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He announced a life to come, and the conditions on which it might be secured. Every thing on earth attested the reality of his pretensions; and heaven itself bore witness to his origin and mission. He was declared to be the well-beloved of God, yet he was the scorn and derision of a base and cruel generation. He, who lay in the bosom of the Father, had not on earth where to lay his head. The brightness of the divine glory, and the express image of the Almighty, became the companion of the poorest of the poor. He, who was in the form of God, took on himself the form of a servant. The future judge of the living and the dead was despised and rejected by his own people, whom he came to redeem; insulted as an outcast; deserted by his chosen friends; betrayed and sold for a vile price by a confidential servant; arraigned as a malefactor, and crucified between two thieves. But he rose triumphant from the tomb, renewed his affecting intercourse with his disciples, and in their presence ascended into heaven. There he was exalted to the right hand of God, as a Prince, and a Saviour; there he was invested with power to forgive sin, judge the world, and confer eternal life and thence will he come to receive the righteous and the pious of all nations, tongues, and languages, into the joy of their Lord, and the presence of their God. Having pronounced the

final doom of all mankind, he will resign his power into the hands of God, that he may be all in all.

Glorying, then, in our holy and honourable vocation, let us resolutely prosecute our Christian course, till "we come unto Mount Sion, and unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to the spirits of just men made perfect; and to the general assembly of the first born, whose names are enrolled as citizens in heaven; and to an innumerable company of angels; and to Jesus, the Mediator of the new Covenant; and to God, the Judge of all;" to whose divine and eternal majesty be ascribed all honour, praise and glory, world without end.Amen.

NOTES.

P. 426.—(1) It has been asserted, that not one of the ancient Roman families has been extant for eight hundred years past. This may well be credited from a passage in Tacitus, (Ann. xi. 25.) "Iisdem diebus in numerum patriciorum adseivit Cæsar (Claudius) vetustissimum quemque e senatu, aut quibus clari parentes fuerant: paucis jam reliquis familiarum, quas Romulus majorum, & L. Brutus minorum gentium appellaverant, exhaustis etiam quas Dictator Cæsar lege Cassia, & Princeps Augustus lege Senia sublegere." Such was the consequence of the civil wars.

If God has any further purpose to effect by means of his chosen people; if, as they themselves and many others sup

pose, they are to be reunited and reinstated in their ancient settlements, they are ready at call. They retain their laws and traditions, their ceremonies and customs, their pedigrees and language: they are strangers and aliens in the lands in which they dwell; excluded from the privileges of citizens, disencumbered of lands or houses, unconnected with the soil on which they live, but proverbially rich in transportable treasures; free from every social tie to those among whom they reside, and as ready at all points for emigration, as when they took their departure from the land of Egypt.

POSTSCRIPT TO THIS VOLUME.

I HOPE and trust, that I have done with controversy. It was forced on me, in advanced age, by the peculiar character of the times. Having reluctantly exposed our differences, I wish for the future to dwell on points, in which we agree: and to one, who reflects on the important doctrines, in which we coincide, and the insignificant or unintelligible questions, on which we differ, our dissentions are equally a subject of wonder and regret. In apostolic times, the harmony of the disciples was insured by the simplicity of their faith; and it might still continue, if modern Christians would confine their creeds to the same points of doctrine, or even to those, in which we now concur. 66 Sed hominum curiositas-nullis repagulis cohiberi potest, quin & in vetitas ambages evagetur, & in sublime se proripiat; nihil, si liceat, arcani quod non scrutetur atque evolvat, Deo relictura."-Calv. Inst. iii. 21.

All Christians unite in the belief of one God; and maintain, that he is possessed of every natural and moral perfection, in its utmost extent; that he created and upholds all things; and that he exercises a providential care over all his works, and watches over the moral and spiritual interests of all his rational creatures; that independently of his acts of goodness to mankind in general, the Scriptures contain an account of special displays of his grace; and that these were all spontaneous acts to which the world had no claim of right.

They are unanimous in their belief, that God sent the Lord Jesus, to be the medium of his communications with mankind; to make known to us more fully the nature and will of the Almighty; to lay down rules for our conduct; to recommend his instructions by his example; to give us an assurance, that all, who please God, shall partake of a happy immortality, while the wicked will experience his displeasure; and to confirm all by unquestionable miracles, especially his resurrection from the dead.

With regard to Christ himself, there is no question concerning his divine mission, and the events of his life; his mi. racles and prophecies; or his precepts of repentance and faith, holiness and charity.

It is, with few exceptions, the profession of all Christians, that the disciples should be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ; and partake of the memorials of his death with a reverential and grateful recollection.

Even on those points, which have been most warmly contested, there is a greater coincidence of opinion, than the parties are willing to confess.

Notwithstanding the variety of doctrines, concerning the persons in the Godhead, and the nature of their union, all assert, that there is but one God. Whatever sentiments they may entertain with respect to the Son and the Holy Spirit, there is a general agreement, that they proceed from the Father, and that there is a perfect union among them; that Jesus Christ is the Son of God; and that the Holy Spirit is God.

It is strange, that such animosities should be excited by predestination, election and reprobation, while all agree, that the Deity foresaw every event from the beginning, and consequently the character of each individual; and pre-determined, that the righteous should enjoy his favour, and the wicked incur his displeasure. Since the mere existence of a revelation evinces the operation of divine grace, surely the disputes about its extent, limitation or mode of operation, should not

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