MORAL LAWS OF REVELATION. 



119 



Ttu greatest philosophers of the heathen world 

 considered the arguments in favour of man s 

 immortal destiny as amounting only to a certain 

 degree of probability, and their minds were con 

 tinually hanging in doubt and uncertainty, as to 

 what might befall them at the hour of dissolu 

 tion. The most powerful arguments in proof 

 of a future retribution, are founded on the justice, 

 the benevolence, and the wisdom of the Deity ; 

 but it is questionable whether we should ever 

 have acquired clear conceptions of these at 

 tributes of the Divinity without the aid of the 

 revelations of the Bible. On this most important 

 point, however, Christianity dissipates every ob 

 scurity, dispels every doubt, and sets the doctrine 

 of &quot; life and immortality&quot; beyond the grave, in 

 the clearest light, not by metaphysical reasonings, 

 unintelligible to the bulk of mankind, but by the 

 positive declarations of him who hath &quot; all power 

 in heaven and on earth.&quot; It gives full assurance to 

 all who devote themselves to the service of God, 

 and conform to his will, that &quot; when their earthly 

 tabernacles are dissolved, they have a building 

 of God, an house not made with hands, eternal 

 in the heavens ;&quot; and that &quot; the afflictions &quot; to 

 which they are now exposed &quot; work out for 

 them an eternal weight of glory.&quot; And, to con 

 sole them in the prospect of dropping their bo 

 dies into the grave, they are assured, that the 

 period is approaching, when their mortal frame 

 &quot;shall put on immortality,&quot; and when &quot;all who 

 are in their graves shall hear the voice of the 

 Son of God, and shall come forth, they that 

 have done good to the resurrection of life, and 

 they that have done evil to the resurrection of 

 condemnation.&quot; 



4. Christianity clearly points out the way by 

 which pardon of sin may be obtained by the guilty. 

 Reason discovers that man is guilty, and at the 

 same time perceives that a sinner de&erves 

 punishment. Hence, the remorse and the fears 

 with which the consciences of sinners in every 

 ftge have been tormented. &quot; Wherewithal shall 

 I come before the Lord ? Shall I come with 

 thousands of burnt offerings ? Shall I offer my 

 first-born for my transgressions, the fruit of my 

 body for the sin of my soul ?&quot; are the anxious 

 inquiries of every sinner who feels conscious 

 that he has violated the laws of Heaven. Hence, 

 the numerous modes by which Pagan nations 

 have attempted to appease the wrath of their 

 deities; hence, their sacrifices, their burnt-of 

 ferings, their bodily tortures, their human vic 

 tims, and the rivers of blood which have flowed 

 in their temples and upon their altars. But 

 reason could never prove, that by any of these 

 modes sin could be expiated, and the Deity ren 

 dered propitious. Christianity alone unfolds 

 the plan of redemption, and the way by which 

 guilty men may obtain forgiveness and accep- 

 Iance in the sight of him whose laws they have 

 violated. It declares, &quot; that Christ Jesus died 



for our offences, and rose again for our justifi 

 cation ;&quot; that &quot; God hath set him forth as a 

 propitiation to declare his righteousness in the 

 remission of sins,&quot; and that, having made so 

 cosily a sacrifice for the sins of the world, he 

 will refuse nothing that can contribute to th 

 present and everlasting happiness of the believer 

 in Jesus. &quot; He who spared not his own Son, 

 but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not 

 with him also freely give us all things ?&quot; Such de 

 clarations, when cordially received, are sufficient 

 to allay all the fears of a guilty conscience, to 

 inspire the soul with holy love and gratitude, 

 and to produce &quot; a peace of mind that passeth 

 all understanding.&quot; 



5. Christianity inculcates thepurest and most 

 comprehensive system of morality. Its moral re 

 quisitions are all comprehended under the two 

 following rules or principles, &quot; Thou shall love 

 the Lord thy God with all thy heart,&quot; and &quot; thou 

 shall love thy neighbour as ihyself,&quot; which di 

 verge into numberless ramifications. It could 

 easily be shown, that these principles are suffi 

 cient to form the basis of a moral code for the 

 whole intelligent creation, that they are calculat 

 ed to unite the creature lo ihe Crealor, and all 

 rational beings wilh one anolher, wherever they 

 may exist throughout the boundless empire of 

 the Almighty ; and that peace, order, and happi 

 ness would be the invariable and necessary re 

 sults wherever their influence extended. If the 

 love of God reigned supreme in every heart, 

 there would be no superstition or idolatry in the 

 universe, nor any of the crimes and abominations 

 with which they have been accompanied in our 

 world, no blasphemy or profanation of the 

 name of Jehovah, no perjury, hypocrisy, arro 

 gance, pride, ingratitude, nor murmurings under 

 the allotments of Divine Providence. And, if 

 every moral intelligence loved his fellow-creatures 

 as himself, there would be no rivalships and an 

 tipathies between nations, and, consequently, no 

 wars, devastation, nor carnage, no tyranny, 

 haughtiness, or oppression among the great, nor 

 envy, discontent, or insubordination among the 

 lower classes of society, no systems of slavery, 

 nor persecutions on account of religious opinions, 

 no murders, thefts, robberies, or assassina 

 tions, no treacherous friendships, nor fraud and 

 deceit in commercial transactions, no impla 

 cable resentments among friends and relatives, 

 and no ingratitude or disobedience among child 

 ren or servants. On the other hand, meekness, 

 long suffering, gentleness, humility, lemperance, 

 fidelity, brotherly kindness, and sacied joy, 

 would pervade every heart, and transform our 

 world from a scene of contention and misery to 

 a moral paradise. The comprehensive nature 

 of these laws or principles, and their tendency 

 to produce universal order and happiness among 

 all intelligences, form, therefore, a strong pre 

 sumptive argument of their divine original. 



