repreffes all vain and exceffive fears, gives us a fuperiority to all the external accidents of our mortal state, and ftrengthens the foul against all toils or dangers we may be exposed to in discharge of our duty; as an early and painful death with virtue and honour, is highly preferable to the longest ignominious life, and no advantages can be compared in point of happinefs with the approbation of God, and of our own hearts.

That if in this manner we live prepared for any honourable fervices to God, our fellows, and ourselves, and practice piety toward God, good-will toward men, and immediately aim at our own perfection, then we may expect, notwithstanding our being involved in manifold weakneffes and diforders of foul, that the divine goodness and clemency will have mercy on fuch as fincerely love him, and defire to ferve him with duty and gratitude; will be propitious and placable to the penitents, and all who exert their utmoft endeavours in the pursuits of virtue: And fince the perfection of virtue must constitute the fupreme felicity of man, our efforts to attain it, muft be effectual in obtaining compleat felicity, or at least some lower degree of it.

7. This beautiful, moral Philofophy I of Revealfound fcattered in the writings of the old ed Reli

gion.

theift philofophers, and with great pains reduced the various leffons to a fyftem of active and virtuous offices: but this I knew was what the majority of mankind were incapable of doing; and if they could do it, I faw it was far inferior to revelation. Every Sunday I appropriated to the study of revealed Religion, and perceived as I read the facred records, that the Works of Plato, and Cicero, and Epictetus, and all the uninspired fages of antiquity, were but weak rules in refpect of the divine oracles. It is the mercy and power of God in the triumphs of grace, that reftores mankind from the bondage and ignorance of idolatry. To this the finner owes the converfion of his foul. It is the ftatutes of the Lord that rejoice the heart, and enlighten the eyes. What are all the reasonings of the philofophers to the melody of that heavenly voice which cries continually, Come unto me all ye that travel and are heavy laden, and I will refresh you.

And what could their leffons avail without thofe exprefs promifes of grace and fpiritual affiftance, which the blood of the new covenant confirms to mankind? The philofophy of Greece and Rome was admirable for the times and men: but it admits of no comparison with the divine lef fons of our holy religion, and the charter of God's pardon granted to us by his bleffed

Son.

Son.

Befide, the philofophers were in fome degree dark and doubtful in refpect of death and futurity; and in relation to this world, there is not a power in their difcourfes to preferve us from being undone by allurements in the midst of plenty, and to fecure our peace against the casualties of fortune, and the torments of difappointments; to fave us from the cares and follicitudes which attend upon large poffeffions, and give us a mind capable of relishing the good things before us; to make us eafy and fatisfied as to the present, and render us fecure and void of fear as to the future. These things we learn from revelation, and are informed by the facred records only, that if we are placed here in the midst of many fears and forrows, and are often perplexed with evils in this world; yet they are fo many warnings not to fet up our reft here, but to keep a stedfaft eye upon the things which God has prepared for those who love him. It is the gofpel informs us, there is another fcene prepared for the moral world, and that juftice only waits to fee the full proof of the righteoufnefs, or unrighteousnefs of men: that that scene will

open

with the judgment feat of Chrift, and we fhall either receive glory and immortality, if we have obeyed the calls of grace

to

of falfe

to virtue and holiness;or, be doomed to the most dreadful miferies, if we reject the counsel of God, and live quite thoughtlefs of the great concerns of eternity. These confiderations made me prefer revealed religion in the beginning of my rational life. The morality of the antient philofophers I admired. With delight I ftudied their writings, and received, I gratefully confeís, much improvement from them. But the religion of our bleffed Lord I declared for, and look on the promised Meffiah as the most consummate bleffing God could beftow, or man receive, God having raised up his Son Jefus, fent him to bless you, in turning every one of you from your iniquities. And would men but hear and obey this life-giving Redeemer, his Gofpel would restore reafon and religion to their rightful authority over mankind; and make all virtue, and true goodness, flourish in the earth.

any

8. But I muft obferve that, by the relireligion. gion of the New Teftament, I do not mean of thofe modern fchemes of religion, which discover the evident marks and fignatures of fuperftition and enthusiasm, or of knavery and imposture; those systems which even miracle cannot prove to be true, because the pieties are abfurd, inconfiftent, and contradictory. The notions that are not

characterized by the reafon of things, and the moral fitness of actions, I confidered as repugnant to the veracity, wisdom, and goodnefs of the Almighty, and concluded, that that only could be chriftian religion, which beared the vifible marks and signatures of benevolence, focial happiness and moral fitness, and was brought down from heaven to inftruct mankind in the worship of One eternal mind, and bring them to repentance, and amendment of life. This was the religion I found in my Bible. I faw with pleafure, as I thoughtfully went through the divine pages, that natural religion is the foundation and fupport of revelation ;--fupplies the defects of nature, but never attempts to overthrow the cftablished principles of it; cafls new light upon the dictates of reafon, but never overthrows them. Pure theijm, and Chrift the appointed Mediator, Advocate, and Judge, by a commiffion from God the Father, to me appeared to be the Gofpel;and the directions of the holy Spirit, to believe in one fupreme independent first cause, and worship in fpirit and truth this one God and Father of All, in the name of Chrift Jefus; as the difciples of the Meffiah; to copy after the life of our bleffed Saviour, and, to the utmost of our abilities, obey all his commands.-This was the religion I found

in