of God defiled, and a ftumbling block laid in the way of profe lytes, by men invefted with a facred character.

"And when he had made a fcourge at fmall cords, he drove them all out of the temple, and the sheep, and the oxen`; and poured out the changers' money, and overthrew the tables; and laid unto them that fold doves, Take thefe things hence; make not my Father's houfe an houfe of merchandife." This difclofes a new and fingular exhibition of our bleffed Lord's fpirit and temper. No perfonal injury or infult could provoke one expreffion of refentment. He gave his back to the fmiters, and his cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: be hid not his face from fhame and fpitting :" you have heard of the meekness of Mofes, and of the patience of Job. But what are they to the patience, meeknefs and gentlenefs of Chrift? Neverthelefs thefe gracious qualities have a boundary. There are occafions where the exercile of them would ceafe to be virtue, and where a man would do well to be angry." Wanton, deliberate profanation of the name, the day, the house of the Lord, is one of thofe occafions which justify feverity. A commanding dignity, an irrefiftable glory must have occafionally beamed from the perfon of our Lord, which overawed and intimidated the beholder. How is it poffible otherwife to account for the quiet fubmiffion of thofe men to corporal chaftifement. They were many in number; they had a common interest to bind them to each other; they were in hitherto unquestioned poffeffion of the ground; their property was concerned; they had the connivance at leaft, if not the permiffion of the higher powers. He was alone, unknown, unconnected, unfupported. But they cannot fland the lightning of his eye, his voice ftrikes horror into their guilty confciences. They prefume not to reafon or to refift, but tamely give up their gainful traffic abafhed and confounded. Thus the multitude that came with Judas to take Jefus, though furnished "with lanterns, and torches, and weapons," were fo overwhelmed by the majesty of his appearance, that as foon as he had faid unto them, I am he, they went backward and fell to the ground." And if luch were the glory with which he fometimes invefted himfelt, in his fate of humiliation, what must be the glory of his fecond coming" with clouds," when "every eye fhall fee him, and they alfo which pierced him ?"

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What a levere reproof was this action of our Lord, of the careleffnefs and indifference of the high-priest, and of the other minifters of religion? To them it belonged to guard the fanétity of the temple and of its worship. The dignity of their own tation and character fuffered, when the houle of God was vio

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lated. Is it doing them injuftice to fufpect that they partook of the profits of this illicit trade? If this fufpicion be wellfounded, the groffefl enormity is immediately accounted for. When the love of money has once taken poffeffion of the heart, no tie of religion or morality is binding. Confcience, 'fenie of honour, fente of decency, fenfe of duty, all, all is facrificed at the fhrine of this infatiate demon, which never fays "it is enough." At thofe fealons the demand for cattle to be offered in facrifice muft have been very great. Jofephus. in .his Wars of the Jews, informs us, that no lels than two hundred and fifty-fix thousand and five hundred victims were prefented at one paffover. A small share of the gains upon fuch an extenfive coníumption, must therefore have amounted to a very large fum. What a confederacy, then, had the zeal and intrepidity of Chrift to encounter a whole hoft of inhuman, unfeeling dealers in flesh, actuated by the bafeft and moft unrelenting of human paffions, and leagued with a time-ferving priesthood who put every thing up to fale.

We have before us a ftriking and an encouraging instance of the power and influence of one perion of inflexible integrity, in a corrupted ftate of fociety. He may fingly and fuccefsfully oppofe a torrent of iniquity. Vice is timid when directly attacked. The wicked flee," faith the wife man, "when no one purfueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion.” Irrefiftable is the force of truth and confcience. "Is not my word like as fire ? taith the Lord; and like a hammer that breaketh the rock in pieces ?" "The word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged fword, piercing even to the dividing alunder of foul and fpirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a difcerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." This is the weapon which our Master wielded, together with the " fcourge of Imall cords." Smiten at once in their perfons and in their confciences, they retreat with fhame from the field, acknowledging, feeling the fuperiority of real goodnefs. Thus then learn, Oman, to arm 'thyfelf, and fay," the Lord God will help me; therefore fhall I not be confounded: therefore have I let my face like a flint, and I know that I fhall not be afhamed." From the inexhauftible ftores of Scripture draw thy refources for the warfare, and thou shalt find thy felf invincible. What has he to fears who is conscious of the goodnefs of his caufe, who employs "the fword of the fpirit, which is the word of God," and whe goes forth conquering and to conquer in full confidence of divine conduct and fupport.

It is evident from the cenfure pronounced upon the violatas fo4 tois

tors of the temple, that their trade was every way unlawful. This tranfaction is recorded by all the four Evangelifts with little if any variation. And by comparing them together wel fhall find, that the abuse expofed and condemned was a horrid mixture of impiety and difhonefty, of contempt of God, and robbery of man. Not only was "the houfe of prayer for all nations" abominably polluted by what fell from the flocks and herds for facrifice, but it was literally perverted into "a den of thieves," who had entered into a wicked combination to prey upon the public, by enhancing the price of an article which was at once a neceffary of life and of religion. Thefe two enormities, however, generally go hand in hand. If there is no fear of God before a man's eyes, his neighbour has but a flender hold upon either his veracity or integrity, when the falfehood may be uttered, or the fraud committed without danger of detection. And, on the other hand, he who deliberately practises deceit upon" his brother whom he hath feen," cannot have a very, high degree of reverence for God whom he hath not feen."

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While we contemplate with fhame and forrow the corruptions which difgraced the Jewish Church, is it poffible to refrain from lamenting the equally deplorable corruptions which have disfigured the hallowed form of Christianity? Did not all· history atteft the truth of it, who would believe that there was a long period, not yet quite expired in fome parts of Chriftendom, and that there was a fucceffion of priests, called Chrif tians, who prefumed, for a piece of money, to grant a man indul.” gence to commit every fpecies of wickednefs, which his cor-* rupt heart might fuggeft, and for any given period, with complete impunity? Who could believe that this priest, in confideration of fomething caft into his treafury, would take upon him to iffue a pardon of the most attrocious offences, and thereby fcreen the vileft of offenders from punishment'; nay, confer the power of pardoning on ftone walls and lifelefs altars? The murderer who fmote his brother to death in the open street, in broad day, had but to step into the next church, and it stood always open on purpose, to be protected from the vengeance of the law. Who could believe that a prefent or bequest to the Church was conûdered as a full compenfation for all the crimes* of a life of violence, and rapine, and blood, and as a fair passport to the kingdom of heaven? That fuch things fhould ever have existed is most wonderful; that they fhould have maintained their ground over all Europe for many centuries together is moft wonderful. But the fcandalous ufurpation is haftening to a clofe. And with the downfal of popery, may every re

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maining error in the doctrine, difcipline and practice of the churches of the Reformation finally terminate,

The difciples of our Lord poffeffed one great preparatory qualification for the exercife of their future miniftry, acquain tance with the Scriptures of the Old Teftament. Struck with this difplay of their Mafter's zeal for the honour of God, and for the purity of Temple-worship, they call to remembrance a text from the Píalms of David, which appeared to them a prefiguration of what had juft paffed. "And his difciples remembered that it was written, The zeal of thine houfe hath eaten me up.' "We pretend not to affirm that the words of the Pfalmift amount to a prediction of what Chrift felt, and faid, and did upon this occafion. David unquestionably uttered his own teelings, though there was as yet no temple at Jerufalem dedicated to the moft High God, But the expreffion amounts to this: Whatev er affects the character and worship of Deity, I make my perfonal concern. "The zeal of thine houfe hath eaten me up :" ardent regard for the honour of thy fanctuary, like a fecret flame pent up in my breast, muft either have vent or confume me and the fequel is in the fame fpirit," and the reproaches of them that reproached thee are tallen upon me." But though we may not have here a direct prophecy of a future event, we have a powerful affimilation between two most eminent perfonages, at very diftant periods, breathing one, and the fame fpirit, aiming at one and the fame end; and this fimilitude partakes of the nature of prophecy. And the whole leads us to this conclufion, that there may be predictions, resemblances, analogies in Scripture, hitherto concealed even from the wife and prudent, to be hereafter unfolded, or perhaps referved for the inftruction and delight of the kingdom of heaven, when there fhall be in Scripture nothing obfcure, or hard to be understood. What a motive is this, now to liften to the command of Chrift. "Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have etertal life and they are they which teftify of me."

In this paffage of our Lord's history, as in all Scripture, we have many things "profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for inftruction in righteousness."

1. We have a humiliating view of the treachery and de ceitfulness of the human heart. The very perfons who confidered it as a crime to "eat bread with unwashen hands,” could quietly digest the profanation of the temple and of the worship of God. Such felf-delufion do men practife every day. They treat their own infirmities as fome mothers do very homely, wayward, or even deformed children, who not only fhew them all poffible indulgence themfelves, but are of

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ended if others adopt not their fondnefs and partiality. At the fame time, the flightest blemish in the character of another 'is quickly feen and leverely cenfured. The deception is frequently carried much farther. A man fhall actually difcern and rigidly condemn in his neighbour, the very fault to which he himfelt is notorioufly additted. The proud perfon can endure no one's pride but his own; the paffionate ftand aftonifhed at the tranfports of these who are hafty like themfelves; and who are so fevere upon hypocrify as the hypocritical? Every leffon taught by the great Teacher has a foundation in human corruption, and has a tendency to correct it, and this is an important one: "Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye fhall be judged: and with what measure'ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdeft thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but confider it not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou lay to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye, and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, firft caft out the beam out of thine own eye; and then fhalt thou fee clearly to caft out the mote out of thy brother's eye." To which I fubjoin the prayer of the Pfalmift: "Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my thoughts; and fee if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlafting."

2. If fuch were the dignity which the Son of God affumed, and the authority which he exercifed, while he tabernacled with men upon earth, attended by a few fimple Gallileans, is it not a matter of very serious concern to meditate on the majefty and importance of his coming to judge the quick and the dead? If his prefence was thus awful and tremendous when armed with only a fcourge of fmall cords," what muft it be, when the Lord Jefus fhall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the Gospel of our Lord Jefus Chrift: who fhall be punished with everlasting deftruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power." In this judgment to come we are all equally interefted, and we are turnished with a prefent rule of judgment in the decifions of confcience and the dictates of the word of God. Happy is that man who understands, believes and improves the testimony of those faithful and true witneffes; who, knowing the terrors of the Lord, is perfuaded to flee from the wrath to come, and to lay hold on eternal life. "He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already; because he hath not believed in the name of

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