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"commandment. And the fecond is like; namely "this, Thou fhalt love thy neighbour as thy felf. "There is none other commandment greater than

thefe." Mark xii. 28-31. "On these two "commandments hang all the law and the pro"phets," Matt. xxii. 40. and again, as to our duty to each other, it is faid, "Whatfoever ye would "that men fhould do to you, do ye even fo to them: "for this is the law and the prophets." Matt. vii. 12. In the most confpicuous part of our churches the two tables, the ten commandments of the Great Creator of heaven and earth, which he gave to that peculiar people whom he hath called his fon, even his firstborn, Exod. iv. 22. by the hand of Mofes his servant, are written in large characters, and publicly read every week, and the people kneeling fay this prayer at the end of each: "Lord have mercy upon "us and incline our hearts to keep this law." And at the end of the tenth, "Lord have mercy upon us ! "and write all thefe thy laws in our hearts, wen befeech thee." We of the Gentile nations are greatly interested in every thing that concerns the Jews, and I truft I fhall prove that whoever endeavours to weaken the attachment of the Jewish nation to the laws of God, as given to them by Mofes, his servant, acts inimically to, and not as a friend to the Jewish nation; inimically to, and not as a friend to the Christian churches; nay more, however far it may be from his intention, in fo doing he acts a part inimical to the happiness of all mankind; for all mankind are interested in the profperity of Ifrael.

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In the path in which Chriftians have a right to walk, even in that path in which they are commanded to walk, they would do well to confider that even were a Paul among them to plant and an Apollos to water, yet it is only God who can give the increase, 1 Cor. iii. 6. Success, therefore, must be looked for as coming from God, and from him alone; and if he does not give fuccess in any pursuit, whether it be of a temporal or spiritual nature, we may certainly infer that his bleffing has been withheld, and this fhould lead us to inquire how, why, and wherefore a bleffing hath not attended us. In thus acting, Chriftians would act not only reasonably but fcripturally alfo. The Miffionary and London Societies, if they pursue this inquiry, may become convinced that they have acted unadvisedly in this matter, because they have had no commiffion, no authority to proceed in the way they have done.

If the husbandman, ftanding in the centre of his land with all his labourers about him, were to address them, "All my land is ploughed and harrowed, "and prepared to receive the feed which I now de"liver unto you, take ye every man his veffel full, " and scatter ye the feed; it is good feed that I "deliver unto you; BEGIN at this field in which ye

now ftand, and proceed ftraight forward to fow

all my land. The feed I deliver to you is fuf"ficient to fow all my land. I know the exact "quantity of land you have to fow, and the feed " has been measured accordingly. I know how long "it will take you to perform your work, and there

"fore

*fore proceed to execute my orders; if you are diligent and faithful, you will have fown all my land by the time that I return unto you, and every st man fhall be recompenfed for his labour."

The husbandman returns at the clofe of the feedtime, and finds that half of his land remains unfown; he feeks after his labourers and finds them in the field from which he ordered them to fet out. He reproves them by faying, "How is it that ye have not exe

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cuted my orders? Ye have not fown even half the land which I ordered you to fow, and what have you done with the feed ?" They begin to make their excufe by informing him, that when they had proceeded nearly half way in executing his commands, they confulted together as to the nature of the foil of the field from whence they fet out, that it appeared to them to be totally different from any other part of his land, and therefore they had been trying experiments upon it; fome of them had been trying to plow it overagain, and that every one of them had been cafting fo much feed upon it, that they must beg him to give them more feed, or the outer fields must remain unfown. Would the hufbandman commend fuch labourers? Would he not reprove them for wafting his good feed, mifpending alfo their time, and leffening the value of his eftate, by leaving a large portion of his land unfown in that feafon in which it fhould have been fown? He would furely reprove them for leaving undone thofe things which they ought to have done, and which he commanded them to do, and for doing thofe things which they ought P

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not to have done, because he gave them no fuch orders.

Our bleffed Saviour confined his miniftry to the Jewish nation, and declared "I am not fent but unto "the loft sheep of the house of Ifrael,” Matt. xv. 24. and when he fent forth his twelve apoftles, he commanded them in like manner, faying, "Go not into "the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the "Samaritans enter ye not: but go rather to the lost "fheep of the house of Ifrael." Matt. x. 5, 6. But after his refurrection from the dead, their sphere of action was greatly enlarged in these words, "Go ye "therefore and teach ALL NATIONS, baptizing "them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, "and of the Holy Ghoft: teaching them to observe "all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, "lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of "the world. Amen." Matt. xxviii. 19, 20. And again in the 24th chapter of St. Luke, when, in order to convince them that it was he himself, he faid, "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myfelf: "handle me, and fee; for a spirit hath not flesh and "bones, as ye see me have. And when he had "thus fpoken, he fhewed them his hands and his "feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, "and wondered, he faid unto them, Have ye here

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any meat? And they gave him a piece of a broiled "fish, and of an honey-comb. And he took it, and "did eat before them. And he faid unto them, "Thefe are the words which I fpake unto you, while "I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled " which

"which were written in the LAW OF MOSES, "and in the PROPHETS, and in the PSALMS, "concerning me. Then opened he their understand❝ing, that they might understand the Scriptures, "and faid unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it "behoved Chrift to fuffer, and to rife from the dead "the third day; and that repentance and remiffion of "fins fhould be preached in his name AMONG "ALL NATIONS, BEGINNING AT JERU"SALEM. And ye are witneffes of these things, "And, behold, I fend the promise of my Father 66 upon you; but tarry ye in the city of Jerufalem, "until ye be endued with power from on high." Luke xxiv. 39-49.

They were endued with power from on high, and were qualified by the gift of tongues, (A&ts ii. 1—47.) and then they went forth to teach all nations; and Saul of Tarfus was miraculously converted, and became the apostle of the Gentiles, Acts ix. 1-43. he preached unto the Gentiles, to whom he was fent, and ordained teachers from among the Gentiles, to labour among the Gentiles; but did any of these teachers from among the Gentiles, ordained by the apostle Paul, forfake the path they were ordained to walk in, and turning their backs upon the Gentiles. endeavour to gain the attention of the Jews? We have no evidence that any of them acted fo rafhly and unadvisedly. The Jewish nation were under a more ancient and a diftinct difpenfation; it was "The Gospel

of the UNCIRCUMCISION." The Gospel to the uncircumcifed Gentiles that was committed unto

Paul

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