•i /l/U Shelf. PRINCETON, N. J. ■*""S, i 1 Division Section Number •# COMPREHENSIVE VIE^V OF THS LEADING AND MOST IMPORTANT PRINCIPLES NATURAL AND REVEALED HELIGION: ^I6ESTED IN SUCH OHDER AS TO PKESEST TO THE UOUS AND HEFLECTIN'u MIND, A BASIS FOR THE StJPER3TflUCTURE OK THE ENTIRl! SYSTEM OF TIIK DOCTRINES Olf THE GOSPET. BY THE REV. SAMUEL STANHOPE BMITFI, D.D. L.L D, lATE PRESIDE^JT OF THE COLLEGE OF NBW-JERSET Second Edition — with adJitiou* NEW-BRUNSWICK : Printed and Published by Deare ic Mret , 1316. District of NeiV'Jerse.i/, ss. Bs IT BEMEMBEnEO, *hat Oil the twcnty-fourtb day of August, ie tlie fortieth year of the Independence of the United States of America, Deire ^ Myer, of the said district iiave deposited in this office, the title of a book, the right whereof they claim as proprietors, in the words following, to wit : " A Comprehensive View of the leading and most important principles of Na« " turpi and Revealed Religion, digested in such order as to present to the piou9 *' and reflecting mind, a basis for the superstructure of the entire system of the "doctrines of the Gospel. By the Rev. Samuel Stanhope Smith, D.D. L.L.D. "late President of the College of New-Jersey " In confoiraity to an act of the Congress of the United States, entitled, " An act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the copies of maps, charts, and books, to the authors and proprieters of such copies, during the times therein mentioned ;" and also to the act, entitled, ' An act supplementary to the act, entitled an act for the encouragement of learning, by securing the cop- ies of maps, charts and books, to the authors and proprietors of such copies, during the times therein mentioned, and extending tlie benefits thereof to the arts of de- signing, engraving and etching, historical and other prints " ROBERT BOGGS, Clerk of the District qf Nem-Jcrsty. PRELIMINARY NOTICES REFLECTIONS. JVO doubt can exist in the mind of a judicious christian, but that the Sacred Scriptures comprise the most complete development of the entire system of our ho)y religion. But the extent and variety of information which they embrace, the loose and narrative style in which a great portion of them is written, and the picturesque and poetic imagery in which others are clothed, have presented an occa- sion both to ingenious and to feeble minded men, to build upon them a multitude of contending opinions, each supported by detached ex- pressions collected from these divine oracles, or by interpretations, either plausible or forced, imposed upon their language. Divines, in order to correct or restrain this ambiguous diversity of senti- ment, have endeavoured to reduce the whole of the doctrines r.f the sacred writings to certain definite principles, arranged in scientific order, so as mutually to illustrate and support one another. This would have been a scheme sufficiently rational, if system wi*iters had confined their object to digesting the diffiasive and expanded phraseology of the scriptures into a few simple and connected pro- positions, intended to present the substance of the whole to the mind, under one view. But their design has become so mingled with the discordant theories of different writers, that their extend- ed (^scussions on each topic have often destroyed the simplicity of the gospel, and led their readers, as well as disposed the writer-t>- themselves, to substitute human reason for the word of God. In- stead i/f presenting a brief analysis of the doctrines contained m the Bible, they have too frequently attempted to make their respective explanations of the system of divine truth an entire library of theo- logical science : — It has occurred to the author that it would be de- sirable to students in that sphere of knowledge, to have its princi- pal subjects distinctly pointed out, and clearly illustrated, in a short compass, m order to direct their future inquiries, and so to guard their future addresses from the pulpit, from blending discordant opiruons ; that thcv should, in no point, err against the general sys- tem of evangelic truth. He further hoped that such a compen- dious %-iew might usefully aid the private christian, in examining the sacred scriptures, and pursuing throughout the whole the con- iiccted thread of christian dcctrinc. These are the objects to v/hich his attention has been chiefl}'" di- rected in the following discourses, designed to embrace a very com- pendious scheme of the leading principles of Natural and Revealed Theolog}. When these leading principles are fixed they become centers in which all the doctrines in that branch of the sci- ence naturally inhere, and diverging from which, they are easily traced b}' the judicious reader. This design very early occupied his mind, while pursuing his own studies under the superintendence of that eminent and learned divine, the late Rev, Dr. Witherspoon. At the request of a number of young men, in the year 1772 gi-adu- ates of the college, at that time residing in the institution for the prosecution of their theological studies, of whom the author was one, the doctor was prevailed on to commence a course of lectures on this subject, which he continued once a week till the Autumn of 1773, when different objects of pursuit in life attracting the greater portion of the class, it was of course dissolved. The doctor had proceeded in his course, intermixing his lectures \Wth much extcm.* pore illustration, as far as to the Covenant of Grace. The clear method wliicli he pursued is, on many subjects, paiticularly the Trinity and the Covenants, in many of its outlines adopted. The author acknowledges with pride, the assistance derived from notes, taken at that time from the mouth of the speaker. Of these lecr tures the most copious abridgment, which was, or probably could be made by any gentlemen not acquainted with the art of stenogra- phy, has been published by the editor of Dr. Witherspoon's works, though with much imperfection, as was naturally to be expected. And, if the venerable man had lived, he would, probably, have been little pleased in seeing this, and several other mutilated productions of his pen, accompanying his more perfect works.* It is greatly to be lamented, that many circumstances, after the design was com- menced, concurred to prevent its execution. The judicious reader who is best acquainted with Dr. Witherspoon's manner, will pro- bably find little affinity in these discourses, with his writings ; yet the author is not conscious that they contain opinions, on any prin* ciples of religion, materially varying from those which that great man was known to adopt. Any coincidences of sentiment in the subjects treated by us in common, may easily be traced, if any per- son have the curiosity, by comparing these discourses with that abridgment. Diversity in the manner of proposing them to the world, ought to be expected, even in a pupil who admires his mas- * During his life a printer in New-Jersey was commencing an edition of his Moral Philosophy in its present imperfect state. He was arrested in its pro- gress, by being threatened with a legal prosecution. This event caused the doctor a year or two before liis death, to direct the burning of a very large num- ber of his manuscripts by his late wife, he himself being blind. His Moral Phi- losophy, and Lectures on Criticism, would probably have shared tlie same fate if many copies of botli had not been preserved by Iiis students. They were used merely as texts. 6 ttf. The principles which they contain have long been the basis ©f religious instructions communicated first to the students at Hampden-Sidney, in Virginia, and since to a theological class in the college of New-Jersey. And lately, the author has employed many of the leisure moments afforded him, by the goodness of pro- vidence, in the course of a tedious disorder, in reviewing, correcb- ing, and arranging them in their present form, for the press. It is his earnest prayer that the following pages may contribute in any degree to elucidate the doctrines of the holy scriptures, not to the learned only, but to the humblest christian, for which, being freed, as much as possible, from all metaphysical discussion, he hopes they will be found to be usefully adapted. "X TH^O^'HCTn:?^^ CONTENTS. Of Natural Theology, . . ^ . H Bvidences of the Christian Religion, , . . .73 The Trinity, or Three-Fold Existence of the Deity, ; . 229 Ofibe Decrees of God, . . . . .2^7 Of the Covenant of Works and the Fall of Man, . . 301 Ofthe Covenant of Grace, ..... 343 Of Sancti6cation, . , . . , 375 Of the Nature of Faith, . , , .399 Of Justification, . . ', . . .415 Of the External Seals of th? Covenant of Grace— 1 . of Baptism, . 441 2. Of the Lord's Supper, .... .483 On a Future State, . . .• , .501 ASk«mo?i, ....... !(2\ ERRATA Page 234 line 2 from bottom, for X^kij read "ivy^y,. 235 5 for Heno Nous read HfV o Nous. 3 10 5 for moral read natural. 331 0 for ns read no. 495 1 for rcquen read ecqiicm. 533 3 from bottom, for other read onr. 539 1 0 for yielding read nielding ■jll 1 1 for insiduously read msidfiamh' # A COMPENDIOUS SYSTEM OF NATURAL AND BEYEALEB THEOLOGY ; iSMBRACING, IN THE SECOND PART, A CONCISE VIEW OF THE EVIDENCES OF CHRISTIANITY. PART I. OF NATURAL RELIGION : CONTAINING, 1st. THE EVIDENCES OP THE BEING OF GOD. 2d. THB PERFECTIONS OF GOD. 3d. THE PRINCIPLES OF HUMAN DUTY. 4th. THE PROBABLE EVIDENCES OF A FUTURE STATE. \ LECTURES, Sec, OF NATURAL THEOLOGY. OP THE BEING OF GOD, Natural Theology consists in the knowledge of those truths concerning the being and attributes of God ; the prin- ciples of human duty, and the probable expectations of a fu- ture state of existence to give efficacy to those principles, which are discoverable by reason alone. It commences with the investigation of the evidences of the existence of God, Almighty, and Eternal ; which are usually derived from two sources — the necessary nature of our ideas — and the obvious structure of the universe. Both these modes of proof, which have been distinguished in the schools by scientific terms of discrimination, rest on one common principle, or necessary idea — that every thing which begins to be, must have a cause of its existence. Admitting this truth, which cannot well be cotflVoverted by reason, it results as a necessary consequence, either that the universe consists of an eternal succession of causes, dependent one upon another ; or we must look for its existence in some first principle, eternal, unproduced, the source of all motion and power in the operations of nature, 12 the cause of whose being is to be found only in itself, and the netessity of its own na?U!e. The idea of an eternal succes- sion of events, each frail and imperfect, and all dependent, one upon another, involves too evident an absurdity to be admitted by the r^jtional mind. We are obliged therefore to adopt the only alternative — the existence of an original and independent source of being, from which all things else have been derived. Whence, then, exists this first cause ? Original and underived we can find no reason of its existence but in the necessity of its own nature. A being existing by the necessity of its own nature, can never begin to be ; it must be eternal. On the same principle, it must be un- changeable. If any change could take place, it would in- volve some constituent of its nature which was not neces- sary. Infinity must be equally predicable of the original cause : for how should it be limited when nothing previous exists to bound it ? or how should necessary existence be confined to a circumscribed space ? The unity of the di- vine essence is no less a certain consequence of this original principle. Two equally neccessary and infinite beings could serve no useful purpose, which could not be equally fulfilled by one. There being no reason, therefore, for the existence ©f a second, the idea, on all the rules of sound reasoning in science ought to be rejected. Two essences, equally infi- nite, must necessarily occupy the same place ; being equally the cause of all things which exist, they must possess the same perfection ; they must be, to every purpose of existence, 18 the same being. Thia first, and sole cause of all things in the universe, must also be Almighty ; lor whatever can ex- ist, can exist only by him. And finally, he must be all-wise, as knowing the natures and powers of all things possible ; for nothing is possible, but by him, and every thing is possible that he wills. This is a very brief and partial sketch of the scientific mode of reasoning, or reasoning a priori, as the schoolmen call it on this subject. The most profound and masterly example of it, which exists, perhaps in any language, is to be found in the demonstration of the being and attributes of Gody by Dr. Samuel Clarke, of England. But, I confess, these subtle arguments of a very refined speculation, are little calculated to produce any deep and permanent conviction on the mind. The extreme abstraction of the ideas, although they do great credit to the ingenuity of that celebrated au- thor, can be comprehended only by a few reflecting men ; and the most speculative philosopher finds the effort to grasp them, exhaust the sensibility of the heart, and weaken upon it the practical impressions of virtue and piety. The second, or popular mode of reasoning, is infinitely more simple and obvious. And consists of a species of ar- gument which naturally offers itself to every man, as soon as he opens his eyes with intelligence upon the world. A kind of evidence here suggests itself which reaches the simplest 14 understanding, and becomes more luminous and interesting in proportion as we extend our observation and inquiries in- fo the system of nature When we behold its order, varie- ty, and beauty, the proportion, and correspondence of all its parts, the manifest demonstrations of wisdom and design, especially, in the animal and vegetable worlds, in the struc- iure of the earth, in the planetary system, and, as far as we can judge, throughout the universe, can we forbear to ac- knowledge a wise and intelligent cause, which has planned and arranged the whole ? an omnipotent cause, which has given existence to this immense, and various structure ? and an infinite providence, which every where presides over its operations ? The details of this argument are too extensive to be here minutely pursued. They are not necessary to convince judicious readers of that first of truths, of which all, who have not speculated the heart into scepticism, are already deeply persuaded, and which meets our understanding at every glance that we ca?t over the face of nature. Yet I cannot too strongly recommend to those, who have the means of cultivating the studies of polite literature, diligently to pursue their researches into the natural history of the uni- verse, expressly with this view, to assemble before the mind the multiplied evidence which it contains, in every part, of the existence, and universal operation of a most wise, and be- neficent, and almighty power which pervades, and presides over the whole. It is with this design that I would recom- mend to every disciple of science a careful study of natural 15 history, as the surest basis, when prudently investigated, of natural theology, and an excellent introduction and support to revelation. I recommend it, likewise, as a study, which contributes peculiarly to purify, exalt and delight the mind ; and, along with the charming enthusiasm of piety, to strength- en the most solid foundations of virtue, while, to use an ex- pression of Malebranche, "it sees all things in God, and God in all things.'* This argument we may see admirably illustrated by the famous Genevan philosopher, Boimet, and by those very re- spectable English writers, Derham, and Ray. But perhaps DO writer has treated it with more closeness, perspicuity, and irresistible evidence, than Dr. Paley, in his treatise on natural theology. In those works may be seen that mechan- ical contrivance, that correspondence of parts, that adapta- tion of means to their respective ends, through all the pro- ductions of nature, which are the must unequivocal indica- tions of wisdom and design, as well as of power and good- ness, in its author. " Final cnnses, says a very judicious writer, may be considered as the language in which the ex- btence of God is revealed to man. In this language, the sign is natural, and the interpretation instinctive.'* Ferg. ins. p. 3. ch. 1. 8. 2. Another argument to the same end has justly been derived from the universal concurrence of mankind in the assertion 16 and belief of (his impoL'ta»t principle. The general senti- ments of human nature are aiwajs found to point to (ruth. They are intuitive percep(!ons resul(ing immedia(ely from the bare inspec(ion of their objects ; or conclusions which force their evidence upon the mind, like the first truths of science, necessarily springing out of the comparison of our own ideas. The concurrence of all nations, in the belief of the being of God, is a decisive proof, either, that it is a na-» tive sentiment of the huraan heart arising naturally from ori- ginal structure of constitution, and entitled to the same im- plicit credit as our other moral principles ; or it is an induc- tion so clearly and necessarily flowing from the phenomena of nature as to be obvious equally to the wisest, and the most uncultivated mind ; the rapidity of the conchision giving it the appearance and effect of an instinctive principle. To this argument it is not a sufficient objection, that many nations have acknowledged a multiplicity of Gods ; and that, in all nations, the multitude have entertained unworthy con- ceptions of the divine nature. The natural sentiments of the human mind may be corrupted ; or, being left in their original and uncultivated state, may be liable, through igno- rance, to many errors. The prin^ciples of taste, may, in like manner, notwithstanding their acknowledged foundation in human nature, be rendered defective, or be grossly pervert- ed, by erroneous culture; yet their error, or corruption, in- stead of demonstrating that there are no such principles, oa 17 the other hand, a proof of their existence. Many nations, misled by the analogy of the divine, to human governments, conceiving that the administration of the Deity might, more honourably, be conducted by subordinate agents, elevated each local and imaginary divinity to the throne of divine worship. But all mankind have ever acknowledged one Su- preme God : and the multitude of subordinate officers, if they may be called such, which error had attached to him in his government, does not destroy the evidence of the prin- cipal and original sentiment that God exists. Our object, at present, is to establish this single truth. And this truth is not destroyed by diversity of opinion, with regard to the mode of his administration, or the nature of his perfections. These ideas requiring greater precision of thought,, and a wider compass of reasoning, one man, or one nation, accord- ing to the advances which they have respectively made ia the cultivation of science, may reasonably be supposed to have formed more just, or more inadequate conceptions of them than another.*^ * A native, ■which perhaps may be justly deemed an instinctive sentiment of Deity, or of that universal power which presides over all things, occupies and takes deep possession of the human heart, in the earliest periods of society and the most uncultivated states of human existence. Hence has originated that multitude of objects wliich called forth the respect or veneration, or amused the fancy of mankind in the heathen world ; and that vast assemblage of supernatural or fantastic beings, which peopled the groves and the forests, the hills and the fountains of antiquity. Men, unable to grasp the grand comprehensive idea of the Supreme Being, who fills the universe with his presence, yet conscious of God in every place, invested all the interesting objects of nature with some attributes of divinity. And every lituatioa which tended to fill the mind, on the one haod, 18 The truth of the divine existence is confirmed, if such primary and palpable truths can receive additional confirma- tion, by the absurdity of the causes to which atheists have been obliged to resort in order to account for the origin of things. One of their first principles is, that matter is eter- nal, and, though senseless and inert, contains the essence of all order and motion. Another, that the intelligence, which evidently reigns in the universe, is the result of material or- ganization necessarily arising from its original and essential principles. And another still, not less extraordinary than either of the preceding, that, from the accidental collision of atoms, have been formed globes, which, from some interior, and inexplicable impulse, have thrown themselves into or- bits constructed with the most perfect mathematical exact- ness, and governed by laws which ensure undeviating con- stancy in their movements. From the same accidental col- lision, roots and seeds have been generated, whence the wh< le vegetable world has been evolved, and yearly repro- duced. At this age of philosophy, one would think that with pensive, or with gloomy thought fulness, or, on tlie other, with pleasing fan- cies, gave scope to the creative powers of imagination, and replenished eacli dis- trict of the earth with wild imaginary forms, congenial with the present state of its fancies, or its fears. Sages and philosophers tliemselves contributed to aug- ment the mass of superstition, while they studied to add respectability and splen- dor to their temples, by personifying the principal attributes of the divine mind, his wisdom, his truth and his justice ; and the principal operations of a benignant providence, in imparting its vegetative powers to the earth, or exalting the genius of mankind by ret*|ilendent fictions, and embodying every idea that was supposed useful to human society, or ornamental to the arts 19 such principles must carry their own refutation in the v«ry terms of their statement. Observe any mass, or congerie* of matter, and let the plainest, or the most improved under* standing decide, if any arrangement of atoms, according to any known laws of material action, could sublimate it, so as to produce sensation and reason. Or is it possible, that, if one lucky cast, or collision among infinite millions, should have formed an animal or vegetable, it should have been 90 framed as to be capable of throwing from itself continually a similar assemblage of organized atoms, while not another cast, of the same kind, should ever succeed in forming a new species of being. If an atheist ask us, why, since we admit the existence of a wise intelligent cause, only to exclude the ideas of disor- der and chance from the world, do we see so many unseem- ly examples of both, in the structure of things, and in the re- volutions of what we call providence ? It is, I conceive, a suf- ficient answer, to deny the existence of either, and to chal- lenge an antagonist to produce that instance. — For, what is chance? — Only a name to cover our ignorance of the cause of an event. Nothing can happen by accident in the gov- ernment of an inSnitely wise, and powerful being. All events depend upon a certain concatenation of causes. The cast of a die is as certainly governed by the laws of matter and motion, as the greater movements of the planets. Dis- order in the works of nature exists only in the imperfection 20 of our own understanding. This is certain, with regard to all fhe arrangements of nature, that, in proportion as her laws hare been more clearlj developed, and her operations more distinctly understood, those phenomena, which for- merly were esteemed to be irregularities, are now discover- ed to be directed by the most wise, certain, and permanent laws. — One conclusion will obtrude itself on every reflect- ing mind ; that, since nature, as far as we can discern her operations, contains, even to our imperfect reason, the most obvious indications of intelligence, design, and goodness, if there be any parts of it, which we are unable to interpret, in perfect coincidenccs^vith the general system, this ought to be ascribed solely to the narrow sphere to which our intel- lectual vision is circumscribed. We cannot doubt, but that the same wisdom, which we perceive in that portion which we do comprehend, prevades all the works of the same author. It has been frequently and justly remarked, that the uhi- Tcrse is governed by general laws, which never change their operation according to the desires of men, or the conven- ience of particular parts of the system, and, therefore, they sometimes appear to be productive of partial and accidental ills. A tempest here, a drought there, a contagion, or an earthquake, may involve individuals in distress ; — but the fixed and invariable laws of the physical world are among the greatest blessings to mankind. Among other benefits, 21 (hey lay a foundation for the existence of the moat useful sciences and arts, which could have no principles, on which to rest, in a providence of expedients, and accommodations to individual convenience. They serve to awaken inquiry, to exercise ingenuity, to encourage industry, to afford prin- ciples on which to ground a prudent foresight and precaution, and to promote the exercise of all the virtues which are as- sisted by the stability of nature. For a clear and lumin- ous illustration of the utility of general laws, and for a judi- cious explanation, and justification of the apparent and par- tial ills which result from them, you will again have peculiar satisfaction in consulting Dr. Paley's work on natural the- ology. II. OF THE ATTRIBITTES OF THE DEITY. The divine attributes, as discoverable by the powers of natural reason, will not require an extensive illustration ; for, when once the existence of God is acknowledged, they re- commend themselves so obviously to the common sense of mankind, as to admit of little controversy, except with re- gard to those natural events which, in their first aspect, seem contrary to our apprehensions of his infinite goodness. The attributes, then, of the Divine Mind may be arrang- ed under two heads — the natural, and the moral. — Under the former, are comprehended his spirituality, unity, eterni- 22 iy, omnipresence, power and wisdom ; — under the latter^ his holiness, justice, and goodness. The spirit uah'fy of the divine nature is a property oppos- ed to every form, or refinement of matter ; and may be re- garded as distinguishing the essence of the Supreme Mind, from that fine, but powerful influence, the result of the mate- rial organization of the universe, which some philosopiierg have substituted in the room of the Deity, and made the im« mediate cause of a universal necessity, or fate. It is oppos- ed, likewise, to the opinion of those, who hold the Deity to be the soul of the world ; Uiat is, a certain power which, though intelligent, is still only a refinement of matter — a kind of spirit, or gas thrown off from the infinite system of its mo- tions, or its original fermentations. All just philosophy has considered matter as essentially inert, and incapable of beginning motion. Spirit, as we learn from our own experience, possesses a self-motive pow- er, and the power of giving motion to other things. The existence and the movements of the universe, therefore, are proofs of an original Spirit, who formed it, and gave it that impulse, and that system of combined motion by which its order is still preserved. The only knowledge, which we have of spirit, is derived from reflection oa our own minds, the essence of which we •# 23 conceive to lie in thought and volition. But it would be im- pious to imagine, that we can thence frame any adequate con- ception of the Divine and Infinite Spirit from whom all things proceed. By this terra, therefore, applied to the Deity, we can mean only to express a substance wholly different from matter, simple, uncompounded, essentially active and in- telligent. The Unity of the divine nature is dediicible from this re- flection, that we see evident proofs of the existence of one God, and we see no evidence of more than one. And it is contrary to every principle of just reasoning, in that case, to admit a plurality. This conclusion is strengthened by that unity of design apparent in all the parts of nature. It indicates one author, one purpose, one end. How far he may com- mit the government of particular districts of the universe to subordinate agents, in order to employ their activity, and ex- ercise their virtues, we have no grounds on which we can form a rational judgment. Even conjecture, therefore, ought to be silent concerning it, lest we should unawares awaken a degrading spirit of superstition. On subjects so remote from the sphere of human intellect and observation, in no depart- ment of science, has conjecture or hypothesis ever led phi- losophy one step nearer to truth. It is even doubtful if the erring lights of false science do not lead the mind farther astray from the true principles of nature, than the torpid dull- ness of absolute ignorance. 24 Of the almighty power, and infinite wisdom of the Deity, there can exist no doubt in the minds of those who ac- knowledge his being. No more can we doubt of his eternal existence, and universal presence, although we are not able to form distinct and definite ideas concerning his relations to infinite duration and space. I shall, therefore, not consume your time in attempting to solve the many abstruse and proba- bly useless, and, to human intellect, inexplicable questions, which have been raised on these subjects by ingenious men ; — but proceed to consider his moral attributes, holi- ness, goodness, and justice. Holiness is a term used chiefly by divines, and borrowed from the sacred scriptures, to express the purity of the di- vine nature, and its infinite distance from all moral imper- fection. It is, perhaps, the best and strongest word in our language to convey the idea of his unchangeable love of the eternal and essential rectitude of the moral law, which he has prescribed to his rational creatures, the outlines of which he has traced upon the human conscience, but its perfect rule, is to be found only in his revealed word. And it seems further to carry in its meaning, not only a pure and immutable love of rectitude, but an infinite abhorrence of vice ; that is, of the omission, or the violation of the duties of the moral law. But, besides this peculiar meaning of the term,* as expressing a single attribute of the divine mind, it is often used in a more comprehensive sense, to express the 25 aggregate, and the most complete idea of all his moral per* fections. — Perhaps the philosophy of Paganism may never Lave perfectly reached these just conceptions of the divine character, but, certainly, tiiey are the dictates of enlight- ened reason. And whatever absurdities are discoverable in the vulgar superstition, concerning the inferior deities of the heathen ; yet, among their wiser sages, their supreme God was invested with all the moral virtues and perfections indicated by natural conscience. By the attribute of goodness Is meant to be expressed the disposition or tendency of the Divine Nature to impart happiness to the creatures he has formed, in a way accom- modated to their respective states of being. This attribute we ascribe to the Deity from the tendencies to benevolent affection, which he has implanted in the human breast ; and from that order, harmony, and beauty, which exist in the whole structure of the universe, and which, so naturally and strongly, associate themselves with the ideas of beneficence in their author. It is farther confirmed by the existence of so many tribes of creatures capable in a high degree of pleasurable sensation, and actually enjoying it in different ways. All these facts contribute to impress on the mind an irresistible conviction of the benevolence of the Creator. When we contemplate an individual animal, what an im- mense complexity of parts do we observe combined in one system, all contributing to the preservation and enjoyment 26 of the creature, which manifestly indicate the will and in* tention of the author ; and show the pains and contrivance, if these terms may be apphed to the Deity, which he has used to render that creature comfortable and happy. But, when we behold creation filled with innumerable species of being, and, under each species, innumerable individuals, down to the meanest insect tribes, in which we discern the same multi- plicity of organs, and the same systematic combination and subserviency to the purposes of enjoyment, how does the evidence of the divine benignity and goodness rise in our view ? The air, the earth, the sea, are full of animated and happy being. Men often overlook these examples of be- nevolent design, sometimes, from not perceiving the immedi- ate utility of the creatures in the system of creation, and Sometimes, from their extreme minuteness. But the minutest insect, is, equally with the largest or most rational animal, susceptible of the most exquisite sensations of happy ex- istence. And, in the eye of the infinite being, there is much less difference between an insect and a man, than our vanity inclines us to conceive. Every creature, in its re- spective sphere, is destined to some useful purpose in the universal system. It is well remarked by natural historians, that the benigni- ty of the Deity is visible, not only in the structure of animal nature, subserving so admirably the purposes of preserva- tion, comfort, and defence ; but in annexing such agreeable 2r and pleasant sensations, beyond what mere necessity requir- ed for subsistence, to the gratification of all the apetites, and even the exercise of all the powers of animal nature. Hunger alone would have been sufficient to prompt men to eat, an operation requisite for the sustenance of life. But the Creator has added to our food a relish, which seems to have had no other purpose, but to increase the pleasure of existence. The objects around us, in the structure of the world, might have been applied to all the purposes of utility although they had not possesessed that beauty, fragrance, or harmony, which affords such charms to the senses and the imagination. There, certainly, never could have existetl such exquisite adaptations of objects to the senses, and of the senses to their objects, if the Creator had not intended them for the ends of animal, and especially of human felicity. Not to mention in man his superior powers of moral, intel- lectual, and social enjoyment, which open a much wider and nobler field of happiness to human nature. But it is scarcely requisite to spend your time in proving the reality of the divine goodness, which is borne in so many examples on the whole face of nature, as to account for some appearances, and to remove some objections, which have been thought to contradict it in the order of divine providence. These consist in the numerous evils evidently mingled with good in the economy of the world. 2g The preponderance of gooti over evil, in the general or- der of things, is acknowledged to be manifest and great. But the objectors reply, that if God were perfectly benevolent, and, at the same time, omnipotent, he would not have per- mitted the existence of partial evil. This is pronouncing on an infinite system from our contracted views. — Can we say, that, in a universe benevolently constructed, there ought to be no gradation of being ? Or, if gradation be admitted in perfect consistency with the infinite benignity of the Crea- tor, is it not conceivable that a creature of superior powers, of intelligence and enjoyment, may, by a certain admixture of pain, be brought,- in the scale of happiness, to the grade of one of inferior powers, but exempt from suflfering, and who shall have no complaint to prefer against the benevo- lence of providence? The reflection may apply to a na- tion, to a species of being, to a world. How far superior, then, may this world be, with all its sufferings, to other systems — which have no such evils to allay a happiness, which, however, may be constituted on an inferior standard of sensibility, or of intellect ? Would a man of high sensi- bilities, or of high intellectual powers, though they may often be the occasion of many errors, or of keen anguish, be wil- ling to forego their pleasures, in order that he might be re- duced to an apathy that would render him insensible to suf- fering? Let us balance our goods against our evifs, our suf- ferings against our enjoyments, and consider ourselves as completely happy in that grade of felicity, which is marked 29 by the surplus of the one above the other. By such a cal- culation, how might mankind extinguish every complaint of (he evils of life, and justify perfectly the benignity of the Creator. The conclusion, therefore, which each individual ought, in this way, to frame with respect to himself, a true philosopher may justly infer for the whole species ; unless any man should be so foolish as to imagine, that existence alone gives him a claim on the beneficence of his Maker for (he highest grade of felicity. But, why, it may be asked, should we be left to estimate our grade in the scale of happy being by the surplusage of pleasure above pain ? or why should pain exist at all in the system of a purely benevolent being ? — Satisfactorily to an- swer these, and a thousand other inquiries, which might be instituted on this subject, would, probably, require a knowledge of the nature, and the infinite relations of the universe, which none but the Deity himself can possess. We can, there- fore, expect only from revelation the information which we desire, as far as he is pleased to impart it. But while we are compelled to resort to the feeble lights of our own reason alone, for a solution of the difficulties which spring out of the combinations of an infinite system, we must be contented with such probabilities only as it can yield us.* If, in the scale * Rejoicing, however, that when we have explored reason to tlie utmost, we, as christians, still enjoy the superior illumination of the sacred scriptures, whence^ if we cannot derive such lights as will satisfy every inquiry of an ambitious curi- 30 of existence, then, there be a place for such a being as man, with just such a measure of intellect, and sensibilitj, and with just such principles of action, continually requiring excite- ment, and correction ; and, especially, if it be conceived that he is placed in the present world, in a state of discipline, and probation, for a future period, and a higher condiliun of existence, a supposition which, to philosophy, is as proba- ble, as, to religion, it is certain, may not all the pains which enter into the moral culture of this life, be regarded as the discipline of a wise and gracious parent, and, therefore, as essential parts of a most benevolent system ? Let us con- template the relation which the pains necessarily incident to human nature, as it is now constituted, have to the improve- ment of its powers, and, consequently, to its happiness. The wants of man contribute to rouse the industry, and ha- bitual exertion of all his faculties of body, and mind, on which their vigor, and perfection principally depend. A pa- radise, in which all his wants should be spontaneously sup- plied from the abundance of the soil, and all his senses grat- ified by its fragrance, its beauty, and luxuriant sweets, would deteriorate the human character, and sink the noblest creature in the world into a lazy, torpid, and vicious animal. The happiness, no less than the improvement of our nature. osity, we may, at least, draw competent satisfaction for an humble and rational piety; particularly, with regard to this qupstion, wliy hiinian nature exists in its present state of imperfection, requiring the corrections and discipline of the paifif and sufferings, which in this state are attaclied to it ? 31 lies chiefly in constanf, and useful employaient, stimulated by these necessary wants. Enjoyment seldom yields plea- sures equal to those, which arise out of the activity requisite to procure it. The rery efforts excited by pain, or want, in all ordinary cases, or by the apprehension of them, often produce a satisfaction, or diversion to the mind, which far overbalance their evils. Want whets ingenuity ; danger and suffering call into operation the virtues of courage and fortitude, which communicate a character of grandeur, and nobleness to the mind, which often raise it superior to the ills of life. And labour, however it might be the curse of man fallen from the perfection of a superior nature, is, beyond a doubt, the blessing of his present existence. Reflections of a similar nature might arise from an attentive consideration of every particular evil to which human life is exposed. And, in a moral point of view, how much more justly may we re- gard them as a part of the benevolent discipline of our heavenly Father? They are the correctors of the pas- sions— they assist the habits of reflection — and often recall the mind from pursuits injurious to its virtue, and its true interests, / But, instead of examining the various evils of life, and shew- ing how the goodness of God is affected in permittmg their existence, I shall select only a few ; believing that, if, in these, the benevolence of the divine administration can be iu3tified, even to our limited unaerstanding, a hint may be 32 suggested, or a clue given, by which its vindication may be pursued in other cases. — For example, take the ciicumstan- . ces attending our entrance into the world, and our departure from it, which have been thought to involve serious objec- tions against the benignity of the Creator. With regard to the former, it may be fairly maintained, that the pains of bearing, nursing, and educating children, with the diseases and dangers of infancy, which seem, at first view, to be pe- culiar afflictions on the human race, will be found, on ex- amining their connexions, and all their relations, to be among the chief causes of the existence of society, and the felicity of social life. If children, like the young of other animals, were able to run as soon as born, and procure their own sub- sistence, with almost no dependence on the care of a parent, the powerful ties, and sweet endearments of parental affec- tion, and of filial duty, would be, in a great measure, un- known. The union and happiness of domestic society would be dissolved ; and civil society, of which domestic is the germ, and the principal support, could not exist. Man would be a solitary and ferocious savage. The facility of rearing children, and their early independence on a parent's care, would give the strongest encouragement to a vagrant, and licentious concubinage, destructive of all the virtues, and of the dearest interests of human nature. Besides, the diseases of pregnancy, as human nature is now constituted, and the pains and dangers of child-birth, serve to endear the parents to each other, by the weakness, tenderness, and 33 dependence, of the mother ; by the honor, generosity, and sympathy, of (he father ; and, a hundred fold, to endear the child to the parent. And it is an acknowledged princi- ple in human nature, that the troubles and continual solici- tudes of nursing, and of education, together with the neces- sary diseases, and hazards of infancy, greatly augment the strength of parental attachments, and lay the most firm, and lasting foundation of the unions, subordinations, and harmo- nious affections, first, of domestic, and afterwards, of civil society. In these pains, then, which have been selected as specious objections against the benignity of the divine ad- ministration of the government of the world, we find some of the principal sources of human happiness. As to the manner of terminating the present state of ex- istence by death, the necessity of this order arises out of the structure of our nature. Death is only the way of giving to successive generations, the opportunity and the means of existence. If this part of the plan of divine providence must be changed, the whole order of life must be changed with it. There could be no such creature as man in the scale of being. The institution of the sexes must be de- stroyed ; the multiplication of (he species must cease. The modes of subsistence, on the products nf the earth, which can sustain only a definite number, must be done away. And, with these, as the whole state of human life, is con- nected together by a close unbroken chain, must cease the 34 operations of agriculture, and the entire system of the pre- sent occupations and pursuits of men. Man, himself, would be the first to object to such a new order of things.— -If death, then, be a necessary part of the human economy, and, to man himself, it would be undesirable to change it, if it must be accompanied with so many other changes, still more unfriendly to the comfort, and wishes of mankind, the only question which remains is, in what manner it may be best accomplished, so as to attain the most useful ends of its institution ? — If even the whole of human existence were to be terminated by death, this last act of our being, so justly formidable to our frailty and imperfection, is but a momenta- ry pang, which has been far overpaid by the pleasures of life ; but if, as religion assures us, and philosophy renders probable, this life is only a period of discipline and probation for another state of being, and death is the avenue through which we must pass to it, certainly no method of approach- ing that decisive crisis could be imagined more beneficial, than that which exists, of attaining every good moral end connected with it : — that is, of making the descent to the grave easy to the virtuous — of impressing a salutary, but not oppressive fear on all, as a useful restraint from vice— of preserving the mind, by its extreme uncertainty, always vigilant and attentive to (he discharge of every duty, which is the best preparation for a tranquil exit from life — and finally, of inducing it to hold its present pleasures in a con- tinual state of obedient resignation to the will of God, in the 35 hope of exchanging them for such as are higher and more perfect. To pursue the vindication of the divine goodness in the introduction of other physical evils into the general adminis- tration of the government of this world, would, to the reflect- ing reader, I trust, be wholly unnecessary.* Of the moral evils which afflict the world, their origin, and their cure ; and how they are made to illustrate the benignity, and mer- cy of God to mankind, the only true and satisfactory account is to be derived from revelation. They arise from an abuse of the passions, and the moral liberty of man ; but reason, would be deplorably at a loss to find her way, in the maze of doubts, and perplexities, which attend their existence, in the economy of a benevolent Deity, if revelation did not put a filament in her hand, or extend a taper before her footsteps, to conduct her through the labyrinth. The elucidation of this subject belongs to the second part of this treatise, and will receive all the lights, which we can shed upon it from the holy scriptures, under the heads of the covenant of works, and the covenant of grace. The only attribute which remains to be considered is that of justice. It is an invariable determination in the Divine * On the physical evils incident to the animal creation, and particularly on that order of nature, which has destined the weaker part as the prey of the more pow» erful, see many judicious reflectioDB in Dr. Paley's natural theology, near the •oncluBton. 36 Mind, to render (o all his creatures according to their works — to lh€ virtuous, re^vard — to the vicious, punish- ment. This attribute we ascribe to God from the dictates of conscience, and the sentiments of justice in our own breasts. — As philosophy delights to trace the most compli- cated causes and effects to the simplest principles, justice may, perhaps, be considered as only one expression of infi- nite benevolence, in which, by proper correctives, restraints, and examples, the injurious consequences of the passions may be prevented, and individuals deterred from seeking their own enjoyments, by the sacrifice of a greater good, in violating the general laws of order and happiness. Justice has, by divines, been distinguished into two kinds — distributive, and vindictive. The former has been already defined, and may be applied for the reformation, as well as punishment of the offender ; the latter is conceived to be the infliction of punishment on vice, simply for its own intrinsic demerit, without any respect to the reformation of the individual, or any ulterior regard to a farther good end, except the general good of the universe. Conscience, in the nature of its reprehensions, makes us perceive that guilt deserves such infliction ; and in its anticipations, in conse- quence of some atrocious acts of iniquity, often leads the criminal despairingly to fear it. These facts appear to indi- cate, fhat the distinction has a real foundation in nature.— And ill these appreheasions, probably, we discern the 37 ^ source of those bloody rites of superstition, which, on so ma- ny pagan altars, have dishonoured the name of religion. On this subject, a theological question has been raised of great importance to religion — whether, in consistency with the justice and holiness of the Divine Nature, the violation of the moral law, by any creature, be pardonable without a complete atonement, or a full execution of its penalty ? If justice be an essentia! attribute of God, and its claims, in consequence be as necessary as his existence, the forgive- ness of an oflfender, can never be a gratuitous exercise of mere mercy. Fiom this principle, resulls an inference, which is deeply laid at the foundation of the christian reli- gion ; — the necessity of complete atonement to fhe violated law, and vindication of the perfections of God, in the person of a mediator, perfectly adequate to render this satisfaction, in order to the exercise of mercy and forgiveness to the hu- man sinner. The discussion of this question also, belongs to the second branch of this treatise, and will find its place under the head of the covenant of grace. III. OF THE PRINCIPLES OF HUMAK BDTF. In the science of Natural Religion, the first subject of in- Testigation is the existence and perfections of Almighty God the Creator : whence we may learn the duties of human nature, as they relate to the various beings with whom we * 38 are connected. Virtue is the Biibject of sunrcme conceru to mankind. It is the performance of all oar duties from proper principles, and with right affections. The detail of these duties and affections, as far as nature simply is our guide, is beautifully pursued in the two celebrated treatises of the Roman orator, concerning the divine nature and human duty.* They would be too tedious to be detailed in the present system. All I shall aim at, in this place, therefore will be to reduce them under proper classes, in such a manner as to exhibit a distinct and systematic view of their general principles, and very briefly to present the ground and rea- sons of each. The duties of morality may be divided in^ different ways, either, according to the principles from whiGh^they spring, and which govern their exercise, or according to the objects on which they terminate. The former division was general- ly adopted by the ancient philosophers, who classed thera under the heads of justice, prudence, temperance, and for- titude. The latter is more commonly employed by chris- tian writers, who arrange them under the heads of the duties which we owe to God, to our fellow men, and to ourselves. Under the distribution of (he virtues made by the ancients, all the practical duties of life were embraced with all the speculative questions, which philosophers have raised on the *M. T.^Cicerd dc natura deorum, — et de ofEciw. 88 subject of duty. But the more modern division, introduced chiefly by christian writers, containing a more obvious, and eonveoient distribution, I shall follow in our present disqui- sition. OF DUE DUTIES TO GOD. The duties which we owe to God, and which ought to oc- cupy our first attention, may be distributed into those which are external, and those which are internal: or into those which are general and those which are particular. Our gen- eral duties embrace the whole compass of piety and virtue ; and because they constitute the moral law of the universe, prescribed by God himself, in the very structure of human nature, conformity to their dictates is justly regarded as obe- dience to him- The particular duties terminate immediate- ly on God as their object, and include both the devout af- fections of the heart, and all the natural and external ex- pressions of those affections. — The devout affections from which, as from their natural source, flow all the streams of pious obedience to our Creator in this life, are love, rever- ence, and resignation. And, of such profound and universal obedience, the active spring is love ; which, to be sincere, ought to be supreme. It is, perhaps, better expressed in the sacred scriptures than in any other writings ; Thou 8halt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soulf with all thy strejigthf and with all thy mind. This 40 affection in the pious mind, has resjject to all the attributes of the Deity ; but chiefly to his moral perfections, and especial- ly, to that infinite goodness on which we, and all things do constantly depend. Reverence is less an active, than a restraining principle, and is calculated to impose a salutary check on the passions of mankind, surrounded and stimulated, as they constantly are, by powerful temptations to vice. This affection res- pects, principally, the infinite greatness, wisdom, power, and holiness of God. It is a principle essential to the existence of piety and virtue, in creatures so imperfect and prone to evil as mankind. From the profound degree in w.hich it prevails in the pious mind, and ought ever to prevail in the human soul, it is justly in the sacred scriptures, styled the fear of God. This virtue was held in peculiar honour in the early ages of the Roman commonwealth, by that wise peo- ple. And their most distinguished writers inform us, that they regarded the fear of the gods, and reverence for the sa- cred offices of religion, as (he basis of the public virtue, and of the prosperity of the republic. How much more truth and importance should be attached to this principle in an en- lightened christian country ! Absolute resignation to the will of God, and the wise ar- rangements of his providence, I have mentioned, in the last place, as belonging to our internal duties. It implies entire 41 confidence in the wisdom, justice, and goodness, of the infinite Mind ; and a deep conviction of the narrowness of our own understanding, and the imperfection of our own views, as to what is good or ill for us. Resignation, resting on these principles, begets not only a grateful acknowledgijient of the manifold blessings of divine providence, but a submissive ac- quiescence in the will of Heaven under its most afflictive dispensations ; believing, that, although we may not be able to discern their ultimate relations to any beneficent end, either to ourselves, or others, yet are they all reasonable and just, and good ; and necessarily springing out of the all-wise arrangements of the universal system under the government of God. This disposition of mind is equally opposed to all discontent and repining at the course of providence, and to all vain reliance upon its aids, while we presumptuously neg- lect our own duties. It tends to produce that placid sereni- ty of soul, so becoming the character of resigned piety, and to awaken the active and prudent exertions, which virtue re- quires of every good man, in dependence on God, to improve the felicity of his condition, and his honourable standing in life. OP OUR EXTERNAL DUTIES. The external duties, which we owe to God, comprise every decent outward expression of the pious sentiments of the heart. They are all embraced under the general name 4:^ of divine worship, for which, however, natural reason has not prescribed anj precise and definite form. Different nations, and different sects of religion, have each adopted a peculiar ceremonial. No sanctity ought to be as- cribed to rites, exclusively of the affections which they are designed to assist ; or any further than they are proper ex- pressions of the devout dispositions of the soul. But all rites deserve to be regarded with respect, which custom has sanctified by their sacred use, among any people, or so asso- ciated with their religious ideas, as to be to them the most se- rious, and affecting expression of their devotional exercises. In considering the general question, of the utility of rites and forms in religion, and how they may be applied in the most effectual manner to answer the design of impressing the heart in divine worship, and aiding its pious emotions, reason will decide, that the ceremonial ought to be, neither too sim- ple, nor too multifarious and splendid. The mass of man' kind are so much governed by sensible impressions, as sel- dom to be able to support, with proper fervency, a religion which aims to be wholly intellectual, and scorns any alliance with the senses ; on the other hand, the senses are apt to be so much amused with a ceremonial too splendid, or multifa- rious, as, in time, to exclude the heart and understanding from divine worship, and to substitute, in its room, only a fri- voloas superstition. 43 The essential parts of a rational worship, in whatever cer- emonies it is clothed, are adoration, thanksgiving, confession^ and prayer. Adoration, relates to the infinite perfections of the Deity, for which we ought, in our devotions, to feel, and express the highest veneration. Thanksgiving, is employed in giving utterance to our grateful acknowledgments, of those innumerable mercies, which we continually receive from him. Confession, respects our manifold offences and omissions of duty. And finally, prayer regards those mercies of which we have need, and which we ought humbly and submissive- ly to ask of him, either for ourselves, or for others. These duties, being continually explained and inculcated in the public institutions of religion, will not require any fur- ther illustration in this place. Two objections, however, have been so plausibly urged against the duty of divine wor- ship in general, that they ought not, perhaps, to pass with- out a particular answer. It is said, in the first place, to convey an unworthy idea of the Supreme Deity, to suppose that he derives pleasure from hearing his perfections repeated, or his praises extolled by mortals, in acts of adoration, as if, by such adulatory ad- dresses, his displeasure could be averted, or bis mercy brib- ed.— It is equally unworthy the Divine Majesty, it is alleg- ed, to believe that humiliating confessions from such impipr- fect beings can be acceptable to him who already knows and 44 pities all their errors ; or that he can require of them formal acknowledgments for the acts of beneficence, which it is agreeable to his nature to bestow, and for which no acknowl- edgments can make any requital. To these unfair representations, it may be replied with justice, that it is an essential law of our nature, that all high sentiments, or strong affections, naturally seek for some means by which to express themselves. If therefore, we feel, as virtuous, and pious men ought to feel, towards the Author of our being, to check this dutiful expression of our emotions, would be to stifle the most reasonable impulses of the heart ; and not to feel them, would be the proof of a cold and corrupted soul. I add, that the most natural, and laudable affections, when they are suppressed, and entirely locked up within the heart, necessarily languish, and, at length, cease to be perceived. The strong, and ingenuous emotions of unfeigned piety will ever seek for some mode of external expression, and the repeated expression of them in the acts of a visible worship, will reciprocally, give strength to the inward temper from which they flow. An external worship, then, is founded on principles of the soundest reason, and most conformable to the laws of our moral nature. It cannot, by any person, who thinks wisely of the Deity, be supposed to be enjoined for any gratification which he receives from the praises, or pros- 45 frations of a being so imperfect as man. It can be demand- ed only from that infinite wisdom and benevolence which re- quires our worship for its own essential rectitude, and for its beneficial influence in cultivating the affections and habits of piety, for w hich it is so admirably fitted. For adoration of the divine perfections, while it impresses the pious mind with an awful reverence of the Deity, tends to elevate the tone of its moral feelings, and to assimilate them to the pu- rity of the object of its worship. — The grateful recollection of the divine mercies, in the immediate presence of God, serves to confirm the affectionate purposes of duty, and obe- dience to him. — On the contrary, the penitent confession of the sins and errors of life, helps to arm the soul against its own weakness, and its impure passions. And finally, the supplications which we address to the Father of mercies for the blessings which we need, either for the present life, or in the hope of a future and higher existence, remind us, contin- ually, of our dependence on him for all things ; and awaken, by that remembrance, the profoundest sentiments of piety. Can there be more proper means of cultivating in human nature the best and noblest affections of the heart ? The second objection, which perhaps, is more plausible, and seems supported on stronger metaphysical ground, is di- rected against the efficacy, and consequently the utility of prayer, employed as a mean of obtaining the divine favour, either in our public, or private devotions.— The order of 46 the universe, ancl the eternal train of causes and effects, have, from the beginning, been fixed by infini'.e wisdom. And the laws which have been established by divine wis- dom are as unchangeable as those which have been ascribed to necessity, or fate. — Why, then, it is demanded, should we pray ? If pre-established causes naturally co-operate to the production of the event, it must take place independent- ly of our prayers. If otherwise, we pray in vain. The breath of mortals cannot change (he eternal order of things. — This is the objection placed in the strongest point of light. ■ — To obviate it, let it be observed that prayer can have on- ly two ends in view ; either to cultivate the moral qualities of the heart, and thereby obtain those spiritual blessings which, in the order of providence are connected with them, or to procure those external, and temporal goods which we solicit in prayer. To obtain the former, we have seen that prajer, with every other part of divine worship, possesses an obvious and acknowledged influence. The stress of the objection, therefore, presses on the latter ; but admits of this simple and unconstrained solution. — From the superiority of intellect to matter, and of the moral to the physical order of things, there is the highest probability that the latter has been created wholly in subserviency to the former. If this principle be admitted, will it not result as a natural conse- quence that the Creator may have so adjusted the physical to the moral order of things, that, foreseeing the sincere, and reasonable desires of good men, who are bis children, 47 the disposition of causes, and the train of events shall be such as, at the proper time, and in the way most agreeable to his infinite wisdom, to correspond with their prajers, if it be his will to bestow the blessing ? For so perfect is his fore- knowledge, that, with regard to his infinite view, no event maj be considered as future, but all things are immediately present. ^If this be regarded as an hypothetical answer to the ob- jection, there are, at least, innumerable occasions on which the same answer, derived from the relation of the two worlds, appears to be founded on the plain and obvious course of nature. How often do the events of the world manifestly depend upon moral springs ? How often do we see the for- tunes of individuals greatly influenced by their moral charac- ter ? And the universal voice of history, has almost raised it into a maxim, that the prosperity of nations is intimately link- ed with their virtue, and their decline as certainly associated with the corruption of morals, and the disorder of the public manners. When we reflect, therefore, how much public and individual manners are aflfected by the healthful state of reli- gion, and how much this is connected with the purify of the public worship, and the sincerity of private devotion, we can hardly avoid the conclusion, that on many events, prayers oflfered up to ahnighty God, with humility, fervency and per- severance, have an influence not less powerful, and often, much more successful than any other second cause. So that 4i whether we regard the wise and eternal arrangements of pro- vidence, or the known and fixed order of natural and moral events, the result still recurs (hat prayer, far from being an unreasonable and hopeless service, not onlj has a natural and important influence on human events, but may have, as revelation assures us it has, a positive and divine eflficacy. And, indeed, can any institution be more just and equitable in itself, than that God should make the conferring of the blessings which we ask in prayer, to depend upon the exist- ence and growth of those pious dispositions which are best cultivated by these devotional exercises ? OF OUR DUTIES TO OUR FELLOW-MEN. These duties include a greater compass and variety than those which terminate immediately upon God. They respect the infinitely various relations which subsist among mankind, and necessarily occupy ranch the largest portion of life. There is scarcely one of our actions which does not affect some of these relations. From the general information which prevails in a country like ours, continually enlightened by the pulpit, on the practical duties of society, it would be wholly unnecessary to go into an extensive detail of our social offi- ces. Sufficient, I presume, it will be to suggest a few sub- divisions under which they may all be classed. 49* The first and most general division of our duties may be into those which are negative, consisting merely in abstinence from injury, or the infliction of unnecessary pain — and such as are positive, being employed chiefly in doing actual good. Miiny subf^'-^Jinate classes of practicalduty may admit of a similar division. But when we speak of duty in general, it seems peculiarly requisite, on account of the many and strong passions in human nature, which so often impel men to mutu- al injury. The positive duties which we owe to our fellow-men may all he comprised under the heads of justice and beneficence. But though so simple in their principles, they are in prac- tice, almost infinitely diversified in their details, according to the relations which we sustain to our country — to our family — to our vicinity — to our friends — to the objects of our charity — to those who are invested with authority over us — or who are subjected to our controul — or, finally, ac- cording to our philanthropic relations to mankind. On these duties volumes have been written ; libraries have been fill- ed ; and still they are subjects which constantly demand our attention, and on which we can never cease to be active and to learn. 7 '^ OF OUn DUTIES TO OURSELTESfo This class of duties is as real, and in many respects, as im- portant, as those which we owe to God, or to our neigh- bour. On these, as on the last, I shall content rayseJt" with simply enumerating the sub-divisions, under which all the particular details may be embraced. They relate to self- preservation— to self-enjoyment — to self-interest — and i& the general cultivation and improvement of our nature. Self-preservation includes the care of health, of libertyj and life. He is culpable who neglects his health, which ought to be diligently preserved only for the useful and vir- tuous purposes of li\ Ing. He is, perhaps, more culpal)lej who barters his liberty for any pretended convenience, or compensation, or who does not strenuously defend, when it is attaefeed, this most noble, and precious prerogative of our nature. And voluntarily to sacrifice life, or unnecessarily to hazard it, in a cause that is not worthy the rational and moral nature of man, if it does not flow from insanity, is an evidence of a mind precipitate, and foolish, and utterly void of virtu- ous fortitude. A rational self-enjoyment, in the next place, every good man is not only permitted, but required, to cultivate, in order that he may be rendered more grateful to his Creator, and 51 ■ correspond more effectnally wilb his beneficent design in our crealion, by prudently and temperately using the blessings of his providence. This is evidently conformable to the purpose of our Creator, and harmonizes with the apparent structure and order of our nature. But in using this privi- lege, peculiar caution is requisite, lest the force of ?elf-lovt should urge indulgence beyond that restricted and frugal boundary, at which prudence and virtue should arrest it. Self-interest, the cultivation of which belongs to (his class of our duties, relates to necessary pro\ ision, and comfortable accommodation, which no good man, unf truth, and of the reformation of the world. What the simple and unaided powers of human understanding could not discern any adecj.iate and certain means of eSecling, has been accomplished by the luminous evidence, and the pow- erful influence of divine revelation. Doctrines, at least claiming to be derived from this source, have banished from the greater portion of the earth the gross idolatry in which the ancient nations were sunk ; and raised the general mor- 85 als of the world to a much higher and purer standard. No where do we now behold altars or consecrated groves, rear- ed to such divinities as Moloch or Saturn, as Astarte, or the Cjprian Venus. Every where we find purer and subhmer ideas of the divine nature, and of that worship of the heart which ought to be paid to God. Christianity has extended a salutary influence even among many tribes of the human race who have not yet embraced her holy doctrines, and shed some rays of a divine light into the darkness which still rests upon the pagan nations, which we trust, will gradually increase, till at length the Sun of Righteousness shall illumi- nate the whole earth. The insufficiency of reason to correct the moral depravi- ty of the world will appear with irresistible evidence to those who duly consider its defect of certainty^ its defect of aii' thoriti/, and its defect of motives. Its defect of ceriainiy. Reason can proceed but a small distance with any certainty, in investigating moral and divine truth, beyond those obvi- ous, simple, and almost intuitive dictates of the mind which are common to all mankind. And, in a corrupted state of manners, experience demonstrates that even these plain and natural dictates may easily be brought into doubt by the so- phistry of the heart, when they oppose its inclinations and pleasures. But if the principles and laws of duty, and of divine truth, were much more clear and precise than they are, still reason is wanting in the necessary authority to en- 9f> force them on the hearts of men, and give them effect in prac-^ tice. This authority, in order to overcome the powerful temptations to sinful indulgence which are every moment acting with a dangerous influence on a heart already yield- ing to them, should be nothing less than the acknowledged command of the supreme Legislator and Judge of the uui- Terse which would preclude cavil and doubt, sanctioned by a power to which no resistance can be opposed, and direct- ed by a justice which cannot be turned aside from i(s sure and awful course. When a man is accountable only to him- self, feeble indeed is the voice of conscience, or of reason on one side, when his self-love, or his passions plead on the olher. And finally, the motives to virtue which reason has it in her power to propose, the rewards for its self-denials, the encouragements in its conflicts, the supports under its various trials and temptations, are weak and inefficient. Does she propose the pure pleasures of virtue ? But in order to relish them, you must be already virtuous. Can their calm and innocent delights be set against the ardent and tur- bulent enjoyments of vice ? Can reason demonstrate that virtue would be eventually its own reward even in this world? Yet you arrive at this conclusion by such a tedious circuit, and it is incumbered by so many modifications and exceptions, that seldom can this refined speculation combat the force of a present and importunate passion. But if vir- tue is unfortunate, as it often is, if it must often forego in- terest, power, favour, in its adherence to duty ; what reward 97 h there to indemnify it for its sacrifices ? What aulliority io overawe, and restrain it from yielding to the profitable temp= tation ? No : the awful majesty of God, the apprehensions of his supreme judgment, the eternal retributions of virtue and of vice in a future state of existence, which religion sets before the mind, will ever be found necessary, and are no more than sufficient to combat the corrupt influence of the heart, and of the world. The impotence of reason, therefore, to cure the infinite errors of the human mind, the idolatries, the superstitions, the vices of mankind, appears from every aspect in which the subject presents itself to our view, and justifies the conclusion we have inferred from it : the neces- sity of a new revelation to restore to the earth the truth which it had lost, and to redeem it from evils which the or- dinary powers of human reason had become unable to correct. This conclusion is justified by another most important and interesting fact. Man is evidently a guilty being ; he baa violated the moral law of his nature, and incurred the rights eous displeasure of his Creator, and the infliction of all the dreadful penalties with which the supreme lawgiver has thought it necessary to guard his law. These penalties, which are not arbitrary in their nature, but are the decrees of infinite wisdom and justice, do not depend merely on the will of the legislator, probably they do not depend even on infifiite goodness, to infiict or dispense with them at its plea- 88 sure. Every attribute of the deity is as necessary in its na- ture and its claims as the divine existence. Eternal justice, therefore, cannot as far we can judge, forego the punishment of guilt. This is the ardent and terrible dictate of a convinced conscience, not less than the calm and deliber- ate conclusion of reason. But, how shall the claims of infi- nite justice be reconciled with the claims of infinite mer- cy? How shall the inviolable justice of the law of eternal truth and holiness be satisfied, in consistency with the forgiveness and salvation of the sinner ? In what way may a sinful mortal reasonably hope to approach his offend- ed Maker ? How shall the heirs of death regain eternal life ? These are inquiries to which the weakness of human under- standing can return no satisfactory answer ; and the dying sinner, under the guidance of reason only, must be over- whelmed with the most distressing perplexities and doubts, or abandoned to the most horrible despair. These are doubts which God only can resolve; fears which the spirit of inspiration only can calm, by drawing aside the deep veil which conceals eternity from our view, and exhibiting to our faith a complete oblation for the sins of the world. Here we behold new proofs of the necessity of a divine revelation, new causes to invite, and justify the interposition of our heavenly Father, in behalf of his miserable, though offending children. And is not the gospel such a remedy as we needed, such a revelation as is calculated to solve all the doubts, and tran- quiiize all the apprehensions of penitent guilt ? In it you be- hold the divine justice, and the divine mercy harmoniously combined. In it you behold the divine law magnified and made honourable, by an all-availing atonement for the offen- ces of the vrhole world. In it you behold lift and immor- taliiy brought to light, and a glorious channel opened in which the boundless current of divine mercy can freely flow to mankind. Where reason and philosophy were silent, or constrained to confess their impotence, we behold revelation announcing her glad tidings, and triumphing in the happiness of her children, and of the world. EVIDENCES OF REVELATIorf. NECESSlTT OF MIRACLES. MR. IIUME's CELEBRATED OBJECTION TO MIRACLES. If the necessity of some interposition by heaven, in ordej to recal mankind from the monstrous errors of idolatry, to make known to them the perfect law of their duty, and to enforce it by adequate sanctions, is so evident, as has been shown in the preceding reflections, this necessity affords a presumption in favour of revelation. And if an^.revelalion be admitted to be either necessary or probable, no doubt can be entertained of the superior claims of Christianity above every pretence which has ever been set in opposition to it. This is admitted by its enemies themselves ; and must be admitted by every candid and reflecting inquirer who con- siders the purity of its doctrines, the spirituality of its wor* 12 ship, the simplicity and excellence of the principle which 'it lays at the foundation of its moral system,* its tendency to universal happiness, the grandeur of the prospects which it opens into the eternal world, and the sublime conceptions which it every where imparts of the divine nature. But the truth of Christianity does not rest on the absolute perjection of its doctrines, of which the frailty of human rea- son is very incompetent to judge ; nor on our conclusions concerning what ought reasonably to be expected of the in- finite benignity and goodness of our heavenly Father, in be- half of his erring and miserable creatures; conclusions in which we often depart widely from the actual rule of the di- vine government ; but it rests on such evidences as every man of a sound mind who honestly applies his understand- ing to the subject, is capable to judge of; evidences which propose themselves directly to the senses, or arise out of the known and immutable laws of human nature. Accordingly they may be arranged under two heads : the positive anU*tlirect, which are addressed immediately to the senses ; and the collateral, or presumptive, which arise out of a just consideration of the laws of human nature relative- ly to this subject. Of the former kind are miracles and the fulfilment of prophecy. Of the latter, are those conclusions * The love of God and the love of man. 91 which are justly drawn from the excellence and peculiarity of character of the author of Christianity, from the humility of the instruments employed to promulgate the gospel to man- kiiad, compared with the sublimity and perfection of the doctrines which they preached ; from its rapid and exten- sive progress, and the important moral changes which it has produced in the world ; and from many other similar facta which cannot be satisfactorily accounted for on the ordinary principles of human nature, or of human action ; and which, therefore, imply a divine agency and direction. The for- mer, when fairly attended to, do, in each particular case, carry with them entire conviction of the immediate interposi- tion of God ; for none but God can operate a miracle, or foretell with minute accuracy, future and distant events. The latter though, singly taken, they do not amount to absolute proof, yet collectively, produce the highest degree of probability. By certain writers every pretence to miracles becomes im- mediately suspected, and is deemed a sufficient reason for not entering farther into an examination of the evidences of revelation. This is, in eflfect, declaring it to be impossible for God to communicate himself by any revelation of his will to mankind. For if he ever deigns to make such com- munication, it can only be made immediately by himself, or by inspired men, who speak as the organs of his Holy Spi- rit. If it be made immediately by himself, either by means of a divine voice from heaven, or by any supernatural im- 92 pregslon on the senses, such a revelation must be itself one of the greatest of rairacles. If holy men speak as they are inspired by the Holy Ghost, can their testimony be received with a rational faitb, unless it be accompanied by such works, or such clear predictions of future events, above the power, and beyond the foresight of man, as will demonstrate that it is God who speaks by tljem ? In no other way can a divine mission be authenticated. I repeat it then, if it is reasona- ble to expect a revelation from God in any circumstances of the world ; if a revelation is not impossible, or in the highest degree, improbable ; rairacles are not only not in- credible, but necessary. No revelation can found any just claim to the belief of mankind, on any other ground in the first instance, than such supernatural and miraculous opera- tions as the power of God only can effect ; or such clear predictions, as none but an omniscient spirit, who foresees the end from the beginning, and has laid the whole train of causes and events in the universe, could impart to the hu- man mind. If then, the christian system contains a real communication to mankind from the infinite fountain of truth, it must have been announced under the seal of great and nu- merous miracles, for prophecy itself is a species of miracle. On the other hand, if we possess satisfactory evidence that such miracles were wrought at the proniulgalion of the gos- pel, we ought to entertain no doubt of its being the word of God ; since it comes to us vouched by the seal of God. For what is n miracle ? A proper understanding of this term 93 should lie at the foundation of our present inquiry. It is such an inversion, or suspension of the ordinary laws of na- ture as can be reasonably ascribed only to him by whom those laws were originally ordained. And whenever he con- descends to work a miracle, the operation of his almighty power must be regarded, by every rational mind, as the sanction and seal of truth. In exhibiting the direct and positive evidence of Christi- anity, I shall, in the first place, treat of the evidence of mi- racles ; and afterwards of that derived from prophecy. To the apostles, the miracles of our blessed Lord were immediate objects of sense : to us, they come through the medium of human testimony ; but testimony of such a kind, and confirmed by so many, and such extraordinary circum- stances accompanying, or following the miracles themselves, and dependent upon them, that no facts, perhaps, in the his- tory of the world have ever descended to posterity vouched by such a weight of moral evidence. They are attested by numerous witnesses of the soundest judgment, and the most unsuspected integrity : by men whose writings evidently de- monstrate that they were at the greatest distance from that weakness of mind on the one hand, which would render them liable to be deceived themselves ; and, on the other, from that ardent enthusiasm, or that knavery of character, which would incline them to pass a deception upon others for the 94 isake of obtaining credit to their own visions : by men who without any motives of interest or of honour, and even in the certain prospect of disgrace and poverty, of arduous and incessant labours, of continual dangers and persecutions, and at length of death itself in the most formidable shapes, devoted themselves to announce this miraculous history to the world : by men, I add, whose original prepossessions were all opposed to the character which their Master assum- ed, and the doctrines which he taught, and who, after a long time, yielded those prejudices only to the force of convic- tion operated by repeated miracles ; and, finally, by men v/ho, in the end, conquered the world, and overturned all its ancient ideas, manners, institutions, all the pride of its philosophy, and all the self-sufficiency of human rea- son, by the power with which they themselves were en- dued of operating miracles similar to those which had subdued their own assent. These facts, afibrd, it seems to me, the strongest confirmation of the miraculous history of the gospel, and of the wisdom, the integrity, and credibili- ty of those holy and chosen witnesses by whom God has been pleased to convey it down to us. But we are met at our very entrance upon this subject with a formidable objection, which it is necessary in the first place to remove, before the most credible testimony in favour of the reality of the miracles of our Saviour, will be admitted by those who have undertaken to deny the author!- 95 »y of revelation. The objection may be considered in a speculative, and in a practical vie^v. In the former, the sum of it is : that the plans of infinite wisdom are immutable ; for otherwise, they would not be perfect. God himself, there- fore, cannot change the order of nature, still less can he allow a feeble mortal, for any purposes whatever, to change it, in- asmuch as it has been established by his own most perfect wisdom.** I answer, that the plans of ditine intelligence must be immutable, as long as the reasons on which they were originally arranged remain the same. But if those reasons are changed, may they not induce a proportionable change in the order of providence ? Inasmuch then, as the existence and the whole system of this world, bear a relation to the moral state of man, if man has criminally changed his original state, and although created in innocence, has fallen into sin, although created immortal has become liable to death, can we pronounce it unworthy the gooodness, or the wisdom of God, to afford his creature, huoibled and conscious of guilt, the hope of mercy, and to confirm that precious hope by such visible interpositions of divine power as leave the peni- tent sinner no room to doubt but that it is God himself who is the author of his consolation ? The second view in which this objection has been present- ed is less speculative. It is the celebrated argument ascribed to the ingenuity of Mr. Hume, although, it is probable of much earlier origin, and which has exercised the talents of 96 several able and judicious writers to refute its sophistry.* I think I shall weaken nothing of its force by the following statement; All our knowledge of natural things we derive solely from experience. And the only rational ground of our belief of what has ever happened, or jvhat can happen in the world, is our own experience of the regidar and constctnt course of nature. Men may impose upon us by false testi- mony, or they may be deceived themselves ; but nature never changes. Inasmuch then, as we have had no experience of any miraculous changes in the order of the world, it is UU' reasonable to believe that any such have ever taken place, whatever may be the number, or the character of the wit- nesses by whom they have been attested. If the principle of this objection is found to be false, the whole objection must fall to the ground with it. If it will not hold in its ap- plication universally to other subjects, it is contrary to all just reasoning to admit its validity only against the miracles of the gospel. Let us then try its application in other cases ; let us follow it to its ultimate consequences ; these will be found sufficient to destroy it. It leads to atheism ; acted upon in its full extent it would resist all improvements in science ; it will be found, in opposing the moral to the physical phenomena of nature, to refute itself. At least the * Particularly Dr. Campbell in bis treatise on miracles. Bishop Watson in bir third letter to Mr. Gibbon, baving introduced tbe subject, appears tome to haves in a few sentences, efFeclually overturned the principle on which the whole objee tionresti. 9t ororal phenomena will conclude as strongly in favour of the miracles of the gospel as the physical, adrailting the justness of the principle, would seem io contradict them. I return back on tliese ideas. And in the first place, it leads to atheism. For, if our own experience h the sole and exclusive ground of judging of whatever is credible in the physical history of the world, it is unreasonable to be- lieve that this globe ever had a beginning, or that it will even perish. It must always have existed, and must always con- tinue to exist in the same state in which we now behold it. There can be no future condition of existence for human na- ture, no future judgment, no future retribution to the righ- teous and the wicked. For each of these states implies a condition of things, such as has never come under cur ob- servation, or been the subject of our experience. There is, on this supposition, no foundation for religion. The or- der of the world must be eternal, immutable, necessary ; and can have no dependence on a creating and intelligent cause. We must embrace the philosophical absurdity of an eternal succession of mutable and perishing beings ; and are driven to the impious alternative of believing that there is no God ; or, that the universe itself is God.* * This tenet of the Aristotelian philosophy has always been regarded by chrli* tiang as only a modification of atheisai. These consequences are deduced so obviously from the principle of Mr. Hume, that it is not a little surprising that they have not been more frequently remarked. Scarcely, indeed, have they been observed by any writer who has fallen in my way, except the learned and ingenious Dr. Al- lix, in his reflections on the books of the sacred scriptures.^ Yet if they are fairly and legitimately drawn, they must be decisive against the principle in the opinion of every pious and virtuous man. Another consequence of this doctrine, though not charge- able with impiety like the former, equally demonstrates its ab- surdity. It would arrest all great improvements in science. When the effects of the electric or magnetic influence, for example, were first discovered, how ought all philosophers, according to this principle, to have treated the history of their phenomena? Precisely as infidels have treated the miraculous history of the gospel ; rejected it without exam- ination, as absurd and impossible, because contrary to their experience. Do you say, they have it their power to repeat the experiments by which those new properties in nature were originally discoverd. But if the principle which we combat is just, what motive could a philosopher ■ * This work of Dr. AlliJC, a celebrated French refugee, was published in Londoa in the year 16C8, which suflRciently demonstrates that the objection of Mr. Hume to the miracles of the gospel is not novel ; but has only been set in a new light, and urged with more plausibility by that ingenious writer. ft9 have for repeating these experiments, since his own past ex- perience of the course of nature is the sole criterion of what- ever is credible. And whence should the greater portion of mankind derive their knowledge who possess neither the skill, nor the means requisite to make the necessary experi- ments, if thej are not to rely for the truth of new facts in science, and facts the most remote from the analogy of their own experience, upon the testimony of others ? Must not the progress of science be arrested almost at its comQieiice° ment ? Let us take another example in which no experiment can possibly be applied to verify the testimony of the narrators with regard in far.la the most certain in nature. The inha- bitants of a torrid climate never can have ihe effects of frost presented to their senses. Congelation is as great a myste- ry to them, as any mystery or miracle of the christian reli- gion. According to this favourite maxim of infidelity, then, they ought to refuse all credit to the fact : and the king*" of Siam acted according to the principles of sound wisdom in punishing the Dutch navigator for insulting his understand- ing by incredible stories, who assured him, that, in Holland, water had became so hard during part of the year, that it bore horses and carriages upon its surface. If testimony were, under no circumstances, sufficient to vouch to us facts which not only are not conformable, but which, in many instances, are contrary, to alj our past experience, science must be 109 circumscribed within a very narrow sphere. This conse- quence was ceitainlj not adverted to by the ingenious author who invented, or who gave its present form to the principle against which we contend. It was aimed solely against the miracles of the sacred scriptures. But when we are testing the merit of a principle^ if it is not found to hold universally, or coextensively with the latitude of its terms, it cannot fur- nish the ground of any certain conclusions. For, by what rule shall we apply it only to the facts of religion, when it is false in its application to the facts of science ? Miracles then, as well as other extraordinary facts in nature, are suscepti- ble of proof from testioiony. The only subject of inquiry is, the competence and integrity of the witnesses : the sound- ness of their judgment, the accuracy of their observation, the fideUty of their narration. In all these respects the dis- ciples of our blessed Saviour, the witnesses of his miracles will be found to possess a decided superiority over the wit- nesses of any other faces recorded in history. Their wri- tings demonstrate their wisdom ; their long intimacy with their Master is sufficient to gi\e us confidence in the accu- racy of their observation ; their labours, their sacrifices, their deaths, attest tbeir sincerity, and the fidelity of theu: narration.* I maintain, in the last place, that this celebrated argil? went, drawn from our experience of the uniformity of nature f These toj;)Ic8 will bersafter be more amply illuetrated> 101 refutes itself. For, if the physical course of aature, on which the argument rests, ia found to be stable and uniform, the moral order of things appears to be not less steady and regular. If the former of these facts opposes, upon Mr. Hume's principle, our reception of the miraculous history of the gospel ; the latter, upon the same ground, forbids the re- jection of that history, if, by rejecting it, we must contradict all the moral phenomena of human nature. Admitting then, what can hardly be denied by the bitterest enemies of Chris- tianity, that the apostles and evangelists were men of the soundest understandings,* and the most upright hearts, it is contrary to all that we know of the motives of human con- duct, that, for the sake of propagating a most improbable, and to them, unprofitable imposture, they should voluntari- ly submit to incessant toils and extreme sufferings; they should abandon all that is usually accounted most dear to the human heart, and march with intrepidity through perpetual persecutions to certain death inflicted in the most excruciat- ing and dreadful forms. Their writings, which are always rational in tlieir doctrines, simple in their style, and calm and judicious in their manner of address, exempt them from eve- ry charge of enthusiasm ; yet, renouncing all the early pre- judices of their nation, in which they had been educated * The perfection of that system of piety and morals puWished by these humble fishermen, so far excelling the philosoiihy of their age, demonstrates that if they were not inspired from above, they must have possessed a degree of wisdom and tffiderstaading far surpassing whatever antiquity ha,s produced besides. 102 and all the hopes which they had origmally conceived from a royal and trj'? raphant Messiah, which might have inflam- ed the zeal of enthusiastic minds, do we not see them, for a suffering Master, encounter every actual evil, and every possible hazard ? If then, we should suppose, according to the spirit of this objection, that Ihe apostles, who expected no recompense in this world, could have acted from any other motive than a deep conviction of the miraculous pow- er, and the divine mission of Jesus Christ, would we not be involved in contradictions to the moral order of things ; that is, to all the ordinary principles of conduct among men which have ever occurred to our experience, not less won- derful, and out of the course of nature, than were the mira- cles themselves in the attestation of which these wise and pi- ous men, the companions and witnesses of his life, made such astonishing and almost incredible sacrifices ? Thus does this so much vaunted objection against the mi- racles of the gospel refute itself ; inasmuch as, in its appli- cation to the moral order of things, it contradicts the conclu- sion which the enemies of religion have drawn from their physical order. And this consequence ought to be ad- mitted by those especially who have most earnestly urg- ed this objection against the evangelic history, since, according to their philosophic system, they subject the natural and the moral world equally to the laws of neces- sity. I repeat, then, that it is not by the nature of the works 103 ascribed to Christ as being conformable, or contrary to ouc experience, but by the character and competence of the wit- nesses, together with all the preparatory and attending cir- cumstances of these miracles, and their consequences upon the world, that the question of their truth is to be decided. THE CREDIBILITY OF THE WITNESSES OF THE MIRACLES AND RESURRECTION OF CHRIST. Let us then enter a little more particularly into the char- acter of the witnesses of the gospel, the circumstances under which its miraculous history was published to the world, and has been transmitted to us, and the wonderful consequences which followed its publication. A brief review of these to- pics, while it will confirm the answer which has been given to the objection of Mr. Hume, particularly in the last view which we have taken of it, will serve, at the same time, to strengthen our faith in the evangelic history, both by the support which we will find it possesses in the clearest and most unequivocal laws of moral evidence, and by the extra- ordinary effects which have resulted from it, which plainly required the power of a divine cause to produce them. As it has been shewn that there is no insuperable objec- tion, arising from the nature of miracles, against their exist- ence, when alleged in favour of a divine revelation ; and as they have been demonstrated even to be necessary proofs 104 of a divine mission, if God should ever deign to reveal hiS will in any extraordinary manner to the world, the credit of the miracles which are said to have been wrought in confir* mation of the gospel must depend primarily on the credibili- ty of the witnesses who have attested them. And, when this subject is fairly and candidly examined, not only will these witnesses be found entitled to the highest credit, but their testimony will appear calculated almost irresistibly to com- mand our assent ; with so many circumstances of authority and certainty is it attended, which place it far before the evidence by which any other facts in the compass of univer- sal history have been vouched. The witnesses of extraordinary facts ought to be men of unblemished integrity, and of clear and penetrating discern- ment ; unbiassed by any motives of interest which might be liable to blini them to the truth, or to corrupt the purity of their testimony. And certainly the apostles and evangelists of ©ur blessed Lord have left us, in their writings, their dis- courses, and their conduct, the most indubitable proofs of the soundest understandisig, of the sincerest piety, and the most disinterested devotedness lo the best interests of man- kind, which would render it impossible, in a long course of intimacy with their Master, to be deceived by any fictitious demonstrations of a divine power, and should free them from every suspicion of fabricating a history to impose upon the world. no 5 They were, indeed, plain, unlettered men, called from iome of the humblest occupations in life to follow Christ, and to be the heralds of his grace to mankind. But this cir- cumstance, instead of detracting from their merit as witness- es of the miracles of our Lord, will, when rightly consider- ed, give additional weight to their testimony. For, when we take into view that admirable and profound wisdom, that perfect moral code, and that pure and sublime theology, which their writings contain, so far superior to wl^^t was to be expected from their education and rank in life, and ex- celling whatever has appeared on these subjects in the sys- tems of the most venerated sages of the pagan world ; may we not well ask, as the astonished fellow citizens of Jesus did with respect to him, whence had these men this wisdom, unless it were given them from above ? If we admit that this wisdom was imparted to them immediately by God, it de- cides the question of their divine mission. If we say it was simply the effect of native genius, it decides their competen- cy, in point of understanding and judgment, to be the wit- nesses of the wonderful history of our Lord, and their per- fect title to our fullest credit, as far as depends on accuracy of observation, and the judicious discrimination of truth from all false pretences to miraculous powers. But in the next place, their writings exhibit also the strongest charafters of sincerity and integrity. We discern in them no appearance of that art which is necessary Uf 14 105 corer (lie pretences of imposture, ]}ut an undesigniDg sifrr- plicitj which speaks powerfully to the heart. Hardly ever can impostors effectually conceal the faults of their own character behind tJto disguises of hypocrisy. But in the New-Testament, we discern only the purest precepts of mo- rality, and the noblest sentiments of a genuine and rational piety. If the apostles speak from their hearts, as there is every appearance that they do, the purity of their doctrineS;^ as well as the simplicity of the manner in which they are conveyed to us, are calculated to impress us with a deep con- viction of their integrity and uprightness, not less than of their wisdom. <. Piety and sincerity . have a language peculiar to them- selves ; simple and unaffected, equally distant from the tor- tuous art of imposture, and the extravagances of enlhusiasmo There is a naiveie' which runs through the whole narration of the evangelists, and bears all the impressions of truth, in- finitely remote from the style of an artificial tale made up by cunning and designing men. This conviction will be greally strengthened when we lake into our view the circumstances under which the follow- ers of our blessed Lord published tlie gospel, and its mira- culous history to the world. Their disinterested labours, suf- ferings, and sacrifices, demonstrate in the sWbngest manner frheir sincerity, and their profound persuasion of the truth lor and Ihe importance of those holy doctrines which they taught, and those astonishing facts which they published to the universe. And the perfect sincerity and persuasion of men, at once so pious and so wise, who were so capable of discriiflinaling reality from pretence, and who had £o many opportunities of intimately observing the works which they attest, afford to the candid and serious inquirer, the most satisfactory grounds of belief. Let us contemplate the disinterestedness and sufferings of ihe iirst ministers of Christianity, and witnesses of the mira- cles of our Saviour. They speak a powerful language to the heart, and leave us no room to question the sincerity and the perfect veracity of these faithful men. It is true that men, impelled by a bold and ardent ambition, or inflamed by the hope of fortune, or of glory, may sometimes endure with fortitude the greatest sufferings, or encounter with firmness the most formidable dangers. But without the prospects of honour or emolument, and in the face of poverty and dis- grace, of universal obloquy and hatred, of the fiercest perse- cutions and the most cruel deaths, voluntarily to undertake to propagate a known and deliberate imposture, merely for the glory of a Master who had already perished by an igno- minious death, and from whom, of consequence, no farther expectations could be entertained ; and, with a patience and heroism worthy only of the highest virtue and the noblest ends, to consent to be the ministers of falsehood, deceit and yiliany, is contrary to all the known principles of human ao lion, and, in Such men as the apostles, is utterly incredible. Jesus Christ promised to his disciples no rewards in the exe- culion of their arduous midsion but such as should take place in a future state of existence ; of which they could have no other assurance than his own miracles. If then they made such astonishing sacrifices, as it is known they did make, from no rational motive, with no prospect of recompense, it was a solitary phenomenon, altogether inexplicable on any of the ordinary principles of conduct among men. On the oth- er hand, if they were governed by the hope of future and ce- lestial rewards, their belief of which could rest only on their perfect conviction of the truth of the miracles and resurrec- tion of the Saviour, what stronger evidence could we demand of the reality of these facts ? Their Master not only promised them no rewards, but forewarned them that they should suffer in his cause every evil that could be inflicted by the hatred, the malice, and the power of men. And they were accordingly exposed to every form of contumely, pain and death. They were load- ed with chains, thrust into dr iGjeons, lacerated with scourging, crucified, sawn asunder, clothed with the skins of wild beasts and exposed to be hunted by dogs, burnt at the stake, in- vested with pitched shirts, to which when fire was applied, they iSere used as torches in the night to light the barbarous sports of the populace.* These terrors were suflScient, one would think, to shake the constancy of integrity itself; but certainly, more than sufficient to appal hypocrisy and false- hood, or even the least doubtfulness of the cause in which they were embarked. But by no fear of suffering, nor by any hope of reprieve could these good men be moved to re- tract, or to mutilate or disguise, any part of the history of a Master who was dearer to them than their own lives. If they would only have denied the resurrection of Christ, they could have delivered themselves out of the most cruel suf- ferings, which were often such that we can hardly conceive how human nature could support them. Yet their dying breath, their last accents were still used to confirm their un- wavering testimony. And among such numbers, not one was found to falter. What can mark in the minds of men a deeper conviction of truth ? A consideration which gives no small additional weight to the argument is, that all the original prejudices of their ed- ucation, and of national pride and glory, were strongly op- * A variety of passages in the epistles of the apostles, aad in the history of their acts by Saint Luke, give us this representation of their extreme sufferings, which is confirmed by almost all the Roman writers of that period Who have come down to us J particularly by Suetonius, Pliny, Juvenal, Martial, Epictetus, Marous Aurelius, and Tacitus. " Their suflFerings at their execution, says Tacitus, were aggravated by insult and mockery ; for some were disguised in the skius of wild beasts, and worried to death by dogs ; some were crucifipd, and others were wrapt in pitched shirts, and set on fire when the day was closed, that they might serve as lights to Ulusainate the night," iiO jjosed to the character in which their Master appeared, and to the doctrines which they were afterwards constrained to preach. They, with the whole nation of Israel, expected in the Messiah a mighty temporal prince, invested with the splendours of empire, who was to restore the kingdom of David, and extend its dominion over all the kingdoms of the world, in which his followers and disciples were to arrive at the highest honours and distinctions. When, therefore, they found all the pre-possessions, in which they had been nurs- ed, and which had been cherished by their country for ages, overthrown ; when Jesus informed them that his kingdom was not of this world, a doctrine which they could hardly be made to understand, and thus disappointed all their most flattering hopes ; when, instead of the magnificent prospects which they had pictured to themselves, he set before them only his own humble fortunes, and his approaching death ; only the persecutions to which they should be exposed in preaching in the name of a despised Master ; what could have continued to attach them to a cause so different in ev- ery respect from what they had conceived, and one appa- rently so desperate, but the manifest proofs of divinity which attended him, but those wonderful facts before their eyes, which conquered their prejudices, and compelled their conviction ? They could not believe that he was to die till they saw him expire ; they neither believed, nor understood the resurrection of the dead till they saw him restored from the tomb. Even then, it was long, through the astonish- in ment cf Ibelr minds, before (hey could give full credit to Iheir own senses. They conversed wi(h him, they touched him, they thrust their hands into his wounded side. They could yield such powerful prejudices, supported by all the strongest passions of human nature, only to the most sensible demonstrations. But when their conviction was once con- quered by the illustrious displays of a divine power, and nothing but the most illustrious displays of such a power could have conquered it, in opposition to every interest and every prejudice hitherto cherished by them with the great- est fondness, then they, who had before been so reluctant, bo unbelieving, so timid in the cause of a suffering Master, were ready to encounter every form of danger, of suffering, and of death, in proclaiming the resurrection, and the miraculous history of their Lord. Such a revolution in their ideas and their conduct must have proceeded, as they declared it did, only from the irresistible manifestations of a divine- power with which he confirmed his doctrine, and demonstrated his title to a spiritual iand heavenly kingdom. It may be said that fortitude and patience in enduring suf- ferings, is no cerfain proof of the truth of any system of prin- ciples ; because an enthusiastic mind may be so wound up, as to dare any danger, or to support any pain, in defence of its favourite opinions. I confess that voluntary suffering in any cause, is not an infallible test of trulh, but it is a test of sincerity, M demonstrates the full persuasion of the soul of 112 the truth of the facts for which it suflfers. This is all that i& necessary to command our assent in the present case. The disciples of our Lord have demonstrated, by this infallible criterion, their, full conviction of the reality of his resurrec- tion, and of his miraculous operations. These were objects of the senses in which they could not be mistaken. They were men, as appears from their writings, of the soundest un- derstandings, who could not, therefore, be imposed upon in cases so palpable. No tincture of enthusiasm, which could warp their imagination, appears in their conduct, or in that history which they have left us of the life and actions of Christ. Men as they were, of sound understandings and of rational piety, a conviction in our minds of the sincerity of their declarations is all that is necessary to gain for them full credence to the miraculous facts which they relate. There is a wide difference between dying in attestation of a fact, and to prove our adherence to an opinion. In our opinions we may err, and an enthusiastic mind may maintain its er- rors at the stake with no less ardour than it would adhere to truth. But in facts, such as those related by the apostles and disciples of our Lord, subjected as they were to the ex- amination of all the senses, and for so long a time, it was im- possible for men so judicious, so honest, and so faithful, to be deceived. Their sincerity is all that we need to assure us of the miracles contained in the evangelic history. And their constant readiness to seal their testimony with their blood affords the strongest proof that not the smallest doubt 113 mingled itself with their perfect knowledge and belief of the resurrection, and of all the miraculous works of their Saviour, on which their faith of his divine mission, and of the doc- trine of salvation which they proclaimed to the world, wass founded. If the preceding reflections are just, the miracles of Christ are confirmed to us by an evidence which ought to command our fullest assent. And if his miracles are established, the divinity of his mission and of bis gospel, follows as a neces* sary consequence.* Having then, in the first place, demonstrated this princi' pie, that our experience of the uniformity of nature does not afford any solid objection against miracles performed in a cause worthy of God ; we have seen, in the next place, that if any supernatural event is capable of being confirmed by human testimony, there can exist no reasonable doubt with regard to the reality of the miracles of the gospel. And I must again repeat, that no facts in the compass of universal history have come down to us confiimed by such variety, and such strength of evidence. * Celsus, the most ingenious and perliaps the bitterest enemy of the christian* among the philosophers of that age, does not pretend to deny the miracles ascrib- ed to Jesus Christ, but seems disposed to impute them to the powers of magic The science of modem times will never admit such a solution of miraculous pb«- Bomena. 15 114 This conclusion will be strengthened when we proceed to consider the rapid extension of the gospel over the oost enlightened nations of the world, who were, from their pride, their prejudices, their learning, their civil and religious in- stitutions, and from all their ideas and habits, most hostile to the spirit of our holy religion. It will be farther confirm- ed hereafter, when we proceed to explain the excellence of the gospel itself, and to show how worthy it is of the origin which it claims, and how far superior its doctrines are to any powers of invention which can reasonably be ascribed to men, of- the education and rank in life of Christ and the apostles, supposing them not to be inspired, and illuminated by a divine spirit. THE RAPID EXTENSION OP THE GOSPEL AN INFALLIBLE PROOF OF THE REALITY OF ITS MIRACLES. The sudden and wide diffusion of the christian religion throughout the principal nations of the world, although it is usually placed atnong the collateral and presumptive eviden- ces of the truth of the gospel history, may reasonably be considered as furnishing a strong and direct proof of the re- ality of the miracles of our Saviour, and of the miraculous powers with which the apostles themselves were endued. This astonishing, and, indeed, this unparalleled effect was accomplished by publishing the miraculous history of Christ, by a few fishermen of Judea, aud by pretences, at least, to 116 tbe same miraculous powers impaHed to. them by tbeir Maa«. (er. And can it reasonably be believed that the story of miracles performed in Judea, a remote and (despised corner of the world, should have been received by the greatest as well as the most barbarous nations, in the circumstances in which it was received, and followed by the mighty conse< quences which actually resulted from it, unless the heralds wliO published it had been able to confirm their testimony by the most palpable demonstrations of a divine power ac- companying their preaching? On no other ground do 1 think we can propose any rational solution of this great moral phe- nomenon. Let us then exanane the greatness of the effect, and com- pare it with the circumstances of the world at that period, and witlj^ the apparent impotence of the instruments by which it was produced, and, I doubt not, this conviction will meet us with almost irresistible force. We learn from the history of the acts of the apostles, which contains, however, but a very brief and partial narra- tion of their transactions, and from various intimations either more direct or incidental, given in the epistles, especially of Saint Paul, that the gospel had spread, within a very few years after the death of the Saviour, to all the regions of the known world, and in every country had made nutnerous con- verts. This representation is confirmed by the Roman wri- tcrs when any occasion leads them to mention the numbers of Christians in particular districts of the empire.* Tacitus, speaking of the cruelties exercised by Nero upon the Chris- tians, under the pretence of their having set fire to the city, says, " at first, those only were apprehended who confessed themselves to be of that sect, but, through their means, a vast multitude were afterwards discovered." This imperial villany took place about the thirtieth year of the crucifixion ; in which short period the gospel had extended from the ex- tremities to the heart of the Roman empire, and a vast muU titude of lis disciples were already found in the capital. — About forty years posterior to this event, Pliny, writing to the emperor Trajan for instructions in what manner to treat the Christians, who had, in time past, been mercilessly drag- ged before the tribunals, and cruelly punished, represents to him that so prevalent had Christianity become in his province, which consisted of Pontus and Bithynia in the Lesser Asia, that the superstition, as he calls it, had seized not only the cities, but the smaller towns, and the open country. The temples, he adds, were for a time, almost deserted, the sa- cred solemnities intermitted, and victims had nearly ceased * It is true that the early Roman writers do not make frequent or very particu- lar mention of the affairs of the christians. For Christianity springing up in Ju- dea, itvras natural for foreigners to regard them as a sect of the Jews, on which account their history, in its origin, would be little xmderstood, and attract small attention at Rome. But wherever their external circumstances are noticed by Roman authors, they are found to correspond with the accounts given of them ia christian records. iir being purchased.* Justin Martyr, who wrote only a few years after Pliny, declares, " there is not a nation either of Greek, or Barbarian, or any other name, even of those who wander in tribes and live in tents, among whom prayers and thanksgivings are not offered to the Father and Creator of the univeise in the name of the crucified Jesus." And Tertullian, who flourished half a century later, after appeal- ing to the rulers of the Roman empire for the diffusion of the christian religion at that epoch throughout its immense ex- tent, enumerates many nations beyond its limits, as the Moors, the Gefulians, the Sarmatians, the Dacians, the Ger- mans, and the Scythians, who had become converts to the truth. " And, saith he, although we are so great a multitude that, in almost every city, we form the majority of the in- habitants, we pass our time modestly and in silence." To these nations St. Jerom adds the Indians, the Persians, the Goths and the Egyptians. But, not to multiply quotations, it is well known that, in less than three centuries, the whole Roman world had become christian. Having, in this cursory manner, presented to your view the wide and rapid extension of the christian doctrine in the first age, let us, in the next place, compare it with the feeble instruments employed in this great work, and with the diffi- culties which they had to encounter, and, I persuade myself, * C. Plia. Traj. imp. lib. 10. epwt.87. 118 it will appear to you to be an effect alfojrefher ont of 'be or* dinary laws, and bej'ond the ordinary powers of humun na- ture. Our blessed Saviour, in order more clearly to demonstrate his own irrtnediafe agency, and alniigb'y po<.ver, in Ihe spir- itual conquests achieved by the doctrines of (he cioss, as '^ell as (o manifest his infinite grace in proclcti'Din:^ the glad tid- ings of salvation to the poor, chose fo? the infitrinisents ol so great a work twelve humble fishermen. Circcnisctibed by their occupation in the sphere of their ideas, little -trqiiaiiifed with human nature, ignorant of the arts and manners of tnlti- \'a(ed society, and destitute of the learning and talents neces- sary to command the attention and respect of mankind, in an age so polished and enlightened as that in which they li. fd, they seemed the most incompetent of all n>en to effect such an extraordinary revolution in the whole moral state «>f the world. Exposed to contempt on account of their original employment, this was not a little increased by the hatred in which their country was held. For the Jews were re^iard- ed with extreme aversion b}' the rest of mankind, chiefly for She abhorrence which they manifested of the customs, reli- gions, and gods of all other nations. And of all parts of Ju- dea, the district of Galilee from which they sprung, and the town of Nazareth esteemed the native place of their Master, were viewed with the greatest disdain. A Galilean and a Nazarene were names of reproach even at Jerusalem. Yet, 119 with such feeble instruments, and in so short a period oi" tiuje, did flie ascended Saviour, just after he had exiiibited before fhe xiew of mankind iJfe most discouraging proofs of his oun assumed weakness in ihe death to which he submit- ted, subdue tiie vporld to ihe obedience of the gospel, over- turn the ulfars and the temples of paganism, banish from their sh; 'nes the idols with their priests, change the moral and re- ligious systems uf the universe ; in one worcj, overthrow, and utterly eradicate from the hearts of men, whatever the revo- lution of ages had rendered most venerable and sacred in theii" esteem ; whatever had been most fir/uly incorporated with their interests and their pleasures, or most deeply in- trenched among their prejudices. This astonishing revolu- lioi], which not all the wisdom of their sages, combined with all the power of their princes, could have effected, was the work of a few Galilean fishermen, aided only by one man of eloquence and cultivated talents. And how was il efi'ected? B^\ the most improbably of all means : preaching the mira- culous history of a crucified man, together with the doctrines of repentance and self-denial so revolting to the corrupted tastes of human nature. May I not, then confidently de- mand if the rapid extension of the religion of Christ under the agency of such instruments, by the preachinc^ of such doctriises, through countries so various and distant, and so opposite in manners, in language, in political interests, in re- ligious customs and ideas, and in all (hose distinctrve pecu- liarUiea which divide and alienate nations from ooe another, 120 does not contain, in the greatness and the extraordinary nature of the effect, a demonstration of the reality of the miracles by which it was accompHshed ? Could obscure and despised strangers have carried the triumphs of the humble cross to the ends of the earth, and fixed the hopes of the world on a dying Saviour, unless they tad borne in their hands the credentials of Heaven, and dis- played to the senses, and the inmost convictions of mankind, the seal of their heavenly mission in the constant operations of a divine and omnipotent power attending their ministry? Their success could not have flowed from their powers of persuasion, nor the force of their reasonings ; for they were not themselves masters of eloquence or of science. But if they had been instructed in all the wisdom of the schools, the sages of the pagan world had long since found that the mass of mankind are incapable of entering into the specula- tions of philosophy. By philosophic reasoning they had never been able to do any thing eflfectual for the reformation of the world. The apostles simply propounded the moral maxims, and divine dogmas of their great Teacher, confirm- ing them by the supernatural evidence of the works which he enabled them to perform. Thus their doctrines rested on the same proofs with those principles of natural religion, which the Creator has inscribed with his own hand, and im- pressed by his own power on the face of nature, I mean the characters which it bears of his omnipotence. No other even plausible account can be given of a phenomenon unpar- 121 alleled in the annals of the world. For, however reluctant reason may be to admit miracles, no miracle was ever so great as such a revolution would be, effected by twelve illit- erate fishermen, without the immediate co-operation and aids of the Holy Spirit. If we consider the difiBculties and the apparently insur- mountable obstacles which opposed the success of the apos- tles, they will furnish strong additional proofs that these hum- ble ministers of the Redeemer must have been endued with miraculous powers. I will not repeat here those impediments which naturally arose out of the obscurity of their own station ; the hatred or contempt with which their nation was viewed ; and their ut- ter destitution of all those talents of learning and eloquence which are calculated to command the respect and admiration of the world. Under all these disadvantages, which were more than sufficient to ruin the success of men who were not inspired from Heaven, without patronage, without friends, without respect for their personal attributes, or influence from the character of their nation, were they obliged to pass with the gospel in their hands into the remotest countries, among unknown people, ever prone to receive strangers with jealousy, or to look down upon them with contemptuous dis- dain. In this case, their contempt of these poor and for- eign fishermen would be very greatly increased by their bringing to them what, to their apprehension, would be only 16 a Biiraculous story of a crucified man. And their indigna- tion would be raised to the highest pilch, when they found Ihemselves required, at the recital of such a story, to aban« don their religion and their gods, all the principles of their education and their habits of living ; and whatever the usage of their ancestors, for so many ages, had rendered sacred to them, and incorporated with their domestic manners, their religious institutions, and their national customs. What nation ever willingly changes its gods ? However contemptible the idols of paganism appear lo us, the vulgar £uind which seldom reasons, but usually takes all its impres- sions from education, or from its natural sympathy with pub< lie opinion, then regarded them with (hat reverence, and embraced them with that full belief with which we ahvayi 8ee the ignorant receive the traditionary fabies of their coun- try. Perhaps the objects of superstition, making their im- pression in the tenderest period of life, and being therefore, more perfectly mingled with the earliest habits of feeling, lake a deeper hold upon the minds of the common mass of mankind, than the principles of a more pure and rational pi. ety. But if the prejudices of the populace presented almost insuperable difficulties to the apostles, the interest of the ru- lers presented others, perhaps, still more formidable. The religion of all those nations wag incorporated with the policy of the state. Their magistrates were their priests. Its cer- emonica were blended with all the offices of the civil go- 123 vernment. So that the gospel was obliged to combat, at the same time, with the bliDd superstition and furious bigotry of the multitude, with the wealth and power of the temples, and with the pride and jealousy of tyrannical rulers aruaed with the sword, who were afraid of nothing so much as of innovation. We may safely appeal to the common sense of mankind if obstacles like these must not have been utterly insuperable to such men as the apostles, going out to the world solely in their own powers of reasoning and persuasioD, without the supernatural aid and the accompanying testimony of the Holy Spirit of Truth. The natural difficulties of this great undertaking were al- OQOsf incalculably increased by the fate of their Master, whose miraculous history, whose life, death, and resur- rection they were commanded to publish, and in whose name they were commissioned to preach. CruciBxion was the most ignominious punishment among the Romans, reserved only for the most detested criminals. Nothing could shock the ideas of such a people more than to elevate to the rank of a divinity a cnicijud man, the native of a remote, depen- dent, and despised province, who had suflfered like a male- factor and slave for alleged crimes against the dominant state. This circumstance alone was sufficient, according to the common apprehensions of the world, to blast entirely their hopes of success. Of the magnitude of this difficulty we may frame some conception by putting an analogous case. 124 Suppose that a man of the lowest extraction, and the obscur- est country of Europe, had, for imputed treasons, been sus- pended on a gibbet, or hung in chains : and that his accom- plices, ignorant men, without talents, and without character, should presume to defy the government by declaring that he was risen from the dead, and that they were come in his name, and in contradiction to the civil authority, to over- turn all the religious institutions, and all the objects of wor- ship and veneration in the christian world, and such is the light in which the disciples must have appeared to those proud nations, and that polished age, with what reception would they now meet ? Combining together then, all these reflections, and com- puting the result, may I not confidently demand of all rea- sonable and candid men, who will fairly estimate the magni- tude and difficulty of the work of converting a world in the name of a crucified man, who will consider the weakness, and unpromising character of the instruments by which it was effected, and unite with both the astonishing rapidity of their success, if the apostles must not have been aided by a power infinitely superior to their own ? If they must not have carried to the hearts and senses of their hearers the strong- est conviction of the truth of the miracles of Jesus Christ ? and if they must not have supported the wonderful history of their Master by miracles which they were themselves en- abled to perform : miracles of no doubtful aspect, but obvi- 125 ous and palpable, capable of standing the most rigorous scru- tiny of envy, of hatred, of interest, of every wounded pre- judice, and of all the ingenuity which a learned and enligtit- ened age could bring to the investigation. Nothing less can account for the vast and surprising eflfect which the simplici- ty of the christian doctrine, and of the primitive ministers of Christianity, has been seen to produce. As miracles appear to be the only power which could have given such a rapid extension to the religion of Christ, in that enlightened and inquisitive period, throughout such various, proud, and hos- tile nations ; so the rapidity of its extension in the face of infinite difficulties, furnishes one of the most irresistible evi- dences of the reality of the miracles. In order to account for the rapid propagation of the chris- tian religion without having recourse to the assistance of mira- cles, some writers have supposed that the superior reason- ablensss of the moral system of the gospel above that of any of the popular institutions of paganism facilitated the success of the apostles. For, with all their objections against the mysteries of Christianity, they are obliged to acknowledge the excellence of its moral code. On the other hand, I have no hesitancy in pronouncing that merely the reasonableness of a religion, or of any moral system, never procured it, in the first instance, an easy and general reception among the mass of mankind. If it has not been incorporated by educa- tion with their earliest habits of thinking, it must claim their 126 obedience and belief on some higher authority than m«rely the conclusions of their own reason, in which they can repose Httle confidence. Of this all the ancient legislators and re- formers of nations were bo deeply convinced, that, where they had not visible and real miracles on which to establish the public religion, or to found those civil institutions by ?Thich they attempted to reduce a barbarous people to order, they were obliged to have recourse to a pretended inter- course with heaven. If reason alone were a competent in* structor of the people, why had not the genuine principles of natural religion a more extensive diffusion among the popu- lace of Greece ? Why did the philosophers pronounce the people incapable of reasoning ? And why were not the doc- trines of their schools able to extirpate idolatry, or even to throw a plausible and decent veil over its absurdities and inde- cencies ? If Christianity prevailed in the first age by the force of its own reasonableness, why do we not see the same effects produced by it since miracles have ceased ? Does it not still possess the same superiority over the dismal idolatry of Greenland, and the indecent rites of India, which it did over the gay and licentious superstitions of Greece and Rome ? Other writers have thought that they have found a reason of this extraordinary phenomenon in the general discredit in- to which the objects, and the rites of the pagan worship had fallen in that age. Their auguries, their oracles, their shame- ful and immoral deities, it is said, were dcspisediby their men 127 ol' learning, and had begun to be a subject of ridicule lo the common people ; and Christianity only came in to occupy the room which they had left vacant. A less happy conjecture, perhaps, could hardly have been framed. Incredulity, sure- ly, is not a favourable soil for the reception and growth of a new religion. On the contrary, when men, in the progress of a sceptical philosophy, and of the dissolution of the public morals, come to disbelieve, and hold in contempt the religion in which they have been educated, they are then prone to confound all religions, and, along with their country's gods^ to reject, even without examination, every new doctrine which pretends to be derived from heaven. There are authors who think they have made a shrewd observation on human nature, and the liberal genius of ancient manners, were they ascribe the easy introduction of Christi- anity into the Roman empire, to what has been, quaintly enough, called the sociable spirit of paganism. The Greeks and Romans believing in the existence of local deities who presided over particular districts and re= gions of the earth, easily granted to foreigners the privilege of introducing their country gods into Athens and Rome, and performing towards them their country's rites, because it was imagined they would not be pleased with any other. It was never intended that these stranger gods should sup- plant the native deities of Greece and Italy. It was never 128 conceived that the one could interfere with the other. This, however, could not be the ground of any favour shown to Christianity. Its worship was exclusive. It could make no compromise with idolatry. The doctrine of Christ, where- ever it came, soon overthrew all the altars and temples of pa- ganism, and expelled from their shrines all the shameful ob- jects of an impure and monstrous worship. This, which is the natural genius, and the necessary tendency of the gospel, far from opening the way for its reception in those idolatrous nations, would at once arm against it all the power of the ma- gistrates, all the interest of the priests, and all the fury of a bigoted and deluded people. The causes, therefore, which have been assembled with so much pains in order to account, on natural principles, for the superior success of the apostles and first ministers of Chris- tianity above its modern missionaries, are evidently not suflS- cient to support the conclusions which have been attempted to be built upon them. The true cause of their astonishing success is, that, while the missionaries can appeal only to the testimony of history, and the reasonableness and excellence of the doctrines which they preach, the apostles could appeal also to their own miracles, to the heavenly powers with which they were invested, and which spoke so strongly to the senses of mankind. These are the weapons with which the disci- ples of the Saviour subdued the earth to the dominion of the faitht Although destitute of the advantages of science, and 129 of that high and commanding eloquence which attracts the ad- miration of the world. Although inferior in these respects to the nations among whom they travelled preaching the gos- pel ; and although they derived no influence from the splen- dour or power of their country, yet every thing yielded be- fore them. How far superior to them in every human advan= tage are the present missionaries of our holy religion. Do they not possess incomparably higher degrees of science than the people to whom they are sent ? And do they not go under the patronage of nations regarded in those distant countries with the greatest veneration for their vast ascendancy over the rest of mankind in arts, and in arms ? But they are com- paratively unsuccessful, because they do not carry with them, like the apostles, the ensigns of heaven, that is, the dC" monslration of the Sinrit in his miraculous power.^ Experience then, and reason, both concur to demonstrate that, without the co-operation of miracles, the christian doc- trine could not have made such rapid and extensive progress, as we have seen it do, through nations so various, so distant, and so opposite in their characters : and this astonishing progress, as has been before asseited, affords a strong con- firmation of the reality of the miracles on which Christ found- ed his claim to be acknowledged as the Son of God, and the * 1 Cor. ii. 4, 5. For my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man's wisdom, but in deraonBtration of the Spirit and of power. That 70W faitk should not stand in the wisdom of men but in the power ef 6«rf. \r i80 apostles to be received as messengers from heaven. Believe me, saith the Saviojir, /or the works^ sake. Many of the most wise and judicious men esteem the argument drawn from this fact absolutely decisive of the question concerning the truth of Christianity ; and the most incredulous must con- fess that it creates a very powerful presumption in favour of the gospel history. The writers, who suppose that the progress of Christianity in the first age may be accounted for from natural causes alone, aflfect to compare it with the rapid extension of the Mahometan imposture. But if we enter into a fair and can- did comparison of the two cases, the apparent parellelism be- tween them will be found no longer to exist. We have al- ready seen the mild and pacific means by which Christiani- ty extended her gentle sway over the vrorld. The estab- lishment of Mahometanism was effected entirely by the pow- er of the sword ; and its rapid extension and its furious course is no more surprising than the conquests of Zenghisj or of Timur, or than any of those sudden and violent revolu- tions which have so often changed the face of Asia, in dit " ferent ages. The progress of Christianity has no parallel ia universal history; that of the koran has, unfortunately, too many examples. For it is as easy to carry a new religioa among an ignorant people on the point of the sword, as ^ aew code of civil and political legislation. 131 THE PRETENCE OP CREDtTLITY ALLEOEB AGAINST TH03B WHO EMBRACED THE GOSPEL. EMBRACED Bt THE LEARNED A8 WELL A3 THE VDLGAB. IMPOSTORS AMONG THE HEATHEN. It is often alleged by those who are unfriendly to the christian revelation, that the credulity of mankind, and theif love of the marvellous, is sufficient to account for the pro* gress of the gospel, and the general belief of its miracles. " The weakness of illiterate followers, they say, would gree- dily swallow the pretended wonders of their Master. They could easily raise the wonder-loving spirit of their hearers, who would be ready, without inquiry, either to admit their own pretences to a miraculous power, or to believe the fa- bled miracles of Christ." By a few such general sneers they save themselves the trouble of examining the evidences of the christian revelation, and cast oflffrom their consciences the irksome authority of the christian law. It is true the ignorant in all countries are credulous ; and, in consequence of this tendency of mind, they abound in narrations of silly wonders. But is there, therefore, nothing really wonderful in the providence of God over the world, or in the dispensation of his mercy to mankind ? Certainly, every candid reader will confess that the miracles of the gospel ought not to be compared with those ridiculous and local prodigies recited in every district of every country by 1S2 the vulgar ; and which are evidently the effect of superstl- (ious weakness, or an enthusiaslic fervour of mind. The wri- tings of the evanjcelists and apostles exhibit no marks of that imbecih'ty in tlieir mental powers which would render them liable to be easily imposed upon by lying wonders, and false appearances. K we do not admit that they were enlightened by the Spirit of God, in which case no deception could be suspected, the excellence of their nioral system, the sublim- ity of their theological doctrines, so superior to the philoso- phy of their age, and the grandeur of the views which they have opened on the universe, so far above whatever had been before conceived by the human mind in any age, demon- strate that they must have been men of the soundest judg- ments, and the strongest intellectual faculties, on which no fraud could have been practised, no attempted imposition could have succeededo That they were not parties to any scheme of imposture, their wisdom, their piety, their self-denials, their arduous la- bours, their continual sufferings, and, finally, their painful, various, and voluntary deaths in the cause of Christ, declare ivith a conviction which, I think, must be irresistible to a mind that considers the subject with fairness and im- partiality. I observe, in the next place, that their writings exhibit as few characters of enthusiasm as of weakness. Their histor" 133 ical narrations are given with a dignified simplicity, their mor- al instructions, in a clear and judicious train of reasoriing en- forced with temperate warmth. We find in them none of those wild fervours, and riduculous extravagancies which seem inseparable from the spirit of enthusiasm. They exhibit all the proofs, which writing and conduct can manifest, of the most undesigning sincerity ; and speak of the most astonish- ing displays of divine power in the miracles of their Master, and their own, in a strain of calm and temperate narration which surprises us not less than the actions themselves. They speak like men who were not only witnesses of the miracles of Jesus, but were conscious of the same powers in themselves, and were familiar with the works of omnipo- ience. Neither enthusiasm, then, which deceives itself, nor imposture, which endeavours to deceive others, nor a weak facility of believing without evidence, can justly be imputed to the apostles. Can we then find a more satisfactory rea Bon of the universal belief of the miracles of the gospel in the credulity of the world ? The populace are prone to listen with a certain idle curi- osity, and to circulate with eagerness among themselves marvellous tales when they produce no other effect than agitating, and giving play to their natural love of wonder. But, when they are to affect any great interest ; when the belief of them is conjoined with the sacrifice of their pas- sions, their pleasures, their national customs, their honour, 134 or their fortune, the case is entirely reversed ; then they are received with distrust, and scrutinized with rigour. If, in dark and ignorant ages, the people are disposed to listen to fables which seem to spring out of the genius of their reli- gion, and are intended only to strengthen their favourite su- perstition, they would not surely lend the same easy faith to prodigies, real or pretended, which should be alleged only to overturn whatever was held most sacred among them. Besides, wherever the gospel came, the native superstitions of the people had pre-occupied their minds. All their cre- dulity was already enlisted in opposition to the doctrine, the history, and the miracles of Christ. And in proportion to their ignorance, was the violence with which they were at- tached to silly and incongruous fables, which were more adapted to the grossness of their minds than the pure and spiritual theology and morality of the gospel. But, whatever declamations men may think proper to make on the credulity of the vulgar, the belief of the chris- tian revelation was not confined to this class of society. It early numbered among its disciples magistrates, senators, ora- tors, and philosophers of the highest distinction for learn- ing and eloquence ; men who examined the claims of the religion with the most painful diligence, and the most accurate scrutiny; men who reluctantly, yielded the haughtiness of oflSce, the vanity of national superiority, the pride of talents and of learning, to the force of truth, and the demonstrationis 135 of a divine power accompanying Christ and his apostlss^ Not to speak of Joseph of Arimathea, one of the sanhedrica of the Jews, on whose history some obscurity rests, it is cer- tain that Dionysius, a member of the celebrated Areopagus of Athens, and Flavius Clemens, a senator of Rome, suffer- ed martyrdom for Christ in the very first age. Arnobius, an early historian of the church, assures us that men of the finest talents and the greatest learning, orators, gramaiaiians, rhetoricians, lawyers, physicians, philosophers, abandoning their former opinions, and the systems to which they had been attached by education, and the habits of a philosophical life, now reposed their minds only on the truth of the gospel. The writings, and even the names of great numbers of men of letters have not come down to us. A few only, out of multitudes, who, we are assured, were no way inferior to them, and not inferior to the wisest men of the period in which they lived, have survived to our age.* And if we were to select a philosopher of that time, most distinguished for the splendour of his talen's, the acuteness of his genius, and the vast extent of his erudition, it would be Origen, with * It will be sufficient to name the two Dionysii, one of Athens, the other of Al- exandria, Quadratus, Aristides, AthenagorR?, Clemens, Anatolius, without men- tioning the crowd of the fathers who, redeemed ; -om pagani'im 3iid the errors of th? heatlien philosophy, embraced the doctrine of Christ with zeal a- the repose and hope of their souls Having the strongest motives to examine in!o the foun- dations of th^t new and divine philosophy, their nearness to the events recorded »a the sacred history afforded them the amplest means of ascertaining their truth. 156 whom none of the learned men of his time deserves to h6 named as a rival. Is it to be presumed, then, that men of their character, and attainments in science, enjoying, as they did, the means of the most minute and accurate inquiry, would receive on slight evidence, or, indeed, would embrace, without the most rigorous examination, a new religion which overturned, and treated as folly all their ancient principles of philosophy ? Is there a shadow of probability that such men would enlist themselves as disciples, and champions of this religion, with- out the most satisfactory evidence of the divine authority, on which it rested, and the deepest conviction of its infinite importance to mankind, when its first effect was to humble the pride of human science, on which they had promised themselves to build their glory ; when instead of being the proud teachers of a proud philosophy, it turned (hem back to be the self-denied pupils of unlearned Jews, and a cruci- fied Saviour ; and above all, when it exposed them to such extreme sufferings as no partial conviction, no doubtful faith, and no hasty and immature opinions, could ever have ena- bled them to endure? Not credulity, surely, but conviction established upon the most solid basis could have sustained 4hem under the operation of those severe and fiery tests of their faith to which it was constantly subjected. That I oaay place this point in as strong a light as possible, let mc quote here a passage from the pious and elegant Addison, m which it is presented to us with equal force of thought and beauty of expression : " I cannot help regarding as a stand- ing miracle, says he, that amazing, and supernatural cour* 9ge, or patience, shown by innumerable multitudes of mar- tyrs in those slow and painful torments that were inflicted on them. I cannot conceive a man placed in the burning chair at Lyons, amid the insults and mockeries of a crowded am- phitheatre, and still keeping his seat ; or stretched upon a grate of iron over coals of fii:^, and breathing out his soul among the exquisite sulTerings of such a tedious execution, rather than renounce his religion, or blaspheme his Saviour. Such trials seem to me above the strength of human nature, and able to overbear diityy reason, faith, conviction, nay, and the most absolule certainty of a future state. Humani- ty, unassisted in an extraordinary manner, must h&ve shaken oft' the present pressure, and delivered itself out of such a dreadful distress by any means which could have been sug- gested to it. We can easily imagine that many persons, in so good a cause might have laid down their lives at the gib- bet, the stake, or the block : but, to expire leisurely among the most exquisite tortures, when they might come out of them even by a mental reservation, or a hypocrisy which was not without the possibility of being followed by repen- tance and forgiveness, has something in it so far beyond the force and natural strength of mortals, that one cannot but 18 133 think there was some miraculous power to support the suf- ferer-" Altiiough we should not think with Mr. Addison, that any divine aid which might be strictly called miraculous^ was communicated to these pious sufferers, yet must we ad- mit that nothing short of the clearest and strongest convic- tion of the truth of the gospel and its miracles ; nothing but the firmest persuasion that Christ alone had the words of eternal life, could have induced them to expose themselves to such dangers, or supported thera in enduring such excru- ciating torments. Is it possible that philosophic men, what- ever may be supposed of the vulgar class of martyrs, could have voluntarily gone to death surrounded with so many ter- rors, if their minds had not been encouraged, animated, and supported by the most complete conviction, founded on the strongest and most rational evidence, that the doctrines which they had embraced, and the miracles which they be- held, were the wisdom of God, and the power of God ? The least doubtfulness, the smallest apprehension that they had not thoroughly examined the proofs of that holy religion, to which they were about to offer up their lives amidst such a complication of horrors, must have shaken the constancy of their souls. But, when we see that no dangers can move them, arid that, in the midst of their sufferings, they preserve their serenity and firmness unaltered, except when it rises to exultation and triumph, such matchless and divine heroism can, surely, never be the result of a weak credulity. In 139 such fremendous conflicts, integritj and truth alone can sus- tain the heart. One important consideration in the change of those learn ed men, who embraced Christianity in the primitive age, de- serves to be particularly remarked : they declare that it was not merely the purify and perfection of the christian faith, which originally produced their conversion from paganism and philosophy, but the miracles which they saw performed by the apostles and apostolic men, which carried with them unequivocal demonstrations of a divine power attending their doctrine, and without which they would probably never have turned their minds to an examination of its excellence. Some writers have unaccountably pretended that the tes- timony of the christian fathers to the miracles of the gospel ought not to be regarded as possessing any weight in the scale of evidence by which we estimate its truth, because it is the testimony of friends in favour of their own system. But what made them christians ? What created their attach- ment to the christian doctrine ? Was it not the miracles they beheld? They were before ignorant of its true nature, they were hostile to its spirit, to the name of its Author, and to his nation. But they sacrificed their prejudices, but they became disciples of a religion they had hated and despised, and for the profession of it they exposed themselves to the 140 most terrible deaths. Their conversion, then, is precise!/ that which gives the greatest force to their testimony. To support the objection against the reality of miracIeSj which is founded on the credulity of mankind, we are re- ferred to various impostures which, at different periods, have obtained a temporary credit and success in the world. On a few of those which have been most confidently opposed to the mighty works performed by our Saviour and his apos- tles, I shall, after offering to your consideration two prelimi- nary remarks, make several observations with the view of discriminating them from the real operations of a divine pow- er. The first remark which I offer is, that, if pretences to a peculiar intercourse with Heaven have been attempted to be maintained by the additional pretence to miraculous pow- ers, it is, at least, a proof of the general persuasion of man- kind, that miracles form the proper evidence of a divine mission. If, therefore, a real messenger from Heaven should ever appear in the world, it is a most natural and reasonable expectation that he should be invested with an extraordina- ry control over the common operations of nature as the seal of his prophetic character. But because there have been religious impostors, are there, therefore, no true prophets ? Because there are empirics in every liberal profession, are there no certain principles of science ? This can be the conclusion only of ignorance or prejudice. Empiricism in 141 religion, or in art, should not make us deny the existence of truth in both, but only render us more careful and scrupu- lous in examining the pretensions of those who come to us aa instructors in either. I remark, in the next place, that, between the miracles of the holy scriptures, and those mysterious incantations, and ambiguous wonders, performed by the priests, and ma- gicians of paganism, which certain writers have affected to bring into competition with them, there are strong and mark- ed distinctions which ought to be particularly observed, and which are suflRcient to demonstrate the one to be from Heav- en, the other to be only the spurious growth of human arti- fice and corruption. These pretended prodigies were commonly exhibited in some sequestered place where the operators had the oppor- tunity of preparing whatever means of deception were neces- sary for imposing on the senses. Often they were exhibited in the 'recesses of their temples in the midst of glooms ren- dered awful by superstition, and of fearful images presented to an imagination already almost crazed by terror, which de- prived the miserable subject of their art of all power of judging rationally of the scenes before him. Nothing was done openly and in public, and exposed to the fair and dis- passionate examination of the senses of all men. Their pro- 142 digies were works of darkness, secluded from the observa- tion of the world, performed only on rare occasions, and af- ter much artful preparation.* The miracles of our blessed Saviour, on the other hand, were the ordinary and familiar actions of his life. Nothing, as he says himself, was done in secret. But all his wonderful works were performed on such subjects as no slight of hand, no apparatus for deceiv- ing the senses could reach : such as healing the sick, open- ing the eyes of the blind, restoring the paralytic to their na- tural powers, assuaging the winds and the waves, and rais- ing the dead. Their wonders were employed to amuse the popular credulity, and to confirm among the ignorant an old superstition by the strange narrations which the dupes ot the imposture afterwards disseminated among the people. They were followed by no other consequence. But the works of Jesus Christ, by powerfully seizing on the human mind, have been followed by the most important revolution which has ever taken place in the moral world. # OP SUPPOSITITIOUS SUPERNATURAL POWERS. The pretended powers which, in various countries, have been exhibited by magicians, and sorcerers, and other men * This was the case in several places in Greece, but particularly in the tem- ple and cave of Trophonius. An interesting account of some of the scenes of im- posture exhibited in that celebrated cavern of superstition will be found in the travels of Anacharsis the younger through Greece, by the Abbe Barthelemy, ckap. 34th. 143 of (hat class, have, by the enemies of the christian revela- tion, lieea set in opposition to the aiiracles of our Saviour, as being entitled to equal authority. By this artifice, plac- ing imposture and truth on the same ground, they endeav- our to weaken, and, at length, to destroy the influence of the latter over the human mind. The scriptures, they say, place them on an equal footing, by ascribing the works of both to supernatural causes ; or making both equally the ef- fects of some secret art. If they are derived from supernat- ural influence, by what criterion, let me ask, shall we distin- guish the demoniacal from the divine ? A just subject of regret it is, that many christian writers have given too much countenance to this species of objection, by attributing to demons, and malignant spirits, occasionally, certain miracu- lous powers, and the prescient faculty of predicting future events. In order to remove the foundation of this objection in which unbelievers have triumphed, I would lay it down as a maxim necessary, to the support of true religion, that miracles are exclusively reserved to be the proofs of divine revelation, and can never be performed by any but the best of beings, and for the most wise, and beneficent ends. The ascription of supernatural powers over the established order of the universe, to infernal or demoniacal agents is equally contrary to reason, to experience, and to the sacred scrijj- tures, which last, however, have been unhappily misinter- preted to support this dangerous error. 144 This subject I have already treated in another work* to which I beg leave to refer the reader who may think the question worthy their further investigation. The decision of our Saviour upon it appears to me definitive when he thus ap- peals to the evidence of his own divine mission. — The ivorks which the Father hath given me to finish^ the same works that I do bear witness of me, that the Father hath sent me. If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. The next source of the direct evidence for our holy reli- gion is that derived from the fulfilment of prophecy. But, as I have omitted a discussion concerning demoniacal pow- ers, and the false miracles supposed to be drawn from that principle, that I might avoid swelling this volume to too large a size, I shall, for the same reason, omitting the extensive de- tails which would naturally arise out of the accomplishment of all the predictions of the sacred scriptures, confine ray- self only to two subjects, the destruction of the Jewish na- tiojif — and the appearance and character of the Messiah, the predictions concerning which are so astonishing, and their ac- complishment so particular and complete, that they may reasonably be esteemed in the room of all for producing en- tire conviction in the inquisitive, candid, and pious mind. ♦Lectures on the evidences of relisioa to the Senior Class in the College of Ne^-Jergey. 145 Suflfer me, then, to direct the attention of the reader, in the first place, to that mast wonderful prediction concerning the fate and destinies of the nation of Israel, uttered by Mo- ses, their divine legislator, near the close of his life. THE PROPHECY OF MOSES CONCERNING THE FINAL DE- STRUCTION OF THE JEWISH NATION. At that period when the devout and pious mind often be- comes prophetic, the illapse of the divine Spirit on him ap- pears to have been unusually clear and strong. After pro- posing to this people the highest motives to duty, and mul- tiplying to them the most gracious promises of prosperity if they should continue obedient to the laws which God had given them by him, he carries his view far forward into fu- ture ages, and, foreseeing the general defection of the nation fi-om the true spirit of their religion, he denounces the most fearful judgments of heaven upon their disobedience and im- piety. And then, tracing their destinies to the end of time, he deline'ates them with such clearness and circumstantial ex- actness, that, if we may judge of the future by the past for more than three thousand years, he seems to present a his- tory rather than a prophecy. So terrible are these denun- ciations that nothing but the strongest sense of duty, and the most submissive obedience to the command of God, could have extorted them from the legislator, and father of his peo- ple : and so peculiar are these destines that nothing but th^i * 19 146 iBfiiiite prescience, which embraces all things, from the be- ginning to the end, under one view, could have declared them so many ages before they existed. The prophecy to which I refer is contained in the twenty- eighth and thirtieth chapters of the book of Deuteronomy. I shall recite only such portions of it as are necessary to (he object of the present lecture, which is to point out the final extinction of the civil government, and national existence of the Jews ; the miseries which accompanied their political death ; and their consequent, and continued dispersion among all the nations of the world. " The Lord shall bring a na- tion against thee from afar, from the end of the earth, as swift as the eagle that flieth ; a nation whose tongue thou shalt not understand ; a nation of fierce countenance, which shall not regard the person of the old, nor show favour to the yoimg.* And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, until thy high and fenced walls come down wherein thou trusfedst, through^ out all thy land. And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine owr body, the flesh of thy sons, and of thy daughters in the siegOy and in the straitness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee ; so that the man who is tender among you, and very delicate, his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of the chil- dfen that he shall leave ; so that he shall not give to any o£ * &c. Cb. 28. V. 53. 147 them oFthe flesh of his children which he shall eat ; because he shall have nothing left him in the siege, and in the strait* ness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates. The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not adventure to set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicafeness and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the husband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, and toward her young infant, even to- ward her children which she shall bear : for she shall eat them for want of all things, secretly, in the siege and strait- ness wherewith thine enemies shall distress thee in all thy gates.* And it shall come to pass that ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people from one end of the earth, even to the other. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease ; neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest.f And it shall come to pass, when all these things are come upon thee, the blessing, and the curse, which I have set before thee, and thou shalt call them to mind among all the nations whither the Lord thy God hath driven thee, and shalt return unto the Lord thy God, and shalt obey his voice according to all that 1 command thee this day, thou and thy children, with all thine heart, and with all thy soul ; that then the Lord thy God will turn thy captivity, and hav« *Ch. 28. V. 63. 4c. f Ch. 30. v. 1—3. 248 compassion upon thee, and will return and gather thee from all the nations whither the Lord thy God hath scattered thee." Everj thing in this prophecy is astonishing ; and if we seriously and attentively consider it in all its parts, it carries with it irrefragable evidence of its having been dictated by the omniscient Spirit of God. The minuteness and accu- racy of Ihe detail is hardly exceeded by the history of the (Events. The events themselves are so singular and unex- ampled, that a pretended prophet, vending only probable conjectures, or ambiguous oracles, for prophecy, never would have conceived, or ventured to utter them. And if he had been so bold, there are infinite chances against one that words thrown out in random guesses should never coin- cide with the current of future history. That a nation, in a course of time, should degenerate from her primitive man- ners, and, at length, be subjugated by some powerful con» queror, is an event so much in the order of nalure, that it requires no great portion of political sagacity to predict it in general terms. But who could foresee at so great a dis- tance, that the Jews would perish precisely in such a man- ner; that their sieges would be so dreadful ; that the rem- nant, who should escape the famine and the sword, should be dispersed through all nations, where, renewing their num- bers, they should still continiie, a distinct people, and capa- blcj on their repentance, of being again restored to a national I 149 and indepenclent state in their own land ? This is surely the foresight of inspiration. The people of Israel were under a peculiar providence. While they continued obedient to the law of God given them by Moses, they enjoyed distinguished temporal happiness and prosperity. But their departures from the law of their God, their idolatries, and their general defection to immoral- ity and impiety were always punished with marked and severe chastisements. And it was announced to them that, when these temporary inflictions should fail to produce the efFectual correction and reformation of their manners, the judgments of heaven should fall upon them with more dreadful severity : that, after suffering all the most grievous calamities of war, the miserable remnants of the sword should be exiled from their desolated country, and scattered as vagabonds over the whole earth, being subjected to every privation and indignity, till the appointed period, for the expiation of their sins, should bring them to repentance, and open the way for their resto- ration to their own land. Let us now see how literally these denunciations have been verified ; especially, at two great epochas, the Babylonish captivity ; and the destruction of Jerusalem, and dispersion of the Jews, under the Roman emperor Vespasian. In the siege which preceded both the one captivity, and the other, this people suffered almost unheard of calamities. As their 15% privileges had been greater than those of other nations, their iniquities ^eem to have risen in the same proportion. Having rejected with scorn the warnings of those divine messen- gers sent to them by God, they appear to have been aban- doned by hira to an infatuated mind, agitated by the most fe- rocious passions. Their miseries, instead of humbhng their pride, or calming their madness, rendered them only more fu- rious ; and their enemies them-elves, in the midst of fire and slaughter, sometimes looked on them with commiseration and astonishment as a people marked out for the peculiar ven- geance of heaven. And the recital of their sufferings, parti- cularly in the destruction of their city by the Romans,* v. hich seems to have been chiefly in the view of their prophetic legislator, is perhaps wittiout a parallel in the history of hu- man misery. And he shall besiege thee in all thy gates, continues the prophecy, until thy high and fenced walls come down wherein thou trustedst, throughout all thy land. And it de- serves to be remarked of the Jewish nation, more, perhaps, than of any other, that their calamities have been the conse- * The description of the conquering nation carries in Jt a striking application . to the Romans. The. Lord shall brim; a nation against thee from afar, from the END OF THE EARTH, as mift as an eagle thatflieth ; a nation whose tongur lliou shall NOT UNDERSTAND, &c The language of Chaldea was not so unintellible to the Hebrews as that of the Romans j nor was BabyUn so distant from Jerusalem sw Rome. 251 ^uence, not so much of unfortunate conflicts in the open field, as of desperate and disastrous sieges, in which the greater portion of the people, being shut up within their walls, suf- fereH whatever famine and civil discord, inflamed by the most furious and fanatical passions, not less than the sword of the enemy, could inflict upon the most miserable of mankind. The history of the miseries which they suffered in the re- spective sieges is calculated to inspire us with horror, and perfectly accords with the strong painting of the prophecy. Passing over the destruction of their city, and the captivity of their nation by Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, I shall only present you with a brief sketch of their last overthrow, the most fearful scene of their calamities, in the famous siege of Jerusalem by Titus, the son, and lieutenant of Vespasian. The materials of this representation I draw entirely from Josephus, himself a Jew,, and cotemporary with the transac- tions which he relates, who could have no motive to exagger- ate the madness, and the atrocious passions of his own coun- trymen, # In the various towns of Judea besieged and taken by the Romans during this desolating and exterminating war, Iheir furious and exasperated soldiers cut off the whole pop- ulation without respecting either age or sex. They show- ed themselves, in the words of Moses, to be a nation of a fierce countenance^ rendered more ferocious by the fury with which they were opposed, who regarded not the person of 15*2 the old, nor showed favour to the young. But it was in the siege of Jerusalem itself that (he measure of the calamities of the Jews became full. Pressed from without by all the arts of war, and cut off entirely from supplies of provisions, it was difficult to say whether hunger, or the sword destroyed the greater numbers. Their distresses were doubly aggravated by their own internal dissentions. Divided into most violent factions by ambitious or enlhusiastic leaders, they often fill- ed the streets of Jerusalem with mutual slaughter. Often they only suspended their own conflicts for a short season to run to their walls to resist the assaults of the common enemy ; and returned from repulsing them to butcher one another. It seemed as if heaven had smitten the murderers of the Sa- viour of the world with a desperate phrenzy, and given them up to the dominion of the most diabolical passions. In the midst of all these horrors, famine presents us with a Spectacle still more horrible, when we see them, driven by the rage of hunger, with cannibal appetite, to devour one another, and the living feeding on those who haa died of disease, or of wounds. Even mothers, quenching all the sentiments of na- ture, devoured their own children, and grudging to their husbands, and their other children a share in this dreadful repast, they endeavoured, after having satisfied the present eravings of their own hunger, to conceal (he remaining frag* meuts from the voracious rapacity of (he rest of the famiiyj li'eserving them as a precious morsel against another time. ,, With what fearful accuracy has the prediction of Moses been 153 fulfilled .♦ " And thou shalt eat the fruit of thine own body, the flesh of thy sons, and thy daughters, in the siege, and in the straitneas viherewith thine enemies shall distress thee ; so that the man who is tender among you and very delicate,* his eye shall be evil toward his brother, and toward the wife of his bosom, and toward the remnant of the children that he shall leave, so (hat he shall not give to any of them of the flesh of his children which be shall eat. The tender and delicate woman among you, who would not venture fb set the sole of her foot upon the ground for delicateness, and tenderness, her eye shall be evil toward the huiiband of her bosom, and toward her son, and toward her daughter, and toward her young infant, even toward her children that she shall bear ; for she shall eat them for want of all things, se- cretly, in the siege.'* One example, out of many of the same kind, let me pro» duce to show the frantic despair with which this devoted people hastened their own destruction. After the storming of Jerusalem, a wretched remnant of the citizens sought ref- uge in the castle of Massada: but being pressed by the Ro- mans, they, at the instigation of one of their leaders, first murdered their wives and children : they then chose by lot * That is, who has been most softly and luxuriously bred, and accustomed to the choicest viands, he shall now be reduced to these wretched and horrible meals And even of these he shall grudge the smallest share to thoje vvho were •nee most dear to him, when the furious rage of hungtr had not perverted all bfs affection?. 20 354 ten who should murder all the rest ; after which one of the ten was chosen to murder the other nine ; who, when he had executed this dreadful office, stabbed himself. In this man- ner perished nine hundred and sixty persons in this single fortress.* And, in the whole war there were destroyed by the Romans, by famine, and by their own hands, upwards of twelve hundred thousand persons, besides nearly one hun- dred thousand who were taken prisoners and sold for slaves.f Of these prisoners so little care was taken, that eleven thou- sand was literally starved to death ; and, of the remainder, the greater portion were sent as slaves to Egypt, agreeably to another part of the same prophecy : " And the Lord shall bring thee into Egypt with ships, and there ye shall be sold to your enemies for bond men, and bond women ; and no man shall buy you." J In such numbers shall you be brought to the market, that purchasers, at length, will no longer be found. * Jos. de. bell. Jud. lib, 7. cap. 8, 3. t AcfEurately, according to Josephus, the dead were 1,240,490 ; and the prisOB- ers 99,200. J Ch. 23. V. 68. Tht Lord shall bring thee into Egypt nilh ships. The people of Israel carae out of Egypt by the isthmus of Suez, and the desert. And by that route thev usually travelled and traded to that country. But it was more conve- nient for the Romans to put their numerous slaves on board the ships belonging to their fleet, or on board Phenician merchant vetsels, to transport Ihcni into Egypt. As tliis was a mode of communication not practised in tlie time of iVJoses, and commerce was in a great measure interdicted to the Israelites by their inslitutions, this circumstance renders tiiis part of the propecy tlie more furprising, and worthy our attention : that they should come into Egypt in ships. 155 So conformable was this disastrous termination of the Jenrish state, and destruction of the holy city, to the pre- dictions both of Moses, and of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ : For, then, there shall be great tribulation, saith Christ, " such as was not from the beginning of the world to this time, no nor ever shall be ; and except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved."* Let us pursue the prophecy farther : " And it shall come to pass that ye shall be plucked from off the land whither thou goest to possess it. And the Lord shall scatter thee among all people, froai one end of the earth even to the other. And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest. Here is a new series of wonders. That a nation should be conquered, that it should be reduced to subjection, that it should be wholly exterminated by some barbarous conqueror, would not l)e so extraordinary ; because the history of the world aflfords numerous examples of similar events. But, that a whole people should be plucked from off their land, should be dispersed in broken fragments through all the nations of the world, and yet neither be blended with those nations, nor become extinct, is a catastrophe so singular, a state so unprecedented, that a prophet who was not uttering a pre- * Mat. xxiy. 21 , 22. See the pr«diction of our Saviour beautifully iUuetrated hy Ibishop Porteus in bis lecture upon this chapter. 156 diction dictated by the divine Spirit, an historian who should have been only hazarding a conjecture or a random ora;le, never would have thought of one which no tact in history ever could have suggested, which no experience of the revolutions of nations ever could have warranted. If, in the infinite combinations of the operations of providence, an oracle, in a long course of time, might accidentally hit upon one corresponding event, ia it within the compass of possi- bility that either random conjecture, or the most sagacious buman foresight, should be able to foretel, and accurately to point oat, such a united series of facts, continued down through such a long succession of ages ? The man, who can receive this as either probable or possible, must have a great facility of believing indeed. Do we not, then, see the Jew- ish nation plucked from off their own land ? Do we not see them scattered among all people from one end of the earth even unto the other? And is it not true that, among all these nations they find no ease ; neither is there rest for the sole of their foot ? Perpetually they have been persecuted, in- sulted, pillaged, and refused all the common privileges of citizenship. In every country we have seen thena alter- nately banished and recalled ; and recalled only to be pillag- ed, or banished again. The whole history of that afflicted people since their dispersion confirms the words of their great prophet : that they should become an astonishment^ aproverbf and a byervord among all natiojis/'^ That their *Deutxxviii. 37. plagues should be wonderful, even great plagues and of long continuance. * A circumstance not a little singular, which has contribute ed more than ail otbers both to their dispersion, and to (he injuries which they have suffered, is that, in almost all coun- tries, thej have been denied the privilege of holding landed property. This has induced a necessity, contrary to the original habits of the nation, to turn their attention to com- merce, and to the discount, and exchange of money in differ- ent forms. Hence has resulted the further necessity of dis- tributing them as traders, and brokers or bankers, into vari- ous nations. Their wealth, accumulated by these means, excited both the envy of the people, and the avarice of their rulers, and pointed them out as an easy prey to violent and arbitrary princes, whenever the public coffers were empty. The extreme uncertainty of their state tempted them to de- mand usurious interest in their contracts for money lending. Hence the public hatred, in every country was inflamed against them, and justified, in the public esteem, the rapaci- ty and violence of the princes who oppressed them. A thou- sand wicked and malicious tales were fabricated against them. A thousand crimes were imputed to them ; and they were often given up \o the fanatical rage of the popu- lace. Thus has their character been in a great measure for- med by their BlatCy and their persecutions have often sprung * Deut. *. m. 158 ®ut of their character. This, together with the barbarous su- perstitions and the barbarous forms of civil government which, for many ages disgraced Europe, completed their misery. On a review of this history, may I not justly demand again, who could have foreseen national characteristics, and situations so uncommon, so singular : circumstances so vari- ous and complicaled, destined to take place in such remote ages, but the Spirit of God alone ? In order to evade the al- most irresistible evidence of this conclusion, we have seen infidel writers resort (o the ridiculous subterfuge of sa} ing that the verification of the prediction is to be ascribed to the christians who have ingeniously contrived to give authentici- ty to their own scriptures, by promoting the fulfilment of (heir prophecies. But have not these prophecies been ful- filled under the dominion of pagan and niahometan nations, as well as of the christian ? If the allegation, however, were well founded, whence could Moses have foreseen the exis- tence of the christian religion, and the interest which the christians, as a sect, would have in giving elTect to his own prophecy ? Whence could he have foreseen those commer- cial, polilical, moral, and religious institutions, which, by their influence on the character of the nations who should embrace Christianity, would thus cruelly affect the condition of the Jews? Surely, if men were not blinded by their pre- judices, they would see that the wonder here, is not in the least diminished by this absurd supposition^ 159 With equal folly and ignorance it has been alleged that this prediction was composed by Ezra, or some of his coun- trymen, after the return of the Jews from the Babylonish captivity ; that it has a relation solely to that event ; and that hence alone we must account for the very circumsfan- tial narration of several particulars during the siege, and the exact delineation of the consequent state of the action. Men who undertake to write and pronounce upon the sub- ject of religion, without the trouble of candidly inquiring in- to its truth, seem to think themselves entitled to make, with- out shame or compunction, the most extravagant and improb- able assertions. This allegation is demonstrated to be utter- ly impossible by reference only to the Samaritan copy of the pentateuch.* This ancient book, which contains the whole * Ten tribes of the people of Israel withdrew themselves from the govern- ment of the house of Solomon under the reign of Rel-.oboam In their sepa- ration they still professed to adhere to the law of Moses, which had been common to the whole nation. The five books, therefore, which were written by him, and which contained his whole law, they preserved with no less ven- eration tiian did the Jews. When the ten tribes were led into captivity by the kings of Babylon, they were replaced by a new and mixed race called Samaritans, from the name of their capital city Samaria. These people re- siding in the land of Israel, and mixing with the remnant of its former in- habitants, still received the law of Moses as their civil and reli ious codej but admitted none of the writings of the Jewish prophets. Perpetual hatreds, and a most hostile spirit, always existed between the revolted trib s first, and afterwards the Samaritans, and the people of the Jews. Both nations pre- served the law of Moses with the same sacredness. The language if the same. But the Jewish copy of the law is written in the Chaldee character, which became familiar to the Jews during their captivity at Babylon ; tlie SamaritaD is written in the old Hebrew, or Pheniciaa letter, which was common to ths 160 law of Moseg, was cootinually read in the reiigioiia assem- blies of that people, so hostile to the Jews, durirs; a period of four hundred jears anterior to the capture of Jerusalem by the king of Babylon, and still longer before the age of Ezra, and the copy of the scriptures collected by that emi- nent scribe. Here, then, is a copy of the Mosaic Law, re- tained in the hands of rivals and of enemies, which renders it of the more unsuspected credit, that demonstrates the ex- istence of the prophecy several centuries before the era of the Babylonish captivity. But the prophecy contains the evidence within itself that its principal reference is to the Ro- man conquest, and to the state of the Jews since that period. It is a miracle, (ben, continually presented to your eyes : it is a prophecy every day fulfilling in your sight after a lapse of more than three thousand years. PROPHECIES COIifCERNING THE MESSIAH. No evidence for the truth of the Christian revelation, de- rived from the predictions of the holy scriptures, appears to me more clear and strong than that which results from that stream of prophecy concerning a future Messiah ; whicfa^ whole natioQ before the captivity. This is that which is called the Samari- tan pentateuch. - And this old letter, in which the law is preserved by them, is another proof of the antiquity of the Samaritan copy. It is doubtless the letter which Moses himself u=ed, and communicated to the people of Fsrael. And the Jews changed it, in their copies of the law after the captivity, for the Chaldee, only because the latter, by a long residence in Babylon, had become more familiar to them, 161 commencing with the earliest periods of time, terminates, at length, in Jesus Christ. We trace it from Adam, in that mystical promise, the seed of the woman shall bniise the sef- penVs head, down through the line of patriarchs and prophets to the time of Christ himself, in whom all the prophecies, and types of the ancient dispensations have been completed, and the expectations of the whole world fulfilled. For, it is a circumstance particularly deserving your attention, that there was no civilized nation of antiquity, in which vrere not found traditions concerning a divine personage who should appear upon earth to teach men the true knowledge of God, their duties, and their hopes, and to restore the reign of righteous- ness and peace to the world afflicted with miseries and crimes. This was a natural consequence of the piety and prophetic character of the father of the race after the deluge. Instructing his children, who were destined to be the found- ers of the future nations of the world, in the principles of piety and virtue, he would be especially solicitous to instil into their minds this sublime and blessed hope, which was given by God as the consolation of man in the depth of his affliction after the fall. If the IMosaic history of the world be true, if Adam, after his fall, received this consolatory promise ; and if Noah were a good man, and a prophet ;* * From the pious and prophetic character ascribed to Noah in the sacred writ- ings, we ought to expect among his near descendants, the founders of the variouj nations of tlie world, many good men, well instructed in the principles of religion e« far as they were known to him, and in those traditioDary predictieei wl^ok 31 U'l ihen ought we (o expect to find this original predicHon an^ promise, with more or less clearness, among the traditions of all the primitive nations of mankind ; and, finding it among all nations, as we do, it may jiislly be considered as an abso- lute verificalion of the account of Moses, and of the existence of this prophecy from the beginning ; for we can hardly con- ceive of any other mode in which it could have been so uni- versally diffused. It received further elucidation and exten- sion, in the progress of time, by succeeding patriarchs and prophets. The knowledge of it became more definite by the dispersion of th* Jewish nation, who carried their sacred TFritings with them in all their wanderings. At length the precise period, at which the Messiah should appear, became fixed and settled in prophecy. And, at the moment that his birth was announced, the world was waiting for the event with anxious and universal expectation. The harmonious had been imparted either to himself, or to antecedent patriarchs and prophets^ Tht se, of course, would be transmitted to their posterity, and, for several gene- rations, perhaps; in a considerable degree of purity. But, at length, becoming corrupted, and blended with many fablts, and having des-cended so far from their source that their true origin was in a great measure forgotten, or in danger of be- ing so, it is reasonable to believe tliat some good men, in different nations, in or- der to prevent tliem from utterly falling into oblivion ; or some cunning and am- bitious men, that they might themselves pass for prophets, or be acknowledged as lawgivers divinely instructed, would commit them to writing, mixing with them other matter connected with civil policy, or religion, and giving them a form ac- cording to the genius and views of theau'hors. Hence, perhaps, the oiigin of the sibylline verses, or oracles at Rome, and of other similar works to which a sacred veneration was paid in various countries of antiquity. And hence the resemblance of these traditions in many respects to one another, and to the sacred scriptures. It is not improbable th;it these tiadidons mislit have afterwards received greater clearness and precision from the sacred writings, which were dispersed, along with- i€3 aiuse of Virgil has presented to U3 the character of the eS' pected Prince and Saviour, drawn from tradition, and has ex- hibited the general hope and solicitude of the nations for his appearance at that time,* in aa exquisite poem, and almost in prophetic numbers. f " The last age, says he, is at length arrived, predicted by the prophetess of Cum«. The mighty order of ages begins to circle anew. Justice returns to the earth, and the happy reign of Saturn ; and from heaven de- scends a new, and divine offspring. Soon shall the great months begin to revolve ; and every vestige of our former crimes shall be effaced : thus shall the earth be redeemed from the distressing causes of perpetual fear. He shall par- the people of Israel and Jcdea, after their respective captivities, through all the nations of the East. To the holy records the name of Daniel would naturally give great authority, who, during many years, directed all the principal operations of the vast empires of Babylon, and Persia, which extended over the greater part of the Asiatic continent. * The time at which this great poet wrote was but a fe»7 years before the iirth of Christ. T Ultima Cumaei venit jam carminis aetas ; Magnus ab integro seclorum na«citur ordo. Jem red it et Virgo; redeunt Saturnia regna; .Tam nova progenies ccelo dimittitur alto. Incipient maj^i procedere menses, Te dace, siqua manent sceleris vestigia nostri, Irrita perpetua solvent formidine terras. Ille deijm vitam accipiet, Pacatumque reget patriis virtutibusorbem. Aggredere O magnos , aderit jam tempus honores, Cara deum soboles ! magnum Jovis incrementum ! The whole eclouge is well known to have been intended as a compliment to Pollio's son, but it is equally well known to be borrowed from a prevalent opin- ion or tradition. 164 take of the life of gods. And he shall rule the peaceful world with his Father's virtues. The time is now at hand. Enter on thy mighty honours, dear offspring of the gods ! O son of supreme Jove !" What a resemblance do we perceive in these strains of the Roman poet, to those of a Hebrew pro- phet ! In the same spirit proceeds the whole of this admi- rable poem, which might be esteemed an almost literal trans- lation of many of the most beautiful passages in the prophet Isaiah. And it is, indeed, far from being improbable that Virgil was acquainted with the prophetic scriptures, as they had, long before this period, been translated into the polite and universal language of the Greeks. Thus much, at least, appears to be certain, that an acquaintance with the writings of the Jews, seems to have excited, or renewed the attention of mankind to this great event as being near at hand, a vague expectation of which had been long nourished by the ancient traditions of their respective countries. Suetonius and Taci- tus, whose historical accuracy and judgment have placed them in the very first rank of historians, both inform us, " that there prevailed over the whole East, an ancient and fixed opinion, that there should, at that time, arise a person out of Judea, who should obtain the dominion of the world."* They * Neither the Pagans, nor the great body even of the Jewish nation, could easily form just conceptions of the nature of that spiritual kingdom which the Son of God was coming; to establish among men; they therefore interpreted the figurative language in which it was described in their traditions, and pro- phecies, and by their respective poels, of such temporal power, glory, and 165 say, indeed, that popular flattery, or credulity, applied these traditionary oracles to the Roman emperor Vespasian, who had been raised to the empire by the eastern legions, about the time that he engaged in the Jewish wars. But common sense must convince every thinking man, that expectations so universal, founded on predictions which had been transmit- ted down through ages, always pointing to the same period, and to a divine personage of the most sublime character, who should appear upon earth for the destruction of vice, and the establishment of righteousness, must have had a different ori- gin from an accidental rumour generated, one knows not how, and passing away with the events of the day ; and a very diflferent object from Vespasian, who had nothing to distin- guish him from so many other soldiers of fortune who had been raised from the ranks to the imperial purple. Recent researches into the history and antiquities of most of the eastern nations, and particularly of Persia, India, and China, have proved that similar traditions, to those which Virgil has shown us to have prevailed in the Roman empire, have existed among them from immemorial time. In these facts we have an extraordinary moral phenome- non presented to our reflections, which carries in itself no empire, as were adapted to the grossncBS of their imaginations. The imagery, however, which they employed, ought to have led their minds to purer and sublimer views. 166 s:maU degree of evidence, that the traditions relative to a fu- ture divine teacher, and legislator to come into the world were founded in original prophecy ; and that all the prophe- cies of the holy scriptures relating to this object were actual inspirations from Heaven, and had their full completion in our Lord Jesus Christ. For before the birth of Christ all na- tions had their traditions, and their predictions concerning such a divine messenger as the scriptures have described, and held out to the hopes of mankind, through all the line of their patriarchs and prophets, from the beginning of the world. These prophecies, and these traditions all pointed nearly to the same country, and to the same period. Accord- ingly at that period, and in that country, when expectation, nursed by the belief of ages, was all alive, arose a man claim- ing his birth from Heaven, who united in himself all the char- acters ascribed in ancient prophecy to the future Messiah. He has taught mankind the purest, and sublimest notions of God ; he has established among his disciples the most holy and rational worship of the Supreme Being, instead of those grovelling and corrupt^ed superstitions which had before en-» slaved the greater portion of the world ; he has proclaimed to the universe the most perfect law of morals ; he has brought life and immortality to light, confirming it by his own resurrection, after having submitted to death, as he declared, for the sins of the world : and, certainly, his doctrines have produced the greatest and happiest revolution which has ever taken place in the moral ideas, and the manners of man- 167 kind. And, since his appearance, we see that those expec- tations, which before were so ardent and so universal, have every where ceased ; for, to believers, they have been com- pletely realized, and, to all others, if Jesus Christ is not the divine messenger and prince who was to come, there is no longer any foundation on which they could be supported* Here then is a mighty stream of prophecy commencing with the history of the world itself, and continued down through sccessive ages to the era of Christ, which carries in its commencement, its extent, its progress, and its termination, shall I not say, infallible signatures of divine truth. Here we behold an emanation of prophetic light darting its distant rays upon this glorious object from the beginning of lime. At first, indeed, it appears faint and feeble like the dawn when it begins to break upon the darkness of the night ; but, as the sun of righteousness approaches to his rising, we see it continually becoming more luminous and disfincf. At length, we behold this spiritual sun appearing in all his glory in the heavens, and divine truth beaming in its full lustre on the nations. The holy prophets have not only announced a future Mes- siah to the world, who should derive his birth immedialelj from Heaven, but, in the progress of that illumination which gradually arose with increasing brightness upon the ancient church, they were enabled at last to delineate his character, as well as to foretel the time of his appearance upon the 168 eawth, with such exactness, and with such disliDguisbing traits, as necessarily to add great, not to say invincible au- thority to their predictions. It is not my design to trace out the progressive stages of prophetic light, under the ancient dispensations of grace, in the figurative promise given to Adam ; in the symbolic and practical revelation made to Abraham in the command to sacrifice his son on Mount Mo- riah; or in the analogy by which Moses instructed the church of Israel : A prophet shall the Lord your God raise zip to you, like unto me ; him shall ye hear. These, and a thousand other gradual developments of his character, and offices, I shall pass over, to come at once to that ultimate de- gree of illumination which God was pleased to aflford the an- cient church, when the Mosaic dispensation was approaching towards a close. Then we find, especially in the prophet Isaiah, such striking delineations of the mediatorial character of Christ, so extraordinary, and yet so accurate and just, as must affect with mingled wonder and devotion, every reflect- ing, and candid inquirer after truth. In the Messiah, as he appears exhibited by the Spirit which animated the prophets, are united such opposite extremes of grandeur and humility, of omnipotence and weakness, of celestial perfection and hu- man infirmity, as men, writing from the inipulse merely of their own minds, whether we suppose them inflamed with en- thusiasm, or acting under the direction of the co^d and calcu- lating genius of imposture, would never have brought togeth- er. A heavenly messenger sent on (he most important er- i6d rand lo mortalg, a prince claiming bis descent from Heaven who was to extend the empire of peace, and righteousness, over the universe, to compose its disorders, and put an end to its crimes, if the picture were drawn merely from the ima- gination of the writer, would be invested only with those no- ble and divine attributes which would become his relation to God. It never would have entered into a reasonable mind, judging on the common principles of human nature, to com- bine with these celestial properties and powers, poverty and weakness, insult and disgrace, humiliation and suffering. But God, who was preparing, at once, an instructor and a sacrifice, a king and a victim, for a fallen, and redeemed race, and who, for this end, united in the same person the most distant extremes of heavenly glory and of human infir- mity, so overruled the mind$i of the prophets that they have drawn a character which they themselves could not comprehend, or explain ; which, left to themselves, they never would have conceived, and which could be under- stood only by the coming of the great Archetype himself. Let us contemplate the various, and apparently contradic- tory lights in which he is represented to us by the spirit of prophecy. Unto us sailh the prophet Isaiah, a child is horn ; unto us a son is given ; and the government shall be upon his shoidders ; and his name shall be called Won- derful. Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Fa- ther, the Prince of Peace. And of the increase of his gon- 22 170 emment and peace there shall be no end.'^ And in oiher parts of that giibliaie and wonderful book, he is exhibited io such circumstances of humiiiation and affliction that it \vould be difficult, without the guidance of that divine Spirit who insjiired the prophet, to conceive bow they should be appli« ed to the same person. " He is despised," says he, " and rejected of men ; a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. Surely, he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows : yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions ; be was bruised for our iniquities ; and the Lord hath laid up- on him the iniquity of us ?11. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted : he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter ; andj as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openelh not his mouth. ' He was taken off by an oppressive judgment :'f and who shall declare his generation ? It pleased the Lord to bruise him : he hath put him to grief. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days ; and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands." J The actual coming of the Saviour alone has been able to reconcile ail these apparent prophetic contradictions, and to vindicate the inspiration of the holy prophets. In his birth announced by angels, and his death among malefactors ; in the miraculous and omnipotent potr- * Isaiah ix. 6tb, 7th. f Bishop Lowth'g tran$latioD,^v. 8. i leaiah liii. Sd—lOtb. in €rs by which he attcsfed his Heavenly mission, and the weakness which subjected him to the power of sinful men ; in his 3 ielding (o death in its most ignominious form, and hi« resurrection and triumph over it; in his descent from Heav- en to invest himself with the infirmities of human nature, and again, in his ascension to his primitive glory which he had with his Father before the world was, we see extremes which God only could unite ; we behold a character which the Spirit of God alone c )uld have suggested to the minds of the prophets ; we discern the justification of the propliets, and their truth triumphantly confirrued : and, in the confir- mation of their truth, we see the infallible verification of our holy religion. For the Messiah, as he appears in the strains of (he prophets, and Jesus Christ, as he appears in the gos- pel, are characters so entirely out of nature, so utterly be- yond human conception and contrivance, that t' e corres- pondence of the prophecy to the history, and of the history, to the prophecy, ought to be regarded as an irrefragable de- monstration of the truth of both. Having pointed out to you the early prophecy of a Mes- siah in the first promise made to man af«er his fall ; the grad- ual and increasing light which was shed on this primary pre- diction, in the progressive dispensations of divine piovi- dence ; the universal expectation which was enfertained of the appearance of such a divine personage upon e;irlh, found- ed probably on an original revelation made to the father of 172. the race, and revived, and rendered more definite and clear by die dispersion of the Jewish nation, and the Jewish scrip- tures, into the various regions of tlie East. The patriarch Jacob, just before his death, taking, under the influence of the Spirit of God, a prospective view of the destinies of his respective children, and their posterity, de- livers to Judah, his oldest son, this remarkable prediction, with regard to the permanence of his dominion, and the de- scent of the Messiah from him. " The sceptre shall not de- part from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, un- til Shiloh come, and to him shall the gathering of the peo- ple be.* The most accurate and learned criticism applied to the terms in this passage translated sceptre and lawgiver leaves little room to doubt but that they imply the powers of civil government in the Jewish nation. And the interpretation universally given by the ancient Jewish church, and by the whole nation of Israel, to the name of Shiloh, (for they con- stantly interpreted it of the Messiah who was to come) is a proof that our application of it to the ever blessed Saviour, * Deut. xxviii. 57th. The terra Shiloh, according to the root from which it is derived, may signify either the prepared, the sent, or the giver of peace, any or all of which, evidently referring to the character and office of the expected Mes- siah. Till his coming, the tribe of Judah should enjoy hereditary and sovereign power within itself; the phrase /rom between his feet, he'iog a modest Hebraism, for a natural descendant of his family. US our Lord Jesus Christ, is not, according to the assertions, or insinuations of many infidels, merely a recent, and conveni- ent adaptation of a dubious term by christian writers to the purposes of their faith. No term has had a more precise, and less doubtful signification given to it by the uniform voice of all antiquity. The import of this prediction, therefore, is, that the tribe of Judah should preserve a national existence, and continue to exercise the essential powers of civil government, till the advent of that great deliverer expected from the beginning of the world. This peculiar distinction of Judah, arising from the possession and exercise of the powers of govern- ment, seems indirectly to imply that this prerogative should be lost by the other tribes before the coming of the Mes- siah. And has not this prophecy, both in its direct, and its implied meaning, been completely fulfilled ? All the tribes of Israel except that of Judah had lost their national existence, and even the distinction of their tribes, long before the birth of Christ ; having been either blended with the tribe of Ju- dah, or dispersed and lost among the various nations compo- sing the Babylonian empire."* Judah retained both the * Some colonies of people possessing the law of Moses, and professing to gov- ern themselves by its moral and religious riles and institutions, as far as their present situation will permit, have been discovered in the interior of India, and on the borders of China, who are evidently descendants of the ten tribes who were carried away into captivity by the kings of Babylon, before the destruction of Jerusalem in the reign of Zedekiah, and llie captivity of the tribe of Jiuhh. ir4 aceptrc of executive power, and the preroqjative of internret- ing, and administering their own law tiil fhe advent oi Ihe Saviour. Christ was born in the reien of Herod, the last prince who swayed the sceptre of Jtidah, and but a few years before the final extinclion of the supreme judical, le- gislative, and religious authority of the nalion ; and even of the nation itself as a distinct civil community. For, affer Herod, the government of the Jews was for a short lime di- Tided among several petty princes, who possessed only the semblance of authority, under the supreme power of the Ro- mans ; and, on the destruction of Jerusalem, which followed in a few years, the miserable remnants of that people, whora a foreign sword, and the most frightful civil discord, had spared, were dispersed into all nations under heaven. And in this state of dispersion they remain, the visible monuments of the divine Judgments, to this day. Let me, then, express the spirit of this prophecy in the following reflections. The typical church and kingdom of the Messiah shall exist, till his advent, in the nation of Israel, and particularly in the tribe of Judah ; in which tribe shall be x'ested and continued, for this purpose, all the powers of go- They possess none of the prophetic writings after the age of David. And their copies of the pentateuch are plainly of the most remote antiquity ; as appears from the kind of skins on which they are written, and from the circumstance of the letters, in many places, not being distinguishable, except by traces left in the skin?, which have beeamade by the corrosion of the liquid v^'nh which they ■;:ere originally traced. 175 vernment both civil and religious. But when the Messiali abuil have come, the reasons, tor which this people is chosen by God, and separated as a church to himself from all the other nations of the earth, shall cease; and then shall termi" nate their national, and typical existence. . The spiritual em- pire of the Redeemer shall, after this period, embrace all na- tions without distinction, or preference ; and to him shall the gathering of the people*" be. With what wonderful exact- ness, then, have we seen this venerable patriarch and pro- phet determine the era of this great event ; trace out the destinies of his several sons, and restrict to Judah, the pecu- liar benediction of Abraham, which consisted in this promise : in thy seed shall all thejamilies of the earth be blessed. About the period of the birth of Christ, the visible de- cline of the Jewish state, and its rapid tendency to dissolu- tion, indicated, by manifest and unequivocal symptoms, to ob' serving and reflecting minds, the approach of the great era fixed for the coming of the Messiah. Therefore Simeon, and many other pious Jews, were waiting, at this time, with anxious expectation, /or the hope of Israel. But the body of that nation, now become worldly, and sensual in their minds, and ambitious in their views, mistook the true charaC' ter of their deliverer, and the spiritual nature of his kingdom. They, therefore, did not recognize him when he stood in the * The, pp.ople, in this placp, as in numerous othsr paggages of the sacred writings evidently reieri to the Qeniile notions. tnidst of them ; but, ungratified in their vain hopes, they put him to dealh in the rage of disappointment, and thereby ac- complished another, and not the least glorious part of the prophecies concerning him. While flattering themselves ■with the illusion of a martial and victorious prince who should extend the empire of Jerusalem over the whole earth, their impatience of foreign domination daily increased, and precip- itated them into disorders and revolts, which only hastened their destruction, and gave them the last fatal proof that the Messiah was already come, and that they had done unto him whatsoever they listed.^ And now, in the conclusion, let me ask, have we not seen a most extraordinary person appear in Judea according to the predictions of the sacred scriptures ? And has he no^; appeared at the precise time which they had marked out, and when, in consequence, he was expected, not by the Jews only, but by almost all nations ? Since his coming, have not expectations, which before were so constant and universal, entirely ceased ? Has not the Jewish nation, according to the prophecy, rejected him who came to them as the Mes- siah ? And have not the gentiles gathered themselves under his wings, while the guilty Jews have been exiled from their country and scattered through all nations under heaven ? Have we not seen the greatest moral revolution effected by *Mat. xvii. 12th. 177 his doctrines which has ever taken place in the world ? An3 are not all these astonishing events evidently connected as parts of a vast plan which takes its beginning with time it- self, which we have seen gradually unfolding in the sacred oracles for a long series of ages, and to the consummation cf which when they ceased to speak, they still continue to con- duct us by the lights of prophecy ? What, then, is the conclusion to which candid and impar'- tial reason must lead us from all these premises ? Is it not, that the prophecies have been inspired by God ? that the plan which they develop is the work of God ? and that it has been conducted to its wonderful issue by his own imme- diate hand ? I have here presented to you a very partial review of the evidence for our holy religion which may be derived from prophecy. It is an ample field ; I have led you to contem- plate only a single angle of it. Yet, I trust, I have opened to you enough to convince every serious and ingenuous mind that is solicitous to obtain full satisfaction on a subject so in- teresting to the happiness, the duty, and the hopes of man^ of the importance of exploring it more extensively. The ar- gument, however, as far as we have pursued it; appears to me satisfactory and conclusive. 23 €OtLATERAL OR PRB8UMPT1VE PROOFS OP CHRISTIAIflTt^ OF THE SUBLIMITY OF THE SCRIPTURES. Having presented to you a concise vierr of the direct evi- dences of the truth of our holy religion, I proceed to exhi- bit some collateral and presumptive considerations which will be found of importance in giving strength to the general argument. Of this species of evidence it is the character, that the various presumptions, or probabilities, taken sepa> rately, do not carry to the mind that complete conviction on which it can entirely rest independently of other proof; but the whole viewed together forms an accumulation of evidence which is not easy to resist ; and they greatly strengthen the impression of those proofs which are more immediate and positive. These presumptions arise, in the first place, out of the scriptures themselves : their sublimity, their purity, their plainness, their efficacy on the hearts of men, and their con- sistency with the state of the world, and with themselves, though penned by writers of such various characters, and so far removed from one another in point of time, through a long series of ages : in the next place, out of the character of the Saviour, and of those humble instruments which he employ- ed to promulgate his doctrines ; and lastly, out of the conse- quences which have flowed from the promulgation of the gospel. 179 One of tion shed by the scriptures on the christian world.* True it is, that any pretence to revelation must come re- commended by some general system of good morals, other- wise it will soon fall to the ground. But when an impostor has set up a fictitious claim to inspiration, we may ever ex- pect to find some traits of human weakness and depravity mingled with his religious doctrines. It is almost impossible that an impious, or immoral man should not transfuse, in some degree, the colour of his own character into his work. Hence, amidst the general precepts of justice, temperance, and chastity, without which civil society cannot exist, and which enter into all the religions of the world, still we find, in the temples of paganism, free permission given to the in- dulgence of the most licentious passions of the heart. It is in the koran itself, in the vicious license which it grants its disciples, and the sensual paradise which it confers on its military saints, that we might learn the lust, and violence of * ^Vhatever is excellent in the theological and moral principles of the koran of Mahomet, we have likewise reason to believe was drawn from the knowledge which that impostor had both of the writings of the Old and the New Testament. 190 its author if we were not acquainted with the history of his fife. But, in the holy scriptures, you not only discern a general system of good morals, many excellent precepts of piety and virtue, but you have presented to you a perfect body of doctrine in which the most faithful and candid scru- tiny can find nothing of an opposite character or tendency. In them you perceive the principles and examples of the purest devotion, equally removed from the injudicious fer- vors of enthusiasm, and the cold and burdensome ceremonial of superstition : in them you see personal purity carried to the highest degree of perfection ; and those virtues which most effectually promote the harmony, and the happiness of society placed on their only true and stable foundation ; char- ity which loves our neighbour as ourselves; meekness which is not prompt to revenge an injury ; forgiveness which is ready to forget it ; the whole animated by the love of God, and guarded against the disorders of the injurious, passions by the holy influence of his fear. On this subject the following considerations particularly merit your attention : the spirit of the morality of the gospel ; its extent: the principles which it lays down as the summa- ry, and the only true and efficient spring of all our duties : and finally, the discriminating test which it proposes of the sincerity of otir obedience. 191 It has been justly remarked by Dr. Paley, after the cele- bralcd Soame Jennyos, that the spirit of the morality taugh! by our blessed Saviour is entirely opposed to those splendid and ostentatious qualities which too generally pass in the ■world for virtues of a superior order, and which history so often ambitiously displays to decorate her style, and to cap- tivate the unthinking admiration of mankind for her principal heroes. The gospel gives no praise to that pride which ex- alts itself over our fellow men, and is easily provoked at in- juries real or imaginary ; it has no indulgence for that jealous honour which is ever ready to suspect, and revenge insults, or that lofty ambition of power and command, which the mis- take of the world is apt to extol as a proof of elevation and nobleness of mind. On the other hand, next to the love and fear of God, it bestows all its approbation on meekness of spirit, on candour, on humility, on charity and kindness of beart, in a word, on those mild, innocent, unassuming, and benevolent dispositions, which give birth to the sweetest in- tercourse among mankind, and form the strongest and happi- est cement of society. This is a morality entirely different in its genius from that which would be dictated by the spirit of the world. It is peculiar to the gospel And although, at the first view, it may seem, to those who have received their education in the world, to be tame and pus llanimous, it will be found, on a fair and just examination, to discovers more profound estimate of moral woftJh thas was ever before 192 made ; either in the schools of philosophy, or in that of the world. It is judiciously observed by both the distinguished wri- ters to whom I have referred, that the heroic virtues, as they are called, are calculated only to disturb the peace and hap- piness of human society, and have, indeed, been the chief sources of the disorders, the wars, and revolutions which, in every period of time, have afRicted all nations. On the con- trary, if all men were governed by the christian virtues of humility, of meekness, of candour, of forgiveness, of charity, the earth, which has hitherto been the theatre of violent, conflicting, and cruel passions, would become the residence of tranquillity and peace. Do you ask if the general prevalence of these meek and pacific principles in a nation would not expose it to insults and injustice from its powerful neighbours, and render it, at length, an easy prey to their ambition ? I answer that the maxims of the gospel do not oppose the natural duties which every citizen owes to his country for its defence. It is among the primary obligations which the gospel imposes on its disciples, to honour and obey the magistrate, as well as to fear God. And the supreme magistracy of a state owes duties to the nation under its protection very different from those which subsist between man and man in society. It is the latter, chiefly, which the evangelic lules of meekness, 193 humility, charily, and forgiveness are intended to regulate. And they promote peace and union by cultivating the spirit of mutual love ; they prevent discords, by extinguishing, or correcting the passions which are the principles of conlention and division. The civil laws of most countries aim at the same end ; but feebly, because they impose their restraints only on the outward actions ; whereas the gospel enters into the heart to correct the evil in its source. It is folly there- fore to accuse of tameness and pusillanimity, that spirit whicb, by changing the dispositions of the heart, promotes the peace of society in the most perfect manner ; an object which it is the supreme end of a wise legislation even imper- fectly to attain, by operating with its compulsory power on the external conduct. It is the error of the world to bestow its admiration on that bold aad ardent character of mind which is quick in its sensibilities to injury, violent in its re- sentments, jealous of its honour, proud of its darings, and ever ready, in order to avenge itself of real or imaginary wrongs, to break through both the prescriptions of law, and the dictates of justice. Such is commonly the heroic char- acter whose achievements blazon the pages of history. Far ditferent are the virtues of the gospel. Silent, yielding, and benevolent, they contribute to promote and secure the hap- piness of mankind, which the former tend to destroy. When we consider, then, the perfect and unmixed purity of the morality of the gospel, and the indications which it 25 194 exhibits of a most holj and spoUess mind in its author; when we consider with what admirable wisdom he rejects the false and imposing virtues which have chiefly commanded the ap- plause of the world, and even the approbation of the sage, and placed virtue, which is the mean of promoting human happiness, upon its true and only solid basis ; when we re- flect, further, how peculiar these excellencies are to the gos- pel of Christ, and how far they are above the wisdom, how contrary to the spirit of the world, we might well be sur- prised if any of the sages of Greece, rising above the genius and improvements of their age, bad been the authors of such a system ; but when we take into view the country, the edu- cationy and rank in life, of Christ, and his apostles, we must be astonished at the wisdom with which they have spoken. Considering them as mere men, bred up amidst the tools of the mechanic, or the nets of the fishermen, it must be utter- ly incredible. Surely, exclaims Dr. Paley, Jesus must have been like no olher carpenter, the apostles like no other fishermen ! Read the discourses, the parables, the history of the transactions of our blessed Saviour ; read the moral precepts with which the epistles of the apostles every where abound, and I confess they appear to me to bear the evident and deep inscriptions of divine wisdom. The mission of the Saviour, and the doctrines of the gospel were confirmed by great and numerous miracles ; but, in my esteem, the greatest of all miracles would be the gospel itself, if we could suppose such a transcendent systemof tiieologyand morals, so sublime, 19^ so pure, so superior to the wisdom of the age, to have been the uninspired work of the unlettered fishermen of Judea. The excellence of the christian morality may be estimat- ed, in the next place, from its extent. The gospel does not limit its views to regulating the external conduct and inter- course of mankind with one another, to which civil laws are obliged to bound their influence. It goes to rectify the thoughts and desires of the heart, and thereby to purify the fountains of conduct : it places its restraints upon the first movements and springs of action. This is a point of the ut- most importance in considering the true value of the morality of the gospel, which sets it far above the influence of civil laws, or the discipline of the schools. For, however re^u- lar the exterior deportment may be, if the imagination, and the afTections remain impure, the soul must be unfit to ap- pear in the immediate presence of God most holy, or to be joined to the society of perfect spirits in heaven ; and there is no security for the rectitude of the conduct whenever temptation invites, and opportunity favours indulgence. Fan- cy, if it is permitted withoiU restraint to amuse itself with the plans, or to enjoy the pleasures of avarice, revenge, or lust ; if it is allowed to present images of impurity to the mind, and range at will through ideal scenes of voluptuous enjoyment, taints the purity, while it inflames the passions, of the heart, and corrupts it no less effectually in its princi- ples of action, than could be done by grosser gratifica- 196 tions> The great Teacher, who shows in all his precepts how perfeclly he understands human nature, as well as the eternal principles of right and wrong, lays the check of every sinful propensity, and every vicious action on the Only spring on which it can be laid with effect : on the thoughts, on the fancy, on the heart. Out of the heart, saith he, proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, Src. and these are the things which defile a man.f And he who sees the end and con- suinmalion of the act in the principle from which it springs, and regards as already done whatever is completed in the desire, purpose, and determination of the soul, condemns ev- ery one who even looks on the sex with a lusifid eyc.X What impostor, conscious of his own imperfections, would be wil- ling to create so high and severe a standard of morals by which he must be judged himself? What crafty founder of a sect would not be more complaisant to the tastes, or the frailties of those whom he wished to allure to the party of his followers ?|| * This is a remark fouaded on the strictest principles of reason, as well as of the gospel, which strongly condemns the readers, as well as writers of licentious poe- try ; and universally, all those who encourage, by their presence, any licentious exhibitions, or by purchasing any licentious productions of the arts. f Mat. XV-. 19. X Mat. V. 28. II I am aware that retreat from the world, abstemiousness and rigid penances of- ten have an air of sanctity in the eyes of a superstitious people ; and these morti- fications have been introduced, as among the pharisees, the Roman Catholics, and the Mahometans, to gain a certain degree of popular respect for their respective systems. But in such impostures you always find, at tlie same time, some facili- ties permitted to the wealthy and the powerful to evade the rigors of penance ; or eome indulgences granted in other articles to compensate these privations. 197 The summary of duty, in the next place laid down in the holy scriptures, as comprehending the whole spirit and sub- stance of the morality of the gospel, serves to demonstrate its excellence and perfection. All our duties may be divided into two great classes : those which we owe immediately to God : those which ter- minate directly on our fellow men. And of both these clas- ses our blessed Saviour has, after Moses, who received it from God himself to be prefixed to the tables of the ten com- mandments, given the most admirable and perfect epitome : " thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind ; this is the first and great commandment ; and the second is like unto it, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself."* By this concise view of the great and commanding principles of morals, we see that the gospel, which places the restraint of all vicious and sinful actions in a renewed heart, the only eflacient point in which it can be fixed, places there also the true spring of ail duty. And, is it not evident that the worship of God in spirit and in truth, veneration for his holy name, resignation to the dispositions of his providence, and universal obedience to whatever bears the stamp of his authority, will flow from supreme love to him as from its native fountain ? And, on the other hand, is it not equally evident that justice, bene- * Mat. xrii. 35, 4Q, 198 volence, candour, sinceiilj, meekness, forgiveness, and all those virtues which fulfil the multiplied relations which we bear to our fellow men, will be the natural and necessary con- sequence of sincere and undissembled love ? But do you ask» if these principles are peculiar to the gospel ? If we do not also find them inculcated by heathen moralists ? We find reverence, and thankfulness to the gods frequently recom- mended by some of the philosophers; but in none of their writings do we see the supreme love of God staled a* the fundamental principle of virtue and duty. In none, is the will of God stated as the sole, creating, preserving, and regU' lating power of the universe, to which, therefore, our most profound veneration and submission, our most constant and fervent gratitude are due. Indeed, they had ex- tremely imperfect, or rather no just views at all either of creation or of providence. And in the catalogue of virtues which connect us with mankind, although some of their schools require justice, truth, chastity, and recommend friendship, gratitude, and beneficence ; yet we find not in any of them, the love of enemies, the forgiveness of injuries, nor any thing which may properly be called charity, as it is understood by christians, and inculcated in the gospel. I am warranted, then, by the concurrent sentiments of the wisest, ttjost candid, and pious christian writers, in pronounc- ing that never has a basis of duty, equally clear, compre- hensive, and complete, been laid in the works of any of the 199 sages of paganism, as that which has been laid in the gospel of Christ ; and never has such a moral superstructure been reared on any basis ; so admirable, for its purity, for its sim- plicity, for its adaptation to every grade of human under- standing, for its fulness, and its application to every case which can arise to a fair and candid mind in the conduct of life. If, then, these principles, and this system which ap- pear so perfect, would have been wonderful, proceeding from the genius and the pen of a Plato, or a Marcus Antoninus ; if, indeed, we see nothing parallel in the schools of Greece or Rome ; how much more wonderful are they if we consider them merely as the productions of unlettered peasants be= longing to a country which Greek and Roman pride regard- ed as barbarian ? Having been nursed and educated amidst that light which the gospel diflfuses wherever it is received, we are apt to re- gard its moral doctrines as containing only the simple and ob- vious dictates of natural reason ; because thej have entered into our earliest education, they have mingled with our first ideas, and been incorporated from infancy with all our habits of thinking. But to be justly impressed with the full force of the claim which it possesses to a divine original, we should relHrn back to the periods which preceded the christian era, and to those countries which did not enjoy the light of reve- lation, and see what the wisdom of the wisest men has dis- covered upon the subject of duty and morals. This will af- 200 lord an argument founded on fact and experience, the only ground on which we can rest a just and satisfactory conclu* sion on this subject. And when we see what the sages of the most enlightened nations have not done, and, on the oth- er hand, what has been done by the simple fishermen of Ju- dea, under the instructions of a master as little indebted as themselves to human science, will it not afford a strong, and almost irresistible presumption of the reahty of that divine inspiration from which they professed to have derived this extraordinary wisdom ? We know not how men in that age, in that country, and in their station of life could have attained to such superior knowledge on these sublime subjects, unless they had been divinely assisted. And, surely, if inspiration has ever spoken to the world, we cannot conceive of any thing more pure, more excellent, more perfect, which could have been dictated by heaven itself. Another characteristic of the evangelic moralitj' is the un- mixed purity of the principle which it requires in order to constitute any action good, and acceptable to God. Take heed, says our blessed Saviour, " that ye do not your alms before men to be seen of them. When thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father who is in secret. When thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doth."* Of * Mat. vi. 3. i201 which precepts the evident import is, that we ought to offer our devotions to our heavenly Father, not as a mere form, not through ostentation, but purely for the love of God ; and that we should fulfil every office of benevolence and charity (o our fellow men simply from the love of doing good. No regard merely to our own credit and reputation among men, and no considerations of honour or interest arising from the publicity of our good deeds, ought exclusively to influence us in their performance : they ought ever to be the natural and spontaneous effusions of the pious and virtuous disposi- tions of the heart. Many very amiable and benevolent persons have greatly mistaken the meaning of these precepts, as if they implied that the chief merit of charitable deeds consists in their being entirely withdrawn from the knowledge and observation of the world. So far is this from being true that, not unfre- quently, their publicity may form part of their good desert, by the encouragement which it will afford to the alms of oth- ers. It is not the mode of doing a benevolent action that our Saviour designed to regulate, but the principles from which it should spring. In this view, what an amiable proof do these precepts contain of the excellence of the evangelic doctrine, and the celestial purity of its spirit I Another character of the sacred scriptures which has gen*- erally been relied on as affording a presumptive indlcatioH of 2fi tbfeir being deiived from God is their simplicity and plainntisil^ notivithsfanding the sublimity of the subjects of which they treat, and the extent of the sysfem of truth and morals which they embrace. Any religion, which comes from God, must, from its very design, be adapted for the instruction of the mass of raankmd. And it was the glory of the gospel, in its commencement, that it mas preached to the poor. In ful- JGlling this great and necessary end of popular edification, therefore, nothing would have been more preposterous than to propose to them abstruse and speculative principles of sci- ence, or to discuss before them such abstract questions as were agitated by the philosophers in the presence of their disciples. It was requisite that religion should propound the objects, the laws, and the motives of doty, in the most plain and intelligible form, that ihey might be easily couipre- liended by the most unimproved understanding, while they should afford high matter to employ the sublimest, and most cultivated reason. Most remarkably do we see these char- acters meet in the gospel. And perhaps no fact can better demonstrate how admirably it is fitted to be the instructor cf ihe people^ than the clear and general knowledge which wc now find among all ranks of men, on the subjects of our mor- al duties, and our religious hopes. A common labourer, in- Btructed, as the church requires for the poorest of her sons, - >Tould have been esteemed a philosopher among philosophers themselves, judging only from the reasonableness and excel- lecce of his moral and theological doctrines. But, if they 2oa were to enter with him into such disqulsidong on the princi-, pies of these doctrines as were common in their schools ; if they were to endeavour to trace them to their primary ele- ments, and again to pursue them through regular deductions to their uhimate conclusions, guarding against objections and cloubts at every step, and parrying, or solving a thousand knotty questions in their progress, would not this plain man be confounded ? He would be lost in the intricacy of their speculations, and would not be able at last to recognise his own principles. Such reflections add no smaU.value to the plainness of the gospel; and may, perhaps, justly be said to afford a presumption of the divinity of that system which haa thus been able to bring down the sublimest subjects to the level of ordinary minds. I subjoin here, that the efficacy of the holy scriptures,, by which is meant their tendency, and powerful influence to pro- duce holiness of life in those who truly believe them, is often adduced by pious writers as an internal character, and pre- sumptive argument of their divine original. This argument is supported partly from reason and partly from experience* In the former view, we should consider the motives and asr sistances of duty afforded by the gospel, and the awful and commanding authority by which it is enjoined. The mo- tives presented to the view, and urged upon the conscience of a believer in the gospel, are of so transcendent and inter- esting a nature, as evidently to give it an operation, and eS- 264 ifect upon the heart, which can never be perceived from any system of mere reason and philosophy. Feeble are the mo- lives of reason alone to combat the force of the passions. But the gospel, by bringing life and immortality to lights by proposing to mankind the glorious and awful retributions of eternity, by the doctrine of a divine providence, of a univer- sal witness and judge of human actions, and even of the thoughts of the heart, has given a force and effect to the laws of duty and holiness, which could not be derived from any representations of the present convenience and satisfactions of a virtuous life, however eloquently they might be depict- ed in the discourses of the learned, but which the heart is so often able to set aside, or to render doubtful in the moments of temptation and of action. Consider, in the next place, the authority with which the gospel speaks to the heart of a true believer, who receives it as the immediate and infallible word of God. Reason, when it would prescribe a law of duty to mankind, must often speak in the breast with a very faint and doubtful voice amidst the prejudices and prepossessions of self-love, and the importunities of appetite and passion, and amidst the dubious and circuitous deductions by which it is obliged to arrive at its conclusions. And it can never prescribe to the people a rule which, in this uncertainty, can clearly reach to every case in the practice of life. But the authority of God gives to his law a clearness which cannot be mistaken, and a power 205 and control which come home to every thought and purpose of the soul. Before the majesty of his authority, the turbu- lence of appetite, and the deceitfulness of the heart are over- awed, and brought to submission. And the authority of God is exhibited in the gospel as possessing claims to our obedi- ence, and a power to command it, which reason alone cannot exert. He enforces his law by all the rights of creation ; by all the obligations of his love in the redemption of the world ; and by all the terrors of his justice, which shall, at last, de- cide, by this law, the eternal destinies of mankind. Among the most effectual means of holiness, pious writers have ever considered the promised aids of the Holy Spirit r they are, therefore, to be classed under that head of presump- tive proof of which I am now treating : the efficacy of the scriptures. To a nature corrupted as ours is, the difficulty of conquer- ing its sinful tendencies and habits, and turning its whole force and activity into an habitual love of virtue, of holiness, and of God, that is, of regenerating and new creating it, might justly be regarded as insuperable without supernatural, and divine assistance. At least, convinced sinners who feel only the difficulties of religion, and who, in repeated efforts per- fectly to obey the law of God, and to overcome the power of sin in their hearts, must be sensible only of their own weakness, would be ready to sink into despondency, or re< ^pse into tlieir natural indolence, and lore of indulgence, un^ leas thej could find some hope in the promised aid of the holy Spirit. If, then, in maintaining the efficacy of the gos- pel, to promote holiness of life, against unbelievers, we should not be at liberty to assume the reality of the influence of the Spirit, which would completely decide the question; yet the promise, and hope of his gracious and effectual assistance is calculated to encourage the perseverance, and reanimate the diligent and faithful endeavours of every believer, and may, therefore, be justly reckoned among the efficient means which the gospel possesses of promoting true holiness, and reproducing on the iieart of man the image of his Creator, Finally, this argument is supported by experience. I might here mention, in the first place, the great and manifest effect which the gospel has ever had in producing holiness of life wherever if has been received with a sincere faith.— But I have chiefly in view that proof of its divinity which it carries to the heart of every real christian by his own expe- rience of its sanctifying influence. This is a proof indeed that is entirely personal, and does not belong to the general evidences of the truth of Christianity. Yet, to a sincere be- liever, who has experienced this holy and renovating power, and thus may be said to have the testimony in himself, and this is the principal view in which the pious writers I have mentioned propose this argument, there is, perhaps, no other proof which eomes home with such Hfe, and force, and per- suasion to his heart. The argument, however, which I take to be in its nature very solid and just, is calculated, and in* tended rather for the confirmation of the faith of the believer, than the conviction of the unbeliever. »F THE CONSISTENCY OP THE SCRIPTURES WITH THEM- SELVES, AND WITH THE STATE OF THE WORLD. Another internal character of the sacred scriptures, which affords a presumptive argument of their truth, is their con- sistency. This maj be considered under two views : theif «onsistency with themselves, and their consistency with the atate of the world. That any Work, the production of one author, and embrac" ing a code of legislation, or system of morals, how extensive soever, founded on his peculiar opinions, should be regularly deduced from definite principles, should aim at one end, and be foimd coherent in all its parts, would have in it nothing surprising. It would be a natural consequence of genius, and sound judgment in the writer. But, in the scriptures we per- ceive, not the work of one author, nor of one age but the gradual development of a grand scheme of providence, and of divine grace towards mankind, commencing with the ori- gin, and carried on through the whole series of time, till the close of the canon of the New Testament, in the accomplish- ment and illuDtration of which aa immeaie maaUer ef persons 268 must have co-operated throughout successive ages, not con- nected with one another, and not acting, as far as appears to human view, under any common direction. One dispensa* tion follows and is built upon another. The same spirit, the same principles of theologj, of piety, and morals pervade the whole ; the same spiritual promises and hopes are gradually unfolded through thousands of years, and conducted to their ultimate accomplishment. Here is a vast concatenation of events intimately linked together, and depending upon one another ; here is a unity of plan in this great system contin- ued down through different dispensations of the mercy of God to the world, tending to fulfil one great design, the salvation of mankind through a Redeemer ; of the astonishing deve* lopment of which design, continued through such a long pe- riod, no reasonable account can be given, unless we suppose the whole to be under the immediate guidance and direction of heaven. Plans laid by human contrivance are not so per- manent, and, if I may use the term so continuous. There is no example, in human affairs, of successive generations tak- ing up one design, unfolding it by degrees in a long course of ages, and carrying it, at length, to its ultimate completion. From flie character and state of human nature, its limited, and discordant views, this is perhaps impossible. We do not perceive the various schools of philosophy concurring long in the same systems of physics, or of morals. One lead- er of a sect diflfers from another ; the disciple differs from his master ; the principles on which their respective theories are built are continuallj cbanging. But in the holy scriptures xve find one uniform consistent design pursued from genera- tion to generation. Amidst al! the variations which in a long succession of ages must have occurred in the state of society, in the manners of men, in their habits of thinking, and in the external forms and usages of the church itself, we still per- ceive the same doctrines concerning the nature of God, and the duties of man ; we still discern the same principles of mo- rals, the same worship of the heart required in true religions the same high and eternal motives of duty urged upon the conscience, the same promised Saviour exhibited to our faith, the same plan of divine grace, distinguished only by the ad- ditional lights from time to time thrown upon it as it approach- ed its final accomplishment. In this consistency, then, we behold a moral phenomenon so different from whatever takes place, in the plans and designs of men, as to afford no slight presumption that the whole, from its commencement to its consummation, has been under the wise and gracious direc- tion of the Spirit of God. The same Spirit seems to have inspired the holy patriarchs, the great legislator of Israel, the long succession of the Hebrew prophets, and the evangelists and apostles of oar blessed Lord. There is another light in which the consistency of the scriptures may be considered, which merits a more extended illustration : it is their conformity with the actual state of the world. Truth is always consistent with itself, and with all 27 210 other truths. Error, though it may be disguised, and to su-' perficial observation, may seem to bear a semblance of truth ; yet in such a wide field of moral, historical, and natural sci- ence, as is embraced in the holy scriptures, it is extremely improbable that any scheme of falsehood and imposture, fab- ricaled especially in such an early age, should not conlain many discrepancies with the actual system, moral or physi- cal, of the world, which would be made more and more man- ifest by the improvements of science. But improvements in genuine science have hitherto only more clearly elucidated and confirmed the doctrines of the scriptures, and especially the facts of the sacred history. Here we see the depravity of human nature, the existence of which is demonstrated by a most melancholy experience, not only asserted, but ac- coimted for, and referred to a most natural source. Here we see a remedy provided for this universal corruption, confor- mable to the hopes of virtue, adequate to the fears of guilt, agreeing with the soiuidest principles of reason, yet such as reason could never have discoveted. Here you trace the orie;in of nations in the immediate descendants of the great postdiluvian father of the race ; and here the diflferent my- thologies of so many people, and their varying traditions, re= ceive a reasonable interpretation, and are reunited as in a common centre. »n THE CHARACTER OF THE AUTHOR OF OUR RELIGION: THE INSTRUMENTS HE EMPLOVED TO PROMOTE IT: THE BENEFICIAL CONSEQUENCES WHICH HAVE RE* SULTED FROM ITS PUBLICATION AND RECEPTION IN THE WORLD. Among the presumptive evidences of the truth of the christian religion, none perhaps, are stronger than that which arises from the character of its blessed Author. No other man has ever existed, who, in his intercourse with the world, was so blameless, so amiable, and, in every attribute which deserves the esteem of mankind, so worthy our veneration and love. Such a character would very ill accord with the duplicity and hypocrisy of imposture. As the union of :he divine with the human nature in the person of the Redeemer is a doctrine purely of revelation, we are not at liberty, while only establishing the proofs of the gospel, to assume that prin- ciple in order to exalt the virtues and perfections of Jesus Christ. We must consider him merely as he appeared to the view of men, claiming to be the founder of a new religion derived immediately from God, that we may judge how far his character corresponded with his high pretensions, and how far these pretensions were supported by such eminent virtues, and such freedom from error and imperfection in con- duct, as ought to be expected in a messenger of heaven, the example and instructor of mankind. That he appeared, in 21-4 the eyes of his disciples, after their long and intimate inter- couisc with him, and their daily observation of his life and manners, worthy of their highest love and veneration, and worthy of the heavenly original which he claimed, is strongly expressed in the following declaration of Saint John: And the Word nas made fleshy and dwelt among us ; and we 6c- Jield his glory ^ the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.* This whole passage, I presume, refers, not to his transfiguration, nor to any of those appear- ances in which he exhibited himself to his disciples iramedi- ateiy before his ascension, but to that beauty of holiness, that glorious display of virtue and perfection which shone through his whole life, and which, in every part of it, w&sfull of grace and truth : that is, conspicuously distinguished by Ihe most amiable condescension, and benignity of disposition and manners,! and by the most undissemblcd and inviolable sincerity. Among the most distinguishing, as well as the most vene- rable characteristics of Jesus Christ, was his piety towards God. The universal government of divine providence he devoutly acknowledged in every event of his life. And, in the immediate prospect of his most painful death, and, after- wards in the midst of those excruciating suflferings, so studi- * John i. 14. f This is frequently the meaning of tlie original term %<*pti3 and, perhnpt, alvTays when applied, as it is here, in the description of clmracter. 213 ously aggravated bv the ingenuity and malice of wicked men, you perceive no other emotions but those of compassion, and forgiveness to his enemies, but the most perfect meekness, submission, and resignation to the will of God. Often you see him retire apart from the admiration, or the curiosity of the multitude, and the company of his disciples, for the pur- poses of secret devotion, and, on the sabbath day, he is care- ful to exhibit an instructive example of devout attendance on the public institutions of religion in the assemblies of the syn- agogue. Ever warm, humble, and affectionate in hia devo- tional exercises, you perceive in them, however, nothing of those ecstacies, nor of those bold famlliarilies with heaven, which distinguish the spirit of enthusiasm. And in that model of prayer which he gave his disciples, which, for com- prehension of thought, for a just selection of the objects of prayer, and for the true spirit of devotion has never been equalled, you find the genuine fervours of piety united with the most calm, dignified, and rational expression of the de- Tout feelings of the heart. When we descend to that part of his character, which was exhibited in his intercourse with mankind, it is, in the high- est degree amiable and interesting, and worthy our admira- tion and imitation. The spirit of meekness and humility breathed through his whole life and manners ; and his be- nevolence and charity knew no bounds. Always engaged in instructing the ignorant and comforting the afflicted, you '■214 bebolcl bim continually surrounded with multitudes of poor, of luaimed, of blind, of diseased, listening to his instructions and consolations, and seeking relief from that benevolent power which he was ever ready to exercise in their behalf. His love of sincerity and truth would never suffer him to dis- j^uise his designs, even when he knew that his enemies were only waiting for his declaration to wreak upon him Iheir most cruel and murderous rage. Yet, it was in the midst of the sufferings inflicted by their cruelly and rage that the united virtues of his character shone with the brightest lustre ; sub- mission to the will of God ; zeal for the happiness and salva- tion of mankind, the great object for which he laboured up- on earth; the unruffled meekness of his nature under the in- juries and indignities of his persecutors ; compassion and forgiveness towards his enemies in the midst of the tortures which he endured from their hands ; the dutiful affection and care of a son towards a destitute and afflicted mother stand- ing at the foot of his cross, which no bodily torment could suspend in his heart for a moment ; the whole crowned by that last fervent act of benevolence and devotion, in which he expired ; Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. How unlike an impostor ! How far superior to the life, and the death of heroes, or philosophers ! Rous- seau in one of those moments of warm and generous admira- tion of virtue which he sometimes felt, comparing the death of Jesus Christ with that of Socrates, gives to the founder of Christianity an infinite preference to the Athenian sage. This character of Jesus Christ, huleed, is drawn from the memoirs of his life wriden by disciples, who may be sup- posed to have coloured it with a pencil tinctured by their partiality for a beloved master. But let it be remembered that the gospels, were evidently not written with any direct view of making the eulogy of Christ, but merely to present to us a narrative of his actions and discourses, which is done with the most undesigning simplicity. The character we de- rive from the facts as they have presented them. To draw a uniform, consistent, and noble character, from imagination, which shall be entirely new in its principal fea- tures, is one of the most difficult works of genius, and not 'ionary forgot the reasoning of Saint Paul ia the third chapter of his epistle to the iiomans. 22r and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him. This U the ib:indation of our hope with regard to the pious men of the ancient world : and on the same grounds may we still build a reasonable hope, that those distant corners of the earth, which seem covered with the profoundest dariiness, preserve, at all times, many of the chosen .vessels of mercy. And, although Jhe sun of righteousness has not yet lifted his beams on ail nations, we have reason to believe that iie is in his glorious progress ; and that as the plans of divine provi- dence are hastening to their full development, the gospel will shortly be extended along with the improvements of civili- zation and science, over the whole earth, and involve all na- Will it be asked, what advantages then, if the principle which has been stated above be ja^it, have the christian nations over those who enjoy only the faint glim- merings of the light of nature? I answer, thai, although men, who enjoy onh- t!ic imperfect lights of nature, together with those gleams of original truth which have been preserved by a tradition that is not yet entirely extinct among any people, may, through repenfance and sanctification of the Spirit, be saved by a Redeemer whom they have not distinctly known, yet must they be subject, through life, to many, and distressing doubts and anxieties which the native weakness of human reason is unable to resolve. Besides the nations who enjoy tiie blessed light of the gospel possess much clearer and more ample means of knowledge and of grace, more efficient motives of duty, more consoling hop;'s, than those who are left to the obscure teachings of reason unenlightened by revelation. And, if such means and motives have in their own nature, and independently on the more abundant influences of the divine Spirit, which accompany thein under the chris- ti.n dispensation, a powerful tendency to promote the spirit, and to advance the an:erest9 of piety and virtue, how greatly must the numbers of pious men be mul- tiplied under the full illumination of the Sun of righteousness ? To these reflections it may be added, that if higher degrees of purity, and sanc- tity of heart and life be the natural result of the clearer lights, and nobler privi- leges of the gospel, a principle most reasonable in itself, will it not follow likewise, that pro:iortionably richer and more glorious rewards shall crowu t!ie obedience •f the sincere christiaa in the everlasting presence of his Redeemer.^ tious in the splendour of his rays. When this blessed era shall arrive, shall we not find an abundant compensation for the partial darkness, or the feeble dawn, which has so long overspread the world, not only in the superior duration, but in the superiorglory of that period, when, to use the beautiful and expressive figure of the prophet, the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sim shall he sevenfoldt as the light of seven days. THE TRINITY OR THREEFOLD EXISTENCE OF THE DEITY. In entering on the investigation of the peculiar doctrines of revelation, the first object which meets our attention is the Trinity, or Threefold Existence of the Deitj. The existence of God is equally the foundation ©f natu- ral and revealed Religion. But in the sacred scriptures it assumes an aspect new and peculiar. The Holy Spirit has revealed in them a modification of the divine essence un- known to the lights of nature. Its unity indeed, is not im- paired ; but we are taught to believe in the coexistence of three infinite, eternal and equal natures or persons in one most holy and undivided Godhead. As this is a doctrine entirely beyond the discoveries of human reason, it is our du- ty to receive it simply as a revealed /acf, without attempting too curiously to pry into the inscrutable mode of this divine union, which must transcend the comprehension of our minds. Perhaps, however, it is not farther beyond our intel- lectual capacities to form distinct conceptions of a Trinity in union, than it is clearly to conceive of God himself as pre- 239 sented to our thoughts hy natural religion. Each of his per- fections offers to the njinti impenetrable difficuiiies, and, in many of their circumstances, apparent contradictions. 'I'he christian system embraces three infinite subsistences, or per- sons, equally the objects of divine worship ; and all included in one self-existent and eternal essence, only sustaining dif- ferent relations to mankind. This doctrine justly excites our wonder, and confounds the imbecility of our minds. But we are not without an analogy in our own nature to facil- itate our conception of the jjossibility of the fact, i he un- derstanding, the will, and the aftections, often enter equally into the acts of the soul ; jet^ so that we do not discern in each operation of the intellect, volition, or affection only a third part of its force ; but we perceive that the wtiole soul is exerted in the act, and the power of each principle is as the entire energy of the soul. It would, intieed, be impious to imagine that the human mind affords any adequate type of the Supteine and Infinite Spirit, but it ceitainiy yields an analogy by which our conceptions may be aided of three distinct and equal powers in one simple and undivided es- sence in which the energy of the whole is exerted in the operations of each* Those who are unfriendly to the evangelic system ofteu reproach believers on this subject, as receiving a doctrine that is unreasonable only because it is above the investiga- tion of reason. This is a distinction which cannot fail to ^3i meet the thinking mind in the contemplation of innumerable} snbjej-ts in nature. We see the fact, but we cannot under- stiuid the manner of its existence, nor free it from inexplica- ble diflScnliies which equally embarrass the wise and the ig- norant. Who can explain the ubiquity of God, without ex- tension or division of parts? Who can reconcile his immu- tability, and the steadfastness of nature with the promises of his protection to good men ? Or who render free from the most embarrassing perplexities two of the most evident truths, the perfect liberty of human action, and the infallible foreknowledge, and preordination of events, the one, the most obvious dictate of experience, the other, among the most certain principles of science ? In any revelation from God concerning himself, have we not the justest grounds to expect many discoveries which would otherwise, have far transcended the discoveries, and, perhaps, the distinct con- ceptions of our reason. We must judge with infinite imper- fection or absurdity of the divine nature, if we receive no revelation concerning it but what we can measure by the fee- ble powers of the human intellect. — On such transcendant subjects when convinced that God has spoken, it is the first duty of a christian to receive implicitly the declarations of his holy word, without any attempt to bring them down to the level of our own minds. It is a natural inquiry, which has been often made, whence can arise any moral benefit from the revelation of a Trin- 232 Ity, when it is confessed that human reason is incapable of conceiving the mode of the divine existence ? I answer that the utility of this revelation is precisely similar to that which is derived from the knowledge of the being of God. The belief presents to our ideas a Legislator and a Judge, an ob- ject of worship and of holy fear, a law of duty, and the most powerful sanction of that law. For, although we cannot dis- tinctly conceive of the divine nature, nor expand the mind to the comprehension of infinite perfection ; yet as far as is competent to all the purposes of piety and virtue, we are able to understand the relations of his justice, his power, his wisdom, and his goodness, to us as moral beings. In like manner, although the threefold existence of the Deity is most mysterious and inscrutable, yet the belief of this doctrine, as it is revealed, offers God to the understanding and the heart, in the threefold relation of our Creator, our Saviour, and the Illuminator and Sanctifier of our nature ; — in one word, as the Moral Governor of the world in reference to our redemption. These relations can bs clearly understood by man, and are infinitely important to him, as an offending creature, to be known. In them lies ail his consolation, and the foundation of his hope for eternal life. 2SQ VSSTI0E9 OP THIS* DOCTRINE HANDED DOWN BT TRADITION AMONG ALL THE CIVILIZED NATIONS OP ANTIQOlTr. When God had formed the father of our race with rational and moral powers which fitled him to be the instructor and governor of the world, it is a reasonable presiunplior that he should, at the same time, impart such a knowledge of hi.nself as should be requisite to the discharge of every duty which he owed to Heaven. And certain it is, ihuf, as a pious parent, he would affectionately and zealously communicate the pre- cious treasure to his immediate offspring. For the same reason, information so important to religion, and to society, would be disseminated by the great ancestor of ma (kind after the del« Uge among the various nations springing from him; the know- ledge, indeed, communicated by tradition, however important it may be to human happiness or dut^", loses, in the lapse of tiuie, much of its piecision and accuracy, and becomes mixed with fable. Yet in the multiplied changes of mankind, if the principle, which has just been stated, be well founded, we may expect to find many traces of a doctrine so intimatelj blended with the first principles of piety ; especially in those countries whose moral history reaches nearest to the era of the deluge. — 4nd we do accordingly discern, in the records of ancient learning, vestiges of this doctrine which are sur* prisingly clear, and more uniform among people ho remotel/ 30 234 «3ispersed from each other, than could have been derived from any other source, than the common parent of the race. Oi pheus, whose name is apt to be mingled, in our ideas, only with fables, but who was a great legislator, and the oldest of Ihe Grecian poets, as well as the civilizer of all the north of Greece, speaks agreeablj to the accurate researches of the Chevalier Ramsay, of the highest of all beings under the de- nominations of light, understanding, and life, which were said to express the powers of the same Deity, the Maker of all. And Cudwortb, quoting Timotheus, informs us, [Intellect. Syst. ch. 4.] that Orpheus denominated the three powers of the divine nature Ouianos, Chronos, and Phanes, the two for- mer names of Greek origin, the latter an Egyptian word signi- fy ins: Love ; and the whole not widely differing in the force of the terms from those already j.roduced from the Chevalier Ramsay. Pythagoras is known by all acquainted with Grecian lileia(ure, to have maintained a Trinity of divine persons. His philosophy he derived from Egypt, Chaldea, Persia and India, where similar doctrines prevailed. And we learn from Pi^oderatiis, who was a disciple of his school, that a fundamen- tal maxim of his theology was " that God is one, and from him proceed two infinite beings :" which maxim he explains anil expands in the following words—" The first one is above all beings, (he Second contains all ideas, the Third, which he call;^ x'"<-i or Soul, partakelh of both." J^mblichus, the famous aula^ionisl of the christians says " that, like them, there 2S& were three Gods praised by the Pytha?;oreans. And one* of the philosophers of this school denominates the second of these deities "the Heavenly and Sensible God." — The Trinity of Plato is still better known, the different persons of Tvhich he styled ''« Agalhon or Heno Nous or Logos and He Psuche or Herus, interpreted, the Good or the One — the Mind or Reason, and the Soul or Love. From the philosopher, already quoted, we learn that the traditions of the ancient Egyptians acknowledge Eineph as the author of truth, and creator of the world ; but before Emeph they place the first Intelligent and Intelligible Being, who can be adored only in silence, denominated Eikton ; but after both is Piha, or that Spirit which animates all things by its vivifying tlaine. Etisebius remarks, that the hieroglyphic of the Deity in that nation was a wins^ed globe, with a serpent emerging from its orb. Of which symbol Sanchoniatho, hi the fragfnents preserved by that author, gives the following explanation ;—" The globe signifies the first self-existent Being, without beginning, and without end ; — The serpent is the emblem of divine wisdom and creative power ; and the wings, of that active spirit which animates the universe." In corroboration of this tradition, it was the received interpreta- tion of their priests that the triangular obelisks erected at the entrance of all their temples were symbols of the divine mature. * Hierocles. 236 F'»s!«ing to ofher nations, Plutarch has preserved a tradi* tion of the Persian Iheolog} , that their supreme Deity Ore* ma des thrice augmented himself; and he records a celebra- ted festival of the Magian priests in honor of the threefold Mytfiras ; the names of whom were Oromasdes, Mythras, and Mythra. Since the presidency of Sir William Jones in India the existence of a supreme Trinity in the Mythology of the Bramins is plainly discerned in the midst of their in- Dumerable Gods, and symbols, the belief of which has been preserved among them from the most remote antiquity. And the European missionaries to China have discovered Tisible traces of the same doctrine existing among that an- cient people. — Such a striking coinciiience in this important principle of religion among various nations, so remotely sit- uated from each other, ce. tainly points to some common ori- gin, which can hardly be presumed to be any other than that which has already been buggested. These reflections will be considered, I presume, to derive no inconsiderable countenance and support from similar ones made by that eminent (iivine and scholar. Dr. Horsley, Bi^'hop of St. Asaph, in a charge to the clergy of the arch- deaconry of St. Albans. Speaking of the similitude, in ma- ny points, of the Trinity of the platonic school to the chris- tian doctrine : The resemblance, says he, may seem indeed a wonderfid fact, whirh may justly draw the attention of the serious and inquisitive 5 and it becomes more important, irhen it Is discovered that these notions were by no means peculiar to the plaionic school; that the platonisls pre end. cd to be no more than the expositors of a more ancient doc- trine, which is traced from Plato to Parmenides ; from Par- naenides to his masters of the Pythagorean sect; from the Pythagoreans to Orpheus, the earliest of the Grecian Mya- tagogues; from Orpheus to the seciet lore of tl.e Egyptian priests, in which the foundations of the Orphic theology were laid. Similar notions of a triple principle prevaileil in the Persian and Chaldean theology ; and vestiges even of the worship of a Trinity, were discernible in the Roman super- stition in a very late age. This worship the Romans re- ceived from their Trojan ancestors ; for the Trojans brought it with thera into Italy from Phrygia. In Phrygia it was introduced by Dardanus so early as the ninth Centu ry after Noah's flood. Dardanus carried it with him from Samothrace ; where the personages that were the objects of it were worshipped under the Hebrew name of Cabirim. Who these Cabirim might be, has been matter of unsuccessful inquiry to many learned men. The Utmost that is known with certainty is, that they were ori- ginally three, and were called by way of eminence the Great oHffHighty ones; for that is the import of the Hebrew name. And of the like import is their latin appellation Penates, &c. Thus the joint worship of Jupiter, Juno and Minerva, the Triad of the Roman Capitol, is traced to that of the Three Mighty Ones in Samothrace ; which was established in that iiland, at what precise time it is impossible to determine, but ^38 earlier, if Eusebius is to be credited, than the days of Abraham. The notion, therefore, of a Trinity more or less removed from the purity of the christian faith, is found to be a leading principle in all the ancient schools of philosophy, and in ihe religions of almost all nations ; and traces of an early popular belief of it appear even in the abominable rites of idolatrous worship. If reason was insufficient for this great discovery, what could be the means of information, but what the pla- lonists theaiselves assign, Siotix^xSeJoi esoXoytci — A theology delivered from Ihe Gods, i. e. a revelalion. This is the account which the platonists, who were no christians, have given of the origin of their master's doctrine. But from what revelation could they derive their information, who liv- ed before the christian, and had no light from the mosaic ? For, whatever some of the early fathers may have imagined, there is no evidence that Plato or Pythagoras were at all ac- quainted with the mosaic writings: not to insist, that the worship of a Trinity is traced to an earlier age than that of Plato or Pythagoras, or even of Moses. Their information could only be drawn from traditions founded upon earlier revelations ; from scattered fragments of the ancient patritr- chal creed ; that creed which was universal before the de^ fection of the first idolaters ; which the corruptions of idola. ii'y, gross and enormous as they were, could never totally ob- literate. Thus the doctrine of the Trinity is ralker con- 23» firmed than discredKed by the sufFrage of f lie heathen sages: since Mie resemblance of the Christian failh, and the Pagan philosophy in this article, when fairly interpreted, appears (o be nothing less than the consent of the earliest, and the latest revelations. An objection has been raised against this presumptive evi- dence, as it may be called in favour of the doctrine, and not without much appearance of plausibility, arising from the supposed silence of the scriptures of the Old Testament. This silence, however, is more apparent than real, as will ea- sily be discerned by the attentive reader, in the revelations made to the ancient patriarchs. That celebrated and ingen- ious critii who has been already quoted more than once, but who perhaps has pushed this opinion beyond the* truth of fact, thinks he discovers the diflferent persons of the adorable Trinity as distinctly designated in fhe writing*^ of Moses as in those of the apostles. Of the living and true God this great leicislator of Israel speaks under the peculiar appellation of Je- hovah; but he exhibits him to that nation under the threefold .denominations of Jehovah — Ab, — the self-existent Father; Jehovah — El,— the self existent Teacher or Illumin :tor ; and Jehovah— Ruach, or the self-existent Spirit. And Elohim^ under which denomination the Eternal is so often spoken of, by Moses, is the plural of Eloah, and indicates plurality of ex- istence. You cannot serve Jehovah, says the author of the book of Joshua, for he is the holy Khhim 5 which literally 24d translated is, you cannot serve the Self Existent^ for he is the holy Gods. And this is only one example out of many throughout the sacred writings. Hence the Jews, as ap- pears, by the oldest commentators on their law, seem at all periods to have entertained this principle. And in the lime of our Saviour, they were evidently not offended at his doctrine of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit ; but at the pre- sumption, as they supposed, of his making himself the Son of God ; thereby i making himself equal with God. Such have been the doctrines, or traditions concerning the divine existence cherished in the most distinguished nations of the ancient world. And it is far from being an improbable conjecture that they contributed in no small degree, to prepare the minds of mankind for the favourable reception of the true doctrine on this subject, when it was revealed by our blessed Saviour. But so various is the human mind in the strength of its powers, and the diversity of its fimcies, or prepossessions, that it soon became divided into different systems in interpreting the sacred standard transmitted to us by Christ, and his apostles. Many crude notions seemed to rise and fall almost at the same moment, in the primitive church, being only the transient ebullitions of a fanatical fancy, arising from the fermentation of ancient opinions with the new principles im- perfectly understood. A multitude of these errors are en- Ml numerated by all the ecclesiastical historians, who merely re- cord their existence and their extinction. But not having been embraced bj any permanent sect in the church, they merit little regard ; and are hardly entitled even to be men- tioned in a system like the present. A few only of those whose leaders have been more distinguished by their talents, or have made more extended divisions among the body of christians I will recall to the notice of my readers, merely stating their peculiar and discriminating ideas upon this sub- ject, with such conciseness as the brevity of this work re- quires. The Sabellians, who take their denomination from a man respectable for his learning and talents, maintain the unity of God in the strictest sense ; and interpret the titles of the Fa- ther, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, as expressive only of the different relations of Creator, Redeemer, and Moral Govern- or, which he sustains to mankind in the economy of their re- demption. Considering the extreme obscurity of our ideas upon this infinite subject, their error, acknowledging as they do, the Deity of our Saviour, cannot be regarded as one that deeply affects the system of our holy religion. The Tri- theists, conceiving that they would do greater honour to the respective persons of the Trinity, by adopting a contrary opinion, have assigned to each a separate, equal, and inde- pendent existence, making their union in one Supreme God- liead consist, not in any natural and necessary parlicipatio» of the same essence, but in a perfect concurrence of wiily and co-operation of action in all their designs. — The Arians, on the other hand, borrowing their title from the celebrated presbyter of Alexandria, maintain that Christ is not proper- ly God, but only the first and highest of all creatures, who lias been taken into the most intimate union with the Deity, that he might thereby become the Saviour of the world j conjoining the merit arising from the grandeur of this divine relation, with that of the obedient and suffering condition of human nature in him. Out of these, another class has arisen, who most nearly approach the orthodox principle, making Christ, not properly a creature, nor in the high and indepen- dent sense of the Father, God. The most noted of the mo- dern Arians appear to have adopted (he ideas of the celebra- ted Samuel Clark, who stands among the first metaphysicians of any age, that the Filial is an eternal, and necessary eraa- nation from (he Paternal Deity ; which may be illustratedp if such an infinite subject be capable of any illustration from created nature, by the procession of light from the body of the sun, coexistent, and of the same essence with the body from which it proceeds ; jei^ being derived, though a ne- cessary effect from a necessary cause, it is to be regarded as dependent. Such does this great man suppose to be the dependence of the Son upon the Father. — Opposed to al[ these forms of Trinitarian existence are the Pelagians or Soci- nians, who, notwithstanding their rejection of the fundamen- tal principle of the atonement, and its related doctrines, still 243 claim the (itie of christians, because they enibraced the mo- ral code of Jesus Christ. Their distinguishing tenet is, that Christ is simply a man, and in no other way connected witli the Supreme Deity, than as being inspired by him, and sent by him into the world to be the chief of the prophets and in- structors of mankind. — This sect is hardly entitled to the honour of the name which they assume. On this great and essential doctrine of Christianity, the opinions which have now been briefly stated are the chie^ which deserve to be mentioned, exclusive of that which only we conceive to be warranted by a just interpretation of the holy scriptures. This presents to the mind the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, as being equal in power and glory ; — equally necessary and independent in their existence ; — perfectly one in their essence, but different in personality ; — The objects of equal, and undivided worship. In the econ- omy of human redemption, however, the Paternal Deity, is t© be considered as actually exercising the rights of divine au- thority.— The Filial Deity as being the immediate minister of the divine mercy by his atonement and intercession ; — and the Holy Spirit as applying the revelation of the divine mercy for the sanctification of the heart, and qualifying the disciples of the faith, by his gracious influence for the possession and enjoyment of eternal life. In all acts of worship it is the |)rinciple of Christianity, that we address the Father, throu^fi the Son, by the agency of the Holy Spirit, 244 PROOF OF THE TRIKITY. . Having stated, as concisely and distinctly as possible, the christian principle upon this subject, 1 proceed to estab- lish the evidence of the doctrine solely from the sacred scrip- tures. And, being, by every party, acknowledged to be a doctrine purely of revelation, I reject every modification of human reason on a subject on which reason is utterly incom- petent to judge, and could, therefore, only mislead. I equal- ly reject from this demonstration, every part of the sacred text on which any doubt can be raised of the genuineness of the copy, the scriptures being full and abundant on the sub- ject, after every deduction that the most scrupulous enemy can require. And this concession is made, not from any hesitancy which can justly be enterfained concerning the au- thenticity of those few disputed passages, which have been selected for objection, out of our commonly acknowledged version, but that, in an elementary treatise intended for the youngest divines and for the comfort, instruction, and estab- Jishment of the common ci;ristian, no proof may be presented to them but what shall be seen to rest only on the most se- cure foundation. And no discussions introduced concerning the subject, the result merely of human reason, but the naked language of scripture. 24d These proofs may be arranged into such as are general^, relating equally to the whole Godhead, and such as are par- ticular, establishing the Deity of each person. The former are presented to us in the forms of baptism, and of benedic* tion, both which are administered in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and shew us that the object of worship, and of trust to the whole church, can be perfectly exhibited to our faith, only under these three umted titles. And they are so united that equal power, honour, blessing, and homage is ascribed to each. To that divine Trinity equally we are consecrated on our entrance into the church ; from that Trinity equally all the blessings of the gospel de^ scend to the faithful. In examining the divinity of the respective persons of the Godhead, it is requisite chiefly to attend to those proofs which establish the proper Deity of the Son ; for, when this point is once admitted (here is no further objection to the full ac- knowledgment of (he doctrine. The declaration usually quoted from St. Paul in the second chapter of the epistle to the Philippians* I omit, for the reasons already assigned, and rely, at present, on two positive and explicit attestations contained in the first chapter of the gospel of the apostle John, and (he fifth chapter of his first epistle. — " In the be- ginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Phil. ii. 6. 246 Word was God. — And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, in his Son Jesus Christ, — this is the true God, and eternal hfe." If it had been the purpose of our Heavenly Father to teach this doc- trine to the world so that no mistake or error could be com- mitted with respect to it, we cannot easily conceive how it could be taught in stronger and more explicit language. Con- vinced of this, as one would think that every man of candour and fairness must be, we see those who deny the principle obliged to take refuge in the utmost ingenuity, and even so- phistry of criticism, to elude the force of the evidence which arises from the obvious construction of the sacred writings, if these terms are explained to a different and more circuitous meaning, all certainty is taken from the scriptures, and human ingenuity may equally bend them to the support of the most opposite opinions. This argument is, in no small degree, confirmed by the frequent and pointed references made by the apostles to the prophetic and mosaic writings, in which Christ is spoken of as the Angel of the covenant, and addressed as Jehovah, that glo- rious being to whom the highest characters of divinity belong, and for whom the profoundest worship of mankind is claim- ed. By comparing the New Testament with the Old, it be- comes evident that the Son was God, adored by the patri- archs, and is the Author and Subject of all those divine ap- 247 pearances exhibited to these eminent Saints recorded in the ancient scriptures. It strengthens the proof already pro- duced of this doctrine being always acknowledged by the He- brew nation, and the primitive church, from the beginning of the world. It renders probable likewise the opinion of those great men, equally conspicuous for learning and piety, who believe that this world was created principally to illustrate the glory of God in the redemption of man ; and that it was, for that purpose, from the beginning, put under the immediate dominion and administration of the Son of God. These ideas must forcibly impress the pious inquirer who candidly studies the sacred writings, and compares the christian era with the most ancient periods of the mosaic economy. The declaration of the apostle in the seventh chapter of the Acts; " This is he who was in the church in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him in the mount Sina, and with our fathers," most evidently refers to the history of the Exodus in the third chapter. "And the Angel ofthe Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush, and he looked, and behold the bush burned with fire ; and the bush was not consumed. And Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burnt. And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said Moses, Moses. And he said, here am I. And he said, draw not nigh hitherto : put off thy shoes from ofif thy feet ; for the place whereon thou standest is holy ground. Moreover, he said I 248 am the God of thy father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob." Behold then, Jesus Christ presiding as Jehovah in the ancient church, and acknowl- edged to be the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. — Many- passages contribute to shew that Christ was the supreme Ruler and Guide of Israel in their progress through the wilder- ness to the land of promise. And for the perfect Deity of Jesus Christ acknowledged in both branches of the church, a proof more precise and strong can hardly be adduced, than that of the apostle in the beginning of his epistle to the He- brews, quoting the forty fifth Psalm, where the prophet un« der the full spirit of inspiration, saith of the Son, thy throne O God is forever and ever, a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. And the evangehst John, in the twelfth chapter of his gospel, applies to Christ one of the most sublime descriptions of Jehovah recorded in the sacred writ- ings ; " In the year, th t king Uzziah died, 1 saw also the Lord sitting on a throne, high and lifted up, above it stood the Ser- aphim ; each one had six wings ; with twain he covered his feet, with twain he covered his face, and with twain he did fly ; and one cried to another and said ; holy, holy, holy, is the Lord of hosts ; the whole earth is full of his glory," Is. vio 1. These things, adds the evangelisi, said bjsnias, when he saw his glory, that is, the glory of Christ, of whom he was at that time writing, and spake of him. 24D Another proof, perhaps not less forcible, of the Dcily of the Son, is the frequent ascription to him of all the peculiar and incommunicable attributes of the Godhead ; eternity, im- mutability, omniscience, omnipresence, and creation. — " And thou Bethlehem Ephratah though thou be little among the ' thousands of Judah, yet, out of thee shall he come forth un- to me that is to be ruler in Israel ; whose goings forth have been of old, from everlasting;" saith the %ery explicit pre- diction of the prophet Micah. Jesus himself declares, — " before Abraham was, I am." And by his Spirit he an- nounces to his favourite disciple John,—" I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the ending, which is, which was, and which is to come, the Almighty." Listen to the strong and unequivocal language of the epistle to the Hebrews. — " To the Son he saith, thou Lord in the beginning hast laid the foundation of the earth, and the heavens are the work of thy hands ; they shall perish, but thou remainest ; they shall was old as doth a garment ; but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail." The same author in the following sen- tence unites, in the must positive terms, the eternity and im- mutability of the Saviour, " Jesus Christ the same yester- day, to day, and forever." And be himself testifies his own omnipresence — " where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them, iVlat. 1 8. And lo ! I am with you always to the end of the world," Mat. 28. I add, in the lasr place, that all divine attributes are embraced ia the work of creation, which is explicitly ascribed to the 32 250 Son .' " for by faun, all things were created, that are in heav- en, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions or principalities, or powers : all things were created by him and for hiui, and he is before all things ; and by him all things consist :" Col. 1.16. Crea- tion forms the supreme relation between the Creator and the creature. It is the true foundation of worship, and consti- tutes exclusively that perfect right claimed by the Eternal to our duty and obedience. All things were made by /j«n, saith the evangelist John : and therefore the Father hath committed all judorment, that is, the entire government of this world, to the Soiiy that all men should honour the Son even as they honour the Father. These proofs, although consisting of a very small number selected out of the great mass of the scriptures proportioned to the brevity which I contemplate, afford ample confirma- tion of the true and proper Deity of the Son ; and, in that, they establish beyond reasonable doubt the doctrine of the Trinity. No small degree of strength arises to the argument from the constrained reasonings by which its eneraie? study to combat the force of this evidence. Some of the highest titles of divinity, it is alleged, are not 'bestowed on the Son, which are ascribed to the Father, such as the Almighty, the 3Iosl-High. Can any objection more obviously demonstrate the weakness of the cause which is obliged to have recourse tp such evasions, when other titles, equally characteristic of 251 the divine nature, are, with greater frequency, applied to him ? Besides, a part of those titles which are supposed to be exclusively appropriated to the Almighty Father, are, most obviously, used, not as marking any superiority of na- ture, but, along with others, as distinctive characters of the different persons of the Trinity. To give only one exam- ple ; There is one God the Father, of whom are all thingSj and one Lord Jesus Christ by rvhom are all things. Will it not require some peculiar depth of understanding to assign the superiority of of to by, and in the act of creation, to say which is expressive of the greater power, or the great- er dignity ? The objectors presume, that the terms expressive of the highest powers of divinity are applied to Christ, as belong- ing to him only in an inferior degree. And presuming in- deed it is, to attempt to graduate the divine perfections, or his creative operations, by our limited standard. What measure have the scriptures given us to fix the import of these phrases except the obvious meaning and connexion of the terms ? What gradations can be fixed in the powers of creation, omnipotence, and omnipresence? Such objections never could be suggested but by a fallacious reason which presumes to measure the divine nature by its own narrow views ; and under the powerful inQuence of a prejudice ^vhich, having tixed its philosophico theological system inde- pendently of that sacred regard to the simple dictates of the 252 word of God which ought to govern the ideas of every chris- tian sfudies to bend the rule of faith to its preconceived opinions. The force of the argument derived from the powers of creatbn ascribed to Christ these writers think to weaken by changing in some instances the import of the word translated worlds. By rvhom also, saith the apostle to the Hebrews, he made the worlds ; which phraseology they render ; by whom also he constituled the ages ; meaning the different dispensaroach this subject, betrays their secret apprehension that (he decrees of God, to which, on other occasions, they free- ly appeal, have, in the production of sin, some sinister influ- ence on the moral liberty of man. If these apprehensions were well founded, they ought to abandon their system al- together. They do not appear to reflect that the freedom of the moral agent is no more impaired by the fall of the sin- ner, than by the regeneration of the believer ; which last, however, they strenuously maintain to be an object of divine decree. The one is descending from a state of innocence, into a state of sin, the other is precisely the reverse, return- ing from sin to holiness. The latter easily comports with their general theory ; from the former they inconsistently shrink, as revolting their moral feelings. Their view of the decrees applies to mankind only since the Fall ; and is confin- ed, almost solely, to those who are chosen, out of the mass of the human race, to eternal life ; the rest being left to per- ish in the corruption of their natural state. — In all other parts of their scheme it coincides with that of their Supralapsari- an brethren. On this subject, which has been rendered difiicult, princi- pally by an unguarded, and perhaps by an inadequately de- fined use of the term decree ; for it is merely the will of God operating in the laws of nature to the accomplishment of their proper ends, whether in the natural or moral world, the Su- 2r9 pralapsarlans hold, at least, the most consistent language. In the order of Ihe decress, they argue that the end proposed to be attained must, as in every wise system, have had the pri- ority in the contemplation of its author. After that the means conducing to its accomplishment will, with propriety follow. These principles may appear more distinctly in the outline of this scheme which is exhibited in the following series of propositions. — Almighty God having purposed in the econ- omy of this world, to illustrate the union of his mercy, and his justice, and in the prosecution of this end, to display the glory of his Son, decreed to create man holy, but free — and in the progress of his ultimate design, he decreed the fall of our first parents ; that is, that the state in which they should be placed, and the whole combination of motives operating on the natural principles of action, should most freely lead to the accomplishment of that event, so distressing in itself, but so necessary to the illuatration of the glory of his grace — he decreed in consequence, to send the Saviour, with whom he deposited the whole economy of this merciful dispensation, placing it under his immediate administration. He decreed, moreover, the salvation of a chosen number of the human race, preparing those means which would certainly lead, un- der the direction of the Holy Spirit, to the fulfilment of his gracious purpose ; leaving in the same act, those who should be disobedient and unholy, to the guilt and infelicity of their natural state. The intention of the divines who employ this language, is simply to assert the universal agency of God, in 280 bolh tlie moral and physical systems of nature ; at the same time, to preserve entire the freedom of the human mind, and to free Almighty God, most holy, just, and good, from the blasphemous imputation of being the author of sin. Are not the universal laws of nature so ordained as to at- tain, by their natural operation, every end for which they were evidently designed by the Creator ? It is the inquiry of a Supralapsarian — Can any event spring into existence but in exact conformity with those laws, the nature and the ends of which have been designed by God? Admitting this conclusion, what are denominated his decrees can be nothing more than the development of the laws of nature both moral and physical, according to his will, and to the constitution of the agent, and the subject of their action ; free where morals and accountability are concerned ; necessary where the ma- leriality of the subject requires it — and certain in all. For to an omniscient Being, who is perfectly acquainted with the nature and influence of every motive, its combination, and co- action, with all other means, and with the peculiar tempera- ment of each individual agent, moral effects are as certain, in their order, as the results of any physical causes whatever. Apply these reflections to the fall ; though it has taken place in conformity with the divine decree, it was as much the free efTect of motive on an intelligent being capable of being sway- ed by his apetites and passions, as any of the ordinary ac- tions of human life. It is true, the agency of the serpent is jepresented as the medium through which the fatal choice was produced. But as no miraculous power is alleged in the case, it was entirely effected by the suasion of motives freely addressed to the natural and yet uncorrupted principles of the soul. If, then, we can suppose circumstances to exist, in the correspondence of the dispositions, still innocent of human nature, with the temptations, addressed to thett}) which, by their free and natural action, would be followed by a dereliction of duty, would the will of God giving existence to these circumstances, in conformity to his ultimate designs, call it decree, or by whatever less offensive name you please, impose any fatal necessity upon the act, or render the divine agency in the existence of those circumstances, in the smal- lest degree more arbitrary or unjust, than their existence by any other cause? This justification of the principles of the Supralapsarian, who takes it as an acknowledged fact, that the decrees of God embrace the whole system of the uni- verse, appears perfectly conformable to the dictates of th« soundest reason. If his antagonists demand, do not these ideas impute the sin of man to his Creator, as being, if not immediately, yet ultimately and indirectly its author? He confidently replies, not more than those of the most strenuous defenders of our moral liberty. For it has formerly been shewn, that we al- ways act with the most perfect consciousness of freedom ia every choice, and the most entire control over our own ac- .36 28^ iiotts. If again they demand, does not Ihis language exhibU a hard and cruel representation of the Supreme Being ? he frankly answers, not more than the principles of those who ad- mit that the Almighty and Omniscient Being, who created all things, must have foreseen, yet permitted the evil which he could have prevented, and formed a system ont of which it would, freely indeed, bvit infallibly spring ; nay, which was necessary to accomplish the ultimate designs of his goodness and mercy. If he is farther pressed with the difficulty of accounting for the fact, that a wise and benevolent Deity should give existence to a world subject, by his decree, to sin and its consequent miseries, though intended, ultimately, as a conspicuous theatre of his benignity ; — he calmly rests upon the justness of this principle, that, what might or might not have been done by God infinitely powerful and wise, is not within the range of human intellect to decide. With sub- mission therefore, to the Divine Wisdom, he resolves the whole into the sovereignty, that is, the unsearchable cou7isd of Heaven ; comprising designs, and ends, and means, utter- ly beyond the comprehension of minds so limited as ours. And this is a solution to which every sect in religion, or phi- losophy, must ultimately have recourse, in their reasonings concerning the introduction of sin into the works of God. 233 THE CHARACTERS OF THE DECREES ASCRIBED TO THEM IN THE HOLY SCRIPTURES. Some distinguishing characters of the divine decrees, either directly, or by obvious implication, ascribed to them in the holj scriptures, will contribute to elucidate the general sub« ject, and assist in the explanation of many important ques- tions connected with them. Those which chiefly merit the attention of the metaphysician, or the divine, are, theii eter- nity, theii freedom, their sovereignty, their wisdom, their hoimess, their absoluteness, and immutability. 1. That which primarily merits our consideration is their eternity. Nothing which implies succession, or change, is to be imputed to the Infinite Mind; so that all his purposes are coeternal with himself. Therefore the apostle charac- terizes his decree, as his elernal purpose ; and speaking of believers, he says, they have been chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world ; for all is eternity which is an- tecedent to the commencement of time. A metaphysical, and probably improper question, as cer- tainly it is useless, has been raised upon this subject by a vain curiosity — Whether the existence of the Sovereign Mind ought to be considered as antecedent to his decrees ? Obvious it is, that, in contemplating, or speaking of them. 234 there must be a precedence of order in their arrangement ; but in their existence, there can be no priority of lime : as, in rontemplating the sun, we regard the body, before the light which issues from it, although, in strictness of concep- tion, the effect is simultaneous with the cause. Perhaps we may say of this, as of many other metaphysical questions ; that it is a vain and fruitless effort of the mind, and uselessly wasting its strength, to attempt to frame ideas on subjects that are too fine and subtle to be embraced by the human in- tellect. Every thing in our ideas, relating to duration, is unit- ed with succession. Eternity, in its proper nature, tran- scends the ingenuity of the mind to conceive. And disqui- sitions on questions of such extreme subtlety, generally indi- cate only feeble and unsatisfactory efforts to apply the nar- rowness of our understanding to subjects which, from their nature must forever baflSe its inquiries. Subjects so sub- lime and so far exalted above our reach, tend, in our endeav- ours to embrace them, only to humble and overwhelm the soul. But as far as our conceptions can comprehend the subject, we may pronounce, that the decrees of God, which are the purposes and prescriptions of his infinite wisdom, are coeternal with his existence. 2. The next characteristic of the decrees which we have remarked, is their freedom. An obvious consequence of the perfect moral freedom of the Divine Being in all his coun- sels ; wiich excludes the idea of any necessity in his acts 285 resembling that under which ibe physical world is held. I( is declared in all the syrubols of the orthodox reformed churches, that Gody from cternityy did most nisdy, most justly^ and most freely ^ decree whatsoever comes to pabs,--^ The only objection which has been plausibly urged against this principle, is that which has been maintained by the fa* mous German philosopher Leibnitz, in his Theodice', in so superior a manner, that he may justh' be esteemed (he father of it. His maxim is, that infinite perfection implies necessity in all its acts. And the Eternal, being infinitely wise and good, must, from the unchangeable rectitude of his nature, choose on all subjects, only ami necessarily that which is best. The conclusion which he infers from this principle is, that the system which God hath created, and the order of things which he hath established in it, must, of all possible systems be the best ; that is, in its nature, order, and arrange- ments, be the most perfect. This doctrine, on a transient inspection, is captivating to a speculative mind ; yet when closely examined, will be seen to be liable to unanswerable objections. It proceeds on the supposition that (here are ideas of good, and of best antecedent, in the order of con- ception, to the idea of God, and independent of him, out of which he might make a selection, according to his pleasure, in organizing a created system, as an artist may select out of forms already existing, such as may best correspond wilh his present designs. Whereas nothing can exist without, or in- dependent of God. He formed the ideas of the things, with 286 ike things themselves. Nothing is better or best in uature but as he hath created it, and fixed its relations. Besides, these are definite terms of comparison among things, of the game kind actually existing. But, with regard to plans pos- sible to infinite wisdom, it is, perhaps, an error in our concep- tions, to suppose that there is any one which can be pro- nounced the best. To a finite subject it were absurd to as- cribe this superlative quality. And if the subject be infinite, must not the possible combinations in an infinite system, be infinite and endless ?* I must further observe on the idea of the best possible sys- tem, and the necessary nature of the divine decrees which, as a natural consequence, has been deduced from it, that it is pressed with two difficulties which have never yet been sa- tisfactorily resolved ; in the first place, the unreasonableness of presuming that Almighty God should have exhausted himself in the production of the universe, or should ever have exerted any ultimate ejSbrt of omnipotence ; in the next place, the proximity of this idea to the fate of the Stoics ; to which certainly it is, in language at least, too nearly allied, which was maintained by them, to be antecedent, and supe- rior to the Deity. — The conclusion, therefore, still remains, that the decrees of God are most free, and that they are not either arrested or controled by the laws of necessity. * Withcrspoon's Lectures. 287 3. Their Wisdom, and (heir Sovereignty in the next place, are usually joined together, by divines, in order to limit the conclusions on each side, which men are prone rashly to frame concerning them. God, as sovereign of the uni- verse, has the most perfect right to ordain whatever seemeth good to him. And though all his acts are ever most just and equitable, yet, often, wrapped, as they are, in the profound depths of his wisdom, they appear, to our feeble vision, to be covered with clouds and darkness. His rights, as an in- finite sovereign, ought, at all times, to command our nnmur- mui ing obedience ; and our conviction that all his commands are founded in equity and wisdom, are sufficient to engage our submissive acquiescence, although the reasons on which they move, are often concealed from our view. In the whole order of nature, and of providence, what we cannot explain, we resolve into the sovereignty of God. Not that any or- der, or arrangement of his may ever be esteemed arbitrary, and without reason ; but, when we cannot fathom its wisdom, his authority, which is only another term by which to ex- press his sovereign will, and his rightful dominion, ought ever to be deemed a sufficient reason for the obedience and duty of children to their heavenly Father. Frequently, the feebleness of the human mind is called to submission on this ground, arising from innumerable events occurring to our ob- servation and experience, which baffle reason to account for them, which elude conjecture, and in many instances, seem even to contradict our ideas of divine goodness and justice- ^83 In every event, it is a sufficient reason to a pious man that the Loiil hvXtb iiotie it. Shull not the Jutige of all (he earth do rii^ht * There are tlivines who e\teml much farther theii- iileas of the sovereis^nty of llotl. Nothius;, they say, is either ^xhh! or wise in ilselj\ but only a» it is made so by the divine will. According to this principle the will of God is the s*>le ivasvw why one action is superior in gooilness and excellence, to another, and. in one word, why virtue is pre- ferable to vice. Perhaps these writers have a better meanlui; than, to us, their terms seem to convey ; but, apparently, they destroy the very foundation of the moral attributes of the Deity, and resolve the whole of his j^rfection into pen- fraud tvill. The holy scriptures are full of the most explicit testimo- nies, both to the wisdom and sovereignty of the divine de- crees. " O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of (jod! How unsearchable are his judg- ments, and his ways jxist tmdiug out ! E^ en so, Father f for so it seemed good in thy sight !" But, with the most po- etic and striking imagery is the sovereignty of the divine government, in the dominion of providence, represented lu the close of the L>ook of Job. That sublime comjxvsition is ac- knowledii^ed, by the best writers, to contain a drauiaiii ex- hibition of the di^culties arising to reason from the afflictions of good men, and the prv^Nperiry of the wickeil iu the world. After the friends of Job had wearied themselyes with rain 2d9 'i'uuMtdttfkm(kk9mtatntmi%ub'i€tA ; wUu the Almr^b. ty i» iolroduced, •peakio^ out oTdve vhkiwlod to decUit tbe ({Ut:%{HtDt uAleaMJ of reatcmiag o« Ube wMdon umI equit/ y {ovenmieiit a»oref« V'juo itUtio sdiaatpt to wdold tbem ioyautdukeotd auxnk, I di*|>lay l>eii(>re ycNjr i»eofte« the flaajefti/ <^ ciy posrer, that ■ ' au/ arrest your csLtd* tyami my ia»eruiai>le purpoeefi, uui leave oo /our heart* tlie deep cooyftcikfn, thai all ffce di»peantioa> of die oau^ipoteot JeboraJi mtttt be erjiMtal^le iLTul just Subauuvuoa to tLe is'^v'treJ^/Jy of t!..^: diyioe 'aiiaimui>s^ hTOf or the babtfttal icLvr-ik J;i;-vecl of daw princtple, is all the eveots tbal li>t:/iui oum>e2v<;t, ij& d^^^Ay huoi^fVa^ to (be fdf-eoofidence of ksunaa rax^it/. The oibd its apt Uj rev?« with the ide**. of 'bt .?7 290 sovereigntj, and the unsearchable counsels of God, it reseuS- bles a restive steed chafHng and fretting himself with his own spirit, before he has learned to yield to the control of the bit. But when he has been trained to proceed submissive- ly along his prescribed path, he moves with ease and satisfac- tion to himself, guided by the wisdom of the mind that di- rects him. So, when the christian, humbled by many fruit- less and disappointed efforts, to push his inquiries on these obscure subjects beyond the powers of the human mind, has learned, at length, justly to estimate his own force, he per- ceives an unspeakable tranquillity of heart, in piously sub- mitting, on all those questions which he cannot explain, to the will and the wisdom of Almighty God. The diflSculties, however, which have embarrassed this subject to certain writers, have arisen, chiefly, from the falsity of their own conceptions, and improperly confounding the ideas of sove- reignty, and of arbitrary will. None of the acts of the di- vine government are ever arbitrary in their principle, or take place without the most perfect reason ; but the reasons on which they move are often far removed beyond the ken and elude the penetration of our minds. And this is all that is intended oy a wise man in speaking of the sovereignty of the divine counsels. From a similar error in conception proceeds the offence which some, otb;^rwise worthy and good men, have conceiv- ed against the doctrine of divine preordination applied to the S9l c-y-erlasfing states of the human race, as if it implied that some sinners are chosen to the inheritance of eternal li^e, by an unreasonable predilection. This is never the meaning of any writer who thinks respectfully of the divine economy. Let us compare the preordinations of Heaven with regard to the present, and the future world. There is, in many respects, a manifest analogy between them. And the same reasonings which demonstrate the divine decrees with rela- tion to the various conditions of the present life to exist with- out any infringement on the moral liberty of man, or impeach- ment of the justice of God, apply equally to the destinations of eternity. The states and conditions of men to which they are severally appointed in this world, are never sepa- rated in the decree of God, from the industry, the pru- dence, the talents, and all the means which, in the order of nature, contribute to the effect. And it is equally true that, wherever those means are properly applied, it is the usual course of providence that they accomplish their end ; they gain and Cx that state in life for the individual which is the will of God. — Let us transfer this analogy to the future state of each man. This state cannot be presumed to be the ob- ject of the divine decree, independent of the moral qualifi- cations which prepare him for its possession, nor those quali- fications independent of the means of divine culture which he enjoys, and the pious improvement which he makes of them. And, let it be remembered, that the aids which we possess of enlarging our knowledge in divine truth, and cul- 292 tivating in llie beart a divine taste, are as certain in their ope* ration, and, under the guidance and influence of the Holy Spirif, as effectual to their end, according to their extent, and application, as anj train of causes in the natural world. Included in the decree of election, therefore, are all those means of instruction, and motives of holiness essentiallj con- nected with salvation, — those opportunities of divine infor- mation, those advantages of situation, — of example — of ex- ternal circumstances — of providential dispensations — and all those infinite, and almost imperceptible aids, and motives which under the influences of that divine teacher, are calcu- lated to enlighten the understanding, to touch, and trans- form, and mould the heart. — The sovereignty of the de- cree, therefore, respects not more the end, or the eternal life of the elected sinner, than the various means of moral cul- ture, which have the effect, under the teaching of the Di- Tine Spirit, to prepare the soul for her final destination. For, in the view of God, the means, and the end, are essen- tially, and most intimately conjoined, and both embraced in the same act. In this consideration of the subject, individual election is analogous to the elevation of particular nations, as of Israel, to a state of peculiar favour with God : a species of election Tvith which all parlies profess to be perfectly reconciled. Analogous I say ; for the obvious effect of this preference, is the enjoyment of special privileges, instructions, and re* 293 ligious ordinances, designed to form the understanding and the heart, to the love and obedience of divine truth, by which we have seen the ancient church cherished in the bo- som of that favoured nation, not so much by any direct and miraculous operation on the hearts of the people, as by the excellence of her sacred institutions. So likewise is formed the believer, under the grace of the gospel, by the due im- provement of his spiritual and precious privileges, accompa- nied by the blessing of the Holy Spirit. Against the sovereignty of the divine decrees, in the elec- tion of nations, communities, families, and even individuals to peculiar means of moral cultivation, leading to the ultimate ends of religion, in the sanctification of the heart, the great- est assertors of human liberty, or revilers of divine decrees, find nothing to object ; for the fact is before their eyes. And in the foruiation of a believer into the image of Christ, there is nothing different in the means, or motives employed, from those which operate in the whole church ; unless that in particular instances, they may be applied, by the blessed Spi- rit, with greater energy, or a finer adaptation to the charac- ter and state of diflferent minds. For the lights, and instruc- tions, and motives to conversion, given to the church at large, are those only which operate on each individual, and are abundant for all the purposes of piety, in the hands of that omniscient, and all-powerful spirit, who knows how to reach the heart, through them, with the finest insinuation, to move 294 it by ttie most affecting touches, and to form it ultimately into Ihe image of his own holiness, by continual, and almost insensible impressions. We behold here the sovereignty of the divine decrees placed upon an intelligible and liberal footing. We behold likewise the perfect correspondence of human liberty, and the natural relation of means and end, with the powerful will, and all-presiding wisdom of Almighty God. 4. The Jioliiiess and justice of the decrees have created no controversy among those who acknowledge their exist- ence ; nor can there remain a doubt concerning them in the minds of any who believe in the being of God most holy and D3ost wise. fj. Much more disputation has been awakened with regard to the attributes of absoluteness and immutabilily, ascribed to them by the orthodox. And certainly no subjects seem more to have embarrassed metaphysicians, and divines, or to have excited among them a greater variety of absurd specu- lations. Some writers you have seen maintaining the posi- tion, that there can be no certainty in free actions antece- dent to their existence. And, to preserve the consistency of their principles, they are obliged to deny the prescience of God ; or, with the ancient Stoics, and a great portion of modern philosophers, to subject the whole universe to the 295 cheerless laws of necessity. Others, constrained by their reason to admit the universal foreknovv ledge of God, have, in order to account for the divine prescience, had recourse to an absurd principle of the school-men, called by them sci- entia media, which implies an antecedent apprehension of all things in the Divine Mind, in their proper nature, time, and place, resembling the immediate vision of all objects as in perspective ; as if present ; but abstracted from all consid- eration of their mutual relations as cause and effect, whence any rational inference could be formed concerning their ex- istence. It is the contemplation of the universe throughout its whole duration and extent as a present object ; it is the knowledge simply of the facts, independent of every other consideration, by a mysterious power in the divine nature, no similitude to which has ever been imparted to any of his creatures. It is, I presume, a mere absurdity in our concep- tions. But the opinion which many pious and worthy men have embraced, of a necessity in our actions, which does not re- move their guilt, deserves a more particular consideration. — It is said to be a necessity arising out of the natural inclina- tions of the mind, and, as the action entirely concurs with our will, it creates a feeling of liberty in pursuing our own pleas- ure, while governing our conduct with a force not only cer- tain in the event, but irresistible in its cause. I am willing to believe that these good men, many of whom are distin- guished by tljcir pious and excellent writings, mean no more bj this phraseology, than I have studied to express by that certainti/ which I have shevrn may, and to the Divine Mind, does ever accompany moral, as well as physical causes. But 1 conceive their language to be exceptionable, and liable to dangerous abuse. Their reasonings in many of their princi- ples, too evidently coincide with the doctrines of the Ilobbe- sian school. The certainty of all the purposes of God, is the chief ffround on which ihese writers maintain the doctrine of jjeces- sity. The one they presume to be involved in the other. On the contrary, I conceive^ that there is a clear and intelli- gible distinction between the ideas of necessity and of cer- tainty, which as happens in many other raoi'al and intellect- ual truths, can be more easily conceived, or understood, by an internal feeling, than explained in precise and definite terms, which must convey ideas too fine and simple to be analyzed in language. All men can easily understand the difference between a thing certainly done by a free cause, and the same thing accomplished by an internal but unper- ccived force, so that it could not be otherwise than it is. Many excellent men who profess to be the patrons of this system of necessity, but whose language, I am persuaded, is more in error than their hearts, lay it down as an axiom in their metaphysics, that the will is irresistibly determined by 297 the stroDgcfst motive at the time before the mind, and can- not act otherwise than it does ; not sufficiently attending to the entire difference between the nature and movements of mind and of matter, of motive, and of physical impulse. How- can it be known that it is the strongest motive which, in every Instance, governs our choice ? Do you say, as is commonly done, because it does govern ? This circle is obviously beg- ging the principle in question — it governs our choice because it is the strongest motive ; and it is the strongest motive be- cause it governs our choice. In opposition to this pretended maxim, the soundest metaphysicians, and the most accurate observers of the operations of the mind, agree with the learn- ed and profound Dr. Reid of Glasgow, that we often act ac- cording to the direction of a weaker motive ; and sometimes act without any perceptible motive at all. Although the mind seldom acts without motive ; yet it is not motive which exclusively determines its volitions ; or is the sole cause of action. This would be reducing action to a mechanical operation, and justify those material analogies, in explaining its nature, Avhich I have before condemned.* — The proper effect of motive is to solicit and excite the mind, and to put it into a state of action. But I have a power with- in me which determines my choice, on a view more deliberate, or more rapid, of the motives before it. If you ask me to explain that power — I feel it — I am sensible that I exercise it — and, in the feeling and exercise I understand the act. 38 298 Every man may, in the same manner, feel and understand It by attending to the operations of his own mind. But I am no more capable of explaining it in terms, than I can explain the sensation of seeing. The perception is too simple. It is understood by the mind, only in the act of perceiving, or exerting its power of volition. This does not lessen the clearness and certainty of the idea. It is, perhaps, the rea- son why this idea is peculiarly clear. It is among the pri- mary sensations of our nature. And in no other way, than these original sensations, are those ideas that are emphatically and happily called first truths, or axioms in science, which are the elements, and clearest materials of all our knowledge, conveyed to the intellect. They are the impressions of the hand of God upon the mind; convictions resulting from the very constitution of our nature. Thus am I conscious of my liberty, or power over my own acts, in the acts them- selves. Upon the whole view of this subject, the result is, that I act with the most perfect freedom. Motive, though it influ- ences, does not necessarily determine my choice. Yet such certainty there is in the actions of rational and moral beings, according to their dispositions, education, habits, and the whole atmosphere of motives which encompasses them, as lays as a foundation, among men themselves, in their social relations, for the most useful general knowledge of one an- other, and in God for the most perfect foreknowledge of all 2da the actions of life, he having formed the vaiioua tempera- ment of individuals, and disposed, in his providence, the whole train of motives, to the most minute, and often imperceptible^ which continually operate upon all the springs and principles of action ; both which, the temperament of the individual, and the succession and combiuatidn of motives he has con- stituted, and ordained, and governs, in such a manner, in his church, under the all-wise direction of his Holy Spirit, as most effectually, yet most freely, to accomplish all his most wise and holy purposes. Thus have I unfolded the ideas involved in the technical and systematic phrase — the Decrees of God ; which, being interpreted by the obvious and philosophic language of the haws of NaturCy or its various powers and tendencies of ac- tion, from which proceed, under God, as his organs of opera- tion, all events, whether natural or moral in the universe, these decrees, which appear, to certain writers, with such a formidable aspect, stand on plain and intelligible ground, ac- knowledged, when rightly understood, by all the best friends •f science and religion. From the whole of these reflections it results, that the de- crees of God are eternal^ like his will and purposes in the laws of nature ; — they are most certain in their consequences, that is, they are absolutely ordained, a term equivalent to the former, except that it seems to carry in it more of the author' 300 Hi/ on which all depends ; and, finally, like the same laws, thev are immutable- This is, obviously, the amount of the proposition in our confession, and catechisms, that the de- crees of God are absohde and wichangeable, which to some sects of christians, has given great, and, I presume, unneces- sary offence. ^ From the interpretation which has been given to this im"" portant proposition, we perceive the coincidence of reason, with religion ; and the support which science, justly explain- efl, may often render to revelation. OF THE COVENANT OF WOKKS AND THE FALL OF MAN. I PROCEED, in the next place, to the consideration of the Covenant of Works, and the fall of Man. This Covenant, as it is contemplated in our systems, is the transaction repre- sented to have taken place between man and his Creator at his first formation, wherein a law of duty was prescribed to him, under the explicii threatening of death, in case of trans- gression, and the implied promise of life, on t^e condition of obedience. His whole duty, however, in this covenant, was collected in a single prohibition as its test. It is proper to observe, that the terra covenant is not employed in the his- tory of this transaction by the sacred writer. But it is not the object of the holy scriptures to arrange for us systems, with scientific precision and method. They simply express things in a free and narrative order, so as to be most easily conceived, and applied to use by the plainest readers ; and this di^iisive style has been collected, by divines, into spe- cific propositions, and disposed, according to the order and dependence of ideas, into a scientific form, which, for the con* 302 venicHce of arrangement, and conciseness of expression, re- quires, frequently, a peculiar and technical phraseology. Of this we have an example in this term. In the strictness of meaning usually annexed to it, a covenant could not take place between the Supreme Jehovah, and the insect man. For it properly signifies a stipulation between persons who are, in some degree, equal and free. Yet, as far as such an agreement can be supposed to exist between parties of such infinite disparity as the Creator and the creature, it will be found to be contained in this precept to Adam. In it a duty is to be performed — a reward is proposed for obedience — and a penalty denounced in case of transgression. For, although the reward is not explicitly stated in terms, it is manifestly involved in the threatening. If death was the forfeiture for disobedience, the necessary implication was, that life was the alternative for obedience. Having justified the technical denomination which this transaction has received among divines, it is only necessary, farther, to suggest that it is spoken of, in our systems, under (wo different appellations, being sometimes styled, from its condition, the Covenant of Works, and sometimes, from its implied reward, the Covenant of Life. Various circumstances in the constitution, administration, and appendages of the covenant, demand our most serious in- quiries. 1. In the first place, the peculiar selection of a com- 303 dandor prohibilionfor the trial of Adaai's obedience. 2. In the second place, the full implication of the promise and the threatening. 3. Thirdly, the representative character of our first father in this transaction. 4. And lastly, the significa- tion of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, and of the tree of life. 1. on the selection of an object for the trial of man's obedience. When we consider the natural imbecility of the human mind, and the limited sphere to which the range of its ideas is confined, it cannot be surprising, if, in the revelation of the divine will, in the holy scriptures, as well as in that natural revelation inscribed on the face of the universe, we should find many facts which it is difficult, and some which tran- scend the utmost power^ of reason to explain. The enemies of revealed religion examine, with scrupulous ingenuity, eve- ry part of that sacred volume which contains its history ; and if its friends are not able to solve to the satisfaction of a cap- tious philosophy, ail the questions which, either th3 obliquity of ignorance, or the perversity of genius can raise upon it, they are inclined to reject the whole as a fable. No part of the whole system, perhaps, has been exposed to bolder in- quiries than the Mosaic account of the fall of man, or been treated with more indecent levify than the test of his obe- dience proposed by divine wisdom in the fruit of the for- bidden tree. 304 From the earliest dawn of science, tlie speculations of pLi' losophy have been employed, without being able to arrive at any satisfactory conclusions on the subject, to account for the introduction of evil into the works of an all-powerful., wise, and benevolent Deity. Revelation has proposed, only a few simple facts relative to it, without explicitly unfolding the inscrutable relations which it holds to the purity and ho- liness of the divine nature ; or pointing out the operations of ihe human mind in its progress from innocence to guilt. The first parents of the human race, had, already, the law of na- ture written on their hearts. It pleased the Creator, how- ever to make proof of their constancy and perseverance in practical holiness, by an appeal to the great principle of all duty, which consists in obedience simply to the rvill of God. For this purpose it was requisite to impose upon the con- science some posilive injunction ; that is, one to which no natural morality, or immorality is attached, but the obligation to which rested solely upon the divine command ; without any other moral consideration. From an action naturallj immoral, a holy nature would instinctively shrink ; so that no temptation from that quarter could be made to reach it. But the act being originally indifferent, the mind could approach it near enough to contemplate it on every side whence an in- sidious suggestion could be thrown in to induce, for a mo- ment, an oblivion of the authority of Heaven. Here would be opened a field in which the tempter, the great enemy of 305 God and man, might please himself with the hope of operat- ing, not wholly without success. Accordingly, the subject which Divine Wisdom selected for this probation, was the fruit of a single tree, of specious appearance, which alone was prohibited to man, of all the en- joyments furnished by the whole range of nature, and with (his solitary exception, freely indulged to his use. This se- lection has afforded abundant matter of objection to igno- rance, and of sarcasm to wit. Why was the proof of human virtue, it is asked, and, with it, the most important conse- quence to the whole family of mankind suspended on an ac- tion so trivial, if not contemptible, to use their own phrase, as the eating of an apple ? Why was it not rested on some prominent precept, at least, of the moral code ? To these inquiries let me answer, that we cannot, in all cases, and that we can, perhaps, in very few, enter into the reasons of the divine conduct, either in the structure, or the government of the nniverse. In the present instance, however, we have it in our power to propose some plausible conjectures, which may furnish sufficient grounds for the vindication, if not the perfect explanation of this portion of the divine economy, so little capable of illustration by any analogies drawn from the affairs of men. This subject requires that we should not pass over it with a slight attention, inasmuch as every answer which can be • 39 306 dearly given to the minutest, as weli as the more importariii; objections of unbelievers, is shedding some light on the cause of divine truth, and giving additional stability to its founda- tions. ^ In the first place, I hope to demonstrate, that the prohibit tion made to the parents of the human race, for the probation of their innocence, instead of being, in the language of the objection, of a mean and trivial nature, was drawn from a sub- ject which, in that age, held the highest place in the econ- omy of human life. In the next place, I shall shew that, at that time, a subject on which to rest this trial could hardly have been taken from a different class of objects. Those who affect to be very wise, or very witty, are pleas- ed to say, with all the contemptuousness which the terms, in the present age, obviously imply, that Moses, by his narra- tion, has suspended the destinies of the whole human race upon the eating of an apple. Let us seriously examine the truth of this sneering allegation, and inquire into the nature of that act by which Adam forfeited his primitive condition of happiness in Paradise. It is uncertain what was the kind of this fruit, or the nature of the tree which bore it. It is probable that it was a tree 3or entirely singular in its nature, bearing a fruit of exquisite beauty to the eye, and of delightful fragrance and flavour to the taste and smell. It received its denomination of the tne of knowledge of good and evil, only to indicate the conse- quences of tasting its fruit ; that, as the first pair had hitherto known only good, they would, by that act, become practi- cally acquainted with evil. But, in order to a proper con- sideration of this action, it is necessary to understand that the only sustenance of human life, in the beginning, was derived from the spontaneous fruits of the garden, and its principal re- freshments from their cooling and enlivening juices. The culture of grain was not yet practised, nor were sacrifices, at that period, drawn from the fold. The virtue of temperance then, which constituted the chief of the practical virtues of that state, must have had respect only to the quantity, or the kinds of the fruits which were then permitted, and used for nourishment ; particularly, as there might have been, in the collections of that primitive garden, some species possessing highly exhilarating qualities, requiring caution in their use. — And it is far from being an improbable supposition, that the interdicted tree contained a liquor of intoxicating strength, calculated to throw all the fluids of the human body into un- natural tumults, immediately inciting to vice, and awaking im- pure and indecent passions ; as we learn from the shame which affected our great ancestors, as soon as the influence of the first draught had somewhat subsided. And it is no less probable that it possessed properties of a most deleterious 308 nature, which infused into the veins an insidious poison, in- ducing that morlal tendency to corruption in the v?hole frame, to which it fell at length an irremediable victim. In these reflections we may perceive, I presume, a founda- tion laid for making a just estimate of the importance of the subject which was chosen as the original test of man's obedi- ence. The fruits of the garden furnished the whole subsist- ence of human life. In them were found all the means of tem- perate enjoyment ; and, in the forbidden tree, at least, we dis- cern what was equivalent to the most pernicious viands of lux- ury and intemperance. No subject could exist, at that pe* riod, of greater moment, for the trial of man's integrity and perseverance in the principle of all duty ; which consists, as has before been said, in obedience simply to the will of God. I proposed, in the next place, to shew the probability that divine wisdom could hardly have selected a subject from a different class of objects, on which this trial could have been rested. It has already been suggested, that any act which should have involved direct impiety of aim, or indicated impurity of disposition, would have been so immediately re» volting to a holy mind, that a temptation to the commission of it, could hardly, for a single moment, have entered the mind, or been entertained there with favour. And, it is ob- vious, that none of the precepts of the decalogue, could have afforded any grounds for being made, at this tlaie, a test of 309 this sublime duty. None of the moral relations of society, which we now see established among mankind, could then have yielded any possible occasion to transgression. — Let us examine them singly. Could man, for example, have deni- ed the existence of God, or have profaned his holy name, or debased his nature by any of the images of idolatry, who daily held delightful commerce with him in the gardens of Paradise, and whose works were shining in all the freshness of their glory before his eyes, in the recent creation ? Could the duty of children to their parents be violated by him who had no parent but God ? How could murder, adultery, or falsehood in rendering testimony exist, where no subjects were found, on which these crimes could be practised ? Or Low should he covet, or trespass on the property of another, who was already lord of the whole creation ? — It is evident, from these inquiries, that none of the moral precepts of the law could have been selected for this peculiar trial. It must be found only in some object addressing, exclusive- ly the corporeal appetites, the indulgence of which, not in- volving any transgression of the laws of nature, would not of course, awaken any suspicion, or call up any extraordi- nary vigilance, or guard against the access of temptation. The restraint, of consequence, which this command imposed upon Adam, and his watchfulness against its approach, and the whole virtue of this act, was obedience simply to the di- vine will. — The prohibition, therefore, could affect only certain fruits of the garden. Within the compass of this 310 were included all the objects which could minister any temp- tation to man's sensual appetites. From it alone could be drawn any trial of his virtue, in tlie circumstances in which he was placed. And among all its fruits, it is manifest that none was more proper than that which applied so strongly to the principle of curiosity as well as of taste, and promised, at the same time, to open to their mistaken imaginations, a new and boundless field of knowledge. A new field it was, both various and extensive, to those who had hitherto known only good : but, ah ! how miserable when their fond fancies came to be blasted by the fatal experiment ! Of these circumstances, the great enemy of God, and of human happiness made his advantage to accomplish his evil designs, and, by insidious steps, to approach the innocent mind of our first mother. Direct guilt could not touch her untainted soul. The tempter, therefore, artfully covered the crime in the apparent indifference of the object ; and by his specious reasonings, and his dangerous example, in eat- ing before her eyes of the same fruit without injury, led her confused and confiicling thoughts to the utmost verge of in- nocence. At last, her ardent thirst of knowledge, when she recollected that it was a fruit to be desired to make one wise, urged her, in the tumults of her mind, to yield herself up to the wiles of the tempter, and, in an unhappy moment, to pass the now imperceptible limit between her and vice. She was surprised by the artful snares which had been laid for her ; 511 and, without being conscious of her state at first, she felL-^ Intoxicated by the imaginary success of her experiment, and, at the same time perhaps, by the powerful juice of the fruit which she had just eaten, she brought a portion of it io her husband, and adding the irresistible force of her persua- sions to the fascinating charms of her person, he yielded to the multiplied temptation, and befell with her. Will it be said that, if this picture should have any ere* dence attached to it, our first parents appear to have been the victims of inadvertence rather than of guilt ; their vigi- lance was surprized, and it would be a hard measure in the Creator to involve them in such fatal consequences for the inadvertence of a moment ? Let it be remembered, that no inadvertence, or surprize can form a just apology for violat- ing the positive command of God. Let us further reflect, that it is the certain and awful order of the moral world, that an imprudence, an intermission of our virtuous vigilance, an act of inconsiderate folly, is often the cause of irreparable calamities. Perhaps, men more frequently precipitate them- selves into ruin, by what may be deemed imprudence, in the beginning, than by open crime, and hardened impiety. The great ancestors of our race, inexperienced in the wiles of sin, had now arrived at the consummation of that fatal act which involved theodelves and their whole race in irre- trievable perdition. And, when the delirium, created by 312 that mortal juice, had subsided, thej became conecious, for (he first lime, that they had forever lost the favour of God their Heavenly Father. They dreaded the approach of him whom they had so often met with confidence and joy, pouring at his feet the grateful homage of their hearts. When they heard the accustomed sign of his drawing near, they fled trembling from his presence, vainly thinking to con- ceal themselves among the trees of the garden. In the vicw^ of one another, as well as before the divine majesty they perceived that shame which is the disgraceful effect of sin, and in their confusion, they attempted to cover themselves with fig leaves. — This remarkable fact merits particular at- tention, as conveying a striking indication of the moral state of their minds, and perhaps also of the physical influence of the fruit which they had eaten. The nakedness of their persons, which, in the period of their innocence, had never affected them with any emotions but such as were pure, now began to cover them with con- scious blushes. Was it that the glow of beauty, and, per- haps, of a celestial radiance, which surrounded the primi- tive body of man, was now lost, and the deformity of a fal' len nature began to appear ? Or, was it that, formerly, the sentiments of devotion, of friendship, of a \nrtuous tender- ness, of a sublime sympathy, of a high, noble, and intelligi- gent conversation which reigned between them, so occupied their whole souls when together, that every pleasure of the 31.". senses gave only a gentle heightening to the most pure and refiued feelings of the mind ; but now, the tumults of a gross passion alone filled their hearts, always shameful, and, in their situation, incapable of being concealed, or subjected to the control of reason. Perhaps both these causes con- curred to produce this singular incident in the history of the Fail. Their nature which had made a near approach to the angelic, was now sunk into a near resemblance of the brutal ; and as yet no Saviour had been announced to them, to tran- quilize the tumults of their frame, or to correct the violence of their passions. 2. THE IMPORT OF THE THREATENING. I am, in the next place, to consider the full implication of the threatening ; — In the day thou eaiest thereof thou shalt surely die ; whence we may deduce, by the most legitimate inference, the Life which, by contrast is involved in the con- dition of obedience. This denunciation may justly be supposed to pronounce the immediate dissolution of the transgressor. And this is the meaning, perhaps, which most obviously obtrudes itself upon the mind of the reader. But it may express, merely, the sentence of the law, pronounced by the judge, in con- sequence of which the criminal is considered as dead to so- ciety, and thenceforth, held in rigorous custody till the pe- 40 3t4 riod of execution appointed by the supreme autbority, arrive: If the latter be the interpretation of this awful sentencej ^hich is supposed by the greater number of divines, still such a change must have immediately passed upon the bo- dies of the condemned, that the powers of immortal life be- came instantly extinguished, and the seeds of death began to work in their living members. And the corporeal princi- ples, among which are those powerful agents, the appetites and passions, must, from the intimate alliance which sub- sists between the different parts of our nature, have extend- ed their taint through the whole system, mental as well as bodily. The terras of this sentence, therefore, include the moral death of the soul, which, without the provision of the gospel, must adhere to it while its being endures. In these reflections we recognize the extent of that death temporal, spiritual, and eternal, which, according to our standards, was included in the denunciation on our first parents. OF THE ORIGINAL IMMORTALITV OF OUR FIRST PARENTS> The opinion of those who would subject Adam to imme- diate death, in consequence of his transgression, I will pre- sent to you, after having taken a view of his representative character. In the mean time, it is obvious to remark, that this denunciation must imply that, in a contrary event, man would have existed forever in a state of holiness and happi- ness, nor have been liable to the corruptions of a mortal bo- ^ 313 Hy, and the pains of dissolution. A question bas arisen, in consequence, among divines ; whether man would have con- tinued his immortal being upon the earth, or have been trans* lated, without pain, and, perhaps, with some high improve* ment of his nature, to a superior state of existence ? But, as God has not been pleased to make any revelation of his will upon this subject, the inquiry would be fruitless; and, to propose any conjectures concerning it would indicate an un« licensed boldness of fancy, equally arrogant and vain. The enemies of revelation, indeed, have denied the possibility of the fact, that man should be immortal. The human consti- tution is said necessarily to tend to decay. The nerves by their very structure, although no disease should attack them, become rigid by age, and lose that elasticity which is requi- site to carry on the functions of animal life. — This is judg- ing of man before the fall, by the ruins of his nature since that fatal event. There are different species of organized matter, which seem calculated to endure forever, if not at- tacked by extraneous violence ; to instance only in the dia- mond;— And why might not the substance of the human frame have been so modified as to be fitted for eternal dura- tion, or that its changes should lead only to still increasing perfection ? Some great and essential change has evidently taken place, not only in man, but in all animals, and in the whole system of nature, intended to demonstrate the dis- pleasure of Almighty God at that sin which has spread its baleful effects over the entire face of the world. The beasts 316 which at first, only inROccntly cropped the green herbage, becrime, in many cases, the devourers of one another. An ? the soil, which, in the beginning was fertile and beauti- ful, and yielded a copious harvest of fruits to an easy and delightful culture, became sterile and deformed, and hardly afforded a scanty subsistence to the sweat and labour of its guilty possessor. OF THE REPRESENTATIVE CHARACTER OF ADAM. Upon this history a natural, and important inquiry arises, whether the trial imposed upon Adam, respected his own stability in this holy state exclusively, according to the opin^ ion of some writers, or whether, according to the better opinion of the great majority of christians, his posterity were involved with him in its consequences ; and whether we do not see, in his defection, the true source, not only of the mortality, but of all the calamities which have overwhelmed human nature? On this subject the sacred scriptures in- struct us in the most explicit terms. "In Adam all die. By one man, sin entered into the world, and death by sin ; so death passed upon all men, for (hat all have sinned." In this last expression there seems to be a .small inaccuracy in the translation, which is calculated to lead the incautious reader into the opinion iha! death is the penal consequence of the individual act of every sinner ; thereby transferring the cause of our mortality, contrary to the doctrine of the scrip- 3ir lures, from the crime of the Covenant-Head of the race to each man's personal transgression. The immediate and proximate cause of this fatal and universal catastrophe to Adam, and all his descendants, was the depravation of his nature, by the first act of sin, thereby impairing, and tend- ing finally to destroy all the principles of life. This order of things is essentially connected with the established, and immutable laws of the universe, in consequence of which a depraved and perishing offspring necessarily springs from a corrupted stock. The version of this passage, therefore, would be better amended, — " so death passed upon all men, because that all in him have become subject to the effects of his sin ;" that is, to that depravation of nature which renders them liable to death, and utterly incapable of eternal life ; except through the Second Adam, who, by his death, has opened to the transgressor the v/ay for repentance, and the obedience of a New-Covenant. OF THE JUSTICE OF THIS INSTITUTION. If the enemies of our holy religion demand the justice of this order which subjects a rational, and moral being to an hereditary depravity ? I answer, that this is not an objection which peculiarly affects revelation. It is a difficulty equal- ly in the religion of nature, and the philosophy of the uni- verse. We cannot be fairly required to explain the secret operations of the laws of nature, which are known only to •318 Ood, and to account for their wisdom, and their equity. I Thus far the fact is open to our inspection ; that man, who has become mortal, can transmit only a mortal constitution to his offspring. By the same laws, if his appetites, and passions have become disordered by sin, the same tenden- cies exhibit themselves in all those who spring from his loins. The corporeal temperament of the parent, and, frequently, the faculties of his mind, we see renewed in his posterity. It is in vain to remonstrate against the injustice of this order. The fact exists. And shall not the Judge of all the earth do right ? In reasoning from facts we must confess that tlie corruption of human nature must infallibly grow out of the established laws for the propagation of animal existence. ISlo impeachment, therefore, can justly be moved against the holy scriptures which, having exhibited the transaction with our primitive parent under the form of a covenant, have plac- ed him at the head of his race, as their natural and moral representative. For, according to this eternal constitution, conformably with his virtue, or his vice, that is, his standing, or his fall, must have been the consequences on his posteri- ty. " By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin ; so death passed upon all men, because in him al! have sinned," and become subject to his depraved, and mor- tal nature. tiI9 OF THE BENlGNITi" OF THIS ORDINANCE. Those who are unfriendly to our doctrine demand, where would be the benignily of the Creator, in calling into exis- tence a whole race of beings, and, at the same time, sub- jecting their eternal deslinj to the voluntary act of a frail, though innocent creature? And an appearance of severity it certainly would have, if it had not been his most merciful purpose, annulling the condition of the first covenant, now rendered impracticable by the Fall, to dispose the humbled and lost father of the race, and his whole offspring, immedi- ately under the protection and grace of the Second Adam, and the blessings of a new covenant, established on better promises, enriched with more glorious hopes, and resting oq a more perfect security in the righteousness of Christ. And it is not an improbable opinion of many wise and good men, that the condition of the human family, under this dispensa- tion, is much to be preferred to that which would have ex- isted under the most favourable operation of the first. The displays of the divine nature have been more glorious, the riches and consolations of the divine mercy have been more precious, the joys of eternal life more exalted, and trium- phant. Yet, to this illustrious exhibition of divine grace the fall of human nature, in the unsearchable wisdom of God, became the necessary introduction. Its richest glory arises oiit of its deepest humilialion. 320 OF THE OFINIOX THAT DEATH WAS DENOUNCED TO TAKE PLACE ON THE DAY OF THE FALL. Another interpretafion of this awful sanction, — In the day thou catest thereof thou shalt surely die, which is more lite- ral than the former, and which limits the execution of the sen- tence to the day of the transgression, merits our particular consideration, at once, from its simplicity, and its obvious conformity to the letter of the law. On this interpretation, Adam, under his original covenant, could not possibly have had posterity. Nor is it probable that, if he had been per- mitted to live for a season, he could, without a nc7v covenant, giving him the hope of life, have had any offspring, while precariously existing under the monienlary, and overwhelm- ing apprehensions of death. But the whole scene was chang- ed by the promise of a Saviour, in these mysterious words, ihe seed of the woman shall bruise the serpent^s head, which hold out to our afflicted father the final destruction of the power of evil, and offer to his hopes the most illustrious dis- plays of divine mercy and grace. Immediately we perceive the first fruits of this gracious promise upon our first pa- rents; and Adam, in the hope of a numerous progeny, which was extinguished with the loss of his own existence, called the name of his wife, in the moment of his exulta- tion, Eve^ in the Hebrew language, Chavah ; because now he was assured that she was to become the mother of 321 a living race. — Though raised to better hopes, yet pos- sessing only a depraved and fallen nature, he could im- part no other to his ofTspring. All, therefore, are born under sin. But inasmuch as, without a Mediator, and a new cove- nant, none would have received existence, all who now are permitted to come into the world, enter it under the protec- tion of this glorious Saviour ; and, accordingly we see them in the seals of this gracious covenant, in the church, met with the offered blessings of the righteousness of faith. '^• Hence life and immortality are proposed to all^ not, as un- der the original covenant with Adam, to perfect obedience ; but, through a Mediator, to sincere repentance, and evange- lic obedience. OF THE IMPORT OF THE TREE OF KNOWLEDGE, AND THE TREE OF LIFE. The last inquiry, proposed under this head, was to ascer- tain the purpose and meaning of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and the tree of life. Of the former, little question can exist. The fruit of that tree was designed to form the test of the obedience of man. And its denomination was manifestly derived from its destination : for, Adam, who, at first, had been acquainted only with good, became, from tasting its fruit, most fatally sensible of evil. The act in- ^ See this principle more explicitly stated nnjer the artii-le of brtptUm. 41 022 irodiiced into his soul the afflicting consciousness of guiif, and the fatal daring of disobedience, once become familiar, perverted all his powers, and emboldened his sinful passions to farther transgressions. It threw the principles of duty headlong froai their throne, and raised to the forsaken seat, all the irregular affections, and violent impulses of a deprav- ed nature. This moral death of the soul was, at the same time, conjoined with the decay of all the powers of the bo- dy, and the corruption of the principles of animal life. On the other hand, it is by no means an improbable conjecture, that the tree of life possessed a health giving, and renovating quality, which added a vital stimulus to the corporeal powers ; but that the forbidden fruit, besides its intoxicating power, which has before been suggested, contained, likewise, a dele- terious spirit which instantly diffused a slow consuming poison through all the veins, and introduced the principles of disease and death into the human frame. Many respectable writers have believed that this life giv- ing iree was placed in the garden as the symbol of iramor- taUty to this innocent pair, as long as they should persevere in their duty ; and probably a sacranjental sign of the stead- fastness of the covenant, t<) be ever before their eyes, to en- courage their joyful hopes, and to awaken their ardent de- votion. 323 OP THE INTRODUCTION OF SIN INTO THE WORKS OP QOD. Before I proceed to treat of the consequences of the Fall, either upon the parents, or the entire family of the human race, it will not, I hope, be deemed improper to introduce a speculative question which, has been found to occupy with much solicitude, the minds of men ; and is often, by the enemies of revelation, made the occasion of casting re- proach upon its doctrines. I introduce it, however, not with the presumption of being able satisfactorily to resolve to the minds of all, the difficulties with which it is embarrassed ; but with the humbler hope of inducing unmurmuring sub- mission to the will of God, whose decrees transcend the in- vestigations of reason. — Why did the InSnite Creator, whose power and wisdom, can accomplish all his willy without en- croaching on the peculiar prerogatives of human nature, per- mit the introduction of sin into his works ? Why should moral and natural evil form a part of Ihe system, conceived by the Infinite Mind, for the administration of this world ? Or how could sin exist in the universe, in which we confess that all things depend solely upon his will, without imputing to him such an agency in the event as to palliate, at least, if not entirely excuse the transgression of the sinner ? — It is doubtless gross impiety to ascribe iniquity to God, as ils au- thor, or to impute any indirect influence over the human mind to the Most Holy, inconsistent with the purity of his 324 nature. For, throughout the holy scriptureai, his extreme abhorrence of sin, and his inflexible deteraiination lo punish it, is expressed in the strongest terms ; but candour n.'ust compel every wise man to confess the difficulty of account- ing for its permission ; and above all, for its entering for so large a portion into the plans of the Sovereign Wisdom. Some writers maintain the principle, that the existence of sin is a necessary consequence of the freedom of action. The principle is at least incautiously expressed. No inevitable connexion surely exists between liberty and criminality ; otherwise, our freedom would be a pernicious gift. — It would be a more certain proposition, but would contribute little to satisfy the inquisitive mind, that the possibility of crime must be connected with perfect freedom of volition and ac- tion : it is not, therefore, surprising that, in any one instance the possibility should be converted into fact. A solution this which is abundantly sufficient to those who deny the decrees of God ; but to those who believe that the decrees extend to every part of nature, and embrace the minutest actions of the mind, silence and submission is the truest vrisdom. OF THE OPINION OF LEIBNITZ. Some German metaphysicians, especially the disciples of the school of Leibnitz, have adopted a theory peculiar to themselves ; that evil is necessary to the perfection oF the universe ; as necessary, to use their own similitude, as shadea to the beauty of a picture. This fine maxim of the imagination, is certainly dependent on a theory of very ques. tionable truth ; or rather is contradicted by the soundest dic- tates of reason. — Their great dogma, which solves to them all difficulties, in physics, and in morals, is, that all the good which can possibly exist in the universe, and the whole per- fection, in both orders of being, which can possibly proceed from the wisdom and the power of the Omnipotent is to be seen in his works. What does not exist is impossible,— This principle is bringing back the absurd Fate of the Sto- ics, and subjecling the Deily himself to the chains of ne- cessity.— I must be permitted to observe on this whole ques- tion, that it presents to our reason one of those inscrutable subjects, on which it is wise, in the present state, to repose submissively on the wisdom of God ; rp«nlving what we can- not explain, into his sovereign will, and the unsearchable counsels of his understanding. Revelation, however, in- forms ns that he will turn this disastrous event to subserve the noblest ends in the universe,— the illustration of his good- ness, his mercy, and his justice, in the exaltation of his Son, 30 as to render the new creation more glorious than Eden. 326 OF THE SERPENT AND THE TEMPTATION'. Of the duration of the state of innocence, no facts are pre- sented to us from which any certain estimate can be formed. Nor have we any means of judging in what manner the temp- tation was addressed by the serpent, to our primillve mother. Many frivolous fancies have been uttered concerning the species of serpent, whose form the tempter assumed ; all of them, probably, without sufficiently adverting to the effects of the curse on the whole creation, and on the change, par- ticularly, which must have passed on the forms and qualities of the animal tribes. That the whole history of this most important of human transactions, is according to the opinion of some respectable writers, a mere allcgurical fable, depicting in figure this truth, that the fascinations of vice deceiverl and seduced our first parents, appears to have no support in the language in which the narration is conveyed to us. The images of hieroglyphic, out of which this divine fable is supposed to be constructed, could originally have been drawn only from actual types, that is, from historical facts. And the serpentine hiero- glyphic of eloquence, wit, and cunning, used at first, by the Egyptian priests, and supposed to be here employed, has every appearance of being itself borrowed from the fact which took place in Paradise. From the same fact, the prince of 327 evil spirits, has received, in the holy scriptures, his figura- tive denomination of the Old Sprpent ; and, among the hea- then, the emblematic wand of Mercury seems to have had a similar origin. The denunciation pronounced upon that rep- tile, upon thy belly shall thou go, and dust shall thou eal, has, obviously, a reference to some transmutation passed up- on his form, and his manner of moving and subsistence, de- signed by God to be emblematic of the humiliation, and the degraded state into which his arts had reduced the parents, and the whole race of man. FRAGMENTS OF THIS HISTORY FOUND IN THE TRADITIONS AND FABLES OF ALL THE EARLIEST NA- TIONS OF ANTICIUITY. It is an inquiry which will naturally suggest itself both to the friends, and the enemies of revelation — have any vestiges of a fact so unspeakably important to human kind, been found among the historical or mythological monuments of the most ancient pagan nations ? If true, would not some tradi- tion of it have naturally been preserved m the fables of every people so lately descended from the common head of the race ? And several eminent and learned writers have be- stowed no small pains in comparing the traditions and my- thological fables of antiquity with the mosaic history, whence they have been thought to have derived a testimony of no inconsiderable authority to the authenticitv and truth of the 328 "jacred record. AH who are in the least conversant with an- cient learning, are familiar with the fables of the golden and the iron age, which are nothing more than the allegorical dress in which the poets have chosen to clothe the earliest history of mankind. The doctrine of the primitive innocence, and fall of man, the travellers, and philosophers of Greece, receiv- ed from Egypt, and the East, along with their arts and scien- ces almost with the first existence of the nation. In the Egyptian mythology, particularly, we recognize the original innocence of man in the happy reign of Osiris over the world. His fall is depicted in the ravages of Typhon, their great and wicked Demon, or principle of Evil. And, last- ly, we discover the promise of a Saviour, in the prediction of the resurrection and eternal life of Osiris, when he will triumph over the power of evil, and restore universal peace and happiness to the world.* The Magians of Persia believed in their enigmatical sys- tem of the egg of the world, which, at first, was shining and transparent, till broken by Ahriman, the Power of Evil, when happiness became every where confounded with mise- ry. I have formerly spoken of the doctrine of the ancient Bramins of India, and its striking similarity, in this particular, (o the history of Moses. I have there also referred to the representations of the catholic missionaries, so long resident ' The travels of Cyrus, by t!ie Chevalier Ramsay. 329 in the empire of China.* And it merits particular observa- tion, that the traditions of the most ancient nations, the high- er they go up towards the origin of time, bear the stronger resemblance to the facts of the sacred history. Nor ought this to appear surprising, since all nations, as the scriptures assure us, have sprung from one common parent after the deluge. The nearer, therefore, they carry their history to its source, the more ought we to expect, what we actually find, some coincidence in its facts with those recorded in Moses. And those holy writings evidently lead us to the genuine fountain whence all their mythological streams have flowed, more or less pure or adulterated, in proportion as they approach, or recede from, the beginning of time. And so many striking, and undesigned resemblances afford a testimony of no slight value to the authenticity of the divine historian. THE IMMEDIATE EFFECT OF THE FALL ON OUR FIRST PARENTS. Before concluding this article, it will be requisite to con- sider the immediate effects of the Fall upon our first parents, as well as its consequent influence upon their whole posteri- ty. On the former, it is manifest, from the testimony of thfe * On the evidences of religion. The coinciJenres of fbe tradition? of th? an- cieut nations with the sacred historv. 4^ 330 holy scriptures, that the judgments of God became almost instantaneouslj visible. Thej lost the image of God in which they had been created. — In their persons they suffer- ed a lamentable change, by which their native beauty was deformed ; and their nature, which had been constituted im« mortal, became liable to pain, disease, and the gradual ap- proaches of death. They were condemned to leave the gar- den of their original pleasures, in which they had so bappi* ]y lived on the spontaneous fruits of the soil, and to labour in the earth rendered hard and sterile by the curse. — For the first time, they perceived the fears, and compunctions of a guilty conscience ; and, instead of the pure and tranquil dcr lights of virtue and piety, they became sensible only of the turbulence of sinful passions. One example of these pre- sents to us a picture of some singularity. " The eyes of them both," it is said, " were opened, and they knew that they were naked ; and Ihey sewed fig leaves together, and ' made themselves aprons." From these facts it appears that they were then first sensible of that shame which naturally arises in the mind conscious of improper and corrupt emo' tions, in viewing the nakedness of the person. Perhaps in the change which passed upon them, they perceived a de- formity in their bodies which before had never struck their eyes, which probably, in their original condition, had not ex- isted. Bat this sudden and mortifying sentiment of shame, as I have before suggested, may have taken its origin chiefly from their being then first conscious of the emotions of lust, 331 and being in such a state, that they could not, at all times, conceal the disgraceful effect, except by such an artifice as that to which they now had recourse. The sense of shame, in consequence of lustful emotion, where it is not utterly ex- tinguished by the violence of desire, or the force of deprav- ed habit, involuntarily arises at all the visible indications- of this gross passion, and at every object, exciting to it, pre- sented to the senses, or the fancy. And in this, as in other subjects, we recognise the force of nature in the new fallen pair. OF THE REPENTANCE OF OUR FIRST PARENTS. Of the repentance of this unhappy pair after their lamen- table fall, nothing is distinctly transmitted to us in the con- cise narration of Moses. But there is the strongest reason to presume that their penitence followed the promise given by God to console them in their affliction ; that the seed of (he woman should bruise the serpent^ s head, and thus destroy the Power of Evil ; delivering her offspring by this act, from the dominion of sin, and death. And, in the highest degree probable it is, that the God, and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who, in the midst of his righteous judg- ments on their transgression, still bestowed on them the most gracious and paternal care, in his provisions for their tempo- ral comfort, and who, in their humbled state, still deigned to them his heavenly communication in the field, or at the 332 allar, would not be deaf to the cries of their misery, and their penitential sorrows. Hardly, however, do these gloomy writers, who have dar- ed to presume that these afflicted pareuls, in the midst of the wreck, and the rescue of their race, themselves perish- ed without the mercy of that Saviour who had been recent- ly promised to them, merit even this notice of an uncharita- ble opinion, which is not supported by any authority from the holy scriptures. OF THE EFFECTS OF THE FALL ON THE WHOLE POSTERITY OF ADAM. The plain and explicit testimony of the sacred writings teaches, that the state of sinfulness and misery, in which it is visible that human nature exists, is at once the fruit, and the punishment of the transgression of the great head, and representative of the human family. No testimony can be more clear and decisive on the subject than the declaration of the apostle Paul in his epistle to the Romans.—" By one man, sin entered into the world ; and death by sin, so death passed upon all men, inasmuch as all in him have partaken of the same depraved and sinful nature." The principal evil, and the source of all the other evils which result to mankind from the original transgression of our father is, not only the tendency of our bodies to decay, but the " moral 338 corruption with which all men are now born into the world." — The existence of a depraved nature in man has been made the subject of ardent, and too often acrimonious controver- sies in the christian church. The Socinians and even the Arminians, probably mistaking the true meaning and extent of the proposition which asserts the original sinfulness and depravity of human nature, deny that we inherit from Adam any evil except that of pain and death. These writers, in- deed, confess the tendency of mankind to moral wrong in many of their earliest acts. Yet, they refuse to admit the federal, or representative character of our primitive parent in the covenant of works. But all the orthodox symbols and confessions, from the first ages, maintain that " the co- venant was made with him, not only for himself, but for all his posterity, who, consequently, sinned in him, and fell with him in his first transgression."* I must remark here, that those who believe that the penalty of the covenant was ordained to be inflicted on the day of the Fall, must use a language somewhat different, but the consequence becomes eventually the same, the inheritance by his offspring, after the promise, of a constitution corrupted by the principles of death and sin. For this, as we have before seen, is an uni- versal law of nature affecting the descent of posterity ;— the scion must partake of the stock. * Every thing deserving attention on this subject, will be found in President Edwards oa Origioal Sin, and his antagonist Dr. Taylor. 334 To men who have not a favourite theory to support, de- rived from an erring reason, rather than the word of God, the holj scriptures teach, in the most unequivocal language, the doctrine of original sin ; that is, that, by derivation from an unholy original, we are born prone to sin, and ali- enated from the " life of God, through the ignorance that is in us, because of the blindness of our hearts." "Behold, I was shapen in iniquity," saith the psalmist, " and in sin did my niollier cuuccire me." " That which is born of the flesh,*' saith our Saviour, " is flesh. Marvel not that I said unto you, you must be born again." And the apostle, in the strongest terms, declares, — >'• The carnal mind is enmity against God, it is not subject to the law of God, neither, in- deed, can be." But the scriptures are replete with testimo- nies to the same effect, which, to those who habitually, and devoutly read them, it would be superfluous io recite. THE GOSPEL UNITED WITH THE LAW, IN THE MOMENT OF THE FALL. Here we may contemplate for a moment, the benignity of the gospel, grafted upon the severity of the law, in the first moments of the calamity of our great ancestors, and its un- speakable mercy consoling them, and covering to them, and their posterity, the evils of the Fall. Hj our union with our natural head and representative, we inherit the depravity of his nature, both in body and in mind : but the Saviour be- 335 ing revealed to Adam, he, with his whole race were, at that instant, placed under the dispensation of mediatorial grace. And now, every infant is introduced into being, not on the terms which our degenerate father had forfeited, of life to the perfect ; but of pardon and grace to the penitent, bestowed though the Mediator. And, inasmuch as (he most merciful Redeemer, immediately, on the promise being made to Adam, took the world under his protection and government, the gracious aids of his Holy Spirit, are now in various de- grees, extended to all men ; but more especially to his chosen people of old, and since to his church, under both which dis- pensations, the precious seal of his covenant is appointed to be administered to all their infant seed, to assure them of this great salvation, promised through the atonement of the ever blessed Redeemer.* This, however, does not present to us the whole blessing of that form of the New Covenant confirmed to Adam in the mysterious promise. The Seed of the woman shall bruise the Serpent's head, shall destroy his power, and defeat hig machinations. To our imperfect nature, it has converted the curse, as far as relates to the evils of this life, its labours and its pains, into a merciful dispensation; a corrector of its calamities, still more than their punishment. The aches, the pains, and diseases incurred by the Fall, become salutary monitors of our guilty original, and serve to lead the soul to * See this principle fartber illiistratefl, under the head of the seals of the corenant. 336 the pious contemplation of its end. Tlic industry, and in- genuitj which, in a state of innocence, might have been drawn forth, by virtuous principle, to the improvement of the arts, the ornaments, and comforts of life, are now stimulated by its multiplied wants ; the necessity of labor is productive of the greatest blessings of society. The dependence, the re- straints, the corrections, the painful application of childhood, and lyouth, are requisite for the early cultivation of the rea- son and virtue of mankind. Children, amidst all their imbe- cilities, are first protected, and then made wise for their own protection, by the wisdom of their parents. By the labours of the mind, and of the body, human nature is carried for- ward towards its highest improvement ; and the world itself is created anew in beauty, and rendered subservient, in ten thousand ways, to the use of man. The curse denounced on the woman, that in pain she should bring forth her children, and be the party chiefly subjected to the anxieties and toils of nursing and rearing them, is made, under this grace, the chief source of the endearments of domestic life. If children, from their earliest infancy, were, like the young of many other animals, independent of the protection, and the nurtur- ing care of their parents ; if labor, and vigilance, and mutual assistance, were not generally requisite for the support, res- pectability, and comfort of families, the principal ties of paren- tal affection, and filial duty would be dissolved. The habits would be destroyed, or never formed, which in the highest degree contribute to the happiness, increase, and beneficial intercourse and improvement of nations. Every pain M'hicli the child suflfers, every risk to which it is exposed, endears, it more to the parent ; every anxiety, expense, and sacrifice devoted to its interest, more attaches the parent. Parents themselves, from these causes, become more tenderly united to one another ; the mother by her pains, her sicknesses, her constant need of some kind support ; the father by the man* ly protection and superior assiduities which he is able to af- ford to her delicate weaknesses. The mutual wants of indi- viduals and of families, teach them to sympathise with one another, and aid their easy transition into national sympathies, and the coalescing of mankind into great ccmmnnities. Under the Saviour, therefore, who has taken the world under his protection and grace, the curse of the Fall, how- ever much to be lamented in its original cause, has been ren- dered, in many respects, a blessing to our fallen and imper- fect nature. THE GENERAL STRAIN OF THE SACRED WRITINGS, A STRONG'" ER PROOF OF THE DEPRAVITY OF HUMAN NATURE, THAN SINGLE AND DETACHEEV PASSAGES. The sinfulness of human nature, is depicted in the strong- est colours, in many positive declarations throughout the sa- cred scriptures ; but in addition to the direct and unequivo^ cal evidence of many detached and particular passages, per- 43 838 haps a more convincing proof of this important doctrine, so humblins; to the pride of man, results from the general sirain of the whole system of revealed truth. It is a fundamental point in the entire fabric, and is involved in all its principal docfrines. If a Saviour has been sent into the world, is it not to deliver mankind fallen and perishing, from their state of sinjulnessy and its consequent miseries ? Is it not to the unholy that the purchased Spirii is given to assist their re- pentance ? W as it not to those whose reason had been ob- scured by the power of sin, that the light of divine truth bad become necessary ? Was not this also the language of the sacrifices of atonement under the ancient dispensation ? Is not this the interpretation of the doctrines of repentance, of sanctification, of the renovation of the heart under the new ? Ps.x& not the seals of the covenant, under both dis- pensations, emblems of & necessary purification i* And do not the whole furnish such an accumulation of evidence on this subject, as can hardly fail to carry with it, to the candid mind, complete conviction that man is a fallen and sinful being ? THE TESTIMONF OF EXPERIENCE. If any evidence of this nnhappy fact could be added tc the clear and uniform testimony of the sacred writings, we might derive it from the whole history and experience of man- kind. Do we not observe the malevolent passions of human 339 nature displaying an unhappy force from the earliest years of childhood and infancy ? Have we not, fioui our Uiost re- mote remembrance, perceived within our hearts, the working of many impure desires and unhallowed passions ? Is not the history of man, in a great measure, the history of hia crimes ? Does not the world present to us rather a prison destined for the, punisdment of the guilty, than a paradise, the delightful habitation of innocence? Does not (he infant feel the pangs, and utter the cries of pain, from the mo^nent of its birth? Do not pain and disease, though now sanciitied to the penitent by the Redeemer, slill pursue him, till (hey lay him in the grave ? Do all these calamities indicate the gtate of an innocent being, under the governineni of a naosl merciful Creator ? Or does not a strong impression agaia result from the whole, that man is fallen and guilty ? ' OF THE EXTENT OP ORIGINAL SIN, AND THE MODE OF ITS TRANSMISSION. Two questions yet remain upon this subject, which merit the attention of the theological student. In the first place, to what extent is human nature corrupted ? Secondly, how is that sinful nature communicated, so as not to subject God most holy, to the impious charge of being the author of sin ? 340 1. On the firsf, it is Ibe decision of the word of God, and of tlie church, Ihat the dcpravily ot' human naluie peivades it in its whole extent. Its rational powers are perverse ia their application, or rendered impotent through sinful ten- dency ; and all its moral faculties, in their habitual action, have become criminal, by excess in their pursuits, by de- fect in their principles, or their motives, or hj misapplication in their objects. The first moments of existence are cer- tainly not chargeable with actual crimes, but with such per- version of nature from its original rectitude, that its earliest propensities, emotions, and affections, are directed to wrong ends, or to those that are lawful in a vicious degree. And, however the conduct of mankind may, in many parts of if, be beneficial 1o their fellow men. and, in so far, worthy of ap- probation, yet, in the sight of God, all acts are unholy in which the supreme desire of the soul in pursuing, and its su- preme end in performing them, is not to render obedience, and glory to him from whom all existence is derived. 2, Wilh regard to the second question, if we mean to ask iiow an impure and depraved nature may he imparted to the posterity of Adam without involving a deep reproach on the Author of our being? It is sufficient to answer, as the suc- cession of all animals is continued. The whole nature of the parent is imparted to the offspring. But in what manner this, or any of the works of creation is produced, is utterly beyond our knowledge. The modus operandi is the secret of God. 341 But io say, as some weak men have done, in the hope of avoiding the impiety of making God the aulhor of a sinful act, that God formed the soul pure, but uniting it to a sinful, disordered, or merely animal body, it has, by this junction, become necessarily infected with sin, is certainly an errant absurdity of pious folly. As if it were less contrary to the purity of the divine nature to form a being innocent, and im- mediately subject it to a stale of necessary infection, than to suffer the laws of the universe freely to operate, by which an impure effect must proceed from an impure cause— a sinful progeny from sinful parents. Of much more moment is it to us, saith Saint Augustine, to understand how we are deliv- ered from sin by Jesus Christ, than to be able to explain in what manner we have derived it from Adam/ OF THfi COVENANT OF GKACE. 1. OF VICARIOUS SUBSTITUTION, AND ATONEMENT. From (he declarations of holy scripture it appears thatj immediately after the Fall, our condemned and unhappy pa- rent, together with his whole race were, in the infinite mercy of God, transferred from the Covenant of Works, now brok- en, and cancelled as the condition of life, and placed under the protection of the Covenant of Grace, organized and ad- ministered under a Mediator, through whom their repentance might be accepted with their heavenly Father, and the Ho' ]y Spirit imparted to sanctify and restore their fallen nature. In treating of this covenant to which 1 now proceed, the first consideration which requires our attention, and that, indeed, which is fundamental to its existence, is the necessity of full and complete satisfaction (or the sin of man. On no other condition could the holiness and justice of God receive the repentance of the sinner, and admir him to a new probation, on a new covenant, for eternal life. In discussing this sub- ject, three preliminary questions present themselves to our inquiry. 1. In the first place, was satisfaction, or atone- ment for the sin of man indispensable to the existence of any ^44 new covenant in his favour ? 2. As man is uUerly unable (o offer an atonement adequate to the demerit of sin, is vica- rious satisfaction, in the person of another, either possible, or just in itself, or useful in the administration of the divine government over mankind ? 3. Could satisfaction offered bj any being less than a divine person, be accepted in the room of the sinner? OP THE NECESSITY OF ATONEMENT. There are writers who affirm that Almighty God migh. hy an act of sovereignty, have mercifully dispensed with any satisfaction for sin, and freely forgiven the offender, or; his sincere repentance. — What God might, in sovereignty, have done, or could not, in consistency with the laws of eter- nal justice, do, seems impossible to be wisely and safely de termined by us, and cannot be decided without presumption. We are infinitely more concerned to understand what God bath actually done, and, from the fact, to pronounce upon its justice, and utility. I may, however, be permitted to ob- serve, that this opinion seems to be founded on very inade- quate apprehensions of the necessary nature, and the inflexi- ble claims of his holiness. And there are many important considerations which render it reasonable to believe that the punishment of the sinner, or a vicarious satisfaction to the justice of the law, in the person of a mediator, in all res- pects competent to this offering, was an indispensable require- 34j meat in the government of God. Indeed (he fact, that It has been oaade, is decisive proof that it is hol^, jusl, and good. The apostle, in contemplating this subject, devout- Ij exclaims ; — " O the depth of the riches both of the wis- dom and knowledge of God ! How unsearchable is his wis- dom ! and his ways past finding out !" Now " to principal- ities and powers in heavenly places, is known by the church the manifold wisdom of God." All the moral attributes of the Eternal are represented, in the holy scriptures, as having their most harmonious, and illustrious display in the death of Christ. In no other way» it is reasonable to believe, could the holiness, the purity, the justice, and the mercy of the divine nature have been demonstrated to mankind with such profound and impressive effect. The accumulated testimo- ny of his holy word leads to the conclusion, that, in consis' tency with his perfections " he can by no means clear the guilty. He is of purer eyes than to behold iniquity. Aad he cannot look upon sin but with abhorrence.*' When we bring this subject to the rigorous test of reason^ reason pronounces the holiness and justice of the divine na- ture to be not less essential to his being, and his glory, than goodness and mercy. The requisitions of justice, therefore, must be acknowledged to be equally necessary in their nature •with the demands of his most benevolent attributes. Many writers, indeed, we have seen contend for this principle that justice differs from other divine perfections, in this respect 44 346 that its rights may always be relinquished without wrong. Admitting this maxim to be true in matters of private right between man and man ; yet, even in human transactions, it docs not hold with regard to its exercise in persons invested with a public character, and in cases in which the public good is essntially concerned. The magistrate cannot dia- pense with the execution of the law. OF THE JUSTICE AND UTILITY OF VICARIOUS SATISFACTION. As man is incapable, by his obedience, or his sufferings, of rendering complete satisfaction to the violated law, the jus- tice and propriety of vicarious substitution has grown up in the church into an occasion of warm and uncharitable con- troversy. The Socinians strenuously deny the equity of substituting the innocent in the room of the guilty, and (he utility of accepting the obedience, or the sufferings of one in- stead of those of another. This objection could not easily be answered if the substitute were obtruded, by any constraint, in the room of the sufferer, or, if, from any deficiency of power, or of dignity, he were incompetent to the high and arduous duty. To form a fair and equitable decision on this subject, it would be requisite to be well informed concerning the fol- lowing facts : — in the first place, whether the substitution be perfectly voluntary in him who assumes the part of the suf- ferer ; in the next place, whether he be free and independent, and have the entree right to dispose of his own life, without 54? being accountable to any superior ; likewise, whether he be perfectly competent to the undertaking, so that, from the ia^ trinsic merit and dignity of his act, it may subserve all the wise and benevolent purposes of the law ; whether, also, in assuming this part, he be not lost to the universal interests of society, so that no gain to the great public of nature accrue from the substitution ; and, finally, whether the party, chiefly ofiended, be pleased and willing to accept the substitute in the room of the original oflfender."^ If all these facts arc fully ascertained, and these conditions strictly exacted, vicarious satisfaction appears to be entirely consistent with the principles of the soundest reason. If the substitute be free to dispose of his own person, and willing to undertake this benevolent oflSce, the rights of justice can- not be impaired, nor the general interest injured by the ex- change. Perhaps the sanction of the law appears more awful, and is rendered more effectual, when the penalty is, without abatement, exacted of the surety, than when claimed of the principal himself. An example in ancient history has been often appealed to, as illustrating this point with particular force. The legislator of the Locrians had enacted a law that any man convicted of adultery, should be punished with the loss of both his eyes. His own son happened to be the first criminal condemned on this statute. The father, mingling * Dr. Witherepoon's Lectures on the Covenant of Grace, 34S the righfeous severity of the judge mth the compassion of fhe f>arent, decreed that his son should lose one of his eyes, and hat, for (he other which justice required, he himself would lose one, in order perfectly to satisfy the requisition of the law. Every man, who is acquainted with the feelings of a parent, and the self-love of human nature, must pronounce this act the strongest proof that could be given to the nation, of the inexorable justice of the legislator. Il is obvious that such a vicarious substitution must have had a more useful in- fluence on the public morals, than the suffering of the full penalty by the culprit in his own person. On the same clear and acknowledged sentiment in the human breast, the substi- tution of the Son of God, in the room of our sinful nature, was the most effectual sanction of the divine latr which coiild have been exhibited to the universe. Besides the obvious consistency of this doctrine with the principles of reason and of public justice, it is explicitly dc' clared throughout the sacred scriptures, in the strongest and most unequivocal terms, to be, at once, the truth of God, ant! the only hope of man. The term satisfaciion, indeed, is technical, and employed chiefly by modern divines, for the convenience of their systemafic arrangements. But every idea included in the full and most comprehensive meaning of the word, is taught in the scriptures in the plainest language, and illi!s!raled by the niosf affecting images. Under the on- cjent institution, on the great day of atonement, and even at 349 «fae daily sacrificea, certain men were appointed to represent Ifae people of Israel, and to lay their bands upon the head of Ihc victim, confessing the sins of the nation. This grave and serious action can have no reasonable interpretation but as a vicarious substitution of the sacrifice iu the room of the olTender, and a typical transfer of guilt from Liin to the vic- tim. The same idea is connected with that oHlce of religion nrherein the priests of Israel sprinkled the blood of the sacri- fice upon the horns of the altar, sanctifying, by that act, both the sacrifice and the altar ; in allusion to which holy rite the blood of Christ is called the blood of sprlnklingf purifying all things coverea by its sacred cfflc^icy. The language of the prophet is peculiarly forcible. " He was wounded foi' our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him ; and with his stripes we are healed. When he shall give his soul an oflfering for sin, he shall see his seed — he shall prolong his days— and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands. If, however, there were any obscurity in the type, and the fig- ured language of the prophecy, the same truth is taught un- der the simplicity of the evangelic dispensation, in a style that can hardly leave any doubt in a fair and candid mind. Let me appeal to a few passages only, as an example of a great part of the sacred volume. Of the church, and of eve- ry individual believer, it is said, " they have been bought with a price. Redeemed not with corruptible things, such as silver, and gold, but with the precious blood of Christ. 850 " This Is my blood," salth Christ of himself, « shed for many, for the remission of sins. He gave himself a ransom for all." And the triumphant ascription of the whole church is, " unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood !" The arts of criticism have been employed, with great industry, to give these and similar expressions a remote, and feeble, and circuitous interpretation. But every reader must be sensible of the effort that appears to accommodate the language to a favourite theory, and the little resemblance which, under this disguise, it bears to the plainness and sim- plicity of the gospel. The obvious meaning of the terms, on the other hand, present? t© ttc mmd, on iLdr first impression^ the doctrine of the atonement. From the preceding illustra- tions and reflections, we evidently perceive the principle of vicarious satisfaction established by the explicit and unequiv- ocal testimony of the word of God, as It had before been vin- dicated by the clear decisions of reason. THAT IT IS REQUISITE THAT SATISFACTION BE MADE BY A DIVINE PBR80N. A third question still remains upon this subject, which, from Its nature, and Its consequences, is of the highest im- portance :— Could any satisfaction for the sin of human na- ture, less than that offered by a divine person, be accepted by the justice of God ? From the whole tenor of the sacred ( 351 writings, it appears that an atoning sacrifice of infinite value i» the indispensable requisition of eternal justice. But there is something so awful, and so profoundly huiZL° bling to the soul in this consideration, that various evasions have been resorted to for the purpose of weakening its im- pression. It is asked whether some superior order of created spirits may not be so far exalted above humau nature, as to be able by obedience and suffering to offer ample satisfaction to the righteousness of (he offended law. To this inquiry it may most justly be replied, that no created being can be so far raised in nature as to make the smallest approximation to Deity ; or to be capable of offering an atonement for sin that shall cover, in any degree, the demerit of its guilt. Any finite being must, for this purpose, be liable to the suffering of eternal pains ; a sacrifice that could contribute nothing to the illustration of the mercy of our heavenly Father. Be- sides, is not every created being under the highest natural obligations to do, or suffer whatever he shall understand the glory of God, and the general interests of charity and benevo- lence require ; and if it were possible that the most exalted creature could have redeemed mankind, and glorified God, by any temporary sufferings, this sacrifice would, in the na- ture of things have been an original and indispensable duty ; and the antecedent obligation would have deprived the offer- ing of all imputable merit, which can reside only in the act of a free and independent being. But the fact of the appoint- S52 ment of the Son of God (o this propitiatory office, whose na fure has before been proved to be divine, is itself demonstra- tion that no inferior victim could have been accepted. For, h it possible to believe that the eternal Jehovah would have made such a useless expenditure, if I may speak so, of divine perfection, when the same end might have been attained by means so far inferior ? It has been urged with a triumph in the force of the objec- tion, and with a confidence far from being warranted by the strength of the argument, that the supposition of satisfaction being eshibiled by a person, in bis nature divine, involves the Tibsurdify of the Supreme Being making satisfaction to him- self. Tc repel this suggestion, let it be recollected, that sin IS not so much an offence against Almighty God, personally considered, if it is lawful to use this form of expression with regard to the Deity, as a violation of the principles of eternal justice, and, if we may speak so, of the public law of the uni- verse. And there are not wanting many examples wherein a magistrate may so far lay aside his public character as, in bisi own person, to satisfy the requisitions of the law. OP THE COVENANT OP GRA.CE. The Covenant of Grace is defined by many eminent and pious divines to be a stipulation or agreement between God, and the believing sinner, to bestow on hioi freely, through 353 Chrlsf, ilie forgiveness of sins that are past, imparting, at the same time, the spiiit of 9ancti6cation to renew and perfect his nature, and finally, to bring him to the possession of eternal life ; which mercies the believer accepting with an humble and sincere faith, that purifies the heart, the act assumes the character and form of a covenant. But as there is an infinite distance between God most holj, and a sinful worm of the dust ; and as the whole transaction is a free gift, entirely gratuitous on the part of God, to style it a covenant is the language of divine condescension. Yet this is the gracious form of words employed by God himself. In the sacred scriptures it is denominated a covenant of peace ; and mer- cifully announced as a new covenant^ to distinguish it from the covenant of norksy and the covenant of Sinai. And, finally, it is declared to be an everlasting covenant, as the characteristic distinction between it and every temporary in- stitution established by God with his people. On the preceding considerations, I prefer another definir tion, warra'nted by the best writers, more appropriate and descriptive of the genuine nature of this covenant. It is that of a free and gratuitous pro^nise from the Father of Mercies, to all who receive the blessing with penitent faith, of the par- don of sin through the atonement of the Redeemer, accom- panied with the sanctifying influence of the Holy Spiiit, to lead them by the grace of holy living, to life and immortal" ily, all which merciful propositions the believer aincerely ae- 45 054 ceptbg, it h Iherebj conslituted an actual and forlbal cotCv- nant. This definition is conformable to the language of the sacred word, in which this gracious transaction is called the promise, and the promise made of old unto the fathers. And, indeed, when this whole sjstem of grace is atteu- livelj considered, it is to be regarded chiefly as a pro- mise made to sinners through Christ, to invite them to re- pentance and new obedience by the blessed and glorious hopes of the gospel ; when it assumes the form of that spe- cies of covenant distinguished in our moral and civil codes by the title of gratuitous. Every covenant, however, is, from its nature, invested with certain conditions which give it an air of reciprocity. The condition of acceptance^ at least, is indispensable in the most gratuitous promise; and although salvation is an effect of the freest grace, yet, in order to the application of the merits of the Lord Jesus Christ for this eni\, faith, as it has already been explained, may be regarded as a pre-requisite condi- tion ; and holiness of heart, which is necessary to* the actual possession of the final reward of the covenant ; eternal life, may be considered as an ulterior condition. But these con- ditions are not to be viewed as constituting the meritorious causes of the blessing, or forming a real reciprocity in the covenant, but simply as terms of qualification necessary to prepare the believer, by the renovation of his nature, and of all his moral taslea, for the enjoyment of his heavenly inherit- 355 ance. The whole phrase, however, of the covenant of grace, (hough amply justified by the language of scripture, is tech- nical, and invented, as many others have been, for the con- \'enience of systemalic arrangement. A MISTAKEN VIEW OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. From the imbecility of the human mind, and the different conceptions often entertained by men of the same subject, we are frequently, and unhappily met by controversy in theolo- gy, as well as in other sciences. Those writers who, from their disinclination to considering the observance of the moral law as forming any condition of the covenant of our salvation, are stiled Anthiomians, maintain this peculiar opinion, that the Covenant of Grace is not made with believers through the mediation of Christ ; but has been established, from eter- nity, with Christ in the name of all believers. The paternal Deity, before the foundation of the world, entered into cove- nant with the Son, to give him a certain number out of the fallen human race, to be called, sanctified and saved by him, upon Lis consenting to assume human nature, and make atonement for their sins by his death. Founded on this sup- posed transaction between the eternal persons of the God- head, they alfirm the sole condition of the Covenant of Grace to be, not the obedience and faith of the believer, but the righteousness of Christ, making the believer a mere passive iubject of mercy, and not responsible for any of his sins past, 556 or to come. Christ, the sole agent and representative of bis peoj>le in this eternal transaction has, according to their prin- ciple 8, assumed all responsibility upon himself with regard to this chosen number, leaving the rest of mankind, without any provision for their salvation, to perish among those hope- less spirits who kept not their first estate. — Good men, I doubt not, have embraced this extravagant system as there is Eo absurdity of which the human mind, on some occasions, is not susceptible. But to me it appears fraught with pre- sumption in pretending to unfold the transactions of the De- ity with himself; and with extreme folly, leading to the most immoral consequences among enthusiastic men. This imaginary transaction has been called the Covenant of Re- demption, and although so fanciful, has, under certain modi- fications, been embraced by some grave and profound calvi- nistic writers. In its unmodified extent, it presents to us ma- ny dogmas which, in their obvious import, must shock the common sense of mankind. To justify the severity of this animadversion, the following examples will be more than suf- ficient. Believers^ they say, are justified from all eternity. -^In them God sees no sin for Christ^ s sake. — The merits of the Second Adam are as certainly and essentially transferred, from their birth, to his elect seed, as the default of the first Adam to his natural offspring. — The elect cannot throw themselves out of the covenant, bid their justification equally remains whether they fulfil the law of righteousness, or, through the frailty of their uaturCf fall into any siUf 357 iHhrist having assumed all responsibiliii/, and perfectly sal- isfied the law for them. Many other absurdities, not less gross and palpable, naturally growing out of their principles, are found in their writings, which some ingenious men have thought they find means of explaining in consistency with good morals. For this bold irreverence of the imagination some expressions of the sacred writings have given a very slender pretence indeed. " I have set ray king," saith the Psalmist, " upon my holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree : the Lord said unto me, thou art my Son, this day have I begotten thee. Ask of me and I will give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession, Ps. ii. 6. sacrifice and offering thou didst not desire. Then said I, lo ! I come ; in the volume of the book it is written of me ; I delight to do thy will, O my God," Ps. xl. 6. And Isaiah, in a fine poetic rhapsody, has sung in the following strains ; — " Behold my servant whom I uphold, mine elect in whom my soul delighteth ! I have put my spirit upon him. He shall bring forth judg- ment to the Gentiles. 1 the Lord have called thee in right- eousness ; I will hold thine hand, and keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles — to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and those that sit in darkness out of the prison house." Surely a man must have strong attachments to a system, and a most oblique facility of iuteipreting the scriptures, who can find the Covenant of Redemption in such poetical and 553 d>amatic representations as these of the counsels, and de- signs of Heaven, which exhibit Christ as the Illuminator of the world, and that Great Prophet destined to extend his church to the remotest ends of the earth. But when these writers can interpret, in this manner, a political convention— Tlie counsel of peace shall be bebveen Ihetn both — Zech. vi. 13. it assumes an appearance httle less than ludicrous. I per- fectly accord with the opinion expressed on this subject, by Dr. Witherspoon. " For my own part," says he, " I fear to attempt to explain what is called the Covenant of Redemp- tion, or to admit its existence. I fear it is humanizing too much our ideas of the divine nature, and presuming too far on our understanding the nature of the Trinity, and the trans- actions between its persons, if I may use that human phrase ^us to give form to their counsels, thus to apply to them what, perhaps can only be proper when applied to the affairs of men. Besides, if we give scope to our fancy, and endeav- our to embarrass with such technical forms of expression, the science of divine things, we might find a covenant in almost every act of God. But the being of God is unsearchable : and I apprehend, there is more of presumption and folly, than of piety and wisdom in a worm of dust attempting to modify his eternal counsels with himself."* * Taken down verbatim by the author from a discourie delivered by Dr. W. btfore his Theological class. 359 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE lH ITS PROMISES AND CONDITIONS. In the constitution of the Covenant of Grace the primary and essential principle which distinguishes it from the abroga- ted covenant with Adam is, that all its blessings are the effects of the free and unmerited mercy of Heaven. Man, having incurred, from the justice of his offended Creator, ab- solute and eternal condemnation, the whole plan of his re- covery— Lis present mercies, and his eternal hopes are sim- ply and entirely of grace ; not the effect of obedience to the prescriptions of a law, but the result of the mere favour of God. For this end the system of redemption was instituted by Jehovah himself, through the mediation of Jesus Christ, who should, by his obedience, satisfy the holy requisitions of his law, and by his sufferings, vindicate the righteous claims of his justice. On this foundation of obedience and suffer- ing, Christ becomes the author of eternal life to all who be- lieve in his name. And the whole redemption of mankind is exhibited to us in the sacred writings, as the fruit of the freest mercy, and the effect simply of the benignity of God most ho- ly, to the offending race of man. It is of faiths saith the apos- tle, that it might be of grace, Rom. iv. 16. And the Evangel- ist affirms that God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him, should not 'pmsh, but have everlasting /(/(?,— This covenant is establish- 360 ci3, not with man innocent as was that with our original parent, but with man fallen and guilty, through a Mediator ; so that now, every blessing is derived to believers through Jesus Christ, who, ofGod^ ismadeunfo us wisdom, and righleoiiS' ness, and sandijicaiiony and redemption. One definition of the Covenant of Grace, already presented lo the reader, styles it simply a promise, and states it to con- sist of a system of gracious promises given as the consola- tion of human nature in its fallen and unhappy condition. These promises have been arranged, in different orders, but all embracing, in the result, the same comprehensive field. In erder to their more distinct illustration, and omitting, for the Bake of brevity, the detailed exhibition made of them by ma- ny writers, I shall dispose them in the following series, as be- ing most accommodated for convenience and use in preaching the gospel. I. In the first place, the promises of a Saviour. — II. Next, as the free pardon of sin through him. — III. Thirdly, of the Spirit of sanctification. — IV. In the fourth place, of the favour of God, and all its happy fruits in the present state V. And finally, of everlasting life in a future world.* * The analysis of the corenant considered in thij vievf, by Dr. W. presented to his clas5. 3G1 I. OF THE PROMISE OF A SAVIOUR. In the arrangement of the blessings of the covenant, the promise of a Saviour justly stands in the first place ; because it was the first made to our afflicted father, after his fatal de- linquency. It is likewise that primary gift en which all the rest depend. And it affords the first ray of consolation and hope to a soul under the conviction of sin. This distinguish- ed and leading promise, therefore, embraces the complete atonement of sin by the sacrifice of Christ. It points to Christ as the fountain of every nlercy to mankind, and the channel through which they are conveyed to his people. He is the great and comprehensive promise made of God im- to thefatherSf embracing all the blessings of the gospel. He is the hope which the ancient church of Israel waited for ; and, a still more glorious distinction — He is the desire of all nations ; for his propitiatory sacrifice, even when unknown, is the foundation of acceptance to every true penitent among the Gentiles, as it was to the saints anterior to the age of the patriarch Abraham. He is, in one word, the salvation of God. 2. OF THE FREE AND FULL PARDON OP SIN. The second promise of the covenant, as they have been just arranged, is the free and full pardon of sin to those who humbly and penitently seek this mercy through Jesas 46 362 Clirist. It is consolatory to mankind, under the view of their sins, to perceive, in the benevolent purposes of God a Saviour ordained for the sincere penitent. But frequently, beneath the deep and overwhelming compunctions of guilt, the humbled spirit of the sinner trembles at the thought of dar- ing to appropriate the merits of that Saviour, the blessings of that promise, to itself. It requires the most clear and explicit assurance of the gospel for its encouragement in making this particular application of the genera! offer of divine mercy. A consideration which renders the free and gracious promise of pardon through the Redeemer so precious to the convinced soul. The fears of guilt require the supporting hand of divine grace to save it from utterly despairing. For this reason, the Holy Spirit in his sacred oracles, pitying the infirmity of our nature, crushed under the terrors of the law, seems to have exhausted the powers of language for consolations and en- couragements to the repentant sinner. Ho ! every one that thirsielh, come ye to the waters ; and he that hath no money I come; buy wine and milk, without money ^ and without •price. It was the special command of Christ to his disci- ples, to preach the forgiveness of sins to all nations^ begin' ning at Jerusalem. And, that no penitent may be discour- aged on the consideration of his personal unworthiness, or the aggravations of his former sins, the invitation is extended to all men, in terms the most universal. — Come unto me, all ye mho labor and are heavy laden, and, I will give you rest. — Him that cometh to me I willf in no wisCf cast out. 363 On this subject an injudicious controversy has been raised on the following question, as men, liiie gladiators, to shew (heir Jctellectual siiill, are often prone to contention on the slightest occasion of difference ; whether Christ has died for all men? or only for an elected number ? Those who arrange them- selves in the ranks of the latter insist that, if, on the princi- ples of their antagonists, we say that Christ has died for all men, we make his death in vain to the greater number of those for whom it was offered. The former, with, perhaps, greater justice, affirm, that, if he hath died only for a select- ed number, the rest of mankind are necessarily excluded from the possibility of salvation, and, therefore the offer of the gospel to them is impiously imputing to God a duplicity in his transactions with the weakness of human nature, so much the more unworthy of his infinite goodness that it would be insulting the miserable, with ostensible but fallacious offers of mercy. Neither of these parties intend the consequences imputed to them by their rivals, and which their own terms literally taken, seem to imply. The forms of expression, on both sides, are imperfectly calculated to convey accurate con- ceptions of their respective principles. And it would be more consistent with the spirit of the gospel, and with common sense, and, probably, with their own intentions to say, that the death of Christ was designed generally to make atone- ment/or sin to the justice of God, so that God mifrht be JHsf^ and thejustifier of him that believethy and that an indi>crimi- nate offer of pardon to sinners might be fairly and ingenuously ;j64 founded upon Lis death. — And Ibis mode of expression is the more reasonable, because the same merit in the sacrifice which is suiBcient for the expiation of one offence, is suffi- cient for the offences of the whole race. And the secret counsels of God, which are inscrutable, ought, in no case, to influence the duty of men. y. OF THE PROMISE OF THE SPIRIT OF BAKCTIFICATIOK. The forgiveness of sin lajs a foundation for access to God, and communion with him by the spirit of devotion. Under the dispensation of the New Covenant, the whole system of nature, and of providence is subjected to the directing power of the floly Spirit by Jesus Christ, in subserviency to the great ends of the moral, and spiritual world. And that celes- tial influence which was first employed to convince the soul of silly of righleous7iess, and of judgment, is now imparted to the believer to assist the renovation of his nature — to con- firm and increase his habits of holiness — to enable him to discharge all his duties with a proper temper of mind — and to ripen his qualifications for the kingdom of Heaven. AI- jjiost innumerable are the particular promises to this effect, included under the genera/ title of the Covenant in the sacred writings. " Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I •tTiil make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and the house of Judah. And this is the covenant that I will make ; I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their 3t>5 hearts ; and I will be their God, and ih-^y shall be my peo- ple," Jer. xxxi. 31, 33. And in Ezek. xxxvi. 25. 27, "Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, and you shall be clean. From all your Blthiness, and from all your idols will I cleanse you. A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you : and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh." But, it is the constant testimony of the holy scriptures, not only that repentance and faith, but that every pious disposition in the believer proceeds from the operation of the Holy Spirit. Therefore it is, that all the graces of the christian life are de- nominated thefniits of the Spirit. The chief question which remains on this part of the sub- ject, and which, indeed, affects the whole doctrine of the agency of the Spirit, is, whether at any time be operates by immediate influx on the heart, as in creation, independently of the divine word, the ordinances of the church, or those means continually occurring in the course of providence, or in the transient reflexions, and glancings of the mind, calculat- ed to awaken pious thought, to inflame holy desire, or touch the devout sensibilities of the soul ? or whether he does not always, and exclusively, operate by those scriptural, rational, natural, or appointed means of instruction and grace, or those secret suggestions arising out of them, which are fit- ted to inform the reason, and affect the heart ? I am dis- posed to believe that he always works by natural means, and 366 never, in the ordinary exercises of the christian life, by im- mediate impulse, or direct influx, without them. The doc- trine, or fancy of immediate and direct or independent influx is liable to great abuse ; especially in men of a vivid imagina- tion, and morbid sensibility, or of a gloomy complexion of soul, who are subject, in consequence, to frequent, strong, and irregular impressions. And when ignorance, or inatten- tion cannot trace the origin of their thoughts, or assign the causes often secret or forgotten, of their sudden emotions, they are prone, on one hand, to ascribe them to the influences of the Holy Spirit, or, on the other, to the suggestions of in- fernal agency. Hence we see men often disturbed by super- stitious terrors, or enthusiastic visions. One of the most common and injurious effects of this tendency of mind in per- sons of weak judgments, and warm sensibilities, is a prone- ness to decide on their spiritual state entirely by momentary feelings, instead of the general tenor of their affections, and their liv^cs, compared with the only standard of truth in the word of God. " To the law, and to the testimony, if they speak not according to these, it is because there is no light in them." On the subject, on which I have been speaking, there is a strong analogy between the natural, and the spiritual world. — In the former, all its movements, the case of mira- cles only excepted, proceed, uniformly, according to the es- tablished laws of nature ; in the latter, its laws operate with equal certainty, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit. There are no devious movemenis, no eccentric impulses 367 which start aside froni this order, according to the dreams of enthusiasts ; and although we cannot always trace the fine relations of actions with their motives, of ends with the means which lead to them, yet, in every case the moral means are intimately conjoined with their proper end. And, in no in- stance, does the Holy Spirit, more than the Sovereign Au- thor of nature, act upon the human mind, or produce any ef- fect independently of the means naturally connected with it, and fitted in the moral structure of the universe to influence its movements. 4. OF THE PROMISE OF THE FAVOUR OF GOD, AND ITS HAPPY FRUITS IN THIS LIFE. In the series of promises entering into this gracious trans- action, I have mentioned, in the next place, the favour of God, with all its happy fruits in the present life ; including the constant protection and care of his holy providence over those who place their undivided trust in him, and his bene- diction upon them as his children and people in covenant. I shall not proceed to particular details under this promise • they will be obvious to those immediately concerned in its accomplishment ; it will be sufficient to refer the serious mind to the general grounds of the believer's confidence. " Where- fore, come out from among them and be ye separate ; and I will be a father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daugh- ters, saith the Lord Almighty," — 2 Cor. vi. 17. Here is the sore foundation of their support under the varioua afflictions 368 of life and the stedfaat ground of Iheir hope that, In the issue, all their trials will be rendered blessings to them, and be sanc- tified to their use. "All things shall work togeJherfor good to them that love God, to them who are the called, accord- ing to his purpose. For all things are jours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas, or the world, or life, or death, or things present or things to come ; all are your's, and you are Christ's, and Christ is God's." 5. OF THE FINAL BLESSING AND PROMISE OF THE COVENANT. The conclusion and consummation of all the gracious pur- poses of God, secured by the New Covenant, to his believ- ing and obedient children, is eternal life. It is the peculiar glory of the gospel that, in it, life and immortality are brought to light to those who, by their relation to their ori- ginal parent, were the hopeless heirs of death. It is impos- sible to know what would have been the felicity of life, or the perfection to which human nature would have attained in it, in consequence of the obedience of Adam. But it is justly to be presumed that the immortality obtained by Christ, for all who are redeemed from the earth by his blood, exalts the believer to a much higher degree of glory and of happiness. For, " when he shall appear, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is ; this corruptible shall put on incorrup- tion, and this mortal shall put on immortality.'* 2Bd Having thus shortly unfohled this comprehensive concate- natioa of promises constituting the Covenani of Grace, it may perhaps be demanded, if it be useful in the public instruc- tions of the church, to observe this order of arrangement ?— I regard it, certainly as not without its benefit, for the clear* er illustr^ion of the gracious system of the gospel ; and for communicating precision and distinctness to the conceptions of the christian in contemplating that inslitulionof mercy un- der which we now exist. It is that order in which its bles- sings naturally offer themselves -to the heart of the believer for the encouragement and consolation of his faith, and to the mind of the convinced sinner, to invite his cooGdence in sup- plicating the throne of grace for the pardon of sin ; and to confirm his trust in building his eternal hopes on the founda- tion of Christ. Under the deep sense of his misery, and of the utter impotence of nature to impart any relief to his trou- bled mind, the promise of the Saviour must yield his first consolation, and, offer his first refuge. Under the convic» tions of guilt, and of the just displeasure of Almighty God, the promise of the free and full forgiveness of sin, must first administer peace to his anxious thoughts. And when per- suaded to embrace the gospel in faith, he will experience the necessity of having continual recourse to the promises and aids of the Holy Spirit, for the sanctification of his nature* and bis growth in grace. Without this precious resource, he would find himself too weak to contend against the cor- raptions of his heart, and the seductions of tha world. In 4r the progress of Ibe divine life he will experience the benefit of continually resorting to the promises of the covenant for his encouragement in duty, his comfort in trials, and, at length, his support in the great conflict of death. Finally, in the promise of eternal life we behold the glorious reward of his faithful labours, and the blessed consummation of all his pious hopes. In this order, therefore, a sincere believer will most reasonably be led to contemplate the precious pro- mises of the new covenant. OF THE CONDITION OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. Having treated of the constituent promises of the cove- nant, it falls next in order to state its conditions. Those who confound the Covenant of Grace, and the Covenant of Re- demption, pronounce the righteousness of Christ to be its sole and exclusive condition. And if we inquire after the meri- torious title of the redeemed sinner to eternal life, it is, be- yond all question, to be found only in the Redeemer's right- eousness. Those, on the other hand, who adopt the princi- ple— that the covenant is made with the believer through Christ, affirm that/at7/t is its proper condition ; — that is, his explicit acceptance of the gracious propositions of the cove- nant, with full understanding and hearty acquiescence in their ierras. This sincere, intelligent, and affectionate act of the soul, gives him, according to the promise, an interest in the merits of the Redeemer and lays the foundation of that holi- an uess of heart which introduces him to the possession, and qualifies him for the enjoyment of eternal life. A proper decision on this subject depends, in a great de- gree, on the implication of the term condition. If it intend any act of obedience on the merit of which the blessing is bestowed, it is evident that the believer possessing no such merit in himself, and the covenant, in relation to him, being wholly of grace, it must, in this view of it, be without any condition, there can be no covenant with the believer. But if, by this terra, be intended th* qimliHcations which prepare the soul to receive and enjoy the ultimate blessings of this raost gracious institution, and in consequence of which the blessing is received through Christ ; it comprehends all the virtues and graces of the divine life, springing from faith as their root. With strict propriety, indeed, they cannot be denominated conditions of the covenant ; but ought justly to be ranked among its promised blessings. They are the gifts of God through the Spirit. In order to give to this subject as much simplicity and plainness as possible, agreeably to the system hitherto pur- sued, it is necessary to bear in mind, what has been before suggested, that the new covenant is to be ranged under that species of contracts which are denominated gratuitous. In this class the condition requiroe only the explicit acceptance of the favour, with proper diipositions^ and a hearty acqui- Ii72 escence in the object, and concurrence in the designs of the benefactor. The dispositions, then, with which we ought to receive the blessings of the covenant arise out of a just sense of the wants, imperfections and miseries of our natural state, for which the covenant is designed to provide a gracious reme- dy, and a due appreciation of the inflnite mercy of God, through Christ. A profound conviction of sin serves to ex- alt (be condescension, and grace of God in this great salva- tion. And a pious, and believing estimate of the freeness, the richness, and completeness of the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, must have the effect to awaken the gratitude of the saint, to intlarae his love, and 1o produce a fervent devotion of heart to the service of God. Such are the fruits of a cordial reception of the covenant ; and thej are the natural offspring of a sincere belief in the gospel. Faith in Christ may, there- fore, m{]\ propriety, be esteemed the condition of this cove- nant. It prepares the believer to accept its blessings with proper and humble dispositions. And this is the testimony of the evangelists, and of all the apostles—-" thy faith hath saved thee,— by grace ye are saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God." The mercy of God requires only a willing mind, and a well disposed reci- pient to bestow on it all the pl*nifude of his grace, through the merits of the ever blessed Redeemert , 37e Another requisife in compacts of this kind, is a hearty ac- quiesct^rice in the object, and views of the benefactor. Of this whole dispensation of grace then the acknowledged ob- ject is the restoration of human nature to its lost holiness, as the only way to perfect happiness, and to immortal life. In the desire of happiness all men will earnestly concur, but not all, of a happiness through sanctification of their nature ; the acquiescence of the heart in this object, implies the love of universal holiness. Of this affection, the effi-^ient princi- ple is a cordial belief in the gospel of our salvation, and in Jesus Christ, the great sum of the gospel. Therefore, in this view afeo, faith is to be regarded as the condition of the cove- nant. But it must ever be remembered that it is a condition simply of qualiBcation, not of merit. Merit in man would de- stroy the idea of mercy in God. How, indeed, can our be- lief of the most pure and excellent truths, although ultimately preparing the soul for her heavenly inheritance, be the ground on which we can meritoriously claim the possession of the blessing? Faith, therefore, is only the gracious condi- tion of a most gracious Covenant. ' OS SANCTIFICATION Thb principle which next claims our attention is the sanc- tification of our fallen nature, and its continual advancement in the habits of the divine life. Sanctification is an effect of the gracious operation of the Holy Spirit, enlightening the mind in the knowledge of divine truth, and deeply aflfecting the heart with the perception, and love of divine things. It 13 begun in regeneration, and advances constantly and often almost imperceptibly, in the stedfastness of its virtuous prin- ciples, and the strength of its holy affections, till it attains at length the consummation of holiness in the kingdom of heaven. The principal questions arising on this subject respect — the nature of the change effected in regeneration — the agen- cy of the Holy Spirit in producing this change — the meana of cultivating genuine sanctity of heart — and lastly, the obli- gation of practical holiness, which is not superseded but in- creased by the doctrine of salvation by free grace. 376 OF REQENERATIOK. Hegeneration is a term entirely of figurative meaning, and has respect to the new principles of life and action introduc- ed into the soul by the faith of the gospel. The same term was anciently employed by the schools of philosophy, to in- dicate the change produced on ignorance, and vice in their pupils by the force of instruction, and the well conducted influence of education. The man becomes, in a great mea- sure, a new man, through the illumination of his understand- ing', the correction of his passions, the regulation of his af- fections, and the amelioration of all his principles of action. In the school of Christ it assumes, a purer and sublimer mean- ing, and designates that new and spiritual stale of life to which the believer is introduced by the doctrines, and the spirit of his Saviour. It is distinguished by new feelings, new ideas, new dispositions, tendencies, and habits of the soul. The heart, which had existed like the embryo be- fore birth, in a state of darkness and blindness, only feebly warmed with the principles of life, now emerges into light. The world presents to it a new face — the heavens disclose wonders of creating power which it had never discerned — it feels itself a new being. '1 his change, in its immediate effects, consists in a just discernment of the moral glories and per- fections of the supreme, self existent, and omni[)resent Je- hovah ; in a profound abhorrence of sin ; in a strong and 3r7 lively perceplion of the beauty of holiness ; in an ardent de- votion and obedience to its laws ; in an overwhelming sense of gratitude for the mercies of redemption; and, under the deep and affecting impressions of the whole, in a warm, ex- fended, and increasing benevolence to mankind. OF THE AUTHOR OP REGENERATION. The holy scriptures in speaking of this blessed change, ever represent the Holy Spirit as its immediate Author, by bis illuminating influence on the understanding, and the heart. A peculiar clearness of perception, is imparted to the be- liever's apprehension of divine things, and all the moral sen- sations of the soul, if this language may be employed, are exalted to a much higher tone of sensibilify. In this under- standing the mind is enlightened, not so much through the intellect, as the heart; but in the whole there is an ineffa- ble perception of divine truth, in proportion to the natu- ral vigour of the mind, combined with a warmth and glow of devout affection unknown to the natural man. They mulually communicate their light and heat, till the whole soul is dissolved in an enlightened and holy love. Human culti- vation is capable of accomplishing much in the amelioration of the manners and dispositions of the young; so that every good man, beholding them with the eyes with which our Saviour regarded the amiable youth in the gospel, shall love them ; but it is utterly incompetent to producing that mighty 48 378 moral change implied in regeneration. The most ingenious powers of human nature, raised to their highest refinement bj the force of the most judicious culture, still fall far short of the genuine charity of the gospel. " That which is born of the flesh, saith our Saviour, " is flesh ; but that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Rlarvel not that 1 said unto you, you must be born again." And the apostle Peter pro- nounces believers "elect, according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, and sanctification of the Spirit." St. Paul also uses the following impressive language — " but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified, in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God." The Spirit of God is indeed the primary and effectual agent in the regeneration of the soul ; not properly by a creative act, or any immediate operation exerted upon it independent of the appointed means of grace, as the language of some writers would lead us to conceive ; but by means, j\hich, under his influence and direction, arc peculiarly adapted to the end ; especially by his holy word, and the instituted ordinances of his grace. The Holy Spirit, in the ordinary government of the church- never works, except by the instrumentality and co-action of instructions, or providential dispensations which are natural- ly calculated, in the moral structure of our nature, to inform the reason, and to touch the heart. For this purpose, he has instituted the reading and preaching of his word, the ad- ministration of his most holy sacraments, and the habitual use of humble and fervent prayer to the Father of all mercy and grace ; and, in subserviency to the same design, he di 379 rects the movements of his almighty providence over the world. TWO ERRORS ON THIS SUDJECT. Two errors exist on this subject, equally distant from the truth ; one which ascribes the regeneration, or rather as they would say the moral cultivation of the heart, and the whole progress of our improvement in virtue and sanctity of life, merely to the reasonings and reflections of our own minds, aided, perhaps, by the word of God. And supposes the moral effects which, in holy scripture, are ascribed to the Divine Spirit, to be attributed to him, solely, because he has illuminated the understandings of the sacred writers, and dictated to them those truths intended to enlighten, and re- form the world. Whence, by a natural and common figure of speech, the Author is substituted in the place of his work. The other is to impute so much to the immediate, and ex- clusive operation of the Holy Spirit, that the instrumentali- ty of the word, or, indeed, of any of the ordinary means of grace, seems to be, in a great measure, superseded* Their language conveys this idea, that the change upon the soul is strictly an act of creation, which is necessary to pass upon the state and dispositions of the heart, before the mo- tives of the gospel can have any operative and sanclifyiog 380 influence upon it. To support Ibis principle they maintain that the practical motives of duty arising out of the system of di% ine truth cannot be discerned in their proper nature, and their spiritual beauty, and must consequently remain in- operative, till the heart is assimilated by the power of God, to the spirit of the gospel. For motives drawn from the beauty of holiness cannot touch the soul till its native dark- uess, and defect of a divine taste be removed. Can an eye which is obscured by a film, they demand, discern the light which shines around it, till the cause which obstructs its vi- sion be taken out of the way ? Can the heart perceive the truths of the gospel in their holy nature, and feel them in their divine effiacy, till its inherent depravity be changed 1 — Illus- trations drawn from material analogies seldom apply with en- tire accuracy to spiritual subjects ; and then, by pursuing the resemblance too minutely, they tend only to mislead. In the present instance, the effect is, obviously, made to precede the cause. In the moral changes of the heart, the blindness which hinders its discernment of the light of divine truth is cured by the light itself. As in cultivating a taste for the beauties of science and the arts, or the moral tastes of virtue, the mind, however obscured by ignorance or error at first, is gradually improved and approaches ultimately intellectual perfection by presenting to it the most beautiful objects in the arts, and suggesting continually only the justest maxims of scientific truth. The analogy in this case is infinitely more exact than in the former. Spiritual darkness is cured by the 381 spiritual light, as addressed lo the soul by that heavenly teacher, the Holy Spirit of truth. Powers still reside in reason and conscience, notwithstanding the deep corruption of the fall, capable of discerning in a degree, though it were as the twilight before the dawn, the illumination of divine truth shining around them in the word of God, which may be perceived by every diligent inquirer through the concurrent aids of the Holy Spir- it, which are now, by tlie grace of Christ, universally diflfus- ed in the church. For as miracles exist, at present, in the spiritual more than in the natural order of things. The sparks of light will, at first indeed, be small and feeble, but each ad- vance renders them susceptible of still farther increase, till they become the principle of a new life. What is the peculiar nature of the agency of the divine Spirit, distinct from, and superior to the ordinary influence of education ; or what is his internal operation on the mind must, like all the works of God, be inscrutable. But the re- ality of his concurrent influence in illuminating the under- standing, in rectifying the action of the will, in regenerating and sanctifying the heart, are truths most explicitly taught in the holy scriptures. The agency of this divine principle in the moral world, bears a resemblance to the operations of providential agency in the system of nature : being in all things, perfectly concurrent with the established laws of ma- terial action in the universe. The movements of the Spirit of God, where no miracle is intended, are ever conducted 38-2 according to (he tan's of the rational system, (he laws of hu* man libertj, and the moral laws of the heart. In accom- plishing the regeneration of the believer, the blessed Spirit is able, by the finest lights, imperceptibly to instruct the intel- lect in divine things — by the finest insinuations, secretly to touch the heart ; but there is, in no instance, any violation of the laws of the moral world. Nor is there any end accom- plished, even in the regeneration and sanctification of (he soul, except by means which, under his most wise and holy- direction, naturally contribute to produce the efi'ect. la moral effects, the means are instruction, and correction ; in- struclion by the word of God, and correction by the power of conscience, assisted by. the dispensations of divine provi- dence. And one office of the Holy Spirit seems to be to assemble and combine those various means in the way best adapted to subserve the gracious and sovereign designs of Heaven, with regard to the spiritual and eternal state of each individual. SANCTIFICATION IN THIS LIFE IN A STATE OF PROGBES- SIVB IMPROVEMENT. The sanctification of the believer commences in regenera- tion ; but, through the whole of the present life, is continued in a condition of gradual approximation towards a state of per- fect holiness. Some christians use a language upon this sub- ject, which, I muat charitably presume, does not express 383 (heir genuine sentiments ; as if the believer may attain » state of perfect holiness, while residing ia this world of ne- cessary imperfection. The principles of corruption are so deeply rooted in our nature, that they never can be com- pletely eradicated. While we remain ia the garden of God upon earth, a corrupted stock must still send forth degenerate scions. Gradually to be subduing them without arriving at complete victory over their luxuriant growth, is the ut- most that the humble christian can hope. And the condi- tion of the real disciple in the present life, is only a condi- tion of constant and progressive improvement. Grow in gracBy saith the apostle, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. That there are always many defects mixed with the virtues and graces of the most emi- nent saints, i» manifest from the whole tenor of the sacred writings ; and appears continually in the confessions, and records of the experience of the saints. " There is not a just man upon earth, that doeth good and sinneth not. In many things, we all offend." And the most devout and affection- ate of the whole college of the disciples pronounces — If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourseifves, and the trtith is not in us. At the first view, this idea seems to contradict the language of our symbols which assert that the believer is renewed in the whole man, after the image of God. But between these propositions, when rightly explained, there ia no opposition. 384 This symbolic language, far from signifying the holy perfec- tion of the believer, simply implies that the predominant ac- tion of the powers of human nature in him is habitually di- rected by the principles of the gospel ; and the supreme aim of all his affections is, to fulfil the will of bis Creator, and to advance the interests, and the glory of his Redeemer's king- dom. The flesh may lust against the spirit ; and, in some critical circumstances of temptation, the principle of grace may find it difficult to preserve its ascendency against the sinful propensities of corrupted nature. But wherever the character truly exists, there will be found also the predomi- oance of the habits of holiness. Every principle of nature, every tendency of the heart, all the actions of the life, will, in its general tenor be subject to the commanding influence of the spirit of divine grace. But, according to the temper- ament of different natures, it may appear in some in a higher, and in others in a lower tone of fervent piety. It is the ha- bitual ascendency of the principles of duty which character- izes that state of holiness which may be called the renovation of the whole man. THE HOLINESS OF THE BELIEVER IMPERFECT IN THIS LIFE, Some christians have injudiciously boasted of having arriv- ed at a state of perfect holiness. And a few expressions in the sacred scriptures are appealed to as justifying this arro- gant claim. Noah is said to have been "a just man, and 3S5 perfect in his generation." " Be ye perfect," saifh Christ, "as your Father who is in heaven is perfect. Whom we preach,'* Saith the apostle, " that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." " Whosoever is born of God," saith John, " doth not commit sin, for his seed remaineth in him, and he cannot sin, because he is born of God," — John iii. 9. Many expressions there are which speak a similar language. But it obviously appears from their whole strain, and the connexions in which they stand, that the perfection which the scriptures ascribe to believers, implies something very ditTerent from that state of holiness which is exempted from all sin, error, and frailty. — This term in our language, as well as the correspond- ing terms in the Greek and Hebrew, has obtained a figurative signification, even in common usage, by which it is made to ex- press that state of objects in which they possess all the ne- cessary parts, and the usual properties of the species to which they belong. We say of a child which is complete in all its limbs and organs, that it is a perfect child. And of one who has rendered himself competently master of all the requisite branches of liberal art to qualify himself for public life, that his education is perfect. The same term is familiarly appli- ed to plants and animals, and generally, as already indicated, to all objects which possess the genuine properties of their species. — If, then, we suppose the dispositions, affections, and principles, which distinguish sincere believers, to form the characteristics of a moral species, that state of the soul which embraces all these properties, may justly be styled a state ^^ 49 chriatian perfeclioa. This perhaps, is simply the idea an- nexed to that form of expression by the sacred writers. The christians were sometimes pronounced perfect by the apostles, when, with unshaken firmness they endured labours, and sufferings in the cause of Christ, in allusion to the athletas among the Greeks, from whom these holy writers borrow ma- ny images, and who were said to have attained perfedion TtXtio%lcc, in their discipline, not only when they were well practised in the tactics of their art ; but, especially, when they could endure fatigue, and pain without shrinking, or complaint. Let •patience, says St. James, have her perfect rmrky that ye may he perfect and entire. That expressions which. In their literal import, signify perfection, are applied to different degrees of maturity in the divine life, and, therefore, cannot be intended to mark its consummation in the present world, is rendered evident by the language of St. Paul tiimself : for that great apostle pro- nounces concerning his own state and experience — " not that I have already apprehended, either am already perfect ; but I follow after, that I may apprehend that for which also I am apprehended by Christ Jesus." This declaration by St. Paul must be the annihilation of any claim to absolute per- fection in other believers. And I unhesitatingly add, that the experience of all sincere christians contradicts this proud Idea ; and the professions of a few weak enthusiasts to the contrary, who are little capable of forming a judgment of 387 their ownlieaHsj can hardly be regarded as an exception lo Ihe general conclusion. OF THE ORDINARV MEANS OF 8ANCTIFICATI0N. The Holy Spirit is acknowledged by all devout and ia« tlonal disciples to be the supreme eflScient agent in the re» generation and sanctification of his people : but as he acts only through means instituted by God himself, it is a prac- tical question of no small importance to every christian, io what way he may best promote the holy culture of the heart, and advance in the habits of the divine Hfe. These subjects are so constantly illustrated in the instructions of the pulpit, and enter so largely into the scheme of all the practical wri- ters on religion, that, in a general system of theological doc- trine, they require only to be briefly suggested. They may be embraced under the following heads : — the diligent study of the holy scriptures, and of the writings of wise and pious men, designed to illustrate and enforce their sacred truths-*, fervent prayer to the Father of Spirits ; frequent and pro- found meditation on divine things ; pious association, and conference with judicious christians ; faithful attendance on all the public and private institutions of religion ; and strength- ening, by constant exercise, the habits of a holy life. liBb THE NECESSITr OF GOOD WORKS COITSigTEKT WITH THSi DOCTRINE OF SALVATION BY FREE GRACE. Those who are unfriendly to this principle demand — why should good works be required of the believer, if it be indeed the doctrine of the holy scriptures that salvation is of grace, wilhout the works of the law .^ In order to answer this inquiry satisfactorily, it is to be remembered that our salvation consists not only of deliverance from the curse of the violated law, which is effected through Christ, paying the forfeit, or bearing the punishment of our sins, and is ac- knowledged to be purely the fruit of the unmerited mercy and love of God ; but of (he restoration of the holiness and perfection, and consequently, the happiness of our fallen na- ture. The latter must, in a nature degenerate and corrupted like that of man, be equally with the former, (he fruit of di- yine favour. For vrlthout the merciful aids of the Holy Spirit, an impure nature cannot be restored ; nor without the grace of holy living, can either its perfection, or its hap- piness be rendered complete. The sanctity of the life, therefore, manifested by its good works, is indispensably requisite in the christian, not, indeed, as (he cause, in any degree, of his salvation, but as the certain indication of his nature being renewed, sanctified, and restored to its original r!)oral principle?, and to the power of enjoying its original happiness. Tliis is the proper idea of salvation. 389 Heaven consists less in local situation, than in the disposi- tions of the soul which qualify it for the enjoyment of God, and of that supreme felicity which is to be possessed only in his immediate presence. And these dispositions are, above all things, to be cultivated upon earth in the acts and habits of a holy life, in the prospect of our future, and eter- nal existence. OF THE HOLIIfESS AND PERFECTION OF A MORAL AND RE- LIGIOUS ACT. It is, in this place, perhaps, proper to inquire what con- stitutes the rectitude of a moral act, and procures it accep- tance with God ? Every morally perfect act proceeds in the first place, from a good motive ; that is, from the desire of glorifying God, or of promoting the happiness of man, and from both these intentions, where they can be combined in the same action. One ruling and habitual principle governs the whole conduct, and presides in each individual act of a believer's life ; — I mean the profound sentiment of obedience to God, and of Gratitude to the Redeemer of the world, which strengthens and animates the principle of every par* ticular duty. The next requisite is, that the substance of the act in itself be good ; that is, calculated to promote some proper, useful, or benevolent end ; embracing, within the range of these objects, the glory of God, and the felicity of human nature. Which condition excludes, of consequence, a9o all the acts of a fanatical zeal, or a gloomy superstition, which 13 equally the sacrifice of human happiness, and of the rights of human nature, to a mistaken rage for the pretended honour of the Deity, or glory of the most merciful Saviour. An- other requisite to constitute an action good, is, that the form and manner of it be also right. If there be any mode pre- scribed by the laws of society for fulfilling human duties, or of God for fulfilling those that are divine, it becomes a chris- tian most scrupulously to conform to the instituted rite. — There is some fault attached even to the worship of God, if in any material act, it contradicts, or departs from the rules or examples of holy writ. And, above all, if it either omits, or adds to the forms prescribed by the sacred writers, as far as they are explicitly defined, or we can, by the faithful ex- ercise of our own reason, discern them. If there be no form prescribed, the mode which we adopt should be such as we conscientiously believe will best subserve every valuable pur- pose of piety ; leaving to our fellow christians the equal right of j udging for themselves. The last requisite is, that it should stand in its proper place, and be performed in its proper time, so as to be consistent with the whole system of our duties, and with all the laws of prudence and propriety. If an ac- tion be defective in any of these particulars, it is in the same proportion removed from perfection as an act of virtue. Many other questions, connected with this subject, but of a speculative rather than practical nature, have been agitated hy different writers, which it would be unnecessarily tedious to discuss in this place, and the disquisition of which is of the less importance, as they will often occur in the course of your reading. I proceed, therefore, to the consideration of the last blessing usually enumerated by Calvinistic writers as flowing, in this life, from the Covenant of Grace, which is THE PERSEYERAXCE OF THE SAIXT3. The idea annexed to this principle is, that those who have once been regenerated, and sanctified by the Spirit of God, shall never lose the seed eflfectually implanted by that Di- vine Teacher, but be able always to preserve it, and perse- vere in the discharge of every duty to eternal life, amidst partial fluctuations, however, arising from the imbecility of human nature. Many writers of distinguished name in the church deny this doctrine entirely. For, not acknowledging the predestinating decrees of God, and ascribing little to the extraordinary influences of the Holy Spirit, they pronounce that the sanctity of the believer, like every moral quality in man, must partake of the mutability of human nature. To render the perseverance of the believer certainy they affirm, requires the operation of some necessary cause incompatible with the moral freedom of the mind. This objection has alrea- ready been considered, and obviated, when treating of the de- crees of God ; when it was, I hope, clearly shewn that the infloence of the Divine Spirit over human action* may be ex- 392 erted, so as to attain thie most infallible ejects, without im- pairing, in the smallest degree, thfeir moral freedom. The following, therefore, is the onlj question on this sub- ject, which requires yoiir careful investigation, and which, with regard to the doctrine, must be decisive. Has God given to the believer, in his holy word, such direct and ex- plicit promises, as 10 be a sufficient ground of trust, that he will always grant him such a measure of grace, and of his holy influence, as will dispose and enable hirn to continue faithful till death ? A few, even of Calvihistic writers, be- lieve that the holy scriptures do not contain such promises, but that the grace which he hath bestowed at his pleasure, he may, at his pleasure, or when the precious gift is negligently improved, withhold. The great majority of these writers, however, think it reasonable to believe that Almighty God doth never bestow his grace in vain, but that the seed which he hath once implanted he will cherish to perfection. Besides the apparent reasonableness of this opinion, they support the principle by many proofs of holy writ which, Ihiey suppose, do either directly, or by necessary implication, assert it. And this, indeed, is the only foundalion on which It can safely be rested. All other reasoning is mere the- ory, and must depend on the accuracy with which principles are laid down, and conclusions legitimately drawn, concern- ing which the minds of men are seldom in perfect accord.—^ The following aire a few of the passages which always have 393 been quoted on this occasion ; and which I repeat without comoienl, as being more Ihan sufficient, I presume, to sup- port the general truth, in the mind of every candid interpreter of scripture. " And there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall do great signs and wonders, so as to draw away, if it were possible, even the elect," — Malt. xxiv. 24. " This is the will of my Father who hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose none ; but I shall raise it up at the last day," — John xl 39. " And I give to them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hands. My Father who gave them to me is greater than all, and none shall pluck them out of mj Father's hand,"— Jo/i?i x. 28, 29. «' For we know that to those who love God, all things work together for good, to those who are the called according to his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, those he foreordained to be con- formed to the image of his Son, that he should be the first burn among many brethren. For whom he did foreknow, those he also called ; and' whom he called those he also jus- tified, and whom he justified those he also glorified," — John viii. 23.. ..30. " Now he that eslablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us is God : who also hath sealed us, and given us the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts,"— 2 Cor. i. 21, 22. "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye have been sealed unto the day of redemption,"— Eph. iv. 30. " For us who are kept by the power ol God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the lait 394 time,"— 1 Pel. i. 5. These declarations seem evidently io- tended, and certainly are abundantly torcible, to support the conclusion, that those who have once been brought to sin- cere repentance, and to true obedience, shall never lose the habits of a;race, so as, in the language of the systems, ^na/i?/ and totally to fall away, OF THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS DOCTRINE. If it be demanded, of what utility can the belief of this doctrine prove to a sincere christian ? This is an inquiry to be answered only by the experience of the saints. And ma- ny of the most pious christians have given to it their humble and fervent testimony, that it has contributed to preserve them continually mindful of their entire dependance on the gracious aids of the Spirit of God, the true source of their ability for every duty. And the doctrine may afford a live- ly consolation to the believer in those moments when his faith is strong, and his holy affections are most animated, and fervent, to be assured by the promise of God, of being at all times sustained against the weakness of human nature, and rendered secure of the ultimate possession of eternal life. Yet, confessed it must be, that it can afford small consolation to the most experienced saint when his graces are feeble and languishing, and his mind, in consequence, often in a state of perplexity and doubt. Its enemies stigmatize it with being nn indolent doctrine, as if the security of happiness, whatever 395 uftect it might have upon the hypocrite, would ever dispone a pious and generous mind to the neglect of any duty ; and would not rather stimulate it to augmented diligence in the di* vine life, by the powerful excitement of gratitude. This ob- jection must arise from inattention to the genuine principles of human nature ; and to the scriptural grounds on which the doctrine rests. As to the first, the assurance of possessing a felicity which we greatly value, and have long earnestly- sought to acquire, often redoubles our exertions, and always, in a generous mind, raises its powers to a higher tone of ac- tion. With regard to the second, the grounds on which this doctrine rests in the holy scriptures is, the merciful constitu* tion of the Covenant of Grace, and the promised influences of the Holy Spirit. These principles, as they have been al- ready explained, far from nourishing an indolent temper, arc connected with the highest exertions of the human faculties and the most faithful use of all the appointed means of sanc- tification. Upon the whole, however, this doctrine, in the discussions it has undergone, and the manner in which it has often been treated, has unhappily been connected more with the truth of speculation, and contended for more earnestly on that ground, than for its influence on practical holiness. Speculative truth, however, is intimately con- joined with practical utility. But many of the truths ia- Tolved in the disquisitions which have taken place on this subject, rest upon principles so sublime, or of so refined a nature, as hardly to be obvious to the greater part of those 396 for whom tbe gospel was cbiefly designed, and are found, in experience, easilj iiable, in ignorant minda, to mistake and perversion. The Calvinistic writers appear to me generally to form their conclusions on grounds of the soundest reason, and most according to the spirit of the sacred writings. But, from mu- tual prejudice, and mistake, the discussions on this, and seve- ral related subjects, have been managed, on all sides, with less temper and forbearance than become the professors of a mild and humble religion. Consequences have been mu- tually imputed which no party would acknowledge. Differ- ences have been studiously magnified. And a writer is iia- ble to incur the censure of all, for presuming to judge can- didly between prits of one to another in certain cases, has been already considered, im der the Covenant of Grace, 400 Justification is not a grace of the heart, but solely an act of God's free mercy, absolving the penitent sinner from the pen- alty due to his transgressions, and entitling him, according to the promise of the covenant, to the inheritance of eternal life. I need hardly appeal to particular passages in support of these ideas, they are so uniformly borne on the face of the ■^vhole scriptures, and, especially, of the writings of the great apostle of the Gentiles. Some writers conceive an opposition, amounting almost to contradiction, between the ideas of free grace, and the impu- tation of the perfect righteousness of the Redeemer. If the law is completely satisfied, they ask, what can be demanded more of the penitent believer? In this objection they must certainly forget, or their prejudices must be unwilling to ad- mit, that it is the effect merely of divine mercy, that such a satisfaction has been made for offending man ; and, when made, it is equally of free grace, in consequence of the mer ciful constitution of the covenant, that it is applied to the be- liever. " For it is not through works of righteousness which we have done, but by grace we are saved through faith ; and that, not of ourselves, it is the gift of God." It is the quali- fication of faith alone which prepares and enables the believer to receive and enjoy the blessings of salvation. •10 \ THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEiJ THE APOSTLES ST. PAFI. AND ST. JAMES OH THIS SUBJECT, ' It is frequently objected (o us, that the aposde James as- ciibes the juslification of (he believer, not to his faith, but to his gooil works. To understand St. James, in this place, it is necessary carefully to attend to his object in writing this epistle. He wished to turn the attention of the church to that criterion by which the disciples of Christ should most effectually demonstrate the sincerity of their failh, and their attachment to their Redeemer. There were in that age, as there are in every period, many who presumed to recommend themselves to their fellow-christians by a boastful ostentation of religious zeal, while they v/ere destitute of those works of piety and virtue which alone could adorn their holy profes- sion, in the esteem of mankind. Such false and hollow pre- tences occasioned great reproach to the nascent cause of Christianity. The apostle, therefore, was solicitous to purge the church of these blots on the Christian name ; and to con- vince the world that the faith of Christ, instead of being a cover for indolence and vice, is the most effectual principle of good morals and sanctity of life. In his epistle, therefore, he earnestly teaches that, in the actual circumstances of ths church, it was of primary importance, that the disciples of Christ should exhibit, in their example, the virtuous and holy influence of their doctrine. And, as faith was publicly knowp rn 402 to be the fundamental principle of their practical system, he was anxious to redeem it from the misrepresentation and re- proach of infidelity, as partaking only of the spirit of a weak credulity, without any of the useful energies of virtue and charity, which would render it a blessing to the world. Hence he was so much concerned that the gentiles should be impressed with the conviction that the disciples had not made a vain boast of the efficacy of the vital principle of their re- ligion; but, that before the world, they should justify by their good works, the sanctifying power of that faith which they had so highly extolled. This would bring real glory to the gospel of Christ. Therefore, whatever false disciples may pretend about a visionary, unproductive faith, to the dis" credit of their Saviour, a sincere believer will always be stu- dious to demonstrate his faith by his works of charity and righteousness. So that the design of the blessed apostle ap« pears to be, not to make the justification of the sinner before God to depend upon his good works ; but to make the good works of the believer to be the justification of the sincerity of his faith before the church, and before the world. Thus was Abrahani' s faith, justified by his works. For, as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith rvithoiit works is dead also. By some divines of respectable name, this is called a second justification ; thereby meaning a justification to ourselves, to the church, and to the world, of the integrity of our profes^ 4.03 lion of the name of Christ, and of the purity of that holy principle of faith which governs in the heart of a true disciple. And this practical manifestation of a pure and sin- cere faith, 13, indeed, the genuine source of the pious conso- lation of a believer, and the only stable ground on which he can apply to himself the gracious promises of the New Cov- enant. For, although the integrity of his faith is known to the Omniscient Jehovah, in the first moments of its existence, as well as at any future period ; and his justification passes immediately with God, before any practical proofs exhibited to men of its pious and chaiitable works ; yet, by its fruits alone can we certainly demonstrate our title to rejoice in our interest in the redemption that is in Christ Jesus our Lord, THE BELIEVER, NOTWITHSTANDING HIS JU8TIPICATI0N', STILL SUBJECT TO THE CALAMITIES OF THIS LIFE. The believer, notwithstanding his deliverance from the do- minion of sin, and his being made an heir of eternal life by the imputation of the righteousness of Christ, must continue, in this world, subject to the manifold evils resulting from the frailties of a mortal body, and frequently from a disordered mind. By the introduction of the New Covenant, establish- ed in the power and grace of the Mediator, provision is made for his ultimate redemption from eternal death, when he shall have laid in the grave the corruptions of the flesh. In the mean time, the moral depravation of the Bonl is gradually de- 404 atroyed by the spirit of sanclification, and all his temporal evil Ihough not removed, while the body remains, are, through the covenant, converted into blessings, and become a salutary discipline, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, to cultivate the heart for heaven. And highly useful they are to elevate the soul above all undue attachments to the present world, and to break within it the strength and power of sin. It is among the laws of our nature that, in our edu- cation for eternity, no less than in our education for dis- charging usefully and honourably the offices of this life, we should grow wise by our errors, and that correction should often be necessary to preserve the mind attentive to its duties. The Romish church taught the extraordinary and unscrip- tural doctrine, that the sufferings of our blessed Saviour did not accomplish a complete atonement for the sins of man- kind ; but that the afflictions imposed on believers in the ar- rangements of providence, are to be regarded as part of the penalty of the divine law ; and if the destined measure of their pains should not be entirely inflicted in the present life, they are to be fulfilled in a future and purgatorial state. On the same ground they have built the still more absurd doc- trine, of the efficacy of voluntary mortifications to complete the requisite proportion of the sufferings of Christ in them, and to deliver them from a correspondent part of the pains of purgatory. But the doctrine most obnoxious to common sense, and farthest removed from the humble spirit of the 40'i gospel, is, that eminent saints, for whom the demands of the law have been already satisfied by the sufferings of Christ, together with their own, may, by voluntary and extraordinary duties, inflictions, and sacrifices, lay up a store of merit, to be imputed, along with that of the Saviour, to believers less advanced in the road of perfection. On this wretched foun- dation was built that shameful trafic of indulgences, and purgatorial exemptions, which grew to such enormity, as to become, at length, one of the principal causes of the reforma- tion in the sixteenth century. A single passage in the epistle to the Collossians, and that grossly misinterpreted, by the knavery of the Popes, and the ignorance of the Monks, was the solestjpport of this monstrous fabric. It is contained in the following words : — Who now rejoice in my sufferings for you, and Jill up that which is behind of the afflictions of Christ, in my flesh, for his body^s sake, which is the church, — ch. i. ver. 24. The expression my sufferings for yon evidently refers to the pains which he endured in their ser- vice ; and that which follows, on which the principal stress- is laid, the afflictions of Christ ixi-^sn Xptm, is a Grecism which signifies the afflictions borne by him for the sake of Christ ; and is similar, in the structure of the phrase, to other expressions, •jra.hfA.xliX' tS X/j/tfe- — yiy.pa(rt lished in Christ for the redemption of the world. This was the import of the correspondent rite of the church of Israel. God gave to Abraham circumcision a seal of the righteous- ness which is by faith.^- And this is one of the principal denominations by which baptism has been designated in the christian church from the earliest ages. But here it is ne- cessary io remark and correct an error upon this subject which has unhappily dis'-^rbed the ideas of many good and excellent men. Baptism has been regarded by them as the * A seal of the righteousness of Vie faith which he had, bdng uncircumcised. This expreision cannot reasonably be supposed to mean, as has beea asserted by some writers, merely a declaration of the sincerity of Abraham's faith ; for this seal was administered to the ofTspriog of Abraham at au age in which no sucli de- claration could be expected from them. Besides the apostle, in the place is speaking of circumcision, not merely as a sign given to Abraham in particular, but as an ordinance of the church. In this general view it was dejigned as a seal of the righteousness of faith ; that is, of that gracious covenant whicli has substi- tuted the righteousness which comes by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, in the room of the perfect and personal obedience required by the first covenant, and which has now become impracticable lo tlie frailty and corropUonof hmnan natarf, be- ing possible only througih a Mediator, a&d Surety. 458 seal of the believing parent given, both in bis own name, and in that of his child, as its natural proxj, testifying his entire acquiescence in the conditions of the covenant ; and, by the same act, laying the child under an obligation of acquiescing in them, and fulfilling them, as soon as it shall attain the age of reason. And undoubtedly, the act of the parent, in of- fering his child to receive the seal of baptism is, on his part, a formal acknowledgment of the covenant and profession of faith in its gracious promises. It has, likewise, been admit- ted, and has been before asserted, that a parent possesses from nature, and from religion, a right to enter into any right- eous covenant in the name of his child, when the objects of that covenant are only blessings, and privileges ; and espe- cially when its conditions or terms are antecedent duties. Baptism, however, in the just and scriptural view of it, ss chiefly to be considered as'fhe outward and visible seal which God has been pleased to annex to his own promise ; a pro- mise which he has graciously given to the church under the form of a covenant engagement ; by this seal ratifying, and confirming to her, and to all who are taken into her care, the propositions of his grace and mercy, through Jesus Christ. Abraham did not give to God the seal of circumcis^ ion as a pledge of his duty and obedience ; but the scrip- ture declares, he received it from God for himself and his oflfspring, in order to confirm that gracious covenant, or pro- 4j7 mise which he had made to the father of the faithful ; I rvili be a God to you, and your seed after you.^ Do you ask if it is not doing dishonour to the faithfulness ot Jehovah to suppose that his promise requires to be confirmed by symbols and sacraments, by oaths and seals ? Is not his word alone the firm, and immutable foundation of every believ- er's trust and hope ? It is true the veracity of God needs no support from outward forms ; and it is not for his sake, but for ours, that he is sometimes pleased to employ them, in order to give the deeper impression to divine truth upon the heart. Frail as we are, and receiving all our impressions through the medium of the senses, ideas, merely intellectual, are neither * Ifwe refer to the whole strain of the kistory, in the 17th chapter of Genesis which records the transactions of God with Abraham, tliis interpretation will be confirmed. It was a covenant entirely of the gratuitous kind, on the part of God, engaging by an expression of the most comprehensive meaning — [I will be a God to you, 4'c] to bestow the most ample spiritual blessings on his chosen servant, and on his posterity. In every covenant of this nature the forms of ratification are used by him only, and are intended to oblige only him who bestows the favour. The beneficiary simply receives the promise, or charter which, when confirmed by the requisite legal forms, and ratified by the seal of the benefactor, becomes his title of inheritance, or possession, on the performance of whatever condition it contains. It was not an unusual thing for Almighty God thus to confirm his promises anil covenants to patriarchs, and holy men, by some external sign, or token. His pro- mise to Noah he confirmed by his bow in the clouds. To Gideon he gave a sign, or seal of his commission to be the deliverer of Israel, by consuming his sacrifice upon the rock. To Abraham he gave the sign of circumcision. And, on another occasion, he caused a burning lamp to pass between the parts of his sacrifice. To Hezekiah the sign of the shadow ratuming back upon the dial was added to the flrcmise of his recovery. And to the house of David, and of Israel, he gave by the prophet Isaiah, this mystc.'-icus sign, a virsiiii shall oncnve ani bear a ?■>?? 5n 430 30 clearly conceived, nor take such firm possession of the soul, as when they are embodied, if I may speak so, and conveyed to U3 under sensible images. It is not, therefore, unworthy of the glory and wisdom of God ; on the other hand, it is a proof of his infinite benignity and condescension, to confirm to us the everlasting truth of his word, by such impressive and external symbols as will unite the influence of sense with, that of intellect and faith, in giving the doctrine of his grace their full effect upon the mind. Hence God has been pleas- ed to exhibit the promises of his mercy to mankind through Jesus Christ, under the gracious title of a covenant ; and, af- ter the manner of such conventions among men ; and in or- der more perfectly to adapt himself to that susceptibility of sensible impressions which belongs to our nature, he has condescended to confirm his truth in that transaction by pub- licly and visibly annexing to it his own seal. Let me illus- trate this idea by an analogy borrowed from civil transactions. As charters conveying special privileges to corporations, or to individuals are sealed, and authenticated by public offi- cers duly appointed and commissioned for that purpose by the sovereign power ; in like manner, is this precious char- ter of our spiritual and immortal privileges, confirmed to us by the seal of the Great Head of the church ajffixed to it, in the name of God, by ministers solemnly set apart for this end according to the order which he has established in his spiritual kingdom ; so that whatever is rightfully performed by them may be justly said to be done by him. Baptism;, 459 iherefore, is the seal of God applied to his ovrn covenant, thereby confirmiDg to those, to whom it is administered, the propositions of his mercy through Jesus Christ, and visibly testifying that they are taken from under the curse of the ori- ginal and broken covenant, which admitted only of perfect obedience, and condemned the transgressor to eternal death, and placed under the new dispensation of grace, which con- fers forgiveness on repentance, and salvation on the obedi- ence of faith. As every public seal contains emblems expressive of the nature, and security of the blessings it confers, we see in like manner, this christian seal distinguished by emblems, the most simple, indeed, but the most impressive and august. We see in it the symbol of that precious blood which was shed for our redemption, and of the Holy Spirit by whose gracious influences the principles of a divine life are infused into the soul, and cherished to perfection ; and, finally, the symbol of that heavenly purity which should adorn and dis« tinguish the disciples of Jesus Christ. Thus have I presented to you this ordinance in its double signification : as the rite by which we are initiated into the school of Christ ; and as the seal by which God continually repeats and confirms the gracious propositions and promises of his covenant to the seed of the church. 46a S. I shall, in tLe next place, proceed lo point out the pro- per subjects of this ordinance. For on the right of our chililrcn to receive the seal of the covenant depends, in my view, its principal benefits. This right, then, is demonstrat- ed from analogy ; from scripture example ; and from the whole stream of the history of the primitive church. 1. From analogy, in the first place. — If the father of the faithful received from God the seal of the righteousness which is by faith ; that is, of the covenant of grace, in which that faith which unites us to Christ, making us partakers of his merits, and acting as the principle of a holy life, is accepted instead of the perfect righteousness of the law ; and if he was permitted, as a precious privilege, to impress it on all his offspring ; does not this right belong, with still stronger rea- son to. believing parents, under the dispensation of the gos- pel ? For the coming of the Messiah, far from having abridg- ed, has greatly extended the privileges of the faithful. 2. Let us hear in the next place, the clear and strong lan- guage of the apostle Paul. " The promise," saith he, *' was not to Abraham or his seed through the law, but through the righteousness of faith. And it is of faith that it might be by grace ;" that is, of free favour, and not purchased by any meritorious works of man, "to the end, that the promise might be sure to all the seed, not to that only which is of the 7aw," or his natural posterity, composing the Jewish church, 461 but to that also which is of the faith of Abraham,— l?o?)i. iv. 13 — 16 : meaning the believing Gentiles who should be called to a participation of his privileges. What, then, is that |)ro- mise made sure, by the seal of the covenant, to all the seed, both under the law, and under the gospel ? If we look back to the institution of this covenant with Abraham, and of the faolj seal by which it was confirmed, we there find the pro- mise ; / will be a God to thee and to thy seed after thee. This is what was emphatically called the promise by the ancient Jewish writers ; and was, as I have formerly shewn, another denomination for the covenant of grace. Under the same denomination it is frequently referred to in the writings of the apostles. And whenever this holy transaction is mentioned by the sacred writers, under this form, it is manifest that they intend the peculiar promise of the gospel, which is salvation by Christ through the righteousness of faith, comprehending all that is implied in the covenant of grace. Of this no other proof need be adduced than its being so often put by them in contrast with the law.^ To receive the seal of this promise * See particularly tlie Ep. to Gal. ch. iii. v. 16, 17, 18,— 21— 29.— IS, If i\yt inheritance be by works of the law, it is no more of promise, 21, Is the law, then against the promise of God. 24 — 29, The larv is our schoolmaster to bring us to Christ, If we be ChrisVs, then are we Ahrahnrri's seed, and heirs according to the promise. 16, 17, Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises ruade. And this I gay that the covenant, plainly implying the covenant contained in the promises, which was confirmed before of God in Christ, the law which was four fa,undred and thirty years after, cannot disannul, that it should make the promise of none effect. The promise here is evidently equivalent to the covenant made with Abraham : and what could that covenant be which nas confirmed o/Godin Chrid, but the covenant of grace ? 4&i^ was the precious privilege of the seed of Abraham ; it was the privilege of his children's children to the remotest genera- tions. And on the same ground, pursuing the apostle's rea- spning, it is the privilege of the children of his faith, /or they who are of faith are the children of Abraham, if ye be Christ's, then are yc Abraham's seed,aitd heirs according to the promise; the promise given to Abraham at the institu- tion of the covenant — / ivill be a God to thee, and to thy seed after thee. To confirm this conclusion, no language can be stronger or more unequivocal than that of the apostle Peter addressed to the vast assembly at Jerusalem touched by his powerful discourse. " Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ, for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all who are afar oS", even as many as the Lord our God shall call." As soon as he enjoins it upon them to be baptized, he reminds them of an ulterior duty, to have this holy rite administered to their children, and their household after the example of Abraham : quoting to them that covenanted promise with which every Israelite was so well acquainted, and to which every believer, as well as the patriarch Abraham, is entitled ; -—the promise of forgiveness, and acceptance with God It deserves here to be remarked, that the very language which is used, the covt- nant confirmed ol God, corroborates, and places almost beyond doubt, the princi- ple, that circumcision, under the ancient dispensation, and baptism under the new, is the seal of God by which it was confirmed, and was added to strengthen our faith, and to ^ve it deeper imprs^sipa oa ttie heart 9f the belifver. ■ 463 throii2;h the righteousness of faith. He adds, and not io you only and to your children, who are naturally descendants of Abraham, but to the Gentiles also, who are frequently desig- nated in holy scripture by those who are afar off. Called by Christ into the church, which was so long confined to the posterity of Israel, they are bow equally with Jews, entitled to all its blessings, and its privileges, and among others, to this precious seal of the covenant for themselves, and Iheii* offspring. It is in vain to allege, as has been done by certain writers^ that the promise here refers to the prediction of the prophet Joel, who foretold that in the last days God woidd pour oiii his Spirit upon all flesh. For what connexion has this proph- ecy with the command to he baptised ? The apostle is answer- ing the anxious inquiry of his hearers, who were pricked in their heart ; men and brethren, what shall we do J* And in his answer, directs them to the proper source of peace, and consolation ; repent and be baptised, and you shall receive the Holy Ghost in his sanctifying power, and his comforting influence : for the promise, through Christ whom I preach, is, according to the tenor of the covenant with your father Abra- ham, io you and to your children ; and not to yon only, but to the Gentiles, also, to those who are afar off, who, by faith shall become children of Abraham, and heirs of his blessings. Such is the clear and obvious conclusion resulting from the apostle's words, The same consequence arises, with no 464 less certainty, from the advice addressed by St. Paul to a believing husband or»wife, not to separate from the unbe- lieving wife or husband with whom they may be respective- ly connected. For, saith he, the unbeliever is sanctified by the believer, else were your children unclecm, but now are they holy. What is the proper import of this term? Throughout the sacred scriptures, it is applied only to such persons or things as are peculiarly set apart, and consecrat- ed to God. In the connexion in which it stands in this pas- sage, it can imply nothing less than that children are qualifi- ed, hy the profession of faith, or the church membership of one of their parents, to be solemnly set apart from the world, and devoted to God — a rite which can visibly take place only in the ordinance of baptism.* If the right of infants to the ordinance of baptism evident- ly results, as, by the preceding illustrations, it appears to do, from the analogy of the christian with the Abrahamic seal of the covenant, it is still farther confirmed by the prac- tice of the apostles. The passage to which reference has * It is a prostitution of language, in this place to confound, as has been done by one sect of christians, holiness witli legitimacy of birth. The whole train of the apostle's observations, and reasoning, translated according to this meaning of the- term, would be absurd or ridiculous — Fot the unbelieving wi/e is sanctified, that is, made a legitimate subject of marriage, by the believing husband, and the un- believing husband is sanctified, that is, made a legitimate subject of marriage, by the believing n^e, therefore, their marriage was lawful; else were your children illegitimaie, but now are they lawfully begotten. Besides other absurdities, this would be proving the lawfulness of the marriage by i he legitimacy of the children, and again the legitimacy of the children by the lawfulness of the marriage. 463 just been made, affords no slight attestation to the practice of St. Paul. In addition to this, when Lydia declared her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, the same apostle, along with her, haplized her household. With Jarius also, he baptized all who were in his house. It has been objected to the evi? dence which he would derive from these facts, that those who ate referred to, by the sacred historian, in the house of JariuSf and the household of Lydia, were only the adults of the respective families, who were themselves believers. What will not the prepossessions of party, or the pilde of theory maintain and defend ? For this pretence certainly, the history affords no ground. It assigns no other reason for baptizing these families than simply the faith of Lydia and of Jarius.* 3. I add that, if any apostolic usage can derive confirms- tlon from the uniform practice, and tradition of the church, to modern, and very rocent times, It is that of infant baptism. It is attested by Justin Martyr, who lived only forty years * This was perfectly conformable to the example of the Jewish church in receiv- ing proselytes eitJier by circumcision, or by baptism, from the Gentile nations. The pagan convert who professed his faith in the great legislator of Israel, and the promises madetotlie fathers, at once incorporated his wlple family along with liimself, into the body of that chosen people. It is said, indeed, by the writers who differ from us upon this subject, that, in the history of the New Testament, baptism is never administered except to a per- sonal profession of faith. But, let it be remembered that this history records on- ly examples of prciselytcs from unbelieving nations. In a similar case, a personal profession of faith would be required by the warmest friends of infant baptism. In the few instances in which families ha'/e bef^n n'mtionpi'. ire nrf that they n'1 wajs follow the faith of the liead, 59 4C6 after the age of the apostles. And the evidences of th« fact ,are conveyed down in a continued, and unsuspected stream of history, to the time of St. Augustine, and Pela- gius, who, though antagonists in the controversies which were raised in that age, on some of the most important doc- trines of religion, and both of them among the greatest scho- lars, and most eloquent writers of the period in which they lived, declare, " that they had never heard, that they had never read of any, even the most heretical churches, who denied the baptism of infants."* * But few of the writers of the earliest age of the cbarch have escaped Mie rava- ges of time, and come down to us entire. And no controversy existing at that pe- riod, on the subject of baptism, few occasions Occur of directly introducing any precise opinions concerning it, or of explicitly stating the practice of the apostlei, and their immediate successors. But wherever this ordinance is mentioned, ei- ther more or less directly, the testimony of the primitive writers is uniformly in favour of the baptism of infants. In the second, and especially in the third and following centuries, circumstances having more frequently called for explicit opin- ions on questions relative to this subject, the practice of the primitive church be- comes, from this time more and more evident. Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus, who -lived from forty to sixty seven years after the apostles, both speak of those " who ■were made disciples, and regenerated to God in infancy," a figurative mode of ex- pression familiar in that age, to signify baptism the symbol of discipleship and regeneration. Just. Mar. apol. II. Iren. adv. haeres. lib. 3 chap. 30. In the second century some doubts having arisen in the church concerning ori= ginal sin, and the nature and degree of guilt which adheres to infants, we find in the discussions which arose on these subjects, more frequent mention made of the baptism of infants tlian in the former period. The illustrious Origen, who flour- ished in the very beginning of the second century after the apostles, maintaining the original corruption of human nature, derives one of his principal arguments from the universal practice of the churcli, of administering baptism to the young- est children ;— " If infants, says he, are not liable to original sin, why are they then baptised P" Homil. 3 in lev. chap. 12. St. Cyprian bishop of Carthage, who wrote about one hundred and fifty years after the apostolic age, establishes the general usage of infant baptism by a most convincing fact. Fie informs us that a council of sixty six bishops being assembled at Carthage, a doubt was proposed by one of t'aem, whose name was Fidus, whe« AGt Having established the right of christian parents to have their offspring placed under the guardianship and care of the church, in the ordinance of baptism, let us examine, in the next place, what privileges and blessings are conferred by this act. Whether we consider baptism as the rite by which our children are initiated into the church as the school of Christ, or as the seal which God has been pleased to annex to his covenaut, in order to ratify, and more effectually, to con- firm to our faith the promises of his grace, its privileges and blessings, rightly understood, are manifold and great. For to Abraham and his seed, to the church, and the seed of the church, are committed the oracles of God, with all their lights, their comforts, their precious promises, their immor- tal hopes. In order to give, at once, force and illustration to ther baptism ought to be administered to infants before the eighth day after their birth ; doubting whether or not the custom of the Jews in this respect ought to be followed. The council unanimously decreed that baptism ought not to be post- poned till the eighth day. After stating the grounds of their decree, they con- clude in these words ; — " AVherefore dearly beloved, it is our opinion, that from baptism and the grace of God who is benignant to all, none ought to he prO' hibited by us ; and, as this is to be observed with regard to all, so especially is it to be observed with respect to infants who are just born, and deserve our help, and the divine mercj»." — Cyp ep. ad. Fidura, chap. (33. Let me subjoin the very pertinent remark of a judicious writer ; " Origen was born about eighty five years after the apostolic age. His father and grandfather were both christians, and as there can be no doubt of his being baptized in infan- cy, from the manner in which he speaks of infant baptism, this fact verifies the practice of the apostles ; and so carries up the universal usage of the clmrch t<) within a very few years of those blessed companions of our Lord." 468 Ibis reflection, let us imagine our children born where the dis- pensation of grace is not known, and to have been left under the darkness of paganism, to the feeble glimmerings of na- ture, to lead them to a knowledge of their Creator, their Redeemer, and their duty ; imagine them, under all the ca« lamities of life, to have been forsaken of the comforts of re- ligious hope ; and, after their most anxious endeavours to look into futurity, and to appease the forebodings of con- science, unable to penetrate beyond this dark sphere, or to discern any certain means of access to the holy and right- eous Judge of the universe, and, at length, abandoned to the cruel despair which, without the light of revelation, rests upon the shadows of the grave ; imagine all this, and then judge of the inestimable value of that blessed sacrament which, agreeably to the command of Christ, places us, from the beginning of life, in the bosom of the church, where a divine illumination continually shines ; where life and immor- tality arc brought to light ; where the veil which covers the eternal world is drawn aside ; where the way of peace is clearly revealed to sinful and perishing men ; ivhere the care of parents, and the fidelity of the ministers of religion are engaged under the most solemn obligations, for the discipline, and instruction of the infant mind ; where the influences of the Holy Spirit arc promised to assist the effect of these in- structions ; and where all the means and aids are enjoyed which it has seemed good to infinite wisdom to afTord to man- kind, for the attainment of their everlasting salvation. 469 Such are the blessings connected with baptism, consider ed merely as an initiating symbol introducing us into the church of Christ. We are placed by it under the happiest, and most effectual cultivation for Heaven. Let us now contemplate this symbol in another light, as the seal which God has annexed to his covenant for the so- lemn confirmation of his promises, and we shall discover in this view of it, a new treasure of spiritual blessings. Every child of Adam, by his error, and fall, and by the rigorous tenor of the violated covenant, has become an heir of death. But God, in his infinite mercy, at the moment of transgression, placed the frailty of man under a dispensation of grace in Jesus Christ. Of this most benignant and mer- ciful dispensation, which obviates, or remedies, the evils of the broken law, circumcision anciently, and now baptism, is the gracious assurance and seal. In the symbol of baptism, therefore, you behold the visible pledge, and annunciation, on the part of God, that the baptized infant is taken from un- der the impracticable conditions, and the curse of the first covenant, and placed under the grace of the second.* You behold that precious infant, on its first entrance into exist- * It is not intended by this to say, that the act of baptism transfers us from the one covenant to the other. That was done by the promise of the Saviour imme- diately after the Fall. But it is the solemn authentication of this truth on the part of God, and the declaratory seal of this grace. 470 ence, met with the covenant of peace, and (he promises of eternal life sealed in the blood of the Redeemer. Is baptism, then, a certain tille to eternal life ? I say not that ; but it is a solemn and authentic proposition of the covenant of grace, with all its privileges, blessings, and con- ditions under the seal of God. It is, therefore, a visible and sacramental confirmation of the provisional title of the bap- tized to life and immortality on the terms of the gospel ; that is, on sincere repentance, and a true faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. Let me illustrate this principle by a familiar example. By charter from the government of your country, or bequest from a dying parent, you may become entitled to ample privileges, or rich possessions, on the performance of certain conditions. The seal annexed to that charter, or that testament, by the proper authority, is the declaration of the will of your parent, or your country, .and consequently, the formal authentication, and security of your title the mo- ment the condition shall be fulfilled. This condition is, to all who have grown to such mature age as to be capable of actual sin, not perfect obedience, according to the tenor of the first, and broken co^^nant, but according to the constitu- tion of the covenant of grace, repentance towards God, and faith towards our Lord Jesus Christ, which, however, leads to perfection, and plants in the heart the seeds of holiness, and of eternal life. But to every infant dying in infancy, it is an unconditional assurance, of a glorious inheritance in the 471 kingdom of heaven. The infant being placed under the grace of the second covenant, h delivered from the curse of the first, so far, that, being united by a new and blessed rela- tion to the Second Adam, its original taint and impurity, de- rived from its relation to the first, is covered by the blood of the atonement. It is, therefore, through the mercy of God in Christ, made an -heir of eternal life. Of these precious truths baptism is the sacramental pledge, and seal of assurance given by God. What a consolation does this view present to the christian parent, who weeps over the dear remains of the infant snatched untimely from his embrace ! What a comfortable and extended prospect does it exhibit of the grace of the gospel. *= Having offered to your consideration, in a few plain and obvious principles, the right of infants born within the church, to the seal of the covenant, and pointed out the blessings of which they become partakers by it ; I will next endeavour to designate, more particularly, the limits of the visible church, and exhibit the nature and extent of that profession of the name of Christ which entitles a parent to offer, and the * Very far would I be from insinuating that those who die witiiout bap- tism do, therefore, fail of salvation . But between the baptized and unbaptized infant dying in infancy, there is this difference — that, to the one the inherit- ance of eternal life is conveyed by covenant from God, under his appointed seal ; the other is left to the free, indeed, bnt onanthentica^ed pledge of his msr. rv in this ordinance. 47.2 church to receive his infant offspring to a participation of •his holy ordinance. The principal question which has been raised upon this subject, turns on this single point, whether the church on earth, consists onlj of those who are truly regenerated, and have added sincere and new obedience to their open profes- sion of the name of their Redeemer ; or, on the other hand, embraces all those who have been baptized, and continuing to profess the doctrines of the Saviour, submit themselves to the counsels, admonitions, reproofs, and to the whole disci- pline of that spiritual body whose head is Christ. The constitution of the Jewish church, the type and coun- terpart of the Christian, will assist us to determine this ques- tion. All who believed in Moses, the great prophet of God, and submitted to his law, were embraced in the external bonds, and received the distinguishing seal of the covenant. But, they were not all Israeli who were of Israel. A dis- tinction existed among them, which must always exist upoa earth, among the professing disciples of Christ, between the visible, and the invisible church. The latter is composed of those only, who, by sincere piety, and an entire renovation of heart, bear the inward image of their Lord and Master. The former embraces all who are united together under the profession of the same system of doctrines, who enjoy the same ordinances, and who submit to the same discipline for 473 regulating the exterior order aud manners of its members* To the church of Israel, comprehending the entire nation, were the oracles of God committed. And the seal of that graqious covenant, which was contained, and explained in these oracles, and exhibited to the ancient church under a thousand typical rites, was impressed on all their offspring, and on all who were born in their bouses, and trained up in the knowledge of divine truth under their care. Analogy, then, will lead us to extend the application of the christian seal to the households, and especially, to the children of all who are members of the visible church ; that is, who have been baptised themselves, who acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour, who profess to embrace the holy scriptures as containing the only certain rule of du- ty, and the only foundation of their immortal hopes, who submit themselves and their households to the discipline and instruction of the church, and who promise to concur with her in the pious education and government of all thuse whom nature hath given to their affection, or providence subjected to their authority. ♦ To the invisible church baptism cannot be confined, be- cause men have no certain rule by which to discriminate it from the mass of visible professors. Let me ask those who suppose that somewhat more is necessary in the recipient to the validity of this ordinance than regular morals, an open profession of the faith, and submission to the discipline of th^ CO 4/4 church, Is it because they esteem the actual sanctificatioa of the parent essential to the rightful administration of bap- tism to the child ? Who, then, can know, with certainty, that he is baptized ? Do they say that it is, at least, neces- sary, that in the judgment of charity, a parent should be a sincere believer ? Where is the scripture rule which rests the benefit of baptism on our judgment of the internal state of a man's heart? or makes it the standard by which we are to admit his infant to the external privileges of the covenant of grace ? Will not those judgments of charity vary in different churches ? Will they not vary, perhaps, in different pastors in the same Church? Too earnestly he. cannot be admon- ished, indeed, that vital and universal holiness of heart and life is essential to salvation, and essential, likewise, to the faithful and acceptable discharge of this, and of every duty in the sight of God ; yet it cannot be essential to the validi- ty of this ordinance, and its spiritual benefit to his infant offspring. Let us recur again to the proper meaning and design of this ordinance, and this conclusion will not fail to strike us with additional force. It is, in the first place, the rite of our initiation into the school of Christ, in which we receive those lessons of divine wisdom, which cannot b^ taught to man by the wisdom of the world ; and in which we enjoy the happi- est means of promoting our virtue and holiness, and the o^ost effectual aids for the attainment of our salvation. 4f5 It is, in the next place, the seal which God hath annexed to the external dispensation of his covenant, in order thai he might, by a rite, so solemn, though so simple, confirm the propositions of his mercy to fallen man, through the atone- ment and mediation of the ever blessed Redeemer. The church openly annexes this seal to the covenant, iu the name and by the authority of God himself. The church takes the infant under her protection and instruction. Most desirable it is to have the co-operation and assistance of the parents in this sacred and iuiportant duty : and they they are bound, by every obligation, of nature and religion to aflford it. But it is stiH more the duty of the church to enlighten and direct the infant's opening reason, to imbue it with holy and heav- enly principles, to illustrate, to inculcate, to press upon it the precious privileges, the gracious promises, the glorious hopes of which she has given it the seal. The church when ahe is faithful to her trust, adopts every infant, whom she re- ceives by baptism, within the pale of her privileges. It is her faith, her fidelity which is to be regarded in this. ordi- nance even more than that of the parent. • It 13 with the view cliiefly to the pious education of the seed of the church that this ordinance is administered to in- fants. / knojv him, saith God of the father of the faithful, at the institution of this rite, that he will train up his chiU * drenf and his household after him, to keep the way of the Lord, Ifl the primitive ages, when many parents wereiD' 476 capable themselves of fulfilling these holy duties, benevolent and pious sponsors offered theuiselves to discharge thena in their room. But the church was considered as sponsor for all her children, and she is, certainly, the best, and most faithful sponsor, when she considers her duty aright, for eve- ry infant whom she receives to her protection and care by this ordinance. On this ground it was that she required ex- posed children, and children of whatever parents, with the care of whose pious education she charged herself, to rC' ceivcj under her direction, the holy rite of baptism. ON THE FORM OF BAPTISM. if the mode of administering this ordinance had been es- sential to its validity we should justly have expected to sec it prescribed with as much particularlly as any of the Leviti" cal ceremonies. On the other hand, there is no definite prescription on this subject, farther than that water is to be applied as a symbol of that regeneration and purification of our nature which all men need, and which a sincere faith in the gospel is intended, and fitted to produce. Any applica- tion, therefore, of this cleansing element, which is a natural emblem of spiritual purliy, especially, if it be justified by the usage of the church, and the import of the terms employed by the sacred writers, is its proper and legitimate form. In warm climates where daily bathing is the customary mode of cleansing the person, immersion may be used with the high- 4rr est propriety ; in other regions, n-here it is seldom necessarj for (his purpose, to wash dailj more than a part of the body, a partial application of water may be made with equal rea- son. An action of our Saviour recorded in the thirteenth chapter of the gospel of John, is full of instruction on this subject. It was usual with the Jews, before eating, to wash their feet, a practice which had become necessary, both from the fashion of their dress, and their manner of reclin- ing upon couches at their meals. Christ, in order to give his disciples a lesson, at once, of humility, and puriJy, con- descended himself to wash their feet. When Peter under- stood the meaning of this action, and that it was intended as a symbol of his purification, and acceptance with his Lord, he exclaimed in the fervour of his zeal, Lord ! not my feet only, but also my handSj and my head. But, as the action of the Saviour was merely symbolical, cleansing that part of the body which it was customary to wash at that tim^i was sufficient to answer the design ; therefore, he re- plies to Peter, he that is washed, needeth not save to wash his feet, but it is every whit clean. Having made these preliminary remarks, I observe that the term baptism, in the sacred writings, is applied indiffer- ently, to signify either partial, or entire washing — either sprinkling, or immersion, according to the situation of the agent, or the object of the action. Il is unnecessary to cite all the passages in which this is demonstrated. To one or 4f8 twro only 1 shall refer. When Jesus went to cat with a c6if' tain pharisee, the pharisee wondered that he had not Jirsi washed ; referring to the Jewish custom of washing their hands before meat. In the original it is, he wondered that he had not first baptised. Many other things there be, saith the evangelist Mark, which they have received to hold, as the washing (in the original, the beiptism) of cups, of pots, of brazen vessels, and of tables. As the sacred wri- ter is probably referring to the instruments of the temple ser- vice, or to those domestic utensils which were religiously purified, according to the same forms, the whole Levitical ritual proves that these purifications were effected by va- rious sprinklings, or aspersions. As the term baptism, and all those derived from the same root are employed to signify sprinkling, and partial washing, no less than immersion, so it is well known that the primitive church used indifferently, and according to present convenience, the one, or the other of these forms, in administering the baptismal rite ; pariicu- larly in the case of clinici, or the sick, and those of great delicacy of constitution, or of health. And in forming our judgment of the validity of the mode by aspersion, it de- serves to be particularly remarked, that sprinkling is, through- out the sacred writings, used as one of the most common and significant emblems of purity, of cleansing, of repent- ance, of every thing that is implied in the waters of baptism. Not to speak of (he innumerable aspersions used, for this 479 purpose, under the Levifical law, the blood of the atonement is expressly called the blood of sprinkling. Isaiah, in an- nouncing the office, and grace of Messiah, declares he shall sprinkle many nations. The prophel Ezekiel, in proclaim- ing the sanctifying influence of the gospel, does it by this figure ; Then will I sprinkle clean water upon «/om, atid you shall be clean. And when the apostle would express, in the strongest terms^ that purity of mind which, in our ap- proaches to God, we ought to bring with us to the throne of grace, he says ; Let us come to him, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience. — But J forbear to multi- ply proofs. These are sufficient to demonstrate that either mode, by immersion, or by sprinkling, will answer the whole intention of the ordinance, as an emblem of that purity of life which becomes a disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. The principal evidence on which the ^vocates for immer- sion, as essential to the rightful administration of this ordi- nance, rest their opinion, is an expression used by the apos- tle in his epistle to the Romans, and in that to the CoIIos- sians ; buried 7vith him by baptism. Whether this allu- sion be made to the practice of immersion, borrowed from the custom of bathing in warm climates, or not, it establish- es no exclusive form for this ordinance. It is an expression highly figurative ; and no argument can be safely rested on a figure tf speech. It affords, at the utmost, only a collat- 480 eral, and indirect support to other arguments, by its suppos- ed reference to an existing custom. But, admitting that re- ference to be real, in the present case ; and the inference es- tablishing the existence of the custom to be ever so justly drawn, still it could' not impose immersion on the church as the indispensable, and exclusive form of baptism. For, if the custom were (o create a rule which could not be depart- ed from, that custom should be entirely and completely ad- hered to. But I presume baptism with the persbn naked, which was the practice, where plunging was used in those warm climates, in imitation of bathing, would not now be de- sired, or tolerated by any christian sect. The habits, modes, and customary ideas of that age, took away that sense of impropriety which would justly shock the delicacy of our modern sentiments. Even on the ground, then, of this figure containing a reference to an existing custom, that custom would not infallibly#bind men in every age, and in every climate or state of socief3^ But, let us carry on this argument from figure into the following verses, and see how it will operate ; For^ saith the apostle, " if we have been planted in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection ; knowing this that our old man is crucified with him." Here then are three figurative expressions, all referring to the same object, the ordinance of baptism, and its symbolic signification of a death unto sin ; viz. " buried with him by baptism unto death : 481 planted in the likeness of bis death ; and crucifying with hiaa our old man." According to this reasoning, therefore, bap- tism should contain something in the mode of its administra- tion corresponding to all these figures : so that, if the first figure necessarily implies the justification of the mode of baptizing exclusively by immersion : the last will, on the same ground, justify, and require the form of the church of Rome in baptizing with the sign of the cross. But as the friends of immersion do not admit of the latter consequence, those who conform to the practice of baptizing by sprink- ling, with equal reason, do not think themselves bound by the former. Upon the whole view of this subject, I conclude, and, I think, from the fairest reasoning, that the mode of adminis- tering baptism, whether by sprinkling, or immersion, is not essential to the validity of the ordinance, which requires only that the emblem of its cleansing and purifying virtue be sig- nificantly preserved. 6t OP THE EXTERNAL SEALS OF THE COVENANT OF GRACE. OP THE LORD S SUPPER. The second seal attached to the covenant of grace, or the gecond sacrament of the New Testament, is the Lord's sup- per. This ordinance was instituted by our Lord Jesus Christ, immediately before his 6na! sufferings, in which he appoint- ed bread and wine to be used as memorials of his death for the sins of the world, and symbols of the union of his people to him, and to one another. The apostle Paul, in his first epistle to the Corinthians, ch. ii. v. 23 — 26 : has stated the origin of this festival, and the manner in which it was celebrated by our Lord himself, with his disciples, as an ex- ample for the imitation of his church in all ages. Corres^ ponding with this exhibition, is the account recorded by the evangelists Matthew and Luke. And, from the whole, it is evident, that the broken bread was employed as an emblem of the body of the Saviour broken in the room of sinners, ^d the wine in like manner, was used as an emblem of his 484 blood shed for the remission of sins. These simple, but lively images were ordained to call up to the memory of the believer, the death and sufferings of his Redeemer, with greater vivacity and force than can be done by the preach- ing of the gospel in our ordinary assembliesc — Do this, said our Lord, while he broke the bread, and distributed the cup, in rememb};ance of me. But the ordinance, as I have said, has another and secondary object, which is to represent the union of believers with their great Head by faith and love, and among themselves, by the spirit of charity. " The cup of blessing which we bless," saith the apostle, " is it not the communion of the blood of Christ? and the bread which we break, is it not the communion of the body of Christ? For, we, being many, are one bread, and one bo- dy ; for we are all partakers of that one bread." The different ends which a christian may have in view in this ordinance, have been marked in the various denomina- tions which it has received in the primitive church, the chief of which are continued down to the present age. The Lord^s supper, and the table of the Lord, are denomina- tions nearly equivalent ; the one taken from the time in which it was celebrated ; the other taken from the manner in which it was eaten, wherein it resembled an ordinary meal. It has been a practice in all countries to commemorate great, and interesting events, and to testify mutual joy, and affection on such occasions, by feasting together. These denomina- 48d iions, therefore, imply, that this ordinance ia to be viewed as a festival of commemoration, in which the faithful meet at the same table, to testify their common interest in the great sacrifice of the cross, and their common faith, and hope, in the redemption which is in Christ Jesus their Lord. In reference to these objects, chiefly, it is, that these de- votional acts have been styled the communion^ the mcha- ristf or the cup of blessing, not only from the act of thanks- giving by which it is consecrated, or blessed for the use of the communicant, but from the praise and gratitude which should fill the heart of the humble believer in this holy ser- vice, and which is usually expressed with ardour by the voice, while occupied in celebrating this memorial of the in* finite goodness and mercy of Almighty God, through our Lord Jesus Christ. It is denominated, likewise, by the apostle, the breaking of bread ; and, to mention no more, out of the many titles which it afterwards received in the church, it is, in the holy scriptures, called our passover ; be- cause it was, under the new economy, evidently instituted in the room of that ancient sacrament under the antecedent dis- pensation. There existed indeed, an obvious analogy between the two ordinances. The paschal lamb was a type of Christ. That victim was offered in commemoration of the great deliv- erance of Israel from the bondage of Egypt, which had a typi- cal allusion to the infinitely greater salvation of the cross, in which were consuranaatcd all the types of the altar. The 4^6 jJriDcipa] diflference between these ordinances, wbich scrveSj however, to illustrate their analogy, is, that the one was the memorial of a temporal, the other of an eternal salvation— the one consisted of a bloody victim which prefigured the great sacrifice of the gospel ; the other is the bloodless me- morial of the last of victims, which hath finished our salva- tion and accomplished an everlasting righteousness. — The ceremonies of the one, were also borrowed from those of the other. For, the victim apart, which can no longer be offer- ed under the gospel, the bread was used in imitation of the unleavened bread of the passover, which the Jews ate, af- ter being blessed or consecrated by prayer and thankt=giving. The cup, likewise, formed a considerable part of the paschal festival, which they always blessed, before receiving it, by a form of prayer, and action of thanks ; and the last cup, which concluded the whole service, was succeeded by an hymn ; which hymn, Iheii learned men inform us, consisted of the following psalms, 113 — 118; and is supposed, by many writers, to have been the same which Christ, with his disciples, sung at the conclusion of his last supper» OF THE CEREMONIES WITH WHICH THE ADMINISTRATION OF THIS ORDINANCE OUGHT TO BE ACCOMPANIED. As the dispensation of the gospel entirely rejects the cum- brous ritual of the law, and rejoices only in the simplicity and purity of its spirit, the administration of this ordinance, a!« 487 though the most solemn which is known, under the new co- Tenant, ought to be accompanied only with those simple cer- emonies recorded by the evangelists in its original institution, and recited by St. Paul in its repetition. They consist merely in prayer and thanksgiving, by an administrator pro- perly authorized to consecrate the elements, and separate them from an ordinary to a sacred use — in the breaking of the bread, and distribution of the cup, in the presence of the communicants — in a declaration of the nature and design of the ordinance, by the officiating priest, and of the proper qualifications of those who may be admitted to partake of its grace — in receiving it in both kinds in the usual posture of feasting which obtains in each country — and, finally, conclud- ing the whole with some proper form of thanksgiving, and some devout hymn of praise. Our Saviour employed un- leavened bread in this holy office, because no other was eat- en at Jerusalem in the season of the passover ; — his posture was, reclining on a couch, which, in that age, was the only one in use at public feasts, and generally, also at private meals. But, as there is no precept enjoining the use of un- leavened bread, as in the Jewish festival, christians may use their liberty as to the kind ; though the church of Rome, which is negligent of other parts of the divine example, is scrunulous in using bread, or wafers without leaven. The same church, as well as some of the protestant communion, receive this sacrament in the posture of adoration, instead of the ordinary attitude of feasting, which was used by our 488 Ijord, and his disciples. But in determining what ceremo- nies ought to be employed in conformity with the great ex- ample which is to direct our conduct, and what punctilios may be varied or dispensed with, it is necessary to bear in mind the end of the institution, and the circumstances attend- ing the time of its original celebration. Its double end, as we have seen, was to be a memorial of the death of our Lord, and a symbol of the union of his people ; both which were attained by the institution of a solemn festival. It is conformable to reason, therefore, that the posture of feasting, as it prevails in each country, ought to be preserved in this religious act. But the species of bread, used in this ordi- nance, or the time of the day devoted to it, at its original administration, being intimately connected with the customs of the Jewish passover, do not impose upon the christian church any obligation of conformity in these respects. The posture of adoration, and the denial of the cup to the laity, having sprung, in the church of Rome, from supersti- tious views of the ordinance, and false ideas of the miracu- lous conversion of the bread and wine into the real body and blood of Christ, ought to be rejected along with the supersti- tious service. The ceremonies accompanying this christian rite, appear to have been copied, in general, from those which obtained in the Jewish passover. Among that people, the adminis- 4dQ trator always blessed the elements, or pronounced a prsyes? of benediction and thanksgiving over them, and especially over the cup, distributing it afterwards to all who were pre- sent at the table. In reference to this act of devotion the psalmist exclaims, I mill take the cup of salvation, and will call upon the name of ike Lord. And, in the christian church the cup was given to the laity, as well as to the cler- gy, till, a short time after the commencement of the thirteenth century, a diflferent custom began to prevail among the La- tins. And, finally, in the council of Constance, in the year 1414, the laity were entirely prohibited from receiving the cup, as if it actually contained the blood of the Son of God. " It would be impious," said those blind and superstitious priests, " if any of the divine and heavenly drops should, by any accident among the communicants, be spilled upon the ground." For the same reason, those ignorant men or- dered the bread to be formed into a wafer, and put into the mouth of each communicant, least any crumb should be lost, and that each might receive the whole host, as it was called, a superstitious terra derived from the Latin, and signi- fying the sacrifice, or victim. The original custom, howev- er, still prevailed throughout all the East, among the Greeks, the Russians, the Armenians, the Abyssinians, the Copts, and even the Nestorians, and Jacobins ; and has been re^ reived in ail the reformed churches. 62 490 !Piire wine, wherever it can be obtained, ought to be em^ plojed not only because it is the best emblem of that pre- cious blood which gives life and strength to those who use it, but because it is strictly conformable to the example of the Saviour in its original institution. Where wine cannot be obtained, or where it remarkably disagrees with the stomach, reason dictates that it must, or that it ought to be omitted. But they are to be blamed who, like the hydroparastatae, substitute water, or any other liquor in the room of wine. The custom of substituting weaker liquors, void of spirit in the room of wine, which was practised by certain small sects^ was, probably, introduced originally, by some weak, but pi- ous men, as a preventative against intoxication, too many in^- stances of which, as we learn from the apostle, had taken place, to the great reproach of their holy profession, in con- sequence of too liberal a use of that strong liquor. For, in that age, they literally feaated upon bread and wine, a diet lo which they had been accustomed from its plenty, and did not use it in that sparing manner which has since been prac- tised in our christian assemblies--^ 1 Cor. xi. 21, A declaration of the nature, and design of the ordinance^ and of the requisite qualifications of those who may be ad- mitted, by the officers of the church to receive it, along with the faithful, is evidently a custom of great propriety, in or- der to recal to mind, more forcibly, the import and solemni- ty of that sacred transaction, and to assist the ignorant in f.T- 491 amining thonselves ; a serious duty which is incumbent up on all before (hey adventure to eai of that breads and drink of that cup — 1 Cor xi. 28. The only circumstance farther, which it is of importance to remark in the administration of this ordinance, is, that, in all ordinary cases, it ought to be performed onl}^ by a per- son properly qualified, and ordained to the pastoral office by the government of the church. It was, in the first in- stance, dispensed by our Lord himself. Afterwards it fell to be administered by the apostles, and those whom they bad set apart to preach the word, and dispense the sacra- ments. And, generally, it is requisite, for the sake of or- der, and common utility, that this holy office should be con- fined to those, who are the regular successors of the apos- tles, and ordained according to that form which the gospel has prescribed, or the church esteems best calculated for preserving purity of doctrine, and of manners. — Yet, where any society of christians is, from the nature of their circum- stances, deprived of those aids, perhaps they ought to as- semble for the worship of God, and may, without violence to the institutions of Christ, appoint men of prudence and piety, from among themselves, to lead in their devotions, and to preside in these sacred festivals of love. This is a liberty, however, which ought always to be used with the most profound caution, and only after the most serious con- viction of its absolute necessity. 492 OF THE USE OF CEREMONIES, OR EXTERNAL SYMB01,E« Since the gospel is a dispensation, and requires a worship pf the most pure and spiritual kind, it may well be made a question, why any material elements, or symbols like these should be employed in its religious services ? And I would answer, that it appears to arise simply from a gracious con- descension in Almighty God, and accommodation to the im- perfection of our nature. Whilq we remain in the body, we are necessarily and strongly affected by certain striking and sensible signs, on serious and interesting occasions. The bloody robe of Caesar displayed to the populace of Rome was more eloquent than all the harangues of the assertors of hei' liberty. On this principle of our nature, statues, and altars have been erected, and festivals instituted to the me- mory of great men by the gratitude of nations, or employed in the celebration of illustrious events. On the same princi- ple, we love to wear some relic, or to adopt some symbol of mourning, to recal the idea of our departed friends. On the two gi eatest occasions, herefore, in our christian course, our initiation info the church of Christ, and giving our pub- lic and explicit assent to our christian covenant, it appears to be wise .md good to require these solemn and interesting acts to be confirmed by apt, and significant symbols which are calculated deeply to impress the mind by affecting the sen- ses. On the other hand, it is equally good and wise in hiro^ 493 not to have loaded his worship with an unmeaning multitude of ceremonies. For, it is not more certain, that, on all just, and great occasions, sensible emblems properly chosen, have a powerful and useful effect, than that too great a multiplica- tion of ceremonies, strongly inclines the mind to a frivolous superstition, substituting rites, and external forms in the room of true devotion and holiness of life. OF TRANSUBSTANTIATION. In different parts of the church, some errors have been in- troduced into this holy rite, but since the light which has so abundantly been shed upon it by the protestant writers, they are no longer in danger of producing any pernicious effect, and the palpable absurdity of Transubstantiation, in partic- ular, hardly requires a serious refutation. — By this term, which, for a long time, misled, with almost magical effect, the church of Rome, was intended, the transmutation sup- posed to pass on the elements of bread and wine, into the real body and blood of Christ : an opinion, most evidently, contrary to reason, and common sense; and which has no support in the language of scripture, or the usages of the primitive ages. This doctrine contradicts the evidence of all our senses, by which alone we can form an accurate judg- ment on the qualities of material subjects. If our senses could be so far misled that the essences of flesh and blood could be covered under the sensible qualities of bread and 494 wine, we could have no ciUcrion left by which to judge of any miracle; the whole rational evidence of religion would be annihilated by this single position. Besides, it involves (he most palpable contradiction, which it is scarcely worthy your time to point out, that the same body should be entire in heaven, and upon earth ; in ten thousand pieces of bread, or drops of wine ; and in ten thousand different places at the game time. And a man, according to this monstrous absurdi- ty, by living on the sacramental elements, might become transmuted, vile as he is, into the real body of our blessed Saviour. The follies of this doctrine were strongly combal- ted by the protestanl writers of the last age ; for, having re- cently emerged from the bosom of popery, they were every where mingled wilh numerous adherents to that superstition. Bui in our age, and country, little need be said to guard pi- ous men against such an irrational dogma. The disciples of popery allege, in support of this strange opinion, the words of our Lord himself; — This is my body which is broken for you ; making him to be alive, and breaking, and distributing his dead body at the same time. The expression which follows might have cured, or prevented this mistake — do this in re- membrance of me, as a standing memorial of my death. It is a plain, and obvious figure of speech, familiar in the lan- guage of all nations. A sentence of ('icero, which seems as if written wilh a view to this occasion, might have been a sufficient refutation of the absurd interpretation of this lan- guage.—" Duin iVuges Cererem, vintim Jjibcium dicimnaj 4^5 ^asers bob qoiiesz aemotua n^nar Txsif^to^ *ed ecquer. ameateoi esw potas, (pn AmZ, ipo r^sc^tar Dcam creiiat p?- 3e r* Gc- die nal: Dear. a. a cfcip. IS. !. 41. Traaszx&atalafiaB b s JuLtiiae. cf wkk& we ^d sotftnxg m Ae vTTten vko flaoriAnl n dtc fanr, or fire first coito- Ties of the cknrc&. hi die sistb eatanr, ffxe dbintiaB of ftfe iosf, «s il besao tke^ fiearsliv^j- to be caSed, was Srs? iafrodBced ; not. KoweTer, fbr fbe pm^uw! (if Mftii ifiiM, bat t&at aS BBcht Me it. azid ttet it asi^t the better icptejteat tfie eferadoD of Cbriat jp— tte cvhb^ It was aot, ibA the sxtreme kBaraace of tiie tvdRft^ aad ttirteeflE& ceatnne?. ^bai tiuB JihthfiHiiii •poBHaad pKJLfite lie cooaeqiaeaces, and afasMS af seen ni Ifte dbxnai <& tse CBp lia ti ntioa of dkefost — amAig kta t&e dhKat — lAcpw^ Ha ftdr booses, aad afaoit tfcss- puawua»a acfcacm — CMijiig it Arao^ &e streets on occaaoos of great poUk caknikr — pvin§ it to the dbad. br lavnig ^ cb tbor bceasf^ espcLlaffr if the J were priests, and eTen bnry mi it with tbem as a pas^ port to beavea- OF COJsrBSTlTriATTOy- It B so £iSca{t entirelT to (firest the mtnd of its prejadi- cts, and to cast o4f errors vUcb btiTe iso^rpont^d rbe9* 49R our worship, and a proper interest in the diity. While we celebrate the dying love of our Redeemer, it becomes us, with profound humility, and repentance, to recollect the sins for which he endured such suflferings, and with the most lively gratitude and love, to recal him to mind who laid down his life that we might live. I add, farther, that, as this ordinance is a feast of charity and love, it ia most highly requisite, that all who would wor- thily partake of it should be in perfect peace with their breth- ren ; be ever ready to forgive their enemies, and cherish no hatred against any man. Charity among our fellow men is the truest image of God our Heavenly Father. But in the exercise of the discipline of the church, we can only examine into the knowledge of the communicant ; receive the pro- fession of his faith ; and see that his external deportment is consistent with the doctrine and example of his Saviour. OF THE BENEFITS OF A SERIOUS AND PIOUS USE OF THIS HOLY ORDINANCE, AND THE DANGERS OF ITS ABUSE. Before concluding these observations on the Lord's Sup- per, suffer me very shortly to remark the benefits resulting from a devout attendance on this holy ordinance ; and the dangers of its abuse. Its evident tendency is to confirm our resolutions of duty, and to awaken and strengthen all the gra- ces of the christian life. But as every act of religion per- 499 formed in an irreverent manner, contributes to harden the heart, and alienate it more from real and vital holiness, these consequences, in a much higher degree, attend, or follow the abuse of an institution so sacred and solemn. In the first age of the church, many insincere disciples, only partially re- claimed from paganism, misled by the ideas and habits ex- isting in the festivals of the heathen gods, introduced a licen- tiousness in its celebration, highly unbecoming the sanctity, and purity of the christian church. In that miraculous pe- riod, the disorder was consequently, followed by visible and frequently instantaneous judgments from Almighty God. For this cause, saith the apostle, many are weak and sick' ly among you, and many sleep. And, probably, to these effects chiefly, the same apostle had reference when he utters the following denunciation — " He that eateth, and driuketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body." These terrible examples of divine displeasure, thus mira- culously inflicted, seem to have contributed to throw the christians of the following age into the opposite extreme of excessive fear, and superstitious veneration of this holy ordi- nance. Since miracles have ceased, the judgments which follow the abase of the Lord's Supper, appear to be rather of a spiritual, than a temporal nature — lukewarmness in eve- ry pious feehng, and hardness of heart, which gradually leads to the total dereliction of the oflSces of piety. This fearful 498 our worship, and a proper interest in the diity. While we celebrate the dying love of our Redeemer, it becomes us, \Fith profound humility, and repentance, to recollect the sins for which he endured such sufferings, and with the most lively gratitude and love, to recal him to mind who laid down Ills life that we might live. I add, farther, that, as this ordinance is a feast of charity and love, it is most highly requisite, that all who would wor- thily partake of it should be in perfect peace with their breth- ren ; be ever ready to forgive their enemies, and cherish no hatred against any man. Charity among our fellow men is the truest image of God our Heavenly Father. But in the exercise of the discipline of the church, we can only examine into the knowledge of the communicant ; receive the pro- fession of his faith ; and see that his external deportment i? consistent with the doctrine and example of his Saviour. OF THE BENEFITS OF A SERIOUS AND PIOUS USE OF THIS HOLY ORDINANCE, AND THE DANGERS OF ITS ABUSE. Before concluding these observations on the Lord's Sup- per, suffer me very shortly to remark the benefits resulting from a devout attendance on this holy ordinance ; and the dangers of its abuse. Its evident tendency is to confirm our resolutions of duty, and to awaken and strengthen all the gra- ces of the christian life. But as every act of religion per- 499 formed in an irreverent manner, contributes to harden the heart, and alienate it more from real and vital holiness, these consequences, in a much higher degree, attend, or follow the abuse of an institution so sacred and solemn. In the first age of the church, many insincere disciples, only partially re- claimed from paganism, misled by the ideas and habits ex- isting in the festivals of the heathen gods, introduced a licen- tiousness in its celebration, highly unbecoming the sanctity, and purity of the christian church. In that miraculous pe- riod, the disorder was consequently, followed by visible and frequently instantaneous judgments from Almighty God. For this cause, saith the apostle, many are iveak and sick- ly among you, and many sleep. And, probably, to these effects chiefly, the same apostle had reference when he utters the following denunciation — " He that eateth, and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the Lord's body." These terrible examples of divine displeasure, thus mira- culously inflicted, seem to have contributed to throw the christians of the following age into the opposite extreme of excessive fear, and superstitious veneration of this holy ordi- nance. Since miracles have ceased, the judgments which follow the abuse of the Lord's Supper, appear to be rather of a spiritual, than a temporal nature — lukewarmness in eve- ry pious feeling, and hardness of heart, which gradually leads io the total dereliction of the oflSces of piety. This fearful 500 state of abandonment by God, is, perhaps, more bastened by an improper use of this holy rite, than by all other deficien- cies in religious duty, and, almost, by all other vices. Other pretended sacraments, added to the ritual of the holy scriptures by the church of Rome,* it is unnecessary to take up your time either to explain or refute. I proceed, therefore, to a brief consideration of our future state of exis- tence. * Confirmation, Penance, Ordination, Marriage, Extreme Unction. ON A FUTURE STATE The last doctrine of revelation which remains to be con° aidered, is that of our future state of being. The hope of ex- isting after the present life was not utterly lost from among mankind, even amidst the darkness and corruptions of pagan- ism. But, to the vulgar mass, the prospect was so obscure, and the hope so uncertain, that it could afford but small ex- citement to duty in life, and to the timid, and miserable, but little consolation in their last moments. It was so blended with the melancholy phantoms of a superstitious imagination, it served rather to oppress than shed any comfort on the hour of death. We have seen in our disquisitions on natural reli- gion, and its ultimate motives to virtue, that many of their sages were able to create to themselves more reasonable, but still dubious expectations of existing hereafter. But it is on- ly in the word of God, and, especially, in the gospel of our blessed Saviour, that the trembling hopes of nature are ren- dered fixed and certain, and the obscurities of reason, are enlightened. And to the doctrine of the immortality of the soul it has added a principle which the human mind had nev- er before dared to conceive ; I mean the resurrection of the 502 body, and its future and eternal union with the soul, as res- pects the pious, in a happy state of existence ; but the im- pious in a state of misery. This doctrine is peculiarly a doctrine of revelation. On this authority simply oar credence, or faith ought to be found- ed. It is one of the chief glories of Christ, our Redeemer, that he hath brought life and immorlality to light ; and so hath rescued it from the blindness of sense, and the doubtful- ness of reason. But in the sacred scriptures, the doctrine of our future existence is so intimately blended with that of the resurrection of the body, that we can hardly consider them apart; and it is this which renders the whole revela- tion of this doctrine peculiarly precious to man, as it brings our future being more within the comprehension of the mind, and gires it a stronger interest in the heart which knows no other condition of human existence but this compound state of being. The immorlality of the soul would have been ea- sily received by both the Jews and the Greeks. It already formed part of the popular belief. It was the resurrection which created among these people so much astonishment, and was received with so much incredulity. To combat this in- fidelity, and place our immortal life upon its true foundatiooj the apostle sets himself in this part of his epistle to the Corin- thians, where he informs us that " this corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this aiortal shall put on immortality." m3 That we shall conlinue to exist from the moment of deatlt> till (he fiual infroduclion of our immortal state, the scriptures give us no reason to entertain a doubt, but wherein that inter- mediate condition shall consist, as they have not condescend- ed to inform us, it would be presumptuous in us to fraaie an opinion. On the subject of the resurrection, and of our im- mortal life, they are as explicit as, perhaps, it is competent to our present state of frailty, and mortality to comprehend. Let us, therefore, with the sacred writer, employ a few moments in contemplating the certainty and importance of this doctrine, its practical uses, and its spiritual consola- tions.— Its certainty can, to the christian, rest only on the express declaration of the word of God ; although, when thus communicated, many facts arid analogies, drawn from the course of nature, concur to facilitate our conceptions, and strengthen our confidence in this precious hope. " The time is coming," saith the infallible Spirit of truth, "when all they who are in their graves shall hear the voice of the Son of Man, and shall come forth, they that have done well to the resurrection of life, and they that have done evil to the jresurrection of damnation." It has always been a sub- ject of anxious inquiry to human reason ; with what bodies do they come ? Can these corporeal systems, after they have been long dissolved into their original elements, and va- riously dispersed in a thousand dilFerent directions, and af- ter they have SBCcessively passed, perhaps, into a thousand 504 other animated systems, be again collected and reorganized m the same body irhich perished at death ? If it were possi- ble, would it be a reasonable object of desire in that spirit- ual and immortal state, that the soul should be again united to a sluggish mass which might be regarded as its former prison, which impaired its active powers, and was perhaps the seat of all (he errors of reason, and of all the disorders of the passions ? The same objections have ever been presented as insolva ble difficulties to reason. But what christian can entertain a doubt concerning the Almighty power, and the omniscient wisdom of God, which is equally able to accomplish the re- surrection, as the creation of human nature ? The apostle meets the difficulty by a beautiful image taken from the grain which the husbandman casts into the earth. It seems to pe- rish* It becomes a mass of putrefaction. But there is a delicate, and almost imperceptible germ which survives, and presently assumes a new, and much more beautiful form. Can we doubt but that the whole vegetable, with all its appa- ratus of fruits and flowers, was included in that minute and invisible particle which receives a new life in the midst of death ? On the resurrection another lesson is suggested to ns from the numerous transmutations of the insect tribes which daily pass under our review. A deformed and slug- gish grub weaves a tomb for itself. It seems to become ex- iinct But, in a little time, we see it mount into the air in a new form, and adorned with the most beautiful colouring. Of spiritual and celestial objects, which are so far above the reach of our present faculties, frequently, we are left to collect our judgments only from analogy. And although such analogies can never convey adequate images of things which eye hath not seen, and of which it hath not entered m- to the heart of man to conceive, yet they seem to throw some feeble rays of light upon them, and to offer some foun- dation on which the mind, exhausted by its own efforts, can rest. In casting our view around, then, nature teaches us important lessons, and presents to us many impressive ima- ges of the future resurrection of the body. Some resem- blance of it we see in the new creation which every vernal season produces, when all the glories of the year are seen to spring, if I may speak so, from the tomb of Winter. These images, indeed, are only imperfect representations, adapted to the weakness of our nature, of that great object of our faith. The only solid and immovable foundation of a christian's hope, as I have already said, is the word of God, but now is Christ riseny and become the first fruits of them that sleep. Another objection against the doctrine of a resurrection 13 drawn, from the ills and inconveniencies resulting to the soul from its union with the body in the present life. This sliig- 64 o>U6 gish and unwieldy mass of matter is supposed to be rather the prison than the helpful companion of the soul ; to have a ten- dency to cloud, and darken the clearness of its perceptions, and to oppress and enchain the activity of its powers. — Al- though these evils should be justly objected to the present gross and disordered bodies which we inhabit, yet such is the nature and order of human spirits that it is only by being united to some corporeal system that they can receive any ideas at all. And, at the resurrection of the just, all that is gross, all that is disordered, all that is impure, we are assur* ed from revelation, shall be for ever separated from the bo- dies of the saints raised in immortal life ; and, we are farther taught to believe, that their powers, their activity, and glory shall correspond with the exalted rank which the soul shall hold in the scale of being in her celestial state. — If it be ask- ed, whether these, can be the same bodies that we inhabited here, which shall assume such diflferent properties, and pre- sent so much more glorious an appearance ? — Certainly this cannot be incredible to a christian, or a philosopher, when we are continually beholding the same elements receiving from the hand of nature the most various forms. Do not the same elements compose the unsightly clay which we trample under our feet, and the resplendent diamond which imitates the sun in the crowns of princes ? The lightning which, ia its destructive course, rends oaks, and rocks to pieces, and the mild and glorious rays of the orb that gives life, and health, and beauty to the whole universe. Accordingly the 507 apostle hath said, that all flesh is not the same In its outward form, and visible appearance ; but " there is one flesh of men, and another of beasts," though nourished by the same herbage ; " there is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another of the stars ;" though all proceed- ing from the same light. Not less difference may we expect to find, between our present tenements of clay, which, at death, return to their original dust, and those celestial tem- ples, in which the glorified spirit shall dwell forever. Rais* ed to heaven by the power aud love of the Redeemer, to ia» habit the worlds of light above, this corporeal system will be conformed in beauty and perfection to its immortal habitation. •— " This mortal shall put on immortality. Sown in weak- ness, it shall be raised in power ; sown in dishonour, it shall fae raised in glory ; sown a natural," that is, a gross and ani- mal " body, it shall be raised a spiritual body" — a body, in- conceivably refined, and purified from the dregs of matter, and possessing, at once, the rapid energy, and the imperish- able nature of spirit. It shall be invested with new forms, and be fitted with new organs, adapted to its celestial state ; and having attained its highest perfection, we have the same authority to declare that it shall for ever shine with undecay- ing lustre in the kingdom of God. In addition to the christian doctrine of the immortality of the soul, which contains the most glorious hope of human nature, the resurrection of the body and its immortal esis- tence in reunion with the soul, is peculiarly precious to mam by the very constitution of his nature, meets, in the best possible manner, his ideas, and hopes of happiness. Spirits there may be of a superior order which have no connexion with any material system, and are not depen- dent, for their knowledge, or their enjoyments on any sensi- ble organs. But of their modes of existence, and their sour- ces of happiness, we can frame no conception. All our ideas, and all our pleasures come to us through ihe medium of sense. And our spirits are of such an order, as has been before remarked, that their knowledge, their felicity, their per- fection, depend on their connexion, in some way, with a corpo- real system. Every thing connects us with the body, every thing attaches us to the body. Hence the apostle has said ; — " We, who are in this tabernacle, do groan, being burdened, not that we would be unclothed ;" not, that it is the object of these anxious wishes to be disembodied, " but that we may be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven ;" with that celestial, and regenerated body which shall be freed from all she pains and imperfections of this mortal flesh, and which is only our present nature exalted to its ultimate per- fection and glory. " The earnest expectation of the creature," continues the same apostle, " waiteth for the manifestation of (he sons of God," at the resurrection of the just. "The whole creation groaneth, even those who have received the gifts of the Spirit, groan within themselves, waiting for thf. 509 tedcmpfion of *he body." — What, indeed, would be the {)leasure of existence to the soul, if we couid suppose it con- scious of existence, deprived of the action, and aids of the senses, which are, at present, the only inlets of its know- ledge, and the chief sources of its enjoyments ? As the christian, and scriptural doctrine of the resurrection Corresponds, in this manner, with the dearest hopes, and wishes of the human heart, it contributes likewise, to assist the perceptions of faith. We are not left in total darkness concerning the nature of our future being. Some ideas we may frame with relation to this obscure subject, without the hazard of being entirely lost in the unsubstantial regions of fancy. The state of our future existence presents to us, no longer an inscrutable mystery. Although it offers to our hopes a condition of existence inconceivably improved and raised above the present, still we can discern between them some points of resemblance, which present to us ideas on that subject, at once intelligible to our reason, and infinitely precious to the heart. — In a future life, we have reason to believe, our faculties will be employed, in some measure, as here, but with an activity and vigour inconceivably augment- ed, in searching into the wonderful works of God, io admir- ing the order, the beauty, and harmony of the universal sys- tem ; in adoring, and, with the angels, endeavouring to pen- etrate the astonishing mysteries of divine grace to man. Blessed, and eternal sources of knowledge, and felicity! dThc faculties which we now feeblj exert, iu Ihe search of Irutb, and in the service of our Creator and Redeemer, will be new created in celestial vigour, and raised in a state of undescribable perfection. Ail the obstacles to our advance- ment in knowledge, at present, arising from the narrowness of this corporeal sphere, the imperfection of these mortal powers, the inactivity, and sluggishness of these gross and earthlj organs will be removed. That carnal and disorder- ed mass which now renders the body the seat of impure pas- sions, and impedes the holy aspirations of the soul, will be refined and purified. A body of celestial light ; a spiritual hody^ as it is styled by the apostle ; that is, a body active and unembarrassed in its movements like spirit, rapid as im- agination and thought, will, in heaven, be the fit instrument of the glorified soul, in its sublime, and blissful employments. From the doctrine of the resurrection of the same person results a consoling anticipation arising from the knowledge of our pious friends with whom we have been connected up- on earth ; the reunion, in the highest felicity, of the same hearts which have been united here in the tenderest affections. What ravishing pictures may imagination frame, without being liable to the charge of a fallacious enthusiasm, of friend- ships renewed in heaven ; of the mutual joys of pious friends who meet on that happy and eternal shore, escaped from all the ills and dangers of life ; of their sweet intercourse, puri- fied from all the passions, and weaknesses of the flesh. 511 tvfaich disturb the harmony of this world ; of the range they may be permitted to enjoy, in society with one another, amid the glories of the heavenly world, to nourish their celestial devotions, and diversify their holy enjoyments ; of those flights which they may be allowed to take together into dis- tant provinces of the universal empire of God to collect knowledge, and to admire and adore him in the astonishing operations of his hands ; or of the raptures with which every ray of the Sun of righteousness will penetrate their hearts, when they turn their faces towards the heavenly Zion, the more immediate residence of the divine glory, to raise theii* common ascriptions of praise to the Father of the universe, and to recognize, at the foot of his throne, their boundless obligations to redeeming love. — But restraining all unlicensed excursions of fancy, exquisite, and now ineffable must be the felicity, springing from a thousand different sources, that shall arise froom meeting in those blissful habitations, the friends who have been most tenderly and affectionately loved upon earth. Oh ! how is the religion of our blessed Saviour adapted to the finest feelings, and fitted to cherish the no- blest sympathies of the human heart ! — Away with that cold philosophy, which, at death, would devote our existence to eternal oblivion, and hopelessly rend asunder those delightful unions which form the dearest portion of ourselves ; the chief joy of our being. — Jesus! Saviour! who art the first fruit of the resurrection of the dead ! who art thyself the rejaurrection and the life I we adore and bless thee who haist 512 given this consolation to suffering humanity ! What sublime, and glorious prospects does our holy religion present to the imagination ! what blessed hopes to the heart ! — But who can speak, as they deserve, of those scenes of everlasting peace ; of those mansions illuminated by the eternal splen- dours of the Sun of righteousness : those bodies of light ; those souls of fire ! " Eye hath not seen, nor hath ear heard, neither hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive the things which God hath prepared for those who love him," OF THE FUTURE AND ETERNAL PUNISHMENT OF THE WICKED. The doctrine of the resurrection, and of an eternal exist- ence beyond the grave relates to the whole race of man, and embraces equally the righteous, and the wicked. For, as the former shall rise to glory and immortality, the latter also shall be raised to shame and everlasting contempt. Under the Second Adam human nature recovers its immor- tality, and it is, under his administration, put into a new state of trial. The whole doctrine of a future state, how- ever, and of the manner of our existence there, not being the subject of sense, and being entirely beyond the range of hu- man experience, all knowledge concerning it must be deriv- ed solely from revelation. Reason can pronounce nothing with certainty, on the subject. We must take it simply as it is stated in the word of God. And here we find the ever- 513 lasting punishment of the wicked asserted in terms as expli- cit and strong as the life, and felicity of the pious ; it is, therefore, equally entitled to our assent, and most imperioug- ly commands our belief. Of the unrighteous it is said, " they shall be cast into the lake that burneth with fire and brimstone ;" and it is added, " that the smoke of their tor- ments ascendeth for ever and ever." In the final judgment of the world, we are assured that the Judge shall pronounce upon them this irrevocable sentence, depart ye cursed into everlasting fire prepared for the Devil and his angels. These are strong figurative expressions intended to convey the certainty, and the fearful nature of the future sufferings of guilt ; fire being employed as the hyeroglyphic emblem of extreme torments of the body, or the mind ; and their eternal duration is indicated in the strongest ter s that language can use. Objections are brought against this conclusion so in- teresting to human sympathy, not from scripture, as they ought to be, if they were well founded, but from a pretended reason, where reason is, and forever must be utterly silent. Eternal punishments are pronounced to be contrary to the natural perfection of the Deity which consists in universal goodness. — It is said to be contrary to the design of his mo- ral government, which is intended for reformation rather than punishment ; and aims finally, at the perpetuity of happiness to all virtuous minds — In the last place it is strenuously ar- gued, that eternal pains are disproportioned to the frailty of 65 bU offending man, and to the shortness of human life, in whicfe only offences can be committed. — A simple and very brief answer must suflSce on each of these topics; for as we are most incompetent judges of the infinite counsels of the Sove- reign Mind, our supreme duty on these high questions i» silence and submission. 1. When we say that the everlasting punishment of the wicked, is contrary to the natural and essential perfection of God, which consists in universal goodness, and the love of all being — this plea being introduced on the present occa- sion, as a defence of the crimes of wicked men from the ri- gours of the divine law, is treating the infinite benignity of Je- hovah, as consisting merely in an indulgent regard to the frailties, appetites, and passions of mankind. These sins must necessarily be the subjects of divine animadversion ;^ and the essential perfection of the Deity, which includes justice in its idea, requires the punishment of crime, not less than his benignity embraces innocence with love. And each in strict conformity with the divine perfection, infinite in its nature and operations. Justice therefore pursues crime with punishment, as long as the subject in which it inheres exists. — In the nest place, if the essential perfection of the Deity- be affirmed to consist in goodness, let us inquire wherein that goodness consists. Is it not in the love of being ; and, ia rational and moral beings, in virtue as essential to their high- est happiness ? Every affection, the higher and purer it iS; am implies Us contrast. Opposite characters and qualities, be- come the objects of opposite purposes and feelings. In pro- portion to the love of goodness and virtue, must be the ab- horrence of iniquity, and crime. And these must be as per- manent as their subjects on the one side, and on the other ; that is, they must be eternaL 2. When again, it is affirmed that eternal suffering, in any part of the works of God, is contrary to the design and end of his universal government, which is reformation, rather than extermination, or the perpetual pains of any portion of his creatures — Who, then, is competent to embrace in his mind the boundless extent of the divine government ; its ob- jects, its ends, or the measures of its administration ? Or how shall a worm of dust pronounce on questions so high, and ut- terly beyond the ken of our limited faculties ? Take a sin- gle example of the possible benefits which may result to the righteous in their everlasting career of happy existence, from the continual view of the painful and unceasing suffer- ings inflicted upon hardened vice. The perpetuity of their virtue may be greatly assisted, and consequently their sta- bility in happiness be not a little promoted by occasional dis^ coveries of the issue of the most fortunate state of sin, presented to them as most afflictive, hopeless, remediless. We have the faithful promise of Almighty God for the cer- tain preservation of the redeemed from falling. But surely Ihis stability in virtue and happiness is not the result of any 516 physical necessity oF nature. It must be effected by prac- tical motives adapted to the rational and moral principles of ^ virtuous and holy mind ; in the everlasting career of sanctifit cation and blessedness, the saints in glory will be moved, ex- cited, restrained, or stimulated by the same principles, and motives, but highly exalted, and improved, which govern the most holy souls in the present life. The final persever- ance of the redeemed, though most securely fixed in the promise of God, is for ever influenced by moral principles, and motives. Who then can say that, in the universal gov- ernment of God, this awful and eternal example of suffering may not be useful, or even necessary to subserve the ends of his infinite wisdom? But as this is a subject on which rea- son cannot pronounce, being lost in the infinitude of the uni- verse, and of the divine nature, it ceases to instruct, and re- fers us to the simple declarations of the word of God. Here must we rest, assured that as the righteous are received into life eternal, so the wicked shall go away into ever- lasting punishment. The enemies of this doctrine, in the last place, rely, for the support of their opinion, on the frailty of human nature, which cannot with justice, (hey say, be subjected to eternal sufferings : and to the shortness of human life, which cannot have formed inveterate habits, or contracted a degree of guilt in any proportion to such pains. I reply, that these ?iwful denunciations affecting our future existence, are nof tna^e againsf tbe errors merely of frailty, but against obsti- tiSite and determined guilt, shewn, since the annunciation of a Saviour, by the rejection of his grace. If the sins of man- kind are the offences of a frail and feeble nature, their suffer- ings will, undoubtedly, be proportioned to the imbecility of the offender ; but their sinfulness, inhering in their nature it- self, their guilt must co-exist with their being ; and its pen- alties, of consequence have the same duration. — To the se- cond part of this objection, respecting the shortness of life^ it is reasonable to reply, that eternity has no reference to the length of this probatory state, but to the inherent virtue or vice of the subject of trial ; for, if it were protracted ten thousand times, it could not bear the smallest proportion to our interminable existence. The wisdom of God has adapt- ed the continuance of life, together with all its means of in- struction, and grace, to our moral culture, and preparation for our eternal being ; if, then, they fail of their proper object, the cultivation of our nature, and the sinner continues in his course of impiety, it can only be ascribed to the perversity of his nature, which, having exhausted the day of grace and mercy, leaves him thereafter, only to suffer the righteous retributions of eternity. Of these the duration must be ex- clusively learned from the written word. No reason can be assigned for the cessation of future punishment, unless it could be shewn, contrary to all probability, that the actual bflic- tion of extreme pains would produce a reformation which the apprehension of them, aided by all the means of grace, un- 618 der the direction of the Holy Spirit, and the powerful assis- tances of future hopes and fears, had been unable to efiect. The great and learned Origen believed that the actual en- durance of punishment in the next life, will produce moral effects to which the apprehensions of it only in the present state, had been insuflScient, and that it might terminate, af- ter a long course of ages, in the reformation of the most abandoned sinner. But, sajs the equally learned, and emi- nent bishop Horsely ; " the principle that the effect is pos- sible, that the heart may be reclaimed by force, is, at best, precarious, and the only safe principle of human conduct is the belief that unrepented sin will suffer endless punisiiment hereafter." In the conclusion of this interesfnig subject, let me ask of the professed disciples of our blessed Lord and Saviour ; have you through Christ, the assured hope of thus glo- riously rising to immortal life ? Let it prove to you the most powerful motive to cultivate in your hearts those affections of piety, and in your lives those habits of holiness, which will prepare you for your eternal being in the heavens. — By tem- perance, by purity, by the exercise of virtue, endeavour more and more to assimilate these perishing bodies, to that pure and celestial nature in which you shall hereafter behold the glory of God. Remember that the hope of rising again to everlasting life, strips death of ils greatest terrors. Death is no longer what it appears to be, the destruction of our be- 519 ing. It yields to the grave onlj the grosser parts of these mortal bodies. The temporary dissolution of (he body, and the soul causes no intermission in the consciousness of hap- py existence. Even if the soul itself, according to the opin- ion of some good men, should sleep till the revivification of universal nature, there is no perception of time in the insen- sibility of this mortal sleep. The moment of dissolution touches upon the moment of our restoration to life. The grave, sanctified by the death, and triumphed over by the resurrection of our blessed Saviour, is made to all his disciples only the gate to a new, a glorious, and immortal existence. " This corruptible shall put on incorruption, and this mortal shall put on immortality. O death ! where is thy sting ? O grave ! where is thy victory? The sling of death is sin, but thanks be to God who giveth as the victory through Je- sus Christ our Lord !" A SERMOTs, PREACHED AT THE OPEINING OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLV OF THE PRESBFTERIAN CHURCH; IN THE YEAR 1808. Episih ofJude, 2d verse,— Thzt you sliould contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. The phyBJcal order of things is evidently intended bj the Creator to be subservient to the benefit of the moral world. And divine wisdom itself, in the arrangements of nature, and the dispositions of providence, seems to be employed su- premely in promoting the ends of divine goodness. In con- formity with this order established in the universal system, God has connected the knowledge of truth, with the prac- tice of duty, and the duties with the happiness of human na- ture. The connexion of truth with practical utility, is ac- knowledged universally in science. In religion alone it has been doubted, or denied, so far as to become even a fashion- able maxiin,-*-that it is of little importance to piety, or virtue, what opinions, upon these subjects, are maintained by man- kind, provided their conduct in society be peaceable and honest. There are natural sentiments of right and wrong im- planted in the human breast ; and, to whatever errors in spe- culation the weakness of reason, or (he prejudices of educa- tion, may have given birth, the moral insfincta of our nature, 68 it ia presumed, in all ordinary cases, will correct their prac^ lical evils. Hence has resulted an unhappy indifference to religious truth in those who embrace this maxim ; and, with it an indifference to all the institutions of religion. The apostle Jude, in this epistle, apparently from a deep conviction, that erroneous principles in morals, are ever pro« portionally connected with a lax virtue, condemns in a fer- vent and indignant style, the efforts which were made, in that early age, to corrupt the purity and simplicity of the gospel of Christ. In opposition to the insidious arts of these pre- tended disciples, who studied to turn the grace of God into lasciviousness, he exhorts his christian brethren to contend earnestly for the faith, zealously to maintain the truth as it is in Christ, which alone is able to redeem men from all ini- quity, and make them ivise to eternal life. This injunction of the sacred writer rests for its foundation on the inseparable union between sound principles in religion and morals, and a pure and virtuous tenor of life. It strong- ly implies, therefore, that every real christian, and especially that every minister of Christ, is under sacred and indispen- sable obligations to search for the truth in religion, with faithfulness, to embrace it with sincerity, to maintain it with firmness, and to promote it with zeal. 523 If, indeed, evangelic truth had no peculiar relation to ^anctitj of life, but any principles were equal to the ends of religion, the knowledge of it would not merit either the labour bestowed on its acquisition, or the praise ascribed to its possession ; Christianity itself would be deprived of its chief glory ; and it would be indifferent to every purpose of piety, or virtue, whether we were christians or pagans, be- lievers or infidels. In the following discourse, I purpose, under the divine blessing, I. In the first place, to illustrate the connexion that exists between duty, and evangelic truth ; or generally between principles and conduct. II. And in the next place, to urge the exhortation of the apostle, to contend earnestly for the faith, the fountain, and comprehensive sum of all good principles in religion* I. Permit me, then, in the first place, to illustrate the con- nexion that exists between duty, and evangelic truth, and in general, between principles and conduct. As the great springs of human action lie in the passions and appetites, the desires and wants of men, so the control and direction of these springs is to be found only in aju un- 024 deisfanding, and a conscience enlightened by divine truth. An it iii a tact contirmed by the general experience of the church that, if the mind be early imbued with the principles of piety and virtue, cultivated under a regular and prudent discipline, it usually ripens into a fixed and steady character of virtue, and by the co-operation of the Spirit of divine grace, into habits of sincere and rational piety. On the oth- er band, if youth, at this early and forming period of life, are suffered to grow up without moral culture, and left to form their principles under the influence of vicious companions, among whom they are taught to vindicate the indulgence of the passions, by the corrupt maxims of the world, there is hardly any point of profligacy in their manners, at which we should be surprised eventually to see them arrive. The sys- tem of ti'uth, indeed, and the law of duty, have the same common source in the perfections and the will of God. The more perfectly therefore we can separate it from every im- pure mixture, the more powerful are the motives which wl enjoy to universal holiness of living. On the other band, is it not one of the plainest, and most obvious conclusions of reason, that, if men embrace princi- ples which favour the passions, and remove from the mind the restraints of religion ; if they deny, for example, the ex- istence, or (he providence of Almighty God ; if they frame false or imperfect conceptions of the divine attributes ; if *hey invent maxims which, in a state of dissolute manners is 525 always done, to palliate insincerity, fraud, intemperance, Oi lust, the ties of moral obligation are thereby necessaiil) re- laxed ? Could you, on great and critical occasions, rely on Ihe integrity of a man who should avow such principles ? Would you be willing to entrust to him the honour and virtue of your families, where he could violate them with secrecy, or with impunity ? Would not his passions, his interests, his pleasures be thenceforward the supreme law of his conduct ? But does not dissolution of manners frequently precede, and itself become the cause of the general corruption of principle, in individuals, and in nations ? It does. — And this fact places the truth of the proposition which I have assum- ed to illustrate, in a new light. For so powerful is the force of truth upon the heart, that men cannot preserve the peace of their own bosoms, amidst the conflict of their principles, with their actions. They are obliged, therefore, if they do not reject the law of Christ, to set themselves to corrupt and modify it if possible, to the standard of their inclinations. If the law of Christ has not been able effectually to constrain their obedience, they must shut their eyes against its light, or study, by every subtil artifice, to pervert its spirit. The efficacy of divine truth early instilled into the mind, and received with a docile temper, is conspicuous, to a can> did observer, in the excellent fruits which commonly pro* ceed from a virtuous and pious education, conducted with ^26 prudence, and persevered iu with steady and conaisteut wisdoDS. Remark the youth who have been sedulously and pru- dently instracted in the principles of religion: compare their sobriety, their temperance, their regular and exemplary manners, with the character and conduct of such as have grown up, like neglected weeds, without culture. Is it not usually, among these that the church finds her future sup- ports, and her future ornaments ? If, in the course of life, they^hould be exposed to temptations which give too strong an action to their passions, how long will their early princi- ples resist the corrupting current? How often will con- science, roused by that secret voice which they awaken in the breast, recal them to their duty ? Or when, for a season, like David, or the young Solomon, they have been drawn aside from its path, how often are these secret monitors, re- covering force, by some interesting dispensation of divine providence, made the means of bringing them back to their duty, and to God, with humiliation and repentance ? Here let me notice, only to condemn, the injustice of a frequent remark, that the most serious and pious education is com* monly followed by the greatest dissolution of manners. So far is this from being verified by the fact, that it is, on the other hand, the comparative rarity of the example, and its striking incongruity with our most reasonable expectations, which has occasioned its being so much noticed, in a few Jn- 52t stances, that the frequency of the reproach has been mista- ken for the commonness of the effect. And the fact, where it does exist, may usually be traced to some gross defect of prudence, or of skill, in the conduct of their education^ I acknowledge, indeed, and it is only a confirmation of our doctrine, that those who have fioaily broken through the re- straints of a pious discipline, like those who have burst the bounds of modest and of decent manners, are usually more profligate than other sinners ; harrassed in their evil courses by their early principles, they are often tempted to run to greater excesses than others, that they may, at once, if pos- sible, extinguish the distressing light of truth, and drown the reproaches of their own consciences. Against the preceding reasonings an objection has been raised from two interesting facts — one that we not unfrequent- \y see csan of vicious manners professing the best principles ; another, that we find good men among all sects of christians. True it is, that orthodox opinions in religion may be osten- sibly avowed by men of very exceptionable morals. They may be merely modes of speaking received by inheritance^ or adopted as the distinction of a party ; while, at the same time, they have not entered deeply into the convictions of reasoD, noc taken possesiienof the sentiments of the heart. 528 The second fact I do not deny, but rather rejoice in its existence, that there are found pious men, who are ornaments of their holy profession, among all denominations of chris- tians. But does this prove that there is no distinction in their moral eflfects between truth and falsehood ? or that all principles are equally favourable, or indifferent to true reli- gion, and sanctity of manners ? No, it is an interesting proof, to the benevolent and candid mind, that every de- nomination of christians embraces, in its system, an important portion of evangelical truth. The great and central doctrines of our salvation, from which all the practical principles of piety and morals naturally radiate, are so clearly borne upon the whole face of the sacred scriptures, that they are receiv- ed under one form of expression, or another, in the symbolsj confessions, and creeds of almost all who assume to wear the name of christian. Yet, along with them, the frailty of the human understanding, or some latent bias of the human heart, has frequently mingled more or less of error, which propor- tionally impairs their sanctifying influence. As every truth 18 connected with some right disposition of the heart, and contributes to promote it ; so every error, in a similar de- gree, tertdsto strengthen some sinful propensity, or to weak en the obligation of some duty. Hence particular sections of the church, according to the purity and extent in which they embrace the truth as it is in Christ, are distinguished above others, for the general sanctity of their manners; for a zeal in religion, at once rational and fervent ; and for the 529 liumbers who adorn, by their practice, the doclrine of God their Saviour. But among the truly pious of all denomina- tions, there is a greater harmony of sentiment, and of faith, than they themselves, in the jealousy of party, io the pride of disputation, and even in the delicate apprehensions for the truth, which some good men, who have moulded all their feelings in religion to certain set forms of words, are willing to allow. In terms they differ more than in spirit. Unhappily, indeed, there are in our age, as there were in the age of the apostles, those who wear, and who glo- ry in the christian name, who yet remove the basis of Christianity, by denying the only Lord God, even our Lord Jesus Christ. But as then they were, they still are, known by the coldness of their piety, and the lax- ness of their moral system. Spots are they in the church, in which should exist only the continual feast of christian love ; unfructifying clouds without rain, borne about by th^ winds of human passions. It would be more honour to the cause of Christ, or rather less dishonour, if they would re- nounce the name which they abuse. Having thus far endeavoured to illustrate the connexion between truth and duty ; that is, between faith, or the genu- ine doctrines of the gospel, and holiness of living— 67 530 II. I proceed, more directly, to urge the exhortation of th« apostle, to contend earnestly for ihefaithy the fountain and the sum of all good principles in religion. If moral truth were of no importance, or if it were not es- sentially connected with our duty, with our salvation, nnd with the best interests of human nafiire, this exhortation would be without reason. But related as thej are by the immutable constitution of heaven, this union imposes on us inviolable obligations, to seek for the truth in religion with fidelity, to maintain it with firmness, and to promote ii \vith zeal. The duty is incumbent on every christian, in propor- tion to his means of information, arid his opportunities of do- ing good. It is, above all, incumbent on^ the church as a community, the depositary of the oracles of the living God ; and on those, in a peculiar manner, who are appointed to be her watchmen, her instructors, her guardians, and examples. Where, then, is to be found that precious truth which we are required to maintain in the face of every open enemy, or insidious friend, and earnestly to promote with a zeal worthy of its high importance. In this, all sects concur with one voice, that the pure evangelical truth is to be discerned only in the holy scriptures. But when we attempt to collect it from the loose style of parable and narrative, jn which it is frequently conveyed, or to divest it of that oratorical, or po- etic dress in which the sacred writers have often clothed it, and reduce it to plain and simple propositions, here, I con- f(ftss, 13 some room for uncertainty and doubt. Here it is that men introducing their own speculations, and mingling their own philosophic systems with the word of God, have corrupted its simplicity, and made tlie christian church, like the schools of Greece, a theatre for the conflict of contend- ing opinions. Are the divine scriptures, then, of doubtful in- terpretation ? Or do they afford any ground for this gladia- torial play of intellect ? No, they are full of light ; but like all ihe manifestations of the will of God, in the works both of creation and providence, they are liable to be misinterpreted by ignorance, or perverted by some dishonesty of the heart, «r by some mistaken bias of education. They are a fountain of truth to those who submit themselves with humility to the wisdom of God, and who, with genuine simplicity of spirit, have no other aim but to discern in them their own duty, and no concern but to understand the will of their heavenly Father, in order to obey it. If, with these dispositions, we approach the study of the holy scriptures, although some un- avoidable errors should still adhere to the frailty of the hu- man understanding, we cannot materially swerve from that system of truth which, as disciples of Christ, we are called to defend. And in that field of human infirmity in which we may be permitted to err, we shall find ground for the mutual exercise of charity with our fellow-christians. Are, then, all jwrtions of scripture, all the tenets which enter into the body of our creed, equally the objects of that holy zeal required by the apeiitle in delerice of the faith Kvcry €ar with it the mass of society, if Almighty God, to whose throne we daily send our supplications to defend us from this calamity, do not interpose to arrest the overwhelming flood, saying to its rage " hitherto shalt thou come, and no farther ; and here shall thy proud waves be stayed." From the prevalence of cbrrupted manners, I see a fatal evil invade the church it- M3 self, "Because iniquity abounds the love of many "(vaxes cold." The loise and even the watchmen on the walls of Zion, seem (o be asleep along with the secure and unappre- hensive crowd oi foolish virgins. The present seems to be the reign of evil over a great part of the world which calls it- self christian. And Christ may now say as he did to his persecutors and murderers, " this is your hour, and the pow- er of darkness." If we see the blessed gospel openly and almost triumphant- ly insulted by powerful enemies, is it not also in many parts of the church, insidiously corrupted by false friends ? Where it is still preached with a degree of evangelic purity, does it not seem to fall powerless from the Hps of those who are ap- pointed to proclaim its grace to the world ? For many years we have seen the columns of civil society, and the temples of religion falling together. We have heard the horrible orash at a distance. We hax^ snmetimes felt the earth trem- ble under our feet, to warn us of our approaching danger. Jloused for a moment, we have only sunk down again into a sleep like the sleep of death. — Can occasions more loudly eall, shall I s-iy, on the ministers of religion ? Shall I not say on all christians ? I was going to say on all good citizens, ear- nestly to contend for the faith, for the purity of those prin- eif Je of morality and piety, for the blessedness of those im- mortal hopes, once delivered to the saints ? To stem the in- creasing torrent of impiety— to arrest the dissolution of the public morals— -to promote the designs ef divine mercy to luankiml — to recal the departing gloiy lo out- churches — -to exalt the grace of the ever blessed Redeemer — to reanimate the almost extinguished love of his disciples lo him, and to one another. My brethren in the holy ministry! who is sufficient for these things ? Although we might justly trem- ble when we contemplate the weakness of the human instru- ment, be encouraged, holy brethren ! by the example of the apostle, who hath said fhromh Christ me mn do all thino-s. The political, the moral, and religious horizon looks dark and gloomy. The tempest, which has shaken half the world, threatens, as we have long foreseen, to extend its fury to us. Yet, in the gathering cloud, I seem to see some luminous spots which invite us not to despair. Jn every event, how- ever, which may chequer the mysterious aspect of divine providence, one truth is certain, one truth should console you, my dear brethren, " be you faithful unlo fi^atfa, and you shall receive a crown of i;fp." Now to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, be glory, as it was in the beginning, is now, ajid ever shaU he world without end I — AMEN I THE ENP. DATE DUE ■jm^^^m 1 CAVLORO PRINTEOINU.S.A. .*-■ * 1^ #r