but it is thought a proper portion for every faithful servant of the Lord.]
The true ground, however, must be found in the perverseness of mankind —
[We, at this distance of time, see clearly enough the per- verseness of the Jews in their treatment of Christ and his Apostles : but we are not aware of the same principle ope- rating in ourselves. Nevertheless the truth is, that we have imbibed notions, which we do not like to have controverted ; and have adopted practices, from which we will not recede. The Gospel proposes humiliating doctrines which we are too proud to receive ; and self-denying rules of conduct which we cannot endure to follow. Hence we must either acknowledge that we ourselves are wrong, or find some reason for rejecting the truth. But we cannot altogether profess ourselves infidels and despise the Gospel as a fable ; we therefore are constrained to blame the mode in which it is administered, and to condemn the preachers of it in order to justify ourselves. But the real ground of our conduct is, that " we love darkness rather than light ;" and, if Jesus Christ himself were again to preach to us, the same conduct which he formerly pursued would give the same offence to his hearers, and be made a pretext for rejecting his testimony.]
But in the close of the parable, our Lord suggests,
III. The encouragement which ministers, notwith- standing this reception, have to preach the Gospel —
The Gospel of Christ, when justly stated, is the truest "wisdom" —
[It is called by St. Paul, " The wisdom of God in a mystery :" and the wisdom of God does indeed beam forth in every part of it, whether we consider the mysteries it reveals, or the mode of its administration. Who can contemplate the method prescribed by God for effecting our reconciliation with him, or for fitting us to enjoy his presence, and not be filled with rapture and amazement ? The more we consider the satisfaction of Christ, or the agency of the Spirit, the nature of faith or the beauty of holiness, or, in a word, the union of God's glory and man's happiness in the whole scheme of redemption, the more shall we be overwhelmed with wonder at the depths of wisdom contained in it.
The progressive steps also by which it has been dispensed, together with the means by which it has been confirmed and propagated, yea, even the manner in which it has been brought