God towards mankind, procured the pardon of fins, (a difpenfation in which the wifdom of the means is as confpicuous as the benevolence of the end, fince no other can be conceived fo conducive to the promotion of virtue:) that as man is redeemed by the Son of God, he is fanctified by the Spirit of God, if he avails himself of the means prescribed for obtaining that holy influence. It is not neceffary, however, to enumerate the doctrines of this clafs; they will readily occur to perfons at all converfant in the facred writings, and it is to such perfons only that the present argument can be addreffed; but it may be observed of them in general, that the authenticity of the volume in which they are delivered is fupported by the strongest teftimony, and by teftimony of that kind of which reafon is competent to judge; that they appear, confidered with respect to their final causes, replete with wisdom, and worthy of their

author;

L

author; that there is nothing in them contradictory to the cleareft notions men have of physical or of moral poffibility, nor inconfiftent with any other part of the plan of providence. On the contrary, the more accurately things are examined in this view, the more harmonious and beautiful does the fyftem appear; but when the precife nature of the union between the divine perfons concerned in our redemption, or the precife mode and degree in which the graces of the holy fpirit are communicated (and many inftances of the fame kind may be felected among the doctrines of natural, as well as of revealed religion;) is purfued through the labyrinth of metaphyfical subtlety, doubts arife, and cavils are objected; to which the true answer is, that other faculties than those which we poffefs at prefent are necessary to discover, and probably to conceive, an adequate folution of them. But the pride of human fagacity prompts

men

men to devife one, which being found infufficient, recourfe is had to another and another: what is thus inferted with felfcomplacency, is propagated with zeal; and hence have arifen no inconfiderable number of the herefies and fects which have difgraced christianity from the days of the Apoftles to the prefent time. The fame overweening opinion of their own difcernment leads men ultimately to discard as falfe, what is partially obfcure; while yet they allow, with refpect to the infinity of space and duration, that it is as impoffible to diveft the mind of the idea, as it is to comprehend or explain it.

THAT the love of truth fhould fometimes be facrificed to the love of ease, or the judgement be warped by vicious propenfities, is rather matter of concern than of furprise, fince the ftrength of these propenfities is evinced by daily experience:

but

but it is wonderful that, in pursuits with which the most important interefts are connected, reason should frequently be misled by the mere illufions of vanity. There are, however, perfons who value themselves on a certain refinement and fubtlety of genius, who affect in every subject of their inquiry to difcover what paffes unnoticed and unsuspected by men of groffer apprehensions; or to find occafion of doubt and perplexity where a plain understanding finds none. The great effential principles of religion, as might be expected in a fyftem defigned to conduct all mankind to falvation, are fo revealed as not to be easily misunderstood: but the perfons in queftion would think it a difparagement to their fagacity, were they to fee any thing in the fame light in which it appears to others. Allegorical, figurative, myftical interpretations are devifed; and, groundlefs as they are, they are fure to attract admirers and followers;

for

for there is a vanity fo humble as to give itself credit for adopting those fingularities which it has not ingenuity to invent.

Ir was far from the intention of the Apostle, it is far from the intention of this difcourfe, to difcourage the detection of real errors, or to diffuade men from renouncing them. But for the light diffufed by the revival of learning, and the spirit of the first reformers, men would have remained under the delufions of Romifh fuperftition, and the bondage of Papal tyranny; and, though Christianity was freed at that period from the groffer corruptions with which ignorance and ambition had contributed to debafe it, it is readily acknowledged that there still may be paffages of fcripture which are misapprehended, and that the beft religious establishments partake of that imperfection to which every thing human is liable. To rectify fuch mifapprehenfions is

the