that a man say. I have faith, and have not works? Can faith fave him? But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? As the body without the fpirit is dead, fo faith without works is dead also." The fame apostle advances the following excellent maxim, ch. i. 26. " If any man among you feem to be religious, and bridleth not his tongue, but deceiveth his own heart, that man's religion is vain. Pure religion, and undefiled, before God and the Father, is this, To vifit the fatherlefs and widows in their affliction, and to keep himfelf unspotted from the world."

A very great proportion of all the apoftolic epiftles confifts of practical exhortations to all the most important duties of life; but I fhall only quote a few paffages, particularly expreffive of the general defign ́ of the Gofpel. The apostle Paul, writing to Titus, after reciting many particular duties, adds in general, ch. ii. 11. "The grace of God, that bringeth falvation, hath appeared unto all men; teaching us that denying ungodlinefs, and worldly lufts, we should live foberly, righteously, and pioufly in this fent evil world, looking for that bleffed hope,

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hope, the glorious appearing of the great God, and our faviour Jefus Chrift, who gave himself for us that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people zealous of good works."

"His divine power," fays the apostle Peter, 2 Eph. i. 3. "has given us all things that pertain unto life and godliness (i. e. a godly, or pious life) through the knowledge of him that hath called us to glory and virtue, whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises, that by these ye might be partakers of a divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through luft. And befides this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godlinefs, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindnefs charity. For if these things be in you, fhall neither and abound, they make that ye be barren nor unfruitful, in the knowledge of our Lord Jefus Chrift. But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot fee far off, and hath forgotten that he was purged

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from his old fins. Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election fure; for if ye do these things ye fhall never fail. For fo an entrance shall be miniftered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jefus Chrift."

I fhall only add one more teftimony to the moral defign of the gofpel. It is from the apostle John, 1 Eph. ii. 1, &c. "My little children, these things I write unto you that ye fin not. Hereby we know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that faith I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whofo keepeth his word in him verily is the love of God perfected. Hereby know we that we are in him. He that faith he abideth in him, ought himself alfo fo to walk even as he walked." ch. iii. 2. "Beloved, now are we the fons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be. But we know that when he shall appear we fhall be like him, for we fhall fee him as he is. And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself even as he is pure. Whofoever committeth fin tranfgreffeth

alfo the law; for fin is a tranfgreffion of the law. And ye know that he was manifested to take away fin, and in him was no fin. Whofoever abideth in him finneth not. Whofoever finneth hath not feen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you. He that doth righteoufnefs is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth fin is of the devil; for the devil finneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil."

We need no other evidence of what it was that, in the idea of these apostles, Paul, Peter, James, and John, was the principal object and design of the Gofpel. It was to make men virtuous, in order to their being happy; whereas none of the heathen religions had any such object. fuch object. This, therefore, is a confiderable and important part of the evidence of the divine origin of our religion, of its having come from a pure and holy God, who intended thereby to make men, who are his offspring, and who were originally made in his image, pure and holy, like himself; proper objects of his favour, and fit heirs of a happy immortality.

While,

While, therefore, we profefs this religion, let us be careful to live up to this great end of it; that we may be Chriftians not in name only, but in deed and in truth; approving ourselves to be the difciples and friends of Chrift, by doing whatfoever he has commanded us; that when he shall return, and take an account of his fervants, we may be found of him without spot and blameless, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.

DISCOURSE