LECT. because in such there can be no faith pro II. perly so called; in as much as it will either have false objects, or none at all. In the religion of the Gentiles, there was a fort of faith, but it was chiefly directed to objects fabulous and falfe. The Mythology (by which I mean the religious myfteries) of the Greeks, gave them a traditionary account of the world's original; of its deftruction by the flood; of a future paradife (called Elyfium) for the virtuous ; and a place of torment (called Tartarus) for the punishment of departed fouls, after a formal trial and condemnation by the judges of the infernal regions: and they preferved the inftitution of facrifice; thereby confeffing their dependence on invifible powers for the expiation of fin. They alfo maintained the doctrine of man's natural blindness and impotence without the affiftance and infpiration of their deities, for which they never failed to invoke them in their compofitions and great undertakings. Modern times have been refining upon the reformation, till by degrees they II. have conceived and brought forth a fort LECT. of philofophical religion, diftinct from every thing the world had feen before; because it is a religion without faith. The scheme of our Deifts, as they call themfelves, has nothing in it of things past; no fact or tradition to ground itself upon: it has no facraments, nor fervices of any kind, to keep up an intercourse with heaven; it expects no predicted judgment, and has no particular view of any thing after this life. Thus having no objects of faith, it teaches no dependence, which alone renders the most just man acceptable to God. It actually inculcates independence, and glories in it: it has neither church, nor facraments, nor religious worship, nor allegiance, nor fubmiffion to God or man; and therefore, it comes more nearly up to the wishes of the Devil, the great author and first father of independence, than any religion ever profeffed in the world before. If dependence upon God be the characteristic of a religious man, then it must be better to believe the labours of Hercules, the future judgment II. LECT. of Rhadamanthus, and to do facrifice to Jupiter, than to be of this perfuafion; because the worst religion, profeffed in natural ignorance and fincerity, must be preferable to that proud and incorrigible ignorance, which wilfully rejects all the religion in the world. : From the two general reafons I have now given you, it appears, that the law and the gospel are the fame religion under different forms for they have the same name, and are diftinguished by the fame character; that is, by the great principle of faith, which is effential to both. To these two general reafons, I fhall now fubjoin as many particular ones as are neceffary, from the Epistle under our confideration; in all of which it is required of me to fhew, that as the principle of faith is common to both Teftaments, fo the articles of faith were in general the fame. 1. We have seen already, that the Son of God had been revealed to the Hebrews as the Creator of the world, and fitting at the II. the right hand of God, in certain paffages, LECT. of which the worst of the Jews did not difpute the application; and with all this, that he should yet be partaker of flesh and blood,* and in all things made like unto his brethren; as Mofes had before declared in the law; the Lord thy God will raise up unto thee a prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me. So particular is this prophecy, that it is twice given in the book of Deuteronomy, and twice reasoned from in the Acts of the Apostles, first by St. Peter, and afterwards by St. Stephen, in their difcourfes to the Jews. 2. The neceffity of mediation with God on the behalf of man, was fignified by the priesthood of the law; to teach the people, that prayer could not be heard, nor fin pardoned, without a priest to intercede, and blood to expiate. But then, that this was only a figurative priesthood, a figurative interceffion, a figurative atonement, ferving for a time, to describe what should Deut. ch. xviii. 15. 18. Acts iii. 22, and vii. 37. * Chap. ii. 14. II. LECT. come after, and fuperfede the defcriptive fervices of the law; the apostle here proves from the Old Teftament itself, where a prophet pronounces pronounces them infufficient: in burnt offerings and facrifices for fin that haft had no pleasure-Then faid be, lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the firft, that he may establish the fecond; that is, he taketh away the fervices of the law, that he may bring in Chrift to do the will of God. In the volume of the book it had been written of him; for the book of the law fpoke this language in every part of it, that Chrift fhould come to do the will of God for our fanctification. 3. The law fhewed moreover, how this should be effected: for it was dedicated with blood, and its precepts and promises were called a Teftament, that is, a Will, fuch as is made and witnessed amongst men for the conveying and fettling an inheritance in a lawful way. Hence it followed, that no fervice could be accepted without the offering of blood; and that the death of * Chap. x. 6. 9. the |