they indeed have often been exposed to similar treatment both from heathens and professed Christians. In cases of sedition, or even rebellion against civil government, though many perhaps suffer, the greater number usually obtain mercy. The devouring sword of war seldom preys upon the defenceless, upon tender youth, or hoary age, or women. Some bounds are set by the feelings of humanity to the carnage of a field of battle: but when the native enmity of the heart, against those of whom the world is not worthy, is permitted to act without restraint, it acknowledges no distinctions, it feels no compassion, but, like the insatiable fire, consumes whatever it can reach. If there be some exceptions, a few persons of gentle natural dispositions, who are unwilling to shed blood, and rather express their dislike by a contemptuous pity-this is chiefly to be ascribed to the power of God over the heart of man; and he sometimes makes use of these to check the violence of the others. Such a one was Pliny; he had no esteem for the Christians, he despised them as deluded enthusiasts, and he was angry with them for what he deemed their obstinacy: yet the greatness of their sufferings, and the number of the sufferers, gave him some concern, and made him interpose in their favour, so far as to prevent them from being industriously sought out, or punished without witness or proof.

VI. The chief or only crime of the Christians, in the judgment of pliny, was, their steadiness in maintaining a cause which the emperor did not approve, and continuing their assemblies after they had been prohibited by his edict: for this audacity and presumption he supposed them deserving of the heaviest punishment, however blameless in other respects. It must be allowed, that, as the edicts of the Roman emperors had at that time the force of law, the profession of Christianity, when forbidden by those edicts, was illegal, and if the penalties they suffered were prescribed by the edict, and they were tried and condemned under the same forms as were usually observed in other criminal processes, they suffered according to law. Thus it appeared to Pliny; and though, in his private capacity, he might pity the offenders, yet, as a governor and a judge, he thought it his duty to give sentence according to the rule prescribed to him. At this distance of time, and while we keep in view that the persecutors were heathens, we can readily plead in behalf of the Christians. The obstinacy they were charged with, was no other than a commendable regard to the superior authority of God. In all things not inconsistent with their duty to their supreme Lord, they were peaceable and obedient subjects to the emperor; but, to countenance the worship of idols, to burn incense to the statue of a man, to abjure the name of Jesus, who had redeemed them from hell, or wilfully to

neglect his institutions; these things they could not do without sin, and therefore they chose to suffer. We approve their determination, and admire their constancy. But a question naturally arises upon this subject, namely, Whether God be the Lord of the conscience under a heathen government only? or whether any man, or set of men, who own the Christian name, can have a better right than Trajan had, to compel men to act contrary to the light of their minds, or to punish them for a refusal? As true Chris tians have always, by the influence of his grace, extorted from the more sober part of their adversaries, a confession in favour of their moral and peaceable conduct, they have been usually proceeded against upon the principle which influenced Pliny: not so much for the singularity of their religious tenets and usages, which are pretended to be so weak and absurd as to excite contempt rather than anger; but for their pertinacity in persisting to maintain them contrary to the laws and injunctions which have been contrived for their suppression. There have been men, in most ages of the church, whose ambition and thirst of power have been gratified by thus tyranizing over the consciences of their fellow-creatures, or (if they could not prevail over conscience) over their liberty, fortunes, and lives; and they have, by flattery or misrepresentation, had but too much success in engaging the authority of princes to support their designs. How many instances might we quote, from the history of kings and rulers, who, in other respects, have sought the welfare of their people, who yet being misled to esteem it a branch of their prerogative, to dictate in what manner God shall be worshipped, and what points shall be received as articles of faith, have crowded the annals of their reigns with misery, and have often, themselves, largely shared in the calamities which their ill-judged measures have brought upon their subjects! A uniformity of modes in religion has been enforced, as though it were the most desirable object of government; though it may be proved, that to prescribe, under the severest penalties, a uniformity of complexion or stature, would hardly be more unreasonable in itself, or more injurious to the peace and rights of society. Sometimes the servants of God have been traduced as persons disaffected to government, because they cannot adopt or approve such institutions as are directly subversive of the faith and obedience they owe to their Lord: thus the prophet was charged by Amaziah, the high-priest of Bethel, Amos, vii. 10. At other times, new laws have been enacted, purposely to ensnare or distress them. Thus, when the enemies of Daniel were convinced that they could find no occasion against him, except concerning the law of his God; by flattering the pride of Darius, they obtained a decree, which, according to their expectation,

gave him up into their power as a criminal against the state. May we be duly thankful to God, and to the government under which we live, for the valuable privilege of religious liberty; and that we can worship him according to the light of our consciences, and assemble together in his name where and when we please, none being permitted to make us afraid! OMICRON.

LETTER TO A YOUNG MINISTER.

On Preaching the Gospel with the Power and demonstration of the Spirit.

DEAR SIR,

I CONGRATULATE you on your ordination. The Lord has now, by his providence, opened to you a door into his vineyard, and has called you to a scene of service, in which I hope the abilities he has given you will be faithfully employed, and your desire of usefulness will be abundantly gratified. You now bear the high and honourable title of a minister of the Gospel: I call it high and honourable, because I am sure they who truly deserve it, will find it to be so at last; though at present perhaps they may meet with much opposition and contempt, for the sake of him whose they are, and whom they serve.

I wish you, upon your entrance into the ministry, to have a formed and determinate idea, what the phrase, preaching the Gospel properly signifies. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation; and this Gospel is preached when it is accompanied with some due degree of that demonstration and power from on high, which is necessary to bring it home to the hearts and consciences of the hearers. Thus the apostle Peter informs us," that it was preached in the beginning with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven:" and Paul reminds the Thessalonians, "that they had received it not in word only, but also in power, and in the Holy Ghost, and in much assurance." From these passages, I think we may warrantably conclude, that merely to declare the truth of the Gospel, is not to preach it. The knowledge of it as a system may be acquired, and of course recited by those who have no portion or tincture of that inward conviction of its important certainty, which is necessary to impress a correspondent conviction upon others. Though the Lord himself be the only effectual teacher, and that change of disposition which is frequently produced by the preaching of the Gospel, must be ascribed wholly to his agency; yet in the means he has instituted, and by which he has ordinarily pleased to work, we may observe a suitableness to the

nature of man, considered as a rational, intelligent creature, whose inward feelings are excited by external causes, in a manner agreeable to the general laws of his constitution in the present state. I may particularly notice, on this subject, the wonderful and well known effects of what we call sympathy, by which we often see the emotions of anger, pity, terror, and the like, with which one person is affected, when strongly expressed by his words or actions, suddenly and almost irresistibly awaken similar sensations in those who observe him. Many of the great truths of the Scripture may be represented by a man of a warm and lively imagination, in such a manner as to considerably affect the imaginations and natural passions of an audience, even though he should not himself believe a word of the subject. This would be an effect of no higher kind than is produced upon the stage. The exertions of a skilful actor first drawn forth by the sight of the spectators and a desire to please them, act upon them reciprocally, and give him an ascendancy over their feelings. When his attention seems to be fixed, when he appears to enter into the distresses of the character which he represents, he fixes their attention likewise, they also are distressed; and while he weeps or trembles, they weep or tremble with him, and though at the same time, both he and they are very sensible that the whole representation is a fiction, and consequently, when the play is finished the emotions cease. This is all very natural, and may easily be accounted for. It is not easy to account for the presumption of those preachers, who expect, (if they can indeed expect it,) merely by declaiming on Gospel subjects, to raise in their hearers those spiritual perceptions of humiliation, desire, love, joy, and peace, of which they have no impression on their own hearts. I premise, therefore, that there is one species of popularity which I hope will rather be the object of your dread than of your ambition. It is a poor affair to be a stageplayer in divinity, to be able to hold a congregation by the ears, by furnishing them with an hour's amusement, if this be all. But the man who is what he professes to be, who knows what he speaks of, in whom the truth dwells and lives, who has not received the Gospel from books, or by hearers only, but in the school of the great Teacher, acquires a discernment, a taste, a tenderness, and a humility, which secure to him the approbation of the judicious, qualify him for the consolation of the distressed, and even so far open his way to the hearts of the prejudiced, that if they refuse to be persuaded, they are often convicted in their own consciences, and forced to feel that God is with the preacher. When Philip preached, the Eunuch rejoiced; when Paul preached, Felix trembled. The power of the truth was equally evident in both cases, though the effects were different. One criterion of the Gospel

ministry, when rightly dispensed, is, that it enters the recesses of the heart. The hearer is amazed to find that the preacher, who perhaps never saw him before, describes him to himself, as though he had lived long in the same house with him, and was acquainted with his conduct, his conversation, and even with his secret thoughts, 1 Cor. xiv. 24, 25. Thus a single sentence frequently awakens a long train of recollection, removes scruples, satisfies doubts, and leads to the happiest consequences and what we read of Nathaniel and the woman of Samaria, is still exemplified in the conversion of many; while others, who wilfully resist the evidence, and turn from the light, which forces itself upon their minds, are left without excuse. If, therefore, you wish to preach the Gospel with power, pray for a simple, humble spirit, that you may have no allowed end in view, but to proclaim the glory of the Lord whom you profess to serve, to do his will, and for his sake to be useful to the souls of men. Study the word of God, and the workings of your own heart, and avoid all those connexious, communications, and pursuits, which, experience will tell you, have a tendency to damp the energy, or to blunt the sensibility of your spirit. Thus shall you come forth as a scribe, well instructed in the mysteries of the kingdom, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, approved of God, acceptable to men, rightly dividing the word of truth. Thus your trumpet shall not give an uncertain sound, nor shall you appear like a cloud without water, to raise and disappoint the expectations of your hearers. A just confidence of the truths you speak, a sense of the importance of your message, a love to precious souls, and a percep tion of the divine presence, will give your discourses a solidity, a seriousness, a weight, which will impress a sympathetic feeling upon your bearers, and they will attend, as to one who speaks with spirit, demonstration, and power.

Allow me, before I conclude, to caution you against some too prevalent mistakes upon this subject. There are methods sometimes used to fix the attention of an audience, it is hoped, with a design to their benefit, which are very different from preaching with power, and seldom produce any lasting effect upon a sensible hearer, but an unfavourable idea of the preacher.

Beware of affecting the orator. I do not advise you to pay no regard to a just and proper elocution; it deserves your attention, and many a good sermon loses much of the effect it might otherwise produce, by an awkward and uncouth delivery. But let your elocution be natural. Despise the little arts by which men of litthe minds endeavour to set themselves off; they will blast your success, and expose you to contempt. The grand principle of Gospel oratory is simplicity. Affectation is displeasing in all persons, but in none is it so highly disgusting as in a preacher. A