taphyfical difquifitions of identity, or any other curious points, in which this deep fubject might engage us, all which, as they are founded upon uncertainty, muft end in doubt, it is better to draw this doctrine, as well as all others, into practical ufe: and the use we ought to make of it is, to pay that regard to our bodies which is due to them-not vainly to adorn-not luxuriously to pamper them; but to keep them as much as poffible from the pollutions of the world; and to lay them down in the grave undefiled, there to be fealed up in expectation of a bleffed refurrection. (though we cannot collect the entire nature of a future ftate of happinefs, yet we can eafily gather a few circumftances, which must of courfe attend it; as, that it will be very great that it will last for ever-that it will be of a nature entirely different from the happiness of this world-that, as in this world, our paffions and appetites prevail; in the next, reafon and virtue will have the fuperiority-"hunger and thirst, tears and forrow," we read, "will be no more"-that is, all uneafy paffions and appetites will then be annihilated--all vain fears will then be removed-all anxious and Laftly, we believe" in the life everlafting:"intruding cares-and we thall feel ourselves in which article we exprefs our faith in the complete and perfect; and our happiness, not eternity of a future state of rewards and pu-dependent, as here, upon a thousand precarious nifhments. circumftances, both within and without ourfelves, but confiftent, uniform, and stable. This article is nearly related to the laft, and is involved in the fame obfcurity, In On the other hand, we pretend not to en-, what the reward of the virtuous will confift, quire in what the punishment of the wicked after death, our reafon gives us no informa- confifts. In the Scripture we find many extion. Conjecture indeed it will, in a matter preffions, from which we gather, that it will be which fo nearly concerns us; and it hath very great. It is there called," an everlasting conjectured in all ages: but information it fire, prepared for the devil and his angelshath none, except from the word of God; and where the worm dieth not, and the fire is never even there, our limited capacities can receive quenched-where fhall be weeping and gnathit only in general and figurative expreffions. ing of teeth-where the wicked thall drink of We are told, "there will then reign fulnefs the wrath of God, poured without mixture of joy and pleafures for evermore-that the into the cup of his indignation-where they righteous fhall have an inheritance incorrupti- fhall have no reft, neither by day nor night." ble, undefiled, that fadeth not away-where Though it becomes us certainly to put our they fhall fhine forth, as the fun, in the pre-interpretations with the greateft caution and fence of their father, where error, and fin, and humility upon fuch paffages as thefe; yet mifery thall be no more-where fhall be af-" the worm that never dieth," and "the fembled an innumerable company of angels, the general affembly of the church, the fpirits juft men made perfect-that they fhall neither hunger and thirst any more-that all tears thall be wiped from their eyes-that there fhall be neither death, nor forrow, nor pain." From these, and fuch expreffions as thefe, fire that is never quenched," are ftrong expreffions, and hardly to be evaded by any refinements of verbal criticifin. Let the deit bravely argue down his fears, by demonftrating the abfurdity of confuming a spirit in material fire. Let him fully explain the nature of future punishment; and convince us, that where where it cannot reform, it must be uniuft.But let us, with more modefty, lav our hands humbly upon our breafts, confefs our igxorance; revere the appointments of God, whatever they may be; and prepare to mect them with holy hope, and treinbling joy, and awful fubmiflion to his righteous will. To the unenlightened heathen, the eternity of future punishments appeared no fuch unreafonable doctrine. Their fate of the damned was of eternal duration. A vulture for ever tore thofe entrails, which were for ever renewed ". Of one thing, however, we may be well affured (which may fet us entirely at reft in all our enquiries on this deep fubject), that every thing will, in the end, be right that a juft and merciful God must act agreeably to justice and mercy-and that the tirft of thefe attributes will moft affuredly be tempered with the latter. From the doctrine of future rewards and punishments, the great and moft convincing practical truth which arifes, is, that we cannot exert too much pains in qualifying ourselves for the happinefs of a future world. As this happiness will laft for ever, how beneficial will be the exchange-this world, which is but for a moment, for that everlasting weight of glory which fadeth not away." Vice, on the other hand, receives the greatest difcouragement from this doctrine, as every fin we commit in this world may be confidered as an addition to an everlasting account in the next., Gilpin. 49. On the Ten Commandments. Having confidered the articles of our faith, we proceed to the rules of our practice. Thefe, we know, are of fuch importance, that, let our faith be what it will, unless it influence our lives, it is of no value. At the fame time, if it be what it ought to be, it will certainly have this influence. On this head, the ten commandments are firft placed before us; from which the compofers of the catechifm, as well as many other divines, have drawn a compleat fyftem of chriftian duties. But this is perhaps rather too much +. Both Mofes, in the law, and Chrift, in the gospel, feem to have enlarged greatly on morals: and each of them, efpecially the latter, to have added many practical rules, which do not obviously fall under any of the commandments. But though we cannot call the decalogue a complete rule of duty, we accept it with the utmoft reverence, as the first great written law that ever God communicated to man. We consider it as an eternal monument, infenibal by the finger of God himself, with a few frong, indelible characters; not defining the minutiae of morals, but injoining thofe great duties only, which have the most particular influence upon the happiness of fociety; and prohibiting thofe enormous crimes, which are the greatest fources of its diftrefs. The ten commandments are divided into two parts, from their being originally written upon two tables. From hence one table is fuppofed to contain our duty to God; the other our duty to man. But this feems to be an unauthorized division; and hath a tendency to a verbal mistake; as if fome duties were owing to God; and others to man: whereas in fact we know that all duties are equally owing to God,-Howe er, if we avoid this mifconception, the divifion into our duty to God, and our duty to man, may be a convenient one.-The four first commandments are contained in the first table: the remaining úr in the fecond. At the head of them ftands a prohibition to acknowledge more than one God. The fecond commandment bears a near relation to the first. The former forbids polytheism; the latter idolatry; and with this belief, and practice, which generally accompanied each other, all the nations of the earth were tainted, when these commandments were given: efpecially those nations, by whom the Jews were furrounded. The third commandment injoins reverence to God's name. This is a ftrong religious refraint in private life; and as a folemn oath is the ftricteft obligation among men, nothing can be of greater fervice to fociety, than to bold it in general respect. The fourth commands the obfervance of the fabbath; as one of the beft means of preferving a sense of God, and of religion in the minds of men. The fecond table begins with injoining obedience to parents; a duty in a peculiar manner adapted to the Jewish state, before any regular government was erected. The temporal promife, which guards it, and which can only relate to the Jews, may either mean a promife of long life to each individual, who obferved the precept: or, of ftability to the whole nation upon the general obfervance of it: which is perhaps a better interpretation. The five next commandments are prohibitions of the most capital crimes, which pollute the heart of man, and injure the peace of fociety. The firft of them forbids murder, which is the greateft injury that one man can do another; as of all crimes the damage in this is the most irreparable. The feventh commandment forbids adultery. The black infidelity, and injury which accompany this crime; the confufion in families, which often fucceeds it; and the general tendency it hath to deftroy all the domeftic happiness of society, ftain it with a very high degree of guilt. The fecurity of our property is the object of the eighth commandment. The fecurity of our characters is the object of the math. The tenth restrains us not only from the actual commiffion of fin; but from those bad inclinations, which give it birth. After the commandments follows a commentary upon them, intitled, "our duty to God," and " our duty to our neighbour;' the latter of which might more properly be intitled, " Our duty to our neighbour and ourfelves." ourfelves."-Thefe feem intended as an explanation of the commandments upon Chriftian principles; with the addition of other duties, which do not properly fall under any of them. On thefe we shall be more large. The first part of our duty to God, is, "to "believe in him;" which is the foundation of all religion, and therefore offers itself firft to our confideration. But this great point hath been already confidered. The next branch of our duty to God, is to fear him. The fear of God is impreffed equally upon the righteous man, and the finner. But the fear of the finner confifts only in the dread of punishment. It is the neceffary confequence of guilt; and is not that fear, which we confider as a duty. The fear of God here meant, confifts in that reverential awe, that conftant apprehenfion of his prefence, which fecures us from offending him. -When we are before our fuperiors, we naturally feel a refpect, which prevents our doing any thing indecent in their fight. Such (only in a higher degree) fhould be our reverence of God, in whofe fight, we know, we always ftand. If a fenfe of the divine prefence hath fuch an influence over us, as to check the bad tendency of our thoughts, words, and actions; we may properly be faid to be impreffed with the fear of God.-If not, we neglect one of the beft means of checking vice, which the whole circle of religious reftraint affords. Some people go a step farther; and fay, that as every degree of light behaviour, though fhort of an indecency, is improper before our fuperiors; fo is it likewife in the prefence of Almighty God, who is fo much fuperior to every thing that can be called great on earth, But this is the language of fuperftition. Mirth, within the bounds of innocence, cannot be offensive to God. He is offended only with vice. Vice, in the lowest degree, is hateful to him: but a formal fet behaviour can be neceffary only to preferve human diftinctions. The next duty to God is that of love, which is founded upon his goodness to his creatures. Even this world, mixed as it is with evil, exhibits various marks of the goodnefs of the Deity. Moft men indeed place their affections too much upon it, and rate it at too high a value: but in the opinion even of wife men, it deferves fome eftimation. The acquifition of knowledge, in all its branches; the intercourse of fociety; the contemplation of the wonderful works of God, and all the beauteous fcenes of nature; nay, even the low inclinations of animal life, when indulged with fobriety and moderation, furnith various modes of pleasure and enjoyment. Let this world however go for little. In contemplating a future life, the enjoyments of this are loft. It is in the contemplation of futurity, that the chriftian views the goodness of God in the fulleft light. When he fees the Deity engaging himfelf by covenant to make our fhort abode here a preparation for our eternal happiness hereafter-when he is affured that this happiness is not only eternal, but of the purest and most perfect kindwhen he fees God, as a father, opening all his ftores of love and kindness, to bring back to himself a race of creatures fallen from their original perfection, and totally loft through their own folly, perverfenefs, and wickedness; then it is that the evils of life feem as atoms in the fun-beam; the divine nature appears overflowing with goodness to mankind, and calls calls forth every exertion of our gratitude and love. That the enjoyments of a future ftate, in whatever thofe enjoyments confift, are the gift of God, is fufficiently obvious: but with regard to the government of this world, there is often among men a fort of infidelity, which afcribes all events to their own prudence and industry. Things appear to run in a ftated courfe; and the finger of God, which acts unfeen, is never fuppofed. feem easily to fet things to rights on this head. The mifery of the brute creation is indeed more unaccountable. But have we not the modefty to fuppofe, that this difficulty may be owing to our ignorance? And that on the ftrength of what we know of the wisdom of God, we may venture to trust him for those parts which we cannot comprehend? One truth, after all, is very apparent, that if we should argue ourselves into atheism, by the untractableness of thefe fubjects, we fhould be fo far from getting rid of our difficulties, that, if we reafon juftly, ten thoufand greater would arife, either from confidering the world under no ruler, or under one of our own imagining, And, no doubt, our own industry and prudence have a great fhare in procuring for us the bleflings of life. God hath annexed them as the reward of fuch exertions. But can we fuppofe, that fuch exertions will be of any fervice to us, unless the providence of God throw opportunities in our way? All the means of There remains one farther confideration worldly happiness are furely no other than the with regard to the love of God, and that means of his government. Mofes faw amongis, the measure of it. We are told we ought the Jews a kind of infidelity like this, when he forbad the people to fay to their hearts, "My power, and the might of my hands hath gotten me this wealth," whereas, he adds, they ought to remember, "That it is the Lord who giveth power to get wealth." Others again have objected to the goodnefs of God, his permaiffion of evil. A good God, fay they, would have prevented it; and have placed his creatures in a fituation beyond the distrettes of life. With regard to man, there feems to be no great difficulty in this matter. It is enough, furely, that God has put the means of comfort in our power. In the natural world, he hath given us remedies against hunger, cold, and difcafe; and in the moral world, against the mifchief of fin. Even death itfelf, the laft great evil, he hath fhewn us how we may change into the most confummate bleffing. Á ftate of trial, therefore, and a future world, to love him with all "our heart,, with all our foul, and with, all our strength." These are ftrong expreflions, and feem to imply a greater warmth of affection, than many people may perhaps find they can exert. The affections of fome are naturally cool, and little excited by any objects. The guilty perfon, is he, whofe affections are warm in every thing but religion.-The obvious meaning therefore of the expreffion is, that whether our affections are cool or warm, we should make God our chief good-that we fhould fet our affections more upon him, than upon any thing elfe and that, for his fake, and for the fake of his laws, we should be ready to refign every thing we have, and even life itfelf. So that the words feem nearly of the fame import with thofe of the apostle," Set your affections on things above, and not on things on the earth.” Gilpin, |