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paffages in which our Saviour makes mention of what will be confidered at the Great Day. There is another, in which He exprefsly declares, that our Belief, which includes our moral conduct with regard to it, will then be enquired into, as well as any other parts of our conduct. Not long before his afcenfion Mark relates *, that " He appeared unto the Eleven as they fat at meat; and after having upbraided them with their unbelief "and hardness of heart, because they believed not "them which bad feen him after he was rifen; that

be faid unto them,Go ye unto all the world, and

preach the Gofpel to every creature: He that be"lieveth and is baptized, fhall be faved; but he that "believeth not, fhall be damned," or, meet with a due condemnation,

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Nay, and upon another occafion, "Jesus cried " and faid, If any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not (now): for I come not (now) to judge the world, but to fave the world: "He that rejetteth me, and receiveth not my words, "bath one that judgeth him; the word that I have "Spoken," (the moral precepts of my Gospel, and the abundant proof I have given of my Divine Authority,) "the fame fhall judge him," (fhall condemn him for his Unbelief)" in the Last Day +

Agreeably to which, in expoftulating with the Jews for their Unbelief, he attributes it to their own faulty difpofition: "How can ye believe, "which receive honour one of another, and feek not

the honour that cometh from God only ?" In other words; How was it poffible for them to believe in him, whom the rulers in general defpifed; while, instead of seeking after truth, from a sense of duty, they admitted whatever opinion was in general

Chap. xvi. 14-16.
John v. 44-

+ John xii. 44, 47, 48.

efteen,

esteem, in order to be themselves efteemed? And to this JESUS immediately added, "Do not think "that I will accufe you to the Father; (for your unbelief;) "There is one that accufeth you, even

Mofes in whom ye truft And thus again we find him exprefsly declaring to his Difciples, "When the Comforter is come, he will reprove the "world of SIN, BECAUSE THEY BELIEVE NOT ON ME +."

JESUS afferted that he gave fuch incontestable proofs of his Divine Character, that nothing but a faulty inattention to it, or a vicious pofitive difinclination to confider it, could be the cause of their rejecting him: "If I do not the works of my Father, be"lieve me not: but if I do, though ye believe not me, "believe the works." And accordingly, when the Jews asked him,-What shall we do, that we might work the works of God? JESUS answered and said unto them, THIS IS THE WORK OF GOD, THAT YE BELIEVE ON HIM, WHOM HE HATH SENTS.-Agreeably to which he tells his Difciples-The Father himself loveth you, becaufe ye have loved me, and have BELIEVED that I came out from God .As, on the other hand, he declared to Nicodemus,-He that believeth on him (the only begotten Son of God, ver. 16.) is not condemned; but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.The reason of which condemnation, as he immediately tells him, was no other than this,That light was come into the world, but they loved darkness rather than light, becaufe their deeds, were evit

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After this fhort view of our Saviour's own exprefs déclarations, concerning the enquiry that will be

* John v. 45. John vi. 28, 29. Ibid. ver. 19.

+ John xvi. 8. 9.
John xvi. 17.

H 4

John x. 37, 38.
¶John iii. 18.

made

made into our Belief in him at the great day; and the reasons why fuch an enquiry neceffarily must be made; the Author will perhaps fee reason to reconfider the truth of Mr. Locke's remark, which he is fo fond of fheltering himself under; as well as the propriety of the conclufion he himself would draw from it. How unfortunate is a writer, who feeks for authority to defend his caufe; but can no otherwife avail himself of any in its defence, than by felecting for truths thofe very particulars, in which, through the frailty of human nature, even fo cautious, and fo excellent a writer as Mr. Locke has accidentally fallen into a mistake!-Let the Author confider ferioufly, how much it behoves him to take care, that he himself may not be of the number of those, of whom JESUS has exprefsly declared, that they fhall hereafter be condemned for not Believing in Him.

SECT. VI.

The Author's Explanation of John xiv. 1. and bis Affertion what Character JESUS HIMSELF laid Claim to, confidered.

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ESUS having exprefsly commanded his dif ciples to Believe in Him; the Author fets himfelf to reconcile this command with his own fundamental principle; That JESUS was nothing more than an uninfpired man; who, merely of his own accord, undertook to preach pure morality, or the law of nature, but nothing more, What he fays is as follows.

"CHRIST fays to the Jews +, Ye believe in God, * John xiv. 1.

+ The Author here mifrepresents the fact: when JESÚS faid this he was in private with the Apostles. See the place.

"believe

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« believe also in me.As if he had faid, Ye believe "in God, and fuch belief is a proper foundation of "true religion: believe also in me, believe me "when I tell you, that God expects you fhould s fulfill the moral law, or law of nature, as far "as you are able: That you are to be juft, "charitable, and benevolent; and That be will "bave mercy and not (or, rather than) facrifice. "He has hitherto accepted of your obedience to "the law of ceremonies, as well as of your con

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formity to the law of righteoufnefs, because you "believed both to be your duty: he hath hitherto accepted of facrifices and burnt offerings, as "well as of that pure and fpiritual worship, which proceeds from an upright and pure heart, fo "far as you have been fincere, and acted up to "the dictates of your confciences, and the light you had. You believe that Mofes, your great "Lawgiver, was commiffioned by God to require "of you an obedience to the law of ceremonies, << as well as to the moral law; and for this reafon "God hath accepted of your conformity to the former, as well as the latter;-Believe alfo in me: believe that I am come to teach you the "will of God, and to give you a more complete "Syftem of Morality than Mofes ever taught. I re am not come to deftroy the moral law, or law "of nature, but to republifh it to you, and to the "world; to fhew you the whole of your duty, and "what God and nature require of you. The law "of ceremonies you may abolish; but God re"quires the practice of the law of virtue, which

law I have now undertaken to teach you. Believe in Me then, SO FAR AS TO PRACTISE THIS 66 LAW, Something like this appears to me to "be ALL that Chrift could mean by believing in " bim 1]." * P. 358, 359..

I have taken the pains to quote this paffage at length, not merely that it may be feen how defirous the Author was to remove this objection to his fcheme; but chiefly to produce one ample fpeci men of his manner of interpreting, or, to fpeak, properly, mifinterpreting the New Testament; in order to give, if poffible, fome appearance of truth, to the principles he has adopted, and endeavoured to defend.

If without looking further we take the obvious fenfe of the words themselves, instead of fubftituting our own mere fancies in its room, as he has been pleased to do; it must appear, that our Saviour here enjoined his difciples to believe in general whatever declarations he had made; and above all others, that of his being the promised Meffiah, And the more particular view we take of the context, the more evident this will become."

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JESUS and the Twelve being affembled together, to eat the Paffover, on the night on which he was betrayed; he first told them, that he had greatly, defired to eat That Supper with them, Before be Juffered, as it would be the laft time he should do it. Having firft informed them of this in general, he proceeded to tell them with great anxiety, of mind, that one of Them fhould betray him +; and even, at their request, pointed out who it was inftructing them, at the fame time, that the reason why he told them of it before it happened was, that notwithstanding his ignominious, death, they might reft affured, that he was indeed the true Meffiah,, whom they at that time believed him to be: Now I tell you before it come, that when it is come to pass, YE MAY BELIEVE THAT

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