ligion affords, fufficient to fupport the belief and expectation of a future judgment? If fo, to what purpose is it to call men from a dependence on their reason, to rely on the evidence of men for the truth of a fact fo uncommon, and in the nature of it fo furprising, as not eafily to gain admittance to our belief? a fact, which had we feen ourselves, we might perhaps have fufpected the report of our own fenfes, and cannot therefore eafily refer ourselves to the fenfes of others, in a matter of so great moment and confequence?

Whoever, in answer to this difficulty, endeavours to weaken and enervate the natural arguments for a future ftate, is, I think, very ill employed: to me they appear fo cohyincing, that I cannot, fo amiable, that I would not leffen your opinion of them: but then it is certain that they require more thought and fpeculation to place them before the mind in their true and strongest light, than the generality of men are capable of exercifing. And whether this be fo or no, is a matter fitter to be determined by the evidence of hiftory, than by reafoning upon the cafe. We are very ill judges, under the light we now enjoy, how far the generality of men could go by the mere ftrength of reason, without the affiftances we have. A right notion of God is the foundation of all true religion; and who is there that thinks himfelf obliged to any thing but his own reason for this notion? and yet, if this be the cafe, the world is mightily improved in reason these laft ages: for we certainly know many ages paft, when the true notion of God was hardly to be found in any nation, commonly to be found in none. Since the publi

cation of the Gofpel the darknefs has been difpelled, and reafon fees and approves the truths which were before in great measure hid from her eyes. The cafe is the fame with refpect to the natural arguments for a future ftate: the arguments duly propofed and confidered are of great weight; but yet it is evident they had little weight in the world for many ages together. The natural notion was fo buried under fuperftitious fables and abfurd reprefentations, that it yielded no comfort or fatisfaction; was so liable to be exposed and ridiculed for the extravagant reprefentations which attended it, that it afforded no certainty, or even probability, to fupport the hopes of virtue: the vulgar had no ability to reafon much on the cafe; and the learned, who did, were full of doubts and uncertainties, and found no fure ground to ftand on. To remedy this evil, God has propofed a new evidence to the world: he called his Son from the grave, and fhewed him before chofen witneffes for many days; who were fent into the world to publifh his refurrection, as an evidence of a future general refurrection of all men, and to feal the truth of their doctrine with their own blood.

Now, as to this evidence, it is in the nature of it the propereft for the generality of men: it requires no abstracted reasoning, no refinements, to fhew the force of it: nay, were the wifeft man to choose an evidence for himself of the certainty of a refurrection, I know not what he could defire more than to fee one rife from the dead.

As to those who pretend to be real and true Deifts, I cannot fee what there is in this evidence to

offend them: the main thing we prove by it they acknowledge to be true, that God will judge the world. Since then the Chriftian religion has no private defign to ferve by this evidence, but produces it in confirmation of that general fenfe of nature which all true religion does admit, why should it be fufpected of deceit ?

Befides, the belief of a future ftate, fupported by the evidence of the resurrection of Chrift, is applied to no other purposes in the Chriftian religion, than every wife and good man would defire it fhould be applied to, were it a matter to be fubmitted to his choice. Let us fee: the Gofpel labours to affure us of the certainty of our refurrection to eternal life; and, not content with the common evidence of reafon for a future ftate, has given us a new proof from the very hand and immediate power of God: there is fuch a concern fhewed in the Gospel for fixing and establishing this proof, that we may be fure this proof was provided for the fake of carrying on the great end and defign of the Gofpel, whatever it is: fo that if there is any thing amifs, any delufion or deceit in the Gofpel, we may certainly find it leaning upon this article of the refurrection for its fupport. But now, what does the Gospel require of us, in virtue of our belief of this article? Why, nothing but what reafon and natural religion require of us; to live foberly and righteously, in obedience to God, and in love with our brethren. Where is there any ground now for fufpicion in the cafe? Men do not ufe to play tricks, or endeavour to impofe upon the world for nothing. Shew us then any one ufe made of this article in the Gospel, but what all fober

minded men will allow to be a juft and proper use, and we will part with our evidence: but if no fuch thing can be shewed, never fufpect any guile or deceit in the evidence calculated to serve and promote fuch noble and worthy purposes.

One thing there is in the Scripture account of a future ftate that is new, the defignation of the man Chrift Jefus for Judge of the quick and the dead : but this is fuch a new thing as is liable to no objections on the part of natural religion; for it is no part of natural religion to maintain that God must do every thing immediately by himself, and in his own person, without using the agency or miniftry of other beings. This defignation of Chrift to be Judge of the world is no impeachment of the authority of God the Son acts by the Father's commiffion, who hath given all judgment to him: it makes no change in the nature of the judgment: we shall anfwer for nothing to Chrift, but what our reafon tells us we are accountable for. So that take in all the circumftances belonging to this article of Chriftian faith, and yet there is nothing for you to do, nothing for you to expect, but what you are already perfuaded you ought to do and expect, if you are in truth fo honeft and fincere a profeffor of natural religion as to believe in God, and that he will judge the world in truth and juftice. This difference there is between you and a Chriftian believer: you have fuch hopes of futurity as reafon and reflection can furnish out: the Chriftian has the fame hopes, and in the fame degree; but has moreover the exprefs promise and teftimony of God, confirmed by the refurrection of his only Son, to ftrengthen his

expectations of immortality. Suppose the Chriftian mistaken, even then he ftands upon the fame ground that you do; fuppofe his faith to be well established, he stands upon much better, and is able to render to himself a better account of the hope that is in him. This is the advantage we draw from this great article of faith; an article introduced to ferve true religion, founded upon an evidence of fuch force, that it can make its way to every understanding, and wants no help from philofophy to fupport it.

Thus you fee how the Gospel has fupplied the defect of natural religion in this momentous point: how wifely this provifion of the Gospel was made, let experience bear witnefs. Wherever the Gofpel prevails, the hopes of immortality are clear and diftinct: the preaching the refurrection of Christ conveys to the loweft member of the church of Christ a clear conception of his own future condition.

The refurrection itself was indeed a great and ftupendous work; but the hand that performed it was greater. No one, who believes that God made all men at first, can poffibly doubt of his power to raise them again from the grave. Allow, you will fay, to the power of God all that can be defired; yet ftill the refurrection remains to be proved, as to the fact; and proved it is by the concurrent teftimony of eyewitneffes, who have given not only their words, but their very lives, in confirmation of this truth and furely they were in very good earnest, when they embraced and taught the doctrine upon fuch hard terms. And methinks no ferious man