66 we confider it as a confirmation that it is from God. For if mankind be fo corrupt and wicked as to be enemies to the true God, which the Bible afferts, and is proved by their general conduct, then they must dislike and be enemies to all the manifestations of his character, and whatever he requires as moft agreeable to him. Befides, the Bible relates many inftances of this oppofition to the truth, and predicts that the gospel would be oppofed and rejected by men. Chrift fays to his disciples, Behold, I send you forth as fheep in the midst of wolves, and ye fhall be hated of all men for my name's fake." And the Bible fays, "The time will come, when men will not endure found doctrine; and fhall turn away their ears from the truth, and fhall be turned unto fables." And it has been obferved, that the prefent infidelity and wickednefs which prevail in Chriftendom is particularly predicted in the Bible. Notwithstanding all this, we know the truth of the gofpel is great, and will overcome; and that the gates of hell fhall not prevail against it. Finally: We know that the Bible could not be invented and forged by difhoneft, wicked men; for this is for many reasons not only improbable, but impoffible. And we know that no honeft, good men would have any hand in it, if it were a forgery. It follows that the very existence of it, in the form in which it is, is a demonftration that it came from God, and was written by divine infpiration. We have as great and full evidence of this, yea, greater, than we have of the existence of the vifible world, or of any thing which we perceive by our bodily fenfes.* *The above evidences of the truth and divine origin of Chriftianity, it is fuppofed every Christian is, or ought to be, able to produce on all proper occafions. Others are omitted, together with answers to the objections which are made to the Bible, because every Chriftian may not be fuppofed able readily to exhibit them. A more ample and able vindication of Chriftianity is contained in Dr. TRUMBULL'S Twelve Sermons on the Divine Origin of the Holy Scriptures, and Mr. FULLER'S treatise entitled, Chriflianity its own Evidence, &c.: both which are recommended as worthy of the perufal of all. SERMON Sermon II. The fame Subject continued. 1 Peter, iii. 15. And be ready always to give an answer to every man that afketh you a reafon of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear. SECO ECONDLY. Chriftians, in giving the reafon of the hope that is in them, must give the reason, not only of their belief and affurance that the gospel is true, and a revelation from heaven; but also the reafon of their hope that they do cordially embrace it, and are interested in all the bleffings which are promifed to all true believers. When they, in proper times and circumstances, are asked the reason of this their hope, by those who appear to want information, and to have a right to it, and it may promote a good and important end, they can make the following anfwer. We all hope that we are friends to Chrift, and are înterested in the promises he has made to thofe who believe in him. But our hope is ftronger or weaker at different times, according to the ftrength and conftancy, or weaknefs and inconftancy, of our religious exercifes, and the consciousness we have of them, and the fight of our own hearts. We fometimes attain a degree of affurance, or that confidence which excludes all fenfible doubts; but many of us, perhaps the moft, have often many doubts, and fome of us have generally many doubts and fears. Others are generally more confident, and seldom if ever doubt of their being real Chriftians. What is the cause of this difference it is impoffible for us to determine at leaft in many cafes. But this we are confident of, that it is owing to our imperfection in knowledge, difcerning, or Chriftian exercises, if we be real Christians, that we have the leaft doubt of it, and do not always en ; joy At the joy an affurance that we are friends to Chrift. fame time we believe that the reafon why fome real Chriftians do not admit a doubt of their being Chriftians, is, their imperfection in knowledge, difcerning, and Chriftian experience. There are others who profess to be affured conftantly, without one doubt for a long course of years, that they are Chriftians, and fhall be faved, whofe life and converfation discover that they know not what it is to be a real Chriftian. But we will ceed to give the reafon of our hope. pro In the first place we would obferve, that we trust we have been convinced of fin, and reproved for it, by the Spirit of God, as none are but thofe to whom he applies the benefits of redemption. Antecedent to our hearts being renewed by divine power to new and gracious exercifes, we were, the most of us, if not all, brought to a degree of painful conviction of our finful and miferable condition, which we believe is the way which God commonly takes with those whom he designs to fave. But as fuch conviction, and the exercises that accompany it, are fo different in different perfons, as to their degree, the length of their continuance, the attempts and exertions they make to help themselves, and the particular means by which they have taken place and continued; we shall not try to give account of them, which every one may do for himself, when it may be convenient. Befides, it would be deviating from our prefent purpose, which is, to give the reafon of our hope that we are Chriftians, to enter into a description of the convictions of which the unregenerate may be the fubjects. For no convictions or exercises which take place in the mind of a finner, antecedent to his regeneration, or his having a new heart, can be any fcriptural evidence that he ever will be renewed and become a Chriftian. There is no connection in nature, or by the declarations and promifes of scripture, between any convictions and exercises of the unregenerate, and their becoming Chriftians. In any stage of degree of their convictions, change of fentiments, or external reformation, all may come to a full ftop, ftop, and be loft; or, if they continue in any degree, they may never iffue in a true converfion. We there fore mean to speak only of that conviction of fin, and humiliation for it, which is an evidence of our being regenerated, as it can take place only in a renewed heart, and is connected with falvation. Our eyes have been opened to fee that the law of God, which requires our obedience to it, refpects the heart and every motion and exercife of it which is of a moral nature, requiring that they all fhould be perfectly right and in conformity to it, and forbidding every thing contrary to this rectitude of heart, on pain of eternal punishment; that this law is perfectly right and good in all the requirements and threatenings of it. This has been attended with a conviction of the exceeding wickedness of our hearts, being wholly contrary to the law of God, and the fource of every thing wrong in our outward actions. We could not but approve of the law as right, holy and good, and felt that we were wholly blameable for every thing in our heart and life contrary to this law, and were wholly without excuse. Our heart appeared to us to be naturally wholly depraved and wicked, and all fin against God fo infinitely criminal and vile, and we fo unfpeakably guilty, having done nothing but finning against God and his law, that we felt and acknowledged from the heart that we deferved to have the penalty of the law executed upon us, that God would be juft and glorious in doing it, and we muft juftify him in it, and remain forever without the least reafon of complaint. Thus we fubmitted to God, and accepted the punishment of our iniquity, and felt a calmnefs and pleasure we never experienced before, in viewing with delight the divine character exhibited in his law, and works of creation and providence. We knew our heart to be naturally fo totally depraved and wicked, hard, obftinate and impenitent, that it would never be made better by us, or by any means or creature, unless it were renewed by the almighty power of God, which he was under no obligation to do; that we were were utterly undone and loft in ourselves, that we were in the hands of God, as the clay is in the hand of the pot ter, to deal with us according to his fovereign pleasure; and we heartily acquiefced in this, in being thus dependent on him. And when we were brought to a more particular and realizing view of Chrift, and the way of falvation by him, (of which we fhall speak prefently) our fins and the evil that is in our heart appeared in a worfe light to us, and unfpeakably aggravated, in that it was neceffary that Chrift fhould fuffer fo much to make atonement for fin, in which fuch great and astonishing love to finners was manifefted. Our abuse of the gofpel, and difpofition to flight and reject Jefus Christ, of which we had been actually guilty in ways and inftances innumerable, appeared to us great and aggravated beyond description, and discovered the exceeding malignity and bafeness of our heart; the wickedness and obftinacy in refufing to accept Chrift offering himself clothed with love and falvation. Oh, who can exprefs or fully conceive of the magnitude and aggravations of the fin of impenitence and unbelief, of which they are guilty who live under the gofpel, and will not embrace it! Thus we have been convinced of fin, and reproved for it, and we trust have submitted to the reproof in the exercise of repentance, condemnation, fhame and abhorrence of ourselves. We think this is described by Chrift when he fays, " And when he is come (that is, the Holy Spirit) he will reprove the world of fin: of fin, becaufe they believe not on me." And here we would obferve, that this conviction of fin, from the beginning of it, and in its progrefs, has been attended with an evidence to us that the Bible is true and from God, in that it defcribes the character of man to be the fame which we found ours to be, when we faw the depravity and wickednefs of our hearts. This defcription is given in the relation of the facts by which men in different circumftances have in all generations acted out and discovered the depravity and great degree of wickednefs of their hearts, |