feafon we fhall reap, if we faint not." 2 John, 8. Look to yourselves, that we lofe not those "things which we have wrought; but that we re"ceive a full reward." It was the great maxim of the heathen philofophers of old, as it is with almost all those who reject christianity at prefent, to think with the wife, and act with the vulgar; but a perfect confiftency of character and profeffion is ftrictly required of chriftians. In time of perfecution we are allowed, and even commanded, to endeavour to avoid it, by all fair and honeft methods; fo that if we be perfecuted in one city, we may flee to another; but on no confideration whatever are we to make shipwreck of faith and of a good confcience, by denying or concealing our chriftian profeffion. With respect to this great hour of trial, the declarations of our Lord are moft exprefs and folemn. Having foretold his own fufferings, and severely rebuked Peter, who could not bear the thought of them, we are told, Mark viii. 34. that he called "the people unto him with his disciples, and said "unto them, Whofoever will come after me, let "him deny himself, and take up his crofs, and << follow me. Whofoever will fave his life shall lofe it; but whofoever fhall lofe his life for my "fake and the gofpel's, the fame shall fave it." Matt. x. 32. "Whofoever fhall confefs me be "fore men, him will I confefs alfo before my "Father "Father who is in heaven. But whofoever fhall "deny me before men, him will I alfo deny beFather who is in heaven." "fore my Thefe admonitions the apostles keep in mind in their writings, and therefore the apostle Paul fays, 2 Tim, ii. 12. "If we fuffer, we shall alfo reign "with him: if we deny him, he will alfo deny "us." And, acting upon this maxim, thousands` of chriftians have chearfully laid down their lives for the profeffion of the chriftian faith. It is to be observed, that, in the fcriptures, though the rewards of virtue are only promised to perfons of a truly virtuous character and conduct, they are promised to those who shall so repent of their fins, as to manifeft a change of character and conduct at any time of the active part of their lives. No perfon, however, has any encouragement from any part of scripture, to expect that he fhall be entitled to the rewards of the gospel, who repents fo late, that he has no opportunity of fhewing a change of conduct at all. Befides, few of those late profeffions of repentance are fincere, or, if fincere, would have been. lafting; and, according to the uniform language of the fcriptures, it is "according to the deeds that men have actually done in this life," that they fhall receive at the hand of God hereafter. 2. Cor. v. 10. " for we must all appear before the judg "ment "ment feat of Chrift; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he "hath done, whether it be good or bad. Know❝ing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we per"fuade men." It is alledged, indeed, that our Saviour promised the thief upon the cross, that he fhould be with him in paradife; but nothing can be inferred from a cafe so very obscure as this is; for we know nothing of the previous character of this man, we can guess but very imperfectly at what is meant by his request, nor do we know precisely the full import of what our Lord did promife him. Befides, this story is only found in one of the evangelifts, viz. Luke, who appears, by many circumstances, to have been the leaft informed of any of them; and Matthew, who was upon the spot, fays, that both the thieves reviled Chrift, without adding one word in favour of either of them. As, therefore, there is no other fact in the hiftory of the Old or New Teftament, that gives any countenance to expectations of mercy in a proper death-bed repentance, and all the general rules and precepts of the fcripture abfolutely exclude all hope in this cafe, it must be very dangerous to rely upon it; though it is to be feared that many perfons continue to live in a manner which their conscience.difapproves, in confequence of deluding themfelves with this miferable fallacy. I fhall I fhall conclude this account of the morality of the scriptures with obferving, that it is not delivered fyftematically, and at large, either in the Old or New Teftament; but that it is not on this account the less, but, in fact, the more valuable, because it is delivered in a manner that is both more intelligible, and more forcible. For, being delivered as particular occafions fuggeft, it has neceffarily the advantage of a peculiar emphafis and energy. What precept, for inftance, against pride or hypocrify, in a general fyftem of morals, would have had the force of our Lord's vehement reflections upon the Scribes and Pharifees, and of his affectionate admonitions to his own difciples on those subjects; or what other manner of inftruction would have recommended a great variety of amiable virtues fo much as our Lord's method of inculcating them by example and pertinent parables. Befides, what men really want, is not so much to know what is their duty, as proper views and motives to induce them to practise it. It is, therefore, in general, very properly taken for granted, in the fcriptures, that men know what it is that God requires of them; and almost all the admonitions to virtue go upon that fuppofition, enforcing the practice of what is acknowledged to be right, by motives adapted to peculiar fituations and circumftances. SEC SECTION VI. Of pofitive inftitutions. ESIDE the duties of ftrictly moral obligation, BESIDE on the observance of which our moral character, and happiness, chiefly depend: we find in revelation, that the divine being has been pleased to enjoin feveral obfervances, which are not in themselves of a moral nature, but which ultimately tend to promote good morals, and that just state of mind, which makes the practice of our duty in other refpects eafy to us. These are the obfervance of one day in feven for the purpose of reft from labour, which is obligatory on all mankind; the observance of a large ritual of ceremonies by the Jews, and of baptifm and the Lord's fupper by the christians. Of each of thefe, in the order of which I now have mentioned them, I fhall give a general account, with a view to explain the nature and use of them. |