lity of my future existence (if there should hap

pen to be one) depend on my moral conduct here? These and other questions of similar import every man of reflection must, at one time or other, put to himself; and when he does put them, he will perceive that his reason is unequal to the clear solution of any of them. That Jesus Christ was born in Judea near eighteen hundred years ago that he wrought miracles in that country that he was crucified at Jerusalemthat he arose from the dead-that he ascended into heaven-that he enabled his disciples to work miracles, and commanded them to teach the world the doctrines which he had taught them these are some of the main facts on which the truth of the Christian religion is founded.— Now it appears to me to be a much easier matter to prove the truth of these facts, than to give, from reason, a satisfactory answer to any of the difficulties which I have mentioned.

In the ardour of youth, in the tumult of sensual passions, in the profligacy of dissipation, in the bustle of business, in the sordidness of avarice, in the loftiness of ambition, thoughts of such a serious cast may either not occur, or not

be regarded. But they will obtrude themselves on a bed of sickness at any period of life; they will surround the pillow of the unfortunate; they will penetrate the recesses of retirement, whether occasioned by a satiety of enjoyment, the chagrin of disappointment, or by any of the sad vicissitudes incident to every human station; and if they should arrest our notice on no other occasion, they will certainly steal upon us with the increase of our age, and generate, in those who reject Christianity, no small perturbation, when the feebleness of declining life most requires tranquillity and consolation.

Be it our business then, as it is our duty and our interest, to confirm ourselves in the belief of that gospel by which all difficulties of this nature are done away. If that gospel be true, (as it certainly is) we know for what purpose we are born-that we may live for ever. We know that we are not machines, but accountable for our actions, which machines cannot be. We know in what the felicity of our nature doth consistin living soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. We know that death is not eter

nal sleep, but the commencement of everlasting life.

I conclude with recommending one observation to the serious attention of all unbelievers, who are sincerely desirous of becoming Christians-that they would well consider the quality of the proof which the subject admits. The truth of the christian religion is, as to us, founded on the reality of past transactions. Now past transactions are neither the objects of sense, nor of intuition, nor of demonstration; we cannot, correctly speaking, be said to know that they ever existed; but the probability, which is grounded on testimony, approaches, in many cases, so near to certainty, that our belief of past transactions is little different from knowledge itself. He who requires more than probability before he will embrace Christianity, requires what the nature of the subject does not admit, and subverts the foundation of all history, sacred and profane, That Jesus wrought miracles in Judea, and arose from the dead at Jerusalem, are facts as capable of being ascertained, and as worthy of being credited, as that Cæsar lived at Rome, and was murdered in the capitol.

May the merciful Father of the whole human race, who, for reasons best known to his unsearchable wisdom, hath suffered many millions to die, and suffers many millions also now to live, in utter ignorance of that revelation of his will, which he hath given to the Christian world, accept our humble thanksgivings for such an inestimable benefit! May he establish, strengthen, settle the inhabitants of these kingdoms in the faith of Christ; and be graciously pleased to remove from all others, the ignorance that is in them, lest, in being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel, strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope, and without God in the world, they become to every good work reprobate; lest, in being spoiled through philosophy and vain deceit, they fall into perdition, temporal and eternal.

SERMON II.

2 Pet. i. 16.

WE HAVE NOT FOLLOWED CUNNINGLY DEVISED FABLES, WHEN WE MADe known uNTO YOU THE POWER AND COMING OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST, BUT WERE EYE-WITNESSES OF HIS MAJESTY.

WHETHER the Christian religion be a revelation of the will of God, or a cunningly devised fable, is a question which, one might think, every serious man would examine with impartial attention. He would take, it might be expected, the New Testament into his hand, and observing that it consisted of various parts, and had been written by different authors, he would inquire what evidence there was for its being a genuine book. If he found, as I am persuaded he would find, that there were as solid reasons for believing that the gospel of St. Luke, and the Acts of the