All that glory, which was due to God in the higheft, was attributed to devils, or to the spirits of dead

men.

The Chriftian religion reformed this great corruption; and drew men, as St. Paul tells the Athenians, from the worthip of the unknown God, to the worship of that God, who made heaven and earth.

We who have been bred up from our infancy in the knowledge of God, are not aware how we gained this knowledge. As we acquired it imperceptibly from our childhood, it may seem as if it had been born with us. But when we confider the blind state of the heathen world, we can give no reafon, why we should not be as blind as they were-except our having been favoured with the light of the Gofpel. We may take it for granted therefore, that all our religious knowledge proceeds from that fource. By it we are informed, that the power, and wifdom, and goodness of God are infinite-that God is kind to us, beyond our conception-that every event is intended for our good; and will certainly produce it, if we make a proper use of it.

It

It is the Gospel also that inftructs us to pray to God in a manner the most agreeable to him. It allows us to pray for our temporal wants; but within proper bounds, and with entire fubmiffion to the will of God. In fpiritual things it leaves us more at large-it inftructs us to adore the infinite perfections of God, and to praise him for all his goodness both temporal and fpiritual; efpecially for that great inftance of it in graciously shewing us a method of being restored, through Christ, to that happiness, which Adam, and in him all his pofterity, had loft. It inflructs us alfo to pray for the virtues of a Chriftian life, charity, humility, temperance, faith, piety, as the greatest ornaments of the Chriftian profeffion; and laftly, to acknowledge our own unworthiness; to pray for the affiftance of God's Holy Spirit, and for the forgiveness of our fins, through the atonement of our bleffed Saviour. In short, the Christian religion instructs us to live up to our prayers; to form our lives upon them; and to be in our actions the fame pious, humble, charitable Chrif tians, that we wish to appear before God in our prayers.

It is the incenfe of these holy prayers—it is the incense of these holy lives, which the Gospel hath

taught us to direct to heaven; and which God is graciously pleafed to call, giving glory to him in the highest.

Let us next examine the fecond part of the text, and fee how the Christian religion promotes peace, and good-will among men. Now this it does in feveral ways.

In the first place, it promotes internal peace. The mind of man is poffeffed by paffions of various kinds. Some of them make it calm and easy; others boifterous and unhappy. He, whofe mind is boiling over with rage, or rankling with envy, cannot feel that peace, which he does when his mind is compofed. These mifchievous paffions are not only painful in themselves; but they draw his attention from every purfuit that is valuable.-Now it is the bufinefs of religion to remove these restless paffions; and to fill the mind with fuch foothing affections, as throw a kind of funshine on all our other enjoyments.

Then again, with regard to thofe great pointsthe immortality of the foul-the forgiveness of fin and a future state of happiness-the mind muft furely be more at peace, when it is afcertained of

the

the truth of these things, than when it is labouring in a state of uncertainty.

We, to whom these bleffed notices have been familiar from our childhood, cannot have a juft idea of the state of a ferious mind, haraffed with misconceptions on these grand subjects. Amidst all this uncertainty, no doubt the mercy of God. through Chrift, is extended to all good men, though they had no opportunities of knowing the Gofpel. But our great happiness consists in being affured of these things. This is that hope, that fecurity, which the pious Chriftian enjoys; and which, above all other things, makes good to him the holy promife in the text, of peace.

But the Gospel hath not only its effect in producing peace in our own minds, it hath the fame good effect in producing peace among each other. All the quarrels between man and man-between nation and nation, arife entirely from fome wrong turn of mind-from envy, malice, avarice, jealoufy, ambition, or fome other bad paffion, which it is the very business of religion to reftrain. If no man bore malice, or revenge, against his neighbour; or coveted his neighbour's goods; or flandered him; or provoked him by unbridled paffions; or was guilty of unjust actions (all which things oppofe

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oppose Christianity in the most direct manner,) peace, and good-will among mankind would immediately, and univerfally take place.. In short, we cannot injure the peace of each other, without first injuring the precepts of our religion.

Then again, among nations, the fame peace and happiness would exist, as between man and man, if they would listen to the precepts of the Gospel. The same divine laws which forbid anger, malice, and envy; forbid alfo ambition, a thirft after power, and competitions in trade, which lead to every national mischief-unless exalting or enriching a few individuals, at the expence of thousands, may be reckoned among the bleffings of a nation.

But now, fays the objector, when we look abroad in the world, we fee but very little of thofe bleffed effects, which the Gofpel was intended to produce. We fee little of men's giving glory to God in the higheft; but a great deal of curfing and fwearing by his name; and of profaning it with every act of irreverence.-We see little of giving glory to God in his temple ; but much profanation of his Sabbath, and neglect of all the ordinances which he hath appointed.

Then