COLLE

21 MAY 1930

LIBRARY

EDINBURGH:

PRINTED BY BALLANTYNE AND COMPANY,

PAUL'S WORK, CANONGATE.

CONTENTS.

PREFACE,

ESSAYS.

I. On the Evidences of Natural Religion,

II. On the Evidences of Revealed Religion,

III. On the Immortality of the Soul,

IV. An Enlightened Heathen's supposed Reflec-

tions in Judea, in the time of Christ,

V. On the Great Improvement of Mankind, and

the many Temporal Benefits which have

accrued to it, from Christianity,

PAGE.

vii

1

/35

117

149

182

CLASSIFICATION of TEXTS on Important Sub-

jects in the New Testament.

ON DOCTRINAL SUBJECTS.

I. On Jesus Christ,

241

II. On the Atonement by Christ, and Salvation

PAGE.

IV. On the Devotedness of Believers to Christ,

II. On the Cares of Life, and against too much

Anxiety about Riches,

247

TEXTS upon Domestic Duties, in both Testaments.

I. On the Duties of Children and Parents,

II. On the Duties of Brothers,

249

ib.

III. On the Duties of Servants and Masters,

IV. On the Duties of Husbands and Wives,

250

ib.

APPENDIX.

Short Account of Lee Boo, a native of the Pelew

Islands, and of Sackhouse, an Esquimaux,

Terms of the Notices in Reviews and Journals of

such of the Essays as were formerly published,

253

259

PREFACE.

BEING in the profession of the law, and accustomed to the discussion of proof, it occurred to me to apply the rules, with which I was thereby familiar, to the subject of the Christian Religion; and in that way I produced a short treatise on its evidences. I presented it to my family, and afterwards published it under the title of a Father's Gift; and, much to my satisfaction, it was most favourably received by the public, and had a very wide circulation. I afterwards wrote, and gave to the world, another small work called a Father's Second Present. The principal part of it consisted of those views which might have been supposed to have occurred to an enlightened and unprejudiced heathen, had he been led to visit Jerusalem in the time of our Saviour; with what might be considered to have been his reasonings there, on a comparison of the true

religion with the pagan theologies; and on a contrast of the morals of even the most advanced ancient nations, with the beautiful system which Christ was then introducing among mankind. These Treatises were published ten or twelve years ago; and since then I have been occasionally adding to and improving my stock of Essays.

A select number of these others, with those formerly published, form the subject of this little work; and they are here arranged in the order in which the perusal of them, as appears to me, may be most advantageous, as forming a distinct and regular system. Thus, the existence and attributes of Deity being at the foundation of all religion, a Treatise on Natural Religion is placed first. After that follows a short but accurate enquiry into the Evidences of Revealed Religion. Then comes an Essay on the Immortality of the Soul, founded both on reason and on revelation. Next in order is a view of what may be imagined to have been the sound ideas of a learned and enlightened heathen, had he been induced to have gone to Judea in the days of Christ, to have heard his instructions, witnessed his miracles, and maturely considered the