character, or must be good.But in this we are not left to the mere light of human reason. Divine revelation is abundant in ascribing all possible moral excellence to God, as a Being essentially and unchangeably holy, just and good, wise and faithful, and summarily assures us that "God is love." In these sacred writings we are assured that God is the fountain of all existence, the creator and preserver of Angels and men; that his dominion in the natural and moral world is universal and perfect; that his providence extends to all events, and that he governs moral and accountable creatures by the most perfect laws; that he is the kind and beneficent parent of the whole creation, and encourages his rational offspring to address him in prayer and praise. Such a Being, and such only, can be the proper object of worship. He is present and knows all our wants, and is able to satisfy them. He governs all events in the universe; all creatures and events are in his hand, and he can protect and save us from evil. He is the father of our spirits and the former of our bodies, and is the kindest of parents, and a very present help in trouble. Into the bosom of such infinite sufficiency, and parental love the full soul may pour all its troubles; in him the fatherless findeth mercy-and he hath said, "call upon me in the day of trouble and I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me." But how shall guilty, unworthy sinners have access to such a Being of infinite majesty, perfection and purity? The answer to this most interesting question will be found in the next mark of distinction between Christianity and all other religions, which is, a II. The ground of acceptance. That man is, naturally, in a state of sin and ruin, is obvious to every reflecting mind, and has accordingly been perceived and lamented by most writers mong the heathen philosophers; indeed a consciousness of guilt and exposedness to punishment is common to men; hence the anxious inquiry, "Wherewith shall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the Most High God?" The best answers to this most interesting question, furnished from philosophic investigations, are wholly unsatisfactory. Most of the heathen writers on this subject, manifest some notion of sacrifices, of some kind, to appease the anger of their Gods and obtain their favor. This, probably, originated in some knowledge of ancient tradition, conveying partial information from the possessors of divine revelation on this subject, but so mangled and perverted, as to be totally insufficinent to relieve the wounded conscience, or to enable the sinner to contemplate, with composure, his appearance before God. The next relief attempted by philosophy, is by a virtuous life, or by repentance and reformation; but alas, how insufficient this, for the transgressor !— What rational hope can be derived from this to the sinner who owes ten thousand talents and has nothing to pay?" Were his repentance and reformation even perfect, they could have no influence to atone for past offences, and could be only adequate to present duty. But when we consider the great imperfection of human nature, even in the best, they appear to fall far below the standard of present duty, and greatly increase our guilt and desert of condemnation. What shall we think then of the absurd and superstitious rites which generally obtained among the heathen on this subject, and of the unhallowed usages practised for this purpose, by them in their religious festivals, on days of atonement? Or what can more deeply impress the mind with a conviction of the necessity of a divine revelation, than the knowledge of the notions and usages of heathen Idolaters? The Christian revelation represents our sin and misery as they really are; it clearly evinces the impossibility of the most distant, well founded hope of acceptance with God, from any or all the devices of man, and proves that "reason pursued is despair." But at the same time, it opens a new and glorious door of hope: It reveals the mediatorial plan of redemption by Jesus Christ. This assures us, that God has fixed on a method for the display of mercy to the guilty, through a mediator; that this mediator is the Son of God, the second person in the divine Trinity in unity; that he was to redeem sinners of mankind to God by making atonement for their sin, and bringing in everlasting righteousness; and that to fit him for the mediatorial work, he should be united to our nature, by the assumption of it into a personal union with his divine nature; and accordingly we are assured, that "the word was made flesh and dwelt among us," and "God was manifest in flesh." In this mysterious union of natures, our Lord Jesus Christ was obedient to death, even the death of the cross, and truly magnified the divine law, and supported both its precepts and sanctions. The final condemnation of all sinners would have proved the immutable determination of God to punish sin according to his threatenings; but this proves still more-it evinces that God is righteous in taking vengeance, and that in his government over man, he treats him as he would be willing to be himself treated, in a change of circumstances. The obedience and death of Christ in our nature and place, is the highest conceivable divine testimony to the rectitude of the moral government of God over man; and is therefore the most full and complete expression of holy affection, exhibiting the most conclusive proof of the perfection of divine government and of the evil of sin; and thus lays a foundation for the pardon and salvation of sinners through Christ, in the way of divine appointment, so as to be at once a vindication and expression of the righteousness of God in his government of man, an exhibition of the most profound wisdom, and of the richest grace. Yea, all divine perfections are here not only displayed; but unitedly displayed, it is "grace reigning through righteousness to eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord." Hence it appears, that "Jesus Christ is the way, the truth and the life," and that "no man cometh to the Father but by him;" that he is able to save, to the uttermost, all who come unto God by him; that this gospel foundation of acceptance with God for sinners, is worthy of God, honorable to law and justice, a most wonderful expression of divine grace, and safe and happy for the believing sinner, and superior to all the plans devised by man, whether Jew or Gentile, ignorant or learned, as the heavens are higher than the earth. Faith in Christ is the divinely appointed way in which we become so interested in his atonement, that his righteousness avails for our pardon and acceptance with God, evidently, because by this we are so united to him that the Father's approbation of his mediatorial work may be properly and fully expressed in the bestowment of all saving mercy on us for his sake. The most guilty and miserable of our race may, therefore, hope in divine mercy through him, come to God by him, and be assured that "those who so come he will in no wise cast out." III. The Christian religion is distinguished from all others by its system of morality. It has been common to the founders of religious systems to inculcate something under the name of virtue or morality, but in most instances many essential branches of virtue have been omitted, and many things inculcated which were really vicious; and what is still worse, the true and essential distinction between virtue and vice has been commonly overlooked; hence the very best systems of heathen morality are essentially deficient. ity begin and end in those things which are private and personal. After all which has been written by poets, philosophers and moralists, not drawn from the holy scriptures, on virtue and morality, they teach us nothing more sublime than the love of our country; and to die for our country is treated by them as the most sublime virtue, even when life is sacrificed, not to render the inhabitants of our country more wise, more devoted to the good of mankind, or to the fear and service of God; but more rich, more honorable in the esteem of those who esteem the honor which cometh from man, and more triumphant over other nations in war. Hence, Alexander the Great, Julius Cæsar and Charles the XIIth, of Sweden, who were great generals, and the two first great conquerors, have been celebrated as the first of men. But in the view of Christianity, their splen. did virtues are weighed in the balance and found wanting.They sought the glory of their country by the calamity of many nations, and succeeded to grandeur in the blood of murdered thousands; and that glory which they respectively sought for their country was really its greatest shame and misery, and hastened its ruin. The morality which Christianity teaches and inspires, is that which conduces to the best good, the highest perfection and felicity of the subject-which coincides with the best interest of mankind, and which is directly subservient to the glory of God. This brief description of the outlines of virtue will not be disputed; but where can it ex All human systems of moral-ist except in the mind seeking that happiness for itself which consists in union to the best interests of the whole family of man, and exertions to promote it, and union to the glory of God and the best good of his kingdom, and the happifying view and contemplation of the most perfect state of the moral system. But this is nothing else than to "love the Lord our God with all our heart and our neighbor as ourselves," which is the well known summary of Christian morality, given us by its divine founder. From the holy scriptures we learn that God is love, friendly to the highest perfection and felicity of the moral system. This is the expression of his character in his government of man, and in the mediatorial system, and this is the duty which he requires of man, and this constitutes the perfection and felicity of the redeemed in the heavenly state. "Him that overcometh," saith the Divine Saviour, "will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out; and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from God, and I will write upon him my own name." How does the boasted splendor of philosophic virtue and morality fade before that of Christianity, like the glow worms of night before the rising sun! IV. We observe, once more, that Christianity is distinguished from all other religions by the retributions of futurity. Great have been the doubts and uncertainties of philosophers whether man would have any conscious existence beyond this life. The best of them rather wished for it than firmly believed it. On supposition of its reality they imagined such, enjoyments for the virtuous as agree with the taste of men in in this life, in earthly things, and generally describe their Elysium as a place for the enjoyment of the pleasures of sense, and speak of this as only for a limited duration. Their conceptions of the punishment of the wicked were equally confused and erroneous. The Christian scriptures dispel this thick darkness, and bring life and immortality to light. From these we learn with certainty that the existence of our souls will be permanent after the present life, and that our bodies will be restored to life in a general resurrection at the end of this world, and be reunited to the soul; and that we shall then be judged according to our works, and our final state be fixed in happiness or misery, according to what we have done while in the body, in this life, and that this state will be eternal. Notwithstanding the invisibility of that world and that the condition of its inhabitants is not very particularly revealed, or perhaps would not be clearly understood by us, in the present state, if it were, we are fully assured, that the wicked and all who know not God, and obey not the gospel, shall be wholly excluded from the divine favor, shall be given up to the full do ninion of sin, and be the monuments of God's holy displeasure forever. The scriptural representations of their state are awful beyond conception, and deep ly impress the mind with the thought that "it is a fearful thing to fall into the hand of the living God;" and that we are called by all the dreadful realities of that desperate state, to fly from the wrath to come, and to lay hold on the hope set before us in the gospel.. ber and variety of religions in the world. They say that among the many hundreds of religions adopted by man, as there can be but one which is true and divine, there is a presumption against the truth of each, in proportion to the number of religions professed in the world, and therefore the evidence in favor of Christianity is only as one to many hundreds; i.e. there are hundreds of probabilities of its falsehood to one of its truth. To this there might be various answers, we mention one only, as abundantly sufficient, viz.That Christianity is equally opposed to all other religions in the world, in all the articles of distinction which have been made. All other systems of religion agree in exhibiting absurd and unworthy ideas of the On the other hand, the gospel assures us, that the souls of the righteous at death, enter into peace, that they rest from their labors, are completely delivered from all sin and sorrow, are assured of the everlasting favor of God, and are united in the praises of redeeming grace; and that at the end of the world their bodies shall be raised glorious and immortal, and be reanimated by the soul, and the whole man be completely blessed in the full enjoyment of God to all eternity. Rejoic-object of worship, the ground of ing in the clear manifestation of the divine fulness, the unveiled glory of the triune Deity, in the displays of redeeming grace, and in the certain prospect of an eternity of unremitting felicity and usefulness in praising and shewing forth that grace, and in the most perfect reciprocation of holy friendship forever. Who can think of the blessed exercises and enjoyments of the spirits of the just made perfect, and the still more complete blessedness of the redeemed after the resurrection, and not aspire with all the powers of the soul after a name and a place among the redeemed from among men ? CONCLUSION. 1. The preceding view of Christianity clearly shews the weakness of Infidel objections against it, founded in the num acceptance, the system of morality and the retributions of futurity; in the nature of the case, it is therefore evident they cannot be true. This infers a strong presumption in favor of Christianity, it is opposite to all other systems, if they are absurd and false, this must be true and divine, or there is no true religion in the world. It therefore rests on its own evidence, in the same manter as if no other religion had ever been propagated in the world. In testing the truth and divinity of Christianity, therefore, we must enquire, is the religion itself agreeable to reason, worthy of God and suitable to the nature and condition of man, in its doctrines, its duties and its prospects, or as it respects the object of worship, the ground of acceptance, the system of morality and the retributions of futurity? And is it at 1 |