heart, and mighty in strength; who hath hardened himself against him and profpered? And his intention to punish them, as it might be fully proved from that perfect Juftice which is effential to him, Righteousness and Judgment are the habitation of his throne, fo is it very plainly revealed in the fame books wherein his laws are contained, that he will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity. All the motives therefore which ferve to enforce our obedience to the laws of man, do moft strongly confpire to bind on us Obedience to the laws of God.

Another motive to which duty is Gratitude, arifing from a confideration of that perfon by whofe mediation God gave these laws to us, namely, Jefus Chrift. If we reflect seriously on the miserable condition from which Chrift relieved us, and the means of Grace and hopes of Glory he hath afforded us, if we confider the means by which he effected this, how

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for our fakes he was incarnate, led a mean and inglorious life, and died a painful and ignominious death, we cannot acquit ourfelves of the bafeft ingratitude, if we trample on his authority, and refuse Obedience to his laws. Generous tempers are willing, in many things, to bear with and oblige those persons who have conferred favours on them, even in hard and unreafonable requests. As the obligations therefore which Chrift has laid on us, are infinitely above any which man can confer, fo ought our gratitude to rife in proportion, and exert itself in a steady Obedience, even if his laws were heavy and grievous to be borne; whereas on the contrary, his yoke is easy, and his burthen is light. And this fupplies us with another motive, drawn from the consideration of the laws themfelves.

The Gospel laws, if fairly and impartially confidered, are undoubtedly the moft excellent in the world. God does not rule us in an arbitrary manner, and impofe laws Q 2 merely

merely to demonftrate his authority, but governs us, as we are reasonable creatures, in a reasonable way. The laws which he has given us are adapted to the frame of our reafon; and as creatures poffeffed of that faculty, we cannot help affenting to their equity, how much foever we may neglect the performance of them; they carry full authority and conviction along with them, they speak their original, and atteft their author to be more than man.

Human laws are oftentimes perplext and obfcure, clashing and inconfiftent not only with reason, but with themselves, liable to be misconstrued, perverted, and abused; and the most equitable of them are in a state of uncertainty, and fubject to be repealed; but the laws of the Gospel are free from all these imperfections; they are delivered in a clear, concife, and perfpicuous manner, and as they were defigned for the direction of the ignorant, as well as of the learned, they lie level to the meaneft capacities, they are perfectly uniform,

form, confiftent, and harmonious, and the comments occafionally made on them by the Apostles ferve to reflect fuller light on them, and render the most difficult paffages plain and eafy; they are light it f, and in them is no darkness at all.

They are also fixt and immutable, liable to no change, fubject to no repeal. The varying of circumftances, the fallibility, fhortsightedness, and want of integrity in human lawgivers, make it oftentimes neceffary to vary their laws, but as God is free from all these blemishes, as there is in him no variablenefs nor fhadow of turning, fo in the Gospel laws which he has eftablished, there are no mistakes, no infirmities to require an alteration; they are a full, perfect, and perpetual standard of all our actions, to which all nations fhould bow and obey.

To thefe excellencies let us alfo join the fublimity and usefulness of these laws. In three short chapters of the New Tefta

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ment are contained more noble and fublime doctrines, than the whole body of heathen philosophy can fupply us with; upon first fight indeed they appear so easy and familiar, that we may be induced to think, that we ourselves could have been the authors of them; but upon enquiry we shall find, that the most acute and diligent fpirits among the antients, after a whole life spent in the study of virtue, could, with all the advantages of human literature, produce nothing which deferved to be put in the scale against Christianity.

Philosophy, indeed, whatever figure it might make before Christ appeared in the world, and his laws were promulged, did upon that promulgation very fenfibly decline, and must have entirely dropped to the ground long before it did, had not fome profeffours of it, more artful than honeft, tranfplanted many of the Christian precepts into their systems, and embellished them with virtues not their own.

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