myfterious inveftigation, that they may extend their knowledge by a diligent and humble inquiry. But I once more repeat that is not in my opinion, abfolutely neceffary to our believing in Jefus, and being faved through him, that we fhould have a perfect, clear, and determinate conception of his proper nature; if we but know in what relation he ftands to us; and if we but thoroughly believe that he is endowed with divine wifdom, virtue, and power fufficient to accomplish what he was to perform for us, and that we must hearken to him as we would hearken to God, and fo honour the Son as we would honour the Father. And this, I think, is fo clearly and frequently faid in the New Teftament, that we must deem it a divine teftimony of Jefus, and believe it on that teftimony, though we cannot attain to this conviction by inquiring into the nature of Jefus, an inquiry beftrewed with metaphyfical fubtilties, whilft after all, as others have already obferved,* it gives no more certainty or fatisfaction with refpect to our juftification, than the mere belief in the abovementioned teftimonies of God concerning Jefus, as whatever we infer relative to his nature must be in like manner founded on teftimonies of fcripture, and not derived from logical truths.

If then fuch speculative queftions and disputes may be fet afide, without detriment to the practical religion of Jefus, I would divide the doctrines and truths which form the proper object of chriftian faith into those which defcribe to us and elucidate the fentiments, virtues, and perfections of christianity,

* See the excellent tract on the utility of the office of a preacher, and the qualifications for it, Ueber die Nutzbarkeit des Predigamts, und deren Beforderung, S. 146. where it is faid: " after all my notions concerning the perfon of Chrift, I must at last rely on the teftimony of the holy fcriptures (fuppofing that my notions actually agree with them) as I before relied on the promifes of the gofpel for the forgiveness of my fins."

and

and those which include all the motives or inducements we have to endeavour after thofe fentiments, virtues, and perfections. To the firft class belong all the commands and precepts given us by Christ, partly in express words, partly in his conduct and example, which, as he was the declared image of God, have to us the force of laws. Though many of thefe precepts were fuch as might have been, and actually were, difcovered by the reafon of many philofophers unclouded by prejudice, both before and at the time of Chrift's appearance, yet there were feveral, fuch for inftance as those relative to purity of defires and manners, love of our enemies, &c. which he firft announced. Thus thefe were objects of faith to the wifer few, as well as to the many, whose uncultivated understandings could embrace scarcely any part of morality except through faith.

With respect to those of the fecond class, many difcordant notions prevail amongst chriftians. In my opinion, however, they might eafily be reconciled, or, at leaft, the difputes concerning them would be conducted with lefs heat and animofity, if all were agreed on the principle that thefe truths have no intrinfic value and importance, but are so far valuable only as they are motives and aids to christian rectitude. If this be admitted, it is clear that, according to the difpofitions and different ways of thinking of men, this or that notion of Chrift's merits towards us will make an impreffion on one, which it will not on another; and this or that fuppofition. would produce an effect in one, of which in another it would fail. To make this clear by an example, which relates to the point in queftion: he who confiders his former difobedience to the commandments of God as an immediate offence to his divine majesty, and indeed an offence infinite in degree, may confider faith in a proper atonement of the offended and

wrathful

wrathful Deity by the blood of Jefus neceffary to a peaceful affurance of forgiveness. Now it is obvious that, whilft he thinks the former, he must believe the latter, in order to be at peace, and to have courage to fet about a fresh obedience. Thus it fhould feem the Jews, at the time of the apostles, who were accustomed to bloody facrifices, and confidered the principle of the law, that there was no forgiveness without fhedding of blood, as an eternal and immutable principle of God's government, might be fooner reconciled to chriftianity, by which all facrifices were abolifhed, when the apoftle reprefented to them the death of Jefus, which he fuffered for the good of mankind, and on account of their fins, and which was in this view a facrifice, as the great trefpafs-offering, by which all was at once accomplished.*

On the other hand, if a man conceive fin and difobedience to be not fo properly an offence against the immutable, all-fufficient, and ever bleffed God, as a real calamity to the finner, and an offence against himself: if his idea of the punishments of God be, that they are of no fervice to maintain the divine majefty, or fatisfy his vindictive justice, reprefented too much like that of frail man, but that they are

* Very different is it in this refpect with the Jews of our days. As they have long defifted from offering up facrifices, and this part of their worship is fallen into difufe, they can no longer deem facrifices an indifpenfable condition of the remiffion of fins, Hence reprefenting to them that Jefus was the great fin-offering for the offences of mankind does not make an impreffion upon their minds advantageous to chriftianity, as they perceive not the neceffity of fuch an offering. They believe that God can and will forgive fins, without being moved to it by a fin-offering, from his inexhaustible mercy. To this, and not to any facrifice, they think they must have recourfe. Thus the reprefentation of the death of Jefus as a proper atonement to divine vengeance is fo far from being calculated to render chriftianity more pleafing and acceptable to the prefent Jews, that it tends rather to confirm all their prejudices against it.

ordered

ordered, and neceffarily ordered by infinite goodness, for the benefit of finful man, to warn him of his errors, and recall him from them, and confequently are to be confidered as means, not as ends: he may confider the death of Jefus as neceffary, but only on this account that God might give us a firm affurance of his readiness to forgive fins, and excite us to embrace the comfort arifing from that forgiveness, and to strive after a grateful truth and obedience. The merits of Chrift, and especially his death, would be deemed important and be reverenced by a christian of this way of thinking, though he could not convince himself that he ought to understand literally fuch expreffions of fcripture as, the blood of Chrift cleanfes us from all fin, we are reconciled to God through the death of his Son, the Lord took all our fins upon himself, &c. or though he could not conceive that the imputation of the fins of another, or of the obedience and righteousness of another, taken in a strict sense, accord with the mercifulness of God. Such a chriftian, however, muft believe that all which Christ did and suffered was highly meritorious, that all his fervices to mankind were crowned by his death, that this was a moft magnanimous facrifice, and, in fhort, that Jefus did for us every thing that one man could do for another. He would find in the death of Chrift incitements to the most heartfelt gratitude towards him, and to an imitation of his conduct, if his notions of its defign, utility and neceffity were fomewhat like the following. In the firft place we will suppose him to believe, on the divine authority, that the Lord of our falvation was to be made perfect by fuffering death; or that Jefus could not have been our fuccour, in the most extenfive fenfe in which we need fuccour, if he had only been born and lived for us, without dying for us alfo. He would find it highly proper that he, who was intended for a pattern to creatures that could only be made happy by fufferVOL. III. 3 B

ings,

ings, fhould, as the leader of mortal man, go through fufferings to dominion, and guide them through the gloomy path of death: a leader, from whom they fhould learn, with unfhaken reliance on the affifting and fupporting grace, of their heavenly Father, to go through all the toils and afflictions of this life, and to fubmit to that painful and terrible scene which even his beloved Son could not efcape. He would find it highly meet that Jefus in his death fhould exhibit a pattern of those magnanimous fentiments and virtues, by the imitation of which we might exalt and ennoble an event fo humiliating to man. Moreover, the death of Jefus would appear to him a matter highly conducive to his peace and comfort, when connected with his return to life and refurrection, which fo quickly followed. It would then be to him the most certain proof of the truth of what he said to all who believe in him: I live, that ye alfo might receive life. In his opinion our heavenly guide would thus, in his moft perfect life, and eternal effence, have fhewn his followers what they had to hope and expect. Confidering how neceffary the well-founded hope of a happy immortality is to excite and promote chriftian virtue; confidering that all other motives would have little or no effect on the human mind, that all muft ultimately centre in this hope, and receive from it their chief force; he would think the queftion, why Chrift fhould die, fufficiently refolved if he knew no other answer. It was neceffary for him to die that he might rife again; and for him to rife again, that he might convince, by an actual proof, adapted to their understandings, the immenfe number of those who are incapable of being perfuaded of a future ftate by probable or folid arguments; remove all diftruft of this moft beneficial and important truth from the minds of the more thinking; and place the authenticity of his divine miffion, and the validity of his doctrines, beyond the reach of doubt.