taught us to direct to heaven; and which God is graciously pleased to call, giving glory to him in the highest.

Let us next examine the fecond part of the text, and fee how the Chriftian religion promotes peace, and good will among men. Now this it does in feveral ways.

In the first place, it promotes internal peace. The mind of man is poffeffed by paffions of various kinds. Some of them make it calm and easy; others boifterous and unhappy. He, whofe mind is boiling over with rage, or rankling with envy, cannot feel that peace, which he does when his mind is compofed. These mischievous paffions are not only painful in themselves; but they draw his attention from every pursuit that is valuable. - Now it is the business of religion to remove these restless paffions; and to fill the mind with fuch foothing affections, as throw a kind of funfhine on all our other enjoyments.

Then again, with regard to thofe great points-the immortality of the foul-the forgiveness of fin -and a future ftate of happiness-the mind must furely be more at peace, when it is afcertained of

the

the truth of these things, than when it is labouring in a state of uncertainty.

We, to whom these bleffed notices have been familiar from our childhood, cannot have a just idea of the state of a serious mind, hâraffed with misconceptions on these grand fubjects. Amidst all this uncertainty, no doubt the mercy of God through Chrift, is extended to all good men, though they had no opportunities of knowing the Gospel. But our great happiness consists in being affured of these things. This is that hope, that fecurity, which the pious Christian enjoys; and which, above all other things, makes good to him the holy promise in the text, of peace.

But the gospel hath not only its effect in producing peace in our own minds, it hath the fame good effect in producing peace among each other. All the quarrels between man and man- between nation and nation, arife entirely from fome wrong turn of mind-from envy, malice,avarice, jealousy, ambition, or some other bad paffion, which it is the very business of religion to restrain. If no man bore malice, or revenge, against his neighbour; or coveted his neighbour's goods; or flandered him; or provoked him by unbridled paffions; or was guilty of unjust actions (all which things

oppose Christianity in the most direct manner,) peace, and good-will among mankind would immediately, and univerfally take place. In fhort, we cannot injure the peace of each other, without firft injuring the precepts of our religion.

Then again, among nations, the same peace and happiness would exift, as between man and man, if they would listen to the precepts of the Gospel. The fame divine laws which forbid anger, malice, and envy; forbid alfo ambition, a thirst after power, and competitions in trade, which lead to every national mischief — unless exalting or enriching a few individuals, at the expence of thousands, may be reckoned among the bleffings of a nation.

But now, fays the objector, when we look abroad in the world, we fee but very little of those bleffed effects, which the Gospel was intended to produce. We fee little of men's giving glory to God in the higheft; but a great deal of curfing and fwearing by his name; and of profaning it with every act of irreverence. We fee little of giving

glory to God in his temple; but much profanation. of his Sabbath, and neglect of all the ordinances which he hath appointed.

Then

Then again, as to peace, and good-will among men, we hear little more of it now, than we did before the days of Christianity. We see nations equally difpofed to quarrel and fight; people every where to cheat and deceive; to plunder and destroy; in fhort, to be as guilty of every kind of ill-neighbourhood, as they could have been in the worft of times. So that, in fact, continues the objector, a religion, that came into the world with a hymn of triumph, marking so strongly its intention, Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace, goodwill to men, does not, in any degree, seem to have answered the gracious purposes, for which it was intended.

That is falfe. Much general reformation, and happiness, in various ways, hath been introduced into the world by the Gospel, both among individuals, and among nations. But even on a fup-! pofition it had been otherwise, it proves nothing against the good effects of Christianity, if it were properly obeyed. It only proves that, notwithstanding the purity of the Gospel, and its gracious intention of making mankind religious and happy, there are numbers who will not be made religious

and

and happy by it. But what could God Almighty do more for man, confiftently with leaving him at liberty to act freely? He could only give him a rule to walk by, and reason to enforce that rule; unless he had changed his nature, and, by giving him a new religion, had wrought a standing miracle to force his obedience to it. So that, of course, the world will always be divided into two forts of people fuch as are deaf to all the calls of religion; and fuch as live up to its rules. Among these latter only are to be found those who feel the happiness of living under Gospel-laws. It would be a wonderful thing indeed, if those should profit by them, who never trouble their heads about them. The patient, who rejects the medicine, must not hope to remove the disease. Our Saviour himself, you remember, prophesied, in the parable of the fower, of the different reception which his gospel fhould meet among different men. Some feed, he tells you, would fall among thorns, and be choaked-others on beaten ground, and be picked up-but that still there would be fome which would fall on good ground, and bring forth fruit in abundance.

The Christian religion therefore is not meant to work by force, or like a charm, on the minds of

men.