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braced by good men. Could it be proved, that the disbelief of all future punishment were consistent with moral goodness, the pernicious influence of that error on society, on personal religion and consequently on the eternal state of man, would not thereby be rendered in any measure, questionable.

It is not to be doubted, that there were good men in the church of Galatia; perhaps the members were generally of that description yet that church embraced errors, which St. Paul labored with great zeal to correct; conceiving that the tendency of these errors was to subvert the Christian religion.

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That portion of Scripture, from which we have been discoursing, affords a general specimen of that variety of feelings, with which the Gospel is regarded. While Paul was hazarding his life for its propagation, the Jews were no less zealous for its suppression, and Festus cared for neither. His indifference if continued was as certainly ruinous, as their hostility. It is not enough, that you do not oppose the great principles of Christianity; it is not enough that you hear them patiently; you must likewise feel their transforming power. When he therefore, who is set over you, as a watchman and spiritual' guide, displays and enforces the truths of our religion, do not with fastidiousness or indifference, denominate these speculative opinions, which whether true or false, can be of no serious moment. not speak of the doctrines of Jesus Christ, with that heedless contempt, which the governor of Judea manifested on the subject of his resurrection. The Son of God and his inspired messengers were surely the best judges not only of the truth of doctrines, but of their utility. The human character has not since the era of their ministry, suffered any alteration. Your souls will be condemned by the same law, or saved by the same gospel, which they proclaimed. You must be sanctified by the same divine power, by which, under their preaching, thousands were raised to newness of life. The vast crowds both of their admirers and enemies have, for many centuries, been slumbering in the dust. They know, by long experience, the truth or falsehood of Christian doctrines. To them it is a matter of no uncer

tainty, whether the preaching of Christ and him crucified were justly an object of reverence or scorn. It is not now, even by Festus, considered a trivial question, whether Jesus, whom Paul preached, were indeed raised from the dead.

My brethren, the current of time is not arrested. It has borne all preceding generations into the ocean of eternity. You are now passing down on its broad surface, and will soon be mingled with the ancient dead. That religion which you now contemplate on earth, you will soon contemplate in the world of spirits; nor will you do it either with credulity or indifference.

We have been speaking of those, who, for almost two thousand years, have been suffering or enjoying a retribution. Ah, what pains must those have endured! what pleasures must these have felt! But to an immortal soul, this is scarce a beginning. When we shall have spent as many centuries in a retribution, undiminished eternity will still remain.

In view of these objects study the divine oracles and attend on the preaching of him, who is set over you in the Lord; and remember, that if he discharge, with religious integrity, the duties of a Christian pastor, he will be "a sweet savor of Christ, both in them, who are saved, and in them, who perish. To the one, he will be a savor of life unto life, and to the other he will be a savor of death unto death."

And now, brethren, we commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified, through Jesus Christ; to, whom be glory forever and ever.

AMEN.

SERMON V.

GOD'S WAYS EQUAL.

EZEKIEL 18: 25.-Yet ye say, The way of the Lord is not equal. Hear now, O house of Israel; is not my way equal? Are not your ways unequal?

THAT particular part of divine conduct here referred to as matter of complaint, was, That the fathers had eaten sour grapes, and that the children's teeth were set on edge; or, in other words, that the children bore the iniquity of their fathers.

The charge is, in this chapter, absolutely denied. It is expressly, and in strong terms, declared, that the son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, nor the father bear the iniquity of the son; but that the soul that sinneth, it shall die.

Before we proceed to that which is the main subject of this discourse, we shall say a few words concerning the charge which the Jews brought against their Maker; and the manner in which their Maker repels it.

Ezekiel prophesied during the Babylonish captivity. The Jews complained, that their grievous suffering came upon them for the sins of their fathers, and that it was unjust that they should bear their fathers' iniquity. In strict propriety, a child can be said to bear the iniquity of his father, only, when he suffers that on account of his father's sin, which his own sins do not deserve. In the sense we have now given, children never bear the iniquities of their fathers. They never suffer more than it would be just for them to suffer, were all relation between them and their parents dissolved. There is a lower, and less proper sense, in which children may be said to bear the iniquity of their

fathers; I mean, when they suffer that which they justly deserve; but which, however, they would not suffer, were it not for the crimes of their parents. That children do, in this sense, bear the iniquity of their fathers; that persons do, in this sense, bear the iniquity of their neighbors and friends, is undeniable. If a parent, by his intemperance and profligacy, involve himself in debt, he may bring distress on his descendants. They suffer, though not more than they deserve, (for no worldly sufferings equal the desert of sin), yet more than they would suffer, were it not for their parent's profligacy. So a parent may said to bear the iniquity of his son, when, by being surety for the latter, he involves himself. One neighbor may be said to bear the sins of another, when, through the ill conduct of this other, contention or disgrace is brought on a whole neighborhood. The Jews, who were led captive to Babylon, were deserving of their captivity; yet, it is very possible that this calamity would not have come upon them, had not their fathers sinned, as well as they. In this latter sense it is true, that God visits the iniquity of the parents on the children, to the third and fourth generation of them that hate him. But in the former sense, it is true that the child shall not bear the iniquity of the father, nor the father bear the iniquity of the child; but the soul that sinneth, it shall die. It appears, then, that in this instance, God's ways are equal and liable to no charge of injustice.

But this is not the only subject on which divine justice has been impeached; nor are the Jews the only people, who have brought such a charge. It is no uncommon thing for men to represent the divine government as unreasonable and severe. This subject, considered in a general view claims our chief attention in the present discourse; in which the following propositions will be noticed:

1. There is, indeed, a difference between the character of God, and the character of man.

2. God requires that of man which the latter is disinclined to yield.

3. This difference between man and his Maker, must be re

moved by an alteration, either on one side, or the other, for two cannot walk together, except they be agreed.

After attending to which, we shall inquire whether the divine character and law, can admit any change for the better.

1. There is a difference between the character of God, and the character of man.

The former has never had a disposition towards any of his creatures, or on any occasion, for which he could reproach himself; nor one for which his creatures could reproach him. He has ever sought the good of the universe, by means which are holy, just, and honorable. He never hates what is not truly and intrinsically odious; he never approves what is not indeed amiable. He never adopts any measure, for which wise and holy beings would not reverence and love him, were they acquainted with all the reasons, by which he is influenced: Far be it from God, that he should do iniquity, and from the Almighty, that he should pervert judgment. He is of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on iniquity but with displeasure. The heavens are not clean in his sight. Is this the character of man? Is it naturally his principal object to obtain those ends, and those only, which ought to be obtained? Does he love nothing, but what he ought to love? Does he hate nothing, but what is intrinsically wrong? Does he always seek good ends by the best means? Has he right dispositions towards his Maker, and towards his fellows? Is man of purer eyes than to behold iniquity? Does he never look on sin, but with abhorrence? The Scriptures, in a great variety of places, settle this point. They speak of man, as vile and abominable; as drinking in iniquity like water. They speak of the heart of man as deceitful and desperately wicked; they tell us that the imagination of man is evil from his youth. They speak of the world as lying in wickedness. To the truth of these declarations, experience and observation bear witness.

2. It naturally follows as the character of God is different from that of man, that he will require of man, what the latter is disinclined to yield. If the laws of God accord with his

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