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made, it must be founded in the reasons of his own juftice, that is, of juftice directed by infinite wifdom. The reafons of fuch juftice we cannot comprehend; and therefore we must either be saved by means that are mysterious to us, or God must give us infinite wisdom to comprehend the reason of his juftice. You fee then, that from this notion of religion, confidered as containing the means by which God reconciled himself to the world, it is fo far from being abfurd to fuppofe it in fome parts mysterious, that it is not poffible it should be otherwife.

To redeem the world is the work of God: he only could find the means of reconciliation, and he only could apply them: it is our part merely to accept them, and to obey the terms and conditions. upon which he offers them. Religion therefore, which is founded upon redemption, must needs confist of these two parts; an account of the redemption wrought by God, and inftructions to men upon what terms they may reap the benefit of the redemption. As far as our part goes in the Gospel, there is nothing myfterious; we have nothing to do for ourselves, but what we very well know how to do. As to the other parts of the Gospel, we are not required to comprehend and account for God's methods of falvation, but only to accept them; which, as I before observed, are two diftinct acts of the mind, and not dependent upon each other. As for the work of God in our redemption, it is indeed wonderful and myfterious: and why should it seem ftrange to you, that it is fo? Are there any other works of God which are not

myfterious? Confider the creation and formation of this world; confider the fun, the moon, and the stars, the works of his hand; tell me by what secret power they move, by what rule their different motions were at firft impreffed, and by what fecret in nature or providence ever fince preferved. Or, if you think it hard to be sent to confider the heavens at a diftance, do but confider the earth, and the meanest creatures of it: can you tell how they are formed? how they live, and move, and have their being? Nay, can you name that work of God, which is not mysterious? Is there any thing in nature, the first principles of which you can discover and fee into? If in all the works of God there is no fuch thing, why fhould we think it ftrange, that in his work of redemption he has appeared fo like himself, and that in this, as in every thing elfe, his ways are paft finding out? We live by the prefervation of providence, and enjoy the comforts and pleasures of this life; and yet how myfterious is our prefervation! how little do we know of the methods by which we are preserved! and yet the benefits of it we enjoy, notwithstanding our ignorance of the means and why is it a greater abfurdity to fuppose that men may be redeemed, without comprehending all the means made use of in their redemption? In all other inftances whatever, the miraculousness of an escape adds to the pleasure and joy of it, and is always remembered with a kind of ecftafy in the relation. Salvation is the only inftance in which men demur upon the means, and are unwilling to receive the mercy, because they cannot understand the methods of obtaining it. In any other

cafe a man would be thought befide himself, who fhould act in the fame manner.

As to the two other points, the cleanfing finners from their iniquity, and enabling them to live virtuoufly for the future; or, in other words, the fanctification and grace promised in the Gospel; I shall not enter into the confideration of them particularly, because the same way of reasoning is applicable in these cases, mutatis mutandis; and therefore I shall leave them to your own reflection.

Upon the whole; the only true and fair way of judging of the Gofpel is, to confider what is the true state of mankind in the world. If men are in a ftate of purity and innocence, no redemption is wanting, and the methods prescribed in the Gospel bear no relation to their circumstances: but, if men have every where finned, and come fhort of the glory of God, the law of nature cannot help them to those bleffings, which by the law of nature are forfeited; and there is manifeftly a neceffity to have recourse to other means to obtain falvation.

It may be faid, for it often is faid, that, whatever degree of light men have, it will make little difference in the cafe; fince an equitable judge will confider men and their merits in proportion to their abilities. Allowing this maxim to be true, yet it plainly goes no farther than this; that God will not punish men for not doing the things which their natural powers enabled them not to do. The argument cannot go farther: you cannot argue from the weakness or ftupidity of men, that they shall be rewarded. It may be a good reafon not to beat a man when he does amifs, because he is a

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fool, and knows not what he does; but it is no rea fon to honour or to advance him. And therefore a religion founded in this favourite principle cannot be faid to have the words of eternal life; for no plea, no claim for eternal life can poffibly be raised out of it.

Confidering therefore religion under the character given in the text, that it has the words of eternal life; we fhall have reafon to conclude with St. Pe ter, that our only hope is in God, and in him whom he hath fent, our bleffed Lord and Redeemer; and with him to fay, Lord, whither fhall we go? thou, thou only, haft the words of eternal life. And we believe and are fure that thou art that Chrift, the Son of the living God.

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Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermoft that come unto God by him, feeing he ever liveth to make interceffion for them.

WHEN we confider the great and wonderful

work of our redemption, though we cannot account for every step of it to our own reason and underftanding, yet neither can we imagine it to be the effect of mere will and arbitrary appointment, and void of all foundation in the reafon and propriety of things. All the works of God are works of wisdom; and, as far as our capacities give us leave to judge, we difcern evident marks of wisdom in them all, and discover a fitness and propriety in every thing with refpect to the end which it is intended to ferve or promote. If this be fo in every inftance in which we are able to make any judgment, it is a great prefumption that it is, and must be, fo in all other instances, which are too high and great to be viewed and measured by human understanding: and we have one pofitive argument that it is fo, arifing from the natural notion we have of God, and of his attributes of wisdom and juftice. It is impoffible to suppose fuch a being to do any thing by chance, or in com

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