But that which stamps upon them the highest value, that which renders them, strictly speaking, inestimable, and distinguishes them from all other books in the world, is this, that they, and they only, "contain the words of eternal life.”* In this refpect, every other book, even the nobleft compofitions of man, must fail us; they cannot give us that which we moft want; and what is of infinitely more importance to us than all other things put together, ETERNAL LIFE.

This we must look for no where but in Scripture. It is there, and there only, that we are informed from authority, of the immortality of the foul, of a general refurrection from the dead, of a future judgment, of a state of eternal happiness to the good, and of eternal mifery to the bad. It is there we are made acquainted with the fall of our first parents from a state of innocence and happiness; with the guilt, corruption, and mifery, which this fad event brought on all their pofterity; which, together with their own perfonal and voluntary tranfgreffions, rendered them obnoxious to God's fevereft punishments. But, to our inexpreffible comfort, we are further told in this divine book, that God is full of mercy, compaffion, and goodness; that he is not extreme to mark what is done amifs; that he willeth not the death of a finner, but rather that he fhould turn from his wickedness, and fave his foul alive. In pity therefore to mankind, he was pleased to provide a remedy for their dreadful state. He was pleased to adopt a measure which should at once fatisfy his juftice, fhew his extreme abhorrence of fin, make a fufficient atonement for the fins of the whole world, and release all who accepted the terms propofed to them from the punishment they had deferved. This was nothing less than the death of his fon Jesus Christ, whom he fent into the world to take our nature upon him, to teach us.

"The two parts. of which the Scriptures confift, are connected by a chain of compofitions, which bear no refemblance, in form or file, to any that can be produced from the ftories of Grecian, Persian, or even Arabian learning: the antiquity of those compofitions no man doubts; and the unftrained application of them to events long fubfequent to their publication, is a folid ground of belief that they are genuine predictions, and confequently inspired."

John, vi. 68.

a most holy, pure, and benevolent religion, to reform us both by his precepts and example; and laftly, to die for our fins, and to rife again for our juftification. By him and his evangelifts and apostles we are affured, that if we fincerely repent of our fins, and firmly believe in him and his Gofpel, we fhall, for the fake of his fufferings and his righteousness, have all our tranfgreffions forgiven and blotted out, fhall be juftified, that is, confidered as innocent in the fight of God, fhall have the affiftance of his Holy Spirit for our future conduct; and if we perfevere to the end in a uniform (though, from the infirmity of our nature, imperfect) obedience to all the laws of Chrift, fhall, through his merits, be rewarded with everlasting glory in the life to come.

Since then the utility, the abfolute neceffity of reading the Scriptures is fo great, fince they are not only the best guide you can confult, but the only one that can poffibly lead you to heaven; it becomes the indifpenfable duty of every one of you most carefully and constantly to peruse these facred oracles, that you may thereby "become perfect, thoroughly furnished to every good work." They who have much leifure fhould employ a confiderable fhare of it in this holy exercise, and even they who are most immersed in bufinefs have, or ought to have, the Lord's Day entirely to fpare, and fhould always employ fome part of it (more particularly at this holy feafon) in reading and meditating on the word of God. By perfevering fteadily in this practice, any one may, in no great length of time, read the Scriptures through, from one end to the other. But in doing this, it would be advifeable to begin with the New Testament first, and to read it over most frequently, because it concerns us Chriftians the most nearly, and explains to us more fully and more clearly the words of eternal life. But after you have once gone regularly through both the Old Teftament and the New, it may then be most useful, perhaps, to felect out of each fuch paffages as lay before you the great fundamental doctrines, and most effential duties, of your Chriftian profeffion; and even amongst thefe, to dwell the longest on fuch as exprefs thefe things in the most awful and striking manner, fuch as affect and touch you most powerfully, fuch

as make your heart burn within you, and stir up all the pious affections in your foul. But it will be of little ufe to read, unless at the fame time alfo you reflect; unless you apply what you read to thofe great purposes which the Scriptures were meant to promote, the amendment of your faults, the improvement of your hearts, and the falvation of your fouls.

To affift you in this most important and neceffary work is the defign of thefe Lectures: and in the execution of this defign I fhall have these four objects principally in view:

First, to explain and illuftrate thofe paffages of holy writ, which are in any degree difficult and obfcure.

2dly. To point out, as they occur in the facred writings, the chief leading fundamental principles and doctrines of the Christian religion.

3dly. To confirm and ftrengthen your faith, by calling your attention to those strong internal marks of the truth and divine authority of the Chriftian religion, which present themfelves to us in almoft every page of the Gofpel.

4thly. To lay before you the great moral precepts of the Gofpel, to prefs them home upon your confciences and your hearts, and render them effectual to the important ends they were intended to ferve; namely, the due government of your paffions, the regulation of your conduct, and the attainment of everlasting life.

These are all of them objects of the very laft importance; they are worthy the attention of every human being; and they will, I think, be better attained by a familiar and practical explanation of the facred writings, than by any other fpecies of compofition whatever.

The plan of inftruction adopted by our bleffed Lord was unqueftionably the very best that could be devised. It was not a regular fyftem of ethics, delivered in a connected feries of dry effays and differtations, like thofe of the ancient heathen philofophers; but it confifted of familiar difcourfes, interesting parables, fhort fententious maxims, and occafional reflections, arifing from the common occurrences of life,

and the most obvious appearances of nature. All these various modes of instruction are fo judiciously blended and mixed together in the history of our Lord's life and conver fation, delivered to us in the Gospel (as all the various forts of pleafing objects are in the unornamented fcenes of nature) that they make a much deeper impreffion both on the underftanding and on the heart, than they could poffibly do in any other more artificial form.

An expofition of Scripture, then, muft at all times be highly useful and interefting to every fincere difciple of Chrift; but must be peculiarly fo at the prefent moment, when fo much pains have been taken to ridicule and revile the facred writings, to fubvert the very foundations of our faith, and to poifon the minds of all ranks of people, but especially the middling and the lower claffes, by the most impious and blafphemous publications that ever difgraced any Christian country.* To refift thefe wicked attempts is the duty of every minister of the Gofpel; and as I have ftrongly exhorted all those who are under my fuperintendence, to exert themselves with zeal and with vigour in defence of their infulted religion, I think it incumbent on me to take my fhare in this important contest, and to fhew that I wish not to throw burthens on others of which I am not willing to bear my full proportion. As long therefore as my health, and the various duties of an extenfive and populous diocefe, will permit, and the exigencies of the times require fuch exertions, I propofe to continue annually thefe Lectures. And I fhall think it no unbecoming conclufion of my life, if these labours of my declining years should tend in any degree to render the Holy Scriptures more clear and intelligible, more ufeful and delightful; if they fhall confirm the faith, reform the manners, confole and revive the hearts of those who hear me; and vindicate the honor of our divine Master from thofe grofs indignities and infults, which have of late been fo indecently and impioufly thrown on him and his religion.

About this time, and for fome years before, The Age of Reafon, and other peftilent writings of the fame nature, were diffeminated through almost every diftrict of this count y with incredible industry,