fail, -or had eaten his morsel by himself alone, and the fatherless had not eaten thereof;"

that such a man, the moment he fell into poverty, should have occasion to cry out for quarter, Have mercy upon me, O my friends! for the hand of God has touched me.

Gentleness and humanity (one would think) would melt the hardest heart and charm the fiercest spirit; bind up the most violent hand, and still the most abusive tongue; - but the experiment failed in a stronger instance of him, whose meat and drink it was to do us good; and in pursuit of which, whose whole life was a continued scene of kindness and of insults, for which we must go back to the same explanation. with which we set out, and that is, the scandal of poverty.

"This fellow, we know not whence he is,"

was the popular cry of one part; and with those who seemed to know better, the query did not lessen the disgrace: Is not this the carpenter, the son of Mary? — of Mary; great GOD of Israel! What!of the meanest of thy people! (for he had not regarded the low estate of his handmaiden) and of the poorest! too (for she had not a lamb to offer, but was purified as Moses

directed in such a case, by the oblation of a turtle-dove.)

That the SAVIOUR of their nation could be poor, and not have where to lay his head, was a crime never to be forgiven: and though the purity of his doctrine, and the works he had done in his support, were stronger arguments on its side, than his humiliation could be against it, yet the offence still remained; - they looked for the redemption of Israel; but they would have it only in those dreams of power which filled their imagination.

Ye who weigh the worth of all things only in the goldsmith's balance! — was this religion for you? a religion whose appearance was not great and splendid, but looked thin and meagre, and whose principles and promises showed more like the curses of the law, than its blessings: for they called for sufferings, and promised little but persecutions. In truth, it is not easy for tribulation or distress, for nakedness or famine, to make many coverts out of pride; or reconcile a worldly heart to the scorn and reproaches, which were sure to be the portion of every one who believed a mystery so discredited by the

world, and so unpalatable to all its passions and pleasures.

But to bring this sermon to its proper conclusion.

If Astrea or Justice never finally took her leave of the world, till the day that poverty first became ridiculous, it is matter of consolation, that the GOD of Justice is ever over us; that whatever outrages the lowness of our condition may be exposed to, from a mean and undiscerning world, that we walk in the presence of the greatest and most generous of beings, who is infinitely removed from cruelty and straitness of mind, and all those little and illiberal passions, with which we hourly insult each other.

The worst part of mankind are not always to be conquered - but if they are

'tis

by the imitation of these qualities which must do it: 'tis true as I have shown they may fail; but still all is not lost, for if we conquer not the world

in the

very attempts to do it, we shall at least conquer ourselves, and lay the foundation of our peace (where it ought to be) within our own hearts.

SERMON XVII

THE CASE OF HEZEKIAH AND THE

MESSENGERS *

And he said, What have they seen in thine house ? and Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in my house have they seen; there is nothing amongst all my treasures that I have not shown them.2 KINGS XX. 15.

-A

ND where was the harm, you'll say,

in all this?

An eastern prince, the son of Baladine, had sent messengers with presents as far as from Babylon, to congratulate Hezekiah upon the recovery from his sickness; and Hezekiah, who was a good prince, acted consistently with himself: he received and entertained the men, and hearkened unto them, and before he sent them away, he courteously showed them all that was worth a stranger's curiosity in his house and his kingdom and in

* Preached before his Excellency the Earl of HERTFORD, at Paris, 1764.

this, seemed only to have discharged himself of what urbanity or the etiquette of courts might require. Notwithstanding this, in the verse which immediately follows the text, we find he had done amiss; and as a punishment for it, that all his riches, which his forefathers had laid up in store unto that day, were threatened to be carried away in triumph to Babylon,

the very place from whence the messengers had come.

A hard return! and what his behaviour does not seem to have deserved. To set this matter in a clear light, it will be necessary to enlarge upon the whole story, the reflections which will arise out of it, as we go along, may help us at least, I hope they will be of

use on their own account.

After the miraculous defeat of the Assyrians, we read in the beginning of this chapter, that Hezekiah was sick even unto death; and that GOD sends the prophet Isaiah, with the unwelcome message, that he should set his house in order, for that he should die, and not live.

There are many instances of men, who have received such news with the greatest ease of mind, and even entertained the thoughts of it with smiles upon their countenances, and