Supposing now, that the man, so often already mentioned as cured by Christ of his blindness, should have staggered the incredulity of some rational Jew, by constantly maintaining the reality of the miracle wrought on him; and by the just and powerful reasonings from thence, which we find he made use of immediately after the fact; and supposing the Jew thus wavering, should hear a large body of men, in the same peremptory manner attesting the other miracles, particularly the resurrection of Christ; should see them perform themselves a number of miracles, as much above, or contrary to nature; and should see them cheerfully offer themselves to the most tormenting sorts of death, rather than renounce their testimony, or even bury it in silence, must he not give up his reason, or yield his assent?

Hence, on the whole, it is plain that the faith of the first Christians was built on self-evidence, or the testimony of their senses, for they saw the miracles with their eyes; and heard the doctrines with their ears, which together constitute the evidence and matter of Christian faith. We also have the testimony of our senses for the reality of a written record, wherein those miracles and doctrines are attested. So far our faith hath, all along, stood on a foundation furnished by primary and incontestible truths.

The secondary or demonstrative truths deduced from those primary or self-evident axioms, at first did, do now, and for ever will, lend it all their lights. The unanswerable reasonings of him who was cured of his blindness, are to the full as cogent now as ever, if the record is admitted as true and genuine.

That it is both, is evident from its having been made on the spot where, and at the time when, the miracles were wrought, and the doctrines delivered, and universally examined by those living witnesses who could have easily detected its falsity, had it been unfaithfully drawn up; and would as surely have exposed that falsity if detected; for why should they have died for a record which they knew to be false?

That the record once made, was preserved in its original purity, immaterial and unavoidable variations notwithstanding, is demonstrable, first, from the sacredness of the re

cord itself, which could not be corrupted without the most impious sacrilege; secondly, from the infinity of copies and translations, continually and carefully perused by all the churches; and thirdly, but more especially, from the perpetual appeals to this record, made in all ages, by the different sects of Christians, each intensely watchful over all the rest, and over all their copies or translations, and ever recalling them, in case of material deviations, to a collation with the original.

Could such reasonings as these be fairly offered for the divinity of a religion, only not absurd, superstitious, or hurtful in its nature and tendency, they must prove satisfactory, or reason itself must be given up. But when they are brought in their full force for a religious system, as evidently and confessedly divine in the wisdom, utility, nay, necessity of its doctrines and ordinances, as it is here proved to be in its miraculous attestations, how is it possible for wickedness itself, though abetted by prejudice, to withstand their force? Could philosophy with her utmost efforts, have found out a system, capable, in any tolerable degree, of clearing up the doubts, rectifying the corruptions, or ensuring the happiness of mankind, though vouched by no divine interpositions, a slight pretence for resting in that philosophy might with some colour have been set up. But when it is found, as it really is, that the true wisdom can be obtained, the true righteousness promoted, and the true, the temporal and eternal happiness of all men established, on the principles of Christian faith alone; and farther, that God hath incontestibly proved these principles, as is really the case, to be his own immediate dictates, by his own immediate miraculous interpositions; what room is left for infidelity? None in reason; none any where, but in wilful blindness and wickedness. A report made by innumerable witnesses, sealed with their blood, and established on unanswerable demonstrations, deduced from indisputable axioms, is evidence, or there is no such thing among mankind. The matter of our faith in the gospel, no less, I will be bold to say, even more, than in the assassination of Cæsar is matter of certainty; and so are our hopes founded on that faith. The expression therefore, sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life,' is more strictly pro

per and logical, than hath been commonly imagined. We must either believe, or do violence to our own reason, which tells us, that, if there is any such thing as truth, it must be found in a religion, so very agreeable to reason, so absolutely necessary to the virtue and happiness of mankind, and so vouched as a record of facts, that all history must be false, all countries, persons, transactions, which have not fallen immediately under the cognizance of our senses, must have no being. We must therefore either be Christians, or divest ourselves of reason, and be brutes. We must believe, or renounce, the immortality of our souls. We must be Christians, or nothing.

It is true, there are many things delivered to our faith in the record mentioned, which are not only miraculous, but highly mysterious also. This, however, is no reason why they should be thought impossible, or even improbable, by a mind wholly mysterious to itself, clothed in a body, and surrounded with a world, altogether mysterious and miraculous, both in their origin and formation. Infidelity, in the face of such evidence as hath been here sketched out, is no less mysterious, and would seem as miraculous, were it not universally known, that men have a power of turning away their attention from evidence, when they do not relish either it or its consequences; that weak arguments are sufficient to make a man judge as he is previously inclined to do; and that the strongest, cannot bring his reluctant understanding to a determination in spight of him.

Having said what time would allow on the evidence of Christian faith, as purely rational, human, and historical; I shall now proceed to take a short view of that faith as efficacious and divine, that you may understand, how, 'from faith to faith the righteousness of God is revealed in the gospel.'

This method, pointed out by the text, appeared highly proper to me, because we must freely believe as men and rational creatures, whose faith God will not force, ere we can believe as Christians. The spirit will not inspire that which it is the peculiar office of right reason to inculcate ; but will improve, by grace, that which we have already acquired in a due use of the natural faculties, and revealed instructions afforded us.

So far as our faith in Christ is founded on rational evidence only, it is merely human and historical. So far as its assent is rendered strong and powerful in the understanding by the evidence of the spirit, and impressed effectually on the heart and will by the grace of God, it is called a lively, operative, saving, or divine faith, which never takes place in any man, before the human or historical faith hath laid a foundation for it. Christianity, or the faith of Christians, considered as the basis, is founded on reason only; but Christianity, considered as the superstructure, is not founded on argument, but on the grace of God. The affecting to overlook this distinction, gave occasion to one of the shrewdest pieces of sophistry ever levelled against our religion.

That this distinction is neither notional nor chimerical, appears plainly from experience, which supplies us with frequent instances of men, equally and thoroughly satisfied, on rational grounds, with the arguments for Christian faith, who nevertheless differ widely in their lives and conversations; and of others, who differ almost as much in their degrees of assent, though all assenting on the same arguments, and equally strangers to doubting. St. James was well aware of all this distinction, when he mentioned the faith of devils, who probably believe on as rational and convincing evidence of a judgment to come, as the immediate disciples of our Saviour did; yet only fear and tremble in consequence of their faith, because their forced unsanctified faith hath no effect on their wills, nor of course on their morals.

It is one thing barely to believe, and another to believe in a lively manner. Reason alone can guide us to the former; God's Holy Spirit only can lead us up to the latter. In like manner, there is a wide difference between speculatively believing with the understanding only, and practically believing with that and the heart also. This we owe to the grace of God, that to a due use of our rational faculties. He who believes historically as a rational creature, hath entered the porch of faith; but cannot pass into the temple, nor warm himself at the altar, without believing with all his heart, without feeling his will and affections engaged. So infinitely sweet are the promises, so infinitely dreadful the

menaces, whereon the eye of faith is fixed, that a mere historical believer appears a phenomenon of the most amazing kind, when nothing but faith and reason are considered. But experience presents us with so many instances of such believers, as reduce this phenomenon to a common occurrence, and shew, that more than human aid is required to open a passage between the head and heart, for the descent and operation of conviction.

To every one thus believing, such is the goodness of God, this aid is afforded; but many, such is the perverseness of human nature, and such the power of our enemy, barricade that passage against the Holy Spirit, who will not force his way.

In these, faith degenerates into fear; but rises and improves into hope in those, who, not satisfied, that their heads should pull one way, and their hearts another, are determined to go, with the whole man, in the way of salvation; and therefore pursuing the path of their own rational convictions, and heartily concurring with the great assistant, they give themselves up to meditation, devotion, mortification, and labour, which nothing can force them to intermit, till their hearts and wills are as warmly attached to the gospel of Christ, as their understandings are clearly convinced of its truths. The gospel, as a system, wherein the principles of faith and virtue are essentially incorporated, having taken an entire possession of these men, 'the righteousness of God is revealed, from faith to faith,' in the holiness and goodness of their lives, which give evident proofs of a power more than human.

Having already, I fear, exhausted the time usually given to discourses of this kind, in laying before you the nature, evidence, and progress of Christian faith, I shall conclude with exhibiting a small sample of its fruits.

St. Paul, in a catalogue of these, calls faith, 'the substance or support of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.' His meaning is, that Christian faith, once received and perfected in the mind of a believer, serves as a principle or axiom for the establishment of many other comfortable truths, which can no otherwise be discovered or proved; such, for instance, among others, as these, that 'through faith we obtain remission of sins,' peace with God,