GIFT OF 
 Elisabeth Whitney Put nan 
 
/ 
 
 ' 
 
S E R M O N S 
 
 ON THOSE 
 
 DOCTRINES OF THE GOSPEL 
 
 AND ON THOSE 
 
 CONSTITUENT PRINCIPLES OF THE 
 CHURCH, 
 
 WHICH 
 
 Christian Professors 
 
 HAVE MADE THE SUBJECT OF CONTROVERSY, 
 
 BY AARON BANCROFT, D.D. 
 
 fAStOR OF THE SECOND CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH IN WORCESTER. 
 
 WORCESTER I 
 
 Printed by William Manning & Son, 
 MAY, 
 
 ' 
 
"6X7*33 
 
 DISTRICT OF MASSACHUSETTS, to wit: 
 
 District Clerk's Office. 
 
 BE IT REMEMBERED, that on the sixth day of May, A. D. 1822, 
 in the forty-sixth year of the Independence of the United States ot 
 America, AARON BANCROFT, D. D. of the said District, has depos- 
 ited in this office the Title of a Book, the Right whereof he claims as 
 Author, in the words following, to wit : " Sermons on those Doctrines 
 of the Gospel, and on those Constituent Principles of the Church, which 
 Christian Professors have made the Subject of Controversy. By AARON 
 BANCROFT, D. D. Pastor of the Second Congregational Church ia 
 Worcester." 
 
 In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, enti- 
 tled " An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by securing the 
 Copies of Maps, Charts and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of 
 such Copies, during the times therein mentioned :" and also to an Act 
 entitled " An Act supplementary to an Act, entitled An Act for the 
 Encouragement of Learning, by securing the Copies of Maps, Charts 
 and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of such Copies, during the 
 times therein mentioned ; and extending the Benefits thereof to the 
 Arts f Designing, Engraving, and Etching Historical and other Prints. ' ? 
 
 JNO, W. DAVIS, Ckrk of the District ofMastaehvsetf^ 
 
INTRODUCTION, 
 
 BY THE PUBLISHING COMMITTEE. 
 
 THE discourses contained in this volume are present- 
 ed to the publick by an association of gentlemen, belonging 
 to the Second Congregational Society in Worcester, of 
 which their Reverend Author is Pastor. Having solicited 
 tind obtained the manuscripts, to be disposed of at their 
 discretion, some explanation of their views of the import- 
 ance of the publication seems to be demanded by the oc- 
 casion. At no period in the history of New-England, has 
 there existed so active a spirit of inquiry on subjects of 
 religion, as at the present time ; a spirit, not confined, as 
 formerly, to men of science and leisure, but pervading al- 
 most every grade and condition in society. The advan- 
 tages of education, which have been so long enjoyed, in 
 common, at our publick schools, by all classes of citizens; 
 the increasing facilities for obtaining literary distinction in 
 our Academies and our Colleges, and the perfect security 
 guarantied by our laws, to the right of private judgment 
 and of publick discussion, have produced an obvious change 
 in the intellectual as well as the physical state of our coun- 
 try. There are now comparatively few individuals, capa- 
 ble of moral distinctions, who do not esteem it their duty 
 as well as their privilege, to examine the doctrines propos- 
 ed for their belief, and to form opinions for themselves, in 
 the all-important concerns of a future life. Doctrinal dis- 
 courses from the pulpit are now seldom heard with satis- 
 faction, or even with patience, if the preacher proposes to 
 do more than to aid the inquiries of his hearers. They 
 will hardly suffer him to prescribe a creed for their adop- 
 tion, or to denounce them for the independent exercise of 
 
 403 
 
IV INTRODUCTION. 
 
 their Christian liberty. Every man, indeed, who has much 
 reputation to preserve, as a divine and a scholar, finds it 
 necessary to be cautious in stating opinions to be adopted 
 by others, which cannot be defended by the soundest ex- 
 positions of scripture, and the fairest deductions of enlight- 
 ened reason. In the prevalence of this disposition in the 
 community to investigate the grounds of the principal sys- 
 tems of theology, the friends of Christianity have much 
 cause for congratulation. It is an obvious principle of our 
 nature, that the sentiments we profess can have no good 
 practical effect, unless we have a rational and impressive 
 conviction of their justness and their value ; such a con- 
 viction as can result only from a careful and industrious 
 research into the evidences upon which they are founded, 
 and not from the confidence we repose in the intelligence 
 and piety of any mere human being from whom we have 
 received them. It is really inconceivable, that any one, 
 who feels the importance of religious truth, who would 
 wish to see it triumphant, and would witness, with joy, its 
 purifying influence in the lives of men, should feel any re- 
 luctance to encourage that freedom of examination, that 
 personal application to scripture in the full exercise of the 
 strongest energies of mind, by which alone it is most like- 
 ly to be obtained. 
 
 It is true, there have been but few sectarians among 
 Protestants, who have not professed their willingness to 
 yield to others those rights of conscience which they have 
 claimed as sacred to themselves, and which they have ex- 
 ercised in their fullest extent. But, unfortunately, this 
 concession has been but little more than profession. They 
 have generally discarded from their fellowship all who 
 have not subscribed to their views of the doctrines of the 
 bible, charging them with insincerity, moral corruption, 
 and enmity to the truth. With peculiar inconsistency, they 
 have recognized the right of Christians to think and judge 
 for themselves, and yet have insisted that a departure from 
 established theories of human origin was ground sufficient 
 
INTRODUCTION. V 
 
 to deny them the Christian name, exclude them from the 
 ordinances of the gospel and the prospects of immortali- 
 ty. No one will pronounce this an exaggerated represent- 
 ation, who has not been a stranger to the theological con- 
 troversies of this country. The sect denominated Ortho- 
 dox, have boldly maintained, that Unitarians were not the 
 disciples of Jesus Christ; that they had no reason to apply 
 to themselves the promises of the gospel, and no encour- 
 agement to raise their hopes from earth to heaven. Not, 
 however, because they were less blameless -in their lives 
 than their orthodox brethren ; or because they have done 
 less for the defence of Christianity against the attacks of 
 infidels ; or because they have contributed less to increase 
 the general stock of human knowledge, and to the advance- 
 ment of the world in civilization, in virtue, and happiness ; 
 but because they have ventured to bring their reason and 
 their learning to the study of the scriptures, and have at- 
 tempted, in imitation of the first reformers, to separate the 
 primitive faith from the inventions of men. The orthodox 
 of New-England, in their turn, have been condemned by 
 the Calviuists of the south; accused of substituting a new 
 religion for that originally delivered to the saints. Is this 
 the liberty of Protestants, for the enjoyment of which they 
 separated from the Catholic Church ? Was it for this, that 
 the fathers of the Reformation, at the hazard of their lives, 
 exposed the extravagant errours and shameless vices ,of 
 the popish clergy ? Was it only that one party among 
 themselves might enslave the consciences of another, that 
 they resisted the arrogant and impious pretensions of the 
 Roman Hierarchy to the divine right of dictating to their 
 deluded followers the articles of their faith ? If so, then 
 have they laboured to no purpose then has the Reform- 
 ation effected no desirable change in the condition of man- 
 kind. If individual Christians are not competent to ascer- 
 tain the essential doctrines of Revelation ; if an appeal 
 must be made to any human tribunal, to know what must 
 be believed to inherit eternal life, that appeal ought cer- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 tainly to be made to the Pope, and his councils of assem- 
 bled Bishops, who, without dispute, have the strongest 
 claims to infallibility. But there is reason to believe that 
 the mild spirit of Christianity has begun to lessen the rig- 
 our of sectarian bigotry, and soften the asperity of religious 
 discussions. The experience of three hundred years of 
 bitter contentions and mutual recriminations among Prot- 
 estant parties, has begun to convince them of the folly of 
 expecting uniformity of opinion, and the criminality of mak- 
 ing it a condition of the exercise of charity. Candid in- 
 quirers are every day multiplying among us, " calling no 
 man master on earth," but ready to avail themselves of the 
 labours of wisdom and experience to guide them in the 
 study of the sacred oracles. Such a state of feeling in the 
 community, seems to require, that a denomination of 
 Christians, whose distinguishing views of religion have 
 been so long the theme of animadversion, as have been 
 those of Unitarians, should be able to refer those who 
 would examine them, to authors, where they may be found, 
 stated with clearness, and defended with candour. To this 
 denomination belong the publishers of the following Ser- 
 mons, and with these impressions they present them to the 
 publick. It is not because the opinions they have cm- 
 braced have not been ably explained and supported by 
 numerous writers of profound erudition and exalted piety, 
 that they deem this publication necessary. If the correct- 
 ness of religious tenets could be tested by the talents, the 
 learning, or the moral worth of those who have maintained 
 them, the faith of Unitarians might safely rest on such au- 
 thorities as Locke, and Newton, and Clark, and Lardrier, 
 gjnd Emlyn, and Priestly, and Price. In the works of 
 these distinguished men, and of many ethers, may befouinJ 
 a vindication of the sentiments they profess. But these an-; 
 not within the reach of the great body of readers, nor pr 
 they all adapted to such capacities. The publishers are 
 not aware, that the Christian community are possessed of 
 a book, which exhibits a connected view of their doctrines 
 
INTRODUCTION. Vll 
 
 in the form of Sermons, (and these are most likely to be 
 read by persons of common attainments,) while Calvinists 
 have been careful to fill the world with sectarian books of 
 every description, from the most learned, down to the 
 child's primer. The discourses in this volume, with the 
 exception of one or two, were delivered by the author to 
 his own people within the last two years, and were not 
 written in the expectation that they would be given to the 
 world. He has yielded his opinion of the expediency of 
 the publication to the solicitations of his friends. They 
 form a regular series upon those permanent doctrines of 
 Christianity which now divide the two principal classes, 
 called Orthodox or Calmnistick, and Liberal or Unitarian. 
 In these discourses is presented, in connected order, a fair 
 statement of the doctrines of Calvinism, as laid down by 
 the most approved writers ; the leading objections to which 
 those doctrines are liable, are brought into view, together 
 with the opinions which liberal Christians oppose to them ; 
 and all this is done in a style and manner easy to be com- 
 prehended by ordinary understandings. If the reader 
 should think them not entitled to the credit, either of nov- 
 elty of arrangement, or originality of argument, he is re- 
 minded, that they were not composed to enlighten the learn- 
 ed, but to instruct a promiscuous assembly. He will find, 
 However, what is", perhaps, of more consequence, the great 
 grounds of difference between these contending parties^ 
 stated with distinctness, and treated with liberality. 
 
 To Christians of all denominations, the subjects discuss- 
 ed in these Sermons are deeply interesting. It is of un- 
 speakable importance to all who expect salvation upon the 
 terms of the gospel to obtain correct views of the divine 
 character and attributes ; of the character of Jesus Christ 
 as the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world just ap- 
 prehensions of the nature of that mediation by which man 
 is redeemed from moral death, and of the duties arid ac- 
 countability of rational beings. Such considerntions, it IB 
 believed, will render these Sermons acceptable and usefuL 
 
Viii 
 
 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 But there is a further one, which entitles them to respect- 
 ful attention. This arises from the age, the experience, 
 and the character of their author. Doctor Bancroft was 
 inducted into the Pastoral office in Worcester on the first 
 day of February, 178G. His society had found it neces- 
 sary to separate from the first parish in this town, in con- 
 sequence of a difference on doctrinal points. Calvinists 
 and Arminians w r ere the prominent opposing parties of 
 that day, to the latter of which the new society were at- 
 tached. And so powerful were the former throughout the 
 country, and so exclusive in their intercourse in this vicin- 
 ity, that for many years he found few neighbouring cler- 
 gymen disposed to reciprocate ministerial labours, or wil- 
 ling to recognize his official character. For a long time 
 he was excluded from the associations of ministers in this 
 county, disowned as a minister, and reviled as a heretick. 
 Under such discouragements, did Dr. Bancroft commence 
 the duties of his high vocation. For thirty-six years he 
 has continued to discharge the duties of his station with a 
 consistency of character which none have surpassed, and a 
 steadiness of purpose from which nothing could divert 
 him ; and it is a fact well known to the writer of these in- 
 troductory pages, that the most zealous Calvinists have 
 yielded him the praise of an irreproachable life, and of be- 
 ing an honourable though formidable opponent. 
 
 After a critical and laborious review of his early opin- 
 ions, at a period of life when nothing but the soberness of 
 truth can interest the mind, Dr. Bancroft engaged in com- 
 posing the Sermons contained in this volume. He brought 
 to the work a mind enlarged and invigorated by a long 
 course of study and of practical discipline. They exhibit 
 the vie\vs of a Divine who has reflected much and read 
 extensively ; and the publishers are confident that, if they 
 fail to convince the reader, they will at least assist him in 
 establishing his faith in the concerns of religion, enlarge 
 his charity to others, and strengthen his habits of piety and 
 virtue. 
 

 THE JUTHQR>S PREFACE. 
 
 THE religious controversy of the day 
 occasioned the delivery of the series of 
 sermons contained in this volume. Their 
 publication results from the request of those 
 who heard them. 
 
 When the discourses were written, the 
 author had no intention of publishing them, 
 and was not, therefore, careful particularly 
 to note his authorities for the facts stated. 
 This neglect he now regrets, more especial- 
 ly in relation to that part of the work which 
 contains a succinct history of the corruptions 
 of the Papal Church, and of the Protestant 
 Reformation ; because a review of Mosheim, 
 Priestley, Campbell, and the appropriate 
 articles in Rees' Cyclopoedia, (the princi- 
 pal authors consulted,) would require more 
 time than he has to bestow on the subject. 
 The respective statements were made on evi- 
 dence deemed substantial ; and, on exam- 
 ination, it is presumed they will be gen- 
 erally found correct. 
 
 
10 THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE. 
 
 More than twenty years since, the author 
 perused the sermons of Rev. Nichol Scott, 
 on the final extinction of the wicked. 
 These sermons being nearly out of print, 
 the author made an abstract of them, which 
 on this occasion has been referred to ; and 
 he has now no means of determining how 
 far he is dependent on them for argument 
 and expression. The discourse therefore, 
 on this subject, (that no injustice may be 
 done,) is presented to the publick as sub- 
 stantially the views of an English divine. 
 
 It is not expected that the doctrinal ser- 
 mons will be approved by every portion of 
 the religious community ; but the hope is 
 entertained that, by the blessing of God, 
 they may promote the best interests of 
 Christianity. 
 
 Worcester, May, 1822, 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 x-wvww 
 
 INTRODUCTION, by the Publishing Committee. PagG 3 
 
 THE AUTHOR'S PREFACE. - 9 
 
 SERMON I. 
 
 Religion in man a rational and voluntary service. 
 
 LUKE xii. 56. 
 
 Ye can discern the face of the sky, and of the earth ; but how 
 is it, that ye do not discern this time ? - - - 17 
 
 SERMON II. 
 
 Jesus Christ does not possess the attributes of Su- 
 preme Divinity. 
 
 JOHN xvii. 3. 
 
 This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only true 
 God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent. - 30 
 
 SERMON III. 
 
 The Humanitarian and Arian doctrine respecting 
 the character of Christ. 
 
 JOHN viii. 58. 
 
 Jesus said unto them, Ferity, verily, I say unto you, before 
 AbraJiam was, I am. - 45 
 
 SERMON IV. 
 Texts of Scripture explained. 
 
 JOHN x. 30. 
 
 / and my . Father are one. - 59 
 
Xll CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON V, 
 
 The scriptural meaning of the terms, Holy Ghost, 
 
 Holy Spirit, and Spirit of God. 
 
 JOHN xiv. 26. 
 
 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father 
 will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and 
 bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have 
 said unto you. Page 77 
 
 SERMON VI. 
 
 The primitive state of the Christian Church, 
 TITUS i. 5. 
 
 For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set in 
 order the things that are wanting, and ordain Elders in ev- 
 ery city, as I had appointed thee, 95 
 
 SERMON VIL 
 
 Ecclesiastical power and dominion were gradually 
 
 assumed by the Priesthood. 
 
 i PETER v. 3. 
 
 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensam- 
 ples to the flock. 108 
 
 SERMON VIII. 
 
 The usurpation of the Bishop of Rome. 
 2 THESSALONIANS ii. 4. 
 
 Who opposeth and exalt eth himself above all that is called 
 God, or that is worshipped ; so that he, as God, sitteth in 
 the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. - 119 
 
 SERMON IX. 
 
 The corruptions and abuses of the Papal Hierarchy. 
 2 THESSALONIANS ii. 9. 
 
 Whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all power, 
 and signs) and lying wonders. 133 
 
CONTENTS. Xiii 
 
 SERMON X. 
 
 The nature of the Reformation in the 16th century. 
 
 REVELATION xviii. 4. 
 
 I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Come out of her, 
 my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye 
 receive not of her plagues. - - Page 149 
 
 SERMON XL 
 
 The extent of the Reformation in the 16th century. 
 
 JUDE, 3d verse. 
 
 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the 
 common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you 
 that ye should, earnestly contend for the faith which was once 
 delivered unto the saints. - - 164 
 
 SERMON XII. 
 
 The Reformation, as it respects doctrines, was 
 partial. 
 
 1 TIMOTHY vi. 4, 5. 
 
 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome 
 words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the 
 doctrine which is according to godliness ; he is proud, know- 
 ing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, 
 whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings. 1 75 
 
 SERMON XIII. 
 
 The duty of Protestants. 
 
 COLOSSIANS i. 9, 10, 
 
 For this cause, we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease 
 to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with 
 the knowledge of his will, in all wisdom and spiritual under- 
 standing ; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord unto all 
 pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and increasing 
 in the knowledge of God. - - 187 
 
 SERMON XIV. 
 
 The system of Calvinism. 
 1 THESSALONIANS v. 21. 
 
 Prove all things ; hold fast that which is good. - - 199 
 
XIV CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON XV. 
 
 On the doctrine of Election. 
 
 ROMANS xi. 7. 
 The election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. Page 209 
 
 SERMON XVI. 
 
 The benefits resulting from the mediation of Jesus 
 Christ, are applicable to all men. 
 
 ROMANS V. 10, 11. 
 
 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God, by 
 the death of his Son, much more being reconciled, we shall 
 be saved by his life : And not only so, we also joy in God 
 through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now re- 
 ceived the atonement. - - 223 
 
 SERMON XVII. 
 
 On Total Depravity. 
 
 PSALM li. 5. 
 
 Behold I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother 
 conceive me. - - - 236 
 
 SERMON XVIII. 
 
 On Effectual Calling. 
 2 CORINTHIANS iii. 5. 
 
 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of 
 ourselves; our sufficiency is of God. - - 251 
 
 SERMON XIX. 
 
 Evangelical obedience necessary to salvation. 
 
 PH1LIPPIANS ii. 12, 13. 
 
 Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling ; for it 
 is God who worketh in you both to will and to do of his 
 good pleasure. - - - - - - -261 
 
 SERMON XX. 
 
 On Conversion. 
 
 JOHN iii. 3. 
 
 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born again, he 
 cannot see the kingdom of God. - 27 1 
 
CONTENTS. XV 
 
 SERMON XXL 
 
 On the perseverance of saints. 
 HEBREWS x. 38. 
 
 Now the just shall live by faith ; but if any man draw back, 
 my soul shall have no pleasure in him. - Page 295 
 
 / SERMON XXII. 
 On Heresy. 
 
 TITUS iii. 10, 11. 
 
 JL man that is an heretick, after the first and second admoni- 
 tion^ reject ; knowing that he that is such is subverted and 
 sinneth, being condemned of himself . - 309 
 
 SERMON XXIII. 
 
 On the doctrine of Immortality. 
 
 Delivered on Christmas Day. 
 
 HOSEA xiii. 14. 
 
 / will ransom them from the power of the grave : I will re- 
 deem them from death. O death, I will be thy plague. 
 grave, I will be thy destruction. - ... 323 
 
 SERMON XXIV. 
 
 The duties enjoined by the fourth commandment. 
 
 EXODUS xx. 8, 9, 10, 11. 
 
 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt 
 thou labour, and do all thy work ; but the seventh day is 
 the Sabbath of the Lord thy God : in it thou shalt not do 
 any work ; thou, nor thy so)\ nor thy daughter, thy man- 
 servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stran- 
 ger, that is within thy gates : for in six days the Lord 
 made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and 
 rested the seventh day ; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sab- 
 bath day, and hallowed it. - - 340 
 
 SERMON XXV. 
 
 The Institutions of the Gospel. 
 JOHN v. 40. 
 
 Ye will not eome to me that ye might hove life. - - 367 
 
XVI CONTENTS. 
 
 SERMON XXVI. 
 
 On the doctrine of Endless Punishment. 
 
 MATTHEW xxv. 46. 
 
 These shall go away into everlasting punishment ; but the 
 righteous into life eternal - Page 382 
 
 SERMON XXVII. 
 
 On the doctrine of Universal Restoration. 
 
 2 THESSALONfANS i. 7, 8, 9. 
 
 When the Lord sJudl be revealed from heaven, with his mighty 
 angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them that know 
 not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ ; who shall be punished with everlasting destruction 
 from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his 
 power. ...... . 393 
 
 SERMON XXVIII. 
 
 On the annihilation of the incorrigibly wicked. 
 
 MATTHEW x. 28. 
 
 Fear not them who kill the body, but are not able to kill the 
 soul ; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul 
 and body in hell. - - 407 
 
 SERMON XXIX. 
 
 On the future happiness of the righteous. 
 
 1 CORINTHIANS xiii. 12. 
 
 For now we see through a glass dzrkly ; but then face to face : 
 now I know in part ; but then I shall know even as also I 
 am known. - - - - - - - 418 
 
SERMON I. 
 
 RELIGION IN MAN A RATIONAL AND VOLUNTARY SERVICE* 
 
 LUKE xii. 56. 
 
 fe can discern the face of ike sky, and of the earth; but 
 how is it, that ye do not discern this time ? 
 
 JESUS Christ, in the establishment of his re- 
 ligion, did not adopt measures of compulsion. He 
 taught men every essential religious truth, pro- 
 pounded laws for the government of their conduct, 
 and addressed them with the most persuasive mo- 
 tives. He then left men to act freely, that the hap- 
 piness of his disciples might be the reward of obe- 
 dience, which flows from an enlightened mind and 
 a teachable temper. 
 
 Our Saviour exhibited the clearest proof of a 
 divine mission. By his life, he displayed the moral 
 worth of his character. To the Jews he stated, 
 that in him their prophecies were fulfilled : in the 
 presence of those who followed him, he wrought 
 miracles ; and he called on his countrymen to ex- 
 amine his doctrines, to reflect on his works, and to 
 weigh the actions of his life ; and for them-selves 
 3 
 
Jtt . : : : HERIVLON i. 
 
 determine, whether they might not confidently re- 
 ceive his communications, obey his precepts, and 
 rely on his promises. 
 
 This is the substance of the appeal in our text. 
 In the previous verses, Jesus had observed to those 
 who accompanied him, When ye see a cloud rise 
 out of the west, straightway ye say, there cometh a 
 shower, and so it is ; and when ye perceive the 
 south wind to blow, ye say, there will be heat, and 
 it cometh to pass. Ye hypocrites ! ye can discern 
 the face of the sky, and of the earth ; but how is it, 
 that ye do not discern this time ? From usual ap- 
 pearances, you form a correct judgment of the ef- 
 fects of natural principles ; why do ye not seriously 
 attend to the moral dispensations of God, and, by 
 the evidence produced, become satisfied of the di- 
 vine origin of the doctrines I inculcate ? In our 
 subsequent context, our Saviour prefaces a case of 
 moral duty with the question, Why, even of your- 
 selves, judge ye not what is right ? It is then evi- 
 dent, that Christ recognized powers in man to 
 judge of the evidence on which his religion is 
 founded, and to perceive that his instructions are 
 conformable to the unchangeable laws of truth and 
 rectitude. 
 
 A number of important inferences may be drawn 
 from this appeal of our Saviour to the human mind, 
 
 1. Religion in man is a rational and voluntary 
 service. 
 
 God has imparted to man the attributes of reason 
 and liberty. These constitute him the subject of a 
 moral government, and make him capable of vir- 
 tuous action. Take away these faculties, and he 
 
SERMON I. 19 
 
 ceases to be the proper object of rewards or pun- 
 ishment. Without moral liberty, man may be the 
 instrument of actions which in their effects are sal- 
 utary or pernicious ; but in the agent there can be 
 neither virtue nor vice. To constitute any course 
 of actions good, in a moral sense, the agent must 
 be conscious of his duty, and possess a disposition 
 and power to perform it. Actions in which the 
 will of the agent is not concerned, have no proper- 
 ty of virtue ; and in their production the powers of 
 a moral being are not exercised. The manner in 
 which the faculties of the human mind are used, 
 determines the moral character. The intention fix- 
 es the moral complexion of human conduct. The 
 same action in this man is a virtue, and in that a 
 vice. An example will fully illustrate this remark. 
 Two men unite to feed and clothe a hungry and na- 
 ked fellow-being ; one discharges this humane office 
 from a conviction that it is a social duty, of indispen- 
 sable obligation and in him the duty is virtuous and 
 worthy of praise ; the other adopts this form of be- 
 nevolence towards a suffering object, as the means 
 to gain his confidence, and thereby to ensnare and 
 ruin him and this malignant intention renders the 
 action vile and wicked. Reason to distinguish 
 good from evil, and liberty to choose the one and 
 refuse the other, render men capable of moral con- 
 duct and moral government. This distinction be- 
 tween free and necessary agents being taken away, 
 men are let down to the level of beasts, or they be- 
 come mere machines, and there is no more moral 
 worth in their actions than there is in the effects 
 produced by the established laws of the natural 
 
20 SERMON I. 
 
 kingdom. To suspect the motive, would be un- 
 charitable, when the conduct is habitually good 
 because the life furnishes to us the best evidence of 
 the state of the heart ; but G >d judgeth not as men 
 judge : he looketh at the heart, and decideth on the 
 moral worth of our conduct from our secret intention 
 and purpose. From every view we can take of our 
 subject, it will appear, that as rational and free be- 
 ings we are subjected to moral laws, and that it is 
 in the right exercise of our reason and liberty that 
 we become religious men. 
 
 2. I infer, it is the duty of men to improve all 
 the means they enjoy, to enlighten their minds oa 
 the subject of religion. 
 
 To act rationally and freely in the important con- 
 cerns of religion, we must know its foundation, and 
 be made acquainted with its essential truths and 
 duties. We cannot consistently perform the offices 
 of religion, while ignorant of its first principles, any 
 more than we can converse intelligibly in a lan- 
 guage with which we are unacquainted. Suppose 
 an individual educated in a country where the true 
 religion is professed yet a traditional reception of 
 it, without a knowledge of the grounds of his faith 
 or the reasons of his hope, would not entitle him to 
 praise. Had he been born in a different country, 
 he would have embraced its religion, however false 
 and absurd. Is there no advantage, then, it will be 
 asked, in the traditional reception of the true relig- 
 ion ? Much every way ; chiefly because this is a 
 providential means of acquiring the knowledge of 
 many religious truths and moral duties, of which 
 an, individual would otherwise have been ignorant : 
 
SERMON 1. 21 
 
 these he admits on divine authority ; and, to main- 
 tain a good conscience, he lives in their habitual 
 exercise, and is thereby formed to a virtuous dis- 
 position. But his faith, being founded on an acci- 
 dental circumstance of his nativity, and not being 
 the result of inquiry and conviction, has in itself no 
 worth. The Parent of Life favourably appointed 
 the place of his birth, and by this circumstance his 
 religious superstructure is erected on the basis of 
 truth ; but from it he himself can claim no merit. 
 But in the man, who cultivates his intellectual pow- 
 ers, who examines the foundation of his religion, 
 weighs its evidence, and adopts it on conviction of 
 its truth, faith is a moral exercise, acceptable to 
 God. This man has preserved his mind free from 
 the influence of prejudice, and his heart from the 
 bias of sin ; and obedience in him is the act of an 
 enlightened judgment, as well as of a sound con- 
 science. 
 
 The observations made respecting religion as a 
 system will apply to its several parts. If our un- 
 derstanding must be convinced before we can con- 
 sistently profess the belief that a particular religion 
 is true, then its peculiar doctrines must be examin- 
 ed and understood before we can consistently em- 
 brace them. To believe as this master in theology, 
 or as that church believes, is not to give a sufficient 
 reason for our faith. We stand on our own foun- 
 dation, not theirs ; their answers will not be accept- 
 ed as ours in the day of judgment. The right of 
 private judgment will not be questioned. If we 
 voluntarily resign it, we part with our religious ca- 
 pacity, we undermine the foundation of personal re- 
 
22 SERMON I. 
 
 ligion, and can no longer live in the rational exercise 
 of faith or hope. Implicit confidence can never be 
 safely reposed on human authority. Religious in- 
 structers are forbidden to exercise dominion over 
 the faith of their fellow- men, but they are directed 
 to be the helpers of their joy. 
 
 We are commanded to call no man father, know- 
 ing that one is our Father, who is in heaven. We 
 are solemnly warned not to judge one another, 
 knowing that every one shall account for himself to 
 God. When we resign our understandings and 
 consciences to fallible men, and receive human for- 
 mularies as the standard of sound doctrine, we re- 
 move ourselves from the foundation of the gospel, 
 and have no sure basis on which to rest ; and we 
 shall be exposed to all the impositions which the 
 weakness or ignorance, the worldly interests or the 
 personal ambition of men can introduce into the 
 Christian church. Reason and revelation, I think, 
 warrant the position, that every man who seriously 
 endeavours to acquire the knowledge of divine 
 truth, and habitually practises according to the dic- 
 tates of an enlightened conscience, will be accepted 
 at the final judgment ; but the individual who com- 
 plies with this condition of acceptance can be pos- 
 itively ascertained only by him who knows the 
 heart. To the serious consideration of those who 
 feel disposed to condemn a brother merely for his 
 Christian opinions, I present the reproof of our Sa- 
 viour to his disciples, Ye know not what spirit ye 
 are of. 
 
 As the understanding of a man must be enlight- 
 ened, and his judgment convinced, before he can 
 
SERMON I. 23 
 
 consistently embrace any system of doctrine, I 
 infer, 
 
 3. That uniformity of religious opinion is not 
 to be expected even among Christians. 
 
 The natural understandings of men differ, their 
 education is dissimilar, and their course of life is va- 
 rious. These circumstances lead to different views 
 of religion and of all other subjects. A truth that 
 is plain and evident to the man of ten talents, may 
 be unintelligible to him who possesses but one. 
 What you deem to be a mere rite of religion, your 
 neighbour may hold as a fundamental principle of 
 the gospel. No one ought to adopt the opinion of 
 another against the dictates of his own mind. Spec- 
 ulative differences, when accompanied with Christ- 
 ian virtues in the life, should not be made the occa- 
 sion of uncharitableness among disciples who ac- 
 knowledge a common Master. Is this opening too 
 widely the door of charity ? Look into the New 
 Testament, and there learn the term of admission 
 into the Christian church. This is simply a con- 
 fession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah. Such was 
 the confession of Peter We believe and are sure 
 that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. 
 And of Mary / believe that thou art the Christ, 
 the Son of God. On this confession, Philip baptiz- 
 ed the Samaritan converts and the eunuch of Ethi- 
 opia. On a similar profession of faith, St. Paul bap- 
 tized the jailer and other Gentile disciples. If the 
 acknowledgment of Jesus Christ as the Son of God 
 was all the apostles required for admission into the 
 Christian community, shall we demand more, and 
 deny the Christianity of the man who, professing 
 
24 SERMON I. 
 
 the name of Christ, manifests by his life that he 
 faithfully observes the directions of his divine Lord ? 
 Shall we exclude from our fellowship all who do 
 not receive the whole system of doctrines which we 
 believe to be revealed in the gospel ? We shall 
 then probably exclude from our charity the greater 
 number of Christian professors. Should our prin- 
 ciple of fellowship be generally adopted, the Christ- 
 ian church could never be relieved from bitter dis- 
 putes and destructive divisions. 
 
 The signs of the times led my reflections to our 
 present subject. Many of this audience know that 
 the history of American Unitarianism, originally is- 
 sued from a British press, has lately been re-pub- 
 lished in our Commonwealth, and a strong appeal 
 made to the publick on the system of doctrine 
 therein unfolded. The purpose of the Editors 
 probably was to depress Unitarianism in our coun- 
 try ^ by the weight of publick odium. They insin- 
 uated that Unitarian Ministers, in the apprehension 
 that their cause would not bear the light, were en- 
 deavouring to promote it in a secret and insidious 
 manner. On this representation of timidity and 
 concealment, the Editors exclaim, " Are these the 
 true representatives of the Apostles and martyrs, 
 glorifying God by an open profession of his gospel, 
 and not ashamed to own their Lord before men ? 
 Is this the simplicity and godly sincerity of the gos- 
 pel ?" Thus assailed, Unitarian Ministers were 
 compelled publickly to vindicate themselves. They 
 corrected the gross errours in the statement of their 
 opponents, explained their opinions, and adduced 
 scriptural authority for their support. Whether 
 
i. 25 
 
 the general effect on the publick mind corresponds 
 with the expectations of those who originated the 
 dispute, the present state of the Unitarian contro- 
 versy in our country will decide. Prejudices are 
 in some degree subsiding. Learned Theologians 
 with us now defend their peculiar tenets in the 
 spirit of our religion. 
 
 The time for inquiry and investigation is come ; 
 and our citizens, liberated from the shackles of a 
 national establishment, will not receive the dogmas 
 of schoolmen as the truths of revelation. On the 
 minds of the clergy of our Commonwealth there is 
 no bias from a view to the emolument of high ec- 
 clesiastical offices, nor from a fear of ecclesiastical 
 censures, which the civil power will enforce by the 
 forfeiture of salaries, by fines and imprisonment. 
 These circumstances are highly favourable to free 
 and candid inquiry, and they tend to elevate the 
 character of a Christian community. But all hu- 
 man advantages are attended with inconvenience, 
 and are liable to abuse. When men think for 
 themselves, they form different opinions even on 
 subjects the most important ; and if they hold their 
 peculiar sentiments with an uncandid spirit, and re- 
 fuse Christian fellowship with those who differ 
 from them, the society of Christians must be di- 
 vided into numberless sects, and few of them will 
 possess the means to support the publick institu- 
 tions of the gospel in a respectable manner. Most 
 of those who acknowledge the divine origin of 
 Christianity embrace all the principles that are es- 
 sential to its effectual establishment. Let Christ- 
 4 
 
26 SERMON I. 
 
 ians, then, in forbearance and charity, permit each 
 other to judge for themselves respecting doctrines, 
 in the explanation of which the wisest and best 
 men have disagreed, and then they may mutually 
 co-operate in promoting the reign of their common 
 Lord. 
 
 Professors with us, at the present day, may be 
 classed in two great divisions, Calvinists and Liberal 
 or Unitarian Christians. Perhaps the most distin- 
 guishing point of difference between them respects 
 the office of reason in the sacred concerns of relig- 
 ion. The Calvinists style themselves the orthodox s 
 evangelical professors ; and they require that the 
 mysteries of revelation, as they denominate them,, 
 should be received, though these cannot be ex- 
 plained, in humble submission to Divine Wisdom. 
 Numbers of this class seem disposed to attribute 
 opposition to their peculiar system of faith to the 
 obstinacy of a mind not rectified by divine gnce. 
 Some more ardent, altogether deny the Christianity 
 of those who reject their peculiar views. In an. 
 swer to these allegations, we say, that, among all de- 
 nominations, worthy and unworthy professors may 
 be found that, in each, the most perfect disciples 
 have occasion to lament their weakness and their 
 failings and that, with every denomination, the 
 fruits manifested by the life and conversation should 
 furnish the rule of charitable judgment, and not 
 doctrinal opinions. 
 
 In respect to the office of reason in religious 
 concerns, we hold, that without the exercise of rea- 
 son, no man can be a consistent disciple of Jesus 
 Christ. Indeed, we perceive that Calvinists never 
 
SERMON I. 27 
 
 reject the authority of reason, when it can be brought 
 to support their positions. We hold, that by the 
 exercise of reason a judgment is formed of the evi- 
 dence by which our religion is proved to be true 
 by reason we make up our opinions of the doctrines 
 contained in the sacred scriptures and by reason, 
 we pronounce on the purity and excellence of the 
 precepts and institutions of the gospel. Though 
 we do not pretend to comprehend God in his attri- 
 butes, in his works or ways, yet we say that our 
 duty extends no further than our capacity for 
 knowledge extends ; and that we cannot consist- 
 ently admit any position as a doctrine of divine rev- 
 elation, which consists of a set of terms conveying 
 no distinct ideas to the mind, much less if it involve 
 a direct contradiction, or is manifestly opposed to 
 admitted principles of rectitude and goodness. De- 
 ny this, and we are denied the power to distinguish 
 between a true and false religion, between good 
 and evil, between virtue and vice. 
 
 You, my candid hearers, arc witnesses that, in 
 my general course of preaching, I have dwelt on the 
 undisputed doctrines of revelation, and on the im- 
 portant duties of the Christian character ; though 
 I have not studied concealment of my opinion on 
 any religious subject, but as occasion dictated have, 
 as far as I understood it, declared unto you the 
 whole counsel of God. Unusual attention is at this 
 day given to doctrinal questions on which Christ- 
 ians have divided. Disquisitions on these sub- 
 jects are now circulated among every class in soci- 
 ety, by the distribution of sermons, religious tracts, 
 and theological journals; and the peculiar tenets of 
 
28 SERMON I. 
 
 the two great divisions of believers are frequently 
 made the subject of conversation in our families. 
 Under these circumstances, I think it expedient to 
 give my opinion from the pulpit, on the important 
 questions now agitated. Assured of your attention 
 and candour, I intend to deliver a course of ser- 
 mons on Christian theology. My plan is extensive, 
 and embraces the unity of God the derived exist- 
 ence and divine commission of Jesus Christ, the 
 Mediator the primitive state of the Christian 
 church the corruptions and abuses introduced by 
 ecclesiasticks, and particularly by the Roman Pon- 
 tiff the nature and extent of the Reformation iu 
 the sixteenth century the system of Calvin the 
 peculiar doctrines of revelation the design of the 
 positive institutions of the gospel and the rewards 
 and punishments of a future world. Relying on 
 your support, I shall, with as few intermissions as 
 possible, on the morning of every sabbath, God 
 granting me bodily and mental strength, deliver a 
 discourse on a doctrinal subject, till the design, of 
 which I now give the outlines, shall be executed. 
 
 In conclusion, 
 
 Let us, my respected hearers, improve the means 
 we enjoy for the acquisition of Christian knowl- 
 edge. May we not hold the truth in unrighteous- 
 ness, but live in the maintenance of a conscience 
 void of offence towards God and man. Then we 
 shall be able to give an answer to every man who 
 asketh us the reason of the hope which is in us. 
 The moral excellence of the gospel will not only 
 entertain our minds, but also purify our hearts, and 
 form us to the disposition requisite to enjoy the fu- 
 
SERMON 1. 29 
 
 ture rewards it promises to its obedient disciples. 
 In this world we shall realize the support, the con- 
 solation, and joy, which Christianity is fitted to 
 yield to those who are imbued with its spirit ; and, 
 at the close of our probation, we shall be found of 
 our Judge in peace ; and the approving sentence 
 will be pronounced on us individually, Well done, 
 good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of 
 thv Lord, 
 
SERMON II. 
 
 JESUS CHRIST DOES NOT POSSESS THE ATTRIBUTES Of 
 SUPREME DIVINITY. 
 
 JOHN xvii. 3. 
 
 This is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only 
 true God, and Jesps Christ, whom thou hast sent. 
 
 EFFECTUALLY to defend the Christian sys- 
 tern, we must separate from it the corruptions which 
 ignorant or designing men have introduced. In this 
 age of inquiry and investigation, neither the sanc- 
 tion which time gives to generally received opin- 
 ions, nor the solemnity associated with important 
 religious doctrines will support principles opposed 
 to the obvious sense of scripture, and to the simple 
 dictates of reason. 
 
 The Unitarian controversy has been forced on 
 liberal Christians ; and it becomes our bounden 
 duty to contend earnestly for the faith once deliver- 
 ed to the saints. We reject the doctrine of the 
 Trinity, because, by its admission, we must receive 
 as a doctrine of revelation, and as a term of Christ- 
 ian fellowship, a number of words which either 
 have no meaning, or amount to a plain contradio 
 
SERMON II. 31 
 
 lion; and because, in our apprehension, the doc- 
 trine is opposed to the particular and the general 
 language of scripture respecting the character of 
 God. ' 
 
 The Unity of God is an essential principle of true 
 religion. The Divine Unity is inculcated in every 
 part of the bible, as the basis of exalted piety. In 
 the Old Testament, Moses, with the highest solem- 
 nity, summons the attention of his people to this 
 great truth Hear, O Israel ! the Lord our God is 
 one Lord. On this foundation, our Saviour erects all 
 pious offices, " Hear, O Israel ! the Lord our God 
 is one Lord ; and thou shalt love the Lord thy 
 God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and 
 with all thy mind, and with all thy strength. Mo. 
 scs informs* the Israelites that the knowledge of the 
 Divine Unity was a great purpose of the communi- 
 cations of Heaven to them. " Unto thee it was 
 shewed, that thou mightest know that he is God : 
 there is none else beside him." The prophet Isai- 
 ah, speaking in the name of the Almighty, says, 
 " I am the Lord ; there is none else ; there is no God 
 beside me." In the New Testament, our Saviour 
 confirms this fundamental religious truth " This 
 is life eternal, that they might know thee, the only 
 true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent." 
 This essential verity St. Paul asserts in his epistle 
 to Timothy.' 4 There is one God, and one Medi- 
 ator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus ;" 
 and to the Corinthians he declares, " To us there is^ 
 but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, 
 and we in him, and one Lord Jesus Christ, by 
 whom are all things, and we by him." 
 
32 SERMON II. 
 
 I need not adduce more passages of scripture to 
 prove the Unity of God. All Trinitarians profess 
 to hold this doctrine ; but we think their opinions 
 on this most important subject to be subversive of 
 the Divine Unity. They represent God as one be- 
 ing, existing in three persons, the Father, the Son, 
 and the Holy Ghost. Each of these persons has 
 a distinct and separate province of action, and in it 
 each has his own full and complete agency. In the 
 salvation of sinners, the office of the Father is dis- 
 tinct from that of the Son, and the office of the Son 
 as distinct from that of the Holy Ghost. Each of 
 these persons is self-existent, and possessed of all 
 divine attributes. Are these three persons one God, 
 or three Gods ? In the Trinitarian creed, Christ is 
 represented as the second person in the Godhead, 
 co-existent and co-equal with the Father, and of 
 himself " very ^ God." In opposition to the Trini- 
 tarian formulary, we believe that Jesus Christ is a 
 being of derived existence, and therefore cannot 
 possess the attributes of supreme divinity. We 
 acknowledge him as the Son of God, the anointed 
 Saviour of sinners, and the constituted Judge of 
 man ; but we hold that, in his high and benevolent 
 agency, as Mediator, he acted under a commission 
 given him by the one true God, who is over all 
 blessed forever. 
 
 The character and office of Jesus Christ will be 
 the subject of the present discourse. To its con- 
 sideration, this audience, I trust, will bring minds 
 free from prejudice. My present purpose is to 
 make it apparent that Jesus Christ is a being dis- 
 tinct from God, and subordinate to him. In doing 
 
SERMON II. 33 
 
 this, I shall introduce no metaphysical arguments, 
 nor adduce any human authority. The proof 
 brought in support of the proposition will be the 
 plain and express declarations of our Saviour him- 
 self, and one or two passages from the epistles of 
 St. Paul* 
 
 I shall present the subject to your deliberate 
 judgment under the following propositions. 
 
 1. Jesus Christ declared himself to be a being 
 distinct from God. 
 
 2. He disclaimed the essential attributes of Su- 
 preme Divinity, underivedpowerj omniscience, and 
 absolute goodness ; and he proclaimed his inferior- 
 ity to the Father. 
 
 3. He appeared in our world as the Messenger 
 of God, and preached to men not his own doctrines, 
 but the doctrines of God who sent him. 
 
 4. Christ himself prayed to God as the only 
 proper object of worship, and directed his disciples 
 to offer their prayers to God through him as the 
 Mediator. 
 
 5. Having completed the business of his mis- 
 sion on earth, Jesus ascended to his God in heaven, 
 and there received the reward of his obedience to 
 the Divine Will unto death, even the death of the 
 cross. 
 
 On these high and important points, the declara* 
 tions of our Saviour must be satisfactory to all. It 
 will be my endeavour to make comments on his 
 declarations, in a manner that may be fully under- 
 stood, even by those who are least acquainted with 
 religious controversy. 
 5. 
 
34 SERMON II. 
 
 1. Jesus Christ declared himself to be a being 
 distinct from God. Our text may be first stated in 
 proof of this position. "Jesus lifted up his eyes to 
 heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come ; glori- 
 fy thy Son, that thy Son also may glorify thee. As 
 thou hast given him power over all flesh, that he 
 should give eternal life to as many as thou hast 
 given him. And this is eternal life, that they should 
 know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ 
 whom thou hast sent. I have glorified thee on the 
 earth : I have finished the work which thou gavest 
 me to do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me 
 with thine own self, with the glory I had with thee 
 before the world was." Is it possible that two be- 
 ings should be more clearly distinguished from 
 each other, than Christ here distinguishes himself 
 from God? In the passage, he speaks of himself in 
 his most exalted character, as the Messiah, execut- 
 ing a divine commission, and giving eternal life to 
 man. What is its obvious meaning? There is 
 only one true God Jesus is the Christ, or the 
 anointed of God, whom he sent into the world, to 
 whom he gave power to confer eternal life on the 
 children of God ; a declaration that Jesus had ac* 
 complished the moral purpose, for which God sent 
 him into the world, and thereby manifested the glo- 
 ry of the Being who thus sent him ; and a devout 
 prayer that he might be admitted to the divine 
 presence, there to receive the honour and glory ap- 
 pointed as the reward of the faithful execution of 
 the office of Mediator on earth. If any one doubt 
 whether, in these passages, Christ speaks of himself 
 as a distinct being from God subordinate to him 
 
SERMON II. 35 
 
 receiving a commission from him invested with 
 power for its execution declaring the accomplish- 
 ment of the high purposes of his embassy and in- 
 voking the reward of obedience to a divine com- 
 mand, let him try to put similar sentiments into 
 plainer language. Under this head of our subject, 
 it is not necessary to quote more passages. The 
 same distinction will be apparent in every text pro- 
 duced on subsequent points. Though Trinitarians 
 admit the Unity of God, they contend for three 
 persons in the Godhead. While they object to the 
 common meaning of the term person, in their rea- 
 sonings they adopt it in its usual sense ; and unless 
 the general acceptation of the term be admitted, ei- 
 ther their arguments are unintelligible or their con- 
 clusions do not follow from their premises. I can 
 form no other conception of three persons as sepa- 
 rate agents, than of three beings ; nor of a Godhead 
 of Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, than of three Gods. 
 
 The Jews of our Saviour's day accused him of 
 blasphemy, and alleged that, being a man, he made 
 himself God. Did Jesus on this occasion claim the 
 attributes of Deity ? Hear his own reply. " Jesus 
 answered them Is it not written in your law, I 
 said ye are gods ? If he called them gods unto 
 whom the word of God came, and the scripture 
 cannot be broken ; say ye of him whom the Father 
 hath sanctified and sent into the world, Thou blas- 
 phemest ; because I said, I am the Son of God ?" 
 
 2. Jesus Christ disclaimed the essential attri- 
 butes of Supreme Divinity, underived power, om- 
 niscience, and absolute goodness; and he proclaim- 
 ed his inferiority to the Father. 
 
36 SERMON II. 
 
 Our Saviour claimed not for himself underived 
 power. " Verily, verily, I say unto you, the Son 
 can do nothing of himself. Of myself I can do 
 nothing." After his resurrection, and in his last 
 address to his disciples, his language is " All pow- 
 er is given unto me, in heaven and on earth." In 
 these passages, Christ is speaking of the moral pur- 
 poses of his mediatorial office. In one of them he 
 affirms, that of himself he could do nothing ; and in 
 the other, that he was invested with power frorn, 
 God to carry to consummation the high purposes 
 of his kingdom. 
 
 When one asked him " Good Master, what 
 good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life ? 
 Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good ? 
 there is none good but one, that is God." God alone 
 possesses original, inexhaustible, infinite goodness. 
 We have brought the clearest proof that Christ 
 acknowledged himself a being distinct from God ; 
 and we here learn that he disclaimed the goodness 
 which is an attribute of Deity. 
 
 Omniscience our Saviour also disclaimed. Pre- 
 dicting the heaviest judgments to his countrymen, 
 and at the same time, in the opinion of many, di- 
 recting the minds of his disciples to the day of final 
 retribution, he declares " Of that day and that 
 hour knoweth no man, nor the angels which are in 
 heaven, neither the Son ; but the Father." In lan- 
 guage which cannot be mistaken, Jesus here avers, 
 that in respect to the precise period when the pre- 
 dicted judgments would be inflicted, he himself 
 was ignorant, and that God only knew it. The 
 maiiiaer in which an attempt is made to evade 
 
SERMON IL 37 
 
 force of this and similar declarations of our Saviour, 
 I shall notice in the close of the present discourse. 
 
 An avowal of inferiority to God is implied in ev- 
 ery text selected to support our several positions. 
 I shall adduce one directly to this point. " My Fa- 
 ther is greater than I." Our Saviour, in the place 
 where this declaration is made, was addressing his 
 disciples on the subject of his death, and opening 
 sources of comfort to them, from the prospects 
 which his resurrection would present to their view ; 
 and, as the greatest support to their minds, he states 
 that the moral purposes of his reign would be con- 
 summated by the assistance of God. " Peace I 
 leave with you ; my peace I give unto you. Let 
 not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. 
 If ye loved me, ye would rejoice because I said, I 
 go unto the Father ; for my Father is greater than 
 I. I love the Father ; and as the Father gave me 
 commandment, even so I do." Christ evidently 
 here speaks of himself in his most exalted charac- 
 ter, and absolutely disclaims an equality with the 
 Father. 
 
 3. Jesus Christ declares that he appeared in our 
 world as the Messenger of God ; and that he preach- 
 ed not his own doctrines, but those of his Father 
 who sent him. 
 
 Numerous passages might be brought in support 
 of this position. I must be satisfied with a few of 
 the most select. " I am come in my Father's 
 name. Then cried Jesus in the temple, I am not 
 come of myself, but he that sent me is true. I pro- 
 ceeded forth and came from God ; neither came I 
 of myself, but he sent me. My doctrine is not 
 
SERMON U. 
 
 mine, but his that sent me. Then said Jesus unto 
 them, When ye have lifted up the Son of Man, 
 then shall ye know that I am he, and that I can do 
 nothing of myself ; but as my Father taught me, I 
 speak these things. I have not spoken of myself; 
 but the Father, who sent me, he gave me a com- 
 mandment, what I should say, and what I should 
 speak." In a prayer addressed by our Saviour to 
 God, we find the following expressions " I have 
 given unto them the words which thou gavest me ; 
 and they have received them, and have known 
 surely that I came out from thee ; and they have 
 believed that thou didst send me." All these texts 
 have an immediate reference to the high moral 
 purposes of the divine mission of Jesus Christ. 
 Additional comments are not necessary ; their 
 meaning cannot be made more plain by any re- 
 marks of mine. 
 
 4. Jesus Christ prayed to God, as the great ob- 
 ject of worship ; and he directed his disciples to 
 offer their prayers to God through him as the one 
 Mediator. 
 
 Every Christian knows that our divine Lord has 
 set us an example as respects the duty of prayer, 
 as well as in all other instances of piety and virtue. 
 He joined with his countrymen in the publick offi- 
 ces of their religion, and often retired for private 
 devotion. But every Christian does not attend to 
 the fair inference from these facts, that Christ must 
 be a being subordinate to God, to whom his pray- 
 ers are directed. Let us then hear the language of 
 our Saviour in prayer. " Jesus lifted up his eyes, 
 and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heaid 
 
SERMON II. 39 
 
 me ; and I knew that thou hearest me always ; but 
 because of the people which stand by, I said it, 
 that they may believe that thou hast sent me." 
 These expressions of thanks have reference to the 
 success of his ministry. Attend to his petitions 
 when oppressed by personal suffering. " Then 
 saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrow- 
 ful even unto death. And he went a little farther, 
 and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Fa- 
 ther, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me ; 
 nevertheless, not as I will, but as ^thou wilt. He 
 went away the second time, and prayed, saying, O 
 my Father, if this cup may not pass away from me 
 except I drink it, thy will be done. When they 
 came to the place which is called Calvary, there 
 they crucified him, and the malefactors, one on the 
 right hand, and the other on the left. Then said 
 Jesus, Father, forgive them, for they know not 
 what they do. And when Jesus had cried with a 
 loud voice, he said, Father, into thy hands I com- 
 mend my spirit ; and gave up the ghost." These 
 are the expressions not of Supreme Divinity, but 
 of a being dependent and actually suffering. 
 
 Christ not only prayed to God himself, but he 
 also directed his disciples to offer their prayers, not 
 to him, but to God through him as Mediator. - 
 " Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, 
 and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth 
 fruit, and that your fruit should remain ; that what- 
 soever ye shall ask of the Father in my name, he 
 may give it you. In that day ye shall ask me 
 nothing. Verily, verily, I say unto you, whatso- 
 ever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will 
 
40 SERMON II. 
 
 give it you. At that day ye shall ask in my name ; 
 and I say not unto you, that I will pray the Father 
 for you, for the Father himself lovelh you ; because 
 ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out 
 from God." The prayer which our Lord taught 
 his disciples is addressed to God the Father, in 
 heaven. 
 
 5. Jesus Christ having accomplished the busi- 
 ness of his mission on earth, ascended to God in 
 heaven, and there received the reward of his obe- 
 dience to the divine will, even unto death, the death 
 of the cross. 
 
 Our Saviour himself declared to his followers 
 that he should ascend to glory ; and his inspired 
 apostles inform us of his actual ascent to the glo- 
 ry and honour which were provided for him in 
 heaven. Christ thus addresses God in our subse- 
 quent context " I have glorified thee on the earth ; 
 I have finished the work which thou gavest me to 
 do. And now, O Father, glorify thou me with 
 thine own self, with the glory which I had with 
 thee before the world was." After his resurrec- 
 tion, he sent the following message to his imme- 
 diate disciples " Go to my brethren, and say unto 
 them, I ascend unto my Father and your Father, 
 and to my God and your God." 
 
 The apostle Paul gives us a description of the 
 honours to which Christ is raised. "Being found 
 in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and be- 
 came obedient unto death, even the death of the 
 cross : wherefore, God also hath highly exalted 
 him, and given him a name, which is above every 
 name ; that at the name of Jesus every knee should 
 
SERMON II. 
 
 4, 
 
 bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and 
 things under the earth ; and that every tongue 
 should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the 
 glory of God the father." The same apostle, 
 speaking of the empire of Christ in heaven, says, 
 " He must reign till he has put all things under 
 his feet. The last enemy thac shall be destroyed 
 is death. When all things shall be subdued unto 
 him, then shall the Son also himself be subject un- 
 to him that put all things under him, that God may 
 be all in all." , 
 
 What is the import of the passages from scrip- 
 ture now recited ? It will be recollected, that with 
 the exception of one or two texts from the writings 
 of St. Paul, they are the very words of our Saviour 
 himself. Do they not fully prove the truth of our 
 respective propositions ? Do they not warrant the 
 reception of the following positions as Christian 
 verities ? There is one only God, and Jesus Christ 
 was his messenger to men. Christ does not pos- 
 sess the essential attributes of Deity Christ was 
 sent into our world by God wrought miracles in 
 confirmation of his divine mission by power deriv- 
 ed from God delivered messages committed to 
 him by the Father of Being prayed God to suc- 
 ceed the moral purposes of his reign attested his 
 sincerity by the sacrifice of his life arose from the 
 grave and ascended to heaven, and was there crown- 
 ed with honour and glory, and empowered to con- 
 summate the design of his office as Mediator. 
 This great and merciful purpose being accom- 
 plished, he will resign his commission into the 
 
 6 
 
 . \ 
 
42 SERMON II. 
 
 hand of God who gave it, and God will be all in 
 all. The declarations of Christ were made not in 
 figures of speech, nor under allusions to the rites 
 and ceremonies instituted by Moses, but in lan- 
 guage the most simple and plain. 
 
 Was it the sole intention of any writer to show 
 that a particular being was not Gt.>d, could he use 
 phraseology more fully expressive of his design 
 than that which Jesus Christ here adopts respect- 
 ing himself? Admit the supposition that Christ is 
 very God, and what contradictions and absurdities 
 follow ! At the same time he was in heaven cncir- 
 cled with all the attributes of Deity, and on earth in 
 fashion as a man. He was the being sending, and 
 the being sent ; he was the being praying, and the 
 being to whom the prayer was addressed ; from 
 himself he received a commission for a high pur- 
 pose ; to himself returned this commission, that he 
 himself might be all in all ; and, further, the mere 
 idea of which must shock the moral sensibility of 
 every mind, God, a spiritual being, who is not 
 confined to place, nor excluded from it, ascended 
 from earth to heaven clothed with a body. 
 
 Trinitarians attempt to give a meaning to the 
 above passages, in consistency with their peculiar 
 doctrine. They represent Christ as a being of a 
 complex character, existing with two minds or 
 souls, a divine and an human, and that he is very 
 God and very man. They refer all the declarations 
 of our Saviour, which we have recited, to his human 
 nature ; and affirm that, by this method of interpre- 
 tation, they preserve the harmony of scripture, and 
 give a consistent sense to passages which speak of 
 
SERMON II. 43 
 
 Jesus as a being of derived existence, and acting 
 under a divine commission, suffering and dying, 
 and those which ascribe to him the perfections of 
 Deity. But can two distinct minds, the one infinite 
 and the other finite, constitute one being ? This 
 distinction between the human and divine nature of 
 Christ is not found in the bible. No passages can 
 be brought which expressly contain this doctrine, 
 and the general phraseology of scripture is directly 
 opposed to it. This distinction, we believe, was 
 invented in the school of theologians, to avoid a con- 
 clusion otherwise unavoidable ; and invented in an 
 age when hypothesis, and not investigation and ex- 
 periment, was made the basis of all science. But 
 even this distinction, unfounded as I conceive it to 
 be, will not, I apprehend, answer the purpose for 
 which it is adduced. Let us test it by two of the 
 texts above recited. "My Father is greater than I." 
 Christ was addressing his disciples on the highest 
 design of his mediatorial office when he made this 
 declaration, and therefore speaking of himself in 
 his most exalted character ; and, as a ground of 
 confidence, he mentions the assistance which God 
 would grant him in the prosecution of his sacred 
 trust. Allow that the assertion has reference only 
 to the human nature of Christ, and we make him, 
 solemnly declare that, as it respects power to re-an- 
 imate the dead, and to raise his disciples to eternal 
 life, God is greater than man. In men we should 
 say this is trifling with sacred things. Take next 
 the prediction of divine judgments " Of that day 
 and that hour knoweth no man, no not the angels 
 which are in heaven, neither the Son, but the Fa- 
 
44 
 
 SERMON II. 
 
 ther." The comparison is not here made between 
 the human and the divine nature of Christ ; there 
 can he no pretence for this. We here find a regu- 
 lar gradation from man to God. No man knoweth 
 this day, no, nor the angels of heaven, nor the Son 
 of God, but the Father only. The rank of the Son 
 is above that of the angels, and must refer to him 
 in his most exalted character. In this character he 
 knew not the day. The declaration is made in the 
 same form in which Christ speaks of sitting in judg- 
 ment on the human race, and no intimation is giv- 
 en that the assertion is limited. To suppose then, 
 under these circumstances, that Jesus knew not the 
 day as man, but knew it as a divine person, is to 
 suppose an equivocation altogether unworthy of an 
 instructer of truth and righteousness. What should 
 we think of the veracity of a man who, having one 
 eye defective, should direct a sound organ to an ob- 
 ject clearly within his vision ; and then, without any 
 qualification, and on a subject, too, the most im- 
 portant, should solemnly declare that he did not see 
 this object mentally meaning that he did not see it 
 with the defective eye, though he had a clear sight 
 of it with that which was perfect ? 
 
 Reflecting, my Christian brethren, on the volun- 
 tary mission of our Saviour, and on his sufferings 
 and death in the execution of his benevolent design 
 to deliver us from the pollutions of sin, and to re- 
 deem us from the empire of death, let us, grateful 
 for his mediation, imbibe his spirit, and adorn our 
 lives with the virtues of his religion. At his sec- 
 ond appearing, may we be found of him in peace, 
 without spot and blameless. 
 
SERMON III. 
 
 THE HUMANITARIAN AND ART AN DOCTRINE RESPECTING 
 THE CHARACTER OF CHRIST. 
 
 JOHN viii. 58. 
 
 Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, before 
 Jlbraham was, I am. 
 
 UNITARIAN Christians of the present day 
 may be divided into two classes. One of these be- 
 lieve that our Saviour existed prior to his appear- 
 ance on earth ; the other maintain that he was 
 merely a man, chosen by God to be his distin- 
 guished Prophet to his brethren of the human fam- 
 ily ; to whom the spirit of inspiration was given 
 without measure ; and who was invested with pow- 
 er from on high to qualify him to be the great agent 
 in accomplishing the purposes of divine mercy in 
 the salvation of sinners. 
 
 The Humanitarian doctrine is the most simple, 
 and approaches nearest to the methods which God 
 has usually adopted for the moral instruction and 
 improvement of the world of mankind. Jesus was 
 born of a woman, he lived as a man liveth, and di- 
 ed as men die. Jesus is spoken of as a man, where 
 the inspired writer contrasts the effects of the apos- 
 
46 SERMON III. 
 
 tacy with the benefits resulting from the mediation 
 of Christ. " For since by man came death, by 
 man came also. the resurrection of the dead. For 
 as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be 
 made alive." The dispensation which preceded 
 the gospel was founded by a man; and the de- 
 sponding language of the apostles of Jesus, at his 
 crucifixion, make it apparent that, during his life, 
 they supposed him to have been a mere man ; and 
 after his resurrection they no where express the sur- 
 prise which they must have felt, on the discovery 
 of the existence and rank which their Lord held in 
 heaven before his advent into our world. Peter, in 
 the first sermon he preached, and which was deliv- 
 ered at the moment of the descent of the Holy 
 Ghost, speaks in the following manner of his divine 
 Master " Ye men of Israel, hear these words : 
 Jesus, a man approved of God among you by mira- 
 cles, and wonders, and signs, which God did by 
 him in the midst of you." St. Paul, when ad- 
 dressing the philosophers of Athens respecting 
 God, the doctrine of repentance, the resurrection, 
 and the final judgment, adopts the following lan- 
 guage " God hath appointed a day in which he 
 will judge the world in righteousness by that man 
 whom he hath ordained ; whereof he hath given as- 
 surance unto all men, in that he hath raised him 
 from the dead." Our view thus far favours the 
 Humanitarian scheme. I candidly acknowledge 
 that many texts found in the New Testament are 
 difficult to be reconciled with any other doctrine ; 
 'and I as freely express an opinion, that, by this 
 doctrine, no revealed truth is lessened in its author- 
 
SERMON III. 47 
 
 ity, no law is weakened in its force, nor is any 
 promise diminished in its influence. Our Christ- 
 ian faith and hope rest not on the metaphysical 
 character of our Saviour, but on the evidence he 
 produced of a divine commission to state the con- 
 ditions of acceptance with God, and to give an as- 
 surance of eternal life to all who obey him. But 
 the sacred writers are ever consistent with them- 
 selves, and consistent with each other. We rnay 
 not from a given number of texts form an hypothe- 
 sis, and force all other parts of scripture to support 
 it. This would be to impose a meaning on the in- 
 spired writers, and not to take a meaning from 
 them. There are many passages of the New Tes- 
 tament which it would be very difficult for me, in 
 consistency with the established rules of language, 
 to accommodate to the Humanitarian scheme ; and 
 can we, without doing violence to the general rep- 
 resentation of the evangelists and apostles, respect- 
 ing the character and office, the agency and death, 
 the exaltation and government of Christ, make these 
 comport with the supposition that Christ was a mere 
 man ? 
 
 Arians hold that Jesus Christ, a created be- 
 ing, existed in heaven before his appearance on 
 earth ; that in an appropriate sense he is the Son of 
 God, the brightness of his Father's glory and the 
 express image of his person ; that God appointed 
 him to be the Mediator of a covenant of grace 
 and mercy j that in conformity to this appoint- 
 ment, Christ commenced his ministry with men ; 
 established the conditions of pardon and salvation j 
 taught the truths pertaining to life eternal ; set an 
 
48 SERMON 111. 
 
 example of obedience to all his disciples ; yielded 
 himself to the death of the cross ; arose from the 
 dead, and, ascending to heaven, was invested with 
 power to superintend the moral concerns of our 
 world ; and finally to raise the human race from the 
 grave, and confer and inflict on them the retribu- 
 tions of a righteous judgment. 
 
 The difference between a being of underived ex- 
 istence, and one whose existence is derived, is infi- 
 nite. This distinction should ever be made be- 
 tween God and his Son, Christ our Saviour. 
 Though Arians admit that Jesus Christ is exalted in 
 rank, and possessed of power to carry into effect the 
 high purposes above mentioned ; yet they hold that 
 this exalted existence was derived from God ; that 
 the power to execute the commission of Mediator 
 is derived power ; and that the merciful and benev- 
 olent design accomplished by the ministry of the 
 Saviour had its origin in the goodness of the one 
 living and true God. On God, therefore, our 
 minds should rest as the original author of all bles- 
 sings, and as the God and Father of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
 The character and station of Christ I shall now 
 endeavour to discuss under the following proposi- 
 tions. 
 
 1. The proof from scripture, that our Saviour 
 existed in heaven before his appearance on earth. 
 
 2. The proof from scripture, that the appear- 
 ance of our Saviour on earth Was an act of humilia- 
 tion and debasement. 
 
 3. The power and majesty which the scriptures 
 attribute to Christ, in carrying into execution the 
 
SERMON III. 49 
 
 purposes of divine mercy, in the salvation of man, 
 ^re inconsistent with the supposition of his mere 
 humanity. 
 
 1. The proof from Scripture, that our Saviour 
 existed in heaven before his appearance on earth. 
 
 The apostle Paul, in the first chapter of his epis- 
 tle to the Colossians, speaks of our Saviour in the 
 following language " Who is the image of the in- 
 visible God, the first born of every creature." The 
 Greek word here translated, first born of every crea- 
 ture, in its original sense is, I believe, applied to 
 the first born child of a family. If the apostle uses 
 it in this sense, it must mean, that of all created be- 
 ings Jesus Christ was the first. St. John's descrip- 
 tion of the character of Christ comports with this 
 meaning " The beginning of the creation of God." 
 An apostle also declares, that " He is before all 
 things." Hear the language of our Saviour him- 
 self on the subject before us, " Verily, verily, I 
 say unto you, before Abraham was, I am. No man 
 ascendeth up to heaven but he that came down 
 from heaven, even the Son of Man who was in 
 heaven. What if ye shall see the Son of Man as- 
 cend up where he was before ?" Would not a 
 discerning, unbiassed mind understand these pas- 
 sages, and others like them, as expressing the ex- 
 istence of our Saviour in heaven, before he ap- 
 peared on earth, in fashion as a man ? Is not this 
 their obvious meaning ? Take one more passage 
 from our Saviour himself, "And now, O Father, 
 glorify thou me, with thine own self, with the glory 
 which I had with thee before the world was." 
 7 
 
50 SERMON III. 
 
 This is a solemn act of devotion in prayer, in which 
 we least expect to find figurative language. Jesus 
 had glorified the name of God on earth, and had 
 finished the work given him to do ; and in a devout 
 address to Deity, he prays that God would re-ad- 
 mit him to that glory which he possessed in the 
 divine presence before the creation of the world. 
 Will the several passages I have recited, and the 
 many texts which speak of Christ as coming from 
 God, and returning to God ; descending from 
 heaven, and again ascending to the place from 
 whence he came, bear without violence the Hu- 
 manitarian construction ? But for the present, I 
 am disposed to admit them in their full force. Let 
 it then be granted, that, the first born of every crea- 
 ture, the first creation of God, he was before all 
 things, and all similar descriptions of the character 
 ter of Christ mean only that Jesus Christ is pre- 
 eminent among all the agents whom God has 
 commissioned to be his instruments in the execu- 
 tion of the divine purposes of grace and mercy. 
 Admit that the declaration, " Before Abraham was, 
 I am," was the answer of Jesus to a captious ques- 
 tion of the Jews, who refused to be instructed by 
 him, and perverted all his observations. Allow 
 that Jesus did not say that he had seen Abraham, 
 but that the mind of Abraham was opened to a view 
 of the blessings of the reign of Messiah. Admit 
 that ascending to heaven, as no man hath ascended 
 to heaven but the Son of Man, means that no one 
 but the Son had been, as he was, made acquainted 
 with the counsels of God ; and that in the language 
 of scripture, what God determines to bring to 
 
SERMON HI. 51 
 
 pass, is represented as actually accomplished ; and 
 therefore the glory which Christ had with God, be- 
 fore the world was, means the honour which in the 
 purpose of God was fixed as the reward of his 
 obedience unto death. Admit, further, that the 
 bold and figurative language of St. Paul, in his 
 epistle to the Colossians By him were all things 
 created that are in heaven and that are in earth, 
 visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or 
 dominions, or principalities, or powers ; all things 
 were created by him, and for him," is not to be 
 understood as the creation of natural substances, 
 but the creation of a new moral kingdom in ac- 
 cordance with the prediction of the prophet, that a 
 new heaven and a new earth should be created. 
 Admit that the creation, which the apostle here 
 ascribes to Christ, expresses that great change 
 which was introduced into the moral world, and 
 particularly into the relative situation of Jew and 
 Gentile, by the dispensation of the gospel. Though 
 the obvious meaning of most of the above passages 
 will with difficulty bear this construction, yet, were 
 the language of scripture on other points accordant, 
 I could consistently adopt them ; but before I em- 
 brace this doctrine, and reject the supposition of 
 the pre-existence of our Saviour, I must surmount 
 greater difficulties than those which are presented 
 by that class of texts already recited. Let us then, 
 
 2. Examine the proofs from scripture, that the 
 appearance of Jesus Christ on earth was an act of 
 humiliation and debasement. 
 
 If the pre-existence of Christ be denied, in what 
 manner did he humble himself by his earthly ap* 
 
52 SERMON III. 
 
 pearance ? What do the sacred writers mead, 
 where they speak of his divesting himself of riches, 
 that we by his poverty might be made rich ? Hear 
 the expressions of the apostles of our Lord " Ye 
 know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that 
 though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became 
 poor, that you, through his poverty might be rich." 
 This is figurative language ; but could it have been 
 taken from the circumstances of the life of our Sav- 
 iour on earth ? His birth was obscure, his minority 
 was spent in a laborious occupation ; and in man- 
 hood he had not a house in which to dwell, nor in- 
 come from which to draw support. What wealth 
 then in this condition did he renounce ? The Hu- 
 manitarian comment is, that though invested with 
 divine powers, he consented to lead a life of want, 
 and he never performed a miracle for his own relief. 
 But when did he divest himself of these powers ? 
 Admit his pre-existence in a state of honour and 
 happiness, and the observations of the apostle have 
 great pertinence and force. From benevolence 
 Christ descended from heaven, and subjected him- 
 self to a condition of poverty and suffering, that by 
 his ministry he might redeem you from your moral 
 debasement, exalt you to the highest virtues and 
 graces of true religion, and raise you to an heavenly 
 inheritance which will be incorruptible. 
 
 In the 2d chapter to the Philippians, St. Paul ex- 
 horts his correspondents to humility and benevo- 
 lence, from the example of Christ, " Who," the 
 apostle adds, " being in the form of God, thought 
 it not robbery to be equal with God ; but made 
 himself of no reputation, and took on himself the 
 
SERMON III. 53 
 
 form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of 
 men ; and being found in fashion as a man, he hum. 
 bled himself, and became obedient unto death, 
 even the death of the cross." Waving criticism: 
 on the import of a Greek phrase used in this pas- 
 sage, can we rest satisfied with the opinion of those, 
 who suppose that it means no more than this : 
 Christ, though possessed of miraculous powers, 
 exercised them only in giving proof of his divine 
 mission ; and in his poverty and distress, declined 
 this exercise for his personal relief; or, that when 
 he was arraigned, and during the time of his passion, 
 he divested himself of them ? On the contrary, 
 can we understand the exhortation of the apostle 
 in a sense short of this : Be ye humble and benev- 
 olent like your Divine Master, who, being in a sta- 
 tion of honour and dignity, was not solicitous to 
 retain his station, but voluntarily descended from 
 it, and took the lowest condition of man ; and for 
 the benefit of the human race, endured poverty and 
 persecution even to the death of the cross ? In this 
 sense, how powerfully is the motive thus arising to 
 humbleness of mind and benevolence of conduct 
 enforced on all Christians ! 
 
 I proceed, 
 
 3. To consider the power and majesty which the: 
 scriptures attribute to Christ in carrying into exe- 
 cution the purposes of divine mercy in the salva- 
 tion of man ; and to inquire whether these are con- 
 sistent with the supposition of his mere humanity. 
 
 Under this head, I might mention the lofty lan- 
 guage of the prophet, when describing the advent 
 of Immanuel into our world, " Unto us a child is 
 
 \ 
 
54 SERMON III. 
 
 born, unto us a son is given ; and the government 
 shall be on his shoulder ; and his name shall be call- 
 ed, Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the 
 everlasting Father, the Prince of peace." Is this 
 the description of a mere man ? His character is 
 here given in the highest metaphors ; and the bless- 
 ings of his reign are pourtrayed in emphatick lan- 
 guage. He is represented as a wonderful Counsel- 
 lor, the mighty Lord, the Father of an everlasting 
 age, or the founder of a moral government, the 
 Prince of universal righteousness and peace. At- 
 tend to the language in which an angel from heav- 
 en announced to Mary, that she should become the 
 mother of the Saviour. " The Holy Ghost shall 
 come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall 
 overshadow thee ; therefore also that holy thing 
 that shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of 
 God." His birth was also celebrated by the angels 
 of heaven. " The glory of the Lord shone round 
 about the shepherds in the field of Bethlehem ; and 
 the angel of the Lord said unto them, " Behold I 
 bring you glad tidings of great joy, which shall be 
 to all people ; for unto you is born this day, in the 
 city of David, a Saviour, which is Christ, the Lord." 
 The author of the epistle to the Hebrews asserts, 
 " When he, (that is God) bringeth in the first 
 born into the world, he saith, Let all the angels of 
 God worship him." Can this language be made 
 to comport with the doctrine of the simple humani- 
 ty of our Saviour ? 
 
 To what station of dignity did Jesus Christ ascend, 
 after his resurrection from the grave ? Attend to 
 the information of the inspired penman on this 
 
SERMON III. 55 
 
 point. " Wherefore," that is, in consequence of 
 his humiliation and obedience unto death, " God 
 hath highly exalted him, and given him a name, 
 which is above every name, that at the name of Je- 
 sus, every knee should bow, of things in heaven, 
 and things on earth ; and that every tongue should 
 confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of 
 God the Father." Is not the evident meaning of 
 those animated expressions this God has exalted 
 his Son, Jesus Christ, to be the head and governour 
 of that world, for whose benefit he made a sacrifice 
 of his life; and that all his disciples owe allegiance 
 to his government, and obedience to his laws, as 
 their common Lord and Master ? Similar descrip- 
 tions will be found in other parts of the New Tes- 
 tament, of the exaltation arid power of Jesus Christ* 
 Thus the passages in Colossians which have al- 
 ready been mentioned " Who is the image of the 
 invisible God, the first born of every creature ; for 
 by him were all things created that are in heaven > 
 and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether 
 they be thrones or dominions, or principalities, or 
 powers ; all things were created by him, and for 
 him. And he is before all things, and by him all 
 things consist. And he is the head of the body, 
 the Church ; who is the beginning, the first born 
 from the dead ; that in all things he might have the 
 pre-eminence. For it pleased the Father, that in 
 him should all fulness dwell." 
 
 Compare these representations of the person, 
 character, and offices of Jesus Christ, with those 
 made in the bible of Moses, of Peter, of Paul, or 
 any other distinguished prophet or apostic ; and 
 
56 
 
 SERMON III. 
 
 say whether the difference consists merely in the 
 different degree in which a man was invested with 
 divine powers to accomplish the purposes of di- 
 vine wisdom and mercy. Does not the distinction 
 arise from a higher source ? Is not Jesus Christ 
 here spoken of as a being of a more exalted nature, 
 possessing the power of a legislator and governour, 
 and appointed to administer all the concerns of the 
 kingdom of grace and mercy, which he was com- 
 missioned to establish on earth ? 
 
 Under this proposition, we have only to review 
 the general language of the New Testament, re- 
 specting the honours to which Jesus Christ has as- 
 cended in heaven, the power which he possesses at 
 the right hand of his Father, and the agency he will 
 in future time take in raising men from the sleep of 
 death, and passing judgment upon them. Then 
 we may determine whether this language comports 
 with the Humanitarian doctrine. The information 
 in the New Testament, that Christ will raise the 
 dead, is express. " Verily, verily, I say unto you, 
 the hour is coming, when the dead shall hear the 
 voice of the Son of God, and they that hear shall 
 live. The hour cometh in which all that are in 
 the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come 
 forth ; they that have done good, to the resurrection 
 of life ; and they that have done evil, to the resur- 
 rection of damnation." The language of scripture 
 on the subject of the final judgment is not less plain 
 and full. " The Father judgeth no man ; but hath 
 committed ail judgment unto the Son. In the day, 
 when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus 
 Christ. Then shall appear the sign of the Son of 
 
SERMON HI. 
 
 57 
 
 Man in heaven ; and then all the tribes of the earth 
 shall mourn ; and they shall see the Son of Man 
 coming in the clouds of heaven with power and 
 great glory ; and he shall send his angels with a 
 great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather to- 
 gether his elect from the four winds, from one end 
 of heaven to the other. The Son of Man shall come 
 in the glory of his Father, with his angels; and 
 then snail he reward every man according to his 
 works." 
 
 What splendour of imagery do we find in the scrip- 
 tural representation of the second advent of the Son 
 of God into our world ! How sublime and awful is 
 the purpose for which he will appear ! He comes 
 encircled with the glory of his Father, and accom- 
 panied with the angels of heaven. A trumpet is 
 sounded, which awakes the posterity of Adam from 
 the sleep of death : Jesus ascends the seat of judg- 
 ment ; and before him all nations are assembled. 
 On the righteous he pronounces a sentence, which 
 introduces them to honour, glory, and immortality. 
 The wicked are separated from God, and from 
 happiness ; arid they are assigned to the place of 
 misery and destruction. 
 
 Does this elevated description do these solemn 
 transactions accord with the character of a mere 
 man ? With a man the most distinguished and ex- 
 alted ? Is not the Being, whose attendants are 
 angels, whose glory is that of God, whose business 
 is to pronounce judgment on the secrets of every 
 heart, to determine unalterably the moral character 
 of every man, and to apportion to every individual 
 8 
 
58 SERMON 111. 
 
 of the human race the rewards and the punishments 
 of a future state is not this Being more than man ? 
 
 Many learned and devout Christians think that the 
 metaphysical character of Christ is not described by 
 the inspired writers. Enough is revealed respect- 
 ing him for the purpose of our salvation ; enough 
 for the exercise of our intellectual faculties, and for 
 a test of our charity ; but the full knowledge of the 
 person of our Saviour will be acquired only in a 
 higher state of being. 
 
 To conclude. 
 
 The author of the epistle to the Hebrews, af- 
 ter he had described the superiour dignity of 
 Christ, and the higher excellency of his dispen- 
 sation, draws an inference, which we ought, my 
 Christian brethren, deeply to impress on our 
 minds. " How shall we escape if we neglect so 
 great salvation ?" How aggravated is the guilt of 
 those, who reject the offers of love and mercy made 
 by Jesus Christ, the Son of God ! It is to mock 
 the authority of Deity, to slight the proposals of in- 
 finite wisdom and infinite goodness, to prefer mis- 
 ery to happiness. From reverence then to the 
 Parent of all Being, from gratitude to a devoted 
 Saviour, from the love of existence and of hap- 
 piness, let us obey and live. 
 
SERMON IV. 
 
 TEXTS OP SCRIPTURE EXPLAINED. 
 
 JOHN x. 30. 
 / and my Father are one. 
 
 IN the last discourse, I introduced a number of 
 passages from the New Testament, in which our 
 Saviour, in the plainest language, declares that he is 
 a being distinct from God, and dependent on him 
 for all the power he exercises. In the sacred writ- 
 ings there is no contradiction. My present purpose 
 is to review and explain the principal texts which 
 are adduced to support the Trinitarian doctrine. 
 
 Every one who is in any measure acquainted with 
 this su bject, must be apprized of its difficulty. 
 Biblical criticism is often the result of laborious re 
 search into the idioms of the languages in which the 
 scriptures were originally written ; into the systems 
 of philosophy, the national customs and private 
 manners prevalent at the respective ages of the sa- 
 cred writers ; and into the meaning of particular 
 words and phrases found in scripture, as these were 
 commonly used by profane authors. Such re- 
 searches greatly aid in elucidating the oracles of 
 
60 SERMON IT. 
 
 truth. But usefully to interweave learned critU 
 cisms into a sermon designed for a mixed audience, 
 requires nice discrimination and sound judgment ; 
 and at last much must depend on authority. I 
 labour under some apprehension that I shall not be 
 able to make myself clearly understood by those 
 who are not conversant with these studies. But I 
 rest on the interest we all have in this subject, to 
 ensure a serious and candid attention to the obser- 
 vations which may be made. 
 
 Language is necessarily ambiguous. Particular 
 words, and often whole sentences, will bear differ- 
 ent meanings. Sometimes, after the closest atten- 
 tion to the main design of an author, it may be im- 
 possible to determine the sense of peculiar phrases. 
 In all such instances, the consistent method is, to 
 put a meaning on passages which are obscure that 
 will accord with the undoubted sense of plain pas- 
 sages, and which at the same time will comport 
 with the apparent purpose of the writer. In re- 
 spect to that class of texts which are adduced as 
 divine authority for the doctrine of the Supreme 
 Divinity of our Saviour, the real question is not, 
 whether these will bear, in accordance with the gen- 
 eral principles of language, the construction Trini- 
 tarians put on them ; but whether they will not bear 
 the construction of Unitarians ? This, as we be- 
 lieve, agrees with the evident sense of passages the 
 most plain, and is in harmony with the general lan- 
 guage of the inspired writers respecting the Unity 
 of God, and the character of Jesus Christ. Bearing 
 in mind the obvious sense of plain passages, and 
 attending to the subject on which the writer treats, 
 
SERMON IT. 61 
 
 will generally enable us to discover the meaning of 
 the bold metaphors and figurative expressions in 
 which eastern languages abound. Thus our Sa- 
 viour declares, " Whosoever liveth and believes 
 in me shall never die." Of the sacramental bread 
 he says, " This is my body," and of the wine, 
 " This is my blood." The apostle John observes 
 respecting Christian converts, " Ye have an anoint- 
 ing from the Holy One, and know all things." 
 With these and similar texts we find no difficul- 
 ty. The subject on which the declarations are 
 made, and the evident design of those who made 
 them, enable us to give them their proper limit- 
 ation, and fully to understand their import. 
 
 Before we proceed to the proposed review of par- 
 ticular passages, I will make a few more general 
 observations. In the gospels of Matthew, Mark, 
 and Luke, there is not a single text, I believe, on 
 which, by itself, a discerning mind would rely as art 
 authority for the Supreme Divinity of Jesus Christ. 
 The only passage produced from the three first gos- 
 pels, as direct proof of the doctrine, by a learned 
 professor of our country, in a late defence of the 
 Trinitarian doctrine, is from Matt. xi. 27- " All 
 things are delivered to me of my Father ; and no 
 man knoweth the Son, but the Father ; neither 
 knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he 
 to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." The 
 comment on this text, by this Trinitarian writer, 
 is " If in this passage, the same omniscience be 
 not ascribed to the Son as to the Father, I am un- 
 able to make out satisfactorily what the meaning of 
 it is. At the same time I concede, that the knowl- 
 
62 SERMON IT. 
 
 edge here spoken of, may possibly be merely that 
 which is intended to be revealed "in the gospel." 
 A text more in point cannot be found in Matthew, 
 Mark, or Luke. If Christ proclaimed himself, 
 " very God," is it possible that three evangelists, 
 two of them the immediate disciples of Jesus, and 
 commissioned to be the apostles of Christianity, in 
 recording the publick instructions of their Master, 
 should not have clearly and repeatedly stated this 
 fundamental truth of revelation ? A number of 
 passages are found in John's gospel, which are 
 thought to prove the Supreme Divinity of our Sa- 
 viour. But if I were to select a book from the 
 New Testament, containing more full proof than 
 any other, that Christ Jesus is not " very God," it 
 would be the gospel of John. The other gospels 
 are destitute of such proof, and the general language 
 of their authors are not, I think, consistent with the 
 truth of the Trinitarian doctrine ; but in the gospel 
 of John, Jesus speaks more particularly of himself, 
 and absolutely disclaims the attributes of Deity. 
 
 From the desponding language of the apostles, 
 it is evident, that at the crucifixion of Jesus, they 
 did not suppose that he possessed the perfections of 
 Deity. When were their minds opened to the 
 light of this new doctrine ? It must have filled 
 them with astonishment. They no where manifest 
 the surprise which they must have felt at its dis- 
 covery ; nor does it any where appear in their 
 preaching. Peter, in his first sermon, thus address- 
 ed his countrymen " Ye men of Israel, hear these 
 words ; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God, 
 among you, by miracles, and wonders, and signs, 
 
SERMON IY. 63 
 
 which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye 
 yourselves also know ; him, being delivered by the 
 determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye 
 have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and 
 slain : whom God hath raised up, having loosed the 
 pains of death, because it was not possible that he 
 should be holden of it." The apostle adds 
 " Therefore let all the house of Israel know assur- 
 edly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom 
 ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ." Is the 
 Supreme Divinity of Jesus Christ here published, 
 as we must suppose it would be, by an apostle 
 whose mind had recently been opened to a view of 
 this most wonderful doctrine ? It does not appear 
 that Peter, when he delivered this sermon, was a 
 Trinitarian. 
 
 St. Paul did not personally attend the ministry of 
 Jesus Christ ; nor was he instructed in the Christ- 
 ian system by those, who on earth were conversant 
 with him ; but he was taught the truths pertaining 
 to life eternal by a particular revelation. Let us at- 
 tend to the manner in which he described the being 
 and attributes of God to a Gentile audience. At 
 Athens, which for science and literature was the 
 most celebrated city of the Pagan world, and on an 
 occasion which led him particularly to this subject, 
 he addressed the most enlightened men among t;iis 
 distinguished people. He had before preached Je- 
 sus and the resurrection. 
 
 The philosophers arraigned him before their 
 highest tribunal, and demanded an explanation of 
 his doctrine. How favourable was the opportunity 
 to unfold to these inquisitive men the complex na- 
 
64 IERMON IT. 
 
 ture of the Deity, and to teach them the three dis-* 
 tiuct persons of the Godhead. What was the 
 address of the Apostle ? " Ye men of Athens, as 
 I passed by and beheld your devotions, I found an 
 altar with this inscription c To the unknown 
 God.' Whom therefore you ignorantly worship, 
 him declare I unto you. God, who made the 
 world, and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord 
 of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made 
 with hands ; neither is worshipped with men's 
 hands as though he needed any thing, seeing he 
 giveth to all life and breath and ail things." St. 
 Paul thus closes his address " We ought not to 
 think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, 
 or stone, graven by art and man's device. And the 
 times of this ignorance God winked at ; but now 
 commandeth all men every where to repent; be- 
 cause he hath appointed a day in which he will 
 judge the world in righteousness by that man whom 
 he hath ordained, whereof he hath given assurance 
 unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the 
 dead." Is there the least notice of a Trinity in 
 this discourse ? A single word that has an allu- 
 sion to the Supreme Divinity of our Saviour ? 
 
 The Divine Unity was holden as the most sacred 
 truth, by the Jews of the age of our Saviour. The 
 best informed divines, I believe, admit, that the 
 sect of Jewish converts to the Christian faith, de- 
 nominated Nazarenes, were Unitarians* The Jews 
 having been fully established in the belief of the 
 strict Unity of God, it must have been with difficul- 
 ty that they were persuaded to adopt the doctrine 
 of three persons in the Godhead ; and yet, in the 
 
SfcRMOtt IV. 65 
 
 New Testament, we have no account of any contro- 
 versy on this subject. Jewish converts were very 
 tenacious of the ceremonial part of their law, and 
 they strove to incorporate it with Christian institu- 
 tions. Much was written by the apostle to con- 
 vince them of their errour on this point, particular- 
 ly in the epistles to the Romans and the Galatians. 
 But no opposition appears to have been made to the 
 new doctrine of three persons and one God ; nor 
 do we learn that the unbelieving Jews of that time 
 ever objected to Christianity on this ground. Can 
 this be accounted for, but on the supposition that 
 the apostles never taught the doctrine of the Trin- 
 ity ? 
 
 We will now direct our attention to those pas- 
 sages of scripture which are commonly considered 
 as proof of the Supreme Divinity of Jesus Christ. 
 And that my comments on them may have the great- 
 er perspicuity, I shall introduce the review in the 
 following manner : 
 
 1. To consider those texts in which it is assert- 
 ed, that Christ is mentioned by the appropriate 
 names of God. 
 
 2. Those passages, which are said to ascribe to 
 Christ the honour and worship which are due only 
 to God. 
 
 3. Those passages, which are supposed to as- 
 cribe to Christ the attributes of Supreme Divinity. 
 
 The principal texts which speak of Christ, by 
 
 names appropriated to God, follow. The prophecy 
 
 of Isaiah is the most remarkable passage that can 
 
 be found in the Old Testament. " For unto us a 
 
 9 
 
66 SERMON IV. 
 
 child is born, unto us a son is given ; and the gov- 
 ernment shall be on his shoulders ; and his name 
 shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty 
 God, the everlasting Father, the Prince of peace." 
 All commentators acknowledge that this prediction 
 refers to the Messiah, and that these titles are de- 
 scriptive of his character ; but there has been great 
 dispute respecting the import of the Hebrew terms 
 here used. The name ascribed to the Messiah is 
 the only part of this prophecy which has relation 
 to our present subject. Wonderful, Counsellor, 
 mighty God, everlasting Father, Prince of peace. 
 The doctrines revealed by our Saviour, and the 
 precepts he inculcated, entitle him to the epithet 
 wonderful Counsellor. The word here translated 
 God, biblical criticks inform us, is in some places 
 of the Hebrew scriptures expressive of the Supreme 
 Being, God, and in others is applied to human rul- 
 ers and magistrates ; and that the proper translation 
 of the term in the passage before us is Lord. The 
 miracles of our Saviour being considered, we per- 
 ceive the propriety of denominating him the mighty 
 Lord. The most learned and orthodox commenta- 
 tors concede that everlasting Father does not ex- 
 press the sense of the Hebrew text. The literal 
 meaning is, the Father of a future age, or of an end- 
 less age ; doubtless meaning the author of the 
 Christian age, the moral kingdom which Christ 
 would establish on earth. The Prince of peace. 
 An epithet clearly descriptive of the nature of the 
 reign or kingdom of the Messiah. A prophet shall 
 arise among men, who shall be wonderful in coun- 
 sel, and mighty in power ; who shall establish a 
 
SERMON IT. 67 
 
 moral kingdom, and in whose reign peace shall 
 abound. This is a remarkable description of the 
 character of our Saviour, and of his holy and 
 peaceable religion ; but I cannot perceive that it 
 contains any proof of the Supreme Divinity of Je- 
 sus Christ. 
 
 The texts under our present consideration are 
 generally taken from the New Testament. In Mat- 
 thew, 1st chapter, 23cl verse, we read " Behold, a 
 virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a 
 son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which, 
 being interpreted, is, God with us. Admit that this 
 text, as it stands in the prophecy of Isaiah, refers to 
 our Saviour; yet it proves not the doctrine which it 
 is produced to support. It was a common custom 
 among the Jews to give their children names of 
 similar import. The literal meaning of the name 
 Ismael is, God who hears of Lemuel, God with 
 them of Elijah, God the Lord of Elisha, Salva- 
 tion of God of Elihu, He is my God himself, &c. 
 The literal meaning of Emmanuel, therefore, can- 
 not be considered as evidence that Jesus Christ is 
 very God. For this reason I observed, that there 
 was not a single text in Matthew, or Mark, or 
 Luke, on which a learned Trinitarian would choose 
 to rest his doctrine. 
 
 The first of St. John's gospel is by many thought 
 to contain full proof of the Supreme Divinity of Je- 
 sus Christ. " In the beginning was the Word, and 
 the Word was with God, and the Word was God." 
 It is very doubtful whether we have any correct 
 idea of the Greek term here translated the Word, as 
 it was used in the age of the apostle John. Divines, 
 
68 SERMON IT. 
 
 eminent for their learning, and for their critical 
 knowledge of the language of the sacred writers, 
 suppose that the apostle, in this place, has personi- 
 fied the wisdom of God. See the 8th chapter of 
 Proverbs. But, grant that in this passage it refers 
 to the person of our Saviour, still it must be con- 
 ceded that the person who was with God, is a being 
 distinct from God himself; and when this being is 
 called God, the meaning must be, that he stood, for 
 a particular purpose, in the place of God, and acted 
 under the divine authority. If we are unable fully 
 to understand this difficult text, we clearly ought 
 not to make it an authority for a doctrine, which, to 
 our understanding, involves a plain contradiction, 
 and is opposed to the general language of scripture 
 on the Unity of God. 
 
 Our text will, perhaps, be introduced in this 
 class of passages. " I and my Father are one." 
 In the previous verses, our Saviour had given an 
 assurance to his disciples, that none who believed 
 in him should perish, but all should receive eternal 
 life. To strengthen their confidence in his prom- 
 ise, he informed them that God had engaged to car- 
 ry into effect the assurance he had given. " My 
 Father, who gave them to me, is greater than all ; 
 and no man will be able to pluck them out of my 
 Father's hand." In this very discourse, Jesus de- 
 clares his inferiority to his Father, The unity as- 
 serted is not identity of the Father and the Son, but 
 unity of design and agency. God and Christ are 
 united to effectuate the promise of salvation to all 
 believers. That we are correct in this meaning of 
 our text, will more fully appear, when we attend to 
 
SERMON IY. 69 
 
 similar phraseology respecting the union of Christ 
 and his disciples. Our Saviour in prayer adopts 
 this expression "The glory which thou gavest 
 me, I have given them ; that they may be one, even 
 as we are one ; I in them, and thou in me, that they 
 may be perfected in one." The gender in this place 
 is not, in the original, masculine, but neuter ; not 
 one being, but one design. God and Christ, in 
 promoting the interests of truth, goodness, and mer- 
 cy, are united in purpose, and in their agency. 
 
 The exclamation of St. Thomas has often been 
 adduced as proof that Jesus Christ is " very God," 
 This is the only instance in the New Testament in 
 which any disciple addressed our Lord by the title 
 God. At the death of our Saviour, all his disciples 
 desponded. Thomas did not credit the report of 
 his resurrection ; and at the sight of him alive, in 
 astonishment he exclaimed, " My Lord and my 
 God." The word God, we know, was often used 
 by the Jews in a subordinate sense. Can this ex- 
 clamation be understood in any other sense than an 
 animated acknowledgment of Jesus Christ as a di- 
 vine Teacher, as the Messiah of God ? 
 
 The charge of St. Paul to the elders of the Ephe- 
 sian Church is numbered among the texts which 
 we are reviewing. " Take heed, therefore, unto 
 yourselves, and to all the flock over the which the 
 Holy Ghost has made you overseers, to feed the 
 Church of God, which he purchased with his own 
 blood." The word God, in this passage, refers to 
 Christ. It is the only place in the New Testament 
 where this phrase, the blood of God, occurs. A 
 diligent examination of ancient Greek manuscripts, 
 
07 
 
 SERMON 
 
 and of different versions of the scriptures, makes 
 it in the highest degree probable, that the word orig- 
 inally written was Lord. " Feed the Church of the 
 Lord, (Christ) which he has purchased with his 
 own blood." The blood of Christ is more accord- 
 ant with the general language of the sacred writers. 
 This amendment admitted, the text will no longer 
 be produced as evidence to prove that Jesus Christ 
 is God. 
 
 In Romans, 9th chapter, 3d verse, it is written 
 " Whose are the fathers, and of whom concerning 
 the flesh Christ came, who is over all, God blessed 
 forever more." The meaning of this passage prob- 
 ably has been misapprehended in consequence 
 of its bad punctuation and collocation. The im- 
 proved version of the New Testament gives the 
 passage thus " Whose are the Fathers, and of 
 whom, by natural descent, Christ came. God over 
 all be blessed forever." The original Greek manu- 
 scripts were not divided into chapters and verses, as 
 the printed copies of the bible now are ; and the 
 punctuation varies in different translations. The 
 learned and pious Dr. Samuel Clarke, and the great 
 Mr. Locke, add their sanction to the above con- 
 struction of this text. One statement in this pas- 
 sage clearly shows that St. Paul did not consider 
 Jesus Christ to be the Supreme Divinity ; for he 
 says, concerning the flesh, Jesus descended from 
 the Jews. He cannot then be God. 
 
 I will now bring into view the text from 1 Tim. 
 3d chapter, 16th verse " Without controversy, 
 great is the mystery of godliness, God was manifest 
 in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen of angels, 
 
SERMON IT. 71 
 
 preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the 
 world, received up into glory." Instead of Godm 
 this place, the best manuscripts have, he who, and 
 the passage in the improved version reads as fol- 
 lows " Without controversy the mystery of god- 
 liness is great : He, who was manifest in the flesh, 
 was justified by the spirit, seen by (angels) messen- 
 gers, preached to the Gentiles, believed on in the 
 world, received into glory." By angels in this 
 place, we may understand the apostles whom Jesus 
 instructed to be his messengers to the nations. 
 The Greek word in the original, may with equal 
 propriety be translated messenger, and angel. 
 
 The last text of this class, that I shall introduce, 
 is from Hebrews i. 8. " But unto the Son he saith, 
 Thy throne, O God, is forever and ever ; a sceptre 
 of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom." 
 Learned commentators inform us, that this passage 
 may with strict propriety be thus translated " But 
 unto the Son he said, God is thy throne ;" giving 
 assurance that the kingdom of the Messiah is sup- 
 ported by the power of God. The passage is 
 quoted from the 45th Psalm ; and there it appears 
 to be an address of the psalmist to Jehovah. Taken 
 in this sense, as used by St. Paul, the text has great 
 beauty and force. We understand the apostle as 
 showing the stability of Christ's kingdom, by de- 
 claring after the psalmist, that God is its support; 
 and that this God is eternal, the same that " in the 
 beginning laid the foundation of the earth," &c. 
 But admitting that the word God, in this place, 
 refers to Jesus Christ, it evidently cannot be de- 
 scriptive of him as the Supreme God ; for in the 
 
72 SERMON ,IV. 
 
 verse which immediately succeeds, a reward is 
 promised to the Son from the Father " Thou hast 
 loved righteousness, and hated iniquity ; therefore 
 God, even thy God, hath anointed thce with the 
 oil of gladness above thy fellows." That being 
 cannot be the Supreme God,, to whom it is said, 
 God, even thy God, shall reward thee. 
 
 I proceed, 
 
 2. To examine those passages of scripture 
 which are supposed to ascribe to Jesus Christ the 
 honour and worship which are due only to God. 
 
 Worship does not always in the scriptures sig- 
 nify the reverence and homage due to God only ; 
 but frequently inferiour respect and obeisance. 
 Thus we read that Nebuchadnezzar fell on his 
 face, and worshipped Daniel. In the day of Solo- 
 mon, all the congregation bowed their heads, and 
 worshipped the Lord and the king. In the New 
 Testament it is recorded, Cornelius fell down at 
 the feet of Peter, and worshipped him. With these 
 remarks, I will present to your consideration the 
 most select passages in which honour and worship 
 are ascribed to Jesus Christ. John's gospel, v. 
 23-" That all men should honour the Son, even 
 as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not 
 the Son, honoureth not the Father who sent him." 
 In the previous verses we are informed, that the 
 Father had commissioned the Son to raise the dead, 
 and to judge the world ; the text quoted follows as 
 an inference, that all men might honour the Son as 
 they honour the Fathernot offer to him supreme 
 worship ; but honour him as the authorized minis- 
 ter of God, in the same manner as the ambassador 
 
SERMON IV. 73 
 
 of a foreign government is honoured, as the govern- 
 ment with whose authority he is clothed is hon- 
 oured. 
 
 The text in Hebrews, 1st chapter, 6th verse, is 
 considered by many to warrant the supreme wor- 
 ship of our Saviour. " When he bringeth in the 
 first begotten into the world, he saith* And let all 
 the angels of God worship him." The phrase- 
 ology in this passage does not imply the religious 
 worship we offer to God, The language is, When 
 he bringeth him in that is, when at the fulness of 
 time, Christ, by divine appointment, commenced 
 the high purposes of the office of Mediator, God 
 said, Let all the subordinate ministers of the moral 
 kingdom which he is about to establish on earth, 
 reverence him, who alone has power to legislate 
 and rule in it. 
 
 Among this class of texts the passage from Phil, 
 ii. 10, 11, is quoted* " That at the name of Jesus, 
 every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and 
 things in earth, and things under the earth ; and that 
 every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is 
 Lord, to the glory of God the Father." It is, I 
 apprehend, a strained construction of this text, to 
 make it an authority for the supreme worship of 
 Jesus Christ. Christ had humbled himself, and on 
 earth had been obedient to the divine will unto 
 death, even the death of the cross ; wherefore, says 
 the apostle, God hath also highly exalted him, and 
 given him a name which is above every name. It 
 is at this name, to which God has exalted him, that 
 every knee is to bow : it is to honour bestowed by 
 10 
 
74 
 
 SERMON IT. 
 
 a higher being, and bestowed as a reward for obe- 
 dience, not to underived excellence, that submis- 
 sion is to be yielded ; and the principal glory does 
 not rest with the Son thus exalted, but centres in 
 the Father who honoured him. " That every 
 tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to 
 the glory of God the Father." As the reward of 
 Christ's official labours and sacrifices on earth, he 
 is exalted to be the head of the Church, and all its 
 members owe him allegiance and homage. 
 
 The invocation of Stephen to Christ, is thought 
 to be an instance of supreme worship. Acts vii. 
 59, 60 <c And they stoned Stephen, calling upon 
 God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. 
 And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, 
 Lord, lay not this sin to their charge," It pleased 
 God to support Stephen,, the first Christian martyr, 
 by a vision of our Saviour, as we learn from the 
 previous verses. Having Jesus in his immediate 
 view, to him he commended his departing spirit. 
 This extraordinary instance, I believe, is not set as 
 an example for the supreme worship of Christ, who 
 to us is invisible. 
 
 Before I close, I shall review one text, which is 
 supposed to ascribe to Jesus Christ the attributes 
 of the Supreme Divinity. 
 
 The following passage from the Revelation of St. 
 John, is produced as proof of the omniscience of 
 Jesus Christ. Chapter 2d, verse 23d. " All the 
 Churches shall know that I am he, who searcheth the 
 reins and hearts ; and I will give unto every one of 
 you according to your works." The evidence from 
 this passage is thought to receive strength, when 
 
SERMON IY. 75 
 
 connected with the ascription of Solomon to the 
 one true God. "Thou only knowest the hearts of 
 men." Solomon, in the most explicit manner, tes- 
 tifies that God only knows the hearts of men. St. 
 John, speaking in the name of his ascended Lord, 
 declares " All the Churches shall know that I am 
 he, who searcheth the reins and the hearts, and will 
 render to every one of you according to your 
 works ;" therefore, it is inferred, Christ is very 
 God. But few comments, I think, are necessary 
 to show the true meaning of these passages, and 
 make it apparent that they furnish no proof that 
 Christ possesses omniscience which is the attribute 
 of Deity. God possesses knowledge and all other 
 perfections in a manner peculiar to himself. Jesus 
 Christ does not assume to himself knowledge, or 
 any other attribute, in that high and underived sense 
 in which he attributes them to God. On the con- 
 trary, with the greatest solemnity he declares his 
 dependence. " Verily, verily, I say unto you, the 
 Son can do nothing of himself." In this address 
 to the Churches, we are guarded against misappre- 
 hending the knowledge and power exercised by 
 Jesus Christ, in searching the hearts and passing 
 judgment on the characters of men, by an express 
 declaration that he received these from God " even 
 as I received of my Father." (27th verse.) I try 
 the characters of men, and reward them according 
 to their works, "even as I received of my Father." 
 The inspired penmen say, that God only has 
 immortality. No other being is possessed of inde- 
 pendent and immortal existence ; but God grants 
 eternal life to his dutiful children. God alone 
 
76 SERMON IV. 
 
 knows the secrets of the heart, as an under! ved and 
 essential attribute of his nature ; Christ possesses 
 the knowledge of men's hearts by a derived capaci- 
 ty. God, who breathed into us the breath of life, 
 has by his inspiration imbued an apostle with pow- 
 er to know the thoughts of the heart. St. Peter 
 knew the hearts of Ananias and Sapphira. Acts v. 
 The advocates for the doctrine of the Trinity 
 produce other passages from scripture, to prove 
 that Christ is possessed of divine attributes, and is 
 very God. But if authority be not found in the 
 texts recited, few, I believe, will contend that this 
 article of faith is found in the New Testament. 
 
SERMON V. 
 
 THE SCRIPTURAL MEANING OF THE TERMS, HOLY GHOST, 
 HOLY SPIRIT, AND SPIRIT OF GOD. 
 
 JOHN xiv. 26. 
 
 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom iht 
 Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all 
 things, and bring f all things to your remembrance, what- 
 soever I have said unto you. 
 
 THE advocates for the doctrine of the Trinity, 
 both in ancient and modern times, greatly differ in 
 their attempts to explain it. The earlier polemick 
 writers on this subject, represent that the Son and 
 the Holy Ghost derived their attributes from the 
 Father, and are subordinate to him. Some of the 
 English Divines describe the three persons of the 
 Trinity as three modes or relations, which Deity 
 bears towards men. One eminent theologian of 
 that nation, says, that the Father, the Son, and the 
 Holy Ghost, are as really distinct persons, as the 
 apostles Peter, James, and John ; and another ob- 
 serves, respecting the doctrine of the Trinity, 
 " Were it not adored as a mystery, it would be 
 exploded as a contradiction." A professor of our 
 
78 SERMON T. 
 
 own country tells us, that the term person, when 
 applied to the Trinity, should not be understood in 
 its common acceptation ; and informs us that it 
 means a distinction in the Godhead which cannot 
 be explained ; but he ascribes personal attributes to 
 the Son, and in every part of his publication speaks 
 of him as a person ; and unless the word be taken 
 in its usual sense, his arguments will not easily be 
 comprehended. 
 
 It is worthy of remark, that Trinitarian writers 
 take slight notice of the proof from scripture of the 
 independent existence, and of the equality of the 
 Holy Ghost with the Father. Few will assert, I 
 believe, that the bible contains the record of divine 
 worship being offered by inspired men to the Holy 
 Ghost, or that the Holy Spirit is presented by the 
 sacred writers as the object of our worship. In 
 the revelation of the New Testament, no duty to the 
 Holy Ghost is enjoined which men are to perform. 
 We are neither commanded to love or to fear, to 
 honour or obey him ; nor to exercise towards him 
 any devout affection. The attentive reader of scrip- 
 ture will perceive the different language of evange- 
 lists and apostles respecting religious obligations 
 towards our God, our Saviour, and the Holy Ghost. 
 The texts, which by any method of construction 
 can be adduced to prove that the Holy Ghost is 
 possessed of underived existence, and of the essen- 
 tial attributes of Divinity, are so few in number, 
 and of such doubtful meaning, that no one, I be- 
 lieve, would be willing to rest the truth of the doc- 
 trine on these exclusively. The usual course is to 
 state the Trinitarian dogma as a revealed truth, to 
 
SERMON V. 79 
 
 produce texts which are thought to prove the Su- 
 preme Divinity of Jesus Christ, and to consider the 
 Divinity of the Spirit as a necessary consequence. 
 But surely the converse of the proposition is more 
 logical and conclusive. If the Supreme Divinity of 
 the third person in the Godhead be not proved, the 
 doctrine manifestly is not scriptural. That we may 
 form a correct opinion of the Trinitarian doctrine 
 respecting the Holy Ghost, as it is generally em- 
 braced, I will recite it in the language of an article 
 of a distinguished Church. " The Holy Ghost 
 proceeding from the Father and the Son, of one 
 substance, majesty and glory with the Father and 
 the Son, very and eternal God." We are told that 
 the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy 
 Ghost is God ; and yet there are not three Gods, 
 but one God. Trinity in Unity, and Unity in 
 Trinity. No language like this is found in the 
 bible. For such descriptions of Deity we must 
 peruse the systems of school divinity. 
 
 The purpose of the present discourse is to point 
 out the meaning of the sacred writers in the use of 
 the terms, Holy Ghost, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit 
 of God, and simply the Spirit. 
 
 I present this important subject, my Christian 
 brethren, to your serious and candid attention, un- 
 der the following propositions : 
 
 1. The manner in which the inspired writers 
 use the term Spirit, or Holy Spirit, in immediate 
 connexion with God. 
 
 2. When the phrases, Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, 
 the Spirit of God, have a direct reference to Jesus 
 Christ. 
 
80 SERMON r. 
 
 3. When these have a special reference to the 
 apostles of our Divine Lord. 
 
 4. When these are applied to Christian profes- 
 sors generally, and refer to their progress in moral 
 life. 
 
 5. When the inspired writers speak of the Holy 
 Ghost as a person or agent. 
 
 From these several propositions, you will per- 
 ceive that the term Holy Ghost, or Holy Spirit, is 
 used in the bible in different senses ; and its true 
 meaning can be discovered only by an examination 
 of the particular places where it is found. These I 
 shall recite as I find them collected by the indefat- 
 igable Dr. Lardner, and those who have followed 
 him in this inquiry. 
 
 1. The manner in which the inspired writers 
 use the term Spirit, or Holy Spirit, in immediate 
 connexion with God. 
 
 In every place, as well in the New Testament as 
 the Old, where the term Spirit, or Holy Spirit is 
 used in this connexion, it signifies either God him- 
 self, or some essential attribute of God, or the pe- 
 culiar manifestation of the power of God. The 
 psalmist observes, (Ps. 139) " Whither shall I go 
 from thy spirit ?" It immediately follows " If I 
 ascend up into heaven, thou art there." By spirit, 
 in this passage, therefore, we must understand the 
 presence of God, or God himself. Elihu, the friend 
 of Job, declares "The spirit of God made me." 
 God created him. Isaiah, speaking of the perverse- 
 ness of the Israelites, in their disobedience to the 
 commands of God, says, (chap. Ixiii. 10) "They 
 rebelled and vexed his Holy Spirit." Describing 
 
SEK.MO.V V. 81 
 
 the same rebellion, God said to Moses, (Num. xiv. 
 1 1 ) " How long will this people provoke me." 
 And the psalmist, rehearsing the same transactions, 
 observes, (Ps. Ixxviii. 56) "They tempted and 
 provoked the most high God." (Ps. xcv. 9) 
 " Your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw 
 my work." To tempt or provoke the Holy Spirit 
 of God, then, in the language of the Old Testament, 
 is to tempt or provoke God himself. 
 
 The power of God, the word, the spirit, the 
 strength, the majesty, the hands of God, are all ex- 
 pressions used in the Old Testament to describe 
 the agency of God. Take an example from a 
 learned commentator* " In one of the eloquent 
 replies of Job (xxvi. 12, 13) a remarkable instance 
 occurs, in which, speaking of the majesty of God 
 and his wonderful works, the turn of expression is 
 varied four times, without changing the meaning in 
 a single sentence. ' He divided the sea by his pow- 
 er, and by his understanding he smiteth through 
 the proud ; by his spirit he hath garnished the 
 heavens ; his hand hath formed the crooked ser- 
 pent.' The intelligent reader understands the same 
 divine operations to be expressed, and not four dis- 
 tinct persons to be intimated by the several terms 
 power, understanding, spirit, and hands*" The 
 prophet Micah inquires, (ii. 7) " Is the spirit 
 of the Lord straitened ?" And Isaiah asserts, 
 (lix. 1) " Behold, the Lord's hand is not shorten- 
 ed, that it cannot save." Micah, by the spirit of the 
 Lord, expresses the same truth, which Isaiah does 
 by the hand of the Lord : they both mean the 
 power of the one living and true God. 
 11 
 
SERMON V. 
 
 We find similar modes of expression in the New 
 Testament. St. Paul declares " The things of 
 God knoweth no one, but the spirit of God," mean- 
 ing God himself, as fully appears from a similar 
 phraseology in a different connexion. The apostle 
 frequently speaks of the spirit of a man, where he 
 evidently means the man himself. " I am glad (said 
 Paul to the Corinthians) of the coming of Stepha- 
 nas, Fortunatus, and Achaiacus ; for they have re- 
 freshed my spirit and yours." They have refresh- 
 ed me and you. " The grace of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ be with your spirit. The Lord Jesus be 
 with thy spirit." That is, be with you. " What 
 man knoweth the things of man, save the spi- 
 rit of a man that is in him ?"' (1 Corinth, ii. 11) 
 By the spirit of man, in this place, we must under- 
 stand the man himself. It immediately follows" 
 " Even so the things of God knoweth no man, but 
 the spirit of God." By the spirit of God, then, we 
 must understand God himself. When the apostle 
 Peter reprimanded Ananias and Sapphira, he asked 
 them " How is it that ye have agreed together to 
 tempt the spirit of the Lord ?" Peter addressing 
 those who endeavoured to impose the Mosaic 
 ceremonies on Christian converts, says, (Acts, 
 xv. 10) " Now, therefore, why tempt ye God ?" 
 Matthew states a remark of our Saviour to the Jews, 
 in the following words, (chap, xii) " If I cast out 
 devils by the spirit of God, then is the kingdom of 
 God come nigh unto you," Luke, narrating the 
 same conversation, gives the remark as follows, 
 (xi, 20) " If I, with the finger of God, cast out 
 devils, no doubt the kingdom of God is come 
 
ERMOtf V. 83 
 
 upon you." By the words spirit and finger, the 
 evangelists mean the power of God. Other pas- 
 sages might be produced ; but these are sufficient to 
 show, that when the Spirit, or Holy Spirit, is used 
 in immediate connexion with God, the term implies 
 either God himself, or some attribute or particular 
 agency of the one true God. 
 
 2. We are now to review those passages of 
 scripture in which the inspired writers use the term 
 Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, or Spirit of God, in refer- 
 ence to Jesus Christ. 
 
 As the first example, I select a remarkable pre- 
 diction of the prophet Isaiah, respecting the Mes- 
 siah, (xi. 1) "And there shall come forth a rod 
 out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall grow 
 out of his roots ; and the spirit of the Lord shall rest 
 upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, 
 the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowl- 
 edge, and of the fear of the Lord." It is not here 
 predicted that the Messiah should hold communi- 
 cation with the Holy Spirit, as a person distinct from 
 God, and should be instructed, guided, and support- 
 ed by this independent spirit ; but the prediction 
 is, that the spirit of God, the one true God, shall 
 rest upon him. The prophet defines the properties 
 or qualifications with which he shall be embu- 
 ed, viz. wisdom, understanding, counsel, power, 
 knowledge, and the reverence of Deity : in a 
 word, all the qualifications necessary for the high 
 purposes of his mission, as the ambassador of God, 
 and the Saviour of sinners. When we examine 
 the New Testament, we find its language on our 
 subject in harmony with this prediction. At the 
 
84 SERMON V. 
 
 baptism of Jesus by John, the evangelist informs 
 us (Matt. iii. 16) " Jesus, when he was bap- 
 tized, went up straightway out of the water ; and 
 lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw 
 the spirit of God descending like a dove, and light- 
 ing upon him." The language of St. Luke, in his 
 account of this baptism, is a little different, (Luke, 
 iii. 22) " It came to pass, that Jesus also being 
 baptized, and praying, the heaven was opened, 
 and the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape, 
 like a dove, upon him." St. John's phraseology, in 
 his relation of this event, varies from each of the 
 former, (John i. 32) " And John (the Baptist) 
 bare record, saying, I saw the Spirit descending 
 from heaven like a dove, and it abode upon him." 
 No one will suppose that the descent, denominated 
 by the evangelists, the Spirit of God, the Holy 
 Ghost, and simply the Spirit, was a person lighting 
 and abiding on Jesus. This descent of the Spirit 
 was a visible sign from heaven, that Jesus was di- 
 vinely qualified to execute the office of Mediator ; 
 and a voice accompanied the symbol, proclaiming^ 
 " This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well 
 pleased." The voice, it will be acknowledged, 
 was from the Father; and why should we doubt 
 that the token was from the being uttering the 
 voice ? The inspired writers speak of Christ pos- 
 sessing the Holy Spirit, in the following manner 
 ** Jesus, being full of the Holy Spirit, returned 
 from Jordan. Jesus returned in the power of the 
 Spirit into Galilee. He whom God has sent, speak- 
 eth the words of God; for God giveth not the 
 spirit by measure unto him." All these passages 
 
SERMON V. 85 
 
 are descriptive of the extraordinary powers, by 
 which our Saviour was qualified to execute the 
 commission he received from the Father of Mer- 
 cies, for the salvation of men. In no one of these 
 texts do we find any proof of the independent ex- 
 istence of a spirit distinct from the Father, and pos- 
 sessing the attributes of Supreme Divinity. 
 
 3. Permit me to direct your attention to the 
 meaning of the sacred writers, in the use of the term 
 Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, or Spirit of God, in im- 
 mediate reference to the apostles of our Divine 
 Lord. 
 
 In our text, and in other places, our Saviour 
 promises the apostles, that the Holy Ghost should 
 be given them. By a careful perusal of the book 
 of Acts, we' learn what they received, and therefore 
 may understand the import of the promise. John, 
 indeed, in some measure explains the gift promised, 
 (vii. 39) "But this spake he of the Spirit, which 
 they that believe on him should receive. For the 
 Holy Ghost was not yet given ; because that Jesus 
 was not yet glorified." By this mode of expres- 
 sion, John cannot mean, by the Holy Ghost, a per- 
 son : he evidently describes some qualification or 
 power, which would be bestowed on the apostles. 
 The same promise, given by our Saviour in more 
 familiar language, will also assist us in forming an 
 opinion of the meaning of the term Holy Ghost, 
 in the passage of John. Jesus, addressing his dis- 
 ciples, said, (Luke xxiv. 49) u Behold I send the 
 promise of my Father upon you ; but tarry ye in 
 the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with pow- 
 er from on high." In the introduction to the his- 
 
86 SERMON T. 
 
 tory of the preaching of the apostles among the 
 Gentiles, the circumstances of our Saviour's minis- 
 try are summarily recapitulated, and the promise of 
 the Holy Ghost is thus stated, (Acts i. 5) "John 
 truly baptized with water ; but ye shall be baptized 
 with the Holy Ghost not many days hence." In 
 the next chapter we have the manner in which the 
 promise was fulfilled " When the day of penticost 
 was fully come, they were all with one accord in one 
 place. And suddenly there came a sound from 
 heaven as of a rushing, mighty wind, and it filled 
 all the house where they were sitting ; and there 
 appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, 
 and it sat upon each of them ; and they were all 
 filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with 
 tongues, as the spirit gave them utterance." Peter, 
 soon after he had received the Holy Ghost, mi- 
 raculously healed a man lame from his birth, am} 
 so effectually preached the gospel, that in one day 
 three thousand souls were added to the Christ- 
 ian Church. When the Holy Spirit fell on the 
 apostles, we then perceive, they received the 
 gift of tongues, the power to work miracles, and 
 knowledge to teach the truths pertaining to eternal 
 life. The qualifications received were the bless- 
 ings promised. The splendour of circumstances 
 attending the endowment of the apostles with these 
 qualifications, corresponded with the wonderful pow- 
 ers with which they were invested. The apostles 
 themselves were not only imbued with these ex- 
 traordinary faculties ; but power was also given to 
 them to impart to other converts, at least to evan- 
 gelists, pastors, and teachers, the gift of tongaes 
 
SERMON V. 87 
 
 and other extraordinary attributes. When Peter 
 preached to Cornelius and other Gentiles, the Holy 
 Ghost fell on them that heard the word ; and they 
 of the circumcision, which believed, were astonish- 
 ed, as many as came with Peter, because that on 
 the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the 
 Holy Ghost ; for they heard them speak with 
 tongues, and magnify God." Paul, on his conver- 
 sion to Christianity, received the Holy Ghost by the 
 imposition of the hands of Ananias ; and from this 
 time we find him exercising the extraordinary pow- 
 ers of an apostle. " When Paul laid his hands up- 
 on them, (the converts of Ephesus,) the Holy 
 Ghost came on them ; and they spake with tongues, 
 and prophesied." Peter and John laid their hands 
 on the Samaritan disciples, " And they received the 
 Holy Ghost." Simon, the sorcerer, offered these 
 apostles money, " saying, give me also this pow- 
 er, that on whomsoever I lay hands, he may re- 
 ceive the Holy Ghost." Many other texts might 
 be cited from the New Testament, under this 
 branch of our subject, but it is not necessary. I 
 have selected the most important, and these are 
 sufficient to illustrate'the scriptural meaning of the 
 term Holy Ghost, and Holy Spirit, when it is used 
 in peculiar reference to the apostles. 
 
 4. Let us review these passages of scripture, in 
 which the term Spirit, Spirit of God, and Holy 
 Ghost, are applied to Christians in common, and m 
 connexion with their progress in moral life. 
 
 These terms are all used in the bible, to express 
 the means with which God has been pleased to 
 favour men, to enlighten their minds and improve 
 
88 SEKMON V. 
 
 their dispositions. They embrace all the measures 
 adopted, and the influences afforded in the moral 
 government of God, to assist men in acquiring the 
 knowledge of religious truth, and obtaining the 
 qualifications of a religious character. Stephen, 
 the martyr, rebuked the Jews of his day, for reject- 
 ing the counsel of God. " Ye do always resist the 
 Holy Ghost ; as your fathers did, so do ye." The 
 resistance here mentioned, was to all the measures 
 contained in the dispensation of Moses, and in the 
 gospel of Jesus Christ. The apostle Paul uses this 
 phraseology, (Rom. viii. 14) " As many as are 
 led by the spirit of God are the sons of God." 
 Under divine influence, men are formed to a re- 
 semblance of the divine character. In the same 
 chapter, he informs us, (ver. 26) that "the Spirit 
 helpeth our infirmities." God grants us assistance 
 in the concerns of moral life. This class of texts 
 is very numerous in the New Testament ; but their 
 connexion points out their meaning, and they are 
 without difficulty understood. Few ever select 
 these texts as proof of the Trinitarian doctrine. 
 
 I proceed, 
 
 5. To consider those passages of scripture in 
 which the Holy Ghost is spoken of as a person or 
 agent. 
 
 Our text is one of the most expressive of these, 
 " But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, 
 whom the Father will send in my name, he shall 
 teach you all things, and bring all things to your 
 remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." 
 The meaning of our Saviour, in this passage, we 
 have already discovered, by attending to the ac- 
 
SERMON V. 89 
 
 complishment of the promise, when the apostles 
 received the Holy Ghost. In other places, our 
 Saviour speaks of sending the Comforter, (John, 
 xvi. 7) " If I go not away, the Comforter will not 
 come unto you ; but if I depart, I will send him 
 unto you. Howbeit, (ver. 13,) when he, the spirit 
 of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth ; 
 for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever 
 he shall hear, that shall he speak ; and he will show 
 you things to come." From these passages, we 
 perceive that the Comforter was sent, that he spoke 
 not from himself, but as he was instructed. Sure- 
 ly this is not language that can be applied to a 
 being of independent existence, underived power, 
 and in all divine attributes equal with the Father. 
 The promise of our Saviour, to send the Comforter 
 to his disciples, is fully explained to us, by learning 
 what gifts were bestowed on the apostles at the 
 pentecost. This explanation also teaches us the 
 true meaning of the expressions of Jesus in the last 
 quotation. They are bold figures of speech, which 
 are common in all language, but in which dialects 
 of eastern countries abound. We shall clearly un- 
 derstand their import, when we attend to the manner 
 in which the apostles, desponding at the death of 
 their Master, were comforted by his resurrection ; 
 and reflect on the extraordinary powers with which 
 they were endowed after his ascension. Similar 
 personifications are frequently found in the sacred 
 writings. Solomon, in the book of Proverbs, gives 
 to wisdom personal attributes, and represents her 
 as exercising an extensive agency. St. Paul, in a 
 12 
 
90 SERMON V. 
 
 most impressive manner, personifies sin and death ; 
 and he has beautifully described charity in the ac- 
 tive display of all Christian graces. When you, 
 my Christian brethren, fully understand the per- 
 sonification of wisdom and charity, can you find 
 difficulty in understanding the personification of 
 the spirit, by which the apostles were endued with 
 the gift of tongues, the power to work miracles, 
 and the knowledge of all religious truth ? In the 
 New Testament we are informed, that " the 
 Spirit knoweth all things, searcheth even the deep 
 things of God, and revealeth them to men." We 
 are directed not to u grieve the Holy Spirit of 
 God." We are informed that the Spirit was 
 taught, and that he teacheth. In the New Testa- 
 ment we also read " that death reigns, that the law 
 speaks, that the scriptures preachy and that charity 
 believeth all things, hopeth all things, and endureth 
 all things." We readily perceive the meaning of , 
 one class of these texts : why, by the same prin- 
 ciple of construction, do we not perceive the true 
 meaning of the other ? 
 
 When the inspired writers speak of tlie Holy 
 Spirit in simple language, they do not represent a 
 person with whom men hold communion ; but 
 they describe qualifications or powers, with which 
 Christ and his apostles were in a greater or less de- 
 gree endowed ; or, the Holy Ghost is spoken of as 
 a quality, a favour, or a blessing, given, granted, 
 poured out, or in which Christians participated* 
 
 There are other senses in which the Spirit of 
 God, or simply Spirit, are used in the bible. In 
 the Old Testament, men of mechanical ingenuity 
 
SERMON r. 91 
 
 are said to possess the spirit of God. In the con- 
 struction of the tabernacle, Bezaleel is said to have 
 been filled with the spirit of God, in wisdom and in 
 understanding, and in knowledge, and in all man- 
 ner of workmanship. In the New Testament, 
 spirit is used to express the moral efficacy of the 
 gospel, when contrasted with the letter of the Mo- 
 saic ceremonies. But on such passages I need not 
 dwell. 
 
 I ask Trinitarians to give a meaning to two plain 
 and express declarations of our Saviour, in consist- 
 ency with their scheme. " All things are delivered 
 unto me of my Father," says Christ, (Matt. xi. 27,) 
 " And no one knoweth the Son but the Father ; 
 neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, 
 and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him."* 
 If the Holy Ghost possesses independent existence, 
 and is omniscient like the Father, couid Jesus have 
 made this declaration ? In another place our Sa- 
 viour, predicting a particulai event, says, (Matt. 
 xxiv. 36) " Of that day and hour knoweth no 
 one, no not the angels of heaven, but my Father 
 only." The comment on all passages which ex- 
 press the inferiority of the Son is, these refer to 
 the human nature of Christ. But this comment 
 will not be applied in the instance before us. No 
 one will affirm that the Holy Ghost is clothed with 
 humanity. If the Holy Ghost be a real person, 
 omniscient and equal with the Father, in what sense 
 shall we understand the declaration that the Father 
 only knoweth that day and hour ? 
 
 * In the English translation, it is rendered no man knoweth, &C.T~ 
 The. original Greek is not thus limited : it is, no one, no being;. 
 
92 SERMON V. 
 
 You, probably, my Christian brethren, have taken 
 notice that I have not brought into view the pas- 
 sage in the epistle of John (1 John v. 7) " There 
 are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the 
 Word, and the Holy Ghost ; and these three are 
 one." This text is not found in the authentick 
 Greek manuscripts : it is not contained in the 
 writings of the Christian fathers. In the dispute 
 between the Trinitarians and Arians of the fourth 
 century, this text is not quoted, though the previous 
 and subsequent verses are. It was not included in 
 Luther's German bible, nor in the first edition of 
 Erasmus's translation of the New Testament. In 
 Cranmer's English bible, published in the reign of 
 Henry the VHIth, this text is included in crotchets, 
 and is printed on a smaller type than the text. 
 Learned Trinitarians of the present day, I believe, 
 admit that it is an interpolation. 
 
 Before I close, it may be expected that I consider 
 the form of baptism appointed by our Saviour, 
 (Matt, xxviii. 19.) " Baptizing them in the name 
 of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy 
 Ghost." To be baptized in the name of a divine 
 teacher, is to be made his disciple, or to be consti- 
 tuted a nominal professor of his religion. St. Paul 
 observes that the Israelites (I Cor. x. 2) " were 
 all baptized unto Moses, in the cloud and in the 
 sea." By the various measures adopted with them 
 during their exit from Egypt, and their journies ii\ 
 the wilderness, they were established in the religion 
 of Moses. The proselytes to Judaism from Gen- 
 tile nations, at a subsequent period, were also bap- 
 tized unto Moses. At every period of their his- 
 
SERMON V. 93 
 
 tory, the Jews were accustomed to introduce Pagan 
 converts to the privileges of their national worship, 
 by the rite of baptism. Converts from Judaism 
 and from idolatry to the belief of the gospel, were 
 baptized in the name of Christ. By this rite they 
 were initiated into his religion, became his nominal 
 disciples, and gained a title to all the privileges of 
 his institution. Christian baptism, in itself, is not 
 an act of worship ; but it is a ceremony by which 
 men are made Christian professors. This rite is 
 solemnly administered to men, when they are se- 
 riously disposed to take on themselves the name of 
 Christ, and give a pledge of obedience to his corn- 
 mands, that they may be entitled to the consolations 
 and hopes of his gospel. The import of the form 
 of bapiism contained in Matthew, I conceive to be 
 this: You are now initiated into that religion which 
 proceeded from God, was promulgated by the me- 
 diation and ministry of Christ, and was confirmed 
 by the Holy Ghost ; that is, by miracles, which were 
 a seal enstamped by heaven on its truth. The 
 apostles did not consider this form essential to bap- 
 tism. The disciples of Samaria " were baptized 
 in the name of the Lord Jesus." (Acts viii. 16) 
 Paul says, that he and his fellow disciples were 
 baptized into Christ ; and he observes, That as ma- 
 ny as have been baptized into Christ have put on 
 Christ. 
 
 In conclusion. 
 
 From the review of scripture which we have 
 taken, we find no proof of the existence of an eter- 
 nal Spirit distinct fiom God, possessing the attri- 
 butes of Supreme Divinity, and very God. The 
 
94 SERMON V. 
 
 terms Spirit and Holy Spirit, when used in imme- 
 diate connexion with Deity, mean either God him- 
 self, his universal presence through all his works, 
 or the manifestation of some attribute of his nature. 
 When the phrases Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, Spirit 
 of God, are used in reference to Jesus Christ, they 
 mean those communications and endowments from 
 God, which qualified him for the office of Mediator, 
 and enabled him to do the works, teach the doc- 
 trines, and accomplish the merciful purposes of the 
 Father. When these terms have reference to the 
 apostles of our Lord, they mean the gift of tongues, 
 the power to work miracles, and the inspiration ne- 
 cessary for the execution of their commission as 
 ambassadors of Christ. When these terms have 
 reference to Christians in common, they imply 
 those moral means and moral influences which 
 God graciously grants men in the business of their 
 salvation. To make the deeper impressions on the 
 human mind, the sacred writers sometimes personi- 
 fy the spirit, as they do wisdom, sin, death, and 
 charity. 
 
 From the bible we have equal authority to as- 
 cribe personal existence, and all the attributes of 
 Supreme Divinity to the wisdom, to the power, 
 and to the providence of God, as to the Spirit of 
 God. 
 
SERMON VI. 
 
 THE PRIMITIVE STATE OP THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. 
 
 TITUS i. 5. 
 
 JFor this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest set 
 in order the things that are wanting, and ordain Elders 
 in every city, as I had appointed thee. 
 
 FROM this text I shall, my Christian brethren, 
 direct your attention to the primitive state of the 
 Christian Church, and present to your considera- 
 tion the causes which introduced the superstitions 
 and abuses of the Papal Hierarchy. And this dis- 
 course is designed as an introduction to a review of 
 the great event that took place in the sixteenth cen- 
 tury, which is emphatically styled the Reformation. 
 
 To the reformation, appeals are often made, the 
 principles and doctrines of the reformers are fre- 
 quently quoted as authority ; and some probably 
 talk zealously on this subject who do not fully un- 
 derstand it. A succinct history of that important 
 event, I conceive must be generally instructive and 
 useful, if composed in a manner suited to the pul- 
 pit, and adapted to the minds of a mixed audience. 
 Relying on your candour, this task I shall attempt* 
 
96 SERMON VI. 
 
 Before we enter on this extensive subject, how- 
 ever, I would premise one general observation, to 
 prevent censorious judgment respecting those who 
 differ from us in their ecclesiastical constitutions rr id 
 their forms of publick worship. We have an un- 
 questionable right to place the corruptions and 
 abuses of all denominations in the strongest light, 
 that they may be avoided ; but we have no au- 
 thority to judge and condemn the persons of 
 men. To his own master every servant must 
 account. Christianity was designed to be an uni- 
 versal religion ; and in its constitution and general 
 principles it is fitted for this purpose. The Divine 
 Author left nations and communities of men at 
 liberty to adapt external forms to the state of so- 
 ciety, to the nature of civil government, and to the 
 general improvement of particular ages and coun- 
 tries. In every communion, the sincere worshipper 
 will be accepted. Indeed, no individual of the hu- 
 man family, as I verily believe, is necessarily ex- 
 cluded from the acceptable service of his Maker; 
 and without sincerity no one will find acceptance. 
 Hear the language of an enlightened and liberal 
 divine of the English Church on this point. 
 " Though your Church was pure, without spot or 
 imperfection, yet if your heart is not turned to 
 God, the worship is hateful, and the prayers are 
 an abomination. The homage of the darkest Pa- 
 gan, worshipping, he knows not what, but still wor- 
 shipping the unknown power that formed him if 
 he bows with humility, if he praises with gratitude, 
 his homage will ascend grateful to heaven ; while 
 the dead, careless formality of prayer, offered up in 
 
SERMON VI. 97 
 
 the proudest Christian temple, shall be rejected as 
 an offering unholy. For, think you that the Al- 
 mighty esteems names and sects ? No : it is the 
 heart that he requires : it is the heart alone that he 
 accepts ; and much consolation does this afford 
 to the contemplative mind of man. We may be 
 very ignorant in spiritual matters, if the ignorance 
 cannot be removed, and yet may be very safe. 
 We may not know in what words to clothe our de- 
 sires in prayer, or where to find language worthy of 
 being presented to the Majesty of Heaven. But 
 amidst the clouds that surround us, here is our 
 comfort in every nation he that worshippeth in 
 humility, worshippeth aright : he that praiseth with 
 gratitude, praiseth well. The pride of establish- 
 ments may despise him, but the wisdom and the 
 righteousness of Heaven will hear and approve 
 him." 
 
 Our general subject I shall consider under the 
 following propositions : - 
 
 1. The primitive state of the Christian Church. 
 
 2. The manner in which ecclesiastical power 
 and dominion were gradually . assumed by the 
 Christian priesthood. 
 
 3. The rise and extent of the usurpation of the 
 Bishop of Rome ; and the corruptions and abuses 
 of the Papal Hierarchy. 
 
 4. The causes which produced the separation 
 of Protestants from the Romish Church ; and the 
 nature and extent of the Reformation. 
 
 5. The duty of Protestants to act in consistency 
 with their avowed principles, and to make progres* 
 
 13 
 
98 SERMON VI. 
 
 sive improvements in religious knowledge and at- 
 tainments in Christian virtue, corresponding with 
 the light and the means of the age in which they 
 live. 
 
 1. The primitive state of the Christian Church. 
 
 We cannot conceive of a system more pure and 
 spiritual than the religion of Jesus Christ, as it is 
 found in the New Testament. The instructions of 
 the gospel are fitted to elevate the minds of men by 
 the knowledge of truths the most important : its 
 precepts are calculated to purify their affections, 
 and in the best manner to regulate their practice ; 
 and its general influence is great and powerful to 
 form them to the requisite disposition for the high- 
 est intellectual and moral enjoyments of which their 
 natures are capable. The doctrines of the Christ- 
 ian revelation, by teaching us the goodness and the 
 mercy of our God, assuring a pardon to the peni- 
 tent sinner, giving the promise of divine favour to 
 all who do the divine will, and opening to our ex- 
 pectation the glories of immortality, furnish the 
 most persuasive motives to the cultivation of the 
 spirit, and to the exercise of the graces which the 
 gospel inculcates. The positive institutions and 
 external ceremonies appointed by Jesus Christ are 
 few in number, simple in their nature, easy of ob- 
 servance, and moral in their tendency. 
 
 The ecclesiastical polity established by our divine 
 Lord is fully adapted to the purpose of his reign. 
 Christ declares that his kingdom is not of this 
 world. His religion intermeddles not with the 
 concerns of civil government any further than its 
 influence extends to form men to purity of charac- 
 
SERMON TI. 99 
 
 ter, and to induce them faithfully to execute their 
 duty in the relations they sustain. It does not in- 
 vade the province of the civil ruler ; nor does it per- 
 mit human authority arbitrarily to define its doc- 
 trines, to propagate its truths by the sword, or to 
 enforce its peculiar laws by human sanctions. Its 
 privileges are granted to all, and each individual is 
 accountable to God, and to God only, for their im- 
 provement. But my particular design, under this 
 branch of our subject, is, to state the condition of 
 the priesthood, and to describe the form of eccle- 
 siastical government, as these existed in the days 
 of the apostles. Two systems can scarce differ 
 more from each other, in these respects, than the 
 Christian Church, in the times of the apostles, dif- 
 fers from the Church of Rome, at the commence, 
 ment of the reformation. 
 
 The general method pursued by the apostles and 
 evangelist, in the establishment of our religion, 
 seems to have been this : They first passed 
 through Gentile countries, preaching the gospel, 
 and performing miracles, in proof of their divine 
 mission ; and all who were endued with spiritual 
 gifts were employed in propagating the Christian 
 faith, and instructing those who were disposed to 
 receive the word of life. On a second journey, as 
 many of the proselytes to Christianity as could 
 conveniently attend on the pubiick institutions of 
 the gospel, in one place, were formed into distinct 
 congregations or Churches. Church and congre- 
 gation in primitive times, meant the same society ; 
 and particular pastors were ordained to officiate in 
 the worship and instruction of the Lord's day.- 
 
100 SERMON TI. 
 
 New converts needed much instruction ; and minis- 
 ters were often interrupted in their official labours* 
 by persecution, and other causes peculiar to that 
 period : more than one pastor, therefore, was fre- 
 quently appointed in the same Church. But there 
 is, I believe, no proof from the New Testament, 
 that the apostles instituted more than one order of 
 ministers, or that one minister was invested with 
 more power than another. The Greek terms gen- 
 erally used by the sacred writers, to designate the 
 official character of a minister, are, Evio-KOTrog and 
 n^wSuk'fof. In English, Bishop and Elder. One 
 of these titles, we are told, was taken from the na- 
 ture and duties of the ministerial office, and the 
 other, from respect to the profession ; both are 
 descriptive of the same officer, and are indiscrim- 
 inately used when his office and duties are defined. 
 Two or three passages from the Acts of the Apos- 
 tles, and from the epistles of St. Paul and St. Peter, 
 will be sufficient to support this remark. In Acts 
 (xx. 17) we read that Paul from Miletus sent to 
 Ephesus, and called the Elders of the Church. In 
 this place, the Greek word is zzr^o-Cul^a?. In his 
 address to these Church officers, when convened, 
 Paul exhorts them, (verse 28) " Take heed there- 
 fore unto yourselves, and to all the flock over which 
 the Holy Ghost has made you overseers." Here 
 the Greek is i7n<rxo7r?, bishops. No one can pos- 
 sibly doubt that these terms here refer to the same 
 men, and that in the same communication they are 
 denominated Elders and Bishops. In our text we 
 are informed, that Titus was left at Crete, to set in 
 order the things that were wanting, and to ordain 
 
SERMON VL 101 
 
 Elders in every city. In the subsequent verses, we 
 have a description of the qualifications of the Christ- 
 ian minister. " A Bishop must be blameless," &c. 
 The usual Greek words are used in these pas- 
 sages n^crfiulffof and Ein<rx07ror Elder and Bishop. 
 Elder and Bishop, therefore, in the language of St. 
 Paul, mean the same Church officer. To our 
 present purpose I will cite one passage from the 
 first epistle of Peter, (v. 1.) " The Elders, (Ilff<r- 
 ul^f) among you, I exhort." And the exhorta- 
 tion immediately follows, (verse 2) " Feed the 
 flock of God which is among you, taking the 
 oversight thereof." In Greek, 7n<nco7rafe, that is, 
 performing the duties of Bishops. This passage 
 proves that Peter, as well as Paul, considered an 
 Elder and a Bishop to be the same officer j and their 
 duties to be one and the same. 
 
 Where is the authority found in the New Tes- 
 tament for the different orders of Christian minis- 
 ters which are now constituent parts of many ec- 
 clesiastical establishments in Christendom ? More 
 especially, what authority can be derived from the 
 directions of the apostles, or from the examples of 
 the primitive age of our religion for the high dig- 
 nity and the extensive powers with which Bishops 
 in these establishments are now clothed ? In the 
 epistle to the Philippians, St. Paul thus addresses 
 
 the united Christian community "To all the 
 
 saints at Philippi, with the Bishops and Deacons." 
 Similar modes of address may be noted in other 
 epistles. The distinction between the three classes 
 here mentioned, we well know ; their several char- 
 acters are in the New Testament clearly described, 
 
102 SERMON VI. 
 
 and their respective duties are fully explained. No 
 Church was left destitute of a Bishop ; and in some, 
 several were appointed. The assembly of Christ- 
 ians, the apostle addressed in the following man- 
 ner " We beseech you, brethren, to know them 
 which labour among you, and are over you in the 
 Lord, and admonish you ; and to esteem them very 
 highly in love for their work's sake." 
 
 Deacons, in the primitive age, were not consid- 
 ered as an order of the priesthood. They aided 
 the pastor in some of his official services : in the 
 exercises of publick worship, they distributed the 
 elements to communicants, and provided the ma- 
 terials for baptism ; but their general business was 
 secular, and to them was committed the manage- 
 ment of the prudential concerns of the Church. 
 
 The apostles fully explain the office of the minis- 
 ter of a particular Church : they clearly define his 
 duty, and solemnly admonish him to its faithful 
 execution. In the sacred witings, the distinct of- 
 fices of Elders and Bishops are not described ; nor 
 do we find directions which apply exclusively to an 
 higher order of priests. If an higher order was ap- 
 pointed by the apostles, how shall we account for 
 this neglect ? Take, for example, a Bishop, as this 
 ecclesiastical officer is acknowledged in the Church 
 of England. In him the right of ordination is ex- 
 clusively vested : he has the oversight of all the 
 clergy of his diocese ; and his jurisdiction is exer- 
 cised over the whole number of Churches which 
 compose it. There is not, I am satisfied, a passage 
 in the New Testament which describes this office, 
 nor one direction respecting the execution of iis 
 
SERMON VI. 103 
 
 duties. To the propriety of this remark, you, my 
 Christian brethren, I believe, will assent, when you 
 attend to the primitive government of the Christian 
 Church. 
 
 It is unnecessary to bring into view the distinc- 
 tion between apostles who were supernaturally en- 
 dued to execute their high commission, and the 
 ordinary ministers of the gospel. Apostles and 
 evangelists acted by divine authority ; and our 
 present inquiry is, What is the constitution of the 
 Christian Church as they established it ? Where 
 does the right of election to office, the authority to 
 ordain the pastor elect, and the power to disci- 
 pline the members of the Christian society ordi- 
 narily rest ? 
 
 In respect to discipline, it is apparent that neither 
 Christ nor his apostles empowered either a single 
 Bishop, or the presbytery to try members on a charge 
 of conduct unworthy the Christian name, or to in- 
 flict censures on those convicted of offence. Oa 
 the contrary, this power was certainly lodged with 
 the assembly of Christians. Examine the direc- 
 tions of our Saviour respecting measures to be 
 adopted with an offending brother, contained in the 
 18th chapter of Matthew, and you will find that the 
 authority to discipline is not committed to the pas- 
 tor or to the presbytery, but to the brethren. " If 
 thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell 
 him his fault between thee and him alone. If he shall 
 hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he 
 will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two 
 more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses 
 every word may be established. And if he shaii 
 
404 SERMON VI. 
 
 neglect to hear them, tell it unto the Church ; but 
 if he neglect to hear the Church, let him be unto 
 thee as an heathen man and a publican." Look 
 into the directions of St. Paul concerning the mem- 
 ber guilty of a publick and most scandalous of- 
 fence in the Corinthian Church. The apostle does 
 not give his orders for discipline to the particular 
 pastor of his Church, nor to an individual Bishop, 
 nor to the convocation of the presbytery, but to the 
 Christian body. " In the name of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ, when ye are gathered together, and my 
 spirit, with the power of our Lord Jesus Christ, to 
 deliver such an one unto Satan for the destruction 
 of the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day 
 of our Lord Jesus." ( 1 Cor, v. 4, 5) Deprive him, 
 of his Christian privileges, that he may be brought 
 to repentance, and thereby save his soul. When 
 our religion was taken under the auspices of the 
 civil government, the clergy took on themselves 
 the title of ecclesiasticks, denominated themselves 
 the Church, and assumed power to lord it over the 
 heritage of God. But no authority is found in the 
 bible to denominate the clergy the Church. Nor, 
 in primitive times, was the distinction between con- 
 gregation and Church known. For three hundred 
 years at least, after the death of our Saviour, the 
 Christian society existed in one body ; and in one 
 united society Christian disciples attended publick 
 worship, and joined in all the ordinances of the gos- 
 pel ; and in one assembly, all concerns of general 
 interest were transacted. To this assembly, and 
 not to the clergy, the right of electing to office, and 
 the power of government, were committed. 
 
SERMON VL 105 
 
 That the election of Deacons, in the age of the 
 apostles, was by the assembled brethren, cannot be 
 doubted. When complaint was made of the un- 
 equal distribution of publick charity, " the twelve 
 apostles called the multitude unto them and said, 
 (Acts vi. 2 5) It is not reason that we should 
 leave the word of God, and serve tables. Where- 
 fore, brethren, look ye out among you seven men 
 of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost, and wis- 
 dom, whom we may appoint over this business. 
 But we will give ourselves continually to prayer 
 and to the ministry. And the sa\ ing pleased the 
 whole multitude ; and they chose Stephen, a man 
 full of faith and the Holy Ghost," &c. 
 
 The apostles, during their lives, unquestionably 
 selected and ordained ministers. As inspired men, 
 they exercised more power in the Church, than 
 they permitted ordinary ministers, their successors, 
 to exercise. But even in the high concern of ap- 
 pointing an apostle to take the place of the fallen 
 Judas, regard was had by divine direction, to the 
 right of the brethren in electing their ministers. 
 Peter stood up in the midst of the disciples, and 
 directed them to choose two candidates for the 
 office of the apostate ; and he selected one of these 
 by lot, to take a part in the apostleship from which 
 Judas, by transgression, fell. 
 
 From scriptural history it is evident, that pastors 
 of particular Churches were not uniformly ordained 
 by the apostles or by evangelists during their lives. 
 Nay, it is apparent, evangelists themselves did not 
 always receive ordination from the apostles. St. 
 Paul thus exhorts his son Timothy " Neglect no* 
 14 
 
106 SERMON YI. 
 
 the gift that is in thee, which was given thee by 
 prophecy, and the laying on the hands of the pres- 
 bytery." Paul and Barnabas, as well as Timothy, 
 were separated to their work, by the imposition of 
 the hands of the presbytery. 
 
 The sacred history of the Christian Church is 
 not continued beyond the lives of the apostles. 
 We must depend on the authority of ecclesiastical 
 historians for the usages and practices of the next 
 age. Respecting the choice of ministers, there is 
 not complete harmony among them. Some affirm 
 that the election was solely with the brethren; 
 others favour the supposition, that ordained min- 
 isters nominated candidates to vacant churches ; 
 but they concede that the brethren had a right ta 
 reject the candidate nominated, without assigning a 
 reason for rejecting him. The fact probably was, 
 that ministers then, as they frequently do now, rec- 
 ommended candidates ; and perhaps in some in- 
 stances, the recommendation, which societies at first 
 solicited as a favour, ministers eventually claimed 
 as their right of nomination. In the western 
 Church, pastors of particular Churches, and even 
 Bishops, were chosen by the brethren till 105O, 
 when the council of Avignon deprived them of this 
 privilege. 
 
 The ordination of candidates was in usual cases 
 considered as the appropriate office of ordained pas- 
 tors ; but when peculiar circumstances rendered it 
 expedient, lay ordination was acknowledged to be 
 valid. 
 
 Churches in primitive times were independent. 
 They possessed equal rights, and each had the ex- 
 
SERMON YI. 107 
 
 elusive management of its own concerns. But to 
 a certain extent a community of interests has ever 
 existed among neighbouring Churches ; and eccle- 
 siastical councils have been common in every age. 
 But general councils, on scriptural grounds, I con- 
 ceive, have authority only to give advice. They 
 do not possess power to coerce the adoption of 
 measures recommended. Particular ecclesiastical 
 councils, called mutually by the parties in contro- 
 versy, are similar to references in civil affairs, and 
 their results are binding on the parties only by 
 their own agreement. 
 
 I have gone into this review for two purposes ; 
 1st To make it manifest that we have a reason to 
 give for the constitution and order of congregation- 
 al Churches. And 2d~That a view of the primi- 
 tive state of the Christian Church being fixed in 
 your minds, you may be the better able to judge 
 of the corruptions and abuses, which at a subse- 
 quent age were introduced. 
 
SERMON VII. 
 
 ECCLESIASTICAL POWER AND DOMINION WERE GRADU- 
 ALLY ASSUMED BY THE PRIESTHOOD. 
 
 1 PETER V. 3. 
 
 Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being en- 
 samples to the flock. 
 
 IN this chapter, the apostle gives particular direc- 
 tions to the ordinary ministers of the gospel. 
 " The elders who are among you, I exhort, who 
 am also an elder, and a witness of the sufferings of 
 Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall 
 be revealed : Feed the flock of God which is 
 among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by 
 constraint, but willingly ; not for fitthy lucre, but 
 of a ready mind ; neither as being lords over 
 God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock. 
 And when the chief shepherd shall appear, ye shall 
 receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." 
 
 These directions are plain, important, and sol- 
 emn. Christian disciples are here represented un- 
 der the allusion to a flock, which has ever been 
 considered as an emblem of innocence. Of this 
 flock the pastor has the oversight in the Lord ; and 
 
SERMON VU. 109 
 
 to him the care, the tenderness and the vigilance of 
 the good shepherd are recommended. This duty 
 is to be performed, not under the impulse of world- 
 ly circumstances, but from inclination! not from a 
 primary view to the emoluments of offices, but 
 from the dictates of a mind devoted to the moral 
 purposes of the gospel. St. Peter exhorts minis- 
 ters not to assume authority in the Church, as of- 
 ficers appointed to dictate and rule in the concerns 
 of religion, and possessed of a divine right to con- 
 trol the consciences of men, and govern religious 
 opinions ; but he directs them to preach the word 
 of life, and to enforce their wholesome counsel by 
 an exemplification of the virtues they inculcate, 
 that the people of their charge may take them as 
 their exam piers as well as teachers. To inspire 
 the ministers of the altar with the most animating 
 motives to faithfulness and perseverance, the apos- 
 tle carries their minds forward to the consummation 
 of the present system of things, when Christ shall 
 appear for judgment ; and he assures them they 
 will then receive their reward, even the crown of 
 glory, honour, and immortality. 
 
 Happy would it have been for the Christian 
 world, had the successors of St. Peter regarded his 
 sacred directions, imbibed the spirit of their Mas- 
 ter and of his apostles, and supported the ministe- 
 rial relation in conformity to the rules enjoined 
 them. But in subsequent periods, how many who 
 bore the name of Christian ministers, inattentive 
 to apostolick precept and example, manifested the 
 spirit of the world, assumed dominion over con- 
 science, and ruled as lords of God's heritage. 
 
110 SERMON VII. 
 
 The audience will recollect, that on a former 
 occasion, I proposed to review the primitive state 
 of the Christian Church, consider the causes 
 which led to the superstitions and abuses of the 
 Roman Hierarchy, examine the nature and extent 
 of the reformation, and state our duty as protest- 
 ants. 
 
 The second branch of this general subject is the 
 object of our present attention, viz. 
 
 2. The manner in which ecclesiastical power 
 and dominion were gradually assumed by the 
 Christian priesthood. 
 
 Under this proposition, I shall review the general 
 state of the Christian community in ages immedi- 
 ately succeeding that of the apostles. The usurpa- 
 tion of the Bishop of Rome, and the corruptions 
 and abuses of the Papal Hierarchy, will be particu- 
 larly discussed at a future time. 
 
 That your view of the subject may be distinct 
 and clear, I will divide the proposition into two 
 branches : First, briefly state the circumstances 
 that introduced different orders of priests into the 
 Church, and led to the establishment of the offices 
 of Bishops and Archbishops ; and then describe 
 the manner in which ecclesiasticks gradually as- 
 sumed power and dominion oVer the community of 
 Christians. 
 
 Let us, my Christian hearers, carry our reflec- 
 tion back to primitive times, and consider the con- 
 dition of the professors of our religion in the age 
 immediately following that of the apostles. At 
 that time, the number of Christian disciples com- 
 posed a minor portion of the population of any city 
 
SERMON VII. Ill 
 
 or village. Then a single Church embraced a large 
 city, and perhaps a considerable extent of country. 
 
 The body of professors generally were noviciates 
 in our religion, and required extraordinary attention 
 from their spiritual instructers. Many of them, on 
 account of their local situation, could but occasion- 
 ally attend the stated place of the publick ministra- 
 tions of the word and ordinances of the gospel, 
 even in the most peaceable and quiet times of the 
 Church. 
 
 The members of the Christian community being 
 thus situated, a custom early prevailed of ordaining 
 two or more ministers of the same Church. These 
 were co-equal in office, and mutual iy aided in the 
 performance of all the duties of the pastoral rela- 
 tion among a community whose members were 
 widely separated from each other. As converts to 
 the Christian faith were multiplied, professors 
 within the limits originally embraced by a single 
 Church become too numerous ever to meet in one 
 place for the purpose of publick worship, or a par- 
 ticipation in the ordinances of the gospel. New 
 Churches were therefore gathered in the same city ; 
 or the distant members formed into distinct Church- 
 es in their own towns and villages ; and it more fre- 
 quently happened, that some of the ministers, who 
 had been ordained pastors of the parent Church, 
 were located as parish priests in the newly formed 
 societies. But this separation of those who had 
 once been members of the same Church was not 
 complete. These were holden to be associated 
 Churches ; and they were considered as having 
 in a peculiar sense, a community of interest. The 
 
112 SERMON VII. 
 
 ministers of 4 these respective societies often had their 
 meetings, to consult and advise with each other re- 
 specting measures designed to promote the cause 
 of Christian truth and virtue. From respect to the 
 parent Church, its minister, who having been se- 
 lected for this office on account of distinguished 
 talents, gravity, &c. was acknowledged as the 
 moderator of these assemblies of the clergy. Aud 
 in consequence of this office, a distinction was 
 made between the terms Bishop and Elder. In 
 the New Testament, and during the apostolick age, 
 these were used synonimously, and neither meant 
 any thing more than the minister of a particular 
 Church ; but now the minister of the parent 
 Church was, by way of distinction, denominated 
 Bishop, and the pastors of the newly formed so- 
 cieties were called Elders, and the united societies 
 were called a Diocese. In this way two orders of 
 ministers were established. Deacons originally 
 were considered as the almoners of the Church ; 
 and no service was performed by them, in the offi- 
 ces of publick worship, but serving the bread and 
 wine to communicants, and providing materials for 
 baptism : but when Churches were multiplied, and 
 ministerial labours were increased, the Deacons 
 were often requested to give their aid in offices of 
 worship ; and in process of time candidates for the 
 ministry were appointed Deacons, as a station in 
 which they might, with the more facility, prepare 
 themselves for the higher duties of the priesthood ; 
 or, to adopt the language of an ecclesiastical histori- 
 an " The Deacons, who seem at first to have 
 been chosen merely in consequence of a particular 
 
SERMON VM. 
 
 exigence, as we learn from Acts vi. 1, to wit : For 
 the inspection of the poor, and the distribution of 
 the charitable collections, were admitted very early 
 to an inferiour part in the sacred ministry, such as 
 attending the pastors in the discharge of religious 
 offices, and acting under their direction. The 
 deaconship served in fact as a noviciate to the minis- 
 try. " Finally, deacons were admitted as a distinct, 
 though inferiour, class of the priesthood. In this 
 way three orders of the ministry were established, 
 bishops, elders or presbyters, and deacons. 
 
 But the bishop of that age bore scarce any re- 
 semblance to the bishop of a later period. There 
 was no revenue appropriated for the support of the 
 bishoprick : he claimed no authority over the pres- 
 byters, he exercised no spiritual jurisdiction over 
 the associated Churches. Nor did the several or- 
 ders of priests, as a body of ecclesiasticks, pretend 
 to power and dominion in the Church, in right of 
 their clerical office. The bishop was merely the 
 first among his brethren of the ministry. In his 
 name, invitation was given to the elders or pres- 
 byters of the diocese to meet, when their assem- 
 bling was thought expedient ; and he acted as pre- 
 sident in their meetings. But the rights of the 
 brethren were not yet invaded. Bishops and elders 
 were elected to office by common suffrage ; and all 
 transactions of the Church in which there was a 
 common interest, were managed in meetings of 
 clergy and laity, as one united body. 
 
 As the darkness of Paganism vanished before 
 the light of the gospel, Christian Churches were 
 15 
 
114 SERMON VII. 
 
 multiplied ; and, in consequence of it, a kingdom or 
 province was sometimes divided into several dis- 
 tinct dioceses. Circumstances frequently rendered 
 it expedient that the whole number of the clergy of 
 a province or kingdom should be assembled in con- 
 vocation. For a time, the individual to preside in 
 this convocation was elected from the body assem- 
 bled, and his commission expired with the business 
 of the meeting ; but it became a custom that the 
 bishop of the capital city, where the assembly was 
 holden, should preside in these assemblies ; and in 
 this instance, as in many others, custom in time 
 became law ; and the bishop of the capital was 
 acknowledged as the head of the clergy of his prov- 
 ince or kingdom, and took the title of Primate, 
 Metropolitan, or Archbishop. But this system was 
 not fully ripened till the Roman government be- 
 came Christian. 
 
 Let us now attend to the manner in which eccle- 
 siasticks gradually assumed power and dominion 
 over the Christian community. 
 
 The disposition to assume power, and to abuse 
 it, has been too common to men of every descrip- 
 tion. History proves that ecclesiasticks have mani- 
 fested this disposition in as high a degree as men in 
 any other department of publick agency. We shall 
 be surprised to remark what trivial circumstances 
 are made the means of aggrandizing a body of 
 publick men, when they, by their stations, are ren- 
 dered ambitious and act in concert ; and when the 
 people, whose ministers they are, possess an unsus- 
 picious temper and an yielding spirit. Many cases 
 might be adduced to our present purpose ; but I 
 
SERMON Til. 115 
 
 have time to present to your view only a single 
 example of the manner in which the clergy of the 
 Christian Church commenced their career of eccle- 
 , siastical ambition and tyranny. 
 
 When in the apostolick age, the number of Christ- 
 ian disciples became so numerous, in the populous 
 cities of the Roman empire, as to form themselves 
 into societies, wholly separate in all religious con- 
 cerns, from the Pagan world, disputes arose, as they 
 ever will, among imperfect beings, " respecting 
 personal property and civil rights." These dis- 
 putes were carried before the Pagan tribunals, and 
 were settled according to the principles of the Ro- 
 man law. These quarrels and law-suits occasioned 
 ill-will, animosity, and uncharitableness, among 
 the brethren themselves ; and were thought to re- 
 flect scandal on their profession as Christians. In 
 view of these evils, which particularly abounded 
 in the Church of Corinth, St. Paul condemned 
 their litigious spirit, and exhorted them rather to 
 bear injury with patience, than to have recourse to 
 measures of redress, which must put the peace of 
 the Church and the character of their religion at 
 hazard. "Why do ye not rather," says the apos- 
 tle, " take wrong ? Why do ye not rather suffer 
 yourselves to be defrauded ?" As the most ef- 
 fectual measure to prevent publick scandal, he ad- 
 vises them to submit their controversies to the 
 decision of arbitrators chosen from among them- 
 selves. This apostolick advice was generally 
 adopted among Christian converts, and the practice 
 was continued as long as the Roman government 
 remained Pagan. 
 
116 3ERMON VII. 
 
 The business of arbitration did not pertain to the 
 pastoral office ; arid in the commencement of this 
 method of settling disputes there was nothing on 
 which an unworthy motive could operate in the 
 management of it. When executed by the pas- 
 tor, it increased his labours, held him up more 
 conspicuously to the ruling power, and thereby in- 
 creased, in respect to him, the danger of persecution. 
 His judgment had not the authority of law, and it 
 could be executed only by the consent of the par- 
 ties at issue. No pecuniary rewards were connect- 
 ed with this transaction : it was considered as the 
 work of charity. In selecting arbitrators, questions 
 pfthis nature naturally arose : Whoso likely to 
 feel a tender regard to the rights of every brother 
 as the minister, the spiritual father of the Christian 
 family ? Who will so impartially consult the safe- 
 ty and welfare of each individual member, as the 
 common shepherd of the flock ? From these or 
 other considerations, the clergy in fact, were in all 
 places appointed the arbitrators in civil controver- 
 sies ; and the practice was continued to the period 
 of the conversion of the Roman empire. What at 
 first was custom, was, in time, claimed as a right. 
 The service at first performed from charity, was 
 continued from ambition. By experiment, the cler- 
 gy found that from their station, as an umpire in 
 civil affairs, they derived power, ascendancy, and 
 influence, ancl these they were not disposed to re- 
 linquish. 
 
 Individual authority being granted them in re- s 
 spect to personal property and civil rights, the 
 clergy, with greater plausibility, claimed exclusive 
 
SERMON VH. 117 
 
 authority in all the concerns of religion. These 
 lay within their own province, and the regulation of 
 them was their own appropriate duty. Step by 
 step they proceeded to divest the people of every 
 privilege. They deprived the laity of the liberty 
 of electing their minister, and of every other officer 
 of the Church ; and denied them any publick 
 agency in the management of the common interests 
 of the society which they composed. When Con. 
 stantine was converted to the Christian faith, and 
 the civil government became Christian, he, with the 
 zeal of a convert, and in devotion to the priests of 
 his' new religion, confirmed the clergy in all the 
 prerogatives they had before exercised ; and ecclesi- 
 astical decisions were enforced by civil authority. 
 Then the clergy denominated themselves ecclesias- 
 ticks, and declared that they, as a body, composed 
 the Church, and of course assumed the whole admin- 
 istration of its polity. The right then left to the 
 laymen was simply the right of submission and 
 obedience. The people were to commit their un- 
 derstandings and their consciences to the guidance 
 of their spiritual rulers, and to resign their souls to 
 the safe keeping of the ghostly fathers. 
 
 Becoming lords of God's heritage, the clergy 
 apportioned the emoluments of the Church among 
 themselves. Bishops then claimed dignity, au- 
 thority, and wealth, corresponding with the proud 
 titles they assumed, and the lofty stations which 
 they professed to fill. They usurped the exclu- 
 sive power of ordination, jurisdiction over the in- 
 ferior orders of the clergy, and the absolute direc- 
 tion of all the affairs of their diocese. Large reve- 
 
118 SERMON VII. 
 
 nues were appropriated for their support ; their pla- 
 ces of residence became palaces, and they were en- 
 circled with all the appendages and pomp of royalty. 
 Ecclesiasticks then generally gave almost unbound- 
 ed indulgence to the spirit of pride and ambition, 
 against which their Divine Master pointedly arid 
 solemnly cautioned the ministers of his gospel. 
 Before the close of the fourth century of the Christ- 
 ian era, the constitution, the forms, and the charac- 
 ter of the Church of the apostolick age disappeared, 
 and a system of domination and tyranny, of blind- 
 ness and superstition was introduced. 
 
 Thankful to God for the religious freedom and 
 light with which we are blessed, let us, my Christ- 
 ian brethren, stand fast in the liberty wherewith 
 Christ has made us free ; and may we walk as 
 children of the light. 
 
SERMON VIII. 
 
 THE USURPATION OP THE BISHOP OF ROME. 
 
 2 THESSALONIANS ii. 4. 
 
 Who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called 
 God, or that is worshipped ; so that he, as God, sitteth 
 in the temple of God, shewing himself that he is God. 
 
 WITHOUT comment, I shall make this text 
 the theme of one branch of the general subject pro- 
 posed for discussion, viz. 
 
 1. The primitive state of the Christian Church. 
 
 2. The manner in which ecclesiastical power 
 and dominion were gradually assumed by the 
 Christian priesthood. 
 
 3. The rise and extent of the usurpation of the 
 Bishop of Rome. 
 
 4: The causes which produced the separation 
 of protestants from the Romish Church ; and the 
 nature and extent of the Reformation. 
 
 5. The duty of protestants to act in consistency 
 with their avowed principles, and to make progres- 
 sive improvements in religious knowledge and at- 
 tainments in Christian virtue, corresponding with 
 the means of the age in which they live. 
 
J20 SERMON 
 
 To the third proposition, our attention will at this 
 time be directed, viz. 
 
 3. The rise and extent of the usurpation of the 
 Bishop of Rome ; and the corruptions and abuses 
 of the Papal Hierarchy. 
 
 The supremacy, which the Bishop of Rome ac- 
 quired, has not a parallel in the history of the world. 
 Jesus Christ, the common Lord and Master of 
 Christians, declared that his kingdom is not of this 
 world ; and he in the most express terms forbid his 
 disciples to cherish the spirit of domination, or to 
 exercise authority over the consciences of men in 
 the concerns of religion. When James and John 
 ambitiously requested the honour of sitting, one at 
 the right hand, and the other at the left, of their 
 Master, in his kingdom of glory, he called the twelve 
 disciples before him ? and said unto them " Ye 
 know that they which are accounted to rule over 
 the Gentiles, exercise lordship over them ; and 
 their great ones exercise authority upon them. But 
 so shall it not be among you ; but whosoever will 
 be great among you shall be your minister ; and 
 whosoever of you will be chiefest, shall be servant 
 of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be 
 ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his 
 life a ransom for many." Yet the ministers of the 
 meek and humble Jesus, in violation of the com- 
 mand of their Lord, did aspire to supreme domin- 
 ion, as well in civil as ecclesiastical concerns. 
 The Bishop of Rome, claiming to be the successor 
 of St. Peter, and the vicegerent of Christ, succeed- 
 ed in the attempt to subjugate the understandings 
 and the consciences of men to his authority, and to 
 
SERMON VI II. 121 
 
 place their property and their lives at his disposal. 
 The proudest king was made to bow with servile 
 submission to his rule, and the most powerful em- 
 peror to tremble at his mandate. 
 
 Every reflecting mind must be disposed to re- 
 view measures which occasioned such perversion 
 of the principles of the gospel, and to trace the steps 
 that led the Christian bishop to this spiritual do- 
 minion. 
 
 It is well known, that the Pope of Rome, for ages, 
 has founded his claim of supremacy on the plea that 
 this dominion in the Church was given to the apos- 
 tle Peter, who was, as they affirm, the first bishop of 
 Rome ; and that the Pope, as his successor, in- 
 herits all the prerogatives which St. Peter possess- 
 ed. It may, not therefore, be amiss in the introduc- 
 tion, to examine this plea. The pretence that Peter 
 was constituted head of the Christian Church, is 
 founded on the declaration of our Saviour to him. 
 " Thou art Peter ; and on this rock (the meaning 
 of the Greek word TLiTgos) I will build my Church, 
 and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. 
 And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom 
 of heaven ; and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, 
 shall be bound in heaven ; and whatsoever thou 
 shalt loose on earth, shall be loosed in heaven." 
 This declaration was made in consequence of Pe- 
 ter's profession of his faith in Jesus as the Messiah. 
 Our Saviour then changed his name from Simon to 
 Peter, and pronounced the above-mentioned bene- 
 diction. But the only distinction which this gave 
 Peter above his fellow apostles, was the honour of be- 
 16 
 
SERMON Till. 
 
 ing the first to publish the Christian religion to the 
 Gentile world opening the door of faith to the 
 Gentiles, as Paul expresses it. Peter's address to 
 his countrymen, is the best comment of the promise 
 of our Saviour to him. " Brethren, ye know that 
 God made choice among us, that the Gentiles by 
 my mouth should hear the word of the gospel." 
 That is, first hear it : but in the propagation of the 
 Christian faith, his fellow apostles were his coadju- 
 tors. In this cause, St. Paul laboured more abun- 
 dantly, and declared that he was not a whit behind 
 the chiefest of the apostles. This is the amount of 
 giving the keys of the kingdom of heaven to Peter. 
 It gave him no other privilege than that of first 
 preaching the gospel to Gentiles : it invested him 
 with no exclusive prerogative. " On this rock I 
 will build my Church !" You shall have the hon- 
 our to build up the Christian kingdom : but the 
 other apostles were fellow labourers with him, 
 Christian societies, says St. Paul, " are built upon 
 the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus 
 Christ himself being the chief corner-stone." 
 " Whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth, shall be 
 bound in heaven ; and whatsoever thou stalt loose 
 on earth, shall be loosed in heaven." This is figur- 
 ative language, borrowed from Jewish phraseology. 
 The meaning is, that Peter was commissioned to 
 publish the conditions of pardon and salvation to 
 sinners ; and that whatsoever he, under divine in- 
 spiration, should publish on earth, as bound or for- 
 bidden men, as a disqualification for the happiness 
 of immortality ; and whatsoever he on earth should 
 publish, as loosened, or permitted, or enjoined men, 
 
SERMON VIII. 123 
 
 pertaining to life eternal, should be ratified and 
 confirmed by the authority of God in heaven. But 
 this was not the prerogative of Peter alone : the 
 commission for this high purpose was given to all 
 the apostles. 
 
 There is not the shadow of evidence that Peter 
 was constituted the bishop of Rome : that he was 
 ever in the city of Rome, rests wholly on tradi- 
 tionary evidence ; there is no passage in the New 
 Testament that favours such a supposition. The 
 earliest ecclesiastical historians mention Linus, 
 whose name occurs in the salutation of Paul to 
 Timothy, as the first bishop of Rome. The com- 
 mission of an apostle extended to the whole Christ- 
 ian community. To station him as a parish minis- 
 ter, or place him at the head of the clergy of a 
 province, or even kingdom, would be to degrade 
 him from his apostolick office. 
 
 Peter was the oldest man among the twelve dis- 
 ciples of our Lord ; and from several passages of 
 the New Testament, it appears that he acted as the 
 president of the standing council of Christians at 
 Jerusalem. In the Gospels, and in the Acts, his 
 name generally stands first, when an enumeration 
 of individuals is made. Matthew, himself an 
 apostle, stiles Peter the first : that is, first among 
 equals. He acted as the presiding officer : as such 
 he delivered their decisions, and to him in this ca- 
 pacity probably letters to the council were address- 
 ed ; but it is evident that he possessed no exclusive 
 authority ; for this very council sent Peter and John 
 into Samaria, as their missionaries to the new con- 
 verts of that province. This appears more like 
 
124 SERMON TIM. 
 
 obeying the commands of the council, than claim- 
 ing a controlling superiority over them. With 
 modern notions of the supremacy of the Pope, 
 what would a Roman Catholick think, if he should 
 be told that the college of cardinals had sent his 
 holiness, as their legate, into a distant country ? 
 That Peter claimed not authority over Paul, we 
 know, for Paul withstood him to his face, and car- 
 ried the point against him. On the whole, the 
 pretence that Peter was invested by his Master 
 with supreme power in the Church, that he was 
 constituted the first bishop of Rome, and that his 
 successors in office inherit all his power, is without 
 any solid support. 
 
 Let us then inquire for the means by which the 
 Pope acquired dominion. 
 
 In the age that may be called apostolick, the 
 elder or bishop of Rome was the pastor of a single 
 Church, and was elected to his office by the suf- 
 frages of the Christian society. As Christian con- 
 verts were multiplied in Italy, new Churches were 
 formed, but were considered as branches of the 
 parent Church ; and Rome, as the capital city of 
 the empire, and the original seat of the parent 
 Church, gave dignity and rank to its bishop. 
 Rome was acknowledged as the great centre of the 
 Christian community, till Constantine removed his 
 court to the city that bore his name. At Rome, 
 all general councils were convened, and here all great 
 questions respecting the polity, the doctrines, and the 
 discipline of the Church were decided. These con- 
 siderations all tended to encrease the importance of 
 this bishoprick. When the civil empire was estab- 
 
SERMON TUL 125 
 
 lished at Constantinople, a violent contention arosq 
 between the pontiff of ancient Rome and the bishop 
 of the newly honoured Constantinople, for superi- 
 ority. But when the Turks conquered the greater 
 portion of Asia, Constantinople dwindled into com- 
 parative insignificance, and Rome maintained with- 
 out a rival its superiority. But that the bishop de- 
 rived his relative importance from the place of his 
 residence, and not from any authority transmitted 
 through Peter, is most evident ; for whenever a 
 province of the western empire was divided, in res- 
 pect to its civil government, which was sometimes 
 done, a corresponding division was made by the 
 ecclesiastical diocese ; and the capital city of the 
 newly established province was niade the seat of a 
 new bishoprick, the minister of which was consti- 
 tuted the Metropolitan of this newly formed diocese. 
 The favourable circumstances respecting the lo- 
 cal situation of Rome inspired its bishop with the 
 spirit of ambition, and a plan of aggrandizement 
 was early formed, which, through succeeding ages, 
 was systematically prosecuted. Science and litera- 
 ture were buried in the ruins of the Roman empire 
 at its conquest, by the barbarians of northern Eu- 
 rope. An age of ignorance and darkness ensued, 
 favourable to the aspiring views of the ecclesiastical 
 court of Christian Rome. Its bishop no longer 
 deigned to depend for his titles and honours, on 
 the election of the Christian society. He claimed a 
 divine right to his office, and professed to rule in the 
 Church by power derived from Christ. The pow- 
 er assumed by one aspiring bishop was never re- 
 linquished by his successor, though his natural 
 
126 SERMON VIII. 
 
 disposition might be more mild, and his general 
 character approach nearer to the standard of Christ- 
 ian simplicity and godly sincerity. Advantage was 
 taken of the contention of civil princes, and every 
 concession made by emperor or king in the day of 
 depression, or to answer a present purpose, was 
 holden as an established prerogative of the Pope, 
 and was made the means of still higher acquisitions 
 of power ; and in process of time, the head of the 
 Church became a sovereign prince, usurped the 
 most important attributes of civil government, 
 claimed a superiority over ail civil rulers, and by 
 precepts issued from his conclave, disposed of king- 
 doms and empires. The deepest policy was adopt- 
 ed to promote the purposes of this spiritual tyranny, 
 and efficient measures used apparently not to en- 
 lighten the minds of men in the knowledge of re- 
 ligious truth, and to form their dispositions to the 
 spirit of the gospel, but to make them the submis- 
 sive children of the Church which assumed domin- 
 ion over their faith. These political measures were 
 various, but all directed to the same object. 
 
 On a former occasion, we took a cursory notice 
 of the exemptions plead for ecclesiasticks, from 
 trials in ordinary judicial courts. The Church of 
 Rome successfully prosecuted these claims to a 
 most extravagant and pernicious length. " The 
 clergy, the more effectually to exercise power over 
 the laity, exempted themselves from all civil juris- 
 diction." " By degrees," says an ecclesiastical 
 historian, " the dignity of the priests rose so much 
 higher than that of the temporal powers, that it was 
 deemed a thing absolutely intolerable that a clergy. 
 
SERMON VIII. 127 
 
 man should be subject to any temporal tribunal ; 
 and as the common law did not punish with death, 
 the clergy enjoyed almost an absolute impunity 
 from the commission of any crime whatever. 
 And in those dark and ignorant ages, the disposi- 
 tion of the clergy to violence, and crimes of every 
 nature, was little, if at all, less than that of the 
 laity. It appears, in the reign of Henry III. of Eng- 
 land, that more than a hundred murders had been 
 committed by clergymen, whom the civil powers 
 could not bring to justice. As to the higher ranks 
 of the clergy, it was hardly possible that they 
 should be punished for any crime, on account of 
 their right of appeal to Rome, and the certainty of 
 their finding protection there, especially if they had 
 any difference with their sovereign. Besides, in these 
 times, no clergyman could be punished capitally 
 without previous degradation ; and a priest could 
 not be degraded but by eight bishops, to assemble 
 whom was a great expense." 
 
 The Roman clergy, not satisfied with exempting 
 themselves from trial before tribunals appointed by 
 the civil government, brought within the ecclesias- 
 tical courts exclusively all causes relating to mar- 
 riages, alimony, and wills ; and in many instances 
 encroached on the more common administration of 
 justice. 
 
 Not merely in the administration of justice did 
 the Roman pontiff invade the rights of civil govern- 
 ment. In the year 606, the emperor Phocas, by u 
 publick decree, invested the Pope with the title of 
 Universal Bishop, and clothed him with superior 
 authority in all ecclesiastical concerns. Thus em- 
 
128 SERMON Tltf. 
 
 powered, the servant became too mighty for the 
 master. From this time the Pope claimed the 
 right of nominating and investing bishops in all the 
 Churches in Europe, though the claim was not im- 
 mediately allowed in every kingdom. He not only 
 assumed a full domination in ecclesiastical affiirs, 
 but usurped the civil power, and often, by his man- 
 date, established and removed kings. A Pope 
 arrogantly declared to a sovereign potentate, " that 
 the dignity of the Pope was as much superior to 
 that of the Emperor, as the administration of the 
 things of heaven is above that of the things of 
 earth." 
 
 Another measure adopted to promote the scheme 
 of Papal power and aggrandizement, was the pro- 
 hibition of the marriage of priests. By this means, 
 the ties of country were loosened, and the tender 
 bonds of domestick life were broken asunder 
 through all orders of the priesthood. The clergy 
 were considered as married to the Church : with 
 the Church their interests were identified ; and as a 
 body, they were devoted to its purposes. Several- 
 orders of monks were established as distinct corps 
 in this service. They depended on the Pope for 
 their existence, derived their support from the 
 revenues of the Church, and always W 7 ere ready 
 to obey, without hesitation, the commands of the 
 pontiff. For centuries, what of literature there was 
 in Europe, was confined to the above classes of 
 priests ; and the superstition, as well as ignorance, 
 of tiie people, rendered thejn the easy dupes of their 
 spiritual guides. Large revenues in money were 
 raised under various pretences ; a great portion of 
 
SERMON VI!!. 
 
 the lands in Europe, become the property of the 
 Church and the estates of the Church were con- 
 sidered sacred ; and to withdraw any part of it from 
 the object of its appropriation, was deemed to be 
 the height of impiety. On the pretext that their 
 prayers would avail to redeem a soul from purga- 
 tory, the clergy made bargains with the deluded peo- 
 ple for the benefit of deceased friends. A given 
 amount of money was paid for the redemption of 
 the soul of a departed relative from punishment ; 
 and the sum was always proportioned to the wealth 
 of the family which was a party to the contract. 
 The sale of indulgencies was another productive 
 branch of revenue to the Church; but we shall 
 have occasion to mention this in another place. 
 By these means the Papal Church amassed im- 
 mense wealth. 
 
 One efficient measure to accomplish the ambi- 
 tious designs of the Roman pontiff, was the claim 
 of infallibility. As the vicegerent of Christ on 
 earth, the Pope claimed the possession not only of 
 power to rule the Church universal, but also the 
 authority to determine the true meaning of scrip- 
 ture, to decide ail controversies, to judge on every 
 doctrinal publication, and to settle all questions of 
 conscience. The people were never to use their 
 own judgment on religion, but implicitly to bow 
 their understandings to the wiser decisions of their 
 spiritual fathers ; and though the truth of a position 
 should appear to their minds as clear as the light of 
 the meridian sun, yet if it was pronounced by the 
 infallible judge untrue, they must with heart and 
 
130 SERMON VIII. 
 
 soul acquiesce, and sincerely believe as the Church 
 decreed. Having an infallible teacher, the bible was 
 not thought necessary for the laity ; and on the plea 
 that they had not judgment to understand its com- 
 munications, it was withholden from their perusal. 
 
 As though all this was not enough for the pur- 
 poses of delusion, the Papal Church held the doc- 
 trine of tradition : that is, they maintained that 
 the apostles of our Lord, from prudential considera- 
 tions, did not commit to writing, the whole system 
 of divine revelation, but transmitted, by oral tradi- 
 tion, certain principles and rules, which are of equal 
 authority with the written will of God. These tra- 
 ditions were committed, from generation to genera- 
 tion to the safe keeping of ecclesiasticks, who in 
 reality composed the Christian Church ; and the 
 laity are solemnly bound to receive these from their 
 priest, on the authority of God. From this secret 
 treasury the Papal clergy could draw any order, 
 precept, or rule, calculated to subserve the designs 
 of their ambition, avarice, or sensuality ; and no 
 one, on the penalty of his salvation, must question 
 its validity. 
 
 Excommunication was used as a powerful in- 
 strument to subserve the designs of Papal usurpa- 
 tion. The Pope fulminated the sentence of excom- 
 munication against all who manifested a spirit of 
 opposition to the requisitions of the Church, or 
 made the slightest resistance to the execution of 
 her decrees. This sentence deprived the excom- 
 municated of every religious privilege, excluded 
 them from a participation in the rights of humanity, 
 and made them forlorn outcasts in society. Their 
 
SERMON VIH. 131 
 
 bodies were denied Christian burial ; and the ig- 
 norant and superstitious wretches died in the full 
 expectation that the Papal sentence would be ratifi- 
 ed at the tribunal of heaven, and would prove the 
 seal of their eternal perdition. Sometimes a whole 
 kingdom was excommunicated for an act of insub- 
 ordination in its sovereign. This sentence closed 
 every Church in the realm, and suspended the ex- 
 ercise of every Christian office through the whole 
 community. It was received by the mass of the 
 people with astonishment and terrour, like that 
 which would be experienced, should the sun cease 
 to shine, and the elements of heaven be made the 
 ministers of divine vengeance on a guilty nation. 
 
 To complete this system of spiritual imposition 
 and tyranny, the Papal Church established the 
 court of inquisition, to guard against the very sem- 
 blance of opposition to its authority. On mere 
 suspicion of the want of allegiance to their sove- 
 reignty, the officers of this court, in the midnight 
 hour, and with the silence of the thief, invaded the 
 mansion of the citizen, and dragged the master of 
 the household from the bosom of his family to 
 a dungeon, where he was not confronted with 
 .his accuser, where no charge was laid against him, 
 nor measures of defence allowed ; but where he 
 was tortured and forced to a confession against 
 himself; and where, when policy dictated, he 
 expired on the wheel. Still his dearest relative 
 dared not inquire for the cause of his arrest ; nor 
 his best friend lisp the story of his sufferings and 
 destruction. Is it then possible that the liberal in- 
 stitutions of the gospel should be thus perverted to 
 
132 SERMON Till. 
 
 purposes of domination and cruelty ? Is it possi- 
 ble that the religion of love and benevolence should 
 be made the instrument to accomplish the designs 
 of human pride and ambition ? While we review 
 the terrifick features of Papal tyranny, our blood 
 becomes cold, and our minds, in detestation, recoil 
 from the contemplation of the hateful picture. 
 
 But this complicated apparatus of means, this 
 immense engine of power, fully answered the in- 
 tended design of aggrandizement. The minister 
 of the lowly Jesus assumed the loftiest titles, and 
 decorated himself with a triple crown. He ap- 
 peared in all the magnificence, and was surrounded 
 with all the splendour and pomp of royalty. En- 
 circled by his cardinals, the Pope issued decrees 
 which not only regulated the religious affairs of 
 every Church, but also effected the most important 
 interests of the civil governments of Europe, and 
 not unfrequently disposed of the thrones of kings 
 and emperors. Here he arrogated the attributes of 
 Divinity, and presumed to exercise the prerogative 
 of God. He exalted himself above all that is call- 
 ed God : he as God, sat in the temple of God a 
 showing himself that he is God. 
 
 This must suffice to show the rise and extent of 
 the usurpation of the Bishop of Rome. The cor- 
 ruptions and abuses of the Papal Hierarchy will be 
 more fully considered on a future occasion. 
 
SERMON IX. 
 
 THE CORRUPTIONS AND ABUSES OF THE PAPAL 
 HIERARCHY. 
 
 2 THESSALONIANS ii. 9. 
 
 Whose coming is after the working of Satan, with all pow* 
 er, and signs, and lying wonders. 
 
 IN the last discourse, we reviewed the manner 
 in which the Bishop of Rome usurped power and 
 dominion, From the passage of scripture before 
 us, I shall direct your attention to 
 
 The corruptions and abuses of the Papal Hie. 
 rarchy. 
 
 It has already been mentioned that the Bishop of 
 Rome was originally a parish minister, elected to 
 office by the members of his society. As Christ- 
 ian converts were multiplied, new Churches were 
 formed in Rome and its vicinity, and pastors were 
 established to administer the ordinances of the gos- 
 pel among them ; but the minister of the parent 
 Church was considered as the first among equals : 
 he summoned the meetings of the clergy, and pre- 
 sided in them. When the Roman government be- 
 
134 SERMON IX. 
 
 came Christian, the ecclesiastical divisions of the 
 empire were made to correspond with its civil di- 
 visions ; and Rome, being the capital city, its bish- 
 op took precedency of all others. After Constan- 
 tinople became the seat of civil government, the 
 Bishop of Rome and of Constantinople often disput- 
 ed the question of rank. Early in the sixth century 
 the Emperor Phocas gave the Pope of Rome the 
 title of Universal Bishop. He and subsequent em- 
 perors and kings granted extensive territories to the 
 Papal Church, which since has been denominated 
 the Patrimony of St. Peter. From the above-men- 
 tioned period, the Pope was, at least through Eu- 
 rope, acknowledged as the head of the Christian 
 community ; and all the Archbishops with their 
 suffragan Bishops submitted to him as possessing 
 the legislative, the judicial, and the executive pow- 
 er of the Church. 
 
 The first change made in the election of the 
 Pope was the admission of the clergy belonging to 
 the diocese of Rome to vote with the people of the 
 city. The next gave the clergy the right of nomi- 
 nation, and the people expressed their assent. The 
 approbation of the emperor, in process of time, be- 
 came necessary ; and without it, investiture in office 
 was not permitted. But at length the pontiff gave 
 essential assistance to a particular German emperor, 
 in his contention with a rival power ; and, as a reward, 
 received from him the relinquishment of the im- 
 perial right of approving the election of the Pope. 
 That the right might never be resumed, the pontiff 
 finally asserted that he held his honours, not by 
 human, but by Divine authority. As the sue- 
 
SERMON IX. 135 
 
 cessor of St. Peter, the prince of the apostles, he 
 claimed the keys of the Christian kingdom ; and 
 declared that he was invested with all power, in 
 things temporal as well as spiritual. The mitre 
 was pronounced to be above the crown, and it was 
 solemnly averred that kings, as well as bishops, de- 
 rived their power to rule from the Pope, the vice- 
 gerent of Christ. The Pope published as a law of 
 the gospel, " that the Bishop of Rome is the su- 
 preme lord of the universe, and that neither princes 
 nor bishops, civil governors nor ecclesiastical rul- 
 ers, have any lawful power in Church or state, but 
 what they derive from him." To support this as- 
 sumed character, the pontiff now set up the claim 
 of infallibility. 
 
 Severe altercations and great disorders often oc- 
 curring in the election of the Pope, at the close of 
 the eleventh century, the Roman pontiff, by decree, 
 formed a college of cardinals, and invested them 
 with the exclusive right of election. All vacancies 
 in the college are filled by the Pope himself. Sev- 
 enty, I believe, has been, for a long time past, the 
 stated number of cardinals composing this college. 
 Arrogating to himself power in heaven and on 
 earth, the proud head of the Church maintained by 
 subtle policy his spiritual empire, and drew im- 
 mense revenues from the nations of Europe. Im- 
 mersed in luxury, and surrounded with the minions 
 of his greatness, his elevated station attracted the 
 attention of the voluptuous, and became the object 
 of envy to the ambitious and aspiring. A mitred 
 minister of the Church, endeavouring to convert * 
 distinguished heathen philosopher to his faith, re- 
 
1.36 SERMON ix, 
 
 ceived the following reply : " Make me Bishop of 
 Rome, and I will be a Christian," 
 
 Corruption and abuse were the natural conse- 
 quences of unbounded power and wealth. To 
 secure prerogatives already obtained, and to ex- 
 tend them as circumstances permitted, became the 
 ruling principle of the Papal throne ; Christian 
 doctrim.-s and Christian morals were of subordinate 
 consideration. In the primitive age, personal 
 qualifications alone gave influence to individuals. 
 Then the minister of the gospel rose to eminence 
 and distinction, as he displayed a knowledge of the 
 system he professed to teach, as he discovered 
 vigilance and fidelity in the performance of minis- 
 terial duties, and as he gave an exemplification of 
 the Christian virtues and graces ; but when our re- 
 ligion obtained the support of civil government, and 
 Christian ministers became lords and princes, the 
 power of office secured influence, and wealth fur- 
 nished the means of homage and submission, though 
 the minister were a novice in theology ; though he 
 were totally destitute of the spirit of his Master ; 
 and though in life and conversation he violated 
 every precept of the gospel. The history of the 
 Christian Church, through succeeding generations, 
 fully verifies these remarks. For the sake of per- 
 spicuity, I will consider this branch of our subject 
 under distinct heads. 
 
 1. The usurpation of the Roman pontiff was 
 attended with the corruption of the great body of 
 the clergy. 
 
 An age of ignorance and barbarism succeeded 
 the fall of the Roman empire. The Papal Hie- 
 
SERMON IX. 13*7 
 
 rarchy availed itself of this state of things, to erect a 
 monarchy almost as extensive as had been the civil 
 dominion of Rome, and to establish a despotism 
 more oppressive than that which was supported by 
 the Roman sword. But the measures by which 
 this spiritual power governed, were widely differ- 
 ent. Intrigue and sophistry, artifice and deception, 
 the prostitution of every thing sacred in truth, and 
 important in religion, were among the most effica- 
 cious means used to extend and maintain this 
 spiritual dominion. The Papal court became cor- 
 rupt and venal, from its head down to its menial 
 attendants. Popes, who styled themselves the di- 
 vine guardians of the sacred truths of revelation, 
 and the infallible guides of the whole Christian 
 family in the paths of salvation, disregarding the 
 moral purpose of the clerical office, and falsifying 
 all thc ; r lofty pretensions to spirituality and holi- 
 ness, devoted themselves to schemes of ambition 
 and aggrandizement, or sunk into the most luxu- 
 rious and profligate course of life, according with 
 the constitutional complexion of their minds. To 
 show the extravagant lengths to which the dissipa- 
 tion of the Papal court was carried, sober history- 
 relates, that a particular Pope kept in his stables 
 more than two thousand hunting horses, for the 
 sportings of himself, his cardinals, bishops, and 
 other ghostly functionaries of his establishment. 
 The fountain being thus impure, the streams of 
 course became foul. The Bishops, in their splen- 
 did palaces, found their employment in the expen- 
 diture of their immense income, to the neglect of 
 18 
 
138 tfERMON IX. 
 
 the ordinary duties of the ministerial profession. 
 Bishops ceased to be constant preachers. They 
 became haughty and imperious, demanding hom- 
 age and deference from every class of men in so- 
 ciety. Among canons particularly designed to 
 regulate the conduct of the clergy, and which had 
 the sanction of the council of Trent, we find the 
 following, viz. 
 
 " Against those bishops, who in Church, or out 
 of it, behave themselves meanly towards the minis- 
 ters of kings, persons of quality, and barons, and 
 with too much indignity, not only give place to 
 them, but do them personal service ; the synod 
 detesting this conduct, and renewing the canons 
 concerning the decorum of episcopal dignity, com- 
 mands bishops to beware of such practices, and 
 every where to challenge due respect to their de- 
 gree, remembering that they are pastors ; and also 
 commands princes and all others to bear them the 
 honour and reverences due to fathers." Preaching, 
 religious instruction, and all the offices of publick 
 worship, were committed to infer iour priests ; many 
 of whom were grossly ignorant, more were im- 
 moral, and in general, they did not feel the obliga- 
 tions or the responsibility of parish ministers ; but, 
 like their superiours, they found the real duties of 
 their stations a burden, and made the formal dis- 
 charge of them as light and easy as possible. 
 The publick exercises of the Sabbath, as we shall 
 more fully perceive under a subsequent particular, 
 as it respects their moral purpose and important de- 
 sign, were subverted. 
 
0ERMON IX. 139 
 
 2. Monkish institutions proved the source of 
 great corruptions and abuse in the Christian Church, 
 
 The orders of monks had their origin in the times 
 of persecution by the Roman emperors. At those 
 periods, many professors of the gospel justly pri- 
 zing their Christian hopes above worldly emolu- 
 ments, or even life itself, fled from the prospects of 
 a cruel death, to which constancy in their religion 
 daily exposed them ; and from the temptation to 
 apostacy into which numbers of Christians were 
 brought by the threatened evil, and sought their 
 safety in solitude. Mountains and deserts, removed 
 from the haunts of men, were the places of their re- 
 treat. Here men and women, and sometimes whole 
 families, lived in the most simple manner ; and 
 they deemed security in religion to be happiness. 
 But no idea of absolute seclusion from the business 
 of the world, or from the intercourse of society, en- 
 tered into their plan ; nor were any of the number 
 considered as taking on themselves a clerical, or, in 
 a peculiar sense, a religious character. Avoidance 
 of the evil of persecution, and safety and quietness 
 in the enjoyment of the liberty wherewith Christ 
 had made them free, was the sole object of their re- 
 tirement. In fact, when the terrours of persecution 
 were removed, most of these returned to the com- 
 mon pursuits of civil life, in the cities and towns 
 from which they had fled. But individuals, habit- 
 uated to solitude, preferred a continuance of the life 
 of quietness and serenity, to which they had long 
 been accustomed. 
 
 The politick court of Rome saw the advantages 
 which might accrue to the hierarchy from clothing 
 
140 SERMON IX. 
 
 this class of men with a clerical garb, and conse- 
 crating them to the service of the Church. They 
 were therefore, by a Papal decree, formed into an 
 order of priests, by a distinct name ; and canons 
 Were established, to regulate their discipline, and 
 all the exercises of their devotions. When the 
 monastick institution was first founded, it was poor, 
 and the brethren appeared as men weaned from the 
 world. They lived in a state of self-denial and 
 bodily mortification : they were wholly separated 
 from all the business and all the pleasures of so- 
 ciety ; and they made solemn vows of devoting 
 themselves, mind and heart, to God and religion. 
 This apparent sanctity and devotion made deep im- 
 pressions on the imaginations of men of a dark age. 
 The character of the monk was viewed as sacred, 
 his round of ceremonial observances was deemed 
 the height of piety, and his prayers were supposed 
 ever to have efficacy at the throne of God. 
 Through several centuries, a spirit of infatuation 
 prevailed on this subject. Men, it was universally 
 thought, could not do greater service to God thaii 
 to found these monastick institutions. These were 
 multiplied in every kingdom of Europe. Parents 
 often left their children without inheritance, that 
 they might endow these establishments, and secure 
 the prayers of the holy fraternity. Men, who 
 through life had been habitually guilty of the 
 grossest crimes, at the close of life took the vows, 
 and were clad in the garment of the monk, in the 
 expectation, as it seems, that the mere initiation in- 
 to the order, would cancel their offences, and the 
 garb be a passport to heaven. The consequence of 
 
SERMON IX. 141 
 
 this infatuation was, that a great portion of the 
 population were drawn from the important purposes 
 of society, and devoted to an ascetick life ; and a 
 large proportion of the property was taken from ac- 
 tive business, and bestowed to enrich these useless 
 institutions. On the devotees themselves, wealth 
 produced its usual effects. Numbers, who wore 
 the garments of abstinence and bodily mortifica- 
 tion, lived within the walls of their monasteries in 
 idle luxury ; some gave themselves up to unbound- 
 ed licentiousness ; and the aspiring spirits among 
 them opened a path to the world, found their way 
 into the courts of kings, and there filled the highest 
 places of government. But they all were devoted 
 to their head, the Pope ; and a part of the wealth 
 which circulated through their channels, was at last 
 emptied into the coffers of the Papal treasury. 
 
 The general tendency of the monkish life was, 
 to give people false views of the nature and design 
 of religion, and to direct their religious services to 
 an useless purpose. Men were not taught to live 
 soberly, righteously, and piously, as a preparation 
 for heaven ; but to leave the world, and devote 
 themselves to ascetick observances ; or, if they 
 could not i.uk e the required sacrifices, they might 
 gain salvation through the mediation of these con- 
 secrated ministers of the altar. To show that this 
 misapprehension was general, I need only mention 
 the case of an individual monk, who saw the com- 
 mon delusion, and had the honesty and resolution 
 to make an attempt to stem the torrent of this vile 
 superstition. The doctrine he advanced was this 
 " That all those who kept the vows they made to 
 
142 SERMON IX. 
 
 Christ at their baptism, and lived according to those 
 rules of piety and virtue laid down in the gospel, 
 had an equal title to the rewards of futurity ; and 
 that consequently those, who passed their days in 
 unsociable celibacy and severe mortifications and 
 fastings, were in no respect more acceptable in the 
 eye of God, than those who lived virtuously in the 
 bands of marriage, and nourished their bodies with 
 moderation and temperance." This rational doc- 
 trine was first condemned by the conclave at Rome, 
 then by a numerous council assembled at Milan ; 
 and the Christian emperor carried their result into 
 execution, and banished this enlightened and honest 
 monk to a desolate island. 
 
 It would be wrong not to mention that other ex- 
 amples of knowledge, right practice, and true 
 charity, appeared among the monks ; that the lit- 
 tie science and the useful literature which prevail- 
 ed in the dark ages of Europe, were found in mon- 
 asteries ; and that bright instances of benevolence 
 were exhibited among them. But these were only 
 exceptions to the corruptions and abuses which 
 generally abounded among this order. 
 
 3. It was the policy of the Papal Church to 
 keep the laity in gross ignorance, that they might 
 the more easily hold them in thraldrom ; and this 
 systematick purpose must be marked among their 
 gross corruptions and abuses. 
 
 Knowledge is the best guard against imposi- 
 tion against religious imposition it is the most 
 effectual. The Romanists adopted publick mea- 
 sures to prevent, among the people, improvements 
 in knowledge. They assumed as a maxim, 
 
SERMON IX. 143 
 
 that ignorance is the mother of devotion ; that faith 
 rises in worth inversely with the evidence on which 
 it is established ; and that faith which is founded 
 in impossibility, is the most meritorious. " I be- 
 lieve, because it is impossible," was the boast of a 
 dignified member of this Church. In accordance 
 with these maxims, all the forms of publick wor- 
 ship, and all the exercises of the Church were cal- 
 culated to lead men blindfold as the vassals of the 
 spiritual lords of Christendom. In Popish Church- 
 es the bible was not read and expounded, nor, be- 
 fore the reformation, were sermons preached, as in 
 protestant countries is the common practice. The 
 bible was withholden from the laity. The exer- 
 cises of the temple were not fitted to enlighten the 
 minds of men, nor to improve their hearts; but 
 were calculated to charm their senses, or to per- 
 suade them to resign their consciences and their 
 purses to their ghostly fathers, as the means to pre- 
 pare themselves for divine favour. The natural 
 consequences of this degradation of the human un- 
 derstanding, of this blind submission to human au- 
 thority, of this ignorance of the elementary princi- 
 ples of truth, and moral science, were, that religion 
 was made to consist in professions, which had no 
 meaning, and in the pageantry of superstition, at 
 the expense of reason, piety, and virtue. 
 
 4. The avowed perversion of the moral precepts 
 x>f the gospel, must be reckoned among the cor- 
 ruptions of the Papal Hierarchy. 
 
 We often observe that much casuistry is employ- 
 ed to bring those vices which a man is unwilling 
 to leave, within the bounds of lawful actions ; but 
 
144 SERMON IX. 
 
 the Romanists went further : they corrupted moral 
 principles, that they might give a religious sanction 
 to practices the most base : they established as a 
 ruling maxim, that the end sanctifies the means ; 
 and that falsehood and fraud, in a good cause, are 
 justifiable. The Pope, as the vicegerent of Christ, 
 assumed the power to absolve men from oaths, and 
 to dissolve at pleasure the bonds of allegiance be- 
 tween a people and their sovereign ; and he often 
 exercised this power, where it produced parricide, 
 treason, and every species of crime. But by the 
 above maxims, Christian precepts themselves be- 
 came a dead letter, and moral obligations were ob- 
 literated from the human mind. All engagements, 
 for instance with hereticks, though made under the 
 sanction of the most solemn oaths, were pronounced 
 to have no binding force ; and, in all cases, those 
 lies were deemed to be commendable, which were 
 calculated to promote the interest of religion, mean- 
 ing the honour and the power of the Papal throne. 
 Under the administration of the Jesuits, the maxim, 
 that the end sanctifies the means, had the greatest 
 practical illustration, and proved a copious fountain 
 of impiety and crime, of misery and disorder. 
 
 5. Private confessions of sins before the priests, 
 and sales of indulgencies were among the abomina- 
 ble corruptions and abuses of the Romish Church. 
 
 In primitive times, Christian disciples confessed 
 scandalous offences before the assembled brethren 
 of their community. But in the fifth century, the 
 Pope, the legislator and judge of the universal 
 Church, enacted that confessions should be made 
 to the priests in private ; and on condition that the 
 
SERMON IX. 145 
 
 offender complied with the prescribed penance, 
 the priest pronounced his pardon. Whatever dis- 
 tinctions the priest might make in his own mind, 
 the deluded multitude conceived, that the offender 
 made his confession to the priest as his judge that 
 the pardon of the priest implied the pardon of God ; 
 and therefore the wounds of a guilty conscience 
 were healed without repentance and reformation. 
 
 The next step was to take money from the of* 
 fender, in place of the usual penance. To this sue- 
 ceeded the promulgation of the doctrine of indul- 
 gences. The practice commenced with the cru- 
 sades. The Roman pontiff published a plenary 
 indulgence to all who should die in the holy war : 
 that is, he promised salvation to all, who should 
 perish in this war, whatever might have been the 
 moral course of their lives, or the religious state of 
 their minds. Plenary indulgences were subse- 
 quently published to all who should die in any war 
 denominated holy : that is, in a war waged against 
 hereticks, or for the purpose of aggrandizing the 
 head of the Church. In the twelfth century, the sale 
 of indulgences became a source of great revenue, 
 and was reduced to system. To afford a pretext 
 for this abominable traffick, the following doctrine 
 was published. " There actually exists an im- 
 mense treasure of merit composed of the pious 
 and virtuous actions, which the saints had perform- 
 ed beyond what was necessary for their own salva- 
 tion, and which therefore are applicable to the 
 benefit of others that the Roman pontiff is the 
 guardian awd dispenser of this precious treasure ; 
 19 
 
146 SERMON IX. 
 
 and that of consequence he is empowered to assign 
 to such persons as he thinks proper, a portion of 
 this inexhaustible fund of merit, suitable to their 
 respective guilt, and sufficient to deliver them from 
 the punishment due to their crimes." That these 
 treasures of the Church might indeed appear to the. 
 world to be inexhaustible, the pontiff declared, that 
 not only the works of supererogation of all saints, 
 but also the infinite merits of Christ, are placed at 
 the disposal of his holiness. 
 
 The Popes made a liberal use of this exhaustless 
 fund. Besides indulgences to private individuals, 
 Boniface VIII., when he instituted a jubilee for the 
 year 1300, published a plenary or full indulgence 
 for all sins that should be then committed. Julius 
 II. granted indulgences to all, who should con- 
 tribute towards building the Church of St. Peter, 
 at Rome ; and Leo X., in order to carry for- 
 ward this magnificent structure, published indul- 
 gences and a lull remission on the same condition. 
 " Finding," says the historian, " the project take, 
 he granted the right of promulgating these indul- 
 gences in Germany, together with a share in the 
 profits arising from the sale of them, to Albert,. 
 Elector of Mentz and Archbishop of Magdeburg,. 
 who employed Tetzel, as his principal agent in re- 
 tailing them, in his own territories ; and Leo farm- 
 ed out those of other countries to the highest bid- 
 ders, who, to make the best of their bargains, pro- 
 cured the ablest of their preachers to extol the 
 value of their ware. Happy times for sinners ;' v 
 observes the historian, " their crimes were rated, 
 and the remission of them set up to auction." 
 
SERMOX IX, 147 
 
 6. To maintain the despotism of Popery by 
 depriving men of the knowledge necessary to de- 
 fend themselves against spiritual imposition and 
 abuse, the Roman court claimed the power not on- 
 ly to declare what constitutes heresy, and to punish 
 individual hereticks,. but also to prescribe what 
 publications Christians might read, and what they 
 might not. This restriction of religious liberty, 
 and the punishment of men for opinions, must be 
 ranked among the grossest abuses. 
 
 The comprehensive power claimed by the Papal 
 Church, backed by the terrours of the inquisition, 
 was exercised according to circumstances as they 
 arose. Books, which one infallible Pope permitted 
 to be read, his infallible successor prohibited. At 
 the commencement of the reformation, this power 
 was exercised with the utmost rigour. The judi- 
 cious and candid Dr. Campbell, has the following 
 remarks on this branch of Roman policy : " A 
 better expedient was never devised for employing 
 religion so as not only to divest men of all knowl- 
 edge, but of every vestige of rationality. So far 
 did the Roman inquisition proceed, that under the 
 authority of the Pope, they made a list of sixty-two 
 printers, prohibiting all the books printed by them, 
 of whatever authors, subject, or language, with an 
 additional clause, still more comprehensive, to it 
 and all the books printed by such like printers. In 
 consequence of which, there scarcely remained any 
 books to read. Nay, to show the incredible ex- 
 cess of their rigour, the prohibition of every book, 
 contained in their catalogue, was on pain of excom- 
 munication to the reader ; reserving to the Pope 
 
148 SERMON IX. 
 
 the power of inflicting the deprivation of offices and 
 benefices, incapacitation, perpetual infamy, and 
 other arbitrary pains. Thus was the court of 
 Rome in defence, as was falsely pretended, of the 
 doctrine of Christ, but in reality, of her own despot- 
 ism, engaged in a war against literature and knowl- 
 edge, tending evidently to the extermination of 
 arts and sciences, and to the transformation of men, 
 in every thing but external form, into brutes." 
 
 Such was the thraldom of Christians, at the close 
 of the fifteenth century. On those, who thus sat in 
 darkness and the region of death, the light of the 
 reformation arose. 
 
SERMON X. 
 
 THE NATURE OP THE REFORMATION IN THE 16TH 
 CENTURY. 
 
 REVELATION xviii. 4. 
 
 I heard another voice from heaven, saying, Gome out of 
 her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and 
 that ye receive not of her plagues. 
 
 THIS passage of scripture will be thought a 
 suitable theme for the discussion of a distinct prop- 
 osition on a very general subject, viz. 
 
 The nature of the reformation effected in the 
 sixteenth century. 
 
 In the year 1513, the son of Lorenzo de Medici, 
 the Magnificent, the most distinguished family in 
 Florence, was raised to the pontificate, and at his 
 consecration, assumed the name of Leo X. He 
 had been educated for the Church, possessed splen- 
 did talents, had acquired all the accomplishments of 
 the age, and was celebrated for classical literature, 
 and for his knowledge in the fine arts. He was 
 highly polished in his manners, and had been accus- 
 tomed to the most splendid style of living. He- 
 
150 SERMON X, 
 
 manifested a disposition liberally to encourage polite 
 literature ; but he was fond of pleasure, loose in his 
 religious character, and his belief of the truth of 
 Christianity was, at least, equivocal. 
 
 At this period, the doctrines of Wicliffe, in Eng- 
 land ; Waldus, Huss, and others, on the continent, 
 had, by the most bloody persecutions, been sup- 
 pressed ; and if the spirit of these reformers was 
 not wholly subdued, their disciples were holden in 
 derision and contempt. When Leo was placed on 
 the Papal throne, the voice of opposition to his 
 spiritual dominion was not heard. The civil gov- 
 ernments of Europe were the ministers to support 
 the universal supremacy of the Pope, and the whole 
 community was holden in the most abject spiritual 
 thraldom. 
 
 But causes for years had been secretly operating 
 to prepare the human mind for a revolution in the 
 religious establishment of Christendom. Men be- 
 gan to rise from the ignorance and debasement of 
 the dark ages, which succeed the subversion of the 
 Roman empire. Printing had been in use for al- 
 most a century. The writings of the first Christian 
 fathers had been printed, and extensively circula- 
 ted. Many perused them, and not a few were able 
 to compare the state of the primitive Church with 
 that of their own times ; and to perceive that great 
 corruptions and abuses had been introduced. 
 The licentiousness of the clergy became notorious, 
 and the impositions of the Church were heavily 
 felt. But Pope Leo, surrounded by his obsequious 
 cardinals, immersed in pleasure, or engrossed with 
 schemes of aggrandizement, perceived none uf 
 
SERMON X. 151 
 
 these signs of the times ; but mistook the universal 
 silence for the spirit of tame submission ; and 
 thought that no limit would be put to the means he 
 might adopt to provide a revenue adequate to the 
 accomplishment of all his lofty views. 
 
 The Papal treasury had been exhausted by the 
 extravagance of his immediate predecessor. The 
 magnificent cathedral of St. Peter, at Rome, was 
 then in part erected, and a large amount of funds 
 was necessary to complete this structure ; and the 
 prodigality, the munificence, and the plans of family 
 aggrandizement of the pontiff himself demanded a 
 still greater amount of ways and means. The im- 
 mense income from all the common resources of 
 the Papal throne, which had almost drained Europe, 
 were found insufficient for his wants, and he had 
 recourse to every measure to fill the treasury, which 
 cunning and cupidity could devise. Among the 
 most corrupt of these measures, was the traffick of 
 indulgences. Leo pushed this trade to its utmost 
 extent. In Germany, he farmed this branch of his 
 revenue to Albert, Elector of Mentz and Arch- 
 bishop of Magdeburg, who employed Tetzel, a 
 bold monk, to preach and vend these indulgences. 
 The monk executed his commission with the great- 
 est effrontery and scandal. He proclaimed the par- 
 don of all sins, past, present, and to come, to 
 all who would purchase the indulgences of Pope 
 Leo asserted that these had more efficacy than 
 the merit of Christ and declared that he had, by 
 their distribution, saved more souls from hell, than 
 the apostle Peter had, by his preaching, converted 
 to Christianity. This was one essential link in the 
 
SERMON X. 
 
 chain of causes which produced the reformation in 
 Germany, an event the most important and benefi- 
 cial to the world, that has taken place since the 
 establishment of Christianity. This abuse of every 
 thing sacred this open violation of all moral obli* 
 gations, roused the indignation of Martin Luther, 
 a man of the most powerful mind and intrepid 
 character. 
 
 Luther was a native of Eisleben, in Saxony. He 
 early discovered an inclination for learning, and was 
 publickly educated at the university of Urfurt. By 
 the force of his own mind, he rose above the scho- 
 lastick and useless modes of instruction common to 
 his age, arid taught philosophy and ethicks on ration- 
 al principles. Devoting himself to the department 
 of theology, he studied the bible with unwearied 
 diligence, in the original languages, and encouraged 
 the cultivation of the like study in others, as the 
 only sure foundation on which a true knowledge of 
 religion could be built ; and in life and conversa- 
 tion he was moral and exemplary. " Having pass- 
 ed his probation in the monastery of Urfurt, he 
 took the monastick vows,, and was admitted to 
 priest's orders. His profound learning, the purity 
 of his life, and his knowledge of the scriptures were 
 generally known and applauded, and in the year 
 1508, Frederick, Elector of Saxony, appointed 
 Luther, then only twenty five years of age, to the 
 professorship of philosophy, and soon after, to that 
 of divinity, in the university of Wit tern burg-. The 
 duties attached to these offices he discharged with 
 so much ability, and a method so totally different 
 from the usual mechanical and dull forms of lee-- 
 
SERMON X. 153 
 
 turlng, that he was crowded with pupils from all 
 quarters ; and he greatly contributed in raising 
 this university to celebrity. Being at Rome, in the 
 execution of an important coramision, Luther there 
 had opportunity to* examine the manner in which 
 the Church of Rome was governed, and to observe 
 the manners of the clergy. These he censured 
 with severity, and particularly the careless and 
 hasty manner which they adopted in performing 
 divine service. The manner in which they were 
 accustomed to offer up prayers to Almighty God, 
 he declared, excited in his breast sentiments of 
 astonishment and horrour. 
 
 The infamous proceedings of the monk Tetzel, in 
 vending indulgences, roused Luther to vigorous 
 efforts in opposition to the intolerable abuses of the 
 agents of the Roman pontiff. This may be con- 
 sidered as the commencement of that revolution in 
 the Christian Church, which humbled the pride, 
 and greatly reduced the power of the Papal Hie- 
 rarchy. In the year 1517, this intrepid apostle of 
 the reformation, with all the energy of his active 
 mind, and all the vehemence of his ardent spirit, 
 from the great Church in Wittemburg, attacked the 
 vile traffick and the vicious lives of those, who 
 were thus deluding their fellow beings in the high- 
 est interests of immortality. He brought their 
 doctrines to the test of scripture, and exhorted 
 Christians to seek their salvation by the methods 
 which God had prescribed in the revelation of his 
 will. The fervour and pungency of his appeal to 
 reason and scripture, deeply impressed the minds of 
 20 
 
154 SERMON 3L 
 
 his hearers. Multitudes attended his ministra- 
 tions, and became converts to his doctrines. 
 
 Not satisfied with enlightening his countrymen 
 from the pulpit, Luther proceeded to boider exer- 
 tions in the cause of Christian truth. He wrote to 
 the Elector Albert, expostulating with him on the 
 corrupt opinions and wicked conduct of those, 
 whom he employed in the distribution of indulgen- 
 ces, and in pathetick language beseeching him to 
 put an end to their abominable traffick, and to 
 adopt efficient measures to reclaim the clergy from 
 their profligate lives. But the love of gain was 
 predominant in the mind of Albert, and he was un- 
 moved by the remonstrances of Luther. Not suc- 
 ceeding with the Archbishop, Luther wrote ninety- 
 five theses, on the points in controversy, which he 
 proposed as subjects of inquiry and disputation ; 
 these he posted up in a Church in Wittemburg, 
 and challenged the learned publickly to appear on a 
 given day, as his opponents, either in person or by 
 writing. No person appearing at the appointed 
 time, Luther transmitted the theses to Pope Leo, 
 with a letter, expressing his profound veneration 
 for his holiness, and solemnly protesting his readi- 
 ness to submit implicitly to the authority of the 
 apostolick see. 
 
 It does not appear that Luther at this period en- 
 tertained the thought of separating himself from the 
 Papal Church, or of denying the supremacy of the 
 Bishop of Rome. Thus far the dispute rested with 
 Tetzd and Luther, respecting the power of the pon- 
 tiff to pardon the sins of men. Luther acknowl- 
 edged that the Roman pontiff possessed power to 
 
SERMON X. 155 
 
 remit all the punishments inflicted by the Church 
 against transgressors ; but he denied that the Pope 
 was clothed with authority to remit the punish- 
 ments which God had denounced against the sin- 
 ner. On the other side, Tetzel asserted that all 
 punishments, present and future, human and divine, 
 were within the power of the Pope to absolve, as 
 vicegerent of Christ. Questions of this nature had 
 before been canvassed in the Church, but the sove- 
 reign pontiffs had possessed so much discernment 
 and policy as to leave them unsettled by any de- 
 cree of the conclave. Had Leo, on this occasion, 
 observed the same caution, restrained the scanda- 
 lous abuses of Tetzel, and enjoined silence on the 
 monks respecting Papal power, it is probable that 
 Luther would have acquiesced, remained a mem- 
 ber of the Romish Church, and that his name would 
 not have been transmitted to posterity as a reform- 
 er. But Leo, in his imagined security, viewed 
 Luther as an object of insignificance, arid took no 
 notice of him. 
 
 Luther's theses, in the mean time, were published 
 and spread through Germany ; and they every where 
 attracted attention, and were by many applauded. 
 
 At length, numerous advocates for the holy 
 Church appeared, and with, the utmost asperity at- 
 tacked the writings and the person of Luther. Sup- 
 ported by Frederick, his sovereign, he undaunted- 
 ly defended his cause and his character ; and now 
 proceeded so far as to declare, " that if the Pope 
 and cardinals entertained the same opinions with 
 his opponents, and set up any authority against that 
 of scripture, there could be no doubt but that Rome 
 
156 SERMON JU 
 
 * 
 
 was itself the very seat of Antichrist, and that it 
 would be happy for those countries which should 
 separate themselves from her." 
 
 By the urgent representations of the emperor, 
 and other distinguished characters, of the dangerous 
 tendency of Luther's opinions, Pope Leo was in- 
 duced to issue an order for his appearing at Rome t 
 to justify himself. Men known to be hostile were 
 appointed as his judges. By the influence of Fred- 
 erick the wise, the petition of the reformer, that he 
 might be heard at Augsburg, was granted ; but 
 his avowed enemy, cardinal Cajetan, was empower- 
 ed to try the merits of the controversy. In Octo- 
 ber, 1518, Luther arrived at Augsburg, and was 
 admitted into the presence of Cajetan ; but the car- 
 dinal refused to hold debate with a man so much 
 his inferiour in rank, and peremptorily demanded of 
 Luther to retract, in an unqualified manner, the 
 heretical opinions he had advanced, and to submit 
 unreservedly to the judgment of the Pope. Luther 
 replied that he could not with a safe conscience re- 
 nounce opinions which he verily believed to be 
 true ; and that no earthly consideration should in- 
 duce him to do what would be base in itself, and 
 offensive to his God. But he declared himself 
 ready to submit to the lawful determinations of the 
 Church. And further, he offered to submit the 
 whole subject in controversy to certain universities ; 
 and promised in the mean time neither to write nor 
 preach on indulgences, on condition that the same 
 silence was enjoined on his adversaries. The car- 
 dinal scornfully rejected all his proposals, insisted 
 on a fall recantation, and forbid Luther his presence, 
 
SERMON X. 157 
 
 unless he came prepared to comply with this re- 
 quirement. Luther was not disposed to yield to 
 this demand, and privately retired from Augsburg, 
 leaving " a solemn appeal from the Pope, who was 
 then ignorant of his cause, to the Pope, at a time 
 when he should have received a more full and ex- 
 plicit information with respect to it," 
 
 L:o, learning the issue of this interview, issued 
 8 bull, by which he attempted, on Papal authority, to 
 settle the controversy. In this publick instrument, 
 he fully asserted the efficacy of indulgences, and 
 imperiously demanded of all Christians to assent to 
 his decisions, as the true doctrine of the holy Cath- 
 olick Church. 
 
 Luther, seeing the storm that was gathering 
 around him, gave a challenge to all the inquisitors 
 to come to Wittemburg, and hold a publick dispu- 
 tation with him ; offering them, in the name of 
 Frederick, Elector of Saxony, a safe conduct, and 
 promising them liberal entertainment during their 
 residence with him. And as the only remedy for 
 Papal censure, he appealed from the Pope to a gen- 
 eral council, which he maintained was superior in 
 authority to the pontiff. 
 
 The Roman pontiff, learning the indiscretion of 
 cardinal Cajetan, and fearing that his own measures 
 were too rash, constituted Miltitz, a Saxon knight, 
 to be his legate, and under his authority, to hold a 
 conference with Luther. Miltitz, a member of the 
 court of Leo, a man of deep penetration, of mild 
 temper, and persuasive address, was indefatigable 
 in his endeavours to bring the reformer to submis- 
 sion. By remonstrance, flattery, and persuasion, 
 
158 SERMON X. 
 
 he greatly softened Luther, who not only promised 
 to observe a profound silence in future, on the sub- 
 ject of indulgences, on condition that the same si- 
 lence was imposed on his adversaries, but also en- 
 gaged to write an humble letter to his holiness, 
 acknowledging that his zeal and opposition had 
 been intemperate and blameable. A letter of this 
 import he actually wrote. At the same time, Lu- 
 ther proposed publishing a circular letter, exhorting 
 his followers to reverence and obey the mandates of 
 the holy Roman Church. 
 
 This was greater condescension than could have 
 been expected from a man of Luther's resolute 
 mind and obstinate temper ; and it furnished the 
 Papal court with a second opportunity to have 
 silenced their formidable adversary. But before 
 Miltitz could bring this conference to a favourable 
 issue, a zealot of the Romish Church commenced 
 an attack on the reformer, in such a violent manner 
 as roused his indignation, drove him to more bold 
 assaults against the Papal throne, and put an end to 
 the reasonable prospect of healing the breach in the 
 Church, but by the destruction of Luther. 
 
 A providential event at this period favoured 
 Luther. The Emperor Maximilian died. The 
 Elector of Saxony, by the Germanic constitution, 
 was vicariat in that country during an interregnum ; 
 and under his auspices, the reformer enjoyed 
 safety. 
 
 During the year 1518, Luther publickly dis- 
 puted at Leipsic, with the celebrated controversial- 
 ist, Eckius. In the course of this famous disputa- 
 tion, Luther affirmed, that in the earlier ages of 
 
SERMON X. 159 
 
 Christianity the Church of Rome was not consider, 
 ed superior to other Churches ; and on the authority 
 of scripture, the writings of the fathers, authentick 
 ecclesiastical history, and even the decrees of the 
 council of Nice, denied all the lofty claims of that 
 Church and its lordly Bishop. Hoffman, the pres- 
 ident of die disputation, refused to declare victory 
 to either party, but left the decision to the univer- 
 sities of Paris and Urfurt. The audience, how- 
 ever, declared in favour of the reformer ; and Eck- 
 ius, by the resentment and deadly hatred which he 
 manifested towards Luther, proclaimed that he felt 
 hinmself beaten. 
 
 Soon after this event, Philip Melancthon, and 
 Uric Zuinglius, joined the ranks of the reformers, 
 and Erasmus evidently favoured their cause 
 men the most distinguished of their age. Now 
 the march of the reformation became more bold 
 and open. 
 
 Eckius, on his defeat at Leipsic, repaired to 
 Rome with his complaints ; and, by his instigations, 
 Leo was at length induced to assemble the college 
 of cardinals to prepare a sentence of excommunica- 
 tion against Luther. On the 15th June, 1520, the 
 bull was issued. In it, forty-one propositions, col- 
 lected from the reformer's works, were condemned 
 as heretical, all persons were forbidden to read his 
 works, and they, who possessed any of them, were 
 commanded to burn them, Luther, himself, if he 
 did not within sixty days renounce his errours, and 
 burn his books, was pronounced an obstinate here- 
 tick, excommunicated, and delivered over to Satan, 
 for the destruction of the flesh; and all secuUr 
 
160 SERMON X. 
 
 princes, under pain of incurring the same censure, 
 were required to seize his person, that he might be 
 punished as his crimes merited. 
 
 Luther, learning the decision of the conclave 
 against him, deliberately prepared himself for his 
 defence. As Pope Leo had burnt his works, Lu- 
 ther, surrounded by an immense multitude of all 
 ranks, burnt, in the environs of Wittemburg, the 
 pontiff's bull, and the decrees and canons respect- 
 ing the supremacy and dominion of the Bishop of 
 Rome. He next collected from the canon law the 
 most extravagant propositions respecting the ex- 
 tent of Papal power, and the subordination of all 
 civil authority to the see of Rome. These he pub- 
 lished, with pointed comments, shewing their ar- 
 rogance, their impiety, and their inconsistency with 
 the existence of civil authority. Within one month 
 after this publication, a second bull was fulminated 
 against him from the conclave, by which he was 
 expelled from the communion of the Church, for 
 having insulted the majesty and disowned the su- 
 premacy of the Roman pontiff. 
 
 Being thus excommunicated, Luther employed 
 himself in forming a system of doctrines and rules 
 of discipline for a Church, conformable to his views 
 of the New Testament, which was established, and 
 exists to this day, under the denomination of the 
 Lutheran Church. 
 
 Charles V., having succeeded his grandfather as 
 Emperor of Germany, one of the first acts of his 
 administration was to summon a diet of the empire, 
 to be assembled in January, 1521, at Worms ; and 
 the express purpose of the meeting was, to concert 
 
SERMON X. 161 
 
 the proper measures to check the progress of these 
 new and dangerous opinions, which threatened to 
 disturb the peace of Germany, and to overthrow the 
 religion of their ancestors. When the diet was 
 opened, the Pope's legates insisted that the assem- 
 bly was bound without deliberation to condemn the 
 man whom the Roman pontiff had already excom- 
 municated as an obstinate heretick. The emperor 
 expressed his readiness to comply with the meas- 
 ure ; but the elector of Saxony, the faithful friend 
 of Luther, plead that he ought to be tried by the 
 canons of the Germanic Church, and by the laws 
 of the empire. In pursuance of this advice, the 
 diet resolved that Luther should be summoned be- 
 fore their body, and allowed an hearing before sen- 
 tence was pronounced on his cause. The conse- 
 quent summons the reformer determined to obey. 
 From this resolution his friends endeavoured to 
 dissuade him, reminding him that a plighted faith 
 was not observed with a heretick ; and though he 
 received a solemn assurance of security, and a safe 
 conduct was sent him from the emperor, yet this 
 was not deemed a foundation of confidence ; and 
 they referred to the reformer Huss, who was exe- 
 cuted with an emperor's safe conduct in his hands. 
 To this remonstrance Luther replied, " I am law- 
 fully called to appear at Worms, and thither will I 
 go, in the name of the Most High God, though as 
 many devils as there are tiles on the houses, were 
 there combined against roe." On the 16th of April, 
 Luther arrived at Worms, where crowds of people 
 were assembled to behold him, and where he in 
 21 
 
i 
 
 162 SERMON X. 
 
 general received the most respectful treatment. 
 Before the diet, he plead the cause of Christian 
 truth and liberty with much self-possession and 
 great force of argument hut all to no effect.* - 
 Some of the assembly proposed to seize the oppor- 
 tunity of his presence, and at once to rid the: Church 
 of so pestilent an heretick ; but the emperor refused 
 to forfeit his plighted word. No sooner, however, 
 had he left the city, than in the emperor's name, 
 and by the authority of the diet, a severe edict pass- 
 ed against him, by which he was pronounced an ob- 
 stinate heretick, a member cut off from the Church, 
 deprived of the privileges which he had enjoyed as 
 a member of the empire ; and the heaviest punish- 
 ments were denounced against those, who should 
 receive, entertain, or countenance him, either by 
 acts of hospitality, by conversation, or writing ; and 
 all were required to give their aid in seizing his 
 person as soon as the term of his safe conduct 
 should expire." 
 
 Regardless of these anathemas, Luther prepared 
 to publish his translation of the bible, which was 
 extensively circulated in Germany, and produced 
 astonishing effects on the minds of the people. A 
 number of the princes, and a large portion of the 
 population, adopted the principles of Luther, and 
 formed a confederacy to support the reformed 
 Churches. 
 
 In June, 1526, a diet of the empire ^vas holden 
 at Spires, in which the influence of the reformers 
 was so great, that a resolution passed, that till a gen- 
 eral council should be convened, the princes and 
 states of the empire should, in their respective 
 
SERMON Xr 163 
 
 dominions, be at liberty to manage ecclesiastical 
 concerns in the manner they should deem the most 
 expedient. But this tranquillity was not of long 
 duration. A new diet was assembled in 1529, and 
 the former edict was revoked, and a decree passed, 
 that every change from the established religion 
 should be considered as unlawful. Against this 
 decree all the friends of the reformation remonstrat- 
 ed ; and from the protest they then made, the 
 name of Protestants is derived. The emperor de- 
 termined to enforce the edict by the sword. Prot- 
 estants, in consequence of the war that issued, 
 were exposed to severe -sufferings ; but the empe- 
 ror found insurmountable difficulties in the attempt 
 to subdue the opposition to the Roman pontiff; and 
 after frequent changes among the German princes 
 had taken place, and many conflicting interests had 
 appeared, the emperor became discouraged, and in 
 1552, he concluded a treaty of pacification, which 
 secured the German protestants in their Christian 
 liberty. In 1555, the diet of the empire assembled 
 at Augsburg, and ratified the treaty of the emperor 
 Charles. This was denominated the peace of re- 
 ligion ; and by it a great portion of Germany was 
 separated from the authority of the Pope, and left in 
 quietness to worship God agreeably to the dictates 
 of a conscience enlightened in his word. At least, 
 no restraint was imposed after this period, by the 
 Roman pontiff. This was thirty-eight years from 
 the time that Luther attacked Tetzel for his abomi- 
 nable traffick in indulgences. 
 
SERMON XI. 
 
 THE EXTENT OF THE REFORMATION IN THE I6TH 
 CENTURY. 
 
 JUDE, 3d verse. 
 
 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of 
 the common salvation, it was needful for me to write 
 unto you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith 
 which was once delivered unto the saints. 
 
 THE professors of the Christian religion are, in 
 the New Testament, denominated saints. By 
 FAITH, in our text, the apostle includes the whole 
 system of the gospel, in its doctrines and precepts, 
 its examples and institutions, its promises and 
 threatenings. 
 
 Having already, under the fourth proposition of 
 our subject, reviewed the causes which produced 
 the separation of protestants from the Romish 
 Church, and considered the nature of the reforma- 
 tion, I shall this morning, my Christian brethren, 
 direct your attention to its extent. 
 
 Great research and close reflection are ne- 
 cessary to enable any one to form a correct judg- 
 ment of the extent of the reformation of the six- 
 
SERMON X!. 165 
 
 teenth century, and duly to appreciate the efforts of 
 its authors. To form right opinions of the charac- 
 ters of the reformers, and to estimate the real merit 
 of their labours, we must take into view the circum- 
 stances of their education, the customs and habits 
 of the age in which they lived, and the disadvan- 
 tages under which they acted. Take Luther as the 
 great example. In an age comparatively dark, 
 he so far enlightened his own mind as to perceive 
 the corruptions, the abuses, and the impositions of 
 the Church of which he had been a devoted mem- 
 ber. Being himself a priest of eminence, he parti- 
 cipated in the emoluments of the hierarchy, and 
 yet he had the honesty to proclaim the domination, 
 the venality and wickedness of the pretended vice- 
 gerent of Christ, and of the holy universal Church. 
 Though all the authority and all the vengeance of 
 the Roman empire and of the Papal throne were 
 combined for his destruction, yet he persisted res- 
 olutely in his defence of Christian liberty and 
 Christian truth ; and by the blessing of God, he 
 triumphed over all opposition. His name is identi- 
 fied in every country with the reformed religion, and 
 will be venerated and esteemed in every subsequent 
 age, by all who prize religious freedom, and set a 
 value on religious privileges. 
 
 " Martin Luther's life," says bishop Atterbury, 
 " was a continued warfare. He was engaged against 
 the united forces of the Papal world, and he stood 
 the shock of them bravely, both with courage and 
 success. He was a man certainly of high endow- 
 ments of mind and great virtues. He had a vast 
 \inderstanding, which raised him to a pitch of learn- 
 
166 SERMON XI. 
 
 ing unknown to the age in which he lived. His 
 knowledge in scripture was admirable, his elocu- 
 tion manly, and his way of reasoning, with all the 
 subtility that the plain truths he delivered would 
 bear. His thoughts were bent always on great de- 
 signs, and he had a resolution to go through with 
 them, and the assurance of his mind was not to be 
 shaken or surprised. His life was holy, and, when 
 he had leisure for retirement, severe. His vir- 
 tues were active chiefly, and social, and not those 
 lazy sullen ones of the cloister. He had no ambi- 
 tion but in the service of God; for other things, 
 neither his enjoyments nor wishes ever went high- 
 er than the bare conveniences of living. If, among 
 this crowd of virtues, a failing crept in, we must 
 remember that an apostle himself had not been ir- 
 reproachable : if, in the body of his doctrine, a flaw 
 is to be seen, yet the greatest lights of the Church, 
 and in the purest times of it, were, we know, not 
 exact in all their opinions. Upon the whole, we 
 have certainly great reason to break out in the lan- 
 guage of the prophet, and say, " How beautiful on 
 the mountains are the feet of him who bringeth 
 glad tidings." 
 
 Every man who has independence enough to 
 form his religious opinions on the result of exam- 
 ination, and openly to confess the articles of his be- 
 lief who feels an interest in the rights of con- 
 science, and finds satisfaction in the quiet worship 
 of his God, according with the dictates of his own 
 mind, will ever hold the reformers in the highest 
 estimation, and embalm their memories with the 
 incense of gratitude. But it must be remembered 
 
SERMOX XL 167 
 
 that they were fallible men. They made no claims 
 to inspiration. They lived in an age of great ig- 
 norance. Science and literature were then but 
 rising from a state of the deepest depression ; and 
 their means of general information were very limit- 
 eel. In religion, they had been educated in ail the 
 superstitions of the Romish Church, and entered 
 into active life with unbounded notions of Papal 
 power, and with an almost sacred reverence for the 
 decisions of the Church. Under circumstances 
 like these, is it a reasonable supposition that they 
 should at once rise above the prejudices of early 
 education, eradicate the errours that had been 
 the most deeply rooted in their minds, surmount 
 the embarrasments which impeded their progress 
 in the pursuit of truth, and, in the course of a few 
 years, comprehend Christianity in all its doctrines, 
 precepts, and motives ? No. We might as well 
 expe-ct that in one season every vestige of an ex- 
 tended forest would, by the labour of an individual, 
 be removed, and in its place would appear all the 
 fruits of the most perfect cultivation. Hear what 
 Luther says of himself, in an address to those who 
 might peruse his works. " I entreat you to read 
 my writings with cool consideration, and even with 
 much pity. I wish you to know that when I be- 
 gan the affair of indulgences, I was a monk, and a 
 most mad Papist. So intoxicated was I, and 
 drenched in Papal dogmas, that I would have I 
 most ready at all times to murder, or assist in mur- 
 dering any person, who should utter a syllable 
 against the Pope. I was always earnest in defend- 
 ing doctrines I professed. I went seriously to 
 
168 SERMON Xf. 
 
 work, as one who had a horrible dread of the day of 
 judgment, and who from his inmost soul was anx- 
 ious for his salvation. You will find, therefore, in 
 my earliest writings, with how much humility, on 
 many occasions, I gave up considerable points to 
 the Pope, which I now detest as blasphemous and 
 abominable in the highest degree. This errour my 
 slanderers may call inconsistency ; but you, my 
 pious readers, will have the kindness to make some 
 allowance, on account of the times, and my own 
 inexperience. I stood absolutely alone at first, and 
 certainly was very unlearned, and very unfit to un- 
 dertake matters of such vast importance. It was 
 by accident, not willingly or by design, that I fell 
 into those violent disputes. God is my witness." 
 
 That the reformers, under all the embarrassments 
 of their situation, should have broken asunder so 
 many of the cords of Papal thraldom, and corrected 
 so many of the abuses and errours of the Romish 
 Church, must ever astonish the world ; but to 
 bound the reformation where they left it, and to 
 make them the standards of orthodoxy in every 
 subsequent age, is preposterous. 
 
 That the subject may be the more clearly pre- 
 sented to your minds, I will prosecute the inquiry 
 into the extent of the reformation, under three dis- 
 tinct branches. 
 
 1. The power exercised in the government of 
 ecclesiastical affairs. 
 
 2. The ceremonies and exercises to be adopted 
 in the publick worship of God. And 
 
 3. The doctrines that were inculcated and es- 
 tablished as the essential truths of revelation. 
 
SERMON XL 169 
 
 It is not necessary to remark, that the reformers 
 denied the supremacy of the Bishop of Rome.- 
 They denied that Popes and general councils were 
 either infallible or supreme judges in concerns of 
 religion : they declared the scriptures to be the sole 
 law of Christians ; and they submitted its interpre- 
 tation to the enlightened conscience and sound 
 judgment of each individual disciple. The grand 
 principle, the permanent foundation of the reformed 
 religion, is the sufficiency of scripture as a rule of 
 faith and practice, and the right of private judg- 
 ment in matters of religion. To the support of the 
 sufficiency of scripture, and the right of private 
 judgment, Luther devoted his talents, his reputa- 
 tion, and his life. The truth of these positions he 
 proved by arguments, which all his adversaries 
 could neither confute nor invalidate. This proof 
 remains in its full force, though the practice of the 
 first reformers and of most of their successors has 
 been quite inconsistent with the principle. By it 
 Luther has transmitted an imperishable reputation. 
 The sufficiency of scripture, and the right of pri- 
 vate judgment, is the very soul of protestantism. 
 These principles have, at least in theory, been ad- 
 mitted by all denominations of protestants through 
 every century since the days of Luther ; and as 
 long as these are admitted even as speculative 
 trliths, Christian liberty, at least in its root, will 
 have vitality. The ambition of civil rulers may, in 
 one country, smother its growth ; and in another^ 
 the contention of different denominations of pro- 
 fessors for superiority and dominion, may destroy 
 22 
 
170 
 
 SERMON XI. 
 
 its shoots ; but it will still retain life, and as prej- 
 udices are conquered, in the progress of general 
 improvement, it will grow to its full strength, put 
 forth its rich foliage, and yield its divine fruit, 
 
 But with sorrow and pain we review the weak- 
 ness and inconsistency of man, in this most sacred 
 transaction. Luther, and all the other reformers, 
 denied absolutely that any human power might au- 
 thoritatively settle the articles of Christian faith : 
 they separated themselves from the existing Hie- 
 rarchy, and claimed the liberty to form their own 
 system of faith, and to establish their own forms of 
 worship; and at the same time, they quarelled with 
 each other about its exercise, and denied it to all 
 who opposed their systems. They individually 
 were disposed to exercise dominion over the faith 
 of their fellow disciples, and to lord it over the 
 heritage of God. The power to prescribe articles 
 of faith which they arrested in the hand of the 
 Roman pontiff, they assumed themselves ; and the 
 authority which they denied to civil government 
 to enforce the decrees of the Pope among Catholick 
 nations, they transferred to the civil governments in 
 protestant countries, and required them by penal 
 statutes to enforce their own creeds and formularies. 
 At that age, Christian liberty was not understood 
 by any class of men, and religious toleration was 
 no where allowed. The creed and confession of 
 Luther were established by the civil authority of all 
 the German princes who adopted his system. 
 Wherever the Lutheran religion was received, 
 these creeds and confessions were made the laws of 
 the land, and opposition to them was punished as 
 
SERMON XL 171 
 
 crimes committed against the state. Similar re- 
 marks will apply to other reformers. Their arti- 
 cles of faith and their plans of Church government 
 were adopted and supported by civil authority. 
 By the power of the civil magistrate, Calvin burnt 
 Servetus, at Geneva, for heresy. 
 
 The reformation in England, as it respects pow- 
 er, was merely nominal. Henry VIII. assumed the 
 ecclesiastical sceptre which he tore from the sove- 
 reign pontiff. His supremacy in religion was sup- 
 ported by acts of parliament, and the nature of his 
 ecclesiastical government may be understood by 
 the following six articles, which were formally 
 enacted and kept in force during his reign. I will 
 adopt the language of the historian : 
 
 " The king being sensible of the good of union, 
 and of the mischief of discord in points of religion, 
 had come to the parliament in person, and had 
 opened many things of high learning there ; and 
 that with the consent of both houses, he sent forth 
 these articles. 
 
 1. That in the sacrament there was no sub- 
 stance of the bread and wine, but only the natural 
 body and blood of Christ. 
 
 2. That Christ was entirely in each kind, and 
 so communion in both was not necessary. 
 
 3. That priests, by the law of God, ought not to 
 marry. 
 
 4. That vows of chastity, taken after the age of 
 twenty- one, ought to be kept. 
 
 5. That private masses were lawful and useful. 
 
 6. That auricular confession was necessary, and 
 ought to be retained. 
 
172 SERMON XI. 
 
 These articles were thus solemnly proclaimed 
 as essential Christian verities. Practical opposition 
 to any of them, persisted in, was made a capital 
 offence, and many were in consequence executed. 
 Even Lambert, a priest of learning, judgment, and 
 moral life, was solemnly tried before the king, the 
 nobles, and bishops of the realm, for denying the 
 real presence; was condemned, and finally burnt. 
 In the reign of Edward VI. the learned, the pious 
 and good Archbishop Cranmer, under the invet- 
 erate prejudice of early education, persuaded that 
 young, but humane monarch, to give his sanction to 
 burning a poor woman on a charge of heresy. The 
 pious king, in tears, signed the death warrant, and 
 pathetically said to the Archbishop, " Since I resign 
 up myself in this matter to your judgment, if I sin 
 in it, the sin must lie at your door." 
 
 In the reign of queen Elizabeth, the English 
 episcopal Church was permanently established. But 
 the supremacy was still vested in the sovereign ; 
 and in the opinion of many learned, judicious, and 
 pious individuals, their forms, in some particulars, 
 bear too near a resemblance to the superstitious 
 rites and corrupt usages of the Church from 
 which they separated. Indeed it has been pointed- 
 ly remarked, that, in the English communion, we 
 find, " a Papist liturgy, Calvinistick articles of 
 faith, and an Arminian clergy." 
 
 Some of the above observations would, with 
 more propriety, have fallen under the head of doc- 
 trines, but I thought it expedient at once to close 
 our remarks on the reformation in England. 
 
SERMON XL 173 
 
 Our venerated ancestors, who first settled in 
 America, while they were inhabitants of the mother 
 country, claimed the right to form their faith from 
 an examination of the sacred oracles; and they 
 brought with them the true protestant principles of 
 the sufficiency of scripture and the right of private 
 judgment ; but they also, in practice, discovered the 
 inconsistency common to their age. They inti- 
 mately incorporated Church and state, and denied 
 to all dissentients from their system the rights of 
 conscience. We see then that the reformation, as 
 it respects the liberty of opinion and the rights of 
 conscience, though in theory perfect, in reality was 
 partial and limited. 
 
 The reformation of the sixteenth century, as it 
 respected the ceremonies and exercises of ptiblick 
 worship, both among Lutherans and Calvinists, 
 was thorough. Luther, almost without exception, 
 removed the superstitious rites of the Papal Church. 
 He reduced the number of sacraments to two, viz. 
 baptism and the Lord's supper. He exploded the 
 adoration of the host, oracular confession, purga- 
 tory, prayers to departed saints, and the worship of 
 images. He also opposed monastick vows, the 
 fasts of the Romish Church, and indulgences. 
 
 The reformers generally introduced publick forms 
 of praise and prayer adapted to the intellectual, the 
 spiritual worship of the Deity, and which had a 
 direct tendency to cherish pious affections, and to 
 render men the fit objects of divine favour. They 
 also adopted an improved system of preaching, 
 better calculated to enlighten the human mind, to 
 improve the human heart, and to lead to pure mo- 
 rality in life and conversation. 
 
174 SERMON XI. 
 
 Caution to avoid Popish errours, has, perhaps, 
 in some instances, particularly among puritans, 
 been carried to an extreme. Thus, that men might 
 not fall into the Papistical practice of praying for 
 the dead, neither prayers nor any religious exersise 
 was customary at funerals. Our ancestors brought 
 this caution, may I not say prejudice, with them 
 into our country ; and for more than a century after 
 their settlement here, prayers were not made at 
 funerals. The first prayer made, and the first ser- 
 mon preached at the obsequies of a deceased per- 
 son in Boston, were at the funeral of the Rev. Dr. 
 May hew, in the year 1766. 
 
 Objections have been often made to the congre- 
 gational worship. It is thought to be too simple. 
 In publick worship, we are told that there should be 
 more ornament, more ceremonies to fix the atten- 
 tion, and to excite suitable emotions. But if we 
 are at the opposite extreme of that of the Papists, 
 experience, I think, shows that our extreme is the 
 safest. Splendour of ornament, and redundance of 
 ceremony have a tendency to engross the mind, 
 and lead people to suppose that religious worship 
 consists in mere external observances. When the 
 form of worship is simple, the service may be the 
 more intellectual and edifying, and the worship 
 more spiritual and acceptable. 
 
 The* reformation, as it respects Christian doc- 
 trines, will be the subject of our attention on a fu- 
 ture occasion. 
 
SERMON XII. 
 
 THE REFORMATION, AS IT RESPECTS DOCTRINES, WAS 
 PARTIAL. 
 
 1 TIMOTHY vi. 4, 5. 
 
 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome 
 words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to 
 the doctrine which is according to godliness ; he is proud, 
 knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes 
 of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil *w- 
 misings. 
 
 THE history of the Christian world furnishes 
 the clearest illustration of our text. Whenever 
 men, leaving the simplicity of the gospel, have at- 
 tempted to embody the truths of revelation in hu- 
 man formularies, disputes, divisions and censorious- 
 ness have followed. 
 
 The nature and extent of the reformation, in the 
 sixteenth century, have already been reviewed. 
 The particular branch of this subject, that I shall at 
 this time discuss, is, the doctrines which were es- 
 tablished by the reformers, as the fundamental 
 truths of revelation. 
 
176 SERMON XII. 
 
 Luther, and other reformers, made less change -t 
 in the doctrines, than in the rites and ceremonies of 
 the Papal Church. Indeed, the degree in which 
 they removed the corruptions that had been intro- 
 duced, was very limited. Most of the articles of 
 the Lutheran and Calvinistick systems had long been 
 established by the authority of the holy mother 
 Church. 
 
 The following may be taken as a summary of 
 Luther's faith : He denied the doctrine of free 
 will, and asserted that in all men do, they act from 
 necessity. He held that all the actions of men, in a 
 state of nature, are sinful ; and that their virtues 
 are crimes. He was a most strenuous advocate for 
 the real presence of the body and blood of Christ 
 in the eucharist. On this subject, a long and bit- 
 ter controversy existed between Luther and Zuin- 
 glius, of Switzerland a controversy which oc- 
 casioned a breach among the followers of these 
 great men that was never healed. As it respects 
 doctrinal points, there was not a material difierence 
 between the Lutheran and Calvinistick systems. I 
 mention this now, because I shall presently show 
 that all the leading doctrines of these systems were 
 the established doctrines of the Papal Church. 
 Melancthon was unquestionably more mild and 
 liberal, and more reformed than Luther ; but he be- 
 come not the head of any particular sect. Zuinglius 
 was pre-eminently distinguished among the reform- 
 ers of the sixteenth century. He, more than any 
 other reformer, divested himself from the prejudice 
 of a Popish education, carried into the study of the 
 scriptures more sound principles of criticism, pos- 
 
SERMON XII. 177 
 
 Sessed more of the spirit of his Master, and in his 
 intercourse with his fellow Christians, displayed 
 more of the charity of the gospel. Admiring his 
 general character, I cannot restrain the inclination 
 to present to your view an extract fcom his biog- 
 raphy. 
 
 " In the character of Zuinglius," says his impar- 
 tial biographer, " there appears to have been united 
 all that makes a man amiable in private society, 
 with the firmness, ardour, and intrepidity that are 
 indispensable in executing the great task of refor- 
 mation. By nature mild, his earnestness was the 
 result of the importance of the cause he engaged iri 
 to the best interests of mankind, not of a dogmatical 
 or dictatorial spirit. His views were large and 
 generous, and his opinions rose above the narrow 
 scale of sect or party. It was no small proof of 
 the liberality in that age, that he ventured to assert 
 his belief of the final happiness of virtuous heathens, 
 and of all good men who act up to the laws en- 
 graven on their own consciences. His temper was 
 cheerful and social, somewhat hasty, but incapable 
 of harbouring resentment, or indulging envy or 
 jealousy. As a reformer, he was original ; for he 
 had proceeded far in emancipating himself from the 
 superstitions of Rome, by the strength of his own 
 judgment, and had began to communicate the light 
 to others, whilst Luther still retained almost the 
 xvhole of the Romish system, and long before Cal- 
 vin was known in the world. He was more learn- 
 ed and more moderate than the first of these di- 
 vines, and more humane and kind-hearted than the 
 23 
 
178 SERMON UL 
 
 last. He wrote many works of utility in their day ; 
 and the reform, of which he was the author, still 
 exists unchanged among a people distinguished by 
 their morals and mental cultivation. 
 
 To this biographical sketch I will add, that when 
 the Roman Catholick cantons of Switzerland, in 
 arms invaded the territory of their reformed breth- 
 ren, to force them to return within the pale of the 
 Papal Church, Zuinglius went out with his coun- 
 trymen in defence of Christian liberty, and perished 
 on the field of battle. Desperately wounded, he was 
 left senseless on the ground. A Roman Catholick 
 soldier, who found him so far recovered as to cross his 
 arms on his breast, and raise his eyes to heaven, of- 
 fered to bring a confessor, and exhorted him to rec- 
 ommend his soul to the virgin Mary. Zuinglius 
 declined the proposal, and the soldier furiously ex- 
 claimed, '* Die, then, obstinate heretick," and pierc- 
 ed him through with his sword. A priest who had 
 once been his colleague at Zurich, but who was 
 his opponent as a reformer, intensely gazing on 
 the corpse, proclaimed, " Whatever may have been 
 thy faith, I am sure thou wert always sincere, and 
 that thou lovedst thy country. May God take thy 
 soul to his mercy." 
 
 A high claim in favour of the system of Calvin- 
 ism is made in our country, on the declaration that 
 this contains the doctrines of the reformation. The 
 doctrine of the trinity, and the whole class of 
 articles of faith, which with us are proudly de- 
 nominated the orthodox creed, it is confidently 
 affirmed, were the peculiar doctrines of the reform- 
 ers ; and I doubt not that many are led to believe 
 
SERMON XH. 179 
 
 that these articles of faith were embodied by Luther 
 and Calvin, who purified them from the corrup- 
 tions which were introdued into the doctrine of 
 the gospel by the Roman pontiff*. Nothing is 
 more distant from the reality. The most that can be 
 consistently affirmed is, that the reformers left these 
 doctrines as they found them, on the formularies of 
 the Papal Church. All these articles of faith were 
 doctrines established by human authority, centuries 
 before the birth of the reformers, and indeed long 
 before the bishop of Rome claimed to be the infal- 
 lible head of the universal Church. Take first the 
 doctrine of the trinity. 
 
 In the commencement of the fourth century, a 
 bitter controversy arose respecting the divinity of 
 our Saviour. Christians of the eastern Church 
 then formed themselves into two grand divisions, 
 under the denomination of Trinitarians and Arians, 
 Sometimes the ruling power of the state favoured 
 one denomination, and sometimes the other ; but 
 whichever party predominated, their opponents 
 were persecuted by expulsion from office, by ban- 
 ishment and by death, in violation of the spirit of 
 our religion, and to the scandal of the Christian 
 profession. 
 
 Before the middle of this century, the council of 
 Nice was assembled. Until this time, no divine, 
 I believe, had publickly asserted the equality of the 
 Son with the Father. Though this council con- 
 demned the Arian doctrine, and decreed that the 
 Son is of the same essence with the Father, yet 
 many of the members held to the supremacy of th 
 Father. 
 
180 
 
 SERMON XII. 
 
 The divinity of the Holy Ghost was not deeply 
 agitated in this council. But a prelate of the 
 Church, having declared, that the Holy Ghost is 
 " a divine energy diffused throughout the universe, 
 and not a person distinct from the Father and the 
 Son," a general council convened at Constanti- 
 nople in the year 381, pronounced this sentiment 
 heretical. "An hundred and fifty bishops, who 
 were present at this council," says Mosheim, 
 "gave the finishing touch to what the council of 
 Nice had left imperfect, and fixed in a full and deter- 
 minate manner, the doctrine of three persons in one 
 God, which is yet received among the generality of 
 Christians.'? 
 
 In the subsequent age, angry disputes prevailed 
 respecting the divine and human natures of Christ. 
 Prom the controversies of the fourth century, the 
 doctrine of the trinity assumed the Athanasiari form, 
 and from the Greek pplemicks was handed clown 
 through the western Church to protestant profes- 
 sors. The article of faith on the dpctrine, in the 
 confessions of Augsburg and Dort, of the episco- 
 pal, the presbyterian, and congregational Churches, 
 may be traced to the controversies of the fourtli 
 century. 
 
 With what propriety then can the doctrine of the 
 trinity be called the doctrine of the reformation ? 
 In its present form it was established in an ignorant 
 age of the Church ; and it has been transmitted 
 through succeeding centuries on the strength of 
 human authority. All that can with truth be af- 
 firmed is, that the reformers did not materially alter 
 this article of faith, which they found in the Papal 
 establishment. 
 
SERMON XII. 181 
 
 There is no more reason for denominating the 
 doctrine of original sin, total depravity, irrespective 
 decrees, special grace, and other articles of the Cal- 
 vinistick creed, the doctrines of the reformation, 
 than that of the trinity. These were the subjects 
 of most bitter controversy as early as the fifth cen- 
 tury. Hear the language of an ecclesiastical histo- 
 rian respecting the character of the theologians who 
 introduced them.-" Many points of religion were 
 more largely explained, and many of its doctrines, 
 determined with more accuracy and precision, than 
 they had been in the preceding ages. This was 
 owing to the controversies that were multiplied at 
 this time, throughout the Christian world, concern- 
 ing the person and nature of Christ ; the innate 
 corruption and depravity of man ; the natural ability 
 of men to live according to the dictates of the di- 
 vine law ; the necessity of the divine grace in or- 
 der to salvation j the nature and existence of human 
 liberty, and other such intricate and perplexing 
 questions. The sacred and venerable simplicity of 
 the primitive times, which required no more than a 
 true faith in the word of God, and a sincere obe- 
 dience to his holy laws, appeared little better than 
 rusticity and ignorance to the subtle doctors of this 
 quibbling age. Yet so it happened, that many of 
 the over curious divines, who attempted to explain 
 the nature, and remove the difficulties of these intri- 
 cate doctrines, succeeded very ill in this matter. 
 Instead of leading men into the path of humble 
 faith and genuine piety, they bewildered them in 
 the labyrinths of controversy and contention, and 
 rather darkened than illustrated the sacred mysteries 
 
182 SERMON XII. 
 
 of religion, by a thick cloud of unintelligible sub- 
 tleties, ambiguous terms, and obscure distinctions. 
 Hence arose new matter of animosity and dispute, 
 of bigotry and uncharitableness, which flowed like 
 a torrent through succeeding ages, and which all 
 human efforts seem unable to vanquish. In these 
 disputes, the heat of passion, and the excessive 
 force of religious antipathy and contradiction, hur- 
 ried frequently the contending parties into the most 
 dangerous extremes."* 
 
 St. Augustin may perhaps be considered as the 
 father of the articles of faith now denominated Cal- 
 vinistick. He and his disciples maintained, " that 
 a covenant was made with all mankind in Adam, as 
 their first parent, and that he was to represent them 
 all ; so that by his disobedience, they are all sinners, 
 his act being imputed and transferred to them all." 
 That satisfaction was made to the justice of God by 
 the death of Christ, and that men were justified by 
 the imputed righteousness of the Saviour, were 
 prevalent doctrines of this period. 
 
 Pelagius, a British monk, opposed these tenets, 
 and for this opposition, his name has been transmit- 
 ted as an Arch-heretick. What then were the 
 opinions which have for centuries rendered the 
 memory of this divine opprobrious in the Christian 
 world ? Learn them from the authentick page of 
 ecclesiastical history. " This monk looked upon 
 the doctrines which were commonly received, con- 
 cerning the original corruption of human nature, 
 and the necessity of divine grace to enlighten the 
 understanding and purify the heart, as prejudicial 
 
 * Moaheim, Cent. T. part ii. chap. S 
 
SERMON XII. 183 
 
 to the progress of holiness and virtue, and tending 
 to lull mankind in a presumptuous and fatal security. 
 He maintained that these doctrines were as false as 
 they were pernicious ; that the sins of our first 
 parents were imputed to them alone, and not to their 
 posterity ; that we derive no corruption from their 
 fall, but are born as pure and unspotted as Adam 
 came out of the forming hand of his Creator ; that 
 mankind, therefore, are capable of repentance and 
 amendment, and of arriving to the highest degrees 
 of piety and virtue, by the use of their natural facul- 
 ties and powers ; that indeed, external grace is ne- 
 cessary to excite their endeavours, but that they 
 have no need of the internal succours of the Divine 
 Spirit." 
 
 Against these sentiments, St. Augustin directed 
 the full force of his vivid imagination and active 
 mind ; and principally, by his exertions, their prev- 
 alence was soon checked, and their author stigma- 
 tized as a heresiarch. In this age, the peculiarities 
 of the creed, now denominated orthodox, was form- 
 ed into a system, and transmitted through succes- 
 sive generations to the present time. 
 
 While Roman Catholick theologians confined 
 their inquiries to metaphysical subjects, and advanc- 
 ed no position which interfered with the infallibili- 
 ty of Holy Mother Church, the pontiff seldom med- 
 dled with their disputations ; and sometimes his 
 edicts were opposed to the established faith on es- 
 sential points of divinity. Thus the profitable traf- 
 fick of indulgences led to declarations inconsistent 
 with the doctrine of salvation by the imputed merits 
 of Christ. To insure a reverence to the Church, 
 
184 SERMON Xft. 
 
 adequate to her exigences, the greatest efficacy 
 attributed to the indulgences of the Pope, and to 
 the good works of Christian professors. Good 
 works were pronounced to have merit in the sight 
 of God. These would avail the individual who 
 performed them, at the day of judgment, and in- 
 sure his salvation. The merit of good works might 
 be transferred from one individual to another, and 
 was considered as an atonement for his sins, and by 
 it he received a tkle to divine favour. What were 
 the good works with which the Romish Church as- 
 sociated all this merit ? Were they genuine ex- 
 pressions of a mind, meek, humble and resigned, 
 under the dispensations of Divine Providence ? 
 Were they works of righteousness, benevolence, 
 and mercy to mankind ? Were men directed to 
 commute for their sins, and to acquire a title to 
 the favour of their Maker by living soberly, right- 
 eously, and piously ? Were they exhorted to 
 amass a stock of transferable merit by doing justly, 
 loving mercy, and walking humbly with their God ? 
 No. The meritorious works of the Romish 
 Church bore no resemblance to the moral virtues 
 inculcated in the gospel. Men were taught con- 
 fidently to expect for themselves pardon and salva- 
 tion, and by their imputed merit to save the souls 
 of others, as a reward for bestowing their worldly 
 substance to found monasteries, to endow religious 
 houses, to pay for prayers offered by priests to ob- 
 tain the delivery of souls suffering in purgatory :. 
 in a word, to give their property to purposes of 
 Papal aggrandizement. Luther clearly saw the de- 
 lusion and danger to which men were exposed by 
 
SERMON XII. 185 
 
 the Romish doctrine of merit, and in the endeavour 
 to guard Christian disciples against them, he was 
 carried to the opposite extreme. His statement of 
 justification by faith alone, seems to imply, that, on 
 the plan of the gospel, an observance of moral pre- 
 cepts is of no importance. Not satisfied that man 
 can merit nothing of his Maker, and that on the 
 merciful promise of God, the Christian founds his 
 hopes of acceptance, as the reward of a sincere en- 
 deavour to do t;e divine will, Luther's remarks, 
 in their obvious meaning, import that obedience to 
 the moral laws of the gospel is neither the condi- 
 tion of salvation, nor a preparation for the society 
 of heaven. He expressly asserts, " that not only 
 were good works not necessary to salvation ; but 
 how good soever they might appear, they were 
 mortal sins." And one of his followers, of the 
 greatest celebrity, as expressly declares, " that 
 good works are an impediment to salvation." 
 The language of many orthodox divines, on the 
 subject of good works, from the period of the ref- 
 ormation, to our day, has been such, as would lead 
 an uninformed hearer to suppose, that by yielding 
 obedience to the divine commands, he should en- 
 danger his salvation. If the disciples of the re- 
 formers had, in a literal sense, received their 
 comments on the demerit of the moral virtues, 
 and adopted them as practical principles, they 
 might consistently have sinned, that grace may 
 abound. 
 
 The Lutherans soon purified the articles of their 
 Church from some of the more exceptionable parts 
 24 
 
SERMON XII. 
 
 of their founder's creed ; but at Geneva, the sys- 
 tem, for ages, was retained in its original features, 
 and therefore it has borne Calvin's name as its 
 author. But, from authentick information, we 
 learn, that, almost without exception, the present 
 divines of Geneva have discarded the peculiarities 
 of Calvinism, and have introduced purer articles of 
 faith, and more liberal principles of ministerial and 
 Christian intercourse and communion. 
 
 In New England, a large class of divines, who 
 choose to bear the epithet, orthodox, deny the doc- 
 trine of imputation, and on several other points, dif- 
 fer materially from the system of Calvin ; yet, 
 however they modify their faith, they style them- 
 selves Calvinists, and confidently maintain that they 
 hold the peculiar doctrines of the reformation. 
 
 The reformers, as men, partook of the weakness 
 of human nature : they received their religious 
 education under the most corrupt establishment : 
 all their early prejudices bound them to slavish 
 submission to the decrees of a bishop, who was 
 generally acknowledged as the vicegerent of Christ ; 
 and the interest and power of Christendom were in 
 a great measure combined to oppose every scheme 
 of reforming the mother Church; yet they possess- 
 ed force of mind to break their thraldom, and reso- 
 lution to oppose the corruptions and spiritual des- 
 potism by which Christian professors were debased 
 and oppressed. While knowledge and truth, liber- 
 ty and religion are regarded, the memory of the 
 reformers will be venerated. 
 
SERMON XIII. 
 
 THE DUTY OF PROTESTANTS. 
 
 COLOSSIANS i. 9, 10. 
 
 For this cause, we also, since the day we heard it, do not 
 cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filed 
 with the knowledge of his will, in all wisdom and spiritual 
 understanding; that ye might walk worthy of the Lord 
 unto all pleasing, being fruitful in every good work, and 
 increasing in the knowledge of God, 
 
 IT is unnecessary to mention that a very general 
 subject has for weeks been under our consider- 
 ation. The following propositions show the man- 
 ner in which it has been treated. 
 
 1. The primitive state of the Christian com- 
 munity. 
 
 2. The manner in which ecclesiastical power 
 and dominion were assumed by the Christian priest- 
 hood. 
 
 3. The rise and extent of the usurpation of the 
 bishop of Rome ; and the corruptions and abuses 
 f the Papal Hierarchy, 
 
188 SERMON xm. 
 
 4. The causes which produced the separation 
 of protestants from the Romish Church ; and the 
 nature and extent of the reformation in the sixteenth 
 century. 
 
 5. The duty of protestants to act in consistency 
 with their avowed principles, and to make pro. 
 gressive improvements in religious knowledge and 
 moral life, corresponding with the light and the 
 means of the age in which they live. 
 
 The last proposition I am this morning to con- 
 sider, viz : 
 
 5. The duty of protestants to act in consistency 
 with their avowed principles, and to make progres- 
 sive improvements in religious knowledge and 
 moral life, corresponding with the light and the; 
 means of the age in which they live. 
 
 A man of a discriminating and unprejudiced 
 mind, must feel some surprise in reviewing the 
 present state of Christendom. Since the sixteenth 
 century, the highest improvements have been made 
 in all the exact sciences and in general literature. 
 A comparison between that age and this, shows that 
 the progress of the human mind, in the knowledge 
 of personal rights, in the principles of civil gov- 
 ernment, and in every branch of science and phi- 
 losophy, has been constant and rapid ; and in con- 
 sequence, society is every where improved and 
 refined. But the systems of school divinity of that 
 period have been handed down through successive 
 generations, to the present time, with a sanction 
 which is due only to the oracles of truth. The 
 great cause is, that those systems are supposed to 
 contain the peculiar doctrines of the reformation ; 
 
SERMON XHI. 189 
 
 and therefore they are supported by all the venera- 
 tion which Christians feel towards the men, who at 
 the hazard cf every enjoyment of life, and of life 
 itself, freed them from the tyranny and bondage of 
 the Papal Church. But we have clearly seen that 
 the formularies now to be found amongst most de- 
 nominations of Christians, are not the peculiar doc- 
 trines of the reformers. These were common to 
 papists and to protestants. This fact furnishes no 
 argument to prove them true or false. Papists and 
 protestants hold many important and essential truths 
 of revelation in common ; but the fact shows, that 
 these doctrines are entitled to no peculiar favour 
 because they were holden by the reformers. The 
 doctrines of the reformation must be those which 
 distinguished protestants from papists, and which 
 formed the line of separation between them not 
 those in which they were united. Shall I then 
 be asked, What are the distinguishing marks 
 between the reformers and those whom they op- 
 posed ? I answer, they relate rather to practical 
 abuses than to speculative errours. I answer in 
 the words of a good writer. " The great points oa 
 which the reformation turned, relate chiefly to the 
 power of the clergy, the rights of Christians, and 
 the rule and standard of Christian faith. The great 
 errours against which the reformers directed their 
 attacks, were the supremacy of the Pope the deri- 
 vation of his dignity from St. Peter his power of 
 forgiving sins the infallibility of the Church the 
 authority of traditions, and of decrees of council 
 the efficacy of indulgences the miracles and merits 
 of saints the veneration due to the fathers -the pro- 
 
190 SERMON XHl. 
 
 priety and obligation of monastick vows the neces- 
 sity of confession to the priest, and of receiving 
 from him absolution the power of prayer and alms 
 over the souls in purgatory the number and efficacy 
 of the sacraments, which it was the province of the 
 clergy to administer ; and, above all, the propriety 
 of withholding the scriptures from the common 
 people," 
 
 That men labouring under all the prejudices of a 
 Popish education, and in an age of darkness and 
 ignorance, should have had strength of mind to 
 perceive the odious nature, and pernicious effects 
 of the above stated abuses and impositions, and 
 courage in their attempt to correct them to op- 
 pose the most formidable power of the Roman pon- 
 tiff must excite our admiration ; but it cannot be 
 imagined, that men, who had grown even to the 
 full vigour of manhood, amidst the grossest cor- 
 ruptions, and had deeply imbibed the false princi- 
 ples of the established religion, should at once per- 
 ceive every false doctrine, and every pernicious 
 abuse which it contained, and be immediately pre- 
 pared to make a thorough reformation. Unless we 
 admit that these men were inspired, which is not 
 pretended, it cannot be presumed that they at once 
 understood the whole counsel of God, as this is 
 revealed in the scriptures, and immediately purified 
 Christianity from all the corruptions introduced by 
 the Papal Church. " It would be strange indeed," 
 to adopt the language of the venerable Robinson, 
 the pastor of the Leyden flock, " if the earliest re* 
 formers should have passed from such entire dark- 
 ness into perfect light, after such darkness had en- 
 
ERMON XIII. 
 
 dured for twelve hundred years." Having but 
 imperfectly liberated themselves from monkish su- 
 perstition and moral servitude, it is not possible that 
 Luther and his fellow-labourers should have con- 
 formed their institutions to the letter and spirit of 
 the gospel. Theologians, who have been educated 
 under more favourable circumstances, and possess 
 higher means of obtaining a correct knowledge of 
 scripture, and acquiring the requisite knowledge of 
 publick teachers, must be in a situation to make 
 improvement on the first reformers, as it respects 
 articles of Christian faith, modes of publick wor- 
 ship, and the forms of Church government and dis- 
 cipline. In fact, the doctrines and principles, which 
 in this age are the subject of controversy and divis- 
 ion, had slight, if any, connexion with the corrup- 
 tions and abuses from which the first reformers re- 
 lieved protestants. 
 
 The agitated, the heated spirit of the sixteenth 
 century, was unfavourable to impartial investi- 
 gation, to candid inquiry, and to the possession of 
 opinions on speculative subjects, founded on de- 
 liberate and sound judgment. 
 
 While, then, Christians of the present day ven- 
 erate the memories of those great and daring men, 
 who began the reformation from Popery while they 
 cherish devout gratitude for the religious liberty 
 and the religious blessings of which these men were 
 the primary instruments let not Christians of this 
 period of greater light and knowledge take them as 
 infallible guides, nor adopt their speculative sys- 
 tems as the body of revealed religion, from which 
 there is no appeal. The systems of Luther, Cal- 
 
SERMON XIII. 
 
 vin, and their coadjutors are entitled to honourable 
 notice as the opinions of great, honest, and pious 
 men, who sought the truth in the love of it ; but 
 they have not the authority of revelation, and are to 
 be received only as, on due examination, they are 
 found conformable to the sacred oracles. While 
 we avail ourselves of every advantage which the 
 noble exertions of the reformers have secured to us, 
 let us not view them as the standard of perfection, 
 and suppose that we must cease from further in- 
 quiry after the truths pertaining to eternal life, and 
 rest our Christian faith and hope on their attain- 
 ments. All the light with which they were favour- 
 ed, shines around us ; and many and great advan- 
 tages are afforded us, which were denied to them. 
 We must account for all the talents committed to 
 our management. Our progress, then, in Christian 
 knowledge, and Christian life, should correspond 
 to the means of general improvement with which 
 we are favoured. The authority for the doctrines 
 we believe should be drawn from the sacred scrip- 
 tures, not from the creed of Luther, Zuinglius, or 
 Calvin. Christ is the only lawgiver in his king- 
 dom. The scriptures are the only infallible rule of 
 faith. Every intelligent Christian forms his opin- 
 ions of revealed truths from an impartial and diligent 
 study of them. 
 
 Should the inquiry be urged On what points is 
 it the duty of Christians of the present day particu- 
 larly to make improvements ? 
 
 I answer, 
 
 1. They are bound to display the practical ef- 
 fects of protestant principles in a higher degree than 
 
xra. 193 
 
 these have as yet been manifested in the Christian 
 world. 
 
 The reformers, in their dispute with the Romish 
 Church, took the most tenable ground, which they 
 maintained with all the force of argument, and all 
 the power of truth, viz. " The sufficiency of 
 scripture as a rule of faith and practice, and the 
 right of private judgment." But no sooner had 
 they separated a large portion of the Christian com- 
 munity from the Catholick communion, than they, 
 in direct violation of their own principles, assumed 
 the spiritual domination over their protestant breth- 
 ren from which they themselves revolted, under 
 the Roman pontiff. By their own authority they 
 established formularies as the test of orthodoxy, and 
 they denied the Christianity of all who dissented 
 from them. Luther was strenuous to deprive the 
 individual of every Christian privilege, and every 
 worldly blessing, who denied the real presence of 
 Christ in the eucharist ; and Calvin burnt Servetus 
 for denying the doctrine of the trinity, that there 
 were three persons in the godhead. The spirit of 
 Popery is not yet banished from the Christian 
 Church. How many, in the present day, judge of 
 the Christianity of their brethren, not by their pro- 
 fession of a belief in the divine origin of our re- 
 ligion not by an adoption of the scriptures as 
 the standard of faith and the rule of conduct not 
 by a life and conversation which become the gos- 
 pel but by their embracing the creed of this or 
 the other human master in theology. These 
 things, my candid hearers, ought not so to be. 
 25 
 
 
194 SERMON Xltl. 
 
 To what cause are we indebted for the great im- 
 provements, which have been made in most branch- 
 es of science and philosophy ? To the liberty 
 which scientifick men have enjoyed fearlessly to 
 examine established systems, to bring theories to 
 the test of experiment, and to publish the result of 
 their investigations without hazarding their personal 
 safety, or their worldly interest* The same liberty 
 of inquiry and publication would produce the 
 like beneficial effects in theology. Great is the 
 power of truth, and when its investigation is least 
 shackled by human authority, it will most pre- 
 vail. Let, then, the disciple of Jesus Christ in re- 
 ality, in practice, grant his Christian brother the 
 liberty of judgment which he claims for himself. 
 Let him not view his brother less worthy as a man, 
 or the less pure as a Christian- let him not love him 
 the less, because his inquiries into the sacred oracles 
 result in the adoption of opinions which differ from 
 his own ; but if he, by an exhibition of the fruits 
 of the gospel, prove that he loves the Lord Jesus 
 Christ in sincerity and truth, let the hand of charity 
 be extended to him. Then will the Christian com- 
 munity cease from strife, and the unity of the spirit 
 will be preserved in the bond of peace. 
 
 2. It is the duty of those who deny human au- 
 thority in the concerns of religion, who have the 
 most thoroughly freed themselves from the preju- 
 dice of party, and risen above the exclusive spirit 
 of a sect, to appear openly the advocates of the 
 great interests which at heart they approve, and 
 publickly to support the system which they believe 
 to be true. 
 
SERMON XIIL 195 
 
 The present situation of the Christian communi- 
 ty in our country renders this independent avowal of 
 opinion the more incumbent. It cannot be denied 
 that systematick measures are now zealously prose, 
 cuted to check the prevalent spirit of inquiry, to re- 
 strain the exercise of private judgment, and to deny 
 Christian fellowship to all who refuse assent to an 
 human creed. This remark is not made from any 
 apprehension that the attempt to lord it over the 
 heritage of God, will finally succeed. The nature 
 of our publick institutions, and the genius of the 
 people of our country 5 forbid the supposition. 
 Did I singly regard the extensive prevalence of 
 that system of Christian opinions which I embrace, 
 I could not desire more efficient pioneers to remove 
 the impediments which retard its progress, than 
 the anathemas and excommunications which are 
 now threatened. The thought of crushing liberal 
 Christianity, as many denominate it, by ecclesias- 
 tical censures, is idle. But I am appalled by a 
 view of the temporary evils which must arise from 
 the attempt. Angry disputes will prevail, and 
 those divisions may take place, which must para- 
 lize the strength of many of our parishes, and leave 
 no denomination the ability to support the publick 
 institutions of the gospel. Evils, then, may follow 
 of which we may be awfully afraid. Means will be 
 wanting to maintain a pious and learned ministry : 
 destitute parishes will be left open to impressions 
 from ignorant and enthusiastick itinerants ; and the 
 worst evils of party, and the most extravagant ex- 
 cesses of fanaticism, it must be expected, will pre- 
 vail. 
 
If 6 SERMON xin. 
 
 Let the voices, then, of all who discountenance 
 an exclusive spirit among Christians, be lifted up 
 against it, that the advocates for separation may be 
 convinced that they have not the overwhelming 
 majority of the intelligence, the piety, the zeal, and 
 sincerity of the community, which promise success 
 to their measures. Let those in the Christian 
 ministry, who bear the title of orthodox, be told, 
 that if they, in an unchristian manner, separate from 
 their more liberal brethren, their liberal parishion- 
 ers will separate from them. Then they may per- 
 ceive the danger of their own plan, and may be 
 induced to desist from its prosecution. They then 
 may be inclined to inquire, not respecting points on 
 which Christians differ, that they may divide but 
 in which they agree, that they may be united. The 
 Christian ground, which is common, is so broad, 
 that all may stand on it, and be fellow- labourers in 
 promoting the true interests of the kingdom of 
 Christ, the Lord of all. 
 
 3. It is the duty of those, who verily think that 
 they have purified their Christian faith from human 
 corruptions, and that they hold the truths of the 
 gospel in their simplicity and purity, to maintain a 
 more consistent profession, and to exhibit more of 
 the practical fruits of their religion. 
 
 Papists were incessantly goading the first reform- 
 ers with charges of laxity of principle, and a disre- 
 gard to the vital interests of the Christian Church ; 
 of breaking down all the barriers, that the wolf 
 might enter the fold, and destroy the flock. Pre- 
 cisely the same complaints the orthodox now make 
 against Unitarians. You give up one doctrine after 
 
SERMON XIII. 197 
 
 another where will you stop ? You deny the 
 truth of essential articles what do you believe? 
 You are blinded by the pride of philosophy, and 
 are passing down the " stream of errour to the 
 gulf of perdition." Thus impeached, it becomes 
 the imperious duty of Unitarian professors to make 
 it manifest that their dissent from more common 
 opinions arises not from the spirit of opposition, but 
 the love of truth ; not from indifference to religion, 
 nor a fondness for latitudinarian principles, but 
 from a superiour regard to the instruction of Christ, 
 our common Lord and Master. They are bound 
 to make it apparent, that they yield a cheerful, 
 an unreserved submission to the authority of rev- 
 elation ; and endeavour, in the sober use of rea- 
 son, to comply with the apostolick direction 
 " Judge ye what I say." Let them show that they 
 deem it their most sacred obligation to study dili- 
 gently the scriptures, that they may learn and em- 
 brace the true doctrines of the gospel ; at the same 
 time, that they believe and assert, that men, differ- 
 ing in their mental powers and advantages for bib- 
 lical knowledge, may, in this examination, form 
 different opinions, and still be sincere and sound 
 Christians. 
 
 Above all, let enlightened Christians prove that 
 they prize revelation as the richest gift of God, by 
 an uniform obedience to the commands of their 
 divine Lord. Let them statedly attend on the in- 
 stitutions of publick worship celebrate the death of 
 the friend who sacrificed his life for their salvation 
 support a Christian profession by general practice 
 and conversation, which become the gospel and 
 
198 SERMON X11L 
 
 adorn their respective stations in society with vir- 
 tues the most appropriate and the most useful. 
 
 In their intercourse with the members of the 
 Christian family, let the enlightened and liberal 
 disciple of Jesus Christ discover a forbearing and 
 charitable temper, and manifest a disposition to 
 meet those who in speculative doctrines differ from 
 him, in the endeavour to promote the great design 
 of the gospel. 
 
 In this manner, let Unitarians cause their light to 
 shine before men ; and may all who see their good 
 works, become the followers of them, as far as they 
 are the followers of Christ. 
 
SERMON XIV. 
 
 THE SYSTEM OF CALVINISM. 
 
 1 THESSALONIANS, v. 21. 
 Prove all things ; holdfast that which is good, 
 
 UNDER this apostolick direction, my purpose 
 is to review the Calvinistick system of theology. 
 
 Calvin may perhaps be ranked as the second in 
 point of talent and activity, of zeal and influence, 
 among the distinguished reformers.* He was 
 born in a province of France, in the year 1509. 
 Educated with a view to the priesthood, while 
 young, he was introduced to office in the cathedral 
 church belonging to the place of his nativity. From 
 thence he soon removed to Paris, where he distin- 
 guished himself in various branches of literature. 
 In this city, the diligent study of scripture, and the 
 conversation of several men of enlightened minds, 
 led him to embrace the primary principles of the 
 
 * See Dr. Rces^s New Cyclopedia, article, Calyia. 
 
200 SERMON xir. 
 
 protestant religion. Dissatisfied with his situation 
 in the Church, he renounced the Catholick priest- 
 hood, and for a time devoted himself to the study of 
 the civil law. But his deep researches into the sa- 
 cred oracles, and a more intimate acquaintance with 
 the reformers, strengthened his attachment to the 
 religious opinions then rising into general notice. 
 
 After the death of his father, who had moved in 
 an obscure condition, to acquire the means of sup- 
 port, Calvin published in Paris several elegant trea- 
 tises on some of the Latin classicks. His attach- 
 ment to the reformation becoming publick, he was 
 obliged suddenly to quit this metropolis, and retire 
 to an obscure village, where he supported himself 
 by teaching Greek. At this early age he wrote a 
 great part of his Institutes. Finding himself expos- 
 ed to danger, even in his retirement, from the jeal- 
 ousy of the Papal Church, in 1534 he removed 
 from the kingdom of France, and took up his resi- 
 dence at Basil, where, the next year, he published 
 his Institutes in their present form. From Basil, 
 Calvin removed to Geneva, and there eventually es- 
 tablished himself. His labours in this place were 
 unremitted. Protected by the civil authority, he 
 became the head of a particular denomination of 
 Christians, and established a Church distinct from 
 the Lutheran and the Protestant Episcopalian com- 
 munions, At Geneva he established a theological 
 seminary, which, during a long period, was filled 
 with students from different parts of Europe ; and 
 Calvin had the honour of giving his name to most 
 of the religious establishments of Protestant Chris- 
 tendom. To this day, his system, I believe, is 
 
SERMON xir. 201 
 
 predominant in Holland and among the dissenters 
 in France. The language of the articles of the Eng- 
 lish episcopal Church is Calvinistick, though many 
 of its clergy assert that the Church is not. In Scot- 
 land, Calvinism exists unadulterated and unimprov- 
 ed. Presbyterians through the United States are 
 Calvinists. Many divines in New England, while 
 they tenaciously hold the name, discover a disposi- 
 tion to modify the tenets of Calvin. 
 
 The mental powers of Calvin were of the first 
 class. He was eminent for his literary acquisitions, 
 ardent in his temper, and indefatigable in his exer- 
 tions to promote the cause in which he was engaged. 
 He claimed superiority over his fellow Christians ; 
 was abusive to his opponents ; and, under circum- 
 stances of aggravated cruelty, he sacrificed Servetus 
 at the stake. These were blemishes in his person 
 as a man, and spots in his character as a Christian ; 
 but our censures will be softened, when we consider 
 the age in which he lived, and the opinions which 
 then universally prevailed. 
 
 All controversies were at that period conducted 
 with great personal abuse : these were generally 
 carried on in Latin ; and abusive and scurrilous 
 epithets in a dead language do not offend the ear, as 
 similar ideas would, expressed in terms rendered 
 familiar by their use in common conversation. 
 Toleration was .then no where admitted : even its 
 meaning was scarce understood. It was a gene- 
 rally admitted principle, that the supreme power 
 might lawfully punish hereticks. Catholick and 
 protestant professors were stained with the blood of 
 
202 SERMON xir. 
 
 persecution. The minds of reformed Christians 
 were by slow degrees opened to admit the sacred 
 truth, that human authority may not interfere in 
 concerns between God and the souls of men. 
 
 We should violate the law of charity, to question 
 the religious sincerity of Calvin ; but the weakness, 
 which all allow, that he in some instances manifest- 
 ed, and the unchristian spirit that he certainly dis- 
 played in lighting the fires of persecution, furnish a 
 sufficient reason for bringing his religious dogmas 
 to the test of reason and scripture. The reformers 
 rose from Egyptian darkness. Could it have been 
 expected, that they would at once ascend to the 
 light of the meridian day ? What was then the 
 state of all other sciences ? If inquiry, investiga- 
 tion, and experiment, have since greatly exalted all 
 natural sciences, can it be supposed that the general 
 improvement of the human mind may not usefully 
 be applied to theology ? All the circumstances 
 which attended the rise and establishment of Christ- 
 ianity, are now more accurately known than they 
 were at the period of the reformation. The bible, 
 which at that time was a sealed book to the Christ- 
 ian community, has since, in all protestant coun- 
 tries, been opened to people of every class ; and 
 among theologians, biblical criticism, within the last 
 century, has been carried to a degree of perfection 
 unexampled in any former age. Students in divini- 
 ty at the present time, possess much greater ad- 
 vantages to acquire an accurate knowledge of re- 
 vealed truth, than the first reformers did. Shall 
 we close the avenues of light and information, and 
 take the opinions of men, who lived in an age of 
 
SERMON X1T. 203 
 
 comparative ignorance and prejudice, as the infal- 
 lible standard of orthodoxy ? Or, shall we encour- 
 age the inquiry into the true meaning of scripture, 
 and candidly examine the positions of those who 
 enter upon the study with superiour means of light 
 and knowledge ? We all justly hold in high esti- 
 mation the memories of the men, who broke asun- 
 der the chains which bound Christians to the de- 
 basing impositions of the Romish Hierarchy ; but 
 our veneration for their characters should not induce 
 us to allow them an authority, which Christ has 
 not delegated to any fallible individual, nor to any 
 body of men. The reformers were not empowered 
 to exercise dominion over the faith of their fellow 
 Christians. 
 
 The system of divinity inculcated by Calvin is 
 severe and gloomy in its aspect. To our appre- 
 hension, it deprives God of his character as the 
 Father of the human family, and represents his 
 moral administration as resting on mere sovereign 
 power, and as making the individuals of the human 
 race, without any apparent cause of distinction, 
 either the objects of favouritism, or of inexorable 
 wrath, and of interminable punishment. 
 
 The peculiarities of Calvinism are contained in 
 five distinct propositions, usually denominated the 
 five points. I cannot review the system more 
 methodically, or more intelligibly than by consider- 
 ing these in their order. These five propositions 
 follow. 
 
 1. " God has chosen a certain number in Christ, 
 unto everlasting glory, before the foundation of the 
 world, according to his immutable purpose, and of 
 
SERMON xir. 
 
 his free grace and love, without the least foresight 
 of faith and good works, or any conditions per- 
 formed by the creature ; and that the rest of man- 
 kind he was pleased to pass by, and ordain them to 
 dishonour and wrath for their sins, to the praise of 
 his vindictive justice." 
 
 2. " Jesus Christ, by his death and sufferings, 
 made an atonement for the sins of the elect only." 
 
 3. " Mankind are totally depraved in conse- 
 quence of the fall ; and by virtue of Adam's being 
 their pubiick head, the guilt of his sin was imputed, 
 and a corrupt nature conveyed to all his posterity, 
 from which proceed all actual transgressions : and 
 that by sin we are made subject to death, and all 
 miseries, temporal, spiritual, and eternal." 
 
 4. <c All whom God has predestinated unto 
 life, he is pleased, in his appointed time, effectually 
 to call by his word and spirit, out of the state of sin 
 and death, in which they were by nature, to grace 
 and salvation by Jesus Christ." 
 
 5. " Those whom God has effectually called, 
 and sanctified by his Spirit, shall never finally fall 
 from a state of grace." 
 
 Can a discerning mind reflect upon this system 
 of theology with any degree of approbation ? Con- 
 sider it in its several parts, and attend to the infer- 
 ences which necessarily flow from it, and then say, 
 whether these be doctrines according to godliness. 
 
 Into all our inquiries respecting the moral admin- 
 istrations of Deity, we ought to carry some general 
 and allowed principles. God is a being of abso- 
 lute perfection. He is immutable in his nature, 
 and no addition can be made to his essential glory 
 
SERMON 1 XIV. 
 
 or happiness. A perfect being, a being infinitely- 
 powerful, wise and good, in creation must have 
 had a regard to the happiness of the beings to whom 
 he gave existence. In the government of a being 
 possessed of these attributes, existence will not be 
 given to any class of creatures, under circumstances 
 which must necessarily render this existence miser- 
 able. The existence of every class of intelligent, 
 moral beings, must be preferable to non-existence, 
 unless by the abuse of their powers, they individu- 
 ally disqualify themselves for the happiness for 
 which they were designed. 
 
 With these principles to regulate the inquiry, 
 let us impartially examine the above positions of 
 Calvin, which many pronounce to be the articles of 
 a standing or falling Church, 
 
 Adam, the first man, was constituted the federal 
 head of all his posterity. By the abuse of his moral 
 liberty, a wilful transgression of the divine com- 
 mand, he forfeited the happiness of paradise, and 
 became obnoxious to suffering and to death. The 
 original sin of Adam is imputed to each individual 
 of his descendants : they are all born sinners, pos- 
 sess a nature totally depraved : from this polluted 
 source all actual transgressions proceed, and for 
 their sins thus produced, they are made subject to 
 all miseries, temporal, spiritual, and eternal. Be- 
 fore man had fallen from his state of innocence, be- 
 fore man existed, God of his own purpose, and 
 without regard to their moral qualities, elected a 
 small number of these depraved descendants of 
 apostate Adam to unconditional salvation, but or- 
 dained the great multitude of the human family to 
 
206 SERMON X1T. 
 
 dishonour and wrath, to the praise of his vindictive 
 justice the vindictive justice, in other words, the 
 revenge of Deity. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, 
 by his death atoned for the sins of the elect ; and 
 satisfaction having been made by him to divine jus- 
 tice, the elect, through the Saviour, are justified, 
 and will be admitted to the society of heaven. The 
 representation here is, the innocent is made to suf- 
 fer for the sins of the offender, that the guilty may 
 escape punishment. 
 
 The elect are brought out of a state of depravity 
 and sin into a state of purity and holiness, by the 
 special grace of God, that is, by the irresistible in- 
 fluences of the Divine Spirit ; and being thus sanc- 
 tified, they cannot fall from this pious and holy 
 temper, nor fail of salvation ; but the wretched 
 descendants of Adam, who, without their own con- 
 sent, were made sinners by him, and for whom 
 Christ died not, are the victims of divine wrath, and 
 on them eternal sufferings will be inflicted. They 
 became sinners without their own agency, and 
 they will be made eternally miserable because they 
 did not act in direct opposition to a decree of the 
 Almighty. 
 
 Are we not shocked by the mere thought of at- 
 tributing this system of moral government to God ? 
 Is this scheme consistent with the mercy, the 
 goodness, or the justice of Deity ? Who appoint- 
 ed Adam to act in this extent for us ? How can 
 his sin be imputed to his posterity in such a man- 
 ner as to render them guilty by his offence ? If 
 virtue and vice be not personal attributes, I know 
 not what constitutes moral qualities. I can as 
 
SERMON Xlt. 207 
 
 easily conceive of natural qualities being impu- 
 ted, as moral ; as easily conceive of a tall, or a 
 short, of a strong or weak man, by imputation, as of 
 a righteous or sinful man, by imputation. 
 
 If Christ fully atoned for the sins of the elect ; if, 
 by his sufferings, he made complete satisfaction to 
 the violated law is the mercy of God manifested 
 by their acquittal ? When the surety pays a debt 
 in full, the creditor exercises no clemency in dis- 
 charging the principal. Does it comport with the 
 justice of God, everlastingly to punish men, who 
 receive a sinful nature as an inheritance, who on 
 earth sin from necessity, and who are absolutely 
 denied the means of acquiring moral or religious 
 qualifications ? Can we, especially, reconcile to 
 the justice of God, the infliction of aggravated pun- 
 ishment on sinners, for not accepting the salvation 
 of the gospel, when, in the plan of grace, God pass- 
 ed them by, and ordained them to dishonour and 
 misery ? Do not our minds recoil, I was about to 
 have said, with horrour from these principles of 
 Calvinism ? 
 
 There is not a civil ruler, nor the head of a family 
 in Christendom, who would not be offended, if the 
 system of government were attributed to him in the 
 affairs of a nation, or the transactions of a house- 
 hold, which Calvin attributes to God in the moral 
 government of our world. Suppose a number of 
 men confined in prison, not for hereditary de- 
 pravity, but for wilful crime the civil magistrate 
 enters the cells of these convicts, and, without re- 
 garding the different shades of their guilt, announ- 
 ces a pardon to a few, and restores to them their 
 
208 SERMON xir. 
 
 liberty ; and then, addressing the great majority," 
 with moving eloquence describes the blessings of a 
 well-ordered society, and the delights of domestick 
 life ; and in language of sympathy and compassion, 
 urges them to leave the abodes of darkness, filth, 
 and misery, and return to the pursuits of civil life, 
 and to the bosom of their endeared families, while 
 their every limb is closely shackled, and they are 
 fast bound by immoveable chains to the walls of 
 their dungeon. Should we not say that this was a 
 wanton mockery of impotence, and a cruel insult of 
 the wretched victims of violated law ? Is this more 
 than a faint representation of the moral state of sin- 
 ners to whom the gospel is preached, under the 
 Calvinistick article of reprobation ? Shall we dare 
 to make God worse than man ? 
 
 In what estimation should we hold the man, 
 who, being the father of numerous sons, should 
 promise a rich reward to those who would execute 
 an enjoined service, and threaten those who neglect- 
 ed its performance with the utmost severity of pun- 
 ishment this father well knowing the required 
 service to be far above the natural powers of his 
 children : to some he furnishes the necessary assist- 
 ance, and on them, they complying with the con- 
 dition, he confers the promised reward ; but be- 
 cause his other sons did not execute an impossible 
 command, and which he had pre- determined they 
 never should execute, the father falls on them, and 
 beats them, without compassion or mercy ? Is our 
 heavenly Father less kind, just, and good, than an 
 earthly parent ? 
 
SERMON XV. 
 
 QN THE DOCTRINE OF ELECTION, 
 
 ROMANS xi. 7. 
 The election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. 
 
 ON a former occasion, I proposed reviewing the 
 Calvinistick system of theology, and made some 
 general observations on the character and writings of 
 Calvin. His body of divinity essentially consists of 
 five distinct propositions, usually denominated the 
 five points. The first of these is the subject of this 
 discourse, viz. 
 
 1. " God has chosen a certain number in Christ, 
 unto everlasting glory, before the foundation of the 
 world, according to his immutable purpose, and of 
 his free grace and love, without the least foresight 
 of faith and good works, or any conditions per- 
 formed by the creature ; and that the rest of man- 
 kind he was pleased to pass by, and ordain them to 
 dishonour and wrath for their sins, to the praise of 
 his vindictive justice." 
 27 
 
210 SERMON XT. 
 
 I shall make the attempt to prove, that neither 
 reason nor revelation supports the doctrine of elec- 
 tion, in the meaning of the above proposition. 
 
 The foreknowledge of God is adduced as proof 
 of unconditional election. Foreknowledge, it is 
 said, implies necessity : if an event be contingent, 
 if man have the liberty and the power to act, or 
 not to act ; to act in this manner, or in a different 
 then omniscience itself cannot foreknow that event, 
 or determine how, in the given instance, this man 
 will conduct : the issue is uncertain, and even God 
 cannot foresee it. God then must have decreed 
 the events foreknown : he must have pre-determin- 
 ed the actions of men, and appointed the means to 
 produce them, and consequently have elected some 
 to virtue and happiness, and reprobated others to 
 vice and misery. 
 
 To reconcile the prescience of the Creator with 
 the free agency of the creature, has been the great 
 difficulty among ancient and modern metaphysicians* 
 The problem is probably too deep to be clearly 
 solved by the human mind. With this abstruse 
 question I shall not perplex you. For our present 
 purpose, I think it enough to reply, that we are un- 
 able to comprehend the manner in which the attri- 
 butes of an infinite being are exercised. The man- 
 ner in which omniscience exerts itself, if I may use 
 this expression, is as incomprehensible as the man- 
 ner in which almighty power is displayed. As in 
 one case, we do not imagine that God is under the 
 necessity of using a combination of powers to per- 
 form his mighty works, as men are to accomplish 
 a great design ; so in the other, we ought not to sup- 
 
SERMON XY. 211 
 
 pose that God is indebted to any medium of knowl- 
 edge : infinite knowledge is the attribute of the 
 divine nature. The foreknowledge of God does 
 not render the actions of men necessary, nor is it 
 the efficient cause of human agency : these do not 
 take place because they are foreknown by God ; 
 but these are foreknown, because they will actually 
 take place. Our knowledge of facts which exist 
 around us, is not the cause of their existence ; but 
 they really exist, and therefore they are known. 
 Every thing past, present, and to come, is in the 
 mind of God, as fully as any passing event is in 
 our minds. A single example from scripture may 
 make my meaning more clear, and perhaps serve as 
 a practical illustration of the principle. When 
 David was in the walled town of Keiiah, and Saul 
 approached the place with an army, he inquired of 
 the Lord, whether the men of Keiiah would deliver 
 him into the hands of Saul : the answer was, they 
 will ; and therefore he made his escape. Here an 
 event is predicted which was suspended on a pre- 
 vious contingence : the contingence did not take 
 place, and the event was not produced. Fore- 
 knowledge, in this instance, did not imply necessity. 
 In a word, we are satisfied from ourselves, that 
 we are free agents ; but we cannot fathom the 
 knowledge of God. Our ignorance of the manner 
 in which the divine attributes are exercised, is a 
 good reason for rejecting an argument which is 
 brought in affirmation of a doctrine that is opposed 
 to our most approved apprehensions of the character 
 of God ; and is apparently a violation of the clearr 
 est principle of his moral government. 
 
212 SERMON XV. 
 
 Another argument in support of the doctrine of 
 irrespective election is drawn from the established 
 government of Deity. Reason and revelation, it is 
 said, unitedly teach us that God, who made, gov- 
 erns the world. All events are under divine direc- 
 tion. Human agency is intimately connected with, 
 and has a constant influence over common events ; 
 and therefore human agency must be under the 
 absolute direction of Deity. To suppose that men 
 can act without the direct impulse of Deity, is to 
 suppose that God has put the government of the 
 world out of his own hands to suppose that men 
 are independent beings, and may counteract the de- 
 signs of the Supreme Ruler of the world. The 
 scriptures expressly assert the universal agency of 
 God ; and the doctrine of irrespective decrees, it 
 must be acknowledged, is necessarily involved in 
 the general plan of the divine government. 
 
 To this argument I reply. God indeed governs 
 the world in wisdom and righteousness ; and all 
 events are under his inspection and control. 
 But he has adapted his laws to the constitution 
 of the bodies which are to be governed by them. 
 The material kingdom is directed by principles 
 which have an invariable and necessary influ- 
 ence : animated nature is governed by the law of 
 instinct ; and a moral government is established 
 over the human family. Man possesses intellectual 
 and moral powers, and scope is given for their ex- 
 ercise. Within these limits man is a free, and 
 therefore an accountable being. His moral char- 
 acter depends on the manner in which he cultivates 
 his powers, and improves the means with which he 
 
SERMON XV. 213 
 
 is favoured, for intellectual and moral attainments ; 
 and God has only decreed, that his reward shall be 
 according to his works. Yet God has not put the 
 government of the world out of his hands. By u 
 depth of wisdom, which we cannot fathom, he 
 brings good out of evil, and makes wicked men 
 the unconscious and the unintentional instruments 
 to subserve the high and benevolent purposes of 
 his government. 
 
 I shall now proceed to the consideration of those 
 passages of scripture which are the most frequently 
 brought in proof of unconditional election. I pre- 
 mise one or two general remarks, which I wish you 
 would bear in mind, in our review of these texts 
 from the sacred oracles. 
 
 We must make a distinction between the char- 
 acter of God, as the creator of all beings, and as 
 the judge of intelligent and free agents. In cre- 
 ation, God is directed by his own wisdom and be- 
 nevolence. Whether he make ten or ten thousand 
 worlds, none may say unto him, What doest thou ? 
 Whether he form archangels or worms of the 
 dust whether he create one class of creatures 
 only, or myriads none may stay his hand that it 
 shall not work. If the existence of a created being 
 be a blessing, he has no right to say to his Creator, 
 Why has thou made me thus ? But having in- 
 vested his creatures with certain powers, and giveu 
 them particular laws, as the rule of their action, 
 when God calls them to account, he will judge 
 each class, by the law designed to regulate his con- 
 duct. It would be unjust to judge the lowest class 
 of moral subjects by the law given as the rule of 
 life to the highest. 
 
214 SERMON XV. 
 
 With these general principles in our recollection, 
 let us open the sacred volume. Paul in the epistle 
 to the Romans is most frequently quoted, as decisive 
 authority for the doctrine of election. I shall 
 therefore attend more particularly to his reasoning. 
 The language of our text is " The election hath 
 obtained it, and the rest were blinded." He de- 
 clares, in the name of God, concerning Jacob and 
 Esau " Before they had done good or evil, that 
 the purpose of God, according to election, might 
 stand, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated." 
 Paul affirms, " God hath mercy on whom he will 
 have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth." I 
 shall review these and other passages in the epistle 
 to the Romans in their connexion, and then we 
 may determine whether they really prove the posi- 
 tion in the support of which they are adduced. 
 
 The first part of the epistle to the Romans con- 
 tains particular directions to those who had been 
 recently converted to Christianity. In the ninth 
 chapter, St. Paul brings into view the nation of 
 the Jews, and laments the infidelity of that people, 
 to whom pertaineth the adoption, and the glory, 
 and the covenant, and the giving the law, and the 
 service of God, and the promises ; whose are the 
 Fathers, and of whom, concerning the flesh, Christ 
 came. The Jewish nation was selected in divine 
 wisdom, to be the peculiar people of God, to whom 
 he made a revelation of his gracious purposes to- 
 wards the children of men. Their distinguished 
 privileges led the Jews to suppose, that they were 
 exclusively the chosen people of heaven ; and that 
 in consequence of their being the children of Abra- 
 
SERMON XV. 215 
 
 ham, they xvere entitled not only to the advantages 
 of divine revelation, but to the special favour of 
 God ; whether they improved or abused their priv- 
 ileges, they thought themselves better than other 
 nations. When the primitive converts to Christ- 
 ianity, from the Jewish Church, were convinced 
 that it was the divine will that the gospel should be 
 preached to the whole family of man, in astonish- 
 ment they exclaimed " Then hath God also to 
 the Gentiles granted repentance unto life." Paul 
 in this epistle corrects the gross errour which in- 
 flated the Israelites with spiritual pride. He in- 
 forms the Jews, that they were not chosen to be a 
 peculiar people on account of their inherent good 
 qualities ; and tells them, that they are not entitled 
 to the special favour of Heaven, in consequence of 
 their election ; that unless they wisely improve their 
 privileges, they will incur divine displeasure. 
 The election on which Paul dwells, has no respect 
 to the moral character or future state of individuals. 
 The doctrine stated is this God, in his good pleas- 
 ure, chose the descendants of Abraham, in a par- 
 ticular line, to be the people to whom he would 
 reveal his will, and grant peculiar religious privi- 
 leges. To be convinced that the election spoken 
 of by Paul is an election of a people to peculiar 
 external privileges, and not of individuals to the 
 happiness of heaven, you have only to follow him 
 in his reasoning. The apostle begins with Abra- 
 ham, at the time he was separated to be the com- 
 mon father of a distinguished nation. " Neither 
 because they are the seed of Abraham are they all 
 children ; but in Isaac shall thy seed be called." 
 
216 SERMON XV. 
 
 You are not entitled to these benefits merely be- 
 cause you are descended from Abraham : it was 
 the good pleasure of God to limit the privilege to 
 Isaac. " At this time I will come, and Sarah shall 
 have a son." He descends to Jacob and Esau. 
 " The children being not yet born, neither having 
 done any good or evil, that the purpose of God^ 
 according to election, might stand, not of works ? 
 but of him that calleth, it was said unto her (Re- 
 becca) that the elder shall serve the younger ; as it 
 is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I 
 hated." The general strain of the apostle's argu- 
 ment shows, that the election here spoken of, re- 
 spects a people, not an individual ; and it is evident 
 from the annexed prophecy, the elder shall serve 
 the younger. This was verified in their descend- 
 ants : the children of Israel subjected the Edom- 
 ites ; but Esau never served Jacob he was a ter- 
 rour to him the greater part of his life. St. Paul 
 proceeds. " What shall we say then ? Is them 
 unrighteousness with God ? God forbid. For he 
 saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will 
 have mercy ; and I will have compassion on whom 
 I will have compassion." Is it unrighteous with 
 God to bestow external privileges in this manner 
 to distinguish one people from all others, by 
 granting them particular advantages to select 
 an individual man, and grant him privileges which 
 are withholden from his fellow beings ? Let no 
 one entertain this impious thought. God giveth to 
 all richly ; and who shall direct him in the bestow- 
 ment of unmerited blessings ? Did not God de- 
 clare to Moses, when he distinguished him from all 
 
SERMON XV. 217 
 
 iviankind by divine communications, that he con- 
 ferred these peculiar blessings according to his own 
 will, and had compassion and mercy on whom he 
 would ? The apostle adds " Thou wilt say then 
 unto me, Why doth he yet find fault, for who hath 
 resisted his will ? Nay, but O man, who art thou, 
 that repliest against God ? Shall the thing formed, 
 say unto him that formed it, Why hast thou made 
 me thus ? Hath not the potter power over the 
 clay, of the same lump to make one vessel to hon- 
 our, and another to dishonour ?" If God, the 
 Creator and governour of the universe, according 
 to his own will, give existence to various orders 
 of beings ; if he bestow external advantages to this 
 people, and that man, as he pleases ; and if the ac- 
 tions of men are made ultimately, by an overruling 
 Providence, subservient to the designs of his gov- 
 ernment, why doth God ever find fault ? Consider, 
 O man, what thou sayest ! Shall not God be per- 
 mitted to display his attributes in the creation of 
 various classes of beings, as to him seemeth best ? 
 Is it not fit, that he should make individuals of the 
 same class to differ from others in their natural 
 powers ? May he not grant higher means of im- 
 provement to one than to another ? Dost thou 
 find fault with thy Maker, because thou wast not 
 formed an angel ? Because the wise and benign 
 Governour of the world overrules thy wickedness, 
 and makes thy sinful agency ultimately conducive 
 to the purposes of his wise government, wilt thou 
 make this an excuse for evil doing ? Does not the 
 potter form the clay into any shape he pleases, and 
 28 
 
IT. 
 
 Ot 
 
 is spcafcing of God, as ihc creator of dl 
 the author of ftfl privileges, the 
 
 of 
 
 of God 
 
 m * future irorfci, and the simile 
 ad farce, What 
 
SERMON xr. 219 
 
 the natural branches of this tree, but cut off, and 
 the Gentiles grafted into it. By being the natural 
 branches of this tree, or by being ingrafted into it, 
 we must understand either an election to the im- 
 mortal rewards promised through Christ to the chil- 
 dren of God, or an admission on earth to the enjoy- 
 ment of the privileges of this divine dispensation. 
 That personal election, in the sense of our proposi- 
 tion, cannot be intended, is evident, because the 
 apostle declares that the Jews were cut off for their 
 unbelief ; and on their believing they may again be 
 joined ; and the Gentiles are told that they shall 
 also be cut off, unless they continue in the faith. 
 In the condition of persons elected to eternal life, 
 no such change can take place. The decrees of 
 God are immutable. That Paul, throughout these 
 chapters, means election to external privileges, is 
 further evident, from the allusion to the prophet 
 Elias or Elijah. In his time, a period of general 
 apostacy, there were seven thousand Israelites who 
 did not bow the knee to Baal. In like manner, St. 
 Paul observes, that in his day, a remnant of Israel 
 was found, who adhered to the dispensation of 
 heaven, according to the election of grace. Elec- 
 tion to what ? Clearly to the enjoyment of the 
 privileges of revelation. 
 
 We find, then, that the apostle, in the ninth, tenth, 
 and eleventh chapters of his epistle to the Romans, 
 treats of national, not personal election ; of elec- 
 tion to the enjoyment of the external privileges of 
 revelation, and not of unconditional election t* 
 eternal life. 
 
V 220 SERMON XV. 
 
 You, my candid hearers, may have taken notice 
 that I passed without comment those passages of 
 the chapters reviewed, which speak of God as 
 hardening the heart of Pharaoh, of blinding those 
 whom he will, &c. On these I have but few re- 
 marks to offer. In all instances, when we have 
 discovered the general purpose of a writer, we 
 should be careful "not to put a meaning opposed 
 to this, on allusions and examples incidentally intro- 
 duced. It should be observed that the compassion 
 and mercy, mentioned by St. Paul in the above 
 places, are limited to the bestow ment of external 
 privileges, and are not extended to the acceptance 
 of individuals at the tribunal of Heaven ; the repro- 
 bation, the blindness and obduracy, opposed to this 
 compassion and mercy, should be limited to an ex- 
 clusion from, or an insensibility to these external 
 privileges, and not extended to the condemnation 
 of the day of judgment. 
 
 I generally observe, in the bold and figurative 
 style of the Jews, God is said to do what is brought 
 about in the ordinary course of events. Moses, 
 where he distinguishes between murder and justi- 
 fiable homicide, uses the following language. 
 " He that smiteth a man, so that he die, shall be 
 surely put to death. And if a man lie not in wait, 
 but God deliver him into his hand, then will I 
 appoint thee a place whither he shall flee." Here an 
 event is imputed to the agency of God, which we 
 should call accidental. In the same phraseology, 
 God is said to blind the minds, and harden the 
 hearts of those, whom he permits to abuse his 
 blessings, and by their wilful and habitual sins, 
 
SERMON XV. 221 
 
 $o blind their own minds, and harden their own 
 hearts. 
 
 That human blindness and obstinacy proceed 
 not from the direct agency of God, we know ; for 
 revelation assures us, that " God is not tempted of 
 evil, neither tempteth he any man," It is certain 
 that God does not influence the human mind to 
 sin ; for the sinner, in the scriptures, is denomi- 
 nated a rebel against God, and is said to incur the 
 divine displeasure, and to make himself a vessel of 
 wrath, fitted for destruction. 
 
 A passage from Acts (xiii. 48.) is often produc- 
 ed as an authority for the doctrine of election. 
 " When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad, 
 and glorified the word of the Lord ; and as many 
 as were ordained to eternal life, believed." The 
 Greek word, translated in this place, ordained, does 
 not mean predestinated or fore-ordained, but set in 
 order, disposed. As many as were disposed, be- 
 lieved. As many as maintained a right temper, 
 and were influenced by moral considerations, be- 
 lieved, and made eternal life the object of desire 
 and pursuit. 
 
 The term election is used in different senses by 
 the writers of the New Testament. But if predes- 
 tination, in the Calvinistiek meaning, be not found 
 in the chapters we have reviewed, few, I believe, 
 will assert that satisfactory proof of its truth can be 
 produced from other parts of the sacred writings. 
 
 Our minds, then, are prepared to give undivided 
 attention to the plain, the general language of the 
 inspired penmen on the subject of our salvation. 
 They unitedly inform us, that God has committed 
 
222 SERMON XT. 
 
 talents to our management enacted laws as the rule 
 of our actions established by his son Jesus Christ, 
 conditions of our acceptance ; and appointed a day 
 on which we must account for the course of our 
 lives, and hear an impartial sentence pronounced on 
 the manner we shall have improved the powers en- 
 trusted to our cultivation. The sacred writers also 
 assure us, that God delights not in the death of the 
 sinner, but would that all men should come to the 
 knowledge of the truth, and be saved. 
 
 Let us, my respected hearers, work out our sal- 
 vation with fear and trembling, knowing that God 
 worketh in us to will and to do of his good pleasure. 
 
SERMON XVI. 
 
 THE BENEFITS RESULTING FROM THE MEDIATION OF 
 JESUS CHRIST, ARE APPLICABLE TO ALL MEN. 
 
 ROMANS V. 10, 11. 
 
 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God, 
 by the death of his Son, much more being reconciled, we 
 shall be saved by his life : And not only so, we also joy 
 in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we 
 have now received the atonement. 
 
 IN a proposed review of the Calvinistick system 
 of divinity, the first of the five propositions, usually 
 denominated " the five points," was our last sub- 
 ject. Your attention is now solicited to the con- 
 sideration of the second, viz. 
 
 2. " Jesus Christ, by his death and sufferings, 
 made an atonement for the sins of the elect only." 
 
 This article is founded on the Calvinistick views 
 of atonement, by the sufferings and death of Christ. 
 It is therefore expedient to enter into the meaning 
 of the sacred writers, when they speak of the effi- 
 
224 SERMON JLVL 
 
 cacy of the mediatorial agency of our Savioui* 
 This inquiry I will pursue in the following man- 
 ner. 
 
 1. To examine the representations made in the 
 bible, of the goodness and mercy of God. 
 
 2. Consider the meaning of those passages in 
 the New Testament, which mention the efficacy of 
 the sufferings and death of Christ. And, 
 
 3. I shall endeavour to show, from the authority 
 of scripture, that the benefits of Christ's mediation 
 are not limited to a few elect individuals, but are ex- 
 tended to the whole family of man. 
 
 1. To examine the representations made in the 
 bible, of the goodness and mercy of God. 
 
 No position in divinity, to my apprehension, is 
 more opposed to the general language of the New 
 Testament none which reflects greater dishonour 
 on the character and moral government of Deity > 
 none which is more apt to mislead men in the high- 
 est concerns of religion, than the doctrine, that God 
 requires complete satisfaction to be made to his 
 justice for sin, by the vicarious sufferings of our 
 Saviour, to propitiate his regard to the repenting 
 offender. 
 
 This doctrine represents our God as inexorable 
 in his disposition : it deprives him of those moral 
 attributes, which are the proper foundation of our 
 love and gratitude : it destroys ail goodness and 
 mercy in the pardon of the repenting sinner ; and 
 supposes that God has introduced a principle in his 
 administrations, which would disgrace any govern- 
 ment on C3rth, 
 
SERMOHT xri. 22$ 
 
 It is-inconsistent, we are told, with divine justice, 
 for God to pardon the sinner, unless fall satisfaction 
 be made to his violated law. Is it consistent with 
 the attributes of a perfect being to accept the pun- 
 ishment of an innocent being, who offers himself 
 as a substitute for the sinner, and on this account 
 to pardon the real offender ? What should we 
 think of that human government, which, refusing 
 to extend a pardon to the humbled violator of its 
 laws, should consent that an individual, whose 
 whole life had been faultless, might take the place 
 of the offender, and perish on the scaffpld, and 
 on account of his death, grant life and liberty 
 to the man, who, by his crimes, had brought on 
 himself the sentence of condemnation ? If God 
 require full satisfaction for every offence, shall we, 
 in imitation of him, demand that the merited pun- 
 ishment be inflicted on the real offender, or on 
 his substitute, before we forgive one, who having 
 offended, in sorrow supplicates our clemency ? 
 On the apprehension, that the presiding Divinity 
 is, in disposition, unrelenting and vindictive, have 
 been founded most of the weak and cruel rites of 
 superstition. Hence human beings were, among 
 ancient Pagans, immolated on the altars of Moloch. 
 Hence the monkish seventies and the bodily morti* 
 fications ef the papal establishment. Hence the 
 tortures, which the votarists of modern paganism, 
 through the eastern world, voluntarily inflict upon 
 themselves. I may add, the apprehension that 
 the design of religious service is not to form men 
 to a disposition which will render them worthy t 
 29 
 
226 SERMON XVI. 
 
 be the recipients of divine favour, hut to induce 
 God to be propitious, causes multitudes, at the 
 present day, to undertake useless labours in religion, 
 in every part of Christendom. 
 
 The representations of the bible, respecting the 
 character of God, are widely different. It confirms 
 the information proclaimed by the works of nature, 
 and the common dispensations of Providence, that 
 God is as benevolent as he is powerful ; as com- 
 passionate and merciful as he is just and wise. It 
 assures us that God is good to all, and that his ten- 
 der mercies are over all the works of his hands ; 
 that he has no pleasure in the death of the sinner, 
 but would that he should repent and live. Such is 
 the language of the Old Testament. In the New, 
 the same joyous and animating truth is more fully 
 established. Our Saviour no where declares, that 
 by his death, he should make satisfaction to God 
 for the sins of the world no where informs us, that 
 by his sufferings, as the substitute of sinners, he 
 should induce God to the exercise of mercy to- 
 wards the actual transgressor ; on the contrary, 
 the goodness and mercy of Deity is the theme on 
 which he delights to dwell. He every where styles 
 God, our Father ; he appeals to the most endearing 
 relations of the human family, and to the most ten- 
 der affections of the human heart, as allusions the 
 best adapted to illustrate the inherent, the unchange- 
 able benevolence of his God and of our God ; and, 
 at the same time, he tells us, that the compassion 
 and providence of the father towards the son of 
 his love, that the tenderness and solicitude of the 
 mother towards the infant of her breast, are net 
 
SERMON XVI. 22? 
 
 sufficient emblems of the goodness and clemency 
 of our Heavenly Parent. Attend to the parable of 
 the prodigal son, which doubtless we are to con- 
 sider as an illustration of the Christian system. Is 
 the semblance of the Calvinistick notion of satisfac- 
 tion to be found in this beautiful parable. Nothing 
 like it. The father is delighted that this lost son 
 is disposed to return to filial duty ; the folly of 
 the prodigal is forgotten in the fulness of joy that 
 the wanderer is reclaimed ; the father meets the 
 son retracing his devious steps ; embraces him in 
 the arms of affection ; clothes him with the best 
 robe, and causes his re-instatement in the peaceable 
 and happy relation of domestick life to be cele- 
 brated by feasting and merriment, through every 
 department of his household. 
 
 If the apostles of our Lord were divinely taught 
 that the great design of his death was to make 
 satisfaction to the justice of Deity, it must be sup- 
 posed, that they would have clearly explained this 
 essential Christian truth in their first discourses to 
 the Jews and to the Gentiles. What is the fact ? 
 Peter, on the day of the descent of the Holy Ghost, 
 and again, when he cured the impotent man, paints 
 in glowing colours, the sin of his countrymen, in 
 crucifying the Lord of Life ; but he says not one 
 word about Christ's dying to make satisfaction to 
 divine justice for their sins. The sum of his ad- 
 dress is, that by repentance and faith in Jesus, as 
 the Messiah of God, they might obtain the for- 
 giveness of God. To Cornelius, the first Gentile 
 convert, Peter says nothing respecting Christ being 
 a substitute for sinners, and suffering, to appease 
 
228 SERMON XTI. 
 
 the wrath of offended Deity. But when the Holy 
 Ghost was poured out on this pious centurion, and 
 on those whom he had assembled, the apostle, in 
 surprise exclaims " Of a truth, I perceive that 
 God is no respecter of persons ; but that in every 
 nation,, he that feareth him and worketh righteous- 
 ness, is accepted with him." 
 
 Paul, in his first preaching to the Gentiles, is as 
 silent, respecting the doctrine of satisfaction, as 
 Peter. He makes faith in Jesus, and repentance 
 from sin, the condition of divine mercy by Christ ; 
 but he does not inform them, that the death of the 
 Saviour was the cause of mercy in God. Much 
 less does he make this an essential article of Christ- 
 ian belief. The amount of his doctrine on this 
 subject, may be found in his preaching to the 
 Athenians. Having stated the supremacy and be- 
 nevolence of the one true God, and mentioned their 
 blindness and their corruptions, as Gentiles, he 
 adds " The times of this ignorance God winked 
 at ; but now commandeth all men every where to re- 
 pent ; because he hath appointed a day, in the which 
 he will judge the world in righteousness by that 
 man whom he hath ordained ; whereof he hath 
 given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised 
 him from the dead." Were these sentiments of 
 St. Paul found in a sermon of a minister suspected 
 of heresy, many would say that they did not con- 
 tain the true scheme of salvation by Jesus Christ ; 
 but that it was legal preaching, dangerous to the 
 souls of men. 
 
 What then is the real doctrine of revelation res- 
 pecting the merits of Christ's death ? The answer, 
 
SERMON XVI, 22 
 
 I shall endeavour to give under the next head of 
 our discourse, viz. 
 
 %. "To consider the meaning of those passages 
 of the New Testament, which mention the efficacy 
 of the sufferings and death of Jesus Christ. 
 
 The mediation of Jesus Christ is not the effi- 
 cient cause of the goodness and mercy which God 
 has manifested towards the sinful children of men ; 
 but the mediation of Jesus Christ, with all its bene- 
 fits and blessings, resulted from the inherent good- 
 ness and mercy of Deity. " God so loved the 
 world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that 
 whosoever believeth in him should not perish but 
 have everlasting life." The language of the New 
 Testament is not, that God was reconciling himself 
 to the world by Christ, but reconciling the world 
 to himself. The disposition of sinners must be 
 changed not the disposition of God. He is good 
 and merciful, and unchangeable in his nature, pur- 
 pose, and agency. It pleased God to make his 
 Son, Jesus Christ, the medium of his mercy to the 
 children of men. Why this plan of salvation was 
 adopted in preference to any other, we know not ; 
 nor what connexion the mediation of Christ has 
 with the general moral administrations of Heaven ; 
 nor to the performance of our duty, is it necessary 
 that we should know. We ought gratefully to re- 
 ceive divine blessings, and not enter into dispute with 
 our Maker respecting the manner in which they shall 
 be bestowed. We are assured that there is no 
 other name under heaven given among men where- 
 by we must be saved. But it was God, who ori- 
 ginated the wise and merciful plan of our salvation. 
 
230 SERMON XVI. 
 
 He constituted Jesus to be the Mediator of its high 
 blessings : he appointed the measures by which it 
 should be carried to its consummation. By the 
 efficacy of means thus appointed, the evils of the 
 apostacy are removed, the wall of distinction be- 
 tween Jew and Gentile is broken down, and all the 
 members of the human family are united in one 
 Lord, one faith, one baptism, and one hope of their 
 calling. 
 
 But the evangelists and the apostles speak of the 
 benefits which result to mankind from the ministry 
 and death of Christ under different figures of speech. 
 Let us examine several of these, which are the most 
 commonly introduced into religious controversy and 
 conversation. 
 
 Christ is called our ransom, or is said to have 
 been made a ransom for us. Thus we read in Mat- 
 thew " The Son of Man came not to be minister- 
 ed unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ran- 
 som for many." In his epistle to Timothy, Paul 
 writes, " There is one God, and one Mediator be- 
 tween God and man, the man Christ Jesus, who 
 gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due 
 time." In the language of the world, a ransom is 
 understood as a price paid for the redemption of a 
 person who was holden in some kind of servitude 
 or bondage. Thus a ransom was paid to re- 
 deem a prisoner detained in captivity. The con- 
 sideration is here paid to the power which consents 
 to the liberation of the captive. Likewise the mas- 
 ter who holds a slave may receive a ransom for his 
 manumission.* But the word ransom is often us- 
 
 * See Rev. Professor Ware's Sermon at the Ordination of Rev. Mr 
 Fierpont. 
 
SERMON XYI. 231 
 
 ed to express the act of delivering the captive or the 
 slave from bondage, and not the price paid for their 
 delivery. This, I apprehend, is always the meaning 
 of the term when used by the sacred writers in the 
 concerns of our salvation. Sinners are in the bible 
 denominated the captives and the slaves of Satan. 
 From this servitude and bondage Jesus Christ has, 
 by his mediation and ministry, ransomed them ; 
 but the supposition never entered the human mind, 
 that Christ paid a consideration to Satan for the de- 
 livery of sinners from his empire. No. Our Sav- 
 iour has ransomed the children of men from the do- 
 minion of the wicked one, that he might establish a 
 glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle, or any 
 such thing ; but that it should be holy and without 
 blemish. Christ gave his life for sinners, that he 
 might ransom them from the bondage of iniquity, 
 and purify to himself a peculiar people, zealous of 
 good works. Christ died that through death he 
 might destroy him that had the power of death, that 
 is the devil, and deliver them who through fear of 
 death were all their life- time bubject to bondage. 
 This is the ransom which he has obtained for sin* 
 ners. 
 
 Jesus Christ is also said, by his death, to have 
 reconciled sinners to God. He is called our recon- 
 ciliation. " You that were sometimes alienated, 
 and enemies in your minds by wicked works, 
 now hath he reconciled in the body of his flesh 
 through death, to present you holy, and unblamea- 
 ble, and unreprovcable, in his sight." Again. 
 " God was in Christ reconciling the world 
 unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto 
 
232 SERMON XVf. 
 
 them." You, my Christian brethren, must per- 
 ceive that the reconciliation here described respects 
 sinners themselves, and not God. The supposition 
 that the death of Christ was to pacify the wrath of 
 offended Deity, and to render him compassionate 
 and merciful towards his rational offspring on earth, 
 seems to be opposed to the plain import of these 
 very passages, as well as to the whole language of 
 scripture on this doctrine. It is here expressly de- 
 clared, as above stated, that the scheme of our salva- 
 tion flowed from the inherent benevolence of the di- 
 vine nature. God is ever disposed to confer his 
 favour on his children in a manner which consists 
 with his underived his immutable perfections. He 
 bis made his Son Jesus Christ the mediator and 
 minister of the highest blessings to -man. In our 
 text, the apostle reasons thus " If, when we were 
 enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of 
 his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be 
 saved by his life ; and not only so, we also joy in 
 God through our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we 
 have now received the atonement.'' This is the 
 only passage in the New Testament in which the 
 word atonement occurs, and here the term ought to 
 be reconciliation ; for the word in the original is the 
 substantive from the verb, which, in the former 
 verse, is translated reconciled, and the Greek word 
 in every other place is thus translated. The mean- 
 ing of our text, in the paraphrase of Dr. M'Knight, 
 is this " If, being enemies under sentence of death, 
 we are respited, ai>d made to lay down our enmity 
 to God, through the death of his Son ; much more, 
 being thus reconciled, we shall be saved from pun- 
 
SERMOJT XV t 288 
 
 ibhment through his life in the body, which he re- 
 gained, that he might govern us now and acquit us 
 at last. And not only do we hope to be saved from 
 wrath by Christ's life, but we, believers, the spiritual 
 seed, even boast in God as our God, through our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, by whom we have now received 
 an opportunity of being pardoned." This text, 
 then, furnishes no authority for the doctrine of sat- 
 isfaction : it states the means appointed by divine 
 wisdom and mercy to bring us into the state of sal- 
 vation, and measures adopted to prepare us for the 
 society of heaven; 
 
 But as the word atonement is often used on sub- 
 jects of divinity, it may be well to learn its mean- 
 ing as applied to the Jewish ritual. It frequently 
 occurs in the Old Testament, and in every place it 
 means the efficacy which God was pleased to give 
 to particular ceremonial observances in removing 
 legal impurities and uncleanness from men, and in 
 making the sanctuary, the altar, the vessels, &c. le- 
 gally pure and holy. Atonement was made as well 
 for the altar, the vessels, &c. as for sinners. If we 
 choose to apply this term to Christianity, it must 
 mean the efficacy of the measures which God, by 
 Jesus Christ, has been pleased to appoint to purge 
 the consciences of men from dead works, that they 
 may through Jesus Christ be justified in his sight. 
 Atonement, in a scriptural sense, cannot mean mer- 
 it transferred from Christ to the sinner, by which 
 he is justified ; but an effect produced in the dispo- 
 sition of the sinner himself, which renders him the 
 lit object of the mercy of God. Christ is said "to 
 3Q 
 
234 SERMON XVI. 
 
 be the propitiation for our sins." He was the me- 
 dium of the gracious provision which assures par- 
 don to the repenting sinner, and eternal life to the 
 obedient Christian. He is said " to have given him- 
 self for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God." In 
 the execution of the gracious and merciful purpose 
 of God in the salvation of sinners, he consecrated 
 his days, and sacrificed his life. " He was the good 
 Shepherd, who laid down his life for the sheep." 
 In imitation of his piety and devotedness to the ap- 
 pointed duties of his mediatorial office, we are di- 
 rected, as his disciples, to present ourselves a living 
 sacrifice unto God, holy, and acceptable in his sight. 
 Christ, we are told, " bore the sins and bore the 
 sicknesses of men." He did not take the sins and 
 the diseases of men upon himself, but delivered men 
 from them. 
 
 I proceed to the last head of our discourse, viz. 
 
 3. To show, from the authority of scripture, that 
 
 the benefits of the mediation of Jesus Christ are not 
 
 limited to a few elect individuals, but are extended 
 
 to the whole family of man. 
 
 I need not dwell on this branch of our subject. 
 If the statements made in the previous propositions 
 be admitted, no pretext can be found for the limita- 
 tion of the mercy of God in Christ Jesus. God is, 
 in the bible, represented as the common parent of 
 all the members of the human family. All his chil- 
 dren possess an intellectual and moral capacity ; and 
 it is expressly declared that they are all placed in a 
 state of probation, candidates for a blessed immor- 
 tality. The laws of the gospel are applied to all 
 .men without distinction : its sanctions and its prom- 
 

 SERMON XVI. 235 
 
 ises are as general. Christ, the scriptures assert, 
 tasted death for every man ; and they assure us that 
 God would not that any should perish, but that all 
 men should come to the knowledge of the truth 
 and be saved. In the description of the day of 
 judgment the declaration is express, that all shall be 
 raised from the tomb, summoned before the tribu- 
 nal of the constituted Judge ; and that each indi- 
 vidual shall receive according to the deeds done in 
 the body, whether they shall have done good or 
 evil. 
 
 The covenant of grace and mercy was establish- 
 ed at the time when sentence of death was pro- 
 nounced upon apostate man. By this covenant, all 
 men are brought into a state of salvation. But the 
 conditions of acceptance with God are suited to the 
 capacities which individuals of mankind possess, 
 and to the means of improvement that they enjoy. 
 They who are favoured with the privileges of the 
 Christian revelation will, in the great day of ac- 
 count, be judged by the laws of the gospel ; they 
 who are left to the guidance of reason and con- 
 science, will be judged by the law of reason, their 
 consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts 
 the mean while accusing or else excusing one an- 
 other, in the day when God shall judge the se- 
 crets of men by 5esus Christ. At his tribunal eve- 
 ry mouth shall be stopped. The pious and good 
 of all nations and ages will be admitted to the hon- 
 eur and glory of an immortal life in heaven. 
 
SERMON XVII. 
 
 ON TOTAL DEPRAVITY, 
 
 PSALM li. 5. 
 
 Behold Iwqs shqpen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother 
 conceive me. 
 
 IN the order of our review, the third point in the 
 Calvinistick system of theology, is the subject of 
 pur morning attention. This scholastick article 
 follows. 
 
 3. " Mankind are totally depraved in conse- 
 <juence of the fall of Adam ; and by virtue of 
 Adam's being their federal head, the guilt of his sin 
 was imputed, and a corrupt nature conveyed to all 
 his posterity, from which proceed all actual trans- 
 gressions ; and that by sin, we are subject to death, 
 and all miseries temporal, spiritual, and eternal." 
 
 The doctrine of imputation has already been con- 
 sidered. Most of those among us, who choose to 
 be ranked with Calvinists, deny imputation ; but 
 they still hold to total depravity. Let this be our 
 present subject. It will be my endeavour to make 
 it evident that men are not totally depraved 
 
SERMON XVII. 237 
 
 1. By showing that the passages from scripture, 
 which are usually quoted as authority in support of 
 the doctrine of total depravity, do not prove it. 
 
 % By analyzing the human constitution, and re- 
 viewing those actions of men which naturally flow 
 from constitutional principles. I am, 
 
 1. To show that the passages from scripture, 
 which are usually quoted as authority, in support 
 of the doctrine of total depravity, do not prove it. 
 I shall first introduce a text from Genesis. " And 
 the Lord smelled a sweet savour ; and the Lord 
 said in his heart, I will not again curse the ground 
 any more for man's sake ; for the imagination of 
 man's heart is evil from his youth ; neither will I 
 again smite any more every thing living as I have 
 done." Criticks in the Hebrew language inform 
 us, that the word for, in this verse, should be ren- 
 dered, though ; at least, that the Hebrew word 
 will bear thus to be translated, and often has the 
 meaning of though. Let us review the passage 
 with this correction. The antediluvian world had 
 rendered themselves too corrupt and vile to be re- 
 formed by motives suited to the minds of free 
 moral agents. God therefore removed them from 
 the stage of moral action, that the earth might be 
 re- peopled with a better race from the family of 
 pious Noah. Accepting the sacrifice of this patri- 
 arch for his own preservation, when the world of 
 his fellow-beings were destroyed, God was gra- 
 ciously pleased to promise, that he would not again 
 thus destroy a whole generation, though the 
 imagination of their hearts should be evil from 
 their youth. This passage, I apprehend, is not 
 
238 SERMON XVII. 
 
 descriptive of the natural tendency of the human 
 mind, nor of the moral complexion of its powers 
 and affections ; but it alludes to a period of almost 
 universal corruption. Men had abandoned them- 
 selves to impiety, violence, and licentiousness. It 
 therefore furnishes no proof of universal and total 
 depravity. 
 
 A text from Jeremiah is often produced as an 
 authority in aid of the doctrine of total depravity, 
 and as proof that the natural man is, by fatal neces- 
 sity, self-deceived. " The heart is deceitful above 
 all things, and desperately wicked : who can know 
 it ?" When we attentively look into the chapter 
 from which this passage is taken, we find that Jere- 
 miah is showing the folly of placing our chief trust 
 and confidence in man. To dissuade from it, he 
 remarks, that the heart of man may be deceitful, 
 and when his inclination is pure, his strength is 
 weakness ; he therefore directs those, whom he 
 addresses, to place their confidence in God. 
 " Thus saith the Lord, cursed be the man, who 
 trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm, and 
 whose heart departeth from the Lord : blessed is 
 the man, that trusteth in the Lord, and whose hope 
 the Lord is." In this connexion, the text quoted 
 follows. " The heart is deceitful above all things, 
 and desperately wicked : who can know it ? I the 
 Lord search the hearts and try the reins, even to 
 give to every man according to his ways." No 
 proof is here found of any inherent malignity dwell- 
 ing in the moral constitution of man ; but a denun- 
 ciation is pronounced against the individual, who, 
 forgetting his God, places his chief dependence on 
 
SERMON XVII. 239 
 
 a man weak and frail like himself. The hearts of 
 our fellow- beings, the prophet assures us, we can- 
 not fully know : their warmest declarations of 
 friendship may be deceitful : their acts of benevo- 
 lence may be designed to gain our confidence, the 
 more deeply to wound us ; and with the best dispo- 
 sitions, their strength is but weakness. Trust then 
 in God, who is wise and benevolent, and power- 
 ful ; who penetrates the secrets of the heart, and 
 will reward every man according to his works. 
 This text degrades not human nature ; but leaves 
 to self- approbation its full confidence, and to con- 
 scious rectitude its enlivening hopes. 
 
 Our text is by many considered as conclusive 
 proof of total depravity. I shall therefore more 
 fully illustrate it. " Behold I was shapen in ini- 
 quity, and in sin did my mother conceive me." 
 Let us attend to the occasion on which these ex- 
 pressions were uttered. David had been guilty of 
 offences the most atrocious. The prophet Nathan 
 had presented his picture in full view, and drawn it 
 in the brightest colours. In a pathetick manner he 
 had represented the circumstances which aggra- 
 vated the king's guilt, and in the name of God, had 
 denounced judgment against him. David was 
 terrified by this denunciation of divine wrath. The 
 lively representation of his case by the prophet, 
 awakened his drowsy conscience, and in consterna- 
 tion he contemplated his sins in all their magnitude 
 of guilt and danger ; and in the glowing figures of 
 eastern language, he expressed his penitence, and 
 implored forgiveness. In this state of mind, he 
 composed the psalm of which our text is a part. 
 
240 SERMON XVII. 
 
 " Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy 
 loving kindness ; according to the multitude of 
 thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. 
 Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and 
 cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my 
 transgression, and my sin is ever before me. 
 Against thee, thee only have I sinned, and done this 
 evil in thy sight, that thou mightest be justified 
 when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judg- 
 est. Behold I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin 
 did my mother conceive me." The subsequent 
 context breathes the same strain. " Restore unto 
 me the joy of thy salvation ; then will I teach trans- 
 gressors thy ways, and sinners shall be converted 
 unto thee. Deliver me from blood- guiltiness, O 
 God, thou God of my salvation ; and my tongue 
 shall sing aloud of thy righteousness." The whole 
 psalm breathes the spirit of contrition and peni- 
 tence. 
 
 David was humbled under a deep conviction, 
 that he had dishonoured the religion which he was 
 bound to support, and thereby had offended his 
 Maker. He was disposed to take the guilt and the 
 responsibility on himself. While he thus acknowl- 
 edges his own criminality, he appears to be fully 
 sensible of the justice of God in his condemnation : 
 he debases himself, and in the strong language of 
 passion, confesses his guilt, and with fervour sup- 
 plicates divine compassion and forgiveness. 
 
 To apply the language of David on this occasioa 
 to mankind, and consider it as descriptive of the 
 moral complexion of human nature, is just as ab- 
 surd, as it would be to apply the penitent expres- 
 
SERMON XTII. 241 
 
 oions of an individual drunkard, thief, or murderer, 
 to the same purpose, and to make the humble con- 
 fessions of these offenders descriptive of the moral 
 complexion of the human mind in all men. To 
 apply the language of David on this occasion to all 
 men, and to suppose it descriptive of human nature 
 generally, is to defeat the very design for which he 
 adopted it. Had it been true that he brought into 
 the world a mind necessarily prone to evil, and on- 
 ly evil, this circumstance, so far from adding guilt 
 to his actual transgressions, would, in the court of 
 reason and conscience, lessen their criminality. 
 When he was describing the aggravation of the of- 
 fence, would he do it by mentioning the circum- 
 stance which excused the action or greatly mitigat- 
 ed its criminality ? This cannot be admitted ; for 
 it follows, that by thus stating the total depravity of 
 his nature, he justifies his offence by the very lan- 
 guage by which he meant the most forcibly to ex- 
 press its guilt. 
 
 If we take the strong expressions and bold figures 
 of the sacred writers respecting particular sinners, 
 and from them attempt to establish general positions 
 respecting the depravity of human nature ; by the 
 same rule we may take their representations con- 
 cerning the actions of good men, and from them 
 prove that man, in his natural state, is prone to 
 good, to good only, and to good continually. For 
 instance, select the declaration of Job, who declares 
 that he had done good from his birth. If the differ- 
 ent phrases of David and Job be literally applied to 
 the nature of man, it follows that the virtues of the 
 31 
 
242 SERMON XTII. 
 
 one were as much constitutional as the sins of the 
 other ; and therefore from scripture we may prove 
 that all men are naturally prone to evil, and are 
 prone to virtue ; and that, from constitutional influ- 
 ence, their actions are all absolutely sinful, and are 
 all strictly virtuous. But if the sacred writers ap- 
 ply these respective modes of expression only to in- 
 dividual characters, then from them we cannot es- 
 tablish a general rule, by which to determine the 
 moral tendency of human nature. Figures of speech 
 should always be construed in such a manner as to 
 render them consistent with the plain language of 
 the sacred writers. 
 
 We will now proceed to the New Testament. 
 St. Paul declares that " the natural man receiveth 
 not the things of God, for they are foolishness unto 
 him ; neither can he know them, because they are 
 spiritually discerned." By the natural man, in this 
 passage, we are not to understand the creature man, 
 in all his intellectual and moral powers, as God has 
 formed him, the subject of a moral government ; 
 nor will the Greek admit of this construction. By 
 the natural, the apostle here means the sensual, 
 the animal man ; the man who minds only things of 
 earth and sense, and exclusively seeks worldly grat- 
 ifications. We all can judge of the inveteracy of 
 habits thus formed; they cloud the understanding, 
 corrupt the affections, and fatally bias the judg- 
 ment. The man, whose animal passions are the law 
 of his conduct, and who is buried in sensual indul- 
 gences, has no relish for the truths pertaining to 
 eternal life : if he thinks of them at all, he views them 
 as trifles unworthy of serious regard ; and, lest they 
 
SERMON xni. 243 
 
 should disturb his favourite pursuits, he discards 
 them from his reflections. His eyes are shut to the 
 light of revelation : his ears are closed to the voice 
 of wisdom ; and while he thus cherishes his cor- 
 rupt affections, he cannot understand the truths per- 
 taining to God and to immortality : they are by him 
 considered as foolishness. The worth and impor- 
 tance of these are clearly perceived only by him who 
 maintains the superiority of reason over passion, who 
 cherishes a teachable temper, is disposed to receive 
 truth in the love of it, and to do the will of God as 
 far as he knows it. No individual brings this blind 
 and obdurate mind into the world : too many ac- 
 quire it by a habit of sensuality and sin. 
 
 Similar comments will explain the meaning of the 
 affirmation of St. Paul " To be carnally minded is 
 death ; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. 
 Because the cajual mind is enmity against God ; for 
 it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 
 So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God." 
 
 The remarks of St. Paul respecting himself are 
 adduced as proof of the total depravity of man 
 " I find a law, that when I would do good, evil is 
 present with me. For I delight in the law of God 
 after the inward man ; but I see another law in my 
 members, warring against the law of my mind, and 
 bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which 
 is in my members.": Man is a being compounded 
 of rational and moral powers, and of animal passions 
 and appetites. Human passions are not in them- 
 selves sinful, but they are often the occasion of sin. 
 The struggle between the intellectual and animal 
 parts of the human constitution has been felt anil 
 
244 
 
 SERMON XV1L 
 
 acknowledged by all men. The Roman philoso- 
 pher expressed the common sentiment of mankind, 
 when he exclaimed, " I see and approve virtue, I 
 follow vice." This, in a greater or less degree, is 
 true of all men. Every individual will readily ac- 
 knowledge, that he in too many instances allows his 
 appetites and passions an improper indulgence. No 
 man liveth and sinneth not. Paul, in the epistle 
 from which the above passages are taken, reasons 
 thus : The law requires perfect obedience : men are 
 sinners : death is the appointed wages of sin ; all 
 men, therefore, are by this law condemned, and are 
 under sentence of death. He takes himself as an 
 example of the whole race of man, and thus enfor- 
 ces his argument. The moral law of God is right- 
 eous and good : my reason and my conscience fully 
 approve it, and its contemplation gives me delight ; 
 but in the propensities of the animal part of my sys- 
 tem I find a principle of action opposed to the law 
 of Heaven, and under its influence, even when I 
 would do good, evil is present with me : being thus 
 conscious of offence, I know that I cannot be justi- 
 fied in strict justice. I certainly am exposed to the 
 penalty of violated law : I am exposed to that death 
 with which Adam was threatened for disobedience. 
 He exclaims, O wretched man that I am, who shall 
 deliver me from this body of death ? In our trans- 
 lation it follows, I thank God, &c. which in this 
 place seems not to have a consistent meaning. Sev- 
 eral approved versions read, " the grace or favour 
 of God :" admit this reading and we have a plain 
 question, and a direct answer, Who shall deliver 
 me from this death ? The favour or grace of God 5 
 
SERMON XVII. 245 
 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord ; and Paul proceeds 
 to draw the pleasing inference " There is, there- 
 fore, now no condemnation to them who are in 
 Christ, who walk not after the flesh but after the 
 spirit." This apostle informs us, "that as sin 
 abounded, grace does much more abound ; that as 
 in Adam we all die, so in Christ Jesus we are all 
 made alive." Is there in all this statement any 
 proof of positive malignity being infused into the 
 moral disposition of man by the fall of Adam, which 
 must be extracted by extraneous power, before he 
 can possess a mind for religious action ? I think not. 
 The texts quoted are a powerful appeal to the moral 
 sense, to the love of life and of happiness in men, to 
 induce them, under a consciousness of sin, which 
 deprives them of every claim to the reward of mer- 
 it, to accept with gratitude the proffers of mercy by 
 Jesus Christ. The evangelists and the apostles 
 unitedly inform us, that the conditions of accept- 
 ance through Christ, are suited to the present capa- 
 city of man ; and the immense apparatus of means 
 furnished by the gospel, rest on the admitted fact, 
 that he now possesses the moral as well as the intel- 
 lectual power to use them, and by their aid to ac- 
 quire the qualifications necessary for heaven. 
 
 Other passages of the bible are considered by 
 many as proof of total depravity ; but if it be not 
 found in the texts already selected, few, I believe, 
 will hold it as a doctrine of revelation. 
 
 I proceed, 
 
 2. To analyze the human constitution, and to re- 
 view those actions of men which the most naturally 
 
246 SERMON XVII. 
 
 flow from constitutional principles, that we may de- 
 termine whether these indicate total depravity. 
 
 Instinctive principles are implanted in us, which 
 in a thousand ways operate without our volition, to 
 induce us to make the necessary efforts j preserve 
 our lives, and to promote the purposes of our exist- 
 ence. Appetites and passions stimulate us to the 
 acquisition of the objects of their appointment. 
 We possess social affections, which animate us to 
 benevolent exertions ; and their strength is in pro- 
 portion to the nearness of those associated with us, 
 to the degree of their dependence on us, and the 
 means we possess to do them good ; and we are im- 
 bued with reason and conscience, which qualify us 
 for our duty as the subjects of a moral government. 
 Power is given us to regulate all our active faculties ; 
 and scope is granted for their harmonious exercise. 
 As the workmanship of God, how wonderful is man ! 
 What affection is redundant ? What passion is use- 
 less ? What principle is necessarily productive of 
 evil ? Self- love often becomes inordinate, and is the 
 occasion of mean and base actions ; but divest man 
 of this principle, and what efficient motive can you 
 address to his mind to induce him to the constant 
 care and continued effort necessary to preserve life, 
 and secure the design of his being. To society, it 
 certainly is no small gain, that each individual keeps 
 in his own place, and minds his own business : 
 hereby the common concerns of the community 
 are effectually carried on. As in a well-regulated 
 machine, each one performing his appropriate part, 
 an useful end is secured. 
 
SERMON XVIS, 247 
 
 The love of property frequently degenerates into 
 avarice, and extortion and oppression ensue ; but 
 without the love of property, what becomes of the 
 many advantages which result from industry and 
 economy ? By destroying the principle, you make 
 a sacrifice of all these beneficial effects of it. The 
 evils of abundant wealth generally have their rem- 
 edy in their consequences. The miser dies, and 
 his accumulated heap is distributed to promote the 
 comfort of many individuals, and to subserve the 
 most useful purposes of society ; even as accumulat- 
 ed waters are by small rivulets drawn off to moist- 
 en and fertilize widely-extended plains. 
 
 Lawless ambition is productive of incalculable in- 
 jury to society ; but the love of distinction, the nat- 
 ural affection, is the legitimate principle of the great- 
 est enterprizes, and the noblest plans, by which the 
 world has been benefited. In every instance, man 
 becomes guilty when he permits his animal passions 
 and worldly propensities to gain an ascendency over 
 his reason and conscience, the great law of his 
 mind. 
 
 When we leave human nature, as we view it in 
 its constituent principles, and attend to the repre- 
 sentation of it by Calvinistick divines, we find ev- 
 ery beauty defaced, and a picture deformed and of- 
 fensive rises to our view ; but will observation on 
 the general actions of men support the statement ? 
 Was it true that man by nature is totally depraved, 
 and that at the new birth a principle of holiness is 
 implanted of habitual influence, the difference in the 
 tempers and practices would be so great between 
 saints and sinners, that in society they might be sep- ' 
 
248 SERMON XVII. 
 
 arated with the certainty with which the shepherd 
 divides the white from the black of his flocks. Is 
 this practicable ? The characters of men in active 
 life, do not correspond with the description given 
 either of the natural or the converted man. Men 
 are neither angels nor demons ; in our intercourse 
 \vith the world, we every where find mixed charac- 
 ters, and observe the different shades of virtue and 
 vice from the highest state of the Christian down to 
 the lowest condition of the sinner. Our observa- 
 tions on every class in society will lead us to reject 
 the doctrine of total depravity. Children, before 
 they learn dissembling from those about them, are 
 proverbially examples of innocence and truth. In 
 understanding, says the Apostle, be ye men, but in 
 malice be children ; and our Saviour himself repre- 
 sents the purity of the child as an emblem of the 
 disposition of the inhabitants of heaven. If all men 
 were totally depraved, from them we could expect 
 only malevolent actions. Does experience justify 
 the expectation? No. By no means. We place 
 great confidence in the truth and benevolence of 
 men in our common communications with them. 
 In instances without number we call even on stran- 
 gers for information and assistance, and the many 
 who inform and assist us in our need are not denom- 
 inated unnatural men ; but the few, who deceive, 
 and deny this aid, are thus called. The wonder is 
 not, that men in general are ready to help a fellow- 
 being, but that any should refuse to join in common 
 offices of humanity. 
 
 The worst sinner, judged by his actions, will not 
 be found so corrupt and depraved, as all men 
 
SERMON iVlT. 249 
 
 are represented to be in a state of nature. No 
 man is wholly given up to impiety and malevolence. 
 In common cases, the doctrine of habits proves that 
 men are not totally depraved. Sinners grow worse 
 and worse, not as their capacity is enlarged and 
 their means to do evil is increased ; but as the 
 habit of vice acquires strength in their minds. 
 Can a measure be more than full ? 
 
 I conclude. 
 
 Abstract opinions have not the influence on the 
 religious practices of men, which before experiment 
 might be expected. Reason, conscience, the moral 
 Sense are constantly rising to counteract the influ- 
 ence of a false theory : the natural principles of that 
 very moral constitution in man, which is pronounc- 
 ed to be totally depraved, often prove superior to 
 the bad tendency of gross speculative errors. Yet 
 it cannot be a matter of indifference whether the hu- 
 man mind be in the possession of truth or error. 
 Error clouds the understanding, and doubtless has 
 a tendency to corrupt the heart. The man, whose 
 opinions are erroneous, must take his religious steps 
 in darkness, and with uncertainty. Truth enlight- 
 ens the mind, and has the best influence on the af- 
 fections. The man, whose mind is enriched with 
 truth, holds his religious course in the clearness of 
 day, and with the satisfaction and safety of light. 
 
 Do you believe, my Christian brethren, that God 
 has given you the power of self-government that 
 he has entrusted the various principles of your con- 
 stitution to your management ? Do you believe that 
 endless felicity is suspended on the wise and saber 
 32 
 
250 SERMON XVII. 
 
 regulation'of your active faculties ? Sacred, then, is 
 your duty, as the subjects of the moral government 
 of God ; and you can have no excuse for the neg- 
 lect of its performance. They who hold to the moral 
 inability of man, seem to have an apology for in- 
 attention to the ordinary means of improvement - T 
 and yet many of them are bright examples of the 
 simplicity and godly sincerity recommended by the 
 gospel. But to those, who believe that life and 
 death are set before every individual of mankind, 
 and that, under God, each is left freely to make his 
 election between the immortal rewards promised to 
 piety, righteousness and sobriety, and the pains and 
 penalties of the second death, designed as the pun- 
 ishment of an habitual course of sensuality and vice, 
 no vindication is left for inattention and negligence 
 in moral life. God has in the best manner adjust- 
 ed the circumstances of our probation to discipline 
 our passions, to establish religious principles in our 
 hearts, and aid us in forming habits of purity and 
 goodness. By the trials of this world, we are to ac- 
 quire a moral disposition for the happiness of heav- 
 en. Let us then take to ourselves the whole ar- 
 mour of God, that we may resist every weight, even 
 the sin that does the most easily beset us. 
 
SERMON XVIII. 
 
 ON EFFECTUAL CALLING. 
 
 2 CORINTHIANS iii. 5. 
 
 JVb* that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as 
 of ourselves : our sufficiency is of God. 
 
 IN our previous context, St. Paul declares to 
 the Corinthians " Ye are the epistle of Christ, 
 ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the 
 spirit of the living God ; not in tables of stone, but 
 in the fleshly tables of the heart." In our text, he 
 informs them, that he and other preachers of the 
 gospel were not of themselves sufficient, by their 
 own wisdom, to devise the scheme of man's salva- 
 tion ; nor, by their own strength, to carry into exe- 
 cution the merciful purpose of converting Jew and 
 Gentile to the faith and virtues of the gospel ; but 
 their sufficiency was of God, who appointed his 
 own Son to be the saviour of men, who adopted 
 efficient measures to establish Christianity among 
 the nations, and who imparted to the first preachers 
 of the gospel all the powers necessary to accomplish 
 the high design of their commission, as the apostles 
 of salvation. 
 
252 SERMON XVIU. 
 
 This passage of scripture therefore must be a 
 suitable text for the consideration of the fourth fun- 
 damental article of the Caivinistick system of the- 
 ology, viz. 
 
 4. " All whom God has predestinated unto life, 
 he is pleased, in his own time, effectually to call by 
 his word and spirit, out of the state of sin and death 
 in which they were by nature, to grace and salvation 
 by Jesus Christ." 
 
 The proposition now stated necessarily results 
 from the previous parts of the system of Calvin. If 
 all men be totally depraved in consequence of Adam's 
 sin ; if they be naturally incapable of any religious 
 act ; if God elected only a particular number to 
 salvation, and reprobated all others ; and if Christ 
 died only for the elect it clearly follows, that to the 
 effectual calling and sanctification of the elect, the 
 irresistible operations of the Divine Spirit are neces- 
 sary. But if this proposition be indeed a Christian 
 truth, the plain inference is, that men, in a state of 
 nature, have no religious act to perform. Duty ex- 
 tends not beyond the natural power of the agent. 
 On this scheme, what motive can consistently be 
 applied to the sinner, to induce him to the use of 
 means in the concerns of salvation ? But the ob- 
 servations made in former discourses have a direct 
 bearing on the connected positions of Calvinism ; 
 and I shall not repeat them. In handling our sub- 
 ject, I shall adopt a course which I trust will be 
 more useful, viz. 
 
 1. To state the measures which God has been 
 pleased to adopt for the salvation of men, without 
 regard to human views or endeavours,. 
 
SERMON xvm. 253 
 
 2. To state the agency which the scriptures as- 
 sign to men in the Christian plan of salvation. 
 
 3. To define the nature of conversion, or de- 
 scribe the change which takes place in the character 
 of the sinner, who is effectually called. 
 
 1. To state the, measures which God has been 
 pleased to adopt for the salvation of men, without 
 regard to human views or endeavours. 
 
 All men, who read the bible, will admit that the 
 sacred writers ascribe the salvation of man, at least 
 in part, to the grace and mercy of God, without any 
 regard to the moral agency or moral goodness of man 
 himself. " God so loved the world," says, St. 
 John, (iii. 16) " that he gave his only begotten Son, 
 that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, 
 but have everlasting life." The language of St. 
 Paul is full on this point. (Rom. v. 8.) " God 
 commendeth his love towards us, in that while we 
 were yet sinners, Christ died for us." 
 
 God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love 
 wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead 
 in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, 
 and hath raised us up together, and hath made us 
 sit together in Christ Jesus, that in ages to come he 
 might show the exceeding riches of his grace in 
 his kindness towards us through Jesus Christ. For 
 by grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not 
 of yourselves, it is the gift of God." Eph. ii. 4 8. 
 From these and many other passages of the bible, 
 it is evident that the plan of our salvation origi- 
 nated in the goodness of God, and that he sent his 
 Son, Jesus Christ, in his mercy into our world to 
 proclaim to us the glad tidings of peace and life, 
 
254 SERMON XVIII. 
 
 without any consideration of works of righteousness 
 in men themselves. From these passages and 
 others which bear a language like our text " Not 
 that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing, 
 as of ourselves our sufficiency is of God." " It 
 is God who worketh in you to will and to do of his 
 good pleasure." (Phil. ii. 13.) Many have adopt- 
 ed the opinion that the best works of man have no 
 connexion with their acceptance in the sight of 
 God; that their justification depends in no degree 
 on their own endeavours. The whole business of 
 salvation, they imagine, is accomplished by the sove- 
 reign and irresistible grace of God. According 
 to their representation, men are no more agents in 
 the personal preparation for heaven, than they were 
 in the establishment of the general conditions of 
 salvation. But this statement of the doctrine of 
 divine acceptance to me appears to be inconsistent 
 with other passages of the New Testament which 
 will be introduced under the next head of our 
 discourse ; and the texts brought to support the 
 position in their apparent sense teach a doctrine 
 far more congruous with our most enlightened ap- 
 prehensions of a perfect moral government. 
 
 God is the father as well as the judge of man- 
 kind. All the blessings which we receive from 
 him as the creator and the benevolent parent and 
 friend of his rational offspring all flow from his 
 goodness and mercy. God receives no profit from 
 our services. In justice we can have no claim on 
 him. For our existence, and for all the enjoyments 
 of the present life, we are under obligations of grat- 
 itude. 
 
SERMON XVIII. 255 
 
 In the natural world, men have consistent notions 
 of their dependence on Heaven. They all readily 
 acknowledge that in God they live, move, and have 
 their being. At the same time, our labours are 
 made necessary for the attainment of the purposes 
 of the life that now is. Did men carry the same 
 ideas into the moral world, they might form clear 
 perceptions of their dependence on God in the con- 
 cerns of their salvation : they might fully under- 
 stand what God has already accomplished for our 
 immortal happiness, and what we must do to pre- 
 pare ourselves for it. 
 
 We are absolutely dependent on God for the 
 whole plan of salvation, and for all the means and 
 assistance with which we are favoured, as men and 
 as Christians. God, in his benevolence, appointed 
 his Son to be our saviour ; and with him he grants 
 us all things pertaining to godliness and life eternal. 
 It is of divine goodness that we are called to knowl- 
 edge and virtue, to glory and immortality ; that ex- 
 ceeding great and precious promises are made us ; 
 that we are placed in a situation the most favourable 
 to form habits of Christian piety and virtue, as the 
 necessary preparation for the happiness of an im- 
 mortal state. It is of divine mercy that pardon is 
 extended to the repenting sinner, and that our weak 
 and imperfect services are accepted as a compliance 
 with the conditions of salvation. 
 
 Every intelligent, moral being is under obliga- 
 tions to act agreeably to the law of his nature ; and 
 for every wilful offence he may justly be punished. 
 But when men had sinned against God, he consti- 
 tuted Jesus Christ the mediator of a covenant of 
 
256 SERMON XVIII. 
 
 grace and mercy, that sinners through him might 
 obtain pardon and life. Christ appeared on earth 
 to announce to a guilty world the terms of pardon 
 and favour ; to instruct men in all truth pertaining 
 to life eternal ; to teach them every moral duty ; to 
 propose the remission of sin on repentance, and to 
 promise eternal life on the condition of faith and 
 obedience. 
 
 Christ has cast light through the valley of death, 
 and made the path to heaven plain for all who are 
 disposed to walk in it. In his own life he has giv- 
 en the brightest exemplification of the virtues and 
 graces of his religion. His requisitions are adapted 
 to our present powers and condition of being. He 
 has established institutions fitted to inspire us with 
 zeal, and to animate our diligence and fortify our 
 resolution in the maintenance of the character of his 
 disciple ; he has promised us all necessary assist- 
 ance to enable us to comply with the part assigned 
 us in the business pertaining to immortal life and 
 immortal glory. These benefits and advantages of 
 Christianity apply to all men indiscriminately. Men 
 have one Father, even God : Christians have one 
 Master, even Christ. Christianity is addressed to 
 all the nations and all the generations of men. All 
 men are invited to attend to the manifestation of 
 divine power, wisdom and goodness in the estab- 
 lishment of our religion, that they may profess their 
 faith in its divine origin ; and to all true professors 
 equal assistance, support, and favour are promised. 
 The New Testament contains not the least intima- 
 tion that the benefits and privileges of Christianity 
 were designed only for a particular description of 
 
SERMON XV1H. 257 
 
 people, and that others are necessarily excluded 
 from them. The commission which Christ gave 
 to his apostles was delivered in the most general 
 language, and nothing appears to limit its significa- 
 tion. The conduct of the apostles proves that 
 they understood the order of their Master literally, 
 when he directed them and their successors to 
 preach the gospel to every man. All the above 
 benefits and privileges flow from the free grace and 
 mercy of God. 
 
 The world of mankind, having subjected them- 
 selves to the dominion of sin, could lay no claim to 
 the rewards of virtue in a future state. In the ser- 
 vice of the best of men there is not merit which 
 God in justice must reward. God was under no 
 moral obligation to instruct men, who had pervert- 
 ed their reason and abused their liberty, by revela- 
 tion, in the nature of true religion ; to propose to 
 them pardon and salvation through the medium of 
 a new covenant, and to favour them with distin- 
 guished advantages as the means of a moral prepa- 
 ration for endless happiness in the kingdom of heav- 
 en* But God, in his benevolence and mercy, was 
 pleased to confer these inestimable blessings on the 
 family of man. It pleased him to make his own 
 Son the mediator of them. For these glorious 
 manifestations of divine grace and mercy, we are 
 under the most sacred obligations of love and grati- 
 tude to God. 
 
 But these benefits and privileges do not include 
 the salvation of all men. All men are interested in 
 them. By Jesus Christ, all men are redeemed from 
 33 
 
258 
 
 SERMON XVIH. 
 
 the dominion of death, and are placed in a state of 
 probation, candidates for immortal life, on the most 
 gracious conditions. The privileges of the gospel 
 are common to the whole human family. By the 
 Christian dispensation, Jew and Gentile, bond and 
 free are made one. In this respect no difference is 
 made between nominal and real disciples. All are 
 entitled to equal benefits, and are put in possession 
 of equal external advantages. But the sacred 
 writers make a great difference between sincere 
 Christians and hypocritical professors. The king. 
 dom of heaven, said our Saviour, is like a net that 
 was cast into the sea, and gathered of every kind j 
 which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat 
 down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast 
 the bad away. So shall it be at the end of the world. 
 The angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked 
 from the just, and cast them into the furnace of fire ; 
 there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth. 
 
 This passage of scripture, will, I should suppose, 
 bear only the following comment. The Christian 
 dispensation is designed for the whole human race, 
 and all men are favoured with its privileges and 
 assistance. In these respects God appears as a 
 common parent, and bestows his favours alike on 
 all. But in the issue of the divine administrations, 
 when the works of men shall be brought into judg- 
 ment, then will God their judge, make a difference 
 between hypocritical and sincere professors, be- 
 tween those who hold the truth in unrighteousness, 
 and they who maintain faith and a good conscience. 
 The obedient Christian will be admitted to those 
 heavenly mansions, which Christ has gone to pre- 
 
SERMON XVIII, 259 
 
 pare in his Father's house for his real disciples ; the 
 disobedient professor will be punished with ever- 
 lasting destruction from the presence of the Lord. 
 
 In the allusion to the marriage feast, there is also 
 the clearest representation made of the moral pur- 
 poses of God towards the children of men. The 
 Jews, who were first favoured with divine revela- 
 tion, for their abuse of it, were rejected ; and the 
 privileges of the Christian institution were extended 
 to all nations of the earth, and to the individuals of 
 every nation. These are all the free gifts of God : 
 they flow from divine goodness and mercy. - But 
 among the invited guests, there was one who had 
 not on the wedding garment : he was destitute of 
 the necessary qualifications for the enjoyment of 
 heaven. When charged with a want of these qual- 
 ifications, he was speechless : conscious that his de- 
 ficiency was criminal, he was unable to make any 
 justification : convicted in his own mind, he answer- 
 ed not, but silently submitted to the sentence of 
 expulsion. These representations to me fully prove 
 that the blessings of the gospel which are grant- 
 ed to mankind through the mediation and ministry 
 of Jesus Christ, and which flow wholly from the 
 grace and mercy of God, without any consideration 
 of works of righteousness performed by men, con- 
 sist in religious and moral instruction in the prom- 
 ise of the pardon of the penitent sinner in the assist- 
 ance provided for those of an honest mind and teach- 
 able temper ; and in the assurance of future happi- 
 ness to all, who under these means acquire habits of 
 piety and virtue. In a word, these consist in the 
 privileges and benefits which have been enumerat- 
 
260 SERMON XVIII. 
 
 cd ; but to render these Christian means of salvation 
 effectual, they must be improved. All those passa- 
 ges of the New Testament, which speak of Christ 
 as bearing our transgression, being a propitiation 
 for our sins, being our righteousness, &c. are de- 
 scriptive of the methods which God has adopted, 
 through the ministrations of Christ Jesus to deliver 
 us from the habit and the guilt of sin* 
 

 SERMON XIX. 
 
 EVANGELICAL OBEDIENCE NECESSARY TO SALVATION. 
 
 PHILIPPIANS ii. 12, 13. 
 
 Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling ; 
 for it is God who worketh in you both to will and to do 
 of his good pleasure. 
 
 YOU will recollect that I proposed reviewing 
 the fourth article of the Calvinistick creed under 
 three distinct propositions. The second of these 
 is the subject of our present discourse, viz. 
 
 2. To state the agency which the scriptures 
 assign to men in the Christian plan of salvation. 
 
 Salvation is placed within the attainment of every 
 individual of the human family. God, who gave 
 existence to man, designed that existence as a bless- 
 ing, and he grants every degree of power and in- 
 struction necessary to enable him to obtain the 
 happiness presented to his contemplation, as the re- 
 ward of his virtuous efforts. By the mediation and 
 ministry of Jesus Christ, every thing has been ac- 
 complished for our salvation which is consistent 
 with our intellectual and moral natures. Our 
 Father in heaven has, by his Son, redeemed us from 
 
262 SERMON XIX. 
 
 the bondage of sin and the empire of death. He 
 hath clearly instructed us in our duty, and promised 
 to support us under all its conflicts. He invites, 
 he persuades, he commands us to obey his laws, 
 that we may be happy. While men were sinners, 
 God appointed his own Son to be their saviour, and 
 of his own goodness taught us the path of life ; yet 
 he treats us as the subjects of a moral government ; 
 and when he shall judge the secrets of men by Je- 
 sus Christ, he will reward them according to their 
 works. 
 
 Though Jesus has called us to life eternal, made 
 us partakers of the privileges of the sons of God, 
 and adopted us into his family ; yet if we abuse the 
 privileges of children, and hold the truth in un- 
 righteousness, we shall be excluded from the future 
 kingdom of God. To make our calling and elec- 
 tion sure, we must imbibe the temper of the gos- 
 pel, and in practice give an exemplification of the 
 virtues and graces of our religion. As a prepara- 
 tion for heaven, we must be formed to a likeness of 
 the character of the Divine Author of our religion. 
 When we seriously attend to the passages of scrip- 
 ture which make this improvement of our Christian 
 privileges essential to salvation, we shall perceive a 
 perfect harmony between them and those passages 
 which represent salvation to be the free gift of God. 
 Besides the places in the New Testament, in which 
 the sacred writers expressly treat of the day of 
 judgment, and in which they most explicitly de- 
 clare that men shall be judged according to their 
 works, I might mention particularly the parabl s 
 of the Virgins, and the Talents. These and m >: 
 
SERMON XIX. 263 
 
 of the lectures of our Saviour were intended to il- 
 lustrate the moral condition of mankind under his 
 reign, and they all show the necessity of improving 
 the means of religion to secure its rewards; they 
 all state that the privileges of the gospel are freely 
 granted, and that all men are invited to lay hold on 
 life eternal. The invitation of the gospel is univer- 
 sal. " Ho ! every one that thirsteth ; come ye to 
 the waters of life. He that hath .no money, come 
 ye, buy and eat j yea come, buy wine and milk with- 
 out money and without price." All men are en- 
 dowed with a capacity for improvement in rational 
 and moral life : all who possess the gospel are alike 
 favoured by its instruction and assistance ; and yet 
 we are in the clearest manner informed that at the 
 coming of Christ to judgment, some of his nominal 
 disciples will be made heirs of the heavenly inher- 
 itance, and others banished from the kingdom of 
 God. The reason of this difference rests with men 
 themselves. Some in the state of probation wisely 
 improve the means of knowledge, piety, and virtue, 
 and thereby qualify themselves for the happiness of 
 heaven ; others pass the period of their probation 
 without improvement, and in the day of account 
 they will be found destitute of the qualifications of 
 the Christian character ; they will therefore be con- 
 demned, and their punishment aggravated in pro- 
 portion to the extent of means which they abused. 
 
 Men, in different proportions, possess the powers 
 of intellectual and free agents ; and hereafter an ac- 
 count will be required of the manner in which each 
 talent has been managed. Men differ in their in- 
 tellectual and moral faculties, and individuals must 
 
264 SERMON XIX. 
 
 account only for talents committed to their manage* 
 inent. Men are accountable for what they have, 
 and not for what they have not. Their future re- 
 wards will be proportioned to attainments actually 
 made under their respective circumstances. 
 
 To ai\ observations of this nature, some may re- 
 ply Moral preparations are indeed absolutely re- 
 quisite for salvation. No one will be admitted to 
 heaven, who in the present world is not conformed 
 to the image of God. Men must become the 
 children, before they can be made the heirs of God. 
 The very question is Can they of themselves ac- 
 quire the necessary qualifications for heaven ? Can 
 they, in their own power, form in their souls the 
 image of their Creator ? I answer, We possess 
 nothing which we did not receive ; and if we re- 
 ceived all our powers from God, why should we 
 glory as though we received them not ? The pre- 
 tence to independent power or agency in a creature 
 is preposterous. But our Maker formed us free 
 moral agents, and he has appointed the method by 
 which the true end of our existence may be obtain- 
 ed. God has fitted the earth to yield its increase 
 for the present support of man, and he prospers the 
 tiller of the ground in his labours ; but he who 
 labours not during seed time, will not gather in the 
 appointed weeks of harvest. God in mercy has, by 
 Jesus Christ, promised eternal life to all, who by a 
 patient continuance in the \vays of well doing, seek 
 for glory, honour and immortality ; but they who 
 do not comply with the condition, can have no 
 claim to the reward. Be not deceived : God is not 
 mocked. Whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he 
 
SERMON XIX. 
 
 265 
 
 also reap ; he that soweth to the flesh, shall of the 
 flesh reap corruption ; but he that soweth to the 
 spirit, shall of the spirit reap life everlasting ; and 
 let us not be weary in well doing, for in due season 
 we shall reap, if we faint not. 
 
 The plan of the gospel was adopted to remedy 
 the effects of the apostacy. Its conditions are suit- 
 ed to the powers of man in his present state. The 
 gospel views man in all his weakness, and its re* 
 quisitions are fitted to his actual ability. 
 
 Neither writers on the terms of salvation by Je- 
 sus Christ, nor Christians generally in their inqui- 
 ries on this subject, seem to have sufficiently attend- 
 ed to this consideration. The question is not, 
 whether man has the power to yield sinless obedi- 
 ence to a perfect law, and thereby to entitle himself 
 to the reward, which the law provides for services 
 which are absolutely perfect ; but whether man 
 lias the power to comply with those conditions 
 of divine acceptance which Christ has established. 
 The gospel removes those impediments, that ob- 
 structed the path of man in his course to the goal, 
 at which he was to receive the rewards of obedi- 
 ence. Christianity in its very nature is remedial i 
 it presupposes defection in man : it was established 
 after the degradation of the human race, and all its 
 requirements are suited to their present condition. 
 
 When the scriptures assert that where sin abound- 
 ed grace did more abound, it is an impeachment 
 of the wisdom as well as the goodness of God, to 
 say, that the remedy provided by the gospel for the 
 effects of the apostacy is not complete ; that the new 
 34 
 
266 JHCRMON XIX. 
 
 order of government is not suited to the capacity of 
 its subjects. Are the administrations of God inad- 
 equate to their designed purpose ? Can .the meas- 
 ures of his adoption fail of reaching the intended ob- 
 ject ? Impossible. The gospel is altogether calcu- 
 lated for man with his present powers of action ; 
 and he is as capable of complying with its demands, 
 as Adam originally was to comply with the requi- 
 sitions of the first law. The supposition that man 
 is unable to comply with the conditions of accept- 
 ance with his Maker, reflects the highest dishonour 
 on the wisdom, the benevolence, and the justice of 
 God. If I be a father, says God, where is mine 
 honour ? If God be a father, shall we attribute to 
 him that government over his family, which to im- 
 pute to any earthly parent would be considered as 
 affrontive ? Shall we make God, not merely like, 
 but worse than men ? 
 
 When we represent the Christian dispensation to 
 be adapted to the human capacity, and requiring from 
 men a service they possess the power to perform ; 
 when we state that God grants all the well-disposed 
 subjects of his government the assistance which is 
 suited to the capacity of an accountable being, and 
 at the same time requires them to co-operate with 
 him, by the proper exercise of the strength he has 
 given them we attribute to God the glory of an af- 
 fectionate parent, the glory of a merciful and be- 
 nevolent governour, and a just and righteous judge. 
 But when we describe God as a being, who does 
 not adapt the constitution of his government to the 
 capacities of his creatures, who are the subjects of 
 it ; who forces some, by his own irresistible power, 
 
SERMON Xl\. 267 
 
 to obey his laws, and then loves and rewards them 
 for this forced obedience ; while he denies his aid 
 to the majority of his family, who can make no ef- 
 fectual effort without his special assistance ; and 
 hates them for lying in the impotence, where he 
 placed them, and decreed that they should lie ; and 
 at last punishes them with everlasting misery for 
 not doing that, which he determined they never 
 should do, and denied them the power to accom- 
 plish then we ascribe to God ttie glory, if any glo- 
 ry, of a despotick, cruel being; the glory of a tyrant, 
 who makes to himself favourites from the mere dic- 
 tates of a capricious mind ; who loves and hates his 
 subjects from blind prejudice ; who rewards and 
 punishes them without any regard to intrinsick worth 
 of character. Far be this imputation from our bles- 
 sed God. Far be it from God that he should do 
 iniquity, and from the Almighty that he should per- 
 vert justice. The works of a man he will render 
 unto him, and cause every man to find according to 
 his ways. 
 
 Does it not then appear, that the Calvinistick 
 doctrine of effectual calling is opposed to the plain- 
 est declarations of scripture, and to the clearest dic- 
 tates of reason ? 
 
 To the satisfactory illustration of our subject, it 
 is now, I trust, only necessary to notice one or two 
 objections that may be raised against the general 
 ^representations made. 
 
 It may perhaps be said, that the argument ad- 
 duced to prove the efficiency of Christianity, to 
 remedy the effects of the apostacy, if admitted, will 
 prove the universal salvation of men. The 
 
268 SERMON XIX. 
 
 doctrine of universal salvation, will, by the leave of 
 Providence, be particularly considered at some fu- 
 ture time. For the present purpose, I answer -Man 
 is the subject of a moral government : he is an ac- 
 countable being. His acceptance with God is sus- 
 pended on the wise exercise of his free and active 
 powers. Christianity places all men in a state of 
 salvation ; but it does no violence to the moral abil- 
 ity of man. It suits its requirements to the pres- 
 ent abilities of human nature ; and it makes human 
 endeavours necessary to qualify men for the enjoy- 
 ment of its final rewards. In one word, man, on 
 the Christian plan, is a candidate for the happiness 
 which flows from a good disposition, and from hab- 
 its of piety and virtue ; and they alone of the hu- 
 man family are qualified for salvation, who in such 
 a manner improve the means of the gospel, as to 
 form that disposition, and establish these habits. 
 
 Others may say, that the ability above ascribed to 
 man, in his religious duty, is irreconcileable with 
 those passages of scripture which refer to divine 
 influence in the formation of the human character to 
 Christian piety and virtue. To this objection, I re- 
 ply. Those influences arc applied to the moral na- 
 ture of man, and are consistent with the free exer- 
 cise of his intellectual and moral power. These 
 aids we are gratefully to receive as a part of the gra- 
 cious provisions of the gospel. For our encour- 
 agement in the important business of this world, we 
 have the promise of God to assist and to succeed 
 our honest endeavours. He has promised that seed- 
 time and harvest shall never fail. Though our ex- 
 ertions have no efficiency in vegetation, yet our 
 
SERMON XIX. 269 
 
 sowing is made indispensable to the blessings of 
 harvest. For our encouragement in the concerns 
 of moral life, though we can merit nothing by 
 our works, yet God in his mercy has gracious- 
 ly promised effectual aid to all those, who with 
 earnestness engage in the business of life eternal. 
 Without our own endeavours, we may not expect 
 that the moral purpose of our probation will be ac- 
 complished. If we ourselves are serious, diligent, 
 and persevering in the endeavour to work cut our 
 own salvation, we have the assurance that the 
 strength of God will be made perfect in our weak- 
 ness, and that finally we shall be found of our Judge 
 in peace, without spot and blameless, and shall be 
 crowned with the wreath of immortality. 
 
 I close, with one or two general reflections. 
 
 1. The gracious provisions of the gospel fully 
 manifest the goodness and mercy of our God ; and 
 these furnish the highest motives for gratitude, love 
 and obedience in us. God is the parent of our 
 lives, and the author of all our blessings. He be- 
 stows his favours in the most disinterested manner, 
 and with the same parental regard beholds all the 
 members of the human family. By his son Jesus 
 Christ he has provided a remedy for the pollutions 
 of guilt, instructed us in the duties of life, and 
 promised to support his dutiful children under all 
 the trials of the world ; and to conduct them to hon- 
 our, glory, and immortality in heaven. These bles- 
 sings, when realized, must move the hearts of every 
 individual who will seriously reflect on them, and 
 raise him above the follies and vices of the present 
 state. 
 
270 SERMON XIX. 
 
 When the Christian diligently studies the gospel, 
 he will find that it is fitted to enkindle the flame of 
 gratitude and devotion in his breast, and to lead him, 
 to a life of piety, righteousness and sobriety. When 
 he impartially attends to the writings of the evan- 
 gelists and apostles, he will perceive that they uni- 
 formly apply the instructions and motives of the 
 gospel to these important purposes. 
 
 2. From our subject we learn, that it is not a 
 small and uncertain number, who are by Jesus Christ 
 freed from the bondage of sin and death, while the 
 majority of mankind are doomed by a sovereign de- 
 cree to guilt and wretchedness. The declarations of 
 the gospel are widely different. In it men are dis- 
 suaded from sin by a view of the terrors of future 
 condemnation ; they are animated to the perform- 
 ance of Christian duty by a promise of assistance 
 and reward. The proposals of salvation are not 
 limited. We may then all with the highest confi- 
 dence rest our hopes on God ; for though we can 
 have no claim on his justice, yet his merciful prom- 
 ise gives us the highest possible security. If we 
 perform faithfully the part assigned us in our salva- 
 tion, we may be assured that God will be mindfdl 
 of his covenant, and will reward our labours with 
 the crown of immortal life. 
 
 Let us then, my Christian brethren, partakers of 
 the heavenly calling, not satisfy ourselves with the 
 exclamation of Lord, Lord ; but may we also be 
 careful to do the things, which Jesus has command- 
 ed us. Denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, let 
 us live soberly, righteously and piously in this pres- 
 ent world. 
 
SERMON XX. 
 
 ON CONVERSION. 
 
 JOHN iii. 3. 
 
 Eerily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man le born 
 he cannot see the kingdom of God. 
 
 THE third proposition under the fourth article 
 of the Calvinistick creed, is our present subject, 
 viz. 
 
 3. To define the nature of conversion, or de- 
 scribe the change which takes place in the character 
 of the sinner, who is effectually called. 
 
 The declaration contained in our text was made 
 by our Saviour to Nicodemus. He had seen the 
 mighty works of Jesus, and was by them convinced 
 of his divine mission. Not possessing resolution 
 publickly to profess him as the Messiah, he came 
 to him by night for religious instruction. Our text 
 is the reply to a question of this inquisitive but 
 wavering Pharisee. The Pharisees made external 
 rites and forms the essence of religion. Our 
 
272 SERMON XX. 
 
 Saviour informed Nicodemus, that, to become his 
 disciple, a man like the Pharisees must change his 
 opinions, his disposition, and practice. The great 
 body of the Jews and Gentiles were so corrupt, 
 that he who was renovated to the spirit and habits 
 of pure religion, might, by an apt figure, be said to 
 be born again. 
 
 The sense of our text is fully expressed by the 
 apostle Peter. " God hath given us all things that 
 pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowl- 
 edge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue ; 
 whereby are given unto us exceeding great and 
 precious promises ; that by these ye might be par- 
 takers of the divine nature, having escaped the 
 corruption Uiat is in the world through lust."* 
 
 In the consideration of our subject, I shall, 
 
 1. Inquire into the scriptural meaning of the 
 term, Conversion. 
 
 2. Review some passages of the New Testa- 
 ment, which describe the requisite qualifications of 
 the Christian character in other phraseology thau 
 conversion, or regeneration. 
 
 3. State the proof that may satisfy men that 
 they are Christians, and are prepared for the re- 
 wards which God, in his munificence, has provided 
 for the faithful disciple of Jesus Christ. 
 
 1. To inquire into the scriptural meaning of the: 
 term, Conversion. 
 
 In the New Testament, the term Conversion is 
 sometimes used to express tlvc change from one re- 
 ligion to another. " Paul and Barnabas declared 
 the conversion of the Gentiles." They renounced 
 
 * 2 Peter, i. 3, 4. 
 
SERMON XX. 278 
 
 Paganism, and embraced Christianity. Conversion 
 in this sense may be a change merely of opinion, 
 and not of the heart. In the history of the bible, 
 instances occur of individuals who were good men 
 before this change ; and of others, who after it were 
 sinners. Cornelius* before his conversion to Christ- 
 ianity, was " a devout man : he feared God, gave 
 much alms to the people, and prayed to God al- 
 way." Simon Magus was converted to the Christ- 
 ian faith : he believed and was baptized ; yet, after 
 this, St. Peter pronounced him to be in the gall of 
 bitterness and bond of iniquity. Conversion, in this 
 sense, has no reference to those who are educated 
 under the institutions of the gospel. 
 
 In the epistles of the New Testament addressed 
 to converted heathen, the writers, particularly St. 
 Paul, make frequent allusion to their former state 
 of ignorance, superstition, and sin. To the Ephe- 
 sians, Paul remarks " You hath he quickened, 
 who were dead in trespasses and sins, wherein in 
 time past, ye walked according to the course of this 
 world, according to the prince of the power of the 
 air, the spirit that now worketh in the children of 
 disobedience."* That the apostle here alludes to 
 the corruptions of their Gentile state, from which 
 they were reclaimed by the gospel, is evident ; for 
 he observes, that, before their conversion, they 
 were " Gentiles in the flesh, without Christ, aliens 
 from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers 
 from the covenant of promise ; having no hope, and 
 
 * Eph. ii. 1, 2. 
 
 35 
 
274 SERMON XX. 
 
 without God in the world. But now, in Christ 
 Jesus, ye, who sometimes were far off, are made 
 nigh by the blood of Christ ; for he is our peace, 
 who hath made both one, and hath broken down 
 the middle wall between us. Now, therefore," he 
 adds, " ye are no more strangers and foreigners, 
 but fellow-citizens with the saints, and of the 
 household of God."* The difference between the 
 religious condition of Gentiles and Christians is so 
 great, that observations made respecting the former 
 will not apply to the latter. The Gentiles enter- 
 tained unworthy apprehensions of the Deity ; they 
 were confused in their opinions respecting a future 
 state, and were almost destitute of motives to piety 
 and virtue. Christians are made acquainted with 
 the character and government of God ; they are 
 called, by the clearest instruction and the most 
 persuasive motives, to knowledge and virtue, to 
 glory and immortality. Wickedness in Christ- 
 ians is therefore threatened with punishment ag- 
 gravated in degree, proportionate to their superiour 
 means of improvement. 
 
 Let us attend to the general meaning of the sac- 
 red writers, when they speak of the conversion of 
 the sinner. 
 
 To render men meet for the rest of saints in the 
 kingdom of light, the dominion of sin must be sub- 
 dued, the love of God implanted in the heart, and, 
 where opportunity is afforded, a habit of Christian 
 piety and virtue formed. Without these qualifica- 
 tions, men are not fitted for the employments or the 
 happiness of heaven. Some suppose that the 
 
 *Eph. ii. 1114, 19. 
 
SERMON XX. 275 
 
 change from the blindness and the dominion of sin 
 to the light and the power of godliness, is instantly 
 produced in the human mind. Some even require 
 that the patient should be able to describe the sever- 
 al stages of conviction, and state the moment of the 
 new birth. I find no support for this doctrine 
 in the bible. In itself, I apprehend it to be very 
 erroneous, and, in its consequences, extremely dan- 
 gerous. It is dangerous, because he who supposes 
 that a man is instantaneously fitted for heaven by 
 the irresistible operations of the Divine Spirit, is 
 apt to impute the mere movements of animal nature 
 to heavenly influence, and to mistake the excite- 
 ment of his passions for conversion. When an in- 
 dividual of an ardent imagination can persuade him- 
 self that he has experienced this sudden change, he 
 deems himself secured from offences which will 
 hazard his salvation ; and from his holy mount, he 
 looks down upon his fellow-beings who have less 
 assurance than himself, as upon a blind and repro- 
 bate world. He forms a judgment of the Christian 
 attainments of men, not from their practices, which 
 are open to his inspection, but from internal opera- 
 tions, which are hidden from human view, and to 
 which the wild enthusiast or the artful hypocrite 
 oftener lays claim, than the man of a sound mind 
 and pure heart. He who can persuade himself that 
 he has been instantaneously converted, supposes his 
 title to heaven to be sure ; and if he fall into heinous 
 sins, he considers them as mere frailties of human 
 nature, and not offences which are a forfeiture of 
 the Christian character. A person of this descrip- 
 tion is prone to cherish vanity and spiritual pride ; 
 
276 SERMON XX. 
 
 and too often he in an unchristian manner cen- 
 sures those, who from diffidence are restrained 
 from rising to his lofty pretensions. The case of 
 St. Paul may, perhaps, be mentioned as an instance 
 of instantaneous conversion. But this case cannot 
 be applied to men generally. He was appointed 
 by God to be the distinguished apostle of the Gen- 
 tiles, and a miracle was wrought in his favour. His 
 conversion was from a mistaken notion of the Jew- 
 ish religion to a consistent belief of Christianity. 
 He informs us,- that as a Jew, he had lived in all 
 good conscience before God ; and that, even in his 
 persecution of Christians, he thought he was doing 
 God service. In this transaction he was inflamed 
 by an honest, though mistaken zeal. In what de- 
 gree he was culpable in rejecting the proof of the 
 divine mission of Jesus Christ, till conviction in a 
 miraculous manner was forced upon him, is not 
 our province to determine. But clearly the differ, 
 ence between Paul, who was actuated by an honest 
 though erroneous zeal, and the man who wilfully 
 and habitually violates the commands of God, is so 
 great, that no comparison can 'be made between 
 them. After his conversion to Christianity, this 
 apostle declared-^-." I count not myself to have ap- 
 prehended ; but this one thing I do, I press toward 
 the mark for the prize of the Mgh calling of God 
 in Christ Jesus,"** Contemplating his danger, he 
 forms a solemn resolution to persevere, lest having 
 been a preacher of the gospel, he should himself 
 be a cast- a way. It does not then appear, that Paul 
 rested on his instantaneous conversion, and thought 
 himself thereby assured of heaven. 
 
 * Phil. iii. 13, 14. 
 
SERMON XX. 277 
 
 Our text has often been adduced in proof of the 
 doctrine of instantaneous conversion. But does it 
 support the position ? Nicodemus at first under- 
 stood our Saviour in a literal sense ; but the sub- 
 sequent verses show that the language is figurative, 
 and illustrate the meaning of the passage. " Verily, 
 verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of 
 water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the king- 
 dom of God." Unless a man, under the influence 
 of the Spirit of God, be formed to moral purity, he 
 cannot enter my kingdom, of which baptism by 
 water is the initial sign. " That which is born of 
 the flesh, is flesh ; and that which is born of the 
 Spirit is spirit." Was it possible for a man to be 
 born literally a second time, he still would be born 
 a man, and would mind animal things ; but he who 
 is born of the Spirit is formed into a likeness of the 
 divine image, and he regards his spiritual, his moral 
 improvement. " Marvel not that I said unto thee, 
 ye must be born again. The wind bloweth where 
 it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but 
 canst not tell whence it cometh and whither it 
 goeth : so is every one that is born of the Spirit." 
 The wind is not visible, nor can its origin be ex- 
 plored ; but its effects are apparent : and in moral 
 life, the influences of the Spirit are not to be dis- 
 cerned by us ; but when cherished, their fruits are 
 evident. In religious concerns, you cannot distin- 
 guish between the influence of the Spirit of God 
 and the suggestions of your own minds. But 
 though you be not certain that particular feelings 
 and actions originated in divine impulse, yet if you 
 perceive that the love of vice is subdued in your 
 
278 SERMON XX. 
 
 hearts, and you be conscious of a sincere endeav- 
 our to live in the habitual exercise of all Christian 
 graces and virtues, you may with safety rest in the 
 persuasion, that the influences of the Divine Spirit 
 have been effectually cherished. 
 
 The Jews were accustomed to immerse in water 
 a convert from paganism to their religion. They 
 considered this change as being born again, and de- 
 nominated the proselyte a new man.* The knowl- 
 edge of this custom enables us to perceive the 
 force of the question of our Saviour to Nicodemus 
 " Art thou a master of Israel, and kno west hot these 
 things ?" 
 
 Conversion, in the scriptural sense of the phrase, 
 signifies a change of the mind, placing the affec- 
 tions on new objects, altering the conduct, adopt- 
 ing a new course of life. The sinner, in his con- 
 version, loses his fondness for vice, and acquires 
 the love of goodness. In the original language, 
 the same word which in our translation is rendered 
 convert, or conversion, is frequently used to express 
 the action of a man turning himself about, altering 
 the course of his steps, going out of one path into 
 another. That every reader may judge of the 
 correctness of this remark, I will mention a num- 
 ber of places, where the same Greek word ex- 
 presses these several affections and actions. Matt. 
 xiii. 15, our Saviour, speaking of the Jews, repeats 
 the prophecy of Isaiah " This people's heart is 
 waxed gross, and their eyes they have closed, lest 
 at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear 
 with their ears, a'nd should understand with their 
 
 * See Goadby's illustration, and Whitby on John iii. 3, &c. 
 
SERMON XX. 279 
 
 hearts, and should be converted, and I should heal 
 them." The word here translated converted, is the 
 same, the difference of mode and tense excepted, 
 which in Luke xvii. 31, is rendered return. ** He 
 that is in the field, let him likewise not return back." 
 The same word is used in Acts xxvi. 18, and 
 translated to turn to " To turn them from dark- 
 ness to light." In Matt, xviii. 3, we read, " Jesus 
 said, Except ye be converted, and become as little 
 children." The word here translated converted, is, 
 in Luke xiv. 25, rendered turned, that is, to turn 
 the body " Great multitudes were with him ; and 
 he turned, and said unto them." In Acts iii. 19, 
 Peter exhorts his hearers to repent and be convert- 
 ed. The word here translated converted, in 2 Cor. 
 iii. 16, is rendered turn " When it shall turn to 
 the Lord." In 2 Peter ii. 21, the same word is 
 rendered turn from " It had been better for them 
 not to have known the way of righteousness, than, 
 after they have known it, to turn from the holy- 
 commandment delivered unto them. In these 
 passages the same word is translated to be convert- 
 ed, to turn the body, to turn to the Lord, and to 
 turn away from him, or from his holy command- 
 ment. In James v. 19, 20, this apostle observes 
 " Brethren, if any of you do err from the truth, and 
 one convert him, let him know, that he who con- 
 verteth a sinner from the errour of his way, shall 
 save a soul from death, and shall hide a multitude 
 of sins." The word rendered convert and convert- 
 eth, in 2 Peter ii. 22, is rendered turned " It has 
 happened unto them according to the true proverb, 
 The dog is turned to his own vomit again." 
 
280 SERMON XX; 
 
 Other examples might be adduced; but these 
 are sufficient, I trust, to show that conversion, or 
 regeneration, in the New Testament, means a change 
 of the affections from vicious to virtuous objects, 
 altering the course of one's life, the formation of 
 Christian habits. The man who has given an un- 
 controlled indulgence to irregular passions, and 
 formed habits of vice, under divine influence cor- 
 rects the disordered affections of his mind, and sub- 
 dues the corrupt propensities of his heart. He 
 ceases to do evil, and learns to do well. By the 
 diligent study of the truths, and by the serious ob- 
 servance of the directions of the gospel, he acquires 
 the qualifications of the Christian character. By 
 adding to his faith the graces and virtues of his re- 
 ligion, he makes his calling and election sure. 
 Having learned how he ought to walk and please 
 God, he abounds more and more in every good word 
 and work. From the commencement of the Christ- 
 ian life, he makes constant progress in the path of 
 goodness ; and with quickened steps he presses to- 
 wards the goal of perfection. Such is the conver- 
 sion and sanctification which the sacred writers- 
 declare to be essential to our acceptance with God. 
 These are the attainments which are the moral pur- 
 pose of a probationary state. This purpose cannot 
 instantaneously be accomplished. Christian quali- 
 fications are slowly acquired. 
 
 Many providential occurrences may take place 
 to stop a sinner in his course of iniquity, and to in* 
 duce him to form the resolution to amend his life ; 
 but it requires time, care, and labour, to wean the 
 affections from vicious indulgences, to break the 
 
SERMON 3&. 281 
 
 .force of corrupt habits ; to enkindle in the heart the 
 love of religion, and to establish a disposition habit- 
 ually virtuous and holy. 
 
 From the preceding observations it will appear, 
 that the experiences of one man in his conversion 
 furnish no rule by which the Christian attainments 
 of another may be tested. This individual was 
 early taught the truths of the gospel. The seeds 
 of Christian piety and virtue were sown in his in- 
 fant mind, and, by the blessing of Heaven, these 
 were nourished, and yielded fruit. " Religious 
 principles grew with his growth, and were strength- 
 ened with his strength." His life from his youth, 
 though attended with weakness and infirmity, was 
 sober and virtuous ; he habitually lived in the fear 
 of God, and in view of a future judgment ; and his 
 hoary head in advanced life is a crown of glory, he 
 being found in the way of righteousness. This 
 man never experienced the compunctions and con- 
 flicts which the sinner in conversion experiences ; 
 liis life was a continuous course of progressive im- 
 provements in Christian knowledge and virtue. 
 
 That individual was a profligate in youth ; he 
 early formed habits of vice, and for years lived 
 in the wilful indulgence tf the worst passions of 
 human nature. By some impressive dispensation 
 of Divine Providence, this abandoned character was 
 brought to serious reflection : death was placed in 
 near prospect before him : he pondered on the ret- 
 ributions of the final judgment, and was terrified 
 by the contemplation : his mind was overwhelmed 
 by a view of his impending destruction : he keenly 
 
282 SERMON XX. 
 
 Felt the sting of an accusing conscience : his past 
 sins arose to his contemplation in all their turpitude 
 and guilt : he reflected upon the infinite blessings 
 which God has conferred on sinful men by Jesus 
 Christ ; and, in the bitterness of his sorrow that he 
 had neglected to embrace the offered salvation, he 
 cried to God for grace and mercy. By divine as- 
 sistance he is enabled to conquer his vicious habits, 
 and to bring forth fruit meet for repentance. At- 
 taining to an habitual state of piety and virtue, he 
 becomes prepared for heaven. This man, in the 
 attainment of the qualifications of the Christian 
 character, widely differs from the former. His 
 change was great, sudden and visible : he is able to 
 state the time of his conversion, and to give a his- 
 tory of the circumstances which attended it. Be- 
 tween these two characters, the experience of 
 Christians may differ through all the intermediate 
 grades of vice and virtue. Some individuals may 
 have been led to repentance by the threatenings of 
 the gospel, and others allured to the paths of Christ- 
 ian duty by its promises. The change in dne 
 might have been sudden ; and in another it may 
 have been more gradually produced, as the effect of 
 reiterated instruction and entreaty. This man may 
 date his conversion from a given time, and that can 
 satisfy himself that he is a Christian only by a con- 
 sciousness that religion has an abiding effect upon 
 his temper and life. 
 
 In religion, men discover their constitutional 
 complexion. Men of a grave and sedate tempera- 
 ture do not in religion express that warmth of feel- 
 ing, nor in their devotions manifest the zeal and 
 
SERMON XX. 283 
 
 fervour, which men of quick passions and ardent 
 minds express and display. As in the interchange 
 of common offices of good neighbourhood, and in 
 the intercourse of friendship, men of cool and re- 
 served dispositions do not make their declarations 
 of esteem and regard in those impassioned expres- 
 sions which are heard from those whose feelings 
 are more nice and more easily excited ; yet the 
 former may be as sincere, and in all instances of 
 trial may discover as great constancy, and by their 
 actions manifest as high effects of real friendship 
 and humanity. In like manner, amidst the con- 
 flicts of Christian virtue, men of cool and reserved 
 tempers may prove themselves as well grounded 
 and settled in their religion, discover as great 
 strength of moral principle, and in conduct display 
 as much of the spirit of the gospel, as persons of 
 more zealous and fervid minds. 
 
 2. To review some passages of the New Tes- 
 tament which describe the requisite qualifications 
 of the Christian character in other phraseology than 
 conversion, or regeneration. 
 
 The sacred writers describe the essential qualifi- 
 cations of the Christian character in various ways ; 
 but the several descriptions are in substance the 
 same. In some places the word faith is used to 
 express the principle of religion in the heart, and 
 its effects upon the life, But faith, in this general 
 sense, consists not in the mere assent of the mind 
 to Christian truth, nor in the inefficacious applica- 
 tion of the merits of Christ to ourselves. Saving 
 faith works by love, purifies the heart, and over- 
 comes the world. The Christian must hold faith 
 
284 SERMON XX. 
 
 and a good conscience ; and they who put away a 
 good conscience, make shipwreck of faith. " The 
 end of the Christian commandment is charity out 
 of a pure heart, and a good conscience, and faith 
 unfeigned."* In other places, repentance expresses 
 the qualification of the character which will be ac- 
 cepted as the disciple of Christ Jesus. " God to 
 the Gentiles granted repentance unto life."f But 
 the essence of repentance consists not in mere sor- 
 row and humiliation. Effectually to repent, is to 
 subdue evil propensities, and to reform vicious 
 practices. Attend to the description which the 
 prophet gives of true repentance" Wash ye, 
 make ye clean ; put away the evil of your doings 
 from before mine eyes ; cease to do evil ; learn to 
 do well ; seek judgment ; relieve the oppressed ; 
 judge the fatherless ; plead for the widow." On 
 this condition the prophet assures the offender that 
 he shall be forgiven. " Come now, and let us rea- 
 son together, saith the Lord. Though your sins 
 be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow ; though 
 they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."J 
 " Paul showed first unto them of Damascus, and at 
 Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judea, 
 and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and 
 turn to God, and do works meet for repentance. " 
 In the epistle to the Galatians, St. Paul declares, 
 " In Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth any 
 thing, nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh 
 by love." In the same epistle he affirms " Nei- 
 ther circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircum- 
 eision, but a new creature."!] In the first to the 
 
 * 1 Tim. i. 5 r 19. t Acts xi. 18. 
 
 Isaiah i. 16, 17, 18. * Acts xxvi. 20. || Gal. r. C ; vi. IS. 
 
SERMON XX- 285 
 
 Corinthians, be says, " Circumcision is nothing, 
 and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the 
 commandments of God."* And in the epistle to 
 the Hebrews, he observes, " Christ, being made 
 peifrct, became the author of eternal salvation to all 
 them who obey him."f In these places, the essen- 
 tial qualifications of the Christian character are dif- 
 ferently expressed ; as by faith, the first principle 
 of the Christian life ; by the new birth, or the 
 change from vice to virtue ; by keeping the com- 
 mandments of God, or evangelical obedience. 
 These several phrases convey the same meaning. 
 Wherever the inspired writers express the sum and 
 substance of religion by one leading principle of it, 
 they include all essential graces and virtues as its 
 fruits ; and where they express the whole of relig- 
 ion by some primary virtue, they always include 
 faith as its principle. The general term faith in- 
 cludes obedience ; and evangelical obedience im- 
 plies faith. The believing disciple, the humble 
 penitent, the converted man, the obedient Christian, 
 in scriptural phraseology, all delineate the same 
 character. 
 
 We shall be brought to the same result, if we 
 attend to those passages of the New Testament 
 which describe the properties of which a man, when 
 he becomes a Christian, divests himself, and the 
 properties which he acquires ; the practices which 
 he renounces, and the practices which he adopts. 
 The apostle Paul thus exhorts the Ephesian con- 
 verts " That ye put off concerning the former 
 conversation the old man, which is corrupt accord- 
 
 * 1 Car. rii. 19. t Heb. v. 9. 
 
286 SERMON XX. 
 
 ing to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the 
 spirit of your minds ; and that ye put on the new 
 man, which after God is created in righteousness 
 and true holiness."* In the preceding verses, he 
 had observed u This I say and testify in the Lord, 
 that henceforth ye walk not as other Gentiles walk, 
 in the vanity of their mind, having the under- 
 standing darkened, being alienated from the life of 
 God through the ignorance that is in them, because 
 of the blindness of their heart; who, being past 
 feeling, have given themselves over unto lascivi- 
 ousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. 
 But ye have not so learned Christ ; if so be that ye 
 have heard him, and have been taught by him as the 
 truth is in Jesus ; that ye put off," Sec. Evidently, 
 then, the old man, which they were to put off, is a 
 vain mind and a lascivious practice, to which Gen- 
 tiles, through their blindness, gave themselves up 
 with greediness ; and the new man, which they were 
 to put on, is a conformity to the divine image, and 
 the practice of righteousness and Christian virtue. 
 A passage in the epistle to the Colossians fully ex- 
 plains the meaning of St. Paul in the use of the 
 term old and new man. " Put off all these, anger, 
 wrath, malice, blasphemy, filthy communication out 
 of your mouths. Lie not one to another ; seeing 
 ye have put off the old man with his deeds, and have 
 put on the new man, which is renewed in knowl- 
 edge, after the image of him that created him. Put 
 on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, 
 bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, 
 meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one another, 
 
 * Eph. iv. 22, &c. 
 
SERMON XX. 287 
 
 and forgiving one another ; and, above all these 
 things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfect- 
 ness."* The direction here is, that Christians 
 should divest themselves of wicked inclinations, and 
 abstain from evil practices, which the apostle de- 
 nominates the old man ; and that they imbue their 
 minds with the spirit of the gospel, and give an ex- 
 emplification of the Christian virtues ; and these 
 the apostle styles the new man. 
 
 Under this branch of our subject, it is pertinent 
 to bring into view one or two passages of scripture, 
 which define the fruits of the Spirit, or describe the 
 effects of Christian principles, when, under divine 
 influence, they become operative upon the hearts 
 and lives of men. St. Paul, in his epistle to the 
 Galatians, says " The fruit of the Spirit is love, 
 joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, 
 faith, meekness, temperance. "f In the paraphrase of 
 Dr. Macknight " The fruit which reason, enlight- 
 ened by the spirit of God, produceth, is love to 
 God and man ; joy, occasioned by that excellent 
 affection ; peace with all men ; the patient bearing 
 of injuries ; a soft and complacent manner of speak- 
 ing ; a beneficent disposition ; fidelity in promises 
 and trusts ; calmness under provocation ; tempe- 
 rance in the use of meats and drinks." To the 
 Ephesians St. Paul observes " The fruit of the 
 Spirit is in all goodness, and righteousness, and 
 truth." In the above paraphrase " The fruit of 
 the Spirit, by which ye are enlightened, consists in 
 doing all good offices to your neighbours, and in 
 
 * Col. iii. 8, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14. t Gal. r. 22, 33, 
 
288 SERMON XX. 
 
 righteousness in your dealings, and truth in your 
 speeches." 
 
 No comments are necessary to show that the 
 fruits of the Spirit, in these passages, differ not 
 from the moral virtues of the gospel. The man 
 who cherishes divine influence, and yields Christian 
 fruit, is the man who rectifies the evil propensities 
 of his heart, and establishes habits of Christian pie- 
 ty and virtue. Religion, to be effectual, must, as a 
 living principle, dwell in the heart of man, form his 
 disposition, and regulate his life. 
 
 3. To state the proofs which may satisfy men 
 that they are Christians, and are qualified for the 
 rewards 'which God, in his munificence, has pro- 
 vided for the faithful disciples of Jesus Christ. 
 
 By their improvements in the Christian life, may 
 men estimate their qualifications for heaven. If 
 they find that the power of sin is subdued in their 
 hearts, that their evil propensities are mortified, 
 and that their religion produces the fruits of a good 
 life, then they may be satisfied that they are pre- 
 pared for the rewards of heaven. Men are differ- 
 ently constituted, and it cannot therefore be expect- 
 ed that they should agree in speculative opinions., 
 or experience the same internal operations. But 
 they may be united in sincerity. Every man may 
 for himself determine whether it be his sincere 
 desire and habitual endeavour to do the will of 
 God, and to walk in the commandments of Jesus 
 Christ, blameless. If, on the examination of him- 
 self by this rule, the heart of an individual condemn 
 him not, then may he have confidence towards 
 God. The deficiencies and defects of the Christian 
 
SERMON XX. 289 
 
 should render him humble, and teach him his de- 
 pendence on the goodness and mercy of God, 
 But if the religion of Jesus be established in his 
 mind, it will induce him to discipline his passions, 
 to guard against the seductions of the world, and to 
 live soberly, righteously, and piously. He will ex- 
 perience satisfaction and delight in the cultivation 
 of the Christian temper, and in the exercise of the 
 virtues of the gospel. No man ought to consider 
 himself a real disciple of Jesus Christ, till he has 
 put off the spirit and the deeds of sin, and put 
 on the spirit and the deeds of righteousness. In 
 this high coftcern, every one must be his own 
 judge. The hearts of our fellow Christians are not 
 open to our inspection ; but each one may examine 
 his own. Every individual may determine whether 
 his religious observances be assumed to subserve 
 a worldly purpose, or whether he act from a regard 
 to the authority of God ; whether he obey merely 
 those precepts of his Divine Master which are con- 
 genial to his peculiar complexion of mind, and con- 
 ducive to present interest, or have respect to all the 
 commands of God ; whether he maintain only the 
 semblance of goodness in publick, or his religion 
 have its proper influence in private, and regulate 
 his thoughts as well as actions. If he be conscious 
 that religion has an abiding and universal influence 
 on his heart and life, then he has evidence within 
 his own mind that he is qualified to join the heav- 
 enly society. 
 
 On this foundation the apostles establish Christ- 
 ian hope. As men advance in the path of piety 
 37 
 
290 SERMON XX. 
 
 and virtue, so may their hope of salvation increase ; 
 and to that confirmed state of goodness may they 
 in the present state attain, that their hope may be 
 as an anchor to their souls, sure and steadfast. 
 It may prove an unfailing source of consolation 
 under the troubles of life, and raise them above the 
 fear of death. But still it is hope, not assurance. 
 These remarks are in conformity to the language 
 of inspiration. We are directed to put on " for an 
 helmet the hope of salvation."* We are exhorted 
 " not to be moved away from the hope of the gos- 
 pel.'^ We are informed, that through grace we 
 are made heirs according to the hope of eternal 
 life;f and we are directed to be diligent in the 
 work of the Lord, in the full assurance of hope un- 
 to the end. But St. Paul declares that hope does 
 not amount to assurance. " We are," says he, 
 " saved by hope : but hope that is seen is not 
 hope ; for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope 
 for ? But if we hope for that we see not, then do 
 we with patience wait for it."|[ That is, for the 
 object of which we are absolutely certain, we can- 
 not hope, hope being done away in knowledge ; 
 but when we hope for some probable good, we 
 may with patience wait the proper time of recep- 
 tion. 
 
 It is, then, vanity and presumption for Christ- 
 ians, in a probationary state to pretend to an assur- 
 ance of salvation. The promises of the gospel are, 
 indeed, absolutely certain to all who comply with 
 the conditions of them ; but there is danger, 
 
 * 1 Thess. v. 8. t Col. i. 23. $ Tit. iii. 7. 
 
 4Heb. vi, 11. || Rom. viii. 24, 25. 
 
SERMON XX. !291 
 
 through every period of our probationary state, 
 that men will neglect to comply with the con- 
 ditions of salvation. No professed Christian can 
 be certain of his prize, till he has completed his 
 race, nor sure of his reward, till he has arrived 
 at his goal. It was at the close of his life, that St. 
 Paul triumphed in the prospect of an immediate pos- 
 session of the glorious wreath of immortality. " I 
 am now ready to be offered, and the time of my de- 
 parture is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I 
 have finished my course, I have kept the faith; 
 henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of right- 
 eousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall 
 give me at that day."* No man can with proprie- 
 ty adopt this language, till the decisive period shall 
 arrive. It is dangerous for men, amidst the temp- 
 tations of the world, to flatter themselves with a cer- 
 tainty of their salvation ; to entertain the supposi- 
 tion, that they are so effectually established in 
 Christian habits, that it is impossible they should 
 lose them. The rational hope of salvation is found- 
 ed on a consciousness of an habitual course of piety 
 and virtue. The hope of acceptance through Jesus 
 Christ may increase in strength, in proportion to the 
 progress made in the path towards Christian per- 
 fection ; and if at the close of life men can with 
 truth affirm, " Our rejoicing is this, the testimony 
 of our conscience, that in simplicity and godly sin- 
 cerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of 
 God, we have had our conversation in the world, "f 
 then are they entitled to that full assurance of hope, 
 which above is declared to be the portion of those 
 
 *2 Tim. iv. 6, 7, 8, t2 Cor, i. 12. 
 
292 SERMON XX. 
 
 who continue in the Christian course to the close of 
 life. But the snares and corruptions of the world 
 are many and great, and human resolutions are 
 weak. Who, then, among the disciples of Jesus 
 Christ, will dare solemnly to aver, There is no dan- 
 ger that I shall essentially fail in my duty as a can- 
 didate for immortality : I am absolutely sure of sal- 
 vation. This bold declaration must shock every 
 serious mind. The first consequence of it is, that 
 the future sins which this man may commit are not 
 strictly his ; and the next, that Christian liberty is 
 to sin with impunity. The hope which the gospel 
 warrants, as we have repeatedly observed, is found- 
 ed on a consciousness of a sincere and habitual en- 
 deavour to comply with the terms of salvation. 
 " And every man that hath this hope in him purifi- 
 eth himself, even as he, (God) is pure."* The 
 hope of eternal life, thus founded, is the best sup- 
 port of man through all worldly vicissitudes : it will 
 lighten the pressure of worldly adversity ; increase 
 the enjoyment of every present blessing ; and ever 
 prove a powerful motive to the cultivation and ex- 
 ercise of Christian virtues. If we were destitute of 
 the hope of the gospel, the present life would often 
 be felt as a burden, and immortality contemplated 
 with dreadful apprehension. But Christian hope 
 removes all objections which can be raised against 
 the present condition of man. It sustains the pi- 
 ous and good, under the conflict of death, and illu- 
 minates before them the path to the world of spirits. 
 Christians should guard against despondency as 
 well as presumption. " There is joy in believing," 
 
 * 1 John iii. 3. 
 
 
SERMON XX. 293 
 
 Persons of undoubted sincerity are sometimes sub- 
 jected to distressing fears, because they are not con- 
 scions of having experienced religious exercises 
 similar to those of their brethren, whom they deem 
 to be Christians of exalted piety. But all who re- 
 alize the efficacy of religion upon their tempers and 
 lives, may confide in the divine promise of accept- 
 ance through Jesus Christ, and may " rejoice with 
 joy unspeakable and full of glory." 
 
 CONCLUSION. 
 
 Though it be granted that the ministration of the 
 gospel of Jesus Christ, under the influences of the 
 Divine Spirit, produces its effects in a gradual man- 
 ner, and that men slowly acquire the qualifications of 
 the Christian character, yet it may be asked, is 
 there not a given point of improvement at which 
 they are fitted for the society of heaven, and, there- 
 fore, an instant of time at which they are convert- 
 ed ? Suppose there is who has any interest in the 
 question ? None but the man who means to push 
 his religious assiduities till he shall rise to the low- 
 est degree of goodness which will be accepted, and 
 there stop. Little encouragement can be given to 
 this lukewarm disciple. Though there may be a 
 particular degree of Christian attainment necessary 
 to the acceptance of every individual disciple of 
 Jesus Christ, yet this degree cannot be fixed by any 
 general principle ; because individuals are under 
 obligations of intellectual and moral improvement, 
 in proportion to their natural talents and local ad- 
 vantages. Their acquisitions in Christian life must 
 
294 SERMON XX. 
 
 be proportionate to the means afforded them. The 
 inquiry respecting the particular moment at which 
 the Christian improvements of an individual qualify 
 him for heaven, is like the question, At what point 
 of time does the night close, and the day begin ? 
 or, In the progress of human life, at what moment 
 does an individual cease to be a youth, and become 
 a man ? 
 
 May God grant us the spirit of truth, to lead us 
 into all truth pertaining to life eternal. May we 
 be found of our Judge in peace, without spot and 
 blameless ; and may an entrance be administered 
 unto us abundantly into the everlasting kingdom 
 of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ. 
 
SERMON XXI. 
 
 ON THE PERSEVERANCE OF SAINTS. 
 
 HEBREWS x. 38. 
 
 Now the just shall live by faith : but if any man draw 
 back, my soul shall have no pleasure in him. 
 
 THE last article in the Calvinistick confession 
 of faith is the subject of our review this morning, 
 viz. 
 
 5. " Those whom God has effectually called 
 and sanctified by his Spirit, shall never finally fall 
 from a state of grace." 
 
 This position in theology might be opposed by 
 general arguments, drawn from the accountable 
 character of man, and from his sphere of action. 
 
 Man is the subject of moral government : the 
 present life is appointed as the period of his moral 
 education : one part of human life is as much pro* 
 bationary as another ; and at its close, the religious 
 character of man will be determined, and sentence 
 pronounced on him according to his Works. The 
 promise of acceptance is made only to those who 
 
296 SERMON XXL 
 
 persevere in the ways of Christian piety, virtue, and 
 charity, to the close of their probation. In no pe- 
 riod of the present life then does a man make 
 those Christian attainments, which raise him above 
 the danger of falling into a fatal course of sin. 
 
 But the doctrine we are considering rests wholly 
 on scriptural authority. I shall therefore, 
 
 1. Review those passages of scripture which are 
 the most frequently adduced as proof of the perse- 
 verance of saints. 
 
 2. Examine those texts, that are thought to 
 prove that Christians may and have fatally fallen 
 into a course of habitual sin. 
 
 3. Consider several of those exhortations of the 
 sacred writers, which warn saints of the danger of a 
 fatal miscarriage, and animate them to steadfastness 
 and constancy. 
 
 1. To review those passages of scripture, which 
 are the most frequently adduced as proof of the 
 perseverance of saints. 
 
 Many passages of scripture are mentioned, which 
 are supposed to promise to the disciples of Jesus 
 Christ persevering grace. Several of these are 
 found in the gospel of John. " Whosoever drink- 
 eth of the water I shall give him, shall never 
 thirst ; but the water that I shall give him, shall be 
 in him a well of water, springing up into everlasting 
 life."* This is figurative language ; and the obvi- 
 ous meaning of it is, that the instruction and assist- 
 ance which Jesus Christ grants to his disciples, are 
 sufficient to enlighten the honest mind in all relig- 
 ious truth necessary for salvation, and to guide the 
 
 *John iv. 14. 
 
SERMON XXI. 297 
 
 Sincere ar,/I diligent disciple in the path of peace 
 and joy to the gate of heaven. Another passage 
 from the same gospel follows : " This is the Fa- 
 ther's will, who hath sent me, that of all which he 
 has given me, I should lose nothing, but raise it up 
 at the last day."* The assurance here given is 
 not, that no disciple shall fall away ; but that no 
 diligent and persevering disciple shall fail of his 
 heavenly reward. Assuredly he will not. Christ 
 will certainly raise all his faithful followers from the 
 silence of the tomb to immortal life. John has re- 
 corded the following observations of our Saviour 
 * c My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and 
 they follow me ; and I give unto them eternal life ; 
 and they shall never perish, neither shall any man 
 pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which 
 gave them me, is greater than all ; and no man is 
 able to pluck them out of my Father's hands." 
 They who are worthily denominated the sheep of 
 Christ, are persons of a meek, peaceable, and heav- 
 enly temper. God has committed all who cherish 
 and maintain this disposition to the safe keeping of 
 our Saviour. He, being above thrones, principali- 
 ties and powers, will not suffer them to perish in 
 the grave ; but will give them life eternal. Our 
 Saviour also in this gospel gives thanks to God for 
 the preservation of his disciples. " Those that 
 thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is 
 lost, but the son of perdition. "f The best com. 
 mentators apply this passage to the preservation of 
 
 * John vi. 39. t xvii, 12, 
 
 38 
 
298 fERMON XXL . 
 
 the lives of the twelve apostles ; but if it be refer- 
 red to Christians generally, it makes directly against 
 the doctrine of perseverance ; for our Saviour ex- 
 pressly includes Judas in the number given to him ; 
 and he fell away and was lost. 
 
 The advocates of the doctrine of perseverance 
 bring passages in which the apostles express the 
 highest persuasion of their own perseverance, and 
 of that of their fellow saints. Thus from St. Paul 
 " I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor 
 angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things 
 present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, 
 nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us 
 from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our 
 Lord."* The amount of this animated paragraph 
 is a strong persuasion, that neither the dangers of 
 persecution, the conflicts of the world, nor the temp- 
 tations of evil beings, would separate the apostle or 
 his fellow disciples from love and obedience to 
 God, and thereby deprive them of the blessings of 
 the love of God in Christ Jesus. In the previous 
 context, St. Paul asks u Who shall separate us 
 from the love of Christ ? Shall tribulation, or dis- 
 tress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or 
 peril, or sword ?" The exhortation of St. Jude 
 may be considered as a comment on the above sen- 
 tence from St. Paul '* Keep yourselves in the love 
 of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus 
 Christ unto eternal life."f A passage from the epis- 
 tle to the Philippians is cited in support of the doc- 
 trine of perseverance. u Being confident of this 
 yery thing, that he which hath begun a good work 
 
 * Rom. Tiii. 38, 39. t Jude 21. 
 
 
..;.-.-.,. 
 SERMON XXI. 29$ 
 
 in you, will perform it unto the day of Jesus 
 Christ."* God works within men to will and to 
 do of his good pleasure, that they may work out 
 their own salvation with fear and trembling. And 
 in the succeeding verse, the apostle expresses his 
 confidence that his Philippian converts would in 
 such a manner co-operate with the divine measures 
 adopted for their salvation, as to render them effec- 
 tual. " Even as it is meet for me to think this of 
 you all, because I have you in my heart." To the 
 purpose mentioned, the words of the apostle Peter 
 are adduced " Who are kept by the power of 
 God, through faith unto salvation."! In the pre- 
 vious context this apostle observes, that God, by 
 the resurrection of Jesus Christ, has begotten Christ- 
 ians to tl.e hope of im mortality ; in the verse quot- 
 ed, he declares, that Christians r r re ';ept by the 
 power of God, through faith unto qalvat'on. The 
 condition then is, that men remain in the faith ; r.nd 
 on this, condition alone, are they entitled to the 
 promise. 
 
 It is afikmed that various passages cl' the New 
 Testament directly assert the persevsrr.nce of 
 saints. Such is the declaration of our Saviour 
 " There shall arise false Christs and false prophets, 
 and shall shew great signs and wonders ; insomuch 
 that, if it were possible, they shall deceive tlj: very 
 elect, "f By the elect, in this place, are meant 
 those who believe in the divine mission of Jesus 
 Christ, and who with sincerity obey his commands. 
 The expression, " If it were possible," implies not 
 an impossibility, but a high degree of improbabili- 
 
 * Phil. i. 6. 1 1 Pt. i. S. $ Matt. xxir. 24. 
 
300 SERMON XXI. 
 
 ty. It expresses the great difficulty with which a 
 purpose can be accomplished. The meaning of 
 pur Saviour in this place may be kno\vn, from a 
 view of other places in scripture where the same 
 phraseology is used. We are told, that St. Paul 
 hasted, if it were possible for him to be at Jerusa- 
 lem on the day of Pentecost. There was not an 
 impossibility of this ; but the accomplishment of 
 his design would be attended with difficulty. u If 
 it be possible," exhorts the apostle, " as much as 
 lieth in you, live peaceably with all men." The 
 words of our Saviour amount to this declaration : 
 They who are grounded and settled in their relig- 
 ion are with difficulty led to apostacy. That they 
 imply not an impossibility that Christians should 
 apostatize, is evident, from the caution which he 
 gives to his disciples to be on their guard, lest they 
 should be led astray by the seducing artifices of 
 false Christs and false prophets. " Take heed that 
 no man deceive you,"* He solemnly warns them. 
 " Take ye heed : behold, I have foretold you all 
 things."! He directs them to watch and pray, 
 that they might be counted worthy to escape those 
 evils. He expressly says, that " because of these 
 things, the love of many shall wax cold." But he 
 promises, that " he that shall endure unto the end, 
 the same shall be saved. "J 
 
 I will introduce one passage more, which is 
 brought in proof of the doctrine of perseverance. 
 " Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin ; 
 for his seed remaineth in him ; and he cannot sin, 
 
 * Matt. xxiv. 4. t Mark xiii. 23. $ Matt. xxiv. 13. 
 
SERMON xxr. 301 
 
 because he is born of God."* St. John condemns 
 a most corrupt maxim introduced in his day. A 
 sect was thus early formed, which pretended that 
 the Christian was raised above the contagion and 
 impurity of sin ; and although he should commie 
 the grossest acts of sensuality, and live in the licen- 
 tious indulgence of every passion and appetite of 
 human nature, yet his mind would not thereby be 
 contaminated. These are merely the actions of the 
 flesh, by which the minds of Christians are not ren- 
 dered impure ; nor do they hereby forfeit the 
 Christian character ; but, though they live as the 
 wicked man liveth, yet they may expect to be ad 
 mitted to the rewards of heaven. The apostle 
 shows the absurdity and the wickedness of this 
 maxim, and declares, that the child of God, who on 
 consistent grounds entertains the hope of eternal 
 life, must purify himself. " Little children, let no 
 man deceive you : he that doeth righteousness is 
 righteous, even as he is righteous. He that com- 
 mitteth sin is of the devil ; for the devil sinneth 
 from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of 
 God was manifested, that he might destroy the 
 works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God 
 doth not commit sin ; for his seed remaineth in 
 him ; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. 
 In this the children of God are manifest, and the 
 children of the devil : whosoever doeth not right- 
 eousness is not of God."f The declaration of St. 
 John is not that the Christian cannot fall into fatal 
 sins ; but that he cannot habitually sin, and remain 
 the child of God. Christian principles to be effec. 
 
 * 1 John iii. 9. t 1 John iii. 7, 8, 9, 10. 
 
302 SERMON XXL 
 
 tual, must purify the heart, and regulate the life ; 
 and the man who habitually allows himself in the 
 wilful commission of any sin, or in the habitual 
 omission of any known duty, ceases to be the child 
 of God, and forfeits the hope of eternal life. The 
 apostle establishes a criterion by which we may test 
 the Christian characters of men. " He that doeth 
 righteousness is righteous. Whosoever doeth not 
 righteousness is not of God." 
 
 The comments we have made show that the 
 above passages comport with the apparent sense of 
 those which we are now to introduce, and which 
 speak of the apostacy of saints. 
 
 The prophet Ezekiel pronounces the condemna- 
 tion of the man who, having been righteous, falls 
 into a wilful and habitual course cf wickedness. 
 " When the righteous turneth away flom his right- 
 -eousness, and committeth iniquity, and doeth ac- 
 cording to all the abominations that the wicked man 
 doeth, shall he live ? All his righteousness that he 
 hath done shall not be mentioned ; in his trespass 
 that he hath trespassed, and in his sin that he hath 
 sinned, in them shall he die."* Language cannot 
 make any position more clear, than the prophet here 
 states the supposable apostacy of the righteous. 
 That the condition from which he may fall is that 
 attainment in goodness which renders a mai> accept- 
 able to God, is evident from the converse of the 
 proposition, which the prophet gives us. " If the 
 wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath com- 
 mitted, and keep all my statutes, and do that which 
 is lawful and rigi.t, he shall surely live, he shall not 
 
 * Ezekiel xviii. 24. 
 
SERMON XXI. 303 
 
 die."* If the righteous fall from this acceptable 
 state of goodness into habitual wickedness, and do 
 all the abominations that the wicked man doeth, he 
 shall not live, but die. The righteous and the 
 wicked here change their characters and their con- 
 ditions. The sinner becomes a righteous man, and 
 the righteous man becomes a sinner. The sinner 
 is fitted to receive the rewards of righteousness, and 
 the righteous man becomes a vessel of wrath fitted 
 for destruction. 
 
 Our Saviour himself, speaking of peculiar trials, 
 says. " Because iniquity shall abound, the love of 
 many shall wax cold. But he that shall endure un- 
 to the end, the same shall be saved, "f There i$ 
 no discrimination here made, as it respects princi- 
 ple, in the love of the disciple who falls, and of him 
 who abideth. The language is not, that, in the time 
 of trial, the hypocrite shall be made manifest ; but 
 that, under the pressure of persecution, the real at- 
 tachment of some converts shall fail ; and that those 
 who sustain the conflict, and maintain their affec- 
 tion, shall be rewarded. Jesus also declares, "If a 
 man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, 
 and is withered ; and men gather them, and cast 
 them into the fire, and they are burned."J In the 
 previous context, Jesus represents himself as the 
 vine, and his disciples as the branches. In the verse 
 quoted, he declares, that if any abide not in him, 
 they become withered branches, fit only to be burn- 
 ed. The obvious meaning of this figure is, that in- 
 dividuals may be in him, the vine, and partake of 
 its sap and nourishment, and afterwards be separat- 
 
 * Ezekiel xyiii. 21. t Ma.tth. xxir. 12, *2. $ John TT. . 
 
304 SERMON XXI. 
 
 eel and wither. In plain language, that, at one 
 time, a man may possess the qualifications of the 
 Christian character, and afterwards lose them, and 
 perish. 
 
 St. Paul thus admonishes Christians "Let him 
 that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall."* 
 " It is evident that the apostle in these words in- 
 tended principally, if not only, a final falling away 
 into a state of perdition ; for in the preceding part 
 of the chapter, he had recited many examples of 
 sinners whom God had cut off in and for their har- 
 dened impenitence, whose fall was certainly final. 
 And having declared that these things happened to 
 them for examples, to be applied by us for our ad- 
 monition, he immediately infers Therefore, let him 
 that thinketh he standeth, take heed lest he fall ; that 
 is, in all construction, thus finally fall as they did." 
 In this admonition all Christians are concerned. 
 
 The author of the epistle to the Hebrews ob- 
 serves "It is impossible for those who were once 
 enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, 
 and were made partakers of the Holy Ghost } and 
 have tasted the good word of God, and the powers 
 of the world to come, if they shall fall away, to re- 
 new them again unto repentance ; seeing they cru- 
 cify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put 
 him to an open shame, "f The English translators 
 have made the falling away of these characters hypo- 
 thetick, " if they should foil away." In the origi- 
 nal Greek, the language is categorical, " it is impos- 
 sible to renew these characters, when they fall 
 avvny."J The true construction of the passage is 
 
 * 1. Cor. x. 12. t Heb. vi. 4, 5, 6, 7, 
 
 Sec Mackni^ht on the passage. 
 
SERMON XXI. 305 
 
 this : It is impossible to renew to repentance those 
 Who have been enlightened, 8cc. and have fallen 
 away. It will not be denied that the persons here 
 described were once really Christians. They had 
 been enlightened by the knowledge of the gospel ; 
 by it they had been liberated from the yoke of the 
 Jews, and the superstition of the Gentiles ; they had 
 received those extraordinary gifts which were be- 
 stowed on primitive converts ; and they had real- 
 ized the efficacy of the Christian dispensation in re- 
 forming sinners. That their falling is absolute, is 
 evident from the closing expressions "They cru- 
 cify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put 
 him to an open shame." The impossibility of re- 
 newing these characters to repentance should be ta- 
 ken in connexion with the moral nature of man. 
 They have acted in opposition to the highest in- 
 struction with which men, as the subjects of a mor- 
 al government, are favoured, and resisted the most 
 influential motives which can be presented to the 
 human mind ; and therefore, speaking of the ordi- 
 nary means of reclaiming sinners, it is impossible 
 to bring them to repentance. 
 
 Our text militates directly with the doctrine of 
 perseverance. " The just shall live by faith ; but 
 if any man draw back, my soul shall have no pleas- 
 ure in him." While Christians retain their faith, 
 they shall live ; but if any fall away from the Christ- 
 ian faith, profession, and practice, God will not ac- 
 cept them. 
 
 Let us now attend to several exhortations of the 
 sacred writers, which warn Christians of the danger 
 39 
 
306 SERMON XXI. 
 
 of fatal miscarriage in religion, and animate them to 
 steadfastness and constancy. 
 
 The Christian life is in the New Testament com- 
 pared to a state of warfare, to a race, and other 
 worldly conflicts. These similitudes suppose strife 
 and contention and uncertainty. If the persever- 
 ance of saints be absolutely sure, how do the apos- 
 tles apply to the disciples of their Divine Master 
 these figures of speech ? We must fight the Christ- 
 ian battle, in the hope of being crowned with the 
 wreath of victory over our spiritual enemies ; but 
 our contention has no connexion with this victory ; 
 for we were in possession of it before the warfare 
 commenced. We must run the Christian race, in 
 view of the glorious prize promised to the success- 
 ful candidate ; but our successful efforts are not 
 the condition of obtaining the prize ; of this we 
 were insured before we entered the lists. In the 
 epistles, we find the most pungent admonitions to 
 the professors of the gospel to guard against the as- 
 saults of their adversaries, lest they should eventual- 
 ly be overcome, and lose their reward. " Finally, 
 my brethren, be strong in the Lord, and in the 
 power of his might. Put on the whole armour of 
 God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles 
 of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and 
 blood, but against principalities, against powers, 
 against the rulers of the darkness of this world, 
 against spiritual wickedness in high places. Where- 
 fore, take unto you the whole armour of God, that 
 ye may be able to withstand in the evil day ; and 
 having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having 
 your loins girt about with truth, and having on the 
 
SERMON XXI. 307 
 
 breast-plate of righteousness, and your feet shod 
 with the preparation of the gospel of peace ; above 
 all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be 
 able to quench all the fitry darts of the wicked. 
 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of 
 the Spirit, which is the word of God ; praying al- 
 ways with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, 
 and watching thereunto with all perseverance and 
 supplication for all saints."* Can any one mistake 
 the import of this very animated exhortation ? It is 
 clearly this : My fellow Christians, summon to 
 your aid the many advantages granted by the Au- 
 thor of our religion, that you may be enabled to re- 
 pel the assaults of the enemies of goodness, resist 
 the temptations of the world, and surmount the ob- 
 structions which impede your course in the Christ- 
 ian path ; and that you may faithfully perform the 
 duties required by the Captain of your Salvation. 
 Taking to yourselves these aids, devoutly ask as- 
 sistance of God, and cautiously and resolutely pro- 
 ceed in the Christian course to the end of life. 
 Does this admonition consist with the supposition of 
 absolute perseverance ? Then the language of the 
 converted man, acting in accordance with the ad- 
 vice of St- Paul, may be this : Having experienced 
 the renovating influences of the Divine Spirit, my 
 title to heaven is sure ; but the apostle exhorts me 
 to take to myself the whole armour of God, that I 
 may be enabled to stand in the evil day, and repel 
 the assault of the adversaries of my salvation. I 
 must pray always with all perseverance, lest the 
 powers of darkness should lead me astray, and Sa- 
 tan ensnare me to the destruction of my soul. 
 
 * Eph. vi. 1018. 
 
308 SERMON XXI. 
 
 Besides these more extended exhortations, the 
 inspired writers frequently in a pointed manner, ad- 
 monish professors to constant vigilance, and to .un- 
 wearied exertion, that they may sustain their char- 
 acters ; and the promises of acceptance and reward 
 are limited to those who persevere in the Christian 
 path to the end of their probation. " Whose house 
 we are, (Christ's) if we hold fast the confidence 
 and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end." 
 " Let us hold fast our profession." " Let us hold 
 fast the profession of our faith without wavering."* 
 " If ye continue in the faith, grounded and settled, 
 and be not moved away from the hope of the gos- 
 pel."! " Beware lest ye also, being led away with 
 the errour of the wicked, fall from your own stead- 
 fastness.'^ " B thou faithful unto death, and I 
 will give thee a crown of life." It will be remark- 
 ed that, in these passages, the exhortation is not, that 
 men acquire new qualifications, but retain those 
 which they already possess ; not that they strive to 
 become the true disciples of Jesus Christ, but main- 
 tain vigilance that they may not fall from a station 
 to which they have already attained, and thereby 
 cease to be real Christians. 
 
 Learning the real nature of a probationary state, 
 and acquiring the knowledge of the conditions of 
 divine acceptance, let none of us, my Christian 
 brethren, rest satisfied with first principles. As we 
 know how we ought to walk and please God, may 
 we abound more and more. 
 
 * Heb. iii. 6 ; iv. 14 ; x. 23. t Col. i. 23. 
 
 t 2 Pet. iii, 17. $ Rev. ii. 10. 
 

 SERMON XXII. 
 
 ON HERESY. 
 
 TITUS iii. 10, 11. 
 
 JL man that is an heretick, after the first and second ad-* 
 monition^ reject ; knowing that he that is such is sub- 
 verted and sinneth, being condemned of himself. 
 
 I SHALL treat our subject in the following 
 manner, viz. 
 
 1. Show the scriptural meaning of the term 
 heresy. 
 
 2. Describe the character of the persons, on 
 whom Christ and his apostles direct ecclesiastical 
 censures to be inflicted. 
 
 3. State the meaning of heresy in ecclesiastical 
 history. 
 
 4. Point out the evil consequences which result 
 from the establishment of human creeds as tests of 
 orthodoxy. 
 
 1. The scriptural meaning of the term heresy. 
 The literal meaning of heresy, in the original, is 
 choice. Among different persuasions, an individual 
 
310 SERMON XXII. 
 
 makes his election. The writers of the New Tes- 
 tament more generally use this word to express a 
 religious sect ; and in many instances they do not 
 determine whether the tenets of the sect be founded 
 in truth or errour. (Acts v. 17.) " The high priest 
 rose up, and they that were with him, which is the 
 sect (heresy) of the Pharisees." (Acts xv. 5.) 
 " There rose up certain of the sect (heresy) of the 
 Pharisees." The orator Tertullus brought this 
 charge against St. Paul. (Acts ii. 4, 5.) " We have 
 found this man, a pestilent fellow, and a mover of 
 sedition among all the Jews throughout the world ; 
 and a ringleader of the sect (heresy) of the Naza- 
 renes." Paul, in his answer, acknowledged that, 
 after the way they called heresy, he worshipped the 
 God of his fathers. Paul also declared, (Acts 
 xxvi. 5.) that, " after the strictest sect (heresy) of 
 our religion, I lived a Pharisee." In all these pla- 
 ces, the original word is the same. In most of the 
 passages, the word does not imply criminality in 
 those to whom it refers. St. Paul, where he uses 
 it, is commending his practices. The Jews, who 
 were the inhabitants of Rome, said to Paul, (Acts 
 xxviii. 22 ) " We desire to hear thee, what thou 
 thinkest ; for as concerning this sect, (heresy) we 
 know that it is every where spoken against." 
 " There must also," says St. Paul, (1 Cor. xi. 19.) 
 " be heresies among you, that they who are ap- 
 proved may be made manifest." The different 
 tempers, situations, and pursuits of men consider- 
 ed, difference in religious opinions among them 
 must be expected ; and their divisions afford op- 
 portunity to test the integrity, the resolution, and 
 
SERMON XXII. 311 
 
 constancy of the ingenuous friend of truth. Here- 
 sy, in all the above passages, means a sect, a par- 
 ticular religious denomination. 
 
 When the sacred writers reprehend heresy as a 
 crime, we find some immorality associated with it, 
 on which the censure is founded. The criminal 
 heretick is the man who chooses his sect from self- 
 ish and wicked motives, that he may gain a domi- 
 nating influence, secure some worldly emolument, 
 or obtain some sensual gratification, St. Paul, in 
 our text, directs Titus, " A man that is a heretick, 
 after the first and second admonition, reject." The 
 apostle here clearly describes the character of a fac- 
 tious and vicious member of the Christian society, 
 who, being conscious that he had departed from the 
 path of truth and rectitude, must himself approve 
 the sentence of exclusion. In the previous con- 
 text, St. Paul recommends to Christians a life and 
 conversation becoming their profession, and ex- 
 horts them to avoid foolish questions and conten- 
 tions, which are unprofitable and vain. He then 
 describes the heretick, whom Titus, after due ad- 
 monition, must reject " Knowing that lie who is 
 such is subverted, and sinneth ; being condemned 
 of himself." The errour here reprehended is not 
 of the head but of the heart ; not of the judgment, 
 but of the conscience ; not of opinion, but of prac- 
 tice. 
 
 The apostle Paul classes criminal heresy with 
 the most gross immoralities. (Gal. v. 19.) "Now 
 the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, 
 adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 
 idolatry, witchcraft, emulations, wrath, strife, secli- 
 
312 SERMON XXII. 
 
 tions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, 
 reveliings, and such like." 
 
 Criminal hereticks St. Peter marks in strong 
 lines. (2 Peter ii. 1.) " But there are false proph- 
 ets also among the people, even as there shall be 
 false teachers among you, who privily shall bring 
 in damnable heresies, even denying the Lord that 
 bought them, and bring upon themselves swift de- 
 struction." The apostle here delineates a depraved 
 character. 
 
 A man may associate himself with a sect of 
 Christians, and become, in the scriptural sense, a 
 heretick ; and yet, in him, heresy be innocent, yea, 
 commendable. He deliberately joins this denomina- 
 tion not to subserve bad purposes, or to gratify evil 
 propensities ; but to oppose corruptions and abuses, 
 to appear as the advocate of Christian truth and 
 liberty ; and his heart not condemning him, he 
 may have confidence towards God. 
 
 From a full view of the subject, it is evident that 
 heresy was not originally a term of criminal im- 
 port : it meant simply the choice of religious 
 opinions. Different systems of religion are pre- 
 sented to the mind, and it chooses between thenio 
 This choice does not necessarily imply guilt. The 
 mind cannot be employed on a subject more im- 
 portant ; and when a man is convinced that a par- 
 ticular sect is formed on principles the best calcu- 
 lated to promote the interests of truth, godliness, 
 and charity, he is under sacred obligations to join 
 it. In doing this, he may become an heretick, but 
 he does not become criminal. Heresy, in the 
 New Testament, is considered criminal only when 
 
SERMON XXII. 313 
 
 it is connected with a factious spirit, and leads to 
 unchristian strife and unnecessary separations. 
 
 2. To describe the character of the persons on 
 whom Christ and his apostles direct ecclesiastical 
 censures to be inflicted. 
 
 The gospel does not, I believe, authorize- a 
 Christian church to inflict censure on their mem- 
 bers merely for their opinions. The gospel, in its 
 spirit and laws, is tender of the consciences of men, 
 and secures to its disciples the right of private judg- 
 ment. What, then, is the character of those who 
 are made the subjects of ecclesiastical censure ? 
 Our Saviour has stated (Matt, xviii.) the cause, 
 the several steps, and the issue of Church disci- 
 pline. The ground of complaint here is not errone- 
 ous opinion, but immoral practice.-" If thy broth- 
 er offend thee, tell him his fault." Opinions which 
 are the result of honest inquiry after truth, ought 
 not to be an oftence to a Christian brother, nor can 
 they with propriety be denominated a fault. But 
 no one, I presume, will appeal to the directions of 
 our Saviour, in this place, as a particular authority 
 for making errours in opinion the ground of cen- 
 sure. I therefore proceed to a review of other pas- 
 sages. Our text is often quoted to this point. 
 " A man that is an heretick, after the first and sec- 
 ond admonition, reject ; knowing that he who is 
 such is subverted and sinneth, being condemned 
 of himself. 5<> This description does not apply to 
 the man who honestly seeks the truth, and candidly 
 communicates his opinions, though these may be 
 erroneous. It is not a mistake of judgment which 
 40 
 
SERMON XXII. 
 
 exposes an individual, on this authority, to expul- 
 k sion from the Church, but immorol practices. 
 This heretick was not a man, who, having embrac- 
 ed erroneous opinions, needed to be instructed ; 
 but one, who, having wilfully perverted Christian 
 principles, was the proper object of solemn admo- 
 nition. Titus was not directed to convince him of 
 errour, by argument, and to draw him into the path 
 of truth by persuasion ; but to rebuke him for a 
 wilful offence, and if he were found incorrigible to 
 eject him from Christian fellowship. 
 
 Peter predicts the advent of false teachers, who 
 would privily introduce " damnable heresies, deny- 
 ing the Lord who bought them, and bring upon 
 themselves swift destruction." This language does 
 not comport with the character of the man who 
 honestly studies the bible as the rule of faith and 
 duty, and admits its truths as far as he understands 
 them. This man may adopt great errours, but 
 these cannot be, in the sense of the apostle, damna- 
 ble heresies. 
 
 The phraseology of St. Peter does not comport 
 with opinions which consist with purity of life and 
 conversation. Peruse the whole chapter, and you 
 will be convinced that the apostle, by damnable 
 heresies in this passage, means sins, which the most 
 depraved mind only can commit. The characters 
 placed before our view are apostates from the Christ- 
 ian faith, or men who had perverted Christian prin- 
 ciples to subserve the basest purposes. They de- 
 nied the Lord : on account of their pernicious 
 practices, the way of truth was evil spoken of : 
 through covetousness, they made merchandize of 
 
SERMON XXII. 315 
 
 the Souls of men. They had eyes full of adultery, 
 and could notecase from. sin : they were beguiling, 
 unstable souls : they were cursed children. The 
 beings with whom these men are compared, and 
 with whose punishments they are threatened, desig- 
 nate their characters, and define their damnable 
 heresies. They resemble the fallen angels, the 
 antediluvian race, the citizens of Sodom and Go- 
 raorrha ; and on them the condemnation of those 
 abandoned beings is denounced. 
 
 Under this branch of our subject, I will direct 
 your attention to a passage in the Revelation of St. 
 John, which is adduced as authority for inflicting 
 publick censure on a professor who is supposed to 
 hold doctrinal errours. (ii. 14 1C.) The Church 
 of Pergamos is thus addressed " I have a few 
 things against thee, because thou hast them that 
 hold the doctrine of Balaam." Was the doctrine 
 of Balaam speculative errour, or a principle of 
 lewdness and corruption adopted as artful policy ? 
 44 So hast thou also them that hold this doctrine of 
 the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate." The partic- 
 ular offence of this sect, we are told, was a com- 
 munit}' of wives. The Nicolaitans corrupted 
 Christianity at its source, and embodied immor- 
 tality in the substance of our religion, that it might 
 give a sanction to those works of the flesh which 
 hurt men's souls. What relation then is there be- 
 tween the doctrine of this sect, and the speculative 
 opinions of him who walketh as becometh the 
 gospel V 
 
 If the passages of scripture already reviewed, do 
 not empower churches to discipline their members 
 
316 SERMON XXH. 
 
 for supposed errours in opinion, none, I think, can 
 be found which will. 
 
 You will not, my Christian brethren, suppose that 
 I deem it indifferent what religious opinions men em- 
 brace. The diligent inquiry after truth is the sacred 
 duty of all accountable beings. Our religious opin- 
 ions are intimately associated with the temper of our 
 minds and the course of our lives. If we do not im- 
 prove the means we possess to acquire right views of 
 Christian doctrines, we may form those inveterate 
 prejudices, which will close our minds against the 
 light of instruction, and render us unable to judge 
 of the evidence, or to appreciate the worth of truth ; 
 and we may violate the first principles of our relig- 
 ion, while we suppose we are promoting its high- 
 est purposes. If we be not settled and grounded in 
 religious opinions, we may be carried about by ev- 
 ery wind of doctrine : in principle, we shall be ex- 
 posed to the confusion which attends ignorance ; 
 and in practice, to many of the evils which accom- 
 pany intentional errour. 
 
 3. To state the meaning of heresy in ecclesias- 
 tical history. 
 
 Ecclesiastical heresy is opposition to the opinions 
 of the predominant sect in any country. Soon af- 
 ter the Roman empire became Christian, an use 
 was made of the term, very different from its origi- 
 nal import ; but the word then bore no determi- 
 nate meaning. They, who usurped dominion in the 
 church, made the term heresy an engine to aid them 
 in their efforts to maintain their despotism. Herer 
 sy and orthodoxy were defined by the ruling power 
 of the day : the orthodox man of one period was the 
 
SERMON XXII. 317 
 
 heretick of another. For example, there was a long 
 and violent struggle for superiority between Trini- 
 tarians and Arians. These sects alternately acquir- 
 ed predominance, and alternately deposed and ban- 
 ished bishops and inferior presbyters as heretick s. 
 When the struggle for domination in the church in 
 a degree ended, and a particular denomination was 
 invested with the ruling power, then human confes- 
 sions and articles of faith were permanently estab- 
 lished, and all opinions opposed to the publick test 
 of orthodoxy were stamped with the impression of 
 heresy. . Ecclesiastical courts then arraigned men 
 for their thoughts, and punished them for specula- 
 tive opinions. The love of truth, the diligent study 
 of the bible, the sincere worship of God, according 
 to the dictates of an enlightened conscience, if it led 
 professors aside from the prescribed forms, expos- 
 ed them to fines and imprisonment, to stripes, and 
 to the stake ; in a word, to the severest punish- 
 ments that ever were inflicted on the most atrocious 
 felon. The highest characters, emperors, and pon- 
 tiffs, assembled around the fires, which were light- 
 ed to burn hereticks. 
 
 During the long interval between the Council of 
 Nice in the fourth century, and that of Trent in the 
 sixteenth, at least in the western empire, professed 
 Christians formed their religious opinions, not from 
 the scriptures, but from the dogmas of the church ; 
 and it is well known, that the least deviation from 
 the prescribed rule of faith, or the established form 
 of worship, exposed a member of the Christian com- 
 munity to the loss of property and reputation, of 
 liberty and life. Nor were men much better situat- 
 
318 SERMON XXII. 
 
 ed in the English church. The name of the mas- 
 ter was changed, but the spiritual tyranny was con- 
 tinued under the houses of the Tudors and the Stu- 
 arts. The same servile submission to ecclesiastic- 
 al authority, the same blind reception of the pre- 
 scribed articles and established formularies, were re- 
 quired, which the Romish Hierarchy demanded 
 from all ; and non- conformity was punished with 
 similar pains and penalties, though not with equal 
 sacrifice of human life. At the revolution under 
 William and Mary, an act of toleration was passed ; 
 and dissenters from the establishment have since 
 been protected in the quiet exercise of the rights of 
 conscience, on the condition that they pay tithes to 
 the national church, and submit to be deprived of 
 some important rights of citizens. 
 
 In our happy country, different denominations of 
 Christians are not merely tolerated they are placed 
 in a state of perfect equality. Every man in his re- 
 ligion is free, and may without molestation worship 
 his Gcd according to the dictates of his conscience. 
 But where the sword of persecution is arrested in 
 the hands of the religious bigot, it often happens, 
 that the odium of heresy is retained, and the fright- 
 ful name of heretick is used as a powerful instru- 
 ment to subserve the purposes of a party. When 
 the great body of a nation adopt the same system of 
 Christian doctrine, the prevalent sect too often man- 
 ifest a disposition to disturb those who are oppos- 
 ed to their scheme of speculation in the exercise of 
 the rights of private judgment. They endeavour to 
 control the sentiments of all around them, and to 
 check, by the force of publick opinion, inquiries 
 
SERMON XXJI. 319 
 
 which may militate with their peculiar system, and 
 to deprive the individual of his living, his reputa- 
 tion and influence, who dares to bring their favour- 
 ite doctrines to the test of reason and scripture. No 
 measure has been found more effectual to accom- 
 plish this design than the cry of heresy. When a 
 man is once denominated a heretick, he is by many 
 considered as a fair object of abuse. The desertion 
 of his former friends is justified. To excite the fears 
 of the timid, and to rouse the apprehensions of the 
 serious against him, is deemed an act of piety. He 
 may by his works display a mind highly cultivated, 
 and in practice give an exemplification of all Christ- 
 ian graces, yet it will be denied that he possesses 
 either the spirit or the principles of the gospel ; and 
 it will be considered as meritorious to render his 
 best labours useless, and to make his life misera- 
 ble. 
 
 4. To point out the evil consequences which re- 
 sult from the establishment of human creeds as the 
 test of orthodoxy. 
 
 Christ, the only legislator in the church, has made 
 his gospel the sufficient rule of faith and practice to 
 all his disciples. When his direction is disregard- 
 ed, and human creeds are substituted in the place 
 of scripture, strife, domination, and schism are the 
 consequences. The prevention of errour and here- 
 sy has always been the pretext for the introduction 
 of human creeds ; but in fact, creed-makers have at 
 different periods introduced all manner of errours 
 and absurdities into the church ; and where creeds 
 become a part of a national establishment, they per- 
 petuate the errours they introduce. Human tests 
 
320 SERMON XXII. 
 
 are never favourable to the impartial study of truth * r 
 but they always occasion bitterness and uncharita- 
 bleness among brethren. The attempt to secure 
 union and good fellowship in the Christian commu- 
 nity under tests made and enforced by human au- 
 thority, has every where failed ; and it is time to 
 seek harmony and love among Christians by other 
 means. Shall not experience make the Christian 
 world wiser ? Every discerning mind, that will dili- 
 gently examine the subject, must be convinced 
 that the Christian community has suffered more 
 from the attempt to erect human formularies as 
 the standard of orthodoxy, than from the combined 
 efforts of all the enemies of our religion. In view 
 of these evils, shall the Christian world persist with 
 the same zeal to support human impositions, and to 
 denounce the same anathemas against all dissenters? 
 If they do, similar causes will continue to produce 
 similar effects. 
 
 Consider for a moment the pernicious influence 
 which the subscription to human articles of faith 
 must have on the clergy of a national establishment. 
 The ministers of the altar are under much greater 
 restraint in the study of scripture, than the people 
 to whom they preach. They must profess and 
 preach such doctrines as their church has pronounc- 
 ed orthodox : they must maintain the opinions 
 which maintain them in their offices. Reasoning 
 from common principles of human nature, can men, 
 thus bound and shackled, study the sacred oracles 
 with an unbiassed judgment, and preach in its puri- 
 ty and simplicity the truths of the gospel ? Where 
 there is no national establishment, if a particular 
 
SERMON XXII. 321 
 
 system of doctrine be by general consent denomin- 
 ated orthodox, and the Christian character be deni- 
 ed to those who dissent from it, what encourage- 
 ment has a minister diligently to study the scrip- 
 tures ? What security has the preacher, that a dili- 
 gv.nt study of the bible will not lead to a view of 
 Christian doctrine opposed to prevalent opinions, 
 and constrain him to adopt a method of preaching, 
 which will expose him to the loss of his good name, 
 his living, and his influence ? His sure course is to 
 shut his bible, and take the system of an orthodox 
 divine as the rule of his faith, and as an authority 
 for the doctrines which he preaches. 
 
 In conclusion. 
 
 The articles of Christian faith among primitive 
 professors were few in number, and plain and per- 
 spicuous in their nature. Christians then did not 
 make divisions on account of difference of opinion 
 in things not plainly revealed ; but they were knit 
 together in love ; and the brother who was weak in 
 faith they received, but not to doubtful disputation. 
 Disputes and divisions in the Christian church have 
 nut been made about essential truths, but respect- 
 ing articles on which wise and good men may dif- 
 fer, and which all Christians should hold with mu- 
 tual forbearance and charity, maintaining the unity 
 of the spirit in the bonds of peace. If the disciples 
 of Jesus possess the spirit of their Master, they will 
 agree in opinion as far as is necessary for united en- 
 deavours to promote the great design of their relig- 
 ion. With this spirit, they may unitedly co-ope- 
 rate with God and with Christ, with apostles and 
 evangelists in promoting the kingdom of righteous- 
 
 41 
 
S22 SERMON XXII. 
 
 ness, peace, and joy. The scripture, not the tradi- 
 tions of men, is the rule of protestants. Let us act 
 consistently with our principle drop the shibboleth 
 of party encourage the diligent study of the bible- 
 allow to all the right of private judgment permit 
 men, without the hazard of their reputation or stand- 
 ing in society, to declare the result of their faithful 
 inquiries ; and never withhold our charity'or our com- 
 munion from those, who, by the temper of their 
 minds, and the course of their lives, give evidence 
 that they seek the truth in the love of it, and sin- 
 cerely endeavour to do the will of God as far as 
 they know it. 
 
 If different denominations of Christians would 
 introduce the harmony and love of primitive times, 
 they must drop the recriminating names, and cease 
 from the interchange of those censures and condem- 
 nations, which the vain and angry disputes in the 
 church have introduced, and which have become 
 too common. Let us love as brethren, and may the 
 God of peace dwell with, and bless us. 
 
SERMON XXIII. 
 
 ON THE DOCTRINE OF IMMORTALITY. 
 
 Delivered on Christmas Da/. 
 
 HOSE A xiii. 14. 
 
 I will ransom them from the power of the grave : I will 
 redeem them from death. O death, I will be thy plague. 
 O grave , I will be thy destruction. 
 
 THE human mind is prone to pass from one ex- 
 treme to its opposite. This observation may be 
 illustrated from the history of the Christian com- 
 munity. The Roman Catholick church carried 
 ceremonial observances in religious worship to ex- 
 treme abuse. They canonized numerous saints, 
 and appointed so many days to be religiously ob- 
 served in honour of their memory, as greatly to 
 interfere with the important business of society. 
 Like the Pharisees of old, the rulers of this church, 
 in its corrupt age, made religion essentially to con- 
 sist in the superstitious observance of external 
 forms ; and publick worship with them degenerated 
 into a splendid but lifeless ceremonial service. 
 
324 SERMON XXIII, 
 
 When the English church threw off the yoke of 
 Popery, their rulers, in the opinion of many dis- 
 cerning and pious men, retained too many of the 
 forms of the ecclesiastical establishment from which 
 they separated. The ceremonies which they did 
 preserve, were certainly enforced by measures 
 which in their operation infringed the rights of pri- 
 vate judgment, and violated the^humane spirit of 
 their religion. 
 
 Our ancestors, who fled from this imposition on 
 conscience, associated with their disaffection to the 
 dominating temper and the abusive practices of 
 that hierarchy, a dislike to nearly all the circum- 
 stances common to its publick services. Every 
 instrument of musick was excluded from houses of 
 religious worship ; and a form of ecclesiastical gov- 
 ernment and religious service was adopted, the 
 best suited, perhaps, to the infant state of the colo- 
 ny, but not fitted for a great and independent nation 
 in a state of improved society. 
 
 CHRISTMAS w r as pre-eminently distinguished 
 among the holy days of the Romish and the En- 
 glish church ; and the general opposition of our 
 forefathers to their superstitions and abuses was ex- 
 tended to this festival. They, through several suc- 
 ceeding generations, refused to join in the religious 
 offices of this anniversary. 
 
 We, their favoured descendants, fondly cherish 
 the highest veneration for their memories : we 
 dwell with delight on their love of civil and relig- 
 ious liberty on their piety and patriotism : our 
 hearts are wanned by grateful recollections as often 
 as we review the invaluable institutions which they 
 
SERMON XXIII. 325 
 
 have transmitted to us ; and at the* same time we 
 rejoice that we are liberated from the prejudices 
 which their situation rendered unavoidable. Not 
 feeling the pressure of that iron hand which bore 
 heavily on them, we can calmly separate accidental 
 circumstances from essential principles. With high- 
 er means of instruction, we can consistently drop the 
 weak and indifferent appendages of their system, 
 while we sacredly adhere to its sound and vital 
 parts. 
 
 In respect to ceremonial observances, a more lib- 
 eral spirit now prevails through our country. In 
 many of our religious societies organs have been in- 
 troduced in church musick ; and in most of them 
 other instruments are now used without giving of- 
 fence. While, in the progress of society, all other 
 institutions have their appropriate ornaments, many 
 think, that if social worship be left without decora- 
 tion, it will be destitute of those external attractions, 
 which to a large portion of mankind are beneficial, 
 if not necessary ; and they imagine that embellish- 
 ment may*be introduced, without corrupting the 
 spirituality, or lessening the moral influence of pub- 
 lick worship. 
 
 Situated as we are, may we not, without unreasona- 
 ble bias, determine the degree of estimation in which 
 Christmas services ought to be holden by a Christ- 
 ian community? The New- Testament has not ap- 
 pointed anniversary services in commemoration of 
 the birth of our Saviour. If we celebrate this event, 
 we should consider it as a privilege with which -we 
 are indulged, not as a duty divinely enjoined. This 
 celebration is not by divine authority appointed ; it 
 
326 SERMON XXIII. 
 
 is not by divine authority forbidden. Its expedien- 
 cy should be determined by its probable effects. 
 We publickly commemorate the anniversary of our 
 national independence : we publickly honour the 
 memories of the benefactors of our country. Is it 
 not then proper, that we should celebrate the advent 
 of Immanuel into our world ? Is any other event 
 great in comparison with this ? Has any other be- 
 ing appeared among men to whom we are under 
 obligations of gratitude, when compared with him ? 
 
 Should any object to the time of this celebration, 
 on the plea, that we have not conclusive proof re- 
 specting the particular day on which our Saviour 
 was born our answer is, the objection on the point 
 before us has no force. Christ the Saviour was 
 born into our world : whether we celebrate his ap- 
 pearance on the precise day of his birth, or on some 
 other, to a religious purpose is a circumstance of no 
 importance. The Christian community in general 
 entertain the same opinion respecting the time ; if 
 the event be publickly noticed, it is convenient, and 
 therefore desirable, that there should be uniform- 
 ity in the day of celebration. 
 
 The useful purposes contemplated by the relig- 
 ious observances of the season are these : to direct 
 our serious attention to the great salvation, which 
 Jesus Christ published to a sinful world ; to excite 
 in us suitable returns of gratitude for the inestima- 
 ble privileges we possess as his disciples ; to an- 
 imate us to sustain with firmness and constancy the 
 Christian profession ; to inspire us with diligence in 
 the cultivation of the Christian graces and virtues ; 
 
SERMON XXIII. 327 
 
 and to insure our perseverance in the path towards 
 Christian perfection. 
 
 Though the sublime declarations of our text be 
 considered as having a primary reference to the na- 
 tion of Israel, yet, in their general sense, they may 
 without violence be taken as expressive of the great 
 doctrine of immortality, which Jesus Christ came 
 into our world to establish and proclaim. In this 
 doctrine we all have the deepest interest. Admit, 
 that existence of endless duration, and of unchange- 
 able happiness, is attainable by us, and all worldly 
 objects lose their comparative worth. Admit, that 
 the Christian path leads to the realms of glory, hon- 
 our, and immortality, and motives to Christian pie- 
 ty and virtue are presented to the human mind, 
 which all the temptations to the unlawful pursuits 
 and to the inordinate indulgences of the world can- 
 not weaken. Can we then, my Christian brethren, 
 better improve the season, than in contemplating 
 our title to eternal life by the promise of the gos- 
 pel ? We then shall be excited to religious grati- 
 tude to him, who died that we might live forever ; 
 we shall form a resolution strenuously to exert our- 
 selves to acquire the qualifications of the disciple of 
 the Prince of Life ; and shall, by the blessing of 
 God, become prepared to pass on in the way of sal- 
 vation with joy and gladness. 
 
 I shall 
 
 1. Review, in a cursory manner, the history of 
 the doctrine of immortality among the nations of 
 the earth, before the birth of our Saviour. 
 
 2. Attend to the information of the gospel on 
 this important subject. 
 
328 SERMON XXIII. 
 
 3. Consider the influence which the instruction 
 and the promises of the gospel ought to have on 
 our dispositions and conduct* 
 
 1. To review the history of the doctrine of 
 immortality among the nations of the earth, before 
 the birth of our Saviour. 
 
 The expectation of a future state of existence has 
 been common to men in every age of the world. 
 Nations the most ignorant and barbarous discover 
 this persuasion. Men, who appear to have bound- 
 ed their inquiries by the simple wants of animal ex- 
 istence, express their belief of life beyond the grave. 
 Whether these apprehensions naturally result from 
 religious principles interwoven into the human con- 
 stitution, and which cause men, without the aid of 
 revelation or philosophy, to rise superior to the 
 threatening appearances of death, and to embrace 
 the hope of immortality ; or, whether these are tra- 
 ditionary notions, transmitted from the early age of 
 the world, and which had their origin in divine com- 
 munication, is not easy to determine. The un- 
 questionable fact is, that men, in situations the most 
 unfavourable for religious inquiries, have entertain- 
 ed the expectation of existence after death. Though 
 they believe the human body to be corruptible ; 
 though they are the witnesses of the death of their 
 friends, and see their bodies mingling with the dust 
 yet they imagine their deceased relations and ac- 
 quaintances still to exist, and they suppose them 
 existing with the same bodily shape, with the same 
 appetites and passions, which they possessed on 
 earth. Being unacquainted with the higher pleas- 
 u res of an intellectual and moral nature, the heaven 
 
SJEftMON XXIH. 
 
 af the ignorant savage consists in the gratification of 
 animal desires ; and his expected happiness in a fu- 
 ture world is merely the completion of his earthly 
 wishes. 
 
 The theological systems of those Heathen nations 
 which had made the greatest improvements in sci- 
 ence and literature, were not favourable to the ac- 
 quisition of religious knowledge, or to the cultiva- 
 tion of the moral virtues. These systems contain- 
 ed many principles well calculated to make igno- 
 rant men the submissive subjects of civil govern- 
 ment, and recommended a round of weak and de- 
 basing services, fitted, in the apprehension of a de- 
 luded people, to induce the Presiding Divinity pro- 
 pitiously to regard national prosperity and individual 
 safety ; but which possessed little to instruct the in- 
 quiring mind respecting the nature of moral govern*, 
 ment, or to enlighten the man in rational views of 
 futurity, who was anxiously desirous to look behind 
 the curtain of death. A man might scrupulously 
 fulfil every requisition of the established religion of 
 Greece and Rome, and at the same time cherish the 
 worst propensities of the human heart, and habitu- 
 ally indulge himself in the most impure acts of vice* 
 The doctrines respecting futurity, publickly incul- 
 cated, were blended with extravagant fables and su- 
 perstitious rites, and they did not furnish adequate 
 motives to persuade men to discipline their passions, 
 or soberly to govern their lives. 
 
 The reasonings of the Heathen philosophers never 
 gave satisfaction on the subject of immortality. 
 The wisest of them laboured for the discovery of 
 proofs to establish this interesting position in theolo- 
 
 42 
 
330 SERMON XXIII. 
 
 gy. Their arguments are plausible, and perhaps 
 lay a foundation for the support of a good moral life, 
 and for hope in death ; but the greatest of them ex- 
 press uncertainty on the point, and acknowledge 
 that adequate information can never be obtained, 
 unless it should please God to send a messenger 
 from heaven to publish to the family of man his fu- 
 ture intentions respecting them. None of the Hea- 
 then sages had any apprehension of the resurrection 
 of the body ; and many of them, in their reasonings 
 on the doctrine of immortality, bewildered them- 
 selves with metaphysical distinctions, and darkened 
 the subject by words without knowledge. Perhaps 
 a candid and discerning man would rise from the 
 perusal of all the dissertations composed by the mor- 
 al philosophers of the old world on the doctrine of 
 immortality, with a mind rather perplexed than en- 
 lightened ; with his doubts and fears rather multi- 
 plied, than his belief and hope established. This 
 appears to have been the state of the case in the 
 Gentile world on the point before us. The natural 
 reason and conscience of men direct their views to 
 a future life, in which they will receive a reward 
 corresponding with their present actions. Every 
 man, learned and ignorant, perceives the influence 
 of these principles. Moral philosophers stretched 
 their powers to lay a Stable foundation for the belief 
 of that future existence of which they had a glimpse, 
 and to acquire adequate views of that condition of 
 being to which they aspired ; but they did not suc- 
 ceed ; they arrived not at a conclusion on which 
 they could rely with certainty or satisfaction. In 
 the vain attempt to define the human soul, and to 
 
SERMON XXIII. 331 
 
 explain the mode of its future existence, and the 
 manner of its future exercises, they met with in- 
 superable difficulties, and divided into various 
 sects. Some of them, failing in the endeavour 
 to support a favourite hypothesis by solid argu- 
 ments, renounced their scheme, and with it the doc- 
 trine of immortality, and stifled the natural appre- 
 hensions of the* human mind as erroneous. 
 
 The people of Israel possessed better means of 
 instruction on the sublime doctrine of immortality 
 than the pagan nations around them. They were 
 taught the unity, the holiness, and the universal su- 
 premacy of God. They had the fullest evidence of 
 the snperintendency of God over the affairs of men. 
 Their history furnished them with examples of an 
 immediate intercourse with the spiritual world; and 
 the translation of Enoch and Elijah was fitted to 
 raise their views to a higher state of being, I can- 
 not therefore for a moment doubt, that individuals 
 among this people, who were distinguished for their 
 piety, supported themselves, under the trials of the 
 present life, by a belief of a future state of retribu- 
 tion, and died in the hope of a blessed immortality. 
 Nor can I suppose, that the nation generally were 
 destitute of the expectation of a future life. But 
 we know that the Sadducees, not a small sect, total- 
 ly rejected, even in the time of our Saviour, the 
 doctrine of future existence : they said, " that there 
 is no resurrection, nor angel, nor spirit," The Mo- 
 saick institution was preparatory to that of the gos- 
 pel. In it the doctrine of immortality was but im- 
 perfectly revealed. Future rewards and punish- 
 ments composed no part of the sanction of the law 
 
332 SERMON XXllI. 
 
 of Moses. Indeed some learned and pious Christ- 
 ians are of opinion that the doctrine is not to be 
 found in this dispensation. We cannot with cer- 
 tainty say, that the devout Jews, who believed in a 
 future state, adopted the opinion merely on the au- 
 thority of their sacred books. 
 
 The result of our review then is this. The doc- 
 trine of the immortality of man was not established 
 with moral certainty before the appearance of Jesus 
 Christ in our world. 
 
 2. Attend to the information of the gospel on 
 this important subject. 
 
 Christ has abolished death, and brought life and 
 immortality to light, Jesus, the Prince of Life, has 
 dispersed the clouds which obscured our prospects 
 of a future state. He has solved the doubts on this 
 subject which perplexed the wisest of men. He 
 has broken down the wall of partition between time 
 and eternity, and presented the heavenly world to 
 our view in all its glories. He has established the 
 doctrine of a future retribution on a foundation that 
 cannot be moved, made it an adequate support of a 
 pious and virtuous life, and the sure ground of hope 
 and joy in death. By his own resurrection he has 
 given an earnest of the future resurrection of his 
 disciples. Then the prophetical declaration of our 
 text will be fully accomplished. " I am he," says 
 our Saviour, " that liveth and was dead ; and be- 
 hold I am alive forevermore, and have the keys of 
 death." " I am the resurrection and the life. He 
 that believeth in me hath everlasting life, and I will 
 raise him up at the last day." " The hour is com- 
 ing, in which all that are in their graves shall hear 
 
SERMON XXIII. 333 
 
 the voice of the Son of God, and come forth." 
 " The sea shall give up the dead that are in it ; and 
 death and the grave shall deliver up the dead that 
 are in them." " We must all appear before the 
 judgment seat of Christ, that everyone may receive 
 the things done in his body, according to that he 
 hath done, whether it be good or bad." Such is 
 the language of the New Testament on this subjYct. 
 Arguments in favour of immortality, drawn from 
 the nature of the human soul, from the attributes of 
 God, from the traces of a moral government visible 
 in the present state, and from every view which can 
 be taken of natural religion, ail have their place in 
 the defence of Christianity, and help to make it the 
 more credible. But the information of the gospel 
 on the doctrine of our future existence is most plain 
 and direct. It is adapted to every capacity, and fitted 
 to enlighten every mind. It is information not giv- 
 en as the result of abstract reasoning and logical 
 deduction, but it is given by the Parent of Life, 
 and the moral Governour of the Universe ; and he, 
 in his goodness and mercy, has been pleased to 
 confirm our faith in his divine communication, by 
 raising his Son from the grave, whom he commis- 
 sioned to publish the glad tidings of salvation to a 
 guilty world. The future existence of men is ex- 
 emplified to human view in tlv 1 renewed life of the 
 Saviour ; and our belief of its reality may rest on a 
 fact capable of proof like other facts a fact made 
 credible to us by the testimony of plain men, 
 who were witnesses of its reality ; and whose tes- 
 timony is fortified by their general character, by 
 the cheerful sacrifice of worldly interest and of life, 
 
334 SERMON XXIII. 
 
 in support of their veracity ; and by every circum- 
 stance which has attended the establishment and 
 preservation of Christianity. 
 
 The enlightened, the confirmed Christian, cannot 
 doubt his own immortality : he can never entertain 
 fears of annihilation, from the mere contemplation 
 of which our minds recoil with horrour. 
 
 The more forcibly to show the value of the in- 
 struction of the gospel, permit me to place before 
 you, in contrast, the views of ^ Heathen and of a 
 Christian philosopher on our subject. We will se- 
 lect, as an example, the moral sage who was a mas- 
 ter of all Grecian and Roman learning, who wrote 
 on the nature of God, on moral virtue, and on the 
 immortality of man, and who, in every accomplish- 
 ment, stood pre-eminent among the great and the 
 wise. Cicero, the ornament and the boast of Rome, 
 observes, that at one time a future state seemed to 
 him to be fully proved ; that at another, all his argu- 
 ments appeared to vanish, and he was left in doubt. 
 He remarks, that it was in his retired moments, and 
 whilst he devoted himself to deep meditation, that 
 he felt satisfied with the result of his researches, and 
 without reserve admitted the belief of immortality ; 
 and that, as soon as he entered society, other feel- 
 ings arose, and amidst worldly pursuits the expec- 
 tation of a future life passed from his mind. Wri. 
 ting to a friend, Cicero expresses himself in the fol- 
 lowing manner : " I do not see, why I may not 
 venture to declare freely to you what my thoughts 
 are concerning death. Perhaps I may discover, 
 better than others, what it is, because I am now, by- 
 reason of my age, not far from it, I believe that the 
 
SERMON XXIII. 335 
 
 Fathers, those eminent persons, and my particular 
 friends, are still alive, and that they live the life 
 which only deserves the name of life. Nor has rea- 
 son only and disputation brought me to this belief, 
 but the famous judgment and authority of the chief 
 philosophers. O glorious day ! when I shall go to 
 the council and assembly of spirits ; when I shall go 
 out of this tumult and confusion ; when I shall be 
 gathered to all those brave spirits who have left the 
 world ; and when I shall meet the greatest and best 
 of men. But if, after all, I am mistaken herein, I 
 am pleased with my errour, which I would not will- 
 ingly part with, while I live ; and if, after my death, 
 I shall be deprived of all sense, I have no fear of be- 
 ing imposed upon and laughed at in the other world 
 for this my mistake." 
 
 Here the moral philosopher of Rome mentions a 
 future state of .being as a probable truth, and as the 
 object of his hope, but not as a doctrine founded 
 on such clear proof as to fix his unshaken faith. 
 Even this probability draws from him an impassion- 
 ed eulogy on its felicity. But his doubts damp the 
 ardour of his feelings, and he derives security to 
 his hope from the consideration, that if the pres- 
 ent life should close human existence, annihilation 
 will free him from ridicule. 
 
 St. Paul, the apostle of Jesus Christ, was also a 
 believer in the doctrine of man's immortality. He 
 entertained the hope of being admitted, at death, not 
 only to the spirits of just men made perfect, but al- 
 so to the assembly of angels, to the company of his 
 Divine Master, and to the presence of God. But 
 his opinion rested not on that slight evidence which, 
 
336 SERMON XX1IT. 
 
 though sufficient to charm the imagination under 
 the shade of philosophy, or ia the silent hour of 
 meditation, did not furnish a principle to sup- 
 port the mind under the conflicts of the world. 
 The belief of eternal life was so fully established in 
 his mind, as to make it the first object of desire, and 
 the goal to which every exertion was directed. To 
 preach the doctrine of the resurrection and of eter- 
 nal life, he was ready to sacrifice all worldly enjoy- 
 ments ; and while suffering the heaviest evils in- 
 cident to the present state of man, he declared, 
 " None of these things move me ; neither count I 
 my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my 
 course with joy, and the ministry of the Lord Jesus, 
 to testify the gospel of the grace of God." Paul, 
 also, has left a treatise on death and immortality. 
 In it he expresses neither doubt nor anxiety : he 
 declares the proof of future existence to be com- 
 plete and satisfactory. So fully was his mind pos- 
 sessed of the expectation of immortal life, that to 
 him it became a present reality : a view of its glo- 
 ries Transports his soul ; and he breaks forth in songs 
 of joy and triumph " O ! death, where is thy 
 sting ? O ! grave, where is thy victory ? The sting 
 of death is sin, and the strength of sin is the law ; 
 but thanks be to God, who giveth us the victory 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord.'* 
 
 3. Consider the influence which the instruction 
 and the promises of the gospel ought to have on 
 oar dispositions and conduct. 
 
 Whether we consider the object of the instruc- 
 tion and promises of the gospel, or the character of 
 the Being who gave them, we shall perceive the 
 
SERMON XXIII. 337 
 
 value of our Christian privileges, and feel our obli- 
 gation to improve them. The object is a blessed 
 immortality ; their author Christ, the Son of God. 
 To the goodness and mercy of God are we indebt- 
 ed for the scheme of our salvation. God so loved 
 the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that 
 whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but 
 have everlasting life. But Christ devoted himself, 
 as Mediator, to the execution of the purposes of di- 
 vine grace and mercy. The angels of heaven were 
 the heralds of the ad vent of Immanuel ; and, proclaim- 
 ing his birth, they gave glory to God on high, and 
 published peace and good will to men. In the high 
 concern of our salvation, Jesus appeared in the na- 
 ture of man, subjected himself to all the wants of 
 humanity, endured the contradiction of sinners, and 
 yielded himself the victim of the cross. Grateful 
 to God for the gift of his Son, grateful to Christ for 
 his voluntary mediation, let us, under the influence 
 of our religion, conform ourselves to the divine im- 
 age, and imitate the example of the Saviour. God 
 in his goodness has given us an assurance of future 
 life : do we with indifference receive the informa- 
 tion ? In mercy he has by his own Son promised 
 us endless felicity in a future world, on conditions 
 which prove that he consults our present as well as 
 our immortal happiness : can we be unmoved by 
 the gift ? 
 
 Respecting the influence which religion ought to 
 have on our tempers and practices, we may take use- 
 ful lessons even from those whose ignorance and 
 superstition we justly compassionate. The infatu- 
 
 43 
 
333 SERMON xxm. 
 
 ated Pagan, in compliance with the requisitions of 
 his system, with alacrity subjects himself to the se- 
 verest bodily tortures, and with apparent delight of- 
 fers his life in sacrifice to his idol deity. The de- 
 luded follower of Mahomet never supposes his reli- 
 gious duty performed, till he has made a painful 
 journey to Mecca, and worshipped at the tomb of 
 his prophet. Shall we Christians, then, we who 
 are instructed in all truth pertaining to eternal life, 
 and vindicated into perfect liberty, refuse gratefully 
 to acknowledge Jesus Christ as our Lord and Mas- 
 ter? Shall we neglect to observe those gracious 
 directions which are designed to transform us into 
 a likeness of his perfect character, to make us in 
 disposition the most amiable, in practice the most 
 benevolent, and to qualify us for the society of 
 heaven ? 
 
 May the example of primitive Christians more 
 especially enliven our diligence in the path of piety 
 and virtue, and fortify our minds with resolution to 
 sustain the conflicts of our probationary course. 
 Animated by the hope of the gospel, the apostles of 
 our Lord subjected themselves to all the terrours of 
 persecution, not accepting deliverance, that they 
 might obtain a better resurrection. The great body 
 of the first converts to our religion gave full evi- 
 dence of their faith in the promises of the gospel, 
 and clearly manifested that it had a salutary influence 
 on their tempers and lives. These died in the faith, 
 not having received the promises ; but seeing them 
 afar off, were persuaded of their reality, embraced 
 them as the objects of their supreme dependence, 
 and in consequence professed themselves strangers 
 
SERMON XXIII. 339 
 
 and pilerims on earth. The motives and assistan- 
 ces, which supported them, are presented to our 
 minds, and our course is free from many of the dif- 
 ficulties and dangers with which theirs was beset. 
 Let us, then, imitate those who, through faith and 
 patience, have inherited the promises. 
 
 As Christians, we are bound to give a fair exem- 
 plification of our religion before the world. As 
 candidates for immortality, it is our first duty and 
 our highest interest to walk worthily of our Christ- 
 ian vocation ; for the salvation of our souls is sus- 
 pended on the improvement of our privileges as the 
 disciples of Jesus Christ. May our religion in its 
 life dwell in our hearts ; may it in all its beauty and 
 lustre shine in our lives. 
 
 In the consciousness of sincerity and diligence in 
 the high concerns of our probation, let us open our 
 minds to the hope and joy to which the Christian 
 character is entitled. Disposed to approach the 
 light of truth, and make it manifest that our deeds 
 are wrought in God, a dependence on the promises 
 of the gospel being in us the principle of Christian 
 life, let not debasing fear enter into our religious 
 services ; but through all worldly vicissitudes, let 
 us rejoice in the Lord, and joy ourselves in the God 
 of our salvation. Not resting satisfied with the 
 things that are seen, but seeking first the kingdom 
 of God and its righteousness, may we with supreme 
 delight consider ourselves as children of God ; and 
 if children, then heirs, heirs of God, and joint heirs 
 with Christ, to an inheritance that is incorrupti- 
 ble, undefined, and that will not fade away. 
 
SERMON XXIV. 
 
 THE DUTIES ENJOINED BY THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT. 
 
 EXODUS xx. 8, 9, 10, 11. 
 
 Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalf 
 thou labour, and do all thy work : but the seventh day is 
 the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do 
 any work ; thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man- 
 servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy 
 stranger that is within thy gates : for in six days the Lord 
 made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is, and 
 rested the seventh day : wherefore the Lord blessed the 
 Sabbath day, and halloived it. 
 
 THE ten commandments were introduced as a 
 rule of life to the Israelites, with the highest solem- 
 nity. The manifestations of divine majesty and 
 glory made at Sinai are fitted to fill the soul with 
 the reverence of God, and to purify and exalt the 
 piety of man. 
 
 God, at this time, was pleased to enter into a cov- 
 enant with his people. The Israelites sacredly en- 
 gaged to obey the commands of Heaven, and to do 
 all that the Lord should speak unto them ; and the 
 
 . 
 

 SERMON XXIV. 341 
 
 Divine Sovereign graciously promised on this con- 
 dition to make them his people, to be their God and 
 the God of their children, and to confer upon them 
 the favours which he beareth to his chosen. 
 
 The covenant of grace and mercy, of which Je- 
 sus Christ is the Mediator, embraces conditions of 
 divine favour, in which all mankind are interested ; 
 and in this the rewards of a future state are more 
 clearly promised, than they were by the dispensa- 
 tion of Moses. Godliness is profitable unto all 
 things, having promise of the life that now is, and 
 of that which is to come. God is present with 
 every individual of his rational offspring : he be- 
 holds their ways ; and all, who obey his commands 
 and resign themselves to his disposal, he will take 
 into his holy keeping, guide by his unerring coun- 
 sel, and finally admit to the glories of his more im- 
 mediate presence. Under impressive views of di- 
 vine superintendence, serious minds are led to in- 
 quire What is the service which the Lord God 
 requireth ? When may we feel satisfied that we are 
 safely walking in the path that leads to the favour of 
 God, which is life, and to his loving kindness, 
 which is better than life ? The consideration of our 
 text will, I hope, assist you, my Christian brethren, 
 in forming satisfactory answers to these interesting 
 questions. 
 
 The fourth commandment embraces two distinct 
 parts of duty : the common employments of the 
 world, and the religious offices of the Sabbath. 
 
 1. The employments of the world. 
 
 Six days shalt thou labour, and do alt thy -work. 
 
342 SERMON XXIV. 
 
 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, said 
 God to fallen man. Under the present constitution 
 of things, habitual employment is as necessary to 
 the health of the body and to the vigour of the 
 mind, as it is to the procurement of subsistence. 
 Labour is the price which God has set upon every 
 valuable object. All will allow, that it is the duty 
 of man to be habitually occupied in some honest 
 and useful worldly pursuit. But some fall into 
 great and perhaps fatal mistakes on this subject. 
 They appear entirely to separate the common busi- 
 ness of society from religious duties, and to sup- 
 pose that religion, strictly speaking, cannot be car- 
 ried into the ordinary employments of life. Though 
 they consider themselves as inhabitants of this 
 world, and as candidates for a future, and acknowl- 
 edge that in each relation they have important du- 
 ties to discharge, yet they conceive that these du- 
 ties are never united. As this world is removed 
 from the future, so they apprehend that the duties 
 of the present life have no tendency to prepare them 
 for the next. Worldly business and religious ser- 
 vice they deem to be totally distinct in their nature, 
 and as widely removed from each other as earth is 
 from heaven. In the right execution of worldly la- 
 bour, and in the right performance of religious du- 
 ty, they seem to think, that a totally different class of 
 principles and affections is necessarily brought in- 
 to exercise ; and that these principles and affections 
 must be assumed and laid aside with those labours 
 and services. Religion being thus separated from 
 the common concerns of life, a thorough acquaint- 
 ance with the conduct of a man, as it respects his 
 
SERMON XXIV. 343 
 
 transactions with the world, will furnish no clue to 
 lead us to the knowledge of his religious character. 
 
 This is an errour extremely dangerous. Was 
 such our moral state, a man might confine his reli- 
 gion to set times and places ; and he might put it 
 on, and put it oft", as he does the garments of his 
 body : he might serve God on the Sabbath, and Mam- 
 mon through the week : he might be a saint in the 
 temple, and a son of Belial in his family : he might 
 perform pious offices on certain occasions, and in 
 his general intercourse with society ensnare, circum- 
 vent, and ruin his fellow- men. 
 
 The common labours of the world are the ap- 
 pointment of God. It is our duty to be habitually 
 occupied in them. These we are not unnecessa- 
 rily to suspend, nor essentially neglect, under a 
 pretence of serving God in a higher manner ; but in 
 our various pursuits we must find our regular em- 
 ployment. When we fulfil the common offices of 
 the week, under a sense of the authority of God, 
 who appointed them, and with a view to his appro- 
 bation, then in their performance we act religious- 
 ly vve serve God. This is a part of the duty 
 which is enjoined as the condition of salvation 
 through Jesus Christ. The religious performance 
 of our daily and weekly labours has a direct tenden- 
 cy to form the requisite disposition for the society, 
 and to qualify us for the services of heaven. The 
 world is not only the theatre on which the brightest 
 virtues of our religion are to be displayed, but it is 
 also the place where the disposition for their exer- 
 cise, that in solitude we cherished, is to be con- 
 firmed. 
 
344 SERMON xxir. 
 
 In our intercourse with society we are indeed ex- 
 posed to many temptations ; but Christian virtue is 
 the result of trial ; and without this proof of its pu- 
 rity, confidence cannot be reposed in it. The world 
 is the school where our passions and affections are 
 to be disciplined, and the religious principle is to 
 acquire strength. The competitions of business, 
 the interference arising from active pursuits, and 
 even the wilful opposition and unprovoked abuse of 
 those with whom we are associated in the perform- 
 ance of the common labours of life, and the offices 
 of domestick relation, give occasion for exercising 
 and strengthening our patience and forbearance, our 
 clemency and charity. Stated employment, in an 
 honest and useful occupation, secures the benefits 
 of self-possession, leads to a tranquil state of mind, 
 and invigorates the powers and faculties of the hu- 
 man constitution. By these means those intellec- 
 tual and moral habits are formed, which help to pre- 
 pare us for the duties and the happiness of a higher 
 condition of being. 
 
 But to our observations some may object, that in 
 the common business of society, saints and sinners 
 meet on the same ground, and that between them 
 there is no discrimination. In all the transactions 
 and concerns of the world, the man, who in the 
 judgment of chanty does not possess a religious 
 principle, discovers as much skill, manages with as 
 much address, and is as successful, as he who has 
 mude the highest Christian attainments. Our Sa- 
 viour himself supports this position ; for he tells us, 
 that the children of this world are wiser in their gen- 
 eration than the children of light. On experience 
 
SERMON XXIV. 345 
 
 f 1 
 
 we fmd, that, as it respects all the complicated con- 
 cerns which fall under the general term of domes- 
 tick economy, and through the whole circle of sec- 
 ular employments, the management of the man ap- 
 parently irreligious, is in many instances admirable ; 
 and that in worldly care and prudence, he is an ex- 
 ample highly worthy of imitation. We grant all 
 this ; but it does not weaken our reasoning, nor in 
 any degree invalidate our conclusion. Such char- 
 acters as we have described are not criminal, be- 
 cause they engage with earnestness in the business 
 of the world, and manage it with discretion and 
 providence. Thus far they are to be justified* 
 They are much more estimable in society than the 
 slothful and the dissipated. For their worldly wis- 
 dom and honest industry they receive an appropri- 
 ate reward, they lay up for themselves treasures on 
 earth ; but, not being rich towards God, they will 
 not secure to themselves the durable treasures of 
 heaven. Not carrying a religious principle into 
 the common concerns of life, the moral end of world- 
 ly employment will not be answered. They may 
 in their active pursuits quicken their ingenuity, and 
 with increased facility acquire wealth ; but they will 
 become sordid in spirit, and will never be made 
 meet for the rest of saints in the kingdom of light. 
 To avoid their fatal errour, let us not discard what 
 is really worthy of praise ; but, imitating their care, 
 industry and providence, let us introduce a relig- 
 ious principle into the concerns of the world ; and, 
 while diligent in business, let us be fervent in spi- 
 rit, serving the Lord. Then the pursuits of the 
 44 
 
346 SERMON xxir. 
 
 present life will be subservient to the interests of 
 immortality. Then the blessing of the Lord will 
 make us rich, and he will add no sorrow therewith. 
 In this manner sustaining our character as the in- 
 habitants of earth and as candidates for heaven, we 
 shall be prepared for temporal and spiritual bless- 
 ings. 
 
 We may often hear remarks from various per- 
 sons of the following import : We have not time to 
 be religious. Attention to our worldly business is 
 indispensable, and our time is unremittedly spent in 
 it. How, then, can we attend to religious duties ? 
 The importance of particular seasons for the per- 
 formance of the more appropriate offices of pious 
 meditation and worship, will claim our attention un- 
 der the second branch of our subject. But the ob- 
 servations already made will enable us to answer the 
 questions which have just been stated. Has Di- 
 vine Providence placed a man in a situation where 
 his family depend for their daily support on his 
 daily labour, whose hours must be seduously devo- 
 ted to his stated employment, that he may procure 
 bread for the wife of his bosom, and the children of 
 his affection ? Let not this man suppose, that relig- 
 ion is necessarily excluded from the humble sphere 
 in which he moves. No : his daily labour is his 
 religious duty. He is bound to perform it by the 
 most sacred obligation. If he neglect it, he will, 
 in the language of inspiration, deny the faith, and 
 become worse than an infidel. Let him carry upon 
 his mind a sense of the presiding Deity, and exe- 
 cute the commission of life with a view to the appro- 
 bation, and in hope of the blessing of God. Let his 
 
SERMON XX1Y. 347 
 
 religion keep him from discontent and dishonesty ; 
 from murmuring and taking the name of his Maker 
 in vain : let it sustain him under the difficulties he 
 is called to endure, and enable him in patience to 
 possess his soul ; and then God, who appointed his 
 toils, will approve their performance, will lift upon 
 him the light of his countenance, and reserve for 
 him an inheritance in heaven, incorruptible, unde- 
 filed, and that will never fade away. 
 
 Does the mother of a family make a similar com- 
 plaint ? Is she ready to exclaim My cares are un- 
 ceasing, my time is filled up with domestick labours, 
 my husband requires attention, my children are ev- 
 er around me, and excite Unceasing watchfulness 
 and solicitude. I am unavoidably troubled about 
 many things ; my work is never done. What time 
 have I for the care of my soul ? Busied as I neces- 
 sarily am with domestick concerns, how can I at- 
 tend to religious duties ? Let not this woman sup- 
 pose, that amidst her domestick labours, she is re^ 
 moved from the path of religion. Her God, who 
 formed the relations of human society, who assigned 
 to the female head of a family the cares of the house- 
 hold, will accept the faithful execution of these du- 
 ties as services performed for him. Ask not, then, 
 if amidst the concerns of your family you have time 
 to be religious. The careful and conscientious dis- 
 charge of domestick duties is religion in practice. 
 Yes : in the reasonable attention to the partner of 
 your joys and sorrows, in the necessary care of 
 your children, in the execution of the various and 
 ever succeeding offices of the household, while you 
 perform them under the impression that they are 
 
348 SERMON XXIV. 
 
 enjoined by God, and in the hope of approving 
 yourself to his all-seeing eye, you act religiously. 
 You may open your heart to the consolations and 
 hopes afforded by the pleasing reflection, that God, 
 who is a present help in every time of need, will 
 sustain, guide, and bless you, in all your toils and 
 sorrows. 
 
 The observations which we have made, may be 
 extended to the offices of publick life, and to every 
 branch of secular business, even to the most menial 
 labour to which a man may be lawfully called. Let 
 thearuler, whose mind is occupied with the affairs of 
 the nation, and whose time is spent in the duties of 
 government, be just, ruling in the fear of God ; and 
 then his publick services may be considered as 
 branches of religious duty, and he shall be to polit- 
 ical society, as the light of the morning to the nat- 
 ural world, when the sun riseth ; even a morning 
 without clouds. 
 
 Let the judge and the magistrate, in the execu- 
 tion of their offices, exercise attention and patience, 
 and decide with impartiality, knowing that God is 
 with them in a righteous judgment; and then God 
 will accept and bless them. Let the affluent, while 
 they live in a manner corresponding with their 
 wealth, reflect that riches come of the Lord, use the 
 world without abusing it, considering themselves 
 as the stewards of heaven ; and thereby they will 
 lay up in store a good foundation against the time 
 to come. Let hired persons of every description 
 consider the business, which they have lawfully 
 contracted to perform, as a duty enjoined by God ; 
 |et them execute it, not with eye-service, as men- 
 
SERMON XXIV. 349 
 
 pleasers, but as doing service unto the Lord ; and 
 then of the Lord will they receive their recompense. 
 
 The duty of stated employment extends to every 
 portion of the six days : we may not, therefore, sus- 
 pend our weekly business under the pretence of 
 attention to religious exercises not enjoined. In 
 these cases, the question ever occurs, Who hath re- 
 quired this at your hands ? The direction is as im- 
 perative to work six days, as it is to rest on the 
 seventh. As we may not carry the labours of the 
 week into the Sabbath, so we may not carry the 
 rest of the Sabbath into the week. The man who 
 essentially neglects his secular employments to join 
 in unrequired offices of piety, has not the counte- 
 nance of religion ; on the contrary, he suspends a 
 duty enjoined by religion, to offer upon the altar of 
 Heaven unhallowed sacrifice. 
 
 You will understand me, my Christian brethren. 
 The business of the week does not exclude exer- 
 cises of devotion in the family or closet. It is but 
 seldom that the most urgent transactions of society 
 need suspend those offices of piety which are proper 
 for a family ; and this suspension can be only occa- 
 sional. The stated employments of men will also 
 give place to occasional exercises of publick wor- 
 ship. Works of necessity and mercy are justifia- 
 ble on the Sabbath ; and particular seasons may 
 \vith propriety be set apart for religion. The ex- 
 ceptions in both cases prove the general rule. But 
 these occasional exercises of religious worship must 
 not have so frequent recurrence, as to operate inju- 
 riously upon the important occupations of the week. 
 They who neglect the great duties of the family, 
 
350 SERMON XXIV. 
 
 to join in exercises denominated religious, violate 
 the essential principles of Christianity ; for they 
 omit indispensable duties enjoined by God, to en- 
 gage in services which he has not required. The 
 stated business of society is no hindrance to those 
 silent reflections upon religious subjects, to which 
 the character and condition of man ever invite. 
 These are proper at all times ; and they are no less 
 the foundation of moral stability, than the source of 
 self- approbation and delight. No man need be so 
 completely occupied in secular affairs, as not to find 
 seasonable moments to devote to meditations, which 
 may arm him with resolution to repel assaults made 
 upon his virtuous habits in his intercourse with the 
 world. 
 
 The common employments of the week will also 
 admit of that interchange of social offices which is 
 adapted to the several ages and situations of men. 
 But even here a sense of moral obligation should 
 be manifested. I do not mean a sanctimonious 
 countenance, using scriptural phrases, associating 
 the names of God and Christ with the ordinary con- 
 cerns of the world, or intruding sacred subjects in- 
 to every company. A man may do all this, and 
 yet not possess the spirit of the gospel. I mean, 
 that religion should regulate our social intercourse, 
 and preside over our most pleasurable enjoyments. 
 In the hours of relaxation, at social entertainments, 
 it should restrain us within the bounds of propriety, 
 chasten our mirth, and confine us to those gratifica- 
 tions which will yield satisfaction in the moments 
 of sober reflection. But neither the cheerful pleas- 
 ures, which within the prescribed bounds are com- 
 
SERMON XXIV. 
 
 mendable, nor even such services of the altar as are 
 not divinely prescribed, must be allowed to interfere 
 with those secular employments, which God, by 
 the very condition of our being, has made necessa- 
 ry, and which he has expressly enjoined by revela- 
 tion. To neglect duties commanded, that we may 
 zealously engage in exercises not required, is to sub- 
 stitute our own devices for the counsels of Heaven. 
 The usual consequences which arise from the mul- 
 tiplication of religious meetings during the week, 
 are divisions in Christian societies, and alienation 
 and bitterness among brethren of the same commu- 
 nity. Those who attend these meetings, are apt to 
 consider themselves as more religious than such as 
 discountenance them ; and they often abound in se- 
 vere censures and uncharitable judgments. From 
 disapprobation of these assemblies, some may be 
 induced to condemn practices, which in themselves 
 are worthy of imitation ; and thus, from the abuse 
 of religion, prejudices are excited against it. These 
 alienations and prejudices not unfrequently find 
 their way into families, interrupt the order and har- 
 mony of domestick society, suppress in its mem- 
 bers the Christian spirit, and impede their progress 
 in the divine life.* 
 
 * The history of the Christian world fully shows that evils always re- 
 sult from the attempt of men to supply any supposed deficiency in the 
 institutions of Heaven. The Romish Church, not satisfied with the ap- 
 pointed observances of the Sabbath, early began to consecrate days to 
 the religious commemoration of their Saints. This Church continued 
 to canonize Saints, and appropriate set times for religious purposes, until 
 people were drawn by ecclesiastical authority from (heir secular em- 
 pldyments for nearly one half of each year, to attend upon the exercises 
 of their Holy-days. This imposition still occasions great injury to ss- 
 <riety in most papal cotmtrie?. 
 
352 SERMON XXIV. 
 
 Such evils ensue, when men leave the appointed 
 paths of Christian duty, to follow the impulse of their 
 own imaginations. 
 
 By the multiplication of religious meetings during the week, men 
 have suffered in their spiritual, as well as in their secular interests. 
 Although the motives of those who commence a course of attendance 
 upon conferences, and other religious services of human device, may 
 be pure, and particular instances of reformation may thereby be pro- 
 duced ; yet their general consequences have been injurious to the true 
 interests of Christianity. Among their moral evil effects, the following 
 may be reckoned. These meetings have been multiplied to an unrea* 
 soiaable extent, and holden at unseasonable hours. They have excited 
 in their attendants itching ears, and induced people to heap up to them- 
 selves teachers. They have been frequently converted into mere in- 
 struments to make proselytes to a party. Some persons have been led 
 to suppose that the exercises of these assemblies are not simply, in their 
 best state, the means or the expressions of piety, but religion in its es- 
 sence ; they have therefore estimated their attainments in religion by 
 the frequency with which they have joined in those exercises. Under 
 impressions of this nature, they have been induced to deem those who 
 disapprove of their meetings, as the opposers of religion, as the opposers 
 of God ; and have cherished in themselves a presumptuous confidence 
 in their own views of Christian truth, and a vain assurance of their own 
 safety ; and indulged towards those who differ from them a censorious 
 and condemning spirit. 
 
 In many places the multiplication of religious meetings during the 
 week has been promotive of a high degree of enthusiasm. Religion 
 in such instances has degenerated into mere passion. The understand- 
 ing of a man has thereby been darkened, and he, in the highest con- 
 cerns of religion, subjected to all the fluctuations of animal feelings. 
 .This hour, in imagination, he is elevated to the very mount of commu- 
 nion with Heaven ; the next, he is depressed to the very depths of des- 
 pair. At one time, he is loud in his pious ejaculations ; and at a- 
 nother, he is noisy in the expression of a wrdely different affection. 
 This man, during the period of excitement, is disturbed in the essential 
 pursuits of his existence ; and it not unfrequentJy happens that, with 
 this period, his religious principles pass away ; and he not only forgets 
 his zealous professions } but also appears to have lost his sense of relig- 
 ious obligation. 
 
SERMON XXlt. 353 
 
 . The duties of the Christian Sabbath* 
 
 Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. 
 
 The appropriation of particular seasons for 
 moral reflection, and for the worship of our Ma- 
 ker, is supported by natural religion. God was 
 pleased to consecrate one seventh part of time for 
 these high purposes ; and our Divine Lord and his 
 apostles gave their sanction to the devotion of this 
 particular portion of time to the important concerns 
 of moral and religious life. In setting apart, there- 
 fore, one day in seven for religious observances, we 
 act agreeably to the dictates of enlightened reason,* 
 conform to a positive institution of Heaven, and 
 follow the example of Christ, his apostles, and the 
 Christian world. 
 
 The Sabbath was originally designed to com- 
 memorate the creation of the world. The benevo- 
 lent Author of being appointed it as a day of rest 
 and joy to his rational offspring on earth. It is the 
 divine direction, that all unnecessary labour cease oft 
 this day ; and that men seriously enter into med- 
 itations, and join in exercises, which are calculated 
 to preserve a knowledge of their Maker, maintain 
 a sense of their continual dependence, and cherish 
 those feelings of love and gratitude, which are the 
 best returns they can make for the blessings they 
 receive. 
 
 Rest, then, is the first duty of the Sabbath. The 
 rest from labour must extend to our children, to the 
 hired servant, and to the stranger who is occasion- 
 ally in our employ. The benevolence of this com- 
 mand must excite the admiration of the philanthro- 
 pist. That labourer will not consider his situation 
 45 
 
'354 SERMON XX1T. 
 
 forlorn, who has the Sabbath in prospect, when his 
 toils will be suspended, and his heart opened to the 
 joys and delights of social and moral life. And 
 who does not rejoice, that the patient and useful 
 domestick animal has occasional seasons of rest ? 
 The experience of ages teaches us, that no incon- 
 venience results to society from the observance of 
 this institution ; whilst throughout Chistendom 
 the laborious dependent is hereby relieved from the 
 severity of a hard-hearted task-master. It is the 
 opinion of many men of sound judgment, that the 
 suspension of labour every seventh day is no hin- 
 drance to the accomplishment of the great business 
 of the world ; but that, by the invigorated strength 
 acquired on the day of rest, they who religiously 
 observe the Sabbath may accomplish as much in 
 the six days, as they could in seven spent in unre- 
 mitted application. 
 
 This day of rest is favourable to those improve- 
 ments which are the most important to every individ- 
 ual of mankind. Let us contemplate the benefits of 
 the Sabbath, as the time appropriated to religious 
 meditation and to the worship of God. 
 
 Considering man as a free and accountable be- 
 ing, we cannot conceive of measures better fitted 
 for his attainments in moral life, than the reflections 
 and services becoming this institution. We may 
 not expect that God will grant us divine influences 
 io force us to a state of goodness in a manner in- 
 compatible with the proper exercise of our powers, 
 or beyond the established order of his government* 
 
 In the administrations of Heaven, methods are 
 adopted as certain and as effectual to accomplish 
 
SERMON xxiy. 355 
 
 the pmposes of our moral as our natural lives. In 
 the one case as the other, if we neglect the appoint- 
 ed means, we have no reason to expect that the end 
 will be accomplished. If with sincerity and perse- 
 verance we adopt the prescribed measures, we may 
 in both promise ourselves a blessing. Are men 
 prepared for Heaven by the irresistible operations of 
 the Spirit of God ? Why, then, the immense appa- 
 ratus of means, used iri the moral government of 
 our world ? God in his works has no occasion for 
 secondary causes. He wills, and the universe 
 obeys. Mark the difference in respect to moral 
 cultivation between Christian and heathen coun- 
 tries ; between those places where our holy religion 
 is professed, in which its institutions are observed, 
 and those in which they are wholly neglected. 
 Here you will perceive that moral attainments re- 
 sult, by divine blessing, from the diligent improve- 
 ment of those advantages which God has bestowed. 
 How important, then, is the recurrence of a day in 
 which worldly labours are suspended, the mind 
 withdrawn from earthly pursuits, and our affections 
 warmed and elevated by contemplating the good- 
 ness and mercy displayed by the mediation of Je- 
 sus Christ : a day in which our views and hopes 
 are raised to that brighter world, to which the 
 Prince of Life ascended, that he may provide man- 
 sions of blessedness for his disciples. 
 
 Ye men who fill learned professions, and you 
 who are engaged in the higher branches of worldly 
 business, I invite you to give undivided attention 
 for the moment to the subject before us. You are 
 
356 . SERMON xxir. 
 
 acquainted with the philosophy of the mind : you 
 know the nature of habits. Report, then, the ef- 
 fects produced on the mind, on manners, and char- 
 acter, by confining the attention intensely to one 
 subject, and by long and ardently pursuing a par- 
 ticular line of action. By causes of this nature a 
 peculiar cast of mind is formed, and distinct traits 
 of character are established. This peculiarity of 
 character, resulting from appropriate pursuits, be- 
 comes apparent, from the judge on the bench, to 
 the man employed in the most humble occupation 
 of private life. Can you, then, doubt the efficacy 
 of serious and devout meditation upon moral con- 
 cerns ; of raising the soul above sublunary things, 
 and dwelling upon the pursuits and enjoyments of 
 a higher state of being ? Are not such seasons of 
 moral reflection calculated to rouse the mind from 
 the too common indifference to the interests of im- 
 mortality ; and to enliven a zeal, and to invigorate 
 exertions for attainments necessary to life eternal ? 
 By these means may not progress be made in the 
 path which leads to the goal of moral perfection, in 
 the same manner as you acquire knowledge of the 
 principles of your profession, and skill in the exe- 
 cution of the business entrusted to your manage- 
 ment ? When for a long period your attention is 
 diverted from your appropriate studies, or when 
 you neglect particular branches of your profession- 
 al business, do you find that you lose a familiar ac- 
 quaintance with them, and that you are embarrassed 
 when you resume their practice ? And are moral 
 habits the only qualities which a man cannot lose 
 ty inattention to the means of their acquirement, 
 
SERMON XXIV, 357 
 
 preservation, and growth ? Are moral exercises so 
 natural to man, possessed as he is of irregular 
 passions, and surrounded by temptations to vice, 
 that they ever will be performed like instinctive 
 movements, without attention or effort ? Far dif- 
 ferent is our moral condition. No individual 
 comes to a stand in a moral path. If he do not 
 make progress, he will fall back in his course ; and 
 his retrograde movement will, in all probability, be, 
 like that of a falling body, constantly accelerated. 
 If you cease to cultivate moral feelings, and neglect 
 the exercises of piety, soon will some irregular pas- 
 sion become so strong, and some evil habit so in- 
 veterate, as to render the re-ascension to the path 
 of Christian virtue almost above the strength of 
 human resolution. 
 
 Do you find it necessary occasionally to suspend 
 your professional studies and appropriate pursuits, 
 to enter the social circle, and participate in the 
 communications of neighbours and friends, lest you 
 should become selfish in your feelings, recluse in 
 your habits, and be formed to characters dissocial 
 and unamiable ? Is it not as necessary at particular 
 periods to retire from the busy scenes- of the world, 
 that you may hold secret communion with your own 
 hearts, take a retrospective view of your lives, 
 and ponder upon the issue of your actions, lest your 
 employments and pleasures should rivet you to the 
 present state, your minds become, in all their pow- 
 ers, and affections earthly and sensual, and you grow 
 stupidly indifferent to the interests of your immor- 
 tal souls ? Is it not as necessary, at times, to close 
 your eyes on the whole scene of material things, 
 
358 SERMON xxir. 
 
 that your minds may be elevated above the earth, 
 that you may contemplate the glories of that heav- 
 enly country which the Christian revelation has 
 brought within our prospect, and thereby be ani- 
 mated to proper exertions for those progressive im- 
 provements in knowledge and attainments in virtue, 
 which form the true dignity of man, lay the solid 
 basis for self-satisfaction, and compose the essential 
 qualifications for admission into the society of 
 heaven ? 
 
 Is it expedient for you to form the domestick re- 
 lation, that in the bosom of a family the best feelings 
 of the heart may be cultivated, that you may have 
 objects on which your kindly affections may be 
 exercised, and who may partake with you in the 
 rewards of your exertions, and with you rejoice 
 in the bounty of God ? And is it not expedient 
 that you improve the opportunity afforded by the 
 institutions of Christianity, to cultivate the higher J 
 affections of the soul, love to God and love to 
 Christ which aid your endeavours in forming a 
 close relation with higher orders of beings, in 
 making nearer approaches to the divine character, 
 and in thus preparing you for entrance into the city 
 of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem ? There 
 you will be admitted to an innumerable company 
 of angels, to the general assembly and church of 
 the first-born, and to God, the Judge of all, and 
 to the spirits of just men made perfect, and to Je- 
 sus, the Mediator of the new covenant. In this so- 
 ciety you will behold brighter displays of divine 
 perfections, be admitted to more intimate commu- 
 nion with your God, and participate in joys inteU 
 
SERMON" XXIV. 35$ 
 
 lectual, social and moral, pure, perfect and per- 
 petual. 
 
 Offices of publick worship are important, as well 
 as the devotions of the closet, and the religious 
 meditations of the retired hours of the Sabbath.- 
 Was your object in attending the sanctuary to be 
 entertained by the composition, or charmed with 
 the eloquence of the preacher, I should advise you 
 wholly to absent yourselves from this place on the 
 day devoted to the publick offices of religion ; or, 
 if you should think your station in society impels 
 you to occasional attendance, I should justify your 
 taking a position the most favourable to quiet re- 
 pose. But the highest purposes await you in the 
 house of God. You there assemble to render re- 
 ligious homage to your Maker, to be reminded of 
 your privileges and obligations as the disciples of 
 Christ, and to be exhorted to the performance of 
 your duty as candidates for immortality. Are pi- 
 ous affections so firmly established in your hearts, 
 as not to need the influence of publick worship to 
 strengthen them ? Are you in no danger from the 
 temptations of the world, with which you are sur- 
 rounded ? Are you secured against supineness and 
 indifference in the concerns of religion ? Amd is 
 there no need that your pure minds should be awa- 
 kened to the remembrance of your duty ? Do the 
 Christian virtues spring up spontaneously in your 
 hearts ? And have they no need of culture to bring 
 them to maturity ? Unless you can give satisfac- 
 tory answers to these questions, you must acknowl- 
 edge the Worth of the publick exercises of the 
 Christian Sabbath, which are fitted to strengthen 
 
360 SERMON xxir. 
 
 your religious principles, exalt your piety, confirm 
 }^our virtuous habits, clothe you in armour to meet 
 the conflicts of the Christian warfare, and enable 
 you to join in the triumphant song for the victory 
 which the Captain of your salvation has obtained 
 over death. 
 
 You will also reflect that you have influence in 
 society, and many will follow your example. If 
 you neglect the offices appropriate to the Sabbath, 
 others will be induced to neglect them. And what 
 would be the state of society, if our publick altars 
 were prostrated, and all Christian institutions set 
 aside ? In all probability, with the form the power 
 of godliness would be banished. Perhaps you are 
 heads of families, and children are rising up around 
 you. If parents slight the observances of the Sab- 
 bath, children will probably imbibe their spirit, 
 think as lightly of the offices of our religion, be as 
 negligent in attending publick worship, and, when 
 in the house of God, sleep as soundly as their 
 fathers. 
 
 The general observations already made will ap- 
 ply to all those who arc occupied in mechanick 
 business, and to those who are engaged in agricul- 
 tural pursuits. And to you, my friends, additional 
 and appropriate remarks may be addressed. 
 Worldly employment is incumbent on you through 
 the week. On the six days, therefore, your advan- 
 tages for the acquisition of knowledge must be 
 comparatively small, and your opportunities few 
 for close and continued meditations upon religious 
 subjects. How important, then, -is tht Sabbath to 
 you ! On this day of rest you may enter into an 
 
SERMON XXIV. 361 
 
 examination of yourselves, and learn the moral con- 
 dition of your souls. You may inquire into your 
 actions during the past week, and, your hearts not 
 condemning you, you may have confidence towards 
 God. If you are humbled by the review of many 
 deficiencies and defects, you may be induced to 
 form effectual resolutions of more vigorous applica- 
 tion to your duty in future, and to set the necessa- 
 ry guard against the temptations by which you are 
 the most powerfully assailed. Never, then, I en- 
 treat you, never let this day pass in sloth and idle- 
 ness ; spend it not in a manner worse than idleness, 
 in corrupting visits, and licentious practices. Are 
 you sufficiently apprized of the advantages attend- 
 ing the publick institutions of our religion ? Es- 
 teem it not a light thing, that you are permitted to 
 assemble with the people of God, to offer the pub- 
 lick sacrifice of praise and thanks to the Giver of 
 every good and perfect gift, for life and health, for 
 success in the labour of your hands, and for the ca 
 pacity of enjoying the goods you possess ; to con- 
 fess your unworthiness in the divine presence, and 
 to implore the pardon of your sins through the Me- 
 diator; to supplicate from that gracious Being, in 
 whose hand your life is, and whose are all your 
 ways, a blessing on the house and on the field, and 
 assistance in the performance of those services on 
 which eternal life is suspended. Do you deem it 
 no privilege, that you are permitted to attend week- 
 ly lectures from the pulpit upon the character and 
 government of God, upon the immortality of the 
 soul, and the rewards and punishments of the mvis- 
 
 46 
 
362 SERMON xxir. 
 
 ible world ; to hear the doctrines of the gospel ex- 
 plained, its duties inculcated, and its motives, in all 
 their variety and persuasive influence, addressed to 
 the human mind ? If you neglect these means of 
 spiritual improvement, can you entertain the expec- 
 tation of becoming wise to the salvation of your 
 souls ? Attend, then, habitually the publick wor- 
 ship enjoined on the Sabbath. This attendance 
 will soon become your delight ; and, in answer to 
 your petitions for attainments in the divine life, you 
 may confidently hope for the benediction of God. 
 
 Or, if indifferent for yourselves, be persuaded to 
 remember the Sabbath day for the benefit of your 
 children. Some, indeed, appear to slight religious 
 obligations, as it respects themselves ; and, to gain 
 the riches and pleasures of the world, seem dispos* 
 ed to lose their own souls. But do parents exist, 
 who are indifferent whether their children be virtu- 
 ous or vicious ? No : whatever be the practice of a 
 father, he will recommend the path of virtue to his 
 child. Reflect, then, I beseech you, upon the ma- 
 ny advantages to be derived from the appropriate 
 exercises of the Sabbath, in the Christian education 
 of your children. On this day you may call your 
 offspring and dependents around you, and give them 
 that counsel which is suited to their age ; open the 
 volume of inspiration for their instruction, and lead 
 them to the knowledge of all essential religious 
 truths. Catechisms put into your hands will afford 
 you some assistance in the endeavour to establish 
 in their tender minds the great doctrines of the gos- 
 pel, and the important duties of the Christian char- 
 acter, and to give them some worthy apprehensions' 
 
SERMON XXIV. 363 
 
 of God, who made them, and of the Saviour, who 
 died to open for their entrance the gate of immortal- 
 ity. On this day you may bring your children to the 
 publick altar, dedicate them to the Lord, and favour 
 them with the appropriate instruction of his house. 
 
 You are duly solicitous to form your children for 
 the business of society, and to teach them the arts 
 of acquiring the goods of the world. Is the body 
 of more worth than the soul ? Is time of more esti- 
 mation than eternity ? Is earth to be preferred to 
 heaven ? If not, statedly bring your children from 
 the instruction of the family to that of the pulpit, in 
 the animating hope, that the reiterated impressions 
 there made will, by a divine blessing, produce the 
 desired effect ; that they will be grounded and set- 
 tled in religious principles, trained up in the way in 
 which they should walk, ever be the objects of 
 your joy and delight, become estimable through 
 human relations, and qualified for the services and 
 happiness of eternity. 
 
 If you neglect to improve the advantages which 
 the institutions of our religion furnish in this high 
 concern, and in consequence your children should 
 wander into the devious paths of sin, with what feel- 
 ings will you witness their progress towards dis- 
 grace and misery ? Follow the son, whose Chris- 
 tian education you have neglected, through the 
 course of profligacy, and mark the ruin of his con- 
 stitution, his forfeiture of reputation, and the sacri- 
 fice of every earthly blessing. Behold him on the 
 bed of sickness and death, and dwell on his con- 
 dition in a future world as a hardened sinner. Then 
 reflect that his present misery and final perdition are 
 
364 
 
 SERMON XXIV. 
 
 occasioned by your criminal neglect ; and that his 
 soul will fee required at your hands. Place your- 
 selves in a situation like this : conceive, if you can, 
 the anguish attending it ; anguish, which I am una- 
 ble to describe, and which, God grant, none of us 
 may experience. 
 
 To female heads of families our subject is pecu- 
 liarly important. In the early education of children 
 their influence is superior ; and in religion, as it 
 respects all domestick relations, they have a high 
 interest. Whether the partners of their lives feel 
 the force of parental obligation, and faithfully dis^ 
 charge its duties, or desert their sacred trust for the 
 unsubstantial pleasures of dissipation, and the per- 
 nicious practices of gaming, mothers are necessari- 
 ly confined to the cares of the household. Ou them, 
 their infant offspring are absolutely dependent, and 
 by them those early impressions are made which 
 often give an effectual bias to the mind, direct the 
 moral course of the life, and form the character of 
 the future man. The exercises of the Sabbath are 
 not less beneficial as they furnish the best assistance 
 in the performance of maternal duty, than as they 
 offer support and consolation under all the trials and 
 disappointments of this relation. 
 
 The attention of the poor to our subject need not 
 be solicited. To them the Sabbath is the greatest 
 blessing. Amidst all their toils, it secures them 
 one day of rest in seven, without any diminution of 
 their income. For such are the regulations of so- 
 ciety, that they receive as large a recompense for 
 the services of six days, as they would for the seven, 
 had not the Sabbath been enjoined. The time du- 
 
SERMON XXIV. 3C5 
 
 ring which their labour is suspended, they may de- 
 vote to those reflections and exercises, which will 
 animate them to sustain with patience their situation 
 in society, contentedly submit to the dispensations 
 of Providence, and inspire them with hope and joy 
 in the contemplation of futurity. In the publiclc 
 worship of the Sabbath, the humble sons of pover- 
 ty meet the powerful and the affluent on the floor of 
 equality. In the house of God, the rich and the 
 poor appear as children of the same Parent, disci- 
 ples of the same Master, and joint candidates for a 
 glorious immortality. By the attainments of the 
 Christian life, they become qualified for the heaven- 
 ly kingdom, where all distinctions will be lost, ex- 
 cept those of a moral nature. If they wisely im- 
 prove the privileges which the gospel bestows, and 
 amidst worldly poverty become rich towards God, 
 at the close of their probationary scene durable treas- 
 ures will be conferred upon them, even an inherit- 
 ance incorruptible, undefiled, and which will not 
 fade away. 
 
 To persons of every age and condition, in con- 
 clusion, I remark, that the publick institutions of our 
 religion are established by the authority of God ; 
 our serious and habitual attendance upon them is 
 the method which he has appointed to acquire the 
 qualifications of the Christian character; and in their 
 observance we may expect the promised support 
 and acceptance of Heaven. Slighting the proposals 
 of love and mercy, will you adopt your own devi- 
 ces in place of the institutions of God ? Try your 
 independent scheme in the concerns of the natural 
 world. Refuse to cultivate your fields in seed- time ; 
 
366 SERMON XXIV. 
 
 and command them to yield their fruits in the ap- 
 pointed weeks of harvest. No : here you realize 
 your dependence upon Divine Providence, and you 
 diligently adopt the prescribed means, relying on 
 the divine blessing to accomplish the end. Equally 
 dependent in the moral world, with similar dili- 
 gence observe the methods established by God for 
 your obtaining the fruits of piety, and righteousness, 
 and charity ; humbly looking to Him to bless your 
 endeavours even to the salvation of your souls. 
 
 By all these considerations, be persuaded to " re- 
 member the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." 
 
SERMON XXV. 
 
 THE INSTITUTIONS OF THE GOSPEL. 
 
 JOHN v. 40. 
 Ye will not come to me, that ye might have life. 
 
 THIS solemn declaration was originally made by 
 our Saviour to his countrymen. They were blind- 
 ed by their prejudices, and hardened by their sins ; 
 and against themselves, they rejected the counsel of 
 God, delivered by his son Jesus Christ. But to 
 many, in each subsequent age, might the warning 
 voice of our text have been addressed. Will it be 
 heard by any present without effect ? 
 
 From the passage before us, I shall 
 
 1. Explain the import of the word Life, which 
 our Saviour promises to all who will come to him. 
 
 2. Define the meaning of the phrase, Come to 
 Christ. 
 
 3. State the means with which we are favoured 
 to facilitate a compliance with the condition of the 
 promised blessing. 
 
368 SERMON xxr. 
 
 1. To explain the import of the word Life, which 
 our Saviour promises to all who will come to him. 
 The gift of God by Jesus Christ is eternal life. 
 Death was introduced into our world as the wages 
 of sin. Suppose the darkness and gloom of the 
 night of death were never to be removed by the 
 light of returning day, who without horrour could 
 contemplate its' approach ? Its certainty might de- 
 press the pu rest joys of the human heart; check the 
 noblest pursuits of man, and fill the whole condition 
 of his being with despondence. 
 
 From this state of darkness and despair, we are 
 delivered by the mediation and ministry of Christ. 
 He has abolished death and brought life and immor- 
 tality to light. He has conquered the king of ter- 
 rours, and redeemed the captives of the tomb from 
 the empire of death. The resurrection of Jesus is 
 a pledge for the fulfilment of the divine promise to 
 raise his disciples from the sleep of the grave to the 
 honours of immortality. The life therefore which 
 is promised to those, who in sincerity come to 
 Christ, is not merely existence beyond the grave, 
 nor only the removal of doubt respecting the reality 
 of a future state* The certainty of future existence 
 would not alone satisfy the inquisitive mind. Dis- 
 tressing perplexity would yet remain, and questions 
 with the utmost anxiety still be asked What will 
 be my condition in a future world, for which I am 
 certainly destined ? If I am a candidate for future 
 happiness, on what terms may I obtain it ? Will 
 God permit the subjects of his moral government 
 with impunity to violate his laws ? If frail beings, 
 conscious that they often offend, and daily fall short 
 
SERMON XXV. 369 
 
 of their duty, may attain to a blessed immortality, 
 what assistance may they expect in acquiring the 
 necessary qualifications for the enjoyments of a 
 higher state of being ? On what foundation may 
 they build the sustaining hope that they have a title 
 to the imperishable treasures of a future world ? 
 
 In these questions all have a deep interest ; yet 
 what difficulty attends their solution by human rea- 
 son ? Into how many errours and perplexities have 
 they actually fallen, who attempted by the light of 
 nature to answer them ? The Christian revelation 
 gives satisfactory information on all these questions. 
 It not only dispels doubt respecting our future ex- 
 istence, but enables us to dwell on the prospect of 
 immortality with serenity and delight. By its in- 
 struction and assistance we may with safety and as- 
 surance pursue our course in the path to immortal- 
 ity. We then perceive that Christ came that we 
 might have life and have it more abundantly. By 
 him our prospects are infinitely enlarged. He has 
 opened the eternal world, in all its sublimity, to our 
 contemplation; and given us directions that will 
 make us wise to salvation. In his own life, he has 
 embodied his religion, that we may daily behold its 
 living excellence : in the path opened before us, he 
 has left traces of his own course, that we may follow 
 his footsteps to the goal of Christian perfection : by 
 making his own life a sacrifice, he has redeemed us 
 from the power of death : by rising in triumph from 
 the grave, he has enstamped with the seal of Al- 
 mighty God, the title of his disciples to eternal life ; 
 and they may yield to the summons of death, in the 
 sure and certain hope of a blessed immortality. 
 
 47 
 
370 SERMON XXY. 
 
 2. To define the meaning of the phrase, Come 
 to Christ. 
 
 Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. God, 
 the original source of every blessing, has commis- 
 sioned his Son to be the author of salvation to all 
 them who obey him. In the execution of this di- 
 vine appointment, Jesus established his reign on 
 earth, and introduced a new system of moral admin- 
 istration among men. He revealed all truth per- 
 taining to eternal life, enacted laws as a rule of con- 
 duct to his subjects, and prescribed measures by 
 which they might acquire the qualifications of his 
 true disciples, and become prepared for those future 
 rewards which are the objects of their faith, hope, 
 and pursuit. These observations will enable us to 
 understand that clause of our text under considera- 
 tion. 
 
 To come to Christ, is humbly to receive him as 
 the Messiah ; voluntarily acknowledge our allegi- 
 ance to his government ; publickly profess ourselves 
 to be his disciples, and seriously observe the insti- 
 tutions of his appointment. God has given us to 
 Christ in the covenant of grace and mercy : God 
 draws us to the Saviour by the instruction, the as- 
 assistanee, and the promises of the gospel. To se- 
 cure the promised rewards, under the influence of 
 our religion, we must acquire the qualifications of 
 the Christian character, that we may at last be found 
 worthy of admittance into those mansions, which he 
 is now preparing in his Father's house for those who 
 follow him in the path of obedience to the divine 
 will 
 
SERMON XXV. 371 
 
 Any other coming to Christ than faith in his mis- 
 sion, and a compliance with his requisitions ; any re- 
 liance on his merits short of a heart and life formed 
 by his precepts, as the requisite preparation for the 
 happiness secured by his mediation and ministry to 
 his faithful disciples, has no warrant in scripture. 
 The Christian temper, and, when opportunity is giv- 
 en, habits of piety and virtue, are essential as a prep- 
 aration for the happiness of heaven. These neces- 
 sary qualifications all will acquire, who with sinceri- 
 ty adopt the prescribed means. 
 
 3. To state the means with which we are favoured, 
 to facilitate a compliance with the condition of the 
 promised blessing. 
 
 By the constitution of Christianity, as Christ and 
 his apostles established it, provision is made to per- 
 petuate its existence, and to give efficacy to its prin- 
 ciples. The means with which we are favoured 
 embrace the sacred scriptures, the ministrations of 
 the sabbath, and all the ordinances of the gospel. 
 But your attention at this time will be directed par- 
 ticularly to the publick profession of religion, the 
 rite of baptism, and the sacrament of the supper. 
 
 In positive institutions, men are apt to run into 
 opposite extremes ; either to neglect them, on the 
 plea that they are without efficacy, or to depend on 
 them as the substance of religion. Positive institu- 
 tions are designed to give assistance to men in ac- 
 quiring the affections of the children of God, and 
 confirming themselves in Christian habits. But on 
 these, none should rest as the end of the command- 
 ment. When dependence is placed on these in- 
 stitutions as tfee ultimate design of religion, they 
 

 372 SERMON XXV. 
 
 are perverted, and the observance of them is neither 
 acceptable to God, nor profitable to man. Belief, 
 profession, and all ceremonial observances, without 
 a corresponding life and conversation, are unavailing. 
 Religion, to be effectual, must dwell in the heart, 
 and produce the fruit of obedience. Still positive 
 institutions are important, and serious attendance 
 on them promotes the design of the gospel. The 
 observance of these institutions is a sacred duty, be- 
 cause these were enjoined by the authority of 
 Christ, and they are adapted to the moral improve- 
 ment of beings in the condition of men. 
 
 In primitive times, when the governments of the 
 world were opposed to the Christian system, the 
 publick profession of Christ was required, though 
 it was made at the hazard of life. We may deter- 
 mine whether we will comply with the conditions 
 of salvation, and thereby qualify ourselves for the 
 rewards of immortality ; but it is not at our option, 
 whether we shall be brought under allegiance to the 
 government of the Saviour. All, who are favoured 
 with the Christian revelation are under indispensa- 
 ble obligations to improve its advantages. The 
 manner in which men now profess themselves 
 Christians is not important. If they manifest their 
 Belief of the truth of Christianity by supporting its 
 establishments, acknowledging their obligations to 
 obey its laws, by an habitual attendance on its pub- 
 lick institutions, and support this profession by a 
 Christian life, they comply with the requisition of 
 the gospel. 
 
 Baptism is a right by which persons are initiated 
 into the Christian church. It is a sign of the gra- 
 
SERMON XXV. 373 
 
 cious promise of God to accept the disciple, and of 
 the obligation of Christians to devote themselves to 
 God by piety of heart, and purity of life through Je- 
 sus the mediator. Adults by baptism acquire a ti- 
 tle to all Christian privileges, enter into a solemn 
 covenant to have their conversation as becometh the 
 gospel, and receive an assurance of eternal life as 
 the reward of evangelical obedience. 
 
 Parents, when they present their children for bap- 
 tism, promise in the presence of God faithfully to 
 execute the parental trust. They thereby give a 
 sacred pledge to the Christian society of which they 
 are members, that they will use their best endeav- 
 ours, by precept and example, to educate their chil- 
 dren in the principles, and train them up in the vir- 
 tues of the gospel. 
 
 The rite of the supper in its original appointment 
 was plain and simple. Our Saviour directed his 
 disciples to eat bread and drink wine in remem- 
 brance of him ; telling them, that the bread was in- 
 tended as an emblem of his body, and the wine of 
 his blood, which were to be made a sacrifice for their 
 benefit. That this institution is designed for the 
 observance of Christian disciples in every age, is 
 manifest from the example of primitive professors, 
 and from express declarations of St. Paul. St. 
 Luke informs us, in the book of Acts, that the 
 Christian converts " continued steadfastly in the 
 apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of 
 bread and in prayers." St. Paul, after stating the 
 origin and design of the rite of the supper, observes, 
 " As often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, 
 ye do show forth the Lord's death till he come." 
 
374 sERflioN xxr. 
 
 Here we surely find authority for the celebration of 
 the supper till the second advent of our Divine Lord. 
 The Lord's supper is usually denominated a sa- 
 crament. This is not a scriptural phrase : it was 
 probably borrowed from the Romans. The oath of 
 fidelity to his general, administered to a Roman sol- 
 dier, was called a sacrament. Pliny, the governour 
 of a Roman province, in the first Christian century, 
 giving information to the Emperor respecting Christ- 
 ians, says, " they are accustomed to meet together 
 before it is light, and to bind themselves by a sa- 
 crament." To consider the communion service as 
 a renewal of our allegiance to Jesus Christ, and as a 
 renewed promise to obey his laws, is consistent with 
 the design of its appointment ; though it does not 
 clearly imply that endearing relation which we bear 
 to the Saviour, nor those grateful recollections of 
 his benevolent agency, which should dwell in our 
 minds while at the table of our Lord. Some Christ- 
 ians of the present day, I fear, consider the term sa- 
 crament merely as the name of a religious rite ; and 
 tiiat a greater number attach to the word a mysteri- 
 ous sanctity. Clear views of this solemn but joy- 
 ous service are important to all. Whoever will, 
 with an unprejudiced mind, attend to the represen- 
 tation of the supper made by the evangelists, and 
 particularly examine the form in which our Saviour 
 instituted, and the manner in which he and his dis- 
 ciples observed it, may understand this sacrament 
 in its origin, nature, and tendency. 
 
 In the first ages of Christianity a marked distinc- 
 tion was not made between the sacrament of the 
 supper, and other Christian rites. This ordinance 
 
SERMON XXV. 375 
 
 was considered as a part of the established exer- 
 cises of the sabbath, and administered every Lord's 
 day to all who attended on publick worship. 
 
 Among learned heathen nations there were schools 
 or colleges in which moral science was taught and 
 various religious ceremonies were practised. In 
 these, profound secrecy was affected, much formal- 
 ity observed in the admission of members, and eve- 
 ry degree of information denied to those not initia- 
 ted. When the initiated pagan philosophers were 
 converted to Christianity, they unhappily carried 
 into our religion too many of the views formed by 
 their previous education. The notion of mystery 
 \vas now associated with the rite of the supper, and 
 Christian divines taught people that the consecrat- 
 ed elements had in themselves virtue to sanctify the 
 communicant. From this, they proceeded by grad- 
 ual steps to the monstrous doctrine of transubstan- 
 tiation, which, in all its extravagance, the papal 
 church established as an essential truth of revelation. 
 From this gross corruption of a simple rite, many 
 weak and debasing superstitions resulted. The eu- 
 charist was encircled with mystery and holiness, 
 which filled the minds of men with awe and aston- 
 ishment. Believing that the consecrated elements 
 were the real body and blood of Christ, many mem- 
 bers of the Christian community were by tender- 
 ness of conscience deterred from approaching the 
 Lord's table, and the most serious approached it 
 with fear and trembling. 
 
 In process of time, these holy elements were 
 represented as possessing not only virtue to sanctify 
 fhe soul, but also power to heal the diseases of the 
 
376 SERMON XXV. 
 
 body, and to preserve life amidst perils and dangers 
 the most imminent. That the sacramental bread 
 might be in readiness for any emergency, it was 
 prepared in the form of wafers: these, Romish priests 
 consecrated in abundance, and made them an arti- 
 cle of traffick. 
 
 Protestants have discarded these gross corrup- 
 tions of the papal church ; but a relict of their su- 
 perstition has been transmitted to us. Many in our 
 day entertain an opinion that the sacrament of the 
 supper is in its nature more sacred than any other 
 office of religion, and in consequence suppose that 
 an individual must have satisfactory proof that he is 
 qualified to join the society of saints in heaven be- 
 fore he is fitted to approach the communion table. 
 From this cause, multitudes are restrained from a 
 participation in this ordinance, who fully acknowl- 
 edge the truth of Christianity, and habitually join in 
 the common offices of publick worship ; and many 
 are found in this number, whom we are bound in 
 chanty to view as Christians in temper and conduct. 
 We meet at the Lord's table only a small proportion 
 of the serious part of a congregation. Yet the com- 
 mand is express " This do in remembrance of me." 
 The above positions I deem to be incorrect. This 
 sacrament is not more holy than are some other of- 
 fices of our religion. There can be no higher act 
 of religion than direct communion with God in 
 prayer. The sincerity that renders publick or pri- 
 vate prayer acceptable to Deity, will be accepted in 
 the observance of all other Christian ordinances. 
 Perfect saints will hold communion in heaven. The 
 institutions of the gospel are appointed as means of 
 
SERMON xxr. 377 
 
 progressive improvements in Christian life^ The 
 qualifications requisite for the consistent observ- 
 ance of the rite of the supper may be limited to two 
 articles, viz. to belief in the truth of the Christian 
 religion, and a sincere desire to live in conformity 
 to the directions of Jesus, our Saviour. All who 
 thus believe and resolve, have a right to this ordi- 
 nance. In its observance they will find comfort and 
 joy ; their good resolutions will hereby be strength- 
 ened, their pious endeavours invigorated, and their 
 Christian hopes enlivened. 
 
 While engaged in the busy scenes of the world, 
 and surrounded with objects of sense, we all need 
 the ceremonial services of our religion to direct our 
 attention to our immortal interests, and animate us 
 to habitual endeavours to acquire the qualifications 
 of the Christian character. Heads of families, par- 
 ents in special, will seriously reflect on their duty to 
 confess Christ before men, and to observe the ordi- 
 nances of his appointment. It must be the desire 
 of parents, that Christian principles should be early 
 implanted in the minds of children, and that they 
 practise the Christian virtues. To produce this 
 effect, your example must enforce your instruction. 
 The mature judgment of manhood enables you t 
 form an opinion of the character of men, principally 
 from the fruits produced in practical life. But the 
 minds of children are not capable of this view. 
 The visibility of religion in their parents, is to thern, 
 in a great degree, confined to forms. If they per- 
 ceive that their parents are indifferent to the pub- 
 lick ipstittitrons of the gospel, and neglect an at- 
 
 48 
 
378 SERMON XXV. 
 
 tendance on those publick services which are deem- 
 ed the highest offices of religion, they will not easily 
 be persuaded that religious principles are establish- 
 ed in the hearts of their parents, or that these have 
 a controlling influence over their practices. Your 
 spirit of indifference your children will naturally 
 imbibe ; but they will hot readily distinguish be- 
 tween principle and form, and there is danger that 
 with the form they may discard the power of relig- 
 ion. You cannot question whether the positive 
 institutions of the gospel be important to your chil- 
 dren as means of Christian knowledge and of prog- 
 ress in moral life. You might as well expect that 
 they would become learned in a science without 
 studying its elementary principles, or skilful in an 
 art without manual practice in the use of its essen- 
 tial instruments, as that they will acquire the knowl- 
 edge of Christian truth and attain to habits of Christ- 
 ian virtue without the forms and exercises which 
 aid young minds in these important acquisitions. If 
 then you seek eternal life for yourselves, if you de- 
 sire to educate your children in the fear of God, and 
 to form them to the Christian character take your 
 appropriate station in the Christian community, pub- 
 lickly confess yourselves the disciples of an ascend- 
 ed Saviour, and in view of all around you support 
 your title to the treasures of heaven by an uniform 
 obedience to all the commands of Him who will 
 finally bring you to judgment. 
 
 With the greatest solicitude I invite youth of 
 both sexes to give their undivided attention to our 
 subject. Will you not, my young brethren, come 
 to Christ that you may have life ? None of you are 
 
SERMON XXV. 379 
 
 fully satisfied with your present enjoyments. On 
 the prospect of distinctions and acquisitions in riper 
 years, you now rest your expectation of worldly en- 
 joyment ; and the hope of future success supports 
 you through the studies and labours which lead to 
 the object of promised gratification. The anticipa- 
 tion of future eminence, wealth or usefulness, light- 
 ens your toils, and adds renewed energy to your 
 exertions. But all the distinctions of human socie- 
 ty, and all the riches of the world, are trifles beneath 
 your notice, when compared with future and im- 
 mortal life, which Christ has placed within yur ac- 
 quisition. Why not, then, extend your views to 
 that object which alone is worthy of the first atten- 
 tion and the chief pursuit of immortal minds ? You 
 are daily warned of the frailty of human life : adopt, 
 then, the appointed means, that you may be prepar- 
 ed for the higher honours and more substantial en- 
 joyments of heaven, Will you say that these means 
 are unnecessary for your Christian improvement? 
 Consult your own passions, examine the tempta- 
 tions of the world, and then judge. Are you de- 
 terred by the sight of those who do not honourably 
 support the profession they have made ? Put on 
 Christianity, not in semblance, but in reality. Do 
 you fear that you shall unworthily approach the ta- 
 ble of our Lord ? Are you prepared for the society 
 of just men made perfect in heaven ? Then cer- 
 tainly you are worthy of communing with saints on 
 earth. If you are not qualified for admission into 
 the heavenly church, adopt the measures, which 
 your Saviour has provided to make you meet for 
 the rest of saints in the kingdom of light, and lift 
 
380 SERMON XXV* 
 
 up holy hands to God for a blessing. Are you re- 
 strained, from an apprehension that by a Christian 
 profession you shall be limited in your worldly 
 pleasures ? Christianity forbids no pleasurable en- 
 joyment which becomes your station in society- 
 will secure you peace of mind, promote the grateful 
 intercourse of social life, or give the most satisfac- 
 tion in the use of the bounties of Providence. If 
 you should, by the influence of religion, be with- 
 drawn from disgraceful and ruinous indulgences, 
 this furnishes the best reason why you should make 
 a religious profession, and resolutely walk by the 
 rules of the gospel. Do you fear the raillery of the 
 light and corrupt of your acquaintance, and on this 
 account deny obedience to the express commands 
 of your Saviour ? Remember his solemn declara- 
 tion- " Whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of 
 my words, in this adulterous generation, of him will 
 J be ashamed, when I shall come in the glory of 
 my Father." 
 
 Do the young of the more delicate sex need solici- 
 tation to an observance of the dying command of 
 their Savipur ? Women have a common interest 
 in the high concerns of salvation ; and there are pe- 
 culiar considerations which lead them to religious 
 observances. Christianity has given them a rank 
 in society which they do not hold under any other 
 religious establishment. Women are excluded 
 from the field of worldly ambition, publick employ- 
 ment, and publick resort. In their domestick 
 situation they are, therefore, in a greater degree 
 dependent on religion for support under the trou- 
 bles and sorrows of life ; and their condition more 
 
SERMON XXV. 381 
 
 particularly invites them to partake of its consola- 
 tions and joys. Their hearts are more easily open- 
 ed to impressions of piety, and they are, from con- 
 stitutional complexion more inclined to devotion ; 
 and there are, I believe, more pious women than 
 men. In all our societies we certainly find more 
 female than male communicants. What character 
 then must we give of those women, who appear to 
 be destitute of pious affections, and who live in the 
 neglect of Christian observances ? I do not affirm 
 that an impious woman is more criminal in the sight 
 of Heaven than an irreligious man ; but I do say that 
 to us she appears to deviate farther from her appro- 
 priate character, and therefore to us appears more 
 unamiable and more inexcusable. 
 
 Early piety and Christian virtue, my young 
 friends, are your greatest ornaments ; and these will 
 prove your best security, and the source of your 
 purest joys. Recall to remembrance the devout 
 women who ministered to our Divine Lord, when 
 on earth he published the glad tidings of peace and 
 salvation. Reflect on the character of the pious 
 Mary, who washed his feet with her tears, and wiped 
 them with her hair ; and reflect that her name has 
 in every subsequent age been associated with his, 
 and that through all time her memory will be hon- 
 oured in every land where the gospel shall be pub- 
 lished. Like Mary choose the better part. There 
 still is room for you to honour the Saviour. Con- 
 fess yourselves his disciples, and open your minds 
 to the gracious influence of his religion : come to 
 the feast of love and gratitude : adorn your lives 
 with the virtues and graces of the gospel 
 
SERMON XXVI. 
 
 ON THE DOCTRINE OF ENDLESS PUNISHMENT, 
 
 MATTHEW xxv. 46. 
 
 These shall go away into everlasting punishment; lut the 
 righteous into life eternal. 
 
 TO complete the proposed plan of doctrinal dis- 
 courses, I have only to direct your attention to the 
 retributions of a future state. On the subject of 
 punishment, I shall review three distinct opinions, 
 viz. * 
 
 1. The punishment of the wicked in a future 
 world will be endless in duration. 
 
 2. The punishments of a future state being dis- 
 ciplinary, will, sooner or later, bring the sinner to re- 
 pentance, and ultimately the whole human race will 
 be made the subjects of salvation. 
 
 3. Future punishments will be of limited dura- 
 tion, and will terminate in the annihilation of the 
 wicked. 
 
SERMON XXVI. S83 
 
 The doctrine of interminable punishment will 
 employ our reflections this morning. 
 
 Various writers have given great latitude to their 
 imaginations in describing the place and nature of 
 the future punishment of the wicked. But specu- 
 lations respecting local situation are useless. The 
 whole question is wrapt in impenetrable darkness. 
 Of the nature of future punishments I have few ob- 
 servations to make, because my conceptions on the 
 subject are very limited. The heathen poets are 
 sufficiently explicit on this point, and they repre- 
 sent them to consist in those privations and suffer- 
 ings which in imagination are the most distressing. 
 The language of scripture, in the description of fu- 
 ture punishment is generally figurative ; and Christ- 
 ian divines, in their attempt to explain it, greatly 
 differ. Some approach as near the literal meaning 
 as the case will admit, and suppose that the princi- 
 pal sufferings of the wicked in a future world will 
 be immediately inflicted by the hand of God. Oth- 
 ers entertain the opinion that future punishment will 
 chiefly consist in the privation of good, and in the 
 regret and remorse which the wicked will feel in 
 their own minds. In this class Calvin, if I mistake 
 not, is to be numbered. Why should we suppose 
 that in a future world God will inflict on the wicked 
 sufferings in any manner resembling the punish- 
 ments which are often made the penalty of human 
 laws. If the wicked carry their vicious propensi- 
 ties and their evil habits into the next state of exist- 
 ence, they will carry with them an appropriate and 
 adequate punishment. The prophets of the old tes- 
 tament, denouncing to the Israelites the consequent 
 
384 SERMON XX VI. 
 
 es of disobedience to the commands of their God, 
 made use of the boldest figures, and from many of 
 them, had not experience instructed us, we should 
 have expected, that the threatenings would have 
 been executed by the immediate hand of Deity ; but 
 in event we find, that God in this, as in most instan- 
 ces, accomplished the moral purposes of his gov- 
 ernment by the operation of subordinate agents, and 
 of secondary causes. The people of Israel were 
 beset by their own doings. They ploughed wick- 
 edness, and reaped iniquity. They sowed the wind, 
 and they reaped the whirlwind. 
 
 %/ Admit that the wicked will exist in the next 
 world with the evil dispositions, under which they 
 act in this, and that a due sense of the folly and 
 criminality of their conduct in a state of probation 
 will then rest on their minds, and we can perceive 
 that their future situation must be most deplorable. 
 
 v' Separated from God and from all good beings, and 
 congregated among characters as depraved as them- 
 selves, their self- ace usatk>n, their mutual upbraid- 
 I ings, their dissocial feelings, and malevolent inter- 
 j course must form sufferings that cannot easily be 
 described. 
 
 The proper design of punishment, Ethick wri- 
 ters assert, is the reformation of the offender, and 
 the prevention of offences in others. In human 
 governments, in that instance one of these pur- 
 poses is principally intended, and in this the oth- 
 er. In some cases, as capital executions, the pre- 
 vention of crime is the sole object. In view of our 
 subject, we may say, that the design of punishment 
 is to enforce the moral system of th<? gospel. Je- 
 
SERMON XXVI. 385 
 
 sus Christ has legislated in his kingdom. What are 
 laws without a sanction ? By what obligations are 
 those precepts enforced, where no penalty accrues 
 from their violation ? What is the import of the 
 promises and threatenings of the gospel, if in the al- 
 lotments of the future world no distinction will be 
 made between the righteous and the wicked ? What 
 is the purpose of a probationary state, and to what 
 end is the immense apparatus of means in the dis- 
 pensations of Providence and grace, if, in the retri- 
 butions of a future world, no distinction will be 
 made between those, who, by an improvement of 
 their talents, have formed themselves to characters 
 of purity and virtue, and those, who, by their abuse, 
 have hardened themselves in iniquity ? If the wick- 
 ed are to pass at once from this life into the happi- 
 ness of heaven, what meaning shall we put on the 
 many passages in the New Testament which describe 
 the decisions of the final judgment? Every view 
 we can take of the character of God, of his moral 
 government, and of the final issue of his administra- 
 tions, forbids the supposition, that God beholds the 
 righteous and the wicked with the same favour ; 
 and that he will, at the consummation of the present 
 system of things, place them indiscriminately in the 
 same condition of glory and happiness. Could the 
 doctrine of universal salvation, in the above sense, 
 be with confidence embraced, Christian faith would 
 no longer have efficacy as a principle of moral ac- 
 tion motives to a virtuous life, in prospect of a fu- 
 ture retribution would lose all their force ; and to all 
 the moral purposes of society, in principle their 
 49 
 
386 
 
 SERMON XXVI. 
 
 could be no difference between the Christian and 
 the Atheist. 
 
 One argument in support of eternal punishment 
 is drawn from the nature o/ sin. Sin is said to be 
 an infinite evil, because it is committed against an 
 infinite being; and therefore the endless duration of 
 the torments of the damned is consistent with the 
 moral perfections of the Deity. To this it is re- 
 plied, that " the supposition that crime should be 
 heightened by the quality of the object to this de- 
 gree, is absurd ; since the evil and demerit of all sin 
 must be equal, inasmuch as none can be more than 
 infinite, and, consequently, there can be no founda- 
 tion for degrees of punishment in the next life. 
 | Add, that for the same reason as the least sin against 
 1 God is infinite in respect of its object, the least pun- / 
 ^ ishment inflicted by God may be said to be infinite I 
 because of its author, and thus all punishments 
 from, as well as sins against God, would be equal. 
 Whereas, both scripture and reason prove that there 
 )) are different degrees of guilt, proportioned to the 
 different circumstances attending them. To this 
 consideration the advocates of eternal punishment 
 reply, that where the duration of the punishment is 
 equal, there may be such a difference in degree as 
 may be correspondent to the degree of the crime ; 
 and if this answer be not satisfactory, it will be dif- 
 ficult to say how the different degrees of eternal re- 
 wards can be vindicated as consistent with itself." 
 Another argument in proof of the perpetuity of 
 future punishments is drawn from the nature of 
 evil habits. It is affirmed, that if sinners live for- 
 ever, they will forever sin, and therefore merit end- 
 
SERMON XXVI. 387 
 
 less punishment. But it is asked Who can aver, 
 that if a man live ever so long, he would never be I 
 brought to repentance ? God, in his justice, pun- 
 ishes only those sins which men have actually com- 
 mitted. It is further declared, that the punishments 
 of God are not vindictive ; they are not intended 
 merely to inflict misery on the offender, but are pa- 
 rental chastisements. 
 
 Some urge the plea of endless punishment from 
 the consideration tKat God has placed life and death 
 before men, and has left them at liberty to choose 
 eternal happiness or endless misery ; and the re- 
 ward promised to obedience is equal to the punish- 
 ment threatened to disobedience ; and therefore 
 God, inconsistency with his justice and goodness, 
 may inflict endless misery on those who reject the 
 offers of salvation. To this argument the answer 
 is, though it be not contrary to justice to confer a 
 reward of obedience disproportionate to the merit 
 cf the service performed, this being a grant of fa- 
 vour ; yet it is inconsistent with justice to inflict a 
 punishment in degree above or beyond the merit of 
 disobedience ; and it cannot be proved that man, 
 weak and frail, naturally possesing passions which 
 are the occasion of sin, and surrounded with cir- 
 cumstances which often furnish temptations to evil, 
 by the vices of the present life justly exposes him- 
 self to eternal torment in a world to come. The 
 punishment is evidently disproportionate to the 
 crime ; and it is impossible to reconcile this punish- 
 ment with the character of God. To say that the 
 eternal punishment of the human sinner may an- 
 swer important purposes on other parts of the moral 
 
388 SERMON xxri. 
 
 government of Deity, is no vindication of the doc- 
 trine. God is not thus limited in the principles of 
 his government. It is not necessary that he should 
 inflict unjust punishment on one individual moral 
 agent, that he may accomplish the design of his di- 
 vine administrations on other portions of his do- 
 minions. The pious and learned Archbishop Til- 
 lotson defends the doctrine of eternal punishment 
 on the authority of scripture. He correctly ob- 
 serves, that the duration of the happiness of the 
 righteous is sometimes expressed by the same 
 terms that are used to express the duration of the 
 punishments of the wicked. The language of 
 scripture will be noticed under a following branch 
 of our subject. For the present it is enough to re- 
 mark, that there is a striking difference in the ex- 
 pressions, eternal life, and eternal death. The one 
 imports endless duration of being ; the other, a total 
 extinction of existence. The great and good pre- 
 late, pressed with the objection of the inconsistency 
 of eternal torments with the acknowledged attri- 
 butes of Deity, endeavours to solve the difficulty 
 by the following observations : "The measure of 
 penalties, with respect to crimes, is not only nor 
 always taken from the quality and degree of the of- 
 fence, much less from the duration and continuance 
 of it ; but from the reasons of government, which 
 properly require such penalties as may secure the 
 observation of the law, and deter men from the 
 breach of it." Observing that this is the fact in 
 human governments, the Dr. proceeds " In effect, 
 what proportion crimes and penalties are to bear to 
 each other, is not so properly a consideration of jus- 
 
SERMON XXVI. 389 
 
 tice as of wisdom and prudence in the Law-giver, 
 who may enforce his laws with what penalties he 
 pleases, without any impeachment of his justice, 
 which is out of the question." Here we may per- 
 ceive how a great mind labours to support a false 
 maxim. Is there no injustice in inflicting a pun- At 
 ishment above the guilt of the crime, because the 
 offender might have refrained from the violation of 
 the law, and thereby have escaped the penalty ? 
 Our candid author, apparently dissatisfied with his 
 own reasoning, adds " After all, it is to be consid- 
 ered that he who threatens has the power of execu- 
 tion in his own hands. There is this difference be- 
 tween promises and threatenings that he who 
 promises passes over a right to another, and there- 
 by stands obliged to him, injustice and faithfulness, 
 to make good his words ; but it is otherwise in 
 threatenings. He that threatens keeps the right of 
 punishing still with himself, and is not obliged to 
 execute what he has threatened any further than the 
 reasons and ends of government require." Does 
 this satisfy us ? In the administration of human 
 government, circumstances may arise which were 
 not foreseen by the legislator, and which may ren- 
 der it expedient to set aside the penalty of violated 
 law in favour of the offender ; but no such reason 
 can exist in the government of God. He saw the 
 end from the beginning : he weighed all the cir- 
 cumstances of human weakness and human temp- 
 tation : he adapted his laws to the capacities of 
 men, and affixed a righteous penalty as the wages 
 of transgression ; and no reason can be assigned why 
 it should not be inflicted on the impenitent. The 
 
390 SERMON XXVI. 
 
 language in the New Testament is as plain and ex- 
 plicit that the punishment threatened shall be carri- 
 ed into execution on the sinner, as that the promis- 
 ed reward shall be conferred on the child of God ; 
 and though we cannot say that it is inconsistent with 
 the faithfulness of God to save the offender from the 
 threatened suffering, yet is this so easily reconciled 
 with his veracity ? Would not any government 
 render itself weak and contemptible which should 
 solemnly affix a penalty to a law, with the settled 
 determination never to carry it into 'execution? 
 God certainly has not threatened sinners with pun- 
 ishment that cannot be inflicted consistently with 
 the attributes which compose his character. Have 
 we not, then, every reason to expect that the pen- 
 alty of the divine law will be executed in the day 
 when God shall judge the secrets of men by Jesus 
 Christ ? If, then, the eternal punishment of the sin- 
 ner be inconsistent with the divine character, we 
 may be assured that this punishment is not threat- 
 ened by the revelation of God. 
 
 The doctrine of eternal punishment has often 
 been brought as an objection against the Christian 
 system. It can with great difficulty, if at all, be rec- 
 
 | onciled with the justice and goodness of God ; and 
 we ought to be fully satisfied that the scriptures 
 
 , contain this doctrine before we attempt its defence 
 on the ground of revelation. If this doctrine be not 
 contained in the bible, but is found only in the com- 
 mentaries of men, we shall, by the attempt to sup- 
 port it, injure the fcause which we aim to defend, 
 and may lay a stumbling-block or an occasion to 
 fall in the way of numbers of our fellow-men. At 
 
SERMON XX YI. 39 1 
 
 least, before any one can consistently bring the doc- 
 trine of eternal torments as an objection to the 
 Christian system, he must prove that the scriptures 
 contain it. 
 
 I am, my Christian brethren, so fully persuaded 
 of your Catholicism, that I conceive no apology on 
 my part is necessary for explicitness. I feel the re- 
 lation between you and me too sacred to admit of 
 disguise, A love of truth, a sense of duty, an ar- 
 dent desire to present Christianity clearly to your 
 minds in its true light, a system perfectly consistent 
 with the perfections of God, and altogether adapt- 
 ed to the nature of man, constrained me to lead 
 your reflections to the subject before us. For my- 
 self, I freely declare, that, from a diligent examina- 
 tion of the New Testament, I am satisfied it does 
 not contain the doctrine of punishment endless in 
 its duration. I as fully believe that the sanction of 
 the divine law will be inflicted. Every individual 1 
 who becomes an incorrigible sinner under the dis- 
 pensation of the gospel, may be assured that on him 
 th punishment, denounced by Christ and his apos- 
 tles against the transgressor, will be executed. 
 
 The belief that future punishment will be of lim- 
 ited duration, is not peculiar to modern times. 
 Some of die most celebrated of the Christian fa- 
 thers held this opinion. Many other early profes- 
 sors embraced this doctrine. Some writers, indeed, 
 boldly assert, that the opinion of endless punish- 
 ment was not received among believers till philoso- 
 phers introduced into their schools metaphysical dis- 
 putations about time and space. 
 
392 SERMON XXVI. 
 
 Many, who disbelieve the doctrine of eternal pun- 
 ishment, are afraid to avow their opinion, lest it 
 should weaken the restraints of religion. This is 
 not my fear. The certainty of merited punishment 
 operates more powerfully on the human mind, than 
 the threat of punishment, evidently disproportioned 
 to crimes committed. The threatening will either 
 be disbelieved, or a persuasion will be entertained 
 that it will never be executed. Our duty is diligent- 
 ly to study the scriptures, and honestly to declare 
 the truths of revelation as we understand them. 
 Consequences we may leave to the overruling prov- 
 idence of God. 
 
 
SERMON XXVII. 
 
 ON THE DOCTRINE OP UNIVERSAL RESTORATION. 
 
 2 THESSALONIANS i. 7, 8, 9. 
 
 When the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven, with his 
 mighty angels, in flaming fire, taking vengeance on them 
 that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ ; who shall be punished with everlast" 
 ing destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from 
 the glory of his power. 
 
 OUR general subject is the punishment allotted 
 to the wicked in a future world. In the last dis- 
 course I proposed to consider the opinions enter- 
 tained on the doctrine of future punishment, under 
 the following propositions, viz. 
 
 1. The punishment of the wicked in a future 
 world will be endless in duration. 
 
 2. The punishments of a future state, being 
 disciplinary, will, sooner or later, bring sinners to 
 
 SO 
 
394 SERMON XXVII. 
 
 repentance, and ultimately the whole human race 
 will be made the subjects of salvation. 
 
 3. Future punishments will be of limited dura- 
 tion, and terminate in the annihilation of the wick- 
 ed. 
 
 The first proposition has been discussed. With- 
 out repetition, I pass to the second, viz, 
 
 2. The punishments of the future state being 
 disciplinary, will, sooner or later, bring sinners to 
 repentance, and ultimately the whole human race 
 will be made the subjects of salvation. 
 
 The scheme of universal restoration was adopted 
 by Origen, one of the distinguished fathers of the 
 Christian church, who lived in the third century. 
 It has been embraced by numbers in every subse- 
 quent age ; and many, who adopt it at the present 
 day, give evidence by their lives that they possess 
 the spirit of the gospel. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Chauncy, a celebrated divine of 
 our own country, may be considered as an original 
 writer on this subject. He has stated the scheme in 
 the clearest manner, added greatly to the arguments 
 of its earlier advocates ; and though we may not be 
 induced by a perusal of his works to adopt his opin- 
 ion, we stiall be constrained to pay a tribute of re- 
 spect to his learning and piety, his assiduity and 
 candour. 
 
 Dr. Chauncy endeavours to prepare the minds 
 of his readers without prejudice to attend to his ar- 
 guments, by observations like the following: 
 " The scheme before us exhibits the Deity in so 
 amiable and interesting light, and reflects so much 
 glory on the mediatorial undertaking of Jesus Christ, 
 
SERMON xxrn. 395 
 
 that every man, one would think, should beforehand 
 be disposed to wish that it might be well supported 
 from the scriptures. Can the thought be displeas- 
 ing to any son of Adam, that the whole human race 
 shall finally have entrance ministered to them into 
 the kingdom of heaven, to partake there of joys, 
 that flow forever at God's right hand ? Where is 
 the man so destitute of benevolence, so bereft of 
 humanity, as not to bid God speed to an attempt 
 intended to establish it as a revealed truth, that this, 
 before the scene of providence is finally shut up, 
 shall be the portion of men of every nation, of every 
 character, colour, station or condition ? It is not to 
 be supposed, that any should be so filled with envy, 
 or soured by rancour, hatred or malice, as not to 
 hope that so benevolent a plan may be found, upon 
 the strictest inquiry, to be true." 
 
 The advocates for restoration profess to support it 
 by reason and revelation. Natural arguments in its 
 favour are drawn from the perfections of God, es- 
 pecially from his goodness, which is apparent in all 
 his works and ways ; and from the evident design 
 of affliction and chastisement in the present state. 
 God, it is said, is perfect in himself : he is over 
 all, blessed forever. Creation, therefore, must ,. 
 have originated in benevolence. Man was design- I 
 cd for happiness. The purpose of God will stand. ' 
 The end of human existence will be accomplished. 
 All men will ultimately be happy. 
 
 Abstract arguments drawn from the benevolence 
 of the Deity, when applied to the future happiness 
 of all men, are not conclusive. At least, I never 
 could perceive their force in this application. Ad* 
 
396 SERMON XXVII. 
 
 mitted, they prove too much prove that every 
 created being will be exempted from pain and mis- 
 ery. The history of the world, and the experience 
 of every individual, contradict the fact. Evil, nat- 
 ural and moral, has been introduced into our world. 
 For their impiety and violence the antediluvians 
 were destroyed : in its corruptions Sodom perished ; 
 and every descendant of Adam experiences a por- 
 tion of sorrow and misery. The question is not 
 whether God may not form a rational, moral being, 
 whose every action shall be virtuous, and whose 
 every moment of existence shall be happy ? This 
 is not doubted ; but man is not this being. Grant 
 that man was designed for happiness by his Maker 
 the question still arises, What is the happiness for 
 which he is designed ? It is happiness which will 
 be conferred on him as the reward of the right use of 
 his moral faculties. Man is made the subject of a 
 moral government, laws are given him as the rule 
 of his actions, and are enforced by suitable evidence 
 and by solemn sanctions ; and that obedience which 
 flows from a teachable temper, from the love of 
 truth, and from reverence to the authority of his 
 God, prepares him for the happiness which is the 
 end of his existence. Grant that man is a free, 
 moral agent, and that the happiness for which he is 
 Designed is felicity, which results from the establish- 
 ment of a pious and virtuous disposition and it 
 necessarily follows that the goodness of God is not 
 pledged to confer happiness on the individual who 
 abuses his moral liberty, corrupts his distinguish, 
 ing faculties, and, by his vicious habits, disqualifies 
 himself for that very happiness which is promised 
 
SERMON XXVII. 397 
 
 as the reward of obedience. We may, I think, rest 
 in the persuasion, that God, perfectly good and hap- 
 py, would not give existence to intellectual, moral 
 beings, when this existence must necessarily be 
 miserable. But can it be inconsistent with the per- 
 fect goodness of Deity to bring into existence ra- 
 tional, moral, and free agents, to give them a field 
 for the full display of their various faculties, to 
 grant the necessary instruction, to provide them all 
 needed assistance, and then to suspend his favours 
 and their happiness on the condition of their main- 
 taining their character as rational and moral beings, 
 and by a wise and virtuous improvement of their tal- 
 ents, qualify ing themselves for happiness of a ration- 
 al, moral, and social nature ; and withhold this re- 
 ward from those who have neglected to prepare 
 themselves for its enjoyment? 
 
 Perhaps it will be plead, that there seems to be 
 but a shade of difference between the characters of 
 those who stand in the lowest scale of acceptable 
 virtue, and those who are rejected for the least 
 degree of vice ; and to suppose that God, in the 
 issue of his government, will make the difference of 
 immortal happiness and eternal death, in the final 
 allotments of these characters, is to impeach his 
 administrations with partiality and injustice. Can 
 this impeachment be supported ? In all the govern- 
 ments of this world, in all the publick institutions 
 of human society, where certain privileges are prof- 
 fered to all subjects and citizens on equitable condi- 
 tions, and competent judges are appointed to decide 
 on the qualifications of candidates every applicant, 
 who is found qualified, is invested with the proffer- 
 
398 8BRMON XX VH. 
 
 ed privileges. And is there injustice or partiality in 
 withholding these privileges from all who have 
 failed of complying with the equitable condition, 
 though there be but little to distinguish the individ- 
 ual who is the least defective in the requisite qual- 
 ification from him who barely possesses it ? The 
 prize was proffered to all, it is conferred on all who 
 are fitted to receive it ; and no injury is done to 
 those, who have neglected to improve the means 
 of acquisition. 
 
 Suppose God places free, moral beings in a state 
 of probation, promising to reward those, who, by a 
 wise and virtuous life, fit themselves for the society 
 of heaven, with immortal felicity, and denouncing 
 extinction of being on all who should habitually 
 abuse their powers would there be partiality or 
 injustice, or a want of benevolence, in carrying into 
 execution the penalty against all who neglect to 
 comply with the condition ? 
 
 In proof of the final happiness of all mankind, it has 
 been urged " that all the evils that befai either body 
 or mind in this state, have a tendency to improve 
 one or both. Arguing from analogies taken from 
 this state concerning that which is future, we ought 
 to infer, that the evils of a future state will have the 
 same tendency and final cause with those of the 
 present life, viz. to meliorate and perfect our 
 natures, and to prepare them for ultimate unlimited 
 happiness." 
 
 To all reasonings of this nature it may be replied, 
 that the analogy, as far as it can be applied, bears 
 against the supposition of the final restoration of all 
 men. The severest publick punishments of this 
 
SERMON XXTH. 399 
 
 World rarely correct a vitiated mind. " Vice and 
 sin" are said to be, " in principle, disposition and 
 habits, no less pernicious and fatal to the soul of 
 man, than malignant disorders are to his corporeal 
 frame. It deranges his mental and moral powers : 
 it vitiates their soundness, and deadens their activ- 
 ity ; and in its progress and prevalence tends to the 
 death and destruction of the intelligent and immor- 
 tal spirit. We may partly infer from the present 
 effects of human degeneracy, what may be its proba- 
 ble consequences and issue in a future state. As 
 no present instruction or correction is sufficient to 
 reclaim the licentious and profligate, and to recover 
 them to penitence and virtue, it is possible, and in- 
 deed not very unlikely, that the more severe disci- 
 pline of a future state of retribution may prove in- 
 effectual to restrain rooted dispositions of vice, and 
 to reform obstinate and imperious habits of sin, so 
 that those who indulge them shall proceed from 
 one stage of moral depravity to another, till they 
 become altogether irreclaimable. As some bodily 
 diseases advance from one stage of inveteracy to 
 another, till they are absolutely irremediable, and 
 must ultimately terminate in dissolution ; so vice, 
 considered as a growing and deadly disease of the 
 mental constitution, may end in its fatal derange- 
 ment and final destruction. In such cases it seems 
 to be inconsistent neither with justice nor benevo- 
 lence, nor any known measure of the divine admin- 
 istration, to expunge characters of this kind from 
 the book of life, and to consign the wicked, thus 
 incapable of reformation, to utter annihilation." 
 
400 SERMON XXVII. 
 
 But on the authority of scripture our opinion of 
 the future condition of the wicked must be found- 
 ed. What proof, then, do Universalists draw from 
 revelation in support of their doctrine ? They af- 
 fi* m that the whole representation of the bible is, 
 that the mediation of Jesus Christ was adopted as a 
 remedy for the apostacy ; and the benefits of it arc 
 as extensive as were the effects of the fall. All men 
 became subject to sin, misery and death by Adam's 
 sin ; and, by the efficacy of Christ's mediation, all 
 men will ultimately be raised to life, to holiness, 
 and to never-ending felicity. Numerous passages 
 of the bible are selected as proofs of the truth of 
 this statement. I can mention only a few of the 
 more prominent, as examples. The 5th chapter to 
 the Romans, from the 12th verse, is a principal pas- 
 sage. " Wherefore, as by one man sin entered in- 
 to the world, and death by sin ; and so death passed 
 upon all men, for that all have sinned. But not as 
 the offence so also is the free gift ; for if through 
 the offence of one many be dead, much more the 
 grace of God, and the gift by grace, which is by 
 one man, Jesus Christ, bath abounded unto many. 
 And not as it was by one, that sinned, so is the 
 gift; for the judgment was by one to condemna- 
 tion, but the free gift is of many offences unto jus- 
 tification. For if by one man's offence death reign- 
 ed by one, much more they which receive abun- 
 dance of grace and of the gift of righteousness shall 
 reign in life by one, Jesus Christ. Therefore, as by 
 the offence of one, judgment came on all men to 
 condemnation ; even so by the righteousness of one, 
 the free gift came upon all men unto justification of 
 
SERMON XXVII. 40l 
 
 life. For, as by one man's disobedience many were 
 made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall ma- 
 ny be made righteous. Moreover, the law entered 
 that the offence might abound; but where sin 
 abounded, grace did much more abound. That as 
 sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace 
 reign through righteousness unto eternal life by Je- 
 sus Christ our Lord." 
 
 The leading comments on these passages ate, 
 * e that as on one hand Adam is considered as the 
 source of damage to mankind universally on the 
 other that Christ is a like source of advantage to the 
 same mankind ; but with this difference, that the 
 advantage on the side of Christ exceeds, overflows, 
 abounds beyond the damage on the side of Adam, 
 and this to mankind universally. The Apostle 
 makes the damage on the side of Adam to consist 
 in two things, viz. the subjection of all men to a 
 frail mortal life on earth, and a liableness consequent 
 upon it to be drawn into that which is sinful. The 
 opposite superabounding advantage through Christ 
 he accordingly places in two things, viz. a reign in 
 life, and a being formed to a meetness for this mer- 
 cy by being made righteous persons, and this not- 
 withstanding the influence of all the sins that are 
 consequent upon Adam's sin, whether in point of 
 power or demerit ; and this abounding advantage 
 through Christ in both its branches is extended to 
 the same mankind, who have suffered the opposite 
 damage through Adam." 
 
 In this whole statement, I apprehend, Dr. Chaun- 
 cy has pushed the language of St. Paul beyond its 
 
 51 
 
402 SERMON XXVII. 
 
 true meaning. Its more obvious sense, it seems to 
 me, gives no support to the scheme of universal 
 restoration. We have no reason from scripture to 
 suppose that if Adam had maintained his innocence, 
 all his posterity would have been established in a 
 condition of unchangeable happiness. What then 
 did they lose by his fall ? A probationary life, on 
 the same conditions of divine favour and present 
 happiness, which he originally enjoyed. Christ has 
 ransomed all men from the death which was an- 
 nounced as the penalty of the original law of man, 
 and through the Mediator they are placed in a state 
 of probation, candidates for new rewards, and on 
 new conditions. Thus far the damage consequent 
 on Adam's sins is remedied. And the advantage 
 by Christ far exceeds the damage by Adam. The 
 tenure by which Adam held his happiness was per- 
 fect obedience to the divine law ; and for one offence 
 it was forfeited, The gospel, more mild and more 
 gracious, allows the offender to renew himself by 
 repentance : pardon is promised to every reformed 
 sinner. Adam's reward for sinless obedience was 
 happiness on earth the Christian has the promise of 
 eternal life in heaven to reward his sincerity of aims 
 and endeavours. As sin abounded, grace does much 
 more abound; as in Adam we all die, so in Christ 
 Jesus are we all made alive. But the promises of 
 the gospel are conditional ; and they alone who com- 
 ply with the condition can have a rational hope of 
 the reward. This, Universalits on the Chauncean 
 plan will allow : they will further acknowledge, that 
 many die impenitent, and that punishments will be 
 inflicted on them in a future world. Before we cart 
 
xxyif. 403 
 
 then consistently embrace their scheme, they must 
 prove from scripture, not only that the mediatorial 
 government of Christ will be continued in a future 
 world, but also that under it, the wicked will be 
 placed anew in a state of probation. They assert 
 all this. They divide the mediatorial kingdom of 
 Christ into two distinct parts The first is limited 
 to earth, and under his earthly reign many of the 
 human race are made his willing subjects. The 
 second will extend from the period of the general 
 resurrection and judgment, to the end of the media- 
 torial reign, in which Christ will subdue all things 
 unto himself, and then resign his power into the 
 hands of God. In support of this statement, they 
 produce passages of scripture of the folio wing tenor 
 Christ tasted death for every man : he was made a 
 propitiation for the sins of the world. He will sub- 
 due all things unto himself, &c. The passage per- 
 haps the most relied on is the following " He must 
 reign till he has put all enemies under his feet ; the 
 last enemy that shall be destroyed is death. When 
 all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the 
 Son also himself be subject to Him who put all 
 things under him, that God may be all and in all." 
 'The advocates for universal restoration say that St. 
 John carries our minds forward to the accomplish- 
 ment of the glorious design of divine mercy, and in 
 phrophetic language gives us the hallelujahs of the 
 angels of heaven and of all the restored race of 
 Adam. " Every creature, which is in heaven, and 
 on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are 
 in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, 
 Blessing and honour and glory and power, be unto 
 
 
404 SERMON xxni. 
 
 Him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, 
 forever and eter." 
 
 The comments on the quotations from the 5th, 
 to the Romans, will apply to all texts from the New 
 Testament which speak of Christ, as the Prince of 
 Life, as dying for all men, as bearing the sins of the 
 world, &c. These, I conceive, have reference to 
 the agency of Christ in placing men in a state of 
 salvation on the terms of the gospel. That the au- 
 thorities brought from the 1st of Corinthians and 
 from the Revelation are not conclusive in favour of 
 universal restoration will appear, if we notice the 
 pertinence of their application to a different scheme. 
 Suppose the punishments of the wicked should ter- 
 minate in the extinction of their existence, and how 
 direct is the application of these texts to that sup- 
 position ? Can there be a more complete conquest 
 of enemies than the extinction of their existence ? 
 Must not the empire of death be terminated, when 
 there is no victim on which his power can act ? 
 When all who opposed themselves to the moral 
 government of God, are removed from being, then 
 every heart and every tongue will be united in 
 rendering praise, and honour, and glory to God. 
 1 do not now say that this will be the end of the 
 wicked, but the pertinence of the language of St. 
 Paul and St. John to this supposition must weaken 
 the argument adduced from those passages in sup- 
 port of the doctrine of universal salvation. 
 
 The general language of the New Testament on 
 the subject we are considering, to my apprehension, 
 is opposed to the scheme of the Universalits. The 
 representation of the bible seems to be, that the 
 
SERMON XXVII. 405 
 
 present life is the allotted scene of human probation ; 
 and that the judgment of the great day will deter- 
 mine the moral characters of men, and fix unaltera- 
 bly their condition in a future world. In the para- 
 bles of our Lord, the statement is, that at the judg- 
 ment, the tares and the chaff are to be separated, 
 never more to be mixed. The wicked are to be 
 rejected ; they are to perish. Our text declares that 
 they shall be punished with everlasting destruction 
 from the presence of the Lord. The descriptions 
 of the New Testament respecting future punish- 
 ment are figurative ; but they are of a nature the 
 most opposed to the supposition that the wicked 
 will be recovered to virtue and happiness. The 
 tares and the chaff are to be cast into fire that will 
 not be quenched. The wicked will die the second 
 death they will be consumed they will perish. 
 Will those figures, will this language accord with 
 the doctrine of universal restoration ? Besides, there 
 are particular texts which directly militate with the 
 doctrine. Our Saviour himself expressly declares, 
 that blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be 
 forgiven, neither in this world, nor in the world to 
 come. He denounces a wo on Judas, and declares 
 that it would have been good for him never to have 
 been born. St. Paul informs us, " if we sin wilfully, 
 after we have received the knowledge of the truth, 
 there remaineth no more sacrifice for sin ; but a cer- 
 tain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indig- 
 nation, which shall devour the adversary." St. John 
 says there is a sin unto death, for which men are not 
 to pray. With what pertinence, or what meaning, 
 do the sacred writers affirm, that the wicked will 
 
 
406 SERMON XXVH. 
 
 perish, that they will be rejected, destroyed and 
 lost ; if they all are finally to be saved ? Be the wish 
 ever so strong that the doctrine of universal salva- 
 tion may be true, for myself I cannot embrace it, 
 because I cannot find scriptural authority for its 
 support. If God has intentions of mercy for the 
 wicked in a future world ; he has not, to my under- 
 standing, revealed them in the gospel. 
 
SERMON XXVIll. 
 
 ON THE ANNIHILATION OF THE INCORRIGIBLY WICKED. 
 
 MATTHEW x. 28. 
 
 Fear not them who kill the body, but are not able to kill the 
 soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul 
 and body in hell. 
 
 IN discoursing on the subject of future punish* 
 ment, I have discussed the doctrine of endless mis- 
 ery, and of universal restoration. We are now to 
 review that of absolute extinction, viz. 
 
 3. Future punishments will be of limited dura- 
 tion, and will terminate in the annihilation of the 
 wicked. 
 
 This branch of our subject has been canvassed 
 with great ability by several English divines. I 
 shall attempt little more than to compress their 
 arguments and observations within limits suited to 
 a publick discourse. Judging of their remarks by 
 
408 SERMON XXVIII. 
 
 the test of scripture, my candid hearers, you will 
 form your own opinions on the authority of revela- 
 tion. 
 
 The declaration of the Old Testament is, " The 
 soul that sinneth shall die." Jesus Christ, the me- 
 diator of the new covenant, in our text cautions us, 
 " Fear not them who kill the body, but are not able 
 to kill the soul ; but rather fear Him who is able to 
 destroy both soul and body in hell.'* St. Paul, in 
 the letter and spirit of both Old and New Testa- 
 ment, informs us that, " the wages of sin is death ;" 
 that " if we live after the flesh, we shall die," 8cc. 
 Let us then in the first place inquire into the mean- 
 ing of the word death : and examine whether we are- 
 to understand the word, when connected with fu- 
 ture punishments, in a literal of a figurative sense. 
 
 Death, when applied to our present existence, 
 signifies the privation of life. When this term is 
 applied to the soul, or to a future mode of exist- 
 ence, if understood in a strict or literal sense, it must 
 mean the loss of that existence, that is, annihilation. 
 A being cannot in strictness be said to die, unless 
 he be deprived of a life which he before possessed. 
 When therefore this word is used by the sacred 
 writers to express the future punishment of wicked 
 men, if understood literally, it cannot mean merely 
 that they shall be excluded from the happiness of 
 heaven this they never enjoyed ; nor can it mean, 
 that they shall be kept forever in existence, that 
 they may forever feel the severity of divine venge- 
 ance. To form an opinion of the meaning of any 
 writer, we ought not to depart from the strict and 
 proper sense of words, unless obvious reasons ren- 
 
SERMON XXVIII. 409 
 
 der it necessary. Whoever then considers the word 
 death, when applied to sinners in a future world, to 
 signify an eternal life of misery, must assign some 
 substantial reason why a sense so opposite to its 
 strict meaning should be adopted. 
 
 Let us next inquire, whether a figurative sense of 
 the term death, when applied to the future punish- 
 ment of wicked men, is necessary to render the lan- 
 guage of scripture on this subject consistent with 
 its general principles. Do the scriptures any where 
 teach us, in plain and simple language, that wicked 
 men shall for an endless duration be kept alive in a 
 state of misery ? If they do, we must understand 
 death, when applied to this subject, in a limited and 
 figurative sense. But what passage of the New 
 Testament states expressly that the wicked shall be 
 preserved in a state of endless misery ? If there be 
 no such passage found, then surely we ought not to 
 advance the doctrine on the authority of revelation* 
 the sacred writers, say the advocates for the doctrine 
 of annihilation, have made use of various terms on 
 the subject under consideration. They describe 
 the punishment of the wicked by calling it a death 
 a destruction a corruption a fire that consumes 
 and burns up the substances that are thrown into it 
 a worm which never dies and a fire that is not 
 quenched. Add to these, an everlasting destruc- 
 tion an everlasting fire an everlasting judgment- 
 an everlasting punishment a blackness of darkness 
 forever ; and, if those passages in the 14th and 20th 
 chapters in Revelation relate to the final judgment, 
 a torment forever and ever. But when the strict 
 52 
 
410 SERMON XXVIII. 
 
 and proper import of these phrases, as they stand in 
 the original, comes to be considered, not one of 
 them will be found necessarily to imply a perpetual 
 existence in life, though a life of misery ; and a great 
 part of these, if understood in a strict and proper 
 sense of words, imply the contrary ; for to die to 
 be destroyed to reap corruption, or a dissolution 
 of parts to burn up to consume, when applied 
 to the persons of men, are so far from implying a 
 perpetual continuance of their lives, that on the con- 
 trary, these terms, if literally understood, suppose 
 that a period will be put to life : and should their 
 death or destruction be so circumstanced, as not to 
 admit of any subsequent restoration, it may for that 
 reason be styled an everlasting destruction; and 
 the means by which it is accomplished an ever- 
 lasting or eternal fire, as Sodom and Gomorrah are 
 said to have been set forth for an example, suffer- 
 ing the vengeance of eternal fire ; that is, a fire, the 
 effects of which would continue forever ; not that 
 these cities are still burning, which long since have 
 been reduced to ashes. And if this death or de- 
 struction be administered by way of punishment, 
 for the same reason that the death or destruction 
 are said to be eternal, so may the punishment ; for 
 by supposition it is a punishment which will never 
 be reversed a punishment, the effects of which will 
 not, like the first death, be taken off, but continue 
 forever. All this may be true, and the phraseology 
 of scripture sufficiently accounted for, without lay- 
 ing us under any necessity of supposing the sub- 
 jects of this punishment to be continued alive un- 
 consumed, in a state of misery, contrary to that 
 
i 
 
 SERMON XXVIII. 411 
 
 which the strict and proper import of the words dy- 
 ing, destroying, consuming, and burning up, imply. 
 To add force to the above comments, we are 
 told that the terms in the original languages of the 
 bible, which in our translation are rendered eternal, 
 and everlasting, and forever and ever, do not, from 
 any power of the words themselves, imply what we 
 mean by a strict and proper eternity. The origi- 
 nal words in Hebrew and Greek, in strictness of 
 speech, mean an age, and in the plural ages ; and, 
 though sometimes used to signify an indefinite du- 
 ration, still it may be a duration vastly short of that 
 which is strictly eternal. Thus the rainbow is a 
 token of God's covenant for eternal generations. 
 The land of Canaan was given to the children of Is- 
 rael for an eternal possession. The passover was 
 appointed for an eternal ordinance. The original 
 word is used in the same limited sense in the New 
 Testament. We read in Luke's gospd of proph- 
 ets that have been from everlasting. St. Paul, 
 speaking of a future life, says, God promised it be- 
 fore the world began, literally before the eternal 
 times. It is then evident that the original word 
 does not necessarily imply a strict and proper eter- 
 nity. The same word is indeed sometimes used to 
 express duration without end to express the ex- 
 istence of God. But in these instances the subject 
 constrains us to understand more than the word in 
 itself necessarily expresses. A word that express- 
 es an indefinite duration may with propriety be us- 
 ed to express eternal existence, or a period of long 
 duration ; and the subject to which it is applied 
 will generally, from its nature, enable us to qualify 
 
 
412 SERMON XXVIII. 
 
 its sense. When we read of the eternal God, the 
 everlasting hills, the everlasting mountains, Sec. we 
 find no difficulty to qualify the meaning of the writ- 
 er. It is not the force of the word, but the nature 
 of the subject, which determines its sense. From 
 the term itself, therefore, no conclusive argument 
 can be derived in favour of future punishment of 
 eternal duration. 
 
 The same word is frequently used to express the 
 duration of the future happiness of the righteous ; 
 but then there are other terms used which necessa- 
 rily convey the ; dea of endless duration, as immor- 
 tal, incorruptible, indissoluble, Sec. 
 
 Had the scriptures compared the wicked in a fu- 
 ture world to substances which will, without appar- 
 ent diminution, bear the heat of an unquenchable 
 fire, the allusion might have led us to suppose that 
 misery of endless duration will be the portion of 
 wicked men ; but when it is expressly affirmed that 
 they shall die, that they shall reap corruption when 
 they are compared to chaff and other substances 
 which are the most easily consumed by fire when 
 it is said that they shall be burnt up when it is said 
 of the righteous they shall never die when the 
 terms expressive of life, of immortallity, incorrupt- 
 ibility, &c. are applied only to the righteous, why 
 should we infer from scripture that sinners will be 
 tormented for an endless duration ? No one will 
 pretend that the soul of man is necessarily immor- 
 tal. Every being of a derived existence is continu- 
 ally dependent on his Maker for its continuance ; 
 and should God withdraw his support, this being 
 must drop into his primeval nothing. 
 
SERMON XXVIII. 413 
 
 >me, perhaps, may be disposed to remind me 
 that the scriptures expressly inform us, that sinners 
 shall be punished, in a greater or less degree, ac- 
 cording to the aggravation of their guilt. Is the 
 supposition, that the wicked shall at last be abso- 
 lutely destroyed, inconsistent with the statement re- 
 specting the increase of punishment proportionate 
 to the aggravation of guilt ? Death executes its of- 
 fice on the body in various ways. The pain and 
 distress attending the dissolution of the present life 
 in degree and duration greatly differ. The second 
 death may be executed with those circumstances 
 which will apportion the misery of the sinner to his 
 guilt. Indeed, it would be presumption to say, 
 that a principle may not be established in the divine 
 administrations, by which inveterate habits of sin 
 shall produce the dissolution of the soul, in the same 
 manner that inveterate diseases prove fatal to the 
 body ; and that their operations shall occasion suf- 
 ferings in proportion to their inveteracy. Can the 
 justice and goodness of God be so well defended on 
 the supposition of eternity of punishment ? Infinite 
 duration seems to swallow up all proportions of mis- 
 ery. Or should different degrees of pain constitute 
 a scale, can we imagine that God, wise, and just, 
 and good, will forever preserve the existence of 
 man, that man may forever be miserable, as a pun- 
 ishment of the sins of the present life, when God 
 knows our frame, when he considers that we are 
 but dust, and that we are surrounded with tempta- 
 tions, which daily press upon us ? Can we conceive 
 $f any solid reasons why sin and misery should for. 
 
414 SERMON XX VIII. 
 
 ever be preserved under the government of almigh- 
 ty power, infinite wisdom, and perfect benevolence? 
 I shall now proceed to a more particular consid- 
 eration of those passages of the New Testament, 
 which describe the future punishment of the incor- 
 rigibly wicked. I shall first introduce a passage 
 from the gospel of Mark. " Where their worm 
 dieth nor, and the fire is not quenched." These 
 expressions, without violence, may be understood 
 to indicate the final destruction of the wicked. 
 This seems to be their obvious and natural signifi- 
 cation. What is the meaning of these terms when 
 applied to the concerns of the present life ? If a 
 building is on fire, and the fire cannot be extin- 
 guished, what is the result ? The building is con- 
 sumed. If a plant or a flower be infected by a 
 worm, and the worm cannot be destroyed, it must 
 be expected that the plant will perish, and the flow- 
 er decay. If a man labours under a disease which 
 originated from worms in the seat of life, and he 
 knows that the worms cannot be destroyed, he must 
 expect that death will be the final consequence. 
 But with what propriety can a worm, which is the 
 emblem of corruption, and fire, which is the instru- 
 ment of consumption, be made to represent an eter- 
 nal duration of existence ? It is an abuse of figures 
 which we ought not without necessity to impute 
 to the sacred writers. To throw chaff or wood into 
 the fire is the way to destroy them. To cast a 
 man into the fire is an effectual method to kill him. 
 The less extinguishable is the fire, the more certain 
 is his death. A passage in the Revelation of St. 
 John will strengthen the comments on the passage 
 
SERMON XXVIII. 415 
 
 before us. We there read, that " death and hell, 
 or the grave, shall be cast into the lake of fire." 
 We cannot suppose that the meaning of this pas- 
 sage is, that death and the grave will forever be 
 tormented ; but that they shall be abolished : these 
 shall no longer be known in the mediatorial king- 
 dom of Jesus Christ. 
 
 The declaration of our Saviour in the 25th of 
 Matthew, is adduced as an authority for the doc- 
 trine of perpetuity of future punishment. " Depart, 
 ye cursed, into everlasting fire." In addition to 
 the remarks on the word everlasting, I would di- 
 rect your attention to the sense of similar expres- 
 sions in other places in the New Testament. St. 
 Jude tells us, as we have already noticed, that the 
 cities of Sodom and Gomorrah are set forth as an 
 example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire ; 
 and St. Peter observes, that God, turning the cities 
 of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned 
 them with an overthrow, making them an example 
 to those who should after live ungodly. All that 
 we can understand from these modes of expression 
 is, that Sodom and Gomorrah were absolutely de- 
 stroyed by fire from heaven ; and from the same 
 niode of speech when applied to the future punish- 
 ment of the wicked, we may consistently understand 
 our Saviour to say, that the wicked shall be destroy- 
 ed that life shall never be restored to them. We 
 read in scripture of eternal redemption : not that 
 God will be forever redeeming men ; but the bless- 
 ed effects of redemption will be eternal. In the 
 same sense we may understand the punishment of 
 eternal fire, of eternal destruction, &c : not that the 
 
416 SERMON XX VIII* 
 
 act of destruction, or the fire of consumption will 
 be perpetual and eternal, but the effects will be. 
 The destruction which will never be reversed may 
 with strict propriety be called an everlasting pun- 
 ishment. 
 
 Passages are selected from the books of Revela- 
 tion in support of the doctrine of eternal punish- 
 ment. " If any one worship the beast or his image, 
 the same drinketh of the wine of the wrath of God ; 
 and the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for- 
 ever and ever." In the original for ages of ages. 
 Again. "And fire came down from heaven and 
 devoured them, (the armies of Gog and Magog) 
 and the devil, that deceived them, was cast into the 
 lake of fire and brimstone, where is the beast and 
 the false prophets ; and they shall be tormented for- 
 ever and ever ;" for ages. Whether these passa- 
 ges do or do not refer to the punishments of men 
 in a future world, to them will apply the observa- 
 tions made upon the words everlasting, eternal, &c. 
 In the original language, the words translated for- 
 ever and ever express an indefinite period of time, 
 and from them the perpetuity of the misery of the 
 wicked in a future world cannot be proved. 
 
 From a serious and close review of the various 
 passages which have reference to the future punish- 
 ment of the incorrigibly wicked, do we find that the 
 doctrine of endless torment is clearly contained in 
 the scriptures ? Do not these passages more obvi- 
 ously signify destruction, annihilation ? 
 
 One consideration I wish in this place to present 
 to your minds of its weight you will judge. The 
 original threatening made to Adam as the punish- 
 
SERMON XXVIII. 417 
 
 ttient of disobedience was death. That is, as I un- 
 derstand it, extinction of being. From this penalty 
 all men are redeemed by Jesus Christ. We are ail 
 made candidates, on new conditions, for the rewards 
 of immortality. The penalty of a neglect to com- 
 ply with the conditions of salvation is death. That 
 is, the impious and the abandoned of all nations 
 and ages will be made to suffer the miseries of the 
 second death, and their sufferings will bear an ex- 
 act proportion to their guilt. 
 
 In our present state, it must be difficult to form 
 adequate apprehensions of the condition of being in 
 a future world. With our present senses it may be 
 impossible rightly to conceive of a new mode of ex- 
 istence. The language of scripture, on this subject^ 
 is figurative ; and even in respect of the righteous, 
 we are told, that it doth not yet appear what they 
 shall be. But, on the one hand, it is clearly reveal- 1 
 ed to us, that the righteous shall be made happy ini 
 heaven, and that this happiness shall be endless in 
 duration ; and, on the other, that the wicked shall 
 be made miserable as long as they exist as wicked 
 characters. No reflecting, sober man can, on the 
 authority of the Christian revelation, expect to es- 
 cape the wages of sin, or promise himself future fe- 
 licity, unless he acquire the Christian character. 
 This is enough for all the purposes of piety and 
 virtue. Who that reflects will, for the profits or 
 pleasures of sin, incur the penalty of the second 
 death ? 
 
 53 
 
SERMON XXIX. 
 
 ON THE FUTURE HAPPINESS OF THE RIGHTEOUS 
 
 I CORINTHIANS xiii. 12. 
 
 For now we see through a glass darkly ; but then face to 
 face : now I know in part ; but then I shall know even 
 as also I am known. 
 
 THIS passage of scripture I have selected as the 
 theme of a discourse on the rewards promised by 
 Jesus Christ to the pious and good in the kingdom 
 of heaven, The changes which death will produce 
 eannot with precision be ascertained. Intimately 
 associated with objects of sense, we can but imper- 
 fectly conceive of the capacities, the employments, 
 or the happiness of just men inheriting the promis- 
 es. But the future life, it is presumed, will be a 
 continuation of the present : personal identity will 
 be preserved : men will exist in heaven with intel- 
 lectual and moral faculties like those they possessed 
 on earth j and their employments and happiness 
 will be adapted to the dispositions which they here 
 
SERMON XXIX. 419 
 
 formed, and the habits here established. The en- 
 joyrnents of the next state, therefore, must be ac- 
 tive in their nature, and proportioned to improve- 
 ments made during the life of probation. The en- 
 joyments of heaven will not consist of any determi- 
 nate and fixed degree of felicity. Saints in the king- 
 dom of light will make progressive improvements 
 in knowledge and virtue, and rise to ever increas- 
 ing attainments in happiness. This happiness, then, 
 must consist in the constant progress of our intel- 
 lectual, moral, and social faculties towards perfec- 
 tion.* In this relation let us contemplate it. 
 
 1. The rewards of heaven will consist in the 
 progressive improvement of our intellectual fac- 
 ulties. 
 
 The intellectual faculty of man is capable of 
 great improvement in the present limited state. By 
 its vigorous exercise, individual men have risen to 
 worthy apprehensions of the character of God, and 
 have acquired an extensive acquaintance with his 
 works and ways ; and the knowledge thus obtained 
 has been applied to the most useful purposes of hu- 
 man life. But by the influence of animal passions, 
 by the prejudices of a corrupt education, and by the 
 necessary business of the world, the intellectual im- 
 provements of most men have been confined with- 
 in narrow bounds, and the knowledge of the most 
 cultivated minds much circumscribed. JSven 
 Christians, with their superiour advantages, have 
 entertained debasing opinions of the perfections and 
 government of God, and inconsistent views of the 
 religion of his Son, Jesus Christ. Some bewilder 
 
 * See Dr. JAMES FOSTER on future rewards and punishments.. 
 
420 SERMON XXIX. 
 
 themselves in metaphysical subtleties, and others 
 are blinded by false zeal. Some, forming their 
 apprehensions of divine attributes from the constit- 
 uent principles of human nature, in their concep- 
 tions of God debase his character ; and others cher-. 
 ish those superstitious views of Divine Providence 
 which disturb their own minds, and destroy the 
 peace and happiness of their lives. 
 
 Such are the weakness and imperfection of our 
 present state of intellectual agency ; but in heaven 
 animal propensities being purified, and every world- 
 ly bias removed, men will be better disposed for in. 
 tellectual pursuits. Reason will there possess its 
 full strength, and the understanding its extent of 
 comprehension. There, saints will have worthy 
 and exalted views of God in all his attributes and 
 administrations, and their conceptions of moral 
 truth and duty will be without confusion. They 
 will clearly understand those divine dispensations, 
 which now perplex their moral inquiries ; and per- 
 ceive that now apparent irregularities of Providence 
 all tend to promote one wise and benevolent pur- 
 pose. To the view of the citizens of the heavenly 
 Zion the natural and moral system of the universe 
 will open its now concealed glories, and they will 
 survey innumerable beauties and innumerable ex- 
 cellencies, which at present lie beyond the reach of 
 human faculties. 
 
 Can we stretch our imaginations so far as to an- 
 ticipate the delight we shall receive from the con- 
 templation of the brighter displays of divine wis- 
 dom, power, and goodness? The most languid 
 view of this enjoyment will convince us of the dig- 
 
SERMON XXIX. 421 
 
 nity of our natures, and enkindle a divine ardour to 
 prepare ourselves for the scenes which will be un- 
 folded to our view when we shall be admitted to 
 the more immediate presence of our God. St. 
 Paul, in a previous verse, informs us that in heav- 
 en the embarrassments of this world, in the path of 
 knowledge, shall be removed. " When that which 
 is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be 
 done away;" and in our text "Now we see 
 through a glass darkly ; but then face to face : now 
 I know in part ; but then I shall know even as also 
 I am known." Now the man who seeks truth in 
 the love of it, is often, on subjects the most impor- 
 tant, perplexed with difficulties and doubts, and sel- 
 dom can rest with perfect confidence in his conclu- 
 sions ; but then knowledge will be accompanied 
 with certainty and satisfaction. Now the purest in- 
 tellectual acquisitions are frequently prevented from 
 producing their proper effects on practice by oppos- 
 ing interests of the world, or by irregular impulses 
 of animal passion and appetite ; but then the intellect 
 will have an uncontrolled influence, and, in every 
 practical concern, knowledge produce its proper ef- 
 fect, Now the man who tht most scrupulously in 
 practice follows the dictates of an enlightened mind, 
 fails of enjoying all the happiness to which his 
 knowledge and virtue tend, by the interposing self- 
 ishness, bigotry, or malevolence of his fellow be- 
 ings ; but then, extraneous causes not operating, 
 intellectual exercises will produce all their practical 
 fruits, and knowledge and virtue be rewarded with 
 their appropriate enjoyments. 
 
422 SERMON XXIX. 
 
 2. Progressive attainments in moral life will 
 compose an essential part of the rewards of heaven, 
 
 In this view, the happiness of heaven rises on the 
 scale of intrinsick value. Moral attributes are more 
 excellent than intellectual. Goodness of heart is of 
 more worth than, greatness of mind. Moral attain- 
 ments lay a more sure foundation for happiness than 
 acquisitions of knowledge. On earth, the moral 
 exercises of the best men are weak and imperfect. 
 Moral principles are checked in their operation by 
 the bias of animal propensities and worldly circum- 
 stances ; and the virtue of the best man is variable 
 and defective. But in heaven, moral pursuits will 
 neither be interrupted nor weakened by inferiour 
 affections or momentary interests. Virtuous prin- 
 ciples there will have a consistent and invariable op- 
 eration, and ever prove effectual. 
 
 The positive institutions of the gospel which are 
 adapted to our present state of action, will terminate 
 with this life ; but all the moral duties which have 
 their foundation in the imperishable attributes and 
 unchangeable relations of man are of perpetual ob- 
 ligation. Charity never faileth. The love of God 
 and the love of man will live in the minds of per- 
 fect saints, become a purer flame, and produce sub- 
 limer effects. In heaven, all devotional and pious 
 offices will be a rational, exalted, and improving ex- 
 ercise. Benevolence will be disinterested, ever 
 productive of benefit to its object, and prove satis, 
 factory to him who exercises it. On earth, various 
 circumstances arise to debase our best moral exer- 
 cises, and retard our progress towards the goal of 
 perfection ; yet even here, a pure disposition and a 
 
SERMON XXIX. 423 
 
 well-governed mind are the source of our highest 
 pleasures. These pleasures resemble the happiness 
 of the highest orders of created beings, and are the 
 nearest approach to the blessedness of God himself. 
 In this view of the rewards of heaven, they appear 
 worthy of the character of him who proposed them, 
 and suited to the capacities of their recipients. 
 The course of moral improvement to the inhabitants 
 of heaven will be endless, and their enjoyments will 
 increase with their progress in moral life. What 
 satisfaction, then, will they realize in their constant 
 approach to the character of supreme excellence, 
 and as they become perfect in their measure as God 
 is perfect. True goodness is the image of God in 
 our souls ; and the more we are transformed into 
 the divine image, the greater will be our felicity. 
 While we contemplate these rewards, do they not 
 become the objects of supreme desire ? Are not 
 the strongest resolutions formed vigorously to exert 
 every faculty in the preparation for their enjoy- 
 ment ? 
 
 3. In heaven, the social enjoyments of the right- u * 
 eous will be perfected. 
 
 All good desires and benevolent affections will 
 survive death, and increase in strength with our in- 
 tellectual and moral improvements. Without so- 
 ciety, some of the noblest powers of rational beings 
 would be useless ; and absolute solitude is contem- 
 plated by every mind as a state in which existence 
 can never be enjoyed with satisfaction and delight. 
 In this imperfect state, selfish feelings and worldly 
 competitions so much prevail as to take from our 
 social connexions- their purest joys. Friendships 
 
424 SERMON XXIX. , 
 
 are frequently, formed without deliberation, are con- 
 tinued without satisfaction, or in disgust are dis- 
 solved. Our greatest social pleasures are often dis- 
 turbed by incautious liberties and unreasonable 
 resentments ; by unfounded jealousies and envious 
 dispositions. Friends of congenial minds and in- 
 genuous hearts often suffer from sympathy with 
 each other for their personal troubles, worldly dis- 
 appointments, or providential afflictions. On earth, 
 the most virtuous friendships and endearing relations 
 are soon dissolved by drath. But in heaven, these 
 abatements of social happiness will not be experi- 
 enced. Purified, ourselves, from every base and 
 dissocial passion, we shall join a society composed 
 of beings possessing improved understandings and 
 benevolent and Amiable dispositions ; beings who 
 resemble God in truth, righteousness and goodness^, 
 and who take the highest delight in promoting each 
 others happiness. There, the harmony of friends 
 will never be interrupted by the irritating language 
 of suspicion, or the hasty expressions of petulance. 
 There, susceptibility will not be wounded by 
 the sight of sickness, distress, and anguish ; nor 
 will fears be alarmed by a prospect of a dissolu- 
 tion of social enjoyments; but there, tears will be 
 wiped from every face, and death swallowed up in 
 victory. 
 
 In heaven, we may expect to be re-united with 
 those pious relatives and connexions with whom we 
 held our Christian course on earth. Though the 
 passions and affections which are merely adapted to 
 the objects of this world be lost in the grave, yet 
 there is reason to believe that in a higher condition 
 
SERMON XXIX. 425 
 
 of existence virtuous friends, who here mutually 
 assisted each other in their Christian pursuits, will 
 in heaven recognize their former acquaintance, and 
 receive increased pleasure from a review of their 
 Christian course on earth. The Apostle clearly in- 
 timates that the disciples, who were converted to 
 Christianity under his ministry, will be the crown 
 of his joy at the final judgment "What is our 
 hope, our joy, our crown of rejoicing ? Are not 
 even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus, at his 
 coming?" And in another place "As ye have ac- 
 knowledged us in part, that we are your rejoicing, 
 even so ye also are ours in the day of the Lord Je- 
 sus." If the joy of the pastor will receive an in- 
 crease in heaven by meeting the members of his 
 flock, who can doubt that individual disciples wil 
 there renew their acquaintance, and derive increasec 
 pleasure from their renewed friendship ? \ 
 
 The scriptures expressly inform us, that in the 
 next stage of our existence we shall be admitted 
 not only to the spirits of just men made perfect, 
 but also to an innumerable company of angels; 
 doubtless to converse with them, to be improved 
 by their communications, and with their assistance 
 to quicken our steps in the path which leads to the 
 perfection of our characters and to the consumma- 
 tion of our happiness. We then shall be admitted 
 to a personal view of Jesus the mediator, to know 
 the extent of his benevolent agency, to feel gratitude 
 more nearly proportioned to the benefits received, 
 and to derive greater advantages from his instruc- 
 tion and example. 
 
 54 
 
426 SERMON XXIX. 
 
 As the completion of the rewards of heaven, we 
 shall be admitted to the more immediate presence 
 of God, the original parent of all life and blessed- 
 ness. Who can estimate the felicity of those, who 
 shall forever dwell in the fulness of the divine pres- 
 ence ? They will more and more comprehend the 
 perfections of Deity; their dispositions and their 
 services will rise in purity and worth with their im- 
 provements in knowledge ; and their happiness will 
 increase as they make nearer approaches to the 
 character of their heavenly Father, When men in 
 their progressive attainments in intellectual, moral 
 and social life shall have arrived to the station which 
 the highest angel now fills, there will yet be an in- 
 finite distance between them and God over all bless- 
 ed forever, and therefore an infinite space for the 
 expansion of their minds, the increase of their good- 
 ness, and the augmentation of their enjoyments. On 
 this supposition, angels and men will forever be ad- 
 vancing in intellectual and moral attainments, and 
 their happiness ever be increasing as their capacities 
 of enjoyment are enlarged. 
 
 In conclusion. 
 
 By the goodness of God, I have been permitted, 
 my Christian hearers, to complete the course of ser- 
 mons in conformity to the plan originally presented 
 to your view. Has this course been the means of 
 Christian instruction and improvement to any ? 
 
 The Christian revelation, when understood, vin- 
 dicates the ways of God with man. Its sacred 
 beams dispel the clouds which hung over a future 
 state and obscured its prospects ; and we now have 
 a clear view of the eternal world. The plan of 
 
SERMON XXIX. 427 
 
 moral government, unfolded by the gospel, reflects 
 the wisdom and goodness of God on all the dis- 
 pensations of Providence, and teaches us the design 
 of all the divine administrations. By its light we 
 perceive the inseparable connexion between virtue 
 and happiness, and vice and misery. The diligent 
 study of the sacred oracles will enlighten our minds 
 with the knowledge of truth, and instruct us in our 
 duty. Serious reflections on the final issue of the 
 divine government will fortify our resolution to 
 meet all the conflicts of the Christian warfare, insure 
 constancy in our Christian profession, animate our 
 obedience, and in us confirm the hope of a blessed 
 immortality. 
 
 On the verge of time, when all the momentous 
 interests of eternity are before us, the whole train 
 of worldly pursuits and sensual pleasures disappear, 
 or remain in the mind to open afresh the wounds of 
 conscience, and to excite the more distressing fore- 
 bodings of future retribution. But death is dis- 
 armed of terror in respect to that person, who has 
 faithfully run the Christian race, finished his course 
 and kept the faith. Permit me importunately to re- 
 quest each of you to form a conception of the eleva- 
 tion to which that man is raised, who, just entering 
 the invisible world, reflects on a course of Christian 
 obedience that by divine assistance he has complet- 
 ed, and anticipates the immortal rewards promised 
 by his Saviour. Place yourselves in this situation, 
 and say, whether any human pursuit can be com- 
 pared with the spirit and the habits of the Christ- 
 ian? Is there an object within human acquisition 
 
428 SERMON XXIX. 
 
 estimable like Christian piety and virtue, in its pres- 
 ent effects and future rewards ? 
 
 To secure the invaluable blessings of the Christ- 
 ian dispensation to the children of men, Jesus, the 
 son of God, appeared on earth, passed a life of pov- 
 erty and persecution, and died a victim on the cross. 
 To establish our faith in his promises, he called his 
 friend Lazarus from the grave, re-animated the youth 
 of Nain on his herse, and himself arose in triumph 
 from the tomb. To prepare men for the immor- 
 tal rewards of heaven, the gospel was published, the 
 Christian ministry appointed, and all the institutions 
 of the New Testament established. And as the 
 means of this preparation are we directed to attend 
 the preached word, and observe the rites of our re- 
 ligion. 
 
 No one can with indifference contemplate a bless- 
 ed immortality. Immortal happiness is an object 
 of infinite value, and not an individual can deliber- 
 ately reject it. Soon you will individually be sum- 
 moned before the Judge of all, to render an account 
 of the manner in which you shall have improved 
 your Christian privileges. Examine yourselves. 
 I How have you used the talents committed to your 
 management? Have your moral attainments cor- 
 responded with your Christian advantages? On 
 what evidence do you rest your persuasion, that you 
 are qualified for the society of heaven ? Do your 
 conversation and general conduct comport with your 
 Christian vocation ? Are you conscious that you 
 live habitually under impressions of divine superin- 
 tendence, and with a view to divine approbation ? 
 Do you live habitually in the exercise of rational offi- 
 
SERMON XXIX. 429 
 
 ces of piety ? Are you just, benevolent and charita- 
 ble to your fellow-men ? Do you keep yourselves 
 unspotted from the world, and, under the influence of 
 our religion, discipline your passions and appetites ? 
 Are the members of this church steadfast, and un- 
 moveable, always abounding in the work of the 
 Lord ? Do heads of families faithfully perform their 
 duty towards each other, and to their children and 
 dependents ? Are the aged of this society sober, 
 grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, and pa- 
 tience ? Do they still bring forth fruit, and is 
 the hoary head to them a crown of glory, being 
 found in the way of righteousness ? Are our youth 
 sober-minded ? Do they remember their Cre- 
 ator ; and have they commenced the life which 
 becomes candidates for eternal happiness? Can 
 you, my Christian brethren, answer these ques- 
 tions in the affirmative ? Then you may apply to 
 yourselves the promises of the gospel ; and, perse- 
 vering in your course, anticipate the joyous sentence 
 of your Judge " Well done, good and faithful ser- 
 vants : enter ye into the rewards of your Lord." 
 
 May we all be animated to live consistently with 
 our Christian hope. When the heavens and the 
 earth shall be dissolved, may our corruptible put 
 on incorruption, our mortal put on immortality, 
 and we join in the song of victory over sin, death, 
 and the grave, through Jesus Christ our Lord. 
 
ERRATA. 
 
 Page 176, sixth line from the bottom, for become nof, read did not 
 become. 
 
 Page 213, eighth line from the bottom, for Acw, read hast. 
 Page 258, third line from the bottom, for they, read those. 
 
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