ly, if he has indeed made this happy discovery, acknowledge, with humility and gratitude, the kindness of God in leading him out of darkness into this marvellous light; and he will continue to look to that divine and unseen influence, which first stopped him in his downward course, for support and encouragement during the remainder of his pilgrimage. And he who is condemned for rejecting the gospel will be condemned on this ground, viz. that he might, as well as ought, to have done otherwise; and that he has resisted the conviction both of his reason and conscience, which had testified against him. It is our duty and our privilege to look to the free offer of salvation, and the sufficiency of the atonement; and we are wandering from the Bible, and from peace, and from piety, when we occupy our thoughts with such difficulties. But why was this doctrine revealed, and what benefit is to be derived from believing it? What effect is the belief of it calculated to produce on our characters; and what light does it throw on the character of God, or on the condition of man? As the work of the Spirit is to enlighten the eyes of our understanding with regard to divine truth and to take of the things of Christ and show them to us, the belief of this doctrine of course includes the conviction, that we stand in need of this light, and that the inclination of our hearts naturally leads us from the things of Christ. This conviction, if real, will humble us before God, and excite us to a jealous vigilance over every motion of our minds. In this doctrine, also, God gives a manifestation of his own character. He presents himself to his weak and ignorant creatures, as ready to meet all their wants, and sup*ply all their deficiencies; and thus condescends to solicit their confidence. He promises his Spirit to those who ask; and thus invites and stimulates them to hold frequent intercourse with himself by prayer. He declares his holy anxiety for the advancement of the truth; and thus attracts their attention and regard to it. When the arguments of the gospel alarm or confirm or comfort the mind, the Holy Spirit is present; and the belief of this will unspeakably enforce the argument,—just as we often find that the presence and voice of a friend will give weight to reasons which would be disregarded in his absence. If God thus offers us his spiritual presence and support through the medium of his truth, ought not we ever to carry about with us the remembrance and the love of the truth, that we may enjoy much of his presence and support? If he is so watchful over the progress of Christian principle in the hearts of men, ought not we also to be watchful, lest we grieve him, and lest we lose the precious benefits of his instructions? As the gospel confines the influence of the Spirit to the truths contained in the written word, there is nothing to fear from fanaticism. The Holy Spirit does not now reveal any thing new, but impresses what is already revealed. SECTION V. Ir thus appears that the gospel is a great storehouse of medicines for the moral diseases of the human mind. It contains arguments most correctly fitted to act powerfully on our reason and on our feelings; and these arguments are in themselves naturally detructive of moral evil. They give a life and a reality to the shadowy traits of natural religion; they exhibit in a history of facts the abstract idea of the Divine character; and thus they render that character intelligible to the comprehension, and impressive on the heart of man. And is there no need for this medicine? If it be admitted that wickedness and misery reign in this world to a frightful extent, and that nothing is more common than a strange carelessness about our Creator, and a decided spirit of hostility to the holiness of his character,-if it be admitted that there prevails through the hearts of our spe - cies, a proud selfishness of disposition which looks with indifference on the happiness or misery of others, unless where interest or vanity makes the exception,—and that whilst we profess to believe in a future state, we yet think and act as if our expectations and desires never stretched beyond this scene of transitory existence, if all this be admitted, surely it must also be admitted that some remedy is most desirable. And when we consider that the root of all these evils is in the heart,that the very first principles of our moral nature are corrupted, that the current of our wills is different from that of God's,-and that whilst this difference continues, we must be unhappy, or, at best, most insecure of our enjoyment, in whatever region our lot of existence is cast,-the necessity of some powerful health-restoring antidote will appear still more imperious. And can we think it improbable, that a gracious God would meet this necessity, and reveal this antidote ? We have advanced a considerable step when we have admitted this probability. And when we see a system such as Christianity, asserting to itself a divine |