pliance to mere will and humour. No: every act of God is the act of infinite wisdom, and is founded in the neceffary reafon and propriety of things: and it is as true of the works of grace, as it is of the works of nature, that in wisdom he has ordained them all.

It is one thing not to be able to difcern the reafons of providence, and another to fuppofe there is no reason in them. The reafons, that made it either neceffary or proper for Chrift to die for the fins of mankind, may be removed out of our fight: but to suppose that Chrift really did die for the fins of the world, and yet that there was no reason or propriety in his fo doing, is to found revealed religion upon a principle deftructive of natural religion; for no religion can subfift, with an opinion that God is a being capable of acting without reafon.

The publication of the Gospel has made an alteration in the fcheme of religion, by revealing to us the Son of God, whom God hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; who is the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his perfon; who upholdeth all things by the word of his power, Heb. i. 2, 3.

The knowledge of the Son of God, of his power and dominion in the creating and upholding all things, became neceffary, as the foundation of the faith required to be placed in him as our Redeemer. The character of Redeemer would be but ill fupported by any person who had not power equal to the great undertaking. The New Teftament doctrines therefore, relating to the dignity and authority of

Jefus Chrift, are relative to his office of Redeemer ; and therefore there was no explicit declaration of them either before or under the law of Mofes.

Natural religion leads us by certain conclufions to the acknowledgment of one fupreme intelligent Being, the author and creator of all things, and can by no reasoning whatever discover any other being concerned in the making, framing, or governing the world: and therefore all the hopes and fears, in a word, all the religious acts of man, in the state of natural religion, are neceffarily and immediately relative to this one fupreme Being. But put the cafe, that natural religion could poffibly discover that this one fupreme Being had an eternal Son, to whom he had communicated all power and authority, who was the immediate creator, governor, and judge of mankind; I befeech you to confider, whether, upon this fuppofition, there would not neceffarily arise an alteration in natural religion; whether the hopes and fears, and all other religious acts of mankind, would not relate immediately to this their immediate Creator, Governor, and Judge. Can it be reasonably supposed, that we were created by the Son of God, that we are now under his government, and shall be finally under his judgment; and at the fame time maintained, that no fervice, obedience, or regard is due to him from us his creatures and fubjects? If this cannot be maintained confiftently with this fuppofition, the conclufion will be, that the religion of a Chriftian is a natural and reasonable service, arifing from the relation between Christ and mankind, which the Gofpel has revealed and made known to the world.

When we confider what expectations we have from our Redeemer, and what great promises he has made to us in his Gospel, we cannot poffibly avoid inquiring who this perfon is: when we hear his promife to be always prefent with us to the end of the world, to fupport us under all our difficulties, it is but a reasonable demand to ask by what authority he does these things: and when we are told that he liveth for ever, and is the Lord of life and of glory, there is no room to doubt of his being able to fave us. St. Paul tells us, that the Lord Jefus Chrift Shall change our vile bodies, that they may be fashioned like unto his glorious body. A great expectation this! but confider what the reasonable foundation of this expectation is: St. Paul tells us, it is the energy of power with which Chrift is endued, whereby he is able even to fubdue all things to himself. Our Saviour puts this article upon the fame foot: hear his declaration; Verily, verily, I fay unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God; and they that hear fhall live. In the next verse the reafon follows; For as the Father hath life in himself, fo hath he given to the Son to have life in himself, John v. 25, 26. If the Son has life in himself, even as the Father has life in himfelf; if he is really endued with power to which all mature fubmits and obeys, a power fufficient for the creation of the world at firft, and for the preservation ever fince; we have reason to conclude, that he is now as able to restore life, as he was at first to give it; to call men from the grave into being, as well as to call them out of nothing at the firft creation.

The relation of Chrift to mankind as creator and governor confidered, the work of redemption could not properly have been undertaken by any other hand: for, if Chrift was the immediate creator and governor of the world, what reafon can you imagine why God fhould resume this authority out of the hands of his Son, or fet up another to have dominion and authority over any part of the creation, which by natural right belonged to him, who made all things? Were we to confider one person as our Creator, and another as our Redeemer, it would be extremely to the diminution of the honour and regard due to the Creator, inasmuch as the bleffing of redemption would greatly outweigh the benefit of creation; and it would be natural to us to prefer the love that delivered us from the evils and miferies of the world, to that which placed us in them. In the daily service of our church we praise God for creating and preserving us, but above all for his ineftimable love in the redemption; which is very confiftent with respect to one great benefactor, who both made us and redeemed us: but, had any other hand redeemed us, fuch expreffion of gratitude to him would have reflected difhonour upon the Creator.

St. Paul tells us expressly, that Chrift is head of the church; a title founded in the right of redemption, that in all things he might have the preeminence; that, as he was the head of all creatures in virtue of having created them, fo he might be the head of the church, the elect people of God, in virtue of having redeemed them: for it pleafed the Father, that in him should all fulness dwell; that is,

that Chrift should be all in all, the head of the fe cond as well as of the firft creation; Coloff. i. 19. according to St. Paul's reasoning here, if any other perfon had redeemed the world, or if the world had been redeemed without Chrift, he would not have had the preeminence in all things; which yet he had before fin came into the world; and, confequently, the fin of the world would have been the diminution of the headship and power of Chrift. Upon these principles of the Gospel revelation we may difcern fome propriety in Chrift's coming to redeem the world: the work was fuch, that no perfon of less power could undertake it; and his relation to the world was fuch, as made it fit and proper to commit the work to him.

The redemption of mankind is a work which in the event seems to concern men only: but, confidered as a vindication of the juftice and goodness of God towards his creatures, it is a work expofed to the confideration of every intelligent being in the univerfe. Whether they may be supposed to inquire into God's dealings with the children of men, we may judge by ourselves. It is little we know of the fall of angels; yet how has that employed human curiofity! for every man confiders himself as having an intereft in the juftice and equity of that fupreme Being, under whose government he lives, and by whose judgment he must finally stand or fall, If we doubt whether the fuperior orders of beings have the like inclination, St. Peter will tell us, that the fufferings of Chrift, and the glory that should follow -are things the angels defire to look into, 1 Pet. i. 11, 12. And indeed the method of God's dealing