CONFERENCE H. 437 Christ and his apostles, who set beforeus the dreadful evil of sin, both in its nature, as it is contrary to the eternal rectitude and the will of God; and in its demerit andconsequences, as it 'de- serves the indignation of God, and is threatened with deathand everlasting punishments in another world. It is the scripture that represents to us the excellency and the necessity of religion and moral goodness, in amuch brighter and more easy light than ever all the reasonings of the philosophers have done, and makes the plough -boy and the shepherd to understand and receive more truth and duty in a few lines and in half an hour, than the phi- losopher, with all his boasted reason, had been labouring and digging for half his life, and at last had brought it forth into light mingledwith darkness and much uncertainty. It is the scripture that makes the duties of religion practica- ble, by bringing into a near view all those admirable' and lovely examples of virtue and piety practised among men, in the glo- rious characters of Moses, Joshua, Abraham, and David, Sa- muel, Job, Daniel, &c. and above all by Jesus, the author of our religion? What strong assurances of the love, compassion, and tenderness of God toward good men in this world, are given us in scripture, as well as the bright discoveries of the glorious world to come : It is the gospel reveals to men the astonishing love of God, in sending his own Son down to earth to become a sacrifice, and to make atonement for the sins of rebellious crea- tures, and the amazing condescension and compassion of Christ to undergo such sufferings for our sake. These are illustrious incentivestovirtue and goodness, which reason knowsnothing of : And time would fail me to talk over half the glorious and divine encouragements that we find in the book of scripture to make us active and constant in the practiceof religion, and to incline us to disdain and surmount all the difficulties; and hardships, and terrors which lie in our way to heaven. And what can the poor native untaught reason óf an Indian furnish him with, to combat all his vicious inclinations, the sinful customs of his country, and the profligate and savage course of life in which he is educated and engaged, that can appear comparable to the divine weapons and armour with which the gospel has furnishedus for this sacred warfare? And yet we see all these glorious motives and obliga- tions of Christianity do not prove effectual to restrain multitudes of the christian world from vice and irreligion, nor incline them to virtue andholiness, inopposition to the temptations ofthe flesh and the world: How weak and insufficient then must reason be, poor African or American reason, to attain such divine effects? Loo. Then surely, Pithander, you will not say any more, that reason does not offer sufficient obligations to virtue, because the bulk of a nation are not reclaimed by it from their vices; for by the same rule, out of your own mouth, I might condemn ae3
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