compared with that of God. 277 his preaching, on the contrary, it was molt SERM. becoming the fublime excellency, the gravity, III, and fimplicity of the gofpel doctrine, which'^") would be difparaged rather than ferved by the little arts of fophiítry and the enticing words of man's wifdom ; its true authority and cre- dit depending not on the wifdom or power of men, but the divine atteftation given it by miracles and extraordinary gifts, which he calls the demonfiration of the fpirit and of power. And for infinuated reflections, that he affected pre- eminence, and carried it as a mafter with haughty neglect of thofe who had at leaft equal pretenfions ; nothing can be farther than the whole conduct of St. Paul from any the leaft appearance of a lordly, magifterial, or a factious party fpirit ; he preached not himfelf, but Chr ye/its the Lord, and himfelf the fervant of chr f ians for Chr 's fake; he never ftudied to pro- mote the fervice of a party, but of pure re- ligion, in oppofition to all party interefts, names, and diftinctions, which he ufed his utmoít endeavour to have intirely taken away. But, after all, if the arts of adverfa- ries had been able to make any impreßïons on the minds of the chriftian people to his difadvantage, fo that even they went fo far T as
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