that a man say I have faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? As the body without the spirit is dead, fo faith without works is dead alfo." The same apostle advances the following excellent maxim, ch. i. 26. “ If any man among you seem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, that man's religion is vain. Pure religion, and undefiled, before God and the Father, is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world."

A very great proportion of all the apoftolic epiftles consists of practical exhortations to all the most important duties of life; but I shall only quote a few passages, particularly expressive of the general design of the Gospel. The apostle Paul, writing to Titus, after reciting many particular duties, adds in general, ch. ii. II. "The grace of God, that bringeth falvation, hath appeared unto all men; teaching us that denying ungodliness, and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and piously in this present evil world, looking for that blessed hope,

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hope, the glorious appearing of the great God, and our faviour Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good

works."

" His divine power," says the apostle Peter, 2 Eph. i. 3. " has given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness (i. e. a godly, or pious life) through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might be partakers of a divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. And besides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity. For if these things be in you, and abound, they make that ye shall neither be barren nor unfruitful, in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot fee far off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from

1

from his old sins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure; for if ye do these things ye shall never fail. For so an entrance shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.”

I shall only add one more testimony to the moral design of the gospel. It is from the apostle John, I Eph. ii. 1, &c. "My little children, these things I write unto you that ye fin not. - Hereby we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that faith I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word in him verily is the love of God perfected. Hereby know we that we are in him. He that faith he abideth in him, ought himself also so to walk even as he walked." ch. iii. 2. "Beloved, now are we the fons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be. But we know that when he shall appear we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure. Whosoever committeth fin tranfgrefieth alfo

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also the law; for fin is a tranfgreffion of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away fin, and in him was no fin. Whosoever abideth in him finneth not. Whosoever finneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you. He that doth righteoufness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil finneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil."

We need no other evidence of what it was that, in the idea of these apostles, Paul, Peter, James, and John, was the principal object and design of the Gospel. It was to make men virtuous, in order to their being happy; whereas none of the heathen religions had any such object. This, therefore, is a confiderable and important part of the evidence of the divine origin of our religion, of its having come from a pure and holy God, who intended thereby to make men, who are his offspring, and who were originally made in his image, pure and holy, like hinself; proper objects of his favour, and fit heirs of a happy immortality.

While,

While, therefore, we profess this religion, let us be careful to live up to this great end of it; that we may be Christians not in name only, but in deed and in truth; approving ourselves to be the disciples and friends of Christ, by doing whatsoever he has commanded us; that when he shall return, and take an account of his fervants, we may be found of him without Spot and blameless, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

DISCOURSE