CONFERENCE I, 889 this the avowed rule of our duty and of his dealings withmen, that he loves and valses mercy more than sacrifice; that is, that he esteems and prefers the natural duties of morality and piety above any positive rules or rites ; and this he Lath frequently manifested in the Old Testament and the New, as well as the light of nature teaches it. Nowupon all these considerations, I think, we may be bold to say, that if these duties of true repentanée, humble requests of forgiveness, and endeavours after new obedience, be performed according to the present utmost capacity of a sinful creature/who is not acquainted with any positive duties of divine institution, Gott,will.surely shew himself well pleased with such an humble penitent : We may, I think, infer withsome assurance, that God will never utterly exclude such a person, and finally banish him from his favour merely for want of his practiceof some positive duties or institutions which he himself never heard ofby any reve- lation, and which he could never come to the knowledge of by the best exercise of his reason. Besides, Sir, if we consider the accounts which scripture has given us of those who were theßeloved servants of God in ancient ages, even his chief favourites, such as Noah, Abraham, Moses, Joshua, David, &c. you find them indeed offering sacrifice according to the positive institutions of God, but you find very little oftheir own personal trust in a Mediator, or Saviour, or in the mercy of God through a Mediator : much less do we find an account of the actual exercise of their faith in any atoning sacri- fice of a Messiah to come. But besides their"duties of repentance, asking pardon, and new obedience, &c. their hope seems gene- rally to have been fixed on the mercy of God himself, without so particular an exercise of faith through aMediator, so far as we can learn by their devotional writings, or the history of their own transactions with God : I do not say, they did never place their hopes in such a Messiah, or Saviour to come : for I believe some of them had such a fiducial regard to him : But I may venture to say, that we find very little of this in their own devotions, even though several of them had this future Saviour revealed to them from heaven, and tothe world by their lipsor writings. As for the doctrine of atonement forsin by the death of this Saviour, though I suppose it to be the real ground andfoundation of all the pardoning grace that ever ` was dispensed to mankind, and though I conceive it to be a most important, if not a necessary part of the religion of Christ, where the gospelis fullypublished, yet St. Peter did not know it a little before Christ's death ; Mat. xvi. 22. when his fondness for the person of Christ would have forbid his sufferings : and Cornelius was accepted of God before lie was taught the doctrine of Christ or his atonement : his prayers. and alms, his piety and charity, came up before God and Bb 3
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