ther the will nor the power to establish any other in its stead. All religions, except theirs, were political; all political religions except the Jewish, were human contrivances for the temporal benefit of particular states and kingdoms, and had no other object in view but worldly happiness. The apostles, in propagating their religion, had no other object in view but happiness on the other side of death to men of all nations.— And this object they steadily pursued in every state or kingdom where they came, without giving any other cause of umbrage to those of the established religion, than the impression made on the minds of individuals of different classes by the simple force of the truth of their doctrine; which was destitute of all allurements to the passions of men, and had no tendency to spirit up any worldly faction against either the established church or the state. They preached and practised that scheme of the most universal benevolence, which drew upon them, and will always draw upon their followers, the contempt and hatred of all sorts of men. And why should their followers be greatly disturbed, whatever party prevail or rule the fashion in this world? Is it not enough for them if they shall reign in the next?

They proposed no worldly happiness, public or private, to their followers; they displayed none of those ingredients which compose the delicious philter which reigning Christianity holds forth in her golden cup, and which the Apocalypse calls the wine of her fornication with the kings of the earth; whereby she so allures and intoxicates the nations, that it is almost to as little purpose to mention the ancient doctrine of the kingdom of heaven, even in the hearing of our most orthodox Christians, as it would be to deliver a lecture concerning sobriety in the midst of a company inflamed with wine. The principles of the connection betwixt church and state, having a very natural hold of every avenue to their hearts, are far dearer to them than any thing the kingdom of heaven contains. They can be in raptures with dreams about national reformation; they can even indulge a melancholy kind of pleasure, in bewailing a sinful land and degenerate age, because it gratifies their religious pride to appear in the character of mediators and intercessors for people whom they imagine to be much worse than themselves. But as for the ancient doctrine of the connection between Christianity and the cross, it might do very well in the infancy of the church, when times were bad; they know better things. And, indeed, were I not writing to one who holds the sacred text for the initial figure

in all his computations, I might have spared myself the trouble of touching upon this subject.

It may be noted here as a proof of what is above said, that it has been imagined, in opposition to all history and daily observation, that the world has been much improved in goodness by means of Christianity;-that the spirit of that religion has been nationally diffused into the lives and manners of the people in the countries where it has been established. The state of the world when Christ came, has been considered, and the epidemical vices displayed: and it has been imagined, that Jesus Christ, by condemning those vices, abolished the practice of them; and by recommending the opposite virtues, infused the spirit of them into nations. There had been no great marvel in one's dreaming so, nor yet in his telling his dream in the most open manner, even from the pulpit ;* but that such a dream should not only be gravely received by the public for truth, but even admired, I dare say you will readily agree with me, cannot be accounted for on any other principles than those already mentioned.

BUT, perhaps, when we value ourselves on our religious establishment, the stress of our glorying does not lie so much in our legal advantages, nor in the society formed upon them, as in the soundness of our creed, composed by our venerable ancestors, and daily receiving additional weight from the many eminent personages who have supported it with distinguished learning and abilities. If this be the case, methinks the ground of our glorying would be still more solid, should we return again into the bosom of the Roman church, which we are sure was once founded on the foundation of the apostles and prophets; whereas the utmost that can be said of the other establishment now in being, is, that it was founded on a creed extracted from them by fallible men, whose skill and fidelity are liable to be questioned. Moreover, we have still extant a true and faithful copy of the articles of the Roman church's creed in Paul's epistle to them, which was once cordially believed and obeyed, and it is to this day acknowledged for a divine-inspired wri

* See a sermon, entitled, The situation of the world at the time of Christ's appearance, and its connection with the success of his religion, considered; reviewed with applause, both at London, and at Edinburgh, where it was preached, January 6, 1755. At the last mentioned place it was publicly upheld, perhaps justly enough, as a proper specimen, showing how much the art of preaching has of late been improved in Scotland.

ing by them and though the true import thereof be now much mistaken and almost forgotten among them; yet such of us as loved Paul's doctrine best, might still value ourselves on being the truest members of the best founded church in the world, as cleaving closest to its original fundamental articles.

Methinks, if we judge it an amiable thing in others, we ought also ourselves, when writing on Christianity, to refrain from the 66 low singularities of a party,' "* and confine ourselves to the public authentic maxims of the kingdom of heaven. For, to turn our eyes again toward Rome, were there only two men there holding by the genuine sense of Paul's epistle, these, in the eyes of the apostles would be considered as the only representatives of the ancient Roman church, as the only confessors of the Catholic faith; and all the rest, as taken up with low singularities, unprofitable, and vain, however firmly established and highly dignified on the earth.

Moreover, it ought to be remembered, that very many of the admirers of the doctrine of Mess. Boston and Erskine, are highly offended at the English hierarchy and worship, and not i few of them sworn enemies thereto; and, therefore, no unnecessary stumbling-block should be laid in their way, to scare them at the doctrine we would commend to their attention; especially when we ourselves are persuaded, that "faith and love inspirit the breast, and regulate the progress of each private Christian. These unite the whole congregation of the faithful to God and one another," whereas, all other bonds of union, however judiciously framed by men, have always served to divide and alienate them from one another.

It ought also to be considered, that, on account of these singularities, which are indeed extremely low, even as earth is in respect of heaven, the way of truth has been much evil spoken of, and its native evidence greatly obscured. The Apostle Peter, after setting before us the evidence of the truth we have been considering, plainly prophecies, that a handle would be given for this evil speaking by self-seeking Christian teachers, and the multitudes following them. The great majority of our champions against infidelity, have undertaken the defence of national Christianity, and have magnified the gospel as a scheme, nobly adapted for promoting national happiness; by which means they have had both the apostles and the freethinkers for their antagonists at once, an opposition by

* Meditations, vol. 1, p. 143. + Meditations, vol. 2, p. 232.

savey

far too formidable for any set of men to cope with, now that the magistrate suffers no means of deciding such disputes but by the pen. Many standing in awe of the philosophers, have been ashamed of every thing in the gospel offensive to them, and so have endeavoured to recommend Christianity to them, as the completest system, or an improvement of their maxims. They have studied to soften, or dissemble every thing about it, that they imagined could have given the least disgust to the divine Plato: yet some philosophers are so fancy as to refuse it after all. In short, our Christian leaders have taken pains to remove from the gospel every thing that anciently proved a stumbling-block to the Jew, or foolishness to the Greek and still they complain of the decay of true Christianity. However, both they who speak evil of the way of truth, and they who furnish the occasion, are, though far from intending so, jointly conspiring to fulfil the prophecies of the New Testament, and to strengthen the evidence of the truth in the minds of them who believe it, even as all parties amongst the Jews, in their joint opposition to Jesus, conspired to fulfil the prophecies of the Old Testament concerning him, and to assure his disciples that he was the Christ.

I might now proceed to consider, how on the holy mount, or in Jesus Christ glorified, appeared the meaning of the institution of the ancient oracle, the anointing of kings, priests, and prophets, with oil, which made the face to shine, &c., whence many useful observations might arise to us in confirmation of the more ancient Scriptures, and serving to illustrate the difference betwixt primitive and modern Christianity: but to take in all the views which are concentred in this grand event, would require general survey of the whole Scriptures. the great and leading design of which is, to set before us the sufferings of Christ issuing in his glory.

If we take our station on the holy mount, we have a prospect backward to the beginning of time, and forward to the end thereof, when the mystery of God shall be finished, and all old things give place to the new heavens and the new earth, containing the new Jerusalem, which shall be illuminated by the glory of God shining in the face of Jesus Christ; when the whole company of them who were redeemed from among men, and chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, shall fully experience what meaneth grace reigning through righteousness unto eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

METHINKS it is time for us to acknowledge, that, with great propriety, and on the solidest grounds, the Apostle Pe

ter on this occasion asserts, that the prophetic word, or all that the prophets had written, had now received additional confirmation. For thus I presume a young scholar behooved to give the literal version of his words:

Και εχομεν βιβκιωτερον τον προφητικον λόγον.

And we have more firm the prophetic word."

It was no small recommendation of the truth of the apostolic testimony, concerning Jesus being the Christ, that it confirmed and established the writings of the ancient prophets. The prophetic word, after all the evidence it formerly had of coming from God, was to be verified, and so to receive additional confirmation by its accomplishment. Aside from its accomplishment in Jesus, we cannot find therein any fixed sense or unity of design; but when we see all its lines meeting in Jesus, like the rays of the sun collected in a focus, there arises thence the brightest and strongest evidence of the truth of what the apostles witnessed, concerning the power and coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. Thus the old and new revelation tallying exactly together in such a number and variety of circumstances, as utterly exclude all suspicion of human contrivance, serve mutually to support and strengthen each other, and to establish beyond all doubt that great truth, which alone can support the heart of man in his last agonies.

The apostles were traduced as forsaking Moses and the prophets; but they could with a good grace assert, that they held their writings by a firmer handle, and so had a greater reverence for them than any of their adversaries. Accordingly Peter commends, and enforces the attention Christians were then giving to the prophetic word, and so furnishes the true key of interpretation to all Christians to the end of the world, when he says, they did well giving heed to it, as unto a light shining in a dark place, until the day should dawn, and the day-star arise in their hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man; but holy men of God spake, moved by the Holy Ghost. But there were false prophets also among the people, even as

*Is it not surprising to reflect how much has been written by learned disputants on this text, laboriously contending with each other, in what sense the prophetic word might be said to be more sure than the most solemn and august revelation that ever was delivered from God to men, namely, that on the holy mount! But there are few who incline to observe the import of this grand revelation.