erful enemies. It went
through ten bloody persecutions, "conquering and to conquer," until it
overthrew paganism, and became the established religion of the Roman
empire. Then it was not strengthened by its alliance with the state, but
only corrupted and shorn of its true power. And so it has been ever
since. The gospel has always shown itself mightiest to subdue men to
Christ, when it has been compelled to rely most exclusively on its own
divinely furnished strength. What the apostle said of himself
personally, the gospel which he preached can say with equal truth: "When
I am weak, then am I strong." How shall we account for this fact? The
only reasonable explanation is, that God is the author of the gospel,
and his power is in it, so that it is able to overcome the world without
any help from without. Were it the invention of man, we might reasonably
expect that it would be greatly strengthened by an alliance with the
kings and rulers of the world, instead of being thereby corrupted and
weakened, as we find to be the invariable result. Because God made the
gospel, and not men, when it is left free to work according to his
appointment, it is mighty in its power over the human heart; but the
moment worldly men take it under their patronage, that they may make it
subservient to their worldly ends, they bind it in fetters, and would
kill it, had it not a divine and indestructible life.

9. We notice, further, that the same love of Jesus which makes men
invincible to the world without, also enables them to _conquer their own
corrupt passions_, and this is the greater victory of the two. It is
easy to declaim on the sins and inconsistencies of visible Christians.
The church of Christ, like every thing administered by men, is
imperfect. Unworthy men find their way into it, making it, as the great
Master foretold, a field in which wheat and tares grow together.
Nevertheless, wherever the gospel is preached in its purity, bright
examples are found of its power to reclaim the vicious, to make the
proud humble, and the earthly-minded heavenly. It draws all who truly
receive it, by a gradual but certain process, into a likeness to Christ,
which is the sum of all goodness. In proportion also as the principles
of the gospel gain ground in any community, they ennoble it, purify it,
and inspire it with the spirit of truth and justice. Very imperfectly is
our country pervaded by this good leaven. Yet it is this, small as is
its measur