ledge, which in the poor and illiterate were highly commendable, would be grofs and vitious ignorance in those of higher rank, of more leifure, learning, and abilities.

W

The ignorance of fome people in matters of religion is astonishing, and the only excuses which can be offered for it, namely want of capacity, or want of leifure, are often groundless: for the knowledge required of every person cannot be greater than his abilities, and the abilities of many persons are greater than they think. The understanding must be exercised before its strength can be known, and by exercife may be improved beyond imagination; and as to leifure, there are few even of those who are engaged in a laborious way of

it

y

hanc sophista verbofus, hanc univerfi præfumunt, lacerant, docent antequam difcant.

What would he say,

Si foret hoc noftrum fato dilatus in ævum?

w Virorum nugæ, negotia vocantur. Auguftin Conf. I. 9. * See Locke Conduct of the Understand. §. 4.

y Much business is no excuse for neglecting him in whom we live and move and have our being. Every Christian should be able to apply to himself in a religious sense the words of Julius Cæfar in Lucan :

-media inter prælia femper

Stellarum cœlique plagis, Superifque vacavi.

See Epictet. Sentent. 102, 103, 104. p. 141. Ed. Reland.

life, who have not many hours which are a burden to them, or are confumed in a manner that hurts their fouls and their bodies.

Common people are not to be encouraged to spend that time in religious exercises, which is due to the care of their families, nor to make piety a cloke for laziness, nor to be contentious about things which they understand not; but if they would bestow a feventh part of their time and of their industry in the improvement of their hearts and minds, and in religious meditations, they would find their advantage in it many ways; they would probably avoid feveral fins which ruin them even in this world, they would be more honeft, more fober, more civil, and more industrious, and confequently meet with more encouragement and kindness from their fuperiors, they would find more divine affiftance, more comfort, more peace of mind and refignation in all circumftances, and they would not be, what feveral of them now are, guilty of so many faults, and exposed to so. many evils, that it is hard to fay whether they are more wicked or more miferable.

VII. The

VII.

The Gospel confidered as it is

ST

and truth.

grace

T. John tells us that grace and truth came by Jesus Christ, that he brought them into the world, and that they are contained in the revelation of God's will, of which he was the author.

1. The Gospel is frequently called grace; and this word hath several meanings, all of which may be applied to the Gospel.

1. The word grace, in its most obvious acceptation, means favour, favour flowing from mercy and beneficence, to which the person who receives it can make no claim, as of right. In this fenfe the Gospel is most particularly and emphatically grace in all and every part of it, it is a gift of God which we could not in any manner be faid to deserve.

2. The Gospel is grace as it promiseth to repenting finners not only an exemption from punishment, but a refurrection to eternal happiness; and our Saviour fhewed fo much tenderness and lenity, and gave fo much encouragement to all in whom he discovered difpofitions towards amendment, that he drew upon himself from the cenforious Jews the opprobrious name of the friend of finners and of Publicans, a name which he was very willing to accept, declaring that he came into the world for the fake of fuch perfons, and that the

a

z It was an unreasonable objection made to Christianity by Julian in his Cæfars, and by Celfus in Orig. III. p. 147. that by offering pardon to repenting finners it favoured immorality, and fet open the kingdom of heaven to vice and folly. Zofimus II. p. 61. infinuates the fame thing, and fays that Conftantine had recourse to Christianity after the Pagan priests had told him that their religion afforded no purgation for fuch heinous crimes as he had committed. See Phileleuth. Lipfienf. P. II. P. 20.

• Πάντες Τελῶναι πάντες εἰσὶν ἁρπαγες.

Quot publicani, tot raptores.

See Digeft. L. xxxix. Tit. iv. 12. The Emperor Vefpafian's father was an exception to this proverb, who was at the fame time a Publican and a man of honour, and of whom Suetonius relates, publicam quadragefima in Afia egit. Manebantque imagines a civitatibus ei pofitæ cum hoc titulo, Καλῶς θελωνήσαι. Vefpaf. 1.

bufinefs

bufinefs of his life was to feek and fave

them.

Repentance is indeed a duty of natural religion, and reafon gives us hopes that it may be advantageous to us.

For as it is certain that fin is evil and deteftable, and difpleafing to God, it is no lefs evident that to confefs and diflike and condemn our faults, to avoid them for the future, to amend whatsoever is blameable in our conduct, to practise the duties which we have neglected, are actions good in themselves and acceptable to God, and therefore cannot be unprofitable to us.

b

Befides, we find our felves able to change, as from better to worse, so from worse to better. Now certainly it is not to

no

b This freedom neither excludes the Divine affistance, nor renders it unneceffary: Man unquestionably receives all his powers from his Maker, and continually stands in need of his aid, for the performance of his duty.

If we can neither think nor act otherwise than we do, or, rather, if we cannot act, in a true sense, but are actuated by something external, we must be just what we are, and power and choice belong not to us. Let us be concerned about nothing, if our concern' fignifies nothing; so advises the Poet and Fatalift;