it. But the determination of this point, is not material for my purpose. The case supposed never existed. The Bible is wholly

silent upon it. The Almighty foresaw and provided for another contingency—namely, the disobedience of Adam, and denounced against it the penalty of death: which, as I contend, of itself excludes the idea of a resurrection or the declaration of the Apostle, that Jesus Christ hath abolished death, and brought life and immortality to light through the Gospel; becomes quite unintelligible.— Under this unrepealed, and unmodified sentence, mankind lay, when Moses made public, by the command of God, the Jewish law : and nothing short of this will, in my judgment, satisfactorily account for his omitting to make a future state the sanction of that code. Nor does it appear, that until it was proclaimed by our Saviour, the doctrine could ever be said to rest upon Divine authority.

Enough I trust has been said to establish the consistency of the Old and the New Testaments, upon this very important questionan object, surely, of the deepest interest, to all who hold religion in due estimation. To

prove the consistency of writings in general, is not, I know, to prove their truth: for works of fiction may be, and commonly are, consistent with themselves. But this must be understood of single and independent compositions. If this were the character of the sacred volume, its mere consistency would be hardly any argument at all of its truth. But when we consider of what it consists, namely, of writings by various authors, and of very different kinds, commencing with the remotest antiquity, and extending over a period of more than four thousand years having for their principal object, to record two distinct but connected, yet in some respects, opposite Revelations of the Almighty to man; conveyed through the medium of types, prophecies, and miraclesif under such circumstances, the consistency of the whole should be clearly established, it would not fall far short of a proof of their veracity. And if even in a single point, of great moment, it has been shewn, that apparent discrepancy is free from real contradiction, something I hope has been done for the confirmation of our faith. For although consistency cannot strictly be alleged, as a proof of the Scriptures; inconsistency (if fairly

proved) must be fatal to them: so far at least, as our imperfect reason can be permitted to judge at all, of Divine things.

The conclusion, which I would press upon your minds, my brethren, from the whole is this. The ignorance of the Jews, under which may be included their doubts, and conflicting opinions, respecting a future state, is sometimes made by our Saviour and his Apostles, an apology for their inveterate obstinacy and deplorable wickedness. But nothing of this kind can be offered for us, if we are wavering in our faith, or vicious in our conduct. In particular, upon the great doctrine in question, the Gospel which has cleared up every difficulty, has left us absolutely without excuse, if we do not regulate our lives upon the firm belief of that awful dispensation. If upon any one point more exactly than another, reason and Revelation coincide, surely, it is upon this, at once consoling, yet alarming expectation. Consoling, if we so discipline our minds, and order our actions, that our hearts condemn us not, but allow us to

have confidence towards God.

Alarming, if

through unbelief, we reject the means of salvation, and yield ourselves to the influence of

any of those evil passions, whose results even here, are but too often indicative of what they may deserve hereafter. That such may not be our fate, may God of his infinite mercy grant, through Jesus Christ our Lord, to whom with the Father and the Holy Spirit, &c.

SERMON XIII.

ACTS ii. 4.

And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit gave them

utterance.

THE miracle described in these words, which upon this day we annually commemorate, may be regarded as the key-stone of the arch upon which our religion is built. We can conclude no less from the language employed by our Saviour himself with reference to it. He describes it as the last great effort, which would be made by the Almighty, to establish the true faith in the hearts of men. For such is the most probable meaning of that singular declaration, that blasphemy against the Holy Ghost should not be forgiven unto men, neither in this world nor in that to come.All other sins he represented as comparatively venial, even that of speaking against himself