216 RATIONAL REPENCE OE THE GOStsrit. all saints. To me is this grace given to preach among the gentiles the unsearchàble riches of Christ; Eph. iii. 8. 1 gglory in it to that degree, that I am dead to all things else. God forbid I should glory in any thing save in the cross of our Lord Jesus, whereby the world is crucified to me, and Ito the world; Gal. vi. 14. I glory in my sufferings : and, my friends, if ye under- stood the value of these things, they are your glory too. If I am offeredup a sacrifice for the service of year faith; I joy and rejoice together with all; Phill. ii. 17. 0 ! that you would but rejoice together with me in it. Thus I have shewed you that all these things are implied in St. Paul's not being ashamed of the gospel ofChrist, and Ihave proved it to you from other parts -of his epistles. The third general head I proposed to speak to, was this; What is there in this gospel that may be supposed to expose any man to shame ! And this question is very needful ; for if there were nothing in it that men might take occasion to throw their scandals and reproaches at, it had been no great matter for St. Paul to have cried out, I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. To this I answer in general, this was a gospel that contra- dicted the rooted prejudices of the Jews, and was severely re- proached by those that professed great knowledge in their law ; it was also a new and strange thing to the Gentiles. 11 crucified Christ was a stumbling-block to the Jews, and foolishness' to the Greeks; 1 Cor. i. 23. There was something in the faith, and practice, and worship of the gospel so contrary to the course of their education in the world, so opposite to their carnal inclina- tions, and to the customs . and fashions of their country, that a man might well be afraid and ashamed to profess it, when they lift their tongues, and their hands, and their swords against it, and the chief of them crucified the Lord of glory, and put the preachers of it to'death. Thus in "general. But while Idescend toparticulars, I shall confine myself only to those occasions of shame, which the same gospel meets with in our day, that so the discourse may be more useful, to the presentaudience ; and as I mention each objection or supposed ()Cession of shame, I shall endeavour to takeoff the force of :it, and shew thatit is unreasonable. Now the, things that might any ways be supposed to expose tills gospel to shame, may be ranked under these two heads : I. Those which'arisefrom the doctrines of the gospel : And, II.Thosewhich arise from the professors of the gospel. First, The occasions. of shame that arise from the doctrines of the gospel, are these five that follow
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