DISCOURSE III. THE CHILDREN IN THE TEMPLE. MATT. XXI. 15, 16. And when the chief priests and scribes saw the wonderful things that he did, and the children crying in the temple, and saying, Hosanna to the Son of David; they were fore displeafed, and said unto bim, Hearest thou what these say? And Jesus faith unto them, Yea; have ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and fucklings thou hast perfected praise? T HIS part of facred story presents DISC. us with a very extraordinary scene. Messiah, the promised Saviour, prefigured by the law, foretold by the prophets, and universally expected to appear, appears accordingly. Exactly in the manner described by Zechariah, he makes his public entry, meek and lowly, into his capital city, Jerufalem. Agreeably to the celebrated paffages : DISC. sages in Malachi and Haggai, "The Lord, III. " whom men fought, came to his temple," and by his personal presence rendered " the " glory of the latter house greater than the " glory of the former." "He came to his " own, but his own received him not." The rulers of the then church would not acknowlege him: they were offended (it was but a natural consequence) with those who did so. The voices of children, proclaiming his titles, founded harsh and grating in their ears; and they hinted by their question, that he himself ought to reprove, rebuke, and filence these little heralds of his praises. "Hearest thou "what these say?"-as if they had spoken blafphemy. But mark the answer : "Je" sus saith unto them, Yea; have ye never "read, Out of the mouth of babes and " sucklings thou hast perfected praise?" In other words, "You are ignorant of your " own Scriptures; at least, you do not re"collect what is written in the viiith Pfalm; " that when God is to be glorified for his "works, and those who should do it will " not " not do it, he makes even children the in- DISC. " adversaries of his truth: out of the mouths " of babes and fucklings he perfects praise, " or, as it is in the original Hebrew, ordains, "appoints, constitutes strength, to still the The propofition arifing from the text, is evidently this; that God is pleased to esteem himself honoured, when children are taught to confefs and to praise his holy name. A few confiderations shall be offered, touching the grounds and reasons of such proposition, whence an application will follow to the charity which this discourse is designed to recommend. On hearing, that "out of the mouths " of babes and fucklings God ordains " strength to still the enemy," the thought which first strikes us is that suggested in another passage of Scripture, wherein he says, "My strength is made perfect in weak"ness." This is the circumstance which diftinguishes III. DISC. distinguishes the works of God from the works of man. When man has an end to accomplish, he must employ means originally and in themselves suited to that end. The materials and the persons who use them must be every way proper, and equal to the work. By him who is building a house, great preparations are made, plentiful stores of every thing necessary laid in, skilful and able artificers provided: and we know beforehand, that, by a due application of the causes, the effect may be produced. In the works of God it is otherwise. Means unlikely and improbable are chosen, persons weak and naturally unable selected, that the power may appear to be not in them, but in him. In this way he delights to shew forth his glory through the whole creation. At the beginning, light shone out of darkness, order out of confufion, and all the beauty and fulness of the world which we behold arose from a chaos "without "form, and void." By a filent, unseen, mysterious process, the fairest flower of the garden springs from a small infignificant feed, 111. feed, the majestic oak of the forest from an DISC. acorn, the strongest and wifest man from a wretched, helpless, and senseless infant; the holy and exalted saint from a miferable finner. A prophet with great justness and propriety styles this, " the hiding of the di" vine power." And thus, upon the fame plan, when the Gospel was to be preached, and the world saved, not a company of philofophers, or an army of heroes, but a few illiterate Jewish fishermen were fent forth, to accomplish the mighty work. Hear with what force and energy St. Paul treats this point. "The foolishness of God is "wiser than men; and the weakness of " God is stronger than men. For you fee your calling, how that not many wife " men after the flesh, not many mighty, " not many noble are called. But God hath " chosen the foolish things of the world, to "confound the wife; and God hath chofen " the weak things of the world, to confound " the things which are mighty; and base " things of the world, and things which " are defpised, hath God chofen, yea, and VOL. III. E " things |