a fmall comparative efteem of all natural advantages; and by thinking it, in the heart, a greater honor and a higher privilege to fit down at Chrift's table, and to find acceptance with him, than to poffefs beauty, wifdom, learning, riches, and honors in the higheft poffible pertection; and may God grant that every one in this assembly may be able to fay, in fincerity, that, in what things he thinks he excels, thefe he is willing to "count lofs for "Chrift!"

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2. The apostle would not glory in his privileges as a Jew. This we find him affirming in many places of his writings Phil. iii. 4. "Though I might alfo have con"fidence in the flesh. If any other man think that he "hath whereof he might truft in the flefh, I more: Cir"cumcifed the eighth day, of the flock of Ifrael, of the "tribe of Benjamin, an Hebrew of the Hebrews; as touching the law, a Pharifee; concerning zeal, perfecuting the church; touching the righteousness which is in "the law, blamelefs." Toward the latter end of the Jewith commonwealth, there was a very prevailing and grofs miftake among them, to look upon their external privileges as entitling them to the favor of God, and making a dif ference between them and others. We have reason to be fenfible, that much of the fame difpofition is ready to adhere to men in every age. But one great defign of the gofpel is, to level the pride of man, to throw down all diftinction in point of merit before God, and to show, that the power of the Redeemer is equally neceflary to, and equally fufficient for, all without exception: Rom. iii. 22. “Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Je"fus Chrift unto all, and upon all them that believe; for "there is no difference." Rom. x. 12. "For there is no "difference between the Jew and the Greek: for the fame "Lord over all, is rich unto all that call upon him." Col. iii. 11. "Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circum"cifion nor uncircumcifion, barbarian, Scythian, bond nor "free; but Chrift is all, and in all."

3. The apostle did not glory in his perfonal character, not even in his zeal and activity as a minifter of Chrift. This appears through the whole of his writings, where