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the light of nature, that repentance only will fatisfy the divine juftice; and reconcile you to God?

But after all, were it even fuppofed that repentance would neceffarily give us a claim to mercy without any other fatisfaction to God's juflice, it must then be another fort of repentance, than you seem to fuppofe. You muft then allow, that this repentance must be a thorough change of heart and life. For you can hardly fuppofe, that we are qualified for God's favour, while all the powers of our fouls are in direct oppofition and averfion to him. And is this repentance in our power? Can we at pleasure renew our own fouls; and give our felzes new affections, difpofitions, defires and delights? Can we change the bent and bias of our inclinations to the objects of fenfe, and bring ourselves to love God a-. bove all things; and to take our chief delight and complacency in him? This must be obtain'd, in order to enjoy the favour of God. And yet it is manifefly out of our reach. It must be the effect of an almighty power..

I hope, you may now fee the neceffity of a Saviour, both to expiate your fin and guilt, which your repentance can never do; and to fanctify your depraved foul; and make you meet for the fervice and enjoyment of God. If thefe are obtain'd, you must be certainly and eternally fafe: but if you dare venture into eternity without them, I must needs fay you don't want courage.

You fee, I have addreffed you with an unreferv'd freedom and familiarity. I have overlook'd the diftance of your character ; and treated you as if we were in the fame ftate of equality now, as we fhall quickly find ourfelves before the tribunal of our glorious Judge. The caufe requires this at my hands; and I fhould have been unfaithful, I had almoft faid unmerciful to you, if I had not fail'd of the decorum, which would have been myduty to have obferv'd in any other cafe. I fhall therefore depend upon your candid interpretation of this unpolifhed addrefs; and your kind acceptance of the faithful defigns and defires of,

SIR,

Your moft obedient

humble Servant,,

LETTER II. Wherein a brief and general Viers is given, of the EVIDENCES of the CHRISTIAN. RELIGION.

SIR,

OU tell me, My letter had almoft thrown you

YOU into a fit of the fpleen.' But I can't but hope,

from your ' awful concern, left you meet with the confufion I have therein defcribed,' that it will have a better effect. I acknowledge, that a pathetick decla⚫ mation cannot be received for argument,' And that, your faith must be built upon evidences, that will reach the understanding, as well as the fofter paffionsof the foul.' But what evidence do you defire or want, of the truth of Christianity? Confider, Sir. Confult. your books and your friends. Make your demands as large, as you or they can contrive. And whatever ra, tional evidence you are pleased to ask for, fhall be at your fervice. I have myfelf with particular application been confidering, what reasonable evidence can poffibly be confulted or defired, which the glorious God has not already given us, in confirmation of the Chriftian inftitution; and I find nothing wanting, which we are ca pable of receiving. And I can't but prefume, that if you likewife would impartially and in earneft put yourfelf upon the fame inquiry, you must meet with a full and compleat fatisfaction.

You will certainly acknowledge, that the great Creator is capable fome way or other to communicate his will to intelligent beings, with fufficient evidence that the revelation is from him. Now what I defire of you is to fit down, and confult upon fome fuch means of doing this, as would ftrike your mind with the ftrongest con, viction, obviate all your doubts, and give you the ful left confirmation of the divine original of fuch a revela. tion. When you are come to a point, confider the cre dentials of Christianity and fee whether you can find. what you yourself would demand, and what you fuppofe moft likely to give you fatisfaction.

Would you expect from fuch a revelation, a reasonable account of our first original? Look into the Mofaic hiftory of the creation; and there you will find, how the world, and how yourself originally fprang from the divine Fiat ; and in what manner we are the offspring of God.

Would you expect a narrative of fuch circumstances of God's difpenfations towards us from the beginning, as would be correfpondent with our conftant experience and obfervation? The fame history will inform you of thofe irregular affections, and vitiated appetites and paffions, which every man finds in himfelf; and which have brought fuch deftruction and mifery upon the world, in all its fucceffive periods, finee Adam's fall.

Would you expect, that there should be early intimations of the method of our recovery from the state of fin and guilt, which we had brought ourselves into by our apoftacy? You will there alfo find the gracious promife, that the feed of the woman fball break the ferpent's bead; and deliver us from the deadly effects of his malicious temptation.

Would you defire to find a particular prediction of the promised Saviour, by whom we are to obtain a redemption; his lineage and defcent, the time, place and manner of his birth, the circumstances of his life, death and refurrection, a particular defeription of the nature, the subjects, and the continual progrefs of his kingdom? Read the prophecies of the Old Testament; and read the hiftory in the New; and you will find fuch a correfpondence and agreement, as will afford you matter of fulleft fatisfaction, that they are both from God.

Would you expect, that there should be some means, to keep the promised Saviour in the continued view of God's people, before his actual and perfonal manifeftation; and to keep alive their faith and hope in him? What were all their facrifices, their legal purifications, their priesthood, and all their long train of rites and ceremonies, but inflitutions purposely adapted to that end? *

Would you expect repeated and renewed teftimonies from heaven, to the profeffing people of God, that their religion was from him; and that their faith and hope,

excited by thefe typical inftitutions, were built upon a fure foundation? Such were the miracles frequently wrought among them, the manifestation of the divine prefence in the Shechinah, their Urim and Thummim, their frequent oracles, their fucceffion of prophets, whose predictions refpecting the Jews themselves, and the nations round about them, were continually fulfilled and fulfilling before their eyes: and the accomplishment of many of them, are apparently open and' vifible to us alfo. Would you fuppofe, that near the predicted time of the Saviour's appearance, not only the Jewish nation, but all others that were acquainted with their facred books, would live in rais'd expectations of this great and wonderful event? You will find in the Gofpels, in Jofephus, De Bell. Jud. Lib. vii. Cap. 31. Tacitus, Hist. Cap. 13. and Suetonius, In Vefpaf. Cap. 4. that this was the cafe in fact.

Would you expect, that when the Saviour did appear, he would by the holiness and beneficence of his life, and by numerous open and uncontested miracles, give fuch atteftation to his divine miffion, as would be fufficient evidence, that he was indeed the Meffiah fo frequently predicted, and fo earnestly expected? Dont the facred hiftorians answer your highest expectations, in this refpect? In them you find, that the dead were raised, the fick healed, the maimed reftored to the use of their limbs, the fight of the blind recovered, the deaf brought to their hearing, the lepers cleanfed, the demons ejected ; and in a word, that the whole time of his miniftry was a continued fucceffion of the most beneficent and astonishing miracles; miracles as surprising in their nature, as their number, fuch as vaftly exceeded the power of all created beings; and were therefore the ftrongeft teftimony from heaven, that this Saviour moft certainly was, what he profeffed himself to be.

Would you expect, that this Saviour fhould verify his divine miffion, to future times, by prophecies of fucceeding events? Dont the Evangelifts afford you many inftances of fuch predictions, which have been clearly and fully accomplished? In thefe hiftorians you will find, how he foretold the treafon of Judas, the fhameful

fall of Peter, with the flight of all his difciples, in that gloomy, dreadful night, when the fhepherd was fmitten; and the sheep feattered. In thefe you will find, how he foretold the time and manner of his own death, the term of his continuance in the grave, with his glorious refurrection and afcenfion. You will there alfo find him foretelling the Miffion, divine infpiration, miraculous powers, and glorious fuccefs of his apoftles; and their fellow-labourers in the Gofpel-miniftry. Thefe hiftorians do likewife fet before you, his particular prediction of the destruction of Jerufalem; and the abolition of the Temple, with the prodigies which preceded, the tribulation which accompanied, and the difperfion of the Jewish nation which followed, that amazing defolation. And don't it furprize you to find from Jofephus, that the twenty fourth chapter of Matthew, and the twenty firft Chapter of Luke, are more like a history than a prophecy of that dreadful event? If you fhould yet further expect fome predictions from him, that extend to the present times, and are now visibly accomplished before your eyes; has he not foretold, and do you not find it true, that Jerufalem fball continue to be trodden down of the Gentiles, untill the time of the Gentiles be fulfilled?

Would you expect, that when this Meffiah, according to the Prophecies concerning him, was cut off, he should declare himself the Son of God with power, by his refurrection from the dead? And has it not appeared true, that no precaution by fealing his tomb and fetting a guard over it, could prevent his triumph over the grave; and his appearing to great numbers of his difciples; and frequently and familiarly converfing with fome of them, for forty days together; and finally ascending up to heaven before their eyes.

Would you expect, that his difciples, who were eye and ear witnesses of his life, death, refurrection, and afcenfion; and could not poffibly be deceived in facts fo open to all their fenfes, fhould at their peril preach this Saviour to the world; and continually undergo a life of painful travel and fatigue, poverty and reproach, oppofition and perfecution, to propagate his Gospel;

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