forrow, hope in futurity; thus do we find life and more abundantly with him. Thus does he free us from every kind of mifery, and lead us to the highest felicity whereof we are capable. Oh let us, then, rejoice in him and his advent into the world and his great business on earth; let us adhere firmly to him, and refign ourselves intirely to his guidance and direction! Replete with affection and gratitude, let us draw from the fources of knowledge, of wifdom, of virtue, which he has opened to us. They are no lefs pure than inexhaustible. "He that drinketh of

this water fhall not thirst for ever." He that draws from these fources, will draw joy and felicity, both for the present and the future life. Oh may we all do fo, and thus affuage our thirst after truth and certainty, after peace of mind, perfection and felicity!

Advent-funday, 1781.

SERMON XVIII.

The Value of Christianity, in regard of the General Advantage it has procured to Mankind, and still procures.

O

GOD, our most loving and beneficent father, what a joyful falutary event calls us this day into thy prefence! Of what benefits, of what advantages, of what bleffings and comforts of the prefent and of the future life does it not remind us! Yes, the commemoration of the nativity of Jefus in the world, and his great work on earth, is the commemoration of our deliverance and our felicity; the commemoration of the happiest revolution that ever took place in the state of mankind in general, and alfo in our's! Yes, that light which first shone upon the world at the rifing of the fun of righteoufnefs, lightens and rejoices even us! The comfort and the hope which this great benefactor by his doctrine diffused among mortals refresh and refstore

even us! Even among us has virtue acquired numerous votaries by this its grand promoter! Yes, by him we enjoy as men and as chriftians, innumerable advantages of which otherwise we should be destitute, and of which we could not be deftitute without being wretched! Now we know thee, our Creator and Father; we know thy gracious, thy Compaffionate difpofitions towards mankind; we know the way that leads to thee and to fupreme felicity. Now we need not wander in the dark mazes of fuperftition or doubt, but may fulfil our deftination on strait and luminous paths. Now we are deficient neither in motive nor ability to do good, and by doing good to attain to the perfection of which thou haft made us capable. Now we have grounds enough for tranquillizing ourselves in life and in death. Oh happy we, that thou haft fo highly favoured us in thy fon Jefus, that thou haft blessed us through him with fuch various and ineftimable benefits! Thanks, heartfelt eternal thanks be to thee, the Gracious, the Merciful, for this proof of thy grace and love! How far does it not exceed all our deferts, all our expectations! How happy are we not thereby become, and how much happier may we not still be! Ah let us never forget it; let none of us receive thy grace in vain; let us rather feel the whole worth of the benefits which thy goodness has conferred upon us; let us study to understand their magnitude, their intimate connection with our happiness ever more and more by our own experi

ence, and so constantly to use them, as is conforms able to thy will and our falvation. Blefs to that end the meditations we are now about to enter on concerning the things that relate to our peace, and let them fill us with pious gratitude and joy. All this we implore of thee in the name of thy fon our faviour, and in full confidence addrefs thee farther in his words: Our father, &c.

2 COR. V. 17.

Old things are past away; behold, all things are become new.

WE all rejoice in the advantages accruing to us

from the appearance of Jefus among men, and his great work upon earth. Why otherwise are we wont to celebrate the festival of his birth; why hail this day more gladly than others? Our joy is undoubtedly very proper and becoming; it refts upon the most folid foundations, on events fuperlatively defireable and joyful. But is our joy likewise rational? Do we know, do we rightly confider what a bleffed influence chriftianity has had and still has on our welfare, and in general on the welfare of mankind; and is this the reason that the

con

confideration of the birth of Jefus, the founder of christianity, is so joyful to us?—I fhall endeavour, my pious hearers, to advance this knowledge, and promote these reflections in you, by my prefent dif course, and thus render more rational and lively the joy the return of this festival excites. We are na turally furnished with an occafion hereto by the words of our text. "Old things are paft away," says the apostle," behold, all things are become new." Judaifm, would he fay, judaism, with all its burdenfome ordinances and ceremonies, is fuperfeded by the chriftian doctrine; the wall of fepara tion between the jews and heathens is broken down; christianity has produced a great and happy revolution in the fentiments, in the manners, in the religion and worship, in the whole ftate of mankind; it has contributed much to the advancement of their perfection and happiness. Let us, therefore, from these words, confider the general advantage that christianity has procured to the human race in general, and still procures; advantages which even they who deny or doubt of the divine origin of the christian doctrines, must allow to be highly valuable and important.

We may reduce thefe advantages to four chief heads. The firft concerns knowledge; the fecond virtue; the third peace of mind; and the fourth, the outward welfare of mankind.

First, the culture of the human mind and the knowledge of truth in general, has been improved

VOL. I.

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and