but if they will not believe without an immediate personal revelation, they are never like to have that in this world; but in the next, God will reveal himself with terror and vengeance upon all the workers of iniquity. God doth, both by nature and revelation, provide for the necessities, the welfare and happiness, but never for the humours and peevishness of men: and those who will not be saved but according to some new way and method of their own, must be miserable without remedy. But if God should vouchsafe to make some immediate revelation of himself to these insolent offenders and blasphemers of his name and authority, how can we be assured that they would be converted? Would they not rather find out some pretence to persuade themselves that it was no real revelation, but the effect of natural agents, or of melancholy, or of a disturbed imagination? For those who have so long, not only rejected (that were a modest thing) but derided and reviled Moses and the prophets, nay the apostles and our Saviour himself, would not believe, though one should arise from the dead."* This extraordinary principle of conduct in a rational creature, with regard to things of eternal consequence, and to whom life and immortality are offered by one, who claims a right to affix his own terms, is not peculiar to the infidelity of our author. Neither is it the first time that this resolution has led its votaries to destruction; although they have acknowledged that the doctrines they are required to believe, contain the purest and most benevolent morality. One at first sight would imagine that the sporters of this sentiment, thought, that by their belief, the teachers of our holy religion, were to be personally gainers; and that the teachers were as ambassadors for Christ, beseeching them to be reconciled to God, on account of some private benefit or emolument to themselves; and that the inestimable boon, was to be conferred on the teacher instead of the pupil. * Reasonab, of Christianity, vol. i. 18. Alas! let me ask this profound philosopher with all his boasted reason, who is to be the sufferer in consequence of his resolute determination, not to believe any revelation from God, on the well attested report of others, and not, unless it is made to him personally and what is that revelation, which he is determined to reject with so much obstinacy? Take his own words for an answer, which I again repeat, " a morality of the most benevolent kind, ever taught to man and never exceeded by any." Can our author give any rational assurance, that even if God should thus condescend, it would work conviction in his sceptical mind and produce a firm belief in the doctrines of the Gospel. For my own part I must confess, that from his present temper and disposition and judging from the conduct of his predecessors in unbelief, in the time of our Lord and his apostles, I am fully convinced, he would not, and that the same obstinate mind would raise equal objections from other quarters to avoid conviction. An additional reason to those already mentioned for this conclusion is, that although our author has agreed, that Jesus Christ was "a virtuous character and preached the purest and most benevolent morality," yet let me ask, has he conformed himself in his life Dd and conduct to the moral precepts and excellent practices of Jesus Christ, which he thus gives credit to, as pure, amiable and benevolent. If he has not, which I believe, from my personal knowledge of the man, he will not even pretend to, I must in my turn indulge a principle of unbelief, that he would even submit to a revelation from God, made personally to him, if it did not fall in with his carnal ideas and worldly expectations, unless it should also be attended with the convicting influences of the spirit of God, to whom all things are possible. Far be it from me to indulge an uncharitable temper towards any man, however we may differ in opinion; but I consider myself founded in this conclusion by the experience of ages, and particularly by the conduct of many persons, under similar circumstances, recorded in sacred history for our instruction. Did not Nebuchadnezzar receive ocular demonstration, “ equal to the ascending of a Baloon, or the sun at noon-day," when he cast Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego into a fiery furnace ? when beholding the contempt which was put on all the effects of his rage and fury by the living God, he was constrained to cry out "blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, who hath sent his angel and delivered his servants that put their trust in him; and hath changed the king's commandment and yielded their bodies rather than they would serve or worship any God save their own God; therefore I make a decree, that every people, nation and language which shall speak any thing amiss against the God of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, shall be drawn in pieces and their houses made a dunghill: because there is no other God that can deliver after this sort."-And yet notwithstanding this extraordinary and supernatural demonstration of the power of the God of Shedrach, Meshach and Abednego, was not the prophet afterwards sent to him, with this kind exhortation, "to break off his sins by righteousness and his iniquities by shewing mercy to the poor?" What was the consequence? Did he not despise all these convictions arising from the long suffering goodness of God and still boast " of his power and the honour of his majesty," despising the judgments and warning of heaven, till " being driven from among men to dwell with the beasts of the field, and to eat grass, as oxen, and become wet with the dew of Heaven till seven years should pass over him;" and till by this heavy indignation of the wrath of God, he became humbled by the bitterness of contrition and repentance? and was led to declare, " now (after all I have justly suffered) I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the king of Heaven, all whose works are truth and his ways judgment, and those that walk in pride he is able to abase.” Thus was Nebuchadnezzar brought to reason and to act like a rational creature: and it affords a very useful lesson to our author, if he will but hearken to the divine teachings of the spirit of God therein. But it may turn out with him as it did with Nebuchadnezzar's successor, who disregarded all this ocular demonstration to all Babylon, and the thousand kingdoms of Nebuchadnezzar for seven years.-Hearken for a moment to the language of Daniel to Nebuchadnezzar's grandson Belshazzar, an abandoned prince. "O king! hear thou! the most high God gave untc Nebuchadnezzar thy father, a kingdom, and majesty, and honour, and glory: and for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations and languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew, and whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up, and whom he would he put down; but when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: and he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was with the wild asses; they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body was wet with the dew of Heaven, till he knew that the most high God ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will. And thou his son, O Belshazzar, hast not humbled thine heart, though thou knewest all this, but hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of Heaven; and they have brought the vessels of his house before thee; and thou and thy lords; thy wives and thy concubines, have drank wine in them; and thou hast praised the Gods of silver and gold, of brass, iron, wood and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, hast thou not glorified."* Happy will it be for our author, if the severest judgment of God, even to eating grass like an ox, should be inflicted upon him; provided it should be so sanctified, as to prevent the last awful sentence, "Thou art weighed in the balance, and art found wanting." Alas! every day's experience proves the fact, that for spiritual truth, there must be ai * 5th chap. Dan. 18th to 23d ver. |