A series of lecture sermons : delivered at the second Universalist meeting in Boston
Ballou, Hosea, 1771-1852
Mk ^flfc*&-N ~^*c BRISHAM YOUNC ijWfl*"? X <!*♦*-*- Y ^M cU^~ ■ i SERIES ^/? / LECTURE SERMONS, DELIVERED AT THE SECOND UNIVERSALIS MEETING, IN BOSTON BY HOSi AiBAJLOU, PASTOR: " Search the Scriptures, f<pr in them ye think ye have eternal Til* and they are they which testify of me." — jesus christ. l'; Let us go on to perfection." — st. paue. BOSTON : PRINTED AND PUBLISHED BY H£RRI XOWEN, DEVONSHIRE-STREET. District of Massachusetts, to wit : District Chrky s Office. BE it remembered, that on the thirty-first day of August, A. D. Eighteen hundred and eighteen, in the forty-third year of the Independence of the United States of America, HENRY BO WEN, of the said District hath deposited in this Office the Title of a book the Right whereof he claims as proprietor, in the words following, to wit : 44 A Series of Lecture Sermons, delivered at the Second Universalist Meeting, in Boston, by Hosea Ballou, Pastor. 44 Search the Scriptures, for in them ye think ye have eternal Ufey and they, are they, which testify of me." — Jesus Christ. 44 Let us go on to perfection.'*'' — St. Paul. In conformity to the Act of the Congress of the United States, entitled, 44 An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by securing the Copies of Maps, Charts, and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of such Copies, during the Times therein mentioned :" and also to an Act entitled, 44 An Act supplementary to an Act entitled An Act for the Encouragement of Learning, by securing the Copies of Maps, Charts and Books, to the Authors and Proprietors of such Copies during the times therein mention- ed ; and extending the Benefits thereof to the Arts of Designing, Engrav* ing and Etching Historical, and other Prints." JOHN W. DAVIS, Clerk of the District of Massachusetts. pRovo.wA^'"/£RS'rv SERMON. 1. TIMOTHY, i. 15. " This is a faithful saying, and 'worthy of all acceptation, That. Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners ; of whom I am Chief The subject on which the Apostle was speaking, and which led him to make the important declara- tion contained in our text, is worthy of special notice. Under a deep sense of the goodness of God, the grace which he had received in the Lord Jesus, the distinguished and important station in which he was placed by the great Captain of our salvation, it was impossible for him not to take a most humiliating retrospective view of his past life in the Jews' religion, while an enemy to Jesus, a blasphemer, and a persecutor of the church. Ail these weighty considerations having their natural operations on his mind, seemed to present, in full view, before his mental vision, the great and glorious errand on which the Lord Jesus was sent into our world. If it could have been so, that the Apostle, while engaged in the ministry of Jesus, could have retained his former confidence in his own righteous- ness, and had been of the opinion, that he was a favorite of heaven, that he was enlightened into the knowledge of the gospel, and even put into the ministry because his former conduct had merited these favors, it is evident that such views could never have led him to make the statement found in our text. Confirmed in such a persuasion, he would have preached a Saviour for the righteous, yea, for the righteous only. He would have despised the least intimation of the salvation of sinners. He, would, no doubt, have looked on such intimation, as an heresy of a most dangerous tendency. But the case with the great Apostle of the Gentiles was very different. He had been led to see, that, not as a righteous man, but as the chief of sinners he had been visited with the abundance of that grace by which he was so highly distinguished. He there- fore looked on himself as sufficient pro6f of the tes- timony which he bore. There are two good reasons why Jesus was not sent to call the righteous. First. There were none, " When God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are altogether become filthy ; there is none that doeth good, no, not one." After the Apostle had described, in his epistle to the Romans, the abominable character of the wicked, he adds; " What then, are we better than they ? no, in no wise : for we have before proved both 1 Jews and Gentiles, that they are all under sin ; as it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one." Again to the same point ; " For all have sinned and came short of the glory of God." Secondly. If there had been any righteous, they would not have needed Jesus to call them to repentance. It is as improper for a righteous man to repent, as it is for a well man to take medicine. If the man in health should take medicine, it would be likely to render him in- disposed ; and if a righteous man should repent, he would render himself wieked. If it be allowed, as has been proved, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, and that the gospel seeks, as subjects of its grace, sinners only, then it should never be argued, that there are some who cannot be saved because they are sinners. — This contains the absurdity, that, that which renders salvation necessary is an objection to it. If we may further notice the observation of the Saviour, it is pertinent to remark on the impropriety of sayings that because the patient is sick, therefore, the phy- siacian will administer or prescribe nothing. Nor would the extremity of a case render the objection in the least plausible, unless the malady was of such a nature as to bid defiance to the power of medi- cine ; but on the contrary, the more indisposed the patient might be, the greater would be the Urgency for relief. It is granted, that this calcula- tion is not a little wide from that which is more common, in which it is supposed, that the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ may extend to the condition of those who are sinners in a certain degree, be- yond which point our spiritual physicians justify theipselves in saying the grace of God can never extend. However, no small encouragement is de- rived from the divine testimony, that " where sin abounded, grace did much more abound : that as sin hath reigned unto death, even so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life, by Jesus Christ our Lord." These blessed words are ** like apples of gold in pictures of silver." Never was cold water to the thirsty soul so grateful as ihese words of eternal life. The attention of the hearer is now most earnest- ly invited to the consideration of the following question. What did Christ Jesus come into the world to save sinners from ? Your public servant has heretofore laboured this question in this place ; but being persuaded that the general sentiment entertained among professed christians on this ques- tion is not according to scripture, it is felt to be a duty to endeavour to throw as much light on the1 subject as the present opportunity will permit. No doubt many of the audience have already made up their minds, that the question proposed with so much solicitude is very easily answered, and is too free from difficulty to render much at- tention to the subject necessary. Though it is greatly to be wished that this were the case, it is presumed that a concise view of the generally received opinion, on this subject, will at once discover, that erroneous notions have been and still are entertained of it. The general opinion, which we shall endeavour to disprove, supposes that " Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners" from the demands of vin~ dictive justice, which recognised the whole sinful family of man under the penalty of endless punish- ment, frequently called eternal death. This opin- ion of the penalty required by the divine law is ex- pressed in the Catechism as follows ; * All mankind, by reason of the fall, lost communion with God, fell under his wrath and curse, was made liable to the miseries of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever." From the everlasting pains of hell, the same creed teaches us to believe, that Jesus Christ was appointed to save a part, and but a part of mankind. The way by which it is sup- posed that the Saviour undertook to save sinner* from eternal punishment, was by suffering the pen- alty in room of the sinner ; so that justice being satisfied, pardon and everlasting salvation could be granted to the guilty without any infringement of strict justice. Dr. Watts expresses this scheme of salvation nearly as follows ; " I was a rebel doom'd to fire, Doom'd to endure eternal pains, He on the wings of swift desire, Assum'd my guilt and took my chains.*1 Again; " He quench'd his Father's flaming sword. In his own vital blood." But it is needless to take up time to be very par- ticular in showing what this common sentiment is, for the most of us have been learning it from the beginning of childhood. Some of the objections to this scheme of salva- tion are the following ; 1st. The total silence of the divine testimony respecting this supposed pea- 8 atty of. the divine law. In the divine threatening denounced in the garden there is nothing intimated concerning this penalty of " eternal death," or the " pains of hell fordver." In the malediction on Cain for the murder of his brother, there is nothing on this hereafter eternal penalty. In all the law given by Moses, containing a minute description of most terrible curses, which in severity extend to the utmost capacity of man to suffer in this life, there is not a single suggestion relating to this pen- alty of eternal punishment in a future state. 2. The supposition of such a penalty seems dis- honourable to the divine Being, because it could not have been enacted with any design to reclaim the sipner ; and must, therefore, be entirely repug- nant to the character of God as a Father of his crea- tures. A parent cannot, consistently with parental love, subject a child to any penalty for faults com- mitted, which in room of being directed to reform, would inevitably prevent repentance and reforma- tion forever. The word of God informs us, that he " is love," and that he is " our Father in heaven." Now if this be true, the opinion, that there ever was any vindictive wrath in God, which demanded the sinner's eternal banishment from our Father in heaven must be an egregious error, and one that very much obscures and dishonours the ever bles- sed Father of our spirits. 3. If mankind justly deserved this supposed pen- alty, on account of sins committed against the di- vine law, how could it possibly be just for one who was not a sinner to suffer it ? To condemn the in- nocent and clear the guilty is strictly forbidden in the law. 4. The supposition, that this penalty did actual- ly lie against the sinneis which Jesus came to save, and that he, in the sinner's room and stead, did act- ually suffer this penalty, embraces the absurd sup- position that Jesus suffered eternal misery in a few days* 3. If according to the common opinion, the pen- alty of the law subjected men " to all the miseries of this life, to death itself, and to the pains of hell forever," if Jesus suffered the penalty for the elect why are the elect any more liable now in this state U) the miseries of this life and to death itself, than to the pains of hell forever ? Most surely, if Jesus bore the whole penalty of the law in room and stead of the sinner, then it certainly cannot be just for the sinner to bear one part of this penalty any more than another. But there are none who do not par- take of the miseries of this life in some degree ; and there are none who are exempt from death. Having shown that the common opinion respect- ing salvation is erroneous, having no scripture au- thority for its support and being contrary to all re- vealed justice, we may proceed to notice some di- rect evidence from scripture against it. But here we may be concise. In the law given by Moses, there is a continued thread of plain testimony, that as a nation the house of Israel would be punished accordingly as they should depart from the stat- utes and judgments which the Lord commanded them : and accordingly we are informed in the sa- cred pages, that God punished them from time to time as their perverse . nd wicked conduct deserv- ed. So likewise are we assured, that the divine Being punished other nations for their wickedness : such as Babylon, Nineveh, Tyre, Egypt &c. In relation to the crimes of individuals we well know that God instituted penalties according to the na- ture of offences, and gave special directions con- cerning their being duly inflicted. This is not only true in respect to the laws of Israel, but it is like- wise true in respect to all nations. He that holds the sword is the minister of God. Now if all this, which is as plain as any thing in the scriptures, be granted, what room is there for the supposition that the penalty due to transgression is punishment in the future eternal world ? Or what reason have we i0 to believe that Jesus suffered in room and stead of transgressors? This same Jesus Christ of whom it is believed, that he suffered the penalty of our sing in our room, that we might not suffer it, plainly states, that he will " reward every man according to his works." It seems to be evident, from the foregoing considerations, that no such penalty of endless misery was ever connected with the divine law of heaven ; and equally evident, that Jesus did not come into the world to save sinners from any such penalty. No, nor did he come into the world to save the sinner from the punishment of his sins. 'We have now come to the positive of our ques- tion, and we will proceed to show from the scrip- tures, what " Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners" from. First, and primarily, he came to save sinners from their sins. If the hearer be disposed to ask what the difference is between saving a sinnerfrom his sins, and saving him from the punishment which his sins deserve, the following reply will show. To save a criminal from the punishment which the law holds against him would be a violation of the law, but to save him from his sin, would render him righteous. To save a disobedient child from the chastisement due for his offence, would violate the wholesome law of the parent, and would have an unfavourable effect on the disobedient when refor- mation is the object of the chastisement. But to save the child from disobedience is the very thing the parental law requires and is all the salvation which it needs. Thus, as has been before noticed, the Angel said to Joseph ; " Thou shalt call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from their gins." Secondly, we may notice some particulars, which, however, are all comprehended in saving the sinner from his sins. Paul, speaking on this subject to the Collossians says ; " Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son." The power of darkness is the deception to which ignorance subjects us, from which the true knowledge of divine things delivers the mind. God says by the prophet Jeremialj ; w And they shall teach no more every man his neighbor, saying, know the Lord : for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, saith the Lord : for I will forgive their in- iquity, and I will remember the sin, no more !" The words of St. Peter are pertinent to this sub* ject : " Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord." And we may add, that the mission of the Apostles, to " preach the gospel to every crea- ture and to teach all nations," implies the necessi- ty of bringing all men to the knowledge qf the truth. 12 The same salvation which has already been sig- nified by a salvation from sin and from darkness or ignorance, may be denominated a deliverance from unreconciliation to God. It is easily seen, that sin and unreconciliation to God are the same. This is the state which the sinner is in, and from this condition the gospel is designed to deliver or save him. Accordingly St. Paul says ; " And all things are of God who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation ; to wit ; that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them ; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did be- seech you by us ; we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God ! We see by this passage as well as by the general testimony of scripture, that God did not impute the trespasses of sinners to them, in any way to prevent the manifestation of his grace in their reconciliation to himself. This re- conciliation of the world to God is the salvation of the world, and agrees with the testimony of the be- loved disciple who said, " We have seen and do testify, that the Father sent the son to be the Sa- viour of the world." And to the same did " a bright and a shining light" bear record, saying ; " Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world." This condition of sinners, from which Christ Jesus came into the world to save them, is repre- sented to be death. Jesus says ; " The dead shall hear the voice of the son of God, and they that hear shall live." St, Paul says to the Ephesians ; " And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses .md sins." Again ; '* But God, who is rich in mer-^ cy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us toge- ther with Christ." Was there ever a representa- tion more erroneous, than that which has for ages 13 led men to believe that there was a divine wrath in God, from which Jesus came to save sinners ? In the passage just recited it is declared, that on account of the great love which God had to sin- ners, who were dead in sin, he quickened them to* gether with Christ. Our Redeemer represents the salvation of sin- ners by seeking and saving something lost, " The Son of man came to seek and to save that which was lost." Time would fail us to mention all the ways by which sacred truth has represented the na- ture of sinner's salvation by Jesus Christ, The hearer is now called on to observe, that in all the representations quoted from scripture, there is no intimation of saving sinners from any punish- ment to which they were exposed, nor from any condition that they were not already in. Being in possession of what the foregoing argu- ments seem plainly to prove, the mind of the hearer will devote its attention now to the consideration of the question, why " Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners ?" If the object of the Saviour's mission was to suffer the penalty of eternal punish- ment, which all our Doctors agree cannot be suf- fered in this world, why did he come here? Why should he come into a wTorld where this supposed penalty never was designed to be executed? If Jesus undertook and did actually suffer the pen- alty of eternal damnation in a future world, in room and stead of sinners, surely there was no need of his coming into this mortal state to do it. But he " came into the world to save sinners." And the reason why he came into this world to save sinners, was because the sinners which he came to save were in this world, To make use of the parable of the Saviour, we may remark, that the physician goes to the place where the sick are, that he may ad^ minister what may relieve the patient from sickness, The goodly Samaritan went to the place where the bruised Jew lay naked and half dead,, and there he 14 1 toured into his wounds the mollifying oil and tb& ife restoring wine. The shepherd went aftei* the lost sheep until he found it, and from the place where it had wandered he bore it on his shoulder to the fold, rejoicing. The common doctrine, which teaches us, that Christ Jesus came into this world to save us in ano- ther world is contrary to all the representations which are found in the scriptures. If in a future world men are sick, then in a future world men will need a physician; and if in a future world men are lost, then in a future world they will need to be sought and found ; but if "the inhabitant shall say I am not sick," no physician will be want- ed. If sin shall exist in a future state of existence, no doubt pardoning mercy will flow as freely there as it does here. God will be the same, Christ will be the same, and love divine will be the same. But none of our creeds teach us that man will sin in a future world, and surely if they do not they will not need to be saved from sin, for they will have none. We are not informed in the scriptures, that Christ Jesus came into the world to procure for man a state of life and immdrtality ; but we are in-^ formed, that he " hath brought life and immortali- ty to light through the gospel. This divine inheri- tance was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began, but was " made manifest by the appearing of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death." The attentive hearer is in the next place invited to spend a few reflections on the fullness of Christ Jesus to accomplish the work of saving sinners. Remember, " The Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world." Permit your humble ser- I Tant to ask you, if you had any important con- cerns in a foreign country, which required the at- tention of one deeply skilled in such matters, would you not send one on whom you could depend ? And would you not furnish him with all the neces-| 15 sary powers, to settle your concerns in a just and equitable manner? You answer in the affirmative. Then it seems, that your christian candor must lead you to allow, that ample power is given to Christ Jesus to save the chief of sinners. If God himself, who is acknowledged to be omnipotent, had power sufficient for this gracious work, he surely would not send his Son with too little. " All power in heaven and in earth is therefore committed to the Son." " In him dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily," Jesus " made unto us, wisdom, righteousness, sanc- Jification and redemption." Are sinners ignorant of God ? Jesus came with the true knowledge of the Father, whom to know is life eternal. Are sinners sick with spiritual leprosy ? Jesus is that phisician whose very word can heal. Are sinners lost and bewildered in the wilderness of sin ? Jesus is " the way, the truth and the life !" Are sinners dead in trespasses and sins, the life giving power of the gospel quickens them together with Christ. Here is a fountain opened for the cleansing of the unclean, here flow medical springs, teaming with health for all who are sick. Here grows the tree of life, whose fruit is for food, and whose leaves are for the healing of the nations. In a word, there is no infirmity in the sinner for which there is Jiot a cure in Christ Jesus. To conclude ; My christian friends, is not our duty, as disciples of Jesus, made plain by the doc- trine of our text? "It is enough for the disciple to be as his master." The blessed Redeemer labored incessantly in the great work of saving sinners from their sins. He exercised his miraculous pow- ers to convince men of the divinity of his mission, he taught the people the unchangeable love of God to sinners, he loved sinners himself, and his very4 breath seemed to be forgiveness. We are called on to exercise all our abilities in this blessed cause of salvation. That we may do this to the utmost. J6 we must strive to increase in the knowledge, and grow in the grace of divine truth, that we may be enabled to communicate it to others. Jesus said to his disciples ; " Let your light so shine before, men, that they beholding your good works, may glorify your Father who is in heaven." If the vain imagination were true, that the work of saving sinners was accomplished by Jesus' suffering some penalty of the divine law, of which we have no account in the oracles of truth, of course further labour would not be needed. But if the salvation of sinners, consists in delivering them from their ig- norance of God, from the power of darkness, from the death of sin, and from alienation to a blessed re- conciliation to God, then all that we can do, by the help of Grace, to enlighten our fellow men, to re- commend the character of God to sinners, to magni- fy the beauties and exccellencies of a life of piety and virtue is of service in the cause of Christ. But let usremember,firstof all, that example is more than precept ; and that this " Grace of God, which bringeth salvation to all men, hath appeared; teaching us, that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and god- ly, in this present world ; looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ ; who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works." ?w ^&^. No. 2. LECTURE SERMON, DELIVERED AT THE SECOND UNIVERSALIST MEETING, IN BOSTON AUGUST 16, 1818. BY HOSEA BALLOU, PASTOR. Published Semi-Monthly, by Henry Bowen, Devonshire-street. MATTHEW, v. 48. M Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as your Father which is i% heaven is perfect." ^^ Every scheme, whether human or divine, must, in order to be rationally planned, have some prin- ciple as its foundation. This foundation must, in all respects, be sufficiently extensive and firm to support the superstructure to be raised on it. The gospel or doctrine of Jesus Christ, being a scheme planned by infinite wisdom, is established on a principle which is in all respects, both in regard to its extent and stability, amply sufficient to sup- port the divinely glorious edifice designed to rest upon it. These remarks are evidently analogous to the subject of our text, and correspond with the manner in which it was presented to those who listened to the gracious words of the divine teach- er. In his sermon on the mount, Jesus noticed ma- ny particulars, which had formerly been taught to the people and religiously believed by them, which were not consistent with the heavenly wisdom and grace of the gospel. He therefore, endeavored to present to the people the distinction between those 3 18 traditions which had long been established, and that which was harmonious with that special " grace and truth," which came by him. The particular subject under consideration is in- troduced as follows ; " Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy ; But I say unto you, love your ene- mies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which dispiteful- ly use you, and persecute you ; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven ; for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good and sendeth rain on the just and unjust." What the doctrine of Jesus requires of his disciples is here plainly laid down ; and the reason why love and good offices to enemies were enjoined is shown in the manifest goodness of God to the evil and good, to the just and to the unjust. The divine teacher then proceeds to illustrate the propriety and fitness of his doctrine as follows ; " For if ye love them thai love you, what reward have ye ? do not even the publicans the same ? And if ye sa- lute your brethren only, what do ye more than others ? do not even the publicans so ?" Having thus evidently shown, that coming short of that love and goodness to enemies which his doctrine requires, was to stand on the same ground and to act on the same principle which characterise the most illiberal and irreligious worlding, he en- joins as expressed in our text ; " Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect." — Our text, thus introduced, seems to in- vite the attention of the hearer to the considera- tion of the following proposition, as a distinct sub- ject for investigation ; (viz.) The gospel of Jesus Christ is a dispensation of grace which naturally and necessarily flows from the nature of God, and obtains its peculiar character from the love of God to sinners. 19 What we mean when we say, the gospel of Jesus Christ flows naturally from God is, that all the causes which produce it* or cause it to flow forth to man, are in the nature of the divine Being. He is self-moved in all he does, and of course he is self- moved in the dispensation of his grace. Even the Mediator himself, who is stiled " the Captain of our salvation," had no occasion to influence the Father of our spirits to be merciful to sinners, for it is the unchangeable nature of God to be gracious. The divine Being is wrongly represented, when it is said, as it often has been, that Christ has, by his life, death and resurrection opened a way for God to be merciful to sinners ; because this evidently supposes, that he was not merciful to sinners before this door was opened. The testimony of Jesus evidently corrects this error, and abolishes at once all vain imagina- tions which have been built upon it. Hear his words ; " For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." It is surely a very great error to suppose that the gift which the Father's love bestowed influenced him to bestow it. Such a mistake, we may pre- sume, never was made on any other subject or in any other case. Were the unhappy children of wealthy parents, whose prodigality had reduced them to wretchedness and want, to receive from them a gift of immense value, would they be like- ly to conclude, that the worth of this invaluable treasure was the cause of their parent's Jove and pity ? No ; but however highly they might justly prize the favor sent, they would consider it as the evidence, not the cause of parental affection. This is evidently the sense of the Apostle who says ; e But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." 20 Here notice, the death of Christ was not the cause, but the commendation of the love of God toward us, while we were yet sinners. Again ; " Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.5' This propitiation for our sins, so far from opening a door for God to be gracious, was an ef- fect and a manifestation of the divine favor. These arguments are designed to illustrate the proposition, that the grace of the gospel flows naturally from God to his enemies. It is believed that no subject in divinity is of greater moment than the one under consideration. For if it be not the nature of God to be gracious, and to love his creatures, and to do them good, even though they are enemies to him by wicked works ; but if he require vindictive retaliation oh his enemies ; and cannot, cOnsitently with his true character, show any favor to transgressors, without being first reconciled and influenced so to do, it is to that which produces this reconciliation and ^effects this influence, that we are to look for mer- cy, and not to God. Moreover this doctrine, could it be maintained, would overthrow the doctrine of our text. "Be ye, therefore, perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect," by lov- ing your enemies, by blessing them that curse you, by doing good to them that hate you, and by pray- ing for them that despitefully use you and perse- cute you. If it be allowed, that our Father in heaven so imputed men's trespasses to them as to render it impossible for him to extend mercy to any until his' vindictive wrath was appeased, then may we reply to the requirements 6f the Saviour in our text, and say ; First let us have satisfactory vengeance on our enemies, then we will love them and do them good. Suppose our Redeemer had taught the people, as our professed christians be*' 21 Here, that he had undertaken to appease his Fa- ther's wraith towards man, by suffering the penal tortures which vindictive justice had laid on the sinner ; and that by this mean he should procure the favour of God for them, would he not thereby have furnished them with a reply to his injunctions expressed in our text and context ? Might they not have said ; When we can obtain as ample vengeance on our enemies, as you have to sutler in order to render it proper for God to love his enemies, then we will love ours ? But no such doctrine can be found in the recorded testimony of Jesus. What- ever the blessed Redeemer is to us, he is made such by the Father of our spirits. There is a passage the common use of which is against our present argument, which we will here notice. " We have an advocate with the Father." The common opinion supposes Jesus Christ acts the part of an advocate, by pleading our cause be- fore Ajiod, to incline him to show mercy. This is totally erroneous. The advocacy of Jesus is ex^ pressed thus ; " Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us ; we pray you in Christ's v#ead be ye reconciled to God." Thus we have an advocate with the Father who pleads with us to be reconciled to God ; not with God to be reconciled to us, for " God was in Christ reconciling the world unto himself, not im- puting unto them their trespasses," 22 ' That the character which we attribute, by these arguments, to the divine Being, is really what is due to him, may be made to appear by refering to his providence. This we are specially authorised to do, by the'example which the Saviour has fur- nished in our context, and which was evidently de- signed by him to inculcate what these arguments are designed to prove. He directed the attention of the people to two sensible objects, which the di- vine providence continually holds out to our view ; the sun and the rain. " For he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." By these ocular proofs the divine teacher inculcated the impartial love and goodness of our Father in heaven toward all men of every description of character. It may be necessary to notice, in this place, what an objector might be disposed to urge against this impartial goodness of the divine Being toward the evil and the good, the just and the unjust. Objection ; If God be equally as good to the evil as he is to the good, to the unjust as to the just ; and if he love his enemies as well as he does his friends, then there is no difference between the re- ward of righteousness and unrighteousness. To this objection the candid hearer will accept the following reply. — Keeping in view the character of God, as set forth in the passage under considera- tion, as our Father in heaven, we say that a father may love his obedient and disobedient children Impartially, and yet9 in relation to their conduct, may treat them as differently as they conduct one from another. But however different the treat- ise ?rt may be, it must, in every case, proceed from the same principle of impartial love in the parent. To illustrate this we may observe, that the parent who- is -visited with sickness among his children will naturally love those who are sick as well as he doe? 23 those who are in health ; and yet, from this equal undimished love, he will treat them as differently, as will exactly correspond with their different de- grees of health. Now, you who are parents are called on to determine whether it be right, and con- sistent with your character as parents, to love your children and to do good to them when they are disobedient ? If you decide in the affirmative, as you most surely will, then you justify the argu- ment, against which the objection we have noticed was stated. If the objector should be disposed to contend, that we extend our argument too far by endeavor- ing to prove that the sinner is equally the object of divine love as the righteous, we rejoin by re- fering the objector to the full extent of the evi- dence already adduced, and to the consideration of the following remarks. First ; If we carefully examine the conduct of the divine Being toward Adam before and after transgression, shall we find any thing to justify the belief, that Adam was not equally the object of divine favor after he sinned as he was before ? Whose voice did guilty Adam hear in the cool of the day, expressive of parental solicitude, crying Adam, Adam, where art thou ? It was the voice of the Lord God. In that memorable hour of retri- bution was there the least sign that G od's love to- wards his offspring had suffered any diminution ? Does not the promise, that the seed of the woman should bruise the serpent's head, bear date from this eventful period ? Surely this was a time of love- Secondly ; Was it when the world was righteous, or when it was " in wickedness" that God so lov- ed it, as to " give his only begotten Son, that who- soever believeth on him mignt not perish, but have everlasting life ?" Was Saul less the object of the divine favor before his conversion than afterward ? 21 Were we less beloved by him, " who loved us and washed us from our sins in his own blood, before he washed us, than afterward ? The hearer will" ea- sily perceive that these queries all tend to show, that no change in man can effect any change in God.— And ' Thirdly ; The acknowledged unchangeabili ty of the divine Being furnishes sufficient proof, that his love to his creatures can never increase nor decrease. Entertaining a hope, that what has been offered, designed to explain our meaning re- specting the dispensation of divine grace flowing naturally from God, may be acceptable to the can- did hearer, we will say a little on what we mean by saying, that this dispensation of grace flows neces- sarily from the nature of God ; and offer some ar- gument in its support. 