pafs of what is called natural religion or modern philofo phy, that can in the fmalleft degree tend to allay or to remove these natural, these unavoidable misgivings of the human mind.

Here then is one of those many instances in which we can have no certainty, no folid ground for the fole of our foot to stand upon, but in the Gofpel of Christ. Our reafon, though fent out ever fo often in fearch of a refting place, returns to us, like Noah's dove, when the waters covered the earth, without any token of comfort. It is fcripture only which in this important point can give rest unto our fouls. There we are affured that every individual being, even the least and most contemptible, even the sparrow that is fold for less than a farthing, is under the eye of the Almighty; that fo far from man being too inconfiderable for the notice of his Maker, the minutest parts of his body, the very hairs of his head, are all numbered. These very ftrong inftances are plainly chofen on purpofe to quiet all our fears, and to banish from our minds every idea of our being too fmall and infignificant for the care and protection of the Almighty.

This moft confolatory doctrine of a particular Providence, of a Providence which watches over every individual of the human race, places the Christian in a fituation totally different from that of every one who difbelieves revelation. The latter muft conceive himself under no other government but that of chance or fortune, and of courfe muft confider the whole happiness of his life as expofed every moment to the mercy of the next accident that

ay befal him. The true believer on the contrary has the most perfect conviction that he is conftantly under the protection of an almighty and merciful God, in whom he lives, and moves, and has his being; "whofe eyes are over the righteous, and whofe ears are open to their prayers;" that therefore if he lives, fo as to merit the approbation of his heavenly Father, he has every reason to hope for fuch a degree of happiness, even here, as the imperfection of human nature will admit; and he is certain that nothing dreadful can befal him without the know

ledge and permiffion of his great Protector, who will even in that case fupport him under it, and render it ultimately conducive to his good.

The next paffage in this chapter to which I fhall direct your attention, is that very remarkable one which has furnished the enemies of Christianity with so much pretence for obloquy and invective against the Gospel, and has been the fource of no fmall uneafiness and dismay to fome of its warmest friends. The passage I mean is this; "Think not" (fays our Lord) "I am come to fend peace on earth, I came not to fend peace but a fword; for I am come to fet a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man's foes fhall be thofe of his own household*."

What shall we fay now (exclaims the infidel) to this extraordinary declaration? Here we have the Author of the Chriftian religion himself openly and explicitly avowing that he came to fend a fword upon earth, to diffolve all the tender endearing ties of domeftic affection, to fet the nearest relations at variance, and to arm them with inextinguishable rage and rancor against each other.

But can this be really the fenfe of our Saviour's words? Can Hɛ mean to denounce war and destruction to the human fpecies? HE whofe whole religion breathes nothing but peace, gentleness, kindness, and compaffion, to every human being; who made charity or the love of man the great characteristic mark of his religion: who expressly forbade his disciples " to call down fire from heaven" on those who had infulted them; who in this very chapter commanded them" to be harmless as doves; and declared that he came not to destroy men's lives, but to fave themt?" It is evidently impoffible that the author of fuch precepts and fuch profeffions could mean literally to spread ruin and defolation over the earth. What then was his meaning? It was to obviate an error into which the apostles would be very apt to fall, and which probaMatth. x. 16. Luke ix. 56.

Matth. x 34, 35, 36,

bly our Saviour faw rifing in their minds. You tell us (they perhaps faid within themselves,) you tell us that we fhall be perfecuted, tormented, and put to death, and that, even by those who are moft nearly connected with us. But how is this poffible? How can all this happen under your protection, under the reign of the Meffiah, THE PRINCE OF PEACE, under whom we have always been given to expect tranquility, repose, and happiness ? To this fuppofed reafoning our Saviour anfwers; You are mistaken in your idea of that peace, which I, your Meffiah, am to give you. It is not immediate temporal peace, but peace in a fpiritual fense, peace in your own minds, and peace with God. Ultimately indeed I fhall establish peace in every fenfe of the word, and " fhall make wars to to ceafe in all the world*;" but at prefent, and indeed for many years to come, I fhall not bring peace but a fword upon earth. The promulgation of my religion. will be productive of much diffenfion, cruelty, and perfecution, not only to you, but to all those who for many ages afterwards fhall preach the Gospel in purity and truth. The true caufe of this will be the wickedness and the ferocious paffions of men; but the occafion and the pretence for it will be the holy religion which you are to promulgate. In this fenfe, and in this only, it is that I may be faid to bring a fword upon earth; but they who really bring it, are the open enemies or pretended friends of the Gofpel.

Still it is faid by the adverfaries of our faith, that however these words may be interpreted, the fact is, that Christians themselves have brought a fword, and a most deftructive fword, upon earth: that they have perfecuted one another with inconceivable rancor and fury; and that their diffenfions have produced more bloodfied, mifery, and defolation, among mankind, than all the other wars of contending nations put together.

To this I anfwer in the firft place, that the charge as here stated is not true. It is not true that wars of religion have been more frequent and more fanguinary than any

* Pfalm xlvi. 9.

others. On the contrary, it may be proved in the clearest manner, from the most authentic facts, that by far the greatest number of wars, as well as the longest, most ex. Lenfive, and moft deftructive, have been owing to causes purely political, and those too fometimes of the most trivial hature. And if we can allow men to harass and destroy one another for a mere point of honor, or a few acres of land, why should we think it strange to see them defending, with the fame heat and bitterness, what they conceive to be the most effential requifite to happiness both here and here. after?

2dly. I must observe, that a very large part of those animofities, wars, and maffacres, which have been usually ftiled religious, and with the entire guilt of which Chrif tianity has been very unjustly loaded, have been altogether, or at least in a great measure, owing to causes of a very different nature; to the ambition, the refentment, the avarice, the rapacity of princes and of conquerors, who affumed the mask of religion to veil their real purposes, and who pretended to fight in the cause of God and his church, when they had in reality nothing else in view than to advance their power or extend their dominions. All hiftory is full of inftances of this kind.

3dly. It fhould be remembered, that the wildeft exceffes of religious perfecution did not take place till the world was overrun with barbarity, ignorance, bigotry, and fuperftition; till military ideas predominated in every thing, in the form of government, in the temper of the laws, in the tenure of lands, in the administration of juftice itfelf; and till the Scriptures were shut up in a foreign tongue, and were therefore unknown to the people. It was not therefore from the Gofpel, but from a total ignor ance of the Gofpel, from a total perverfion of its true temper, genius, and fpirit, that thefe exceffes and enormities arofe.

4thly. That this is the real truth of the cafe appears demonftrably from this circumftance, that when after the reformation the Scriptures were tranflated into the several vernacular languages of Europe, and the real nature of

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the Chriftian revelation became of courfe more generally known, the violence of perfecution began to abate; and as the facred writings were more and more ftudied, and their true fenfe better understood, the baneful spirit of in tolerance loft ground every day, and the divine principle of Chriftian charity and benevolence has been continually gaining fresh ftrength; till at length, at the prefent moment, perfecution by Chriftians on the score of religion only has almost entirely vanished from the face of the earth; and we may venture to indulge the hope, that wars of religion, ftrictly fo called, will be heard of no more.

I now proceed to explain the verfes immediately follow ing that which we have been just confidering.

"I am come, fays our Lord, to fet a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a man's foes fhall be thofe of his own household.”

This paffage is a clear proof that the calamities and miferies predicted in the preceding verfe relate primarily : and principally to the apoftles themselves, because these words are almost a repetition of what our Lord applied to them in the 27th verfe, "The brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child; and the children fhall rife up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death* "

Now as these cruelties were inflicted on the apoftles, not by believers, but by unbelieving Jews and heathens, that is, by the enemies of the Gofpel, it is evident, that when our Saviour fays he came to fet a man at variance against his father, and fo on, he meant only to fay, that the reli gion which he taught would meet with the moft violent oppofition from the world, and would expose his apoftles and disciples to the most unjust and inhuman treatment, even fometimes from their nearest relations.

Our Lord then goes on to fay, "He that loveth father and mother more than me, is not worthy of me t." This