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Bishop Lavington, who made ample inquiry, thus characterizes the persons, who are most affected by enthusiasm, and constitute a large proportion of converts: "young persons, who are arrived neither to ripeness of reason, nor solid constitution of body; women, who (notwithstanding some exceptions) may, without offence, be called the weaker vessels; persons of a sickly and inconstant humour; persons, though piously inclined, yet of weak judgment or weak nerves; persons disordered with hypochondriac fumes, melancholy vapours, and divers other peculiar distempers: persons of lively parts and brisk fancy, though in a perfect state of health, yet deficient in a solid and settled judgment; persons of an amorous complexion; persons of bad principles, as hypocrites, those of a vain and ambitious mind, or of an impertinent and unwarrantable curiosity; and lastly, persons of profligate lives and libertine sentiments."-Enthusiasm of the Methodists and Papists compared, Part III. p. 19-204.

Instead of enlarging on the different forms of enthusiasm, I have selected these samples to put amiable young people on their guard against delusion, and against becoming dupes and a prey to hypocrites and impostors. "Of this sort are they who creep into houses, and lead captive silly women;" "who devour widow's houses, and, for a pretence, make long prayers;"-" and compass sea and land to make a proselyte." In sermons and popular publications, false doctrines, and fanaticism are so worked up with sentimental piety as to deceive the unwary, and to make them believe, that there is a natural association between them. They are so mixed up together, that the sentimental and the pious overlook those pernicious in. gredients; and, it is to be hoped, are not materially injured by doctrines so dishonourable to God, and demoralizing to those, whose minds are formed of coarser materials. The former regard chiefly the moral and sentimental part of the mixture; the latter only the apologies, these doctrines furnish for sin. A little reflection would convince the well-disposed, that there is no natural connexion, but a decided opposition, between them; and that the most exalted piety, and the purest mora)

ity, flow more naturally from the principles they reject. These leave ample room for love and fear, in the benevolence and justice of the Deity; for gratitude and affection to our Lord, in his descent from heaven for the redemption of all mankind; for the profoundest humiliation, in a sense of our personal sins; and for tenderness, sympathy and esteem for our brethren, in a persuasion of their frailties, sufferings, and amiable qualities. All these feelings may be indulged with enthusiasm, in the good sense of that word, without being shocked with cruel and unrelenting decrees, an unjust and tyrannical sacrifice, the ruin of human nature, and the eternal torments of mankind, without regard to principle or conduct. These spread a gloom over the character of our heavenly Father, and his beautiful and bountiful creation, which they represent as full of misery and disorder, and a dungeon of malignant spirits; over the fate of his passive and unoffending creatures; and over the minds of those who dwell on such horrid pictures. That any who take delight in studying, or even viewing, the objects of natural history and philosophy, can relish such representations of the creation, is a humiliating instance of the perversion of the understanding and taste.

SERMON XIV.

ON RECONCILIATION THROUGH CHRIST.

2 COR. v.-18.

"All things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given unto us the ministry of reconciliation; to wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now, then, are we ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead; be you reconciled unto God."

IT has always been a subject of deep regret to the friends of pure religion, that the doctrines of the Gospel have been so grossly perverted by the ignorance and uncharitableness of mankind. That any of its principles should be misrepresented must inspire its advocates with concern; and more especially, those tenets, which are calculated to impress the mind with the most elevated and amiable conceptions of the Supreme Being. Yet it has too often happened, that such points have

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not only been misapprehended, but even perverted to purposes, diametrically opposite to those, which they were intended to serve; to encourage the neglect instead of the practice of moral duties, and to degrade instead of dignifying the Divine character, in the estimation of mankind. These errors are truly deplorable, even while they produce no other effect than diminishing the efficacy of revelation on the minds of its votaries: but they become yet more pernicious at periods, distinguished by the progress of infidelity. At a season, when even the most futile cavils against the evidence of Christianity, are by many attended to with partiality, it is a melancholy circumstance, that the internal testimony to its truth, which it derives from the purity and sublimity of its doctrines, should be counteracted by the perverseness of believers themselves. At a season, when men are little disposed to receive any opinions, which are not consonant to their daily experience, and the plainest principles of reason, we cannot but lament, that Scripture should be interpreted in a manner; contradictory to every principle of common sense and the light of nature. At such a period, it becomes every person to dispel those mists, which obscure the light of divine truth; to vindicate the morality of the Gospel, and to shew, that it gives views of religious subjects, which, though never discovered by human intellect, are nevertheless perfectly agreeable to

reason, when revealed. This I shall attempt to perform by giving a brief explanation of that important passage of Scripture, which I have read.

It is well known to be a favourite opinion with many of those Christians, who assume the title of orthodox, that in consequence of the original sin of Adam,and the corruption of his posterity, which was its involuntary and unavoidable consequence, the Father of mercies was so exasperated against mankind, that his wrath could be extinguished only by the blood of some Divine person, whose merits and sufferings might counterpoise the infinite accumulation of sins, which he was to expiate; that, therefore, a portion of his own essence descended to this earth, animated the body of the man Jesus, and atoned for the of fences of mankind by sacrificing himself on the cross: and, that in consequence of this sin-offering, all the elect, persons pre-ordained for this purpose from eternity, are entitled, by virtue of the sufferings of Christ, to a place in the favour of the Almighty, independently of any thing done or believed on their part; while the rest of the world are left in that state of reprobation, to which they were consigned by the Divine decrees. There cannot surely be any doctrine better adapted than this, to undermine the foundations of moral obligation, to vilify the Divine character, to shock and disgust every unprejudiced mind, or to inspire an invincible prejudice against the

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