morally inevitable. And this seems to be sufficiently established. It is established, that, in all the principles and powers of man, there is an original sin, a departure from primitive integrity of nature, which indisposes him to the reception of spiritual things; and which, therefore, antecedently to actual transgression, renders him, though not deserving of punitive infliction, yet unqualified for a high rank in the scale of moral existence.

Human nature has certain claims upon religion : and every religious system which has permanently attracted human nature, endeavours, variously, to satisfy those claims. In particular, it is obvious, that, whatever changes religion may ultimately produce in us, its first address must be made to our natural faculties. But, in a pure theism, which proposes one infinite, incomprehensible, individual, as the only object of contemplation, no provision is made for this primary address. Reason collapses before Him, in doubt and dismay; and affection will not rise, where it is awed before the majesty of his mysterious nature. Christianity composes into reverential tranquillity, that breathless and trembling awe, with which the heart shrinks from the God of the theist. It preaches peace and love; it spreads before us attractive images, interesting facts, and endearing associations. Instead of overwhelming the religious affections, with the unalleviated weight of infinity, it gently and gradually trains them to nobler aspirations. It appeals to all our better emotions; and it

sheds abroad its attractive influences, upon whatsoever there is, of good, or spiritual, in the original susceptibilities of our nature.

We do not, then, propose the Incarnation, and the Trinity, as abstract, speculative dogmas. We do not say, that they were intended to be a trial of faith, or an exercise of subtlety; the mysterious fruit of some forbidden tree of knowledge, which the soul was to contemplate, but not to taste. We teach, that man stands in certain moral relations, to those two Divine Persons, whom Christianity superinduces upon unmodified theism. We show, that, in the Son, God descends to earth; and in the Holy Spirit, man ascends to heaven. And thus, is restored that communion with our heavenly Father, for which, during the long probationary period, between the fall of the first, and the resurrection of the second Adam, all the generations of mankind had languished.

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SERMON II.

DEUT. XXXII. 31.

For their rock is not as our Rock, our enemies themselves being the judges.

PERHAPS there is no part of the sacred volume more fertile in sublime and affecting associations, than the Ode from which these words are taken. It is the Song of MOSES, "The witness, for God, against the children of Israel." The prophet was now arrived upon the border of that goodly land, an entrance to which, was denied unto his prayers; and the days were approaching, when he must die, and when his people must be committed to the care of another. To the service of that people he had early devoted himself, with self-renouncing fidelity. By long experience, he had learned their weak and perverse disposition: but his knowledge of their helplessness bound them, but the more closely, to his affections; and now, when about to be called away, he trembles for them, with the intensity of more than parental solicitude. In these touching circum

stances, he is ordered to communicate to them his last instructions. God dictates; the prophet proclaims and the whole earth, and the whole heavens, are summoned to give ear to the words

of the Lord.

The matter of the poem corresponds to the occasion. Though the main argument relates solely to the Jews, the opening, and the close, are universal in their application. We have there sketched, a brief, but glowing perspective, of the great scheme of providential dispensations, and the varied fortunes of the Universal Church. The ode begins, with an assertion of the equity of that God, "all whose ways are judgment." After a few verses, this assertion is followed up, with an incidental declaration of his paternal regard, for the whole family of his earthly children. The distribution of mankind into nations, and languages, is connected with the predestined plan of redemption. The Jews are acknowledged, as a peculiar people. At the same time, the Gentiles are recognized, as disposed, by the same benevolent wisdom, in an outer and freer sphere of providence. In the end, all are re-united. Men and angels, things in heaven, as well as things on the earth, are incorporated into one society, of jubilant worshippers.

Truths, delivered in such an address, combining the authority of a voice from heaven, with the pathetic interest of a dying injunction, cannot fail of all reverence and acceptation. Their general import, and, more particularly, the assertion in the text, will contribute to the advancement of our present inquiry.

In my first sermon, I undertook, from the constitution of our nature, to show, that, under a

simple theism, it would be impossible to combine doctrinal purity, with practical influence. My design, in this, and the following discourse, is to illustrate the same position, by a survey of facts. The facts which I shall, at present, endeavour to establish, relate to the Gentiles; and may be reduced to the following heads:

First, That they never fell into total apostasy. Secondly, That they were deeply conscious, of human incompetency to maintain communion with pure Godhead.

Thirdly, That, were any scheme of inferior worship admissible, that which they adopted, would be the least liable to objections.

I. The first of these propositions, derives powerful support from the text. The prophet, in the energy of divine influence, is testifying against his perverse followers. In a mingled tone of upbraiding and premonition, he lays before them the guilt of their idolatrous wanderings. And, to mark that guilt as the more inexcusable, he adds, that even the nations who worshipped "strange gods," acknowledged the supremacy of the God of Israel : "For their rock is not as our Rock, our enemies themselves being the judges."

This is a declaration of very weighty importance. The range of the prophecy in the place before us, includes the whole interval, from the call of Abraham, to the Babylonish captivity. And, whether the enmity here alluded to, be political animosity, or religious dissonance, this interval will bring