Who can reconcile that foreknowledge of future and contingent events, which is an unquestionable attribute of the Almighty, with that free-will and free agency, which are no less unquestionable properties of man? Who, in fine, can account, on the principles of mere natural religion, for the introduction of natural and moral evil into the works of a benevolent Creator, whose infinite goodness must necessarily incline him to intend the happiness of all his creatures ?

These considerations may serve to show, and it might be shown in various other cases, that it is in vain to expect an exemption from difficulty and mystery in any religion whatever. The real truth is, that not only the religion of nature, but the philosophy of nature, the works of nature, the whole face of nature, are full of mystery; we live and move in the midst of mystery.* And if, to avoid this, we have recourse to atheism itself, even that will be found to be more incumbered with difficulties, and to require a greater degree of faith, than all the religions in the world put together.

Let not then the mysteries of the Gospel ever be a rock of offence to you, or in any degree shake the constancy of your faith. They are inseparable from any religion that is suited to the nature, to the wants, and to the fallen state of such a creature as man. When once we are convinced that the Scriptures are the word of God, we are then bound to receive with implicit submission, on the sole authority of that word, those sublime truths, which are far beyond the reach of any finite understanding, but which it was natural and reasonable to expect in a revelation pertaining to that incomprehensible Being, whose "greatness is unsearchable, and whose ways are past finding out." Let us not, in short, "exercise ourselves too much and too curiously in great matters, which are too high for us, but refrain our souls, and keep them low.† Laying

contradiction to that writer's cavils in other places against the Christian mysteries. For if, notwithstanding the difficulties which attend the contemplation of the Deity himself, he firmly believes his existence, on what ground can he make his Savoyard vicar doubt the truth of the Gospel on account of its mysteries? V. viii. p. 93.

* This M. Voltaire himself acknowledges, and it is a complete answer to all the objections he has made in various parts of his works to the mysteries of revelatlon. See Questions sur L'Encyclopedie, Article, Ame.

"The whole intellectual world is full of truths incomprehensible, and yet incontestable. Such is the doctrine of the existence of God, and such are the mysteries admitted in Protestant communions." Rousseau, v. 2. p. 15.

+ Psalms, exxxi. 1.

aside all the superfluity of learning, and all the pride of human wisdom, let us hold fast the profession of our faith, without wavering and without cavilling at what we cannot comprehend. Let us put ourselves, without reserve, into the hands of our heavenly guide, and submit, with boundless confidence, to his direction, who, as he died to save us, will certainly never mislead us. Since we know in whom we believe; since we know that the author of our religion is the Son of God, let us never forget that this gives him a right, a divine right to the obedience of our understandings, as well as to the obedience of our will. Let us therefore resolutely beat down every bold imagination, every high thing that exalteth itself against the mysterious truths of the Gospel; bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ, and receiving with meekness the ingrafted word, which is able to save our souls."*

Yet, however firmly we may believe all the great essential doctrines of the Gospel, this alone will not ensure our salvation, unless to our faith we add obedience to all the laws of Christ. This we are expressly told in the concluding verse of this chapter. After our Lord had prescribed to his disciples the form of words to be used in baptism, he adds, "teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you." As this is the parting direction, the farewell injunction which Jesus left with his disciples just before he ascended into heaven, it shows what peculiar stress he laid upon it. It shows that by making it the conclusion, the winding up as it were of his Gospel, he meant to express in the strongest manner, the indispensable necessity of a holy life resulting from a vital faith. He meant to intimate to his own disciples; and to the ministers of his Gospel in every future age, that it was to be one principal object in their instructions, and exhortations, to inculcate all the virtues of a Christian life, and an unreserved obedience to all the precepts of their divine Master. And whoever neglects this branch of his duty, is guilty of manifesting a marked contempt of the very last command that fell from the lips of his departing Lord.

The few words that follow this command, and which conclude the Gospel of St. Matthew, contain a promise full of consolation, not only to the apostles themselves, but to all the ministers of the Gospel in every succeeding age. "And, lo, says our blessed Lord, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." That is, although I am now about to leave you and ascend into heaven, and can no longer be per

sonally present with you, yet the Holy Spirit, whom I have repeatedly promised to send unto you, shall certainly come to supply my place, shall constantly abide with you, and shall enlighten, guide, assist, support, and comfort you to the end of the world.

Here ends the Gospel of St. Matthew. But it must be observed, that in this last part of our Saviour's history, he has been much more concise than the other evangelists, and has passed over several circumstances which they have recorded, and of which it may be proper to take some notice here, before we close this Lecture. It appears from the other evangelists, and from the Acts of the Apostles, that Jesus continued among his disciples for forty days after his resurrection, giving them repeated and infallible proofs of his being actually raised from the dead, and "speaking to them of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God."*

In one of these discourses, he took occasion to advert more particularly to those things that were written in the law of Moses, and in the Prophets, and in the Psalms, concerning him. He showed how exactly and minutely all the predictions respecting him contained in those sacred books were accomplished in his birth, his life, his doctrines, his sufferings, his death, and his resurrection.

This stamps at once a divine authority on those books, and gives a sanction to the interpretation of the passages alluded to, and the application of them to our blessed Lord, by our best and most learned expositors.

It is added that on this occasion he opened their understandings that they might understand the Scriptures, and said unto them, "Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and rise from the dead the third day; and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name amongst all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."

He entered, we see, at large into the great evangelical doctrines of the atonement, of the redemption of mankind by his death, of the resurrection, of repentance, and the remission of sins through faith in his name. These are most important topics, and his illustration of them to his disciples must have opened to them an invaluable treasure of divine knowledge. And as these doctrines are but briefly touched upon in the Gospels, and more fully unfolded and explained in the Acts and the Epistles, it is highly probable that a very considerable part, if not the whole of what passed in these discourses of our Lord to his disciples after his resurrection, is faithfully preserved and detailed in those inspired writings. This places in a very strong light the high importance of those writings, and the high rank they ought to hold in our estimation, as forming an essential part of the Christian system, and completing the code of doctrines and of duties contained in that divine revelation.

It is remarkable also, that St. Matthew has made no mention of the concluding act of our Lord's life on earth, his ascension into heaven. The reason of this omission it is not perhaps very easy to assign, nor is it necessary. We know, that in several other instances various circumstances are omitted by one evangelist which are supplied by the rest, and others passed over by those which are noticed by the former; a plain proof by the way that they did not write in concert with each other, but each related his own story, and selected such facts and events as appeared to him most deserving of notice.

In the present case it is sufficient for our satisfaction that the ascension is related by two of the evangelists, St. Mark and St. Luke. The latter of these tells us in his Gospel, and in the Acts, that Jesus led out his apostles (and the disciples that were with them) to Bethany, and he lifted up his hands and blessed them. And it came to pass while he blessed them he was parted from them, and carried up into heaven, and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly towards heaven, as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven. And they worshipped him, and returned to Jerusalem with great joy; and were continually in the temple, praising and blessing God."*

The last observation I have to make is, that neither St. Matthew, nor any other of the evangelists, have given us a full and complete history of every thing that our Saviour did during the whole course of his ministry, but have only recorded the most important and the most remarkable of his transactions and his miracles. Besides, therefore, the many irresistible proofs we already possess of his divine wisdom and almighty power, there are many others still remaining behind which might have been produced, but which the evangelists did not think it necessary to specify; for St. John, in the 20th chapter of his Gospel, makes this remarkable declaration: "Many other signs truly (says he) did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through his name." God grant that this effect may be produced on all who now hear me; otherwise my labours and their attendance, will have been in vain!

I have now brought these Lectures to a conclusion, and must here take my final leave of you. It was my original intention and my wish to have proceeded next to the Acts of the Apostles, which contain the history of the first propagation of the Christian religion, and the astonishing progress it made through a large part of the world, by the preaching of the apostles and their coadjutors, after our Lord's departure into heaven: but I must not now venture into so large a field. Circumstanced as I am, it would be presumption in me to expect either that God would grant me time to accomplish so arduous a work, or that you would have perseverance to bear with me to the conclusion. I must here, therefore close my labours, at least in this place; and must now, for the last time, implore you to think and to meditate again and again on the important and interest ing truths which have been unfolded to you in the course of these Lectures, and to form them into principles of action, and rules of conduct, for the regulation and direction of the remaining part of your lives.

In the history of our Lord, as given by St. Matthew, of which I have detailed the most essential parts, such a scene has been presented to your observation, as cannot but have excited sensations of a very serious and very awful nature in your minds. You cannot but have seen that the divine Author of our religion, is beyond comparison, the most extraordinary and most important personage, that ever appeared on this habitable globe. His birth, his life, his doctrines, his precepts, his miracles, his sufferings, his death, his resurrection, his ascension, are all without a parallel in the history of mankind. He called himself the Son of God, the Messiah predicted in the prophets, the great Redeemer and Deliverer of mankind, promised in the sacred writings, through successive ages, almost from the foundation of the world. He supported these great characters with uniformity, with consistence, and with dignity, throughout the whole course of his ministry. The