SECTION I. 219 It is written also, in our consciences, with sufficient evi- dence, that it is our duty to love our neighbour,-to be honest, and just, and faithful, and kind : And that cheating and falsehood, in- justice and cruelty to our fellow-creatures are hateful vices and never to be practised. It would be endless and needless to cite texts of scripture to prove all this. We must believe also, that this great God, the righteous Governor of the world, Will call us to an account hereafter, how we have behaved ourselves here, andwill sit as a judge upon our past conduct in this life. The light ofnature tells us, there is some reason to hope, that he will reward us gloriously, if we are faithful and diligent, perfect andpersevering in our obedience to all his will ; and it gives us just ground to fear, that he will pu- nish us severely in a future state, if we are impiousand perverse, and act contrary to the known rules of our duty. But thelight of scripture gives us much clearer and surer discoveries of a heaven and a hell, a state of reward and punishment, according as our works shall be. It is the voice of reason, and it is the lan- guage of revelation, that there is á future state to set all things right, and to account for the scenes of 'disorder in this present life. " Without", the " faith of things unseen it is impossible to please God ; for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those that diligently seek him:" $eh. -xi. 6. Nor was there ever any revelation of grace, that Godmade to fallen man for his salvation,. but it pre - supposed or included this article of a future state, and all the other doctrines of natural religion in it. II. Another thing necessary to our attainment of the hea- venly happiness is a due sense of our guilt and misery by reason of sin, and a humble confessionof it before God ; Some convic- tion of sin may be derived from-our own experience, if we do but converse with ourselves, and take a survey of our own hearts and lives, and compare them with the law of God written in our consciences. Where is the man who has perfectly obeyed all the dictates of his own reason, and never contradicted this in- ward rule of duty? Surely if we know'anything of ourselves, we must confess we are sinners; we have offended God our Creator, and broken his laws: We have all sinned andfallen short of the glory of God, we have lost all just hope of reward Every mouth must be stopped, and all the world become guilty be- foreGod ; Rom. iii. 19. There is none innocent, no not one. Our own conscience accuses and condemns us, and subjects us to the just judgment of God. And not only must we be sensible of our being exposed to divine- anger, by reason of sins actually committed, but we must also be acquainted `with the corruption of our natures, the body of sin which dwells within us, and be abased before God because of those inward sinful inclinations,
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