" himself a Ranfom for all." 1 Tim. ii. 6.

"We l

were reconciled to God by the Death of his Son." Rom. v. 10. "Who his own felf bare our Sins "in his own Body on the Tree." 1 Pet. ii. 24. And in the Words of the Text, not to mention many other Paffages to the fame Purpose, "As Mofes

lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness, even fo "muft the Son of Man be lifted up; that who"foever believeth in him fhould not perish, but "have everlasting Life."We are told (Numb. Chap. xxi.) that the Ifraelites having murmured against the Lord, the Lord fent fiery Serpents among the People; and they bit the People, and much People of Ifrael died. Therefore the People came to Mofes, and faid, We have finned, for we have spoken against the Lord and against thee; pray unto the Lord, that he take away the Serpents from us: And Mofes prayed for the People. And the Lord faid unto Mofes, Make thee a fiery Serpent, and fet it upon a Pole; and it fhall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it, fhall live. And Mofes made a Serpent of Brafs, and put it upon a Pole; and it came to pafs, that if a Serpent had bitten any Man, when he beheld the Serpent of Brafs, he lived.

The brazen Serpent was a Type of Chrift. The Bites of the fiery Serpents reprefented the mortal Effects of Sin. As therefore the Ifraelite could not be cured of his Wounds, but by looking on the brazen Serpent, which God had ordered Mofes to fet up for that Purpofe; fo neither can the Sinner be faved from everlafting Deftruction, but by be-. lieving in the Death of Jefus Chrift, as the Propitiation which God has appointed for Sin." This is undeniably the Meaning of our Saviour's Words : For, he fays, he must be lifted up, or crucified, for the fame Reason that Mofes lifted up the Ser

Sharpent

pent in the Wilderness-that whofoever believeth T in him fhould not perish.There is naturally in the Heart of Man that Pride which makes him un-, willing to fubmit to this Scheme of Salvation. He cannot stoop to accept of it as a free Gift, but would willingly purchase it by fome Merit of his own. This formerly occafioned thofe CRUSADES,. or Expeditions for the Recovery of the Holy Land from Infidels. This was the Caufe of thofe Pil grimages to the Tombs of Saints and Martyrs-of confiderable Legacies for the Ufe of Churches-for the Foundation of Colleges-Schools-publick or private Charities; Men hoping by thefe good Works, falfely fo called, to atone for the Sins of their past Lives;, and, as it were, bribe the Almighty for Admittance into the Kingdom of Heaven. And to the fame Caufe, viz. to our natural Pride of Heart, are owing thofe feveral Methods of Reconciliation with God, which Man has fet up in Oppofition to that which the Almighty has appointed. But has Man a Right to prefcribe the Terms of Forgivenefs? By no means. It is lefs abfurd to fuppofe that a condemned Criminal fhould dictate the Conditions on which he will condefcend to accept a Pardon. And that Man is in that Condition, both by Nature and Practice, has been abundantly proyed. But if the Advocates for un fcriptural Methods of Salvation will fay, they do not mean to prefcribe Terms to God, but only to embrace what they think to be his Will; it fola lows, that they must be ready to give up their Opi nions, whenever they can be proved to be falfe and dangerous. To be careless whether we hall be..

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happy

It is not here defigned to infinuate, that all Publick Charities have their Rife in Oftentation; but that few, m Comparison, are from a truly Chriftian Spirit, of Love to Mankind, for Chrift's Sake,

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happy or miferable to Eternity, is an Inftance of the higheft stupidity. And, if we are really anxious about what is to become of u hereafter, we cannot but be defirous of knowing the Will of God in these Matters, and careful to embrace nothing but what can be proved from Reafon and Scripture to be his Will.- Let us now examine fome of thofe Methods which Man has advanced in Opposition to what God has appointed.One of these is, to lead a moral Life; or, perhaps more agreeably to their Meaning, to render to all their Dues, and avoid what is grofsly fcandalous. To be honeft in our Dealings is certainly a Duty. It is founded in Juftice; and promotes the Good of Society in fuch a Manner, that otherwise it could not well fubfift. But then this is only ONE Duty to our Neighbour. It is far from comprehending the Whole: For many who are punctual in their Payments, are notoriously defective in other focial Duties. To abftain from what is grossly fcandalous is certainly right: But to fay that we then perform the whole of our Duty is ridiculous. For a Man may be free from all fcandalous Sins, and yet have nothing of that Holiness without which no Man fhall fee the Lord. This, at best, is but a negative Obedience: It is only to abstain from fome Things that are forbidden, not to do what is commanded. All Holiness is here omitted. This Scheme does not comprehend ONE pofitive Duty to God, our Neighbour, or Ourfelves. It is abfurd, therefore, to imagine it is, the Method of Salvation which God has appointed. But, fuppofing nothing more was required of us for the future, how are we to atone for what is past? The Debt we have contracted by our Sins both of Nature and Practice, is still againit No Satisfaction is hereby, or can be made to the offended Majefty of God. The dreadful Sen

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tence is ftill in Force. "The Wages of Sin is "Death;" Death both temporal and eternal. Another Plea I fhall examine is that of Repentance. It is a common but fatal Notion, that if we repent before we die, all will be fafe. Not to infift now that Repentance is the Gift of God, and that, by living contrary to his Will, we provoke him to with-hold from us a true Repentance ;I would obferve, that Repentance alone will not do. Sin is an Offence against an infinite Being, and nothing but what is infinite can atone for an infinite Offence. But Repentance is not an infinite Satisfaction; and therefore it cannot atone for an infinite Offence. Befides, if Repentance was fufficient, we muft fuppofe, contrary to what the Scriptures intimate, that even JUDAS was not finally caft off; fince there is no Doubt but his Re pentance was fincere. He readily made a Confeffion of his Sin: He frankly declared to the chief Priefts, I have finned, I have betrayed the innocent Blood: He was forry for what he had done the Remembrance of it was attended with dreadful Agonies and bitter Remorfe. Moreover he made Reftitution of what he had received; he returned the thirty Pieces of Silver, the dear-bought Price of this? Treafon. But notwithstanding all thefe, which are greater Marks of a true Repentance, than one Penitent in a Thousand can manifeft, he peArished.wSo little Reafon is there to believe that Repentance alone is fufficient for Salvation.

When Peter preached to the Jews, on the Day of Pentecoft, we find that three Thousand of them were awakened to a Senfe of their Danger: "They

were pricked in the Heart, and faid, Men and *Brethren, what shall we do ?" Their Concern, you may fee, was great. They were convinced they were Sinners, and were defirous to filce from

the

the Wrath to come. But what Advice does the Apoftle give them? Does he declare that if they repent all will be fafe? No. He fays, "Repent,

and be baptized, every one of you, in the Name ** of Jefus Chrift, for the Remiffion of Sins." Acts ii. Repentance alone would have availed nothing. It was abfolutely neceffary to believe that their Sina would be pardoned by the Death of Jefus Chrift, whom God had fet forth for a Propitiation for Sin.

Agreeably to this our Saviour declares," As "Mofes lifted up the Serpent in the Wilderness, “even so MUST the Son of Man be lifted up; **that whofoever believeth in him fhould not pe

rifh."- -Suppofe now that the Ifraelite, who had been bit by one of the Serpents, had endeavoured to have cured himself, by fome other Means than what God had appointed; what, think you, would have been the Confequence? Alas! all his Arts, all his Endeavours, would have been in vain. As his Wound was mortal, if he neglected the Remedy which the Almighty Phyfician had prefcribed, he must have perished. In like Manner, whofoever expects a Pardon of his Sins, on any other Account than for the Death of Jefus Chrift, will find himself fatally mistaken. This is the Remedy which God has provided. Our Saviour was lifted up, or crucified, that whofoever believeth in him fhould not perish; and therefore, whofoever will not believe in his Death for the Pardon of Sin, muft perifh.- We are apt to run away with ftrange Notions of the Mercy of God: That there is Forgiveness with him-that he will not be extreme to mark what is done amiss; and indeed to carry our Thoughts of his Loving-kindness to fuch aLength, as to forget he is a God of Juftice. The Scriptures would prevent thefe Miftakes, by informing us, that he is a God of Truth-that his Ways **E 2