rous and cruel rites. We have inftances in the priests of Baal, who gafhed themselves with knives and lancets, till the blood gushed out; fuppofing that these barbarities were a kind of religion that was pleafing to their gods. But we have still more fhocking inftances in the priests of Moloch, who made their fons and daughters pass through the fire —that is, they burnt them alive in honour of their horrid idol.

The religion of the Jews likewife, in a great measure was made up of external acts. God, for his own wise reasons, impofed many ceremonies upon them. It was a hard bondage; but as they were a ftiff-necked people, a neceffary one. Through their own folly and fuperftition, however, they imposed a still heavier burden of rites and ceremonies on themselves. Infomuch that when our Saviour came into the world, the whole had arifen to fuch a load, as neither they nor their fathers were able to bear.

Thanks be to God, the gospel hath redeemed mankind from all this bondage-from all those rites and ceremonies, which could never make the comers thereunto perfect. The Heathen, trembling under all the terrors of fuperftition; and the Jew appeafing the anger of an incensed Jehovah, by a

thousand

thousand painful rites, were called on by a gracious voice to take refuge in that religion, which alone could give them liberty and peace-that religion, whofe yoke was easy, and whofe burden was light.

Christianity hath put religion on a rational footing. It calls upon us for the religion of the heart; and instead of putting our truft in outward observances, requires from us holy faith, rational prayer, and pious lives. Two ceremonies only Chrift ordained; Baptifm, and the Lord's Supper-both fo plain, and eafy, that they cannot be called burdens. The first is performed once as an outward fign of our entrance into the Christian religion; the other frequently, as an outward fign of our continuance in it.-As for the rest, such ceremonies as are neceffary for the decent government of the church, are left to its direction; and the feweft, and most plain, have always been esteemed the best; that the people may as little as poffible be drawn from things of importance.

The papists indeed have unneceffarily thrown upon their own necks another yoke, full as grievous as that from which as christians they had been relieved. Their whole religion is so blended with penances, proceffions, pilgrimages, and follies

of

of various kinds, that they seem to have lost all idea of the liberty of the gofpel; and to have formed their church on the flavish principles of Jews, and Heathen.

CHRISTIANITY may further be called a state of liberty, as it frees us from the bondage of fin. Before Christianity, men generally acted, as their appetites and paffions led ; and this might be called a state of liberty, if men pleased; but it could not be called fo, confiftently with good sense. For whether is it more proper, think you, for a man's paffions and appetites to govern his reafon; or for his reason to govern his paffions, and appetites? Which government has more the appearance of liberty; and which of flavery? The reafon of a man is the man. His paffions and appetites are only the brutal part. When you fee a man riding a headstrong horfe; which, tho' he fits, he cannot manage; when you fee him hurried" on without any aim or direction; and carried headlong into a thousand dangers, which he might have escaped, if he could have governed his beast; nobody will fay, that such a man is in a state of liberty; but that he is under the power of a beast, which carries him where it will. The beast

indeed is at liberty; but the man is evidently under the direction of another. But when you see a man fit his horse with power to command it; when you fee him turn it, guide it, impel it, check it; in fhort, manage it as he pleases, then you fay, the beast is governed, and the man is at liberty. -Now this is just the cafe with regard to our paffions and appetites. When they run away with us—when they carry us violently into all mischief, we are not furely in a state of liberty. It is the beast that carries us off; fo that in fact, no man can be faid to be in a state of liberty, unless he govern his paffions and appetites; and not they, him. This was David's idea; I will walk at liberty, fays he and the reafon he gives is, because I keep thy commandments.

Now it was the great defign of christianity, to call men to this ftate of liberty; and to place them under the government of their reason; so that the precepts of religion, in few words, are merely a set of rules, which inform our reason, and make it capable of governing us. Ye fhall know the truth, faith our bleffed Saviour, and the truth fhall make you free :-but whosoever committeth fin, is the fervant of fin.

In the first ages of christianity it is astonishing to read of the fudden change in the morals of men which it wrought. For a while, it feemed to have put an end to the dominion of fin. From being fierce, malicious, cruel, and revengeful, men became mild, friendly, humane, and forgivingthey became, in our Saviour's language, lambs among wolves. I speak, obferve, of the first christtians. The chriftian world now makes a very different appearance. Now we hear curfing and fwearing on every fide-we fee the bible thrown afide-and Sunday turned into a day of diverfion. We fee men defraud and flander one another; we see them malicious and revengeful; we fee them selfish and uncharitable. But no one will presume to cenfure christianity for this. You will be pleased to remember one thing, which is, that people who do these things are not chriftians. You will also remember another thing; there is a great difference between a man's being a true christian, and his happening to live in a christian country. To know the value of the chriftian religion, we are not, to confider what men are but what they might be.

LET us now laftly fee, how christianity may be

called