But,

life, of enjoying the pleasures, or being improved by the refinements of science. And even when both genius and condition concur to afford the most desirable advantages, what time and toil of application are requisite to attain even a few ideas, and these too within the range of visible things. as to the sublime truths of the Gospel, the plain peasant, the mechanic, the day-laborer, and the slave, without the toil of reasoning, and the perplexity of conjecture, and in the midst of his daily occupation, conceives of them, with clearness and delight, and feels them at once the motives to his duty, and the source of his consolation.

II. It is by the Gospel or revelation alone, that we are furnished with an authentic and satisfactory account of the first state of human nature, by what means it became depraved, and what is the true source of all the errors and miseries of mankind.

Reason and philosophy have always in vain, attempted to answer these enquiries. The conjectures of the most sensible of the heathen moralists concerning them, were always weak and perplexed, and often exceedingly absurd.

But, in a few passages, in the book of Genesis, Moses hath given us as full and satisfactory an account of these subjects, as is necessary to be known-To the principal circumstance of which, I mean Adam's representation of his posterity, and

the effects of his first transgression on the whole human race, the Apostle Paul hath given his explicit testimony, in the 5th chapter of the Epistle to the Romans. This account it is at present unnecessary to repeat. It need only to be remarked, that to the first transgression, voluntarily made, against a plain and solemn prohibition of God, the Scripture hath ascribed the errors of the understanding, the disorder of the passions, and all the varied miseries that have fallen upon the human race-so evil and bitter a thing is it to forsake God. The importance of this account in the sacred history, amounts to this---that it clears the divine character of all suspicion of a defect in goodness or justice, and fixes the cause of all the evils of human life, in the voluntary depravity of the human heart; it tends to humble man as the author of his own misery, and of all the disorders of the world-and it illustrates the exceeding goodness of God, in providing a method of recovery from sin, and all the lamentable effects it hath produced in the visible creation.

Till these things be certainly known, man can have no just ideas of himself; can find no certain relief from his present sufferings; nor form suitable apprehensions of that God with whom he has to do All is perplexity and conjecture: but the moment he understands the account, which revelation hath given him of these subjects, he is freed

from all reasonable embarrassment; and as soon as he understands the cause of his misery, he sees the method of his recovery and happiness. "O, the depth of the riches both of the knowledge and goodness of God! How unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!"

III. It is the Gospel alone that proposeth effectual means for correcting the errors of the human heart, rectifying the disorders of society, and abating the afflictions and miseries that have fallen upon man. In every age, men of reflection and humanity have been affected with the view of the disorder and miseries of the world; and various expedients have been contrived and proposed for removing or abating them. Much hath been said of philosophy, of temperance, of education, and good civil policy; but how far any, or all of these have been able to go towards the proposed end, every man acquainted with the history of the world, must be well-informed. The utmost that these remedies could propose, even when most successfully employed, was to regulate the manners of mankind, and a little to check the overflowings of vice and misery; while the sourse of the evils remained in its native state, defying the force of moral principles and political regulations. Nothing indeed can ever be available to any effectual change or reformation of mankind, that has not power to reach the conscience itself, and regulate

the moral principle, by motives drawn from divine authority. But human principles and institutions cannot in any case be accompanied and enforced by motives of this sort: this effect is the prerogative of God alone, who only trieth the reins and searcheth the heart, and has the power of controuling and directing its operations.

The efficacy of the Gospel to the above-mentioned ends, arises from the following circumstan

ces

1. It contains a complete system of moral duties, explained in all their varieties, and accommodated to all capacities.

2. It enforces every moral precept, by motives the best adapted to affect the heart and conscience -motives which not only concern the present interests of men, but their immortal duration.

3. It proposeth the only means by which moral precepts and motives can effectually reach the heart, and have a controling power and influence over it. These three considerations comprehend the whole, and the only means on which both the reformation and happiness of mankind depend.

1. The first step towards our recovery, is the knowledge of our duty. On this point, whatever has been said of the sufficiency of human reason, it never has been capable, since the first transgression, of discovering the extent of moral obligation. Independent of revelation, in the highest state of

improvement, its sentiments and reasoning are not only very short of the truth, but in the most necessary cases, quite contrary to it. This truth is very strongly expressed in the words of the Apostle"The natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God-he neither submits to them, nor understands them, because they are foolishness to him-neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned"-But this lamentable defect in human reason, is abundantly supplied by the written truths of revelation. Whatever relates to our conduct towards God; towards Jesus Christ as the Saviour of men; towards our fellow-creatures, in the social relations, and our own happiness as individuals, is so clearly pointed out, that an honest and teachable person, intent on knowing his duty, may, with the smallest improvements and capacity, acquire a sufficient knowledge of every thing necessary, to a sober, righteous, and godly life here, and to eternal happiness hereafter. And it is a remarkable excellency of the moral precepts of the Gospel, that three or four short sentences, retainable by the weakest memory, comprehend the substance of our duties; every particular case of which, may be easily deduced and app practice, where there is a good conscience, which is generally the best interpreter of the divine commands.

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