XX.

What is a man profited, if he should gain the whole world, and lofe his own foul?—Matt. xvi. 26,

WE fee how highly our bleffed Saviour estimates the foul of man. All the gratifications which the whole world can afford, he tells us, are nothing in the comparison.-What then shall we fay of the folly of thofe men, who fell their fouls, in a manner, for nothing-for a few of the fugitive and guilty pleasures of this world? What shall we fay of him, for instance, who fells his foul for a little knavish gain? —or of him, who fells it for the pleasure of getting drunk?or, for the pleasure of curfing and swearing?or, for any other of the fhort lived pleasures of this world? For all these wretched commodities, we know, the foul of man is often bartered.Let us then be ashamed of fo ruinous a trade; and take care to preferve faithfully fo noble a depofit as the foul of man, which our Saviour thought was more valuable than even the whole world of inanimate nature.

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XXI.

Chrift died for our fins according to the fcriptures. 1 Cor. xv. 3.

THE fatisfaction of Chrift for the fins of mankind, fays the objector, is a very wonderful doctrine.

No doubt, it is.

But I can entertain no idea of it.

How is it poffible you should ?—It is one of thofe great points in the hands of God, which man cannot understand; and you have only to qualify yourfelf for receiving the benefit of it,'

But how can I believe what I do not underftand?

On the credit of others. You furely on that foundation believe many things, which you do not understand. You believe that the tides of the ocean are governed by the moon: but you do not understand that truth; nor know any thing of it, but what you believe on the credit of others. You believe the wine is good, though

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it

it is not yet landed; and you know nothing of it, but what you believe on the credit of your wine merchant, you take a long journey, though you know nothing of the roads, the inns, or the distance, but what others have told you.-The atonement of Chrift is mentioned over and over in fcripture. If, therefore, you pay the fame credit to fcripture which you do to a wine merchant, or an innkeeper, you will believe it. The question, therefore, immediately fubfides into this point-We muft either totally give up fcripture, or believe in the atonement of Christ,,

XXII.

A short and connected View of God's Difpenfations

and Revelations to Mankind.

As this world had its beginning, we may fuppofe that God forefaw all its various fituations, and had a view to its various connections among them.

In the first place, then, the great intention of this world feems to be, to make it a state of preparation for a better. God might have made all the inhabitants of it happy at once, like angels. But God's modes of happiness are as various as all his other works; and he chofe to make this his new world happy by paffing through a state of trial. Let us then fee how this world is fitted for fuch a ftate. God has thought fit to inform us of its origin, by authority that we cannot reject.

The first that ftrikes us is, the account we have of a paradifaical state. Many parts of it have given offence; and particularly, that a being,

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being, endowed with fo many noble qualities enriched with fuch various gifts, and furrounded with fuch a fuperfluity of happiness, should be treated only as a pageant of a day, and removed before he had taken full poffeffion of his Creator's bounty.

Among the various conjectures that have been made, and conjectures that have been offered, to reconcile these feeming inconfiftences to God's general plan of goodnefs, I hope it will not be taken amifs if I add one conjecture more:-As we laid it down as a pofition, that this world was to prepare us for a better through a state of trial, it does not feem difficult to link the ftate of paradife into this chain.

We fuppofe, then, that God never intended. a ftate of paradife as a lafting state; but that he intended it only as a grand title page to the world he had just formed. Here the inhabitants might fee a state of happiness playing before them; but that it could be obtained only upon the obfervance of certain conditions, or, paffing through a state of trial.-Now, in general, the Old Teftament seems to carry on the fame idea. Abraham's land of reft was to be entered by a trial. And all the patriarchs, and good men of thofe

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times,