doctrine of pardon and peace and eternal life, to be obtained by repentance and new obedience; or suppose yet further, that he was put to death also to shew, in a way of emblem, that sin deserved death; are not christians under the same obligations to believe the doctrine of Christ, and to fulfil these duties, as though he died a sacrifice to make atonement for sin? This is certain, that the blessed God would never send his own Son to our earth, nor would his Son ever come down from heaven, merely to bring messages of notion and speculation to mankind, if they have not a peculiar and considerable influence upon the practice of piety and virtue. Tell me therefore plainly, Charistes, what advantages has the doctrine of the atonement of Christ and the sanctifying operations of the Spirit to promote practical godliness, so much beyond Agrippa's creed.

This task, replied Charistes, I readily and cheerfully accept, and will endeavour to make it appear in several instances, what a superior influence on true piety and goodness our doctrines have above all that Agrippa's creed can pretend to.

And first, let us begin with the atonement of Christ. The peculiar advantages that it has to promote all christian duties are such as these:

I. It gives us a more awful and dreadful sense of sin, and awakens us by a more solemn motive to sincere and hearty repentance: For hereby it appears that sin is so highly offensive to the blessed God, that he could not think fit to forgive it in his creatures, even where he designed to shew mercy to them, without requiring some compensation for the honours of his broken law; and that by such a glorious sacrifice as his own son. Does not sin appear more hateful when God thought it requisite that such a divine person, who is One with the Father, should pay down his life and blood, and yield to so many agonies of soul, if he would undertake to expiate the guilt of it? What is there in all the pretences of the death of Christ as a witness to the truth of his gospel, or as a mere representation of what our sins deserved; what is there, I say, in all this, comparable to the grand and awful idea, that the Son of God must be made a sacrifice before the evil of sin could be removed, even by a God of mercy and forgiveness? This more powerfully excites us to hate all sin, and that with greater detestation, to seek the mortification of it with a warmer zeal, to mourn more sensibly for our past transgressions, and to walk with greater watchfulness for time to come, lest we again defile our souls with such abominations which the soul of God hates with so intense and irreconcileable a hatred.

II. This doctrine of the atonement of Christ for our sins, raises in us much more grand and sublime ideas both of the justice and of the mercy of God, than if sin were pardoned, without an atonement, and teaches us to contemplate those perfections of the divine nature with double veneration and acknowledgment. By this means our religious fear of God will be greatly increased, and our love to him be inflamed to a much higher degree, as indeed the benefit of our forgiveness, when it is set in this light, requires. Sinners will be more effectually deterred from venturing to affront that justice which will not suffer mercy itself to pardon sin without a satisfaction to the rights of government. Such justice will be more revered which would not spare the Son of God himself when he had undertaken to become a sponsor for guilty creatures: And mercy will be adored with so much greater gratitude, since God himself, the person offended, hath in his rich mercy found out and provided such a full satisfaction for his justice. I do but hint these things, Cavenor, in brief language to your judgment in this conver

sation, which if mentioned by a preacher, would furnish out abundant matter for amplification and oratory.

III. The condescension, the compassion and love of our blessed Saviour is represented in a much more glorious light by this doctrine of his suffering as a sacrifice in the room and stead of guilty creatures, and it should engage our returns in love in a much higher proportion. Pray, Cavenor, think with yourself, should a person come down from heaven to preach to you forgiveness of sins upon repentance, and in order to assure you of the truth and authority of his commission, should he expose himself to death to bear witness to his message, or should he suffer himself to be put to death to shew you in emblem what your sins required; would this represent his love and compassion to you in half so high a degree, as if you who are the offender were demanded by God himself to terrible and eternal execution, unless you could find a surety to suffer for you, and the blessed Jesus stepped forth and freely became your surety, and had the agonies and the anguish of death executed upon him in your stead; and suppose thereupon you were not only released from bonds, but had also a title to eternal life given you on the account of what he had done and suffered? Methinks the love manifested in the one case above the other is superior to all comparison, and demands a more abundant measure of our gratitude and affection.

As for the mere proof of his commission to publish pardon to penitents, the miracles of Christ effected this much more than his death could do: Nay his death could never have done it without his miracles. All that his voluntary death could pretend to, was to witness his own sincerity in bringing this message, but it could never of itself prove this message to be divine. And as for the demonstration of what our sins deserved, this was perhaps more effectually manifested to the world in emblem by bleeding lambs and bullocks every day, month, and year, than by the single death of Christ once in six thousand years. But neither miracles, nor bullocks, nor lambs, no wonders wrought, nor bleeding beasts sacrificed, could ever express such amazing pity and love as the Son of God expressed by dying as our surety, agonizing in the midst of torments which you should have suffered, and expiring in your stead. Would not this excite and kindle your love to a dying Saviour in a much superior degree to all the representations and pretences of Agrippa's creed; And would you not think all your zeal and your future diligence in obedience infinitely his due, who had done and suffered so much for you? These thoughts were doubtless warm and powerful in the heart of the blessed apostle, when he is crucified and grows dead to every thing by the cross of Christ, when he lives only to the service of Christ, who loved me, saith he, and gave himself for me.

IV. Our faith and hope in the pardoning grace of God is greatly encouraged, and confirmed, and exalted to much higher degrees by the appearance of Christ's dying as a surety and substitute in our room and stead, than ever it could be by the mere supposition of his death as an attestation to the truth of his doctrine, or as a mere emblem of what our sins deserved. Let me represent the matter to you, Cavenor, in this manner: Suppose a whole province under the dominion of some great king should have rebelled against him, and as he has shewn himself upon all occasions a prince of strict justice, so he has made it appear that he has equal sentiments of compassion and mercy: Suppose this offended sovereign should send his only Son with a message of forgiveness to all that would lay down their arms and return to their allegiance, and should appoint

him to yield up his life to discover how sincere he was in the delivery of his Father's message: Or suppose he should be required to die in their sight, in order to represent to them that each one of all those millions of rebels had deserved death; I grant there would be some encouragement for these traitors to repent and return to their duty, and trust in the mercy of their king: Though by the way, this king would seem to be not over-wise, if he were so lavish of the life and blood of his own Son, as to appoint a person of his dignity to die for two such purposes, as a much meaner and more ignoble life might attain.

But now on the other hand, suppose he should send them a much kinder message by his Son, viz. that though they had been guilty of such rebellion, yet he was very unwilling so large a province of his dominion should perish, and yet his laws and his government demanded their lives, unless some surety or substitute could be found who had dignity enough to equal the value of all the guilty number, and at the same time had compassion enough to stand in their stead and to become a sacrifice for them: Suppose then that the king's Son himself by the Father's appointment should give up himself as a surety and sacrifice to die in their room, and to redeem their lives with his own, with assurance that every repenting criminal should enjoy the benefit of this redemption. As this would be a much more abundant evidence of the justice and mercy of the king, would it not also encourage the faith and hope of the poor guilty creatures in his forgiveness to a much superior degree, when they saw the royal sacrifice as their surety bleeding before them? Such is the goodness of the Son of God; such is the mercy of the Father; and now the sinners amongst mankind who repent and trust in this mercy, may be more abundantly assured of forgiveness, for they can say God is not only faithful to his word, but just to his Son in forgiving penitent offenders; he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, for the blood of Jesus Christ his Son redeemeth and cleanseth us from all unrighteousness; 1 John i. 7, 9. He will never exact the dreadful punishment of the principal offenders since he has received so honourable a satisfaction from the surety. Here is justice itself as well as mercy engaged on the side of forgiveness, which gives a bolder assurance to our faith and hope of pardon and salvation.

V. I might add that our holy freedom or confidence in prayer is raised higher, and all our addresses to the throne of grace in and by Jesus as a Mediator and Intercessor, are much more animated, encouraged, and supported by the sacrifice of the Son of God than by any of the doctrines of Agrippa's creed: And therefore the sacred writer to the Hebrews expresses himself thus, chapter x. verse 19. We have boldness or confidence, brethren, to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus; and verse 22. Let us draw near in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled, that is, with this blood, from an evil or guilty conscience. But Ferventio has paraphrased on this text already, and therefore I am brief. Besides our prayers gain further encouragement hereby, for we know now that the risen and ascended Saviour pleads for nothing on our account but what he himself has purchased with his own blood: And we venture to ask the biggest and the best of his blessings in his name, because he pleads for them all as the fruit of his own purchase, for he has paid the price of his life for them, when he died to redeem us from every curse. Thus much in respect of the several christian duties that relate to God and his Son Jesus.

VI. In the last place let us consider what influence the death of Christ as a sacrifice in our stead may have upon our love, and all our consequent duties to our fellow

creatures, above and beyond what the death of Christ could have in any other view. Here we shall be plentifully convinced if we do but take one single scripture and try to explain it both ways; that is 1 John iii. 16. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Agrippa would explain it thus: Jesus the Son of God bore testimony to his gospel with his own blood, or he suffered death to shew us by way of emblem what our sins required, and therefore we ought to lay down our lives for one another. Surely the inference here does not seem so strong, nor the connection so plain as to reach the conscience of every christain with evidence and power. But if Paulinus were to explain it, I dare venture even in his presence to say that he would make the force of St. John's reasoning appear much more evident and constraining thus: Jesus Christ the Son of God, whom this evangelist more than once represents as God himself, took human flesh and blood upon him, that he might be capable of dying as a ransom for his brethren, the sons of men; and he actually laid down his life as a surety to save them from dying: Surely then we who are the followers of Christ should be ready to lay down our lives for our brethren, when providence calls us to it. I need not ask you, Cavenor, which of these doctrines carries the plainest and strongest inference and motive with it for our love to our fellowchristians, even in the most glorious and self-denying instances of it?

Thus far have I been shewing some of the advantages which the death of Christ, considered as an atonement for sin, has to engage us in all christian duties above the view of his death in any other consideration. Let me now speak a word or two to shew how sweet and powerful an influence the doctrine of our regeneration and sanctification by the Spirit of God has to encourage us to repentance and holiness, and to make us truly penitent and holy, above those views and purposes of the mere extraordinary operations of the Spirit which Agrippa represents.

Agrippa tells us by the miraculous gifts of the Spirit of God, the divine promise of pardon upon our repentance is confirmed and established: And I grant, Cavenor, that this has, or should have, a very proper moral influence on men to repent, and it is a spring of powerful persuasion to sinners to return to God. But when a poor convinced awakened sinner finds his nature strongly inclined to evil, and the thoughts of his heart running after vanity and folly; when he experiences in himself a natural aversion to what is holy and divine, as well as weakness to what is good; when he feels how feeble are all his best vows and resolutions, though repeated a hundred times over; when he finds himself surrounded with a thousand temptations in this world on all sides; to allure his heart away from God, and to discourage him in his pursuit of piety and virtue, he is ready to sink under the mighty discouragements, and to give up all for lost; for he finds himself by no means able to subdue his own corruptions, nor to vanquish the temptations which on every side attack him. Here it is he wants a mighty helper. And if he can read among the blessings of the gospel the promised aids and influences of the blessed Spirit to be given to them who ask it, in order to mortify his sins, to strengthen him for every duty, to change his evil nature, and renew the image of God in him, and enable him to vanquish his huge temptations; this puts new life and courage into his heart, and awakens and invigorates all the springs of activity within him. He works out his own salvation with all holy diligence, because God has promised his Spirit to work in him both to will and to do; Luke xi. 13. Rom. viii, 11-14. Phil. ii. 12, 13.

And what think you now, Cavenor? Are not these advantages toward all the duties

of the christian life which are derived from the doctrine of Paulinus, vastly transcendent to all the principles of Agrippa's creed?

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Here Cavenor seemed to stand musing in a sort of astonished silence, and at last with tears in his eyes broke out into a passionate address to heaven. Forgive me, O my God, that ever I consented to forsake those holy doctrines which I was taught in my younger years. Blessed Jesus, forgive me that ever I should be so easily led astray from thy word, and part with the blessings of thy atoning sacrifice, and thy sanctifying Spirit. I lie at thy foot a humble penitent, and willing convert to thy divine truths, which these my dear friends have been sent this day by providence to set before me in so powerful and convincing a light: And may I never dare to make the least departure from them again, though under the strongest temptations, but live and die under their blessed influence,"

SECTION VIII.

A QUESTION ABOUT A MINISTER'S PREACHING AGRIPPA'S DOCTRINE RESOLVED, WITH HEARTY PETITIONS FOR AGRIPPA AND ALL HIS FOLLOWERS.

THIS last scene had something in it so tender and pious, so powerful and affecting, that the whole company felt a sacred and uncommon pleasure. Paulinus and Ferventio abundantly expressed the joy of their hearts, nor was Charistes wanting in his thankfulness to God on this occasion. Cavenor, when the devout rapture a little subsided, turned himself to Paulinus and Charistes, and in a most moving manner expressed the everlasting obligations he lay under to their discourses. You have recovered me, said he, by the grace of God from the dangerous snare in which I was held captive, and reduced me to the faith of the gospel. Pray, Paulinus, permit me to copy out your queries, that I may convey them to Agrippa. Who knows what happy influence they may have towards his recovery too, if the blessed Spirit of God concur with my design? I thank you also, good Ferventio, for that share you have had in my conversion; for though I could not but suspect some want of charity in your discourse, and perhaps I replied a little too roughly, yet your words had so much spirit in them, and carried with them such smart flashes of light, as made their way to my conscience, helped to awaken my stupor, roused me out of my indolence and mistake, and made me more susceptive of better instructions.

I am glad, said Ferventio, If any thing I have said hath been blessed by the providence of God to any useful purpose; and I hope I have not lost my share of profit by all this conversation. Yet I beg leave before the company parts, to ask Charistes one question relating to the foregoing part of his discourse. He has informed us of his charitable sentiments towards persons who are called christians, and yet do not believe those two great and blessed doctrines of christianity; I cannot deny Sir, but there are some appearances of reason in what you have spoken, and perhaps it is not proper to pronounce an universal sentence of condemnation upon these men. I grant some of my expressions may have been too positive, warm, and severe, and shall think more of your manner of reasoning, in order to enlarge my charity towards persons under great But what would you say, Sir, to one who pretends to be a minister of the gospel, who denies these doctrines, and preaches to the people Agrippa's creed? For

errors.