BOA AN HUMBLE ATTEMPT, &C. of Christ, to enforce piety and virtue upon the consciences of men ; God forbid that. we should abandon those arguments, drawn from the nature of things, and from human reason : The gospel does by no means exclude them, but clears and enlightens and advances them all ; and gives them ten-fold power for the purposes for which they are designed. The blessed apostles themselves, sometimes made use of them ; and they may be spread abroad in a rich variety, by every preacher of the gospel to much better purpose, than a Seneca or an Epictetus could display them. All kind of efforts are necessary, and every sort of weapon may be used in its proper place, to make assaults upon the kingdom of Satan in the hearts of men ; but it is evi= dent, that the divine principles and motives of christianity were sent us down from heaven, as more sovereign remedies for the mortal diseases of "the ;;oul, and far snore effectually for the re- formation of mankind. Secondly, If thebeautiful ideas of virtue and religion, and the natural tendency of it to make men happy, be such sufficient motives to enforce the practice of it, I would enquire, why was not the Gentileworld reformedwithout the gospel ? Why were the polite and knowing nations so abominably and almost univer- sally sunk into shameful vices? Why did not the.self-sufficient reward of virtue constraingreater numbers of mankind to change their manners, and to practise goodmorality? If this had'been the best and most effectual way, of changing the hearts and of reforming the profligate lives of men, why was not St. Paul sent onlyor chiefly with these principles and instructions of rea- son, to talk of the divine beauty of religion and excellency of virtue amongst them, and the advantages that it brought into human society and private life? What need was there that he should be commissioned to preach the doctrine of the cross of Christ, and the love of the Son of God descending from heaven to die for sinners? What makes him dwell so much upon the recoveryof a sinful world to God, by the atonement and suffer- ings of the blessed Jesus, as a means and motive to persuade simmers to forsake their sins, and to be reconciled to God ? Why are the evangelic topics so often insisted on, and represented in lively language, for the encouragement of virtue and piety, and as a guard against sin ? What need had he of the history of a crucified Son. of God risingfrom the dead, ascending to hea- ven, sitting at the right-hand of God, interceding for sinners, and governing the world, in order to reform mankind froi vice and impiety I. Why does the scripture tell us, that the hearts of men are to be purified by faith, that believing on the Son of God, is the way to get the victory over the world's What need was there that St. Paul should teach us, that our sins 'are to be mortified in us, by the assistance of the Jioly
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