SERMON VIII.

GAL. i. 7.

THERE BE SOME THAT TROUBLE YOU, AND WOULD PERVERT THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST.

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NSTITUTIONS, such as we are this day met to support, had no existence in the heathen world; they are the noble fruits of the Christian religion, impelling the hearts of individuals, not to schemes of avarice or ambition, much less to deeds of rapine and desolation, but to works of piety, sympathy, and philanthropy: they owe their establishment and flourishing condition to the belief of the Gospel of Jesus Christ; and they will owe their decay and ruin to the disbelief of it. . Can I then employ our present time more suitably to the occasion of our present meeting,

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meeting, than by endeavouring to guard every one who hears me, from that "evil heart of unbelief," which has of late years made a pestilent progress through many parts of the Continent, and which is now extending it's malignant influence through all ranks amongst ourselves?

From the age of the Apostles to the present time, men have differed from each other, not only in modes of divine worship, but in the interpretation of Scripture, and have deduced, from the same sacred books, opposite articles of faith; yet, till lately, they all (with very few exceptions) agreed, that the Bible contained a revelation of the will of God. But in our days, not only men of learning dispute, as heretofore, concerning the meaning of particular texts of Scripture, but the lowest classes of the community have been instructed to question the truth of the Jewish and Christian dispensations, and to propose their objections against all religion, natural and revealed, with very unbecoming assurance. No one need be surprised at hearing that objections have been made to

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the truth of all religion. The works of creation, of providence, of redemption; the natural and moral attributes of God; nay, even the nature of man, as an accountable Being; can never be so thoroughly comprehended by the most learned of mankind, nor so clearly explained to others, as to preclude the most unlearned from raising atheistical objections. The truth of the Jewish dispensation depends on the divine mission of Moses; the truth of the Christian dispensation depends on the divine mission of Jesus. Concerning these missions, we can know nothing but from history; now every one, who has at all considered the subject, must be aware that such objections may be proposed, even by well-intentioned, and especially by ill-intentioned and illiterate men, against some of the many circumstances usually detailed in every history, as none but the most learned can fully answer.

The difficulty attending the history of transactions long since passed, is much increased, when these transactions are such as we have had no experience of.

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We have never seen a man walking forth from the chambers of the dead, in consequence of another person's having said to him, Come forth! We have never seen a boisterous sea becoming calm, in consequence of a man's saying to the winds and the waves, Peace, be still! We have never seen angels in human shape, familiarly conversing with humankind, nor heard articulate sounds issuing from the clouds of heaven!-What, then, must we, on account of this our inexperience, reject, as fabulous, the history of these transactions which we meet with in the Bible? No; let no man's ridicule persuade you to this; hold fast your belief of these things: they have not happened, we confess, in our age or country; but that is a very insufficient reason for maintaining, that they never did happen in any other age or country. These things are recorded in a book, part of which is the oldest book in the world, and all of which has greater marks of credibility belonging to it, than any other book which was ever published to mankind.

This is not merely my opinion of the Bible, it was the opinion of a man as much surpassing me in understanding, as I may be supposed to surpass the most unlettered person in this assembly: it was the opinion of that man, who has been properly said to have surpassed in genius all humankind-of Newton. There are few of you, I presume, who have not heard of Newton, and none of you, I fear, who have not heard of Paine, and of others, who have attempted to destroy the credit of that book, which Newton so highly valued; I think myself justified in saying, that a thousand such men are, in understanding, but as the dust of the balance, when weighed against Newton.

These men will tell you, that Jesus was an impostor, and that he never rose from the dead. This is a point of the last importance, for, if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your fuith is also vain. But that Christ did rise from the dead, there is a short proof; short, indeed, but clear and convincing, and level to every capacity. Ask the first Christian

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