" the glorious Gospel of the blessed God." Let it not, however, be thought that this high commission has any tendency to generate pride in the hearts of those who have received it : on the contrary, it will operate rather to humble and abase the soul under a sense of its own unworthiness and insufficiency. Thus it wrought on the Apostle Paul ; who, finding no word whereby to express his unworthiness of such an honour, formed a word for the purpose, and called himself, not the least of all saints, but " less than the least :" " Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." In like manner, I would now, under a becoming sense of my own utter insufficiency, proceed with the work assigned me ; and endeavour, as God shall enable me, to set before you the riches and the fulness of the Gospel of Christ.
For this end, I would consider the Gospel in a threefold view: — as an expedient devised; — as an instrument employed ; — and as a gift bestowed. And I would, under each head, set forth the riches of it : —
The riches of wisdom contained in it as an expe- dient ;
The riches of power, as an instrument ; and The riches of grace, as a gift.
First, then, I will endeavour to set forth the riches of wisdom contained in the Gospel, as an expedient for the salvation of ruined man.
The Gospel is called " the wisdom of God in a mystery15:" and, truly, the wisdom exhibited in it is deeply mysterious. Suppose, for a moment, it had been left to man to devise a way for his own restora- tion to the Divine favour ; or that all the angels in heaven had been consulted by him for that end : I conceive that no way but that of an absolute pardon by a sovereign act of mercy could have entered into
*> 1 Cor. ii. 7.