MiMXIV.
2 Cor. iv. 7. We have this treasure in earthen vessels, that the excellency of the poicer may he of God, and not of us.
ST. PAUL was occasionally constrained to vindi- cate his own character against the accusations of his enemies. He was averse to it ; and, when so doing, accounted himself " speaking as a fool." But, when- soever he boasted, his endeavour was to magnify, not himself but his office. As for himself, no terms were too humiliating for him to use, whether he spake of his former life, or of his present exertions in the cause of his divine Master. The passage before us well illustrates his views in both respects. The Gospel which he ministered was, in his estimation, " a treasure :" but he himself, and all his colleagues, were no better than " earthen vessels ;" worthless in themselves, and only useful as imparting unto men " the riches which they contained."
The passage before us will lead me to notice,
I. The true character of the Gospel —
It is here called " a treasure :" and well it deserves the name.
In itself, it is utterly invaluable —
[If considered as the product of Divine wisdom, it infinitely surpasses all that could have been conceived by the brightest intelligences in heaven : and, as an eifort of Divine love, it is so stupendous as to be absolutely incomprehensible. In it, all the gloi'y of the Godhead shines, with a splendour never before seen even by the angels around the throne. There is not a perfection of the Deity which is not honoured by it, and mag- nified far beyond what it could ever have been by any other device, or any other dispensation.]
As dispensed, it marvellously enriches all who receive it —
[To every soul of man that embraces it, is imparted a forgiveness of all sin, a peace that passeth all understanding, a strength that shall triumph over every adversary, and, at the close of this present life, all the gloi-y and felicity of heaven.