was plainly declared, that he was to be of the tribe of Judah, of the lineage of David, and to come out of Bethlehem.

Another prejudice against him was, the meanness of his parents, and of the manner of his education. Matth. xiii. 54. Whence hath this man this wisdom, and thefe mighty works? Is not this the carpenter's Son? Is not his mother called Mary? And his brethren, James, and Fofes, and Simon, and Judas? and his fifters, are they not all with us? Whence then bath this man all these things? And they were offended in him. And fo likewife, John vii. 15. How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? A ftrange kind of unreasonable prejudice! They could not be lieve him to be an extraordinary person, because his parents and relations, his birth and manner of breeding were fo mean, because he had been brought up to a trade, and not bred up like one of their Scribes and Rabbies; as if God could not infpire a man with all thofe gifts, which men ordinarily acquire by study and pains; and as if it had not been reafonable to expect, that the Meffias, who they believed was to be the greatest Prophet that ever was, should be thus infpired. Now in all reafon the argument is strong the other way, that fure he was an extraordinary Prophet, who all of a fudden gave fuch evidence of his great knowledge and wisdom, and did fuch mighty works; because this could not be imputed to his breeding and education, fince that was fo mean, and therefore there must be fomething extraordinary and divine in it; thus another man who had been free from prejudice, would have been apt to reafon.

Another unreasonable prejudice was grounded upon a spiteful and malicious proverb, concerning the country where our Saviour was brought up, namely, Galilee, John i. 46. Can any good thing come out of Nazareth? And John vii. 41. Shall Chrift, that is the Meffias, come out of Galilee? And ver. 52. Search and look; for out of Galilee arifeth no Prophet. Nathanael indeed, who was a fincere good man, was cafily wrought off from this prejudice, and was con

K 2

tented

tented to be convinced of the contrary by plain evidence, when Philip defired him to come and fee, John i. 47. But the Jews it feems laid great weight upon it, as if this one thing had been enough to confute all our Saviour's miracles, and after they had fhot this bolt at him, the matter had been clearly concluded against him.

But wife and unprejudiced men do not use to be fwayed and carried away with ill-natured proverbs; nor do they believe the bad characters which are given of a country, to be univerfally true without exception, as if every country did not yield fome brave fpirits, and excellent perfons, whatever the general temper and difpofition of the inhabitants may be obferved to be; or as if a man could not be an infpired Prophet, unless he were bred in a good air; nor be fent by God, unless men approved the place from whence he came. The Baotians among the Greeks were a heavy and dull people, even to a proverb; and yet Pindar a great Poet and wit, was born in that country. The Scythians were fo barbarous, that one would have thought furely no good could come thence; and yet they yielded Anacharfis, none of the meaneft of the Philofophers. The Idumeans were aliens and ftrangers from the commonwealth of Ifrael; and yet Job, one of the most excellent perfons that ever lived, was born among them. God can bring forth eminent inftruments out of any place and nation he pleases, out of stones raise up children unto Abraham. Our conceits are no rule to him, nor does he govern the world by our foolifh proverbs; His ways are not as our ways, nor his thoughts as our thoughts.

And thus fome in our days have endeavoured to flur the reformation, by calling it the northern herefy; as if the light of truth were at as great a distance from these northern parts, as that of the fun, and nothing but error and herefy could come thence ; which is just fuch a conceit, and grounded upon as wife a reafon as that of the Donatifts, who would needs have truth and the catholick church confined to Afric, because that was the fouthern part of the world,

world, and because it is faid in the Song of Solomon, concerning the church, Tell me, O theu whom my foul loveth, where thou feedeft, and where thou makeft thy flocks to reft at noon.

Another mighty prejudice against our Saviour we find mentioned John vii. 48. Have any of the Rulers or Pharifees believed on him? For this there feems to be fome better colour than for the other; because the example of fuperiors and of perfons thought to be more knowing, is confiderable indeed in a doubtful cafe, and a good rule of action when we have no better; but ought to be of no force to fway our judgment against clear and convincing evidence. Zedekiah and the Princes of Judah would not hearken to Jeremiah: yet was he a true Prophet for all that, though it was not their pleasure to think fo. Sometimes there is a grofs and palpable corruption in thofe who ought to be guides to others, and they have a vifible intereft in oppofing and rejecting the truth. And this was the cafe of the Pharifees and Rulers among the Jews, in our Saviour's Time. A ny one that had known them, and judged imparti ally concerning them, would rather have chofen to have followed any example than theirs. Religion may fometimes be in the greatest danger, from those who ought to understand it beft, and to be the greateft fupports of it. So it was of old among the Jews, when the Prophet complains that their leaders had caufed them to err: and fo it hath been among Christians, in the great degeneracy of the Roman church; their Popes and their general councils, as they call them, have been the great corrupters of Christianity, and feducers of Chriftendom; which made Luther to fay, with truth and fharpnefs enough, Religio nunquam magis periclitatur quam inter reverendiffimos; Religion is never in greater "danger, than among the most reverend ;" meaning the Pope and the Cardinals: when thofe who ought to teach and reform others, are guilty of the greateft errors and corruptions themselves.

66

I will mention but one prejudice more, which we find John ix. 16. This man (fay the Jews concern

K 3

ing

ing our Saviour) is not of God, because he keepeth not the fabbath-day. This indeed had been a confiderable exception, if it had been true; and therefore our Saviour takes great care to vindicate himself from this afperfion he fhews that the law of the fabbath did not oblige in all cafes, and that being a pofitive precept, it ought to give place to moral duties, which are of perpetual obligation, and therefore he bids them go and learn what that meaneth, I will have mercy and not facrifice; and the plain meaning of that faying was, that when pofitive inftitutions interfere with any moral duty, they ceafe to oblige in that cafe; that the fabbath was defigned for the eafe and benefit of men, and not for their grievance and burden; and therefore where the life of man is concerned, the law of the fabbath ceafeth ; as in case of neceffity, David did eat of the fhew bread, and was blameless, though by a pofitive Jaw it was forbidden for any man to eat of it, but the Priests only. Laftly, from a general practice in a common cafe among themselves, it being allowed by their own law, to take an ox or an ass out of a pit on the fabbath-day; and therefore much more to heal one on the fabbath-day, and to loose a daughter of Abraham, that had been bound eighteen years, as our Saviour invincibly argues.

Upon the like prejudice feveral churches and communions in the world will not allow others to be good Chriftians, and in a state of falvation, because they do not lay the fame weight that they do upon pofitive inftitutions, not of divine, but of mere ecclefiaftical authority, in which they are more unreafonable than the Jews. [Of this fee more, Ser. 117, 18, 119. But I proceed to a

III. Concomitant of their infidelity, and this was a childifh kind of perverfenefs. Being ftrongly prejudiced against our Saviour, they were fo peevifh and froward, that nothing would fatisfy them. And of this he himself gives us a remarkable inftance, Matth. xi. 16, 17. But whereunto shall I liken this genesation? It is like unto children fitting in the markets, and calling unto their fellows, and saying, we

have piped unto you, and ye have not danced; we have mourned unto you, and ye have not lamented. The business was this, the Jews found fault with John the Baptift, because his habit and conversation was fo rough and fevere; and yet our Saviour could not please them neither, who was of a quite different temper. John the Baptift came in the way of righteoufnels, and they received him not; his way was very ftrict and fevere, he came neither eating nor drinking, was very ftrict in his diet and manner of living, of a coarfe carriage and melancholy temper; and they faid he had a Devil. He was to be a preacher of repentance, and his garb was fuitable to his employment. Our Saviour was of a more easy, and familiar, and converfable temper, fuitable to a preacher of pardon and forgiveness; the Son of Man came eating and drinking; and they faid, Behold a wine-bibber and a glutton, a friend of publicans and finners. Now what could be more childish and perverfe than to be pleafed with nothing? By this it plainly appeared, that whatever garb he had put on, whatever his carriage had been, they would have found fault with it, and have made fome exception againft it; at this rate it was impoffible for him to elcape the cenfure of men fo perverfely disposed; and therefore our Saviour fitly compares them to children playing in the markets, who were neither pleafed with mourning nor dancing

And this is the humour of infidelity, and of those who oppose the truth, to cavil and make excepti ons at every thing, and to argue against religion, and the principles of it, from contrary topicks, and arguments that are inconfiftent with one another.

There are other inftances of this perverfenefs in the Jews; as that when they believed Mofes, and had a mighty veneration for him; yet they would not believe him when he teftified concerning the Meffi as. So likewife they looked upon John the Baptift as a Prophet; but yet would give no credit to his teftimony concerning Chrift. Nay, fo fraward were they, that when our Saviour had wrought the greateft and plaineft miracle that could be, in feeding