principles of mere natural religion, for the introduction of natural and moral evil into the works of a benevolent Creator, whofe infinite goodness must neceffarily incline him to intend the happiness of all his creatures?

These confiderations may ferve to fhew, and it might be fhewn in various other cafes, that it is in vain to expect an exemption from difficulty and mystery in any religion whatever. The real truth is, that not only the religion of nature, but the philofophy of nature, the works of nature, the whole face of nature, are full of mystery; we live and move in the midst of mystery*. And if, to -avoid this, we have recourfe to atheism itself, even that will be found to be more incumbered with difficulties, and to require a greater degree of faith, than all the religions in the world put together.

Let not then the myfteries of the Gofpel ever be a rock of offence to you, or in any degree shake the conftancy of your faith. They are infeparable from any religion that is fuited to the nature, to the wants, and to the fallen state of fuch a creature as man. When once we are convinced that the Scriptures are the word of God, we are then bound to receive with implicit fubmiffion, on the fole authority of that word, thofe fublime truths, which are far beyond the reach of any finite understanding, but which it was natural and reasonable to expect in a revelation pertaining to that incomprehenfible Being, whofe "greatness is unfearchable, and whose ways are past finding out."Let us not, in fhort, "exercise ourselves too much and too curiously in great matters, which are too high for us, but refrain our fouls, and keep them lowt. Laying afide all the fuperfluity of learning, and all the pride of human wifdom, let us hold faft the profeffion of our faith, without

*This M. Voltaire himself acknowledges, and it is a complete anfwer to all the objections he has made in various parts of his works to the mysteries of revelation. See Questions fur L'Encyclopedie. Article.

Ame.

"The whole intellectual world is full of truths incomprehenfible, and yet incanteftable. Such is the doctrine of the existence of God, and fuch are the mysteries admitted in Proteftant communions." Rouffeau, V. 2. P. IS.

† Pfalm, cxxxi. 2. 3.

wavering and without cavilling at what we cannot compre hend. Let us put ourselves, without reserve, into the hands of our heavenly guide, and submit, with boundless confi dence, to his direction, who, as he died to fave us, will cer tainly never mislead us. Since we know in whom we believe; fince we know that the author of our religion is the Son of God, let us never forget that this gives him a right, a divine right to the obedience of our understandings, as well as to the obedience of our will. Let us therefore resolutely beat down every bold imagination, every high thing that exalteth itself against the mysterious truths of the Gofpel; bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Chrift, and receiving with meekness the ingrafted word, which is able to fave our fouls* "

Yet, however firmly we may believe all the great effential doctrines of the Gospel, this alone will not enfure our falvation, unless to our faith we add obedience to all the laws of Chrift. This we are exprefsly told in the concluding verse of this chapter. After our Lord had prefcribed to his difciples the form of words to be used in baptism, he adds, "teaching them to obferve all things whatsoever I have commanded you." As this is the parting direction, the farewel injunction which Jefus left with his difciples juft before he afcended into heaven, it shows what peculiar ftrefs he laid upon it. It shows that by making it the conclufion, the winding up as it were of his Gofpel, he meant to exprefs, in the ftrongest manner, the indifpenfable neceflity of a holy life refulting from a vital faith. He meant to intimate to his own difciples, and to the minifters of his Gofpel in every future age, that it was to be one principal object of their inftructions, and exhortations, to inculcate all the virtues of a Christian life, and an unreserved obedience to all the precepts of their divine Mafter. And whoever neglects this branch of his duty, is guilty of manifefting a marked contempt of the very laft command that fell from the lips of his departing Lord.

The few words that follow this command, and which conclude the Gofpel of St. Matthew, contain a promise James, i. 21.

full of confolation, not only to the apostles themselves, but to all the minifters of the Gofpel in every fucceeding age. "And, lo, fays our bleffed Lord, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." That is, although I am now about to leave you and afcend into heaven, and can no longer be perfonally present with you, yet the Holy Spirit, whom I have repeatedly promised to fend unto you, fhall certainly come to fupply my place, fhall conftantly abide with you, and shall enlighten, guide, affift, fupport, and confort you to the end of the world.

e

Here ends the Gofpel of St. Matthew. But it must be obferved, that in this last part of our Saviour's history, he has been much more concise than the other evangelists, and has paffed over several circumftances which they have recorded, and of which it may be proper to take fome notice here, before we close this Lecture. It appears from the other evangelifts, and from the Acts of the Apostles, that Jefus continued among his difciples for forty days af ter his refurrection, giving them repeated and infallible proofs of his being actually raised from the dead, and "speaking to them of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God*."

In one of thefe difcourfes, he took occafion to advert more particularly to those things that were written in the law of Mofes, and in the prophets, and in the Pfalms, concerning him. He fhowed how exactly and minutely all the predictions refpecting him contained in thofe facred books were accomplished in his birth, his life, his doctrines, his fufferings, his death, and his refurrection.

This ftamps at once a divine authority on thofe books, and gives a fanction to the interpretation of the paffages alluded to, and the application of them to our blessed Lord, by our best and most learned expofitors.

It is added, that on this occafion he opened their underfstandings, that they might understand the Scriptures, and faid unto them, "Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and rife from the dead the third day; and

* Luke, xxiv. 44. Acts, i. 3.

that repentance and remiffion of fins fhould be preached in his name amongst all nations, beginning at Jerufalem."

He entered, we fee, at large into the great evangelical doctrines of the atonement, of the redemption of mankind by his death, of the refurrection, of repentance, and the remiffion of fins through faith in his name. These are most important topics, and his illuftration of them to his difciples must have opened to them an invaluable treafure of divine knowledge. And as these doctrines are but briefly touched upon in the Gofpels, and more fully unfolded and explained in the A&s and the Epistles, it is highly probable that a very confiderable part, if not the whole of what paffed in thefe difcourfes of our Lord to his disciples after his refurrection, is faithfully preferved and detailed in those infpired writings. This places in a very strong light the high importance of thofe writings, and the high rank they ought to hold in our estimation, as forming an effential part of the Chriftian fyftem, and completing the code of doctrines and of duties contained in that divine revelation.

It is remarkable alfo, that St. Matthew has made no mention of the concluding act of our Lord's life on earth, his ascension into heaven. The reason of this omiffion it is not perhaps very eaty to affign, nor is it neceffary. We know, that in feveral other inftances various circumstances are omitted by one evangelist which are fupplied by the reft, and others patfed over by thofe which are noticed by the former; a plain proof by the way that they did not write in concert with each other, but each related his own ftory, and selected such facts and events as appeared to him most deferving of notice.

In the prefent cafe it is fufficient for our fatisfaction that the afcenfion is related by two of the evangelifts, St. Mark and St. Luke. The latter of thefe tells us in his Golpel, and in the Acts, "that Jefus led out his apoftles (and the difciples that were with them) to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and bleffed them. And it came to pass while he bleffed them he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven, and a cloud received him out of their fight.

And while they looked ftedfaftly towards heaven, as he went up, behold, two men ftood by them in white apparel; which alfo faid, Ye men of Galilee, why ftand ye gazing up into heaven? This fame Jefus which is taken up from you into heaven, fhall fo come in like manner as ye have feen him go into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerufalem with great joy; and were continually in the temple, praifing and bleffing God*."

The laft obfervation I have to make is, that neither St. Matthew, nor any other of the evangelifts, have given us a full and complete history of every thing that our Saviour did during the whole courfe of his miniftry; but have only recorded the most important and the most remarkable of his tranfactions and his miracles. Befides, therefore, the many irresistible proofs we already poffefs of his divine wisdom and almighty power, there are many others ftill remaining behind which might have been produced, but which the evangelifts did not think it neceffary to fpecify; for St. John, in the 20th chapter of his Gofpel, makes this remarkable declaration : "Many other figns truly (fays he) did Jefus in the prefence of his difciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written, that ye might believe that Jefus is the Chrift the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through his name." God grant that this effect may be produced on all who now hear me ; otherwife my labours, and their attendance, will have been in vain!

I have now brought thefe Lectures to a conclusion, and muft here take my final leave of you. It was my original intention and my wish to have proceeded next to the Acts of the Apoftles, which contain the hiftory of the first propagation of the Chriftian religion, and the aftonishing progrefs it made through a large part of the world, by the preaching of the apoftles and their coadjutors, after our Lord's departure into heaven: but I must not now venture into fo large a field. Circumftanced as I am, it

* Luke, xxiv. 50-53.

D.D