thing, that can tend to his advantage; for this is certainly the idea of rational felf-love.

With regard to our neighbour, we have another rule alfo, which falls under the fame regulation: we fhould do to others as we would have others do to us. This rule is indeed a direct appeal to reafon. It is not supposed, that we are to do to others, according to the tenor of every wanton wish, which we may suppose they may indulge. We fhould weigh the matter in reason we should place ourselves in the fituation of others; and them in ours; and (hould do for them, whatever we think we fhould reafonably expect from them. Thus when St. Paul gives a detail of the duties of charity, he seems to refolve them all into efforts of reafon, formed into habits of benevolence*.

Thus then, I think, it appears, that no one need fright himself, if he do not feel that ardour of paffion, either to God, or his neighbour, which he may think the text inculcates. At the fame time, we ought to guard against the natural coolness of reafon; and should be very cautious, how we draw an apology from its dictates for the tranfgreffion of duties, on which hang all the law and the prophets.

See I CORINTHIANS, xiii.

XXX.

Secret things belong unto the Lord: but thofe things which are revealed, belong unto us, and to our children for ever-that we may do all the words of the law.-Deuteronomy xxix. 29.

THIS text is taken from the law of Mofes. But the law of Mofes is one of God's revelations: and God's revelations will always have the fame tendency. We may confider the text therefore as perfectly christian.

It contains these truths-that there are points of religion, (fuch as its mysterious doctrines) which the underftanding of man cannot fathom -that these points cannot properly be faid to be revealed, as they belong to God-that there are other things, which are revealed, and are intended merely for our use-that these things are plain, and obvious to our capacities-that they belong to us and our children and that the reafon given for this diftinction, is, that we

may

may do all the words of this law.

That is, in

fhort, that the grand intention of all revelation,

is practical religion.

N. B. All these several points may with great advantage be dwelt upon and explained.

XXXI.

In which are fome things hard to be understood. 2 Peter iii. 16.

THIS expreffion is commonly thought to refer to St. Paul's epiftles; which are here supposed to contain things hard to be understood. But the original rather leads us to fuppofe, that instead of St. Paul's epiftles, the mysteries of the gofpel, are hard to be underfood. This makes a much better fenfe; for though many reasons may be given, why fome things in St. Paul's epiftles may at this day be hard to be underflood; yet we cannot well conceive them to have been fo at the time they were written: we cannot well fuppofe that epiftles written to particular churches, could contain any thing that was not eafily understood by thofe churches.To let this matter however pass, in the following difcourfe, I fhall confider first the fource of fcriptural

fcriptural difficulties:-and fecondly, how far a difficulty is an objection.

With regard to the fources of fcriptural difficulties, they may be traced either to human, or divine origin. Scriptural difficulties of human origin arife from errors in tranfcribing-from errors in tranflating-from the idioms of the Jewish language fo different from our ownfrom figurative, proverbial, and allegoric forms of speaking-and laftly, from ancient rites, manners, and customs, which are now little known. To one or other of these fources, I fuppofe most of the fcriptural difficulties under this head may be referred.

Such difficulties, as arife from a divine fource, are of a different kind. Of them no folution can be given. They confift of those mysterious points, which we can never understand. Such are the mysterious doctrines of the Trinity-of the incarnation of our bleffed Lord-of his propitiation for fin-of the nature of redemption

of the mode of infpiration; and of fome other points, which are wholly beyond our capacity to explain. -Let us however fee, how far thefe, or the other species of scriptural difficulty, arising from human inadvertence, amount to matter of objection. Sceptics have turned

both