power may do, or might have done. However, this we must tenaciously adhere to, that it is inconsistent with the nature of God, for him to injure any of his perfections, to save such as deserve not his favour; we are not to doubt but that God will glorify one attribute as well as another, in rescuing ruined criminals: so that, though we suppose him ever so unlimited in his sovereignty, or ever so rich in his mercy, we must still aver, that he never would, in order to shew his sovereignty, or make known his mercy, suffer his justice to remain unsatisfied, and consequently not glorified, or his holiness and truth to be tarnished; but he is as much concerned to glorify his justice, and to shew forth his holiness and truth, as he can be to manifest his sovereignty, or to magnify his mercy.

God therefore shewed the greatness of his wisdom in contriving the method of man's salvation, that it might be by Christ's satisfying for sin. In this way, all his perfections are set in the most amiable light; justice is glorified to the utmost, and has vindicated its rights, in that a satisfaction of infinite value has been yielded by an Almighty Redeemer; holiness sparkles with the brightest luster, seeing He, who is purity itself, has shewed his hatred of sin to be so great, that he spared not his own Son, when he only knew sin by imputation; the truth of Him who is invariable in faithfulness, is fully established, in that he has exacted the punishment threatened; goodness appears in its full beauty, as a Redeemer is provided for such as have destroyed themselves, and the greatest blessings are bestowed freely upon the unworthy; mercy is displayed to the utmost, because provision is made for bringing sinners to partake of the happiness they had forfeited; wisdom and power are greatly magnified, since a way is laid out and finished, in which justice and holiness might not be injured, and yet grace and mercy might be eminently exalted.

This is the method of man's salvation, which the Scriptures teach; and as it is the only way of thinking which man can fall into, in order to glorify all God's

perfections, it must be concluded to be the most rational scheme in the world. The design of God was to glorify his own perfections, to exalt Christ, to stain the pride of man's glory, and to shew the necessity of holiness; therefore, as the Holy Scripture declares and reveals this wonderful plan, it is no marvel that it should be ridiculed, as a huddle of foolish opinions, by the vain and proud pretenders to reason, who make what surpasses their shallow capacities the subject of their scorn, and treat with contempt all that is above their condensed apprehensions. As the design of revelation is to thwart the pride of fallen man, it is no wonder that insolent creatures, who would be independent of God, and who imagine that they are wise enough to find out their duty, and able enough to pursue their own happiness, should rise up with rancour and malice, against what crosses their corrupt reason, and has a tendency to throw down the lofty bulwarks of their vain imaginations. The contempt which is cast on revelation is not new; for the great Apostle Paul, after he had told us that he spoke or declared the things that are freely given us of God, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual, has presently subjoined these words: "The natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; neither can he now them, because the are spiritually discerned." By the natural man, is not to be understood one wallowing in lust and sunk in the mire of sensuality, but the man of bare reason; he who will use no other helps, than what he can procure by mere rational attainments, such a man, though possessed of a good share of natural light, yet if he is without a spiritual discerning, or without wisdom afforded him from above, brands the doctrines and mysteries of pure revelation with folly, because he cannot fully comprehend them; not considering that the mysteries of reason, such as the being and perfections of God, can no more be fully comprehended by him, than those of revelation. If we consider

man as renewed, and as such having his mind enlightened, it must be owned, that the mysteries of reason and pure revelation have such great depths in them, that they are not to be plumbed by the line, even of a sanctified understanding: nay, it may be justly said, that the perfections of God are not to be fully grasped by any created mind. It is no wonder then, that such as are left to bare reason in a corrupt state, should, as brute beasts, contemn the sacred verities, which are not suited to their depraved gust.

The Scriptures have never been treated with more irreverence than they have been of late; but yet the enemies of revelation choose rather to attack them by sap and stratagem, than in an open and honourable way. Our modern Deists are shy of saying, in their public writings, that the Christian religion is forgery; and the founder of it an impostor; but they choose to magnify the perfection of reason, and to set up what they call natural religion, as a complete body of doctrine; they can talk with a grave sneer, of the Holy Scriptures, of the religion of our Saviour, and will pretend they esteem it; but, at the same time, they plead, that natural religion is perfect, and needs no addition to be made to it, only they allow it may be explained: hence they draw this consequence, that the Gospel is as old as the law of nature, and neither can nor ought to be any other than a republication of it. Their sly drift herein is to bring people to conclude, that since natural religion is perfect, if revelation contains any thing more than reason could of itself have found out, it must be discarded as imposture: now, every one must grant, that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament really contain a great number of facts and doctrines, which bare reason could never have found out; if then reason is a perfect rule, revelation, which contains more than this could find out, must be given up as fraud and forgery; for nothing can be added to what is perfect. This is the substance of all the solemn banter and grave grimace, with which the world has of late been entertained; so that it can

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not be amiss to enquire, whether reason in men is really so perfect, as the pretended masters of it give out; and whether natural religion is so complete, as is affirmed.

It must be owned, that the labour of the Deists in assaulting the Christian scheme, has been made very easy, and their work has been, in a great measure, done for them, by many treacherous professors of the religion of Jesus. Many betrayers of the cause of revelation, have forged weapons for the enemies of it, in preventing them the pains of attacking particular doctrines. Men, who would lose all patience if we questioned their owning the sufficiency of Scripture, and who have very much in their mouths a noisy out-cry, that the Bible, the Bible, is the religion of Protestants, have brought the charge of nonsense and contradiction against the Protestant doctrines of the ever-blessed Trinity in Unity, absolute election, original sin, the necessity of an infinite satisfaction, the fulness and particularity of redemption, justification by the imputed righteousness of Christ, the inability of man to convert himself, the efficacy of Divine grace, the perseverance of the saints, the resurrection of the same numerical body, and the eternity of hell torments: all these doc trines have been misrepresented, exploded, derided, and burlesqued by such as profess themselves Christians; nay, by such as would appear zealous to promote practical religion: so that the Deists have had little to do, but to stand still and smile, whilst others were doing their work for them, perhaps, without knowing it; though it is to be feared, that some of these would not keep out of their tents, if they could retain their preferments, salaries, or subscriptions.

It would be well, if all who have gone into this way, who are alarmed at the growth of Deism, would consider what they have been doing. Many have been immoderately pleased with being applauded, by the adversaries of revelation, for being rational Divines, and men of free thought; but though the enemies of Christianity compliment them, to induce them to go on to

do their work for them, yet it is known to many that they secretly contemn them. The more thinking Deists know that the doctrines, which these disputers arraign as unscriptural and irrational, are the things which are really contained in Scripture, which, for that reason, they chiefly neglect; and they look upon these removers of the ancient land-marks, however they may flatter them, either to be fools or cheats. The opposers of the ancient faith are very forward to ascribe the growth of infidelity to men's being led to pay a regard to what they call irrational doctrines; but the case really is, a denial of revelation has always followed upon attempts made to subvert the old Protestant doctrines, and as these have succeeded with giddy unsettled persons, in proportion have the ravages of Deism been extended.

. Another thing which has greatly contributed to weaken the cause of Christianity, has been the zeal of some to recommend systems of morality, under the whimsical title of natural religion. There is no question to be made, but that some persons, who engaged this way, had no design to weaken the regard men should have to revealed religion, but by these means the peculiar doctrines of Christianity have been jumbled out. It has been said, that during the times of our civil commotions, there was little preached up but faith in Christ, and that the duties of morality were little insisted on: it is certain, that some ignorant enthusiastic preachers then insisted much on eternal union with Christ, and that sin could do a believer no harm, but all wise and thoughtful men abhorred such immoral conceits; however, the charge was laid against all who maintained the doctrine of grace; and accordingly when a state-alteration ensued, as it is natural for men who take a partial view of things, when they endeavour to avoid one extreme, to run into the other, neglecting the middle way, all strove to shew themselves as opposite to those who went before, as might be. Therefore the Christian doctrines, if not opposed, were wholly neglected, and little was insisted upon but moral duties,