nishing mystery, we readily acknowledge. But this was naturally to be expected in a work of fuch infinite difficulty, as that of rendering the mercy of God, in pardoning mankind, confiftent with the exercise of his juftice, and the fupport of his authority, as the moral Governor of the world, Whatever could effect this, must neceffarily be fomething far beyond the comprehenfion of our limited understandings; that is, muft neceffarily be myfterious. And, therefore, this very circumstance, instead of shocking our reafon and staggering our faith, ought to fatisfy the one, and confirm the other.

What remains further to be faid on this interefting and important fubject, I shall referve for a separate discourse.

VOL. II.

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SERMON

SERMON · III.

I COR. i. 20.

WHERE IS THE WISE? WHERE IS THE SCRIBE? WHERE IS THE DISPUTER OF THIS WORLD? HATH NOT GOD MADE FOOLISH THE WISDOM OF THIS WORLD?

'ROM the train of reasoning purfued in

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the preceding discourse, it has, I trust, been made evident, that, though repentance and reformation are without doubt indifputably neceffary towards procuring the pardon of fin, (o neceffary, that without them not all the facrifices on earth, nor all the mercies of heaven, can avail to fave us) yet they are not of themfelves fufficient to wash away the stains of paft guilt, to fatisfy the juftice of an offended God, and restore a wicked and rebellious world to his protection and favour.

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It appears, both from the nature of the things themselves, from the cleareft deductions of reafon, from the ordinary course of human affairs in the prefent world, from the common apprehenfions, and the universal tice of mankind, before the appearance of Christ upon earth, and, above all, from the pofitive declarations of God himself, both in the Old and New Teftament, that, befides the contrition of the finner himself, fomething must be done or fuffered by fome other being on his account; fome fort of expiation must be made for him, and accepted, before he can be exonerated of guilt, and redeemed from punishment, and stand juftified in the eyes of his offended Maker.

This principle being established, (and it appears to me incontrovertible) who shall afterwards prefume to fay, that the particular kind of expiation, or, in other words, the particular mode of Redemption, which God actually fixed upon for the prefervation of mankind, was not the beft and fitteft that could be devised? If fome victim, fome propitiatory facrifice, was plainly neceffary for this purpose; who shall undertake to affirm,

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that the very individual facrifice appointed by God himself, was not the properest and most effectual to answer the end proposed? If commutative punishment and vicarious fuffering appear not only to have prevailed among all Heathen nations from the earliest ages, and to have been established among the Jews by the express appointment of God, but even at this hour make a part of the ordinary difpenfations of God's providence in the present world, (where we continually fee men rescued from ruin by the interpofing kindness, the generous exertions, and the voluntary fufferings of others on their account); who shall say, that there was either cruelty or injustice, in appointing Chrift to die, much less in his voluntary confent to die," for us σε men and for our falvation ?" If, in fine; the value of the victim offered was usually proportioned to the magnitude of the offence, and the number of the offenders why should it appear in the leaft incredible, that when the inhabitants of a whole world, (perhaps of many worlds and fyftems of worlds) and all their generations, from the very fall of our firft parents to the end of time, were to be cleanfed

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