linefs of God; and these amount much to the fame thing. "Wherefore doth the wicked contemn God; he hath faid "in his heart thou wilt not require it.*-The fool hath "faid in his heart there is no God.t-Thefe things thou "haft done, and I kept filence; thou thoughteft that I was altogether fuch an one as thyself, but I will reprove thee, "and fet them in order before thine eyes."

God must be seen as he is reprefented in his own word, which is the only rule of faith," the pillar and ground of "truth." This is a matter of the greatest importance, which, I am forry to fay, is in this age very feldom attended to, but which is moft manifeftly and undeniably juft. If God is not feen in his real nature, as he is in truth, he can never be acceptably ferved. If a wrong or falfe character of God is formed, no worship we can offer to him, no love or respect we can bear to him is genuine; or rather, to speak more properly, our fervice and attachment is, in that cafe, wholly mifplaced, and not directed to him at all, but fomething elfe is loved, honored, and ferved in his room. I beseech the serious reader to obferve, what an unfpeakable jealoufy God difcovered under the Old Testament difpenfation, as to the purity of his worship, and what a heinous crime all idolatry was esteemed. How great was the divine difpleasure at the making and worshipping of the golden calf, although it is very probable Aaron only intended to reprefent the true God, by the fame fymbol they had seen in Egypt? Did not this belong to the subftance, and not only to the circumftances of religion? Is it not then equally interefting under the New Teftament as under the Old? Was the unchangeable God fo much displeased at giving him a falfe name, and will he not be equally displeased with those who attribute to him a falfe nature?

As this truth ferves to explain the nature and rife of regeneration, so it also receives particular light and evidence itfelf from what has been faid in the preceding parts of this fubject. Regeneration confifts in having the image of God again drawn upon the heart; that is, its being carPfal. 1. 21.

* Pfal. x. 13.

Pfal. xiv. 1.

ried out to the fupreme love of God, and delight in him, or, in other words, brought to the fupreme love of, and delight in, perfect goodness and immaculate holiness. When this is the cafe, the finner is renewed, he again bears the image of God which he had loft, he is again fitted for the presence of God, from which he had been expelled. But if he has wrong notions of God, if he takes him to be effentially different from what he really is, he ferves not the true God at all, he bears not his image, he delights not in his fellowship, he is unfit for his prefence. If religion confifts in a divine nature, fuch a perfon does not poffefs it, unless there are more Gods than one. There may, indeed, be an alteration in him, he may have transferred his allegiance, and changed his master, for idols are many, but he is not brought unto God; and, fo long as God is immutable, his happiness is impoffible.

I can recollect nothing that is worth notice as an objection against this, but that our knowledge of God, at any rate, is extremely imperfect and defective. It is fo to be fure, while we are in this world; nay, probably, it will be fo to all eternity: for "who can by fearching find "out God? Who can find out the Almighty unto perfec"tion? It is high as heaven, what can we do? deeper "than hell, what can we know? The measure thereof is longer than the earth, and broader than the fea."* But there is a great difference between the imperfection of our knowledge of God, and forming conceptions of him that are fundamentally wrong. There is a great difference between having weak and inadequate ideas of the truth, and believing or acting upon the oppofite falfhood. Unlefs this is admitted, we fhall never fee the unspeakable advantage which the Jews enjoyed over the Gentiles, "because to them were committed the oracles of God;" nor indeed fhall we see the worth and beauty of the ancient difpenfation in general. It was one uniform difplay of this great and important truth, which is delivered with fo much majefty by God himfelf: "I am the Lord, that is my name, and my glory will I not give to another, nei

*Job xi. 7, 8, 9.

"ther my praife to graven images." Neither is this at all relaxed under the New Teftament. The importance of" holding the truth as it is in Jefus"-of" holding fast "the form of found words" and "keeping the truth," is often declared, as well as that "no lie is of the truth." And no wonder that in this pure and fpiritual conftitution, it should be necessary to have clear and diftinct views of him who is "the Father of fpirits."

Thus I hope it appears, that, in order to a faving change, there must be a discovery of the real nature of the one only, the living and true God. Before we proceed further, let me obferve that hence may be feen, in the cleareft light, the danger both of ignorance, and error. 1. Of ignorance. It is plain that thofe who are grofsly ignorant must be unrenewed. Thofe who do not know God, cannot poffibly love him. Do you not now see the meaning and weight of the ftrong language of fcripture, where we are told the heathen nations were " fitting in "darkness, and in the region and fhadow of death?" What force fhould this give to the prayers fo often offered up, both in public and in private, that the "name" of God may be "hallowed" and his kingdom come? How much fhould it add to the zeal and diligence, efpecially of thofe who are appointed to watch for the fouls of others? What concern fhould it give them, left any under their immedi ate inspection" fhould perifh for lack of knowledge." It is indeed surprising to think, what grofs ignorance prevails at prefent among many, notwithstanding the excellent opportunities of inftruction which they have in their offer. Nay, even among thofe who are inftructed in feveral branches of human fcience, it is aftonifhing to think what ignor ance there is of every thing that relates to religion.

If accident or curiofity has brought this difcourfe intó the hands of any fuch, let me intreat their attention for a little. I befeech you to think upon, and tremble at your ftate. You may have fome fort of a nominal belief of an unfeen, unintelligible being, called God, while you know neither "what you speak, nor whereof you affirm." You may perhaps have heard, or rather in our happy native country you cannot but have heard of Chrift Jefus, the Son

of God, ftiled often the Saviour of finners; but you "know "neither the Father nor the Son," You know not God as Creator, nor, by consequence, your obligations and duty to him, or your apoftacy and departure from both. You know not what fin is, and therefore, you cannot know a Saviour. If ever you come to true religion at all, light will break in upon you in your darknefs, you will no more be able to forget God, he will follow you into your fecret chambers, he will come home upon you, and affault you, as it were, with the reality of his prefence, with the fanctity and purity of his nature, and the terrible majefty of his power. O how great is the effect of a real difcovery of the divine glory, whether in the word, or by the providence of God; to a faint or to a finner. Hear how Job expreffes himself, "I have heard of thee by the hearing "of the ear, but now mine eye feeth thee, wherefore I ab"hor myself, and repent in duft and afhes."* We have the fame thing well defcribed by the prophet Ifaiah, as the effect of divine power in defolating judgments. "Enter "into the rock, and hide thee in the duft, for the fear of "the Lord, and for the glory of his majefty. The lofty "looks of man fhall be humbled, and the haughtinefs of "men fhall be bowed down, and the Lord alone fhall be exalted in that day.And they fhall go into the holes "of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of "the Lord, and for the glory of his majefty, when he ari"feth to shake terribly the earth. In that day a man fhall caft his idols of filver, and his idols of gold, which they "made each one for himself to worship, to the moles and "to the bats, to go into the clefts of the rocks, and into the "tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the Lord, and for the

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glory of his majefty, when he arifeth to fhake terribly "the earth." So foon as it pleases God to open your eyes upon himself, with whom you have to do, it will humble you in the duft, it will difcover your danger, it will make redemption precious to you, and the name of a Saviour unfpeakably dear.

* Job xlii. 5, 6.

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↑ Ifaiah ii. 10, 11, 19, 20, 21,

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2. The fame thing fhews the danger of error, as well as ignorance. Among many loofe and pernicious principles, which are zealously spread, and blindly embra. ced in this age, one of the moft prevailing and dangerous is, the innocence of error. "O, fay fome, every man is to enquire freely, and each will embrace what appears "to him to be the truth. It is no matter what a man be"lieves, if his life be good. Even he who mistakes, may "be as acceptable to God as his oppofite, if he is equally "fincere." Now there is no doubt, that liberty to enquire freely, is an ineftimable bleffing, and impartiality in religious enquiries an indispensable duty. But the above maxim becomes falfe and dangerous by being carried an exceffive length; and it is carried to this excefs by the favor of two fuppofitions, which are falfe and groundless. The maxim is applied frequently to juftify an open and virulent oppofition to the most important truths of the gofpel; nay, fometimes, even a denial of all religion, natural and revealed. To be able to apply it thus, it is nece sary to suppose that falfe opinions will have as good an influence upon the heart as true. If this is the cafe, the boafted privilege of free enquiry is not worth having, and all the labor beftowed on the fearch of truth is entirely thrown away. Another fuppofition contained in the above maxim is, that a perfon may be as fincere in embracing grofs falfhoods, as in adhering to the truth. If this be true, our Creator hath not given us the means to dif tinguish the one from the other, which is the highest impeachment both of his wisdom and goodness.

Such perfons do not confider, that a corrupt inclination in the heart brings a bias on the judgment, and that when men do not "like to retain God in their knowledge," he frequently in his righteous judgment, gives them up to a reprobate mind. Nay, when they reject his truth from an inward hatred of its purity, he is faid to fend them strong delufions," as in the following paffage: "Be. "cause they received not the love of the truth, that they "might be faved, for this caufe God fhall fend them strong delufion, that they should believe a lie, that they “all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had