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VOLUME I.

THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.

SERMON I.

CHRIST THE STANDARD OF PREACHING.

AN INSTALLATION SERMON.

THE officers answered, Never man spake like this man. -JOEN, vii 46.

LONG before the Messiah made his appearance in our nature, it was foretold by the Spirit of prophecy that he should sustain the office of a preacher. Isaiah speaks of him as announcing his divine mission, to preach the joyful news of the gospel to all penitent, broken hearted sinners. "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me; because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the broken hearted; to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God." On the ground of this and other prophecies, the Jews generally expected that the Messiah would appear in the character of a superior preacher. This we learn from what the woman of Samaria said to Christ. "I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ; when he is come, he will tell us all things." This general expectation of the Jews Christ did by no means disappoint; for having lived about thirty years in the obscurity of private life, he submitted to the rite of baptism, by which he was inaugurated into his office and duly prepared to preach the gospel.

As soon as he appeared in the character of a preacher, he drew the attention of the admiring multitudes, who hung upon his lips, and sensibly felt the heavy truths which, with surprising power and pungency, he poured into their minds. His serious and solemn addresses, however, were too pinching and

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galling to corrupt nature, not to raise the resentment and opposition of the enemies of truth. While therefore some highly applauded his preaching, others secretly murmured and complained, till at length they carried their complaints to the Pharisees and chief Priests, who, urged by their own resentment as well as by the importunity of others, immediately "sent officers to take him." The officers, no doubt, were well pleased with their commission, and secretly rejoiced in the prospect of dragging this disturber of their peace, through crowds of exulting enemies, to the place of public justice. But their raised expectations were soon blasted. For when they came to Christ, who was warmly engaged in preaching the gospel to poor perishing sinners, they found themselves suddenly arrested by the invisible hand of truth, and secretly constrained to renounce their malignant purpose, and to return to those who sent them, with the painful conviction of the irresistible power and energy of this more than human preacher. "The officers answered, Never man spake like this man."

But how did Christ preach, or what did he say, to make such deep impressions on those who had firmly resolved to resist and oppose the truth? This question, especially at this time, justly deserves particular attention, and naturally leads us to exhibit the character of Christ as a preacher of the gospel.

Whether Christ was superior to all other men in his personal appearance and his natural powers of persuasion, we shall not pretend to conjecture, since nothing is said concerning these in the sacred oracles. We shall only mention some of his most distinguishing excellences as a preacher of the gospel, which may be fairly collected from the inspired writers who have given us the history of his life and character.

First, Christ was a plain preacher. A plain preacher is one who has clear and distinct ideas in his own mind, and who conveys them to the minds of his hearers in plain language. Such a preacher was Christ. His own ideas lay clear and distinct in his own mind. He was master of every subject upon which he preached. He understood the whole system of divinity. He was a member of the council of peace, who devised the plan of redemption. He was acquainted with the whole character and whole counsel of God. He was mighty in the scriptures, and understood every passage of divine inspiration. He had a thorough knowledge of the frame and constitution of the human mind, and comprehended at one view all the characters, circumstances and connections of mankind, through every period of their existence. And as these views were perfectly clear and familiar to his own mind, so he was able to express himself upon any subject with the greatest ease and

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