themselves. How abfurd then it would be to exercise it on others, which yet the doctrine of atonement fuppofes. Certainly, then, it must give the mind unfavourable impreffions of the divine government, which, if not corrected by fomething else, muft have an unfriendly aspect upon their virtue. Yet, notwithstanding this, the influence which the doctrine of atonement has upon practice is strongly urged in its favour.

Admitting, however, that the popular doctrine of atonement should raise our ideas of the juftice, or rather the severity of God, it must, in the fame proportion, fink our ideas of his mercy; so that what the doctrine may have seemed to gain on the one hand, it lofes on the other. And, moreover, though, in order to the forgivness of fin, some farther feverity on the part of God be fuppofed neceffary, yet, according to the doctrine of atonement, this severity is fo circumftanced, as entirely to lose its effect. For if the severity be to work upon men, the offenders themselves fhould feel it. It will be the fame thing with the bulk of mankind, who are the perfons to be wrought upon, whether the Divine Being animadvert upon the vices that are repented of, or not, if the offenders know that they themselves shall never feel it. This difinterested generosity might, indeed, induce fome offenders to spare the lives of their fubftitutes; but if the fufferings had been endured already by fome person of fufficient

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fufficient dignity, on the behalf of all future tranfgreffors, it is impoffible to conceive how the confideration of it fhould be any reftraint at all; fince nothing that any man could then do would expose any other to farther fuffering.

SECTION II.

Of the true End and Defign of the Death of Chrift.

HAVING fhewn that the death of

Chrift is not to be confidered as having made atonement, or fatisfaction, to God for the fins of men, I fhall now endeavour to fhew what the end and use of it really were. Now the principal defign of the life, as well as the death of Christ, seems to be not fo much what we may expect to find in any particular texts, or fingle paffages of the evangelifts, or other writers of the New Teftament, as what is fuggefted by a view of the hiftory itself, what may be called the language of the naked facts, and what cannot but be understood wherever they are known. What has been written by christians may affift us to conceive more accurately concerning fome particulars relating to chriftianity, but that must be of more importance, which does not require to be written, what the facts themselves neceffarily fpeak, without any interpretation. Let us, therefore, examine

what

what it is that may be clearly deduced from the history, and how much of christianity could not but have been known, if nothing had been written, provided a general idea of the life and death of Chrift could have been tranfmitted to us in any other way.

If, then, we attend to the general facts recorded by the evangelifts, we cannot but find that they afford the most fatisfactory evidence of a refurrection and a future life. The history of Jefus contains (what cannot be faid of any other history in the world) an authentic account of a man like ourselves, invested by almighty God with most extraordinary powers, not only teaching, without the least ambiguity or hesitation, the doctrine of a future life of retribution for all mankind, and directing the views of his disciples to it, in preference to any thing in this world; but paffing his own life in a voluntary exclufion from all that men call great, and that others purfue with fo much affiduity; and, in obedience to the will of God, calmly giving up his life, in circumstances of public ignominy and torture, in the fullest perfuafion, that he should receive it again with advantage. And in the accomplishment of his own prediction, he actually role from the dead the third day. After this, he was feen by all those persons who had the most intimate knowledge of him before, and he did not leave them till after having converfed with them, at intervals,

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intervals, for a confiderable time, in order to give them the most satisfactory evidence of the identity of his perfon.

Since, then, the great object of our Lord's miffion was to teach the doctrine of a refurrection to a future immortal life, we fee the neceffity of his own death and refurrection as a proof of his doctrine. For whatever he might have faid, or done while he lived, he could not have given the moft fatisfactory proof even of his own belief of a resurrection, unless he had actually died in the full expectation of it. Hence it is that the apostles glory in the confideration both of the death and of the refurrection of Chrift, as 1 Cor. i. 22. The Jews require a fign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom; but we preach Chrift crucified, to the Ferns a ftumbling block, and to the Greeks foolishness; but unto them who are called both Jews and Greeks, Chrift the power of God, and the wisdom of God; alfo 1 Cor. xv. 14, &c. If Christ be not rifen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. But now is Chrift risen from the dead, and become the first fruits of them that flept.

There is another manner in which we may be affifted in forming an idea of what is most effential to christianity. Suppofe a number of perfons, educated in the chriftian faith, to be cast upon a remote island, without any bible. It is probable they would first of all lofe all diftinct remembrance

remembrance of the apoftolical epifties, which may fhew that thefe are a part of the New Teftament the leaft neceffary to be attended to. After this, they would be apt to forget the particular discourses of our Lord; but the last thing they would retain would be the idea of a man, who had the most extraordinary power, spending his time in performing benevolent miracles, voluntarily fubmitting to many inconveniences, and laft of all to a painful death, in a certain expectation of being presently raised to an immortal life, and to great happiness, honour, and power after death; and that thefe his expectations were actually fulfilled. They would alfo remember that this perfon always recommended the practice of virtue, and affured his followers that they would also be raised again to immortal life and happiness, if they perfevered in well doing, as he had done.

Now, allowing that those perfons, thus cut off from all communication with other chriftians, fhould retain only these general ideas of chriftianity (and it is hardly to be conceived that they could retain lefs) yet, would any body say that they were not chriftians, or that they were not poffeffed of the most important and practical truths of christianity, thofe truths which are most instrumental in purifying the heart and reforming the life?