the love of God, and the love of our neighbour. This commandment was holy, juft, and good; but, as accepted by the Jews, it produced a formal, rather than a vital fervice: They honoured God in the letter; but they did not honour him in the fpirit. They loved their Neighbour in profeffion; but they did not love him in fincerity of heart and application of practice: Befide that they reftricted the term of Neighbour, according to the literal fense, to those who were near them, or were partakers with them in the fame country and religion. The Gospel gives an energy to the moral law, which was rarely and but faintly apprehended among the Jews. Instead of an outward and ceremonial fervice, we are required fo to love the Lord, as to worship him in fpirit and in truth; to mould our difpofitions and characters to his, fo as to chufe whatever he commands, and to refuse whatever he forbids, without hesitation or reluctance. By this ftandard of our love to God is regulated also our love to our Neighbour. We account ourselves obliged, not only to abstain from finful acts, fuch as murder, adultery, theft, falfe witnefs; but even to fupprefs intemperate anger, to restrain all lafcivious and licentious thoughts, to control all inordinate inclinations after worldly wealth,

wealth, to forbear all uncharitable judging of others; on the whole to do to others, not as others use to do, but as we would have others do to us; and instead of confining our love to those, who are our neighbours in the literal sense, to extend it indifferently to all, who are partakers in the bounties of the fame. providence, in the bleffings of the fame grace.

3. The fame comparison will apply to the motives, which those two Difpenfations hold forth for the obfervance of their refpective precepts. The effential motives of all religion confift in rewards and punishments; which have the strongest hold on the human mind, as they operate on the hopes and fears of men, the two chief fprings and principles of action. The Law was fanctioned to the children of Ifrael by the promise of a certain good to obedience and by the threatening of a certain evil to difobedience. If they obeyed the Lord with all their faculties, they were to acquire and to retain poffeffion of the land of promife, to enjoy long life and health, to have peace and plenty in their borders, and a numerous and flourishing pofterity. If they disobeyed him, they were to be oppreffed with famine, peftilence, and plague, to be annoyed by the fword of the enemy, to be

led into bondage and exile, to be deprived of pofterity, to be cut off themselves in the strength of their days. And these promises and threatenings, according as they incurred them, by a special providence were remarkably fulfilled.

Thus the recompence propofed in the Law was confined in the letter to the prefent life. Yet in the spirit it was defigned, and fo it was understood and occafionally fignified by the Prophets, for a type and earnest of a far more weighty recompence in the life to come. But though the Jews were disposed in general to entertain this expectation, they could not receive it with full affurance of faith, as it had not been expressly declared. And they looked to a future life, as through clouds and fhades, that did not admit of a diftinct and certain vifion.

In this important article our Lord was eminently full of truth. He has placed this doctrine in the cleareft

light, that an hour will come, when he will call the world to

judgment; "when all that are in their graves fhall hear his voice, and fhall come forth, they that have done good to the refurrection of life, and they that have done evil to the refurrection of damnation."

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In all these respects the Incarnate Word was full of Grace and Truth.-This declaration of John the Apostle and Evangelist had been previously intimated by John the Baptift, when he bore witness of him saying, He that cometh after me is preferred before me. In every effential of a Minifter of Heaven our Lord had the preeminence, not only over him, but over all the Prophets of the Hebrew Difpenfation. Of this the Apostles had a still more fenfible experience than the Baptift. As they were bleft above the Prophets and righteous men of old, in feeing the works and in hearing the words of their divine Master, so they also were bleft above them by a liberal participation of his grace and truth: Of his fulness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the Law was given by Mofes; but grace and truth came by Jefus Chrift. In his difpenfation God is made manifest to men in all his fairest, all his brighteft attributes. It must indeed be allowed, that literally No man bath feen God at any time. For being a fpiritual effence he is not vifible to carnal eyes. But the only begotten Son, who is in the bofom of the Father, who partakes of his fubftance, and intimately knows his moft fecret counfels,

the fame hath openly declared him to the world.

Thus the Preface of the Evangelist affords a fummary view of the Miffion and Character of that divine Perfon, whofe life and conversation, while he dwelt among us, he is about to write.

If we profefs to know and to receive him in the character, in which he difplays his glory to us in the Gofpel, as the Incarnate Word of God, let us humbly adore the counfels of divine wisdom, juftice, and benevolence, in adopting fo wonderful a fcheme of grace to accomplish our salvation. And while we contemplate him in those features of grace and truth, in which he is manifefted to us in the Gospel, let us gratefully accept and affiduously improve all those advantages imparted to us before the wifest and the best of Heathens, before the Prophets and righteous. men of the Legal Economy; continually striving to " grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jefus Chrift." Thus may we hope, that as we are now empowered to become the Sons of God, fo we fhall finally partake of the inheritance of Sons; that as we are privileged in this life to receive

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