% y^2L a>» 52 5X3 03. .^:i> 03. "^S- II! THK AT PRINCETON, N. J. i> <> :v .-V "!• ¥ <> "V « » !•• SAMUKL AQNEW, O V I" II I I. A l>K I, P II I A . I' A. P7im/t/c^ /&'fda^D%r^ ! ^. Division V- A. Casr, "'"^^"J,"'if 9 V S/i^')oh ^ j'/iu 1 jm;^iij lo 3VXI JiJii ,tq^ox- ViBiflnrfD io ^^^i'^ftoCI ar; ADVERTISE M E N T. E F O R E the Reader enters on the following Difcourfes, I think it lieceiTary to acquaint him, that, being determined not to eno;a2;e in Contro- verfy, I jQiall make no reply to any Animadverfions on the account which, in the firfl: five of them, I have given of the Do61rines of Chriflianity ; except, by acknowledging the miftakes into which I may have fallen, when con- vinced of thern. Nevvington Green, Nov, 24, J 7 86, O J ' \ ^m»mmmmvmmmi>9Bmf C O N T E N T S, S E R M O N I. F the Chriftian Doftrine as held by all Chriftians - Page i. From I Tim. i. ii. Tfje glorious go/pel cf the blejfed God. S E R M O N II. Of the Chriftian Doftrine as held by Tr/- nitaria?is and Cahiftijis, - Page 28. From the fame text, S E R PJ O N III. Of the Chriftian Doarine as held by Uni- tarians and Socinians. - Page 69. From the fame Uxt, S E R. j^, . C 9 N T E N T S. S E ^R M O N , IV. Ot the i^RE-E±TST£NCE and dignity of \?Chrifi:. - - - Page 105. ^ From ji John iv. li. IFe havefce?! ajid do tejlify^ that the Father feiit the Son to he the Sainour of the world. SERMON V. Gf the chara(fl:er of Chrift as the Saviour OF THE WORLD. - Page 157. From the fame text. SERMON Vi.^^ ^^ Of the SECURITY of a Virtuous Courfe. ^-f" ^\\\-.r ■^\^'^^J> \NVVN^^i^ l^^y^ y^^X ^^^ Qx tne HAPPINESS of a Virtuous Courfe; Page 229 From e W N TENTS. vii ,vi From Prov. iii. 17. Her ways arf ways of pleafyntnefs, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of ' Ufe to the?n that lay hold of her -, and hap-- py ts every one who receiveth her. ^Y\\tN^, '^^^ \^fV ^^ \^^^^ ^^"i'^y ^^ptsfi *i^ A^S E R M O N VIII. and IX. ^ Of the GOODNESS OF God. - Page 261. From PsAL. xxxiv. 8. P tafie and fee that the Lord is good Blef^j^ fed is. the man that trujleth in him^x '?o SERMON X. Of the . RLSURRECTION OF LazARUS, aliiioO ?rrorjliiV p^o ytiai) o ^3^30 ,...; - f ^*0"^ J^HN XI. 43, 44. Jnd when he had thus fpoken,, he cried with a loud *voice^ Lazarus, come forth,-* And he that was dead came forth bound hand and foot with grave-clothes* Jlnd his face was hound about with a napkin. ^ jejus Jays to them 5 Loofe him, and lei him go. moii ERRATA. ' Page 2.!^, A?cond linr from the bof om, inrftnful man, reii ^nful tftfH. 107, fifth liiie from tht top, for O'jfci've^ that I hd-.evf thii to he tbt truthf >eac, Objerve tbaty wUIe 1 bd'tcvt th'n to Le the trutbf J d$ not mean to affcrt, Arc. jli, th iJ liic fioai the top, for haie icen groundc^y read has hcsr; grounded* WMW— 1 ■ wi I ri im SERMON i. OF THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE AS HELD BY ALL CHRISTIANS. I T IM. 1. II. I'he glorious go/pel of the blejfed God. WE are all agreed in applying to the religion we profefs the chara6ler of it given by St. Paul in thefe words. It is the glorious Gofpel of the bleffed God. It is a heavenly gift, important and in- terefting in the higheft degree. Nothing, therefore, can be more proper than that we fhould examine it carefully, and en- deavour to underftand clearly its nature and contents. All our attachment to it without this muft be unmeaning and ab- furd. My prefent defign is to give you fome afliftance in making this examina- ^ tion. j^l^ 2 Of the Chrijllan Dodlrine ti.on, by anfweriiig in the beft manner I can the following enquiries. What is the Gofpel ? What inftruc- tion docs it convey ? What is the in- formation which renders it a glorious GosPLL worthy of the blefled God ? The word Gofpel, as you well know^ is derived, both in the Englif and the Greek languages, from two words v/hich fignify GOOD news. The very title given it, therefore, in my text intimates to us its general nature and defign. It is a communication of good tidings to man- kind from the bleffed God. Before I enter upon an account of the particulars of this information, my views in this and fome following difcourfes re- quire me to obferve to you, that there is a great diverfity of opinions among chrif- tians on this fubjeft. The different ac- counts which have been given of the Gofpel of Chrift are indeed numberlcfs; and as held by all Chrifliam. 3 and they have given rife to many great evils; particularly, the two following. Firft. An objection to Chriftianity has been founded upon them on which great ftrefs has been laid ; and which, I fear, has prevented fome from giving the evi- dence for it a patient and favourable hearing. It has been urged that, if the Gofpel was indeed a revelation from hea- ven, it v/ould be fo clear and explicit as to leave no room for fuch differences, and to preclude alldifputes about its meaning, a dark revelation being, as unbelievers fay, an inconfiftency, which implies a reflec- tion on the perfections of the Deity, and equivalent to no revelation. Thofe who make this objection go upon the fuppofi- tion, that God can be the author of no information which is capable of being mifunderftood, and confequently of cre- ating difputes. There cannot be a more groundlefs fuppofition. God conveys in- formation to us by our reafon as w^ell as by revclatio?!. The light of nature is a B 2 light 4 Of the Chrijlian Do5}ri7ie light derived from him as well as the light of the Gofpel j and there is no more reafon to expe6l that the one fliould be fo clear as to exclude miftakes and dis- putes than the other. While we conti- nue fuch frail and fallible creatures as we are, it is impolTible that we fhould not be in danger of falling into differences of opinion, and fometimes into grofs errors : and to complain of this would be much the fame with complaining becaufe we are not made omnifcient and perfeft beings. There is not a principle of common fenfe that has not been contro- verted, nor a truth difcoverable by the light of reafon of which different accounts have not been given, and which has not been mifconceived and perverted. And yet no one ever thinks of inferring from hence that reafon is not the gift of God> or that it is not a valuable gift. There is juft as little reafon for drawing the like inference concerning Chriftianity from the as held by' all Chrijltans. 5 the different opi;iions and the difputes among Its profcflbrs. But there is another anfwer to this ob- je6tion which is more to my prefent pur- pofe ; and which I fliall take notice of, after mentioning the next great evil ari- fmg from the difputes among Chriftians. I mean ; the embarraflments they occa- sion in the minds of many good men. It is impoffible, when plain and honeft men hear the different parties among Chriflians contradicting one another in the manner they do -, one faying, this is the Gofpel of Chrift ; and another fayino- the contrary j and all poHtive and dog- matical : it is, I fay, impoffible that, in fuch circumftances, a plain man unac- cuflomed to enquiry fliould not be puz- zled, and thrown into a firate of perplex- ity and diflraftion. Mofl of thefe par- ties lay the greatefl (Ireis on their accounts of the Gofpel ; and too many go fo far as to conneft fahatio7i with them, and to confign to hell all that B 3 do 6 Of the Chrijlia?! DoBri?ie do not receive them. I fliould do an ef- fential fervlcc could I remove the ftum- bling-blocks which thefe litigations throw in the way of common Chriftians. And my chief intention in the prefent dif- courfe is to attempt this, by fhewing you tliat Chriftians of all parties, however they may cenfure one another, and what- ever oppofition there may feem to be in their fentiments, are agreed in all that is efiential to Chriftianity, and with refpeft to all the information which it is its principal defign to com.municate. Should this appear, it \\\\\ fet our minds at eafe amidft the controverfies that take place in the Chriftian church, and enable us to look with an equal eye of charity and candour on all our fellow- chriftians : and it will alfo effectually re- move that objection to Chriftianity which I have mentioned. In attempting this, I will recite to you thofe doctrines and fa6ts of Chriftianity which all Chriftians believe, and which are as held by all Chrijlians. 7 ar€ (o plainly revealed as to exclude the poffibillty of dlfputes about them -, after which, I will fhew you the nature of the differences among Chriftians, in order to prove that the do6trines univerfally re- ceived arc all that are eiTential. In the firft place ; the Gofpel teaches us that there is only one living and true God. This is a fundamental do6trine which the New Teftament holds forth to us in al- moft every page. There is but one beino- good, fays Jefas Chrift, that is God. There are, fays St. Paul, Gcds many \ hut to us there is but one God, the father. Many of our fellow- chriftians, indeed, maintain doctrines which feem to clafli with this effential doctrine ; but they all profefs to believe it, and with fo much zeal as to be greatly offended whenever they are charged with contradicting it. Though the Divine nature, according to them, confifts of three perfons -, and the Son (one of thefe /^r/^;?j) confifts oi ti^o natures; yet thefe three ferjons make but B 4 one 8 Of the Chrijlian DoBrine one being. If there is a palpable abfurdi- ty in this, it only proves that the Gofpel teaches the Divine Unity fo decifively as to force every Chriftian to acknov^ledge it, however inconfiftent udth his other opinions his acknowledgment of it may be. But farther; the Gofpel teaches us, with perfeft clearnefs, that this one God is pofTefled of all poffible perfedlion; that he is infinitely wife, powerful, righ- teous, and benevolent ; that he is the moral governor of the y^orld, an enemy to all wickednefs, and a friend to all goodnefs ; and that he direfls all events by his providence fo particularly as that the hairs of our head are all numbered, and that a fparrow does not fall to the ground without him. It teaches us alfo to imitate, to ferve, and to worfliip him, and to put our truft in him ; and com- prehends the whole of our duty in loving him with all our hearts, and in loving our neighbour as ourfelves. It declares to as held by all Chrijlidns^. g to us the neceffity of repentance and a holy life ; a future ftate of rewards and puniftiments ; and a future period of uni- verfal retribution when all mankind fliall be judged according to their works. There are no doubts about any of thefe particulars among Chriftians ; and they include all that it is moft neceflary for us to know. But the doftrines which moft properly conftitute the Gofpel are thofe which relate to Jefus Chrift and his me- diation. Here, alfo, there is an agree- ment with refpeft to all that can be deemed effential ; for there is no fe£l of Chriftians who do not believe that Chrift was fent of God ; that he is the true Mefliah ; that he worked miracles, and fufFered and died and rofe again from the dead as related in the four Gofpels ; that after his refurreftion he afcended to heaven and became pofTeiTed of univerfal dominion, being made head over all things in this world -, and that he will Jiereafter make a fecond appearance on this lo Of the Chrijli an Doctrine this earth, and come from heaven to raifc all mankind from death, to judge the world in rightcoufnefs, to beftow eternal life on the truly virtuous, and to punifh the workers of iniquity. Thefe are the grand facts of Chriftia- nity, which Calvinijis and Arminians^ Tri^ nitarians and Unitarians^ Papijls and Pro- ieJiantSy Churchmeji and DiJJhiters all equally believe. More efpecially ; with refpecl to the purpofe of Chrift's miffion, we all equally hold that he came to call fmners to repentance, to teach us the knowledge of God and our duty, to fave us from fin and death, and to publifh a covenant of grace by which all fincere penitents and good men are afiured of fa- vour and complete happinefs in his future everlafting kingdom. But to bring all nearer to a point. The information which moft properly conftitutes the Gofpel does not confift of many particulars. It may be reduced to one propofition. The word gospel, I have as held by all Chrifltans, \ \ I have faid, fignifies good news ; or (as the New Teftament calls it) glad tidings of great joy to all people. And the New- Teftament when it thus defcribes the Gofpel has one particular information in view. An information which is indeed completely joyful. I mean, the future cominp; of Chrift to deftrov death, and to reinftate us in a happy immortality ; or, in other words, the glad tidings of pardon to penitents, and a re- furre6lion from death to eternal life through Jefus Chriji, It is impoffible there fhould be any information fo important as this ; and all Chriftians believe it ; and maintain that the truth of ^t has been demonftrated by figns and miracles, and, particularly, by the refur- refkion of Chrift, and his confequent af- cenfion and exaltation. This informa- tion includes all that we have any reafon to be anxious about ; and we fhould re- gard v/ith indifference all difputes that leave us in pofTeflion of it 3 and there are no tz Oj the Chrijlian Dodlrine difputes among thofe who take the New Tejiament for a rule of faith which do not leave us in pofleffion of it. A deliverance from death, through the power of Chrift, to be judged according to our works; and, if virtuous, to enter upon a new and happy life which fhall never end : This is the fum and fubftance of the Gof- pel ; and, alfo, the fum and fubftance of all that fliould intereft human beings. The evidence for it which the Gofpel gives removes all doubts about it ; and is fufficient, v/hether we believe any thing elfe or not, to carry us (if virtuous) with triumph through this world. What then fignify the differences among Chriftians about other points ? Or of what confe- quence is it that they have different ways of explaining this point itfelf ? Give me but the faft that Chrift is the refurre^lion and the life^ and explain it as you will. Give me but this fingle truth, that eter- nal LIFE is the gift if God through jfefus Chrijl our Lord a?id Saviour^ and I fhall be as held by all Chrijlians^ 1 3 be perfeftly eafy with refpeft to the con- trary opinions which are entertained about the dignity of Chrift ; about his nature, perfon, and offices ; and the manner in which he faves us. Call him, if you pleafe, fimply a man endowed with extraordinary powers ^ or call him a fu- per-angelic being who appeared in human nature for the purpofe of accomplifhing our falvation; or fay (if you can admit a thought folhockingly abfurd) that it was the fecond of three co-equal perfons in the Godhead forming one perfon with a human foul that came down from heaven and fufFered and died on the crofs : Say that he faves us merely by being a mef- fenger from God to reveal to us eternal life and to confer it upon us ; or fay, on the contrary, that he not only reveals to us eternal life and confers it upon us, but has obtained it for us by offering himfelf a propitiatory facrifice on the crofs, and making fatisfaftion to the juftice of the Deity for our fins : I fhall think fuch dif. 24 Of the Chrijlian Dot'irine differences of Tittle moment provided the faft is allowed, that Chrift did rife from the dead and will raife iis from the dead ^ and that all righteous penitents will, through God's grace in him, be accepted and made happy for ever. In order to aflifl: you in forming a juft idea of the nature of the differences among Chriftians, I will dwell a little on fome of them. The chief of thefe differences have been; thofe which I have jufl recited v/ith re- fpe6l to the perfon and offices of Chrifl^ fome maintaining his limple humanity; others his fuperiority to man and pre-ex- iflence ; and others his fupreme divinity. And, again % fome maintaining that he faves us only by his inftru6lian and ex- ample, and government : and others, that he faves us by being the procuring caufe of our falvation, and paying down an equivalent for it. Is it not ob- vious with rcfped to thefc differences, that as held by all Chrijlians. j^ that they afFed: not the dodrine itfelf of our falvation by Chrift ; and that how- ever they are determined, the foundation of our hopes remains the fame? I will en- deavour to illuftiate this by putting a fimilar cafe. Suppofe a man to have loft a rich in- heritance, and to be languifhing under a diftemper which will foon cut him off for ever from this world. Suppofe, in thefe circumftances, a benefaftor to appear, who brings with him, at the expence of much trouble, a remedy for the diftem- per and adminifters it to him, faves his life, and at the fame time reftores him tohis inheritance, and to riches, fplendour, and happinefs. Would he, in this cafe, be very anxious about determining whether his benefa6lor was a native or 2i foreigner ^ a private man or a prince ? Or whether the toil which he had gone through to fave him was derived from his own fpon- taneous benevolence, or from an inftru- mentality to which he had fubmitted in order 1 6 Of the Chrijllari Dodlrine order to convey the benevolence of ano- ther ? Though fiich enquiries might en- gage his curiofity, v^ould he reckon them of great importance to his intereft? would he not, whatever the true anfwer to them was, have equal reafon to rejoice in the fervice done him, and to be thankful for it ? Another fubjedt of difpute among Chriftians has been the origin of that ftate of fin and mortality in which we find our- felves, and which gave occafion to the co- ming of the Mefliah. All agree in deriving it from an event called the fall of man, which happened at the commencement of this world. But very oppofite accounts are given by divines of the nature and con- fequences of this fall ; fome taking the hiftory of it in Genefis in the ft:ri(5lly li- teral fenfe, and maintaining the do6lrine of the imputation of Adam's fin to all his pofterity ; and others denying this doc- trine, and, believing the account of the fall ^s held by all Chrijliam. 17 fall to be in a great meafure allegorical. But, in reality, it does not much fignify whether we are able or not to fatisfy our- felves on thefe points. This is of no more importance in this cafe than it would be in the cafe juft mentioned, that a per- fon dying of a diftemper fhould be able to account for it, and to trace the events which brought it upon him. We find ourfelves frail, degenerate, guilty, and mortal beings. The caufes under the Di- vine government which brought us into this ftate lie far out of our fight ; and, perhaps, were a naked reprefentation of them made to us we fliould be only per- plexed and confounded. It is enough to know that a Deliverer has been provided for us, who has fhed his blood for the remlflion of fins, and conquered death for every man by fubmitting to it himfelf. Inftead of quarrelling about ^^^;//s fall, and lofmg our time and our tempers in litigations about original fin im- puted and inherent, we fhould learn C to 1 8 Of the Chrijlian DoElrine to take our ftate as we find it, and to em- ploy oiiiTelves earneftly about nothing but fecuring that better ftate, that glorious immortality, to the aflured hope of which we have been raifed by the redemption that is In Chrift. I will further inftance in the difputes about juftification. There are no dif- putes which have difturbed the Chriftian church much more 5 nor are there any which can appear to a confiderate man more unmeaning and trifling. The prin- cipal fubjeft of thefe difputes has been the queftion, whether we are juftified by faith alone, or by faith in conjunftion with good works. You ftiould confider, with refpeft to this queftion, that thofe who hold notions the moft rigid make juftify- ing faith to be the feed and principle of perfonal holinefs ; and that there is no feft of Chriftians (however extravagant their doftrines may be) which has not [ome expedient ov faho for maintaining the necef- as held by all Ch-ljlians* 1 9 neceffity of good works. If they fay that perfonal holinefs is not a condition of juf- tification, they fay what amounts to the fame, that it is a qiialijication which muft be found in all juftified perfons, and that without it we cannot be accepted. If they fiy that we are juftified by faith alone, they add, that we cannot he juftified by that faith which is alone (that is, by a faith not accompanied with good works) and that it is only on the virtuous be- liever, or the man who proves the truth of his faith by his works, that the grace of God in Chrift will confer future hap- pinefs. How trifling then have been the controverfies on this fubjeft ? As long as all acknowledge that it is only that faith which works by love, which purifies the heart and reforms the conduft, that can juftify us 'y of what confequence is it to determine the particular manner in which itjuftifics us? As long as all hold that the praftice of righteoufnefs is neceflary to bring us to heaven, what does it fig- C 2 nify 20 Of the Chrijlian DoBrine nify whether it is necefTary as the condition of heaven, or as an indifpenfible qualijica^ tion for it ? Farther. There have been violent difputes about the future refurreftion of mankind \ fome maintaining that the very body which had been laid in the grave (and afterwards made a part, perhaps, of a million of other bodies) is to be raifed up ; and others denying this, and aflerting more rationally, . that the doflrine of the refurreftion relates more to the man than to the body^ and means only our revivifcence after the in- ^ fcapacitation of death, or our becoming • again embodied and living fpirits in a new ftate of exiftence, it being, in their opi- nion, a circumftance of no confequence ' (provided the living agent is the fame) •hether the body is the fame or not. In a'uth, it fecms very plain, that our prefent and our future bodies muft be efientially different. The one is fefi and blood. The other is not to be Jle//:^ and as held by all Ch'ijlians^ 2 1 and blood 'y for St. Paul tells us exprefsly, that flejh and blood cannot i?iherit the king-^ dom of God. But be this as it will; tbe difpute on this fubjed is of no particular confequence. Provided we know that we are to be raifed up, we need not be very anxious to know luith what bodies we are to be raifed up. There is no more reafon for difturbing ourfelves about this, than there would be (were we going to take pofieffion of an inheritance) to difturb ourfelves about the materials of the drefs in which we fhall enter upon it. Akin to this fubjecl of difpute is ano- ther which has much perplexed the minds of many good Chriftians, and about which they have given way to many very unrea- fonable prejudices. I fliall hope that thofe who now hear me are fuperior to thefe prejudices ; and, therefore, 1 will be explicit on this fubjeft. The fubjeft I mean, is '' the intermediate ftate betvv^een '^^'^*' death and the refurreftion.'' The com- mon perfuafion is, that this intermediate ftate is to be a ftate of rewards and pu- C 3 tiifliments. 22 , Of the Cbrijlian Doclrlne nifliments. But many think the fcrip- ture account to be, that revv^ards and pu- niflin>ents are not to becrin till the general judgments and, confequently, that a fuf- pcnfion of all our powers takes place at death which will continue till the morn- ing of the refurreclion, when the wicked fhall awake to everlafting fhame and con- tempt, but the righteous to life eternal. The obfervation I have made on the other fubjects of difpute which I have m.ention- ed, is particularly applicable to this. It is a difpute about the manner and circum- ftances of a fcripture doctrine, and not about the dodrine itfelf. Let the faft be acknowledged (as it is by every Chriftian) that w^e are to be raifed up from death ^ and, if virtuous, to live for ever in a bet- ter flate through the grace of God in Chrift : Let, I fay, this fa6t be acknow- ledged, and we need not care fhould the truth be that it is to be preceded by a ftate of fleep and infenfibility. On this fup- pofition, death w^ill only be rendered more awful j for when the exercife of our men- tal as held by all Chrifttans, 23 tal powers ceafes, the flux of time ceafes with it ', the lapfe of ages becomes no more than the tick of a watch, or the vi- bration of a pendulum , and, were w^e never to be recovered, eternity itfelf w^ould be nothing to us. Whether, therefore, there is an intermediate ftate or net, death will to every man be the fame with an /;;;- ;^;W/^/^entrance on another world,and that which many of our brethren are anxious about will happen. This is evident if there is an intermediate ftate: And if there is 7ioty it is equally evident ; becaufe, in this cafe, the moment of death will ap- pear to be the moment of our refurreftion though myriads of ages may have inter- vened, and clofing our eyes on this world will be opening them on the day of retri- bution, and feeing Chrift coming to judge mankind, and to be admired in all the virtuous and faithful. And, let me here afk, is not this a more pleafing profpeoBrine neareft the truth. While, therefore, I Ihall be giving you fuch an account, I wifli you to recolleft what I have faid on this topic, and to carry along with you the reflection, that there is no fchcme of Chriflianity received among its profellbrs which contradicts the only doctijine about which we have reafon to be very anxious j I mean, " the doctrine of falvation and ** eternal life by Jefus Chrift." Were a well-authenticated deed brought to you which gave you a title to a good eftate, would you (while its general de- lign and purport were acknowledged) be very folicitous about the decifion of any difputes relating to the caufes to which you owed the deed^ the meaning of parti- cular claufes in it, or the character and rank of the friend by whofe inftrumcnta- lity you had received it. The Gofpel is our title to immortality. It contains that covenant of grace which fecurcs it to us ; and Chrifl is the friend by whofe inftru- mentahty it has been declared and con- firmed, as held by Tri7iitariam & Calvinifls, 3 1 firmed, and will be beftowcd upon us. While agreed thus far, let us not fufFer ourfelves to indulge impatience or refent- ment when we hear fome faying that Chrift was a mere man^ others that he was a fuper-angelic bei?ig^ and others that he was God himfelf in union with a man -, or when we are told by one party that he died to make fatisfaftion to Divine juftice for the fins of the world, and by another party that he died only to bear teftimony to the truth, to prove and confirm the forgiving mercy of God, and to acquire the power of conferring upon us the blef- fings of the covenant of grace. But, though I would thus caution you againft being fhocked by the oppofite opinions which are entertained among Chriftians, and prepare you for hearing, without being difturbed, the account I fliall give of them ; I do not mean to in- timate that it is of no confequence how we think about the points difputed among Chi if. 32 Of the Chrijiian Dodlrine Chriftians Tlioiigh, for the reafons I have given, this is not of Juch confe- quence as to juftify that diftrefs which fome good men feel when they hear of opinions of the Gofpel contrary to their own ; yet it is without doubt the duty of every one, as far as he has abilities and opportunities, to endeavour to think rightly about thefe difputed points, and by careful and impartial enquiry to avoid grofs errors. The better we are inform- ed about the controverfies among Chrif- tians, and the more correil our judge- ments, the more refpeftable we fliall be, and alfo the more ufcful and valuable members of the Chriftlan church; pro- vided we take care to add to our know- ledge brotherly kindnefs, and fupprefs in ourfelves every tendency to intolerance and uncharitablenefs. I have, thcrcfo-re, thought that, after fliewing you how far we are all agreed in our conceptions of the Gofpel, it vv'ould not dS held by Trinitarians & Cahinijis, 3 3 not be improper to fliew you how far Chriftians differ y and to give a brief repre- fentation of the principal fchemes of Chriftianity which they have adopted. In executing this defign, I fhall give an ac- count of only three fchemes^ becaufe they are the principal, and all other fchemes may be ranged under one or other of them. Of thefe three fchemes, two form extremes-^ and one a middle fcheme. I fhall begin with giving you an account of the two extremes, after which I iliall make fome obfervations on them, and then proceed to an account of that jniddle fcheme, which I think the true one, and which I fhall eiideavour to fupport by fome arguments. The firft of the two extremes jufl mentioned has been diilinguifhed under the names of Athanafianifm and Cahinifm-, and the other under the name oi Socini- anljrn. One of thefe carries our notions very high of Chriflianity ; and the other fmks them very low. The differences be- tween them refpect four points. D Firft. 34 Oj the Chrijllan Docfrlne Flril. 1 he nature of the Deity. Secondly. The nature and confequences of that fall of man which brought us into our prefent ftate. Thirdly. The nature and dignity of Chrift. And Fourthly. The nature of that In- terpofition of Chrift by which he is the Saviour of the world. I fhall firft mention to you the chief particulars in the Athanafian and Calvi- nijiic fcheme, as far as it refpefts thefe four points. With refpefl to the Supreme Deity, this fcheme makes him to confift oi three ferfons the fame in Jiihjlance^ and equal in power and glory. The jfiift of thefe three perfons, and the fountain of Divinity to the other two, it makes to be the Fa- ther. The feccnd perfon is called the Son ; and faid to be derived from the Fa- ther by an eternal generation of an inef- fable and incomprehenfible nature in the eficnce as held by Trinitarians & Calvinijis. 3 5 efTence of the Godhead. The third per- fon is the Holy Ghost, derived from the Father and the Son j but not by genera- tion as the Son is derived from the Fa- ther, but by an eternal and incompre- •henfible procession. Each of thefe per- fons are (according to this fcheme) very and eternal God as much as the Father himfelf; and yet, though diftinguifhed in the manner I have faid, they do not make three Gods but one God\ D 2 With ^ *' In the unity of the Godhead there be three per- *^ fans of one fubftance, power, and eternity; the ** Father, the Son, and the Hojy Ghoil. The Son *' begotten from everlafting of the Father, very and •' eternal God, of one fubftance with the Father. •' The Holy Ghoft proceeding from the Father and *' the Son, of one fubftance, majefty, and glory with *' the Father and the Son, very and eternal God." Fir/Iy Second^ and Fifth Articles of the Church of Enzland, " God the Father of Heaven ; God the Son, Re- *' deemer of the world ; God the Holy Ghoft pro- *' ceeding from the Father and the Son , Holy, Blef- " fed. 36 Of the Cbrijlian Dodfrlne With refpecl to the fall of man, this fcheme maintains the doftrine of original lin imputed and inherent^ whereby every perfon born into this world deferves, be- fore he has contracted actual guilt. 'UOiq God's " fed, and Glorious Trinity, three perfons and one <• God : Have mercy upon us." Litany, *' The Father is made of none ; neither created " nor begotten. The Son is of the Father alone ; << not made, or created, but begotten. The Holy *' Ghoft is of the Father and the Son ; neither made, *' nor created, nor begotten, but proceeding." *' There are three perfons in the Godhead, the *' Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft ; and thefc *' three are one God, the fame in fubftance, and equal *' in power and glory." ^uefiion Sixth in the Shorter Catechifm of the Reverend AJfemhly of Divines, *< 1 believe, firft, in God the Father, who made * *< me and all the world. Secondly, in God the Son, « who hath redeemed me and all mankind. Thirdly, <« in God the Holy Ghoft, vf\\o fan^fifieth me and all «< the ele<^ people of God." Church Catechifm. r,';uJ5)[vines have laboured to fliew, that believing in thefc three Gods is confiftent with believing in but cmfGo^. But what a riddle muft this appear to a child ? as held by Trinitariam & Calvini/ls . 3 7 God's wrath and future damnation. By original fin imputed \% meant the imputa^ tion of Adam^ nn to all his pofterity": And by original fin inherent is meant that fault and corruption of the nature of man whereby he is rendered prone to all evil, and lb averfe to all good as not to have the power of doing any thing acceptable to God, or, by his own natural ftrength, of turning to God, or even preparing ]umfelf for calling upon God \ In fliort, D 3 this . ** '' Original {\\\ is the fault and corruption of the " nature of every man engendered of the offspring of ^*', Adam, whereby he is very far gone from original • .f'- righteoufnefs, and of his own nature inclined to ** evil ; and, therefore, in every perfon born into •^*'> this world it deferves God's wrath and damnation." Ninth Article, of the Church of England. *' The con- *' dition of man after the fall of Adam is fuch, that '' he cannot turn or prepare himfelf by his own na^ *' tural ftrength and good works to faith and callin^^ *V upon God." Tenth Article. . " Being by nature f^ born in fm and children of wrath, we are by bap- *' tifm made the children of ^race,'* Church Catf^. (hijr(i. 38 Of the Chrijlian Dodirine this part of this fcheme cannot be better exprcfild than it is in that catechifm which has been received as the ftand- ard of orthodox divinity among Proteftant Diflcnters, and which many of our good brethren ftill hold in liigh veneration. The words of this Catechifm are, " i hat *^ all mankind fell in Adam and were " brought by his tranfgreffion into a ftate oijin and of mifery \ that the fmfuhiefs of this flate confifts in the guilt of Adam's fin, the want of original righ- teoufnefs, and the corruption of cur whole nature 3 and that the mifery of " this flate confifts in the lofs of com- *' munion with God, and in being under " his wrath and curfe, and liable to all ** the miferies of this life, and to the *^ pains of hell for ever ^'* With " AfTembly's Catechilm, Queftions i6th, 17th, i8th, and 19th. **The fall brought upon mankind '' the lofs of communion with God, and his dif- '' pleafure and <:urre3 fo that we are by nature chil- *' dren as held by H'rmitarians & Cahifiijls . 3 9 With refpeft to the third great point, or the nature and dignity of Chrift, this fcheme teaches us that he confifts of two natures 3 by one of which he is fimply a 7na?i ; and by the otht r, the fecond perfon in the Trinity, of one fubflance with the Father, begot- ten from everlafting, and very and eter- nal God \ Theie two natures are, ac- D 4 cording *' dren of wrath, bond-Haves to Satan, and j'lftly *' liable to all punifhments in this world and in that *' which is to come. And the puniflimer.ts in the *' world to come are feparation from God, and moji *' grievous torments in foul and h.dy w'lthmt intermifjion *' in hell' fire far ever, ^^ Aflembly's Larger Catcchifm, " Man by the fall hath wholly loft all ability of will " to any fpiritual good ; fo that a natural man, " being dead in fin, is not able to convert himfelf, ** or to prepare himfelf for coriverfion.'* Scotch Con* feffion of Faith ^ chap. 9th. ^ " The Son, of one fubftance with the Father, *' took man's nature, fo that two whole and perfect '' natures, the Godhead and manhood, were joined *' together in one perfon, making one Chrift, very *« God and very man, who truly fuffered, was cru- " cified. 40 Of the Chrijlian DoBrine . cording to this fcheme, whole and per- v'fe faftiygs and temptations— by his agony and blcod^^ fvveat— by his precious dcalh and burial. ^ Of the Chrifiian Dodlrins inconfiftent with reafon, injurious to the cb^rafter of the ever-blefled Deity, and in the higheft degree comfortlefs and dif- couraging. I will add, that it fcems to me no lefs contrary to fcripture than to reafon \ and I will juft mention to yon two inftances of this. The fcriptures tell us that Chrift died for all\ that he was made lower than the angels for a little time to tafte death for every man ; and that he is the propitia- tion, not of the {ins of Chriftians only, but for the fins of the whole world. But the advocates of this fcheme tell us the contrary ; that Chrift died only for the eleB^ and that his dying for all means only his dying ioxfotne men of all ranks andconditions. — In like manner> thefcrip- tures tell us that the one living and true God is God the Father of v/liom are all things, and who fcnt Chrift into the world, ^his is life e^tj^rnal^ fays our Sa- viour himfelf, to kmns) thee the only true Gody and J^ps Cbrif 'whoin thou haji fent. ^here as held by Trhiitaria72s & Cahiiitjls, 5 1 7here are gcds many^ fays St Paul, and there )are lords many^ hut to vs there is btct one God the Father of whom are all things -, and one ■Lord Jefiis through whom are all things, I need not point out to you the repugnancy between fuch declarations and fome parts of the fyftem I have reprefented. In truth, were any man (fuppofed unacquainted with the controverfies which have arifen among Chriftians) to fethimfelf to invent a fyftem of faith fo irrational and unfcrip- tural as to be incapable of being received by Chrifiians, he could fcarccly think of one concerning which he would be more ready to form fuch a judgment. And yet — Oh ! miferable imperfedion of human beings— it is the fyftem of chriftian divinity ,which has been for many ages generally received in the Chriftian church. It is ijhe fyftem which formerly all our '^ chil- '^ »» In the Church Catechifm it is taught children with the addition of a doctrine very like to iranfuh- 5 2 0}"f^e't:krijilnh^ D^Wl?te dren were made to imbibe with their mo- ther's milkiyiiato confider'Aitnoft facrcd- It is the fyftem inculcated in all efta- blifhed formularies of faith ; and, parti- cularly, in thofe of England, Ireland, and Scotland. And, what is worft of all, it is the fyftem to which the eftablifhed clergy in Britain and Irela?2d d^davt their aflent on entering their office as public teachers, and without believing the very abfurdeft part of which, one particular creed pronounces that we cannot be faved"." '"^" ( I muft, however, obferve to you, that this fyltem is held by different divines with very different degrees of ftriclnefs, fome carrying it much higher than others. For f.anticit'un ; for it -is , ,Cc;Jf r^^i^ly, PpHible a child fhould have any other meaning when he is made to fay, '« that the body and blood of Chrift are verity mid i?i' " deed taken and received in the Lord's fupper." " In Sc'dland^ if 1 am not miftakcn, the clergy are required not only to declare their beilqfof this fyftem, but that they will *' conftantly adhere to it/' ihat is, never grow wifer. as held by Trinlfariam &' CalviniJIs, 5 3 For inftance. Some divines have thought thpytihree perfons iix^th? trinity pnly three difiercnt cbara^:ers uiyd^x which the fu- preme Deity acts ; or three dilTQrenc.^//r/- Inites of his nature; ^vhi^p [i\h.zx^^^^j^ ijijiaintained that they are tgf^^iffc^^-^t beings united by a commoiy] ^nicio,ufj- nels. .] . -)ff.Ia the doctrine of pTedejli nation feme ^i>clude reprobatio?! as well as elcclion ; while others make reprobation to be. .oniv ptrferition : T h a t i s , not an appointment to damnation, but an abandonment of all the non-elecled pofterity of Adam by which they are left necefiarily to perifh. 'hAccording to feme, the eternal decree of prcdeflination refpeclcd men as/i//u:/;zi,l.»^« ings ; and this clafs of divines have httxi diftinguiilicd under the name of y^/^-Iap- tarians. But accordino: to other divines (called fupra - lapfarians) predeiTmatioa was an arbitrary decre.q^ v;hich refpecliied n"ien merely as creatures y and by which God, from his fovereign good pleafure E 3 only, 54 Of the Chrtjlian jDocfrhie only, without anyconfideration of Adam's fall, made fome of his poftcrity to be vef- fels of honour, and the reft to be veffels of wrath and mifery, juft as a potter from his good pleafure forms diftcrent portions of the fame clay for noble or ignoble pur- pofes. Again; with refpe6l to thofe confe- quences of the fall in which that half of mankind who die in infancy and between infancy and maturity are involved ; fome divines have maintained that, in confe- quence of the imputation of Adam's tranf- grelTion, the taint of o/iginal fin, and the lofs of original rightcoufnefs, they are fo depraved and polluted, as to be the ob- jefts of God's vindiflive juftice and fub- je£l to the i)ai?is of tell for ever"" : While others of a milder flamp have only main- tained *' " All mankind by the fall have loft communion «' with God, are under his wrath and curie, and fo " made liablf to all the milcries of th'? life, and to " the pains of hell for ever." Jjjembl/s Catcchifniy cs held by 7rii2itarians & Calvt?JtJts . 5 5 tained that, if defcended from wicked parents, they will be annihilated -^ and tjhat, if the offspring of righteous parenfs', they will be happy. This was the opi- nion of that eminent man and excellent poet to whom moft of the con^gregations of Proteftant Diffenters are indebted for the Pfalms and Hymns they conftantly life in public worfhip. But i muft reftrain m.yfelf. I feel that I am in danger of tiring and perplexing you. I will, therefore, only add the following ;^refle6lions. Firft, How pernicious are the effefls of civil eftablifliments of religion ? That fyftem of faith which I have defcribed, and againft which youryr^//;?^j as well as your reafon muft revolt, is upheld by all the xhurch eftablifliments in Chriftendom, and the reception of it enforced by pains and penalties. This is true of even this land of diftinguiflied light and liberty. An aft oi ^een Elizabeth ftill in force inflifts on all who fpeak in dero- E 4. gation. 56 Of the Chrijlian DoBrine gatioii o/i^thQiBooik/ of Common Prayer filler for the firft and lecond offence 3 ior- feiture of goods for the third, j,; and iin- prifonment for life for the Tourtli of- f fence. And an aft of KirigJVillmv en- acl5, that '' every perfpn educat^rihiithe *^ Chriftian religion denying; by writing, j-j^j- J (Printing, teaching, or fpeakiiig, any '* one of the three perfons iii thf: Holy f," Trinity to be God, or maintaining that ^j^"/there are more Cods than one, ihall, ./J,for the firft offence, he rendered incap- .^J^,abie of holding any office ; and, for the , jf fecond offence, be rendered incapable of -.jYi bringing any action, or buying any ;*J, lands, cind fuffer three years imprifon- ^ ment." By fpeaking, therefore, to you in the manner I have now done, I iliould, at the time thefe a6ls paffed, have expofed myfclf to great dan- ger. But, thanks be to God, the times in this country are happily altered. We can now think as we pleafe, and profefs what; €S held hj I'rinitarians & Calvimjis, 57 *'what we think : And, though the laws continue the fame, wc can rely on the generofity (not to fay the juftice) of the public for proteftion againft them, while ■we keep within th . limits of fair difcuflion ^and argument.--But I am wandering from the point I had in view. I obferved, that v/e may learn from what I have faid the pernicious effects of civil eftablifhments of religion. Had it not been for the fupport which the fyftem I have defcribed has derived from hence, it is fcarcely conceivable that it could have flood its ground long in oppofition to in- creafmg light and knowledge. During -'the three firft centuries from our Savi- *'our*s birth it was little known ; nor did it gain a full fettlement till civil power took Chriftianity under its patronage, and the grand apoftacy foretold in the Scriptures begun in theChriftian church. Nothing, indeedjcan be more horriblethan 'the accounts in Ecclefiaftical Hiftory of the 58 Of tfj€ Chrijltan DoUrine the furious controverfies which the intro- duftion of this fyjftem occafioned, and the torrents of blood which were filed before its principal articles came to be generally received. I refer. to the difputes between Athanajlui ^nAAn'us in the fourth century, which ended in the efi:ablifl:iment of the prefent doftrine, " that Chrift and the " Holy Spirit are confuhjiafitial with the " Father." — The difputes between the NeJ}oria?25 and their opponents, which ended in the eftablifliment of the prefent doftrine of the Hypoflatical union ■ — The difputes between St. Aujlin and the Fela* gians^ which ended in the eflablifhment of the prefent docliines of prcdeilination and original fin.— And to the difpute^ whe- ther the Holy Ghoft proceeded from the ^Father o?ihy which ended in the eftablifl:i- ment of the prefent do6lrine, '' that he ** proceeds both from the Father and th,e '' Son." It is not pofTible to defcribe to you the convulfions into which thefe dif- putes as held by Trinitarians & Cakiiiijls 5 9 putes thre.v the Chriftian church in the fourth and fifth centuries ; the Ana- thenuis which the contending parties hurled againft one another ; and the dreadful rage with which the ftronger party always harrafled the weaker party. I fuppofe 1 do not exaggerate when I fay, that in thefe controverfies millions of human facrifices were offered at the flirine of religious bigotry. In truth J ecclefiaftical hiftory in general, and this part of it more cfpecially, is lit- tle more than a hiftory of the worft paf- fions of the human heart w^orked up by ecclefiaftical zeal into a diabolical viru- lence and madnefs. Chriftians have late- ly grown wifer, and, I hope, better. We can now look back with aftonifli- ment on thofe days of ignorance, and welcome the approach of that period when the Gofpel fhall be better un- derftood, jargon give way to reafon, and peace and tolerance prevail univer- fally. 6o Of the Chrijlian Do^rifie fally. This leads me to give you a necef- fary caution. orlw eisiiirnrr' KW-^r oh won v'n-ftffrffn ^\^V^i\*i»^'^,'^^ ,y^ I have expreilecl pretty ftrongly my dif- approbation of the fyftepi of Divinity which I have ftated. But I would exhort you earneftly to avoid all uncharitable- nefs with refpedi to thofe of our fellow- chriftians who ftill hold this fyftem. In confequence of the fpread of the princi- ples of humanity, it is now held by its warmeft advocates with milder difpofi- tions than form.erly ; and though, in the lafl: century and the beginning of this, they would probably have devoutly burnt me, yet now there are few of them in whofe hands I would not truft myfelf, without the leaft apprehenfion of being at all injured in my perfon, property, or liberty, Wehave had lately, among Pro- ^f^^iif^Diflenters, a flriking proof of this change of temper in our T^riniiarian and Calvinijtical bretliren. Not long ago^, as I have juft intimated, it would have been a point as held by ^rimfanam '& Uahthifts , 6 1 a point of piety with them not to tolerate ininifters who profefs, as moft of the Prejbyterian niinifters now do, Unitarian principles. But had it been propofed to them to concur \mxhjiich minifters in feck-- ing a toleration, they would have been fhocked. This, however, has lately been the condu6l of our Tri?iitarian brethren'. They have joined with me and others in apphcations to parliament, which at laft proved fuccefsful, for granting the bene-* fit of toleration to all Proteftant preachers of all denominations, reprobating all penal laws in religion, difdaining to alk a liberty for themfclves v/hich would not be equally enjoyed by Unitariam and So- cinians, and even declaring a preference, could it have been obtained, of a tolera- tion which would have given legal pro- tection to the v/orfhip of all peaceable men of all fefts and religions. Nothing can do them greater honou??-^ ^^ - ^ Without all doubt, neither^'Vf^Vtf^'^iib)-- good fenfe belongs exclufively to any one r**- 6t 0/ the Chrijlian D,odirine religious feft. We fee continually that wife and worthy men fall into great niif- takes, and are capable of receiving as fa- cred the erofieft abfurdities. But this is of little confequence ; our acceptance with God depending on the fmcerity of of our hearts and the faithfulnefs of our endeavours to find out truth, and not on the rectitude of our judgments. Many an Athanafiaii and Cahinijl will hereafter rejoice in heaven with many of tbofe Vni- tarians and Arminians v^'hom now, from miftaken views, he configns to hell°i and he ^ By delivering this fentlment I have fubjedlcd my- felf to the Anathema in the 1 8th Article of the Church of Enghnd, which declares thofc " accurfed who ** prefume to fay that every man {hall be favcd by the *' law or fe^ which he profciTes, if he be diligent to " frame his life according ^o that law and the light *' of nature 5 holy €cripture fetting out to us only *' the name of Chrill whereby men muit be faved* It is ftrange that our rulers can continue the-impo- fition of this article, the Athanafum Creed, &g. ^'c. The US held by Trinitarlam & Cahini/Is. 63 he will then be furprifed at his own rafh- nefs. Let us, therefore, learn to refpedl: one another amidft all our differences. What is moli to be lamented in the fyflem I have ftated, is its tendency to lead The enemies of reformation do not fufficlcntly confider, that by oppofing;, in enlightened times, all attempts to remove fuch Shocking blemifhes from our eftablifhed code of faith and worfhip, they expofe the hierarchy to particular danger of a fudden and total overthrow. As a friend to the free progrefs of truth, and an enemy to all ilavifh hierarchies, I could al- moft wifh they may perfevere in their obftinacy. '^i am fenfible that the Article juft quoted may bs underftood to fignify no more than that virtuous Hea- thens, Jews, and Mahometans, will be faved only through Jefus Chriir. But this could not be the meaning of the framers of thefe Articles. It is pro- bable that no fuch Catholic idea ever entered their minds as the pofTibility of the falvation of virtuous men of all religions. Much lefs could they think that thofe Heretics might be jfaiicd in another world whom they thought it their duty to burn in this. world J and concerning whom the nation in its public devotions is ordered to declare, that thev will with- out doubt periih everlaftinsrly. The 64 Of the Chrijlian Doclrine lead thofe who embrace it to lay an un- due ftrefs upon it, and to think that all who reject it deny the Lord that bought them, and are enemies to God and The deciTions of the Reverend Aflcmbly of Pref- byterian Divines fitting at Weflmv^Jler^ arc the fame on thefe fubje6ls with thofe of the church oi England. " Good works, they fay, done by unregenerate men, *' fince they proceed not from a heart purified by '' faith, are finful, and cannot pleafe God, or make " a man meet to receive the grace of God ; and yet *^ the negleil of them is more finful and difpleafmg *' to God.'* JJjemhlfs Confcjficn of Faith y chap. i6th Se<5l. yth. *' Infants and others, if ele^ed^ are '' faved. But all not elected, though called by the *' miniilry of the word, never come to Chrifl, and, '' therefore, connot be favcd ; much lefs cnn men " not profciTing the Chriftian religion be faved ia *' any oth'ir way whatever, be they never fo diligent '' to frame tlieir lives according: to the lisiht of na- " ture and the law of that religion they profcfs ; and " to aflert they may, is very pernicious and to be '' detcftcd." lb, ch. 10, {zEX, 3 and 4. Concern- ing all who oppofc fuch docSlrines as thcfc, and maintain opinions contrary to the known prin- ciples of Chriftianity, they fay, " th^y may be *' law- as held by Trinitariam & Calvi7itjis. 6 1 and Chrift' This contra6ls their bene- volence, and difpofes them to view with difguft a confiderable part of their Chrif- tian brethren, it being fcarcely pofiible F they *' fully called to account and proceeded againtl By << the cenfures of the church and the power of the *' civil magiftrate ; who has authority, and whof^ <' duty it is to preferve unity in the church, to keep *' the truth of God pure and entire, and to fupprefs " herefy." But at the fame time it is added, that, in doing this, the civil magiftrate is to be only the executioner of prefby teries and fynods, " with whom " he is te confult and advife, and to whom it be- " longeth to decide controverfies of faith, and to fet " down rules for the ordering of the public worfhip *' of God and government of his church, and autho- *' ritatively to determine the fame ; which determina- '' tions are to be received, with reverence and fub- " miilion, as coming from a power which is the or- *^ dinahce of God." Ibid, ch. 20. kSt. 4. ch. 23. fe6l. 3. and ch. 31. fedl 3. How adverfe to every principle of religious liberty and charity are thcfe de- cifions ? Many in this aflembly had fmarted fe- verely under the exercife of prelaficat authority j ^nd this fhould have led them to deteft fuch prin- ciples. But it appears from this Confeilion of Faith 6 6 Of the Chrijlian DoEirine they fliould love thofe whom they think Gx)d hates. Such uncharitablenefs i;^ miferable and frightful. Let us avoid it as much as we can. It will be more inexcufable in us than it is in them^ in proportion to the degree in which our fen- Faith and their fubfequent conducl, that they wanted only to transfer the feat of church tyranny and the powers of perfecution from the bijhops to thcmfelves. In juf^^ice, however, to their chara6lers, it fhould be confidered, that their narrownefs and intolerance were the faults of the age in which they lived. They had not yet efcaped far enough from the darknefs of popery to enjoy the light and comfort of enlarged fentiments. Thofe venerable reformers, in particu'* lar, to whom we owe our prefent Church Service and the 39 Articles, were excellent men 3 and though, from a regard to what they thought to be y^cr^^/ truth, they would burn others^ they proved that, from the fame principle, they would alfo burn thcmfelves. — I muft add, that this is an apology for them which renders their fucceflbrs in the prefent times more in- excufable. The dark age is gone ; and yet its errors and barbarities are continued to burden the confcien- ces of good men, and to miflcad and difgrace the national worfhip. as held by 'Trinitarians & CahiniJ}s» 67 fentiments are more liberal. And in this lies one unfpeakable advantage of li- beral fentiments. They open our hearts to all about us, and communi- cate catholic difpofitions. By connec- ting the favour of God with nothing but an honeft mind, and caufing us to think of him as a friend to every fin- cere enquirer, they leave room for the exercife of all the kind affe6lions. They extirpate the wretched prejudices which make us fhy of one another ; and enable us to regard, with equal fatisfacStion and pleafure, our neighbours, friends, and acquaintance, be their modes of wor- fliip or their fyftems of faith what they will. But I have detained you too long. What I am next to proceed to is an ac- count of the fcheme of Chriftianity which has been commonly called Socinianifm. This fhall be referved for x\\^ next dif- courfe. F a SER- r 69 } SERMON III. OF THE CHRISTIAN DOCTRINE AS HELD BY UNITARIANS^ AND SOCINIANS. I T I M. i. II. I'be glorious Gofpel of the blejfed God. IN difcourfing to you from thefe words I have propofed to give you an account of that Gofpel here called by St. Paul the F 3 glo- ^ By Unitarians I mean thofe Chriftians who be- lieve there is but one God and one obje(5l of religious worfhip ; and that this one God is the Father only, and not a Trinity confifting of Father, Son, ^nd Holy Ghoft, An Unitarian^ therefore, may or may not be a believer in Chrift*s pre-exiftence \ and it win 70 Of the Chrtjlian DoElrine glorious Gojpcl of the blejfed Gcd, In doing this I have propofed to fhew you Firft, What thofc Articles of the Chrif- tian faith are about which all Chriftians are agreed. This was the fubjeft of my firft difcourfe -, and, in fpeaking to you upon it, I endeavoured to fhew you, that all Chriftians are agreed with refpeft to what is moft important in the informa- tion given us by the Gofpel — 1 hat the differences among them arc chiefly dif- ferent modes of explaining thofe fun- damental fafts which all equally be- lieve. — And that, confequently, thefe differences afford no juft reafon for any alarm to thofe Chriftians who may be unacquainted with the difputes which have taken place in the Chriftian church. We all believe, I obferved, that the glad tidings ■will appear in the fequel, that thofe who deny this dodlrine have, on this account, no more right to this appellation than thofe anticnt Heathens had, who, though they might believe in one Supreme Divinity, yet wor/hipped deified human fpirits. as heUhy Vnitaricins & Soci?2ians. -^ tidings which theGofpel brings are, Peace on earth and good njoill towards men, by the promife it makes of pardon and favour and a refurreftion from death to an endlefs life, through that great Meffiah who died and rofe again. And this is all that can be interefting to us as guilty and mortal creatures. I proceeded from hence to give you an account of the diiEFerent fchemes of the Gofpel which have been addpted by Chrif- tians, after which I have propofed to give you an account of that fcheme which, I think, the true fcheme ; and to endea- vour to fupport it by fome arguments. I have divided the different fchemes of Chriftianity into three ; namely, the C^/- vinijlicy the Socinian, and a middle fcheme between thefe two. I have already given a fufficient account of the firfl: of thefe fchemes; and I flaall now give you a brief account of the Socinian fcheme. Thefe fchemes form (as I obferved in my former (Jifcourfe) the two extremes into which F 4 Chrif. 7? Of the Chrijlian Do^rine Chriftians have gone in their opinions of the Gofpel. One carries our notions very h\'^\\ on the narrow fide ; and the other , finks them as low on the contrary fide. Againft this laft fcheme there are ftrong prejudices among many good Chriftians, and. you will find that in two leading points I think it .vrong : But that it maintains all that we need be anxious about in Chriitianity, and that confe- quently the prejudices againft it have no juft foundation, will probably appear from the following recital of its principal doftrines. .i III order to go along with me here you flionld carry in your minds the four heads under which I have ranged the fub- jecls of difference in the opinions of Chriftians. Firft, the nature of the Deity — Secondly, the natqre and dignity of Chrift — Thirdly, the fall of man and its confequences — And, Fourthly, the nature and effect of Chrift's interpofition. Firft, as held by Uni tartans G? Socinians. 73 Firft, with refpeft to the nature of the Deity Socinians differ from Trinitarians and Cahinifls in holding the do6lrine of his UNITY with more ftriftnefs. In oppofition to the dodrine of three per- fons making one God, they maintain that the effence of the Deity is fimple and undivided ; that God the Father only (and not the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghoft) is the true and living God, and the fountain of all power and perfec- tion in the univerfe \ and that to elevate .any other beings to an equality with him is idolatry and impiety. Secondly, With refpefl: to the fall, ^o- cinians allow that there has been fuch an event, and that by it mankind have been brought lower in the fcale of beings, and fubjedted to the imperfeftions of the pre- fent ftate and particularly to the evil of death ^ But they rejeft the do<5lrine of the ^ There are fome who give fuch interpretations of the account in the 3d chap, of Genefis and the fubfe- que^it 74 Of the Chrljiian DoBrtne the imputation of Adam's tranfgrefHan to his pofterity, and fuch a total corrup- tion of our natures by original fin as de- prives us of free-will, and fubjecls us be- fore we have committed actual fin (and, therefore, even infants^ to the difpleafure of God and future punifliment. Thus far I go entirely with them, as do many other Chriftians who yet are by no means to be confidered as holding the opi- nions which moft properly form \X\^Scci- nian fyftem of Chriftianity. What diftin- guifhes this fyftem is the doftrine they maintain with refpedt to the two other fubjects of difference which I have men- tioned i or the dignity of Chrift, and the fenfe in which he is our Saviour. V/ith quent references to it in the facred writings (and par- ticularly in Rom. the 5th chap, and iCor. 15th chap.) as make them no evidence of any fur IkH*^ In thefe aflertions there is a great deal that is true ; .fpr. indeed .nothing c^n be lefs reafonable than fome, of the explana- tions which have been given of our rcH? demption by Chrift. Accordhig to the mod common of thefe ^cxplajiations, .fiu being committed agaijift aij- infinite beings is an infinite evil, and defervcs infinite-: punifli- as held by Unitarians & Socinians, 8 r punifliment j and, confequently, none but an infinite being could make fatisfac* tion for it. Chrift, being a man making one perfon with the fecond perfon in the Trinity (and, therefore, having by this union infinite merit communicated to his fufFerings) made this fatisfadtion by fuf- fering and dying on the crofs. But he did not make it for alL On the con- trary 'y though one drop of his blood was fufficient to purchafe univerfal falvation, it was filed only for the eleft -, and the reft of mankind having had no fatisfaction made for their fins, were left in the ftate into which Adam*s fall brought them; that is, in a ftate which fubje6ted them hecefl^arily, unlefs redeemed, to everlaft- irig mifery — God the Father was pro- voked, and required fatisfaftion. God the Son ftepped in to appeafe him, and to make the required fatisfadlion by his vicarious facrifice ; excluding, however, from the benefit of it the greater jpart of mankind. G This 82 Of the Chrijlian BoBrtne This is ajuft account of the ideas which many of our fellow-chriftians have enter- tained of the method of our falvation by Chrift ; and they lead us moft abfurdly to conceive of one part of the Divine nature as making fatisfaction to another part of it; and, therefore, this othei^ part as itfelf left unfatisfied. It likewife follows from them, that our redemption having been bought, and the full price given for it, could not have been derived from the free grace of God. But what is worft of all in this accountof our redemption is, that, by reprefenting the Deity in the charafter of an angry and inexorable Judge, and Jefus Chrift in the oppofire charafter of a tnild and benevolent Pacifier and Friend, 'it tends to transfer our love from that Being who is the Father of mercies and the firft caufe of all good, to that Meffcngcr whom he fent into the world to carry on the purpofes of his goodnefs. Such fenti* lyients as thefe cannot be condemned too ftrongly. It was neceflary that on this as held by Unit art am & Soclnlans . 8 3' this occafioa.ij j|liould mention thern to you in order to guard you againft them. They are a wretched mifconception of one of the moft important of all doc- trines J and they muft have a very un- jjiappy erTecl on the. tempers of thofe .who ircceive them, with refpeclto that y?ry? and iefiy as v^^ell as greatejl^ of all beings who is the proper object in all cafes of our Jirjl and befl regards. But though, even on the fubje6l of our redemption by Chrift, I agree in, this in- ftance with that denomination of Chrif- tians vi^hofe opinions I am now dcfcribing, I, can by no means think of it in every re- fpeft as they do. . I believe Chrift to be a Saviour in a much higher fenfe than they allow, I view his character in a much higher liglit. He died, they fay, to bear witnefs to the truth, and to confirm the ,_;4do6lrine he taught by laying down his life for it; and he faves us by leading us \Xo repentance and virtue; and by convey- ing to penitent finners a remifliou of pu- G 2 nifliment 84 Of the ChnjUan Do51rine nifhment and future happinefs. I aflent to this, but cannot think it the whole truth, as you will find when I have given you an account of the third of thofe fchemes into which I have divided thQ opinions of Chriftians concerning the Gofpel, and which I fhall now proceed to explain. After what I have already faid, a few words will be fufficient for this purpofe. This THIRD fcheme agrees with the fcheme laft ftated in all that relates to the nature of the Deity and the confequences of the fall ; and alfo, in reiefting; the doc- trines of abfolute predeftination, particu- lar redemption, irrefiftible grace, and juftification by faith only. It differs from it principally on the two laft of the four points I have mentioned ; and I have cal- led it the middle fcheme, becaufe, on thefe two points, it neither carries our fenti- ments fo high as Athariafianifm and Cal^ vinifm^ nor finks them fo low as Socini^ anijm as held by Unitarians & Socinians, 8 5 a?itfm. It makes Chrift more than a hu- man being ; his charafter more than that of a reformer ; and our falvation by him more than a mere co7iveyance of benefits. It teaches that Chrift defcended to this earth from a ftate of pre-exiftent dignity; that he was in the beginning with God, and that by him God made this world ; and that by a humiliation of himfelf which has no parallel, and by which he has exhibited an example of benevolence that pafTes knowledge, he took on him flefh and blood and paffed through hu- man life, enduring all its forrows in order to fave and blefs a finful race By de- livering himfelf up to death he acquired the power of delivering us from death. By offering himfelf a facrifice on the crofs he vindicated the honour of thofe laws which finners had broken, and rendered the exercife of favour to them confiftent with the holiriefs and wifdom of God's government ; and by his refurreftion from the dead he proved the efficacy and G ^ ac- 86 Of the Chrijllan Doclrine ' acceptablenefs of his facrifice. In a word; according to thi^ fcheme, Chrift not only declared but c?/5/j/«rJ the avallablenefs of repentance to pardon ; and became, by his interpofition, not only the Coijveyef but the Author and the means of our fu- ture immortality. This was a fervice fo great that no meaner agent could be equal to it ; and, in confequence of it, offers of full favour are made to all ; no human being will be excluded from falvation ex- cept through his own fault -, and every truly virtuous man from the beginning to the end of time (be his country or hi& religion' what it will) is made fure of be- ing raifed from deatli and made happy for ever. It is neceffary to add, that in all this the Supreme Deity, according to the fame principles! is to be confidered as the firftcai!ife, and ChVifl:"'as his Gift to lallen man ; and as acbng under tnat eternal and fdf-exiftent Being conipared with vvhoni no other being is either great or good, and of who?n and through ivhom end to whom arc all things. This as held hy Unitarians & Sodnians. 8 7 This is. t\i€ account of; the Gofpel which appears to me, to be neareft the truth; and, as it is a mean between two oppofite fchemeSj it is more likely to dc- ferve our preference. Thert* are, how- ever, fome m9dificati9ns of it whicli ap- proach too nearly to the fcheme firft ex-^ plained; and this, in my opinion, is true in particular of the account which has been given of the dignity of ChrJll: and the doftrine of our redemption by thq truly great and excellent Dr. Clarke, In the explications he gives of the doctrine of our redemption, he feems to have car- ried his. ideas to fubflitutionj fatisfadlion, and vicarious punifliments : And he feems alfo to haye held fi^fh a pre-eminoice of Chrift above all creatures, and fuch a pe- culiar manner of his derivation from Qod as is perfedly incomprehenfibk, and grounded on a m.ifinterpTeta^ioj;i of the language of Scripture. But I muft not now dwell on fuch obferva- txons. Q 4 My tt ■' tf iU Chrijl'tan DoSfrine 'My bofinefs in what remains of thefe dlfcourfes fliall be to give you an accoutit of the reafons which determine me to pre- fer'this third fcheme of Chriftianity to the Soc'mian fcheme. In doing this I fhall confine myfelf to the two points I have fo often mentioned, and endeavour to ftate my reafons, frji of all, for believing that Chrifl:, with refped to his nature or perfon was more th^n a man; 2ind, fecofidfy, for believing that, with refpeft to his of- fice as a Saviour, he was more than a teacher and example. At prefent I will only make a few obfervations previous to^ the difcuflion of the firfl: of thefe points. Firft. I would point out to your no- tice a particular coincidence between So- chiianifm and the high Trinitana?2 doc- trine. You will find, upon refle6lion, that there cannot be a more remarkable inftance of a trite obfervation, *' that ex- -^^tremes are apt to meet.** According to the^/i6^;/^rf;;doftrine,that Jrfus who was born of a virgin, who bled on the crofs, and i:.. hs held hy TJniiariam ?=? Soctnians, 8'g • and who rofe i^gaiiirWas fioiply a inan feeling all our wants ao4. .ftH^^js^ .to all our infirmities, and fufFering^. It is jrn- pofilble that any one who has the ufe of his reafon fhould believe that God was born, and f^fFered, and . bled, and died. This was true . only,^()f ^ ;^e^ , ^^^^ Jefi^s. oThe contrary is too fhocking,to be even imagined 5 nor is it afierted by the advo- cates of the proper Deity of Jefus Chrift. What they fay is, that though Chrift was E^w^r/z^^w* yet he was alfo very God -, and • ^when they fay he was very God they do not piean that he loft his nature * as a man x^, f>,^ .- by * Dr. Horfley (in a fermon on the incarnation lately publifhca^ has made an obfervation on this fubjedi which feems curious. According to him the hypoftatical union could not have taken place if the principle of inxlividual exiftenc.e i^i^the man Jefus had not been that union itfelf; and the neceffity of this created the neceffity of the miraculous conceptnDn, a man produced in the common way, or (as he fpeaks) by th? phyfical po\yers of generation, being incapable of fuch an unionifi Or ^^liv i 90 0/ the Chrijlian- DoBrhie by a converfion of it into, the fubftancc of the Deity (this alfo being an abfurdity too grofs to be admitted by any human mind) but that there was an union be- tween it and the Divine^ nature which gave value and efRci^cy to the fufFerings of the man* The Secmians fay much the fame -, for they fay, that God dwelt in Je- fus and acted and fpoke by him, and that there was fuch an extraordinary commu- nication of Divine influence to him as raifed him above other mortals and renr*. dered him properly G(?^i^/Vi& tis^ that is, God manifefting himfelf to us and difplay- ing his power and perfections on earth in the perfon, difcourfes, and miracles of Chrift. The advocates of the Athanaf^a^ doflrine cannot mean more than this by the union thev talk of between God and Ghrift. They call it indeed an union oft two natures into one perfon j an union which made the Godhead and the manhood one coniplex fubjecl of action and paffion. But this is a language to which they can- not as held by Urn tartans & Soctnians\ 9 1 ■ not poffibly fix any ideas : For, whatever they may pretend, they cannot really be- lieve that a}iy two natures, much lefs two natures fo eflentially different as the hu- man and Divine, can make one perfon ; or that there couW have been fuch an uhion between Jefus and the Supreme Deity as to make it ftriftly true, that when Jefus was born, God was born ; or that when Jefus was crucified, God was cruci- fied. They are no more capable of be* lieving this than the Papifts, when they maintain tranfubftantiation, are capable of believing that the body of Chrift may be eaten at one and the fame time in a million of places, or that Chrift at his l^ft fupper really held his body in his hand and gave it to his apoftles. As far, therefore, as Trinitarians and Sociniafis have ideas they are agreed on this fubjeft ; and the war they have been maintaining againft one another has been entirely a v/ar of words. — What an inftance is this of gz Of the Cbrijliaii DoSlrine of human weaknefs ? There are no two parties of Chriftians who talk languages about Chrift more feemingly oppofite ; one maintahiing zealoufly that he was the eternal God, and the other that he was a man; and yet when their ideas are exa- mined we find that they coincide, the one making him in reality as much a mere man as the other, and the only difference being, that the one talk a plain language about the union of this man to the Deityj and that the other run it up to a myflery which admits of no explanation or mean- ing. But what is a ftill more melancholy proof of human weaknefs is the flrefs which one of thefe parties have laid on their myfterious do6lrine; and the horrid barbarity with which, in former ages, they perfecuted all who could not receive it. Even now, in this enlightened and happy country, there is (as you well know) a creed, in conflant ufe and obfti- nately retained, which declares that with- oqt Gsheld by TJmtariajis & Sociniajis, ^j out doubt all who rejeft this dodlrinc wilt perifli everlaftingly s. ' But s There Is an opinion concerning Chrift which I have thought not neceiTary to be noticed in thefe oif- courfes. It is the opinion in which a very amiable divine (the late Dr. Watts) fettled after fpending many years in perplexing enquiries, and taking mucii pains to keep within the limits of the doclrijics com*' monly reckoned orthodox. It agrees with Arianlfm in t\iQjlrange do£lrine, as Dr. Watts calls it (fee his Solemn Addrefs to the Deity in the 4th volume of his works) of a threefold Deity confiding of Father, Son, and Holy Ghoft In one undivided effence^ and in maintaining, that the Saviour who died for us w^s a fuper-angelic fpirit, the firft of God's productions and the limit between him and his creatures, and not a mere man, as Athanafiam and Soeini'ans hy. But it differs from Arianifm in averting a dodirlne which feems even m:re ftrange than that concerning the Deity which Dr. Watts rejected. I mean, the doctrine of a two- fold Chrift confifting of two natures in cne perfon ; or of two beings (the felf-exiftent Creator. and,a crea«- ture) made, as Dr. Watts fpeaks, Into one complex being by an ineffable union and indwelling, which renders all the fame titles, attributes, and honours, equally applicable to both. See Dr. JFatt'i Trcatife en the Glory of Chrifl as God-man, The 94 Of the Chrljlian Do5irine But fecondly ; another previous obfer- vation vyhich I would make is, that tho', in oppofition to the do6lrine both of 'Iri- nitana?is and SocinianSy I look upon Chrift as The Ar'ian part of this fcheme (now generally dif- tlnguifhed by the name of the Indwelling fcheme) gave fo much offence to Dr; Watt's more orthodox bre- -'thren, that the latter part of it could not fave him f from their cenfures, or make him an objee not concluded from his^ explanation of Rom. v. 21. that he was not a Socinian.-^Vis.cm flror^ly doqs this fhew that allowances ought fometimcs to bemadd even for uncharipblenefs I And what a proof is it of the onhappy influence of the prejudices to which we «re as held hy TJnitciridm?^ SGcimans. ■ ^5 -as moi'e than any human being, I do not ptefufm^'to be able to determine ih^ de^^pee of his fuperiority, 01* to knclw-any thing 6f '' thepartictrlai* rank Which he hdd'in God's univerfe before his defcent from heaven. ^'This is a point which we have neither means for difcovering, nor faculties for nnderftanding. The Scripturesare in a great degree fileht about it, informing us only that he nijas before Abrahnm 5 that he ^' had glory with God before' the world'waSy and ^ that, thro' his intermediate agency, God made /Zvj world/ I fay this world, for you fliould never forget that when the Scrip- tures fpeak of the ^wcrld ihcy mean only V/^/j world with its connexions and de- ^ pendencies, the facred writers having probably never carried their views farther, or are all liable, and which often cdntra6t and darken the befl minds ? — Thefe prejudices Would be exter- minated, and all Chriftlans would refpedl one aaio- ther, were the dodrlne I have endeavoured to inct:!- cate in the firfl of thefe difcourfes unlvcrfallv received; §6 Of the Chrijlian DoBrini '^ or formed any conception of thofe in- numerable worlds and Jyftcms of worlds whicK have been difcovered by the mo- dern improvements in philofophy and aftronomy. Thofe learned men, there- fore, feem to me to have gone much too far, who (thouglx they deny Chrift's equa- lity to his God and our God) yet fpeak of him as a Being who exifled before all worlds and as at the head of all worlds. This feems almoll as httle warranted by reafon and Scripture as the doftrine which ^ makes him the one supreme j and it makes the doctrine of his having humbled himfelf to death even the death of the crofs to fave this world, almoft equally in- credible. When in the ■^olo£ians he is ftyled the image of the invifble Deity ^ and theFirJl'born of every creature ^ the meaning '^ is, that by the Divine power which he difplaycd he was a reprefentation on earth of the ever-bleffcd Deity ; and that by rifing from the dead he became, what he is elfew here called, the Firft- fruits of them that as held by Unitarians &? Sodiiians* 97 that fleep, and the Firft-born from the dead of human beings. Thirdly, There is one previous cb^v^ fervation more which I would re- '• commend to your particuLir confidera- tion. ; Amidft all the fpeculations and contro-n:^. verfies about the perfon and offices of Chrift, I wifli you would never forget that the oiily objeft of religious worfhip is the one Supreme Deity. This, I think, a point of great confequence. There is no other being concerning whom we have fufFicient reafon to think, that he is continually pre- fent with us, and a watnefs to all our thoughts and defires. There is, therefore, no other being to whom our prayers ought to be directed. It was to this Beins; that our Lord himfeif directed his prayers : And his language to us is, tkcufialt wor^ Jkip the Lord thy God aizd him only Jloalt fhonfervCy Math. iv. 10. l^cu fiall ajk 7nc 7^ofhing. Whatever ye JJ.mll ojk the Father H ^ in 98 Of the ChrifJan Dc^rhie in my name^ he ivill give it to you^ John xvi. 23. This is the Scripture rule of tv'orfliip. We are to pray to God in the «^;;;^ of Chrift ; that is, as his difciples, and with a regard to him as the Mediator between God and man. To this purpofe StPPaul exhorts us in Col. iii. 1 6. Do every thing in the name oj Chriji, giving thanks to God and the Father by him. The injunftion to St. John, when he would have fallen down to worfhip the angel that fhewed him the prophetical vifions in the book of Revelation, v/e fhould con- fider as given to every Chriftian who is difpofed to worfnip any being except the ONE Supreme — See thou do it not\ Wcrjhip .God. All other worfiiip is.an idolatry which the Chriftian religion forbids. The pronenefs to it, however, among Chrif- tians, as well as Heathens, has been in : all ages melancholy and fliocking. Tlie ^teligion of Heathens confifted chiefly in ''ttie worfliip of human fpirity ftippofed' to have its heldhy Unit art an s c^ «4 -^ - .-tf-rrvfd^. H 4 S E R- :>iol3d lot 01 ij^s^ioiq jxon flBfQ • MMMHlAi .V! 4 o M jj :i ^ ^ir '>ia QMA 3Dwa in nc I IriV« cu oj: gnii]3i3Jni ilom [ J05 ] SERMON IV. OF THE PRE -EXISTENCE AND DIGNITY OF CHRIST. I John iv. 14. We havefeeriy and do tejlify^ that the Father fent the Son to be the Saviour of the world, IN difcourfing to you on the difFei*ent fchemes of Chriftianity you may re- member that (after fliewing that we arc all agreed with refpeft to the ejjentiah of it, and the information which it was in- tended principally to communicate, and which is moft interefting to us as finful and dying creatures) I arranged the dif- ferent fentiments which have been enter- tained 1 06 Of the Pre-exi/lence tained concerning it under three fchemes, ^ach of which I ftated, giving the prefer- ence to that which 1 did not know how better to diflinguifii than by caUing it the middle fcheme between Calvinijm and My defign, in what is to follow of thefe difcourfes, is to ftate the reafons which feem to me to fnew that this fcheme comes neareft the truth. At the clofe of my laft difcourfe, I made fome preparatory obfer- vations which I thought neceflary 5 and, with this view, I Firft pointed out to your notice a coin- cidence which there is, on the fubjeft of Chrift's dignity, between the opinions of Trinitarians and Socinians. Both make the Jefus who bled and died on the crofs a 7nere jnan^ but diftinguifhed from com* mon men by a miraculous conception and a particular communication of Divine powers. In oppofition to this doftrine, I have propofed to ftate the reafons which lead me to believe, that he was 7nore than a man, and T>tg7iity of Cht^Jl. 16 J a man, and that he not only was endow- ed with extraordinary powers, but had exifted before his appearance in this world ' in a ftate of dignity and glory. - Secondly; 1 defired you to obferve that'^ I believe this to be the truth ; while I do not mean to affert any thing with refpecl to the degree of our Lord's pre^ exijiefjt dignity, this being a point about which the Scriptures are filent except by faying that God made this world by him. Thirdly; I defired you to obferve, that whatever may be the dignity of Chrift or our obligations to him, the only objecl of our religious worfliip is that one Su- preme Being who fent him into the world; and that all prayer direfted to other be- ings is an idolatry which we ought anxi- oufly to avoid. I fhall now proceed to ftate my reafons for receiving that account of the Gofpel to which I have given the preference. It differs, I have faid, from Socinianifm in two lo8 Of' the Vre-eiiip.ence two particulars. Firft, in afierting Ciirifl: to have been more than any human being. And, fccondly, in afferting that he 'took upon him human nature for a higher pur- pofe than merely revealing to mankind the will of God, and inftrucling them in their duty and in the doctrines of religion. In difcourfing on thefe fubjecls, I have thought the words I have juft read to you better adapted to my viev/s than the words on which I grounded myformer difcourfes. We have fc en and do teflify (fays St. John) that the Father Jent the Son to be the Saviour of the world, — Thefe words imply the fol- lowing very important truths. Firft s that Jefus Chrifl: was the Mcf fenger of God the Father Almighty ; and thatj thereforej we are to afcribe to him ultimately all that Chrifl did and all that we owe to him. The Father, my text fays, SENT the Son. '4 1*^ *' Secondly, that this Meilenger was one or peculiar excellence ancl dignity. By way of diftinfiion, and in order to mark his and Dignity of Chrlft. 1 09 his peculiar eminence, he is. called the Son. So likewife in the fo-ft yerfc^ of the Epifrle to the Flebrews it is faid that God, *wbo at Jundry times and in divers manner^ /poke in times pa [I to the fathers by the pro;^ phets^ hath in thefe laf times fpoken to us by bis Son, by whom he ?nade the worlds. Thirdly ; thefe words imply that Chrifl: was fent into the world to perform for it a fervice of the laft importance. He was fuit to SAVE it. The Father fent the Son to be the Saviour of the vv^orld.*'^ Thefe words, therefore, lead me to an- fwer the following enquiries. I ft. Whether the peculiar dignity of Chrift, as pointed out to us in the Scrip- tures, means any more than what ^//5^;//j- ftans and Soci/uans fay : that is, his beins: a man the fame with ourfelves, but in union with the Deity and endowed with extraordinary powers ? 2dly. What. the nature \Yas of thati;/- flrumentality in the work of our.redemp- tioUj which is exprefied when it is faid that 1 lo Of the Pre-exiJieJic^ that God SENT him to be the Saviour of the world. And 3dly. Whether he is a Saviour in any other way than by his inftru6tions and example. Firft, let us enquire what reafons there are for believing that Chrift's peculiar dig- nity, as defci'ibed in the Scriptures, im* plies that he was more than any being merely human. As one who wiflies to be a candid en- quirer after truth, I muft here tell yoUj. that I think the mere appellation (Son of God) applied to Chrifl decides nothing on this fubjeft. The manner in which he is fo ftyled in my text and in other places of Scripture implies, as I have juft obferved, his pre-eminence as a Prophet and Meffen- ger from God ; but the appellation, taken by itfelf and abftra6led from the circum- ftances of its application, affords no proof of his being more th^ln a man. It is in^ deed a phrafe w^hich has been deplorably mif- and Dignity ofChriJ}. 1 1 r rnifinterpreted ; and on which a doftrine concerning God the moft unintelligible have been grounded. By 'Trinitarians and Calvinijis^ it has been fuppofed to re- fer to an eternal derivation of one part of the Divine nature from another, or of the fecond perfon in the Trinity from the^r/?; and their language is, that Chrlft was neither made nor created^ but begotten from everlafting, and of one fubftance with the Father. And, even by many more rati- onal divines, this phrafe has been thought to refer to fome peculiar manner in which Chrift derived his exiftence from the Deity before all worlds, and by which he is diftinguiihed from and raifed above all the other produ^Stions of the Divine will and power. For this reafon they think Chrift is called the Only Begotten of the Father, there exifting no other being de- rived from him in the fame way ; that is, hy generation y and not by r/v^/Zc?;;. There is fcarcely any thing that ftrikes me more, withacQUYiftjon of the infirmity of the h::; human iia 0/ the Pre-e^ijlence ,t. human underflanding, than the zeal with * which this moil groundlcfs and abfurd notion has been received by fome of the ^^ ableft and beft men That it is wholly groundlefs will appear from the following confiderations. Firft ; with refpecl to the epithet ofily- begotten applied to Chrift as the Son of God, it is plain that it means no more than his being his beloved Son, as he is likewife often called in the Scriptures.— Thus is this epithet ufed in Prov. iv. 3, ^ For I was my father s foil tender and only , .: (that is, peculiarly) beloved in the fight of my mother. And it is remarkable, that the Greek tranflators of the Old Tefta- ment frequently render the words which, in the original, fignify only fon, by beloved fon. .^-i^^f) It deferves your notice here, that Chrift is ftyled Go^s fir jl-begotten as well as his only -begotten Son j and that he is fo ftyled plainly for no other reafon, than that he was the firft that rofe from the dead. : Thus and DigJiity of ChrJJti i t 3 Thus Rev. i. 5. Grace be to you from him nvbich is and uuhich was and nvhich ts to comey and from Jefus Chriji the Faithful JVitnefs^ the Firji- Begotten from the dead^ and the Prince of the kings of the earth. And CoL i. 18. He is the Head of the church , the Be ^ ginning^ the Firfl-Born from the dead, that in all things he might have the pre-efninence^ Can any one imagine, that in thefe texts the facred writers had any vie v/ to the mode of Chrift's derivation from the Fa- ther before all worlds ? It is equally un-» reafonable to imagine, they had any fuch view when they apply the title Son of God generally to him, without any epithet. \\\ reality ; it is only a particular kind of phrafeology ufed in the Scriptures 3 and which is frequently applied to many be- fides our Saviour. Angels are ftyled the Sons of Gody Job xxxviii. 7. JVhen the morning Jlars fa?jg together, and all the fons of God Jhouted for joy. See likewife Dan- iii. 25. — Adam is^ called the fon of God,' Luke iii. 38.~Magiftrates are called the I fons Xiik i 114 Of the Pre-exljlence Jons of God, Plal. Ixxxii. 6. and John x, 34. — Ifrael is called Go^ s,firfl^born, Exod. iv. 22. And then JJ: alt fay unto Pharoah ; thus faith the Lord -, Ifrael is tny fon^ e^ijcn my firfi'born, — But this title is, in a more particular manner, applyed to good men and virtuous Chriftians in the New Tef- tament. As many as arc led by the fpirit of Gody St. Paul tells us, are the fons cf God y and if fms, then heirs-, heirs of God, and joint heirs with Chriji^ Rom. viii. 14, and 17. So likewife, Rev. xxi. 7. He that overcometh fall inherit all things ^ and I will be his God^ and he fall be my fon. And in John i. 12. it is faid that to as many as receive Chrifty he gave the power to become the fons of God. In (hort ; according to the Scripture language, we are all the fons of God ; but Chrift is {o more particularly and emi- nently. God is the Father of us all, as well as of Chrift ; but he is the firft-born among many brethren, having God for his God no lefs than he is our God. / ^- cend and Dignify of Chrijl. 115 cend (faid our Saviour to Martha) to my God and to your God\ to my Father and to your Father. The title Son of. God then being appli- cable toChrift, with all the epithets added to it, were he only a man, nothing can be inferred from it with refpe6l to his pre- exiftcnt dignity. And this will appear yet more plainly from confidering, that he is ilyled in the Scriptures the Son of Man as well as the Son of God-, and that both thefe titles took their rife from two re- markable prophecies in the Old Tefta- ment concerning the Meffiah. The firft took its rife from Daniel the 7th chapter and 13th verfc. F fans) in the night vifonSy dnd behold one like the Son of Man came "with the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of dap ; and there was given him dominio7i and glory and a kingdom that all people and na- tions and languages Jhould ferve hi?n . The latter took its rife from the prophecy in the three firft verfes of the 42d chapter of Ifaiah. Behold my Servant (or, as it is I 2 quoted 1 1 6 Of the Fre-e^ijlence quoted in Mat- xii. i8.) Behold my SoMr whom I have chofen, my Beloved in whom my joul deltghteth.. I.willputmyfpirit upon him, and he JJ:dl fienj^ forth judgment to the Gentiles, But it will be oroper to be more explicit here, and to obferve that Chrift is called the Son of God on three accounts in the New Teftament. Firft. On account of his miraculous conception. This is evident from Luke i. 35. T^he angel f aid to her\ the Holy Ghof foall come iipm thee. 'Ihe power of the Higheji jhall oveifjadow thee. Therefore^ that holy thing which fall be born of thee fall be called the Son of Gop. Secondly. On account of his refurrec- tion. This appears from Rom. i. 4. De-- dared to be the Son of God with power by his refurreBion from the dead. And more plainly from Afts xiii. 33. T^he promife which was made to our fathers^ God hathfuU filled to us th^ir children, in that he hath raifed up "Jcfus from thedead.asitjs written in the feegnd a7id Dignity ofChriJl, 1 1 7 Jecond Pfahit. 7hou art mj Son ^ this day Vh'Sk't begotten thee. '^^^^hirdly. On account of %1^^^ office as tlie Meffiah. In* confeqiience of Ifaiah's prophecy juft quoted, the phrafe Son of God came to be the moft Common title by which the Meffiah wa^ ' ch'araflerized among the Jews. So true is this, that it appears plainly in the Gofpel hiftory that thefe two titles, the Son of God and tlie Mefjiah^ were fynonimous among the Jews at the time of our Lord's pubhc miniftry. When St. John at the end of his Gofpel declares, that v/hat he had written v/as in order that they might believe that yefus 'was the Chrifi^ the Son of God-, it is plain that he ufes the phrafe Son of God as only ano- ther phrafe for the C6r//?,^ 'tfiat ^Jj'^he Meffiah. The fame I's true -of Nathanael's declaration on feeing our Saviour. Rabbi ^ thou art the Son of God. Thou art the King ' oJIfraeL i\nd a!fo, of the confeffion made by the demoniacs mentioned Luke i v. 4.1. X)€inom alfo came out of ma?iy crying out^ I 2 ^^'^d 1 1 S Of the Pre- exijlence and faying^ Thou art the MeJJiah, the Sen of God. When the Jews afked our Lord, Luke xxii. 70. Art thou the Son of God'? their meaning undoubtedly was, Art thou the MeJJiah? And thus that very queftioa is expreffed in Mark xiv. 61. Art thou the Mefiah, the Son of the bleffed ' ? It would be wafting your time to fay more on this fubjcft. Such is the true account of a phrafeology in Scripture which has nothing in it that is not eafy and intelligible 5 but which has, among ChrijUans, produced fome of the grofleft conceptions of the Deity; and among In* fdcls expofed Chriftianity to ridicule and fcorn. Having thus fhewn you that no conclu- fion, with refpeft to the do£lrineof Chrift's pre- » The account here given of Chrifl's being called the Son of God, is nearly the fame with that given by Dr, Watts in his Treatife entitled, Ufeful and Im^ pcrtani ^uejl'tons concerning Jefus the Son of God freely propopdy with a hujnblc attempt to anfwer thcrn. and Dignity of Chriji. 119 pre-exiftenee, can be drawn merely from his being called the Son of God, I (hall now flate to you thofe reafons which influ- ence my judgment in this inftance, and which feem to me to prove this doctrine. Firft, I will obferve that the denial of It feems, in a great meafure, derived from narrow ideas of the extent of the creation, and of the connections and dependencies that take place in it. We are too apt to look upon ourfelves as placed by ourfelves on this globe, as unconnected with any fuperior world of fpirits, and the fun and ftars as made only for us. This is all miferable narrownefs and fliortfighted- nefs. That earth, which appears -to us fo great, is (comparatively fpeaking) no- thing to the folar fyftem': The folar fyftem, nothing to the fyftem of the fix- ed ftars : And the fyftem of the fixed ftars nothing to that fyftem of fyftems of which it is a part. — I refer now to fome difco- veries in the heavens w^hich have been I 4 lately no ^' Of the Pretext flence lately made. The planets are fo many inhabited worlds ; and all the ftars which twinkle in the fky fo many funs enlight- ening other worlds. This no one now doubts. But late obfervations have car- ried our views much farther, bydifcover- ing th at this whole vaft colleftion of worlds (ind fyftems bears a relation to other colleclions of worlds and fyftems : that our fyftem moves towards other fyftems; that all the vifible frame of fun, planets, ftars, and milky-way forms one chifter of f-zftems ; and that, in the immenfe ex- panfe of the heavens, there are myriads of thefe clufters which to common glafles aj3]Sfejt?'Iike fmall white clouds, but to better glafTes appear to be aflemblages of ftars mixing their light. This fets before us a profpcft which turns us giddy ; but, ' howcVef aftonifliing, we have reafon to believe that all that it prefents to us is nothing to the real extent and grandeur of '*^' the univerfe ; for all thcfe myriads of worlds, oi fyjlans of worlds, and of (if^ femblages md 'Dignify of ChriJ}. 121 -femhlages- of fyftems being formed fo [rnuch on one plan as all to require lights it is more than probable that fome- v^where in the immenfity of fpace, other plans of nature take place; and that, far beyond all that it is poflible for us to •pfdefcry, numberlefs fcenes of exiftence are exhibited different in this refpeft, and of which we can no more form a notion vlhan a child in the womb can form a no- tion of the folar fyftem, or a man born blind of light and colours. But I am in danger of going farther than is fuitable to my prefent purpofe in fpeaking on this fubje6l,,j^^^hat I have juft faid relates chiefly to corporeal nature ; and my defign has been to lead you to this^refledion — That fmce corporeal nature is thus ex- tenfive and grand; incorporeal rnxxxxt^ (that is, the i;2/^//^<5«^/ univerfe) muft *' be much more fo^|^ jThe former is in iffelfoi no value. The material univerfe is the loweft part of created exiftence, and defigned only to bq the feat and receptacle of living and fpiritual beings. Thele fpiritual cc J A modern Socinian of the flrfl: charatSler and ability tippears to have felt this diiEculty, and, therefore, has fuggeiled that Chrlft v/as peccable and fallible like ourfelves ; and fo much fo, as to have been miflcd by vulgar prejudices, and capable of mifapplying the Scriptures of the Old Teftament — to have been con- quered by the profpccl of his crucifixion to a degree that fl:iewed lefs fortitude than has been fhewn bv feme common men in fimilar fituaticns, tho' he forefavvhis own immediate refurrcdion and the glory that was to follow it—to have been ignorant, before his baptifm, of his own characler as the McfTiah ; and, like the pro- phets that preceded him, even inferior in knowledge (except as far as he was taught by infpiration) to aa enlightened man in modern times.— See QbfervatUns en the Infpiration efChriJl in the Theological Repofitory^ vol. iv. p. 435, &c. The Scripture ailertion, that' Chrift knewno fin, means much the fame, according to this author, with St. John's ailertion (ijohn.iii, 9.) that a true Chriftian cannot cornmit fin^ that is,.ta^u;pt, ,,, commit any afls of grofs fin. Hov/- 130 Of the Pre-exijlence lay down my life that I may take it again. No one taketh it from me ; but I lay it down of myfcf. I have power to lay it down^ and I have power to take if again. T^his com^ 7nand?nent have I received of my Father. — In all other places God is faid to have raifed Chrift However contrary this account of Chrift may be to the general faith of Chriftians, I muft think, that it fhews the good fenfe of the writer, and is the only ground on which the Sccinian do6lrin€ is tenable.— The confequence, however, of thus lowering Chrift before his death is the neceftity of lowering him like- wife fince his death. And, accordingly, this able writer, whofe candour appears to be fuch as will not fufFer him to evade any fair inference from his opi- nions, has farther intimated {Ih, p. 458) that Chrift's judging the world may mean lefs than is commonly believed, and perhaps the fame that is meant in I Cor. vi. 2. when it is faid, that tht faints^ are to judge the world. — I hope, that fome time or other he will have the goodnefs to oblige the public by ex- plaining himfelf on this fubje(5l 5 and when he does, 1 hope he will farther fhew, how much lefs than is- commonly believed, we are to underftand by Chrift's RAISING THE WORLD FROM THE DEAD. and Dignity of Chrijl, 131 Chrlfl: from the dead -, and thefe words inform us how this is to be underftood. God raifed Chrift from the dead by giving him a power to raife himfclf from the dead, and not only himfelf but all the world ; or (as it is exprefled in chap. xx. 26.) by giving to the Son of man to have life in himjelf, that as the Father raifeth up the dead and quickeneth them^ fo might the Son quicken whom he will^ the Father now judging no man^ but having committed all judgment to the Son. It is in this fenfe, the Scripture tells us fometimes, that God Is to raife the dead hereafter, while yet . its common language is, that Chriji is to raife the dead — But Thirdly, It feems to me that there are in the New Teftament exprefs and direct declarations of the pre-exiftent dignity of Chrift. Of this fort I reckon the follow- ing pafTages — John i.-3tw compared with ' the 14th verfe. In the beginning %'as the wordy and the word was with Gcd, &c, And the 'V^orJ^i^asi madejlefo and^dn^elf^j^mo?2g K 2 us. 132 Of the Pre-exijlence us, — John ill. 13. No one hath afc ended up to heaven^ but he that came down from hea- *ven i even the Son oj Man who is in heaven. —John vi. 62. What and if ye Jhall fee the Son of Man afcend up where he was before \ —John ^ In this chapter we find that our Lord took occa- fion, from the miracle of the loaves and fifhes, to fpeak of himfelf as the true bread which was come dovm fi'om heaven to give life to the world. The Jews under- ftood this to be an intimation that he had exifted ia heaven before he came into this world, and therefore murmured at him and faid (ver. 42.) Is not this Je- fus the fon of Jofeph whofe father and mother we know ? How is it then that he fays, I came down from heaven ? — There is, in this cafe, a prefumption that the fenfe in which the Jews underftood our Lord was the mofl obvious and natural fcnfe. If, how- ever, it was not, and the Jews had perverfcly mifin- terpreted his words, it was reafonable to expecSl that he would have faid fomething to correal their miflake: But, inftead of this, we find that in his reply he re- peated the fame declaration in flronger language, and intimated that they had underftood him rightly— Vcrfe 61. Does this offend you F JFJjat a?id if ye Jhall fee ihs Son of Man afcend up vjhsre he zvas before -^ A like a7id Dignity cf ChriJ}. 133 — John viii. 58. Before Abraham ^vas, I am, — And John xvii. 5. And now, O Fa- thery glo7'ify thou me with the glory which I had with thee before the world was, K 3 The A like obfervation may be made on the words In John viii. 18. Before Abraham was, I am. It is in this inftance alfo a circumflance of fome confcquence, that thefe words were occafioned by an ofFence which Jefus had given the Jews by an expreiTion which they thought implied, that he had exifted in the days of Abraham. Ver. 57. Then f aid the Jews to him. Thou art not fifty years old, and haji ih'.u feen Abraham F Jefus anfwered. Ferity, verily, I fay unto you, before Jbraha/n %vas, I am. The whole context in which the words next quoted ilands, is as (oWov^ s,-^Thefe words fpake Jefus, and lifted up his eyes to heaven and faid. Father, the hour is come. Glorify the Son that thy Son may alfo glorify thee-, as thou haJi given him power over all flejh that he Jhould givf eternal life to as many as thou haJi given him. And this is life eternal that they may know thee the only true God, a?2d Jefus ChriJ whom thou hafl fent. Ihaveglo. rifled thee on earth, I have finijhed the work which thou gave/} me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with thine own f elf , zvith the glory which I had with thee before the world was,-^\x feems to me that in this paf- 134 Of the Pre-exijlence The limits to which I muft confine my- felf will not allow me to enter into a cri- tical examination of thefe texts. The in- terpretations which the Socinians give of them are fach as cannot eafily occur to any plain man. Some of them have faid that Chrlfl was taken up to hea- ven at tliC commencement of his pub- lic miniflry ; and that it is to this he refers when he fpeaks of his coming down from heaven, and having been in heaven. But this is a groundlefs aflertion which has been given up by modern Socinians, who maintain that thefe phrafes fignify only Chrift's having been fent fage Chrift has, with particular propriety and wifdom, added to the declaration that power over all flelh (or as he fpeaks in Matth. xxviii. i8. all power in heaven and earth) was given him, an intimation of his having exiflcd before this world was made. Such a dtclaration muft have otherwife appeared extravagant. For vv^hat could be more extravagant than to fuppofe that fo high a power could belong to fuch a helplcfs and impotent creature of yeftcrday as a mere man ?— But more to this purpofc will be f^id prcfently. and Dignity of Chrijl, 1^,$ fent of God into the world, and having had communications from him. By his being made flefli they think no more is meant than that he was flefli and appear- ed in the world as a man. By faying that he exifted before Abraham, they think he only meant that his exiftcnce was intended before Abraham ^ arrd by the glory which he had with the Father before the world was, they underfl:and the glory which he had, in the Divine forefight and appoiiit- menty before the worldwas. — 1 mufl: own to you, that I am inclined to wonder that wife and good men can fatisfy themfelves with fuch explanations. — But I correct niyfelf. I know that Chriftians, amidft their differences of opinion, are too apt to wonder at one another ; and to forget the allowances which ought to be made for the darknefs in which we are all invol- ved. Senfible of this truth, and hoping to be excufed if I fliould ever exprefs my con- victions in too ftrong language, I proceed to recite to youfomeother texts which feent JC 4 to 136 Of the Trc-exijlenct to be no lefs clear than thofe I have juft quoted. — Heb. ii. 9. Jefus^ who was made a little lower than the angch^ that he might tajie death fcr every tnan. And veiTe 16. He took ?iot on him the nature of (he helped not) angels ; hut he took on him (he helped) the feed cf Abraham, Confider here how abfurd it would be to mention, as an in- ftance of condefcenfion and merit in a mere man, that he fubmitted to be made lower than the angels, and that he affifted not them but the feed of Abraham^ — Of the fame kind, though not fo expreflive, are the words in Gal iv. 4. God fent forth his fon made of a woman -, and in i John iv. 2. jfefus Chrift is come in thefeJJ:, This language is perfeftly proper on the fup- pofition of Ch rift's pre-exiftence ; but very improper on the contrary fuppofition: For how could a mere man be otherwife made than of a woman ; or come other-- wife than in the flelli ? Again ; 2 Cor. viii. 9. 2> know the grace ff our Lord Jcfus Chrijl^ that though he was rich and Dignity of Chrijl. 1 37 rich yet for our fakes he became poor^ that we through his poverty might be made rich. — When did our Lord poiTefs riches ? When did he exchange riches for poverty in order to make us rich ? In this world he was always poor and perfecuted. — But, in my opinion, the moft decifive text of all is that in Phil. ii. and the 5th and following verfes : Let the fame mind be in you that was in Chrif'y whoy being in the form of Gody thought it no robbery to be equal with Gody hut made himfef of no reputation. There is an incoherence in thefe words which fhews they are not a right tranllation ; and it is generally agreed among the beft commentators that the true rendering is as follows. Who being in the form of God did not covet to be honoured as God ^, but di^ vejled himfelf and took on him the form of a fervant^ and was made in the likenefs of men y and being found infafiion as a many humbled him- « See Dr. Clark's Scripture Doarlne of the Tri- nity, chap. xi. fe and At m^jduLI be folly to imagine that the Scripture hi£^, tory and doctrines have any view to othex* worlds.— This obfcrvation is applicable. to the/^ccpupt of tliL^^^^^ firft chapter of Genefis; that account, molt probably, being an account only of the. creation of this earth with its immediate . dependencies. r. Secondly, You fliould remember th^^p the formation of this world by Chrifl does not imply creation from nothings that pro*. . bably being peculiar to Almighty power ; but only an arrangement of things iijf g , ^ their prefent order, and the eftabli t*ir)r^Wf. of that courfe of nature to which we aife^,. witneiles. , *••»•!' a i^r-i^o^f fi'=5n*t'^/o-9 7.1 ir naif!''' yd bolli'il Again. You fhould remember that Chrifl: is reprefented, not as the original creator, but as Gqd's minifl:^r in creation. God made the world (this is tlic languag of Scripture) but he made it by or throiigb Chrift. The agency of Chrifl:, ^''!h"tllB '»•" ^ in^ and Dignity of Chrljl. 1 4^ inftance is reprefented as entirely inftru- mental, like that agency of his in work- ing miracles which he defcribes when he fay ^ , / can of mine own f elf do nothing, The ^ Father who dwelleth i?i mc^ he doth the works. — It is the conftant method of God's government, as far as it falls under our notice, to employ fubordinate agency in bringing about events 5 and, had I wanted in this cafe the authority of Scripture, I fli6tild have thought it highly probable,j that it was by fuch agency the changes among worlds are often produced 3 and, in particular, that this globe was reduced from a chaotic ftate to its prefent habit- able form, that mankind and other ani- mals were planted upon it, and the laws fettled by which it is governed *". itiin iod(nom3! jbiiioiii no i j ^ iWi^no'oflJ 2B ioa ,btjln3hicpi di nnilJ ' tven men, in this earlielt ftagc or their exift- _^ ence, pofTefs a power (conftantry on the increafe) of changing the face of nature, and of introducing on this globe new fccncs of being and enjoyment, whicK IS not totally unlike a power of raifing new crea- tions. 146 0} the PrC'exiJlence I cannot help taking this opportunity to add, that the dodrine of God's form- ing this world by the agency ot the Mef- fiah gives a credibility to the do6t rine of his interpofition to fave it, and his future agency in new-cvtdLiin^ it j becaufe it leads us to conceive of him as flanding in a particular relation to it, and having an intereft in it. lno3 It is time to proceed to the next argument which I would offer. — It ap- pears to me, that the doctrine of Chrift's fimple humanity, when viewed in connection with the Scriptui;^ .^q-? count of his exaltation, implies and, con* fequently, that this do6trine not only renders the Scripture tmintelligibley but Chriftianity itfelf incredible. — The Scrip- tures tell us that Chrift, after bis;jif^efa;r* reftion, became Lord of the dead and livings that he had all power given him in end' Dignify cf Chrijl. 147 in heaven and earth ; that angels were made fubjed: to him; and that he is here- after to raife all the dead, to judge the world, and to finifh the feheme of the Divine moral government with reiped to this earth, by conferring eternal happi- nefs on all the virtuous, and punilhino- tie wicked with everlafling deJlru5iiGn. — Confider whether fuch an elevation of a mere man is credible, oreven/^/ZVf? Can it be believed that a mere man could be advanced at once fo high as to be above angels, and to be qualified to rule and judge this world ? Does not this contra- di£l all that we fee, or can conceive of the order cf God's works ? Do not all beings CD rife gradually, one acquifition laying the foundation of another and prepar- ing for higher acquifitions .?,- V/hat would you think were you ^old, that a child juft born, inftead cf p^rowinp- like all other human creatures, had ftait- ed at once to complete manhood, and the government of an empire ? This ' L 2 is Of the Prc'exjjleftce I4S This IS nothing to the fact I am confider- ing. — The power, in particular, which the Scriptures teach us that Chrift pof- fefles of raifing to life all who have died and all who ivill die, is equivalent to the power of creating a world. How incon- fiftent is it to allow to him one of thefe powers, and at the fame time to queftion whether he could have pofTefTed the other? — to allow that he is to reftore and new* create this world ; and yet to deny that he might have been God's agent in originally forming it ' ? ^^ "^^^^'^ W«i^h ^^y\^ ft^ ^ Our brethren among i^\oi\cin Soclniam feem to feel this dilficulty ; and therefore give a new interpretatioa of the Scripture account of Chrill's prefcnt power a;iddignity. — Mr. LiNpsEV fays, in his Seque], page 466, 5:c. that the exaltation of Chriil to God's right- hand, far (ibove all might ar.d doni'inio7i^ and eve'y najm that is named^ not only in 'fhij^ world but in that '■^hich is jtocoffit,\ angels^ author itieSy and pew en being tnade fubje^f to kir^,', is fpoken of iji^.ifccqininojation tu.the ideas of the Jews and Gentiles of thofe days who be- lieved there were fuch fpiritual beings as angels and demons, and Dignity of Chrijl. 149 According fo lome or the old Socinian writers, Chrift, after his refurreflion, reigned over all nature, and became the h^ib ^U'Sid oriw llB^Mii oi ;[inxiiBi i , . o \ L 3. "^ object aril o:t InalBviupa zl ,mb \Vv:>? oriw Ub fani in the fupport of the Gofpel and its eftablifliment among men. The throne to which Chrift was ad- vanced was, according to him {Ib» p. 243.) not any flation of dignity in heaven, but the fubje£lion of the world to his Gofpel ; and his glory with the father, mentioned John xvii. 5, was the glorious fuccefs of the Gofpel. His power over all flefo (John xvii. 2.) to give eternal life to as many as the Father had given hiniy was only his power " to afFord men full af- *' furance of the benevolent purpofe of God tobeftow *' eternal life upon them, and to furnifh them with ** the means of virtue that lead to it.'* P. 249. Agreeably to the prejudices and imaginations of Jews and Gentiles, the fubje£lion of all mankind to the rules of piety and virtue delivered by Chrift is (hadowed out under the imagery of a mif^htv *< king to whom all power was given in heaven and *^i''afth, placed above angels, principalities, &c." P. 473. However fmgular thefe interpretations may appear, no one ought haftilyto condemn them, with- out confidering what fo excellent a man fays to juf- tlfy them in the paflages tov/hich I have referred. It ■■>anoxn')b .^ ^L 3 50 Of the Pre-exiffciice cbjecl of religious woifliip ^. It is fdi:'^ prifing that men fo enlightened on religi- ous fubjefts as to be the wonder of the times in which they lived, did not feel the extravagance there is.. in, alcribmf>; to a ° ' i■^-. or.i'/ijirin' • mere man an advancement 10 ludden and ^ ^ ' aftonifii- is probable tliat he Interprets in a like fenfe Chrift's declaration that he is the Resurrection and the Life, and understands by it only his being the Re- VEALER of a future life. But 1 fliall indeed wonder if his good fenfc and candour will allow him to give the fame fenfe to fuch texts as the following. — John vi. 40. Jnd I will raife him up at the lajl day. — John V. 29. 'The hour is coming in which all that are in their graves fiali hMr the voice rf the Son of Man ajidjhall come forth ; ttey that have dune good to- the ie[urre£iion of life ^ and they that haved^one evil to the refurre^ion of damnation, ' — Phil. V. 20, 21. Our convcrfation is in heaven, from whence zue look for the Saviour, the Lord Jefus Chrijl ; who Jhall change cur vile kody that it may he fajkianedlike ttnto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is ahUeven to fuhdue all things to him f elf. " Chriftus ad dcxtram dei in caelis collocatus eti- am ab angelis adorandus eft. Catachefis Eccleftarum Polonicarum, izdi. 4. Omnem in caelo et in terra po- teflatem ncccpit; ct omnia, Deo folo exccpto, ejus pedibus funt fubjecSta. Ihid^ a7id Dignify of Cbrijl. 151 aftonifliing. I do not think that there is, . in Athanaftanifm itfelf, any tiling more ex- travagant. It is'Vcircumftance tmich in favour of Chriftlanity that, Ihfteid of afierting any fuch doftrine, it teaches us that the fameChrift who after his refurrcc- tion had all power given him in heaven and' earth, poffcfTed^/^ry with God' before the world was -, and that, when he afcended to heaven, he only regained a former fta- tion, and entered upon a dignity to which he had long rifen, with fuch additions to it and fuch encreafed powers, as were the pro- per efFe6l and reward of his having pafled through human life to fave the world. iwv rj-j^g inconfiftency of the Socinian doc- ' trine will, in 'this inftance, appear more palpable, if we will confider what the merit was for which a mere man was thus exalted j and what the e7id was for which a ftep fo extraordinary was taken^ and an effort fo violent made. His merit was, ,^,^f^crificing.his^lif^ in , bear^^ ^^,^^"5^^ ^^ Jhe truth 5 a merit by no means peculiar ' tOJq'jjAj uio) oaCl ^ L 4 to (15^ "^f the Pre-e^ijlcnce to him, many other men having done the -fame. The end was, the conveyance of .^bleflings which would have been granted j^becaufe proper to be granted) whether conveyed by him or not. But on this fub- je6V, a good deal more will be faid hereafter. , ^inon^qcjf ?'in ot nomoqoiq ni aidnio .^^J'lfthly, The doflrine I am confider- ing leffens the ufefulnefs and force of Chrift's example. — He has, the Scriptures fay, left us a?i example that we JJ:ould foU low hh ftepi. It was an example of blame- lefs and perfe6l virtue; but he was, ac- cording to all opinions of him", qualified " This obfervation is applicable io the opinions concerning Chrift which have hitherto been gene- rally held by Sociniartiy who, in reality, make him more properly zfuperior being than a mjn, and d lifer from Jrians chiefly by afligning, contrary to all that is credible, a different date to his exiftence. — Lately, fome of them have lowered him into a man ignorant and peccable, and no way diflinguifhcd from the common men of his time except by being infpired ; and this, I am fenfible, by bringing him down more tind Dignity of Chrift. 153 for exhibiting it by high endowments which we do not pofiefs, and communi- kations of the fpirit without jaieafure 'iwhich'w^ Cannot expeft ; and it is, on this account, lefs fitted to influence us. On other accounts, however, it is more forcible in proportion to his fuperiority ; and this is true, in particular, of his con- defcenfion, humility, meeknefs, and pa- tience under fufFerings. The greater he was the more we are obliged to admire thefe virtues in him ; and the more we muft be incited to praftife them. — But there is one part of his example which, being founded on his pre-exiftent dignity, is loft entirely in the Socinian fcheme. I mean; his quitting that dignity, and de- grading himfelf to the condition of a mor- tal man in order to fave men. This is an inftance of benevolence to which we can con- to our own level, makes his example, in fome re- fpe6ls, more an encouragement to us, and more fit to be propofed to our imitation. See the note in page 133- ^54 ^f ^^^ Pre-exijlaice conceive no parallel ; which is probably the admiration of angels ^ and which (were it duly believed and attended to) would make us incapable of not being ourfelves examples of condefcenfion and benevolence. This is the part of Chrift's example which St. Paul has particularly recommended to our imitation in the paf- fage in Pbillippians which I have already quoted. Let this mind be in you which was alfo in Cbrifi Jefus ; who, being in the form of God, did not affedi to retain that form, but emptied himfelf of it, and took on him thejorm of a man and afervant, and became obedient to death, even the death of the crofs. Where- fore, God hath highly exalted him, and given him a name that is above every name, that at the name of Jefus every knee fhould bow and every tongue confefs that he is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.— I reckon this one of the moft ftriking paflages in the New Teftament. — Let us comply with the ex^ hortation delivered in it, and be always ready and Dignity of Chrijl, 1 5"^ ready to fpend and be fpent in doing good, that we may rife as Chrift rofe. I fliall conclude with the following re- fleftion. If Chrift wa? indeed poffeft of that fu- periority of nature which I have been af- ferting, how important muft the fcrvice t)e which he came to perform. Would one fo high have ftooped fo low to do only what a meaner agent might have done ? I often feel myfelf deeply impreffed by this confideration. The dignity of the fervicey and the dignity of the agent ^ im- ply and prove one another. — Think, Chriftians, how dreadful the danger muft be which Chrift left heaven to fave you from ; and negledl not fo great a falva- tion. Remember that, at an expence great- er than can be defcribed, you have been raifed to the hope of a refurreftion from death to an endlefs life of ever-increafing happinefs. Take care that you do not lofe a benefit fo tranfcendent, and fmk at laft 156 Of the Pre'exiJlencCy &c\ laft into a death from which there will be no redemption. This cannot happen ex- cept through your own fault. But fhould it happen, Chrift will not lofe the fruits of his labour ; for though you fhould have no fliare in them otbers will, and myriads delivered by him from fin and death will hereafter unite in raifing fongs of praife and triumph, and afcribing bleffing, and glory, and honour, and power to the laumb that wasjlain^ mid who hath redeemed MS to God by his blood. mlk ^^"i "SKiX n^ oj 3DBlq airi^ ni SDrRo \ai 10 {Jud A 1: choice with refpe^t to the communication of th^^b^i^efi^, the pe^fop, benefited car- U ries as the Saviour of the Worli^ \%i ries his views entirely to the mafter, and confiders him alone as the caufe of the be- nefit — Of the latter fort is the inftrumen- tality of one employed by another as a trufr tee to diftribute his bounty, but who,^ at^ the fame time, is left at liberty, and may be unfaithful if he pleafes. In this cafe, thofe who partake of the bounty feel ob^" ligation and gratitude to the truflce ^s well as to his principal. Room is left (1 for the exercife of the free-v/ill and dif- , cretion of the trujiee ; and the reception of the bounty is made to depend on his benevolence and honour in fuch a manricF * that, but for thefe, the recipient would' have loft it. "^- '^ Of this laft fort is the inftrumentality employed by the Deity in the diftiibution'"'' of his bounty among his reafonable crea-'^^ tures. He makes them, not paffive itiftri?^^ ments, but triijiees and voluntary agents^Tii^- conveying to one another the bleffings of * his goodnefs. He makes them inftruments"-' in fuch a fenfe that the bleffings received*'* M Ihall 1 6 2 Of the CharaBer of Chrijl fhall come from them, as well as primarily from him. He makes them, in fhort, grantors of benefits at the fame time that they are conveyers. In no other way, could there have been room for gratitude to inferior beings for any benefits. You mufl be fenfible, that the principal blefTmgs of our exiftence are not received by us immediately from the hands of the Deity. We fee that he a6ls by inflru- ments ; by pajjive inflruments in the ma- terial world ; and by voluntary inflru- ments in the intelleftual world. In both, there is a feries eftabliflied of intermediate caufes between us and that Divine power, wifdom, and goodnefs in which all caufes terminate, on which they all depend, and to which ultimately they owe all their ef- ficacy. Every reafonable and moral agent, placed in fociety and furrounded with fel- low-creatures, is a trujiee for diftributing God*s bounty. But, in the diflribution,he is fubjecled to no reftraints or limitations, except ^i We S'avtGiir if the PVorld, 163 ^'eJ^iJf ffuc^'J.'Hif'^cJ^h^Vrudence and vir- ttie may prefcribe td^'hirii: Ife has the '^6ption of being either flothful and treach- erous, or diligent and faithful -, and, con- fequently, of either with-holding happi- nefs from his fellow -creatures, or grant- irig it. — We have all of us commijjions from God (as Chrift had) to relieve diftrefi, and to feek and to fave that which is loft ; and we (liould confider ourfelves as fejtt of God for this purpofe. Thefe commifiions have been given us, not by any fpecific orders or formal agreements, as among men (to conceive thus of even Chrift's commiflion would, I doubt, be conceiv- ing of the ways of God as too like our own ways) but by endowing us with powers to help our fellow-creatures, by planting within us kind afieftions prompting us to it, and by placing us ui iitiiations where we fhall have opportu- mties tor it. Beyond this we do not fee that the Deity goes in making m.oral agents inftruments of his goodnefs^ nor M 2 was 164 Of the Character of Chriji was It fit that he fliould. — By conftltut- ing, ill this manner, the plan of his uni- verfal government, he has given confe^ quence to the agency of his reafonable creatures ; for their agency would be of comparatively little confequence, were it employed merely in carrying benefits the enjoyment of which did not depend upon, and was not at all derived from, the beings who convey them. — In fhort; by the me- thod of government of which I am endea- vouring to give you an account, his crea- tures are made a kind of Deities to one another. They become real benefa6tors in the very fame inftances in which God is to be acknowledged as the Supreme Benefaftor. Obligation to them takes place as well as to him \ and, while our firft gratitude is due to him (the caufe of all caufes) gratitude becomes due likevvife to thofe inferior beings, on whofe free-will and fpontaneous inftrumentality, he has been pleafed to fufpcnd the fruits of his beneficence. — There is, therefore, in this parr as the Saviour of the World. 165 part of the conftitution of nature un- fpeakable wifdom and goodnefs. Had nature been otherwife conftituted ; had no abfoliite dependence of the ftates of be- ings on one another been eftabliflied ; were there in the univerfe no precariouf- nefs of condition, no liablenefs to loffes and calamities; were all the happinefs of beings afcertained to them, independently of their own a6live choice and endeavours to blefs one another. — Were this the plan of nature, the moral world would be lit- tle more than a kind of dead machinery. Moral agents would be incapable of doing any good to one another. No fcope would be given to the exercife of benevo- lence 5 and, confequently, all poffibility of the greateft happinefs would be excluded. But to come nearer to the point I have in view. I fcarcely need tell you, that the inftru- mentality I afcribe to Chrift in the work of our redemption is of the kind I have |a(l defcribed. He was fent of God to be M 3 the 1 66 Of the Character of Chriji the Saviour of the world in a manner that makes him (his benevolence) the caufeof our falvation, as well as that original be- nevolence of the Deity from which all other benevolence is derived. lie was the Co?iveye7* of pardon and immortality to us, in fuch a fcnfe that we owe them to hiiriy as w^ell as primarily to God. This is a point of vaft importance, and perhaps I may not be able fufRciently to explain it. I do not, however, think it attended with any peculiar difficulties j and if any one does, his difficulties muft be owing to inattention and prejudice. — Were a good man, in the common courfe of life, to interpofe, from principles of benevolence and pity, to fave you from a calamity which, but for his exertions, would have ruined you ; would you find any difficulty in reconciling your obliga- tion to your deliverer to your obligation to the Deity? Though your benefa6lor was a free agent in delivering you, and though probably you would have been undone but a$the Saviour of the World, 1 67 but for his goodnefs 5 would you, on this account, think yourfelf lefs indebted to God's goodnefs ? Would your/eelings of gratitude to him interfere at ^11 with your feelings of gratitude to the Deity ? Would you not fay properly, that it was God put it into his heart to help you 5 and that it was he fent him and provided him for you ? Would you not confider him as God's inflrument ^ and would not this (vv^hile it left you under the full impreffion of gratitude to God) improve and heighten your gratitude to your friend ?— Suppofing then the truth to be, that Chrift is the author of our fal- vation in a way fimilar to this 5 that is, fuppofing that, by a voluntary interpofi- tion from obedience to God and benevo- lence to man, he has delivered us from calamities ^ under which we might have oi aoiiii^iido ii/o, M 4 3vii3biuo\ perifli- £ 8i5V7 'ioi:u;^3ft3cf -fr/ov riz^iiorfT '^ vlfs'n nri . Hl?f .!** God gave his Son ia the fame way of good- " nefs to the world, as he affords particular perfons ^ « the' 1 6 8 Of the Character of Chriji perifned ; and that he condefcended to be born and to fufFer and die, not merely to convey^ \\\ the fenfe firft explained, blef- fings to us, but likewife to obtain them ; fuppofing, I fay, this to be the truth, no objedion to it can be drawn from the ne- cefTity of acknowledging the goodnefs of God in all our benefits, and afcribing to him the glory of theni. Let us, therefore, in the next place en- quire whether there is fufficient reafon for believing this., ' "^^ It *' the friendly affiftance of their fellow-creatures, *' when, without it, their temporal ruin would be *' the certain confequence of their follies ; In the *' fame way of goodnefs, I fay ; though in a tran- *' fccndent and infinitely higher degree. And the *' Son of God loved us and gave himfclf for us^ with *' a love which he himfelf compares to that of human '' friendfhip : though in this cafe, all comparifons *' muft fall infinitely fhort of the thing intended to *' be illuftrated by them." Bifhop Butler's Ana- logy of Religion natural and revealed to the conftitu^ tlon and courfe of nature, Part ii. ch. v. fee. 5. as the Saviour of the World. 169 It appears from what has been ah'eady faid, that this enquiry is the fame with the enquiry whether Chrift is a real Sa- viour or not. For if he only announces falvation to us ; if, properly fpeaking, he obtains nothing for us ; if no extraordi- nary bleffings were fufpended on his be- nevolence, and we receive nothing on his account which we fhould not have other- wife equally had from God's goodnefs 5 if this is the truth, the importance of Chrift as a Saviour is in a great degree loft, and, inftead of viewing him in the light of the Reftorer of a world confign- ed to the grave and the caufe of eternal happinefs to it, we muft view him in the lower light of a Teacher, an Example, and a Martyrl ' 1 am fatisfied that, ac- cording to the Scripture account, we are to view him principally in the former of thefe lights. Before I enter on the proof of this, it is neceffary I ftiould take notice of that dif- treft ftate of mankind which it fiippofes, and 1 70 Of the Character of Chriji and of the need in which they might ftand of a Saviour. The whole Chnrtian fcheme is founded on the fuppofition of a calamity in which our race had been in- volved, and which has been generally termed the fall of man. What the true and full account of this event is, it is probably impoffible for us to difcover, or even to underftand wxre it communicated to us. It is recorded in the third chapter of Genefis, but in a manner fo mixed with emblems (derived, perhaps, from the ancient hieroglyphical manner of writing) and confequently fo veiled and obfcure, that I think little more can be learnt from it, than that there was a tranf- a6lion, at the origin of our race and the commencement of this world, which de- graded us to our prefent flate, and fub- je6led us to death and all its concomitant evils. — The credibility of fuch events in the creation cannot reafonably be denied. We fee, in what falls under our notice of the Divine governm.ent, that in confe- ^''^" ' quence as the Saviour of the World. 171 quence of the connexions which have been eftablifhed and the powers given to beings, events are often happening which involve, not only individuals, but dates and kingdoms in calamity. — What num- bers of beings are there who are continu- ally entering upon exiftence and happi- nefs in this world, but By various caufes are cut off and perifh ? What numbers of individuals are there among mankind who have loft valuable privileges, and are re- duced to want and difeafe after enjoying . health and affluence ? How many king- doms, once happy in the poffeffion of peace, plenty, and liberty, have been plundered and ravaged, and at laft con- quered and ruined by favage oppreffors and tyrants ? Why fliould it be thought impoflible, that even a whole /pedes fhould alfo fometimes fall into calamity, and lofe valuable bleffings ? What reafons can there be for expe6ling, that orders of be- ings fliould have their advantages abfo- lutely fecured to them, which will not like- 172 Of the Character of Chrijl likewife apply to individuals and to com- munities ? — In the latter cafe, our fenfes demonftrate fuch an expectation to be unreafonable. Should not this lead us to conclude, that it may be fo likewiie in the farmer cafe ? The views of thofe perfons muft be very narrow who can imagine that the con- nexions among God's creatures extend no higher than man. Undoubtedly, man himfelf is connefted with higher orders of beings, and fhould be confidered as only one link in a chain that reaches from inanimate matter to the Deity. And what revolutions ", in particular circum- ftances and among particular beings, thefe ^ The Scriptures fccm to inform us of three great revolutions in the flate of this habitable world. Firft, the introduci:ion of evil and of death among mankind, and a correfpondent change in external nature, by the fall. — Secondly, an increafe of this evil, and a farther change in external nature by the DELUGE. — Thirdly, the dcflruclion of death, the re- novation of nature, and the undoing of evil by the Mcffiah at his future coming, dt the Saviour of the World. 173 thefe connexions may produce, we can- not know. It is enough to know, that, whatever they are, and whatever the lofles and fufFerings may be which arc feme- times occafioned by them, they are all under a perfect fuperintendency, and the refult of a plan contrived in the beft man- ner for bringing about the greateft pof- fible happinefs. — Such would be our wifeft mode of reafoning did the light of revela- tion offer us no information. But you muft be fenfible that revelation has not been filent on this fubjeft. It acquaints us, as has been juft obferved, that a ca- lamity has happened to the human racej that we have fuffered by our connexions under God's government ; that we were made for immortality, but loft it and were brought down to our prefent finful and mortal ftate. In Adam all have died. The fentence pafled upon him has paded upon us all; Dufi thou art ^ and into diiH thou fialt return. By one man (St. Paul tells us) Jin entered into the ivo?'Id and death h 174 Of the CharaBer ofChriJi by Jin, andfo death has pajfed up6n''a!l fWrf. — The appearances of the world, and the circumftances of our condition are fuch' as make it very credible that our ftate may be 2l fallen ftate. We find ourfelves in a fituation where we are expofed t6 numberlefs temptations, and where the praftice of virtue is often attended with great difficulties. We fee that all man-^ kind have finned and come fhort of the! glory of God ^ There is no one who' muft not acknowledge himfelf a guilty being ; who has not many tranfgreffions' to lament, and many inexcufable offences^*" to repent of. Multitudes fall into atroci- ous vice. — May we not eafily believe, that fucli , \i ^ " Whoever will confider the manifold mlftrieg *' and extreme wickednefs of the world, &c. will '' think he has little rcafon to objccSl ngainft the ^' Scripture account that mankind is in a Hate cf ** degradation, how difficcilt foever he may think it *' to account for, or even to form a diftincl concep- *• tion of the occafions and circumftances of it.** Sec Bifiiop Butler's Analogy^ &c. Part. ii. chap. 5. as the Saviour of the World* i n^ fuch beings want a Saviour ? A Saviour, not only to bring them to repentance and virtue, but to avert from them the con- fequences of paft guilt, and to render re- pentance itfelf available to happinefs ? This, however, is a point which has been much contefted by the favourers of Socinianifm. They maintain, that no Saviour could be wanted for this purpofe, the perfeftions of God re- quiring him to receive repenting finners. A return to virtue fuppofed, pardon and happinefs, they think, follow of courfe under the Divine government, whatever vice may have preceded it. — I cannot but think this a groundlefs affertion. It fup- pofes, that the only end of punifhment is the reformation of the offender. But there is in vice an intrinfic demerit which (independently of ' confequences) makes punifli- culiies in Morals^ chap. 3. 1 76 Of the Character of Chrijl punlfliment proper ; and it is rendered further proper by the neceflity of vindi- cating the honour of God's broken laws, and of deterring beings who have 7iot of*, fended from wickednefs. Thefe are rea- fons for punifhment which the reforma- tion of the offender does not anfwer. And, in general, it feems fit, that in treating moral agents a regard fhould be had to what they have been, as well as to what they^r^s and that adiftinftionfhould be made between the cafes of innocents and penite?tfSy as well as between the cafes oipe- nitents and ifnpenitents.^lt is not, indeed, credible, that the connexion, eftablifiied by the Divine laws between guilt and pu- nifhment, fhould be fo eafily broken as that every confequence of guilt fliould be immediately removed by repentance. This is contradicied by general and con- ftant experience. When a perfon has loft a limb in a criminal purfuit, repentance will not reftore it. When he has wafted his fortune or ruined his health by his . ^ as the Savicur cf the World, 177 vices, repentance will not bring them back. In fuch cafes, remedies may be fometimes found, or the compaffion of friends may relieve 5 but the mifchief ge- nerally remains, notwithftanding any al- teration of condu6t. With our condition as finful and guilty IS connefted our condition as ;;7cr/^/ crea- tures. Thefe are the two circumftances in our condition which make it a dijlrefi condition. AH men have corrupted their ways, and expofed themfelves to the pe- nalties annexed to guilt ; and all men iland condemned to death. The Scrip, tures inform us that a deliverer from death was promifed at the time it was introduced, {rhe feed of the ?i?r/^/ creatures from death. This, therefore, is the first argu- ment I would ufe to prove that Chrift was : 3vx;i oJ fioiJiioqiain? N 2 a Sa- ferves ilotice, that Chriii has referred to it in the words (John viii. 44.) T^he Devil was a murderer f rem the heginmng'i and the apoflle John in the words (l Johnii. 8.) The Devil fmneth from the beginning. For this purpofe the Son of God was manifefied^ that he might de/iroy the zvorks of the Devil, And in the Reve- lation, by calling Satan, the old serpent. — But tjie cleareft reference to this interpretation is in the epifile to the Hebrews, chap. ii. 14. Forafmuch as the children are partakers of fej}) and blood, he alfo himfdf took p^rt of the fame ; that, through death he might dejiroy him that had the power of death ; that is^ the devil ; arid deliver them who, through fear of death y were all their lifetime fuhje6l to bondage^ i8o Of the Chara6ier ofCbriJi a Saviour in a higher fenfe than by being a teacher. Our cafes ^i^fmful and mortal creatures required more than inftruclion. Inftruction could only bring us to repen- tance. It could not make repentance the means of remiffion j or an exemption from the efFefts of guilt. It could not create a fitnefs that offenders fliould be favoured as if they had never offended. It could not raife from death, or reftore to a new life. I could, however, even allow al"! this ; and ftill maintain that Chrift was more: than a teacher. For, granting the neccf- fary availablenefs of repentance in all cafes to favour and happinefs, it may be aliced to what degree of favour and happinefs it is neceffarily available ? Muft our imper- feft virtue, a virtue preceded, perhaps, by atrocious wickednels as well as accom- panied with numberlefs infirmities; mult fuch virtue be entitled to fiich favour as Chriftianity promifes, including in it, not only pardon and a remilTion of punifh- ment. as the Saviour of the TVorU. 1 8 1 meat, but a glorious immortality \ an eter- nal exiftence i^i; .eve;f^increafing felicity and honour. If fo, then indeed it will follow that we can owe no more to Chrift than inftinaftion — But there cannot be a fhadow of reafon for fuch an afiertion. 'Evtnjinlefs virtue can have no title to that fuper-abundance of grace promifed by Chriftianity. It might then have been made precarious, and left to depend on a voluntary exertion of benevolence in our .favour. But the main evidence on this point muft be taken from the Scriptures. I ftiould run this difcourfe to an immode- rate length, were I to attempt to give you any particular account of thofe declara- tions of Scripture which might be here quoted, — Chrift is ftyled the propitiation for our fins. In him^ we are told, isje have redemption through his bloody even the for^ rgivenefs of our fins. He made his life an offering for iniquity^ fidcd his blood for the rJfl'^m N 3 re- if 2 0/ the CharaSfer of Chriji r^mjjion oj ftm\ and appeared once in the end cf tf}e world for ever to put away fin by the facrifice of hi?nfclf. — -I cannot think that fuch exprefiions fignify only, that he died to feal the covenant of grace, and to alTure us of pardon. Their obvibUs meani-ng feems to be, that, as the f acri- fices under the law of Mofes expiated guilt and procured remiffion, (o Chnft's fliedding his blood and offering up his life was the means of remiffion and favour to penitent fmners. — Bat the declarations of moft confequence, are thcfe which ac- 'quaint us that Chrift came that we might have lifdy and that we might have it more abundantly. -^^hat he laid down his life for the life of the world.- — T^hat he is that eter^ nal life which was with the Father- — That by death he deflroyed 'death s and that^ as by Adam came fin aiid death] ft by Chrift fi^all come the refurreBioh of the dead^ and X^ace reign through righteoufnefs unto eter- ^ nal life. The New Teftament is full of > Jaiiguage to this purpofc— And, furely, it as tf?f Saviour of the World. 1 8 3 it ,%nifies tliqit.liLe is n)ore than z pro- pbet^?iiid r^pLtmer^ ^Jt.,^fe|s..hini be^^ us ^,f:he AuthQJ5*,j3f life to a race obnoxious tp punifhment and devoted to death 5 as their Deliverer from the grave, and the Ileftorer of a d'ftrefl world. It implies that our refurrecliou from death to an endlefs life depended on his interpofition.5 and that by uniting himfelf to our nature, pafling through human Lfe, and fuftering and dying as he did, he acquired t]ap power of making us happy for ever.;^ Having been made perfect through fiifferingSy he became the Author of eternal falvation to all that obey him. He died for us that whe- ther we feep or wake we Jhould live with him. Eternal life is the gift of God through yhim — through him not merely a,s the 72^- ^^ealer ; but likewife, as the Difpenfer% \\3nd (under God) the Procurer oi it.^ v,k ^- N4-T^i. .Thirdly. \o liih'^-""^^^^^'^^.^i'vagree<3"ai^ Ch'riftians, that • '^P,nnr^nr,'^£ 184 Of the CharaBer of Chri[l '^rnrhirdly. I would defire you to conficfer that Chrift is called the Saviour of the WORLD; that is, of ALL MANKIND ; and that he could not be fo merely as a prophet '\ fl^m i?cj < Once more I would obferve to you on this fubje6l (as I did in my former dif- courfe on the fubjeft of Chrift's dignity) that the prejudices againft the do6lrine 1 am defending are derived in a great de- -gree from inattention to the nature and ^^hc extent of the connexions and de- -pendencies v\^hich take place in the crea- tion. The plan of the Deity in govern- ing C2S the Saviour of the World, i8g ing his creatures is to fufpend their par- ticipation of his bounty on their agency, and to make their fpontaneous inftru- mentality the channel and the condition of the communication of the fruits of his goodnefs. — This is, certainly, the plan which all we fee of the Divine govern- ment exhibits 5 and it fhould be carefully remembered, that what we fee is in this cafe the befl: clue we can ufe in our en- quiries, and that we cannot go upon fafer ground than when we judge that part of the Divine government which extends above man to be analogous to that part of it which lies before us. It is here, I think, remarkable, that w^e are able to difcover that the plan thus ex- hibited to our view is the beft plan, be- caufe it gives fcope and wxight to the agency of intelligent beings, and makes them capable of being ufeful to one ano- ther, and, therefore, of enjoying that happinefs which allimulates them moil to the Deity.-rJ;,JiaYe ipade.^ome of thefe ob. 190 Of the CharaBer of Chrift obfervationb at the btgmning of this dif- couii'e; but they are oi io much impor* tance, that they can hardly be repeated too often — Had there been no poffibihty of lodes and lufFerLngs in the creation ; had all beings and all orders of beings flood fingle and unconne£led ; and had their privileges been fecured to them without depending on either their own exertions or the exertions of other beings — had this been the plan of God's government, this world would have loft its value and dignity. It would have been a world without room in it for g^nerofity, for gratitude, for great atchievements, and all the fublimeft joys that can be felt by a reafonable creature. — Had, in particular, that fyftem of or- ders of beings in which probably man is a link been thus conftituted, that Messiah revealed by Chriftianity could have known nothing of the joy for which he endured the crofs. He muft have been a.ftr^ngcr to the fatisfaclion he felt when he faw of the travail of his foul 5 and lie muft have loft . - - . . . • as Ih^ Saviour of the fP'orld. ^1^'f loft that addition to his happinefs which he has derived from promoting ciir hap- 'J 7;(f dilloq c,,, o-It is h?gh "time to relieve you from your attention to this important fubje6l. In « delivering my fentiments upon it I have faid nothing oifubflifufion^ ox Jatisfaciion^ or any of thpfe explan'^'tions of the man- ner of our redemption by Chrift which have been given by Divines. Some of thefe explanations are in the higheft de- igree abfurd, and I receive none of them, thinking that the Scriptures have only re- vealed to us the faft that God fenf his Sq?i to be the Saviour of the Worlds and chufing to fatisfy myfelf with thofe ideas respec- ting it which I have laid before you ^. Per- 2 <« Some have endeavoured to explain the efficacy *' of what Chrift has done and fufFered for us beyond *< what the Scripture has authorized. Others, pro' *' bably, bccaufe they could not explain it^ have *' been for taking it away^ and confining his pfHce " as- 192 Of the Character of Chrijl Perhaps fome of thefe ideas are wrong > and, fhould that be the cafe, I am under no apprehenfions of any ill confequences, being *' as Redeemer of the world to his inftrudllon, ex^ *' ample, and government of the Church. Wherea* *' the doctrine of the Gofpel appears to be, not only *' that he taught the efficacy of repentance, but ren-' " dered it of the efficacy which it is by what he did *' and fufFered for us^ that he obtained for us the " benefit of having our repentance accepted to cter- *' nal life, &c. How, and in what particular way *' it had this efficacy, there are not wanting perfons *' who have endeavoured to explain 5 but I do not *' find that the Scriptures have explained it. It is *' our wifdom thankfully to accept the benefit wi^h- '' out difputing how it was procured," — Bifhopr Butler's Analogy of Religion natural arJ revealed to the conjlttution and courfe of nature^ Part ii. chap. 5. " Let leafon be kept to, and if any part of the *^ Scripture account of the redemption of tiie woild[> *' by Chrift can be fhewn to be really contrary to it, " let the Scripture, in the name of God, be given *' up. But let not fuch poor creatures as we go on *' objecting to an inlinite»fcheme that we do not f«e *' the neceliity or ufcfulnefs of all its parts, and call *' this reafoning.'' it^. i7s the Saviour of the World, 193 being p'erfuaded that my intereft in this redemption depends not on the jiiftnefs of my conceptions of it,orthere£litudeof my judgment concerning it, but on the fm- cerity of my heart. — Indeed, 1 feldom feel much of that fatisfaclion which fome de- rive from being fure they have found out truth. But I derive great comfort from beUeving, that error, v^hen involun- tary, is innocent; and that all that is re- quired of me, as a condition of acceptance, is faithfully endeavouring to find out and to praftife truth and right* 1 will conclude with exhorting you Firft, to make it your ftudy, by a holy life, to fecure an intereft in this falvation. — We fhould be often putting to our- felves the queftlon in Heb ii. 3. How fiall we efcape if we negleB fo great a faU njation? — A great falvation is wrought out for us and offered us > but it is only of- fered us. We cannot be made aclual par- O takers 1 9-4 Of the Character of Chrijl takers of it without the concurrence of our own wills and endeavours. We do not fee, in any cafe, that it is God's plan to force any one to be happy. The impeni- tent and vicioiiS are incapable of happi- nefs. — Let us then for fake every evil v/ay, and pratlife univerfal jighteoufnefs. There is no motive to this, which ftrikes my mind more flrongly than the reflexion on the vaftnef-; of the danger implied in the valtneis of the apparatus for flwing us. How fliocking v\ill be our fate (liould any of us after all rem un unfaved ; and find that Chrift- lived and died in vain, as to any benefit we fhall derive from him ? — I am fenfible that there are fome very wife and good Chriflians who think this can- not be the cafe ultimately with any hu- man being ; and that even the impenitent will i^after a feverity of future puniihment proportioned to the different degrees of guilt) be recovered to virtue and happinefs ; and thus Chrift's triumph over fin and death become at laft univer- fal as the Savicur of the World, 195 fal and complete^— This is an opinion which the feelings of every benevolent man would determine him eagerly to em- brace, could it be flicwn to be confident with the language of Scripture ; and I dare not pronounce that it is not fo. But God forbid, that any of us fliould riik upon it the exifxence of our immortal fouls ; or fuiTer fuch an ex^- peflation to render us lefs fearful of the confequences of vice. Our Saviour has declared and it is one of the m oft awful declarations in the Bible) that the hour is coming 'when all that are in their graves Jhall hear the voice of the Son of Man ^ and fall come fo?^th. Ihey who have done good fo the refurreBion of life ; but they %vho have done evil to the rcfurre5iion of damnation, John V. 29. — What this damnation will be, and in what it will terminate, is at pre- fent uiirknovvn and inconceivable.. The Scriptures lead us to think of it as a fecond death more terrible than tiie pre- fcnt, and fometimes call it everlafling de- O 2 fl-ruction. %6 Of the Character of Chrijl Ilru6lion, and compare it to a fire which burns up and confames what is thrown into it. The h^ii^ pofibility that thcfe ex- preflions fignify total extermination is frightful ; and fhould be fufficient to de- ter efFedlually from wickednefs And if it does not, there is reafon to believe that no certainty of fuch a punifliment would have a much greater effefl. Secondly, Let us, as far as we are confci- ous of having returned to our duty, rely on Chrift as our Saviour j and rejoice in the hope of eternal life through him. We may confider him as addreffing us as he did his apoftles in John xiv. i. Let not your hearts be troubled, Tou believe in God. Believe alfo in me. He is that word of God and great Mefliah, who was made flefli and dwelt among us to blefs us with light, infl:ru6lion, pardon, and immortality ; and it will be inexcufable not to car- ry about with us a decn fenfe of our ob- ligations to him, and to honour and love him. But, Thirdly, as the Saviour of the World, 197 Thirdly, While we do this, let us take care not to overlook that firft caufe and giver of all good to whofe antecedent love we owe Jefus Chrift. This is an admo- nition of the lart conlequencej and you muft not be difpleafed with me for taking every occalion to inculcate it. Mankind have always been too prone to pay undue honours to inferior benefactors, and to terminate their views mfecond caufes. It is this that has produced that bafc idola- try which in all ages has difgraced the world, and led even Chriftians to worfhip the creature rather than the C^reatori Let us ftudy to be wifer. Let us, in the blef- iings of redemption as well as all our other blefiings, learn to center our views in Godj and fly from every foim of pub- lic devotion that has any other object than that ONE Being o/'Wjc?;;?, and through whom, and to whom a' e all things. — V^^e ihbuld honour Chrift ardently as our Lord and Saviour; but we fliould honour him as having the Jame God and Father with our- O 3 felves^ 198 Of the Character of Chrtjl felves^ and never think of any thing fo abfurd and fhocking as elevating him who was fent to an equality with the felf-ex- iftent Beins: who fent him. Laflly, The doctrine on wliich T have infilled has a tendency to confoie us under the troubles of life ; and, partieularly h, under the diftrelies arifing from the ha- vcck which death is makirig continually among our friends. ^ hiilt rofe fiom the dead as the frft fruits of them that feep. He has alfured us that 11 nee he lives, we fhall live alfo. Mad we not been bieft with this information, our profpecl in circumftances of forrow would have been difcoura^ino;: We fhould have looked forward to death, not (as we now may) with hope and triumph, but with doubt and ^ What follows was occafioncd by the death of one of the principal members of the focicty to winch thefe difcourfes were addrclll'd j and by the att>. nJcince of his family, the firft time after his dcatli, on the morn- ing when this difcourfc was delivered. as the Sd'viciir cf the TFor^d. i ()g and anxiety ; and this king of terrors, ia- ftead oi appearing a friend and deliverer, would have appeared an enemy and de- ftroyer. Happy then is the lot of every true Ctiriftlan. His religion kindles fc>r him a bright light in this benighted v/orld, and enables him to defcry b.yond the grave a better world, an i million.s in it raifed to honour and blifs, and uniting in taking up St. Paul's fong oftriun.ph— Oh I death where is thy Jhng ? Ch ! grave- where is thy viBory ? 'Iha?iks be to God who giveth lis the vidiory through our Lord Jrjus Chrijl. The apprehenfion of our liablenefs to fuch fdfferings as fometimes atteno a dymg illnefs (and as the friend v^cnt through for whom lO le of us now appear in mourning) has a tendency to AC\zt\. us. But we ought no^ defpond. All is wifeiy ordered, and all will end vv^ell \Vh;le waiting for our lali coiiflift, we fhouid ftudy to keep our mu^ds unaifturbed, committing our exiftence to him who gave O 4 it. 200 Of the Ch draper ofChnJly&c, it, refolving not to feel pain till it comes,' attending to nothing anxioufly but our duty, and looking forward with joyful hope to that period when, at the call of the Saviour of the world, we fhall fpring up from the duft, and draw immortal breath, in thofe new heavens and that new earth where all the virtuous are to meet and never more to feel pain or for-* row. Wherefore let us comfort one another with thefe ivords. S E R- \:^:^,^ «Bpi«."«M^IVW««r*!'«^VlMP«««i SERMON VI. OF THE SECURITY OF A VIRTUOUS COURSE, Proverbs X. 9^ He that walketh uprighly, walketl) furely . THESE words exprefs one of the moft important of all maxims. They tell us, that in the pra6tice of vir- tue there is safety. Much higher praife may be bellowed upon it. We may fay that v/ith it are connefted peace, honour, digiTity, the favour of God, happinefs now^ and f tern al happinefs ^^r^^^'^r ; And we have reafon enough to think this true. But whether true or not, it is IE 04 Of the Security is at leaft true,, that there is safety in it. Chriftianity informs us, that good men will be raifed from death to enjoy a glo- rious immortality, througli that Saviour of the world vvh.o tafted death for every man. But let the evidence for this be fuppofed precarious and unfatisfa6lory.-^ Let it De reckoned uncertain Vv'hether a virtuous courfe will terminate in fuch in- finite bleffings under the Divine govern- ment as Ciiriftians are taught to expe6t. — Still there will remain fufficient evi- dence to prove, that in all events it mufl be the /^y^/, and therefore ouv'iv^fji courfe. I cannot better employ the prefent time than in endeavouring to explain and il- luftrate this truth. But previoufly to this, it will not be amifs to make a few obfervations on the character of the man who walks uprightly. Uprightnefs fignifies the fame with in- tegrity or fuicerity. It implies a freedom from of a virtuous Courfe. 205 from guile and the faithful difcharge of every known duty. An upright man al- lows himfelf in nothing that is inconfift- ent with truth and right. He comphes with al! the obligations he is under, and avoids every kind of prevarication and falfehood. He maintains'^ in' equal and uniform regard to the whole of righteouf- nefs. He hates alike all fin, and pradifes every part of virtue, from an unfeigned attachment to it eftabliPned in his foul. This is what is mod effsntial to the cha- ra6]:er ot an upright man. He is govern- ed by no finifter ends, or indired views, in the difcharge of his duty. It is not the love of fame, or the defire of private ad- vantages, or mere natural temper that produces his virtuous conduct ; but an affeftion to virtue as virtue ; a fenfe of the weight and excellence of the obliga- tions of righteoufnefs ; and a zeal for the honour of God and the happinefs of man- kind, liut to be a little more parti- cular. Up- 2c6 Of the Security Uprightnefs of character compi'chcnds in it right conducl: with ref::e6l to God, and man, and ourfelves. — The perfon I am del'cribing is firll of all upright in all his tranfaflions with God. His religion is not an hypocritical fliew and oftenta- tion. He is that which he appears to be to his fellow-creatures. His religious a6ls are emanations from a heart full of piety. He makes confcience oi private as well as public devotion, and endeavours to walk blamelefsly in all God*s ordinances. He attends on religious fervices not to be feen of men ; bat from a kn^^ of duty and gratitude to his Maker ; and, inilead of making them a cover for bad defigns, or compenfations for immorality, he makes them incentives to the difchar2:c of all moral duties, and the means of render- ing him more benevolent, amiable, and worthy. Again. Uprightnefs implies faithful- nefs in all our tranfaftions v/lth ourjches. It is very common for men to impofe upon of a 'Dtrttious Cotirfe. 207 upon themfelves ; to wink at offenfive truths y and to pracSlife unfair arts with their own minds. This is entirely incon- fiftent with the chara6ler of an upright man. He endeavours to be faithful to himfelf in all that he thinks and does, and to diveft his mind of all unreafonabk biaffes. He is fair and honeft in all his enquiries and deliberations, ready to owa his miftakes, and thankful for every help to difcover them. He wiihcs to knovr nothing but what is true, and ^o praBife nothing but what is right. He is open to convi£tion. indifferent where he finds truth, and prepared to follow ii wherever it can lead him. He is often difciplining his heart, fearching into the principles of conduft within him, and labouring to (iete6l his faults in order to rectify them. Further. Uprightnefs includes in it candour, fairnefs, and honefty in all our tranfa6lions v^ilhoxiv fellow creatures. An upright man may be depended upon in ^11 liis 2o8 Of the Sectinfy his profeflions and engagements. I Te^ ne- ver, in any afFair, goes beyond the limits of juftice and equity. He never deceives or over-reaches. He is true to his pro- mifes, and faithful to every truft repofed in him. All his gains are the gains of virtuous induftry. All falfehood and lies, all low cunning and fraudulent prac- tifes are his abhorrence. — In fliort; he maintains a ftri6l regard to veracity in his words, and to honour in his dealings. He adheres fteadfaftly in all circumftances to what he judges to be righteft and befl: j and were it poffible for you to look thro' his foul, you would fee the love of good- nefs predominent within him. You would fee benevolence and piety governing his? thoughts. You would fee him, within the inclofureof his own breaft, as honcft and worthy as he is on the open ftage of the world. Such is the character of the man wlio walks uprightly. I am next to flievv you how furely he walks. In cf a virtuous Cou?'fe, 209 In order to acquire a juft notion of this, it is proper we fliould take into confide-*^ ration, firil, the fafety which fuch a per- fon enjoys with refpecl to the happinefs of the prefent life. Nothing is plainer than that, if we regardonly our temporal intereft, an upright courfe is the fafeft courfe. In order to be fenfible of this, you fiiould think of the troubles which men very often bring upon themfelves by deviating from integrity. It is very dif* ficult to go on for any time in difhonefty and falfehood, without falling into per- plexity and diftrefs. A man in fuch a courfe fufpcdts every body, and is fuf- peded by every body. He w^ants the love and efteem of his fellow-creatures. He is obliged to be continually on his guard, and to ufe arts to evade law and juftice. He walks in the dark along a crooked path full of fnares and pits.— On the contrary. The path of uprightnefs is ftrait and broad. It is fmooth, open, and eafy. He that walks in it walks in the light, P and 2 1 o Of the Security and may go on with refolution and confi- dence, inviting rather than avoiding the infpeclion of his fellow-creatures. He is apprelienfive of no dangers. He is afraid of no detection. He is hable to none of the caufes of fhame and difgrace. It is an advantage to Lim to be obferved and watched. The more narrowly his con- du6l is examined, the more he will be loved and relpecled. A perfon, for inftance, who, in the affairs of trade, deviates from truth and honour, is likely to fmk into great cala- mities. Want, and trouble, and infamy . often prove his lot. Mod of us have been witneffes of this. How many in- llances are there of perfons who, forfaking the plain path of uprightnefs, have en- tangled themfelves beyond the po-fibility of being extricated, and involved their fa- milies in the deepeft mifery i but who, probably, had they been honeft, would have efcaped every difficulty, and paiTcd through life eafily and happily. We know of d 'virttiGUS Coiirfe, 2 1 1 know not, indeed, what we do when we turn afide from virtue and righteoufnefs. Such a train of confequences may follow as will iflue in the lofs of all that is valu- able. It is paft doubt, that, in every profeflion and calling, the way of up- fightnefs is the molt free from perplexity. It is the way of peace and fatisfa(51:ion. He that keeps in it will at leaft avoid the pain of a reproaching confcience. He is fare of enjoying his own approbation ; and it may be expefted that his worldly affairs will go on fmoothly, quietly, and comfortably. This puts me in mind of defiring you to confider particularly, that an upright condufl is commonly the moft fare way to obtain fuccefs in our worldly concerns. You will obferve, that I fay it is the moll ftir^ way; not that it is thtfljorteji. There are many more expeditions ways of getting money and acquiring fortunes. He that will violate the rules of juflice, or break the laws of his country, or not fcruple to P 2 take 212 Of the Security take falfe oaths, may eafily get the ftart of an upright man, and rife in a little time to wealth and preferment. It is of- ten in a man's power, by a bafe a6tion, to introduce himfelf at once into eafe and plenty. But wretched are thofe men who fecure any worldly advantages by fucll methods. There is a canker at the root of their fuccefles and riches. What they gain is unfpeakably lefs than what they lofe. It is attended with inward anguifh, with the curfe of heaven, and inconceiv- able future danger. — But though it muft be thus acknowledged, that there are fiorter ways to profit and fuccefs than by walking uprightly, there are certainly nonefoy?/r^. Univerfal experience has proved that (agreeably to a common and excellent maxim) " honefty is the beft policy." It may be How in its opera- tion 5 and, for this reafon, many perfons h^ye^,i^9t., patience enough for it. But it is in the end generally certain. An upright man muft recommend himfelf by degrees of a 'virtuous Ccurfe. 213 degrees to all that know him. He has always the greattft credit, and the moft unembarrafled affairs. There are none who are not difpofed to place a confidence in him, and who do not chufe to deal with him. The difadvantages, there- fore, already mentioned, under which he labours, are counterbalanced by many great advantages. He may not be able to thrive fo faft, nor perhaps fo much as others. He is obliged to deny himfelf the gains which others make by the wrong praftices common in their trade; and, on this account, he may be under a neceffity of contenting himfelf with fmall gains. But it muft be confidered, that he can feldom fail of a tolerable fubfiftence, attended with comfort and the trueft en- joyment of himfelf. Though his gains may be fmall, they are always fweet. He has with them an eafy conference, the blelTmg of God, and fecurity againft num- berlefs grievous evils. And the fmalleft gains of this fort are infinitely preferable P 3 t^ 214 Of the Security to the greateft gains that can be obtahied by wrong methods. Thus you fee that, with refpeft to our intereft in this world, he that walketh up- rightly walketh furely. — Let us next con- fider the fecurity which an upright con- duct gives with refped: to another world. After this life is over we are to enter on another world. The moft fceptical principles give us no fufRci- ent reafon for denying this. Whatever may be true of the order and adminiftra- tion of nature, it mull htpojjible that there fhould be a future ftate. And, if there is, it is highly probable, that it will be a ftate of much greater extent and longer dura- tion than the prefent. Nothing, therefore, can be of more confequence to us than to know by what means we may fecure the beft condition and the greateft fafety in it : And it is not poffible to doubt, but the praCtife of religious goodncfs is the proper means to be ufed for this purpofe. If of a virfuctis Courfe. 215 If anything is clear, it is fo, that the up- right and the worthy, in all events, and through every period of duration, muft ftand the beft chance for efcaping mifery and obtaining happinefs. — That our hap- pinefs hereafter may depend on our con- duct here is certain, becaufe we find, in the prefent ftate, that the happinefs of every fuccefilve period of human life is made to depend, in a great meafure, on our con- daft in the preceding periods The hap- pinefs of mature life depends on the ha- bits acquired and the pains taken in early life; and mature life fpent in folly and vice generally makes a miferable old age. It is, therefore, very credible that a virtu* ous condu6t may have an efFeft on our condition hereafter. — No one, indeed, can well carry infidelity fo far as to deny, that, if there is a future ftate, it is likely that the righteous will fare better in it than the wicked. All we obferve of the government of the Deity, and all that we can learn with refpeft to his chara6ter, P 4 leads 2i6 Of the Security leads us to believe that he muft approve righteoufnefs and hate wickednefs : And, in the fame proportion that he does this, he muft favour the one and difcounte- nance the other. We fee, in what lies before us of the conftitution of the world, iT^any great evils annexed to wickednefs ; and many great bleflings annexed to righ- teoufnefs i and we fee, likewife, in the one an effential tendency to produce uni- verfal evil, and in the other an eflential tendency to produce univerfal good. This demonftrates to us the holy dif- pofition of the Author of nature s and v/hat we ought to reckon upon is, that he will manifeft this difpofition more and niore^ and that the fcheme of moral government now begun will be hereafter completed. — To a£t righteoully is to aft sjike God. It is to promote the order of his creation. It is to go into his confti- tion of nature. It is to follov/ that con- fcje.pc^, .wt^ch he has given us to be the guid? pf our conduct. It rjiuft, therer fore, of a niirtuous Courfe, 217 fore, be the likelieft way to arrive at hap- pinefs, and to guard againft mifery under his government. The accountablenefs of our natures, and our neceffary percep- tions of excellence and good defert in vir- tue, demonftrate this ; nor is it at all con- ceivable, that we do not go upon fure grounds when we draw this conclufion. — But there is much more to be here faid* There are many reafons which prove, that the neglecl of virtue may be followed by a dreadful punifiiment hereafter. The prefages of confcience ; the concurring voice of mankind in all ages ; our una- voidable apprehenfions of ill defert in vice ; and the diftreffes now produced by- it, are enough to lead us to expeft thi^. The Chriftian religion confirms this ex- "peclation fi^'^S manner the moft awful, by teaching us that the wicked Jlmll be turned into hell with all that forget God \ that they ihall be excluded from the fociety of wife and good beings; and puniflied with ever- fajting dejlrudfion from the prefence of the Lord 21 8 Of the Security hord and the glory of his power. It is, at leaft, pofTible this may be the truth. The arguments for a righteous govern- ment in nature, and for the truth of Chriflianity, have at leaft force enough to prove that it is not certain but that "wickednefs will produce the gieateft loffes and evils in another world ; and that, confequently, there is a real and incon- ceivable danger attending it — Confider, now, that an upright life is a fure pre«^ fervative from this danger. If all who forget God andpradlife iniquity are here- after to be rejefted by the Deity, and to be configned to everlafling deJiru5lion ; if, I fay, this fhould prove to be the truth, the good man will be fafe- and the wicked man undone. But fliould all that rea- fon and Chrlftianity teach us on this point prove a delufion j ftill a good man will loje nothing, and a bad man will get nothing. Nay, a good man, even in this cafe, will gain a great deal : For he will gain all that fatisfa^lion which goodnef$ gene- of a inrtucus Courfe. 219 generally brings with it in this life, and which vice muft want. Thus you fee what fecurity an upnght man enjoys. He goes upon even and firm ground. He has on his fide ail good be- ings ; the conviftions of his confcience ; the order of nature ; and the power of the Deity. It is impollible he fhould be de- ceived in thinking, that it is right to ad- here inviolably to the laws of righteouf- nefs. Should there be that execution of Divine juftice on wickedneis which we have been taught to expeft, he w^ill have nothing to fear. The worft that can hap- pen to him is better then the bejl that may happen to an unrighteous man. The beji that wicked men gener allyexpeft is the lofs of exiftence at death ; and this is the fwor/i that can happen to a good man. But upon the one, it will come after a life of Ihame, and difeafe, and folly ; and on the other, like fleep at night after a day fpcnt in peace, and health, and honour, and ufe- fui 220 Of the Security ful labour. — I need not tell you what a recommendation this is of a couiTe of up- rightnefs. — It is our furelt guard in all events ; our befl: flielter againli evils un- der God's government. Safety is what every perfon, in the cornmon concerns of life, values and feeks. Here alone is it to be found completely and certainly. No» thing but virtuous conduft can preferve us from the danger of God's dif|^)kafure, and of ruin after death Without it we muft ftand expofed to the fevereft cala- mities that can come upon reafonable beings. I will conclude this difcourfe with the following inferences. Firft, From all I have faid we learn, in the plaineft manner, how much we are bound in prudence to walk uprightly. This appears to be prudent if we regard only our prefent interell:. The way in which an upright man walks (it has been fliewn) is plain and open. It is fo eafy to find of a "virtiious Coiirfe. 221 find it, that we can never fwerve from it while we retain an honeft defire to keep in it. It is liable to no hazards ; and it is always pleafant and joyous. More com- fendioia yN2L^'s>y I have acknowledged, we may fometimes find to wealth and powder; but they are full of danger, and he who forfakes integrity in order to go into them, and thus by a (hort cut to get at worldly advantages, a£ts like a man who forfakes a quiet and fure path in order to run the riik of being loft among quickfands, or of breaking his neck by going over rocks and precipices. If, therefore, we love prudence, we fliall not, in our tem- poral concerns, ever fwerve fromupright- nefs. '-j^r\\r^ But we have reafon to apprehend that we (hall exift in another ftate ; and if we confider this, we fliall be forced to con- clude from what has been faid, that the ^prudence of a virtuous courfe is greater ^than can be expreffed. \i this life is not our whole exiftence, fome precautions ought 2tz Of the Security ojght to be ufcd with refpe6l to the ftatc that li. to fuccced it ; and the beft precau- tion IS the prac^tife of true piety and good- ncfs. If there is a lite to come, it will, ill all probability, be a (late of retribu- tion, where prefent inequalities will be fet right, and the vicious fmk into infamy and mifery. The praclife of virtue is, in this cafe, our fecurity. It is the image of the Deity in our fouls ; and what we ought to r(^ckon upon is, that nothing amifs will ever happen to it. Let us then adhere to it in all events. Let us endea- vour, in this inftance, to ufe the fame prudence that the children of the world ufe in their affairs. What pains will they take, and what precautions will they em- ploy, to avoid any dangers which they forefee, or to prevent evils which may poflibly come upon them ? — There is a danger hanging over us, as moral agents, greater than any this world can threaten us with ; a danger dreadful and unutter- able j the danger of falling into the pu- nifliment of a 'virttiotis Ccurfe. 223 nifliment of fin, and of lofing eternal happinefs. Were there ever fo hard and expenfive a method propofed to us of be- ing fee ured againft this danger, it would be our v/ifdom chearfully to pradlife it.— But true goodnefs affords us, not a hard and expenfive, but a cheap and eafy me- thod of being fecured againft it. Walk- ing uprightly will add to our prefect com- fort, at the fame time that it will preferve us ivomfutu7'e danger. What is required C/f us, in this inftance, is only to part with our follies and difcafes; and to make ourfelves happy fiow^ in order to be fafe for ever. All I have been faying is true, though there fhould be the greateft uncertainty with refpeft to the principles of religion. I have been all along fpeaking on the fup- pofition of fuch an uncertainty, in order to fet before you, in a ftronger light, the wifdom of being virtuous, and the folly of a fmful courfe. — But if we w^ill fuppofe that there is no fuch uncertainty : If we will 224 Of the Security will fuppofe it not only pofliblc, but pro- bable or morally certain, that the prin- ciples of religion are true; that Chriftia- nity comes from God; and that, agree- ably to its affurances, all who are now in their graves fliall hereafter hear the voice of the Sofi of Gody and come forth ; thofc- iL'ho have done good to the refurrcBion of lifcy and thofe %vho have done evil to the re-- fur region of damnations If, I fay, we fup- pofe this to be the truth, how great will the wifdom of a virtuous courfe appear, and how fhocking the folly of wicked- nefs ? There are, probably, few fpeculative and enquiring men who do not fometimes find themfelves in a flate of dejedion, which takes from them much of the fatis- faction arifing from their faith in very important and interefting truths. Happy, indeed, is the perfon who enjoys a flow of fpirits fo even and conftant as never to have experienced this. Of myfelf I muft fay, that I have been far from being ef a virtuous Courfe. 225 being fo happy. Doubts and difficulties have often perplexed me, and thrown a cloud over truths which, in the general courfe of my life, are my fupport and ^onfolation. There are, however, many truths, the conviflion of which I never lofe.-r^ONE conviction in particular re- mains with me amidft all fluduations of temper and fpirits. I mean my belief of the maxim in my text, that he 'wbo walketh uprightly walketh furely. There has not been a moment in which I hav^ found it poffible to doubt, whether the wifeft and beft courfe I can take is to praftife virtue and to avoid guilt. Low fpirits only give new force to this convic- tion, and caufe it to make a deeper im- preffion. Uncertainty in other inftances creates certainty here ; for the more dark and doubtful our ftate under God's go- vernment is, the more prudent it muft be to chufe that courfe which is the fafell. I will 226 Of the Security ni J will only farther defire you to confi- der on this lubjecl, with what ferenity of mind a good man may proceed through life.- Whatever is true or falfe, he has the confcioufnefs of being on \.\\^fafe fide^ and there is, rin all cafes, a particular fa- tisfaction attending fuch a confcioufnefs. A man who knows himfelf in a fafe way- goes on with compofure and boldnefs— -^ Thus may you go on in a courfe of well- doing. You have none of thofe calamities, to fear to which others are liable. If the doctrines of religion are true, you will be completely happy through the Saviour of mankind. But fhould they not prov€ true, you will not be worfe oft than others. I have fhewn, on the contrary, that you will flill be gainers.— Your Jofs, in fhort, can be nothing. Your gain may be infinite, --r^ Forfake, then, every thing to follow righ- teoufnefs. Never confent to do a wrong a6lion, or to gratify an unlawful pafllon. This will give you a fecurity that is worth" morethan all the treafures of the earth, "f ^ You of eic virtuous Courfe, 227 You'may alTo, on all principles, entertain ^e apprehenfwn that the gofpel has given right information concerning the aboli* tion of death, and the happinefs referved for the faithful, in the future kingdom of Jefus Chrift. That perfon mufl hav'e confidered the arguments for Chriftianity very fuperficially, who does not fee, that they amount to an evidence, which is at leaft fufRcient to give a juft ground for this apprehenfion ; and, confequently, for a hope the moft animating and glorious. Let us cherifh this hope ; and endeavour to keep the objeft of it always in fight. — Tiie flighteft glimpse of that eternal LIFE which the Nevv Teftament promifes, is enough to elevate above this world. The bare pojjibility oi lofing it/by finful practifes, is enough taannihilate all temp-. tations. Wherefore ; let us bejledfaft a7id immoveable ^ alvoayi abomidtng in the work of the Lor d^ for af much as we know that our Id-- hour MAY end in a blifsful eternity ; buty happen what wiH, cannot be in vain, > - ^joV 0^2 S E R. IIV K O M ^ -^ ^ 38 dVllT 1 ■jinrfrcq aiom ftrtnr won I [ 229 ] SERMON VII. OF THE HAPPINESS OF A VIRTUOUS COURSE* Proverbs iii. 17. Her ways are ways of pkafantnefsy and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to them that lay hold of her 3 a7id happy is every one that receivetb her. IN my laft difcourfe I reprefented to you the fecurity of a virtuous courfc. In doing this, I was led to touch upon its tendency to make us moft happy, as well as moAfecure, under God's govern- ment. — I fliall now infift more particu- larly on this fubjeft ; and endeavour to 0^3 S*^^^ t^o Of the Happinefi give you a diftinft account of the princi- pal arguments and fa6ls which prove the? happinefs of virtue \ meaning, on this occafion chiefly, its prefenf happinefs. ^^ The ways of wifdorn (my text fays) are ways of pleafantnefs ^ and happy is every one that receiveth her, — Previoufly to any ex- amination of the aBual ftate of mankind^ v^e may perceive a high probability that this alTertion muft be true. Virtue is the image of God in the foul, and the nobleft thing in the creation -, and, therefore, it muft be the principal ground of true hap- pinefs. It is the rule by which God meant that we fliould aft; and, there- fore, muft be the way to the blifs for which he intended us. That Being who gave us our fenfe of moral obligations, muft have defigned that we fliould con- form to them ; and he could not defign this, and at the fame time defign that we flibuld find it raoft for our advantage not to conform to them. This would have been to eftablifli an inconfiftency in the frame of ^:, virtuous Courfe, 231 frame of nature ; and a£ling in a manner which cannot be fuppofed of that Su- preme power which, in every other part of nature, has difcovered higher wifdom than we are able to comprehend., -.sy ^^\ JBut waving fach reafonings, let us ap-- ply ourfelves to the confideration of ther a^ual ftate of mankind in this refpeft. And, lib eni^' Firft, Let us confider, that by prac-ir tifing virtue we gratify the higheft powers; in our natures. — Our higheft powers are, undoubtedly, our fenfe of moral excel- lencCj the principle of reafoa and re-^i flxion, benevolence to our felIow-crea-> tureSj and the love of the Deity. To// pra6life virtue is to act in conformity too rliefe powers, and to furniili thera with their proper gratifications. Our other;/ powers, being inferior to thefe and of lefsft dignity, the happinefs grounded upon- them is alfo of an inferior nature, and of jefs value. Reafon is the nature of a rea- Q_4 fonable ,232 Of the Uapphiefs ^fonable being ; and to afTert that his chief happinefs confifts in deviating from rea- fon, would be the fame as to fay that his chief happinefs confifts in violating his nature^ and contradicting himfelf:i^ bni? luoSecondly, In connexion with this w^ -D^ight to remember, that virtue, in the very idea of it, implies health and order of mind. The human foul is a compo- fition of various afFeftions ftanding in different relations to one another > and fall placed under the direftion of con- fcience, our fupreme faculty. When we are truly virtuous, none of thefe afFec- >:tions are fuffered to err either by excefs for defeft. They are kept in their proper fubordinations to one another. The fa- culty that was made to govern preferves its authority 5 and a due balance is main- tained among our inward powers. To be virtuous, therefore, is to be in our natural and found ftate. It is to be freed from all inward tumult, anarchy, and tyranny. It is to enjoy health, and order, and of a virtuous Courfe, 233 and vigour, and peace, and liberty ; and, therefore, the greateft happinefs. — -Vice, on the contrary, is ilavery, diforder, and ficknefs. It diftorts our inward frame, and unfettles the adjuftments of our minds. It unduly raifes fome of our powers, and depreiTes others. It de- thrones confcience, and fubje6ls it to the defpotifm of blind and lawlefs appetites. In fhort ; there is the fame difference, in refpeft of happinefs, between a virtuous and a vicious foul, as there is between a diftempered body and a body that is *weU ; or, between a civil ftate where confufion, faction, and licentioufnefs reign ; and a flate where order prevails, and all keep their proper places, and unite in fub- niiffion to a wife and good legiflature. Again thirdly 3 It is worth our confider- ation, that, by practifing virtue, we gain more of the united pleafures, arifingfrom ^^the gratification of all our powers, than we can in any other way. That is, in other words ; our moral powers, v/hen pre- 234 Of the Happinefs prevalent, encroach lefs on the inferior enjoyments of our natures than any of our other powers when they are prevalent* In order to explain this, I would defire you to confider, that the courfe moft fa- vourable to happinefs, muft be that which takes from us the leaft that is poflible of any of the gratifications and enjoyments we are capable of. We can take no courfe that v>^ill give us an equal and full fliare of all the gratifications of our ap- petites. If we will gain the ends of fome of our afFeftions, we muft facrifice others. If, for inftance, we will rife to fame and power, we muft give up cafe and plea- fure. We muft cringe and truckle, and do violence to fome of our ftrongeft in- clinations. In like manner; if we make money our principal purfuit, and would acquire wealth ; we muft often contra- dict our defires of fame and honour. We muft keep down generofity andbenevo-* lence, and the love of fenfual indulgences. We muft pinch, and toil, and v/atch, and ■■>. eat cf^a virtuous Ccurfe. 235 cat the bread of carefulnefs. — An ambi-^ tioiis man muft facrince the gratifications of the covetous man. A covetous man, like- wife, muft facrifice the indulgences of a 7}2afi of pleafure; And a 7nan of pleafm^e thofe of the ambitious and worldly- minded* —Since,, then, in every courfe of life, there is fuch an interference between the feveral objects of our affeftions, that courfe in which there is the leajl of it, muft be likely to make us moft happyif Audit is certain, that there is lefs of it in a virtuous courfe than any other. Vir^/ tuje,. brings with it many exquifite plea- fures of its own (as I fhall prefently ob-j ferve more particularly) and, at the fame time, does not necefTarily encroach on other fources of pleafure. It is the very beft means of obtaining the ends of moft of our lower powers and afFe6tions. It is^^^ for inftance, the beft means of gaining honour and diftinction among our fellov/- creatures ; for the virtuous man is always the man who is moft honoured and loved. It -3^ Of the Happirtefs It is, likewife, one of the beft means of becoming profperous in our affairs, and gaining a competent fhare of worldly blef- fings ; for, agreeably to a maxim v/hich we hear often repeated, " honefty is the beft policy." A virtuous man is the man who is moft induftrious, and likely to be moft encouraged and trufted in every trade and profeffion. — In fhort; it is a part of virtue to make ufe chearfully of all the materials of happinefs with which Divine bounty has fupplied us. There is no lawful and natural plcafure of which it does not leave us in polleffion. It is favourable to every innocent purfuit, and an excellent friend to every juft and laud- able undertaking. . Thefe obfervations remove entirely the objection to the happinefs of virtue, taken from its requiring labour and circumfpcc- tion, and obliging us to reftrain our paffions, and to praftifo felf-dcnial. it is, indeed, true, that virtue requires this ; But you fhould recolle6l, that it is by no means cf a virtuous Courje, 237 means peculiar to virtue. ITiave, on the contrary, been fhewing that it is lefs ap- plicable to virtue than to any other objeft of purlbit. — What labour and felf-denial do men often praStife in purfuing fame, or honour, or money ? What a facrifice does the man of pleafure make of his health and fortune ; and to w^hat fatigues does he often put himfelf ? — It is, therefore, the utmoft injuftice to virtue to imagine that the reftraint of inclination, and the prac- tife of felf-denial, are peculiar to it. Thefe are common to virtue and vice, and neceffary whatever courfe wc take. — It would be very unreafonable to mention a$ an objection here, that virtue may oblige Tus to facrifice to it even our lives. For this is what happens perpetually in vici- ous courfes. Thoufands are every day- dying martyrs to ambition, to luft, to co- vetoufnefs, and intemperance. But fel- dom does it happen, that virtue puts us to any fuch trial. On the contrary s its ^^"^'^^ ^general 238 Of the Happinep general eiFedl is to preferve and lengtftdrt lifei jb <;ryiuji)n iuo to r\^K\ ^no iijiii^Bij It ought to be particularly o'bferved on this occafion, that, in comparing the in-^ fluence of different courfes on our happi- nefs, we fhould confider the influence they have on our moral and intelleflual powers, as well as our other powers. Confcience is one important part of our natures. To leave it out, therefore, in forming a fcheme of enjoyment, or in de- termining what courfe will bring us moft happinefs, would be prepofterous and wild. That a courfe of conduft obliges us to run counter to our fenfe of moral good and evil, and to give up the fatis- faQions founded on this fenfe, ought to be allowed its juft weight in judging of the happinefs of an agent ^ and to be con"^ ' fidered as a circumflance diminilhing his pleafures, in the fame manner as if he ran counter to any of his other powers, or gave up any other gratifications. — Now, every fpecies of vice interferes directly 'S^'-"- ' with ofamriuoiis Coiirje. 239 with our fenfe of moral good and evih -I|. gratifies one part of our natures at tHe expence of our judgment and reafon 5 and this is as much an argument proving its hurtfulnefs, as if it oppofed our defires of eafe, or honour, or any of our other particular afFedions. There is, the: efore,^ on this account, a fevere and cruel felf-:^ denial in vice. At the fame time that it encroaches on many of the lovv^er fprings of adion, it puts a force upon the highefl:.^ It obliges us to deny our confciences ; and,-^ thefe being moft properly our/elves^ it ob-^"^ liges us to pra6life a more proper and un-* natural felf-denial than any denial of paf-f ^ lion and appetite. ... ,. .. -- .- But to fay no more on this head. WhStsl I have meant chiefly to inculcate is, that^c? the courfe moft conducive to happinefei-^ mufl: be that which is moft agreeable to ' our whole natures ; and that, this being'^] evidently true of a virtuous courfe, it fol«^i Jows that it is our greateft happinefs. ^vjgg 3i3h3:Jni 3DIV io BSi^sai .viava Hitherto, 240 Q/* ^^^ Happinefs Hitherto, you have feen, that I have argued for the happhiefs of virtue from the confiderations, *' that it affords our ' higheft powers their proper gratifica- * tions ; that it implies health, and li- ^ berty, and order of mind ; and that it ^ is more agreeable than any other end ' we can purfue, to all the parts of our ' natures taken as making together one * fyftem." There is a great deal more to be faid, to which I muft requeft your at- tention 5 for Fourthly, It deferves your confidera- tlon, that much of the pleafure of vice it- felf depends on fome fpecies or other of virtue combined with it. All the joys w6 derive from friendfliip, from family con- nexions and affinities, from the love and confidence of our fellow-creatures, and from the intercourfe of good offices, arc properly virtuous joys : And there is no courfe of life which, were it deprived of thefe joys, would not be completely mifer- able. The enjoyments, therefore, of vi- cious tf a virtucus Cotirfi. 241 t\ouii men are owing to the remains of vir- tuous qualities in them. — There is nO: man (o vicious as to have nothing good^ left in his chara6ter 5 and could we con- ceive any fueh man ; or meet with a per* fon who was quite void of benevolence^ temperance, good-humour, fociablenefs,; and honour; we fhould deteft him as an odious nionfter, and find that he was in- capable of all happinefs- Wickedncfs, when confidered by itfelf and in its naked form, without any connexion with lovely^^ qualities, is nothing but fhame, and pain, and diftrefs. If the debauchee enjoys any thing like happinefs, it is becaufe he joins to his debauchery fome- thing laudable ; and his tender and fo- cial feelings are not extirpated. In like manner; if a covetous man has any thing befides perplexity and gloominefs in his heart, it is becaufe there are fome virtues which he praftifes, or becaufe he difguifcs his covetoufnefs under the forms of the virtues of prudence and frugality. R —This 242 ^f if^^ Happin^fs — This then beuig the cafe ; fince eveit thq^fpleafure that vice enjoys is thus founded upon and derived from vir- tuous qualities, how plain is it that thefe conftitute our chief good * and that the more of them we poffefs, fo much the more muft we poffefs of the fources of pleafure ?- — The virtuous man is the moft generous man, the moflr friendly, the moft good-natured, the moft patient and contented. He has moft of the fatisfaclions refulting from fympathy, and humanity, and natural affection ^ and fo certain is it, that fuch a perfoii muft be the happieft, . tlxat the wicked themfelves, if in any refpeft happy, can be fo only as far as they either &re the fame that he is, or thi?ik themfelves the fame. Fifthly, I have already obferved, that virtue leaves us in poffefhon of all the common enjoyments of life. It is necef- fary now to add, that it goes much be- yond. 'tC of a "Virtuous Cottrfe. 243 ■yofW^WB. — It not 6nly leaves us in pof- feffion of all innocent and natural, plea^ Aires *y but improves and refines them. It hot only interferes lefs with the gratifica- tion of our difFerentf' po\tfe than vice does 5 but renders the gratification of thany of them i?:ore the caufe of pleafure. This efFe6l it produces by reftraining us to regularity and moderation in the grati- fication of our defires. Virtue forbids only the wild and extravagant gratifica- tion of our defires : That is $ it forbids only fuch a gratification of them as goes beyond the bounds of nature, and lays tli'e foundation of pain and mifery. As fir' as they Were defigned by our Maker to yield pleafure, we are at liberty to in- dulge them ; and farther we cannot go without lofing pleafure. — It is a truth ge- nerally acknowledged, that the regular and moderate gratification of appetite is more agreeable than any forced and exor- bitant gratification of it. Excefs in every way is painful ^nd pernicious. We can R 2 never 244 '- Of the Happinefs never contradid nature without fuftenng^ and bringing upon ourfelves inconveni- ences.^ — Is there any man to whom food and fleep are fopleafant as to the temperate man ? Are the mad and polluted iovs of the fornicator and adulterer equal to the pure and chafte joys of the married ftate? Do pampered and loaded appetites afford as much delight as appetites kept under difcipline, and never palled by riot and li- centioufnefs ? Is the vile glutton, the loathfome drunkard, or the rotten de- bauchee, as happy as the fober and virtu- ous man who has a healthful body, a fe- rene mind, and general credit ? Thus is virtue a friend even to appetite. But this is not the obfervation I intended to infift on. What I meant here prin- cipally to recommend to your attention was, that virtue improves all the bleffings \ of life, by putting us into a particular dif- pofition for receiving*pleafure from them. It removes thofe internal evils which pol- lute and impair the fprings of enjoyment within of a iJirtiLOiis Coiirfe, 245 wkhin us. It renders the mind eafy and fatisfied within itfelf, and therefore more fufceptible of delight,* aiid itiore open to all agreeable Lmpreflions. — It is a com- mon obfervatlon, that the degree of plea- fare which we receive from any obje6ls depends on the difpofition we are in to j^ceive pleafure. Nothing; is fweet to a depraved tarte ; nothmg beautiful to a diftempered eye. This obfervation holds with particular force in the prefent cafe. Vice deflroys the relirti of fenfible plea- fores. It takes off (I may fay) from the fruit its flavour, and from the rofe its hue. It tarnifhes the beauty of nature, and communicates a bitter tincture to every en- joyment. — Virtue, on the contrary, fweet- eiis every bleffing, and throws new iuftre .^on'the face of nature. It chafes away gloominefs and pceviflmefs ; and, by ^ilrengthening the kind afFedions and in- troducing into the foul good- humour and jtranquillity, makes every pleafing fcene ^n4 occurrence more pleafing. R 3 Apia 246 Of the Happincfs Again fixthly; Let us confider how many peculiar joys vktue has which no- thing eife can give. It is not pofiible to enumerate all thefe. We may, on this occafion, recolle(3: firfl thofe joys which neceffaiily fpring from the worthy and generous afFe£lions. The love of the Deity, benevolence, meeknefs, and gra- titude, arc by their nature attended with r pleafure. They put the mind into a fe- rene and chearful frame, and introduce into it fome of the moft delightful fenfa- tions. Virtue confifts in the exercife and cultivation of thefe principles. They form the temper and conftitute the cha- racter of a virtuous man 3 and, therefore, he muft enjoy pleafures to which men of a contrary charafter are ftrangers. — It is not conceivable, that a perfon in whonx the mild and generous affeflions thrive, fliould not be in a more happy ftate than one who countera; "^ Once more. A virtuous man po(re(re$ the hope of a future reward. Every one knows how mighty the power of hope is to invigorate and chear the mind. There is no fuch hope as that of the virtuous man. He hopes for a perfe(fl government in the heavens ; and this comforts him amidft ail the diforders of earthly govern- ments. He hopes for a refurre6lion from death to a blefled immortalitv. He ex- pefts foon to take pofleflion of a treafure in t)ie heavens that faileth not; to receive an incorruptible inheritance; to exchange ignorance and doubt for knowledge ; and ' of a virtuous Courfe. ^49 to be fixed in that world where he fhall join fuperior beings, and be always grow- ing more wife, and good, and great, and happy, till fome time or other he fhali rife to honours and powers which arc no more pofiible to be now conceived by him, than the powers of an angel can be conceived by a <:hild in the womb. — This is indeed an unbounded and ravifhing hope. If Chriftianity is true, we have abundant reafon for it. Chrift came into the world to raife us to it 5 and the mofl diftant glimmering of it is enough to eclipfe all the glory of this world. Such are the fmgular bjeffings pf the virtuous mari-'"''^'^''" ^ io'v^^'.<> ' i-jft ^a3V£2Il ';^lil ill Let us, in the next place, take into confideration fome peculiar qualities of the happinefs now defcribed. This will complete our view of this fubje6t, and render it unnecefTary to add any thing to convince an attentive perfon of the truth \ am infifting upon. Viitue has a great deal 2 5^ Of the Happinefs deal of peculiar happinefs ; and that happinefs has many excellent quali- ties which belong to no other happi- nefs. — It is, for inflance, more per^ viaiieiit than any other happinefs. The pleafures of the vicious are tranfient ; but virtue is a fpring of conjlant pleafure and fatisfadion. The pleafures which attend the gratification of our appetites foon pall. They are gone for ever after the moment of gratification 5 and, when carried to ex- cefs, they turn to pain and difgufl. But nothing like this can be faid of the plea- fures of virtue. Thefe never cloy or fa* tiatq. They can never be carried to ex- cefs. They are always new and frefli. They may be repeated as often as we pleafe without lofing their relifli. They are fuch as will not only bear repetition and reflexion, but are improved by them. They will go with us to all places 5 and atte;nd us through every changing fcene of life. No inclofures of ftone or iron, no intervention of feas and kingdoms can keep i)f a I'trtiious Cotirfe, 251 keep them from us. They delight alik§ at home and abroad ; by day and by night 'y in the city and in the defart.— - The aid of vvine and of company is not necefiary to enable us to enjoy them* They are, in truth, enjoyed in the greateft perfection when the mind, colle6ting it- fcif within itfelf, and withdrawing itfelf from all worldly objeds, fixes its atten- tion only on its own ftate and profpe6ts^ It follows from thefe obfcrvations, that the happinefs of virtue is a rnore in- 4epende?it happinefs Xhzn any other. It is, if I may fo fpeak, more one with the foul 5 and, therefore, lefs fubjecl to the operations of external caufes. The plea- fure arifing from the confcioufnefs of having done a wprthy adion, of having relieved a diftreft family, or fubdued our anger, our envy, or our impatience ; this is a pleafure which enters into the very fubftance of the foul, and cannot be torn from it without tearing it from itfelf, and deftroying its exiftence. — All other plea- fures ^5^ Q/* ^^^ Happinejs fures are precarious in the higheft degree. We have bat little power over them -, and they may be taken from us the next mo- ment in fpite of our ftrongeft efforts to retain them* But the joy conneftcd with right adion, with a feif-approving heart, and the hope of a glorious eternity, no accidents can take away. Thefe are in- ward bleffings which are not liable to be affefted by outward caufes ; and which produce a happinefs that is immutable, and not poffible to be loft except with our own confent. There is nothing that the ancient phi^ lofophers have taken fo much pains to in- iculcate, as the importance of placing our happinefs only in things within our power. \If we place it in fame, or money, or any external good, it will have a mcft deceit- ful foundation, and we fliall be liable to ^" perpetual difappointment : Whereas, if ■''we place it in the exercife of virtuous af- fe6tions, in tranquillity of mind, in regu- lar paffionSj in doing God's will, and the hop3 * f? of ii virftloiis Coufjel 25 Kt^e of his favour; we fhall have it al- ways at our command. We ftiall never be liable to difappointments. We fhall find true reft to our fouls -, and be in a fituation like to that of a perfon lifted to the upper regions of the atmofphere, who hears thunder roll, and fees lightenings flafh and the clouds fpread below him, while he enjoys ferenity and funiliine. I muft add, that the happinefs of virtue is a pure and refined happinefs. It is feated in the mind. Other hap- pinefs has its feat in the body.— It is the happinefs of angels. Other happinefs is the happinefs of brutes.— It muft, there- fore, be alfo the moft folid, the moft fub- ftantial and exalted happinefs.y**'! ob- ferve this, becaufe I believe the generality of men are difpofed to look upon no hap- ^|)inefs as folid, which is purely fpiri- •'tuMr What I have juft faid affords a demonftration of the contrary. The moft exalted happinefs muft be that of fuperior ■uj u. beings. §54 ^f ^^'^ Happuiefs beings, of angels, and of the Deity. But this is a happinefs that is fpiritual, and which has no connexion ^ith the gra- tifications of fenfe. The happinefs of the virtuous, therefore, being of the fame kind, it muft be the moft real and fuBi ftantial. '' ^ To fay no more on this head. Let md defire you to confider, that the happinefs of the virtuous man continues with hinl even in affliction. This is one of the moft diftinguifhing properties of this happinefs. Virtue, as it increafes the relifh of profperity, blunts likewife the edge of adverfity. It is, indeed, in ad- verfity, that the power of virtue to make us happy appears to the greateft advan^' tage. It kindles a light in the foul in th^ darkeft feafons 5 and very often produces then the hisiheft blifs when animal naturp • fi is at the loweft, and other joys have de- ferted us. — Theie is, in this refpecl, K mod ftriking difference between the con- dition of the virtuous and vicious mari.' In of a virtuous Courfe, 255 In adverfity the vicious man becomes completely wretched. He has no com- fortable reflexions to fupport him ; no protecting Deity to triift in ; no profpeft of future bleffings to encourage him* Wherever he turns his eyes all is confu-- fion and diftrefs. Reafon and confcience have him to themfelves, and infli6t the fharpeft fufferings. -— But the virtuous man, in adverfity, may rejoice and exult. Whatever he now fuffers, he may be af- fured that all will end happily. Whea flefh and heart faik under him, faith and hope and charity unite their influence to fuftain him. A heavenly voice whifpers peace to him when all about him fpeaks terror ; and the confolations of God de- light his foul when the fprings of vvorldly comfort are dried up — Particularly ^ in the folemn hour of death he has reafon to be compofed and chearful. That is the hour which feals the vicious man under ruin J but Jj^^confirms and perfedls the happinefs gf the virtuous man, and fets him ^5^ Q/" ^^^ Happinejy him free for ever from pain and danger. He can, therefore, look forward to it without difturbance, and meet it joyfully. •—Religious and virtuous principles, if they have their due efficacy, will enable us to die with dignity and triumph. They will change the afpeft of the king of ter- rors into that of a friend and deliverer, and caufe us to defire and welcome his ftroke. Thus have I fhewn you that religious virtue is our chief good. And we may now, with full convidion, take up the words of my text, and fay with Solomoriy That her ways are ways of pleafantnefsy and that all her paths are peace \ that J]:e is a tree of life to them that lay hold of her -^ and that happy is every one that receiveth her. ^ I will only farther defire your attention to the following inferences. Firft. How wrong is it to conceive of religious virtue as an enemy to pleafure ?. This is doing it the greateft injuftice. Jt is, of a virtuous Ccurfe. 257 is, without all doubt, the very beft friend to true pleafure. — Were we indeed to judge of it from the ftiffnefs and fcverity of fome who pretend to it, we might be forced to entertain a different opinion of it. But fuch perfons do not fhew it us ia its true form. They miftake its nature, and are flrangers to its genuine fpirit. — One part of the duty it requires of us, is to accept thankfully every innocent grati- fication of life, and to rejoice ever more. Inftead of driving us, with the v/retched votaries of fuperftition, into defarts and cloifters, and making us morofe and gloomy ; it calls us out into fociety, and difpofes us to conftant alacrity and chear- fulnefs. Secondly. What ftrong evidence have we for the moral government of the Deity ? You have feen that he has fo con- ftituted nature that virtue is, by its necef- fary tendency, our greateft blifs. He is, therefore, on the fide of virtue. By efta- blifliing the connexion I have been repre- ienting fenting between it and happinefs, he has declared himfelf its friend in a manner the moft dccifive. What we fee takes place of this connexion in the prefent life is the beginning of a moral government; and it (hould lead us to expect a future life, where what is now begun will be compleated — where every prefent irregu- larity will be fet right — virtue receive its full reward, and vice its full punifnment* Laftly. What reafons have we for feeking virtue above all things ? You have heard how happy it will make us. Let us then pray for it earneftly ; and def- pife every thing that can come in compe- tition with it. If we have this, we can wa72t nothing that is defirable. If we want this, we can /;^i;^ nothing that will do us any fubftantial fervice. — Go then all ye carelefs and irreligious men. Take to yourfelves your money, your ho- nours, and polluted pleafures. I v/ould defire virtue only. There is nothing elfe worth an eager wifli. Here would I center ef a ^trtuom Courfe. 2§g center all my cares and labours. May- God grant me this, and deny me what elfe he plcafes. This is his choiceft blef- fing s his beft and richeft gift. This is that tree of life whofe leaf never withers, and whofe fruit will revive us in every hour of dejeftion, cure all our maladies, and prolong our exiftence to endlefs ages; for, as St. Paul fpeaks, if we have our fruit unto holinefs^ our €72 d will be ever- lasting LIFE. £JoY ^ p^srrfdt (ffi .eu 3;Ifil;. ..... . \^t-^A ^3bfc'- -^ c^ii., -aqmoD ni ;^moo ab^ i^ixi gnirij ^lavt^ atiq HBO 3W cEirfl ws^A 3w W M diiw noi:Jb Tjf il ,3ldBiilf; tBfIt gnirilon Vwwi? Fl f 77» in rf 1 "Q n r rf ton ^irs^i riB d "^ ' ^ •' ^ • f ' ' ^* v\'.a? ° ^--"^ IfiflnBilclai (ni> e.i ob ^;iB 1 .iOin guoigilani briB el^faiBD sy Hb -ofl luq^ cpriorn luo^ eavlaliuf bluow I .2s-iijlB3lq bsitulloq bni ^nidtnrr -^r 3i3f{T vfnA i^r^ I bii^ovY ' "S 2 ^«^ -*i^ -S E R-» :^3tn35 ^""^itmiteeaaemtmKmi ■ ■*■» ' " »■— — «P*»tM TTTv vr o M ^ -J ^ aoo '50 22a!^aooo iht '^ro .^Ji^^ o:r bailqqB nasd 83§b II ^ I -bxovBnii ^dl \d zidi ol ^^^ -^^ ^*W "luo io 8noi:rq3Di9q bnB g^xiamua^i ^idfi gnisd bsJBsiDnu bnB fhh odX .ebfifm 9rf:r bf T8aTA3HO srlj 3d ilum ^T2aa orii 3d sliwa^il flum TaaTAako, •boog :Ji ^' ^^bubni alamBsig oait io> «ob iBliavnm ^'i^woq ylrigifnlA .>hf^ I 261 ] w^m^wmimm-^'m SERMON VIII. OF THE GOODNESS OF GOD. Psalms xxxiv. 8. O tajle and fee that the Lord is good. Blef" fed is the man that trufieth i7i him. i I ^HE titles GREATEST and best, have -I in all ages been applied to the Deity, We are led to this by the unavoid- able fentiments and perceptions of our minds. The firft and uncreated beine muft be the greatest ^ and the GREATEST muft likcwife be the best 5 for true greatnefs includes in it good- nefs. Almighty pov^er, univerfal do- S 3 minion, 262 of the Goohefs dominion, and infinite Knowledge, con- lidered by themfelves, can excite no other emotions than awe and terror. They have in tijem none of that dignity which engages veneration, except they are accompanied with benevolence. This is the crown of all the attributes of the Deity. It is this finifhes his charader \ and nothing can be of more importance to us than a thorough convidion of it, and juft fentiments concerning it. If we either do not believe it, or entertain un- worthy apprehenfians of it as partial o;* capricious i fome of the principal com- 'forts of our exiftence muft be loft; and our religious fervices muft become an ab- jeft and illiberal drudgery and fuperfti- tion. I cannot, therefore, be better em- ployed than in endeavouring to explain and prove to you God's goodnefs ; and this I propofe to make my bufinefs in the ''prefent difcourfe ; after which, J flialj, iti 1i 'future difcourfe, infift particularly on the pradical improvement of it. This This is a fubjea of a very extenfive aawre ;' and, were I to entermto a par- Sup.greatdealofyJMBPBua Ihall endeavour to avoid prohxity, ahd iim only at making luch obfcrvations ^ appear to^^^^moftufefuUndi^^^^^^^^^ witi^^t enterins^a^ mto^^bftru^^^en • GooSiTE^ssTwhen applied to the Deity, -may be confidered in two views. It may fi^nify either the prindpk itfel£ of good- nefsrtliat'is. that benevolence of dupQ- -fition which leads to the commumcation tofhappinefs-, or, it may fignify,- Ae .^- erdfe of this principle in the aBual cpi^- munication of happinefe. We-ufc,,n -tSmtrid^ language, the word goodnds ^'fometimesirv the former, of there fcnfes ■ and fometimesin the latteg^ ^aRdftjas^pt Tome importance that we take care|tQ ,4jf- .Jfeguilh them. Much may be fa^d of the YS*m«>/r^f~'goodnefs in the Deity whicn cannot; without great impropriety, be ^■^cv S4 ■ aPF^i^'^ to li: \ f§A Of the Goodnefs jipplled to the exercije of it In the creation f \4 S9>'?ffl.^,^ftt,^f the world.— In partw cul^r, it may be juftly faid of God^s good- iiefs, in the former fcnfe, that it is necef^ fary. His nature is benevolence; and a difpofition to conTimunji^ate happincfs is mfeparable froni ij,^ 1^^?^^^ ^s much a ^;']^fi^,^l l^^poffibility of iiis wanting this i^fpofitionas there is of his wanting power or knowledge, or even exiftence.— But the fame cannot be faid of his goodnefs in the latter fenfe. .Though 'the difpofition to communicate happinefs is • neceflarv in -^.W '■-'•■ V;^m :: ■ ^^ ^mF;f J ^^^ •■^.' Z^^J^"^ ^,^/^^U^ of it (that is, every a?t proceeding from this difpofition) is perfectly free.. And this is one of the chief pbfervations to which I would defire you to attend oh this fubjea:. You fhould always think of God's goodnefs as an un-. cbnftrahied and free goodnefs. All its* effcds proceed, not from irrefiftible ne- ceffity, but from yolu^tary choice. Hq^ has it in his power not to confer on his^j creatures the bleffings they enjoy ; Nor iSi. 4«:)ft!ft'^1§5it WDJeaion'td'^Iiii^ that the principle of goodncls within^ l^Tm is, as I have faid, neceflary. We experience in ourfelves that the principles or motives of action within'\ife' are neceffary, though &ur^a?«dt^' them (elves 'ai-e free. * Thus, felf-love is eflential to Us/' We cah'no more diveft ourfeWes of it than we can of our beings. But the aftions derived from it are free ; and we have a power not to perform them^.^lh like manner^ the pre- ference of virtue is abfolutely necenary ; but, at the fame time, we find that we can, if we pleafe, determine not to foW low this preference. In *other words 5 difpofitions and views^'anfing from una,- voidable principles'in Beings, are only tne motives and occafions of their determina- tions. They only fliewf, how an a6lion is to be accounted for i not its efficient caufe?-'l^^ muft alw^ be tlie^ifelM?- termmatibll of the agent. — It has, I, know, been objefl:ed to this, that it tends to deftroy the immutability of God's if. rid 266 Of the Goodfiefs God's moral perfections. Bat no objec- tion can be lefs reafonablcJiloin' lower inftances, we cannot wifh for any'greater certainty than that which depends only on the voluntary determinations of agents in particular circumftances. It would, indeed, be intolerably abfurd to imagine that the Deity is not good immutakly^-. becaufe he is fo jreely ; or to conclude, that he will make his creatures mifer- able, becaufe it is in his power to do' it. Nothing can be more certain than ' that perfeft righteoufnefs will never acl unrighteoufly, or perfeft goodnefs cruelly : And this is not the lefs a cer- tainty, becaufe it 'is founded on choicci'^ and not on any phyfical neceffity. Were this the foundation of certainty in this cafe ; or, were the Deity good in all his . aftions by the fame neceffity by which he exifts, we- could not perceive any tnoral ' ex:cellenc"e In his goodnefs ; and it wouJd ^ be as impoffible to think it an objeft of bayoiqmd 81 ;^ud , grati* ■ ylno f>_ tf God. 267 gratitude, as to think fo of^ his eternity and immenfityl^6nol£3i iisF itiBut I have dwelt, perhaps, too long on. this obfervation. I will, therefore, haften to defire you to remember, in con- nexion with it, that God's goodnefs is not to be confideretj as a propenfity within him of which no account is to be given from REASON. This is a notion which fome have entertained of it. But nothing can detract more from its honour. Ac- cording to this opinion, pubUc happinefs and pubhc mifery are the fame to intel- lectual difcernment. A reafonable being ai fucb is incapable of preferring the one to the other \ and, therefore, neceflarily void of benevolence, except as the efFefl of fome biafs or afFeflion within him, prior in the order of our ideas to reafon, and independent of it. It is not wifdom, then, or intelligence, that makes the Deity benevolent ; for wifdom, according to this account, can never give rife to a preference of any ends, but is employed only 26S Of the Good?iefs only in directing to the beft means of at- taining an end. — It is furprifing that fuch a fcntiment fhould have found a place in the minds of able and ingenious men. Indeed, I can fcarcely think, that we,a|pe 'Certain of any thing, if it be not true tbrat .goodnefs, confidered as a principle of a^- - tion, is adifpofition that arifes neceffarily in an intelligcfit nature \ • And I wifli .you to remember, in oppofition to this opinion, that God's goodnefs is a reajon- able goodnefs ; a principle founded in reafon, derived from reafon, and under the direftion of reafon in all its opera- tions. In mankind there are two fprings of oaf afFedlionS— Ihftinftive determina- tidn and reafon.~But we muft take care -to remove the former entirely from thei • : ' Deity tY^^ A particular Jlfcufllon of this queftion,. togcthe;- fhivith a more full account of the proof here infifted ^^on, of God's goodiiefs taken from its connexion with _ his intelligence, may be found in my Treatif^ on , Morals, chap. i. lii. & x. of God. is 69 Defty'rtt^'Citii^'tonceptions of him. He can poffefs nothing analogous to any of the inftin(flive principles and inclinations which have been given us. He is pure and perfe6l reafon j and perfeft reafon is in him the true fpring of every moral principle which we afcribe to him ; andj particularly, of his infinite goodnefs. He purfues general happinefs as his end, be- caufe it is in itfelf a right end and worthy of his choicCi^^^'^ nr.rrtfrrn But this Jeads me to mention to you „,,the chief argument which prpvgs^,||ie goodnefs of God. It is included in his .: intelligence. Benevolence is an affection which arifes as necefiarilyin an tiitelligent ^^^jature, as felf-love does iiji a/^;2/?if/i;^ na- . AMXt. Moral diftinctions are founded in truth i and every being who perceives ^^^truth muft perceive them. The Deity, ^'Wrefore, who perceives all truth, muft ^^'perceive them in all their extent and ob- ligation, and be more under their in tlu- ence than any other being.— The chief of Ijo Of the GooJneJs of all moral diftinclions Is this—*' that •' it is right to communicate happinefsj " and wrong to produce mifery/'— This difl:in6lion, therefore, in particular, God as intelligent muft perceive ; and the perception of it is the very famb with the approbation of beneficence, and the dif^ approbation of its contrary. — I cannot think of a ftronger argument. — It fhews us, that the principle of benevolence in the Deity is implied in his perception of truth ; and that it is juft as certain that he Is good, as it is that we fay right when we fay, that '' happinefs is better than * * mifery /* ^ h r hn r fr-:^ -i fo rf t 9 vr H t^-Q rr ? ff "t '^o ;,|t may, I know, be enquired herCj, whether (though it thus. : appears that God is benevolent) there may not beforae oppofite principles inhis nature (likethofe in ourfelves) which may have a tendency tQ. Jead him aftray from benevoIenceiS-*^ In anfwer to this, it fhould be remetnski bered, that the argument I have menK- tioned not only proves that he is.benevo-* , ^ lent. lent, but that he is {o, as much more perfeftly than any other being as his in- telligence is more perfecl ; or, that he is as much more under the influence of be- nevolence as he knows truth and right better. In reality ; truth and right and goodnefs are bimfelf-, and the Scriptures aflert what is more literally juft than is commonly apprehended, when it tells us, that " God is love/' — The natures of hap- pinefs and mifery are fuch, that a prefer- ence of one of them to the other muft arife in every mind in proportion to the degree in v/hich they are known. The natures of things have their foundation in the na- ture of the Deity. In him, therefore, every preference or affeftion that has its foundation in the natures of things muft take place in its completeft and higheft degree ; and, more particularly, the prin- ciple of rectitude muft in him for this reafon be fovereign and perfeft, and not uncertain, feeble, and precarious as in inferior beings.— In a word ; fince bene- M^'^i volence 2^2 Of the Goodnefi volence is a part of the idea of intdll-' gence, it follows, with the plaineft evi- dence, that the Supreme intelligence muft be original and jupreme benevolence 5 or fuch a benevolence as nothing can turn afide, or deceive, or counteract. The fufpicion, therefore, that there may be principles in the Deity which in- terfere with goodnefs and incline him to malevolence, is unreafonable and ground- lefs. His nature is perfect and eternal reafon ; and in fuch a nature there can be no tendencies v/hich are not derived from reafon ; much lefs, any that clafn with reafon. He is what he is necef- farily : But the fame necefiity cannot, without a contradiction, be fuppofed to be the ground of the approbation of beneficence, and, at the f^ime time, of biafl'es inconfiftent with it. The caufes that lead us aftray from goodnefs are partial views, the im- pulfes of pafTion, defects of powder, and private intercft. But he cannot be in- cf God. 273 influenced by any of tliefe caufes of deviation. He is omnifcient ; and, therefore, fubjecl to no partial views. He is felf-exiflent ; and, therefore, in- finitely removed from the poffibility of all inftinftive principles. He is Al- mighty 'y and, therefore, incapable of being difappointed or controuled. He is independent and felf fufiicient ; and, therefore, can have no intereft fepa- rate from that of the beings he has created. The argument I have now infifted on is, I believe, that to which men have always chiefly ow^ed their belief of the goodnefs of the Deity. What moft na- turally leads us to apply to him this attri- bute, feems to be our apprehenfion of excellence in it -, or the difcernment we have that it is right to communicate happinefs, and wrojig to give pain. — But I flaould not be excufable, did I not turn your thoughts to another argument of the T utmoft 274 0/ ^^^ Goo due fi utmoft confeqiiencc. I mean, that taken from the effcfts of goodnefs which we fee in the creation. Thefe two arguments united are, I think, when duly attended to, fufRcient to give us complete fatisfaftion. Our reafonings on this point, from the natures of things, are confirmed by obfer- vation and experience. When we confult our ov/n ideas (without attending to what takes place without us) w^e perceive a neceffary union between infinite povver, wifdom, and goodnefs. Where there is infinite power, there muft be infinite knowledge; and, fincemioral diflin6l'ions are (as I have faid) founded in truth, where there is infinite knowledge, there muft be infinite goodnefs. — There can be nothing fo encouraging and joyous as the reflexion on tins truth. But the joy it gives is greatly increafed by the additional reflexion, that there is the fame union of thefe attributes in the conftitution of the world, that we fee in the natures of things and cf God. ' 275 and find in our own ideas. The ftate of the creation adiially conefponds to what, in this indance, rca(on, independently of experience, teaches us to believe of the firft caufe. Wherever we fee power and Ikill difplayed, we alfo fee goodncfs dif- played. Wherever we fee defign, we fee it to be not only ii)ife defign, but ktjid defign. The primary tendency of all the laws of nature with which we are ac- quainted is to happinefs and enjoyment. The fruits of benevolence are Scattered through the world -, and, therefore, the Maker mud be benevolent. An univerfe fo harmonious and fair, fo orderly and beautiful, and fo peopled with numberlefs varieties of living beings all rejoicing in exiftence, all liberally provided for, and enjoying bleffings fuitable to their natures andfituations. — Such an univerfe could never proceed from an evil or felfifh or malicious being. — Every new object we meet with, every new difcovery we niake, and every ftep we advance in the T 2 know- 276 Of the GooJnefs knowledge of God's works, affords us nevv" reafons for admiring the glory of his per- fedlions, and for adoring and praiung him. But I ami fenfible it will be objected here. — Is there not evil in the world as well as good ? And how can this be ac^ counted for, if the Author of the world is perfectly good ? Would he not, had this been true, have excluded from the creation every groan and pang ? — Thefe are enquiries which offer themfelves na- turally to every perfon in thinking on this fubjeft. Were I to attempt making as particular a reply to them as their importance deferves, I fhould go much beyond the limits which I have prefcribed to myfelf. I am in hopes, however, that you will think the following brief obfer- vations fufficicnt. Firft. It fliould be remembered, that the evil which there is in the world is overbalanced by good. We fliould, in this cafe, judge of the intention of the Deity by of God, . 277 by \\\\2i.t prevails in his works 5 and this, without doubt, is happinefs. Though we often fee many individuals fuffering pain, and fometimes groaning under heavy calamities, yet this is by no means the^^*- neral ftate of the world. All the tribes of animals about us were plainly made for happinefs -, and their natural and ordinary ftate is a ftate of health and fome degree of enjoyment. Pain and diftrefs are out of the common courfe of nature 5 and this caufes them to be over-rated and magni- fied whenever they happen. One bad fit of illnefs is remembered and talked of during life, though compenfated fo far as to be almoit annihilated, by many years of health and eafe and comfort. — Indeed, I believe the excefs of enjoyment above ab- folute mifery, in the exiftence of all living creatures, is much greater than we are willing to allow ; and the latter, could we compare it fairly with the former and judge of it properly, would appear no jnorc to us than the ftiades are in a fine T 3 pifture^ 278 Of the Goodnefs pidure, or the dircords ia a grand con- cert. But fecondly. It fliould be confidered that a great part of the evil in the world appears plainly to be the neceflary means of good, and to be intended for this pur- pofe. — The former obfervation would be alone fufficient to vindicate God's good- nefs in the permiiTion of evil ; for it is extremely unreafonable to imagine, that every being ought, during its whole ex- iftence, to be exempted from every degree of pain. What goodnefs requires is the production of happinefs ; and this is equally produced whether the happinefs of a being i^ fo much enjoyment unmixeci with pain, or the fame degree of enjoy- ment confiding of a clear excefs of plea- fure above pain. But we need not reft in this obfervation. The pains mixed with the enjoyments of beings are neceflary to thofe enjoyments. They appear to be defigned, not for their own fakes, but plways for the fake of fome good connefled witl] of God, 2 "^9 with them, or of fome particular benefit to the beuigs who fuffer them. — The pains of hunger, for infrance, are necefiary to put Us upon taking food. The pains, occa- fioned by a wound or by difeafes, are neceffary to engage us to take proper care of our bodies ; and, v/irhout fuch pains, we fhould fo far negle6l ourfelves, as to be in danger of perilling by every malady that feized us, and by every accident we met with. In like manner ; the pains of felf-reproach and remorfe are neceffary to reftrain us from wickednefs, and to keep us in the path of virtue and duty. — In thefe, and numberlefs other inftances, our pains are falutary and kindly intended. They are remedies for evil, and preferva- tives from danger and niifery ; and, there- fore, inftead of furnifliing an argument againft God's goodnefs, they are as much proofs of it as any of our pleafures. In connexion with this I muft mention to you, that many of the evils we com- plain of are effefts of regulations and T 4 eftablifh' 280 Of the Good fiefs eftablifliments in the unlverfe which are neceflary to produce the greateft happinefs. —It is abfolutely neceffary, that the af- fairs of the univerfe fhould be governed by general laws, operating uniformly and invariably in given circumftances. Were not this the conftitution of nature, there would be no fuch thing as a regular courfe of nature 5 no one would know what to expeft from any thing he did ; and there could be no prudence, no forefight, no room for the exercife of any of the adlive powers of beings. But, at the fame time, it is obvious, that the confequence of fuch a conftitution muft be, in fome inftances, pains and fufterings. The confequence, for inftance, of the univerfal operation of the law of gravitation muft be fometimes broken limbs and untimely deaths : But he that fhould, for this reafon, allow himfelf to wifh there were no fuch law 5 or that it were fufpended whenever it might do any harm; would vvifli to have {he whole frame of nature unhinged^ and cf God. 281 the general happinefs deftroyed, only for the fake of preventhig a few bad accidents. —To the fame purpofe, it may be ob- ferved, that the ends of goodnefs require that there fhould be in the univerfe crea- tures of all orders ; and that there fhould be a dependence of their ftates on one another. For, without this, there would be no fphere of agency for beings ; no room for the exercife of benevolence by doing good to our fellow-creatures ; nor, confequently, any poffibility of the prac- tice of virtue in that inftance of it which brings us neareft to the perfedion of the Deity. A variety, therefore, of orders of beings ; a dependence of them on one another ; and, in general, imperfeftions and fubordinations among them, and z, precarioufnefs of ftate, are neceflary to render that happinefs poffible which con- fifts in the exercife of the rational and moral powers of beings. But it is obvi- ous, that from hence muft arife a liable^ pefs to calamities 5 and, in many circum- ftances, 2!? 2 Of the Goodncfs ftances, the dlftrefs of individuals^ or fometimes, perhaps, of a whole /pedes. — In ihort. Exclude from the world that liberty which we often fee fo dreadfully abufed : Exclude from it all wants and fubordinations and dangers and lotTes : Set all beings on a level, and emancipate them entirely from the influence of one another's agency ; and you will leave no creature any thing to do. You will lay the whole rational creation afleep, and exclude from it all that happinefs which is moft worth producing. Thefe obfervations are, in my opinion, a fatisfaftory anfwer to the objection I am confidering. It appears that the evil we fee is inconfiderable compared with the good ; and that it may be the neceffary confequence of a conftitution formed, in the beft manner, to produce the greateft happinefs. Notwithftanding all the abate- inents to be made on account of the un- eafinefies and troubles in the world, a juft eftimate of its ftate will convince us, that it cf God. 2?3 it IS an effefl of inconceivable goodnefs. In order to make it anfvver to the notion of malevolence in its author, it is, in truth, neceffary to reverfe it in almoft every inftance.-y-I wifh I could here re- prefent to you properly, what you might have expelled would have been the ftate of the world, had mifery been the ultimate intention of the Deity. Evil would, in this cafe, have appeared to be the aim of nature in all its appoint- ments; and GOOD, v/e fliould have found (as we do evil now) to be always the confequence of either fome regulation for producing general mifery, or of fome unnatural violence and perverfion. — All defign in the frame of nature we fhould have feen to be cruel defign \ and all that wifdom of God in his w^orks which we now admire and adore, we fliould have dreaded and curfed as a contrivance to extend diftrefs, and to render pain more pungent and permanent. — The ordinary ftate of every being we fliould have found to 284 Of the GooJnefs to be (not a ftatc of eafe and enjoyment) but of trouble, dejeftion, and angulfh. The lovv'er animals, and all inanimate nature, inftead of being made to minifter to our delight and accommodation, would have been made to annoy and harrafs us. The bee would have been without her honey, and the rofe without its fragrance. The fields v/ould have wanted their chear- ful green and gay flowers. The fire would have fcorched without warming us. The light of day would have dazzled without chearing us. Every breath of air would have cut us like the point of a fvvord. The appetites and fenfes would have been the infiiruments of torture, and never of pleafure to us, except when turned out of their common courfe by incidental caufes. Every touch would have felt like the rubbing of a wound. Every tafte would have been a bitter 5 and every found a fcream. Our imagination3 v;ould have prefcnted nothing but fright- ful fpedtres to us. Our thoughts w^ould havQ of God, 285 have been the feat of a deep and conftant melancholy ; and our reafon would have ferved only to (liew us our wretchednefs. * — What we now call gratification would have been nothing but a relaxation of torment ; and we fhould have been driven to the ofnces neceflary for felf-preferva- tion, by an increafe of fufferings occafioned by neglecling them. Or if, at any time, any feelings of delight were granted us ; they v^ould have been (as the paroxifms of pain are at prefent) tranfient and rare, and intended only to fet a keener edge on mifery by giving a tafte of its contrary. — In the prefent ftate of the world our pains, when they become extreme, foon make an end of either themfelves or us : But, in the ftate of things I am imagining, there would have been no fuch merciful appointment \ for our bodies, probably, would have been fo made as to be capable of bearing the fevereft pains j and, at the fame time, we might have been deterred from 2 36 Of the Goodfiefs from fclf-violence by knowing, that the confequence of haftening death would be getting fooner into a (late of mifery ftill more dreadful, and which fliould never come to an end. But it is high time to ftop. I know you muft hear with horror this reprefen- tation. Such, however, be afTured, and infinitely worfe than I can paint, would have been the condition of the world had it been made for mifery. The real ftate of it is, I have fliewn, totally different 5 and from hence it is impoflible not to con- clude that the Maker of it is benevolent. —We may then rejoice in our exiftence- We may look up to heaven with triumph. Verily, God is good. This is the dic- tate of reafon. This is the voice of all nature. I have much more to fay on this fub- jeft; and I fhouldnowgo on to make fome farther obfervations in order to affifl: you in forming juft ideas of God's goodnefs. But of God, ' 2S7 But tliefe obfervations, together with a general recital of the efFefts of God's goodnefs and the pradlical improvement of it, jQiall be referved for another dif- courfe. S E R, i [ 289 ] SERMON IX OF THE GOODNESS OF GOD. Psalms xxxiv. 8. tajle and fee that the Lord is good. BleJ-^ fed is the man that triifteth in him. IN a former difcourfe from thefe words, I endeavoured to explain and prove to you the goodnefs of God. I then infifted, among other arguments, on the traces of goodnefs, as v^^ell as of vvifdom, which wx fee in the works of God. Happinefs, 1 obferved, prevails in nature ; and all that we know of its conftitution and laws fhev/s, that the power which gave birth U to 2 go Of the Goodnefs to It, and which prefides in It, Is bens?* volent. "' ^- '-- ^- -- '- -There" 1§" one objeftlon to-'tKtg Sfrgu- ment which I will juft take notice of, before I proceed to what I principally intend at this time. — ^^It may occur to fome *' that, fince what we fee of nature •' is comparatively nothing, it cannot *' afford fufficient ground for any certain *' conclufion, A malevolent being may " fometimes be the caufe of happinefs, as " a b".;ievolent being may of fufFerings. *' A fingle aft cannot be enough to give *' a proof of the chara6ler of an agent, ** otherwife totally unknown to us. From ** what takes place In a poifit and a mo^-- *' meiity no judgment can be formed of *' what takes place univerfally and eter'^.^ *^ iiallyT In anfwer to this objection, I would defue you to confider, Firft, That, in all cafes. It Is moil reafonable to judge of what we do not Ji.novv by what we do. know. We are fure, of God. 591 fare, that happinefs prevails in all that we fee of nature 5 and however little that i5,-it acftords a fair prefumption that happinefs pc^vails iikewife in the reft of iaature. '. Eut fecondly, This evidence from fa6l is confirmed by arguments, taken from the reafons of things and the nature of the .firfl: caufe, as reprefented in my former difcourfe : And, however imfatisfaClory this evidence might otherwife have been, it amounts, when taken in this con- nex;ion, to one of the ftrongeft proofs*. But < Thirdly, The truth is, that this evi- dencei even when taken by itfelf, is in a high degree fatisfaclory, and that the ob- je6tion I have ftated has no tendency to leffen its vv^eight. — The following obler- vation will, I think, fhew this. — What- ever the chara6ler of the Deity may be, his works muft, upon the whole y correfpond to it. Particular exceptions to this cor- U z refpondence ^92 Of the Goodncfs rcfpondcncc may poffibly take place ^t particular times in particular diftrifls ^ but they mull:, without doubt, be fingu- lar and extraordinary. If mifery, there- fore, is the end of the Deity, there mujft have been the greateft chance agamft our being caft into that part of the creation in which mifery is not prevalent. And this chance is the fame whether the creation be more or lefs extenfive. — For this rea- fon, I cannot help reckoning the impro- bability almoft infinite, of our happening to have been brought into exiftence in that period of duration and difl:ri6l of the univerfe in which goodnefs is difplayed, if, indeed, goodnefs is not the charaftef ^,:^f the Deity. — This confideratiori, added to the other arguments on which I have infifted, make my thoughts fo eafy on ;^^^jthis moll interefting queftion, that I can |j>.j;fcarcely willi for more fatisfaftion. I will now requeft leave to add a few ©bfervations to guard you againft mif- ap- tf God. 293 apprehenfions ^^q/, God's goodnefs, after which I will proceed to an account of fome of the prhicipal effects of it, and tiie influence which the belief of it oneht to have on our tempers and prae- tifes. I have already obferved, that the good- nefs of God is not to be confidered as a propenfity in him of which no account can be given, and which produces its effefts necelTarily. On the contrary j' I have fliewn, that it is implied in the perfe6l intelligence of the Deity ; and that it is to be confidered as under the dire6lion of reafon, and as always operating, though certainly^ y^t freely. It follows from hence, that we fhould ^^confider it as a holy and juft goodnefs. This obfervation appears to me of parti- cular importance. If it is not remem- bered, we fhall be in danger of entertain- ing very groundlefs expectations from this attribute. God's goodnefs, when moral jjgents are confidered as the objeds of it, U 3 IS IM ^94 ^f ^^^ Goodnefs is not a difpofition to make all happy in^' difcriniinately at any rate and by any means. Were this true, it would not be an excellence becoming the dignity and wifdom of a Being perfectly rcafonable. — On the contrary ; it is a difpofition to- make the upright and v^orthy h-appy, pre- ferably to others. It is a principle which, in all its exertions, is directed by a re- gard to redlitude, and an averfion to moral evil. The end of it is, indeed, happinefs. But it is the righteji happi- nefs. It is happinefs enjoyed in the prac- tife of virtue. In connexion wnth thig, I would ob- ferve that our expeftations from God's goodnefs ihould be regulated by what we fee to be the eftablifhed order of nature. This, in all cafes, is the beft guide of our expectations and reafonings.— We are, in the higheft degree, incompetent judges cf the method in which Divine goodnefs Ought to purfue its end, and it is pre- fumptuous and foolifh to lay a ftrefs, m ;V^ God. -^ 295 this cafipii pn any theories that- we, can form. We; are. no. lefs unqualified for> m'veniifig worlds than we are for 7/iaking^^ them ; and: yet this is what, ia our vaiii imaginations, we a^e xp.j^tinually dping. Let us ftudy to acquir-e, % jff^,eir i^iife of our own infufficiency ; and learn to I'ub^,, mit our underftandings to that Supreme intelligence which includes in it Supreme benevolence, and which, we may afliire ourfelves, will conduct all events in the bed ways to the beft ilTaes, — If we will judge by what lies before us, we mufl be fatisfied, that the plan of the Divine go- vernment is to make the happineft ,of reafonable beings to depend on their o^wn^ endeavours ;,. and alfo, wit}iin certain limits, on the agency and benevolence of their fellow- beings. The chief bleffings of exiftence dp not fall to our (hare of courfe, without any follicitude of pur own. They are offei;ed to our acquifitian^ not our (icceptance ; and the condition of pur having^ them, is our earning thern by U 4 the 296 ^f the Goodnefs the exercife of the powers given us. Gur fellow-creatures, likewife, are often tho conveyers of them ; and their voluntary inftrumentality is, in numberlefs in- fiances, made to be not only the channel by which they are communicated, but the condition on which they are granted.— There is no part of the conftitution of nature that deferves more of our attention than this. Objeclions to it are apt to rife within us, and we may be ready to afk— ** Why does the Deity feem to grudge ''^us blifs by fufpending it on fuch con- "^|dition3, and making it fo precarious ?'* —But, in reality, it is an inftance of per- fed wifdom. The natures of things render this method of treating moral agents rieceflary 5 and it is the method of treating ,thqrxi which mud in the end produce the greateft good. ,, Is have ob- feryed this in my former difcourfe % and^ therefore, will fay no more of it now -£qE5 idJB^ig bed ^-^zi •^S^^^.Im 5' 'See, likewife, the fifth of thcfc clifcourfes, page Again ; T would cautforl you* againft cxpedting, that this attribute fliould, in every jingle infiance^ produce the greateff poflible efFeft. If we (ee that happinefs is intended and goodnefs difplayed in the frame of the world, we fhould be fatisfied. To complain becaufe mo7'e happinefs has not been produced, and more goodnefs difplayed, would be very unreafonable. It would be complaining on a ground not poffible to be removed ; and giving way to a dilpofition not pofiible to be fatisfied: For, were the quantity of happinefs pro- duced ever fo great, there would be ftill room for more happinefs. Had there been neverafigh, a pang or a groan on this earth, we might have imagined that there fhould have been higher pleafures enjoyed by its inhabitants ; or, at ieaft, that it fhould have been better flocked ancf mVdelaifgeiiL'l Had we been happy to the utmoft extent of our capacities, we might have thought that we fhould have had greater capa- cities 5 and, had we beei> ang^els, -we might ^8- Of the Goodnefs might have thought that we fliould have been ARCH-ANGELS. — Away then Wixh all fucli complaints. If we fee God to be good, let us not alk, why he is not bet- ter ? If wc feel that he has made us happy ^ let us not be fo ungrateful as to murmur becaufe he has not made \x%.happier. — It is probable that, upon the whole, an infinite fum of happinefs is produced; but we are by no means' judges in Vvdiat degree it ought to be produced in particular in- ftances. The goodnefs of God, like all his other attributes, muft, in many re- fpects, be incomprehenfible to us. We.^ do not know (as I have already intimated)^ , what meafures are befl to be purfued, or what laws are bell to be eftablilTied, in order to gain its ends mofl efFeclually and completely. General regulations may be riecelTary which may fometimes produce great calamities; and executions of juftice may be proper which may appear to ua fevere. Let us never forget our own ig-p Borance. There ig no topick from which of God, 2r)g. wc ar^ apt to argue more wantonly than from God's goodnefs. It would be ftrange, iildeed, if we could difcover how the affairs of the world ought to be admini- ftered ; or if beings, v^^ith our narrow- views, were to meet with no difficulties in contemplating the meafures taken by In- finite Wifdom to bring about infinite happinefs. Again ; we muft conceiv^of the good- nefs of God as impartial and univerfalo It does not arbitrarily diftinguifh fome from otherSj without regarding reafon and fitnefs. It has no favourites, except fuch. moral agents as beft pra<5life righteoufnefs^* It flows in numberlefs fireams to all living beings, according to their different capacities. It has produced innumerable worlds which it continually fup ports and itiaintains. It fhines through ail nature. It embraces and blcffes the whole ere- ^ion. Once more. It is immutable and ever-*'' lafting. It can never fail or change. It ha? ^oo Of the Goodncfs has exifted/r^;« eternity, and it will con- Vmue/b'tteniity ; ftill flowing, and yet iiever exhaufted ; flill giving, and y^t -having infinitely more to give ; the fpring of all other goodnefs, and the cauie of all order, joy, and perfeftion. But thefe obfervations anticipate the account which I have propofed to give of fome of the chief efFefts of Divine good* iiefs. This reprefentation muft be brief and extremely defective ; but it will an- fwer my intention, fliould it be the means of leading you, for a few moments, to at- tend a little more clofely to this fubjeft j and to join with me in endeavouring tp awaken our gratitude to the Deity, by ■ recolle6ling carefully, on this occafion, what it is we owe to him. A profpeft here offers itfelf to us the moft delightful.-«All nature replenifhed '%irith the effefts of uncreated and everlaft^. irig* goodnefs ! An univerfe boundlefs in ejctent^ and to which all th^t vv^e cai^ jmaginQ , of God. '^oi imagine is nothing, built on purpofe to be the feat of blifs ! Myriads of ftarry worMs, and countlefs hofts of living beings, brought forth by one munificent Parent to partake of his bounty > all de- pendent on his providence, fupported by his power, and provided for by his care and love ! — -With what admiration muft we reflect on the wife and good order of that fyftem to which we belong ? Hovsr does it declare, as far as we can carry our views, the benevolence of its Omnipotent Maker ? Every region of this earth we fee abounding with inhabitants ; and fo over- flowing is Divine goodnefs in this part of •nature, that it has brought into exiftence every different kind and form of animal life that we can conceive to be poflible, ^ There is no chafm in the chain <^f Jbeing 4 from reafoning man down to the inani- mate vegetable. Every rivulet, every leaf, rand almoft every atom of matter about us is peopled. What then muft we think of the furrounding planets ? Are not they 302 Of the Goodnefs thev alfo flocked with a like variety of happy inhabitants ? If on this earth the Parent of ail has been io munificent, what nobler fcenes of being and blifs may we fuppofe to be exhibited in the remoter diftrift s of the creation ? — But let us con- fine our thoughts to thofe objeds which are moft near and familiar to us. o It has been juft obferved, that every region of the earth abounds with Inhabi- tants, and that no order of beings below man feems here to have been left unpro- duced. The fea and the rivers are ftored with numberlefs tribes of creatures, who have organs adapted to their refpeftive exigencies and places of refidence. The dryland is appropriated to other orders of beings, v/ho have alfo the beft provifion made for their fubfiftence and prefer va- tion. The air, likewife, has its proper animals of various kinds that cut their way through it, and are furniflied with fuitable powers and faculties. All thefe difcQver figns of happinefs. They dif- play of God, 203 |xlay::th€ exuberant gcodnefs of their Maker. He maketh his fuii to fhine upon them 5 and continually feeds, prote6ls, and cheriflies them. — Hejhideth ihefprings into the valleys which run nmorg the hills. By them the Jowls of heaven 'have their habi" tat ion which fing amo72g the branches, H^ caufes the grafs to grow for cattle^ arid herbs for the fervice of man. He maketh the darknefs Mnd it is nighty wherein all the beafis of the forefi do . creep forth . 'The young lions roar after their prey^ and ajk their meat of God, T'he fun arifeth 3 they gather themfelves together^ and lie down in their dens, The earth is full of his riches. So is the great and wide fea^ wherein are crea- tures innmnerable, Thefe all wait upon hi?n^ That which he giveth them^ they gather. He cpeneth his handy and they are filed with good, Pf. civ. • But let us fix our thoughts particularly on MAN. — The flighteft .examination will convince us, that weare indeed vvonderi^i ful inftances of the goodneft of our MakeK*^ Every ■304 Of the Goodfiefs Every circumftance of our fituatlon, an4 every power of our minds affords us fome proof of this. By the various degrees of enjoyment arifmg from the fenfes and ap- petites of the lower part of our natures, we are enabled to conceive what the en^ joyment is of the creatures below us. But we have many fources of happinefs greatly fuperior to any they poffefs. — We have powers of imagination, by which we are rendered capable of the pleafures arifing from the perception of harmony, order, and beauty. — We have memory, by which we are able to recall and revive paft fcenes and enjoyments. — We have a capa- city of looking forward to futurity ; and thus of guarding againft expected evils, and of alleviating prefent inconveniencesi^ by the anticipations of hope.— We have LANGUAGE, by whicli we can mak^ known our thoughts to one another, and enjoy the benefits of fecial intercourfc and communication. — We have public af-% FACTIONS, which prompt us to purfue the of God^ OO'C the happinefs of our fellow-men, and furnifh us with the joys flowing from love andfympathy; from friendfliip, genero- fity, and mutual kindnefs. — We have REASON, by which we can inveftigate truth, fee the hand that formed us, con- template his works, and caufe all nature about us and every inferior order of beings to contribute to our defence and comfort. — We have liberty and con- science, by which we can perceive the eternal differences of moral good and evil 5 and, by conforming our a^'^ii\^ .God. O 307 world, and ufeful In their defign and operation. — I made this obfervation in my lafl: difcourfe, and endeavoured to explain and illuftrate it. It is an obfervation on which great ftrefs has been juftly laid by all the beft writers on this fubjed:., ^d ot The tragical events in human life pro- duced by ungoverned paffions, by the abufe of reafon, and other caufes, are, without doubt, very fhocking. But l feldom feel myfelf moved by them to queftion the goodnefs of God. What makes fuch events imprefs us fo much is, jheir being out of the ordinary courfe of things. We generally fee that they take their rife from a wife and kind conftitu- tion ', and if, in any inftance, we cannot fee this, they are only fingle facts ftanding in oppofition to miliions.— Look at that man who has ruined his fortune anil broken his health by his vices. Can you be difpofed to cenfure the Creator on his account ? Or would you have had him -^^kpthe world in fuch a manner as that .bhow X 2 wicked- o5 Of the Gcod?icfs vyickcclnefs fliould hav^ gone unrertralncL! you would indeed have had reafon todoubt hisgoodncfs, -inirrrl. .^rtt cdrfing his ^ii^en^^^pfleijijif iji^^ry cgf ,a clirordered iinagmatio^,^.aipd.jthe^defpair and horrors of a deep melancholy. Yoa cannot but view him with compaffion, ^nd think his cafe (hocking. But confidct; that^it is not , likely pz/ can be better thai! the Being vyho gave you your corapaflion. Confider^ likewife, that perhaps this perr ion has, in former life, enjoyed more haj:>pincfs than is qquiv^lent^to his prefent jjiff^rings; and tha^^)Ji-^fu|^£^^Ij^^ may again be happy, and find reafon to be thankful for what he novv, endures. Suppofe, however^ the v/prfln r His cafe is plainly finguh}*^, y^, ^^.4il ^^^ intended r^ljfcry, we Ihp4^^Id.;jll c^', .u^fi^aye been fucii wretched beingsi^^-^ ^^^ 3,^ ^i^^^l,. But to return to tuc account I was at- tempting to give you of the effects of God's TOodnefs to us. tf Gcd. 509 thing, and brought us forth to enjoy the light of life, and to view this glorious theatre of nature. To him we owe thefe thoughts that wander through eternity ; and thofe nigh' feculties by' which Kx^i claim kindred with angels, and which qualify us for acting by the fame rule with him, and for loving, ferving, ancj adoring him.-r^It is he that continually preferves ma ^^iMkiy ^'ils^?' Without him we cannot fubfift one moment. Every breath we draw^ every ftep we take; every thought we think depends entirely upon himl ' Ev(^ff |^^^we are^lfti'J^d every inftant of bur duration is^^cfbild^cj with his mercies, ilf'is 'hi^ 'l^iment cloaths us, and his food that nourifhe^ ti's;' It is he that flielters us in our houfes, refreflies lis iti fleep, watches over us in danger, and defends 'ui5%ainft thebVlI^ to which we are expofed. '^li'ft'is he that fupplies bur returning wants, that chears pur hearts among our friends^ and that X'^ OJ 2bnb delights jf6 Of the Goodnefs delights us In every agreeable ob]e6l and fcene. From him we derive every grati- fication which^ we' receive by our fenfes y every benefit we owe to our fellow-crea- tures ; every hope that expands our breafts ; and every convenience which renders our lives comfortable. There is, }n i^drt, Wo advantage which we can pro- ctire for ourfelves, no joy that fprings up in our hearts, no bleffing that crowns our exiftence, which does not come from him the Giver of every good and perfeft gift. •ss^Ht- takes care of us at thofe feafons wiien we are incapable of taking any care: of ourfelves. ' He difpenfes bleffings to us when v/e cannot refledl whence they come; iind; itihumberlefs inftances, goes before x>W' wifhfes, and prevents us with his be- fiefits.— He follows, with his goodnefs, even the wicked and undeferving. The moft inexcufable ingratitude cannot eafily divert its courfe. His hand upholds and c6ndu(fls us when v\re are fo blind and in- fenfible as not to acknowledge it. He promotes ^*JZ>Ui},. of God. 'V 311 promotes the happinefs of thofe bafe people who can fpend their days without addreffing any acts of homage to him, or ever thinking of worfhipping and thank- ing him. He does good to the evil and un- thankful, and fends his rain on the jujl and the unjiifi. Mat. v. 45. Above- all things ; he has bleft us with the Gofpel, and fent Jefus Chrift to fave us. This was an inftance of goodnefs tq finful creatures which exceeds all our com- prehenfion. — When mankind had cor^ rupted their ways, and loft the know- ledge of the one true God, Jefus Chrift defcended from heaven to call them back to their duty, and to redeem them from all iniquity. This is love, the Scriptures tell us, not that we loved God, but that he loved usy and fent his Son to be the propitiation for our fins, -^In confequence of that fall, ©r degradation of man, related in the book of Genefis, and referred to through- out all the fubfequent parts of the Bible, v/e had loft immortality, and became .^■•i 2 Of the Gcodnefs -fbbjcifl to that evil of "Seith which wc have all of us in profpect. And it is impot- fible to fay what this would have been to us, had not Infinite Goodnefs provided ^or lis a Saviour who, by giving himfelf up to death, has delivered us from death^ reftored us to our forfeited happinefs, and laid a foundation for the exercife of full favour to all truq penitents. By giving us Chrift, God has, indeed, giveu us every thing neceffary to raife us to the higheft dignity and glory — the cleareft light — the beft account of our duty — the flfrongeft motives to right praftice — great a=nd precious promifts— and, particularly, the promife of a refurre(5lion from death to a new -life of endlefs blifs, in that fu- ture kingdom, of Jefus Chrift, into which willbe gathered all the yiilUQUS/and v^i?ih -tliy among mankind. 11k *io^ bsvisl^i ii^u oc Such are f he: effects of the goodnefs of God to us J fuch the bleflings we owe to him.r— I muft. add, that our fenfe of thefe bleflings wall be rendered more intend, if 4£' wie-can refleft that we have duly iiri^ proved them, , and been led by them to :true piety and righteoufnefs. To this important end he conduits - us by every proper method ^ urging us by his autho- jrity ; inviting us by his promifes ,; admo- jiifliing us by the remonftrances of mini- fters and friends; affifting us by his grace; ^nd fparing us from year to year with imuch patience and long-fuffering. And cvvhen, in confequence of thefe advantages, iwe have been engaged to refolve upon amendment, and to begin a life of virtue, 'he continues his grace and influence to jCarry us on in our courfe, and to promote . :£iur endeavours after conflant improve- ment, till v^^e are taken out of this worid Xo receive our reward.— But what will this reward be ? What is the happi- nefs refervcd for all th^ upright and vir- tuous ? — No language can dcfcribe this. ^0 imagination is capable of conceiving it. Be glad in the Lord^ ye righteous ; and 3 1'4 0/" ^^^ Gocdnefs Jhout for joy^ all ye who are upright in heart. All have reafon to be thankful for exiftcnce \ but you have reafon for exul- tation and triurnph. Your happinefs will never come to an end. It is to bcr renewed in brighter regions, and there to go on increafuig to all eternity. While you continue in this world the prefence of God is always with you, and nothing amifs can happen to you. And when you have finiilied your courfe here, you will be taken to that world where all tears will be wiped away from your eyes ; where the hand of death fhall never again reach you; where you fhall join fuperior beings, and be for ever improving under the eye and care of the Almighty .—This will be the finilliing efFeft of God*s goodnefs to man- kind ; and to this ifTue of all prefent events no one of us can fail attaining who does not render himfelf unfit for it, and unworthy of it by vicious practices and habits. •hr>ari nrft rp ^ The praftical improvement of this fub-? je£l is very obvious. Firft. cf God. 315 Firft. It has a tendency to fix our minds in a ftate of tranquillity and fatis- faftion. Did blind fate, or fickle fortune, or a relentlefs tyrant govern all things, pur condition would be deplorable. We could confider no objedt with pleafure, and all about us would appear dark and defolate. But we are infinitely happier. Perfect goodnefs is at the head of the yvorld 'y and, therefore, all may be ex- pefted to take place in it that the moft benevolent mind can defire. t>f Secondly ; It i$ obvious, that the good- nefs of God is the proper objed of our livarmeft praifes. We muft be loft in in- fenfibility, if we can contemplate it with- out feeling ourfelves prompted to adora- tion and thankfgiving. What can engage our gratitude and love, if original and fovereign goodnefs will not ? — There is |io property of our natures by which we are rnore diftinguifhed from the creatures below us, than the capacity of feeing and acknowledging God's goodnefs. How (hocking 3 1 6 Of the 'Good?icfs men who difcover no fenfe of it ; and who (though they live by the Deity and depend ^fevery inftant on his care) yet willingly forget him/ ^i^n^negle^'aff religious wor- fhip ? What can /be more fhameful ; or fliew a heart more void of juft feehngs and fentiments? Ingratitude is one of the bafeft vices , and, certainly, ingratitude to the beft of Beings cannot be lefs bafe than any other' kind of ingratitude. On the contrary ; he ought to be xht Jirji object of our gratitude, and a difpofition to acknowledge him in all our ways ought ''t^^^'be the governing principle within^tis:— Nothing beftov^s more dig- nity on a charader than an unaffected and ardent piety ; nor is any thing more reafonable and becoming. But how little of it do we fee ?— I have juft faid, that the capacity of acknowledging the Deity is one of our chief diftin(5tions from the lower animals ; but multitudes about us ^hufptogive up this diftiridioiH They Can enjoy the bleffings of life without lift- ing up their fouls to the donor of them. They can think of the Being who is the caufe of all joy and the fountain- of all good without being kindled into devotion. Thirdly ^ The goodnefs of God fhews lis the folly and bafenefs of fin. All moral evil is an abufe of the Ipve and difobedit cnce to the authority oft that Beins: who IS always' doing us good, and whofe cha-.. racier comprehends in it every excellence which can be a reafon for affeftion and veneration. It is flighting and offending our beft'Benefadlor, and tuning the. very, bleffings we derive from him into inftra-^^ ments of oppofition to him.— Had we. a. juft ingenuity of temper, nothing would have a ftronger tendency to produce in „ua a deep contrition for our fins, tlipp^^j^jj?.^ reflexion, that iy them we have qounter- adted and affronted perfect goodnefs ; uor . would any thing imprefs us more in {^^y vour of virtue^ than the cpnfider^tion,t|i^^t;; it b. a concurrence with the views of In* 3 1 8 Of the Goodnefs finite Goodnefs, and that by it we pleafe and obey our all-benevolent Parent and Preferver, If we feel that we are not in* fluenced by confiderations of this kind, we want one of the moil proper fprings of virtue, and we may be fure that our chara6lers are fadly defe6live. at Farther. The goodnefs of God ought to be imitated by us. It cannot but be his will that we fhould be merciful as he is merciful, and do good to one another as he does good to us all. It fhould be our ambition to a6l thus; and, as far as poffible, to employ our little power in the fame manner that God employs his unli-x mited power. No being can have a higher or nobler ambition. — What gives luftre to all God's attributes is his goodnefs* This chiefly is the excellence that makes him amiable. He has given us the power of acquiring fome degree of the fame ex- cellence. Let us not neglect or abufe fo tranfporting a privilege of our natures^ Let us ftrive to copy into our own hearts the >^ of God. ^|f> the benevolence of our Maker, by culti- vating in ourfelves every kind afFefiion, and ftudying to relieve the pains and to increafe the happinefs of all about us. Thus fhall we be his genuine offspring, and fecure his particular favour and pro- teftion. .3Ynj3i:>b n^dz ■iLaftly. The goodnefs of God fliould engage us to put our truft in him. I am led particularly to obferve this by the latter part of the verfe I have taken for my text —Oh ! fajie and fee that the Lord is good. Blejfed is the 7nan that triijieth ift him, — God made us to make us happy. He di- refts all events in the beft manner, and for the beft purpofes. The whole crea* tion is his family, over which he is con- tinually watching. Innumerable beings are every moment brought forth by him to exift for ever the objeds of his libera- lity. With what confidence Ihould we commit our whole exiftence to this Being, and give up ourfelves to his difpofal ? How fhould the reflexion that he reigns revive 320 Of the Gocdnefs revive our hearts, and difTipate our anx* ieties ? What may v^e not hope for from his boundlefs goodnefs ? How fafe are all our interefts under his management ?— * Let us, how^ever, take care not to forget an obfervation v^hich was made at the be- ginning of this difcourfc. Let us remem-* ber, that our expedations from God ought to be regulated by a regard to his justice. Though he loves his creatures, he muft hate the wicked. Sin is the fubverfioii of that order, and an oppofition to thofe laws by which the world fubfifts ; and, for this reafon, even goodnefs requires that it iliould be punifhed, and that vir- tue iliould be made the univerfal ground and condition of happinefs. An ill man, therefore, can build no hopes on the good- nefs of God. To truft in him at the fame time that we countera^fl his will and live in guilt, would be a wretched folly and prefumption. But to conclude the whole. — Let us, with one heart, give glory to God, and cele- of God, 321 celebrate his prailes. Let us rejoice in hi5 government, and never flirink from any thing our duty to him requires. l>et us love him with all our fouls and with all our ftrength, and let our love to him fliew itfelf by loving all his creatures. — His mercies arc more than we can num- ber ; and it is not poffible for us to make him any adequate returns. — Oh ! f?ig unto the Lord a jiew fong. (Pfal ciii.) Sing unto the Lord all the earth. Si Jig imto the Lord. Blefs his name* Shew forth his falvation from day to day. Give unto the Lord the :lcry due unto his name. Say among the Heatheji that the Lord reigneth, — Let the heave?is rejoice^ and the earth be glad. Let the fields be joyfuly and all that is therein. For the Lord is good ; his jnercy is from everlajiing^ and his truth endiiretb to all generations. — Blefs the Lord ye his angels that excel in •flrength, Blefs the Lord all ye his hofis ; ye minifiers of his that do his pleajure, Blefs the Lord all his 'works in all places of his y doviinions. «.- 322 Of the Goodnefsy &c; dominions. — Let the whole creation join in raifing a fong of praife to him* — Blefs the Lord^ Oh! my fouU .--V.''>,"J4-*J»-*- SEC mt^dj ni . X -^ o J. A ; A. i : ft ' t ■»> ■ " ' -" """ ■'■• — ' ■ • — — — — SERMON X. OF THE RESURRECTION OF LAZARUS, John xi. 43,44- j^nJ when he had thus Jpoke?ty he cried 'wiib a loud voice^ Lazarus, come forth. j^nd he that was dead came forth bound band and foot with grave-clothes ^ And bis face was hound about with a napkin* yefus fays to them s Loofe him^ and let him go. MY defign from thefe words, is to make a few obfervations on the miraculous fa£l related in them. This is one of the moft remarkable of all our Sa- viour's miracles. It is. related by the Y 2 Apoftle 324 RcfurreBion of Lazarus. and the main circumftances attending it Hte'ToId with a minutenefs, and, at the fame time, a brevity, that cannot but im- prefs an unprejudiced mind. Had a pcr- fon who knew he was endeavouring to gain belief to an impofition which he had been concerned in contriving, given us this narrative, it would have been told in a very different manner. It would, pro- bably, have been drawn out to a greater length. No particulai* mention wouJd have been made of times, places, and perfons ; and fome afFefted apologies and colourings would have been introduced to give it plaufibility, and to guard againft objections. But, inflead of this, we find it' d' narrative plain and artlefs in the "higheft degree, without a circumflance that fhews an attempt to give it any (ireft, ' or an expreffion that betrays a d^ fign to furprize and deceive. In fhort 3 the afto- ''nifhing miracle which is the fubject of "'"'^s narrative, is told us exaclly as we ihould 'RefurreBion of Lazarus* 325 fliould expect an honeft but unlettered fP^Rii ^^^ ^^^ ^^^^ familiarized ty j^i^ racles, to relate a faCt of this kind, tQ which he was confcious of having been an eye and ear witnefs.^^r;*)-rrrn! ' . It has been thought ftrange that the other Evano-eUfts have omitted to give^us an account of this miracle4,^.,^^expral ,:C^^, fons have been alligned for this omiflion, which! will juft mention to yau. ,,^^^ ^ It fhould be confidered, that none of the Evangelifts appear to have aimed at giving us a complete account of all our Saviour's miracles. It fhould be confi- dered farther, that this miracle was per- formed in the interval of time between our Saviour's going into the country be- yond Jordan, and his going up to his laft pafTover ; and that this was a more pri- vate part of his miniftry, concerning ^ which the other Evangelifts have faid little. But what deferves moft to be at- tended to is, that the Evangelifts muft have felt a particular delicacy with refpefl: biuofQ Y 3 tQ 3^ RefurreBion of Lazarut^^^ to ' th^^' ipublication ^^bf^ this miracfeq Firft ; becatifeit was a mii'atle performeclq on a friend in a family with which our > Saviour was intimate. And fecondly ^ : becaufe Lazarus might be ftill living at the time they wyote their Gofpels, and might be fubjefted to great inconve- niences by having his name mentioned as the fubjeft of fuch a miracle. This> however, was a reafon which cannot be fuppofed to baveexifted when John wrote. There was a tradition among the Fathers^ that Lazarus lived thirty years after his refurreftion 5 and John did not write his- Gofpel till at leaft forty or fifty years af- terwards. Lazarus, therefore, moft pro- bably was not then alive j and John, for this reafon, muft have been more at li- berty to give an account of his refur- reftion. It feems proper farther to mention here, that St. John, ,as he wrote laft, wrote-. alfo on purpofe to give a fupplement to the ©ther Gofpels. He had read thefe Gof- :^^^^^^^ pels. Refurrection of Lazarus. 3^7^- pels, and finding that fome important . particulars were omitted in them, and others not fully enough related, he com^.^ pofed hts Gofpel to fupply their defedsi^g John's Gofpel will appear particularly;^ ftriking when viewed in this light. Who-$^ ever will compare it with the other Gofn^ pels muft find, that he is generally carerirt ful to avoid repeating accounts which the> other Evangelifts had given before him yii and that the bulk of it is a relation of fadts and inftruftions about which they have been filent. The account I am novy; ^ to confider is one inftance of this. Tho^^ extremely fhort, confidering the magni-fj) tude of the fad, it is given us more fully^- than moft of the accounts of Chrift's^; other miracles ; and we cannot employ! ourfelves more profitably than in confi-rj deringit. ri What may be firft worth your notice in this miracle, is the charaSler of the per- fon on whom it was performed. ^ Our Y 4 Saviour «8 Refurnedlhn of Lazaru{. .Saviour. had a particular affe(flion for hirrr. ^^He calls him his Jriend in the i |jth verfc ^of this chapter^i^^^^pdjjic meffagfi which was fcnt him to acquaint him with hijy illneis was exprefTed .ia. thefe words: ^ Lord, Behold him ^uobovi thou loveft is Rck. o;^Bvf!}M/}vell believe, that a perfon who was thus diftinguifhed, muft have been endowed with fome very amiable qualities. John tells us farther, that he had two ^^ifters, whofe names were Martha and Jdary ; and that they lived together in a village called Bethany, within fifteen fur- Jpngs of Jerufalem. When Lazarus was taken ill, our Saviour was at a confider- able diftance fiom Bethany. ,.\%^ was na- tural iov Martha and ilf^r>', knowing the particular affedion he had for their bro- thei;, to hope that he would exert thofe mi- .xaculous powers by which he had cured ^others, in recovering this his friend. '^'Sifi^M'^^^^^' ^^^^^ ^^ ^^^^ ^^ inform him of their brother's ficknefs, hoping that he vvo,uId foon come to them, and ^ Kefurrecfton of LdzaruS' 323^ ^^'l^^ve them relief. But, we are told, that, - after receiving the meflage, he ftaid two ^' dayi m the place where he was. The reafon of this delay was, that he chofe Lazarus (hould die before he got to Be- tbanyy becaufe he intended, for the fuller < manifeftation of his Divine Miffion, to i raife him from the dead. Had he been on the fpot when Lazarus died, he would < have fuffered, perhaps, fome troublefome importunities J norv'T think, would it have looked fo well for him to have per- mitted Lazarus to die while he was with him, and after that to raife him from the -dead. 03 b Jb e.Bv/ lUoivBci luo ,iii irj:^.iij -n! Secondly ; The humility which our Eord difcovered on this occafion is worth our notice^ After flaying two days where he was when he received the account of Lazarus's ficknefs, he told his difciples that he was refolved to go into Judea^ and invited them to go with hi%', infSrai- ing them, at the fame time, of the de^th of Lazarus; The words ia which he ^'vi^ : ' gave 530 RefiirreSiion of Lazarus^ gave this information are a little rt-'i markable. Ver. rf ^i j ; Our friend Lazaruf fleepeth^ and I go to awake him out of flee pX He does not fay, Lazarus is dead. That would have been too harfli* Nor does^ he fay ; I go t^ raife him from the deady^ and thus to difplay my great power. A de-^ ceiver would, probably, have ufed fomc boafting language of this kind. But hef avoiding all oftentation, expreffes himfelf in the gentleft and fimpleft language, fay-f ing only, " that Lazarus was afeep, and that he was going totvake him." — Another circumftance to the fame purpofe, is his* ordering the ftone to be removed from the mouth of the fepulchrc juft before he or- dered Lazarus to come forth. He might, undoubtedly, have commanded the ftone to roll away of itfelf ; and, perhaps, a bold-impoftor would have been reprefent^' ed as doing this. But our Lord did not multiply miracles needlefsly, or do any thing for the fake only of fliew and pa- rade. — Again; the manner in which he vfi>i,;/ refers TtefurreBio?i of Lazarus. 331 refers this miracle to the will and power of God requires our attention. After the ftone was taken away, he made, we arc told, a folemn addrefs to God j and, lift- ing up his eyes, faid, Father, I thank thee that thou bafi^hearJ me. This implies, that? his ability to work this miracle was the' confequence of his having prayed for it. Throughout his whole miniftry, he was careful to direft the regards of men to the Deity, as the fountain of all his powers. His language was ; 7he Father who dwell- eth in me, he doth the works. I can of mine mm felf do nothing. I came to do the will of him that fent me. 'tr^^ ^M ki Thirdly j We fhould take notice in the account of this miracle, of the tendernefs and benevolence of our Saviour's difpofi-f tion. It is faid, that when he faw Mary weeping, and the Jews alfo weeping, he groaned in his fpirit, and was troubled* And it is added, as a circumftance parti- cularly obfervable, that he likewife wept* Jesus w^pt. Ver. 35. The remarks >^73'i3*i ' which. 333 Refurrt'^ion of Laza>'us^ which, we are told, the fpedators made on this, are very natural. Some, ima- gining that his tears flowed from his concern for the death of his friend, faid, Beboid bo'w he hved him. Others, wonder- ing that, as Lazarus was his friend, he had not exerted the miraculous powers by which he had cured others in curing him, faid ; Cculd not this man who opened the eyes if the blindy have caufed that even this man Jhould not hav^ died? Ver. 37. — The reafon of his weeping could not be his forrow for the death of Lazarus ; for he well knew that he fhould foon reftore him to life : but, moft probably, his fympathy with the forrow of Lazarus's friends, heightened by reflexions, to which on this occafion he might be led, on death and its attendant evils.. He might, >likewife, be much in) pre fled (as we find he was at other times) hyobferving the perverfenefs difcovered by fome of the Jevys w4io fur- rounded him, and by his forefight of the calamities that threatened them. \Vehavf; noliaq an RefiirreBicn of La'zarui, 355 account of his weeping on another occa- lion in Luke xix. 41. where it is faid» that when he came near to Jertifalem and beheld it, he wept over it. In thefe in^ fiances we fee plainly the workings of an ardent benevolence; and we may infer from them, that it is by no means. belovy the chara6ler of a wife man to be, on certain occafions, fo far overcome by his aftedionate feelings, as to be forced into tQars. This^ happened to our Saviour on the occafions I have mentioned ; and he only appears to us the more amiable for it. Wretched, indeed, is that philofophy which teaches us to fupprefs our tender feelings. Such a philofophy, by aiming at elevating us above human nature, finks 'us below it. Our Saviour was greater than any human being; and yet we find that even he wept. How foolifh then would it be in us to be afliamed of any fimilar ten- "dfcrnefs iftto' which we may be forced? A ftoical infenfibility is certainly rather a vice than a virtue. At no time does a '^^ perfon S34 'RefurriBtm cfLaxcti'iiu petfon appear more lovely than when conquered by his: kind affe6lions, and iHclred by them into tears. Let us then ieam todefpife allpretenfidns to a wifdoA which would take from us any of our na^ tural fenfibihties ; remembering, how-- ever, to take care to k-eep them always, as fer as we can, under proper reftraint. It is neither a fin nor a weaknefs to fall into tears ; but it is 'wrong to'' we^^ like perfons who have no hope, or who are not fatisfied with God's will. Our paffions have been wifely and kindly given US; and our duty is, not to eradi- cate' bift to- 'regulate them, by fo watcHt ing over them as never to fuf^er them to lead us into any excefles that w^ould be- tray an impotence of mind, and a diffi^ dence of Provident^. - *:'^^^ --'- ,>c:.a.3a uiFourthly'^ The D^iGNrYY^'^rChfiff^iff working this miracle But this leads me to defire you to at* tend to the aflurance this miracle gives us of the Divine miffion of Chrifl:. We can fcarcely conceive of a more wonder* ful exertion of power, than the inftanta-i neous reftoration to life and health of a perfon whofe body was putrifying in the grav§. He that did this muft have been feat pf God. It is wholly inconceivable, that a deceiver fliould be able to produce fuch crcdeatials. It is only the powep 1 which 336 RefurreBt07i of Lazarus* which gave life that can thus reftore it, and re- unite our fouls and bodies after a reparation. We may, therefore, aflure ourfelves, that the perfon who worked this miracle, and who poffefled fuch an abfolute command over nature as Chrift difeovered, was indeed what he declared himfelf to be, a Meflenger from heaven to fave mankind, and that great Mefliah whofe coming had been promifed from the beginning of the world. 0/ It has been urged by unbelievers, that, granting the reality of miracles, they are no proof of the truth of dodtrines, there being no connexion between a difplay of fupernatural power and truth. The ftrefs which unbelievers have laid on this ob- jeftion is mere afFeftation. Did they be- lieve the miracles, they would, Whatever they may pretend, find themfelves under a necefiity of receiving the do6lrines of Chriftianity ; and, it will be time enough to anfwer this objeftion, when a man can be found, not a lunatic, who can ho- neftly RefurreBion of Lazarus* 337 neftly fay, that he believes the miracle in particular which is the fubjedl of this dif- coiirfe, but does not believe the doftrine which it was intended to prove. But what deferves more particular no- tice here is^ that it appears from this mi-. raclej that Chrift is hereafter to raife all mankind from death. Juft before he per- formed it, Martha having faid to him. Lord if thou hadji been here^ my brother had not died, he told her, in order to comfort her, that her brother fhould rife again. S-he, not underftanding him, replied, / know that he Jhall rife again at the refurrec-^ tion at the laji day ; to which he anfwered, with a voice of unfpeakable dignity, I am the Resurrection and the Life. He that believetb in me^ though he were deady yet Jloall he live j and wbcfoever liveth and believeth in me Jhall never die. That is, ** I am the perfon by whom mankind are " to be raifed from the dead. It fignifies *' not whether he that is my true difciple *^ is dead or alive. If he is dead^ he fliall Z '' live 538 RefurreSiion of Lazarus^* *?i'Jive again ; and if he is ahve, his exifv ?^ence Ihall be continued to him beyond *^ the grave, and his difmifiion from this " world Hiall be his introdufiion to a *' better world, where he fliall never die." — After making this declaration, and to demonftrate the truth af- it^-l>y giving a fpecimen of that power by which he was to efteft the univerfal refurredtion, he walked to Lazarus's grave, and raifed \{ih\ from the dead. — What evidence could bt! more decifive? — We have in the Gofpel Hiilory, accounts of his raifing from the dead two other perfons 5 and, after being, crucified and buried, he rofe hinifelf from fhe dead ahcl afcended to heaven. — Thefe facls exhibit liim to our fenfes as indeed the Resurrection and the Life. Na doubt can remain of a dcftrine thus proved* i^Give me leave to hold your attentioh h^l^'a l{t¥lc? ibngdR-^Iti Jbhn v. 25, oilr Saviour, we are tolrf/ Faid to the Jews^ Verily y' verily ^ ^ fiy ^^^^ ydu^'the- hour ii comings and ' Ko W 1 s, 'ijobeii thv" dead JbdH bear Rpfurrediion of Laz^. .SooUjaftei^mtiqFH>g thefe words, he faid again> as -we read in the fame chapter, vei*fe,28^ The koiir is comijig 'when all that are in their graves Jloall hear the voice of the Son of- Man ^ and- Jh all 'Come forth. They that have done good to the refurreBion of life ; and they thaf, have done evil to the refurredlion of da??ina* tion, }y In the circumftances which attended the refurreftion of Lazarus, our Saviour feems to have referredto thefedeclarations, and to have intended to verify and exem^r plify them. He cried, we are told, ver. 43, with a loud voice, like, perhaps, to that by which he had faid he would hereafter raife all the dead, Lazarus, come forth \ and in a moment he did come forth. — Thus will the whole world at the laft day hear the voice of the Son of God. Thus will he then burft the bars of the grave, refcue from the king of terrors his pri- foners, and call to life the dead of all na- Z 2 tions, ' 340 RpfurrcBion of Lazanii"} t?^fi^, ^a[nk^, afid times —How awful thJ^ profj^eft ? How conforing c^hd elevating' to good men, amidft the wafte that death is continually making around them ? — ^• What reafon have we to value our relation to that Deliverer to whomV'tmder^Gtjd^ it is owing ? And how ought we to tri- umph in the affurance he has given usy that, though we muft foon lofe our powers in death, we fliall hereafter reco- ver them ; fpring up from the duft at his command, new made and improved > and, with all the faithful, enter (not on fuch a life as that to which Lazarus was reftored) but on a glorious and endlefs life in the heavens I ^ . ^A'y'rrl^u nu[ iii^jo ' i.wo '.. o ^ Jvr!^ fill A/ ^■'^}']1 Before J proceed "" I fhall here requelt your attention, while I briefly confider the obje6lions which unbelievers have made to the account given by St- John of this miracle. Sufficient notice has beea ^ilready taken of feveml of thefe objec- I c^ tionsi * Here this feniion was divided into two fcrmons. Refurredfion of Lazaru^. 34,1^, tioi>s ; but there are Jfome which have Hpt been mentioned, and ori which it will not be .impi:Qpeyj^Jp,imake a few ^j^'^^ niarks,,fi:r hnuoiB 32n{>lBfn yilsyniinoo ai It has been alked, whether there is fuf- ficient reafon^tp believe, that Lazarus was really dead', ^-The anfwer is, that hedied|r not fuddenlyy but of an illnefs that ip- creafed gradually, and lafted feveral days —that, in this cafe, there is no danger of miftaking the figns of death — that his ft^iends had buried him ; and, therefore, muft have aflured themfelves of his death — that he had been in his grave four days; and that, had he not been dead, the nap^ kin which, we are told, was tied round his face, and the grave cloths and fihet- ings with which he was bound> would alone have' been fufhcieht to kill him. It has been farther enquired, how, if he was bound hand and foot, as St. John tells us, he could, on our Saviour's call, come forth out or tne grave. The anf- ^et" 15 obvious. Upon the fuppolition of Z 3 tllQ 3^1^ Refurredlton of Lazanis, tii^ reality of the miracle, there can bdkia^- difficulty in conceiving it carried fo far, as not only to bring Lazarus to life, but to prefent him alfo out of the grave be- fore the fpeftators. But v^rere it ncceffa- ry to fuppofe the miracle not carried thii? far, the objection would deferve little re- gard, becaufe founded on an ignorance of tbe manner of burying among the an- tients. The graves among the Jews and other nations in former times, were caves hewn out of rocks, in the fides of which the dead, after being embalmed, were de- pofited without coffins* When, there- fore, by our Saviour's order, the ftone was taken away from the mouth of La2 zarus's fepulchre> it is poffible that his corpfe might be expofed to view ; and when it is faid, that he came forth bound hand and foot, the meaning may be, not that lie walked out of the fepulchre ^ but that he raifed himfelf up in the fide of the cave or cell where he was laid, and Aid ^own from it upon bis feet, and there ^^^^^i^n cf. J^a^j^ 3 43 contmued till he was unbound and could walkabout. 4r,..-.mtr. confidering the account of this miracle is, the effect which^, we are tpld, it had on the chief priefts and Pharifees. Inftead of being properly imprefled by it, we read, v'^rfe 53, that, after taking counfel toge- ther, they determined to ufe all poffiblq means to put Jefus to death. They even went fo far as to think of meafures for putting Lazarus himfelf to death. Similar^ to this, according to the Gofpel Hiftorj^ was the general conduct of the leading Jews with refpect to our Lord, inftead of being engaged by the increafing glory: of his character, and the overpowering evidence of his miracles, to ftrike to him, they were only ftimulated to greater rage, and made more defperate in their refolu- tion to crufli him : And this may feem a pitch of wickednefs fo diabolical as to exfj ceed the limits of human depravity, and^' therefore, to be incredible. ynJ^. am ixv Z 4 hopes^' 344- Refarredlion of Lazarus. hopes, however, that you will think othcFwifei when you have attended to the following obfervations^oAi ^^i loi Dujnuo:^ / It is a previous obiervation neceflary ta be attended to, that the Jewifh rulers ap- pear to have been convinced of the i iperH^ natural power and prophetical j^l^HiaiQter. of our Lord. This the Gofpei Hiftory plainly tells us. John xii. 42. Among the chief rulers aljo many btflieved on him -, but did not confefs him^ becaufe they loved, the praife of men more than the praije of God. We k7ioWy fays Nicodemus (the ruler who came to Jefus by nightl that thou art a teacher come from God^ Jor no one ca7i do the miracles thou dofl except God be with btm* John iii. 2. Qn hearing the report of this miracle in particular, the language of the chief priefts and Pharifees was ; What do we ? for this man doth many mira^ cles. If we let him thus alone j all men will believe in him, John xi. 47. When \ye read, that they did not believe in him> the meaning is, that they did not receive hira and Refurrediion cf La2,arus. 345 and fubmit to him as a meflenger from heaven j and what, therefore, is to be ac- counted for is, not fo much their want of faith in him, as their rejeftion and perfecution of him notuithftanding their faith. '^ ^o b^onivnoD na^d avBii oi inaq * In order to explain this, I would defire you to confider, hin.^ \o Firft, The general charader of the Jews. In every age they had been infa- mous for their perfecution of the pro- phets who were fent to them. About this time, more efpecially, it appears that they were arrived at a pitch of wick- ednefs which went beyond common de- pravity. Jofephus fays, that he beUeved *' there never exifted, from the begin- ** ning of the world, a generation of men ?/ more profligate than the body of the *l*"^Jewifh leaders and nobility were at the W. time Jerufalem was befieged by the *5 Romans :" And if they were then (o ykious^ it is not likely they were of a dif- Xpli >3A js^Li. uku, \^lLi 4^u- ^c; ^iilQVCXiX 34^ Refurreclion of LazaruL ferent character forty years before, when our Lord preached to them, k^m <>. .mt., Secondly \ The provocation our Lord gave them fhould be confidcred. It is re-^ markable, that.it does not appear that he ever exprefled himfeif with particular warmth except when he fpoke of thefe men. Againft the Scribes and Pharifees we firKi hirn always declaring a moft pointed and irreconcilable indignation^ He charged them ivith being guilty of al- Hioft every vice thac cc/rJd ftain a human character; and, particul.irly, with, reli^ gious hypocrii'y, doing all their good works to be feen of men ; pretencin g un>-' common fanclity, and making lono; pray-^ emV-b^t devouring widows houfes ; itram*' ing out a gnat, but fwaliovvififr jt.r * -^ careful not to omit any pun'' -t rerhony, and paying tithe of i %^ and'cummin, but negk6ting the r^ matters of the law, juftiee, mercv. -^^^ff^ fidelity";: binding heavy burthci' -' others which they would not touch v -_ ReftirreBion of Lazarus\ 347 6nc of their fingers ; compafling fea and land to make one profelyte, who, when made, became tenfold more a child of hell than themfelves ; claiming an abfo- lute authority over the confciences of the people, while they taught for do6lrines the commandments of men, and corrupt-^ ed the law of God; loving greetings iit the mi^rkets, and the chief feats in fyna- gogues, and ftudying (by going about ii> long robes, praying in the corners of the lireets, founding a trumpet when they- gave alms, and enlarging the borders of, their garments) to appear outwardly righ^ teous, while inwardly they were like whited fepuichres, full of dead men's bones and of all uncleannefs. In fhort,. their charader, according to our Lord's reprefentation of it, was completely ^dc;- , teftable j and,, pqrhaps, the account we have of it has been providentially given us to prevent our wondering at the vio.-»- lence of their oppofition to our Saviour^ j;iotwitbfl;a.nding all they faw and knew of^ his 3+8 Refurreiiion of Lazarui, his miraculous powers. He even declared a preference to them of publicans and fin^ »ers, of thieves and harlots, who, he af- fured them, were more likely to enter into the kingdom of theMeffiah than they were. v-^His difcourfe in the 23d chapter of Matthew, is particularly worth your at- tention on this occafion. In this difcourfe he denounces the judgments of heaven upon them for their wickednefs, calling them blind guides, and a generation of vipers who could not efcape the damna* tion of hell. He pronounces feven times the words, Woe unto you Scribes and Pharisees, Hypocrites; and concludes with faying, there was no remedy for them, but that on them would come all the righteous blood which had been Jhed from the beginning of the world -^ that is, a punifh^ ment fo dreadful as to bear to be fo ex- prefled. Thus did he hold them up to public deteftation as enemies to the pro- grefs of truth and virtue, and a body of pious knaves deftined tp deftrudionj An4 RefurreSlon of Lazarus. \\^ And the effeft muft have been the ruin of their credit and authority. Could there, have beeri^'^al ^provocation vaott intolerable ? In truth, the w^onder i«, that they bore him fo long as they did ; and the probability is, that they would have brought him to a quicker end, had it^ot been for an awe produced in their minds by the fplendor of his mira- cles, united to their apprehenfions of danger from the people, who, we are in- formed, all took him for a prophet and 3Y^re ready for a revolt in his favour.'^' oil But let us farther confider what they muft have done, and how much they muft have relinquiftied, had they ftruck to him. They muft have made themfelves the difciples of the Son of a Carpentei^ followed by twelve rrieanfiftiermen, with* out ftate or pomp, or even a place in which to lay his head. They muft havc- defcended from their feats of power and influence; "afftd placed thcmfelves under the direflion of an enemv who had un* ^ ^^^ mafked 350 RefurreWon of LazaruL malked and expofed them, and from whom they could ex{>c6l no mercy. But above all, they muft have acknowledged them- felves the wicked wretches he had declared them to be, and given up their ambition, their hypocrify, and their vices. Is it ftrange, that even miracles^ whatever coni virion th^y might extart, did not produce this efFed ? Perhaps, indeed, there is not now a countrv under heaven in which, in limilar circumftances, our Lord would not meet with fimilar treatment. Suppofe, for inftance, that in Italy, a prophet was to arife and to go about preaching repentance to the inhabitants ^ calling them from the worifhip of the hoft, of images, the Virgin Mary, and the faints/ to the worfhip of one God; reprobating Popery as a fyftem of fuperftition and fpi-*i ritual fraud and domination, injurious to the effential interefts of men, by teaching a way of being religious without being- virtuous, and of getting to heav-en with*^^ outforfaking vice 5 and, at the lame time^ de- HtfurreBton of LazaruV^ 351 delivering woes againft the public teachers and rulers, as hypocritical corrupters of true religion, as fupporters of idolatry and falfehood, and enemies to the im- provement and happinefs of mankind.—- Suppofe, I fay, this now to happen in Italy j what can you imagine would be the effect ? What evidence would be fufficient to engage the Pope, the Car- dinals, and the different orders of Priefls, to liften to fuch a preacher and acknowledge his authority 5 to renounce, their ufurped honours and dignities ; to give up the abufes to which they owed their v/ealth and tlieir confequence, and to reform their dodtrine and manners ? Would not tlie whole force of clerical and civil power be exerted to filence and crufh him as foon as poffibk.?,. Would miracles themfelves, unlefs employed for the pur- pofe of protefting him, long preferve him ? Would he be perfeftly fafe, evea in this country, were he to come to- us and ?t(yr' attack eftablifiied corruptions, -\iu pro- 35^ Refurreclion of Lazarus. provoke the vicious in high places, and iinmafk religious prevaricators, the fup- porters of abufes, and the enemies of re- formation in the manner our Lord did in Judea f The obrervation I am now making has been verified by the experience of all paft ages. Such is the power of criminal pre- judices, and fuch the ftubbornnefs, and often the fury of vicious men interefted in maintaining abufes, that reformers^ however powerful their admonitions have been and eminent their charafters, have feldom long efcaped perfecution and violent deaths. Provocations un- fpeakably lefs than thofe given to the Jews by our Saviour, have every where produced the fame effedts. In Athens, the poifoning of Socrates. In Britain, the burning of Cranmer, Latimer, Ridley, 6cc. But this is by no means all that is to be faid in anfwer to the objedion I am con- fidering. In our Lord's circumftances with ^efurrediim of Lazarus. 353 Xvith refpe^ft to the Jews, there was much that was peculiar, and that can never again exift in any country. In order to underftand this, you muft recoUeft, that all the Jews were, in the time of our Saviour, eagerly and impatiently looking for the Meffiah promifed in their facred Writings j and that the only notion they had of this Mefiiah was % that he would be a temporal prince and a great con- queror, who would come with a train of fplendid courtiers and figns in the hea- vens, fet himfelf at the head of a mighty army, deliver them from the Roman yoke, reftore them to their long loft liberty, and elevate them to the fovereignty of the world. Their leading men, in particu- lar, reckoned on being the moft favoured A a men ^ This opinion was not confined to the Jews. *' There had been, Suetonius tells us (Vefpaf. cap.4.) ** THROUGH ALL THE East, an ancient and con- ** ftant cxpedlation, that at that time fo^e ons *' from Judca flipuld obtain th>e enapire of thSv V world.". 354 RcfurreBion of LazarUs'. m^'\\fi'i4^h'^6t^]' 6W having their confequcnce among the people confirnred and enlarged, and enjoying in the greateft abundance pleafurcs, prefer- ments, honours, and riches. When, therefore, they heard the fame of ]^i'^^y ^nd faw the difplays of his fupernatural power, ihey could not but be led to con- clude, that he might prove the Meffiab, icr, at leall, that the nation would take vn jecurity by deftroying him. Our Lord*s parable of the vineyard let out to unfaithful hufbandmen, deli- «,;Vered not long before his crucifixioii, affords a particular confirmation of thefe ^^lobfervations. In this parable, he inti- '^ niates to the chief priefts and eiders of the ' people that, 'iri'fpite of all th^ir efforts, he fhould rife to univerfat powfer] ancf f-'ithat the confequence would be, his fall- ^''ing upon them (like a great corner-ftone) ^^and grinding them to powder. And wc ^ are tolcl, that tliey underftood his mean- nt«^n.,^ftd, were^^)^^ exafperated ^v it, A^^.(that they endeavoured immediately to v^^^feize him, but were deterred by the peo- indji^finrsce the2ift chapter of Matthew^ 'feiii tf^e^^st^verfc to the end. RefurreBlon cf Lazarus. 357 In flior^^'^ yMls^^dftH-Yamnl La%aria from the dead, became pofleft of an influ- ence among 5f he people which would, hacj ii(* availed himfclf of it, have been irrcr fiftible. They ^ were rip^n^diby it for a^ infurredlipn, and the fligUte^ eiicourage- fc'iBYi)/ io dd^rjfiq z'\no.l w JJp^'The dirpofitiaia of the Jews at this time to rife in favour of every pretender who offered himfelf to them as the temporal deliverer fhey e2i)e taken and condemned, that made the people turn at laft againft him. " The Jewifli people (fays Dr. Lardner, in his collc(9:ion of Jewifli and Heathen teftimonies to th« -5 truth of Chriftianity, chap. iii. feci, y^) .,had met .,-f ' with many difappointments from our Lord 3 and /' yet, when he cditered into Jerufalem in no greater •* ftate than riding on an afs, they accompanied him -*' with loud acclamations, faying, Hofanna to the Son '^^Ip/^ihii^i^, - Bhjfed is the King %vba coimth in the ■:'^^^mhni/c^. the, Lord, And Jefus, not afTuming'thca *' the character of an earthly Prince, was a frcfli Sif- appointment to them, and left deep rcfent-. ments/' tT|,^ 3]i Wef^f^kiYn fiTSM. m'ent would have brought them togethei*/ to ngWiinde^r *liiiti, 'ariclt'o^^^^Wclairn him their great Meffiah. The hypocrites who, iri^ the tone and with the authority of a prophet fcnt from God, he had profcrib^ cd, could not obferve this without terror! Their danger appeared to be increafmg with every increafe of his popularity, and growing more imminent in proportion to the proofs he gave of his Divine miffion. They could not but reckon, that as he ^ifofe they muft fink 5 and that either he ^ov^they muft perifh. This produced a conteft fingular and unparalleled. Our Lord gave it up by yielding to their povv^er. It was a great miftake to think, "tli2[i his kingdom was a temporal king- ^doml or^that he had anV"^ worldly views. He did not come for flaughter and tri- umph like the favage conquerors of this world, but to fuffer and to die ; and it ;ra'i^' neceflary that his death fhould be a ^u^lic deatii, His own reiurredion (the ground ■♦i}>0«f Rejurrepion of ,La!^anj^' 3.59 ground of.. dl human hope) could not otherwife have been properly alcertaineci. He, therefore, made a voluntc^ry furrender of himfelf to his enemies j,,. and,, to f 1,1 Ifil tMe counfels of Provider^(;g|^ f^l>nijitte;d t^ be publicly condemned and qrucified. . ^ '>65-nr; ^ ^ 4 , .3gnr.^ Thefe "fi/rro ^.-^ ^Ih^j'f^ftr \ .* Their fucceifs in taking and conJemning him led, them to conclude they had obtained a complete victory oVer him, and delivered themfelves from the danger with which he had threatened them. But the events which foon followed proved the contrary. Herofetoall power in heaven and earth 5 and^ in a fev/ years after this, fent his armies to dellroy thefe murderers. Vengeance came upon them to the uttermoft ; and his prophetical denunciations were fully verified.— Jofephus tells us, that twelve thoufand of the Jew- iih nobility perifhed at the ficge of Jerufahm ; that the vengeance of heaven appeared plainly to be upon them ; and that, in his opinion, all the calamities which had ever happened to any people from the beginning of the world, ..were not to be compared with thofe which befel the Jews at this time. Multitudes, he fays, were crueilied by tl?e Rc?nans before the walls ; and fo great was the , Ijumber of thofe who thus fuffered, that room was ' wanting for crcfies, and crofTes were wanting ((^n )iodi€s. 3-60 RefurnSlion of LazarU^'. . Thefc obfervations feiem to- be a fuli anfwer to thq objeaion I have ftated. And they explain what is faid in Matth. rjixvn. i8v jhat it was from envy the chief priefts and Pharifces had delivered him ; that is, from a jealoufy of his po- pularity, and a dread of its efFe6ls : And, ?il^^v;V?^?^^'iW ^e told (in a paflage al- ready quoted) thefe chief priefts faid, oa hearing of the refurre6lion of Lazarus, What do we ? for this man doth many mirar- cles. If we let him thus alone ^ all 7nen wiil k^li%f :ji{\fii^j and the Romans will come mfi'Jjike away both our place and nation^ John xi. 47, 48, ^r ^.,p ^^^ \ yfbncv')')^ . There are two reflexions which are natu- rally fuggefled to, us by thefe pbfervatioMv Firft ; We fliould confider how ftrik- ing a proof they give us of the truth of our religion. Had Chrift been a deceiver,,, he would have fallen in with the preju- dices of his countrymen. He would have offered himfelf to them as juft the Meffiah they expe(5led,,a^d wanted} for it was ^ only in the fcheme of fuch a Meffiah tha, 4 views of a deceiver could be gratified. He v/ould have endeavoured to ingratiate hiavfelf with the chief priefts and rulers, '^encouraged their ambitioff, ^nd flattere4 their vices. You have heard how differ- ently he afted ; how he provoked inftead of foothii;ig the Jewifh rulers, and threat- ened inftead of flattering them ; and thus made himfelf odious and terrible to thertv in the higheft degree. There cannot be a flronger argument for his Divine miC Hon. If there is any perfon who does^ pot feel the weight of it, he muft be either very much prejudiced, or very inattentive? Secondly 5 We are led, by the obfer4 rations I have made, to' refleft on the wifdom of Divine Providence, in order- ing the circumfl:ances which attended the introduftlbn of Chriflianity into the world. Had the body of the Jewifli leaders and priefls (and confequently the nation in general) received Chrift, the evidences of our religion would have bee'a niuch diminiflied. A fdfpicion woulcj Ijiave been unavoidable, that it was an iU> J 6 2 Rcfurre^ion of Lazarus* ilfupofulon cpntmcd by the , Jews, and ikvhich had maclG its way iii the world by the pov/er and policy '^ of the Jewifh ftate. :i3riw 1qa3 But I have gone far beyond the bounds I intended in fpeaking on this ilibject, n-or^ Let ^' " Had the great body of your nation, and efpe- *' cially the rulers of it in the time of Chrifl:, em- •* braced Chriflianity ; as it was a religion which *^ fprung up among yourfelves, it would have been *'^(aid at this day, that it was a contrivance of thofj *' who had it in their power to impofe upon the com- *' mon people, and to make them believe whatever *' they pleafed ; and that your fcriptures which bear •' t'eftimony to Chrifl had been altered to favour the " impoflure^.jr|Vyhereas the violent oppofition which *' your nation in general, and the rulers of it, made *' to Chriflianity, will for ever put it out of the pov/cr ^^ of unbelievers to fay, that it was a fcheme which *' the founders of it carried on in concert' with any f<,h^man power^."— ,See.tbe letters lately addrefl'ed to the Jews by Dx..P,r;^/^;<, in whi(;h, with a force of ncrfuafion they ought to feel, h^,iuvi,tes them to an amicable difculTion wit*h nim of the evidences of Chrillianity. Fifth Letter, p. 45. * RefurreBion of Lazarus, 363 brdLet us now paufe a moment ; and eni- ctek^liT to bring back our tlioughts to the refiirre6lion of Lazaritsv — Never, ex- cept when Jefus himfelf rofe from the dead, was a fcene fo interefting exhibited on the ftage of this world. The confi- deration of it fhould ensfa^e us to exerr 'jilt lio ;J?.lIxJi;:K|l ^:i U\)i.^ ^ ^ cUi.UOQ cife faith in Chrift as our Saviour, and to rely on his power to deliver us from the albdevouring grave. His exhorta- tion to his apoftles juft before his laft fufr ferings was ; Ton believe in God. Believe alfo in me. — Thus alfo, in his words, would I now exhort you. — " You believe in God." He is the One Supreme, and the caufe of all the caufes of your happi- nefs, '' But believe alfo in Chrift." -^^H^ is the one Mediator, and the chofen Mini- fter of God*s goodnefs to yon.,^. As in Adam all die \ fo in him fiall all be made alive. I Cor. xv. 22. Soon he v/ill de- ^fcend again from heaven, not to labour ^and fuffer, but to gather the fruits of h'lis ■ ■).■-» labours and fufFerings ; not to die, but to lleftroy death, and to change thefe our vile bodies^ bodies-^ that they^ may be faflnoned like unto h^is glorjom bcdy. a({cordin^ to that mighty ifiw^r by whic^J)e is able to fubdue allthi?2gs io,himtcJf. Phil. ill. 21. As the Father hatli life in him[elj\ fo hath he given to the ^on to have life in himfelf, John v. 26. We have been contemplating a ftriking proof of this. As his call brought Laza- rus to life • fo will it, hereafter, bring to life you and me and all mankind. At his ^rpming the fea fiall give up the dead that are in it, a?jd death arid the invijible Jlat^ f mil give up the dead that are injhem. He Jl: all fit on the throne of his glory ^ and before ybimjhall be gathered all nations to be judged ai^^ording to their works.- — He fiallfeparate them as a Jhepherd divideth hi ^ Jl jeep from the fToats—The righteous he pall place on bis ri^ht hand \ the, wicked on his left. ^6 the former he will fay ; Come ye blejfed of my fa- ther^ inherit toe kingdom prepared for yon from the foundation of the world. 'To the lat-* ter^ Go, ye curfed^ into ever lajttng fire. '•^ God grant, fellow-chnftians, that we inay be prepared for this fdlemn timcw 'A '"^'^' ftep Refiirrecfion of Lazarus* 305 ftep more may brmg us to it. Death is prernng hard towards us ; and when it comes, the curtain will drop which hides from our view another world, and thefe fcenes will open upon us. The in- teryeninff time of lyinff amoneft the dead our imaginationsare apt greatly to miire- prefent. There maybe, to our perceptions, no difference whether it is four days, a$ in the cafe of Lazarus, or a thoufand ages. Let us then be ftedfaft in every good pur- pole, never, while in the way or our duty, defponding under any troubles 6v . weeping as without hope, forafmuch as _we know that our 'Redeemer liveth^ and will Band^ at the latter day on the earthy and that though our bodies miijtputrify in the ground y and worms devour them^ yet in our jiejh 110$ Poallfee God. Job xlx. 26, And now, before I difmifs you, let mc ,defire you to join with me, in taking one ^ more view of what pafled at Lazarus's grave- It is pleafing in the higheft de- ,,eree to fet before our imaginations that 366 Refnrre^hn of Lazaru:. fcene.— Ghrift declares himfelf the refur^ rec^ion and the life } and then walks to the grave. In his way to it (obferving the for- row of Lazarus's friends, and rcfledting on the calamities of human nature) he falls into tears. When arrived at it, he orders the ftone at the mouth of it to be taken away; and (in anfwer to Martha, who objected thait thefmell would be ofFenfive) he fays, that if (he believed, fhefhould fee the glory of God — He folemnly addreffes the Deity, and thanks him for hearing him — The fpe6lators ftand around big with expeftation— He cries with a loud voice, Lazarus come forth — Immediately he came forth, and fliewed himfelf alive-— • Conceive, if you can, the aftonifhment this produced. Think, particularly, of the emotions of Lazarus's friends. What delight muft they have felt? How joyful mull it have been to Martha and Mary to receive their beloved brother from the dead ? With what ecftacies muft they have embraced him, and welcomed him to Refiirreciion of Lazarus. g6jr to the light of life ? How, probably, did they fall down: before Jefus in gratitild« and wonder ? uo) ii oi {bw g/n ni .t^ivcig But let' not our thoughts flop hci^ei Let us carry them on to the morning of the univerfal refurredtion. What happened now was a faint refemblance of what will happen then.— How glad- ly will virtuous men open tljeir eyes on that morning, and hail the dawning of an endlefs day ? With what rapture will they then meet, congratulate one another on their efcaoe from dauR-er and troubiei and unite their voices in praifmg their De- liverer? What will be their joy to exchange corruption for incorruption, and v/eak- tiefs for power ; to take leave of fin and forrow, and Icfe all their malddies^ td throw off their fetters, recover per- fe6l health and liberty, mount up on high to meet the Lord' ih t/M-ai^y' ttid draw immortal breath ? li^d:! ov'non ^ • Oh 1 bleffe'^ ■ ueriodd-v— r©6ifie ^LorH Jefus. Come tjuickly. And when thy voice 368 Refurre^ion of Lfcizartis, voice fiiall hereafter awake all the dead ; may we find this happinefs ours ; and betaken, with all we have loved here, to live with thee for ever. F I- N I S. • '51 I m