I

for ike founding of a CoUege. in this Colony*

• iLiiissyrarar •

AIT
EPITOME

SYSTEMATIC THEOLOGY;
EMBRACING THE DEFINITION — THE EXPLANATION — THE PROOF,
AND THE MORAL INFERENCES, OF ALL THE DOCTRINES
OF REVELATION, FROM THE EVIDENCES OF THE
EXISTENCE OF GOD FROM THE LIGHT OF
NATURE, DOWN TO THE CON
SUMMATION OF ALL
THINGS.

BY MA.RCCS SMITH, A. M.
Pastor of the 2d Presbyterian Church in Watertown, N. Y.

SECOND EDITION, REVISED AND CORRECTED.

DAVID HUNTER, PUBLISHER,
Watertown, New York.

WATERTOWN:
PRINTED BY ALVIN HUNT.

1837.

PREFACE.

Ten years ago, the author of these lectures published an edition of
the work, which was sold without tho honor of recommendations, or the
agency of booksellers.
The work came into being in an age of doctrinal revolution and re-
ligious experiment ; and with the exception of a few friendly and es
teemed criticisms, it has passed on without frowns or flatteries. —
Another edition has been repeatedly requested, and numerous applica
tions have been made for copies, when not a volume" could be obtained.
The author has been solicited to republish it by some without alteration,
and by others with modern improvements.
After a patient and thorough investigation of all the recent theories
which have agitated the church, and a careful and critical review of
the work, the author has not been able to discover the need of any es
sential alteration in its doctrinal complexion ; and therefore offers the
second edition to the public with a deep conviction that little has been
gained by religious innovation.
The foundations of christian faith were originally laid on the Rock
of Ages; and, like their Author, must be immutable. These doctrines
are the pillars ofthe enlightened and devout christian's faith which at
tend him through the darkness and apostacy of Zion's afflictions, and
amidst the light and splendor of her glorious revivals.
The principal improvements of this edition, are a few changes in the
phraseology — the removal of some obscurities in style — some explana
tions, and the addition of a table of questions for the use of bible classes.
I am apprised ofthe difficulty of compressing an entire system of
theology into such a narrow compass, and that it will be considered
more properly a manual for students in theology, than a book for com
mon reading. But 1 am convinced that its size is a sufficient tax on
many readers, and its contents sufficiently plain to be understood.
With these remarks, the work is cordially submitted to your perusal,
and commended to Him whose truth will accomplish the thing where-
unto He has sent it.

INTRODUCTION.

It is no more than justice to state, that 1 am induced to give
to my people this course of lectures on Systematic Theology,
from motives which have stood the test of long and matured re
flection, and which, I trust, will abide the decisions of that day,
when I must review the spirit in which I have written, and the
influence of my writings on the sentiments and conduct of my fel
low creatures. 1 have not entered on this work, with the vain
conceit, that my talents and acquisitions are pre-eminent. Nor
am I at liberty to conceal from a people, the dearest to me on
earth, the beauties which [ have discovered in that volume of
truth given to us by the Father of lights. I cannot betray so
much ignorance of human nature, as to believe that this, or any
other production, without the influence of the Spirit, will change
the sentiments of him who is so fixed in his opinions, by education
or prejudice, by ignorance or interest, as to be impatient of in
vestigation, and the application of sound reasoning and rules of
interpretation, to the sacred oracles. To the braced and bigoted
mind, an infant in the science of humane nature, knows that scrip.
ture reasoning and moral demonstration are as unavailing as the
fables of antiquity.
I have several objects in view. I wish to exhibit truth as
systematic and harmonious ; and to show its relations, dependen
cies and symmetry. I wish to place before the candid and en-
quiring mind, that faith which was given to the church, and has
been perpetuated, without mutilation or corruption; and which
will, when cordially embraced, exert an elevating and happy in
fluence on the whole features ofthe moral affections and religious
character. I wish to show, that faith and feeling are inseparably
connected ; and consequently, that belief is as important as prac-
tice. It is not a little alarming, that many injudicious christians
undervalue the faith of the saints, and in their rage for catholic-
ism, surrender the fundamental doctrines of the gospel. The
most plausible and the most successful attacks that are made on
"the church, are, to produce prevarication and skepticism in pro.
fessing christians. If their doctrines can be dispensed with, they

VI INTRODUCTION.
become an easy prey to licentiousness and apostacy. Let the
church dispense with doctrinal and sentimental preaching for fifty
years, and there would only remain a few illegible traces of her
former magnificence.
I wish to detect and expose the misrepresentations of scripture
truth, and wipe off the unmerited reproach which the faith of the
saints has endured for ages. It is an important fact, which de-
mands particular notice, that those who are unfriendly to the or
thodox, have always given a false statement of their sentiments ;
and of consequence, their refutations have been refutations of ideal,
and not of real christian belief. The people on whom these misrep
resentations are palmed, no more believe them, than their profes
sed antagonists. There is not, to my Jtnowledge a volume extant,
in which a correct and candid refutation ofthe doctrines of grace
is attempted. There have been numerous attempts to refute doc
trines, which were charged upon certain denominations of sound
christians, but which they are as forward to combat as their oppo-
nents. I wish to put it into the hands of sound and gospel be
lievers, an undisguised and honest expression of their faith, divested
of misrepresentations and sophistical objections. It is not expect
ed that christians in laborious occupations, with few literary means,
and with little more than time enough for devotional purposes,
can, without maturity of christian character, conduct an able and
irrefutable defence of the doctrines of the gospel. They may
be useful, intelligent, and the pillars of the church; and yet be
unable to remove the false colouring given to their sentiments, or
defend the truths which they firmly believe and cordially love.
This illustrates the importance of enlightening a people in the
great system of divine truth. This can be done only by exhibit
ing the doctrines of the gospel seperately, and then show
ing their mutual connection and dependence. No man becomes
a scholar by listening to a lecture which delineates the whole sys
tem of natural and moral philosophy. Too many objects crowd.
ed into the mind at once confuse and bewilder it, and enfeeble all its
operations. It retires from the scene distracted and distressed,
and finds relief only in oblivion of thought. Who could make a
skilful mechanic by teaching the whole art at once, even if the
instruction were a thousand times repeated ? In science, philos.
ophy, and religion, it is by receiving facts, in their detached parts,
and then putting them together that we obtain a correct view of
their relations, dependencies, their proportions and beauties.

INTRODUCTION VU
To my church and people 1 will add, I hope you will come
to an examination of these lectures, with an unbiased and devout,
a critical and christian spirit; and, as my plan forbids an ex
tensive and full discussion ofthe subjects which I shall examine,
I shall submit the several topics' to your patient and persevering
research, desirous that your minds may be influenced by a su
preme desire to know the will of God. I shall endeavor neither
to follow nor to avoid the tracks of any man or any class of men,
who have written systems of divinity ; and to'escape the charge
of imitation or of singularity, 1 shall leave the writings of great
and good men, and follow the instructions ofthe Holy Ghost, giv.
en us in the scriptures. In relation to the spirit of my labors, I
must leave my people to judge for themselves. I pledge myself
to be uninfluenced by human authority, on all essential doctrines,
and will neither worship nor curse the image of my own de
nomination, nor that of others. The truth shall be the object
for which I pray, and for which 1 labor. The only deference I
shall pay to my reason, will be to make the best application of
the rules of interpretation to the truths of the Bible. You shall
have my best endeavors to understand and explain the will of
God ; and then I will leave you to embrace or reject at pleasure.
While I shall attempt to justify the ways of God to man, and to
show the consistency and beauty of divine truth, I- shall demand
your faith in revealed truth, on the authority of the great Law-
giver. When I have proved a doctrine from scripture, by fair
and unsophisticated reasoning, you are bound to believe it, sim
ply on the authority of God. The authority of God, I shall con
sider superior to the prejudices of education, the jealousies of
sectarianism, or the cavils of unbelief. Enlightened, speculative
faith, is a belief in all the testimony of God; and saving faith is a
cordial assent to the truth of the gospel. But to notice the end.
less queries which exist.from the atheist to the arminian, and from
the socinian to the fatalist, would be a work as useless as it would
be thankless. As to the spirit in which these lectures are receiv.
ed, I can only say, that 1 could wish all to receive them with an in
quisitive mind and a devout heart ; and to try them by the infallible
criterion. If any man speak not according to this word, it is be
cause there is no light in him. We are never to hear the word of
God as an amusement, or as a mere pastime ; but as solemn, ani-
mating and glorious truth, the value of which demands our atten
tion and study — our gratitude and love.

VIII INTRODUCTION.
The plan which I shall pursue is very plain and natural. 1
shall first define the doctririe. In giving the definition, caution
will be used, to adopt a phraseology perspicuous and precise. —
The words of a definition ought to be such as mean just enough
and no more. Every reflecting person must be sensible, that
much time, talent, and temper are often lost, because the truth
under consideration is not plainly set before the hearers. The
speaker, for want of clear and distinct views of the object at
which he aims, wanders from his subject ; and the hearer, if ig
norant of the import of the lecture, will not discover the force
of reasoning; for it is in the obscurity of terms and the defect.
iveness of definition, that error always takes refuge, and con
cealment never fails to lessen her deformities. It is this mode
of reasoning from definitions, that will ultimately correct those
errors which are so industriously, propagated in the earth, expose
their sophistry, and fill the world with light. Definitions only will
assimilate the type of human sentiments, and calm the raging
elements of moral feeling. Many ardent disputants are- deter-
mined to disagree, when, if a definition of the point in question
were laid on the table, they would seize it with equal avidity.
2ndly, I shall explain the definition or doctrine. Here my
object will be to clear the doctrine of misconstruction, and place
the definition in its true light. I shall here take the liberty to ex-
plain the sense in which I use language, and shew the reasons for
such use of it. This is a privilege which justice gives to every
writer, and of which every minister who seeks the improvement
ofhis people, avails himself.
3dly. I shall prove the doctrine from scripture ; and although
every point shall rest on divine testimony, yet I shall not be de
nied the aid of corroborating testimony from other sources. In
adducing proof, I shall feel myself bound to urge no passage
which is not directly in point, and shall consider one proof text
as substantial as a thousand. The force of argument and the
weight of conviction, must be regulated by the nature of the
proof, and not by the number of passages. No truth, precept,
or injunction of inspiration is the more convincing from its repeti-
tion. God needs speak but once to be believed. I do not mean
by this, that God has never repeated the same truth, but that the
repetition does not alter the first declaration. A multitude of
passages, which have no relation to the subject, adduced in sup-

INTRODUCTION. IX
port of a point, can convince only the ignorant and unthinking :
the rational and intelligent man demands but one single incont.ro-
vertable text. The certainty that God has said it once is satis
factory ; and he who requires the repetition of it, doubts the ve
racity of God. Nothing has.done more injury to the cause of
fruth, than arguments loaded with passages of scripture, which
have little or no relation to the subject under discussion. It is a
pity that a good cause should be abused, by subjecting it to sus
picion ; and that the authority of God should' be doubted, with
out repeated attestations and numerous proofs. Hath he said,
and will he not do it? I will state to you the rules of interpreta
tion, which I shall apply to the scriptures adduced. 1 shall first
give the plain and literal meaning. If any difficulty then re
mains, I shall examine their figurative language. In doing this,
I shall place myself in the land in which the scriptures were writ
ten, and take a view of the scenery which surrounds me. To
understand the figurative language of Job, I must know the ge
ography of Chaldea. To understand the figurative language of
David, I must know the history of Palestine. In interpreting
scripture allusions, I must have some knowledge of the arts and
sciences, the manners and customs, the religious, ceremonial and
civil policy of the Jewish nation. I roust acquaint myself with
the history of the Jews. Biblical archaeology is divided into sa
cred, political, and domestic ; and embraces every thing worthy
of notice and remembrance, whether it be merely alluded to, or
treated as something well known. If the meaning of a passage
cannot be determined by its plain, literal sense, nor from an ex
amination of its figurative language, I shall examine the context,
and let the subject determine the sense. The next principle of
interpretation will be to compare scripture with scripture and as
certain its import by parallel passages. If any obscurity then
remains, the different senses in which the same word is used, must
be examined. There are few words in scripture which are inva
riable in their signification. The word righteousness will serve
for an illustration, which is used in at least fourteen different sen
ses. If 1 am yet in doubt, the text must be left in reserve to
the developement of the final day, when we shall no longer see
in part and know in part.
4thly, I shall show the moral duties which every doctrine en-
joins. It is a fact which goes far to establish the divine authority

X INTRODUCTION.
of the scriptures, that there is not in the whole system of divine
truth, a single doctrine which has not its moral deductions. Every
duty is appended to a doctrine. Practical religion is the fruit of
doctrinal religion: and one cannot exist in its highest perfection,
without the other. If the doctrine of Divine Existence falls, the
duty of homage and worship falls. ' If the doctrine of de-
pravity is false, the grace of humility is hypocrisy. This very
important and inseperable connexion between faith and practice,
doctrine and duties, I intend fully to illustrate in the course of my
lectures. This then is my. plan : definition, explanation, proofs and moral
deductions. I have not adopted this method in imitation of my predeces
sors, nor to claim the honor of discovery or invention, but as the
most natural and plain arrangement of the system of divine truth,
suggested to my mind by my own reflections, and studies on the
scriptures. I have adopted this plan in preference to all others,
because I have never seen a work written against a true and non.
est statement of orthodox sentiments. Our sentiments have been
mis-stated, then palmed upon us, then triumphantly refuted, when
the representations of the doctrine were as abhorrent to our
faith and feelings, as to those of any other class of beings on
earth. Another consideration which has induced me to pursue this
plan, is, that both the friends and enemies of truth, have some
times unhappily blended and confused doctrines, which are totally
distinct. This has .produced confusion in some, skepticism in
others, and unbelief in others.
Another consideration is, that by many, doctrines are greatly
undervalued ; and multitudes, from weakness of moral principle
and timid indecision, have fallen into the fatal sentiment, that
there is no connexion between doctrines and duties, faith and
practice. Thus, as the pillars erected by the Apostles, have
been worn away by time, and sacrilegious temporising, the piety
of the church has fallen, and religion without doctrines can no
more exist in a healthful and flourishing state, than the human
body can exist, when all its supporting pillars, its sinewy liga-
ments, and its nutritious conductors are destroyed. If there is
no doctrine, there is no duty. Incorrectness in faith, is as dan.
gerous to the interests of the soul, as immorality of conduct. 

INTRODUCTION. xi
Reason and scripture regard the feelings and views of the heart,
as essentially concerned in determining the character and destiny
of man. If ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your
«ins. Faith is a condition of salvation, and faith is an exercise
of the understanding and heart.
I have a few more remarks to offer before entering on the
work, which I have pledged myself to this church and congre
gation to undertake. I propose to give you a Systematic epito.
me of divine truth. It is essential to profit and success in this
investigation, to inquire what we are lo understand by the word
system. We may believe a thousand detached truths, and yet
see no system about them. We see system displayed in every
piece of complicated machinery ; in the happily constructed edi-
fice, in which every part has its utility, its relations, and its de
pendencies. We see system in the mechanism of a watch, and
in the mechanism of a world, where all things are mutually de
pendent and mutually combined. Divine truth has a system. —
It is a golden chain ; and if one link be broken, the whole beauty
and harmony are lost. This system begins with the existence,
perfections, and prerogatives of God ; and proceeds on, examin
ing the revelation, which he has made of himself to man ; the
creation of the world ; the,creation of man; his primeval char
acter; the apostacy ; his subsequent character ; the plan of re-
covery ; the several steps by which this plan is carried into exe
cution; its author; the death of the human family ; the resur.
rection of their bodies; their final and irreversable destinies; and
the winding up of the scenes of the last judgment, and the sur-
rendery of the mediatorial office and kingdom. Such is the wide
and interesting field we are to explore.
Though I enter on this work, with an unshaken belief of the
sincerity of my motives, and can say, if I ever formed a design
on my knees, it was this, yet I must acknowledge, I feel myself
poorly qualified to present to you the beauties of the moral world;
and to examine a subject, fraught with so many deep and incom
prehensible truths. I can look only to the Father of lights, and
solicit an interest in your intercessions. But 1 must remind you,
that should the success of my undertaking, produce in my mind
a happy disappointment, and God be glorified in these feeble ef.
forts, still the labor will be lost to the careless and inattentive
hearer. Wherever the truths of the law, or the glories ofthe

XU INTRODUCTION.
gospel, are published, there will be an influence, either healthful
or unhealthful. The enjoyment ofthe gospel is not loss anima
ting thau solemn.
1 would Iherefore entreat you, my hearers, to come to the ex
amination of the truths ofthe scriptures, with an humble mind,
deeply imbued with the spirit of inquiry, and desirous to know
the mind of the Spirit. We may speculate on the Bible, but it
should be devout speculation. We may reason, but our reasoning
should be accompanied with proper views of the weakness of our
powers, and of the infallibility of divine testimony. In short,
the knowledge and the love, the pleasure and the profit, the hon
or and the reward of truth, should be found in the same heart,
that God may be glorified and the soul saved. May we all know,
what can be known of God and his truth here on earth, and en
joy the brighter vision of his face in heaven.
Search the scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal
life ; and they are they which testify of me.

INDEX.

Preface page 3
Introduction 5
Faith, speculative 9
" saving 9
Rules of interpretation 11
Plan of lectures 12
System 14
LECTURE I.
The existence of God from the
light of nature 18
Chance 19
Homage 24
Reverence 25
LECTURE II.
Attributes of God from the works
of creation 27
Unity of God 27
Personality 27
Wisdom of God 28
Power of God 29
Goodness of God 30

LECTURE III.

Inspiration of the scriptures

40

Proof of their authenticity

41

Inspiration -

43

Argument 1st

44

" 2nd

45

« 3d

45

" 4th

47

" 5th

48

•' 6th

49

LECTURE IV.
Natural attributes of God 55
Attributes defined , 55
Perfection 53
Prerogative 55
Quality of attributes 55
Number of attributes 56
Natural, classified 56
Self.existence 56
Eternity of existence 56
Immutability 56
Omnipotence 57
Omniscience 58
Omnipresence 59
Infinite wisdom defined 60
LECTURE V.
Moral attributes, 65
" classified 66
Holiness of God 66
Divine goodness 66
Mercy or grace 68
Justice 69
Genera], distributive, remunera
tive, punitive, and vindictive 69
Truth, faithfulness, veracity 73
LECTURE VI.
Mode of Divine existence 76
Trinitarianism 76
Tritheism ^6
Deity of the Father proved 80
Personality and deity of the Son
and of the Holy Ghost 80

XIV INDEX.
LECTURE VII. The sin of Adam the occasion
Deity of the Son and of the Holy of the sin of his posterity 128
Ghost 87 Objections against the introduc-
Divinity and "humanity of Christ 87 tion of sin answered 131
Attributes ofthe Father applied The intention ofthe sinner in
to the Son 90 the commission of sin 133
Deity and personality ofthe Holy

Ghost

93

LECTURE XI.

'

Messiah and atonement

137

LECTURE VIII.

Commencement of the new dis

Creation
97
pensation
141
Order of creation
97
Atonement
141
Heavens
98
Sufferings of Christ
141
Man created
99
Difference between atonement
" in the image of God
99
and application
144
Primitive state of man
101
Evidences of a general atone
ment
146
LECTURE IX.
Has not removed the guilt of
Divine law
106
man
146
Moral government
106
Atonement made on 'God's ac
Perfect
106
count
147
Obligations of man to obey the
Sinners inexcusable
148
law i
106
Law immutable
109
LECTURE XII.
111 Depravity 149
Penalty essential to the exist- Gospel 149
once of law 113 Doctrines of grace 149
Penalty just 114 Distinction betvven natural and
Knowledge of the law necessary 118 moral affections 150
Natural faculties ofthe mind 151
LECTURE X. Reason 151
Apostacy 121 Memory 151
Free.agency 124 Perception 151
Sin the occasion of displaying Conscience 151
the character and offices of " why sometimes cal.
Christ and ofthe Holy Ghost 124 led moral 151
Sin the occasion of displaying Natural faculties not depraved 151
the moral attributes of God 125 Moral, defined 152
Objections against the use ofthe Depravity consists in enmity 152
term permit 127 Moral powers depraved 153
INDEX.

XV

Experience defined 157
The reason that sinners cannot
do good works 158
Good deeds 159
LECTURE XIII.
Sovereignty and agency of God 161
Sovereignty of God 163
Agency 163
Decrees 163
Divine agency 163
General 164
Particular 168
Agency of God does not destroy
the free. agency of man 168
Introduction of sin, consistent
with the holiness of God, and'
with the freedom and account
ability of man 168
Harmony between human and
divine agency 169
LECTURE XIV.
Election 172
Covenant of redemption 172
Covenant of grace 173
Election defined 173
Foreknowledge of God 176
Election of God the cause of
the saints' regeneration 178
Rebrobation bible doctrine 181
Election the only doctrine
which makes the salvation of
any certain 184
Cordial embrace of it evidence
of a new heart. 184

Grace Special grace
Calls, common
" special
Why special

187187187187189

LECTURE XV.

Special calling

18G

Common "

186

Penitent and impenitent sinner,
distinction between them 190
Partiality defined 190
Influences ofthe spirit irresisti-
ble, why 194
LECTURE XVI.
Regeneration 196
Sense in which it is used 197
Instantaneous 199
Holy change 201
Holiness in men 201
Pure religion 201
Special change 202
Does not destroy free agency 202
The sinner active in regenera
tion 203
Men have natural powers to be
come christians 206
LECTURE XVII.
Christian gra?e 208
First erercise of the renewed
heart love 209
2d exercise repentance 209
Natural repentance 209
Legal 209
Evangelical 210
Order of christian graces 212
Faith 213
Devotion 214
Prayer 214
Humility 214
Christian submission 215
Rational hope of heaven 217
Christian hope 217

XVI INDEX
Gospel plan of salvation consist- Happin ess of heaven consists in
ent 217 the knowledge and love of
God 240
LECTURE XVIII. Holiness not selfish 241
Perseverance 218
Covenant of grace, why so call. LECTURE XX.
ed 221 Resurrection 245
Sanctification 225 Not unphilosophical 246
Apostacies accounted for on the Argument 1 st 248
ground of false conversions 226 " 2d 249
Objections against the perse- " 3d 250
verence ofthe saints obviated 228 " 4th 253
The doctrine of perseverence
does not tend to licentious- LECTURE XXI.
ness 229 Judgment 256
The promise of reward to holi- Particular and general 256
ness 232 Necessary 257
Efforts to destroy the church Decisions infallible 259
vain 233 Christ, the judge 260
Obligations of the saints to ex- Persons concerned 262
ercise gratitude 233 LECTURE XXII.
LECTURE XIX. Punishment of the wicked eter-
Saints' death and glorification 234 nal 268
Saints enter into happiness im- Argument 1st 269
mediately after death 236 « 2d 270
Saints blessed in the society of " 3d 277
heaven 239 " 4th 277

LECTURE I.
, DIVINE EXISTENCE.
Heb. 3, 4.
For every house is builded by some man ; but he that built all things
is God. We have a knowledge of our own existence, and of the exist
ence of objects around us by intuition. This knowledge is ob
tained by the senses, and not by process of reasoning. Our knowl
edge of past events is derived from testimony of various kinds ;
such as oral tradition, and well authenticated records. The most
clear and conclusive knowledge which we possess, is mathemati.
cal. The reason of man is not so biased and perverted as his
moral powers ; and its conclusions are capable of demonstration.
Intuitive knowledge, a knowledge of material existence is per
fectly satisfactory ; and, by common consent, he is considered in
a state of mental derangement, who denies, either what he sees,
or feels, or tastes, or smells, or hears. This kind of evidence is
said to be incapable of proof, because this knowledge is obtained
without any reasoning. The objects come in immediate contact
with the senses.
Now we, and the world with all its furniture around us, were
created by God.
I will proceed to prove that there is an author, who is the first
cause of all things. God is a being who existed before all things,
2

18 DIVINE EXISTENCE.
and is uncreated, and uncaused in all his attributes. By him
were all things created, visible and invisible, material, mental, and
moral. But his nature will be more clearly explained in the proofs
which I shall adduce of his existence and perfections. This world
must have been either self-existent, or self-created, or created by
some being. If it were self-existent, it would not be mutable ;
for it is seen intuitively, that what is self-existent, must exist of
necessity, and a necessary existence is an immutable existence.
But \ve see the impress of mutability on all things. The mind
of man is subject to endless fluctuations; and the face and furni-
ture of creation, are not what they once were. The doctrine of
self-existence denies any influence, or any control from external
sources. An acknowledgment of mutability, is an acknowledg
ment of a superior, controlling power ; and in that case, it cannot
be Self-existent. But there are changes in nature which cannot
be accounted for on the ground of any established laws of nature ;
for almost all of these laws have been counteracted and suspend
ed ; and this could not be done, if there were no superior, uphold
ing power. Self-existence is uncontrollable existence. There
are no marks of self-existence about this world. If it was self.
existent, it must have been eternal. An admission of its origin,
would bean admission of a creator ; for every thing which begins
to exist, must have a cause of its existence, which would destroy
its self-existence. It would require an astonishing credulity to
believe the mechanism of this world eternal, when all things pro-
claim its changeableness and its dependence. To suppose that
it created itself is still more repulsive to enlightened reason. —
What idea can you have of a being's commencing his own exist-

DIVINE EXISTENCE. 19
ence before he exists? Though I would pay some deference to
those rare geniuses who have employed such good talents in so
bad a cause, I must confess, that there is so much smoke about
their self-creating scheme, that it extinguishes my sight. One
thing is certain, if they had only waited until they had created
themselves, the world would not have been troubled with their
sophistry. But even on supposition that the work is commenced,
how is it to be carried on ? Can matter beget motion ? and even
on presumption that it can, can motion beget mind ? It might pro-
duce friction ; but friction cannot generate intelligence. There
are two infirmities about the scheme of self-creation : one is, that
you can never commence the work ; and the other is that you can
never carry it on. And if the world is not self existent, nor self-
created, it must be the work of some being. I would here just
remark on the word chance, that, by common consent of all rea
soners at the present day, it means nothing more than the opera.
tions of principles and agents, invisible to us ; and that it always
supposes a prior cause. If chance does not mean the conceal.
ment and incomprehensibility of the efficient cause, it has no
meaning at all. Chance and fortune, and fate, are terms, which
have served at all times, as cloaks for human ignorance ; and be
fore mankind were favored with the light of divine revelation,
they had an imaginary importance, which has now happily van
ished. Believers in divine providence, no longer conceive the
events of the world as left to themselves, or under the control of
any unintelligent or unconscious agents ; but ascribe the whole to
an overruling mind, which, though invisible to the bodily eye,
may be clearly traced by the mental eye, wherever we turn our-
2*

20 DIVINE EXISTENCE.
selves. I conceive, that christians cannot use these terms, unless
in trivial matters, and in conformity to general usage without dis-
paragement to the Divine Being. And such use ought to be con
sidered, as a kind of profaneness. There is no justice in its ap-
plication to any thing but secondary causes. It is evident from
what has been said, there is a great author, or first cause, in
whom are all things, and by whom all things consist. That he
exists neither by permission, nor by dependence, but necessarily
and unavoidably. He existed previously to the creation ; and
conducted it by his own power and wisdom. I shall not waste a
moment's labor in attempting to prove who this being is. You
may call him God, Creator, or First Cause as you please. We
simply mean him .by whom all things and all creatures were made.
That the invisible things of God, are clearly seen by the things
that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, is a senti.
ment written on all his works. The man who doubts the evi.
dence ofthe divine existence, drawn from the works of creation,
is willing to sacrifice good sense to caprice ; and, in opposition to
the decisions of his enlightened judgment, to adopt a faith, refuted
by reason, candor, and experience, and to labor under an inexcu.
sable delusion. When we admit an author of all things, there is
no solution of the perplexing objections to other systems. The
existence of a God is the pillar of all religion. As every object
in creation must be traced back to him, so all the arrangements
and relations in the material world, have one common author,
and must be referred to the Great Original. There are other
proofs to be adduced from the works of nature in support of the
divine existence. There is not a more legible truth, than the

DIVINE EXISTENCE. 21
design every where conspicuous in the works of God. Earth,
air, fire and water, and all the infinite functions in animate, and
combinations in inanimate matter, and all the physical and intel-
lectual powers of man, display design. Design is conspicuous in
the sun, in the heavens, in the seasons of the year, and in the
constitution and mechanism ofthe smallest vegetable, and the
minutest insect. If there is design, there must be a designer :
and there can be no designer, without being and intelligence. If
it be objected, that the same difficulties lie against theism, as a-
gainst atheism, that is, that it is just as absurd to admit the self.
existence of Deity, as the self-existence of the world, my reply
is at hand. There is no clue of reasoning by which we can come
at a commencement ofthe divine existence. This world evident
ly began to exist. The history ofthe human species, shows that
they had a beginning. The progress ofthe arts and sciences
shows that this world has had its infancy. If there were any
thing in the divine character, which indicated increase, or dimu-
nition, or change, iUwould be difficult to conduct an argument in
favor ofthe self-existent, first cause of all things. This world
looks like an unfinished edifice, in the hands of the architect of
the universe. It has not yet reached its perfection of beauty. —
Every thing we behold is effect: the cause is invisible, but must
exist. And if God were in any respect like the creatures ofhis
power, we should, from the reasons which we have adduced, be
obliged to admit, that he is not the first cause, and self existent.
But it is no matter how remote the Author and Designer of the
world is, if the secondary causes were ever so numerous, they
must all be traced back to their primary cause. Now I have a

22 DIVINE EXISTENCE.
curious piece of mechanism before me,— call it a world. There
are every where in it marks of design. Its whole machinery is
adapted to certain ends which it accomplishes. And you cannot
destroy (he convictions of my mind and the persuasions of my
moral and intellectual nature, that this world is the workmanship
of some intelligent being. It would not destroy my faith, to tell
me that I did not see the world made ; that there are some ap-
parent irregularities in the machinery of the universe, nor that
some parts ofthe machine are invisible and incomprehensible;
nor that I am told, it is the effect of some possible combinations of
material forms; nor that there existed in things a principle of or-
der ; nor that it is the result of metallic nature : nor would it avail
any thing to tell me I know nothing about it. All nature declares
there is a God. And whatever influence revelation may have
exercised in forming my opinions, and whatever clearness it may
have given to my reasonings and conclusions, it is still true, that
the existence of a God is proveable from the volume of nature.
Without admitting the existence of a first cause it is extremely
difficult, if not impossible satisfactorily to account for the existence
of this world: there is therefore, not a little plausibility in the ar-
gument that the admission of a first cause, is the easiest way to
account for the existence of this world. That this is the easiest
way to account for the existence of this world, might be rationally
inferred from the constitutional pre-disposition of man thus to ac
count for its existence, and the universal prevalence of this sen
timent. Having proved the doctrine of divine existence, I proceed to
inquire, — what are the legitimate inferences, or moral duties

DIVINE EXISTENCE. 23
drawn from this doctrine. This doctrine establishes the depend.
ence of all things. If they are not self-existent, they are depend
ent. The same power which brought them into being, must sup.
port them, or they returnto their native nonentity; for if this
world and its inhabitants could not give themselves existence,
they could not maintain their existence. To suppose that God
gave to created objects and created beings, capacities to perpet-
uate their existence, is nothing less than to suppose a being may
be both dependent and independent — both created and self-exist
ent, which is a plain absurdity. If all created things are depend
ent, then man is so. His powers of body, of mind, and of heart,
owe their constant support to God. In him we live, and move,
and have our being. If God were to withdraw his supporting
hand, every organ ofthe body would cease to perform its office ;
the lungs would cease to respire, the heart to beat, the mind to
think, and the affections to love or hate. The weakness of man,
and his incapacity to manage his own powers, are demonstrative
proof, that he has nothing but a dependent existence. This would
be a strange world, if its inhabitants were uncontrolled and un.
controllable. Changes, and influence, and persuasion would
cease, and unalterable union, or inefficient discord, would reign
universal. And if man is dependent, he is accountable. It is impossible
to conceive of dependence without obligation. Wherever there
are moral existences and relations, there are obligations founded
on those relations. The pauper is bound to respect his benefac
tor, because he is dependent on him for support. The child is
bound to revere and love its parent, because the parent supplies

24 DIVINE EXISTENCE.
its needs, and provides for its comfort. Since man possesses nei-
ther an underived existence, nor exercises an entire control over
his powers, but is the property of his Creator, he is bound to pay
him homage and reverence. Homage, in the technical sense,
was an oath taken, or a service performed, by the tenant to his
lord, on being admitted to his land ; or by inferior princes to a
sovereign, whereby they acknowledged his sovereignty and prom
ised fidelity. In its extended and figurative sense, it comprehends
every solemn mark of deference, by which the superiority of an
other is acknowledged. As nothing' can be more just than an
acknowledgment of our dependence and accountability, so noth
ing can be more ungrateful and wicked, than a denial ofthe prop
erty of God in us, and his right to dispose of us as he pleases. Is
it a fact, that man is a creature, feeble, and dependent on the su
preme Being ; possessing not a particle of unborrowed existence,
or an uncontrollable prerogative ; and yet shall he be unwilling
to recognize his relation to the God of nature, and to pay him
that respect and honor, which no spirit but that of disaffection and
rebellion could withhold? Has he created, and does he up-
hold us in being, and are we in the possession of every blessing
which his munificent hand can bestow ? and shall we lavish the
unmerited praise of these blessings on ourselves? Surely not.
Then a respectful deference to his exalted existence, and corres
pondent gratitude for his unmerited favors, are the duty of all his
creatures. The kindred duty of reverence is due to God. Reverence a-
rises from a contemplation of the superiority of the Supreme Be-
ing ; and partakes of a mixture of awe and fear, produced by a

DIVINE EXISTENCE. 25
consciousness of weakness and d ependence. If God created, then
he has power, either to punish, or to bless us. His wrath is
dreadful, and his favor is life. And who can conceive of hi°-her
obligations to reverence, than those which rest on beings who are
the entire property of another? To trifle with the names, attri-
butes, or prerogatives of God; or to deny the obligations of de
pendent and accountable creatures, is daring impiety in man. —
God is the father ofthe human family ; and we, as obedient chil
dren, ought to contemplate his character, and admire his excel
lence. He should be held in high esteem for his superior glory.
And the man who refuses him the homage, worship, and rever
ence, which are his just due, is the more inexcusable, because the
doctrine on which they are founded, is written with the clearness
of a sun-beam, and is carried by the messengers of creation around
the world, leaving on every plain the footsteps of the Creator,
and inscribing on every mountain the evidence of his exist
ence. If you wish to know whether you ought to worship God,
open your eyes and inspect the objects within the reach of your
vision. To doubt, is stupidity ; to deny, is infatuation. He only
is rational who reasons. I have not pursued this chain of rea
soning with the prospect of convincing the sceptical atheist ; for I
would say to those professing a disbelief of the existence of God,
as Raffles once said to the French infidel, "If your profession is
true, you are a fool, and if not, a liar." The atheist is an athe
ist for reasons which demonstrations can never remove ; and
therefore argument, or even attention, is a waste of time and tal-
ents, and a departure from the dignity of man. The best way to
treat a man who wishes to assume a puerile independence, and

26 DIVINE EXISTENCE.
to build a reputation on singularity, is to leave him undisturbed,
to live and die in his temple of folly. The most powerful defence
of truth in such a case, is silence and neglect. I have adduced
these arguments to show the thoughtful portion of my congrega-
tion, the futility of objections ; and that the belief of the divine ex
istence is capable of irrefutable proof. The great pillar of all
genuine religion stands secure. The foundation is a rock, and
cannot be removed. I have as yet brought forward no proof
from the scriptures, because I have not yet shown the authenti
city and inspiration of them. I must first gather all the evidence
there is ofthe existence and perfections of God, from the book of
nature. It is presumed no one will deny the authenticity of this
book. I have introduced this proof to set the Divine Being be
fore your eyes, that you may study your duty and your happiness,
and place your hope in God. Carry with you, into every depart.
ment of life, and into every secret recess, a sense of the divine
presence. The doctrine of the divine existence, in ils practical
effects, is more extensive than any other. To deter us from sin,
let the impression prevail, that God is present to view the motives
and dispositions which operate in every heart.

EECTURE II.
ATTRIBUTES OF GOD, FROM THE WORKS OF
CREATION.
Rom. 1, 20.
For the invisible things of him, from the creation of the world, are
clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his
eternal power and Godhead.
Having proved from the light of nature, the existence of God,
I now proceed to an examination ofthe same volume, in search of
the character of that being who created the world.
We can form no conception of any being without attributes or
qualities. These properties ofhis nature constitute his existence.
An attribute, or property of God, is known by his operations. —
Divine operations discover divine faculties and dispositions. The
first instruction we receive from the light of nature, is the doc
trine of the unity of God. After all the variety and complica-
tion in- the machinery ofthe universe, there is evidence of unity
of design, and harmony of prosecution. It is hardly conceivable
that a variety of beings, distinct and separate, should pursue the
same plan, by the same means. Unity of end, proves unity of
design. And unity of design proves unity of designer. The
whole creation is the workmanship ofthe Great Architect.
The works of nature prove also the personality of Deity. 1
use personality in a sense distinguished from what is called na
ture, and sometimes a principle. Those who use these phrases,
seem to admit an efficacy, while they exclude the agent. Any

28 ATTRIBUTES OF GOD, FROM
thing which can contrive must be an agent ; and any thing which
has consciousness, and thought, must, of necessity, be a person:
because consciousness and thought constitute personality. This
being, to be a person, must perceive the end, or purpose, and have
wisdom to devise means, and power to put them in execution. —
He who thinks, chooses, and acts, is a person. Without these
qualities, it would be utterly impossible to account for the exist.
ence and constitution of the world. God is one, and God is a
person. But the three principal attributes of God, which are demonstra
ble from the light of nature, are his wisdom, power, and goodness.
Wisdom is ability to form plans, and to devise means for their
accomplishment. The perfection or imperfection of this faculty, is to be deter
mined by the degree of skill manifested in the selection of means,
and by the degree of success attending them. Wisdom in God
is infinite. When he prepares his means, he takes into view all
the possible changes which can take place; and not only adapts
means to ends in the happiest manner, but he governs these means
with an uninfluenced sway. The means in every case, invaria
bly accomplish the end. They are adequate means, adapted to
the certain accomplishment of the end. The only difficulty in
adducing proof on this point, arises from the multitude of witnes
ses, and the abundance of evidence. The universal laws of self-
defence and self-preservation, prove, that he who had wisdom to
design, had wisdom to devise the best method, and the best means
to carry these designs into effect. If he who formed the arrange.
ment of this world, had not been infinite aud infallible in his choice

THE WORKS OF CREATION. 29
of means, there would have been some disappointment and de-
rangement conspicuous before this time. Many plans would have
been abandoned ; and the order of the world would have been
broken up. But there is no imperfection in the great system of
means, however they may look lo weak and fallible man, because
God is infinite in wisdom.
By the power of God, is to be understood his ability to create,
or to accomplish all his designs, and to manage the affairs of hia
kingdom. We call this power omnipotent, because it is sufficient
to perform all things. It can do every thing possible. It is cal.
led infinite, because it can perform works utterly incomprehen-
sible to the human mind. It required an effort of power to create
this and surrounding worlds, which is totally incomprehensible
to a finite mind. And the constant agency necessary to main-
tain this world, is equally beyond the comprehension ofthe mind
of man. There are no conceivable limits to the divine power.
The bringing of existence from nonentity , the making of a world'
so vast and immeasurable, and maintaining it without aid, prove
his omnipotence. Every display of magnificence and grandeur
about uf, is evidence of divine power. Human power is limited
and restricted. It can only mar the materials with which it is
surrounded, or, by the application of one material to another, fur
nish some mimicry of imitation. But all the principles and all
the materials are furnished to our hands. We can only sepe-
rate, and combine, and produce a few changes. But what is
this power compared with that of him who spake and it was done ;
the efficacy of whose words gave birth to the world ; and whose
unwearied arm supports and governs it. That power must have

30 ATTRIBUTES OF GOD, FROM
been omnipotent which hung the worlds in clusters around the
heavens ; which moved the silken chords of attraction and gravi
tation, and which holds these worlds in their orbits as they play
around their centres ! That power must be omnipotent which fix
ed the finer organs of the unnoticed insect ; adorned man with
his ennobling faculties ; shakes the waters ofthe ocean, and flings
the lofty mountains into the skies ! These are but a part of his
ways. The thunder ofhis power who can understand ?
But we are furnished, from the volume of nature, with evidence
not only of the unity, personality, wisdom, and power of God,
but also of his goodness. And here a field opens, in which intel
lect may range, and piety may enjoy her ceaseless gratification.
Goodness in God is a disposition to make his creatures happy. —
And if this simple fact be admitted, that every piece of workman
ship, displays the character of its author, we shall find in the
vast field of material and intellectual nature, abundant proofs of
the goodness of God. and here I need lay no claims to independ-
ence or invention, but follow the track of ages. Every age and
condition of men since the creation, have been surrounded with
testimonials of divine goodness.
The first proposition to be established, is, that in a vast major
ity of instances in which contrivance is discoverable, the design
ofthe contrivance is beneficial. All nature may display contri.
vance, but sensitive and animal creation are principally concern
ed, in proving the benevolence of God. If inanimate nature has
a speech, it has no medium by which it can communicate its lan
guage, or its feelings. If it has any, they are totally unknown
to us ; and cannot therefore, furnish any proof of the goodness of

THE WORKS OP CREATION. 31
God. And here it may be remarked, that no evidence is more
clear and direct, than that which is drawn from the parts of ani
mals. With a very few exceptions, their different organs have a
known, and intelligible subserviency to the use of their posses
sors. Now consider the vast variety and number of animals,
the different numbers of each, their figure and fitness, their com
plexity and faculties, the dependence and relation of these parts,
and the success of them in promoting their felicity. Such are
their faculties for gratification, and such their actual pleasure, as
to prove this a happy world, after all the infirmities and derange
ments of animal functions. You may begin with the smallest,
and most inconsiderable grade of animal beings. In the spring
or summer, walk out at mid-day, or at evening, and see the re
gions of air teeming with sportive insects ; you will see a perfect
display of life and animation, in the wilderness, or by the water
side. When you see the myriads of flies that swarm in the air,
or the myriads of bees that cover the fio wry plains, the chattering
birds that play in the air, or warble in the grove, the young which
begin to exercise their faculties, and the flocks and herds that
graze on the mountains, and pursue their wonted indulgence, who
can doubt that they have gratification and happiness of an ani
mal kind? Have they no capacities for enjoy meut, and have they
no sources of gratification? While the various insect tribes, are
enjoying an instinctive and constitutional pleasure, in the air,
plants are covered with millions extracting their juices It can
not be, that they are not highly gratified. If they have no grat-
ification, why are they so untiring in their pursuits? The same
indications of happiness will be found in the waters. Shoals of

32 ATTRIBUTES OF GOD, FROM
fish will show their gratification by darting through the liquid el-
ement, by sporting in its bosom, and by throwing themselves
from its surface into the air; and all without any purpose or mo
tive but obedience to constitutional instinct, and self-gratification.
Others exercise their faculties on the earth, by running and sport
ing, by feeding, and indulging in the other sources of pleasure
and amusement, for which these unintelligent millions were de
signed. The child is highly delighted with the ability of speak
ing, without knowing the use of language. This is proved by
his incessant repetition of words, or sentences, which to him have
no meaning. The same gratification is obvious in his first suc
cessful attempts to walk. But it is not for youth only that God
has provided faculties and sources of enjoyment. While the aged
are repeating the trifling incidents of past life, or dozing on their
couches, the youth are following the chase, or inspired with hope
and ardor, pursue the enterprises of life.
But when we add to the argument, that we not only see innu
merable creatures in the enjoyment of animal happiness, but hear
the same report from other sections of creation, we have a still
more grand and adorable view of the goodness of God ! It is
goodness illimitable! What are pleasurable objects of vision?
What of taste ? What is it that falls with harmony and melody
on the ear? What are those pleasing sensations awakened by the
rose, the pine-apple, and the spice ? What the melting ofthe peach
on the tongue 7 Are not the constitution of the senses, and the
objects of their gratification, so many witnesses that God is good,
and his tender mercies are over all his works? Nothing has yet
been said respecting the moral and intellectual faculties of man :

THE WORKS OF CREATION. 33
the one calculated to investigate his works, and unfold the mys.
teries of Deity; and the other to embrace his character, and en-
joy his smiles. These faculties alone are sufficient to prove the
goodness of God. If the author of all things did not intend to
render his creatures happy, he has made a very great mistake,
for in this world, happiness by far exceeds misery.
When God created the human species, he intended either their
happiness, or misery, or he was indifferent about it. If he had in
tended our misery, he would have made every sense a pain to us,
and placed us amidst objects offensive and distressing. Every
thing we should taste would be bitter, every thing we should see
deformed and loathsome ; every touch would find a sting ; and
every sound would be discord. If he were indifferent about our
happiness or misery, we must attribute to our good fortune, a
word destitute of sense or science, both the capacity of our senses
to receive pleasure, and the supply of external objects, fitted to
produce happiness. t
But this is too much to be attributed to accident. Here we are
brought back to our former conclusion, that contrivance proves
design, and that the predominent tendency ofthe contrivance in-
dicates the disposition of the designer.
The first proposition which was laid down in support of the
goodness of God, was, that almost universally, that is; in a great
majority of instances, in which contrivance is discoverable, the
design of the contrivance is beneficial.
I here add another argument in support of divine goodness. —
God has given pleasure to animal sensation, beyond what was
necessary for any other purpose than that of pleasure, when the
3

34 ATTRIBUTES OF GOD, FROM
purpose, so far as was necessary to subsistence merely, might
have been effected by painful operations- Now the bestowing of
those faculties on animals, which are necessary to their existence
and support only, does not prove the Creator to be either benevo
lent, or malevolent. But when we find other properties added for
the express purpose of uniting happiness with utility, this addition.
al, pleasurable quality, proves the design was good. There is a
felicitious adaptation ofthe organ to the object, as every one
must have experienced, in receiving palatable and nutrieious food.
And when we take into view all the different tastes of animals,
their relish for such qualities of food as their constitutions require,
and the pleasure of taste which pervades the whole family of an-
imal creation, from the exquisite sensibility of man, down to the
lowest forms of animal existence, — there certainly is a language,
which speaks volumes in vindication ofthe goodness ofthe Crea
tor. Had he been a malevolent being, he might, and unquestion
ably would have diffused the racking elements oi his nature
through his whole empire. But instead of this, we see almost
all the animal creation, pursuing, without interference or infringe
ment, the happiness for which they were designed. The hum
ming insect, the warbling songster, the grazing flocks and herds,
and man with a more exquisite organic existence, enjoy a pleas
ure above what is necessary for their subsistence. Their in
stinctive foresight, their self-defence, their sportive gambols, and
pleasurable emotions, declare that he who made them, is good. 
It is as 1 before said, almost impossible to do justice to the evidence
ofthe divine goodness, drawn from the intellectual, and moral
nature of man. Our views are so much regulated by the light of

THE WORKS OF CREATION. 35
revelation, and the influence ofthe gospel on this subject, that it
is difficult to draw the line between natural and revealed truth. —
But as this subject will be resumed in my subsequent discourses
I will omit it for the present.
God has endowed man with faculties, capable of discovering
and appreciating the excellence of his character. But lest my
candor should be called in question, I must notice some objections
to the goodness of God. The two cases which require the most
particular notice, are the venomous, and voracious animals. —
These properties in animals, must be referred to design, because
their animal structure, their instinct, and adaptation, are such as
prove that they were intended for poisonous, and voracious animals.
Why the fangs of vipers, the stings of wasps and scorpions? And
why the talons and beaks of birds of prey? Why the structure of
the shark's mouth, the spider's web, and the numberless weapons of
offence", belonging to different tribes of animal insects ? We can-
not remove the difficulty, by saying these destructive properties
were not intended. The most candid solution is, thatthough these
evils exist, they exist to a small extent only, and through the im
perfection, and limited nature of our powers, we cannot see the
design in all its bearings. When viewed in connexion with oth
er things, they may be needful provisions. As far as the ani
mals and insects possessing these faculties, are concerned, the
faculty complained of is good. They subserve a very valuable
purpose to them, the purpose of sustenance and self-defence. The
venomous qualities of a few serpents, serve as a defence to the
whole race; and the places where these evils exist to the great
est extent, are regions, to which men are driven by their folly, or
3*

36 ATTRIBUTES OF GOD, FROM
wickedness, while the more fertile regions of the earth, are deser
ted and left unmolested. The territory of the beasts is invaded,
and then the defence they make is complained of: the case then
of venomous beasts stands thus: the faculty is good to those to
whom it is given; it is an evil of small extent, and may answer
a thousand valuable ends of which we are ignorant.
And on the subject of carniverous beasts and birds, I would say,
that their desire for animal food, and the capacities they possess,
for obtaining and digesting it, are kind endowments bestowed on
them. The pursuit of their prey forms their pleasure, and their
employment. The way in which all animals come to their end,
is by acute disease, and violence. Animals generally live but a
short time : they have no provisions for lingering disease ; and the
loss of life is to them a trifling evil. And besides, we have learn
ed by the help of the microscope, that almost the whole of our
food is possessed of a low degree of animate nature. Were our
organs of sight a little more acute, we should discover in the food
and vegetables we eat, a life and motion, which would induce us
to believe, that we are ourselves almost carnivorous and vora
cious. It is said that every drop of water we drink, contains sev.
eral thousand animalculse. Besides, it is obvious that the God
of nature intended some animals as sustenance for others, from
the rich profusion and superabundance in which they exist.
Another thought is, that these animals exist in greatest num
bers where they are the least annoyance to man, and most need
ed by those for whom they were intended. And if there were
no way to destroy these animals, the provisions of nature would

THE WORKS OF CREATION 37
not be sufficient to support them. So that the goodness of God
is conspicuous in the provision for their dissolution.
On the goodness of God as displayed in the structure of the hu.
man mind, I can only say, there are internal and pleasurable e-
motions, which cannot be attributed to either of the five senses.
Many of these pleasures are indefinable: the sportsman and the
fisherman have pleasure, but they know not in what that pleasure
consists. This pleasure does not belong to the five senses. There
js a mental pleasure arising from the contemplation of things new,
great, or beautiful, attended with no pain to counterbalance it —
Man has more understanding than is necessary for preservation.
The pleasure of choosing and prosecuting is a source of enjoy
ment. Now the moral and intellectual powers of man, show that
the Maker of them, made something more than necessary pro-
visions for human existence, and that their contrivance is declar
ative of the goodness of their author.
On the subject ofthe introduction of moral evil, [ have only to
say, that it devolves upon the objector to show, that its ultimate
results will not be illustrative of the divine benevolence. How
far could it be arrested without an interference with a greater
good? Besides, moral evil arises from a derangement of the orig
inal constitution of man; and cannot be the result ol natural con
trivance. But all its effects and bearings on the great plan, will
finally show, that the wisdom of God is as much superior to that
of man, as his goodness. As to bodily pain, when considered in
itself, it may be called an imperfection of nature. But it may be
justly doubled, whether this is not, on the whole, a blessing. In
the first place it should be remembered, that pleasure generally

38 ATTRIBUTES OF GOD, FROM
counterbalances pain. And an occasional and moderate degree
of pain, is more than compensated by the greater degree of hap.
piness which succeeds. It makes us cautious of danger ; and
leads the mind to useful and virtuous reflection. Beside the pri
mary intention ofthe maker was not principally to inflict pain.
A tooth was made to masticate and not to ache. The body was
made to.enjoy and not to suffer. And pain is often the conse-
quence of transgression ; and this gives us proper views of justice
and retribution. All these imperfections, may yet, in the prog
ress and consummation ofthe Creator's works, prove to be per
fections ; and these difficulties illustrate the wisdom and compli
cation ofthe works of that God who is infinite in goodness. The
result ofthe whole investigation, is, that the contrivance of this
world proves the goodness of its author, — his disposition to make
his creatures hap p3'.
I infer from this subject that God ought to be loved. Man is
the prince of this creation. It was intended for his use, and sub
jected to his control. We are the only beings capable of tracing
our own existence, and that of others around us to their proper
origin, and of understanding their proper uses. And as man is
the highest intelligent, endued with the noblest powers, and design
ed for the noblest ends, so he should assume a character, the
most amiable and exalted. And to whom can he commit his soul
with more safety, than to him who has made so many provisions
for his happiness; and multiplied the evidences of his love to him ?
If there is any thing on earth lovely in your view, why should
not He engross your affections from whom all loveliness is deriv
ed? It is unkind in man to divert the current of everlasting good.

THE WORKS OF CRHATI0N. 39
ness that flows down to him. Then I beseech you, my dear
hearers, in gratitude and love, to attribute every thrill of joy, and
every gush of pleasurable emotion, to the great and good Author
of your being. O love the Lord, for he is good; for his mercy
endureth forever. 0 love the Lord, for he is good ; and his ten
der mercies are over all the works of his hand. May none of
us fall beneath the weight of abused and incensed goodness ; but
as we are clothed in love, may we be sanctified by grace, through
our Lord Jesus Christ.

LECTURE III.
INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES.
2d Timothy, 3, 16.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God .
It is not my object in this lecture to inquire into different kinds
of inspiration ; whether there is an inspiration ofsuperintendency,
in which the mind ofthe inspired writer is left to the use of all
his resources of knowledge, language and style, but is guarded
against wrong communications ; or whether there is an inspira
tion of elevation, in which the mind ofthe writer is raised super
naturally, and forms conceptions and utters language, beyond the
efforts of natural genius, or ordinary excitement; or whether
there is an inspiration of suggestion, in which the writer was fur
nished with thoughts and language, which he could not have ob
tained without special aid. Whether these, or the more simple
definition of inspiration, be correct, namely, that the Holy Spirit
dictated to the minds of the inspired penmen, all the sentiments
they have expressed, and the words in which the5r have expressed
them, I shall not now attempt to determine. I mean by the in.
spiration of the scriptures, that holy men wrote as they were
moved by the Holy Spirit.
I have before me a volume, containing sixty-six books, which
I declare to be the inspired revelation of God. And it contains
every thing necessary for our faith and practice. This is the
only true and inspired record that God has given to his creatures.

INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 41
The Apochryphal writings I condemn as spurious, because part
of them are false, and part of them are absurd, and they were
never admitted into the canonical scriptures. Someof the events
recorded in them are true; and the same may be said of profane
history, and of many other writings. A record must be some
thing more than true to be inspired ; it must bear the sanction of
God. I have asserted that the scriptures are inspired. This no man
is bound to believe, unless it can be proved. To establish the
truth of the Bible, I must prove its authenticity and inspiration.
1. I am to prove the authenticity ofthe scriptures. God might
have made a revelation of his will to his creatures ; and that rev-
elation might have been interpolated, and mixed with human pro
ductions. That this is not the case with our present volume of
divine truth, is evident from several considerations. If these
books were not the very writings which they claim to be, and if
they were not written by the very authoTs whose names they bear,
and who were inspired of God to write them, then their authen
ticity fails. The scriptures were early collated into a volume.
The ancient scriptures were approved by tbe Jewish Sanhedrim,
and read in the synagogues from sabbath to sabbath. There was
a catalogue of them composed and circulated universally; and
that catalogue embraced all that are found in our present volume,
and no more. Early commentaries were written on the sacred
text; and they were extensively quoted both by religious, and
profane writers; and their genuineness was acknowledged by
the friends and enemies of Christianity. The same proof may be
adduced in support of the authenticity of the New-Testament.-—

42 INSPIRATION OF
Ignatius, who lived forty years after the ascension of Christ,
speaks of the gospel as sacred writings. Eighty years after this,
Clement of Alexandria, and after him a long list from Eusebius
down to Dioclesian, speak of this volume by different names,
some calling it the gospel, some the sacred scriptures ; and oth.
ers the divine writings. Polycarp calls them the holy scriptures
and oracles of the Lord. Justin Martin calls them gospels ;
Dionysius, scriptures ofthe Lord ; and Iraeneus, divine scriptures,
divine oracles, scriptures ofthe Lord, and evangelical and apos
tolical writings. I might furnish you with a long series of quo
tations, and a catalogue of names of those who read and expound.
ed the scriptures in public. And I might furnish you with a list
of the names of commentators, who, from the first to the ninth
century, made compilations, and compared scripture with scrip
ture, and translated the bible into several languages. Now if
these boolcs were not an authentic record, why were they not
challenged by that host of learned and able opposers ofthe chris-
tian church? Why did they not doubt whether any such men
lived, or whether any such events transpired ? Their own wri-
tings prove that they were disposed to overthrow Christianity.
And if the bible were -not what it claimed to be, it would have
been the easiest thing possible to overthrow it, by denying its au-
thenticity. A man must be destitute of common candor to doubt
whether this be precisely the same book that existed in the days
of the apostles, and in the time ol Ignatius ; for we have the an-
cient writings, and might collect from them almost the whole
scriptures. You might as well doubt the existence ofthe Roman
Empire, or the Grecian Repuqlic, as to doubt whether we have

THE SCRIPTURES. 43
the same religion that the apostles and primitive christians, labor
ed, and suffered and died to establish. They gave up their for
mer habits, pursuits and sentiments, and without the compulsion
of civil power, or the hope of temporal gain, experienced a ren-
ovation of faith and conduct. It is therefore evident that we have
precisely the same book, that has for ages been admitted as an
authentic record, by the friends and enemies of Christianity. I
pass now to the proof of the inspiration of the scriptures.
That those' who wrote the scriptures, did declare themselves
moved by the Holy Ghost to utter the declarations which they
made, follows by consequence, if they are an authentic record.
The writings themselves claim the faith of mankind in their
divine authority to teach.
Now if the writers were not inspired, they were false, and by
consequence base men. And what motive could wicked men
have in propogating truths subversive of wickedness. They
have denounced the severest judgments against impostors and
deceivers. It is almost impossible, and totally incredible, that
bad men should be engaged so deeply in a good cause. It is still
more remarkable that wicked men should persecute and slay the
heroes of their own party. And if the friends of this religion
were imposters and deceivers, then its founder, the Lord Jesus
Christ, was the basest of them all; and this is an aspersion at
which the feelings of a wretch should recoil.
And that the revelation ofthe bible is supernatural and divine,
is evident from the consideration, that the doctrines which the in
spired men taught, are beyond the ability of the known princi
ples and powers ofthe human mind to discover. No natural

44 INSPIRATION OF
enthusiasm, nor flights of imagination, could have unfolded those
subjects which the scriptures have done. We must have recourse
to some method to account for the production which is before us;
and if we can account for it in no other way, than that in which
the writers of this volume have done, we are compelled to admit
their testimony.
An inspired writer does not cease to be a man, nor does he
cease to think, and reason, and make use ofthe knowledge which
he possesses ; but every word he utters, on the subject which he
is inspired to write, is under the guidance and influence ofthe
Holy Ghost. So that we are perfectly safe in receiving it, and
God is answerable for its truth. The following are some ofthe
evidences ofthe inspiration ofthe bible.
1. This book reveals God worthy of himself. It reveals just
such a being as we discover from the book of nature. Such is the
blindness and depravity of man, as to make a revelation neces
sary; and we should expect that the same goodness which had
provided for our happiness, in the constitution and arrangements
of nature, would pity our dark and bewildered state, and write in
more legible characters the truths which depravity had oblitera
ted. It confirms the instructions of nature, and makes further
discoveries of the perfections ofthe same Being. This book rep
resents God as possessed ofthe most exalted perfections, ani un-
sullied excellence. It would be no derogation from the excel.
Ience ofthe divine character to attribute this book to him. Noth
ing can be more deserving of praise, and nothing more command.
ing of influence, than that character which the bible ascribes to
him. God is here represented as the parent of the human fami.

THE SCRIPTURES. 45
ly ; tho sovereign and judge of his people; the friend of virtue,
and the enemy of vice. He claims no attribute, or prerogative
to which his character does not entitle him, and the exercise of
which, any loyal subject would regret.
God is represented worthy of himself.
2. This book gives man his true character. Man is a being of
whom we know much; and are, therefore, capable of judging of
the justice or injustice of every description given of his character.
This book gives us a history of man from his creation, and of all
the passions and principles, which have operated in forming his
sentiments, and directing his conduct. Now every one who will
faithfully examine the delineations of the scriptures, will find a
thousand things said about the affections and the heart, which he
has never developed to his dearest friends. And that moral na
ture which works within will convince us, that we are the very
beings to whom this book was directed. If there were one false
statement, one unjust delineation there to be found, we could de
tect it. But it has locked the lips of a world in silence. And
He who has there described man, is infinite in knowledge, for there
are truths revealed in the scriptures, which were never seen by
mortal eye, and which none but the searcher of hearts, could ev
er have revealed. And can any doubt from whom that book
came, which tells them truths which their own conscience ap.
proves? There we see man as he has appeared in every genera.
tion, and as he will appear when time shall be no longer. I know
the author of this book is true, and I know He is omniscient.
3. I prove the inspiration of the scriptures, by the miracles
which have been wrought in confirmation of their truth. I give

46 INSPIRATION OF
no credence at all to those pretended visions of imposters, and to
the forgeries of fabulous religion. A miracle, which suspends»
or counteracts the laws of nature, must be wrought in the open
light of day, and in the presence of a sufficient number of witnes
ses ; like that which was performed by Moses; in dividing the
waters of the Red sea, and in smiting the rock. Like that of
Joshua in the passage of Jordan, and stopping the sun in his course,
until the enemies of Israel were subdued. Or like those perform
ed by Christ, in turning the water into wine, calming the tumultu-
ous sea, and feeding thousands who sought his instructions, with
a few loaves and fishes. Or like that which was wrought by
Paul when he shook the venomous serpent from his hand.
Such miracles as these prove that he who performed them, re-
ceived authority from God to teach and command obedience. —
Such were the circumstances of these miracles, that it would re
quire more credulity to believe them impostures, than to believe
them genuine. When the character of a prophet, or of an inspir-
ed writer is once established, his instructions are clothed in divine
authority. It is nothing less than God speaking to his creatures.
Now I say, false prophets and false teachers never wrought mir-
acles. There were always dark and suspicious circumstances
about their pretended miracles. They were deceptions and frauds.
Not a pretended miracle can be pointed out, which was any thing
more than a mere unsuccessful attempt at imitation. Where
bave these pretenders come forward, and in the open light of day,
in the presence of thousands, performed miracles? No man that
does good can speak lightly of Christ. God did authorize and
empower the inspired writers to perform miracles, which they

THE SCRIPTURES. 47
never could have done, without the favor and assistance of God.
And God never did lend his aid in sanction of any unreal and
false religion. That book then must be from God which bears
the impress of his own seal.
4. I prove the inspiration of ihe scriptures from prophecy. No
one can infallibly predict a future event, without a knowledge of
all the operations in nature, and the arrangements in providence,
on which the fulfilment of that prediction depends. All the cir
cumstances and means which have any relation to the event spo
ken of, must be taken into consideration. Now man cannot pre-
diet with certainty, the events of a year, or month, or week, or
day. He may form some opinion respecting some future events,
from the knowledge he has ofthe laws of nature; but these laws
have no such uniformity as to warrant a great degree of assu
rance. And every person who pretends to prophesy from his own
sources of knowledge, or his whimsical enthusiasm, impiously as
sumes the prerogative of Deity ; and generally suffers in this life,
the opprobrium, which his temerity deserves. And he will be
unable at the day of judgment, to justify his rashness. Whoso
ever, therefore, predicts an event which is beyond the ken of man,
and which takes place according to the prediction, is entitled to
the belisf, that he has had a communication from God ; arid has
had access to the councels of Him who declares the end from the
beginning ; and from ancient times the things that are not yet
done, saying my counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleas
ure. The inspired writers did predict events : and these events
have transpired as they were predicted. The birth of Cyrus was
predicted, and his name given him, one hundred and eighty years

48 INSPIRATION OF
before he was born. The captivity ofthe Jews in Babylon, was
predicted, long before they were driven into captivity. The
birth, life, sufferings, death and resurrection of Christ, were pre
dicted, and all the minute circumstances of his illustrious char
acter were foretold : and they took place, as it may be proved,
by history both sacred and profane, at the time and in the man-
ner they were predicted. The destruction of Jerusalem, the dis
solution of the civil and religious polity of the Jewish nation, as
well as the dispersion, and distinct existence of that nation, were
all delivered in prophecy. And the Jews are a living testimony
to the truth of these declarations at the present day. As they
could not possess omniscience, God must have made communica
tions to them, and there is no reason to doubt, that those commu
nications were made at the time, and in the manner, that they
have declared. And as those prophecies have been long fulfil-
ling, and some of them before our eyes, we are inexcusable, if
8M do not admit the authenticity and inspiration of the book
which contains them.
5. I prove the inspiration of the scriptures, from their tendency
to promote morality and religion. No volume of writings was
ever attended with such happy and powerful effects, in renova-
ting the human heart, and forming the human character, as this.
Unaided by wealth, or by the power or patronage of the great,
it has extended its influence through the earth, and, by its insti
tutions and sanctions, has reclaimed multitudes from sin, and giv
en them eminence in virtue. The effects of the scriptures on the
morality and religion of mankind, can be accounted for in nooth-
er manner, than by supposing God has ordained them as a means

THE SCRIPTURES. 49
in the hand of the Spirit, to produce happy and surprising effects
on the moral condition and prospects of the world. God has
clothed the truths of this book in efficacy, which he would not
have done, had it not been a revelation of his will.
God would not thus bless the works of forgery and imposition.
No man that ever adopted this book for his guide and counsellor,
has lived an immoral life. It purifies the heart, and sanctifies the
life. It uniformly promotes happiness ; and gives to the pious,
rational hopes of eternal blessedness. Not a disquieting vice,
nor a jarring principle of our nature, escapes detection and expo.
sure. It commends and rewards every degree of piety; and
condemns and punishes every degree of sin. The tendency of
the scriptures, and the actual effects of them, are an argument
in favour of their inspiration.
6. The unexampled spread of the scriptures, under the most
embarrassing circumstances, is another argument in support of
their divine inspiration. The Bible has been burnt more frequent
ly than any other book ; yes, more frequently than all other books,
yet it has spread, with a rapidity which has astonished the atheist,
and confounded the infidel.
Though the grand enemy of this sacred volume, has in various
ages and countries, employed the most brilliant talents, and the
most learned pens, to disprove and decry its precious truths ;
and though infidel sentiments have been accommodated to the age
and capacity of all, from the illiterate child, up to the adept in
the arts and sciences, yet the Bible has been, and is now swiftly
spreading its blessed influence, in the face of all the opposition of the
united powers of darkness. The laudable and increasing efforts
4

50 INSPIRATION OF
which are made at the present day, to supply every family in
Christendom with a copy ofthe Holy Scriptures, and to translate
them into the various languages ofthe earth, afford lucid proof,
that the Bible will ere long, have free course, run and be glorified.
There are other arguments, too numerous to receive any con
siderable degree of attention in this work. The brevity and ful
ness of the scriptures ; the agreement of the writers among
themselves, all bearing testimony to the same facts or similar ones ;
the candor ofthe writers in recording their own faults, and writing
their own confessions ; the diversity of style ; the different man
ner of reasoning to come to the same conclusions, are evidence of
the divine inspiration of the scriptures. The inspired writers dis
cover no appearance of concert, or of attempts to deceive ; and
the candid mind cannot indulge such suspicion respecting them.
Add to these testimonies the convictions of the pious in all ages
ofthe world, and that conviction which follows every man who is
conversant with his Bible, — and the evidence is overwhelming,
that this is the very Bible, which the Lord has declared, by the
mouth of the prophets, and the apostles, and that it is true ; — all
true, excellent, and inspired. It is to be received with a degree
of confidence, which ought to be placed in no other production.
Our faith in the inspiration ofthe Bible is increased when we re
flect, that those who lived in the countries, and at the time the
events recorded took place, never presumed to question the au.
thenticity and inspiration of this book. And that those who have
assailed the Bible in subsequent ages, have never conducted a
candid argument against it, but have indulged in a few low and
uncandid sophistries.

IHE SCRIPTURES. 51
The inspiration of the scriptures, then, is established.
1. I infer from this subject, that we are bound to exercise grat
itude to God. The instructions of nature are so faint and illegi
ble, that we should never have known our characters, or duties,
or our dangers. We should never have known a single truth con
cerning the plan of salvation; nor that, life was attainable. We
should never have known the high and virtuous feelings, which we
ought to exercise towards God and his creatures, without this bles.
sed book. What few and feeble instructions there were on the face
of nature, were incapable of being understood through the blindness
of human depravity. The Bible thenis one entire expression ofthe
goodness and compassion of God to man. It is a light to our feet,
and a lamp to our path. And we ought most gratefully to hail it,
as the kind directory of aheavenly Parent, to guide us to life.
2. I infer, that this book is the only rule of faith and practice.
We must believe all its truths and doctrines ; we must practice
all its commands, and abstain from all its prohibitions. By this
rule, we are to try our own faith, and feelings, and actions, re
nouncing as unworthy of christian belief, all testimony brought
from other sources, except that of corroboration. So far as they
go to illustrate and confirm the truths contained in the Bible, so far
we are at liberty to believe them, and no farther. We should
pity, and pray for those who trust in another gospel, and adopt
the inventions, and fanciful theories of men, but are never to fol.
low their pernicious ways, by whom the way of truth is evil spo.
ken of. This book should regulate all our affections, correct all
our views, and form our characters.
3. The scriptures should be studied. Every man and every

52 INSPIRATION OF
child that can read, should be furnished with a copy, and should
daily and studiously examine its contents. This is not only the
fountain of light, but it is also the fountain of life. It contains treas
ures of everlasting love, and exhaustless wealth. They need the
more study, because the corruption of the human heart renders
them unpalatable. This is the reason so few understand them ;
so many pervert them ; and such a vast majority of the world
exchange them for the opinions of men. There are no attain
ments in this world so valuable as the knowledge of the Bible.
None, therefore, demand more study and attention.
The last inference which I adduce from the authenticity and
inspiration of the scriptures, is, that they should be received in
faith. God has given you, my hearers, a true record. There is
nothing false in the Bible. Then do not come to this book, and
modify and mutilate its precepts. God has revealed just truth
enough ; and we must receive it, just as it reads. If it interferes
with other sentiments which we have embraced, we should lay
them aside as false and erroneous, and believe the revelation of
God. If you attempt to expound the scriptures, be cautious that
you do not adulterate their meaning to make it accord with some
other imaginary notion, which you have embraced. God has
never asked us what he should reveal ; nor does he permit us to
dictate him. Then let us all receive this book without hesitation
or doubt ; and obey its commands, fear its denunciations and trust
its promises. And O may the light which beams from these sa-
ered pages, conduct us all to heaven, where faith will be swal-
lowed up in sight, and we shall see and enjoy God, without a me-
dium or a cloud.

THE SCRIPTURES. 53
Open this^sacred volume — and you may at any time, walk in
the garden with Adam ; sit in the ark with Noah ; witness the
faith, and share the hospitality of Abraham ; stand on Pisgah's
eminence, and view the promised land with Moses ; drop the
sympathetic tear over the complicated sufferings of Job; com-
mend the fidelity, and admire the Godly courage of Daniel ; rise
with the sublimity of Isaiah ; stand on the mount of transfigura-
tion, and exult in the overpowering charms ofthe God incarnate ;
blush at the bloody and direful scene of Calvary ; behold the
blushing sun, the bursting graves, the rising saints, the quaking
earth; and the triumphant rising, and glorious ascension ofthe
Son of God ! Nay more.— Open this volume, and you may witness
the torments ofDives in hell, and the ineffable felicity of Lazarus
in Abraham's bosom.

LECTURE IV.
NATURAL ATTRIBUTES.
Exodus 3, 14.
And God said unto Moses, I am that I am.
Having established the authenticity and inspiration ofthe scrip.
tures, I shall now make use of them in pursuing my investigation.
I must here remark, that there is a distinction between attributes,
perfections and prerogatives. I have before said, that an atlri-
bute is a faculty or quality in God, which is discovered by its ef
fects or operations. A perfection designates the quality of an at
tribute. If an attribute is unimprovable, excellent and infinite,
it is a perfection. A prerogative is a right with which a person
is invested by his attributes or perfections. When we see an in
comprehensible display of power, we say the cause must be om
nipotent, because no effect can exceed the cause : for the mo
ment the effect exceeds the cause, it ceases to be effect. We
say the sun is the cause of light and heat, because these are effects
of his rays. We say every piece of mechanism, and every mon-
ument of architecture, are the effects of human ingenuity, be-
cause these are the known productions of such ingenuity. We
say the heart of man is depraved, because his moral conduct
proves his heart to be the source of moral corruption. Thus we
reason from effect to cause. Proceeding on this principle, we
classify the attributes of God, because we classify his operations.
The sovereignty of God, or the Government which he exerci-

NATURAL ATTRIBUTES. 55
ses over his works, is not an attribute, nor a perfection, but a
prerogative. It is a right with which his attributes and perfec
tions have invested him. It is reasonable and expedient, that he
should have the control ofhis works, because his property in his
creatures and the qualifications he possesses, render him the only
desirable and safe being to rule.
I have said we classify the attributes of God. We divide
them into natural and moral, or communicable and incommunica
ble attributes. His natural attributes are those which consider
ed in themselves, are neither amiable nor unamiable; and which
render him the object neither of aversion nor complacency. There
is in omnipotence, in itself considered, nothing either lovely or un
lovely ; nothing either desirable or undesirable. If we connect
omnipotence with a moral quality, it immediately becomes a love-
ly, or a dreadful attribute. Omnipotence under the control of a
malevolent disposition, would spread dismay and consternation
through the earth ; and under the control of a benevolent disposi
tion, would spread joy and gladness. But a natural attribute,
disconnected and alone, is neither lovely nor unlovely. Now the
moral attributes of God, are those qualities which render him
lovely and desirable; an object of confidence and delight. They
are the affections of Deity, which he has exercised in the provis
ions which he has made for the happiness of his creatures. The
reason that they are called communicable, is, that some of these
attributes may have striking resemblances in his creatures. The
love, mercy and compassion of holy beings, are qualities which
resemble the same dispositions in God, though in him they are in-
finite. Most ofhis communicable attributes are moral. His in-

56 NATURAL ATTRIBUTES.
communicable attributes have no resemblance in the works ofhis
hand, such as uncreated existence, self-existence, and independ-
ence. There is nothing in man which bears the least simili
tude to these attributes. It is as certain that they are incommu
nicable, as it is that he cannot create an uncreated being.
It is obvious that attribute is an arbitrary term ; for, as I have
frequently remarked, that our knowledge of an attribute is obtain
ed by the operations ofthe Divine Being, there may be as many
attributes as there are operations. The scriptures, however, have
furnished us with alist of these attributes.
There are twelve divine attributes ; seven natural, and five
moral. His natural attributes are, self-existence, eternity of ex
istence, immutability, omnipotence, omniscience, omnipresence
and wisdom.
Self-existence is an underived, uncreated and independent ex
istence : an existence not received from another being ; and it is
incapable of change, increase or diminution. Rev. 11. 17. which
art, and wast, and art to come.
Eternity of existence is an existence without commencement
and without termination. Deut. 33. 27. The eternal God is
thy refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms. 1 Tim.
1. 17. Now unto the king eternal, immortal, invisible, the only
wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever, amen. The im
mutability of God is the unchangeableness of his nature, his at.
tributes and purposes. Change would imply imperfection in knowl.
edge, wisdom, or power, and would deny an existence of necessi-
ty. If this is a world which he made and governs, he foresaw
every event and every change which would take place in it. —

NATURAL ATTRIBUTES. 57
None can teach him, and none can disappoint him. It is true, that
known unto God are all his works, from the beginning ofthe world
and he can declare the end from the beginning. There can be
no change in his mind, in his intentions or designs. Malachi 3.
6. I am the Lord, I change not. Every good gift, and every per
fect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights
with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning ; James
1. 17. God then is immutable in his nature and designs. God
is immovable amidst the endless changes which are taking place
in his creatures and in the works of his hand. Not all the apparent
convulsions and disorders abroad, can produce a change in the
designs and heart of Deity. As God did not make himself, he
cannot change himself. As no other being made him, no other
being can change him. He must therefore be immutable.
The omnipotence of God, as I have before explained it, is his
ability to accomplish all things possible and desirable. When it
is said God cannot do impossibilities, it is meant he has no incli
nation to do wrong, and is prohibited by the laws of his attributes,
and not by any want of power. He cannot lie, because he never
desired nor designed to do it. He cannot do any injustice to his
creatures, because he is never influenced by any disposition but
a regard to the general good. This inability is not a natural but
a moral one. He has power sufficient to consummate the wretch-
ness of every intelligent heever created j-but his moral attributes
guard him against the least infringement on the rights and happi
ness of the great whole. Omnipotence is ability to do all things
consistent with his perfections. It is ability to work with or without
means. Rev. 1. 8. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and

58 NATURAL ATTRIBUTES.
the ending, saith the Lord, which is, and which was, and which is
to come, the Almighty. Rev. 4. 8. They rest not day and night
saying Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was and is
and is to come. The evidence ofhis omnipotence is conspicuous
in every object which meets the eye, and in every emotion which
works within the human mind.
Creative power, which gives existence without materials or
means is the highest conceivable effort of omnipotence. He spake
and it was done. He said let there be light, and there was light.
By him were all things made ; and without him was not any thing
made that was made. The same omnipotence upholds all things.
God has never abandoned a work which he has undertaken.
Omniscience is an attribute inseperably connected with the
other divine perfections. It is a knowledge of all things past,
present, and future. A perfect and infallible knowledge of eve
ry thing which ever has transpired, does now, or ever will trans.
pire. Omniscience is a more comprehensive term than foreknowl
edge. Foreknowledge is a knowledge of future events only, while
omniscience has no restrictions. If God is omniscient, he knows
all things. He knows every minute event and change which
will ever take place, in the progress and consummation of his
plans of government. To suppose that he has made a world ma-
terial, intellectual and moral, and that he sustains and governs
it, and yet is ignorant of its operations and final results, is a pu
erile sentiment. 1 John. 3, 20. For if our heart condemn us, God
is greater than our heart and knoweth all things. Heb. 4. 13.
But all things are naked and open to the eyes of him with whom
we have to do. The transactions of ages past, and ages to come

NATURAL ATTRIBUTES. 53
are in full view before him, and his eye beholds with a single
glance, all the plans and purposes of his creatures, and all the
secret emotions and motives of their hearts. There is no place
where the workers of iniquity can hide themselves. If God does
not possess this knowledge how can he judge the world in right-
eousness ?
On the day of judgment, not the most secret virtuous emotion
of a pious heart will pass unrewarded, nor the most specious in-
scrutible thought of a sinful heart, will escape merited punish
ment. O, there will then be an exposure of cavilers at sin, and
of that spirit of practical atheism, which views crime as odious
principally because it is exposed to human view. There is an
astonishing perverseness in the feelings of that man who is regu
lated by the opinions ofhis fellow creatures, and not by a sense
ofthe divine omniscience. To a well regulated and consistent
heart, the omniscience of God is a most powerful restraint from sin.
Thou God seestme, is an impression which the good man always
carries with him. Every one should say with Dav'd> O Lord,
thou hast searched me and known me. Thou knowest my down
sitting and mine uprising; thou understandest my thoughts afar
off. Thou compassest my path and my lying down, and art ac
quainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in my
tongue, but lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether.
The omnipresence of God is his all pervading being. He ex
ists a conscious, and voluntary being, at the same time in every
place and in every world, in heaven, earth and hell. There is
no sequestered retreat, nor dark and deep concealment where
God is not with us; He stands present, the spectator of every

60 NATURAL ATTRIBUTES.
scene that is acted on the earth. He is in the council chambers
of nations, in the assemblies ofhis saints, around the domestic fire,
and embraced within the walls of every designing and unhallow.
ed association, beholding the evil and the good. God is present
with his church, and his people in every cell of suffering, in every
closet of secrecy, and around the bed of every dying christian. —
Psalms, 139. 8. If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there; If I
make my bed in hell, behold thou art there — If I take the wings
ofthe morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts ofthe sea, even
there shall thy hand lead me, and thy right hand shall hold me.
If I say surely the darkness shall cover me ; even the night shall
be light about me. There is no locality in the divine presence.
Men, and angels, and archangels, and sainted spirits, are local in
their nature, residence and capacities. They can exist in one
place only at the same time. A change of situation produces ab
sence of being. But it is not so with God. His presence must
be as extensive as his agency. He cannot be present to support
and govern, and yet absent in person. For it is a self evident
proposition, that where a being is, he must exist. God then is
omnipresent : he exists in all beings and all places at the same
time. The infinite wisdom of God is his ability to form the best de
signs, and to devise the best means for their accomplishment.
God has therefore formed the best of all conceivable designs ; and
devised the best of all conceivable means for accomplishing them.
Man is often unsuccessful in his attempts to accomplish his plans,
because his wisdom is limited and fallible; and there are many
remote and inscrutible causes beyond his comprehension and

NATURAL ATTRIBUTES. 61
control. In God wisdom is illimitable and infallible; for the
means he ordains, never fail of producing the effects which he
designs. Psalms 147. 5. Great is our Lord, and of great pow
er -, His understanding is infinite. Speaking ofthe works of God,
the Psalmist says in Psalm 104. 24. In wisdom hast thou made
them all. Again, says the great Apostle to the Gentiles. O the
depth of the riches both of the wisdom and the knowledge of
God ; how unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past
finding out.
I have now completed my expositions and proof of the natural
attributes of God. God is self.existent, eternal, immutable, om-
nipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, and infinite in wisdom. These
attributes are natural and incommunicable, and they do not prove
God to be either desirable, or undesirable, either amiable or un.
amiable. If he is self-existent, he can neither fear nor experience any
interruption from any source. He exists neither by the will,
power, nor consent of any other being. He can never be influ-
enced by superior intelligences, for there are none. It is pre
posterous to suppose he will make counsellors ofhis weak and
dependent creatures, whose wisdom and power compared with
his, do not bear the proportion, even of an atom to a globe. He
stands unmoved, untaught, uninfluenced, amidst the tossing ele
ments of worlds : for he is God, and there is none else.
If God is eternal, what can his creatures, who are of yesterday,
and who have a derived and dependent existence do, but revere
him who is from everlasting to everlasting. What but humility
becomes us, when we count ages on ages, until we are lost in the

62 NATURAL ATTRIBUTES.
calculation, and drowned in the eternity of divine existence. —
There never was a time when he commenced his existence ; and
there never will be a time when it will terminate. God was as
perfect in his nature and designs, in his faculties and felicity, mil.
lions of ages past, as he will be millions of ages hence. If God is
unchangeable, who can doubt the accomplishment of his designs,
the fulfilment of his promises, and the stability of the christian's
hope. If he were changeable, there would be no safety in all his
vast dominions. His caprice might build an edifice, and his ca
price might dash it to atoms. Though you might lie down ia
slumbers enjoying the friendship of your God, yet you might
awake encircled in his wrath. These would be the calamities of
a changeable God. There would be no ground for the confidence
of his creatures. All would be doubt and uncertainty through
his extended dominions. But now his immutability is a broad and
immovable basis, on which the hopes of his creatures may rest.
He can never change. He can never abandon a work which he
has undertaken. All the reasons which could be brought for
ward for abandoning his undertaking, were actually before him,
and operated as powerfully as they could, before he commenced
the work. He has never uttered a threatening which he will re
tract, nor made a promise which he will not fulfil. Come ye sons
of men, and put your trust beneath the shadow ofhis wings, and
rest in the confidence of him who never changes.
God assigns it as a reason why he would not cast off Israel,
that he had once loved them. I have loved thee with an ever
lasting love, and with loving kindness have I drawn thee. I am
the Lord, I change not, therefore ye sons of Jacob are not con-

NATURAL ATTRIBUTES. 63
sumed. If God is almighty, who can infringe on his prerogatives)
or prevent the accomplishment ofhis plans? What is the arm of
persecution? What the plots and machinations of his enemies?
What is fallible man in the- hand of omnipotence ? There should
not be a glimmering of hope in the heart of that man who is un
der the frowns and denunciations of an omnipotent God. Nor
should there be a trembling nerve in all the sacramental host of
God's elect, who are bought with blood, and sealed with oaths
and promises. If God is omnipotent, he is able to punish and re
ward. And why should his enemies triumph, as though God had
no ability to punish and to destroy. And why should his friends
indulge in pensiveness and despondency, as though God were un
able to gratify the desires of his heart, and the desires of his
friends? No: if every sanctuary were converted into a seat of
corruption, and melted down in flames ; — if the fire of persecution
were kindled in every district ofthe earth, and our prisons were
filled to overflowing, with helpless and innocent sufferers, or the
church were driven to the caves ofthe mountain, 1 would not then
believe that the lieart of God was changed, or his arm weaken
ed. Leaning on the omnipotence of his power, I would wait in
assured expectation of a developement which would reflect hon
or on his wisdom, grace and glory. I can never believe, that
the affections of God will be ungratified, while he is omnipotent.
If God is omniscient, why should bold presumers dare to hope for
concealment or escape ? He knows their conduct ; he has seen
it all. However trifling you may deem the crimes which you
have committed, or however thick the covering which hides them
may be, God will reveal them in the day of decision. You may

64 NATURAL ATTRIBUTES.
elude the scrutiny of man ; for he is ignorant. But you cannot
evade the piercing eye of Omniscience.
He counts the volitions of our hearts. He hears the respira-
tions of our affections. Then fear not, ye innocent sufferers, God
knows it all. Have your motives been misrepresented; your
counsels and kindness despised? Have you suffered while the
guilty escaped ? The omniscient God they cannot deceive. —
The perjury of witnesses, and the slander of enemies, are under.
stood. God will be just in his awards. In view ofthe final retri
bution you should exercise no solicitude. You will need no elo-
quence, but the eloquence of innocence ; and no advocate but the
Saviour. Omniscience blasts the hope of dissemblers, and leaves
no ground for disquietude in the friends of Christ. You need not
tell God your sufferings, your necessities nor your joys. He is
omniscient. If God is omnipresent, he surrounds the path of his enemies and
his friends. Therefore the hopes of the former are groundless,
and the fears of the latter are vain. He will go with his enemies
down to darkness, and fix their irreversible doom. He will be
with his friends in trial, affliction, and in the valley and shadow
of death, and accompany them to the mansions of blessedness.
If he is infinite in wisdom, none can improve his plans, or baffle
his skill. Success will attend his way, victory mark his course
and triumph crown the scene. For the weakness of God is strong
er than man and the foolishness of God i3 wiser than man.

EECTURE V.
MORAL ATTRIBUTES.
1. John 4. 16. God is love.
Having discussed the subject ofthe natural attributes of God,
I proceed to an examination of his moral attributes. By moral
attributes, I mean the dispositions, affections, or communicable
qualities of his nature ; or, in other words, such dispositions as
God can produce in his creatures. He can give them a resem
blance to himself. It might be said that his natural attributes
are as communicable as his moral ones. It is true, there is a
resemblance between existence and self-existence, and between
power and omnipotence ; but the resemblance is very faint and
distant, and it is not a resemblance which will ever increase. —
Man will ever be just as dependent as he now is. But it is not
so with the communicable or moral attributes of God. Those ho-
ly dispositions and tempers which God imparts to his creatures,
will be ever increasing. The natural attributes of God are refer-
rable to no law, and to no principle of action ; whereas his moral
attributes form a law of his nature, and have established the laws,
by which his moral creatures should be governed. This law is
written on their natures, and more clearly revealed in the scrip.
tures. We proceed to the classification ofhis moral attributes
considering an attribute as an operation, or mode of developing
divine dispositions. When the text says, God is love, I do not
understand it to mean, that there is something lovely merely in
5

66 MORAL ATTRIBUTES.
God ; nor that love is an attribute simply ; but that love is the
sum of all his moral perfections. I said in my last lecture that
God has twelve attributes; seven natural, and five moral attri
butes. This has been the usual arrangement. This classifica
tion, you will perceive, is arbitrary. The moral attributes of
God, are holiness, goodness, mercy, justice and truth.
The holiness of God is his moral purity. This purity is infi-
nite in extent. It is the entire absence of all impurity in desires
or designs ; and the presence of spotless love. Holiness is love
itself, and may be properly considered as embracing all his oth-
er moral attributes. When we learn that God is entirely desti
tute of sin, and that his affections never swerve for a moment
from the general interests of the universe, and that perfect una-
bating love ever reigns in his bosom, it may well be said that
God is holy. No injustice stains his throne, and no impurity
tarnishes his perfections. Every charge brought against the
wisdom, equity and excellence of his works or ways, betrays the
weakness and folly of the allegation, and the presumption and ir
reverence of man.
God is infinite in love.
The next moral attribute, is divine goodness. The existence
of this attribute, you will recollect, I proved from the light of na-
ture. The disposition of God to make his creatures happy, is
visible in the constitutional capacities of his creatures for enjoy.
ment, and in the provisions which he has made for the gratifica
tion of those capacities. But this expression of divine goodness is
faint, compared with that which is manifested by the immortality
of the soul with which he has endowed us, and the provisions

MORAL ATTRIBUTES. 67
which he has made for our recovery from sin. If any one is
disposed to restrict goodness to the expression of divine kindness,
made on the face of nature, and the term benevolence, to the
same principle developed in the work of redemption, I shall have
no objection.
The goodness, benevolence, tenderness and kindness of God, must
be resolved into the simple definition, of a disposition in God to
promote the greatest good of the universe. David has explain
ed this attribute of God. Psalms 145. 5 — 9. I will speak ofthe
glorious honor of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works ; and
men shall speak ofthe might of thy terrible acts, and I will de
clare thy greatness. They shall abundantly utter the memory
of thy great goodness, and shall sing of thy righteousness. The
Lord is gracious and full of compassion, slow to anger and of great
mercy. The Lord is good to all, and his tender mercies are over
all his works. After the apostacy and rebellion of man, God
was under no obligations, except those imposed by his goodness,
to provide for his recovery. Goodness gave the Saviour ; good-
ness made the atonement ; arrested the arm of justice, and pro
cured the sovereign display ofhis infinite beneficence. We then
look on the goodness of God as preventing the execution ofhis
justice, as staying the floods of desolation, which were about to
be poured on the world, and as scattering blessings in rich profu
sion, through the human family. Goodness has prepared the feast
of immortality for man, and spread it before him. Every law of
righteousness, every offer of grace, every promise of salvation,eve-
ry passage of scripture that points to the path of life, every victory
over sin, and every triumph in glory proves the goodness of God.
5*

68 MORAL ATTRIBUTES.
The next moral attribute is mercy. Mercy and grace are used
in the scriptures interchangeably. And each of these words is
more limited and restricted in its import, than goodness. Good
ness is a more general and extended expression of divine love.
The mercy of God is his pity and compassion for the miserable,
whether that misery be temporal or spiritual. The grace of God
has a more special reference to the gratuitous gift of salvation
through the Redeemer. Or, in other words, grace is a favor
bestowed on the ill-deserving ; such as God bestows on all whom
he saves. Mercy is, with more propriety, applied to men, than
grace. But these distinctions, when applied to God, are human
and arbitrary. We ought, therefore, as the Holy-Ghost has
done, to use them as synonimous. A merciful God looks down
on man, imprisoned in his depravity, enslaved by his lusts and
passions, a captive sold under sin. He sees all our natural pow.
ers, as reason, judgment, understanding and conscience, veiled in
the darkness of moral depravity, and he commissions the Spirit
to change the heart and sanctify the soul. This is an act of
grace. It is totally unmerited ; and is a sovereign act of his
love, in bestowing on the ill-deserving the richest benefits. This
is the common meaning of the word grace, the forgiveness of
sins, and acceptance in Christ. Mercy is often used in scripture,
in application to the interposition of God in the deliverance of
captives and sufferers. Mercy breaks the prisoner's chains, and
the arms of oppressors ; weakens the power of usurpation and
tyranny; hears the cries ofthe innocent, the widow and the fath-
erless, and brings up the sick from the borders of the grave. —
But in nothing is it so visibly displayed, as in the deliverance of

MORAL ATTRIBUTES. 69
captives from the bondage of the prince of darkness, and in
bringing them from the dominion and condemnation of sin, into
the glorious light and liberty of the Son of God. This is mercy
displayed on the basis of grace only, and is boundless and eter
nal. The next moral attribute of God is justice. General justice
does not essentially differ from benevolence. It is the disposition
to enact equitable laws, and the equitable execution of them. —
Distributive justice consists in rewarding the virtuous, and in
punishing the vicious according to their conduct. Distributive
justice properly embraces what are sometimes called remunera
tive and punitive justice.
Remunerative justice is rewarding the virtuous exactly accor
ding to their merit. Punitive justice is punishing the vicious ex
actly according to their demerit. Vindictive justice is the exer
cise of punishment in the support of law. Every law has a pen-
alty, a punishment threatened to a violation. And law without a
penalty is mere advice. It has no sanctions and no authority.
Now a law founded in equity, and productive of security and hap
piness, ought to be maintained. And punishments inflicted with
special reference to its honor and dignity are called vindictive.
As vindictive, when applied to man, is generally associated with
a revengeful and retaliating spirit, I would suggest the propriety
of using the word, vindicative instead of vindictive ; as the word
vindicative more clearly embraces the idea of vindication, or sup
port of right. It is obvious that God is never the subject of un
kind affections. He is always influenced by the same motives,
and the same spirit. Every exercise of justice is for the good of

70 MORAL ATTRIBUTES.
the universe. When he punishes the sinner, and when he con
fines him in endless darkness, he is influenced by love to the gen
eral interests of the universe. He will not inflict a single pang
which the good of the universe does not require. He is seeking
the highest good in the highest display ofhis glory; but he is
met and opposed in his work by sinners. He takes them out of
the way, and casts them into hell. I do not mean by this, that
the damned will be useless materials in the universe. They will
be unwilling instruments of promoting the general good. And
while the love of God is written on the flames of hell, it is an un
changeable truth, that the wailings of the lost will advance the
divine glory, as well as the hosannas ofthe redeemed. If he did
not exercise his justice in the punishment ofthe guilty, he would
abandon his own glory, and the highest happiness of the intelli
gent universe. When he executes vengeance on his enemies, he
does it with as much kind affection, as he exercises in rewarding
the redeemed in heaven. His breast is filled with pity and com
passion, towards the very objects whom he punishes. He has
none of that complacency in them, that love of delight, which
consists in the mingling of kindred and holy spirits, and which he
exercises towards his saints. He punishes them with no designs
of cruelty, or injustice ; but treats them according to their demer
it. That is, he punishes them just as much as they deserve, and
no more. Now the justice of God does not differ essentially
from his love. It is love to the happiness of the universe, exer
cised in destroying the opposers of that happiness ; in removing
the obstacles in the way ofthe accomplishment ofhis benevolent
designs to his church. And all those expressions which represent

MORAL ATTRIBUTES. 71
God as possessed of anger, indignation and wrath, are forms of
speech which show the effects ofhis justice, and concern for the
universe. The effect of wrathful passions in man, is the inflic
tion of punishment.
Now God inflicts punishment on his incorrigible creatures to
an inconceivable extent, and of eternal duration. And though
the effects of his justice resemble in some respects, the effects of
wrathful and ambitious men and monarchs, yet there is no resem
blance in the disposition ofthe two. There is no difficulty in re-
conciling disciplinary punishment with the benevolence and love
of God. The parent may correct his child in the most tender
and affectionate spirit, solely with reference to the reformation of
the child. And no man would hesitate to justify the ways of
God to men in all those afflictions and distresses, which advance
their holiness and happiness. But there are punishments which
are not disciplinary ; punishments which are not designed, and
have no tendency to reform the suffering. The infliction of death
on murderers is not intended to reform them. It puts them be-
yftnd the reach of human influence, and reformation. Most ofthe
punishments of God in this life, are disciplinary, intended to cor
rect the hearts and lives of his creatures. I dare not say, that
this is the intention of all the punishments inflicted on men, even
in this life. And I know, God has no such object as their refor
mation in punishing the wicked in hell. The justice exercised
in their punishment is entirely vindicative, to support the honor
ofhis laws, the dignity ofhis government, and to teach the uni
verse, that he is just, as well as merciful.
There are two reasons why God will punish the finally impeni-

72 MORAL ATTRIBUTES.
tent : One is that his glory requires it ; the other is that sinners
deserve it. The infliction ofthe penalties of justice is a pure act
of love not to individuals in particular, but to intelligents in gener.
al. There is not a particle of love in God nor of holy love in his
creatures, which does not overlook personal and individual inter.
est, when it is put in competition with the general good. God
feels no such love in his own breast, as partial and selfish love.
If he loves himself supremely, it is because he is the sum and
source of all the excellence in the universe. If he should love
any other, or all other beings more than himself, his love would
be unjust; because in so doing, he would prefer a less to a great
er good. His loving real excellence in his own character, accor
ding to the value of that excellence is not selfish, but impartial
and disinterested benevolence. And if he loves moral excellence
according to its worth, and he himself is the uncreated, exhaust
less source of all moral excellence, then he loves the supreme
and grand expression of his glory, which all beings will conspire
to make at last. He exercises the love of complacency towards
his creatures justin proportion to their assimilation to himself, and
their admiration ofhis plans and purposes, and no farther. God
will punish none of his creatures to exceed their demerit, nor to
a degree which will not display the loveliness of his character in
the highest colours.
The next moral attribute of God is truth. If truth and faith
fulness were made distinct attributes, they could mean nothing
more than veracity and faithfulness. The most natural and cor-
rect division of truth therefore, is into veracity and faithfulness ;
that is, God is true to his declarations, and true to his promises.

MORAL ATTRIUBUTES. 73
The veracity of God is simply this. All that God has said
concerning the past, present, and future, is true; just as it has
transpired, is transpiring, or will transpire. In all the revelation
which he has made, there is no ambiguity, no concealment, no
evasion, no false colouring, it is all a true and perfect record. —
Every thing which he has declared, will come to pass ; every
thing that he has promised, will be fulfilled ; every thing that he
has threatened, will be executed ; and every thing which he has
predicted, will be accomplished. Not one jot or tittle shall fail
until all be fulfilled.
Faithfulness of God.
The faithfulness of God, is his being true to his promises. The
scriptures are replete with promises to the righteous; and the un
belief of men, and even the best of men, subjects them to doubt
whether God will perform all that he has promised. There is
so much darkness, at particular times, about the dispensations of
his providence, and so much agitation and corruption within their
hearts, that christians often doubt their perseverance, though
God has promised to keep them, and bring them to heaven. And
they sometimes doubt whether the church will become as pros
perous and triumphant, as is represented in the scriptures. The
prophecies and promises are so slow in their accomplishment, and
some of them have been so much perverted by interpreters, that
the mind is left in perplexity. But all these queries and doubts
are unnecessary: God will do all for his church, and all for his
friends that he has promised. He has declared it, and it shall
come to pass. Psalm 89. 30 — 33. If his children forsake my
law, and walk not in my judgments ; if they break my statutes,

74 MORAL ATTRIBUTES.
and keep not my commandments; then will I visit their trans.
gression with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. Neverthe
less my loving kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suf
fer my faithfulness to fail.
Having considered the moral attributes of God, I must be in
dulged one or two reflections before I close. I have said all his
moral perfections are embraced in the term love. Now the
goodness, mercy, justice and truth of God, are only different
forms, or modifications of the same principle. What is goodness
but a general expression of divine love, manifested in providing
for the happiness ofhis creatures? What is mercy, or grace, but
the love of God displayed in alleviating the distresses of the mis
erable, or pardoning and saving the guilty ? What is justice but
love to the universe, displayed in rewarding the righteous, and
punishing the wicked according to their deeds? And what is the
veracity of God, but his love, displayed in the truth of the whole
declaration, and the whole revelation ofhis will, given for the in-
struction and benefit of his intelligent creatures? His truth is a
lasting basis on which the confidence of man may rest. What
is his faithfulness, but the pledge ofhis love, calculated to cheer
and comfort the desponding mind ? Indeed all his moral attributes
are love to the universe, operating in different ways, and with re
gard to different objects, and different beings.
Now what are the moral deductions drawn from this subject?
They are all those obligations, which pure and boundless love
can impose on dependent and accountable creatures. If God is
love, and is continually manifesting himself as such to his crea
tures, that love ought to be reciprocated.

MORAL ATTRIBUTES. 75
If God is good, man should receive his blessings with grati
tude ; and enjoy them innocently and purely, according to his re
vealed will.
If he is merciful, or gracious in pardoning guilty men, they
should be humble, in view of their guilt and unworthiness, and
grateful, for so many unmerited gifts. If God is just, we ought
to fear to sin, to tremble for our iniquities; and, acknowledging
the justice of that sentence which condemns us, to flee by faith
to the blood of sprinkling for justification. When we plead for
mercy, we should be sensible, that the laws of God would be mag
nified and glorified forever, if we were lost. In view of this at
tribute, the guilty and unpardoned, can have no hope to escape
their merited punishment.
If God is true, none should presume to question the truth of
the revelation, which he has made ; nor to expect an abatement
ofhis requisitions.
Every truth in the Bible, should be clothed in living reality;
and every requisition and every threatening, should be applied to
our hearts with as much solemnity, as though the transactions
of eternity, were passing before us. And if God is faithful to
his promises, the despondency of christians is groundless and
criminal. To view God as liable to desert his own work, and to
cease to love and bless his friends ; to view him as throwing
away in wastefulness, the atonement, — all the blood and suffer.
ings of his son, and the patience and persecutions of his saints;
is unworkhy business for the christian. No, God cannot change,
his love to his kingdom is eternal. Its interests are guarded by
all the perfections of his character Then dismiss your fears, ye

76 MORAL ATTRIBUTES.
followers ofthe Lamb. He who has promised that he will bring
again Zion, will give the kingdom and dominion, and the great
ness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, to the people of
the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting
kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey him. This God
is faithful and true.

LECTURE VI.
MODE OF DIVINE EXISTENCE.
1. John. 5. 7.
For there are three that bear record in heaven ; the Father, the Word,
and the Holy Ghost ; and these three are one.
Having examined the natural and moral attributes of God, I
enter on the discussion of the mode of the divine existence. And
here T will observe that I shall not attempt to explain the doctrine
ofthe Trinity ; that is, I shall not attempt to show how it is that
three persons exist in one God ; but give a plain and scriptural
statement ofthe doctrine.
God has a triune existence. There is such a distinction in the
Godhead, as renders it proper to say, there are three persons,
the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost, and yet these three
persons are but one God. It is necessary in this place to notice
a few false representations of the doctrine of the Trinity.
Trinitarianism is not tritheism, or a belief in the existence of

MODE OF DIVINE EXISTENCE. 77
three gods ; but a belief that three persons exist in one God. 
It is not a trinity of gods, but a trinity of persons. The God
head does not consist in three, separate and independent beings,
but one being existing in such a manner as to be distinct in per.
sons, and yet inseparably connected. We ought to have in our
minds, a clear and marked difference between the triune of dis.
tinct persons, and the triune of distinct beings. On the other
hand, the doctrine of the trinity is not three appellations applied
to the same being, to designate three different operations or offi
ces of God. The doctrine ofthe trinity is something more than
the same God developing himself in three different ways: for
God discovers his character in a thousand different ways, and
the different modes of his operations, are more properly a dis
covery of his attributes, than the mode of his existence. To
suppose that the personality of Christ, and of the Holy Ghost,
consisted in their possessing a portion of Deity, would destroy
the trinity of the Godhead.
I will then first attempt to prove that there is but one God.
2. Show that this doctrine does not at all militate against the
doctrine ofthe trinity.
Besides the unity of design apparent in all the works of nature,
there is an absurdity in supposing, that there are more Gods than
one. An infinite being must fill all in all, and if there were a
thousand gods, they must possess the same empire. I can con
ceive no advantage in admitting the existence of several infinite
beings, since their dominion must be one, and the same as that
of a single God. If more than one God claims the universe,
those claims must interfere ; and we cannot suppose, that the

78 MODE OF DIVINE EXISTENCE.
whole creation belongs to the great Creator and Proprietor him.
self, and at the same time, to another. But the scriptures abound
in positive declarations ofthe unity of God. It is true the term
god is two or three times in scripture applied to frail men, but
those passages are too explicit to admit of mistake. Moses was
as a god to Aaron. That is, God made communications to Mo-
ses, and Moses made them to Aaron. As far as imparting in
struction was concerned, Moses sustained the same relation to
his brother Aaron, that God sustained to Moses. Rulers, and
those who are invested with authority, have been called gods ;-
because their investitures and exaltation, their authority and
prerogatives, gave them a relation to their subjects, resembling
in some respects, the relation of God to his creatures. The pov
erty of language gave rise to this manner of speaking, Where-
ever this phraseology occurs in relation to the elevation, investi
tures, and privileges of men, it is used with a degree of caution
which secures the candid reader against misconstruction. But
the unity of God is established by the most unequivocal testimony
from the Bible. And the reason that the candid inquirer after
truth, finds such entire satisfaction on this point, is very obvious.
In a world as idolatrous as this, men have always been exposed to
polytheism; a belief of the existence of a plurality of gods. —
This is a sin to which the Israelites were addicted ; and there
fore, in almost every exposure of their crime, it was necessary to
bring to light the doctrine of the divine unity. There is scarcely
an assertion in the Bible, respecting the unity of God, which is
not made in contradistinction to idols. It was the prevalence of
idolatry, which gave occasion for the use of those expressions on

MODE OF DIVINE EXISTENCE. 79
which we found our proof of the unity of the Godhead. Even
while God was delivering the law to Moses on Sinai, the Israel.
ites were making a graven image at the foot ofthe mountain.—
The following passages prove the unity of God. Deut. 4. 35.—
Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the Lord,
he is God; there is none else besides him. 1. Tim. 2. 5, For
there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the
man Christ Jesus. Ephesians. 4. 5. One Lord, one faith, one
baptism. This doctrine rests then on the positive and unequivo
cal declaration of scripture. The prophets of the Lord have al
ways repelled the claims of every other being to any degree of
independence. God has visited with special judgments, those who
have presumed to infringe on his prerogatives, or to encourage
defection from his rightful government. He destroyed the altars,
and the worshippers of Baal. He cut off the witches of Canaan.
He smote Herod, for taking to himself the glory which was due
to God alone. And in every case of aggression on his preroga
tives, he has employed his servants, his providences, and his
power, to convince the world, that he is the only living and true
God. It is unnecessary to spend more time in proving a doctrine
which is too plain to be denied ; and, which none but the atheist,
is disposed to question.
2, I proceed to show that the unity of God does not at all mil
itate against the doctrine ofthe trinity. The unity of God de
stroys tritheism, or the doctrine of three gods ; for it is a contra
diction in terms to suppose there are three gods, and yet but one
God. This is as impossible as that three worlds should be one
world only ; or that three men should be but one man. Yet this

80 MODE OF DIVINE EXISTENCE.
does not prove, that there may not be three persons, or agents,
and yet but one God. We do not contend for three gods in one
God, but for three distinct persons, or agents, in one Godhead.—
There is such a distinction in the Godhead as to render it proper
to address the Deity by the appellation of Father, Son, and Ho
ly Ghost ; and to render it proper to offer up prayer, praise, or
divine worship to each of those persons separately, or to all of
them conjointly. And this distinction, as I have before observed,
does not imply a plurality of gods ; nor does it mean merely the
different attributes, or operations of the same God.
The Deity of the Father may be proved from his names, his
attributes, his works, and the worship ascribed to him, as I have
shown in a preceding discourse. He is called Lord, Lord God, I
am that I am, Jehovah, &c. He is the creator, preserver, sover
eign, and law-giver. Dan. 4. 34, 35. And at the end of the
days, I Nebuchadnezzar lifted up mine eyes unto heaven, and
mine understanding returned unto me, and I blessed the Most
High, and I praised and honored him that liveth forever, whose
dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from
generation to generation : And all the inhabitants of the earth
are reputed as nothing ; and he doth according to his will in the
army of heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth : and
none can stay his hand, or say unto him, what doest thou ? Je
sus Christ is called God, in Isaiah, Matthew, John, Romans, and
in many other places. He is called Jehovah in Isaiah. He is
said to be eternal, immutable, omnipresent, omnipotent, and om
niscient. He is Creator, the object of worship ; and christians
are blessed in his name ; and the ordinance of baptism is perform-

MODE OF DIVINE EXISTENCE. 81
ed in his name. He is the author ofthe resurrection ; the proph-
et, priest and king ofhis people; and will be the judge of the
world. He existed in a complex character, both human and di-
vine. Ofhis human nature it is said, he was born of Mary ; sup
ported as other men ; died on the cross, and arose from the dead.
As a Saviour, he died to make atonement for all men; offers
salvation to all, and applies it to a part. His obedience to the
divine law was perfect ; his death on the cross, vicarious ; and his
intercessions for the saints, prevalent. The Holy Ghost is the
creator of all things; the author of regeneration, and of all holy
exercises. He performed the work of revelation ; and the saints
are blessed in his name : and in his name believers and their seed
are to be baptized to the end ofthe world. And now I ask how
there could be such an intermixture of names and attributes, works
and worship, if there was not an identity of being? And that
this triune distinction is not predicated ofhis attributes, is obvious
from the fact, that they are mentioned distinctly and separately ;
and no one can show that the Son, or the Holy Ghost, means
merely an attribute. But if they are merely attributes, why are
attributes attributed to these attributes. Then the attributes of the
second and third persons in the trinity would be attributes of attri
butes. This idea is still more shocking and absurd, when we hear
oftheir negotiating, and covenanting with each other, and transact.
ing business in which they claimed a perfect independence and still
acknowledge a mutual, and inseparable connexion;. And the differ.
ent offices they exercise, prove no inferiority of excellence, or of
prerogatives. God the Father acknowledged the Deity and equal
ity of the San. For when h® bringeth his first begotten into the
6

82 MODE OF DIVINE EXISTENCE.
world he saith, and let all the angels of God worship him. Now if
he prohibits the worship of any other god than himself, and com
mands men and angels to worship Christ, then Christ is one with
him. And Christ acknowledges the equality ofthe Holy Ghost,
when he says, Go ye into all the world and preach the gospel to
every creature, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
the Son, and Ihe Holy Ghost. Now it is not a little remarkable,
that the same evidence that proves these three persons to be one
God, proves them to be equal. If they did not possess thesame
names and attributes, and perform the same works, and receive
the same worship, neither of them could be proved to be God. —
The same source of evidence that proves the deity of one, proves
the deity ofthe three persons in the trinity. Now as thesame nature
and degree of testimony, which proves the deity of the Son and
the Holy Ghost, is used to prove the deity of the Father, therefore,
if the deity ofthe Son, or ofthe Holy Ghost, cannot be establish
ed, the deity,of the Father cannot be proved, and atheism follows.
It is very questionable in my mind, whether the spirit which de-
nies the deity of either person in the triune God, is not the spirit
of atheism. There is a spirit of defection at least, in him who
admits tbe Godhead ofthe Father on certain evidence, and denies
the Godhead of the Son, and the Holy Ghost, on the same evi.
dence. I would be an atheist, or a trinitarian. I cannot here
omit informing my audience, ofthe ground of that torrent of odi
um and reproach which has been poured on the orthodox senti
ments. Because we maintain the personality and deity of the
Son, and ofthe Holy Ghost, we are charged with a belief in the
•existence of three gods. When we as firmly believe the unity of

MODE OF DIVINE EXISTENCE. 83
God, and contend for it as strenuously as any class of men. It is
plurality of persons, and not a plurality of gods for which we con-
tend. It is said to be mystical, blind and unintelligible. But I
conceive, when taken as a matter of revelation, there is no truth
more plain. It is true, that we can fathom neither deity nor
many of his works. The only staggering mystery about admit
ting this doctrine, is, the unbelief of mankind. We never repre-
sent this truth, the unity and trinity of the Godhead, as having
been discovered by the sagacity of the human intellect. It is a
matter of revelation, and is just as capable of being understood
as any other truth revealed in the scriptures.
Let me here ask the objector to the Deity of Christ, if he sees
the only real difficulty in the doctrine of the trinity ? Is the diffi
culty that he cannot see how three Gods can be one God, or one
God, three Gods ?
This objection does not lie against the doctrine of the trinity,
for trinitarians believe no such sentiment. Let him be a little
more accurate in defining, and profound in thinking. There is
a broad difference between a trinity of Gods and a trinity of
persons. Is the difficulty in the complexity of the Saviour's character ?
How much more mystery is there in the union of the human
and divine natures than there is iAthe union of soul and body, of
mind and matter, and of human and divine agency?
I know of but one apparent difficulty in. the doctrine of the
trinity, and that is, how the volitions^>f the human and divine soul
of Christ, could be one and the same volition and he who does

84 MODE OF DIVINE EXISTENCE.
npt see this to be the only difficulty on this subject, I fear cavils.
without principle, and reasons without candor.
The doctrine of the trinity is the foundation of all the hopes
which are precious to man. Take away this doctrine, and the
religion ofthe world could never rise abpve deistical idolatry, and
cold and phlegmatic philosophy. Were it not for the Son, there
would be no redemption ; man rqupt have lain in his prison of sin
and ruin, having none to atone for him ; none to reveal to him
the way of life ; none to subdue his moral corruption, and none
to conquer his enemies. None but the second person in the ado
rable Godhead, was adequate to cancel the demands of divine jus-
tice, and honor the divine law. Divest the Saviour of his dis.
tinctive personality, and you render him inadequate to the salva
tion of man. This doctrine, then is the chief corner stone in the
christian edifice.
Take away the deity and personality ofthe third person in the
trinity, and who could be found adequate to change the heart, to
new-create the soul, and make an efficacious application of the
atonement to the dying sinner ? The effort of the triune God, in
the production of this world from nothing, was not greater than
that effort which gives spiritual resuscitation to the soul.
Now divest the eternal spirit of his names, his attributes, his
works, and thQ worship ascribed to him; divest him of any thing
which constitutes his Godhead, Mid every sheet of revelation will
be a blank ; and every groan of Calvary an empty sound. If
such were the case, in vain would the Father reign, and the Son
would bleed in vain for man. There mu6t be a being adequate
to renovate the heart, and to apply the atonement ; and he must

MODE OF DIVINE EXISTENCE; 85
have power to conquer the rebel's heart, and subdue the rising en-
emies ofthe soul. This is the light, my hearers, in which you
should view the doctrine of the trinity. Not as a doctrine of no-
tions and forms* not a child of sectarian bigotry, but a doctrine
on which the whole church rests as the chief corner stone. If I
received Christ as merely human, and as dying to prove his sin
cerity in the belief of the doctrines which he taught, and to sanc
tion his instructions, I could see no more efficacy in his sufferings
and death than in those of a martyr.
Destroy the vicarious death of Christ, and there is no rational
hope for the sinner. And when the deity of the Holy Ghost is
questioned, the possibility of an application of the atonement is
questioned. From the first intimation of a Saviour to our first
parents, until the clear developement of his character and offices,
at his incarnation and death, his proper and perfect divinity, and
perfect humanity, have been considered as the foundation of his
church and all pure religion. This view ofthe mode ofthe di
vine existence, is at an infinite distance, from the gross and ab-
surd notions of heathen polytheism, and from SabelUan and Arian
deism. There is such a distinction in the Godhead, as makes it
proper to say, I, thou, he. While the Father can say, I am
God and there is none else, he can also say to the Son, thy
throne, O God, is forever and ever, and let all the angels of God
worship him ; and he can alsosay, when he the Spirit of truth, is
come, he will guide you into all truth. Well, then, may all ad
mire this triune God, as furnishing the highest pledge of the sal
vation of the church, and the only hope of sinful man.
Let me, then, in closing my discourse, affectionately caution

86 MODE OF DIVINE EXISTENCE.
my hearers against a rash and irreverent handling ofthe divine
character. Our investigations should be modest and humble.
There is but one safe guide, and one inextinguishable light: that
is the Bible. An admission of its testimony will correct all mis-
apprehensions, and draw from the creatures of divine power a trib
ute of homage. But if we unhappily mingle with the train of
those, who, with unhallowed lips, assail the divine character, and
presumptuously arbitrate on the rights and prerogatives, and even,
on the existence of God ; and dispute his reign and doubt his
veracity, we must meet the charges on the last day. The spirit
that investigates the divine character, should be deeply imbued
with humility ; for pride and impiety close the avenues of the
soul, and divert the streams of divine love, as they descend to us.
But if, happily, by a life of piety and obedience, we enjoy the
friendship of the Father, the communion of the Son, and the fel
lowship ofthe Spirit, we shall ere long be admitted to those joys,
of which such as deny the mediation and intercession of Christ,
and the influences ofthe Holy Spirit, will be forever deprived. —
Happy is he who knows the true God, and Jesus Christ, whom
to know aright is life eternal. Such shall sweetly join in the
doxologies of eternal praise.

EECTURE TH.
DEITY OF THE SON AND THE HOLY GHOST.
Heb. 9. 14.
How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal
Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from
dead works, to serve the living God.
Having in my preceding discourse, briefly stated the doctrine
ofthe deity and the personality of the Son and the Holy Ghost,
I shall in this lecture further illustrate and defend this doctrine.
There is an admirable propriety in the complexity of the Sav
iour's character. To negotiate with man, it was proper he should
possess all the attributes of a man, soul, mind and body. Birth,
increase of stature and of intellect, knowledge, ignorance, infirm
ity, hunger, thirst, uneasiness, pain, and death, prove him to be a
man — an entire and perfect man. And to negotiate with God,
it was proper that he should possess an equality with the Fath-
er. If he was a created and dependent being only, he could not
cancel one demand of justice. He could only give back to God
an existence which had always been the property ofthe Father.
Beside, every created, moral intelligent, is under law. To re
ward holiness and punish sin, are immutable pillars ofthe divine
government. And it is inconceivable how God could, consistent
ly with the laws ofhis kingdom, punish a holy being, unless that
being possessed an existence literally his own, and an existence
of which he could dispose at pleasure. If the Saviour is the self-

88 DEITY OP TJIE SON
existent and independent God, he can negotiate with the Father.
He can bargain and stipulate, and adjust conditions, which imply
no condescension in the Father, and no compulsion in the Son. —
He might say to the Father, the only condition on which I will
suffer and die, is, that you shall accept my sufferings and death,
as an atonement for the whole world, and apply this atonement to
the elect for they: redemption. Christ might demand salvation
for himself, as man, on the ground of sinless obedience. His
perfect obedience formed both the ground and the condition of
his own salvation. And with equal justice he could demand the
reward of his labors, the salvation ofhis people. His entire and
perfect humanity, and his entire and perfect divinity, form a
chain which connects the upper and lower worlds and opens the
door of access to the Father. All those passages of scripture
which speak ofhis ignorance, weakness, investitures, or depend.
ence, are applicable to his humanity and official character only;
and all those passages which speak of his deity, are applicable to
his deity only. Christ frequently used the phrase, son of man,
in application to himself. By this phrase, he always intended to
assert his humanity. The Jews, who were well acquainted with
the language in which he spoke, always unders tood by this phrase
that he intended to assert his humanity. It is worthy of remark
that this phrase, or its eqiuvalent, is used in application to the
Saviour, more than sixty times in the New Testament. Christ,
used another phrase in application to himself, by which he meant
to assert his divinity ; that phrase is, son of God. This, or its e-
quivalent, is used in application to him, more than fifty times in
the Evangelists. If the testimony of Christ in relation to him-

AND THE HOLY GHOST. 89
self is admissable, who can doubt, that he was truly and proper
ly- man, and truly and properly God? As he was a complex be
ing, the proof of his Godhead does not destroy his humanity ;
nor does the proof ofhis humanity destroy his Godhead. He was
God and man in two distinct natures but one person. He was
the Messiah ; the mediator between God and man. Every thing
could be affirmed of Christ, that could be affirmed of a perfect
and entire man, and of a perfect and entire God.
This removes all difficulty in interpreting scripture which re-
lates to this subject. I have before said, that the deity and per
sonality ofthe Son and ofthe Holy Ghost, are established in the
same manner as those ofthe Father. Now if the same names,
attributes, works and worship, which are applied to the Father,
and which are forbidden to be applied to any being but God, are
applied to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost, it follows inevitably,
that the Son and the Holy Ghost are God ; one with the Father,
and equal in character and perfections. I proceed then to prove,
that the same names, attributes, works and worship, are ascrib
ed to the Son, that are ascribed to the Father.
1 . John. 5. 20. And we know that the Son of God is come, and
hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is
true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ.
This is the true God, and eternal life.
Rev. 1.8. I am Alpha and Omega, the first and the last. —
Rom. 9. 5. Whose are the fathers, and of whom as concerning
the flesh. Christ came, who is over all, God blessed forever. —
God over all, is God Almighty. The Father applies his own
name to the Son: Heb. 1. 8. But unto the Son he saith, thy

90 DEITY OF THE SON
throne, O God, is forever and ever ; a sceptre ofrighteou sness
is the sceptre of thy kingdom. In these passages, the names ap
plied to the Father, are applied to the Son, in an unrestricted and
unqualified manner.
The attributes ofthe Father are applied to the Son in the fol
lowing passages. John 1.1. In the beginning was the word. —
Here the eternity ofthe Son's existence is asserted. In the be
ginning, is from eternity, before all things. Rev. 22. 13. I am
Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. Heb. 1. 10 — 12.
And thou Lord, in the beginning, hast laid the foundation of the
earth ; and the heavens are the works of thy hands. They shall
perish ; but thou remainest : and they shall all wax old as doth a
garment, and as a vesture shalt thou fold them up, and they shall
be changed : but thou art the same, and thy years shall not fail.
This text proves the eternal existence, the creative power, and
the immutability of Christ. The omniscience of Christ is prov
ed by the following and similar passages: Rev. 2. 23. All the
churches shall know, that I am he which searcheth the reins. By
reins, in this passage, is meant the most secret operations ofthe
soul. John 16. 30. Now we are sure that thou knowest all
things. When Peter had been interrogated three times, respect.
ing his love to the Saviour, he replied, Lord, thou knowest all
things, thou knowest that I love thee.
In proof of the omnipresence of Christ, we read, Mat. IS. 20.
For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there
am I in the midst of them. Mat. 28. 19, 20. Go ye, therefore,
and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father,
and ofthe Son, and of tho Holy Ghost ; teaching them to observe

AND THE HOLY GHOST. 91
all things whatsoever I have commanded you : and lo, I am with
you always, even unto the end of the world, Amen. When
Christ was conversing with Nicodemus, a Jewish ruler, face to
face, he said, John, 3. 13. And no man hath ascended up to heav
en, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man,
which is in heaven.
The omnipotence of Christ is declared in the following passa
ges : Phil. 3. 21. He is able even to subdue all things to himself.
Rom. 9. 5. Who is over all, God blessed forever. His creative
power is declared in John 1. 3. 10. All things were made by him
and without him was not any thing made that was made. He
was in the world, and the world was made by him.
He is the preserver and upholder ofthe universe. Col. 1. 16.
17. All things were created by him and for him, and by him all
things consist. Heb. 1. 3. Upholding all things by the word of
bis power.
His prerogative to forgive sin, to raise the dead, and to judge
the world, is expressed in the following passages ; Mat. 9. 2. 6.
Son be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee. But that ye
may know that th-e son of man hath power on earth to forgive
sins, then saith he to the sick ofthe palsy, arise take up thy bed,
and go unto thine own house.
John 5. 28. 29. The hour is coming in the which, all that
are in their graves, shall hear his voice, and shall come forth. —
2, Cor. 5. 10. For we must all appear before the judgment
seat of Christ. But not only the names, attributes, and works,
which are ascribed to the Father, are ascribed to the Son ; but
the scriptures ascribe to the Son divino honors. The same God

92 DEITY OF THE SON
who denounces as idolatrous and blasphemous any act of homage,
or worship, given to created and finite beings, has commanded
his creatures to worship the Son. John 5. 23. That all men
should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. Heb. 1,
6. And when he bringeth his first begotten into the world, he
saith, and let all the angels of God worship him. Rev. 5. 12.
13. Saying with a loud voice, worthy is the Lamb that was
slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom and strength, and
honor, and glory, and blessing. And every creautre which is in
heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are
in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and
honor, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the
throne, and unto the Lamb forever and ever. Add to these tes
timonies ofthe deity of Christ, the insertion of his name in the a-
postolical benediction, and the expressions of trust and confidence,
which his followers have placed in him, and our convictions rise
still higher, that those who could say I can do all things through
Christ which strengtheneth me ; in the name of Jesus Christ of
Nazareth, rise up and walk; Lord Jesus receive my spirit ; to
them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with
all that are in every place, call on the name of Jesus Christ, were
believers in his supreme divinity. They could say to the world,
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven
and things in earth, and things under the earth ; and that every,
tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. On the strength of these passages, I must say, that if
the deity ofthe Son fails, the deity ofthe Father is incapable of
proof.

AND THE HOLY GHOST. 93
I now proceed to the proof of the deity and personality ofthe
Holy Ghost. There are passages of soripture whieh speak of
the Holy Ghost, in the plain and unimpassioned language of nar
ration : and in these passages, the names and attributes, the
works and worship, ascribed to the Father and Son, are also as
cribed to the third person in the trinity. He is not spoken of as
an attribute, nor as an emanation, neither is he spoken of in any
figurative language, capable of perversion or evasion, but as
God, truly divine, and truly distinct from the Father and the Son,
Acts 5. 3, 4- Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine
heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price
ofthe land ? Thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God. Heb.
3. 7. 8. Wherefore the Holy Ghost saith, to-day if ye will hear his
voice, harden not your hearts. Acts 13. 2. As they ministered
to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Bar-
nabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them. Acts
10. 19,20. While Peter thought on the vision, the Spirit said
unto him, behold three men seek thee. Arise therefore, and get
thee down, and go with them, doubting nothing ; for I have sent
them. John 16. 13. Howbeit, when he, the Spirit of truth is
come, he will guide you into all truth. John 14. 16, 17 — 26.
And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Com-
forter, that he may abide with you forever; even the Spirit of
truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not,
neither knoweth him, but ye know him ; for lie dwelleth with you,
and shall be in you. But the Comforter which is the Holy
Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name,be shall teach you
all things, and shall bring all things to your remembrance, what.

94 DEITY OF THE SON
soever I have said unto you. We are now prepared to judge
whether there is not as clear and marked a distinction between
the Holy Ghost and the Father, as between the Son and the
Father. The Holy Ghost is said to lead, to teach, to command, to com
mission, to convince of sin, to change the heart, to enlighten, to for
bid, to sanctify, and to be invoked. Mat. 28. 19. Go teach all
nations baptizing them in the name ofthe Father, ofthe Son, and
ofthe Holy Ghost. 2 Cor. 13. 14. The grace ofthe Lord Jesus
Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy
Ghost, be with you all. Amen. It is then sufficiently established
that the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, is one God ; and that
there is such a distinction in the Godhead, as makes the applica-
tion of the personal pronouns, I, thou, he, to either of these per-
fectly proper: and that to these three distinct persons, may be
applied, separately, or conjointly, the same names, and attri
butes, works and worship. The limits of my plan, will suffer
me to present to the mind ofthe candid inquirer after truth, the
prominent features ofthe subject only, and point bim to the ma-
terials of which he may build a house, which no winds can shake,
and which no floods can overthrow. The views we entertain of
the Godhead, will powerfully influence our moral feelings, and
christian conduct. There are articles of christian belief which
exert on us but a feeble influence. But our views ofthe source
of being, the eternal God, will give a deep and lasting complexion,
to the features of the soul. They will direct every current of
the affections; and the magnitude and purity ofthe heart, must
be graduated by the character of the object, in which it concen-

AND THE HOLY GHOST. 95
trates. If the Son and the Holy Spirit are God, it imparts a val
ue to every official transaction in the plan of redemption. It
gives weight and dignity, efficacy and commanding influence, to
all -that is revealed concerning the triune God. Besides, this ar
ticle of revealed truth, is the sun around which all other doctrines
hang in clustered excellence. The character ascribed to God,
gives complexion to every doctrine of christian belief. The doc
trine ofthe trinity, is the foundation of all thatis sound in faith,
precious in feeling, and dear to the hopeful subjects of a blissful
immortality. I have a word to say on the official character of Christ. He
has a tripple office : he sustains the office of prophet, priest, and
king. He is a prophet, for Moses truly said unto the fathers, a
prophet, shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your breth-
eren like unto me ; him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever he
shall say unto you. No man hath seen God at any time, the on
ly begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, he hath de-
clared him. God, who at sundry times, and in divers manners,
spake in time past to the fathers by the prophets, hath, in these
last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir
of all things, by whom also he made the world. These passages
prove that Christ as a prophet, reveals to hjs church, by his word
and spirit, in divers ways of ad ministration, the will of God, in all
things concerning their edification and salvation. On his priestly
office, the scriptures are equally explicit. How much more shall
the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit .offered himself
without spot to God, purge your consciences. So Christ was
offered to bear the sins of many, that he might be a merciful and

96 DEITY OF THE SON
faithful high priest, in things pertaining to God, to make recon
ciliation for the sins of the people. Wherefore he is able to save
them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever
liveth to make intercession for them. These passages prove, that
our great High Priest has offered himself a spotless sacrifice to
God, to make reconciliation for the sins of his people ; and to of
fer perpetual intercessions for their salvation.
And in relation to his regal office it is said, Him hath God ex
alted with his right hand, to be a prince and a Saviour, to give
repentance to Israel, and the forgiveness of sins. And behold I
come quickly, and my reward is with me, to give to every man,
according as his work shall be. For he must reign, until he
hath put all enemies under his feet. In flaming fire, taking
vengeance on them that know not God, and obey not the gospel
ofhis Son. Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron, thou
shalt dash them in pieces, like a potters vessel. Thus we see
that Christ assumes his three-fold office ; and God acknowledges
it to the salvation of his people.
When we view the order and harmony ofthe universe, the vast
and complicated system of this world, and the provisions in na
ture for the security and happiness of man, we trace them back
to the wisdom, power, and goodness of God the Father. And
when we contemplate man as lifting up his head from the dun-
geon of depravity, to the world of light, and as invited away from
the scenes of darkness and despair, to go and sit with Christ on
the right hand of God, we contemplate the Saviour as having cast
up an highway for the ransomed of the Lord. And when we
contemplate sinful man as leaving his prison, aud arising from

CREATION. 97
his grave of moral death> to light, and life, and love, the Spirit ap-
pears in all his benign agency and influence.

EECTURE Till.
CREATION. Gen. 1. 27.
So God created man in his own image ; in the image of God crea-
ted he him ; male and female created he them.
The only authentic record we have of the creation ,is given
by Moses, in the first chapter of Genesis. This is very brief. —
I will give you the order of this work in a few words. God first
brought from nothing into being the substances of which he
formed all his material works. These then lay in wild disorder
and confusion. There was nothing brooding over the bosom of
chaos, but darkness and derangement. God then began to bring
this confused mass, which was without form and void, into order
and harmony ; and to construct a world, which was to stand a
living demonstration of his infinite wisdom, power and goodness.
The first day, he created light. This light appeared and disap.
peared periodically, and was therefore called day : the interve-
ning darkness was called night.
We should remember, there is a difference between this light
and the light of the sun. This light was not connected with that
great luminary which was created three days after. This was
probably a luminous appearance imparted to the atmosphere for
7

98 CREATION.
the time being, and which disappeared on the creation ofthe sun.
The work ofthe second day, was the formation ofthe firmament.
By God's creating the firmament is not to be understood, that the
component elements did not then exist ; but they were a void, a
dark abyss, destitute of arrangement and utility: and even the
air, here called firmament, had no power to keep the waters by
pressure, in their proper places, nor to raise the evaporating par.
tides into the skies. The spirit of God spread around the earth,
the curtains ofthe heavens; and thus furnished an element, in
which the lungs could move, and in which all the various objects
of the atmosphere could be accomplished. The firmament sep-
erates the waters in the clouds from the waters on the earth.
The common theory is, that there are three heavens : the at
mosphere we breathe; the sensible heavens, or air, which bounds
our vision ; and the invisible residence of God. On the third day
God gathered the waters together into fountains, lakes, seas,, and
oceans, and fixed their bounds. And the earth which had hith
erto been immersed and fruitless, was now dressed in all its vari
ed beauties; and received a constitution to propogate all its her-
bage and trees after their kind. On the fourth day, God made
the sun, moon and stars, to illuminate the earth, and to furnish
the inhabitants with signs, seasons, day and night, means so im.
portant in the regulation of all our transactions, and in the promo.
tion of order and happiness. On the fifth day God filled the wa.
ters with every living creature that moves in them; and gave
them power to bring forth the fowls which fly in the midst of
heaven. On the sixth day God commanded the earth to bring
forth all its variety of living creatures and creeping things. And

CREATION. 99
on this day he also created man, the noblest of all his works ;
and gave him dominion over all his creatures in the lower world
Man was the only being of whom he could say, he had created
him in his own likeness. He pronounced all his works good,
very good. But by good he did not mean morally good, or holy,
but fit and proper, admirably adapted to the ends for which they
were designed. Good, in the sense in which a watch, or a house,
or a mill, or a farm, is said to be good when it answers all the
designs and desires of its possessor. But before God had crea.
ted man, there was no piece of workmanship ofhis hands, except
angels, which possessed a particle of the intelligence, reason,
or mental and moral endowments resembling his own divine na
ture. He created man in his own image. To the material part,
whieh he took from the earth, he gave exquisite sensibilities ; to
the body he gave a mind, possessing perception, reason, under.
standing and conscience ; and, in addition to this, he endowed
man with a soul, capable of choosing and refusing, of loving and
hating : and thus constituted him a voluntary, moral, and account
able being. Man thus constituted, has capacities for discovering,
appreciating, and admiring the blessed character of his Creator.
Such capacities could be found in none ofhis other creatures. —
There was not a being on earth, except man, who could catch a
glimpse ofthe divine character and perfections ; or form the least
conception of any such being. They had no faculties either to
discover the Godhead, or the nature and source of moral obliga-
tions. How then did God create man, or what is the meaning
ofthe phrase, created man in his own image? In the first place,
7*

100 CREATION.
man resembled GorT in his intellectual faculties. He had rea*
son and foresight. He could discover many of the laws and op*
erations of nature; and could adapt means to ends according to
the extent of his wisdom, which1 bore a very faint resemblance
to that of him who is wise in heart, and mighty in power. While
animal creation in general, were governed by instincts, appetites,
and inclinations, man could regulate' his desires, and manage his
interest by nobler powers of mind. He is endowed with nobler
intellectual gifts, and a nearer approximation to God. It is true
he possessed no faculty in infinitude ; but however humble the
distance at which he stood from his creator, and however faint
the^resemblance which he bore to him, he possessed the princi
pal intelligence of this world, as God possesses all the intelligence
ofthe universe. He bore the image of God also, in the author
ity with which he was invested. All his powers and preroga
tives were delegated, yet he was constituted lord and governor of
this lower world. All things were put under his feet. It is
probable, that all animals obeyed man until after the fall, or af.
ter the flood, from an intuitive affection. Subsequently, they
were subjected to man through fear, which was the consequence
of sin. By the fear which man saw in animals, after the aposta.
cy, he might learn, that by sin, he had not only become odious
to God, but a terror to the subjects ofhis own dominion. Man
could not subject the tribes of earth to his control by the strength
of his own arm ; for his muscular energies bore no proportion to
many tribes of beasts. Man's dominion over the various animal
tribes was fixed by a wise decree of the Creator. As man was
created lord and monarch of this lower world, he faintly resem-

CREATION. 101
bled him who has a just and underived dominion over all worldg
and all creatures. He bears the image of the King of Kingsi
and Lord of Lords. But there is a more important sense in
which man was created in the image of God. I refer to his mor
al nature, and his original moral purity. Man was made with a
heart which could love or hate God, and all other moral beings.
The moral faculty of man could discover the difference between
right and wrong ; and be pleasantly or unpleasantly affected
with moral obligation ; and this faculty in its primeval state was
pure and sinless. When Adam came from the hand ofhis ma-
ker he possessed not a single sinful emotion of soul. He loved
God supremely, and incessantly. He had no selfishness, no sin.
His motives, desires, employments, and gratifications were per
fectly innocent. There was nothing to interrupt his communica
tion with his maker ; not a cloud to darken his prospects, nor to
dampen his joys. He was as sinless as an angel, and as holy in
his sphere, as God is holy. He needed no change of heart to fit
him for heaven. And yet it could be said of him, that he was a
holy man only. He was not an angel: he was not God. He
was created dependent and accountable. In short he was a man
possessing a corporeal, mental, and moral existence, placed on the
earth, in the fertile Eden of Armenia. He was created a free
moral agent. Not an independent agent ; for he was totally de
pendent ; and all his volitions and actions were under the divine
control. But God gave him a free and voluntary existence,
which could act in view of.raotives, and at the same time, he
could be acted upon without the least infringement upon his free
agency. Though there may be no difference between the pres-

102 CREATION.
i
ent and primeval state of man in point of freedom, yet we are not
to judge ofhis former, by his present state, since the fall has pro.
duced an astonishing derangement in body, mind and soul. But
in our present inquiry, we are principally concerned with the
primitive state of man. Man originally possessed a holy nature;
exercised holy dispositions ; and performed only holy works.
We may better ascertain the meaning of the phrase, created
in the image of God, by comparing the moral attributes of God,
with the moral dispositions of Adam. To the extent of the lim
ited capacities of our first parents in their state of innocence,
there was a perfect harmony between their designs and desires
and those ofthe divine being. Theirs were finite; his were in
finite. But in proportion to his intellectual and moral capacities,
Adam was as holy as his Maker. He loved God with all the
heart; and was supremely devoted to the glory ofthe universe,
and so far as his rank and nature would permit, he was exalt
ed and spotless. He had a human nature, connected with a sin
less soul, but it was not degraded and deranged by sin ; because
it had never been employed as an instrument of impurity. —
Whether the body of .Adam was constituted mortal, in anticipa
tion ofthe apostacy ; or whether it would have been immortal,
had he maintained his allegiance inviolate ; or whether it would
have undergone a change similar to that which will be effected
instantaneously on those who remain alive on the earth when
the last trump shall be blown, is uncertain. I think it plain
from scripture, that if Adam had continued in holiness, neither
he, nor his posterity would have experienced that pain and dis-
tress which are occasioned by death. Had he never transgress-

CREATION. 103
ed the divine law, the punishment due to transgressors could not
have been inflicted on him ; and consequently he would not have
been subject to pain or distress. Sin brought death into the
world and all our woes. The threatening embraced all the
evils which ever have been, or ever shall be experienced by
the human family. The principal difficulty in forming just con
ceptions ofthe primeval state of man, arises from the fact, that
we were never conversant with such a state. Could we ascer
tain all those minute changes in mind and matter, in material
and immaterial creation, produced by the fall, we might carry
back the investigation, until we came to considerable accuracy
on the subject. But it is certain there was then in existence,
neither mental, moral nor corporeal infirmity ; and man was
pure without a spot.
The earth brought forth her fruit without excessive toil. It
required but a moderate, and healthful degree of exercise to cul
tivate it. There was nothing to divert the minds ofthe happy
pair from the service of God. They were absorbed in the will of
God. He was all in all. It cost them no labor to keep their
hearts on him ; and no tears of grief and penitence were mingled
with their offerings. Sorrow and pain were words known only
in imagination, or by faith. The breath of the destroyer had
not wilted a plant of paradise ; nor a frown of God rested on the
possessions of man. All he knew was pleasure; all he enjoyed
was blessedness, Every beast, bird, and insect, appeared in the
attitude of praise ; and were known only as the production of
infinite benevolence. There was no fruit of bestial, or human
ferocity ; and no rose of nature withering in consequence of the

104 CREATION.
insect's sting. But the beauties in which creation dazzled, did
not half equal the smiles which rested on the soul of man. He,
noblest of all, enjoyed peace without sorrow, and life without toil.
There was added to the infinite displays of divine love, around
paradise, their own felicity, moral, divine, uninterrupted and
complete. This is man in his original state ; perfectly holy, per
fectly happy. He was not a God, because he was created, de
pendent, and accountable. He was not an angeh, because he had
a human body and inhabited this lower world. Neither angels
nor man were confirmed in holiness at their creation. They
both had a period of probation granted them : and perhaps the
same period of probation assigned them during which, if they
persevered in holiness, they were to be confirmed in eternal hap
piness. Some of the angels probably fell before Adam. There
is this difference between the fall of man and the fall of angels;
While Ihe fall of the latter involved the actual and personal
transgressor in depravity and ruin ; the fall of the former, en
tailed sin and misery on millions of unhappy sinners. As the
fall and its effects are reserved to the next discourse, it is not
necessary to speak of them particularly in this place. There
are several considerations connected with the original state of
man, which I have not mentioned. I have said that Adam was
a free moral agent, possessed of power to obey, and power to
disobey. He had probably been made acquainted with the con
sequence of disobedience, in the case of fallen angels and with
theintended attack on his allegience to his creator. He must
have known all that could be known without actual experience of
the effects of disobedience and sin. But all this, and the still more

CREATION. 105
powerful security which communion with God affords, did not
banish the fell destroyer from his happy empire- But one thing
is certain: Adam needed no evidence ofthe goodness of God. — jt;
It would have been easy to prove his goodness, if we had seen
the happy adaptation of all the parts of a machine so vast, so cu
rious and complicated as this world presented to view, before a
chord was struck, or a note of divine love was heard. The eye
could view not merely this adaptation to make the highest ex
pression of divine goodness; not merely a world in the attitude
and hope of receiving the happy .pair, — the sun had but just com
menced his course ; the wheels of nature had but just began
their motion, when the first breeze which was wafted ovef the
earth, was laden with the songs of Paradise. To the upper heav
ens God added the lower paradise. The whole creation now
stood forth in testimony of the excellence of him whose goodness
fills the earth. So that the prime angel who holds the trump of
God, could stand in the midst of the earth and say, The earth,
0 Lord, is thine and the fullness thereof. Every objection which
is brought against the goodness of God, is drawn from sources
which did not exist when this world came from the hand of its cre
ator. Sources which can be traced only to the forbidden, and
guilty ravages of sin. I do not present this world to you marred,
and defaced as it now is, by the monster vice ; though even now
the lineaments of its high origin are not totally defaced. But I
would place before your minds, a world unblemished by sin, in all
its primeval splendor; and man in spotless garments, enthroned
in innoeence, with a.joyful, happy, and painless world at his feet ;
and in the midst ofthis parade, God, and angels dwell. Such was

106 THE DIVINE LAW.
this world, a stranger to sorrow, sin, and death, when it came from
the hand of its Maker. Every object bore the impress of his in
finite excellence; and such would it now be, Jiad man been true,
and Satan, that arch deceiver, been driven from Eden's pale.

LECTURE IX.
THE DIVINE LAW.
Mat. 22. 37-40.
Jesus said unto him, thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy
heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first
and great commandment. And the second is like unto it; thou shalt
love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments, hang all
the law and the prophets.
If man is possessed of reason, judgment, intelligence, and mor
al affections; if he acts in view of motives, and is voluntary in
his choices, then he is dependent and accountable. And if he is
dependent and accountable he is under law. The promulgation
of law is only the developement of obligations which arise from
the relation of beings. If God created and supports man, he is
under the government ofGod. Moral government is a govern-
ernment which takes cognizance of moral actions. A perfect
moral government, is a government in which moral -conduct is
treated according to its merits and demerits. Such is the di
vine government. Man is an intelligent, dependent, moral, and
accountable being ; and therefore the proper subject of law. The
law which man is bound to obey, may be written, either on a

THE DIVINE LAW. 107
faculty of the mind, or on tables of stone. The law of God is
summarily comprehended in the law ofthe ten commandments.
God has given several laws to his creatures. He gave one law
to Adam, forbidding him to eat ofthe tree of knowledge of good
and evil. He gave him another law, requiring him to keep the
Sabbath. He gave him another, requiring him to offer sac.
rifices. He gave a law to Noah, forbidding him to murder. He
afterwards gave a code of law to the Israelites, comprising the
moral, ceremonial, andcivil laws. The moral, or divine Jaw, is
the one mentioned in the text, and is the one in which we are
most deeply interested.
It will be the object of this discourse to shew the perfection
and excellence ofthe divine law.
To form clear and consistent views ofthe divine law, it is ne
cessary to consider the character ofthe lawgiver, the character
•of those to whom the law is given, and the relations which sub
sist between the lawgiver and' his subjects.
If the law of God is arbitrary, laying claims on his creatures
which nothing in the nature ofthe case, can justify, its justice
and excellence may be called in question.
But if its requisitions grow out ofthe relation which man bears
to his Maker, and which man bears to his fellow man, its claims
are just and reasonable.
God is the creator, the upholder, and the constant friend of
mankind. Man is a dependent and accountable creature, The relation
he bears to God, is that of a creature to a creator, that of a child
to a parent.

108 THE DIVINE LAV:
These positions establish the claims of the law, If there had
been no law given, man would have been under obligations to
¦render precisely the same homage and obedience which the
law requires. The law has imposed no new duties on man
kind. These obligations existed antecedently to the promulgation of
the law ; for the claims of the law are founded on the relation
of beings. Adam was bound to obey the law. Moses was
bound to obey it, before it was delivered to him on Mount Sinai.
And wherever there can be found a being, sustaining the same
relation to another being that man sustains to his Maker, there
are obligations ofthe same nature and extent, as those which the
law imposes. There is something in the very constitution of
man, that acknowledges the justice of the divine requisitions. —
Man has a moral nature, or a conscience, a disposition to ap
prove of that which is right, and condemn that which is wrong. —
This moral nature admits the claims which the law makes on
him. It makes the same distinction between virtue and vice
that the law requires. The sum of the law, is to love God su
premely and our neighbor as ourselves. Is this unreasonable?
God is the author and supporter of our existence and the source
of all our happiness.
Our neighbor is endowed with the same faculties, sustains the
same relations to God and possesses the same importance in the
scale of being with ourselves. His happiness is as valuable to
the universe, and as ,dear to himself as our own. We are not
bound to love God nor our neighbor merely because God has
commanded it, but because the very constitution and relation of

THE DIVINE LAW. 109
beings demand it. Is the child bound to love and respect his pa
rents merely because they require this love and respect?
Is there not something in the very relation of children to pa-
rents, on which these claims to love and respect are founded ?
The law, then, is perfectly reasonable in its claims. It is just
what it should be, just what it must be. It grows out ofthe re
lation of beings.
The law, then, is a transcript of the divine character ; a por
trait ofhis perfections; nothing but an expression ofhis benev
olence to man. It commands man to seek the highest and most
durable happiness. It commands him to seek it in the only pos-
sible way he can obtain it. Any change in the nature and ex
tent of its requisitions, would render it unworthy of God, and un
fit for man. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the
soul. The view we have taken ofthe subject, leads me to remark.
1. That the law is immutable.
If the law is founded on the relations of beings, if it recognises
nothing more than those relations, and the claims which such
relations create, there ca« be no change in those claims until
there is a change in those relations, and there can be no change
in those relations until there is a change in the constitution of
things, and in the characters and relations of beings. So long
as the character of God, and the character and relations of man
remain the same, the claims ofthe law will remain the same.
If the law were arbitrary, it might be changed at the pleas.
ure ofthe lawgiver, because it would be founded on the will ofthe
lawgiver. But the law of God has its foundation, not merely

110 THE DIVINE LAW.
in the will of the lawgiver, but in the constitution of things.
Has the character of God been changed ? Have the charac
ter and condition of man been changed, in any of those relations
on which the law grounds its claims? If not, the law is the same;
immutable. It may be said, there was an abatement of its strict
ness after the apostacy ; that the apostacy changed the human
character, and therefore rendered such an abatement necessary.
But, I ask, when was the law given? before, or after the aposta
cy ? The law was given more than two thousand years after.
wards. And was it a developement of the relations and duties
which then existed, or of those which had existed before the fall ?
Were its claims laid on man in his present state, or in -some pre
vious one? The apostacy did not render man less dependent,
less accountable, or less a subject of God's moral government.
The apostacy did, it is true, strip man ofhis purity and bliss,
but it did not at all destroy those relations on which the law
founds its claims.
They remain in full force. Does an offence against God, or
ten thousand offences against him, abrogate our obligations to
love him ? Will any man's conscience permit him to plead his
guilt as an excuse for sin 1 If not, then the very constitution of
the human mind approves the claims of the divine law. It is
true, the will of God produced the constitution and relation of
things, -and his will gave the laws founded on these relations.
But we have other testimony that the law is immutable.
Every man feels in his own breast that his highest happiness
consists in compliance with the claims of the law, in an approxima
tion to those beings, who are perfect in their obedience and worship.

THE DIVINE LAW. Ill
Every attempt to obtain substantial happiness in any other
way is fruitless. The reason is obvious, the very constitution of
beings recognises no road to happiness except that which the law
points out. The only terms that can be proposed, are to love
God with all the heart and our neighbours as ourselves.
We are assured then that none of those relations on which the
law founds its claims are changed, and that every endeavor to
become happy, which does not recognise the law, is violence of.
fered to the constitution of beings. The law is therefore immu
table. 2. The law is good.
The excellence of a law is to be determined by its tendency
to promote happiness, and prevent misery, to promote virtue, and
suppress vice.
That regard to the happiness of his creatures, which God has
manifested in the works of creation and providence, furnishes
an assurance that a law proceeding from him must be good. But
in the case before us, we are not called to the exercise of faith,
or to believe a truth inexplicable and incomprehensible; the law
is presented to us not merely on the authority ofthe law-giver.
It invites to examination. The reasons of its existence and re-
quisitions are plain, and intelligible to every candid enquirer.
It requires men lo cultivate those affections, and pursue that
course of conduct, which would result in their highest happiness.
It is reasonable that man should love God and his neighbor, if it
is reasonable man should be happy.
With his present constitution it is the only way he can be
happy. A law then which brings into view those relations,

112 THE DIFINE LAW.
which really exist, and enforces those duties which are absolute
ly essential to the peace and welfare ofthe world, cannot but
be" good.
Such is the divine law. It is good because it imposes no ob.
ligations incompatible with the highest happiness which we are
capable of enjoying. What does the law demand ? It demands
that parity in affection and life, which would diffuse tranquility
and bliss through the universe. It enjoins precepts calculated to
promote the highest felicity of the world. Imagine for a mo
ment a community or a world influenced at all times, by piety
towards God, and by benevolence towards man ; see love to God
leading them on in the pursuit of the highest happiness of the
universe, guarding them against every infringement on the rights
of their fellow creatures, and then say would not this be a happy
world ? How would this empire of holiness rise, and spread its
blessings and triumph, until it had chased away the vile passions
which have agitated, and the crimes which have polluted the
world. But all this happy state of things the law tends to pro
duce. Were its commands duly regarded we should see selfish.
ness and pride, and fraud and violence cease, and this world be.
come the abode of justice and condescension and love. Friend
ship and piety would beam from every countenance, and devo
tion would ascend from the hearts of an obedient world. In such
a world, God could look down with complacency ; and in such a
throng angels could mingle their kindred raptures. Such is the
state of things the law has a tendency to produce.
Is not the law good? Is not that law good which would raise
man from his degradation and assimilate him to his maker ;

THE DIVINE LAW. 113
which would attach him to the throne ofthe Eternal and to the
dearest interests ofthe universe? the law is holy, and the com
mandment is holy,, just and good.
The whole scheme of salvation by a redeemer, testifies that
the law is good. What else is the gospel, than an expedient pro
vided by God, to raise man to that perfection and happiness
which the law has a tendency to promote? The gospel sane
tions its excellence. The gospel differs it is true, from the law
but not in the perfection it requires, not in the object it would
promote, viz. the restoration of man to purity and happiness, but
it differs in the provision it makes for the pardon ofthe guilty. 
The law is good. It is an expression of divine benevolence, it
has a tendency to promote the highest happiness ofthe universe ;
and the gospel is nothing more than an expedient to maintain its
honor. 3. The penalty of the law is just. Some penalty is essential
to the existence of a law. Remove the penalty from a law, and
it becomes advice. God might request his creatures to be obedi
ent, but if he did not threaten to punish disobedience, it would be
nothing more than advice. We can form no conception of any
law, either civil or divine, without a penalty. It is penalty that
sanctions it, that gives it existence as law, or penalty is an es
sential appendage to law.
The law of God then must have a penalty annexed to it —
What is this penalty ?
What is the punishment the sinner deserves, and wherein
does its justice consist? The penalty is everlasting exclusion
from happiness, and everlasting confinement in misery. Is this
8

114 THE DIVINE LAW.
penalty just? That penalty is just which is exactly adapted to
the demerit of the crime, which punishes the criminal just as
much as he deserves and no more. Sin alienates the heart of
man from God ; and its direct tendency is to strengthen the alien.
ation. And if it makes a man an enemy to God, is there anything
in the exercise of it, calculated to diminish that enmity? If sin
grows stronger and stronger every moment ofits existence, when
will the sinner be less deserving of punishment ? Sin tramples
on all those sacred obligations, which the relation of beings im-
poses ; and tends to spread division and discord through the uni-
verse. We are not to judge ofthe guilt ofthe sinner from the
mischief which he actually effects.but from the mischief he would
effect if uncontrolled. How do you ascertain the degree of guilt
in any given case? by the act, or by the disposition?
Is there no criminality in an attempt to commit murder, though
tbe attempt should not be successful ? And how is the degree of
guilt to be determined? By the dispositions and designs of the
heart, or by the degree of success in accomplishing these de
signs? When we are told that the carnal mind is enmity against
God ; that it is not subject to his law, neither indeed can be, are
we to determine the degree ofits guilt from the evil it effects, or
from the evils it would effect, if unrestrained and invested with
sufficient power? Sin is opposed to the holiness of God and the
holiness of other beings, and to the happiness ofthe universe, and
if possessed of power it would not rest until every act of loyalty
to the King of heaven ceased, and all holiness and happiness
were banished from the universe. It is true, the sinner will never
effect his purpose ; not, however, because he has no disposition

THE DIVINE LAW. 115
to do it, but because God reigns, and governs, and bounds his
disposition. And is it not just in God to arrest this destroyer of human hap.
piness, and confine him in eternal chains ? Would God mani.
fest a suitable concern for the universe, if he were to let sin go
unpunished? God is not an idle spectator of the conduct of his
creatures. I have said that penalty is essential to the existence of a
law, and that that penalty is just which is exactly adapted to the
demerit ofthe crime ; that punishes the sinner just as much as he
deserves, and no more. It is obvious that the guilt of the sin
ner must be ascertained by the evil he has a disposition to effect,
and not by the evil he actually effects. The sinner has a dispo.
sition at heart, to put every being in the universe in misery, and
not only to confine him in misery, but to retain him there forev
er. Now, what is the punishment that ought to be inflicted on a
being that is disposed to spread universal and endless misery ?
This leads me to remark,
4. On the impropriety of those harsh representations, which
are given of divine justice. Every representation of the divine
character and conduct, should be in accordance with his spotless
and glorious perfections. God is not a tyrant ; hard-hearted and
cruel. Compassion, everlasting compassion, beams from his
throne. And when he sends the sinner to hell, he is not less
lovely and compassionate, than when he receives the saint to
heaven. What is divine justice ? Is it revenge or cruelty? Far
from it. It is an expression ofhis love to his own glory and to
his church. God is accomplishing his designs of love to the
8*

116 THE DIVINE LAW.
world. The sinner opposes these designs. God removes him
out ofthe way. This is divine justice. I repeat it, God is seek-
ing the happiness ofthe universe. This is the object ofhis pur-
poses and councils ; and the man who opposes his designs must
be destroyed. The reason why God destroys the sinner, by
plunging him down to perdition, is not to gratify a revengeful dis-.
position, but to secure his own glory and the glory ofthe church.
Do you consider that prince cruel, who punishes a mob, not
because he delights in the sufferings of the mob, in itself consid
ered, but because he loves the peace and tranquility ofhis peo
ple? Is it not an expression of -his love and regard for the rights
and happiness of his people ? Would he not be deficient in con
cern for the highest interests of his subjects, if he were not to
punish rebellion? But if he punish these rebels, it will be an act
ofjustiee; and who in the nation can impeach such justice?
None but those whose interests and persons are likely to suffer
by it. I ask then, if, viewing the justice of God in this light, it is
not as lovely as his mercy ?
Are n6t his justice and mercy directed to the attainment ofthe
same object? It is love that leads God to punish the sinner. If
he withholds punishment, he neglects the highest happiness of
the universe. For, I repeat it, the sinner is opposed to the high
est happiness ofthe universe ; and if, when the highest happi
ness ofthe universe is at stake, God should treat him in the same
manner he does his friends, he would neglect to maintain his own
honor, and to support the cause of virtue.
We see, then, that the sentence of eternal misery is perfectly
consistent with the love and benevolence of God. It is an ex-

THE DIVINE LAW. 117
pression of love to all holy beings, by confining their enemies and
setting bounds to their wrath and malice. God can look down
on those miserable spirits now in perdition, and say, I have nb
pleasure in your death, in itself considered. It was love to the
peace and happiness of my kingdom, that led me to confine you
there. O that you had been wise ; that you had understood ;
that you had sought my ways !
And now, will you charge me with making God a cruel and
malignant being ? Why does God confine apostate angels ? Love
to the peace and happiness of heaven requires it. Why does
God punish the finally impenitent ? Love to the church and to
the best interests ofthe world, requires it.
5. This leads me to remark, that those systems of religion
which do not recognise the law, are essentially defective. They
are defective, because they leave out of sight the duty and dan.
ger of mankind. By the law we obtain a knowledge of the di-
vine character. Without a knowledge of the law, there can be
no true knowledge of God as the creator and supreme ruler of
the universe. Without a knowledge ofthe law, we can have no
true knowledge ofthe human character, ofthe odiousness of sin,
or of the necessity of salvation by a Redeemer. A correct
knowledge of God is the foundation of all genuine religion. The
law gives us this knowledge. It exhibits the divino character
and prerogatives in their true light, and distinguishes the religion
of the Bible from all the systems of error and imposture which
have been palmed on the world.
It is the duty of ministers to preach the law plainly and faith.
fully ; and it is the duty of people to hear it with candor and im.

118 THE DIVINE LAW.
partiality. That minister, who neglects to exhibit the claims of
the law, will forever blind and perplex his hearers, and keep
them in ignorance of the perfection of God, and ofthe nature and
extent of their sinfulness. They will sleep on in carnal security
unmoved by the dangers which threaten, and the mercy which
invites. God has made us moral agents, and governs us by mo.
tives. The law presents these motives.
It has strewed the path ofthe obedient with the richest rewards.
But around the path of the transgressor, the lightnings flash and
the thunders roar. He may pass on in his course, thoughtless
and secure, but it ends in perdition.
The servant of Christ must not conceal these dangers. How-
ever painful the disclosure may be to his hearers, he must re-
move their ignorance, tear off the mask of self-deception, and ex
pose the delusion.
If mankind will go down to ruin, they ought to know that they
do it willingly, and wilfully; in actual violation ofthe demands
ofthe law* .and in opposition to the remonstrances of their own
consciences. And why should a people wish to employ a minis-
ter to deceive them— to destroy their souls? Why wish those ob-
ligations and dangers, which give pain, to be concealed until the
light of eternity shall burst on their minds ?
6. We see the reason, why those who never preach the law,
never witness revivals. Those preachers who contend that the
benevolence of God, and the mercy ofthe gospel,' are the most
convincing, and indeed the only proper subjects pfreligious dis
cussion, must be ignorant ofthe philosophy of. the human mind,
and still more ignorant of the philosophy, of the human heart.

THE DIVINE LAW. 119
Hope and fear, are the two grand avenues to the heart. If you
excite fear, or raise hope, the man will act. But there is in the
unregenerate heart, no foundation upon which motives of love can
operate. I grant that motives of love will influence a heart filled
with love to God. Such a heart can appreciate the love of God,
and the mercy ofthe Saviour. But the carnal heart has never
discovered the beauties of divine benevolence, and redeeming love.
For the natural heart discerneth not the things ofthe spirit, for
they are foolishness to him, neither can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned. The natural heart is the seat of
fear. There is some foundation upon which motives of terror
may operate. It is true the goodness of God displayed in crea
tion, and redemption, has subdued the hearts of many sinners;
but it did it by turning their thoughts on themselves, to view their
ingratitude, and guilt, and danger ; and this is equally the work
ofthe law on the heart. If terror ought not to be held up to
mankind, why have our legislators never learned, that a sheet
written on the utility, consistency, and importance of a law
would more effectually secure the obedience and virtuous con
duct of our citizens, than the multitude of penalties which are ap-
pended to our laws ? And why did Paul confess, that the law was
a school-master to lead him to Christ? It is the law which makes
us feel our guilt, and our need of a saviour ; and leads us to the
humble inquiry, what must we do to be saved ? God be merciful
to me a sinner, will never be heard where the law is not known,
and where its claims are not felt. Paul, teaches us that, without
the knowledge ofthe law, there is no knowledge of sin. You can
no more reach the heart of the sinner with offers and mercy, than

120 THE DIVINE LAW.
you can reach the heart of the true patriot with bribes. His
fears must be excited. The law must be preached. Besides
there is another irresistible argument in support of the sentiment,
that the law should be preached. The Saviour always preached
the law. To the lawyer who tempted him, and asked him which
is the great commandment in the law, he said, Thou shalt love
the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and
with all thy mind. To the youth who anxiously inquired of him
what good thing he should do that he might inherit eternal life,
Christ said, thou knowest the commandments. That is, thou
knowest what the law requires. And to the lawyer who asked
him, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life, he said, what
is written in the law ? How readest thou ? and when the lawyer
had given a summary of the law, Christ said unto him, this do,
and thou shalt live. He said I came not to destroy the law, or
the prophets. Christ not only preached the law, but he obeyed
it : and we have his example in justification of preaching the
law, and of adopting it as a rule of life. In addition to this, we
have the examples of the apostles. The law taught Paul the ne
cessity of regeneration, and led him to Christ. After his conver.
sion, the law taught him the nature and extent of his obedience.
Are we bound to follow the example of Christ, then we are bound
to obey the law. He who perfectly obeys the law, and he who
perfectly follows Christ, are perfectly alike. And if this law was
fit for Adam, in his primeval state, and for angels io heaven, and
is founded in the fitness of things, it is fit that it should be the cri
terion of moral character, both in saints and sinners.

LECTURE X.
APOSTACY.
Gen. 3. 6.
And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it
was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be, desired to make one wise, she
took of the fruit thereof and did eat ; and gave also to her husband with
her, and he did eat.
The fall of man is a subject on which, much time, talent and
ingenuity have been employed. And while it is fraught with in
tricacies, it is very plain when considered as a narration, or mere
matter of fact. Man was innocent ; and he became guilty : he
was holy ; and he became depraved. This then considered as
a mere matter of fact, is as plain as possible ; and is capable of
demonstrative proof. But when the manner ofhis fall is taken
into considerntion, a wide field is open for the play of imagination
and the speculation of fancy. It is the general opinion, that sin
had its origin in heaven, in the breasts of aspiring angels. And
while some suppose that it arose among the lower ranks of celes
tial intelligences, who proudly and ambitiously aspired to higher
honour and dignity than those which their Creator had assigned
them ; others think it arose from a desire to wrest from the Son
of God the glory ofhis embassy, when the question was asked in
heaven, who shall be commissioned to save man ? But how sin
could spring into being among a class of beings purely intellectu-
al and holy, is at least difficult of solution. Indeed it is impossi.
ble to account for it unless God caused it. Their only existence

122 APOSTACY.
was a holy one ; and holiness cannot beget sin. But we are
more immediately concerned with the fall of man. And here I
would observe, that before the fall of man, there were sinful in
telligences, who had intercourse with this world. They found
man accessible. He was as we have shown, sinless, yet free,
and voluntary in all his choices. He was in a covenant of works,
and not in a covenant of grace. So that he did not, as some
suppose, fall from grace; for, before the fall he was not, he
could not be a subject of grace. He stood by merit alone, while
as yet, it was not known to him that there were provisions for
pardon in case of disobedience. The fall of Adam was an event,
which God saw best in the system of things, should take place,
though the act of transgression was in itself considered, offensive
in his sight. God had some intention in creating man just as he
did ; and he had some intention in governing him, just as he has
governed him. If God did not anticipate the apostacy of Adam,
he was deficient in knowledge ; and if he could stand by an idle
spectator, and see the fair world which he had made, marred and
mangled, when he had power to crush the foe, he was deficient
in goodness, and love to his creatures, unless he saw that the fall
of man was on the whole for the best. Can it be said, I love a
friend, when I stand by and see him tortured, or torn in pieces,
while I have power to destroy his enemy? God had created the
world for his own glory. And on supposition, that the best inter-
ests ofthe universe, were not to be promoted by the fall of man,
the divine Being, for a time deserted his own work ; and was so
destitute of love to the universe, that he had no goodness, or re.
gard to the happiness ofhis creatures. Now an event may have

APOSTACY. 123
a very important bearing on the great system, which in itself,
and by itself, is undesirable and odious. God might, and undoubt
edly did choose to have the fall take place,although the enmity and
wretchedness in which the fall involved the human family, are
most dreadful. God can bring good out of evil, light out of dark
ness, order from confusion, and make the wrath of man praise him.
Prov. 16. 4. The Lord hath made all things for himself; yea
even the wicked for the day of evil. Did God ever do any thing
without intention? and is it a mishap of Deity, which has let sin,
with all its millions of evils, into the world ? You will all grant that
God intended something in the creation of man ; and what were
his Intentions ? Have these intentions been gratified, or disappoint
ed? I will make a single statement, and leave you to your own
deductions on the subject. When God created our first parents,
and placed them in Eden, he either intended they should fall, or
he intended they should not fall, or he was indifferent about it. If
God designed they should not fall, he is disappointed ; for they did
fall. If he was indifferent about their fall, he was indifferent about
sin, which is contrary to all the testimony of scripture, and to all
the tenure of his providence. God has condemned, threatened,
and punished sin ; and his soul abhors it. And if God was not
indifferent about the fall of man, nor had not designed that he
should not fall, then he designed that he should fall ; and he there
fore caused him to fall ; for there cannot be a fourth propositition.
God either determined he should fall, or that he should not fall,
or he was indifferent about it. When I say God determined Adam
should fall, I do not mean that God forced him to fall, or that he
took away his free agency, and accountability ; but God deter.

124 APOSTACY.
mined he should fall freely and voluntarily, of his own choice.
In causing men to choose, God does not take away their free
agency ; so far from it, that this is the only thing which makes
them free agents. Free agency consists in choosing. God
causes them to choose ; and thus makes them free agents. That
God did cause the apostacy to take place, I think I am able to
prove from scripture, to the satisfaction of every candid mind.
It will be readily granted by all who believe in the doctrine of
the trinity, that Christ was as a Saviour slain from the foundation
of the world. That is, there was an eternal relation which the
persons in the trinity bore to each other ; and that this relation
must be brought out to the view of intelligent beings. Long be
fore time began, Jesus Christ existed possessing the office and
character of Saviour. And now I ask, a Saviour of whom? of
holy beings? But they needed no Saviour: they are already
pure and holy. And did Christ from eternity, possess the char
acter and offices of Saviour and is that character never to be
manifested, and are those offices never to be exercised? They
never could have been exercised unless sin had taken place. —
Sin was the occasion of manifesting the character and offices of
the incarnate God. The Saviour would never have visited the
earth ; and angels and men, would have been forever ignorant
of the second person in the trinity, if sin had not taken place. —
And is it possible that God had prepared a Saviour, before man
was created, and had slain him in his own mind, before the foun
dation ofthe world, and yet did not know, or did not design that
there should be an occasion for manifesting Christ? The very fact
that Christ was prepared from the foundation of the world, to

APOSTACY. 125
make atonement for sin, proves that God from eternity, intended
that man should sin. For why should he make provisions for an
event which was never to take place. Again it will be admitted
that the Holy Ghost existed in the character of sanctifier from
eternity. But a sanctifier of whom ? of holy beings? They need
no sanctification, they can have no sanctification : for they are,
and always have been perfectly holy. And if the Holy Ghost
was a Sanctifier from eternity, there must be some sinful beings
to be sanctified. But if sin had not taken place, there never
would, or could have been unholy beings to be sanctified ; and
consequently the Holy Ghost never could have had an opportu
nity to exercise his office. On supposition that sin might not
have taken place, the second and third persons in the trinity might
have been forever concealed from the view of men and angels.
But the declarative glory of God, consists in displaying the di
vine character in the view of moral and intelligent beings. If
ein had never taken place, the Saviour and the Sanctifier of men
would not have been manifested ; and even the beauties of the
Godhead could have never shone with their divine lustre. Sin
was the occasion of bringing out to the view of the intelligent
universe, the beauties of Deity.
Again, without sin, we cannot conceive how the moral attri
butes of God, could have been displayed before created intelli
gences. What is divine justice, but the punishment of the guil
ty? But without sin, none could have been guilty. What is
mercy, but kindness exercised towards the miserable ? But with
out sin, none could have been miserable. What is grace, but a
free favor bestowed on the ill-deserving ? But without sin none

126 APOSTACY.
would have been ill-deserving. It is therefore plain, that without
sin, many ofthe moral attributes of God, could not have been
displayed. Who ever heard of an innocent creature suffering
punishment, or receiving pardon ? It was never known that God
was merciful, until miserable creatures were visited with mercy,
it was never known that God was gracious until after the apos
tacy. When man was ruined and wretched, God interposed; and
though he deserved nothing but wrath. God withheld deserved
punishment, and bestowed undeserved gifts of salvation. Grace
is pardon and salvation, conferred on the guilty. The song of
redemption was never heard in heaven, until man had sinned,
and was bought off from suffering the penalty ofthe law, by the
blood of Christ.
But there is another view which we may take of the apostacy
of man. It has before been observed, that the fall of man took
plaee under the government of God ; and that he possessed pow-
er to prevent it had he seen best. He has not prevented it, he
therefore saw best not to prevent it ; and by consequence, saw
best to have it take place. We know, that sin took place under
his wise and gracious reign ; and there is an easy and correct
way to reconcile it with his spotless character ; and that is by
supposing God will dispose of if in such a manner as to produce
more good than could have been produced without its introduc
tion. It may not promote the personal happiness ofthe transgress
or, but it will advance the great interests of the universe. The
great object of God in the introduction of sin, was not to render

APOSTACY. 127
his creatures guilty and miserable, but to display to the intelli
gent universe, the perfections of his character. God never re
joices in the misery of his creatures in itself considered ; but he
chooses to glorify his perfections with sinners as well as saints.
An event is very different when considered by itself, and when
considered in connexion with the interests ofthe universe. I
have always doubted the propriety of the expression, that God
permitted, or suffered sin to take place. Permitting and suffer.
ing, imply that he had rather it would not take place ; yet as he
could not do any better he permitted it to take place. He choos
es to have it otherwise, yet since he is driven to the necessity of
choosing one of two evils, he permits things thus to exist. The
principal reason for which I object to the terms permit and suffer,
when used in application to the existence of sin, is, that these
terms are never so employed in the Bible. Terms as clearly ex
pressing causation, as any which are used in any language, are
employed in the scriptures in application to the existence of sin.
In Isaiah it is said, the Lord forms the light, and creates dark
ness ; he makes peace and creates evil. Shall there be evil in
the city, and the Lord hath not done it ? He turned their hearts
to hate his people ; to deal subtilely with his servants. I might
bring forward a great number of passages in which the agency
of God is spoken of, in the causation of sin. I know not, that
we are even justified in saying that one event which ever took
place, would have contributed more to the happiness of the uni-
verse, if it had been different. I dare not tell God, that there
might have been a better world made than this ; and that it might
have been governed on better pirnciples. It is true that I, with

128 APOSTACY.
my weak and limited mind, should have driven Satan from Par
adise, and crushed him before he had effected the apostacy of
man. But does it follow, that because I, a weak and fallible
mortal, should have done thus, that the plan of God is defec
tive? How is it that God let Satan into this fair and happy world
which he had but just completed, and filled with peace? How
could he let the fell monster enter Paradise, and draw away our
first parents from their allegiance to God ? How could Satan en
ter God's world, and plant in the hearts of Adam and Eve, the
most bitter enmity against Jehovah ; and poison the fountain of
moral being on earth, so that vile passion, and crime, and sin,
and death, should reign through every rank? Even thousands of
infants partaking of the moral corruption, have suffered and
died. All the sorrow, pain, and misery, which ever have been,
are now, or ever shall be endured by the human family, are the
effects of sin. Every sufferer may trace his pains, distresses,
and miseries, to the depravity ofthe human heart, the effect of
the apostacy. But why all this sin, misery, and death, if no good
could result from it ? If the existence of natural and moral evil
is not on the whole for the best, it is extremely difficult to account
for its existence ; and it is impossible to reconcile it with the
goodness of God. But on the ground that it is best, all things
considered, that sin should take place, it is perfectly easy to ac
count for its existence, and perfectly easy to reconcile it with
the goodness of God.
The sins of Adam are not imputed to us in such a sense, that
we are to answer for his sins. We can no more be made an-

APOSTACY. 129
swerable for Adam's sins, than he could be made answerable for
ours. His acts are not our acts ; and his sins are not laid over
upon us ; but in consequence ofhis apostacy, we are all born
with corrupt natures. In consequence of Adam's first transgres
sion, all his posterity are constituted sinners. His sin was not
the cause, nor the reason ofthe sin of his posterity, but the occa
sion of it. That stream which began to flow in Adam, has de
scended from generation to generation, spreading its dreadful ef.
fects, through all grades of earthly intelligences. How is it, I
again ask, that sin has entered the world, sundered the cords of
union, seperated man from his Maker, filled prisons and hospitals,
poor houses and asylums ; crimsoned the fields of conflict, and
spread devastation and death through domestic, social, and civil
community, and in the world to come has created a dismal hell?
Had you possessed the government of the world, would you have
suffered such a state of things as this? Would you have admit
ted sin, with all its evils into the system ? Would you not have
annihilated Satan as he approached Eden ? or barred the gates
of that holy place against him? or would you not have strength.
ened the holiness of our first parents, so that they might have
endured the shock of temptation unmoved? And where is the
man who dares indulge the thought, that he could have given the
affairs of this world a better arrangement? Who dares charge
God with a neglect ofhis works? Who, with want of wisdom to
plan, and goodness to choose, and power to execute all his wise
and benevolent purposes? This world is the property of God ;
and if it is not well planned and governed, it is because the di
vine character is in some respect deficient. Who will take it
9

130 apostacl
upon himself to point out that deficiency ?
It is true sin is odious and detestable. God hates it and every
holy being hates it ; and the wicked will hereafter hate its effects*
But God had wise reasons for bringing it into existence. Does
not this make God the author of sin ? Some of those reasons
now lie concealed from our view. It may be said of some
of his ways what I do thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know
hereafter. In various parts of the volume of truth, God has
told us that here we see only in part, and know in part. The
grand plot of the drama, is not yet developed. But O, how I
tremble for the man, who is unwilling to acknowledge the agen.
cy of God, in all the affairs of the universe ! And how I tremble
for the man, who can blasphemously arraign the divine Being,
and impeach his character and conduct, as though he would even
improve the plans of Deity, and teach God knowledge! If there
is any thing wrong in the plans and government ofthe universe,
it must be charged to God ; for he is the sole Creator, proprietor,
and governor of all things. There may be unholy dispositions in
the hearts of free, dependent agents, for which they are account.
able ; but if the great arrangements ofthe universe are defective,
the Lord is answerable. How often do we see our fellow.crea-
tures manifest, either in aetions or words, their disapprobation of
the providence of God and of the constitution of things. Some
men imagine their own personal interest more valuable than the
interests of all other beings ; and if God has seen fit to promote
the interests of millions in preference to that of a single individual,
his conduct is called in question, and his character impeached.
It is true, man should never love sin in himself, or in others. —

APOSTACY. 131
But there is a vast difference between humble and godly sorrow
for sin, and charging God with folly because he has seen fit to
bring it into the system. There is an essential difference between
the intention of God in the introduction of sin, and the intention of
the sinner in transgression. In the introduction of sin, God in
tends the greatest good of the intelligent universe ; in the com.
mission of sin, the sinner intends his own private happiness, though
it should be to the destruction ofthe happiness of all other beings:
God designs good ; the sinner designs evil.
In closing this discourse I shall attempt to obviate some objec-
tions which have been raised against the foregoing sentiment on
the introduction of sin into the world.
1. It is said, if God determined sin should take place, and has
an agency in the affections and actions of wicked men, they are
not free agents, and consequently not blameworthy. The an.
swer to this objection is plain and easy, God has no such agen
cy in the actions of either good or bad beings, as to destroy their
praise or blameworthiness. We might just as well say, because
God has an agency in the affections and actions of holy beings,
he destroys their praiseworthiness, as to say, because he has an
agency in the affections and actions of sinful beings, he destroys
their blameworthiness. God can bring about any event he pleas.
es, without the least infringement on the free agency of man. I
know that I am free, and so do you, You feel free; and treat
your fellow creatures as free. And God commands and threat-
ens, rewards and punishes men as free and accountable. Adam
and Eve were free in eating the forbidden fruit ; and every holy
or sinful action and volition of the human family have been free.
9*

132 APOSTACY.
But free agency does not exclude God from the government of
the world, nor from an agency in the hearts and lives of all ra.
tional beings. If God has no control over the choices and actions
of men, how can he accomplish those prophecies, which depend
on the choices and actions of men ? Besides, if God does not con-
trol mankind, he does not know what end will be accomplished by
all his works. Phil. 2. 12, 13. Work out your own salvation
with fear and trembling; for it is God that worketh in you both
to will and to do ofhis own good pleasure. Psalms 105. 25. He
turned their hearts to hate his people. Here men are said to
act, and to be acted upon : God working in them, and they
working at the same time.
2. It is objected, that the introduction of sin is inconsistent with
the goodness of the divine Being. We read God is good, and his
tender mercies are over all his works. This objection is made on
the supposition, that God had no wise reasons for the introductisn
of sin, and that he will make it subserve no valuable ends. It
supposes further that the object of Deity in the introduction of
sin, was only to make his creatures miserable. Now I grant, if
God does not promote any valuable end by the admission of sin,
if he had not good reasons for having it take place under his gov.
ernment, that it cannot be reconciled with the goodness of God.
If the only object is, to have man sinful and miserable, it destroys
the goodness and benevolence of God. But if God secures a dis
play ofhis glory, and promotes the interests ofthe universe in a
more effectual manner than could otherwise be done, it does not
militate at all against the goodness of God. God never did, and
he never will inflict a single pain on his creatures, because he de-

APOSTACY. 133
lights in their sufferings, in themselves considered ; and he will
never let a single sin exist, which will not on the whole, be for the
general good. And why should he? The hearts of all men are in
his hand ; and he turneth them whithersoever he will. He al-
ways employs all his power, wisdom and love, in the pursuit of
the highest good ofthe universe. And not an action, or an event
will ever take place which is injurious to the great system. All
sin, misery, and wretchedness, he will cause to result in the ad
vancement of his glory ; though sinful beings do not mean so,
neither do their hearts think so. They mean sin for evil ; God
designs it for good. Nebuchadnezzar afflicted the children of
Israel to gratify his malignant and ambitious heart; but he was
all the time accomplishing the divine will, in punishing that
wicked nation, that they might be reformed and brought back to
God. It is God who hath said this, and not man. Isaiah 10.
5 — 7. The same is true of every sin. The sinner does not
mean to glorify God ; he means evil : he means to destroy the
cause of God. But Jehovah means to be glorified by the con
duct ofthe sinner. He will overrule it for the advancement of
the kingdom of Christ. But the sinner is just as guilty as though
God had no power to make it answer a good end.
3. It is objected that if God will be glorified in the sinful ac
tions and affections of men, then we may just as well hate God,
as love him. So much is certain, God will be glorified even in
the damnation of sinners. Rev. 19. 3. And again they said Al
leluia. And her smoke rose up forever and ever. And the four
and twenty elders, and the four beasts fell down and worshipped
God, that sat on the throne, saying Amen, Alleluia. Here the

134 apostact.
righteous are said to rejoice not in the misery of the wicked, but
in the display of divine justice, made in their punishment.
There are voluntary and involuntary, willing and unwilling in
struments of divine glory. The voluntary and willing instru
ments ofhis glory, are those who love and rejoice in the charac
ter and service of God : the involuntary and unwilling instru.
ments of his glory, are those who hate his character and service,
and suffer the just demerit of their sins. It is utterly impossible
for a man to wish to glorify God, while under the influence of a
sinful heart. He opposes his glory, his counsels and his love.
But it is consoling that he cannot wrest himself from the hand of
Deity. And if God cannot make use of him as a monument of
mercy, he can use him as a monument of justice : so that there
will be no useless materials in the universe. Ps. 145. 10, All
thy works shall praise thee, O Lord, and thy saints shall bless thee.
Ps. 76. 10. Surely the wrath of man shall praise thee, and the
remainder of wrath shalt thou restrain. And what will be the
effect of all this wrangling with God, finding fault with his ways
and impeaching his wisdom? It will never change the mind or
the plan of God. He is of one mind, and none can turn him.
And should we deny the agency of God in all beings, and in all
worlds, because our limited minds cannot comprehend the natures
and relations of all the Creator's works ? How illy does it become
vain man, dissatisfied with God, to strive to banish him from the
world ; to deny his agency in all things, and multiply absurdities
and contradictions, to involve the divine character in guilt. All
these exertions are like the efforts of an insect to throw the earth
from its orbit. To say we may as well practice sin as holiness,

apostacy. 13|5
if God intended sin should take place, is plainly absurd. For we
know God condems sin, and our own consciences condemn it.
God never determined a single sin should exist, only as it is the
voluntary and wieked act of the sinner. It is an unchangeable
ordinance of heaven, that the wickedness of the wicked shall be
upon him. Man is incapable, of acting in view ofthe great plan
of the universe. That plan is the rule of the divine conduct ;
the revealed will of God is the rule of human conduct. It would
be impious to believe that God has not wise reasons for all his
conduct ; and it would be equally impious to think of justification
in the sight of God, while neither the heart nor the life is con
formed to the divine requisitions. It is true, God will make use
of every incorrigible wretch of the human family, to complete
the glory of the universe, however unwilling he may be to con
tribute to such an object. But no thanks to the sinner. If any
man is disposed to make use of divine sovereignty, and the agen
cy of God in the sinful volitions, choices, and actions of wicked
men, as a cloak for his sins, let him think again, that God exer-
cises no such agency as to destroy his freedom or accountability.
Let him reflect, too, that it is in vain to attempt to wrest the scep
tre from the hand of God- He does reign, and he will reign.
God over all, blessed forever. O become reconciled to God, and
adore the wisdom and perfection ofhis plan.
4. It is said, if sin is for the general good, the more there is the
better. The objection itself is illogical; for who does not see
that more than enough of any thing, is too much ? Does it follow,
that because sin is necessary, and for the glory of God, therefore
universal impiety would promote his glory ? Because the general

136 apostacy.
good required the fall of some ofthe angels, does it follow, that it
required the fall of all angels? The glory of God did not require
so much sin in the world at the fall of Adam, as immediately be
fore the flood. Nor did it require as much immediately after the
flood, as at the crucifixion of Christ. We cannot see how Christ
could have been crucified and slain, without wicked instruments
to perpetrate that dreadful deed. Who may not see, that the
enormous sin, committed in crucifying the Lord of Glory, was the
occasion ofthe highest expression of love to man, that ever was
manifested. If at any period of time, there should be more sin
in the world than there is occasion for at that period, the glory
of God would not be promoted. Because there is just pain enough
in the human family, it does not follow that it would be better
for every man to be in agony. It must be obvious to every one,
that though sin is necessary to the general good, and was intro
duced by him whose wisdom, goodness, and power, are never to
be impeached, yet if it should exceed the bounds which infinite
wisdom has prescribed, it would be as calamitous to the universe
as it is to those who practice it. It would be just as inconsistent
for God to give it a more extensive existence, as it would be to
impair his own glory, or to take away the voluntary enmity of
the sinner, and thus destroy his guilt.

EECTURE XI.
MESSIAH AND ATONEMENT.
Gen. 3. 14, 15.
And the Lord said unto the serpont, because thou hast done this,
thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field : upon
thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life.
And I will put enmity between thee and tlie woman, and between thy
seed and her seed : it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his
heel. This denunciation against the serpent contains the first proph
ecy and promise of a Saviour. The serpent may have been orig
inally the most beautiful and harmless of inferior animals. But
as he became the medium ofthe temptation and apostacy of our
first parents, as a punishment ofhis temerity, and as a monument
of divine displeasure against sin, he has become one ofthe most
baneful and offensive ofthe animal creation. He occupies the
lowest grade, and receives the least mercy from man. But lest
he should triumph over his momentary success, God pledged
himself, that though the serpent had succeeded in effecting the
apostacy, and would continue to waste the heritage of God, yet
a deliverer should arise from, the seed ofthe woman, who should
gather a church which should gain a final victory over the prince
of darkness. He should, by open violence and' persecution, by
secret machinations and slander, by artful temptations and per
nicious heresies, wage war against the seed ofthe woman, and
unsuccessfully contend against the exertions and prayers, the

138 MESSIAH AND
patience and holiness ofthe saints. God had threatened our first
parents with death in case of disobedience. They disobeyed;
and the penalty was immediately executed in part. The ques-
tion here arises, why did not God instantly inflict on them pun
ishment equal to the demerit of their crime ? and if there was a
moment's interval between the commission of sin, and the pre
sentation ofthe Saviour, was God during that moment just? The
only answer to this question is, that the second person in the
trinity, in anticipation of the fall, had existed in his official char
acter. So that as the redeemer and the atonement then existed
in the divine mind, God could treat sinners as he ever has treat
ed them since,— arrest the punishment due to sin, as far as he
pleased, and execute it as far as he pleased. The stipulations be
tween the Father and the Son, concerning the salvation of man,
existed antecedently to the fall; and there never was a time
when it was not consistent for God to extend mercy to the guil
ty. Still the developement ofthe plan of salvation and of the
Mediator, was not made until this text was given. This passage
does not describe the character of the Mediator, nor the time of
his incarnation. It directs man to a method of escape from de-
served punishment, though it does not give him very clear and
definite views ofthe author of salvation, nor of the several steps
by which his deliverance is to be effected. This was the twi.
light of revelation ; and nothing could be seen, but a few distant
and diffuse rays. The dispensation of types was soon introduced ;
and the mental vision of man became more clear. Sacrifices
and the paschal lamb were typical of the Lamb of God ; and the
divers washings, the waters of purification, and the sprinkling of

ATONEMENT. 139
blood, derived their virtue and significancy from the atoning
blood of Christ. The prophets used a phraseology in relation to
the second person in the trinity, more and more clear, until all
doubts respecting the lineage and incarnation of the Saviour van
ished. Moses, Isaiah, and the minor prophets, were so full and
clear as to give an unshaken stability to the faith of those who
longed and looked for his appearance. The time of his advent
was pointed out. The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor
a law-giver from between his feet, until Shiloh come. Every
one might know from this prophecy, that the crumbling of the
Jewish nation, and especially its dissolution and dispersion, prov
ed that the Messiah had come. Many of the miracles which he
was to perform, were likewise noticed. He was to open the pris-
on doors, and loose the chains of the prisoners ; to unstop the
ears of the deaf; to open the eyes of the blind ; to raise up those
who were bowed down with disease and infirmity; and to raise
4he dead. He was to preach the gospel to the poor, and to de
clare the acceptable year ofthe Lord. The entire state ofthe
Jewish nation ; the anticipations of the most pious in the church ;
the voice of prophecy ; the signs attending his birth and ministry ;
the testimony of John, and the perfect correspondence of his char
acter and conduct with the types, shadows, and predictions ofthe
ancient scriptures, placed his character in an unquestionable light.
After all, the light from the Old Testament was so faint and
glimmering, as to leave many in doubt even at his advent. But
those doubts were the result of carelessness, ignorance or preju
dice. The light ofthe scriptures was sufficient to satisfy an en-
lightened, unprejudiced and inquiring mind. Nothing is more

140 MESSIAH AND
plainly predicted than the character and offices of Christ. He
was to be the descendant of Abraham and David, and his throne
was to stand forever. He was to be born in Bethlehem of Judea,
To his countrymen he was to be as a root out of dry ground,
without beauty, or comeliness ; a man of sorrow, and acquainted
with grief. He was to be despised and rejected of men ; to come
unto his own, and his own receive him not. He was wounded for
our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement
of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes we are healed.
Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree. The kings ofthe
earth were gathered together against the Lord and against his
annointed. David gives us a description of the character and
conduct of him who was to betray the Saviour; and Isaiah, the
evangelical prophet, has detailed the transactions of his crucifix
ion. Daniel predicted, that, the Messiah should be cutoff, not for
his own sins, This subject is so variously and frequently men"
tioned in the ancient scriptures, that from a general description of
Christ, you may descend to a most minute and particular one.
Christ was the end of prophecy ; the illustrious personage in whom
all predictions concentrated, an object towards which the eyes of
all the pious were directed. He was the chief corner stone laid
in Zion. A rock of offence to the carnal Jews, but elect, precious
to all the promised seed, whether Jews or Gentiles. This Saviour
long predicted, and long held up to man in types and shadows, at
length assumes a body — was born in Bethlehem, and suffered on
Mount Calvary. The third day after his crucifixion, he arose
from the dead, and commenced the work of intercession for his
church. He finished his sufferings, and abolished the ceremoni-

ATONEMENT. 141
al dispensation on the cross. From this time the old dispensation
gradually disappeared, and the new dispensation gradually receiv-
ed its perfection. The atonement was completed, when the Sav
iour expired on the cross. This is the only transaction which
makes it consistent for God to pardon sinners. As the penalty of
the law which man had broken, consisted in sufferings, it is obvi
ous that the atonement was made by suffering. The blood of
Christ, the cross of Christ, the suffering of death, tasting death,
and laying down his life, are phrases of similar import. They all
refer to that affecting and overwhelming scene, in which God dis
played his hatred of sin, and his love ofthe law ; and which render
ed it consistent for him to exercise mercy towards the guilty. —
Christ as mere man was under obligation to obey all the laws of
God, and without perfect obedience he could not be saved. This
obedience he rendered, and thus secured his own salvation; and
qualified himself to be a spotless and vicarious sacrifice for the
sins of the world.
The Deity of Christ could not have suffered. His human
body and human soul, could not have suffered in the sense in
which a sinful being suffers ; for he had no guilt, and consequent
ly no remorse, no self-condemnation. But as he was the substi-
tute for sinners, it was necessary he should endure the penalty
annexed to transgression, though he endured neither the quality,
nor the quantity of sufferings which sinners would have endured
had they been sentenced to eternal perdition. He endured the
sufferings of sinners so far as an innocent being could endure
them. But as he was perfectly innocent, and as his Deity could
not suffer, he could not endure that remorse and self condemna-

142 MESSIAH AND
tion which sinners must have endured. He could not have
undergone precisely the same quality and quantity of suffer.
ings, which sinners must have endured, had they been doomed
to everlasting misery. It is therefore evident, notwithstanding
all the dignity which the Deity of Christ, imparts to his suffer
ings, the atonement must be considered as a symbolical exhibi.
tion. That this view does not destroy the value ofthe atone
ment, or derogate at all from its importance, is clear from the
fact, that this is the only transaction which renders it just for
God to forgive sins. Rom. 3. 25, 26. Whom God hath set
forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his
righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the
forbearance of God ; to declare, I say, at this time his righteous.
ness; that he might be just, and the justifier of him which be.
lieveth in Jesus. While we should suppress excessive inquisi-
tiveness as to the quantity of suffering which the Saviour endur
ed, it is sufficient for us to know that they were excruciating and
sufficient to answer the purposes of God in their infliction. That
the Saviour suffered extremely is evident from the consideration
that he bore the sins of the world in his own body on the tree ;
that he was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our
iniquities ; that he sweat, as it were drops of blood in the garden
of Gethsemane ; that he said, my soul is exceeding sorrowful
even unto death ; my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken
me? To the objection, that this view of the atonement depreciates
ils value, and would render the sufferings of any human being
equally efficacious, I reply, that no mere human being is sinless.

ATONEMENT. 143
And if he were sinless, still as he is under law, and dependent,
his sufferings cannot be vicarious. God cannot punish the in.
nocent, consistently with the principles ofthe divine government
unless that being is the property of himself, and voluntarily of
fers himself up to suffer. A created and dependent being, is the
property of God ; and there can be nothing expiatory, or vicari.
ous in returning to God the property which he has never aliena
ted. There could be no atoning efficacy in the sufferings of a
martyr, or of any mere man. But God manifested in the flesh,
was every* way adequate to make a complete atonement. He
could say, I have power to lay down my life ; and I have
power to take it again. Of him the Father could say, thou art
my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. In view of this
atonement, God withheld the execution ofthe sentence denounced
against Adam ; and through this medium, every blessing has
descended to man. As God had pledged himself to punish trans
gression, it was inconsistent with his perfections to extend a sin-
gle favor to the guilty, unless some method could be devised to
honor the law, and maintain the purity of the divine character.
Man was barred from heaven by the depravity ofhis own heart,
and the inflexible justice of the law. God had power and benev
olence enough to pardon man, had not his truth and law been in
the way. The atonement could not change the ability or dispo-
sition of God to save. It only removed the obstacle which ren-
ders it incompatible with divine justice to forgive sin. Pardon,
justification, adoption and sanctification, are all the effect of^fe
sovereign good pleasure of God, exercised through the atonement.
The atonement was made that God might be just, and the justifier

144 MESSIAH AND
of them that believe in Jesus. By his perfections and veracity,
God was prohibited the exercise ofhis grace and mercy. The
law guarded the way of life. Now if this law could be honored,
the way would then be opened for the exercise of pardon to the
guilty. Christ being both human and divine, was the only being
adequate to cancel the demands of divine justice, and bring in ev
erlasting righteousness. He died to open the way for the Father
to exercise mercy to any extent, and to as many individuals as he
pleased. There was an understanding, and an agreement between
the Father and the Son, that the atonement should be efficacious
in the salvation of the elect. This, we call, the covenant of re
demption. And yet the atonement in itself was nothing but pro
vision ; and without an application by the agency of the Holy
Spirit, none could have been saved. It should be remembered,
that there is a difference between the atonement and the applica
tion ofthe atonement. By application ofthe atonement, I mean
the different blessings which are bestowed on saints and sinners
on account ofthe atonement. These blessings comprise temporal
and spiritual mercies, and the gift of salvation. The evidences
that the atonement is general, are the following :
1. All men are placed here in a state of probation. Every
sinner on the first transgression, deserves to be cut off immediate-
ly, and to be punished forever. As the atonement is the only
ground on which the penalty of the law could be suspended, and
a probationary season granted to man, and as all men enjoy this
•tebation, an opportunity to secure eternal salvation, the atone
ment must be general.
2. The invitations of the gospel are general, that is, made

ATONEMENT. 145
to sinners without exception. An offer to be sincere, must hold
out something valuable andr-attainable. An invitation to accept
blessings which are not provided, is insincere; for neither the
dispositon nor indisposition of those to whom the invitation is made,
can alter the nature of the invitation. It is therefore impossible,
if the atonement is not general, to reconcile the preaching of
Christ and his apostles, with honesty and sincerity.
3. It is made the duty of all who hear the gospel, to accept
of Christ as their Saviour. But it cannot be their duty, if Christ
has not died for them.
4. Those who refuse to accept of Christ as their Saviour, are
condemned and punished for their unbelief. But how can they
be justly punished for not accepting a Saviour who was never
provided for them ?
5. The atonement was a satisfaction to public justice ; and
from its very nature must ne general.
6. All men do receive many blessings at the hands of God. —
These they receive in consequence of the atonement ; for where
there is no atonement, no mercy can be shown. Since many
mercies, therefore, are bestowed upon all men on account of
Christ's death, it follows, that Christ died for all.
7. The testimony of scripture is express and full upon this
subject. 1 John 2. 2. And he is the propitiation for our sins ;
and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.
Heb. 2. 9. But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than
the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and
honor ; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every
man. 1 Tim. 2, 6. Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be tes-
10

146 MESSIAH AND
tified in due time. 2. Cor. 5. 14, 15. For the love of Christ con
straineth us, because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then
were all dead. And that he died for all, that they which live,
should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which
died for them, and rose again. John. 1. 29. The next day,
John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb
of God, which taketh away the sin ofthe world. John 3. 16.
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,
that whosoever believeth in him, should not perish, but have ev.
erlasting life. 2 Pet. 2. 1, But there were false prophets also
among the people, even as there shall be false teachers among
you, who privily shall bring in damnable heresies, even denying
the Lord that bought them, and bring upon themselves swift de-
struction. But in what sense could the persons here spoken of as
sent to destruction be bought, if no atonement had been made for
them? 1 Tim. 4. 10. Who is the Saviour of all men, especially
of those that believe. Rom. 5. 18. Therefore as by the offence
of one, judgment came upon all men to condemnation ; even so
by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men unto
justification of life. The meaning of this passage is this: As the
sentence of eternal death was passed upon all men in consequence
of Adam's transgression, so the free unmerited offer of eternal
salvation is made to all men in consequence of the atonement of
Christ. I infer from this subject,
1. That the atonement has not removed the guilt, nor changed
the moral character of man.
I have before remarked that the atonement is simple provision,

ATONEMENT. 147
unapplied provision. The atonement was made wholly on God's
account. It has not removed original or actual sin. All those
notions, that the atonement removed the guilt and sinfulness of
infants unconditionally and universally, and the guilt of adults
conditionally, are sentiments, which have no support from scrip.
ture. The infant needs the sanctifying work of the Holy Ghost
on his heart, as much as the adult. And all our hope of their
salvation rests on the agency ofthe Holy. Spirit in applying the
atonement, and not in any special provisions made for them in the
atonement. And all those arguments in support of universal salvation, built
on the general nature of the atonement, are baseless. To prove
the salvation of all men, we must prove something more than pro-
vision for the salvation of all men, we must prove that this pro
vision will savingly be applied. The atonement simply consid.
ered, does not secure the salvation of one man. It only proves
that God can save men. Now there is a great difference be-
tween proving he can, and proving he will save all men. The
former is easily proved ; the latter cannot be proved. The
scriptures, and not the atonement, prove that he will make those
provisions efficacious in the salvation of all that believe. He
will bring just as many to repentance by his sovereign grace,
as he has given to his Son in the covenant of redemption. Now
it is vain to pervert the truths ofthe Bible, by incorporating into
our views, human and unscriptural inventions. Let us receive
the truth just as it is revealed. The atonement has not altered
the moral affections ofthe human heart. The heart, if unchang.
ed, remains the same as though no atonement had been made.
10*

148 MESSIAH AND
And all those hopes of salvation, founded on the plenitude ofthe
atonement, and not on the operations ofthe Holy Ghost, in ren.
dering it effectual to salvation, are false and delusive.
I infer from this subject,
2. That those who perish are inexcusable, They are inex-
cusable, because there is no want of provisions. God is sincere
in his offers, and reasonable in his requisitions. And in the atone
ment which God has made, he has made provisions for every
outcast of our race. The gate of mercy and gospel grace, has
been open from the day on which this text was uttered, "until the
present moment. The voice of prophets and apostles, and their
successors in office, has been, there is a fountain opened for Ju
dah, and for Jerusalem. Behold the Lamb of God. The voice
from the throne of the Eternal, has mingled with that of the am.
bassadors of the cross, look unto me, all ye ends of the earth.
and be ye saved ; for I am God, and there is none else. And
Jesus stood up in] the last day, that great day of the feast,
and cried, saying, if any man thirst, let him come unto me
and drink. Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy la
den, and I will give you rest. What can more clearly prove the
inexcusableness of sinners, than this cloud of witnesses, all point.
ing to the Lamb of God, and proclaiming as with one voice, the
ability, and the abundance of salvation, that dwell in him. Heav.
en is represented as gazing with amazement on the scene which
displayed the love of God to man. And what bars the sinner
from a participation of the joys of heaven ? Alas ! nothing but
his own wilfulness, his criminal, inexcusable wilfulness ; and for
this he is answerable, and not God.

ATONEMENT. 149
I close this lecture by pointing you to this scene presented
by a suffering and an atoning Saviour, as an unparalleled illus
tration of divine love. When man was helpless and hopeless,
and as guilty as he was hopeless, God provided a Saviour for him ;
not by plucking an angel from his throne, but his Son from his
bosom. He did not wait until man was plunged in ruin, nor even
till he had raised a hopeless, supplicating eye. No sooner had
man fallen, than mercy fled to his relief. God so loved the
world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever be
lieveth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

LECTURE XII.
DEPRAVITY.
Rom. 8. 7.
Because the carnal mind is enmity against God ; for it is not subject
to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
I have conducted my series of systematic discourses, down to
the character, advent and crucifixion of the Messiah. I have
proved the true Messiahship of Christ ; and attempted to illustrate
and defend the doctrine ofthe atonement. lam now to examine
the doctrines ofthe gospel, or the doctrines which Christ and his
apostles taught. The gospel is that system of truths contained
in the scriptures, and more especially and clearly exhibited in
the New Testament. The New Testament is a continuation of
the Old. They are mutually interwoven and harmonious. The
doctrines of the gospel, are called doctrines of grace, because
they relate to the plan of salvation by grace ; or because these

150 depravity.
doctrines are the means, in the hands of the Spirit, of the pardon,
sanctification and redemption of sinners. To illustrate the more
clearly the harmony, and mutual dependence of these doctrines,
I shall begin with the depravity of the human heart. The man
who understands this doctrine correctly and scripturally, will seo
the consistency and necessity ofthe other doctrines; and will be
less liable to err in his faith and feelings. I know of no class of
men denying the depravity of man, whose religious faith and
feelings are entitled to any degree of respect, though there is a
diversity of opinion, as to the nature and extent of this deprav.
ity. As it is one object in preaching to enlighten mankind, and
to rectify their views, every thing that would confuse and bewil
der the mind, ought to be avoided. The sinfulness of man should
be delineated in true colors ; and justice and affection will admit
of no exaggeration.
The difference between natural and revealed religion must be
kept in view. And the moral powers ofthe heart, must be clear.
ly distinguished from the natural powers ofthe mind, that there
may be no blending of things which are different. The natural,
or animal affections, are not depraved. Those constitutional, and
instinctive affections, which we exercise towards our families and
friends, are essentially different from moral affections. Our nat
ural sympathies, or feelings excited by the sufferings, or joys of
others, are similar to natural affections. That these are distinct
from the moral affections, is evident from the consideration, that
they exist in other animals as well as in man. And they may
exist in a high state of perfection in that man, in whom moral
sensibility is almost extinct. The affections with which a parent

depravity. 151
loves his children, are not the same kind of affections, as those
with which the saint loves God. The man who hates God, may
love his children as ardently, as the man who loves him. The
natural faculties ofthe mind, are reason, memory, perception, and
conscience. Reason is a power of receiving, comparing and
compounding ideas. This power may be exercised independent-
]y of the heart, or will, and therefore is not moral. If we hear a
man assert, that two and two are equal to four, we cannot
avoid seeing the truth of the proposition, whether we wish to see
it or not.
Memory is a power of retaining and recalling past ideas. This
faculty may be exercised independently ofthe will, and therefore
is not moral. If we hear what we have heard before, or see
what we have seen before, we cannot avoid recollecting that we
have heard or seen such things, whether we wish to recollect
them or not.
Perception is a power of receiving ideas independently ofthe
will. If we open our eyes in a clear day, we cannot help per
ceiving the visible objects around us, whether we wish to perceive
them or not.
Conscience is likewise a power of receiving ideas and impres
sions, independently ofthe will. If we are credibly told that one
man has killed another maliciously, we cannot avoid perceiving
the criminality of the murderer, whether we wish to perceive it
or not. The conscience is sometimes called moral, not because
it is either good or bad in itself, but because it is the faculty by
which we distinguish between right and wrong in moral conduct.
These natural faculties or powers ofthe mind, are not depraved,

152 depravity.
though through the influence ofthe depraved heart, they are oft.
en devoted to wicked purposes. It is further evident, that the
natural faculties are not depraved, because they are the same in
all intellectual beings, whether sinful or holy. That three times
three make nine is a conclusion of reason ; which is just as clear
ly perceived by a sinful, as by a holy being. Otherwise the saint
and sinner in any process of reasoning could never come to the
same conclusion. They oould never agree in the settlement of
their accounts, They could never agree on the value of any ar
ticle. It therefore follows that the reason of man is not de
praved. The same is true of all his other natural faculties.
I now come to consider the moral power or faculty of man. —
By moral, I mean, the exercises, or affections ofthe heart in
view of right and wrong. Is there any thing in the feelings and
conduct of mankind, any thing in the moral character of the
world, or in the volume of truth, which can aid us in ascertaining
the kind, and degree of human depravity? The answer to this
question is very plain. There is abundance of evidence on this
point, both in the character of man, and in the positive declara
tions of scripture. The universal prevalence of jealousy, suspi.
cion, retaliation, and revenge, the broils, contentions, disputes,
litigations, and crimes of, every complexion, which have, from
the first, bathed this world in tears, and converted it into a house
of mourning and of misery, are evidences that the heart of man
is depraved. The depravity of the heart, consists in its total en
mity against God. All its affections, designs, desires, volitions
and passions, are selfish, sensual, and at enmity with the charac
ter, laws, and government of God. All the bolts, and bars, and

depravity. 153
prisons, and penalties ; all the securities, conventions, and civil
tribunals, and all the restraints and prohibitions in which the world
abounds, show the impurity ofthe human heart. Deduct the
achievments of grace, and the moral world is universally corrupt.
Different individuals are under different degrees of restraint, from
natural amiableness, or natural honesty, from the influence of
timidity, or education, from rational convictions, and speculative
knowledge, and divine influence : So that we are not to judge of
depravity from what we actually see, but from what we should
see, were it under no controlling power, and subject to no impas
sible barriers. Enough, however, is seen from the moral char
acter of this world, to prove the moral and total corruption ofthe
natural heart. Every generation has illustrated the spirit of dis-
obedience, and its natural inclination to rebellion against God. and
defection from his laws. There is nothing in the moral charac
ter of our world, which would justify a conjecture, that man has
any native holiness. • If men have native holiness of heart, why
have they never asserted and proved it, and assumed a distinct
ive, and seperate existence ? Why has not some community, or
some individual exhibited the loveliness of native purity ? But it
is vain to press difficulties, and multiply evidences from observa.
tion, when we have a more sure word of prophecy on this sub
ject. The scriptures are full and explicit on this point. They
tell us plainly in what it consists, its nature, and extent*, We
must rest our faith implicitly on the revelation of God. If the
Bible tells us that the nature of depravity consists in infirmities,
and the absence of holiness, we must believe it ; and if it tells us
that its nature is enmity against God, we are equally bound to

154 depravity.
believe it. And if the Bible says, this depravity is partial, then
it is partial ; but if total, then it is total. Let God be true, and
every man a liar. We should come to this subject, with perfect
candor, and deeply impressed with the sentiment, that we are ex
posed to err in our decisions from ignorance of our own hearts,
and too exalted notions of our own goodness. The proof of hu
man depravity is greatly strengthened by the unanimity of testi
mony among the inspired writers. Before the flood it was said,
every imagination of the thoughts ofthe heart, is evil, only evil
continually. And after the flood it was said, the imagination of
man's heart is evil from his youth. These passages plainly rep.
resent depravity to consist in a wicked or evil heart, and as total,
and constant. The apostle in describing the depravity of Jews,
and Gentiles, which included the whole world, quotes the language
of almost all the intervening prophets from Moses to Malachi. —
Rom. 3. 9 — 18. There is none righteous, no not one. There
is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.
They are all gone out of the way : they are together become
unprofitable ; there is none that doeth good, no, not one. Their
throat is an open sepulchre ; with their tongues they have used
deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: whose mouth is
full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed
blood : Destruction and misery are in their ways. And the
way of peace they have not known : There is no fear of God be
fore their eyes. By this quotation the apostle did not attempt to
prove that all men are profane swearers, or murderers, but that
the seeds of the most enormous crimes are in every heart. The
different shades of external conduct are to be attributed not to

depravity. 155
any difference in the native depravity ofthe heart, but to differ
ent divine restraints. Again, it is said in the text, the carnal
mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can be. These passages are incontrovertible
in proof of the totality of human depravity; and clearly prove
its nature to be enmity against God, and opposition, to his laws.
Now this enmity must be voluntary from the very nature of the
affections; for they must be active or dormant. If dormant, they
have no existence : for a dormant, or an inactive affection is a
plain ' absurdity. It is like saying, a thing exists, and does not
exist at the same time. This depravity which pervades all the
affections of the heart, gratifies itself in overt acts so far as it
can, under existing circumstances and restraints. Jer. 3, 5.— r
Will he reserve his anger forever ? Will he keep it to the end ?
Behold, thou hast spoken and done evil things as thou could-
est. I do not say the natural powers ofthe mind are depraved, and
totally sinful ; but the moral powers ofthe heart, the affections,
the moral affectionate faculties ofthe soul. The soul ofthe un
regenerate man, is totally averse to the divine nature. This de
pravity consists in enmity, aversion, or disinclination. The nat
ural heart has no delight in God, or in his gospel, and no relish
for the doctrines and duties of religion. This is just as true of
the moralist and ofthe formalist, as ofthe openly vicious. Ev
ery unregenerate heart is enmity against God. And if mankind
do not view themselves thus depraved, il is either because they
have not studied and believed the scriptures, or because they
have not had truth applied to their minds. But the Holy Ghost

156

depravity.

opens the sinner's heart to his view and lets him see that iniquity
which reigns in his soul. With such a view of himself, the sinner
finds no difficulty in believing the doctrine of total moral deprav-
ity. It becomes to him a self-evident truth. He sees in himself,
the seeds of the foulest crimes that have ever stained the pages
of history. He can see the reason that he has not been over
whelmed in disgraceful iniquity, is to be attributed to the re
straints of God, and not to any native disinclination to vice. The
affections of man are the waters of the same fountain, that was
opened in the apostacy of angels, and resulted in the apostacy
of man. These affections are ever at war with the character of
God, the glory ofthe universe, and the peace and happiness of
man. Thus the evidence is clear from scripture that the
depravity of man is enmity in its nature, and total in its ex
tent. There are other scriptural sources of evidence, indirect, but
conclusive. The total depravity of man can be proved from the
promises of God. God has promised eternal life to every indi
vidual ofthe human race who has the least degree of holiness.
These promises are not made to men of eminence in religious at-
tainments only, but the weak and feeble, truly pious, are included
in the kingdom of God. The promises are made to all the truly
pious, however limited their degree of sanctification.
Now if all men have a certain degree of holiness, they are en
titled to the promises ; and in that case, the threatnings of scrip
ture are not applicable to any class of beings on earth, and its
promises are a senseless blank. The promises of God are made
to every individual who possesses the least degree of holiness ;

depravity. 157
but the promises of God are made to none in a state of nature, it
follows therefore that none in a state of nature possess the least
degree of holiness. They are then totally depraved. Because
the destitution of holiness in moral beings, implies the presence of
sin, a moral being must either love or hate moral objects. And
if he has no love, his hatred is total.
Another source of evidence is drawn from the operations ofthe
Holy Spirit in the experience of christians. He is said to convince
the world of sin. And there is no sentiment which he more
deeply impresses on the minds of all the subjects of his special
operations, than the total sinfulness of their hearts. He divests
them of their self-delusion and self-flattery, and draws out to their
view, those tempers and dispositions, which they never before
suspected to exist in their bosoms. Paul was alive without the
law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived, and he
died. Until the Holy Ghost applied the law to his heart, and
thus tried its dispositions and inclinations, he felt secure in his
self-righteousness. But when the Spirit exhibited to his view
the hidden wickedness of his heart, he saw nothing in himself on
which he could build a hope of heaven. The same has been true
of every genuine conviction. Careless, and convicted sinners
judge very differently on the nature and extent of their depravity.
Thousands are insensible to the sinful operations of their own
hearts. And when we take into consideration their unwillingness
to come to light, and their studious concealment of their own
hearts, we need not be surprised at their doubts on the subject of
depravity. How should they have correct views of their own
hearts, when they have never seen them ? They cannot know

158 DEPRAVITY.
without knowledge; they cannot see without sight. The reason
that sinners have such incorrect views of themselves is that they
do not wish to see their entire enmity against God. But when
the Holy Ghost awakens and convinces the sinner, he may just as
clearly see the depravity of his heart as the saint. Experience
is the conviction of the judgment ; and the decisions of an expe
rienced man, are always more valuable than those of an inexperi
enced one. The natural man discerneth not the things of the
Spirit of God, neither can he know them, because they are spirit.
ually discerned. Those who have been renewed in the spirit of
their minds, are well qualified to judge of the native total depra vi-
ty of their hearts. This doctrine has been proved in the case of
every enlightened and gracious conversion since the foundation of
the world. The language ofthe distressed soul is, I am lost, I am
ruined, I am helpless, I am hopeless. I have no righteous.
ness in myself, and I have no claims on the righteousness of
Christ. INFERENCES
1. This subject teaches us the reason that the unregenerate
cannot perform good works. A man's views of his works will
depend entirely on his views ofhis heart. And no man has cor
rect views of moral actions, who has not correct views of moral
affections. It is the heart which gives character to moral actions.
Now those actions are holy which come from holy affections, and
those are sinful, which come from sinful affections. If a man has
an unholy heart, all his affections and emotions, and by conse
quence, all his actions will be unholy. If he pray, or repent or
perform acts of hospitality, it all proceeds from a sinful heart. —

DEPRAVITY. 159
This sentiment is clearly illustrated in the first Epistle to the
Corinthians thirteenth chapter. Here the apostle teaches us
that charities and gifts, and the faith of miracles, and martyrdom
itself will profit a man nothing, if he is destitute of love to God.
If impenitent sinners ever perform works merely from natural
affections and sympathy, which do not come under the cogni.
zance of the divine law, and which possess no moral quality,
they are neither sinful nor holy. The man who believes in the
virtue ofthe works ofthe impenitent, must either deny that vir
tue is holiness, or the total depravity ofthe heart, or he must de
ny that the heart gives character to moral actions.
It is unphilosophical and unscriptural to suppose a sinful heart
can generate holy conduct. Because action disconnected with
the affection; has no moral character at all. He who has cor
rect views ofthe depravity ofthe heart, if consistent in his faith,
must have correct views of all the other doctrines of grace. A
good deed, whether it be a desire, a volition, or an overt act,
must proceed from a holy disposition : and it is self-evident, that
he who has not this disposition, cannot exercise it. God always
determines the character of an act by the disposition from which
it proceeds. And man does the same as far as he is capable. —
In the Bible, lust is called adultery, and hatred is called murder.
The external obedience ofthe Pharisees was condemned because
they had no internal purity. The simple act of taking human
life, is not considered in civil law murder; unless it proceeds from
malice prepense; else it were foolishness in judges and jurors, to
inquire into the circumstances of any given case. If the mere act
of taking human life is murder, the executioner ofthe criminal,

160 SOVEEIGNTY AND AGENCY OF GOD.
must be executed ; and the series of executions would not cease
till the human family were exterminated.
It is evident therefore, that he who believes in the total de
pravity of the heart, and the sinfulness of all impenitent doings,
is perfectly consistent in his faith.
2. I infer from this subject that regeneration is unconditional.
If the heart, and conduct proceeding from that heart are totally
sinful, and no actions are rewardable, but holy ones, it follows
that none ofthe works of sinners are a condition of regeneration.
The reasons of their regeneration are in the divine mind alone ;
and this blessing is the fruit of his sovereign good pleasure.
3. I infer the necessity of special grace. If unrenewed sinners
always effectually resist the common operations of the Holy
Ghost, and their hearts consist in enmity against God, then the
influences which change their hearts must be special. Such as
were never exerted on them before, such as they never felt be
fore. 4. I infer the duty of humility.

LECTURE XIII.
SOVEREIGNTY AND AGENCY OF GOD.
Dan. 4. 35.
And he doeth according to his will in the armies of heaven, and
among the inhabitants ofthe eartfy; and none can stay his hand, or
say unto him, what doest thou ?
While some have indulged in speculations on the degree of in
fluence and the quantity of agency, which God exercises over
his works and creatures, others have given him only a superin
tending and general providence. They suppose, as the smaller
affairs of his world need no care or direction, that to control the
most prominent parts of the great system would be sufficient. —
I would here just institute the query, is man competent to judge
what are the most prominent, and the most important parts of
the great system? But I consider this division of agency, gi v.
ing a portion exclusively to God and a portion cxclucively toman,
as superficial speculation. By this I do not mean that divine agen
cy is human, nor that human agency is divine agency. You may
waste your lives in conjectures on the.quantity of control exercised
over an angel,or an insect, or an empire, or a sparrow, and it will
amount to nothing. The scripture history of the divine government,
is the only correct and satisfactory one. God is there represented
as a sovereign over his own possessions, untaught, uncontrolled,
uninfluenced. His government is not subject to the imperfections
of earthly monarchies. He can never be under the influence of
11

162 SOVEREIGNTY AND
selfish, sinful, or malignant passions. He can never be govern.
ed by caprice or revenge. His natural attributes are under the
direction of immutable goodness. His heart is inaccessible to
impurity of motives. The innocent will not go unrewarded, nor
the guilty unpunished, while he is Ruler and Judge. This is
not true in the government of earthly monarchs. They may not
have wisdom to devise, nor goodness to choose, nor power to
execute. Their best efforts may proye abortive. And a vision
ary, Selfish, or an incensed spirit, may sacrifice at its shrine the
dearest general good ; and ignorance, weakness, and selfishness
jeopardise the public good, if supreme authority is vested in a
single individual. Still no good man could object to an unlimit
ed monarchy, if it afforded greater security, than associated
counsellors. There is no individual who possesses the combined
wisdom and sagacity of a world ; and whose integrity and be
nevolence are guarded by a cluster of immutable attributes. —
But the Sovereign ofthe universe could not be benefitted by the
counsels of his creatures, for he is in all and above all, God
blessed forever. He alone is competent to the management of
his extensive empire. If he could find a being better qualified
to rule, his goodness would induce him to surrender the reins of
government. But so long as he possesses supremacy of attri
butes, and supremacy of excellence, he will choose to reign, and
every holy intelligence in the universe will choose to have him
reign. The language of angels and holy men, will be, the Lord -
reigneth, let the earth rejoice. When I say, God is a Sovereign,
I deduct from the term, every thing that implies abuse or oppres
sion, and affix to his sovereignty every lovely and desirable quali-

AGENCY OP GOD. 163
ty. I consider it as embracing my most precious hopes. I am
aware, that there are supposed to be more difficulties attending
the sovereignty of God over moral and intelligent beings, than
over the natural world. But I apprehend that the one is just as
fathomable, and capable of comprehension and proof as the oth
er. We must rely on scripture-testimony and follow scripture-
history on this subject. The bible must determine the nature,
and the extent of divine agency in natural objects, and intellect.
ual and moral beings.
The sovereignty of God is his right to dispose of all his works,
according to his own good pleasure. His agency is the exer
cise of his sovereignty in the government of all his works.
Divine decrees are the eternal and immutable designs of God
concerning all things. These decrees embrace all his plans and
purposes, and are the rule of hisi conduct. Even every wise
man has a plan. And what would a husbandman, or mechanic
accomplish, if he had no plans? By common consent, he who la-
bors without designs Or system, is considered either foolish or
crazy. Can we suppose that the everlasting God is destitute of
the wisdom which he has given 'to his creatures ? Nay, but, as
the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways
higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.
Here it may be asked how extensive and how particular is the
agency of God ? That he gave to the natural world its structure
and its laws ; that he upholds them in being, and, at his pleas
ure, suspends and counteracts those laws, none will doubt. The
sun, the earth, and the worlds which hang like sparkling gems
through the air, are supported by his arm and touched by his fin-
11*

164 SOVEREIGNTY AND
ger. All the laws which regulate the operations and changes in
the natural world, are under the divine control. With him are
all the fluctuations of times and seasons, the variations of plants
and herbage. God gives the grazing ox his meat, and provides
for the raven of the wilderness, but man he clothes in richer
gifts, and feeds with finer wheat. He is, by common consent,
the parent of all, and his tender mercies are over all his works.
He sends rain on one city and withholds it from another. He
has an agency in all national revolutions. He raiseth up one
king, and putteth down another ; and giveth the kingdoms of the
earth to whom he pleaseth. The objects of his government are
accomplished in all the political revolutions ofthe world ; for the
text says, he doeth his will in the armies of heaven, and among
the inhabitants of the earth. And this passage is a confession of
the king of Babylon, who was taken from the throne and sen
tenced to be a companion of beasts, until he would acknowledge
the sovereignty of God over all his creatures, and was prepared
by repentance and humility, for restoratian to his sceptre.
God has disposed ofthe world as he saw fit. And though his
enemies have sometimes triumphed, and his friends have some
times been lost in clouds of darkness, yet the result has proved,
that God is adequate to the management of his own empire. —
And those shades in the scene which seemed incompatible with
the divine character, have discovered the depths of his wisdom
and love. There was never an edict issued from the national
council, there was never a whistling ball on the field of battle ;
there was never a deposition, or a coronation of a mitred head,
in which the sovereignty of God was not displayed. He is the

AGENCY OF GOD. 165
King of kings, and the Lord of lords. The heart of the king is
in the hand of the Lord, and he turneth it whithersoever he will'
But the sovereignty of God is not only manifested in the political
mutations of our world, but in the vast shades of moral charac
ter, which we discover among different nations. Why have
some parts of America, and some parts of Europe, and most of
Asia and Africa, been so many centuries enveloped in darkness,
idolatry, and heathenism, while the pure light of the Sun of
righteousness has been poured on the principal portions of Europe
and North America? Could not God have reversed the scene
and made our land the land of images, of idols, of darkness and
of death? Why has the Hindoo been left for so many centuries
to the inhuman practice of murdering his children, and bowing
down to his idols ? Why does the Arab patrol the desert with
the weapons of death in his hand? Why the Turk practice his
cruelty, and infringe on the rights, and prey on the happiness of
man? And why the millions of untutored savages, who inhabit
the desert, unblest with the light of revelation, or the influences
ofthe Spirit? Are we more meritorious than they? And has
our hand gotten us this refinement, civilization, and these politi
cal and religious institutions which have blessed our race and
ennobled our characters? If we are more worthy, his unmerited
munificence gave the virtue which he rewards. And why is
there no more equality in the distribution of divine gifts? Has
God bestowed his stores of benevolence on us ? But giving doth
not impoverish him, nor withholding enrich him. And why hath
he not given equal advantages, civil and religious to every tribe
and kindred on earth? Is there any thing in his character, gov-

166 SOVEREIGNTY AND
ernment, or word, that binds him to treat all men alike? then he
has departed from the way of righteousness and surrendered his
sovereignty. As a righteous sovereign, he is bound to treat all
men as well as they deserve ; and when he exceeds the princi
ples of strict justice, his mercy is entirely under his sovereign
control. He can treat all better than they deserve, and thus
stop every mouth. And he has a right to treat some better than
others. None will doubt that God might, long ago, have placed
a bible in the hands of every intelligent being on earth, and have
filled the world with the light, and influence, and institutions of
the gospel. And all the reason I can assign why he has not
done it, is, Even so Father, for so it .seemeth good in thy sight.
I do not doubt, that he has good reasons for his conduct. But
limited as I am in my views, I must rest in the sovereignty of
his will. When I survey this spacious and crowded world, and
walk amidst such moral and intellectual desolations, and see but
here and there a lucid spot, proud and unreconciled unbelief asks
can this be an empire of the God of Goodness, of mercy and
omnipotence? But even here, presumptuous man will either im
peach bis wisdom and love, or take refuge in the denial of his
sovereignty. But this subject >is not so unpleasant and re
pulsive in its general character, as when reduced to particular
cases. The objections against the agency of God exercised over mat-
ter, over the natural air, and the planetary world, are not so nu
merous as those raised against his agency over the bodies of sin
gle men, and over mind. There are fewer objections against his
agency over angels, than over men, over the minds of good men,

AGENCY OF GOD. 167
than over the minds of bad man. The human heart after cheer.
fully following the sovereignty of God down through every grade
of material nature, often says to him, hitherto shalt thou come
and no farther, and here shall thy dominion cease. They are
willing he should be a sovereign in the disposal of his natural
gifts ; that he should create one man wise, and another foolish,
one man of a hale constitution, and another of a sickly one ; that
he should give one man wealth and another poverty, and at the
same time revolt at the thought, ofhis bestowing grace upon one
man, and not upon another. You could almost convince a
world of the universal agency of God in his temporal gifts, in
this single passage. Eccl. 9. 11. I returned, and saw under
the sun,that the race is not to the swift,nor the battle to thestrong,
neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of happeneth
understanding,, nor yet favor to men of skill ; but time and chance
to them alI,-God exercises an invisible agency in allthese things.
I do not know any good reason that God should not be admit
ted to his intellectual and moral empire, as well as to his natural
empire. There is certainly no more difficulty or danger in giv
ing him the control of the spiritual, than of the natural world.
Besides, the scriptures as fully declare his agency over the
hearts and affections of men, as over their bodies. It is just as
easy to prove that God controls the volitions and choices, the
thoughts and affections of saints and sinners, as to prove he has
a particle of agency in any ofthe affairs ofthe universe. As to
the consequences attending the admission ofthe universal agency
of God, I have no fears. It is a scripture doctrine ; it must be
admitted. And if it has an unpleasant effect on us, and excites

168 SOVEREIGNTY AND
unhappy feelings, it is because our hearts are not right, and we
are not satisfied with the character of God, nor with the exercise
of his prerogatives. I examine, prove, and defend this doctrine,
as a revealed truth. If I may but exhibit it in a true light, and
defend it in a proper spirit, I have no fears. God is my teacher,
and the bible my guide.
I am to prove, then from the Bible, that God controls in a per
fectly sovereign manner the hearts of all men. He controls the
volitions and choices ofthe saints. Phil. 2. 12,13. Workout
your own salvation with fear and trembling; For it is God that
worketh in you, both to will and to do of his good pleasure. God
is here said to work in them to will and to do. But the agency of
God is employed not only in the affections and conduct of saints,
but also in the affections and conduct of sinners. Zech. 8. 10, Fori
set all men every one against his neighbor. Deut. 2. 30. ButSihon
king of Heshbon, would not let us pass by him : for the Lord, thy
God hardened his spirit, and made his heart obstinate that he might
deliver him into thy hand, as appeareth this day. Here God is
said to harden the spirit, and to render the heart obstinate. 2
Thess. 2. 11, 12. And for this cause, God shall send them strong
delusion, that they should believe a lie : that they all might be
damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighte
ousness. I would not insinuate that God exercises any such agen
cy in holy or wicked men, as to destroy the praise or blameworthi
ness of their actions. He no more infringes on the free agency
ofthe one, in causing their holy volitions and actions, than on the
free agency of thp other, in causing their sinful volitions and actions.
He governs all volitions and actions without changing their

AGENCY OF GOD. 169
nature or voluntary character. Every thoughtful and candid
man must perceive, that there are the same difficulties attending
the admission of divine agency in governing the hearts of saints,
as in governing the hearts of sinners: in both cases God must
govern without taking away free agency. If the agency of God
over the hearts of sinners destroys their guilt, then his agency
over the hearts of saints destroys their virtue. If his agency
takes away the viciousness of a wicked action, then his agency
takes away the virtuousness of a holy action. We see, that it
is just as easy for God to work in a sinner or a devil to will and
to do a wicked deed, and at the same time leave him free, blame
worthy and punishable, as it is for him to work in a saint or an
angel, to will and to do a good deed, and at the same time leave
him free, praiseworthy, and rewardable. As God has created
intelligent beings, voluntary and free agents, he can exercise no
such government over them, as to destroy their free agency. So
far as he takes away their free agency, he annihilates their moral
existence : for free agency is freedom. Independence is not es
sential to free agency. If it were, God would be the only free
agent in the universe. Free agency consists in choosing ; and if
God causes his creatures to choose, he causes them to be free
agents. As he causes both saints and sinners to choose, he caus
es them both to be free agents.
Before I pass to the inferences which will be drawn from this
subject, 1 will introduce a few of those sweeping and unqualified
passages, in which the universal agency of God is clearly assert
ed. Isaiah 46. 10. Saying my council shall stand, and I will do
all my pleasure. Eph. 1. 11. Who worketh all things after the

170 SOVEREIGNTY AND
counsel ofhis own will. Rom. 11. 36. Forofhim, and through
him, and to him, are all things.
1. If this view of divine agency is correct, we see that it is just
and consistent with the divine perfections, and with the accounta
bility ofhis creatures, for God to introduce sin into the system, as
to introduce holiness. He has just the same object in view in
the existence of sin, that he had in the existence of holiness, — his
own glory Eind the greatest good of the universe.
2. This subject shows us the perfect harmony between human
and divine agency. Man acts, and is acted upon. God ac
complishes all his designs without the least infringement on his
free agency. There is in every choice, volition and action of
man, both human and divine agency. That this view perfectly
harmonises with the. sentiments ofthe inspired writers, is evident
fromscriptureillustrations. God hardened Pharaoh's heart; Pha
raoh hardened his own heart. Joseph's bretheren sent him down
into Egypt ; Joseph says, it was not you that did it, but God. On
a certain day, God promised Samuel, that he would send him a
man to be annointed king over Israel, the next day. On the day
appointed, Saul, in search ofhis father's beasts, at the suggestion
of his father's servant, directed his way to Samuel. Samuel told
him that the beasts were found ; and that he was the very individual
whom God in the fulfilment ofhis promise, had sent down to him,
to be annointed king over Israel. God sent Nebuchadnezzar
against the Israelites to punish them for their sins, and then pun-
ished Nebuchadnezzar for the impurity of his motives in executing
his will. The predictions of the scriptures, made it necessary
that Christ should, be crucified; and the character of the trai-

AGENCY OF GOD. 171
tor, and of the executioners, were designated ; and yet he was
betrayed, crucified, and slain by wicked hands.
3. I infer from this subject, that the enemies of God, and of
his church, are never safe. The Sovereign of the universe
reigns, to conquer his enemies, and punish the incorrigible. —
4. Another inevitable inference is, that the friends of God are
safe. What are the powers combined against the church, the
followers of the Lamb? In whose hands have they deposited the
treasures of their wrath ? What is the arm in which they trust ?
Are they above the control of God? Are they wiser than he?
Can they contend with the Almighty, and can they thunder with
a voice like1 his? Nay : they wither at his touch. No design
formed against God and his church, can prosper. He reigns the
friend ofthe saint: and neither the affections ofhis heart, nor
the counsels ofhis will cap change. He says to every saint, as
he said to Abram, I am thy shield, and thy exceeding great re
ward. He reigns to complete the salvation of his church, and
adorn her with the glories of her heavenly state.
5. We see that the doctrine of divine and human agency, is sub
versive of the sentiments ofthe Armenian, and of the fatalist. —
Such is the divine agency as to remove all cause of boasting. And
such is human agency as to save the divine Being from aspersion.
6. This subject shows us the consistency of exhorting sinners
to become christians. They possess all the natural powers that
are necessary to embrace and obey the gospel. The only diffi
culty is in the will ; and as this is voluntary disinclination, it is
culpable. And the question may be put to the whole world,
with awful solemnity, why will, ye die?

LECTURE XIV.
ELECTION.
Eph. 1. 4. 5.
According as he hath chosen us in him, before the foundation of the
world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love. —
Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ
to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will.
In my last lecture, I discussed the sovereignty of God, and am
now to consider the same sovereignty in relation to the salvation
of his people.
In the arrangements of the triune God, for the salvation of
souls, it was necessary there should be provisions for rendering
the atonement effectual, or all the obedience and sufferings of
Christ would fail of promoting the holiness of mankind. The
depravity of man would preclude every prospect, and every pos
sibility ofits becoming efficacious, without something more than
mere atonement or provision. Accordingly, we find there was
a covenant entered into between the persons of the Godhead, in
which the Father gave to the Son an elect seed, and promised,
that in consideration of his work, his sufferings, and death, he
would bring them to repentance, cause them to exercise faith in
Christ, and prepare them for heaven. This is called a covenant
of redemption, made between the Father and Son, and embraced
all that ever have been or ever shall be saved. This covenant
is recognised in passages like these : Thy people shall be wil-

ELECTION. 173
ling in the day of thy power. All that the Father hath given me
shall come to me. The parties of this covenant were equal, and
it was made on the principles of strict justice. The covenant of
grace exists between God and believers ; and is necessarily em
braced in the covenant of redemption. When the sinner is re
generated, he is brought into a covenant in which God pledges
himself to treat him better than he deserves, and to give him final
and eternal salvation. This is the covenant of grace. The cov
enant of redemption was consummated in eternity; and the cov-
enant of grace is only a developement of the covenant of redemp
tion. Nearly and inseperably connected with the covenant of
redemption, is the doctrine contained in the text.
Every doctrine which involves an inquiry into the administra-
tion of an infinite God, ought to be examined with modesty, hu
mility, and implicit faith in divine revelation. Three points should
be firmly fixed Jn the mind : the first is, that God often acts from
reasons which are unrevealed and incomprehensible^ and from
motives supremely excellent, though inscrutable to us. The
second is, that God treats the whole human family better than
they deserve. And the third is, that he treats some better than
others. He always acts as a good and wise sovereign.
In the discussion of this subject, I shall not be answerable for
the misrepresentations of its enemies, nor of its professed friends.
The doctrine of election is simply this. God from eternity chose
in Christ a certain portion of mankind to eternal life, and they
will be saved, and no more. This is a scriptural view of the
doctrine of election. In the stipulations between the Father and
the Son, the number and the names of the elect were given;

174 ELECTION-
and arrangements were made with the Holy Ghost, to bring
them in at the time, and in the manner stipulated ; and to carry
on this work unto eternal redemption. The reasops which God
has for the selection which he has made, I cannot assign. But
that he has made such a selection, 1 pledge'myself to prove to
you from the Bible. Let it be remembered, that he who replies
against this doctrine, does not reply against man, but against God.
I am only the medium ; God is the author of this truth. If I
discuss it scripturally, he that opens his mouth against it opens it
not against me, but against God. In examining the scriptures
in relation to this doctrine, we. should lay aside all prejudice, and
come to the law and to the testimony with humility and docility,
and learn what the eternal God has said. Then follow me in
the discussion of this subject.
I prove the doctrine of election from the text ; According as
he hath chosen us in him, before the foundation ofthe world, that
we should be holy, and without blame, before him in love : Hav-
ing predestinated us unto the adoption of children, by Jesus
Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure ofhis will.
In this passage a choice is spoken of; the time that this choice
was made; the persons chosen, and the purpose for which they
were chosen.
Paul and the Ephesian church are the persons particularly
spoken of. They were chosen long before they existed, before
men or angels were made, before the foundation of the world. 
They must have been chosen by God. For at the time they were
chosen, they did not exist, and therefore could not have chosen them.
selves. They were not chosen and predestinated to live in sin,

ELECTION. 175
and thus go to heaven ; but they were chosen to sanctification, and
predestinated, preappointed, or appointed from eternity to holi
ness, obedience, and eternal life.
This then is a fair interpretation of the passage. God chose
them ; he chose them before the world was made ; he chose
them in Christ Jesus ; and he chose them to salvation. He must
have been the chooser, if there was any ; for we are too deprav
ed to choose him. He says, John 15. 16. Ye have not chosen
me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go
and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain, that
whatsoever he shall ask the Father in my name, he may give it
you. God must have had this choice in eternity ; because he can
have no new choices, or designs, otherwise he would be muta
ble, always changing and fluctuating. To suppose he doe's not
choose an individual, until the individual has chosen him, is to
suppose God has a new choice every time there is a case of re
generation. This supposition is contrary to the whole tenor of
scripture. 2. Tim. 1. 9. Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to his" own pur
pose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the
world began. The Apostle here says of himself and of Timo.
thy, and by inevitable inference, of all faithful ministers of Christ,
and saints of God, that their salvation is the consequence ofthe
purpose and grace of God, which preceded their conversion, and
even their birth, and was given them in Christ Jesus before the
world began. This establishes the divine purpose or decree of
election. The decree of a monarch, or of a court, is only the

176 ELECTION.
purpose of the one or ofthe other, written down. And the de
cree of God, is only his purpose, intention, or determination re-
vealed in the bible, and is immutable like himself. 1 Pet. 1. 2.
Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through
sanctification of the spirit, unto obedience, and sprinkling of the
blood of Jesus Christ. This passage is applied to the strangers
scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and
Bythinia, which must have embraced a large portion of the vis.
ible church. They are called, elect according to the foreknowl.
edge of God the Father. God" knows all things, past, present
and future. And he knows every one that will ever believe, and
be saved, because he knows he has made provision for their sal
vation, and for the application of that provision. And if he fore
knew all things, he knows the number and the names of those
who will be saved. And if he knows they will be saved, they
surely will, and must be saved, and it cannot be otherwise. It
has been said, if God is infinite, all things with him are possible :
therefore it is possible with him to choose, not to foreknow every
thing ; and, in many cases, to prefer ignorance to knowledge. —
My reply to this is, if he chose to be ignorant of some things, he
must have known those things before he could have any choice
about them-.
Nor is the foreknowledge of God invalidated, by supposing
all things an eternal now with him, for on this supposition every
event, past, present, and future, is as infallibly fixed as it can be
by predestination. If the birth, life, character, death, and destiny
of every individual ofthe human family, who shall live in heaven,
or suffer in hell, is present to the divine Being, then these things

ELECTION. 177
are unchangeably fixed. If it be said, that strictly speaking,
there is no such thing as foreknowledge with God, I reply, he is
the only being to whom the term can with any propriety be .ap
plied. Man's knowledge of future events, is received by faith in
the testimony of divine revelation. Known unto God are all his
works from the beginning of the world. The terms foreknew,
and foreknowledge, as used in the bible, are applied exclusively
to God. God knew he should create the world, before he should
destroy it ; and though he knew both these events at the same
time, yet he knew one would take place before the other. He
knew that his Son would be crucified before the judgment. And
it is just as proper to apply time to God as to man. And in hia
view, one event must precede another, and one event must suc
ceed another. Could God see that Washington was born the
same day that he died ? Since, therefore, it is just as proper for
God to speak of the past, present, and future, as it is for man to
speak of them, and since the Holy-Ghost applies the word fore.
knowledge to God, I am perfectly satisfied with the language of
the bible. The passage, a thousand years with the Lord are as
one day, and one day as a thousand years, does not mean that
God knows no difference of time in the existence of events which
take place at different periods ; but it simply means that God
will not delay to fulfil his promises at the time which he has ap
pointed, though that time may not be the time which man has
set. Every event which he knows will take place, most cer
tainly and infallibly will. For to suppose it can be otherwise
than he knows it is, or will be, is to suppose that he could know
it, and not know it at the same time : a sentiment which furnish.
12

178 ELECTION.
es its own refutation. To say he foresaw theif repentance and
faith, and therefore chose them, involves another difficulty. If
he foresaw they would repent and believe, did he not foresee,
that he would give them this repentance and faith ? Did he fore
see they could exercise repentance and faith without his own
previous arrangements, in furnishing a Saviour, and the influen
ces of the Spirit ? And is it possible he would defer choosing
them to salvation, until he had made provisions, and arrangements,
and carried them partially into execution ? Would he do so much
without the object or the end in view? To suppose that God
founds his choice of sinners on their choices of him, is to suppose
that he is dependent on the choices of his creatures for his own
choices, which is a plain contradiction of scripture, and contrary
to reason, and fact-
It will now be .shown from several passages, that the election
of God is the cause of the regeneration and the graces of the
Baints, and not their graces the cause of their election. I would
just remark before introducing my quotations, that the word
elect is used with a small variation of sense, though it always im
plies in God, a choice, or purpose. Christ is called elect, because
he was chosen and set apart from eternity, by God the Father,
to the work of mediation and redemption. There were elect
angels whom God chose to eternal life. The Israelites were an
elect nation, chosen from all the Rations ofthe earth. And
Christ has a seed chosen to eternal life, and this election is eter
nal. Chosen us from the beginning. 2. Thess. 2. 13. From
fcefore the foundation of the world. Eph. 1. 4. It is absolute
and irrevocable. Rom. 9. 11. For the children being not yet

ELECTION. 179
born, neither having done any good or evil, that the purpose of
God according to election might stand, not of works, but of him
that calleth. 2. Tim. 2. 19. Nevertheless, the foundation of
God standeth sure, having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that
are his. It is personal, that is, it is confined to a certain num.
ber of persons. Mat. 20. 23. It shall be given to them for whom
it is prepared of my Father. Acts. 13. 48. And as many as
were ordained to eternal life believed.
Paul, in his first Epistle to Tim. 1. 15. Says it extended to
the chief of sinners. In the text he says, they were elected in
Christ, and in Eph. 1. 4. and 1 Thes. 5. 9. he says, they are
elected to sanctification and holiness as the means, and eternal
life as the end. Add to these passages the following scripture.
phrases. Behold mine elect ; mine elect shall inherit it. Elect
shall long enjoy it. For the elect's sake, those days shall be
shortened. If it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect.
Gather his eleet from the four winds. Shall he not avenge his
own elect. The faith of God's elect. As the elect of God ;
elect according to the foreknowledge of God ; elect precious. —
, Israel hath not obtained that which he seeketh after, but the
election hath obtained it, and the rest were blinded. Add to
these the passages in which the vyord election occurs. That the
purpose of God according to election might stand. The election
of grace ; the election hath obtained it. But as touching the elec
tion they are beloved. Your election of God. Make your cal
ling and election sure. With these texts before you, can you
think me visionary or enthusiastic, in preaching and defending
the doctrine of election? Is there no such doctrine in the bible, or
12*

180 ELECTION.
have I collected these passages from" Grecian philosophy, or
heathen mythology? I should not obtrude such a long list of
scripture quotations upon you, did I not hope that your candor
would lead you to respect the authority of God, and to revere
and embrace a doctrine, which has long been opposed by the
ignorance, selfishness, and misrepresentations of man. If I have
any misconceptions on this subject, they are the most pardonable
of all the errors of my faith ; for I can give no fair and candid
exposition of these twenty six passages of scripture, in which the
words elect and election occur, unless I admit the doctrine, that
God did from eternity choose a certain portion of mankind to
eternal life, and they will be saved and no more. But it may be
said, I have selected the most exceptionable passages there are
in the bible. My only reply is, if they are worthy to have a
place in the bible, they are worthy to have a place in my creed.
I am not ashamed to believe and defend what God has revealed.
And the man who will have the candor and patience to examine
the scriptures in relation to this subject, I doubt not, will be ful
ly satisfied of the truth of the doctrine of personal election. I
shall not stain my garments, nor hazard my last account to my
judge, and deceive my beloved people, by concealing the truth
of God, and building you up on error. But why should this doc-
trine be represented as hard to be understood, and hard to be be
lieved? No doctrine is more plain ; none more consoling. It
may be asked then, why is it not more generally believed, and
more extensively loved? I answer, for several reasons. Some
blend it with several other doctrines ; and thus render it unintel
ligible. They make no clear distinction between election, de-

ELECTION. 181
crees, and reprobation. Whereas the doctrine of election re
spects only the salvation of those who embrace the Saviour. It
is simply this, God extends mercy to some ofthe human family.
And who can object to this ? He saves whom he pleases, and
does no injustice to others. He makes all men full and fair, and
sincere offers ; and who is to be blamed, if he leaves them to their
own choices? The decrees of God are the rule by which he reg
ulates his own conduct. The doctrine of reprobation is God's
eternal determination to display the glory of his justice, in the
everlasting punishment of the " vessels of wrath fitted to destruc
tion." 2 Pet. 2. 12. But these as rational brute beasts, made to
be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they under
stand not, and shall utterly perish in their own corruption. 2
Thess. 2. 11, 12. And for this cause God shall send them strong
delusion, that they should believe a lie, that they all might be
damned, who believe not the truth, but had pleasure in unright
eousness. Rom. 11.7. What then? Israel hath not obtained
that which he seeketh for ; but the election hath obtained it, and
the rest were blinded. Prov. 16. 4. The Lord hath made all
things for himself; yea, even the wicked for the day ofaevil.
Now you cannot understand the doctrine of election, unless
you consider it by itself, disconnected from other doctrines. It
is, when considered alone, a simple revealed truth ; and not only
a plain, but an animating truth, and it is the only doctrine, which
makes sure the salvation of any of the human family. If men
were left until they choose God, they would never do it. If God
has not chosen them, he never will choose them. He is unchange-
able ; and has no new choices, or purposes.

182 ELECTION.
But this doctrine is often rejected, because it is misrepresent.
ed. As the doctrine of election has never been candidly and
correctly represented by its enemies, there has never been a
fair and candid refutation of it. It has always been misrepre
sented, and then declared to be our belief; when we as much
disbelieve it in the form in which its enemies represent it, as they
themselves. Neither Wesley, nor Clark have stated this doc
trine scripturally, nor as it is expressed in our articles of faith.
Now when this doctrine is thrown into a disfigured and offensive
form, and then set off with false colourings, and sophistical refu
tations, it is not surprising that the unthinking multitude, should
join in the acclamation horrible ! abominable ! damnable heresy !
Crucify him, crucify him! What object, ever so amiable and
lovely, could not be shorn ofits lustre, by the rough hand of un
feeling slander and misrepresentation ? And these are the only
means which can succeed in producing disaffection towards the
doctrine of election. Let this doctrine be stated as it is by its
friends, and let the arguments which they adduce in support of
it, be fairly laid before the public, and those who disbelieve it
would contribute more to its spread, than its friends can do. It
;s not surprising, that mdn should succeed in producing a gen
eral rejection of this doctrine ; for multitudes are prepared and
anxious to embrace every effigy of an argument against it. —
And it is very easy by sophistry or declamation, to make men be
lieve, what they wish to be true, even in the face of irrefutable
reasonings. God is unpalateable to our natural hearts: and
every doctrine which has God in it, and brings into view his
character, or prerogatives, must, for the same reasons be unpleas-

ELECTION. 183
ant. It is a truth which cannot.be concealed, that this world is
not pleased with its Maker. It is supremely selfish ; and every
infringement on its selfishness,, irritates and distresses. Now ev-
ery being who has supreme affection and confidence in God, will
rejoice in the sovereignty of his grace ; and feel more safe and
happy in his hands, than in the hands of any other being.
When the master of the house was reproached for giving the
same wages to him who had worked only one hour, as to him
who had borne the heat and burden of the day, his reply was, is
it not lawful for me to do what I will with my own ? Two shall
be laboring in the field ; one shall be taken and the other left.
Two shall be grinding at the mill ; one shall be taken and the
other left. When the Saviour preached this doctrine to the
Pharisees, by telling them, that the Prophet Elijah was sent to
none but a poor widow in the city of Sarepta, the whole city
were fiilled with wrath. There are evidences enough, that none
of us by nature love this doctrine. The pride ofthe human heart
rejects it. We may understand it, and we may believe it, with
out grace j but without grace we can never love it. To be pleas
ed and delighted with it, is a strong evidence of a new heart. —
Every man who intelligibly and cordially embraces this doc
trine will be saved ; because his espousal of it is proof that he
has given up his selfishness and committed his soul to God. He
who is pleased with God, must be pleased with the methods ofhis
grace ; and he who is pleased with the methods of his grace, and
founds his hope affectionately and entirely on the sovereign mer
cy of God, can never be lost.
We can never assign, and never know the reasons of the di-

184 ELECTION.
vine distribution of the gifts of grace in this world. But if we
are reconciled to the proceedings of God here, we shall unques-
tionably jejoice in the consummation and final display of this
^plan of redemption. Now if I am naturally opposed to the divine
character, and to the plan of salvation by grace, then to become
pleased with God,,and with his sovereign good pleasure, is an
evidence that I am changed. Besides the only contest between
God and his creatures, is, whether God shall be what he is, and
do what he pleases with his own. Proud man wishes some of
the honor of his salvation. He is unwilling to be saved by grace.
Selfish man wishes God always to act with reference to his good;
and is unwilling he should pursue the general good. Now the
heart of man will never come over on the side of God, and coin
cide with him in his views and government, until he is reconciled
and sanctified. The pious man would have no hopes of salvation,
if God should leave mankind till they are disposed to love and
choose him. With our depravity, we choose any thing rather
than God.
The doctrine of election, then, is a consoling doctrine, as it is
the only one which' insures the salvation of any of our race. It
is not a discouraging doctrine, because it does not in the least de-
gree, infringe on the free-agency of man, nor close the door of
mercy on any. It is simply this, that God chooses and saves
sinners at the time, and in the manner he pleases ; and does it
without anyrinjustice to his creatures. It will be said that by
making the cordial reception of this doctrine, a test of christian
character, I exclude from salvation, multitudes who give evi
dence of piety, but who deny this doctrine. I reply, by no

ELECTION 185
means: those pious persons, who through prejudice or indistinct
views of this doctrine reject it, do acknowledge it in substance
and express it in their own language. They speak of God's
thoughts of mercy towards them. But what are God's thoughts
of mercy but his eternal purpose of mercy? They are aston
ished that God should call them into the gospel of his Son, and
leave their neighbors in impenitence- And if they pass by in si
lence, or deem mysterious and'inexplicable those passages which
contain this doctrine, they dare not erase them from the Bible.
And now I will only add that I have no misgivings of heart, or
of conscience, in the discussion of this doctrine, which Lhave now
laid before you. My reasons for introducing so large a quotation
ftom the scriptures, have been to divest my mind and my senti-
ments, of the influence of human opinions, and to let the inspired
writers speak for themselves. Of all the doctrines of grace, this
is the most humbling to man, and the most exalting to God. It
is a most precious and consoling truth to the pious soul. I dare
not doubt; I dare not question it; I dare not reject it. What
God has revealed, we should believe. And most of all, should
we believe in that doctrine which teaches us that the ravages
Ofthe apostacy will not be universal and eternal. Blessed be
God, that he has chosen in his Son, a seed to serve him. Hav
ing fixed his heart on this work, and having purposed it in infinite
wisdom and goodness, the sun shall never, shine on this world,
without shining on those who shall be guided by the Son of righte
ousness unto eternal day. Lord, may we love thy character,
love the methods of thy grace, and love the choices of thy heart.
The inferences from this doctrine are, that saints should be

186 ' SPECIAL CALLING.
humble ; that men are not mere machines ; that opposition to
this doctrine is opposition to the word and will of God, and to
the salvation of man; and that the ministers of Christ have a-
bundant encouragement to preach the gospel, because it will
certainly prove effectual to the salvation of souls.

LECTURE XV.
SPECIAL CALLING.
Rev. 19. 9.
And he saith unto me, write, Blessed are they which are called unto
the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Having proved, in my last lecture, the appointment ofthe peo
ple of God to salvation, I am now to discuss the manner of the
divine proceedings, in fulfilling this appointment .
As the common grace of God, embraces all the favors which
we enjoy previous to a change of heart, and his special grace, the
blessings of salvations; so all the operations ofthe Spirit, which
do not change the heart, are called common influences, or com
mon operations, and those which produce holiness and salvation,
special influences. All we have to do, to ascertain the degree
and character of the operations of the Spirit, on the hearts of
sinners, in conviction and regeneration, is to examine the scrip.
tures and christian experience. If the doctrine of special calling
is a revealed truth, and if there are operations on the heart of

SPECIAL CALLING. 187
man, which produce regeneration, then to be ignorant of these
operations is to be ignorant ofthe evidences of adoption. Every
degree of influence, which exceeds the ordinary operations of
the Spirit, is emphatically special. But I shaU use special in the
sense of saving. Those operations which change the heart, and
result in the salvation ofthe soul, are special. Whether those
convictions which result in regeneration, and those which do not
result in regeneration, are the same, I am not able to determine/
I know not but the eye of Omniscience may see a plain differ.
ence between those convictions which result in conversion, and
those which only agitate the mind, and then subside, leaving no
happy or virtuous impressions. A decision on this question would
not affect the subject under consideration. The temporal bles-
sings we enjoy, the influence of our judgments, consciences, rea
son, education, regard to popular opinion, fear, of punishment, and
the invisible restraints of the Holy Ghost, comprise the common
grace of God. The calls of the natural powers of the mind, of
providence, and of the Holy Spirit, which do not effect a saving
change, are common calls. All men are the subjects of the
common calls of God. Comparatively, few have been the sub-
jects ofhis special calls. I rest my faith in the doctrine of special
calling, on the experience of christians, and scripture testimony.
I place before you a christian, and ask for a narration ofthe di
vine proceedings in the conviction and conversion of this sinner.
He was first alarmed ; and alarmed, perhaps, by the same means
which had a thousand times been ineffectual. Now if reasonings,
' or powerful appeals to the passions, or a clear exhibition of truth,
has produced this effect, why did it not produce the same effect

188 SPECIAL CALLING*
before, when the sinner was less hardened, and thesame, or more
promising means, were employed ? What has effected this dis
tress at this time, and in this manner? This moral revolution
cannot be accounted for on the ground of moral suasion and hu
man eloquence. It was, then, produced by the influence of the
Spirit, and the effect was in exact proportion to the degree of
influence. That the passions may be excited, and momentary
alarm be produced, by heated appeals to the conscience and to
the heart, is unquestionable. But they do not produce a lasting
'effect, without divine influence.
' But here is a sinner convicted in a time of general stupidity,
and without any extraordinary means ; or a great number are
convicted at the same time, unexpected even by the pious. And
why this excitement, this general alarm ? What was it that con
verted Paul, engaged in the work of persecution; the thief on
the cross, railing on Christ, and several thousands on the day of
pentecost ? Whatever the means may have been, we must go
beyond human efforts, to" reach the cause of their distress and
change. There was an unusual degree of the Spirit accompanying the
means of grace. Thus the converted sinner reasons. Some-
thing has presented truth to the mind in a new light. I never
felt before as I now feel. These are strange, these are unac
countable emotions of heart. And though his conscience and
reason admit the claims of God, and consent to the justice ofhis
condemnation, yet the heart does not relish them. It opposes
and resists those truths which give him so much pain. Sinners
sometimes scarcely know the cause of their distress. It is all a

SPECIAL CALLING. 189
strange work to them. And sometimes they take measures to
efface those impressions, and to rid themselves of those distress
ing sensations : and the very means they employ deepen their
convictions, and increase their alarms. And those very means
which naturally tend to banish seriousness from them, only for
ward the work of self-condemnation and remorse. Now from
what can this arise, but from a spirit operating within, and press
ing truth on the heart. There is no more efficacy in means than
what is imparted to them by the Holy Ghost. Where the preach
ing of the apostles was efficacious, they say it was attended with
the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven. .1 will not say, the sin
ner has never felt this distress before, but if he has felt it, it was
the effect ofthe Spirit of God. You will find in every step of his
increasing agonies, when he is condemning his prayers, his re
pentance, and all his doings, and when a -sense of his helpless
ness and misery rises higher and higher, until the period arrives
that the enmity ofthe heart is subdued, and the love of God is
shed abroad in the soul, then we witness tbe display of special
influence. The act of converting the soul, is an act which the
sinner never before experienced; it is therefore, uncommon, un
usual, or special. It is a call which he never before had. A
call so powerful and efficient, as to bring him from nature's dark-
ness into God's marvelous light. No other call has resulted in
conversion. This is effectual, and is an act of the divine Spirit.
And what rational convert to Christ has hesitated to ascribe this
work to the Spirit of God ? Even the christian who denies a spe
cial call, recoils at the thought of taking the honor of his salva-
tion to himself. He does not deny the grace of God, and the

190 SPECIAL CALLING.
sanctifying influences ofthe Holy Ghost. It isspecial influence,
'because he never felt it in such a degree before ; and because it
differs from those influences of which the unregenerate are the
subjects. Who maketh thee to differ ? Who is the author of thy
conversion ? Thou hast nothing but what thou hast received. —
Why dost thou glory as though thou hast not received it ? It
is true that the penitent differ from the impenitent, because they
have accepted Christ and exercised faith in his name. Why did
they embrace the Saviour ? If they were more inclined to em
brace him than others, what inclined them ? Was it because
they were by nature better than others, or was it because the
Spirit operated more powerfully on them than on others? By
penitent sinner, I mean a christian, or one who exercises godly
sorrow for sin. By impenitent sinner, I mean an unregenerate
sinner, whether careless or convicted. This difference in moral
character, must be traced to the different operations of the Spir
it. And after all the cries of partiality, which may proceed from
ten thousand lips, I appeal to christian experience for the truth of
the doctrine of special calling. I ask what is meant by partiali
ty? Partiality is injustice. If God does any injustice to his
creatures, he is partial. He certainly does no injustice to the.
saints ; and he does no injustice to sinners, if he punishes them
no more than they deserve. Partiality does not consist in treat.
ing persons differently. If it did, all the difference we see in the
characters, persons, situations and possessions of different men,
would prove God to be partial. But partiality consists in treat.
ing men differently without good reason. If it can be made to
appear that God has no good reason for treating one man better

» SPECIAL CALLING. 191
than another, then it may be shown, that God is partial. But
this can never be done.
The doctrine for which I am contending, is founded in christian
experience. Those who have wrought "themselves into religion,
and by amendment of life and religious services, think they have
gained a title to heaven, have only a false title, and a false hope.
Christians are made by the Holy Ghost. This divine agent
disarms the heart of its opposition, and overcomes, by an omnip
otent energy, the resisting and unholy dispositions of the soul. —
If the heart is totally depraved, and its depravity consists in dis
inclination, or enmity to God, regeneration can never be effected
without an irresistable and overpowering influence. This influ.
ence is extended to some of the human family, and is special. —
But we will turn from christian experience to higher authority,
and examine a few passages of scripture ori this point. And first
we will examine the text.
Blessed are they which are called unto the marriage supper
of the Lamb. Now blessed, and blessedness in the scripture
sense, is divine and holy enjoyment, spiritual and saving happi-
ness, which are peculiar to holy beings. That man cannot be
blessed and happy who only abuses the blessings of the gospel to
greater hardness and imperiiterice. In him it will be a savor of
death unto death. But all who are said to be called in the text,
are said to be blessed. The call and the blessedness are inseper.
ably connected. It can mean, then, nothing less than a call of
such a nature, as to change the heart. A call so loud, so impe
rious, and irresistible, as to seperate the soul from sin, and to
bring it to the marriage supper of the Lamb, to eat and never

192 SPECIAL CALLING. '
die. Romans 8. 29, 30. For whom he did foreknow, he also
did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that
he might be the first born among many brethren. Moreover
whom he did predestinate, them he also called ; and whom he
called, them he also justified ; and whom he justified, them he
also glorified. In this text all who are said to be called, are
said to be justified and glorified, which must embrace their sal
vation. But multitudes who enjoy the common calls of God,
are never justified, nor glorified : it follows therefore, that the
call spoken of in this passage, is not a common call, but a special
call. 1 Cor. 1. 26. For ye see your calling brethren, how
that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not
many noble, are called. This is an irrefutable passage in sup
port of special calling; for how could the Apostle say, not many
wise, mighty, and noble, were called, if he meant common calls ?
For the whole world enjoyed ,the common calls ofthe gospel. —
But he speaks of those who were the subjects of a certain kind
of call which did not extend to the wise, mighty, and noble of
the earth. What could this have been less than a call which
brought them into the gospel of Christ? Eph. 1. 18. The
eyes of your understanding being enlightened ; that ye may
know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the
glory of his inheritance in the saints. Here is a calling, a hope
of God's calling, or a hope founded on the call of God. Have all
men this hope? If not, then they have not this calling. Eph- 4.
4. There is one body and one spirit ; even as ye are called in
one hope of your calling. All the pious are called into the same
hope of immortal blessedness. But are all called to the hope of

SPECIAL CALLING. 193
immortal blessedness? If not, then all have not this calling.
Heb. 3. 1. Wherefore holy bretheen, partakers of the heavenly
calling, consider the Apostle and high Priest of your profession,
Christ Jesus. Here they are called holy brethren, because they
are partakers of. the heavenly calling. To be a partaker of this
calling, then, constitutes diseipleship, the adoption of sons, by Je
sus Christ unto himself. If I understand the passage, it is a call •
ing which puts them in possession of heavenly enjoyments. If if
meant common calls, then it would prove, that all men are fit for
heaven. I therefore the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you, that ye
walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called. Vocation
means calling ; the calling wherewith ye are called. Could this
which was applied to the Ephesian church, mean a common in
vitation ofthe gospel? If so, it might just as well have been ad
dressed to millions of impenitent sinners. It must have referred
to those powerful influences of the Spirit, which renovated them,
and led them to listen to the voice of God, and cheerfully and
heartily to obey him. It was a call which Qualified and requir
ed them to live holy lives. 2 Tim. 1. 9. Who hath saved us
and called us with a holy calling. The call here spoken of is
holy not merely because it is a call of God, but because it is a
call which produces holiness, and is inseperably connected with
salvation. If all the calls of God were alike, then all would pro.
duce holiness ; but all his calls do not produce holiness in those
who are called, it follows therefore, that that call which produces
holiness, is special, while that which does not produce holiness is
com mon.

194 SPECIAL CALLING.
It is remarkable, that none of these forms of calling, which I
have enumerated, are applied to the impenitent. They must in
clude the saving, or special operations of the Spirit. No soul to
whom this special, and regenerating call has been extended, will
ever perish. It is a high calling, a holy calling, and a heavenly
calling. The call is irresistible. I do not mean by this, that it
cannot be resisted, but that it cannot be effectually resisted. If
the heart is depraved, it will resist as long as it can. And the
Spirit must bind the strong man armed, and spoil his goods. The
influences of the Spirit, must be superior to the opposition ofthe
heart, before the sinner wilFsubmit. To say the heart will choose
God and make a cheerful surrender into his hands before it is
changed, is to deny the depravity of the heart. If the heart is
depraved, it is averse to holiness; and will maintain its aversion
until it is obliged to surrender. And if the heart could resist
and effectually banish the Spirit of God, there would never be a
sinner converted. But when I say the sinner is compelled, for
ced, or obliged to come to the marriage supper ofthe Lamb, be
cause he is specially called, I do not mean, he is carried like a
block of marble and placed in the spiritual building, but carried
as a free, moral agent, by the divine and irresistible influence of
the Holy Ghost. I have no authority to say that the Spirit ei
ther suspends or counteracts the laws of moral agency, or infrin
ges on the freedom ofthe will, in regeneration. We act and are
acted upon at the same time, and are free and voluntary though
under the control of the Holy Ghost. And however humbling
this may be to the pride of man, as it submits to God the question
of his salvation, we may, and ought to rejoice, that with God is

SPECIAL CALLING. 195
the residue ofthe spirit ; and that he has power as' well as dispo
sition to conquer the hearts of rebels and bring them home to
himself. We have reason to adore the Deity ofthe Holy Ghost ;
for divested of his supreme divinity, he would be inadequate to
subdue and renovate the heart of man, and sanctify it for
heaven. 1. This subjeet cautions us against presumption. Because God
can render the operations of the spirit effectual, and in many inT
etances, does give them a saving energy, it does not prove that he
will be thus merciful to all. Many have been abandoned to hard-
ness of heart, for resisting the holy Ghost. "
2. This subject shows us the importance of praying for the spe
cial influences ofthe Spirit. These alone can prepare the saint for
heaven. The sanctification of the saints, is a continued, though
not uninterrupted repetition ofthe special operations ofthe spirit.
It is further evident that christians should pray for the special in
fluences ofthe Spirit, because, without these influences, no impen
itent sinner will be converted; the churches of Christ would
languish, and the visible kingdom of Christ would1 be annihi.
lated.

LECTURE XVI.
REGENERATION. John 3. 8.
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound there.
of, but canst not tell whence it cometh, nor whither it goeth, so is
every one that isbom of the Spirit,
That a change of heart is necessary, is proveable from the
doctrine of depravity, the universal corruption of mankind, and
the ungodliness which has overspread the earth. None but the
self-deceived, can avoid collecting evidence of the necessity of
regeneratiop, from the emotions of their own hearts. And if a
moral change is essential to salvation, the point to be investiga
ted is, the character of this change. I have before defined mor
al to be the exercises of the heart, in view of right and wrong.
By examining the nature and effects of this change, we may have
scriptural Views on the subject, and make a profitable application
of it to our own cases. It is important for us to know whether
this regeneration consists in baptism and ceremonial cleanness, or
in an amendment ofthe dispositions ofthe heart, and of the con
duct, or whether it is a mere reparation of character and a gradu
al, moral revolution, or whether it is an abolition of enmity, and
the existence of holiness, or holy exercise. That it is a change
of some character, all admit. But in relation to the nature and
extent, the means and circumstances of this change, there is a
diversity of opinion. And though the superficial theologist may
think this subject plain, and divested of all difficulty and conceal-
ment, yet I apprehend it is among the most intricate points of

regeneration. 197
theology. I shall use the term regeneration according to the
common acceptation, in the sense of change of heart, new birth,
being born again. Regeneration is the first holy affection ofthe
heart. The words Regeneration, new birth, and conversion, are
often used, I fear, by those who are strangers to this work, and
used in a sense, which is supported neither hy scripture views,
nor by lexicographers. The state of feeling which usually pre-
cedes regeneration, is in some respects peculiar. It is a state of
extreme depression and anxiety, of-alarm and distress. And
these fears and agonies are not experienced in recollection of
merely a few enormous sins, but in view ofthe total sinfulness of
#
the heart. The convicted sinner views himself as justly exposed
to the penally ofthe law and ofthe gospel. Of all the numerous
affections, or actions ofhis past life, not one will bear the test.
He prays, and labors, but condemns his doings, and finds no
peace. Sin, like an incurable disease increases in his view, and
overwhelms him. As the Spirit enlightens his mind more and
more into the nature and extent ofthe divine requisitions, and
into the nature and extent ofhis sinfulness, all his doings afford
him no relief, and no consolation. He is like a' man exerting him
self to get out of the miry clay. The greater his exertions are,
the deeper he sinks in the mire. When the sinner is in this con-
dition, the Saviour appears for his liberation, and adopts him into
his family. Through the invisible operations of the Spirit, he is
regenerated and sanctified. And it may be observed concerning
this change,
1. That it is a change of the heart. . An unregenerate man
may be correct in his sentiments and views of religious doctrines

198 REGENERATION.
and duties, though the influence of a man's affections over the
powers ofthe mind, is generally very extensive.
There is no moral pollution In the natural powers of the mind ;
such as reason, perception, memory, and conscience. They are
often misguided by the sinful heart ; and they are just as obedi
ent to a holy as to a sinful heart. There is no inherent native
depravity in them ; and by consequence, they need no change.
The heart is the seat of moral disease ; and in it, the change
must take place. My son, give me thine heart. It should be
borne in mind, that the heart, and the mind, are different faculties
in man ; and that there is a plain distinction between* the mind,
or mental powers, and the heart, or moral powers. Though the
faith and external conduct be correct, this is not sufficient, tliere
must be a transfer ofthe affections from the creature to the Cre
ator. This change consists in a removal ofthe enmity and sel
fishness of the heart, and in the exercise of supreme love to God,
and impartial love to man. Though the process of this change,
is invisible and indescribable, yet the author and the means by
which it is promoted, its nature, and its effects, are plain matters
of fact and revelation.
No man can show me the treasuries ofthe wind, nor the parti
cles which compose it ; yet when I see it prostrate the towering
trees of the forest, shake the solid dome, and spread desolation
through the fertile plain, it would require madness to disbelieve.
But my knowledge of wind is limited by its effects. So my
knowledge of regeneration is known only by its effects. I see not
the agent himself. I see the man who has been corrupt in life,
corrupt in faith, the enemy of religion, and of religious institutions,

REGENERATION. 199
suddenly changed into a meek, and lovely, a devout and obedient
follower of the Lamb; and he declares, the scriptures declare,
and all ranks of the redeemed declare, that these are the effects
of a change of heart. And on examination, I find that no other.
reasons can be assigned adequate to produce such a renovation of
character. Reason and philosophy, and moral suasion, have ev
er been incompetent to pr oduce so great and desirable a reforma.
tion. The change which has taken place in the heart, cannot be
accounted for, without admitting that it has partaken of a new,
and divine nature. , This change, then, must have been wrought
in the affections of the heart.
2. I observe concerning this change, that it is instantaneous.
The fruits of it may be gradual, and in all cases are so ; and the
evidences of this change to its subjects, and to others, may be
perceived at the time the change takes place, or at some subse
quent period. There is a difference in the evidences of a change,
and the change itself. The circumstances of regeneration, differ.
The work ori the soul, in some cases, is small and imperceptible ;
and in other cases, it is clear and satisfactory. But the first b.0'
ly exercise of the heart, is regeneration. One moment the
man is a sinner, the next moment he is a saint. One moment he
is an enemy to God, the next moment he is a friend. Now this
sentiment is proveable from matter of fact, and christian experi.
ence. It is evident, that the thief on the cross, from being a bit
ter enemy, instantaneously became a warm friend, The senti-
ment of instantaneous regeneration, may be proved even by the
experience of those christians, who assume to doubt it. How oft-
en do men go into their chambers, their closets, and social meet*

200 REGENERATION.
ings, distressed and desponding, and return rejoicing in hope. —
And it is vain here to talk of a difference between conversion and
regeneration, where we are only inquiring for simple facts. But
we have testimony respecting the instantaneousness of this change
which is subject to none ofthe objections which lie against human
opinions, and human assertions. If the heart by nature is totally
sinful, and if it has not a single holy exercise, then there must be
a first exercise of love, and that exercise must be instantaneous.
Whether the subject of it, perceived the first emotion of love, does
not alter the case. This moment he is totally destitute of love, the
next moment he is in possession of it. If this change consisted in
the improvement ofthe natural dispositions, or in a certain^sleva-
tion, or refinement of qualities then existing in the heart, the
work might be gradual'; but it is not so represented in scripturei
nor is it so in fact. There is not a particle of holiness in the
heart before a change is wrought. The present exercise is a
perfectly sinful One, the next exercise is a perfectly holy one ;
this latter exercise is regeneration. The exercises of the heart
are as quickas thought. This not only accords with reason, but
with cases on divine record. How long was Paul, and the con-
verts On the day of penticost, and the thief on the cross, in experi
encing religion? What period intervened between the calls of
Christ to the sons of Zebedee, Matthew, and the other Apostles
and their obedience to those calls ? Were they reasoned into re
ligion, or were they prepared by a course of religious education to
receive and obey the call of Christ, or were their hearts instanta
neously changed? The continent was soon overspread with the
disciples of Christ. Regeneration, then, was not a long and te-

REGENERATION. 201
dious process, produced by speculative knowledge, and the obser-'
vance of ordinances, or by a gradual, and external reformation,
but it was an instantaneous moral change which renewed the
heart. I observe concerning this change,
3. That it is a holy change. It is not only holy in its origin,
but holy in its nature. It is not conversion which consists only
in external reformation. Not conversion -which consists merely
in a change of sentiments. But a conversion which consists in
the renovation of the heart and life, or a turning from the power
of sin and Satan unto God. Holiness is .the love of God shed
abroad in the heart, and is always attended with an abhorrence
of sin, whether that sin exists in the breast of the sinner, or of the
saint. Whatever revolutions take place in the heart of man, if
they are not holy, they are not regeneration. No excitement of
passion, or attachment to a party, or zeal, or confidence, or pro
fession, is pure religion. Pure and undefiled religion, consists in
the love of complacency in God, angels and saints, and the love of
compassion for every son and daughter of wretchedness. A love
which is not circumscribed by self-interest, a love, pure, and des-
titute of selfishness. It js holy: and all its attachments are reg
ulated by moral excellence, and all its disrelishes by moral impu
rity. It loves what God loves, and hates what he hates. This is
the disposition which gives a relish for divine truth, a holy delight
in those excellent doctrines of the bible which are so unpalateable
to the natural heart. This isrthe disposition which desires to obey
the divine commands, and to adorn with moral beauties the path
of life. The holiness of this change, is conspicuous in the frames
of mind it regulates, in the renovation of character it produces,

202 REGENERATION.
and in the benevolent efforts it creates for the salvation of
others. 4. This change is special. A change of heart is not like the
growth ofthe mental and bodily faculties, which reach their per
fection by the gradual developement of natural and constitutional
tendencies. Regeneration is not necessarily x;onnected with the
use of visible means, and cannot be produced by any human efforts
unaided by the Holy Spirit. It is a work beyond the power of
man ; and interferes with all his selfish desires, and selfish plans.
This change is effected by, the influences of the Spirit, exerted in
an unusual degree. If the influences which produce this change,
are not essentially different from all others in kind, they are in de-"
gree. And if regenerating influences are special, then that work
which is the effect of them must be so.
There is nothing in the known powers and principles of the
human mind, nothing in the means of grace, nothing in the com-
mon operations ofthe Spirit, and nothing in all the institutions of
the gospel, which can produce this change. We look to him who
has power to control the passions ofthe heart, and to form them
by special grace for special honor, to begin and complete the
work of sanctification on the soul.
5. This change is effected by the influences of the Spirit,
without destroying the free agency ofthe creature. I am not a-
ware; that there is any thing unphilosophical or visionary in the
sentiment that the sinner is active in regeneration, and that the
irresistible and regenerating influences of the Spirit are incompat
ible with the highest degree of freedom, and voluntary power. —
In regeneration, the Holy Spirit causes the sinner to choose God.

REGENERATION. 203
In choosing God, the sinner is free and active. It appears then
that the sinner is just as free and active in regeneration, as he is
in the commission of sin. If the christian is free and active in
the exercise of holy affections, he must have been free and act
ive in regeneration ; for what is regeneration, but the first holy
exercise ? It is just as easy to see that a person may be free and
active in the first holy exercise, as it is to see that he may be free
and active in any subsequent holy exercise. The, influences of
the Spirit therefore, in changing the heart, do not at all infringe
on the free agency of man. This appears to be perfectly anala-
gous with all the views we embrace of moral, influence over the
human family. The influence which parents exercise over chil.
dren, and children over parerits, is often productive of astonishing
changes, without any infringement on their free agency. How
does tbe general inspire his soldiery with patriotic zeal? And
how does the politician arouse the energies ofthe nation to guard
and defend their rights, if there is no such thing as persuasion. — ¦
And vvho ever thought of commanding the affections and suffra
ges of a free people by coercive measures?! Our families and
friends, and communities, are not governed by compulsion. The
power ofthe parent, ofthe master, orator, and of the statesman,
employed in persuasion, is not physical, but mental and moral. —
They employ argumentative, and persuasive reasoning. And is
there any thing inconceivable in God's governing his creatures,
with an invariable regard to their free agency ? To suppose that
he annihilates the voluntary powers of the mind or the heart, in
regeneration is a totally gratuitious and unnecessary supposition,
which has no support from the experience of christians, nor from

204 REGENERATION.
the testimony of scripture, nor fronf reason, nor from the charac
ter of divine operations.
The scriptures command men to make them new hearts, which -
is perfectly reasonable, if they are free and active in regenera-'
tion. The sinner in conviction and conversion, passes a volunta-
ry decision on his own volitions and actions ; and condemns, or
justifies his exercise as though totally regardless of him who is
operating in his heart. While he is under conviction, he volun
tarily laments his guilt, and mourns with anguish; and when
changed, he rejoices iri the choice he has made of Christ, and vol.
untarily commits himself to his God and Saviour ; nor is he sen
sible of an involuntary moment. If the conversion of sinners
were invariably attended with a trance, or a suspension, or a coun
teraction ofthe laws of moral agency, there might besomeground
to question the correctness of this theory. But the fact, that
God regards and treats his creatures through the whole work of
salvation, as possessed of unimpaired voluntary powers, and that
they thus regard themselves, goes far in support of the sentiment,
that we are active in regeneration.
I would not insinuate that any human influence bears a perfect
analogy to the divine operations. But so far as human influence
is analagous to divine influence, it supports the sentiment that
man is free and active in regeneration. The most distressing
load with which the mind ofthe sinner is afflicted, is produced by
the pressing demands ofthe Holy Ghost, to surrender himself in.
to the hands ofthe Saviour.
This surrender is the act ofthe sinner. The love, faith, and
joy, wliich he exercises are the infant graces of the new born

REGENERATION. 205
soul. To say that the Holy Ghost repents, and trust in Christ,
and rejoices in hope, would annihilate the subject of salvation, and
imply sinfulness, and dependence in the third person in the trinity.
Man, then, at all times, and under every degree of divine influ-
ence, is free. God regards him as free ; he regards himself as
free: and what right have we to^ differ from their decisions? —
Point me to a moment in your lives when you were involuntary.
Show me an operation of the Spirit which was regardless of the
agency of man, and it will either prove a miracle, or that man
may be passive in regeneration. Until such an example can be
produced, I shall regard myself and others as free and accounta-
ble, as praise or blameworthy for every act we do.
6. Previous to regeneration the sinner puts forth no exercises
of heart nor does he perform any works which entitle him to a
change of heart. God is not bound on account of any thing the
sinner does either by merit or by promise to change his heart. —
Reason, experience and scripture say the work is entirely unmer-
ited. Salvation is conditional ; but regeneration is not, i. e. God
has promised to save every sanctified soul ; every sonl which
evinces the character given; but he promises to no sinner a
change of heart. Regeneration is unconditional. That it is a
change of the heart; a change in- fhe moral affections; it is
an instantaneous change ; a holy change ; a special change ; it
is effected by the influences ofthe Spirit without destroying the
free agency ofthe creature.
1. 1 infer from this subject the propriety of urging sinners to
make themselves new hearts. Regeneration consists in trans
ferring the affections from ourselves to God, in choosing and pre-

206 REGENERATION
ferring holy objects to sinful ones. Now this work is an act ofthe
creature, as well as ofthe Holy Ghost. Every man has natur.
al power to become a christian, and his moral inability is nothing
but disinclination, and voluntary aversion. This is condemned
by the word of God, and by his own conscience. Now if men
are able to become christians, smd there is no obstacle but indispo.
sition, they ought to become christians ; and they are guilty and
self-condemned for their impenitence. Every moment of disqui-
etud» which the sinner undergoes, is a proof that he ought to give
his heart to God, and accept the offers of mercy. To say the
sinner can do nothing, is false; because thousands of sinners have
accepted Christ, and thousands of others will do it. None who
have used the proper means in a proper spirit, have ever failed.
And while I exhort every man to make himself a new heart, I
would cautiously guard him against those frames of mind, and
those efforts which are unaccompanied by the Holy Ghost. —
When God commands us to make ourselves new hearts, he means
"holy and spiritual hearts. He never gives us liberty to build on
formal, hypocritical, or false hopes. If the work is only perform
ed in the heart, there is no danger. You may change your
minds, and your external deportment, and yet the affections may
be unchanged. The first, prayer ofthe sinnershould be a petition
for the special influences ofthe Holy Spirit.
2. I infer that the inattention of the sinner to the interests of
religion, is inexcusable. If he has natural power to make him
self a new heart, if while he is impenitent, his conscienee loads
him with reproach and remorse, if the commands of God imperi
ously urge the performance of this work, and if the worth of the

REGENERATION. 207
soul is incomparably valuable, and the joys of heaven incompar.
ably great, where is the palliation for a neglect so criminal and
calamitous? He who neglects his friends, is unkind; he who
neglects his family is unnatural ; and he who neglects himself, is
cruel; but he who neglects the purity of the heart, is like the
man who wastes his estate and his health in sporting with the
wind, or the visions of revery.
3. Iinfer the greatness ofour obligations of gratitude to God
for bringing salvation within the sphere > of our attainments. —
Had God made no atonement for man, he would have been just.
And after he made an atonement, and invited sinners to come
and accept it, he would have been just not to send his Spirit to in.
cline them to accept the offered provision. But ofhis gratui-
tous and boundless goodness, he has furnished us with every need
ed help, and every desirable facility to prepare us for eternal
¦blessedness. Anddie that is athirst may come, and let him that
heareth say come.; and whosoever will, may come and take the
waters of life freely. Millions of souls have experienced this
change. And were it not for the enmity of the heart, the volun
tary disinclination of man, the whole world would rush to the arms
of Christ, and be saved. Happy is he who hath a part in the first
resurrection, who, previously to dearth experiences this change;
for on him the second death hath, no power.

LECTURE XVII.
CHRISTIAN GRACES.
Matt. 12. 35.
A good man out of the good treasure of the heart, bringeth forth good
things. Having discussed the work of regeneration, it is necessary in
this part of the system, to examine the character ofthe saints.
There are certain graces which constitute christian character ;
and without these graces no one can be a christian. The sum of
the divine requisitions is embraced in the word duty. All God
requires of us, is, to do our duty ; that is to do what we ought to
do. This duty comprises all the exercises of the heart, and all
the external conduct ofthe life. The christian graces are simply
those tempers and dispositions which the gospel imparts. These
graces are the fruits of regeneration; and they are the progres
sive steps by which the soul is prepared for eternal happiness. —
Those exercises ofthe heart which we call christian graces, mutt
neeessarily commence at regeneration. They cannot exist in the
heart before regeneration ; for no one can exercise the disposition
of a christian, before he is a christian. Nor can I conceive any
difficulty in ascertaining the order of these exercises. If the love
of Godis imparted to the soul as the first pure and holy disposi
tion, and if the exercise of that love is essential to its existence,
then the first emotion ofthe new-born soul is love. Though the
convert to Christ exercises love to God first, yet he may not be
so sensible of loving God first, as he is of loving the moral image

Christian graces'. 209
ttf God in christians. But it is not essential whether'h'e be sensu
ble of loving God first, or of loving holy men or holy angels first*
The same disposition which takes complacency in God, will take
delight in all holy beings. This love to holiness is the first exeu
cise of the renewed heart. It would seem most natural for this
exercise of love, to bring God into view as the first object of de
light ; because it came from God and tends to him. In the order
ofthe christian graces, therefore, love must be first.
2. The next exercise of the renewed soul, is repentance. It
may appear strange to some that repentance is ranked among the
christian graces. They may have accustomed themselves to
think that repentance ,is not only the first of the christian graces,
but that it is prior to regeneration.- Thera is- indeed a kind of re*
pentance, called in the bible, the sorrow ofthe world which work
eth death, to which all impenitent sinners, from the externally
upright, intelligent and.candid, to the sceptic, the infidel, and the
atheist are subject. Natural repentance is that sorrow which
careless sinners sometimes feel, when condemned by natural con.
science. Legal repentance -is that sorrow for sin which the
convicted sinner feels when he is enlightened by the Holy Spirit
to see that he is exposed to the punishment which- is justly due
to every transgressor ofthe divine law.
There is a conscience in man which attributes his sufferings to
his follies, and leads hinrto regret the consequences of sin, though'
he loves its nature. And this law ofhis moral nature, is more
clearly revealed in- the decalogue. And whenever the divine
law is applied to the heart and conduct of man by his reason, and
conscience,' or by the Holy Ghost, it inflicts present distress, and1
$4>

U10 christian graces.
forebodings of future misery. , He shrinks from the consequences
of sin, and mourns, not on account of its unpalatable nature, but
for its bitter effects. He is sorry that he is a sinner merely be
cause he must endure the penalty of transgression. The repen
tance which arises from fear of punishment, is called legal repen
tance, or the sorrow of the world which worketh death. But
this repentance never destroys the love of sin'; and has not a sin-
gle particle of holy,, or virtuous feeling in it. The incorrigible
sinner oo earth, and the miserable in hell,vexercise such repent
ance, without any happy effects on their characters or their pros-
pects. But evangelical, or gospel repentance, is an exercise very
different in its nature, and very different in its effects. Gospel
repentance is that abhorrence of sin which arises from a disrelish
ofits nature. It is called gospel repentance because it is required
by the gospel. This repentance which God requires, and which
is a christian grace, is a holy and saving exercise. Godly sor.
row worketh repentance to salvation not to beVepented of. The
repentance here spoken of, is connected with salvation. This,
like natural and legal repentance, is sorrow for sin, but for very
different reasons, The one is a sorrow for sin because it is de
testable in its own nature ; the other is sorrow for sin because it
exposes to punishment. The soul of the true penitent having
been made like God, exercises the same kind of feelings towards
sin, that God exercises towards it. Sin is abhorred by the pious
man on account of its intrinsic evil. He cannot relish it because
it is repugnant and unpalatable to his heart. He would hate it
even if there was no punishment for transgression, if it were at
tended with no calamitous consequences. Holy, disinterested,

CHRISTIAN GRACES. 211
gospel repentance is the only repentance which God requires, and
¦with which he is well pleased. It is the feeling of a holy heart
towards sin. If this repentance is a holy exercise, it could not
have existed in the heart before regeneration, because there was
no holiness antecedently to this change of heart. This repent
ance seperates the soul from sill; produces tranquility of mind,
and assurance of pardon, and acceptance with God, and a lively
hope of future blessedness ; whereas legal repentance never ar
rests a step of the sinners progress in iniquity. Besides, the lit
eral import of repentance is to turn away from sin, and to for
sake it. And who turn from sin and forsake it, but those who
detest its nature? The highest state of anguish in those who are
under legal and natural repentance, would subside in a moment,
¦if the punishment due to sin, were removed. The christian would
loathe, abhor, and forsake sin, if there were no punishment to be
inflicted on transgressors. It is repulsive to the state of his affec
tions. When he is brought to love God, he enters into the views
and feelings, and interests ofhis Saviour. He sees sin arrayed
against the kingdom ofhis master, the glory ofhis Father, and
the happiness ofhis creatures; and he finds that every sinful
emotion of heart, impairs his peace, and fills his mind with dis.
quietude. He therefore repents of sin as criminal and unpalatea-
ble, opposed -to the character and glory of God, and to the holi
ness and happiness of man. This is the repentance which God
requires, and which results in the salvation of the soul. It is a
repentance peculiar to christians. God requires ofhis creatures
no exercises but -holy ones ; and he plainly teaches us in tbe hi,
hie, that repentance is a condition of salvation. I have before
14*

212 CHRISTIAN GRACES*
a
shown that regeneration is unconditional. That is, as all the vo»
litions, emotions, exercises, and doings ofthe unregenerate, are
sinful, and as there are no promises of reward made to unholy af.
fections, or actions ; therefore, there is no work which they per.
form, by virtue of which they are regenerated. Christians are
horn not of blood, nor ofthe \yill ofthe flesh, nor ofthe will of
man, but of God. Ofhis own will begat he us with-the word of
truth. But though regeneration is unconditional, salvation is con
ditional. God has promised eternal life to every one who exer
cises love to God, repentance of sin, and faith in the Lord Jesu s
Christ. And as sure, as you exercise these christian graces, se
sure has he pledged himself to save you. I am aware that there
may be a query here suggested, whether there isany such thing
as order in the christian graces. It may be said, after this moral
change, the order ofhis exercises, will be regulated by the order
in which objects are presented tohis-mind. If sin is the first ob
ject, presented to his mind, the first exercise will be repentance^
if sinners, love of, eompassion ; if God-, or holy beings, love of
complacency ; and if the Saviour be the fkst object presented to
the mind after regeneration, the first exercise will be faith and
gratitude. But the most natural and scriptural order ofthe chris
tian graces, is love, repentance, and faith. We must love a be
ing before we can be sorry for having offended him. And we
must repent of sin, and condemn it iu ourselves, before we can
cordially trust in Christ as a Saviour from sin, and approve of his
condemning it in the flesh. Christ taught that repentance is before
faith. He says, repent ye, and believe the gospel. And Paul prea-
ched. repentance toward God, & faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.

CHRISTIAN GRACES. 213
3. The next christian grace, is faith. Enlightened specula
tive faith, which is an exercise ofthe understanding, and which
precedes regeneration, is a belief in all the testimony of God. —
Saving faith is a cordial assent to the truth of the gospel. It is a
state of the. affections. It is an exercise of the undestanding and
the heart. The mediatorial character of Christ and his expiatory, '
sacrifice, are so inseperably connected with man's salvation, that
we can hardly conceive of a christian who is ignorant of Christ.
As soon as the sinner sees the fitness of Christ to become his sal
vation, and as soon as he beholds his, loveliness, he commits his
cause to him, and throws himself into his arms. This surrendry
is never made until the heart loves Christ, — and the heart never
does love him until it is changed. Every degree of faith which
is exercised before conversion, is merely speculation. Saving
faith, that is a faith which is connected with salvation, is said to
work by love and purify the heart. If it works by love, it must
be inseperably connected with love, and subsequent to it. This-
faith is the instrument by which the sinner embraces the Saviour,
as the Lord his Righteousness. The subject of genuine evangeU
ical faith, cordially and affectionately embraces all that is known
of God. But as there is no other medium of access to the Father,
and as there is no -other method of salvation, but through Christ,
as soon therefore, as the sinner is brought into the favor of God,
and opens his eyes on the new world, Christ appears the chief
among ten thousand, and the one altogether lovely. There is no
state ofthe mind, before conversion which bears any striking re
semblance to this. His faith operating by love, delights to rest
on Christ. This faith is the substance of things hoped for. As

214' CHRISTIAN GRACES.
the cluster brought from Canaan, was to the Israelites a foretaste
of the riches which they were afterwards to inherit, so this faith
is to christians- a foretaste of that blessedness which they are
hereafter to enjoy in heaven. It is the evidence of things not-
seen. That is1, the believer's frequent experience of the fulfil— -
ment ofthe divine promise, and his implicit confidence in the faith--
fulness of Christ, is satisfactory evidence, that God will put him-
in actual possession of the unseen blessedness of heaven. The
pious, believing heart, has known so much of God, and so highly
appreciated his excellencies, as to value the promises equal to-
the possession. As an individual holding an obligation against
an honest responsible man, values the obligation as highly as the
actual possession ofthe sum specified, so the believer esteems the
promise of future blessedness, made by the immutable God, as an
assurance of that blessedness. Such faith cannot exist in a heart
in which thelove of God does not exist.
All the other christian graces are founded on the same holi
ness of heart, and assimilation to Christ* Devotion is the per
formance of all known duties from love toGod. Prayer is an ar-
dent holy desire that God would bestow on us, and on all others
in state of probation, every desirable blessing. Humility is a just
estimation of ourselves. It is not attributing to ourselves virtues
which we do not possess, nor is it loading ourselves with degra
ding epithets. Nor does it consist in thinking ourselves inferior
to our equals, or inferior to our inferiors; nor in thinking oursel ves-
superior to our equals, or superior to oursuperiors. But true chris
tian humility consists in cheerfully taking the place which God and
justice have assigned us. Christian submission is an uncondition-

CHRISTIAN GRACES* 215!
al surrendry of ourselves into the hand of God. ft is a willingness'
that he should dispose of us according to his pleasure. It is a
Satisfaction with the divine character and conduct. A single
stipulation or condition on the part of the creature, would prove
that his submission is' insincere, and that his confidence in God
is not entire. Unconditional submission, in all cases, involves
a preference of a greater to a less good, and is the purest and
most elevated benevolence, as it is totally subversive of selfishness ;
for selfishness is love of our own interest at the expense of a
greater good. To love ourselves according to our value, is not
selfishness, but disinterested benevolence. Disinterested benevo.
Ience is regarding ourselves and all other beings according to
our and their intrinsic value.
The other christian graces which might be enumerated, are but
modifications of those graces which I have considered & explained.
The christian graces it will be readily admitted, often exist in
a very feeble state. The devotions of christians are often inter
rupted, and their obedience is defective, and their resemblance to
the Saviour is often faint and distant. Yet if sinless perfection is
not the mark of the prize ofthe high calling, at which professors*
of religion aim, if they have not in embryo, the features of a per.-
fect man in Christ Jesus, they 'are still in their Sins. To be a
disciple of Christ, it is essential that supreme love to God, and be.
nevolence to man, reign in our hearts ; and, tbat there be a grow
ing conformity to the revealed will of God. We must love God
and his holy kingdom more than ourselves. Like Paul we must
glory in nothing save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by
whom we are crucified unto the world, and the world is crucified

216- CHRISTIAN GRACES.
unto us. We must count all things but loss for tbe .excellence oi
the knowledge of Christ Jesus our Lord. An exemplification -of
the christian. graces in prosperity and adversity, in distress and re.
proach.in poverty and persecution, constitutes the beauty of chris.
tian character. This is that comeliness which adorns the
aouls of the redeemed in theif state preparatory to heaven.
1. If what has been said on this subject is correct, we see that
a change of heart does not consist in great and marvelous experi-
ences. Neither extraordinary fear, nor excessive joy, nor un
common dreams, nor sights, nor voices, nor high excitement of
animal feelings, constitutes the christian graces: for neither of
these,, is loye to God, or repentance of sin, or faith in the Lord
Jesus Christ, ,, Such is the influence of Satan, and such the fruit
fulness of the imagination, and such the deceitfulners of the hu-
man heart, as totally to destroy the weight of such supposed ev
idences of christian character. False hopes may create raptures
which strikingly resemble the raptures of the genuine christian,
and yet be only specious counterfeits. The suggestion of passa
ges of scripture to the mind, such as son, or daughter, thy sins be
forgiven thee, afford no evidence of a gracious state, for such pas
sages may be suggested to the mind hy the imagination, or by
Satan for the purpose of deceiving and destroying the soul.
2. We learn from this subject, that there are tests of christian
character. The tests of christian character, are the exercise of
the christian graces, such as love, repentance, faith, humility,
prayer, unconditional submission, and self-denial.. The exemplifi
cation of these graces, affords the most satisfactory and most
scriptural evidence of a change of heart. Without these graces,

CHRISTIAN GRACES. 217
,none have any right to think themselves christians. He who is
not the subject of these graces, who has not experienced a genuine
-change of heart, who does not readily embrace the doctrines of
the gospel, and illustrate their practical effects by a holy life is
not a christian. A destitution of christian character, is a destitu
tion of religion.
3. The exercise of the christian graces affords the only ration.
al hope of heaven. Christian hope is a holy desire and expee.
tation of heaven. This hope is founded on the promises of God.
These promises are made to individuals possessing a character
which is constituted by the christian graces ; it follows, there
fore, that they only who exereise these graces, can rationally
appropriate to themselv.es the promises of Gad. All hopes, then,
which are not founded On the promises of God, made to the char
acter which is described in feose promises, are groundless. —
Those, therefore, who do not -possess the christian character
have no rational hope of heaven.
4. We may see, in view of this subject, that the gospel plan
of salvation is consistent with itself. The hopes- and promises
of false religion are not graduated by, the holiness ofits votaries.
It demands decision, zeal, and devotedness, hut is indifferent a-
bout the source from which they flow. It admits of the exer.
oises of the worst passions, and most embittered spirits. Only
•follow me, says the votary of this false religion, and espouse my
cause, and I will not investigate your motiv.es and feelings. But,
it is far otherwise with the religion of Christ. He will admit of
bo zeal and no devotion, but such as produce an increase of holi,
jaess and preparation for lieaven. His promises are made only

218 perseverance.
to the pure in heart f and he will never palliate- nor excuse Sin
in his most devoted followers. Be ye holy, for I am holy. The
spirit and character which he requires of his followers are just
such as every man's reason and conscience tell him are necessary
to, salvation. This is the happy character of our religion, and
the earnest of heaven.

LECTURE XVIII.
PERSEVERANCE.
Job. 17. 9.
i
The righteous shall hold on his way, and he that hath clean hand?
shall be stronger and stronger.
Having in my last discburse, considered the character of the
righteous, I shall now consider his condition and prospects of sal
vation. It is certain that the saints, after regeneration, sustain a
new, and important relation to God. This relation is to be ascer .
tained by scripture. If the bible reveals any thing on the sub-
ject, it is either, that the salvation of the righteous, is possible, or
that it is probable, or that it is certain. That the last is the doc-
rine ofthe bible,- 1 shall attempt to prove.
All that are truly regenerate, will persevere in holiness, Unto
eternal life. This doctrine does not admit that tlie regenerate or
righteous will live in the habitual practice of sin,- and go to heav*
en ; nor that they may not backslide,- and need the grace of- God
to reclaim them from the snare ofthe Devil ; but that not a single*
feal christian will be left io final apostacy and ruin. The right-

perseverance. 219
leous will grpw in grace, and in the knowledge ©four Lord and
Saviour unto eternal redemption. Just as many as are regener
ated will be saved. Nor does this doctrine assert that christians
have power to keep themselves from falling and final apostacy.-
They can neither originate nor perpetuate their holy exercises
and graces ; but they are saved by the promises of grace made
in the gospel ; and are kept by the power of Godf through faith,-
unto salvation.- The doctrine is that they shall persevere, that
is, continue to exercise the christian graces, though not without-
interruption, and practice virtue until they are qualified for heav.-
en. The proofs which I adduce in support of this doctrine are
the following.
1. God intends when he changes the heart ofthe sinner to
save him. The supposition, that God sanctifies the soul in pros
pect ofits apostacy, and more aggravated condemnation, is repul-r
sive to every enlightened view ofthe christian religion. He does-
inflict on some men, judicial blindness, hardness, and reprobacy
of mind, but not on his friends. He visits his incorrigible enemies
with strong delusions. But God has some object in new-creating
the soul,— and who dares say, that that object is not kind and
benevolent ? He rescues the sinner from his slavery and bond
age to prepare him for his Own service, and the enjoyment of
•himself. Isaiah 43. 21. This people have I formed for myself;
they shall shew forth my praise. Now is there any intimation in
scripture, that God desires, or intends to give back the rescued
captive? And does it require any more power to keep him-
than it did to obtain him ? If God, as can be most clearly shown,.
intends to prepare those whom he regenerates for heaven, and to

£29 persevereance.
receive them to himself, who will presume to say or to believe
that he will be disappointed ? A change of heart seals the sout
for heaven, and proves that God has intentions ofits salvation. — ¦
As sure then as God is unchangeable in his intentions, and irre
sistible, in his operations, all the regenerate will be saved.
2. The covenant of redemption proves fhe certainty of the
saints salvation. I have before shown that the covenant of re-
demption, was made "in eternity between the Father and the Son.
That the Father, in, consideration of the sufferings and death of
the Son, gave him a certain portion of the human family, and
promised to the Son that at the time, and in the manner stipulated,
he would cause these sinners to bow to bis sceptre, and make
•them holy and obedient children ofhis grace. Now ifsuch a cov-
enant does exist, and Christ on his part has performed the co'ndi.
tions, and the Father, ever since the apostacy, has been fulfilling
the conditions on his part, and if the regenerate are the very in
dividuals who were given to Christ, who can doubt the certainty
of their salvation 1 You cannot separate them from the love of
God-, unless you can dissolve the covenant of the triune God, and
'break up the councils of heaven. The testimony of Christ on
this subject, is, all that the Father hath given me, shall come un
do me ; and the testimony of the Father is, thy people shall be
willing in the day of thy power. They were given to the Son for
purposes of salvation, and if they are not saved, the conditions of
ithe covenant are not fulfilled. But as this argument will have
no influence with those who deny the doctrine of personal elec
lion, and as they are Usee to confess that the perseverance of the

PBSSEVEREANCEi 22 1!
sairits wouldinevitably follow from the doctrine of personal eleo
tion, I pass to show,
3. That the certainty of the salvation of the saints is evident
from the covenant of grace, and from the promises of God. The
covenant of grace exists between God and his children. It is
called a covenant of grace, because God promises to those who
embrace the gospel, undeserved, divine and sovereign* mercy.— »
To the righteous,- he has made exceeding great and precious
promises. Now a correct knowledge of the covenant of grace,
and of the promises of the gospel, will* place this subject beyond
a doubt; This covenant differs from the covenant of works; or
the covenant of the law. But if it'secures no-gracious influences,-
andgracious blessings, how does it differ from the law. None
will- doubt, that regeneration brings a man into a different relation
to God.- And what are the peculiarities and blessings of this rela
tion? It gives him an assimilation to Godj and a share in his-
friendship and favor. God exercises all the care and affection
'not only of a friend, but of a parent. He pities-the infirmities of
his-children, pardons-their sins* de fends them from their enemies,1
and carries on>in their hearts, the work of sanctification. He
does- not treat them as they deserve, but for the sake of Christ,
they are treated far better than they deserve. ' The conditions of
this covenant are not, do and live, disobey and die; by thy
works thou shalt be justified, and by thy works thou shalt be-
condemned : but the conditions- are, do and thou shalt be gra.
eiously rewarded ; disebey, and thou shalt1 receive forgiveness by
repentance, and faith in the blood of Christ. Thou shalt be visit-
«d with a rod, and. punished for thine iniquity,- but redeemed by a>

-222 PERSEVERANCE.
jnighty arm. If the covenant of grace secured no pardon, how
would it differ from the covenant of works ? God has not pledg.
ed himself in this covenant io connive at, or palliate the sins of
his saints, but he has promised to bestow grace upon them, to se.
cure their obedience, to afford all those gracious aids, and holy
dispositions'which are necessary to the progressive sanctification
ofthe heay, to purity ofthe life, and to the salvation of the soul,
This covenant does not secure the end without the means; nor
heaven without a preparation for it. The promises oi* God
which are appendages to this covenant, are very explicit.
God has promised either to secure his saints against temptation,
or to give them grace to bear it, or to deliver them when tempt
ed. The only danger of saints or sinners, arises from sin. Man
is surrounded by the snares of Satan and his accomplices, and is
subject to many infirmities which expose him to become the prey
ofhis assailants. But if the promises of God have interposed and
' rescued him from danger, if friendship and communion with
Christ, and the influences ofthe Holy Ghost have given him pow
er to resist, or power to extricate himself, he is safe. But as it
may be more convincing and satisfactory to the inquirer after
truth, I will adduce- a few of those promises of the saint's perse
verance. 1. Sam. 12. 22. For the Lord will not forsake his
people for his great name's sake ; because it hath pleased the
Lord to make you his people. This passage was spoken in view
of the relapsed state of the Jews, Even when there was an a,
poslacy from God, there were assurancss given to that people ;
that they were the people of God, that they were not chosen on
account of their virtuous deeds, nor would they be finally reject.

PERSEVERANCE. 223
ed for their viscions ones. He chose them for his name's sake,
of his own self-moved goodness, to display the glory of his per-
fections. Ps. 89. 32, 33. Then will I visit their transgressions with
the rod, and their iniquities with stripes. Nevertheless my lov
ing kindness will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my
faithfnluess to fail. Two things in this passage are worthy of re.
mark: the first is, that the faithfulness of God, to his promises,
required him to bring to repentance, and a holy life, those mem
bers of the Jewish Church, who were truly pious, though they
were then in a relapsed state. And if he could not be faithful
without bringing them back, then the promise embraces their re,
covery. The other is, that all the punishments indicted on the children
of God are disciplinary, and all his judgments threatened or in-^
flicted, are followed by promises and mercies. Prov. 24, 16 
For a just man faileth seven times and riseth up again. Micah
7. 8. Rejoice not against me, O mine enemy; when I fall I
shall rise ; when I sit in darkness, the Lord shall be a light unto
me. This is the consolation of believers, that God is unchange
able, and his affections and intentions of mercy are not graduated
by the changes which take place in the saints. John 3. 14. —
But whosoevor shall, drink ofthe water that I shall give him
shall never thirst. But the water that I shall give him, shall be
in him a well of water springing up unto everlasting life. This
figure is very significant. To suppose the saint constantly in
the act of drinking destroys the figure, and annihilates the force
of the Saviour's reasoning. He was representing to the woman

S24 PERSEVERANCE.
of Samaria, the superiority of the water which he impartedy to"
that which was found in the well of Sychar.- But how was it su--
periorifhis disciples must always be in the act of drinking? Did
not the woman know that a man could never thirst if he kept the
water of the well constantly at his mouth ? The fountain1 which
supplies the saint is not represented as descending to the heart, but
as ascending from it. The heart is the fountain ; and this pas«-
sage represents it as an exhaustless fountain-: it is a well of wa
ter springing up unto everlasting life.
John 10; 27 — 29. My sheep hear my voice, and I' know them,
and they follow me; and I give unto them eternal life, and they
shall never perish, neither shall any pluck them out of my hand.
My Father which gave them me, is greater than all : and none
is able to pluck them, out of my Father's hand.
I do not, know how a man can read andunderstand this passage,
and at the same time doubt the perseverance ofthe saints; Christ
says he knows his sheep. I give unto them eternal life, and none
can pluck them out of my hand ; and then adds, that his Father
gave them to him, and he is omnipotent, and therefore none can
pluck them out of his hand. One reason here assigned why they
will be saved, is, that Christ gives them eternal life. Another is,
that the Lord is Almighty, and disposed to save, and they are
therefore, secure.- No allusion is heremade to their faithfulness;
asa condition of their salvation. Their salvation was sure for a
very different reason from that of their faithfulness. John 14* 19.
Yet a- little while and- the world seeth me no more. But ye see
me, because I live, ye shall live also. Shall is a word which is-
almost always used- when the certainty ofthe salvation of saints is

PERSEVERANCE. 225
spoken of ; and may, can, and might, are seldom, if ever used in
this connexion. John 17. 12. While 1 was with them in tho
world, I kept them in thy name : those that thou gavest me I
have kept, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition ; that
the scriptures might be fulfilled. There were none lost but Judas,
who was given to him for purposes Of judgment, and not of mer"
cy, and whom the Saviour, more than a year before Satan enter
ed into him, according to the chronology of the bible, called a
devil. But there is an important fact established by this passage,
that saints do not keep themselves, but are kept by Christ. I
have kept them in thy name. I wish to introduce five verses
more from this evangelist. He that believeth on me hath everlas
ting life. If any man eat of this bread he shall live forever. —
Whoso eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life,
and I will raise him up at the last day. He that eateth my flesh
and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. He that
eateth of this bread shall live forever.
2. Thess. 3. 3. But the Lord is faithful, who shall establish
you, and keep you from evil. Heb. 9. 15, And for this cause he
is the Mediator ofthe new testament, that by means of death, for
the redemption of transgressions that were under the first testa
ment, they which are called might receive the promise of eternal
inheritance. And the same apostle says, chap. 10, verse 14, For by one of.
fering, he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified. Sane
tification is holiness ; and all are sanctified who are regenerated,
and how are they perfected forever, if they are not accepted as
15

226 PERSEVERANCE.
perfectly holy, and treated as holy on Christ's account, and not
because they are sinless.- ,
Read Rom. 8, from 27 to the close of the chapter. I introduce
one text more. 1 Cor. 10. 13. There hath no temptation taken
you, but such as is common to man : but God is faithful, who
will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but
will with the temptation also make a way to escape that you may
be able to bear it.
God is faithful to his son, and faithful to his promises.
4. I prove the certainty of the salvation of the saints, from
the manner in which the inspired writers account for apostacies
in the church. They always account for them on the ground,.
that they who leave the visible church, never possessed genuine
religion; that they never experienced a change of heart. In
the parable of the sower, none brought forth fruit unto perfec
tion, but those who bad an honest and good heart. Some of the
seed sprung up and flourished for a season, but because there
was no grace at heart, it withered away and died* In the para
ble of the foolish virgins, who had nothing but the lamp of ex
ternal profession, the mere external appearance of religion, and
no oil, no grace in the heart ; and the man who had not on a
wedding garment, are cases of profession without a change of
heart. These are all cases which prove apostacy from profes
sion and privileges, but not from piety or holiness. There is
not a shadow of evidence, from scripture phraseology, or from
the history of Saul king of Israel, and of Judas Iscariot, that
they ever possessed a new heart. It is said, God gave Saul an-
other heart, but the context immediately explains it to be a heart

PERSEVERANCE. 227
of prophecy. And the Apostle tells us, that Judas fell from a
part of the apostleship and bishopric, but never intimates that he
was eyer sanctified at heart. Now if all the apostacies in the
visible church can be accounted for on the ground of false con-
versions ; arid in no case on record is it necessary to suppose
that they did apostatize from genuine religion : and if the apostle
has laid down the general principle on which we are to account
for their dereliction, what right have we to say that any genuine
christian ever has fallen or ever will fall from grace.
1 John, 2. 19. They went out from us, but they were not of
us; for if they had been of us, they would no doubt have contin-
ued with us; but they went out, that they might be made mani
fest they were not all of us. Here the apostle considers desertion
from the visible church of Christ, evidence that the heart was
not interested in him. There is undoubtedly a religion founded
on temporary excitement, and natural affection, which may be
obtained and lost again. But no power can unchange the heart,
but that which changes it ; and though the genuine christian
may backslide and dishonor his profession, yet the same power
which first delivered him from sin, will restore his wandering feet.
We readily admit, that if the christian were left to himself, he
would apostatise and perish, but by the grace of God, he is kept
through faith unto salvation. The most exalted and holy saint
on earth might, and would most surely, fall and perish, were it
not for the provisions of grace. Leave him to himself, and his
destruction is inevitable. But the grace of God secures the in.
terests of his soul. AJ1 those passages which seem to imply a
possibility ofthe saints' apostacy, are motives of excitement and
15*

228 PERSEVERANCE.
terror, presented to the christian's mind ; and they are all true
and important. If the saint did not love God and serve him un
to death, he would go to hell. But does this prove that God
will not enable him to persevere unto death. Where God has
promised to save men on conditions, he has promised to make
them comply with those conditions. But I must here be allowed
the privilege of obviating a single objection to this doctrine. It
is said a belief in the certainty of our salvation, tends to licen-
tiousness. There would be some plausibility in this objection,
if men had any right to believe themselves christians without
evidence. But those who live in the habitual indulgence of sin,
have reason to doubt whether they have ever been made new
creatures in Christ Jesus. Persons have reason to doubt the
genuineness of their hopes, in proportion to their want of evi.
dence of a change. We do not, however, believe that an hour
of darkness, or a passing cloud, are sufficient to destroy the
hope of him who is usually and supremely devoted to Christ. —
As the cultivation of piety and the influences ofthe Holy Ghost,
give a good man more confidence in God, and greater assurance
of hope; to doubt our perseverance seems to militate against
christian character. It discovers want of confidence in God 
The purer, and the more elevated are the joys of christians, the
more firm and unwavering are their assurances, that they shall
never cease to love and serve God. But it is evident from two
considerations, that a belief in the perseverance of the saints,
does not tend to licentiousness. First it is contrary to reason ;
and secondly, it is contrary to fact. It is not rational to suppose,
that a change of heart which consists in holiness, will make men

PERSEVERANCE. 229
love sin more ardently. This change produces a love of holi
ness, and a disrelish and aversion to sin. Now to suppose that
those who have tasted the bitternes of sin, and have received a
nature which abhors it, will practice it with greater avidity, is
irrational and inconsistent. And is there any thing in the charac
ter and constitution of the human mind, and of the human pas-
sions, which will sanction the sentiment, that a certain prospect
of good, and an assurance of success, palsies effort, and encour-
ages sloth and indolence? Does the prospect of wealth, cause the
merchant, mechanic, or the husbandman, to be less vigilant and
industrious in the labors of their hands? Were two armies on the
field, about to engage in combat and carnage, and should God
with an audible voice, assure one of them of complete victory,
does reason teach us, that the army receiving this assurance,
would be less bold and intrepid in their attack ? <
I know, there are railings of an expiring cause, and writhings
of despair, but who would not be brave, were he exempted from
injury and assured of victory. I cannot conceive of a greater
incentive to action than assurance of success. The certainty
that the church of Christ will be successful and triumphant, has
comforted the saints, while laboring under the severest trials, and
the most appalling discouragements. God, who has said, I will
never leave thee nor forsake thee, is faithful and unchangeable.
This promise has quenched the fiery darts of the adversary,, and
filled dungeons with joy.
Secondly, it is not a fact that a belief in this doctrine produces
licentiousness. Are those men who most firmly believe and
strenuously defend the doctrine of the saints' perseverance, the

230 PERSEVERANCE.
most licentious characters in community ? It is vain to attempt
to convince rational men of the truth of an assertion whicn
is contradicted by fact. If the advocates of this doctrine, are
licentious from the influence of this doctrine and not from the
influence of depravity, the perniciousness ofthe doctriueis easily
proved. Until this is established, men of candor and good sense,
who value testimony more than caprice and prejndice, will judge
for themselves. And how shall we dispose of thaV long list of
martyrs, whose labors and sufferings command the veneration of
the world. They all believed in this doctrine. What was the
influence of this doctrine on Baxter, and Brainard, on Buchanan
and Martyn ? Positive assertions cost but little ; and no sentiment
can be so absurd as not to have its advocates, but I would never
tax the credulity of my fellow creatures, I would treat them as
candid and rational, and capable of discovering the force of rea
soning and the weight of evidence. And I hope I shall not for-
feit my pretensions to candor by presenting a few difficulties
which I discover in the opposite sentiment. If christians can
fall from grace, how can it be proved? It cannot be proved from
facts. There is no evidence that the apostates recorded in the
bible ever possessed true piety. And they could not fall from
what they did not possess. And the examples which may be
brought are sufficient; because we are not only incapable of
knowing the good estate of any man, with infallible certainty, but
we are forbidden to judge in cases beyond our scrutiny. And
who but God can search the heart? Who but God, can detect
all artful counterfeits of christian character? Who can ascertain
whether it is a work of the heart, or only an excitement of the

PERSEVERANCE. 231
animal passions, and the persuasions of judgment ? Besides, apos
tacies are most frequent in revivals in which truth is concealed,
and which are conducted by inexperienced and injudicious teach.
ers. An experienced and discerning christian, would, at the
time of" their supposed conversion, have pronounced them spuri
ous; and would have doubted whether they had ever experien-
csd genuine conviction, much more, genuine conversion. I am
a friend to revivals. I believe in powerful, and holy religion ;
but I tremble for the consequences of those revivals, which have
much of human passion, and injudicious management, and but
little of the Holy Spirit in them. It is to be expected, that false
and spurious conversions will be followed by apostatize; but this
does not prove that genuine converts will apostatise. It is all
explained by a single passage. They went out from us, because
they were not of us. If it is not possible to prove for a certain
ty that a man is a christian, then it is not possible to prove that
any one has fallen from Christianity. ,
But on the supposition that it is possible for one man to apos
tatize, it is for ten, it is possible for the'whole church to aposta-
tize ; and the church of Christ might be annihilated, and the
gates of hell might prevail against it; and, one object of the
blood, sufferings, and death of Christ would be lost.
To say that faithfulness is the condition of Salvation, is not to
the point. I believe as firmly as any man in faithfulness to
Christ, and in this very doctrine, am proving that God has prom
ised and covenanted to make his people faithful, and to give them
grace to love and serve him. None suppose that saints are go.
ing to heaven, unless they go in the way of God's appointment.

232 PERSEVERANCE.
If by faithfulness, you mean a full and perfect performance of
duty, I say no mere man since the fall has been faithful in this
sense. But if by faithfulness, you mean, that habitual love, ele
vation, and purity of life, which constitute christian character, I
say that christians are sure of this character, because they are
sure of the increasing friendship, and aid of God, and grace accor
ding to their day. God has promised to enable them to love and
serve him, and that he will never leave them, nor forsake them.
They can do nothing of themselves, hut all things through Christ
strengthening them. God has promised them a religious char
acter and the grace of perseverance. Nothing can pluck them
out ofthe Saviour's hand. Neither life, nor death, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor the temptations ofthe world, nor
the insidious snares of Satan, nor their own sins ; for they are sa
ved by the mercy of God.
I shall offer, but one more argument in support of this doctrine.
That is, the promise that the holiness of the saints shall hereafter
be rewarded. Christ says, Matt. 10. 42. Whosoever shall give
to drink unto one of these little ones, a cup of cold water only in
the name of a disciple, verily I say unto you he shall in no wise
lose his reward. Here we are taught that the least holy service
will be rewarded. But on presumption that an individual who
should perform such an holy service, should fall from grace, and
be sent' to perdition, when, or where, or how would it be reward.
ed? If it be said, it is rewarded in the present life, then it may
be said that all the holiness of the saints is rewarded in the pre*.
ent life. But the bible most clearly teaches us that the present
life is a state of probation; and that the future is a state of re.

PERSEVERANCE. V 233
wards and punishments. The representations given in scripture
ofthe last judgment, are conclusive on this point. Eccl. 12. 14.
For God shall bring every work 'into judgment, with every se
cret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be eviL Now if
every secret thing is to be brought into view on the day of right.
eous retribution, every holy exercise of the christian will be
brought into view, but if the christian has fallen from grace after
possessing a holy character, how will his holy character then
be regarded by the Judge ofthe whole earth, and what will be
his reward ?
1. I infer from the text and subject, that all efforts to destroy
the church of Christ, made either by its professed friends, or by
its avowed enemies, are vain. Not a single gem can be plucked
from the Diadem of Zion's King.
2. This subject teaches us the obligations of saints to exercise
gratitude. They have a title to an inheritance incorruptible, un-
defiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved for them in heaven,
whither the forerunner is for them entered, even Jesus.
3. This subject holds out to sinners one ofthe most powerful
inducements to become pious. If they will accept of Christ, they
shall have an imperishable treasure, A treasure which none
can take from them, and which they themselves will neither be
able, nor disposed to lose.
4. This subject teaches us the consistency of the gospel plan
of salvation. It first gives a christian character, then the re
wards ofthe christian.

LECTURE XIX.
SAINTS' DEATH AND GLORIFICATION.
Rev. 14. 13.
And I heard a voice from heaven, saying unto me, Write Blessed are
the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth ; yea, saith the Spirit,
that they may rest from their labors, and their works do follow them.
I now pass from the character of the righteous and the cer
tainty of his salvation, to the consideration of his death and glori
fication. If it is interesting to contemplate the commencement
and progress of the divine mercy, its consummation cannot be
less interesting. The displays of mercy in this life, cannot half
equal those which will succeed. The excellenceof religion, is
discoverable in the antidote which it affords for removing the
anxieties of mind, and relieving the cares, disquietudes, and afilie.
tions of life. It soothes the mind and supports it, while laboring
under the loss of property, health, reputation, or even life itself. —
Religion confers on its votaries positive happiness in this life, by
shedding abroad the love of God in their hearts, and by imparting
purity to the soul. It takes from the soul the stings of guilt, and
makes it the dwelling place of pleasure and hope and rapture. —
As I have before remarked, it has a perfect adaptation to the con
dition and necessities of men. But what adds superior lustre to
the gospel, is, that it supports and comforts its friends in death,
with hopes, and promises, and assurances of salvation. The
christian cannot close his eyes on the scenes of futurity, by scep
ticism and blind delusion. He is a believer in divine revelation,

SAINTS' DEATH AND GLORIFICATION. 235
and that is sufficient to annihilate every doubt on the doctrine of
immortality, and of future rewards and punishments. He goes
down to the grave without the possibility of surprise, or disap
pointment. If then he is peaceful and triumphant in this impor
tant crisis, he must be supported by rational views and christian
feelings. We have abundant evidence that the christian in death
often enjoys these supports. There is nothing miraculous in his
departure to another world. He is not beyond the control of the
laws of nature, nor exempted from the distresses, depressions, and
derangements, incident to minds connected with gross and disso
luble bodies. But the same grace that sanctified his heart, and
has hitherto kept him from apostacy, is now displayed in a more
vivid manner. This world which has formed the principal inter
ruption of his happiness, in death loses its power to interest and
allure, and leaves the soul to implicit reliance on Christ. The
Holy Spirit imparts special qualifications and graces to the ex-
piringsaint; and as the soul is about to quit the frail body, and
exchange this, for a holy world ; mortality, for immortality, it
needs endowments of a different character, not to resist and re
pel, but to enjoy. Sin and Satan are now making their last un-
successful attacks ; and grace is consummating its victory —
This is a triumphant hour to him whose heart is the abode of
faith, and hope, and the influences ofthe Holy Spirit. The affec
tions receive additional strength and ardor as they approach near
er and nearer to the Sun of righteousness. The Saviour" mani
fests his special presence to his children as they approach the
kingdom of their eternal residence. He comes down to invest
them with the robes of his righteousness, and to introduce them

236 5 saints' peath
¦ to the presence of his Father and ofhis holy angels, and to the
company ofthe general assembly and church ofthe first born,
whose names are written in heaven. It is not surprising, when
we consider his faith and hope, the influences ofthe Holy Spirit
and the friendship and presence of Christ that the christian should
triumph over his last enemy, death. The present joys, the bright
and enrapturing prospects of immediate blessedness, the strug
gling out of sin and sorrow into peace and fruition, are a work of
extraordinary interest and delight to the saint. And here the
question arises, what are the scenes which immediately follow
death. Does the soul pass immediately into glory-, or does it
sleep with the body in the graye until the resurrection, or is it
confined to a painful and purifying residence in the future world,
until the judgment, and the final surrendry of the kingdom ofthe
Son to the Father, at the completion of his mediatorial work ? It
is a given principle in theology as in philosophy, that we are
not to assume gratuitous and unnecessary notions, at the expense
of simple facts. I see nothing to1 be gained by the admission of
the doctrine, that the soul will exist in a torpid and inactive con
dition, in the intermediate state between death and the judgment.
The soul in this frail state, gives no indications of weariness, and
experiences no intervals of torpidness. Its sleepless and busy
powers, exist in full vigor, when fatigue has worn down the body,
and closed every medium of communication. There is nothing
then in the operations ofthe human soul, which would warrant an
expectation, that there would ever be a suspension ofits powers.
I know these remarks would amount to nothing, were they ar-
rayed against plain matters of revelation. No such revelation

AND GLORIFICATION. 237
exists ; nor could such sentiments have been propogated, if men .
were not gross and inclined to materialism. The constrained and
fanciful interpretation given to two or three passages of scripture,
are insufficient to sanction a belief in either the sleeping state of
the soul, or a future purgatory. I will not attempt the defence
of a sentiment that the happiness ofthe blessed, before the resur
rection and the judgment, is as perfect, and exalted, as it will be
subsequent to those events.
I am not able to say what influence the gathering of the re
deemed from the earth, the union of the soul with a spiritual
body, and the consummation ofthe divine plans and ofthe king.
dom of grace, will have on thehappiness of saints. I am inclin
ed to think that all these and innumerable other considerations,
will conspire to bless, and honor, and glorify the redeemed. But
that the souls ofthe redeemed are not to ascend from the grave,
nor from purgatory, to the judgment and heaven, I think capable
of proof. Indeed there is a difficulty on the very face ofthe doc
trines I am controverting. I believe that inaction in intellectual
and moral existence is inconceivable. How can pure intelligence,
incorporeal existence sleep ? There is something in man which is
employed in curious combinations and reveries, even while the
body slumbers. And sometimes its sportiveness destroys corpo
real repose. Did you ever awake from sleep, refreshed and in-
vigorated in body, and find yourselves unable to arouse your
minds? In all cases in which we speak of a feeble, a wearied or a
confused mind, the only infirmity exists in the defectiveness ofthe
organs of communication. From the intimate connexion of the
mind with the body, we attribute weakness.to the one which be-

238 saints' death
longs to the other. Mental irregularities may arise from organic
disease and derangement in the material functions. And its lim
ited and enfeebled operations in this state of imprisonment, are no
argument against its expansive and untiring natu re, when liberated.
But as the doctrine of intellectual and moral suspension in the
saints, is so undesirable, gratuitous, and immatured an opinion, I
will pass to my proof, that a state of "glory immediately succeeds
death. Write blessed are the dead that die in the Lord, from hence.
forth. It will need no rules of interpretation to see, that from
henceforth, is from the time of death. The moment the saint
expires, he is blessed ; and intellectual, and moral happiness is
inconceivable without intellectual and moral existence. If the
departed soul ofthe saint, descended to the pit ofpurgatory, or to
the prison of the grave, it would not enter on immediate happi.
ness. But this passage declares that those who die in the Lord,
enter without interval or delay, into blessedness and glorification.
The same apostle who wrote the text, saw under the altar, the
souls of those which were slain for the word of God, and for the
testimony which they held. Where wasthis altar ? In the pain
ful abodes of purgatory, or the dreary habitations of the dead, or
was it beneath the throne of God in the realms of light? The same.
evangelist says ofthe pious representatives ofthe tribes of Israel,
and when those beasts give glory, and honor, and thanks to him
that sat on the throne, who liveth forever and ever, the four and
twenty elders fell down before him that sat on the throne, and
worship him that liveth forever and ever. And cast their crowns-
before the throne saying, thou art worthy 0 Lord> to receive

AND GLORIFICATION. 139
glory and honor, and power ; for thou hast created all things ^
and for thy pleasure, they are, and were created. How could
they cast their crowns before the throne ofthe Lamb, if their
souls were dormant 1 There could not be much devotion in slum
bering souls. The promise of the Saviour made to the expiring
thief, this day shalt thou be with main Paradise; cannot be recon
ciled with any sentiment which does not admit the glorification
of the saints, immediately after death. The day on which he suf
fered was to close in a few hours, from the time he made this
promise. If this promise was fulfilled, the expiring penitent must
have been glorified immediately after death. It proves as cer
tainly the immediate ascension ofthe pious malefactor to glory,
as it proves the ascension of Christ. The union which subsists-
between Christ and his disciples, is such, as to involve as much
absurdity to suppose that his spiritual members are in a state of
inactivity and suffering after death, as to suppose that Christ him
self was in such a state, And why did not the expiring Stephen
when he looked up into heaven, and" saw Jesus standing on the
right hand of God, bid adieu to the joys he had already felt, to
the joys of that glorious mansion, instead of commending his de
parting spirit, into the hands of his Redeemer ? And what are
those hopes, and foretastes and assurances, with which the Holy
Ghost has inspired the breasts of so many thousands, but strong
delusion, if death is an interruption of spiritual enjoyments? And
how could Paul be in a straight betwixt two, having a desire so
far.ashe consulted his own personal happiness to be absent from
the body and present with the Lord ? The departed saints have
persevered unto death; and now they are claiming the promise

240 saints' death
of eternal life. Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee
a crown of life. Enough has been said to show that saints at
death enter on immediate glory.
The inquiry then arises what is the character, the nature, and
the extent of their happiness? The joys of heaven, are purely in
tellectual and moral. The knowledge and the love of God con-
stitute the happiness of heaven. There is an entire exemption
from pain, from disquietude and from suffering. No darkness
shrouds the mind, no mysteries enfeeble faith, and no chains con
fine the soul. Temptations to sin, intervals of doubts, suspended
ardour of affection, and intensity of care, have no admission
there. Redeemed saints look down on this world as a charmless
spot, and as destitute of interest, only as it it is the theatre on
which God displays his love to souls, and prepares his church for
his immediate and blissful presence. They enjoy perfect secu -
rity, and uninterrupted peace. The company ofthe blessed adds
greatly to their personal blessedness ; for pure holiness is not sel-
fish, but communicative and disinterested. Every redeemed soul,
every harp of heaven, increases the tide of glory which fills the
place. Every holy disposition of the soul, matured and perfec-
ted, may now behold the wisdom of all those inscrutible provi.
dences, which have brought the redeemed to heaven and adorn
ed the glory of God. And while they vie with millions, in their
homage, and praise, and admiration, of that wisdom, and power,
and grace, which have redeemed fallen man, how will they be
lost in the glory which is constantly passing before them ! They
know how to appreciate this glory, for they were once ignorant
of it, and saw it only obscurely, through a glass darkly, They

AND GLORIFICATION. 241
once believed the display of the divine mercy, was the high ob-
ject of all the plans, works, and ways of God ; now they see it
to be so. The mystery is now unfolded. Divested of the tehe-
ment of clay, the soul is permitted to take a more extended view,
and to experience an astonishing increase of capacities. The
saints view with amazement and gratitude the plan which has
rescued them from merited anguish. While they gaze on the
mysteries of redeeming love, their own salvation will be a mys-
tery of mysteries. Their minds must dwell on their guilt and
deserts, their enmity and ingratitude ; and when they stoop to
behold the dreadful displays of justice, in the punishment of the
incorrigible, they must feel, that the happy distinction of grace
demands perpetual praise. But happier, far happier, than the
thought of exemption from pain, or communion of the blessed,
is the contemplation of the unveiled vision of the Saviour's coun
tenance, the unclouded view of his enrapturing beauties! Heav-
en has no glories compared with his. This Saviour, the saints
now enjoy, not by faith, not through the medium of prayer, and
the light of revelation, but they see him face to face. This
crowns the whole scene with unspeakable blessedness : To be
filled with all the communicable fullness of God, and to stand in
his immediate presence with views so Clear, and love to the eternal
source, so ardent as to extinguish the lesser glories of heaven,
must consummate the bliss! But to be holy as God is holy, and to
dwell in the perfection of blessedness, is not all the story of re-
deeming love.
The capacities of the mind, and the holy tempers of the sou],
are destined to endless progression in holiness. All the forms
16

242 SAINTS' DEATH
of redeeming love will not be displayed, when millions on mill
ions of years have rolled away. Not half the beauties ofthe God
head will be unfolded, when all the saints on earth are gathered
in, when the dead shall be summoned from their sepulchres, when
the final congregation, both small and great, shall stand before
the judgment seat of Christ, and when the last division shall take
place, and the last sentence shall be pronounced on mankind. —
Even then the redeemed will be in the infancy of their knowl
edge, and in the infancy of their love. Yes, the time will come,
in eternity, when their former raptures will appear but poor and
meagre; and their former songs like the charmless music of the
unskilful. O7how pan we, prisoners of clay, who have scarcely
a glimpse of the present joys of heaven, how can we dwell on its
endless progression ! The short visit ofthe great apostle to that
world, presented to his mind unspeakable things; and though he
spent his life to propogate the religion of Christ, with a soul wrapt
in seraphic fire, and loaded with the eloquence of the skies, he
could scarcely touch the theme. His heart could feel, his mind
think, his audience could see in the lineaments ofhis countenance,
and in the trembling accents of his lips, the irrepressible emotions
of a soul imbued with the love of God and the love of man. —
What was Paul while resident in the flesh, compared with what
he now is? And what is Paul now, compared with what we shall
see him in the illimitable ages of eternity ? Would 3'ou learn the
consummation of redeeming love; you must go down the long
track of eternity, ahd view the church in Tier future glory. What
more can I say ? The blessedness of heaven is pure, and peace
ful, and eternal. How shall I give you adequate views of this

AND GLORIFICATION. 243
subject? Shall I point you to a description of it in revelation ?
Shall I load my discourse with figures, and epithets.,? Or shall I
present to your minds the triumphant language of departed saints.
And what if you never felt a kindred emotion, would the subject
then be intelligible? I know the christian can understand it, for
experience has removed his ignorance and his doubts. Christians
will understand it just in proportion to the devotion of their
hearts, and the degree of their consecration to the service of
Christ. We learn from this subject, the riches ofthe gospel of Christ.
It is not only rich in sanctifying the heart, in releasing it from its
imprisonment, and confirming it in lasting holiness and happiness,
but all the rich interpositions of divine grace here, areonly pre
paratory to richer joys. The , great object of the Saviour, in
suffering on the cross, and in converting and sanctifying the sin
ner, is to blend him in the last and glorious expression of infinite
benevolence. And while he will answer the need which Christ
has of him, and fill the chasm which would otherwise be in the
works of God, h'e^enjoys happiness of a nature and extent, of an
excellence and devotion, which defy illustration by any compari-
son on earth. The inheritance ofthe saint in death and in eter-
nity, is rich, for God has made it so. All will hereafter be ac
counted rich, who attain unto eternal life. And this life the
christian has -in his adoption, his progressive sanctification,
his triumph over the grave, and his consummated felicity in
heaven. We learn from this subject the duty of christians. The future
occupations and enjoyments of the saints most loudly demand a
16*

244 SAINTS' DEATH AND GLORIFICATION.
preparation for that station, which they shall hereafter occupy-
The saints should cultivate here the dispositions which they-will
then exercise, and become as nearly assimilated to heaven, as the
impediments of this frail state of existence will admit. We are
to exercise the same faith in the Redeemer's blood, the same love
to God and love to man, to exhibit the same concern for the glory
of God; and for the good ofthe universe, that we shall then do.
We should give up all our powers of body and mind to the service
of Christ, and make our life, and being, and happiness subservi
ent to the great purposes of his benevolence. These, my breth.
ren, are directions which wiil never deceive you. Do as Paul
did : Press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of
God in Christ Jesus. Then you will witness the completion ofthe
plan of salvation, and experience the glory which is to be reveal
ed in us. You will take a seat amongst the blessed, and reign
with your Saviour forever.

LECTURE XX.
RESURRECTION.
Acts 24. 1,5.
And have hope toward God, which they themselves also allow, that
there shall be a resurrection ofthe dead, both ofthe just and of the un -
just. Having proved that the saints, after death, pass immediately
into glory, I shall, without a waste of time or of argument, take
it for granted, that the finally impenitent pass immediately from
death into misery. And while one ascends to heaven, the other
descends to hell. And though the happiness of the one and the
misery of the other, are complete, yet they may not be the same
in extent, that they will be subsequently to the judgment, Leav-
ing the one in bliss, and the other in woi until the day of the reve
lation ofthe righteous judgment of God, and the closing scene of
the mediatorial work, and the surrendry ofthe kingdom into the
hands ofthe Father, I propose in this discourse to discuss the
doctrine of the resurrection of the body. A gross and unthink
ing mind, a mind unenlightened by revelation, would, from the
appearance of things about it, be exposed to believe in an annihi-
ation of the body, if not ofthe soul. This inference would be
drawn from the death of animals. There is a striking analogy
between the death of man as an animal, and that of other animals.
And though there is nothing in nature Which can be adduced as
positive proof of the resurrection ofthe body, yet there is much to
shield this doctrine from the charge of absurdity. There are a

246 RESURRECTION.
variety of curious changes, in insects, which resemble the resur
rection ofthe human body. The dissolution and reorganization
which they undergo, are not less inscrutible, nor less incredible
than the resurrection of man. By certain mutations and proces
ses a worm becomes a butterfly, passing from lower to higher
organic structure. Multitudes of conformations, both of animals,
and vegetables, may be conceived capable of existence and suc
cession, which yet do not exist. , Examine tbe cabinet of thenat-
uralists,and you will find a multitude of phenomena of a similar
nature. And where is the absurdity in hoping that man may-
awake from the grave invested with a new, and more exalted
nature. I allude to these to show, that there is nothing in nature
to invalidate this sentiment. I do not adduce them as proof of
the resurrection. I am willing to admit there is nothing in na
ture, nor in the known powers and principles ofthe human mind,
which could discover this doctrine. And on this admission, I found
an argument in support of the doctrine of the resurrection. If
there is nothing in the light of nature, nor in human_ philosophy,
to create a belief in this doctrine, what gave it existence? The
faith of mankind in this doctrine, is unquestionably founded on
revelation. And if it is a matter of revelation, it is true; for God
has revealed nothing which is false. The universal belief ofthe
church in all ages, in this doctrine, is a species, of evidence that
its adoption is congenial with piety, and that it is a communica
tion which God has made to his people. I apprehend no plausible
argument can be urged against the doctrine on the ground of its
impossibility or absurdity. The simple fact, that it -is a work of
omnipotence and supernatural, places the objector under the ne-

RESURRECTION. 247
tsessity of proving that God has not ability to raise the dead ; and
from such ground any man of modesty would retire. It is not a
little presumptuous in man who cannot comprehend his own ex
istence, nor analyze the vital spark which gives activity to his
frame, to attempt to limit the Almighty. It is true, that it is of
little importance to know whether his future and spiritual body,
is constituted ofthe same materials which formerly composed it,
or of new ones. There are just as many difficulties attending
the one supposition as the other. What if the bodies ofthe de-
ceased pass through a thousand changes, from inert matter to
vegetable, and from vegetable to animal, and what if, in these
mutations, they are transported to different sections of the' world, '
by animals, air, or by water, and mingle promiscuously, with all
the elements. There is no evidence that they are annihilated,
there is no evidence that they pass the limits of this little world,
which in the eye of God must be attended with less confusion in
selection, than the selection of letters by the typographer. He
might arrange the operations ofthe natural world in such a man
ner as to deposite the particles ofthe human body' in their organ
ic beds, or by a Word, he could carry them back through all their
changes, in a moment. Because the bodies of the saints in their
intermediate state, may be answering some noble ends by pass- *
in°- from one state to another, or from one body to another, it does
not prove, that they will be either annihilated or lost when the
Saviour shall call for them. The same bodies will arise. Nor
is this subject at all perplexed, with these sceptical queries which
are sneeringly and triumphantly-urged against it. It is asked with
what bodies do the dead arise? It.is said, there is an entire re-

248 RESURRECTION.
voultion in the particles of matter, in every living human being
once in several years, and shall we appear with a huge and mas
sy existence comprising all the matter which has ever been se.
creted in our systems? Or shall we appear with the bodies we
possessed in childhood, or ytiuth, or old age, or at the time of
our death ? Shall we appear blooming and healthful, or emacia
ted and enfeebled with disease ? The apostle has answered all
these queries. God giveth a body as he pleaseth ; and to every
one his own body. Nor does the suggestion thatthesame bodies
when raised, will be incapable of existence without sustenance, a-
mount to a difficulty ; because this suggestion overlooks entirely
the change which is to be wrought on the material body. I am
not aware that any one who believes in the resurrectioh ofthe
body, will advocate the doctrine, that this corruption will not put
on incorruption, and this mortal, immortality. I omit for the
present, the strained and unnatural construction which has been
given to the word resurrection, which makes it only a spiritual
resurrection, or a resurrection from sin, or moral death, since I
shall have occasion to allude to this point in several places in this
discourse. The proof I adduce ofthe resurrection of the body, is,
1. That many have arisen from the dead. I have here no ,
allusion to those changes in the bodies of Enoch and Elijah, which
qualified them for the immediate presence and service of God. —
They were probably the subject of an instantaneous change,
which resembled both the death and the resurrection of other
saints. Nor to the conjectural opinions of some, that Samuel was
raised from the dead by the hand of God, to confound both Saul

RESURRECTION. 249
and the witch ofEndor, and that Moses appeared in thesame state
on the Mount of transfiguration that Elijah did. I cannot say
that Moses did not undergo a change like that of Enoch, and that the
reason why he could not be found, was that he had gone into
heaven with a resuscitated and spiritual body. 1 adduce positive
proof that some have arisen from the dead, waving at present, the
resurrection of Christ, and all those miraculous resurrections
which only re-animated the natural body, and imparted to it the
principle of vitality. Matt. 27, 52, 53. And the graves were
opened, and many of the bodies ofthe saints which slept, arose,
and came out ofthe graves, after his resurrection, and went into
the holy city, and appeared unto many. This passage is very ex-
plicit. It states the time, the circumstances and the proof. Their
bodies arose ; they came out of the graves ; they travelled into
Jerusalem, and were seen and known by many. There is no
evidence from this, or any other passage, that the resurrection of
these many, was a singular blessing bestowed on them, which will
be denied other saints. It was more properly the scene of the fi
nal resurrection in miniature, The rising Redeemer, to show the
extent of his power, and the nature ofhis work, and to illustrate
his union to his disciples, and their union to him, carried with him
to heaven some ofthe first fruits of his labors. But it is sufficient
for my purpose, that those who were acquainted with the propri
ety of language, and were under the inspiration of the Holy
Ghost, have said that many bodies ofthe saints which slept,
arose. 2. I prove the resurrection ofthe body, from the truth, that
in eternity man will still be man.' In his original state of inno.

250 RESURRECTION.
cenceand purity, man was not an angel, or a seraph, but man,
possessed of two parts, a soul and abody. He is still possessed
of body and soul. And there is no evidence in the gospel, that
either death, or judgment, or eternity will be such, as to destroy
his distinctive capacities as man. In what the spiritual body will
consist, how it will enhance the happiness, or misery ofthe soul,
what its structure and capacities will be, I shall not presume to
determine. Nor does this at all effect the argument. I simply
say, man must differ from purely intellectual and moral beings;
andhis spiritual body, will differ from his soul. God will give it
such senses as he pleases, and such a union with the soul, as will
best answer his designs, and the promotion of his glory. Man
will still be man, and if he once possessed a body, which was no
incumbrance to his spirit, and which was no interruption ofthe en
joyment ofthe divine presence and smiles, who can say, that the
body may not be resuscitated, and receive a perfection greatly
transcending its original state.
3. I prove the resurrection of the body from the resurrection
of Christ. Christ, in union with his Godhead, possessed a human
body, and a human soul. These both suffered on the cross.—
His body only died. According to his own prediction, he arose
from the dead on the third day. His material body arose. As
evidence of bis d-eath, we have the testimony both of his friends
and his enemies. On the subject of his resurrection, their testi
mony differs. After he was dead he was deposited in a new tomb,
hewn out of a rock ; and lest his disciples should steal bim away,
and make a sham resurrection to verify his prediction, and to de-
ceive the people, the entrance ofthe tomb was secured by a large

RESURRECTION. 251
rock, and that rock was sealed, that a discovery might be made
if the rock was taken away and replaced. As a further securi.
ty, a faithful and armed company of Roman soldiers were sta
tioned about the tomb. At the hour predicted, the stone was
rolled away from the mouth of the sepulchre ; the rocks were
rent, the earth trembled, the graves burst, and the dead arose,
and Jesus came forth and appeared unto many — more than five
hundred at once, and at different times, for the space of forty days,
and then ascended to God. Now the evidence of his resurrec
tion, would not have been half so strong, if his enemies had not
been guarding the tomb. The <- captain ofthe band, and they
that were with him watching JesUs, when they saw the earth
quake, and those things which were done, feared greatly and said,
truly this was the son of God. The only hope that now remain
ed to the Jewish Sanhedrim, to the chief priests and scribes, was
to destroy the evidence of his resurrection. To do this, they
bribed the guard to swear falsely arid to say, while we slept, his
disciples came and stole him away. And perceiving that the
very confession, that they slept, would, according to the Roman
law, expose them to immediate death, they promised to bribe the
governor also, and secure them from merited punishment. And
what did they gain by this position? the testiriiony of a band of
soldiers, to events which transpired when they were asleep. How
did they know what the disciples of Christ were doing, when
they were in sound sleep? Such testimony is too frivolous to de
serve regard ; and yet it is enough in the mind of the Jews, even
to this day, to invalidate the resurrection of Christ. Now that
the resurrection of Christ, was a resurrection of- his body, cannot

252 RESURRECTION.
admit of doubt. It could not be a resurrection of his soul,— a res
urrection from sin, for he never had any sin ; he was never spirit
ually dead. It could not therefore, be a spiritual resurrection.
It is not possible that his soul could be arrayed before Pilate,
smitten with a reed, nailed to the cross, pierced with a spear,
wrapped in a linen cloth, and deposited in a tomb, and raised
from the dead. Noris it possible that his soul should eat and
drink with the disciples of Christ, nor that it should exhibit to
the unbeliving its wounds, and ascend visibly to heaven. These
things cannot be affirmed of an incorporeal spirit. I know "not
how the supporters of the doctrine of spiritual resurrection only,
can evade the force of such reasoning. If Christ had a spiritual
resurrection, he must have had a spiritual death, he must have
been a sinner.
I assume the ground of the Apostle- in 1 Cor. 15 Chap, and
maintain, that such is the union of Christ and his followers, that
their resurrection inevitably follows his resurrection. Now if
Christ be preached, that he arose from the dead, how say some
among "you, that there is no resurrection from the dead; but if
there be no resurrection from the dead, then is Christ not risen.
And if Christ be not risen, then is your preaching vain, and your
faith is also vain : yea, and ye are found false witnesses against
God. Because we have testified of God, that he raised up Christ,
whom he raised not up, if so be the dead rise not. For if the
dead rise not, then is not Christ raised ; and if Christ be not rais
ed, your faith is vain, ye are yet in your sins. This subject is
fully discussed in the 1 Cor. 15 chapter, by the apostle. In this
chapter, he is bold and irrefutable in his defence of the doctrine

RESURRECTION. 253
ofthe resurection of the body. He says, if this doctrine be not
true, the christian church have perjured themselves; and dying
in such a state will descend to perdition. And he declares posu
tively that if this doctrine be false, the martyrs have gone to hell,
or are annihilated. And another very important point is gained ;
the resurrection of Christ proves infallibly the resurrection of all
his followers. I dare not say, on critical examination of this
chapter that it proves the resurrection of the impenitent. It proves
clearly the resurrection of the Corinthian church, arid by conse-
sequence all the followers of the Lamb. For it is a fair princi-
pie of interpretation, that every passage which is addressed to
particular characters, is applicable to all of the same character.
Though this passage may not prove a universal resurrection, it
does not follow that other passages do not prove it. The same
writer declares the universal resurrection in the text. And wheth-
er reasoning from the Universal consequences of Adam's sin on
the natural body, and the universal consequences of Christ's
death on the natural body, would not imply the resurrection of
both just and unjust, as in the 22d verse, for as in Adam all die,
even so in Christ, shall all be made alive, I will not assume to
decide. The death here spoken of, is the death of the body ;
and by consequence the life here spoken of is the life of the bo.
dy, that is the resurrection ofthe body.
4. I prove the resurrection ofthe body from the express dec
laration of the scripture. This is the last, appeal I shall make.
I lay no stress on the desirableness of such an event, nor on the
seeming propriety of the righteous and the wicked appearing be-
fore God in the same bodies in which they have done and suffered

254

RESURRECTION.

the will of God, and in which they have made their bodies the
instruments of iniquity unto iniquity. Indeed there seems to be
a fitness in the saint's- appearing in the same bodies in which they
have endured imprisonments, stripes and martyrdom ; and there
is a seeming fitness in the sinner's appearing in the same body
which has been prostituted to sinful purposes. But all this would
amount to nothing, if God has not revealed the doctrine of the
resurrection of the body. Matt. 22. 23. The same day came unto
him the Saducees. that say -there is no resurrection, and asked
him, saying, Master, Moses said, if a man die having no children,
his brother shall marry his wife, and raise up seed unto his broth.
er; They here speak of seven brothers marrying the same wo
man, and ask, whose wife she shall be in the resurrection. Jesus
answered and said unto them, ye do err, not knowing the scrip
tures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection, they neither
marry nor are given in marriage, but are as the angels of God
in heaven. But as touching the resurrection, have ye not read
that which was spoken unto you by God. I am the God of
Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. God is not
the God of the. dead but of the living. In this passage, the Sav
iour teaches and defends the doctrine ofthe resurrection. If it
be said, that the resurrection here spoken of isa resurrection of
the spirit, I reply, the whole* difficulty of the Saducees, was res
pecting the resurrection of the body. Luke 14. 13 and 14. But
when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame,
the blind ; and thou shalt be blessed : for they cannot recompense
thee; for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the
just. Acts 24. 21. Paul says, I cried touching the resurrection.

RESURRECTION. 255
John 5. 28, 29. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in
the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall
come forth. They that have done good unto the resurrection of
life; and they that have doneevil unto the resurrection ofdamna-
tion. I might examine twenty. seven other passages, in which
the word resurrection occurs. No candid man needs any thing
more than an attentive examination of the subject, to be free from
doubt or perplexity. The doctrine of the resurrection of the
body rests on the testimony of God. This doctrine has been
proved from the following considerations : Some of the saints
have been raised ; in eternity, man will be man, composed of
body and of soul; Christ arose from the dead ; and the scriptures
expressly assert this doctrine.
In closing my discourse, 1 can only say, that all the objects to
be accomplished by such a display, are inscrutable to man. This
transaction may be designed to consummate and enhance the
blessedness of the saved, and to consummate and enhance the
wretchedness of the tost. It may endue man with new senses
and new capacities, and thus present God to him in more vivid
colours ; or it may qualify the saints to be more fully blended in
the final expression of eternal glory. From the scenes with
which it is connected, and the changes which it will produce, it
must be a grand and inspiring theme ! What will be your emo
tions on witnessing the wide and silent domain- of death, where
have slept for years, and "thousands, of years, your friends; —
what, I say, will be your emotions, on witnessing this ruthless
and charmless empire Of the king of terrors, all at once libera
ted, and the sleeping millions rising into life, animation and beau-

256 JUDGMENT.
ty ! O', may we share in the first resurrection, for on such the
second death has no power!

LECTURE XXI.
JUDGMENT.
Acts 17. 31.
Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the
world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained : whereof
he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from*
the dead.
The next scene through which we pass, after the resurrection,
is the final judgment. The design of this day is not to convince
the righteous of the certainty and duration of their happines ;
nor to convince the wicked of the certainty and duration of tlieir
misery. They can have no doubt, immediately after death, con
cerning the character of their destiny. At this time, there is a
particular judgment passed upon all men, as some ascend into
heaven and others descend into hell. The general or final judg
ment will take place at a future period. As to the length of time
which will be employed in the transactions of that day, all that
can be said is that it will be sufficient to answer the designs of
God in instituting it. Whether it will be twenty four hours,' or
twenty four years, it is impossible for us to determine. The cer
tainty of such a day is enough to justify me in presenting sever.
al revealed truths, concerning the judgment, and,

JUDGMENT. 257
1. Such a day is necessary. If man is to be judged and re
warded according to his deeds, it is obvious that his whole char
acter must be taken into view. All his moral actions and mor
al influences must come into the account. It is equally obvious
that he is not accountable for actions which he never performed,
and influence which he never exerted. Now no man's moral
character is completed at death ; that is, there is not a full exhi
bition of it to intelligent beings. His examples, sentiments, and
writings, may live, and act long after his death. And the shade
of his moral 'character will never be developed, till the last men
tion of his name is erased from the page of history, and the last
glimmering ofhis influence shall cease to operate on the human
mind. The wickedness of the moral characters of Voltaire, Hume
and Paine, can never be fully exhibited, until the last man dies,
whose sentiments and morals have been poisoned by their infidel
ity. Their sentence and rewards are to-be graduated by their
malevolence ; and this malevolence is disclosed by the lives, the
conduct, and accumulated guilt of their votaries. All those vota
ries must be assembled on the day, of judgment, to make a just
and clear display of their guilt, And how can the judge assign
the just rewards ofthe pious intentions and disinterested benevo-
Ience of Baxter, Brainard, and Edwards, whose writings have
comforted the saints, and have been the means of converting- the
impenitent for generations since their decease, and are destined
to exert a larger and a happier influence to the end o." time, if
those who have been blessed by their labors, be not present to il-
lustrate their benevolence ? The sparkling gems in their crowns
are multiplied by every rolling sun ! It is absurd to suppose that

258 JUDGMENT.,
mankind are judged at death, and at the same time, that every
intelligent being in the universe must see and approve their sen
tences. In what an awful and interesting light does this place the do
mestic and social relations of life ! All our intentions, efforts, and
influence, whether right or wrong, virtuous or vicious, as parents
or children, as friends or fellow-creatures, will then undergo a
rigid scrutiny.
A general judgment is necessary, that God may justify his ways
to man. Who can approve of his sentences, and not be present
at the trials ? There is no evidence that the knowledge and capa
cities of man will be infinite. This would blend man in Deity,.
and invest him in equal robes. And if we are to approve of the
divine conduct in the destinies ofhis creatures, all their volitions,.
actions, and influence, must be brought within the sphere of hu
man comprehension. It is necessary then that we be present,,
and witness the transactions of that day, which we cannot do if
men are judged at death, What do we know of the trial of Cain,
or of Abel, or of any of the ancients if it took place at death ?
Besides, it is conceded that God governs the universe, and is the
friend of virtue, and the enemy of vice. But in this life, the wick
ed are often rewarded, and the virtuous punished. And how can
we reconcile this seeming indifference of divine providence with
the benevolence and justice of God ? Why has God, who can an
nihilate the universe in a moment, left the ferocious persecutor to
rob the church of piety and talent, and shed the blood of the
saints? The only correct solution is, that the present is a state of
trial, of probation, in which God leaves the human family to form

JUDGMENT. 259
Such characters as they please, and the work of retribution and
awards, is reserved to a future day. That day will show to man,
the wisdom and equity ofthe divine proceedings, and remove the
doubt and suspicion which have lingered about his providences.
To take this world in its present state, and with its present ap.
pearance, to determine the light in which God views the moral
characters of his creatures, would be a very unjust criterion. —
Wait till he has finished his work, and then judge ofhis character
and ofhis sentences. His own hand will remove the difficulties,
and show the glory in which his deep designs are clothed. The
necessity of a judgment, is obvious from the imperfection of hu
man character at death, from the incapacity of the human mind
to determine the equity of those proceedings which do not come
within the sphere of its action, and from the fact, that God
does not invariably in this Iife; reward virtue and punish
vice. 2. The decisions of that day will be infallibly correct.
God hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world
in righteousness. That decision is equitable, which adapts re
wards and punishments to the merit and demerit of moral actions.
Such is the character ofthe Judge, that he is secured by his per
fections against injustice, deception, or bribery. The Judge of
the whole earth will do perfectly right. There can be rio conceal
ment or palliation. Every secret emotion ofthe soul, and every
fruit ofthe affections, are plain before him. He looketh on the
heart. And his verdict will be totally uninfluenced by the spe.
ciousness of appearance, or by the management of defence. How
can he err, before whose mind the whole mental and moral world
17*

260 JUDGMENT.
is unmasked, and who has counted every respiration of thought?
He can follow the first germ of affection, through all its choices,
actions, relations and influences, and will reward the virtuous and
punish the vicious just as much as they deserve. No matter how
we may, have been regarded by our fellow creatures, and what
may have been our reasonings and speculations, and the decisions
of conscience. •£< -No sentiments will stand on that day, but those
which are -founded on scripture. If ' our sentiments will then
stand the scrutiny ofthe bible, we shall abide the day of Christs'
coming; if not, we shall fall. For it developes the principles on
which the final judgment shall be conducted, and the result of
that awful trial. But no one need doubt the inflexibility of the
judge, nor the infallibility of his decisions. The innocent have
nothing to~fear : the guilty have nothing to hope.
This scene will- be the more deeply interesting, from the con
sideration, 3. That Jesus Christ will be the Judge. He is a Being best
qualified for this work, from the complexity ofhis character, and
the nature of his work. He possesses the perfections of God to
secure him against error in judgment, and the character of man
to feel for our infirmities. His labors and sufferings for us, must
remove all doubts in regard to the kindness of his heart. He is
above the influence of infirmity, caprice, or sinister motives. —
And it is deeply affecting to reflect, that he who was the sacri
fice for sinners, for his enemies; this very Saviour is by consent
ofthe trinity, appointed the judge ofthe quick -and the dead. All
judgment is committed unto the Son. The merey seat will be
changed into a judgment seat. And the lips ofthe same advo-

JUDGMENT. 261
cate and intercessor, must pronounce the awards of justice. We
shall then see him, not an angel of light, not a created judge,
commissioned to maintain the rights of his sovereign, but the
same lovely, compassionate, and wounded Saviour, who bas
completed the work of pardon, and is about to close* his mediato
rial labors, and commit the kingdom to the Father. He is no
longer the subject of contempt, calumny and persecution. The
mockery and triumph of his enemies have ceased, and every
mouth is silent before him. This is the babe of Beth"lehem ; this
the despised Nazerene ; but, O how exalted, how immesurably
exalted ! At his feet are crowns, and thrones, and dominions, and
he is hailed Lord of all. He is encircled in the congratulations
and praises of his friends ; and his enemies are powerless at his
feet. This is your judge, ye saints of God. He whose love has
redeemed you, and is about to crown you with eternal blessed-
ness. This is your judge, ye enemies of the cross. He who
has followed you with mercies and entreaties, and whose precious
blood was spilt for your salvation. But now it is too late; he
can seal no pardon, he can remit no offences. He has finished
the work assigned him, and will sit down on the right hand of
the majesty on high. It only remains for him to pass through
the vast concourse, dividing the righteous from the wicked; to
say, come ye blessed, and depart ye cursed, and then add, Father,
I have accomplished the work which thou gavest me to do, and
surrender the mediatorial kingdom. If angels cast a glance of
envy over the mission ofthe great Redeemer, signed and sealed
in heaven, which cost them the joys of Paradise ; if the more obe
dient became the servants ofthe High Priest of our salvation; if

262 JUDGMENT.
they hailed his incarnation in joyful triumph, and have aided the
songs ofthe redeemed, in the house of their pilgrimage, what
must be the raptures of the final coronation! The joys ofthe
righteous, and the sorrows of the wicked, will impart an awful
grandeur to the scenes of the last day.
4. The numbers concerned in the transaction, will heighten
the interest of the great day, to all who are concerned. There
will be the millions of every character, and every age who have
slumbered in dust. The monarch, who has swayed his resistless
sceptre, and whose throne has been graced by prostrate millions,
now divested of his robe and his diadem, must answer for the
motives-which have inspired his breast, and the character and
conduct of his reign. The minister of Christ must undergo a
scrutiny no less solemn ! The manner in which he has diseharg.
ed his embassage ; the ardor ofhis devotions ; the plainness and
faithfulness of his ministrations; the affection and uprightness of
his conduct, must pass a momentous review. If he has exhibit
ed obliquities of life, or indecision and temporising economy, and
has immolated on the unhallowed altar of emolument, ease, and
the friendship ofthe world, that self-denial, that integrity and de
cision, that sacrificing and sanctified spirit, which the Lord Jesus
requires, how overwhelming will be the reward of his perfidy.
None will stand before the Judge with higher investitures and re-
sponsibilities, and their rewards will be as peculiar and interest.
ing as their characters. If they have been faithful ambassadors
of Christ, they may present their flocks to Christ with a joy un.
interrupted by the lamentations of an unhappy and ruined people ;
but if they have a character the reverse, their catastrophe will

JUDGMENT. 263
be measured by their fall from the heights ofthe sanctuary to
the depths of perdition. There will appear the instructors and
guardians of the rising generation, from those who mould the
plastic, youthful heart, in the high schools in the nation, to the
humble parent who guides his household at his will.
Teachers must present to the bar their pupils ; and parents
and guardians their children. It will not be enough on that day
that we have ljved to bless our sons and daughters with compe
tency, and intellectual refinement. These very embellishments,
which excite the admiration of men, may have been the means of
disqualifying them for the favorable decision of their judge. For
many things which are highly esteemed among men, are an
abomination in the sight of God. What must be the emotions of
those parents who have smiled at the incursions of vice on their
domestic circles, and have amused themselves with those vicious
toys which have prepared their children for the unquenchable fire!
Will it appear in the day of judgment, that total indifference to
the religious education of your children, is a virtue? And will
there be any music in the wailings, which must be attributed to
your indifference, either in whole or in part ? To escape the
charge of partiality, and of a bigoted spirit, you may commit
them to the merciless ravages of a depraved world, and rejoice
that they are the votaries of licentiousness, and scepticism, and
that they are not restrained from vice, by any melting persua
sions, or efficient authority of their parents,— but O the day, when
the relations of men shall be investigated, and the abused and
delegated power of guardians shall be submitted to the scrutiny
of our judge — that day will effect a change in the reasonings of

264 JUDGMENT.
the impious, which ought to have been effected not by the terrors
of eternal despair, but by the persuasive voice of inspiration and
the genial influences ofthe Spirit. Parents you must stand be
fore the judgment seat of Christ, and answer for the complexion
you have given, to the moral views and feelings of your children.
Those objects which sport a.bout your firesides, and share in the
richest labo/s of your lives, and the choicest affections of your
hearts, will meet you to proclaim to the world, the influence of
your examples, your precepts, and your discipline on their des.
tinies. Happy are those parents whose domestic arrangements
are respective of that day.
Children too must experience a review of their conduct, at tha'
eventful period. When their power to inflict by resentment and
to wound by prodigality, will cease; and all the wasted councils
and lavished affections of their parents, will appear as scorpion
scourges to wreck and ruin the soul, while prayers, and tears,
and entreaties, will form the bitter ingredients of their mis- '
ery. How great the contrast between him, who has valued the in
structions and solicitude of parental affection, and by a deport
ment no less grateful to' the hearts of his parents, than friendly
to his own peace, has secured by promise and by oath the love of
his Saviour. What attitude of human nature is more lovely, than
filial friendship, which supports the infirmities of age, and which
prompted by the counsels of their parents, gives them joy when
their sun is setting, and proves to be a pledge of departed excel
lence, that has not lived in vain. When all other joys are taste
less, and every beauty of nature is charmless, the virtues of our

JUDGMENT. 265
children, will, add lustre to the glimmering spark of life. But
precious the reflection that we leave them a valuable legacy to
the world, and that we may meet them in peace, and dwell with
them in heaven. But why should I reiterate, we must all stand
before the judgment seat seat of Christ. I can only allude to a
few of the more interesting and important relations ofthe human
family. None will be absent from that august assemblage, how-
ever desirable absence or annihilation might be to any. The
- transactions of that day will be regulated by the immutable de
crees of heaven, and not by the desires of creatures. The sum-
mons of the Eternal will reach the mouldering nations; and the
trump of God raise the dead. The sea shall give up her dead ;
death and hell, shall give up their dead, the earth terribly shaken
by Omnipotence ; and the heavens melting down at the presence
ofthe Saviour, will retire, that the dead may gather around the
bar of God. But why should we talk of past ages, of successive
•generations which have slept in the grave. And why ofthe liv-,
ing who shall be caught up to meet the Lord in the air? I see
mingling in the crowds of that day a small, but interesting group.
And it is my dear people,— those who nqw occupy these seats ;
and listen to the messages of divine love from his lips, who trem-
bles in view ofthe final retribution. Yes we must all appear be
fore the judgment seat of Christ. We shall form a part of that
great congregation. Some of our voices will probably join in
the triumphs ofthe day, and others will swell the deep tone of
eridless lamentation. For which of these states are we prepared ?
Can any doubt the principles on which the judgment will proceed?
The scriptures have settled it. They that have done good shall

266 JUDGMENT.
come forth to the resurrection of life, and they that have done
evil, unto the resurrection of damnation. Crowns of life await
all that have made their peace with God, who by regeneration
have passed from death unto life. Nothing is necessary to make
that a scene of joy and triumph, but the removal ofthe depravity
ofthe heart. We must cease to hate God and learn to love him.
Faith in Christ, the sanctification of the affections, the love of
God, the abhorrence ofsin and ardent devotion are the only quali
fications for eternal blessedness. If the heart has been changed,
and created anew, the presence, and promises, and fellowship, of
the Saviour, will remove the terrors of the judgment, and give it
a safe and peaceful exemption from the demands of justice. An
interest in Christ will not only free the soul from the fears and
dangers of the trial of that day, but it will render all those works
which have been performed in faith, and from that purity of heart,
which has been imparted by the Holy Ghost, rewardable. There
is a gracious reward annexed to every work done from purity of
intention. Though grace has given the ability, and the disposi.
tion, and made supreme love to God, and disinterested love toman,
the predominant purpose of the soul, yet God in the riches of his
mercy bestows a gracious compensation on all the works of faith
and labor3 of love. The righteous will be accepted in Christ, their
substitute and their Redeemer, and enter into eternal blessedness,
though in point of law and retributive justice, they merit eternal
punishment, yet through him who has loved them and died for
them, who has paid the ransom and pardoned the guilty, cleansed
by his blood, and clothed with his righteousness, they are justi
fied, sanctified and redeemed. If such are your claims to the

JUDGMENT. 267
blessings of the gospel you are safe ; you will love his appearing.
Every display he shall make ofhis mercy, or of his justice, shall
increase your endearment. And his approach in robes of grand
eur, as the judge of the universe, will fill the largest capacities of
your souls with joy.
The characters of the opposite company are easily described.
With all their moral complexions, from the specious hypocrite, to
the shameless infidel; and from the rigid moralist to.the reeling
sot, — all that are unregenerate, and unsanctified in heart compose
the congregation ofthe wicked. He that hath not made his peace
with God, must perish. The word has gone forth out of his
mouth, and cannot return, be ye holy, for I am holy. The Sav
iour, as Mediator has done his work. He has only to say to
the trembling world ; — to you on my right hand, come ye bles
sed, and to you on my left hand, depart ye cursed into everlas
ting punishment, prepared for the devil and his angels.

LECTURE XXII.
PUNISHMENT.
Mat. 25. 46.
And these shall go away into everlasting punishment.
To beings destined to a future state' of existence, the nature
and extent of that existence, cannot be uninteresting. All ques
tions in relation to the immortality of man are put to rest by the
volume of inspiration. The gospel has brought life and immor
tality to light. It has as clearly revealed the immortality of sin
ners, as that of saints. The duration, ofthe one is commensurate
with the duration of the other. The interminable punishment of
the wicked, is a painful subject, but one which is too deeply in.
teresting, and too plainly taught in the bible, to lie concealed. —
Your attention is therefore solicited to the arguments which may
be offered in proof of the eternal punishment of the finally im
penitent. By the finally impenitent, I mean those who live and
die without true gospel repentance, without a change of heart,
without the blood of Christ applied to them by special grace.
Every man by nature is impenitent, and the saints in heaven, and
those on earth were once so. But they are not finally impenitent.
Before their probation closes, they are brought to true repent-.
ance; and their peace' is made with God. But that there are
those who have died with opposite characters, and received oppo-
site destinies, cannot admit of a doubt. We have the testimony
of scripture, of our own.senses, and of dying sinners. What then,

PUNISHMENT. 269 »-
is the state of those who die in their sins, and what is the proof,
that they are eternally lost ? The proof that they will be eternal-
ly lost, arises,
1. From the fact, that this is a state of probation. And what
is a state of probation, but a stale which God has given to man
to form his character for eternity? With a nature inclined
to disobedience and to pursue vice, God requires us to be
holy and pursue a course of virtue. This constitutes a state
of probation. (Jf men were naturally inclined to obedience
and virtue, there would be no such thing as trial., J The
characters of men would be infallibly and universally holy. It
would require no effort on their part- to be obedient, and they
would be na more deserving of praise for virtuous feelings and
conduct, than the angels of light. But God has made every pro
vision for the formation of a holy character. He has given to
man, a Saviour, weighty motives, an opportunity - to make his
peace with his maker, the atonement of Christ, the invitations,
warnings smd threatenings ofthe gospel. The conscience, under
standing, and the spirit of God, are pleading. And in the midst
of all these inducements to a life of piety, and with hearts opposed
to the way of salvation, we are forming our characters. But
there is not the least intimation in the bible, that this state of trial
extends beyond death. The principal passage, I believe, which
is adduced in support of a probationary state beyond the present
life, is the one which speaks of Christ's preaching to the spirits
in prison. And that very passage tells us when and where he
preached to them. Christ by his Spirit in Noah preached to the
antediluvians, who are now imprisoned spirits. He did not de-

270 PUNISHMENT.
scend from calvary into the invisible place of punishment in the
world of spirits. It was when once the long suffering of God
waited in the days of Noah, for the antediluvians to turn at the
preaching of that holy man, who preached by the spirit of Christ
preaching in him. The boundary of probation is death. That
last and solemn stroke, will fix our destinies for eternity. It ia
true, that God has in mercy, deferred the giving ofhis sentence,
until we have finished our characters. And if there is no change
in our characters after death, passing that important hour without
preparation for heaven, all must be eternally lost. It is true, if
there were any further state of trial, there would not be an abso
lute decision at death ; but we have no intimation that there ia
such a state. The harvest is the end of the world, when all men
will be ripe ; the wheat for heaven, and the tares and chaff for
unquenchable fire. The pious for eternal glory ; and the unsanc
tified for eternal misery.
2. I prove the interminable punishment of the finally impeni
tent, from the desert of sin.
Every candid man will admit that the sinner wUl be punished
as much as he deserves. The question thenis what punishment
does he deserve ? What is the real desert of sin ? All sin is the
same in its nature and tendency. Its nature is enmity, and its-
tendency is to break up the peace and happiness of all holy be-
ings. It would, if not limited and governed by a superior power,
sweep away the purity and holiness of all good beings. It would
not only change the moral affections of every holy intelligence
into hatred, but would increase that hatred forever. Who that
views the effects of sin on the fallen angels, and on this wo. Id,

PUNISHMENT. 271
which is full of contention and misery can doubt that sin has a
tendency to do infinite mischief? We know not how much mis-
ehief it will do, for God will prevent its progress when he pleas
es. But we do know how much mischief it would do if it had
power. It has a tendency to produce infinite evil. Every par-
tide of sin has this tendency. And if the disposition of sin is to
plant enmity in the breast of every intelligent being, that enmity
would have a tendency to increase forever. So that the misery
which sin would produce, would be universal and eternal. And
now I ask in the light of reason, how much punishment does a
disposition to produce universal and eternal misery deserve? '
3. Another argument in proof of the -interminable punishment
of the finally impenitent is drawn from the scriptures of truth. —
The proof from the bible is various. Some ofthe sources of evi
dence, are full and incontrovertible when considered independent
ly ; and others, though more remote, are not less conclusive. —
But the several sources taken together, will appear to the fair
reasoner, and the candid enquirer after truth, overwhelming. —
The first class of passages whieh I shall examine are those which
imply that a change of heart and preparation for heaven, are
confined to the present life. Seek ye the Lord while he may be
found, call ye upon him while he is near. Because I have called,
and ye have refused; Ihave stretched out my hand and no man
regarded it; I also will laugh at your calamities, and mock when
your fear cometh. When your fear cometh as desolation and
your destruction cometh as a whirlwind ; when distress and an-
guish come upon you. Then shall they call, and I will not an
swer; they shall seek me early, but shall not find me. Then

272 PUNISHMENT.
saith one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? and he
said unto him strive to enter in at the straight gate, for many I
say unto you shall seek to enter in, and shall not be able. When
once the Master of ihe house has risen up and hath shut the door,
and ye begin to stand without and to knock at the door, saying,
Lord, Lord, open unto us, he shall answer and say unto you, I
know you not whence ye are: depart from me ye workers of
iniquity. These passages declare plainly, that there is a period
beyond which if men pass, there is no recovery. There is a
time when God will not listen to the calls of sinners, and a time
when though they seek to enter into heaven, they shall not be
able. That Christ will close the door while some are without,
seeking in vain for admission, is clearly taught in the passages
above quoted. They further teach us, that the time will come
when their states shall be fixed; and that period is when they
pass the boundary of probation : either when they ars given up
of God, or when they are gone into eternity.
Indeed, on what ground can we account for the sufferings,
prayers, and labors of Christ and the apostles, and christians in
all ages, but on the ground that this life is a state of probation,
and the only season for forming our characters. The scriptures
have set it at rest; a change of heart must take place in this
life, or the soul must be unchangeably miserable.
The second class of passages I shall examine in proof of eter-
nal punishment, are those which express the duration of future
punishment by implication. I pray for them, I pray not for the
world. The blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be
forgiven unto men, neither in this world, neither in the world to

PUNISHMENT. 273
come. He hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal
damnation. There is a sin unto death, I do not say ye shall pray
for it. It is impossible to renew them again to repentance. If
we sin wilfully, after we have received the knowledge ofthe
truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, but a certain
fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation which shall
devour the adversaries. In order to understand this passage
cqrrectly, it must be recollected that the apostle is here speaking
to the Hebrews, who considered Christ an imposter. He says,
if we, Jews, sin wilfully after having received the knowledge of
the Messiaship, ofthe sufferings, death and atonement of Christ,
there is no other atonement for sin. If we reject this only Sav
iour, we must perish eternally. Here we see, that a rejection of
Christ is connected with eternal punishment. He that despised
Moses' law, died without mercy under two or three witnesses :
Of how much sorer punishment suppose ye shall he be thought
worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of God, and hath
counted the blood ofthe covenant, wherewith'he was sanctified
an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the spirit of grace !
The plain import of this passage is, that those who despise and
reject the christian religion, will deserve a punishment far more
severe, than those that despised the Mosaic law. Where the
worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched. He that believeth
not the Son, shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on
him. I go my way, and ye shall seek me, and shall die in your
sins : whither I go, ye cannot come. Whose end is destruction.
He that sheweth no mercy, shall have judgment without mercy.
That is, he shall be punished without mercy.
18

274 PUNISHMENT.
If there be some for whom Christ does not pray, then there are
some who will not. be savingly benefitted by his mediation. If
the sin against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, neither in
this world, nor in the world to come, then those who commit the
unpardonable sin, must be punished eternally ; for forgiveness is
absolutely necessary to salvation. Ifmenarein danger of eter
nal damnation, then they may be eternally damned. If saints
are not required to pray for certain siris, then God will not par
don these sins. And if it is impossible to renew some men to re
pentance, it is impossible they should be saved ; for no man can
be saved without repentance. If there remains no sacrifice for
sin, to those who reject Christ, they cannot be forgiven ; for sin
cannot be pardoned without a sacrifice. If their worm dieth not,
then the soul is not annihilated. And if their fire is not quenched,
their agonies and distress will be eternal. If those who die in
their sins shall never see life, and if the finally impenitent can
never go where Christ is, then they can never go to heaven, and
must go to hell. The plain, honest, uncorrupted mind, would in
fer at once, from the above passages, that there is such a thing as
eternal punishment.
The third class of passages which I shall examine in proof of
eternal punishment, are those which describe the future states of
men in contrast. Men of the world, who have their portion in
this life. 1 shall be satisfied, when I awake in thy likeness. The
hope of the righteous shall be gladness, bat the expectation of
the wicked shall perish. The wicked is driven away in his
wickedness; but the righteous hath hope in his death. And
many of them that sleep in the dust shall awake ; some to ever-

PUNISHMENT. 275
lasting life, and some to everlasting shame and contempt. He
will gather his wheat into his garner, and will burn up the chaff
with unquenchable fire. Gather ye first the tares, and bind them
in bundles to burn them; but gather the wheat into my barn. The
son of man shall send forth his angels ; and they shall gather
out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them that do ini
quity, and shall cast them into a furnace of fire; there shall be
wailing and gnashing of teeth'. Theri shall the righteous shine
forth in the kingdom of their Father. Well done, good and
faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. But cast
out the unprofitable servant into outer darkness; there, shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth. Come ye blessed ; depart ye
cursed. These shall go away into everlasting punishment, but
the righteous into everlasting life. At the very time the righ
teous are received, the wicked are rejected. The wicked have
their portion in this life; but the righteous have their portion in
eternity. But how can the wicked be said to have their portion
in this life, if they go to heaven after death. Their portion, or
happiness, in that case, would be in the life to come. Now all
these passages speak of the different states of the righteous and
the wicked in contrast; but if the wicked and the righteous go
to the same place, and are made subjects of the same felicity,
there is no propriety in the great contrast between their charac
ters and'their eternal states, which are so variously and so abun-
dantly mentioned, in the bible. Besides, the inspired writers em
ploy the same words to express the . duration of the punishment
of the wicked, that they employ to express the duration of the
happiness of the righteous. The end of the one is peace ; the
18*

276 PUNISHMENT?.
end of, the other is punishment. When the hopes and anticipa.
tions of the righteous are realized, the hopes and anticipations
of the wicked perish. The hope of a good man is an anchor
which fixes his grasp on heaven. The hope of the wicked is the
spider's web, which is frail and deceptive. Now if there had
been any state of purgation in the future world, where the soul
could be reformed and renovated, the inspired writers would not
have been honest in omitting the least mention of such a state. —
There is not the least intimation of such a state, either in these
passages, or in any other part of the bible. The Scriptures uni
formly speak of a separation of the righteous from the wicked;
a direful, final, and unchangeable separation. It is inconceivable
to me how a man with a single passage that I have quoted, be
fore him, can doubt the eternal punishment of the wicked.
After the human family shall have passed into eternity, God
will, in the winding up of the scene, call the pious dead from
their graves, and change the pious who are alive upon the earth.
He will then call on death and hell to give up their dead. Christ
will then change the mercy seat into a judgment seat. He will
cease to dispense pardon, and in the last exercise of his authori
ty, will assign to every man his just sentence, and then give up
his mediatorial kingdom, and all things will be unchangeably fix
ed. This will take place immediately on his pronouncing the
sentences, come ye blessed, and depart ye cursed. Now I chal
lenge all the sophistry and wisdom of earth, to produce a shadow
of proof that there will be a single change in the human char-
acter after this period. That is, they who are then in a state of
sin, will never pass into a state of holiness; and they who ara

PUNISHMENT. 277
then in a state of holiness, will never pass into a state of sin. —
There will undoubtedly be an increase of sin and punishment in
the wicked, and an increase of holiness and happiness in the righ.
teous; but there will be no change in the nature of their charac
ters or of their states. Where are the passages that speak of
another resurrection, another judgment, and another day of decis
ion ? All the righteous are now in heaven, and all the wicked in
hell ; and all the purposes of Christ's mediation and death, are
drawn to a close. The story of the last judgment is so plain,
that a child may understand it; and it is an incontestible refuta
tion of all cavils about' the future and interminable punishment
of the wicked.
4. The next class of passages which I shall examine in proof
of this doctrine, are those texts which speak of the duration of
future punishment, by the terms everlasting, eternal, forever, and
forever and ever. Some shall awake to shame and everlasting
contempt. It is better for thee to enter info life halt, or maimed,
than having two hands or two feet, to be cast into everlasting
fire. Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire. These shall go away
into everlasting punishment. They shall be punished with ever
lasting punishment. They shall be punished with everlasting des
truction from the presence ofthe Lord, and the glory ofhis power.
He that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost.is in danger of e-
ternal'damnation. The inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah are set
forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of etergal fire. Wan-
dering stars, to whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forev-
er. And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up forever and ever,
and they have no rest day nor night. And they said, Alleluia :

278 PUNISHMENT.
and her smoke rose up forever and ever. And the Devil that
deceived thexn was cast into a lake of fire and brimstone, where
the beast and false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and
night, forever and ever.
Any attempt to make a distinction between the words everlast
ing and eternal, would be perfectly futile, as in the language
which our Saviour spoke, the same word is used for both. The
word which is translated eternal, is purely the same word that is
translated, everlasting, and forever and ever. And it is just as
fair reasoning, to say eternal is restricted to a limited time, and
does not mean endless, as it is to say everlasting does not mean
endless. For they are in the original Greek, the same word. —
The Saviour did not say, these shall go away into everlasting
punishment, and the righteous into life eternal; but these shall
go away into aionion punishment, and the righteous into life
aionion : the same adjective is used in both cases. And if the
term everlasting occurs in several places in the scripture, in a
limited sense, the nature of the subject, always determines the
sense in which it is used. If it is applied to any subject, or
object, it means as long as that subject or that object endures. —
The nature of the object always determines the length of the
time. The phrase everlasting mountains, means as long as the
mountains endure. Everlasting hills, that is, as long as the hills
endure. The everlasting bars that were wrapped around Jonah,
that is, as lone as those bars endured. The everlasting punish.
ment of the soul, that is, as long as the soul endures. A general
rule of interpretation, laid down by all good critics, is, that ev.
ery term be taken in its literal sense, unless there be something

PUNBHMENT. 279
in the subject, or connexion, which requires it to be taken other-
wise. Now all critics agree that the Greek word in English
letters, aionion, means always being, and is rightly translated
endless, Everlasting, or eternal. When punishment is spoken of
in the New Testament, I know of no place, in which, either the
sense, connexion, or the subject, requires everlasting to be under.
stood in any other sense than eternal. And if eternal punish
ment means limited punishment, then eternal life means limited
happiness. And when the punishment of the wicked shall come
to an end, then the happiness of the righteous will come to an
end. The Saviour describes the duration of the two states of
mankind, the state of the righteous and that of the wicked, in
precisely the same language. The scripture is perfectly clear
on this subject. He that being often reproved hardeneth his
neck, shall suddenly be destroyedj and that without remedy. If
destruction is remediless, if no remedy can be found, if neither
the grace, nor mercy of the Saviour can reach the case of the
self-ruined sinner, his destruction must be eternal. It was said
of Judas, it were good for him if he had not been born. This
cannot be true if he could ever be restored to the divine favor.
Even if he were to reman in hell, a thousand, or a million of
vears, and then come out to enjoy an eternity of bliss, his exis
tence would be a precious blessing. For an eternity of happi
ness, would more than compensate for any degree of misery
he-could endure during a limited time. The inspired writers
have borrowed all the images in nature, which can convey ter
ror to the human mind. And after having exhausted the resour.
ces of imagery, a full conception of the duration and intensity of

280 PUNISHMENT.
future punishment, is unattainable. However figurative the lan
guage may have been, one thing is certain, the figures are but
faint shadows of the reality. It is vain to cavil at a truth so
plainly revealed, and so consonant with reason. I must notice a
few cavils which are made on future, endless punishment. It is
said a finite being cannot commit an infinite evil. Has he not a
disposition to commit it? And he is to be judged and punished
according to the mischief he would do, and not according to what
he will actually accomplish. To have a disposition to murder is
murder in the sense of the law, whether it be gratified or not. —
Want of power to accomplish a wicked design, does not destroy
the reality and guilt of that design. It is said every thing that
has a beginning must have an end; and as sin and misery have
a beginning, they must have an end. On this principle, heaven
must have an end, and the soul itself must have an end, fonit
had a beginning. It is said, the soul is a part of God, and God
cannot damn himself; and therefore, all souls will be saved. If
the soul of man is a part of God, then it must have the attributes
of God ; such as omnipotence and omnicience. We have no idea
of God, but by his attributes. And if the soul of man is a part
of God, it must have some of his attributes. Now I put the
question to every man, Of what is the Emperor of China now
thinking? If you cannot tell, you have no reason to think how"
ever closely the soul may be imprisoned by the body, that it is
any part of God. The soul was created as much as the body
and is limited, and always will be limited in its capacities. When
it is said^God created man, it does not mean, that he created his
body merely ; for the body of man without a soul, is nothing

PUNISHMENT. 281
more than a lump of clay. When it is said therefore, that God
created man, it is meant, that he created all that constitutes him
man, which must include both soul and body. It is said, God is
too good to punish his creatures. But we know he has punished
multitudes of his creatures, and is now punishing them. And if
it is consistent with his goodness to inflict.one degree of punish.
ment, and if he may on the same principle inflict a hundred de
grees, he may inflict eternal punishment. It is just as consistent
for God to inflict vindicative' eternal punishment, as it is to inflict
vindicative temporary punishment ; and his goodness would just
as soon have prevented the one as the other. It is said the atone
ment is general ; and therefore all will be savingly benefitted by
it. But the atonement may be general and yet not a single in-
dividual savingly benefitted by it. It is not the atonement
which saves men, but the application of, it. Now the atonement
would not have effected the salvation of a single soul, if God had
not applied it. The atonement only renders it just for God to
pardon sinners. Their salvation depends on the will of God,
exercised through the atonement. God has given mankind pro-
perty enough to have sent the gospel to every soul on earth. —
But this does not prove that this property has been devoted to
this purpose. Neither does it prove because an atonement has
been made for all, that it will be savingly applied to all. Besides
God has declared, that he will not apply the atonement to all. —
And though the atonement is ever so ample, without an applica
tion it would be unavailing. We might just as well attempt to
prove, that, because there is light enough in the natural sun to
illuminate the earth, there will be no darkness, as to say because

282 PUNISHMENT.
the atonement is sufficient for all, none will be lost. It is said
God is merciful and will therefore save sinners. It is true
God is merciful, and will pardon sinners. But what sin
ners will he pardon? And what are the terms on which his mer-
cy may be received ? God will extend mercy only to certain
characters, and on certain conditions. The finally impenitent
.never have these characters, and never fulfil these conditions; it
follows therefore, that they will never obtain this mercy. There
is no way, in which the divine promises can be properly applied
to the finally impenitent; nor can they ever be brought into the
ark of safety. They have placed themselves forever beyond the
reach of every thing which is precious to the soul. Who are the
characters addressed in the text? The enemies of Christ, those
who live without God, and without piety. I do not say that eve-
ry impenitent will suffer the vengeance of eternal fire. But I
do say, that every impenitent is in great danger of it. If any sin
ner be cut off in impenitence, or be forsaken by the Spirit of
God, or be deluded by procrastination, or blinded by error, or
confirmed in carnal security, or should any one rest on a false
hope until summoned to eternity, his ruin must be remediless. —
He must become the prey of eternal misery. And these shall
go away into everlasting punishment. But what is this punish
ment? It is to be the subject of the most malignant and conflict
ing passions. It is to wage unequal and hopeless war against
him who can inflict insufferable pains. It is to wrangle with con-
science, moral existence, and God. It is to curse God, and heav
en, and happiness, and long for annihilation. It is to- possess an
existence as miserable as the sinner deserves. It is to be cast

PUNISHMENT. 283
into hell. Not to be cast into the grave, or into temporary per-
dition. But to be cast into punishment in the invisible world, into
indescribable and endless anguish and despair. In that world of
darkness, where no ray of hope can ever beam, is a gulf never
visited by an angel of mercy! A cavern resounding only with
the waitings of the wretched ! Here the imprisoned soul must
stay, not rest, till the uttermost farthing is paid. But what can
pay the debt of love and gratitude which the sinner owes? Can
an increasing enmity against God pay it? Can strong malignity,
horror and blasphemy satisfy the claims of justice, and reform
the transgressor? No, the feelings and conduct of the damned,
will only increase the debt, and sink the soul deeper and deeper
in perdition ! Pay the uttermost farthing is the imperious voice
of justice. No release until the uttermost farthing is paid. But
ah, the separation, the separation ! Separated from friends, sepa
rated from hope, separated from social friendship, and social bles
sings! Every tender tie sundered, all love and good will chang.
ed into the bitterest, enmity. Separated from comforts and pri
vileges purchased with the precious blood of Christ ! Separated
from God and heaven ! No peace in self-complacency, none in
fellow-beings. All within is death ; and all without is execration
and horror! And retrospection will come in to make up the un-
utterable sum of this misery. Every view of the past will fur.
nish a theme of immortal regret ! A glorious law violated— a
glorious gospel despised — a probation wasted — the ,Spirit resist.
ed  the precious soul ruined ! And the prospect is no less gloomy
than the retrospect; for no light can break from the cloud of
eternal darkness before them. And who are these miserable

284 PUNISHMENT.
viptims of despair? These are the profane, the fraudulent, the
liar, the selfish, the covetous, the giddy and the thoughtles. — ¦
There are the mockers and despisers of religion ; there are the
externally upright ; there are the formalist, the moralist, alid the
prayerless. There are the hypocrite and the deceiver, and all
that forget God, and are not reconciled to him by the death of
his Son. There is the parent who has watched over the smiling
infant, the emblem of harmlessness. There is the sinner whose
heart has become callous by the Sun of righteousness, and whose
days have been spent within the shadow ofthe sanctuary. There
is the child of many prayers and tears,, descending to misery,
with the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, inscribed on
his forehead, the signature of his consecration to God. Will this
be the situation of any of our race ? Ah, yes ! Woe unto the
wicked, it shall be ill with him ; for he shall eat the fruit of
his doings.
The sinner is eternally lost, not merelyr because he will forev
er retain his enmity against God, not merely because he will
never again be yisited with the influences of the Spirit, nor mere
ly because his probationary season is forever closed, but an im
mutable and irrevocable decision of the great Judge, has fixed
his eternal state.
The sinner who dies impenitent is lost — and lost forever.

QUESTIONS,
ON THE INTRODUCTION.
What motives does the author avow in entering on this work?
Does he admit the responsibilities of an author? Does he profess
a display of talents? What are the principle obstacles to the ad
mission of truth which he mentions? On what does he relv for
success? What are the objects which the author seeks? How
does he wish to exhibit truth? Does he profess to present any
thing novel? What is there alarming in the present age? Does
the author attach much importance to doctrines? Is- truth often
misrepresented ? Have all christians equal opportunities to study ?
May a christian firmly believe a truth which he cannot vindicate?
How can a man become systematic in his faith ? In what spirit
does the author wish his work examined? What defferance should
be paid to human authority ? What use should be made of rea.
son? What authority should the wfll of God have? What is
speculative faith? Whatis saving faith? What is the plan of
this work? Have some blended doctrines? Have some underval
ued them? Are doctrines and duties inseperably connected? Is
there system in divine truth? How are we to examine the truths
of religion ?
ON FIRST LECTURE.
What is intuitive knowledge? What is historical knowledge?
Whatis mathematical knowledge? Is this world eternal? Did it
make itself? Was it made by some being? What is the meaning
of chance, fortune and fate ? Is it a matter of indifference by
what name you designate the Creator? Is divine existence an
essential doctrine in the christian religion? Is there any evidence
of design about us? What does design prove? What are the
evidences that creation had a beginning? Is there any validity
in objections to the existence of a first cause? Is the easiest way
to account for the creation of all things the best way? What are
the three moral inferences from this doctrine?
ON SECOND LECTURE.
Do the works of creation prove the character of God ? Has
every being attributes? What are attributes? How do we obtain
a knowledge of an attribute ? What is the unity of God ? What
is the personality of God? What is the wisdom of God? What

286 QUESTIONS.
is the power of God ? What is the goodness of God? Prove his
unity, personality, wisdom, power and goodness. How do you
reconcile the introduction of moral evil with the goodness of
God? Whatis the moral inference from this subject?
ON THIRD LECTURE.
Is there any thing more known of God than is revealed in the
works of creation? Have I a right to adduce the Bible in proof
of a doctrine until I have proved its authenticity and inspiration?
What is inspiration and of how many kinds? How many books
are inspired? Is an inspired book more than true? Why is not
the Apocrypha inspired? What is authenticity and what is inspi
ration? What are the the proofs ofthe authenticity of the Bible?
What are the three moral inferences from this subject?
ON FOURTH LECTURE.
What is the distinction between an attribute, a perfection, and
a prerogative? Define them. Must every effect have a cause?
May we on this principle classify his attributes? What is the cap.
ital division of them? What is a natural attribute? How many
attributes are there? How many natural, and what are they? Is
there a practical inference from every natural attribute of God;
and what are those inferences?
ON FIFTH LECTURE.
What are moral attributes ; and how do they differ from natu
ral attributes? How many moral attributes has God? Classify
them. What is the holiness, goodness, mercy, justice and truth
of God? Is truth a simple or complex attribute? What are the
inferences from the moral perfections of God ?
ON SIXTH LECTURE.
What is the mode of the Divine existence ? How many persons
are there in the Godhead? How does tritheism differ from trinita-
rianism ? Is there a difference between a trinity of persons and a
trinity of gods? Does the trinity of persons consist in three dif
ferent appellations or officers of God ? What is meant by the
unity of God? Does the Bible assert the unity of God in con
tradistinction to a trinity of persons or in contradistinction to a
multitude of Gods? Does the unity of God militate against the
doctrine of the trinity? What are the four arguments to prove
the deity of God the Father ? Is the deity of the son proved by

QUESTIONS. 287
the same arguments? If then the. deity. of the Son is not estab-
lished by these arguments, can the deity of the Father be estab-
lished, and must not atheism follow ? Does not arianism and uni-
tarianism tend, to atheism? What is the practical Influence of the
doctrine of the trinity ?
ON SEVENTH LECTURE.
Is there a propriety in the Mediator being both human and
divino? What are the attributes of a human being? Could Christ
have made an atonement if he had not been God? Why could
not a created and dependant being make an atonement ? To which
of his natures are those passages which speak of his infirmity
applicable? To which of his natures are those passages applica
ble which speak of his deity and equality with the Father? What
is the meaning of Son of God? What is the meaning of Son of
man? Mention some of those passages which ascribe thesame
names, attributes, works and worship to the Son that are ascribed
to the Father. How do you prove the deity and personality of
the Holy Ghost? Do our views of God powerfully influence our
moral feelings? Is the doctrine of the trinity an essential article
of christian faith? What are the three offices Of Christ and what
is their practical influence?
ON EIGHTH LECTURE.
Where is the only authentic record of the creation? What did
God create on the first day? What on the second? What on
the third? What on the fourth? What on the fifth ? What' on
the sixth? How did God create man? In how many respects was
he made in the image of God? Wherein did man differ from an
gels? What was the difference in the effects of the apostacy of
each ? What was the state and what was the residence of man at
his creation? Was there then abundant proof of the Goodness of
God?
ON NINTH LECTURE.
What three thing3 are essential to constitute man a moral a-
gent and an accountable being? Is a dependent and accountable
being under law? Whence arises moral obligation and on what
is it founded? What is moral government? What is a perfect
moral government? What law embraces the sum of all moral
obligations? Has God given more laws than one ? Mention some
of these laws. What three things are necessary to understand

288 QUESTIONS.
the divine law ? What is the difference between this law and an
arbitrary law? Was the moral law binding before it was given
on Mount Sainai? Why are we bound to love God supremely ?
Why are we bound to love our neighbor as ourselves? Prove the
immutability of the divine law. What is a good law? Prove
that the divine law is a good law. Is penalty essential to law ?
Prove that the penalty of the divine law is just. Are harsh rep
resentations of divine justice improper, and why? Is the law es
sential to a sound system of religion? Can ministers ofthe Gospel
expect conversions without preaching the law? Do the amount
of claims in the law and Gospel differ? Are there penalties of
the Gospel as well as of the law ?
ON TENTH LECTURE.
Is the fall of man an intricate subject ? In what sense is it a
simple subject ? What was the origin of sin ? Can the introduc
tion of sin be reconciled with the goodness of God ? Was it best,
on the whole, that sin should come into the system? Could God
cause it to take place and not destroy the free agency and ac
countability of man 1 Can God act upon man, and man be free 1
Did God design the fall of man, or did he design he should not
fall, or was he indifferent about his fall ? Was the existence of a
Saviour from eternity a proof that God designed that there should
be sinners? Was the existence of a Sanctifier from eternity proof
that sin would exist? Could the moral attributes of God be dis
played without the existence of sin ? Could the plan of redemption
have been developed without the existence of sin? Is it possible,,
is it probable, or is it ceitain that God can overrule sin for the
greatest good? Is the application of permit and suffer, to theDi.
vine Being, proper? Is there any difference between a voluntary
and an involuntary glorifying of God ? In what sense are Adam's
sins imputed to us? Is sin odious and detestable to God > How
do you answer the first objection to the introduction of sin ? How
to the second ? How to the third ? How to the fourth ?
ON ELEVENTH LECTURE.
Was the first intimation of a Saviour a promise to our first pa
rents, or a denunciation against Satan ? How could God withhold
the execution of the penalty on the first transgression ? Was the
covenant of redemption made before the fall ? Was the first prom.
ise of the Messiah very clear and definite ? How was the char ac-

QUESTIONS. 289
ter* and work of Christ taught to the ancients ? Mention some of
the signs of the advent of Christ. Give the history of Christ.
In what did the atonement consist? Did Christ's Deity suffer?
Did his human body and human soul suffer? Was he a substitute
for sinners? Does a substitute differ from a primary? Did Christ
suffer as much in quality, or in quantity, as sinners deserved? —
Were his sufferings great? Does this view of the atonement de-
preciate its value? Did the Deity of Christ give dignity to his
sufferings? Could any other being have made an Atonement? Is
the Atonement general? Give the proofs. Has the atonement
removed the guilt or changed the character of man? Is atone
ment any thing more than simple provision? Do just views of
the Atonement destroy universalism? Are those who perish in
excusable?
ON TWELFTH LECTURE.
What are the doctrines of the Gospel ? What is the New Tes
tament? Why are the doctrines of the Gospel called doctrines
of Grace? Why should we commence the examination of those
doctrines with the doctrine of human depravity ? Is there any
difference between natural and revealed religion, and between
the natural and moral powers of the mind, and between natural
and moral affections? What are the natural faculties of the mind?
Are they depraved? What are the moral powers? Are these
powers depraved ? What is depravity ? What is the Scripture ar-
gument in proof of this doctrine? How much is the heart deprav
ed? What are the indirect sources of evidence of the total de
pravity of man ? How is it proved from the promises of God ? —
How is it proved from the operations of the Spirit? Can the un
regenerate perform good works? Is regeneration unconditional?
Is special grace necessary to save sinneVs ?
ON THIRTEENTH LECTURE.
Can there be any division of agency betvveen God and his
creatures? Does God control the most prominent part of the sys
tem only? Does God rule over all his works? Can any justly
object to his sovereignty? What is the sovereignty and agency
of God? What are his decrees? How extensive and how partic
ular is his agency ? Does God rule mind and affections as well
as matter? Does divine agency infringe upon human agency ? —
Can God govern the volitions of every moral agent and yet leave
19

290 QUESTIONS.
him free and praise or blame worthy for every act he performs 1
Does this doctrine show the danger of the enemies, and the
safety of the friends of God ? Does this doctrine show the fallacy-
of Armenianism and Fatalism?
ON FOURTEENTH LECTURE. ,
Would the atonement save any if unapplied ? Were there pro
visions made from eternity for its application? What is the cov
enant of redemption? Would any have been saved without this
covenant? What is the covenant of grace? What is the doctrine
of election? Ought this doctrine to be examined with modesty
and humility? What three points should be fix.ed in our minds in
investigating- this subject? Is this doctrine often misrepresented?
What are the proofs of this doctrine? When was the election
made? Is election the cause of regeneration? Does fore-knowl
edge as firmly prove this doctrine as decrees? What is the doc
trine of reprobation? what are the inferences from the doctrine
of election? ON FIFTEENTH LECTURE.
What is common grace? What is special grace? What is
common calling? What is special calling? What is the distinc
tion between penitent and impenitent? Is God partial? Define
partiality. What are special influences? Does this subject cau
tion us against presumption ? Ought men to pray for special in
fluences ?
ON SIXTEENTH LECTURE.
What is regeneration ? Is this a change of heart? Is it instan
taneous? Is it a holy change? Is religion holiness? Is regenera
tion a special change? Is the Holy Spirit the author of this
change? does this change destroy free agency? Are men active
in regeneration ? Have men natural powers to become christians ?
ON SEVENTEENTH LECTURE.
What is a christian grace? Is there any order in the christian
graces? What is the first christian grace ? Whatis the second?
How many kinds of repentance are there? What is faith? What
is prayer? What is humility? What is submission? What is
christian hope? Is the gospel plan of salvation consistent?

QUESTIONS. 291
ON EIGHTEENTH LECTURE.
What is the condition and prospects of the christian ? Is it pos
sible, probable, or certain, that every regenerate soul will be sa
ved? Have christians power to keep themselves from final apos
tacy? Explain the word perseverance. What does God intend
by changing the sinner's heart? Does the covenant of redemp
tion prove the certainty of the saints salvation ? Does the coven
ant of grace prove this? Do the promises of God prove this? —
What is the purport of his promises? Are all the sufferings in
flicted on the christian disciplinary? Does the manner in which
the inspired writers account for apostacies prove the perseverance
of the saints? Do not the feelings of the young convert prove
this doctrine? Does not reason prove that a belief in the doctrine
does not tend to licentiousness? Does not faith prove it? Will
not a certain prospect of success inspire us with ardour? Can the
faithfulness of the saint be the condition of his salvation? Would
any then be saved? What are the inferences from this subject?
ON NINETEENTH LECTURE.
What is the state of the saint in death? What is liis state af
ter death ? Is there any such place as purgatory ? Does the soul
sleep in the intermediate state between death and the resurrec
tion? May not the saints be happier after the resurrection ? Will
the capacities of the soul be enlarged in Heaven? Does this sub
ject teach the riches of the gospel ? Should christians prepare for
this state?
ON TWENTIETH LECTURE.
Is there any thing in nature to prove that the doctrine of the
resurrection ofthe body is not absurd ? Is there any thing in the
known principles and powers of the human mind that can prove
thisdoctrine? Where is the proof ofthe resurrection ofthe body ?
Will thesame body be raised which we possess here? What is
the first proof of the resurrection of the body? What is the se.
cond? What is the third ? Was Christ's resurrection a resurrec.
tion of the body? Was he ever spiritually dead? What is the
fourth proof of this doctrine? Is this an animating doctrine ?
ON TWENTY-FIRST LECTURE.
What is meant by a particular judgment? What by a general
judgment? Is a general judgment necessary ? Will the decisions

292 QUESTIONS.
Of that day be correct? Who will be judge? Is he best qualifi
ed? Will the numbers heighten the interest of that day? What
characters will then be.judged ?
ON TWENTY SECOND LECTURE.
What will be the state of the finally impenitent? Will their
punishment be eternal ? Does a state of probation prove this ? —
Do,es the desert of sin prove it? Do the scriptnres declare this?
What is the first class of passagas that prove this doctrine ? —
What is the second class? What is the third class? What is the
fourth class ?

FINIS.

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