Thus do we prove from the circumstances which preceded the miraculous deliverance of Jonah,from the object and design of the miracle itself,-and from the extensive consequences of the miracle upon the surrounding nations, that the miraculous preservation of the prophet Jonah was the most appropriate, the most useful, the most satisfactory, and the most effective which could have been permitted at the period in which it happened: and I now ask, whether there is any person, who thoroughly understands the matter, who will again ridicule the history of Jonah, and inquire with contempt, and scorn, whether he is to believe that a man was swallowed by a fish, and still remain alive? There was more abundant reason, as I have shewn you, for this miracle, than for almost any other recorded in Scripture; and I address myself, therefore, to the poor, to the ignorant, to the unlearned, to those who have no time to study these things; and I assure them, that the manner in which this wonderful history of Jonah may be shewn to be true, is only a specimen of the mode in which every other obscure part of Scripture may be proved to be true. Never be shaken in your faith, because you are unable to answer the pert and flippant arguments of weak and foolish men. As there was an appropriate and useful cause for the miracle of Jonah, so also were there appropriate and useful causes for every other remarkable fact which is related in Scripture. You are so engaged in the active duties of life that you have no leisure to study these

things, you may, however, believe me when I declare, that I have anxiously endeavoured to find out all the arguments which have been urged by infidels against the truth of Scripture; and I have found, upon careful examination, that they are all founded. either upon wickedness, seeking apologies for vice, or upon ignorance united with presumption: and I have entered upon an exposition of the wonderful narrative of Jonah's preservation, that you may see in what manner objections may be answered; and that you may never permit your faith, your hope, your religion and your happiness, to be sacrificed to the vain words of an erring fellowcreature. The same God, who made the world, and who gives us the fruits of the earth to nourish our bodies, has made no less provision for our immortal spirits. He, and He alone, has given us the books of Scripture to nourish our souls, and to make us wise unto salvation.

The infidel, if there be one in this congregation, may learn from the evidence which confirms the history of Jonah, that the Christian Religion is different from all others in this respect,-that it is not established upon the inventions, or speculations of men, but upon the evidence of facts, and facts alone; and that these facts are proved to be true, in proportion to the study which men bestow upon them. All falsehoods vanish upon inquiry; all truth is confirmed by inquiry. We invite you, therefore, to inquire, to reason, to search, to study. The truth of the Bible is interwoven with the his

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tory of the world; it cannot be separated from it; and the more deeply, therefore, we examine into the subject, the more fully shall we discover the truth, the certain, the undoubted, the undeniable truth of every page, of every action recorded in the volume of Scripture. To use the language of a celebrated writer" the Bible has God for its author, salvation for its end, and truth, without any mixture of error, for its matter." It is addressed to us, not merely as beings who are to live in this world for a few short years, and then to perish; it is addressed to us as dying men, as immortal souls: it points out to us the way of salvation, the only way of salvation-repentance towards God, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Be an infidel, then, no longer; deceive yourself no longer; mislead the poor no longer; cast no more ridicule and scorn upon the supposed difficulties of Scripture. Remember the object of your creation; that as Jonah was three days and three nights in the fish that was prepared for him, and then came forth to praise God, who preserved him; so shall we lie down in the grave, and so shall we come forth at the morning of the day of judgment to meet our great and holy God. Believe in these noble subjects, and may God grant to us all repentance unto life, and a joyful and glorious immortality, for the sake of Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom, &c.

SERMON IV.

THE UNION OF PREDESTINATION AND FREE-WILL EXEMPLIFIED IN SCRIPTURE.

ACTS xxvii. 22. 30, 31.

And now I exhort you to be of good cheer; for there shall be no loss of any man's life among you. And as the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, Paul said to the centurion, and to the soldiers, Except these abide in the ship, ye cannot be saved.

THERE is no one subject upon which the serious and reflecting part of mankind have been more divided, than upon that difficult, yet interesting topic, the union of the foreknowledge of God with the free agency of man. The heathen philosophers of every civilized nation in the ancient world; the Jews before the coming of Christ, and even to the present day; the early Christians; the Church of Rome; the Reformers of the Church of England; the members of that Church itself; and many of the various sects which have departed from its Communion, have all differed among themselves, and have all been engaged in controversy, respect

ing the powers of the will in man, and the nature of the decrees of God.

If we look to REASON for our guide, the arguments on the one side of the question appear to be as powerful and as convincing as the arguments on the other; for if we reflect upon the attributes of the Almighty, we are compelled to believe that the future must be known to Him, as well as the past, or the present; and, therefore, that there is a sense in which the doctrine of Predestination is evidently and undeniably true.-If we reflect also on the nature of the human mind, our own experience assures us, that man possesses the power to think, to deliberate, and to decide between opposite motives. He can choose between good and evil : he may avoid sin, or commit sin; he may obey laws, or he may break them; he may comply with the remonstrances of conscience, or he may harden his heart, by wilfully resisting its power: and thus our reason convinces us, that there is a sense in which the free agency of man, as well as the predestination of God, is likewise evidently and undeniably true.—If, from Reason we turn to Scripture, we are no less presented with arguments which appear to be equally favourable to both doctrines.-We are assured, in the most positive language, that God worketh all things according to the counsels of his own will; that His counsel shall stand, and He will do all His pleasure 2; that whom He did fore

1

Eph. i. 11.

2 Isaiah xlvi. 10.