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natural affection, torments itself, and miserably distresses others; breaks the bonds of friendship, society, and order; and stands opposed to that mild, gentle, and loving spirit, breathed forth in the gospel of God our saviour. Oh who can contemplate this contrast, and not be compelled to exclaim, how deeply fallen we are, and long to see a greater spirit of meekness and humility govern the hearts of men! I shall add one more to the many dispositions already mentioned, and that is

A proud disposition.-The inordinate esteem which some persons have of themselves and their actions, we term pride; and as they consider their supposed excellencies exclusively their own, so are they pleased or displeased in proportion as they meet with attention or neglect from others; yet both injure or trouble them: the one puffs them up with vain conceit, and the other awakens in them many dangerous passions; all which things render them and their actions displeasing to God. Pride is a deep-rooted and wide-spreading evil, and is as pernicious as it is extensive. Whatever we possess, sin alone excepted, is from God. Our persons, with all their faculties, capacities, and powers, are from him; and all our providential mercies are the fruits of his goodness and liberality: but pride, refuses to make any acknowledgment either of his love or of his numerous benefits. Deut. xxxii. 15. This sinful disposition makes its appearance in a variety of forms, in all which it is hateful to the Lord; as in proud actions, (2 Chron. xxv. 19.) in proud looks, (Prov. xvi. 26.) vain, variegated, and highly fashionable apparel, (Isai. iii. 16-25.) in arrogant speech, (1 Sam. ii. 3.) pride of heart, (Prov. xvi. 5.) in being proud of our wealth, (Prov. xviii. 11.) in fondness of applause, (Acts xii. 52.) exulting in the greatness and diversity of our labours, (Dan. iv. 30) in our exalted and peculiar situations, (Ez. xxviii. 2.) in commercial prosperity; (Ez. xxviii. 17.) and indeed in every point wherein we ascribe praise to ourselves and not to the Lord, or seek it from others, whether it regard our persons, families, employments, riches, or

abilities. Jer. ix. 23. Pride delights in setting itself forth, and what it possesses, that it may obtain, if possible, praise, esteem, or dominion; which renders it still more vainglorious, haughty, and tyrannical. While in some it piques itself on its delicate sense of honour, and professes to detest all that is mean, base, and vile; in others it will be guilty of fraud, injustice, oppression, and every species of deceit ; and should it obtain more than heart could wish, it will descend to pampering, idleness, lewdness, and foolishness. It despises the poor, envies the rich and honourable, detracts from the deserving, cringes to and flatters the great, maintains its consequence with equals, and acts arrogantly towards its dependants. It is self-willed and dogmatical, disdains its opposers, practices insolence, and loves to contradict; is contemptuous, and takes pleasure in exposing the failings of others, especially when promotive of its aspiring and ambitious aims. As it is difficult to please, so it is careless of pleasing unless to gain admiration; and aiming at the highest place, submits with reluctance when it is disappointed. It is displeased with inattention towards itself, and yet is apt to discover it towards others, and what it must do is done grudgingly. It talks much of the vulgarity and clownishness of others, from a vain conceit of the elegancy of its own manners. It affects fine tones, sprightly airs, and a mincing gait, in some persons; and a rude, blustering, and impudent behaviour, in others. It is so filled with notions of its superiority and consummate skill, as to think itself capable of the most extraordinary undertakings: hence it does not hesitate to attempt harmonizing the greatest discordances; but so completely mistakes its own powers, as often to occasion contentions and quarrels among individuals, families, neighbourhoods, towns, and empires. It is the very life of the fashionable world, of its manners, parties, amusements, etiquette, and morals! It is in perfect opposition to the Lord Jesus, hating the spirit, simplicity, and holiness of his gospel, and of those who glorify him according to its princi

ples. It is found indeed in every fashionable form of religion, where it can pray devoutly, sing sweetly, read charmingly and solemnly, not to be heard of God, but of those who are capable of judging, or may admire its devout and solemn behaviour. When it appears on the part of orthodoxy, it denounces, without fear or shame, its anathemas against those who differ from its opinions. The heretics are condemned without being heard; or, if heard, without being regarded or believed. It is the grand incentive to oppression in governors, and of sedition and rebellion in subjects. It is the root and strength of discontent, murmuring, and repining, presumption, obstinacy, and ingratitude. The great God, who is the fountain of all excellency, and whose perfections are beyond all human conception, beholds its possessors and advocates afar off, and has declared that the day is coming that shall burn them, and leave them neither root nor branch. Mal. iv. 1. Who besides Jehovah can know how wide its baneful influences diffuse themselves? It is the folly, weakness, shame, and scandal of fallen creatures, who are but sinful dust and ashes, and who consequently ought to sink into the depths of humility, and to say with pious Job, "I am vile," which would much better become them than ostentation and vanity, and especially as it is his purpose to stain the pride of all human glory, and to scatter the proud in the imagination of their hearts.

If we are to judge of the tree by the fruit it produces, what has now been observed, will sufficiently discover that the heart of man, to use Solomon's words, is "full of evil." Its enmity against God breaks forth in a variety of ways. However dark some may suppose these shades to be drawn, they need only, if they have not paid attention to it before, examine a little the circle of their own acquaintance, or of the world around them, to be convinced that the truth has by no means been exceeded. The shades indeed may be so blended and diversified in some persons, that it may not be easy to determine what is their more prominent disposition; but this only proves that sin spreads deeper in

some, and wider in others; but that both are far from that state of rectitude in which man was first created.

CHAP. III.

THE RECONCILIATION.

Christ the only Saviour-Ecil of the original offence-Christ's person-and his atonement.

CHRIST THE ONLY SAVIOUR.

Ir is common for us to judge of the patient's disorder by the means made use of in attempting his recovery; and if we reflect on the methods pursued to redeem mankind from sin and its consequences, it must be acknowledged that sin is, to adopt St. Paul's language, "exceeding sinful"—most hateful in itself, and inexpressibly dreadful in its consequences. Sin has completely disabled man from being his own saviour, nor can he "redeem his brother or give to God a ransom for him." He is therefore entirely beholding to his Almighty Creator for his redemption, who, in boundless mercy, has sent his beloved Son to redeem us with his precious blood-as the spotless victim pre-ordained for that purpose before the foundation of the world. But why must the "Son of the Blessed" be sent on this work of salvation? Why were not the angelic armies, which are said to "excel in strength, to do his commandments, to hearken to the voice of his word, to be his ministers, and to do his pleasure;" why were they not, one, or more, or all of their order, employed? It is obvious they were incapable of this vast undertaking, being mere creatures; and when many of them sinned, they were not capable of redeeming themselves, much less were they sufficient to redeem a world of,

guilty rebels, that is, on the supposition that they had not fallen. They, the holy angels, as servants of their everglorious King, are employed by him on many important purposes for the advancement of his honour, the accomplishment of his will, and the chastisement or comfort of human beings, as also in counteracting the malevolent designs and subtlety of infernal spirits; and so far their services are doubtless acceptable to him: but it may easily be inferred from their ignorance of his procedure in man's recovery, (1 Pet. i. 12.) that they neither possess excellency of nature, copiousness of intellect, nor sufficiency of merit, to become propiatory sacrifices, or mediators for sinners. Some indeed deny the necessity of any atoning sacrifice at all, thinking that man is possessed of powers for the due performance of whatever is required of him, without supernatural aid or the merit of a reconciler; but this is so flatly contradictory to numerous express words of scripture, and so wide from the genius and spirit of christianity, that one may justly wonder why they call themselves christians at all. Nor need we be surprised at St. Peter's severity, who ranks such doctrines with damnable heresies, and tells us that those who imbibe them bring upon themselves swift destruction. 1 Pet. ii. 1.

There are others who inquire why the divine Being can not pardon but through the medium of an atoning sacrifice? I would answer, it remains altogether with the divine goodness to choose what way he pleases, in communicating his favour to guilty creatures; and whether he could pardon sin or not in any other way than that which he has appointed, it is undeniable he has not done it. He does not see good to gratify our curiosity in this affair; and, as though he would stop all enquiry on that subject, the scripture is remarkably silent concerning it: and it would be well if we always remained satisfied with these solemn truths, that, "Secret things belong to the Lord our God; but those things which are revealed belong unto us"-that "his judgments are unsearchable, and his ways past finding out"-and that we

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