1.

temptation and fall: of the caufes of LECT. death, and the promise of redemption. It founds a ritual on the remiffion of fin by the shedding of blood, and the benefits of interceffion; which the heathens alfo acknowledged in the traditionary rites of their priesthood. It relates the difperfion of the Gentile nations, and the feparation of the Hebrews. It foretells the manifeftation of a Saviour in the flesh; the rejection of the Jews; the calling and converfion of the heathens; the establishment of the Chriftian Church, with its prefervation against the powers of the world, and the gates of hell. It treats of a fpiritual life, and renewed affections in its members; that they muft even be born again in a spiritual manner, and return to a state of childish fimplicity in their understandings; it affures us of the refurrection of the body after death; of the future judgment of the world by the man Jefus Chrift; of the glorification of the faithful, and the condemnation of the wicked. It opens to us an invisible world of fpirits, fome of whom are in alliance with

B 4

LECT. with God, and others in rebellion against

I.

him; affuring us withal, that every man will have his final portion with the one party or the other,

None of these things are known to us by nature; and it is not pretended that they are; for if man draws a scheme of religion for himself, not one of all these articles finds a place in it. Therefore as the nature of man doth not know any of these things till God reveals them, it muft of course be under two very great difficulties; firft, of understanding or comprehending; and fecondly, of admitting or receiving them.

From the difficulty we are under of comprehending fuch things as are above natural reason, the manner of the scripture is as extraordinary as its matter: and it must be fo from the neceffity of the cafe. Of all the objects of sense we have ideas, and our minds and memories are ftored with them. But of invisible things we have no ideas till they are pointed

I,

pointed out to us by revelation: and as LECT, we cannot know them immediately, fuch as they are in themselves, after the manner in which we know fenfible objects, they must be communicated to us by the mediation of fuch things as we already comprehend. For this reafon, the fcripture is found to have a language of its own, which doth not confift of words, but of figns or figures taken from visible things. It could not otherwise treat of God who is a spirit, and of the spirit of man, and of a spiritual world; which no words can defcribe. Words are the arbitrary figns of natural things; but the language of revelation goes a ftep farther, and uses some things as the figns of other things; in confequence of which, the world which we now fee becomes a fort of commentary on the mind of God, and explains the world in which we believe.

It being then the profeffed defign of the fcripture to teach us fuch things as we neither fee nor know of ourselves, its ftile and manner must be fuch as are no

where

LECT. where elfe to be found. It must abound

I.

with figurative expreffions; it cannot proceed without them: and if we defcend to an actual examination of particulars, we find it affifting and leading our faculties forward; by an application of all visible objects to a figurative ufe; from the glorious crb which fhines in the firmament, to a grain of feed which is buried in the earth. In this fort of language did our bleffed Saviour inftruct his hearers; always referring them to fuch objects as were familiar to their senses, that they might fee the propriety and feel the force of his doctrine. This method he obferved, not in compliance with any cuftomary figures of fpeech peculiar to the Eastern people, but confulting the exigence of human nature, which is every where the fame. He fpake a fort of language which was to be carried out into all lands; and which we of the western world are obliged to follow in our preaching of the gospel, because we cannot otherwise preach it fo as to be understood by our hearers. Here I find it neceffary

to

I.

to confirm what I have advanced by fome LECT. examples.

As we have but imperfect notions of the relations and differences between life and death, our Saviour, when he was about to raise a maid to life, faid to thofe who were prefent, the damfel is not dead, but Sleepeth. He did not fay, fhe is dead, and I will raise her to life; but fhe is asleep; whence it was to be inferred that the would awake. They who were not skilled in the divine language of figns and figures, laughed him to scorn; as if he had spoken in ignorance what was expreffed with confummate truth and wifdom: For the fubftitution of fleep for death, when we have it upon fuch great authority, has the force and value of an whole fermon in a single word: it is a feed from whence a tree of may be unfolded.

life

Upon another like occafion our Saviour expreffed himself in the fame manner to his disciples; our friend Lazarus sleepeth; and when they did not understand the

force