"Surely in the Lord have I righteousness and "ftrength," may be called the motto of every Chriftian, is a fhort and comprehenfive fummary of his faith, and the great foundation of his hope and truft. As then it has been fhewn, that he is habitually inclined to obedience, with what alacrity and vigour will he apply himself to his duty, fince he believes that Almighty power is conftantly engaged in his behalf; and that however unable he may be of himfelf, for any thing that is good, yet a thorough and effectual change will be wrought in him by divine power? What a firmness and fortitude must be inspired by the following paffage of the prophet Isaiah, and other promises in the fame ftrain?" Haft "thou not known, haft thou not heard, that "the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends "of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? "there is no fearching of his understanding. "He giveth power to the faint; and to them "that have no might he increaseth ftrength. "Even the youths shall faint and be weary, "and the young men fhall utterly fall. But "they that wait on the Lord shall renew their "ftrength: they fhall mount up with wings "as eagles; they fhall run and not be weary, "they fhall walk and not faint *."

* If, xl. 28—37.

But

But now, perhaps, after all the advantages of this doctrine pointed out in the preceding dif courfe, fome will be ready to afk me, if it cannot poffibly be applied to the encouragement of impiety, or ferve to fofter a fupine floth and negligence? To this I am ready to answer, By fome who profefs it, it may; but by those who really believe it, it never can. There is no part of the word, or providence of God, that may not be, or that hath not frequently in fact been, abused to bad purposes, by wicked men under the dominion of their lufts. But, in order to remove ambiguity, it is proper to obferve, that wherever there is a national profeffion of any religious principles, there must be many who are not believers, in any other fenfe than that they have been accuftomed to hear fuch and fuch things afferted, have never enquired into nor doubted, feldom even thought of them, and fo do not difbelieve them. But there is a great difference between fuch a traditionary belief as may produce a customary profeffion, and fuch a real and inward perfuafion as will change the heart, and influence the practice. That there may be fome of the first fort of believers in the doctrine of imputed righteoufnefs, who are not holy, or perhaps abufe it, ill understood, to unholinefs, I am willing to allow; but that all thofe who believe it upon real and perfonal conviction, must be most confcientious

fcientious in the practice of every moral duty, I hope, hath been clearly made appear in the preceding pages.

The above is all that was first intended, in the prosecution of this argument: but, perhaps, it will not be improper, before difmiffing the subject, to make a few reflections upon the reception which it hath met with, and muft ftill expect to meet with in the world; upon its importance and proper application.

It is very certain, being neither denied by friends nor enemies, that this doctrine bath, in all ages, not only been attacked with the weapons of human wisdom, but generally alfo loaded with much reproach and contempt. After there. fore it hath been fo far defended, as may fatisfy every impartial, mind, and its influence upon prac tice demonftrated, I obferve, that whatever impreffion this fact may make upon others, it seems to me no fmall confirmation of its truth, as coming from God, that it is contrary to the fpirit of the world. This is both agreeable to Scripture and to found reafon. The doctrine of "Chrift "crucified," the apoftle Paul tells us, "was to "the Jews a ftumbling-block, and to the Greeks "foolishness *." And, fpeaking of the effect of the publication of this doctrine, he says, "fee your calling, brethren, how that not

•-1 Cor. i, 23.

Ye

"many

66 many wife men after the flesh, not many migh66 ty, not many noble are called. But God hath "chosen the foolish things of the world to con"found the wife; and God hath chofen the "weak things of the world to confound the "things which are mighty; and base things of "the world, and things which are despised, "hath God chofen, yea, and things which are "not, to bring to nought 'things that are *." This we are not to understand, as if the apostle yielded, that the gospel was not agreeable to true wisdom, or that the proper and legitimate use of human wisdom would not lead us to embrace it: but it contains a ftrong intimation of a truth not commonly attended to, that great natural abilities have pretty much the fame influence on the moral character with great wealth or temporal profperity. They are both apt to intoxicate the mind, and lead to pride, arrogance, and self-conceit and perhaps intellectual pride is as great an obftruction to the discovery of truth, as any bad difpofition whatsoever. We are allo taught, that God ordered and difpofed of things in this manner, for the wife ends of his providence, for the subjection of the arrogance and boafted wisdom of men; or in the words of the apoftle, "That no flefh fhould glory in his pre"fence." The reception then which this doc

* 1. Cor. i. 26-28.

trine usually meets with, should be so far from remaining as a prejudice or objection against its truth or utility, that, on the contrary, it should contribute to fatisfy us, that it is the real and genuine doctrine of Chrift, fince it meets with the fame fort of oppofition, and from the fame quarter, with which this was encountered at its first publication.

And indeed, befides this exact correspondence between the event, and what the Scripture gives us reafon to expect, as to the reception of the gofpel in the world, I apprehend it ought to be a general prejudice in favour of its truth, confidering the original it claims, that it doth not carry on it any of the marks of human wisdom. It feems to lie (if I may fo fpeak) quite out of the way of human imagination and contrivance, and is diametrically oppofite, in its whole tendency, to the most prevailing human inclination, viz. felf-esteem, pride, and vain-glory. This indeed is the true reason why this doctrine is so unacceptable to the world, especially the ambitious part of it, that it is directly levelled against their corrupt affections. It gives a view of the holinefs, purity, and juftice of God, which is intolerable to all those who are not willing to break their league with fin and vanity. And when it is truly complied with, it not only divorces men from their former attachment to fin and fenfuality, but will not suffer them to glory, even in their new character. All who fubmit unfeignedly

to