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things, and the revealed will of God. Voluntary ignorance and error, will meet with the divine displeasure, at the great and last day.

5. If right and wrong, truth and falsehood, be found. ed in the nature of things, then there appears to be a great propriety in God's appointing a day of judgment. Such a day appears proper and necessary on the account of the moral creation. God has no occasion for it on his own account. He always knows and does what is perfectly right in the nature of things. But it cannot appear to his reasonable creatures, that he treats them all right, without his laying before them the feelings and actions, upon which he regulates his conduct. A clear and full exhibition of facts, at the great day, will unfold right and wrong, with respect to every being in the universe. It will unfold the rectitude of God's conduct in every instance. When God tells the universe how he has treated every creature, and how every creature has treated him; every creature will be capable of seeing the wisdom, the goodness, or justice of God, in all his conduct towards men, angels, and devils. And when God lays open the hearts and lives of all his creatures, they will then be capable of judging who ought to go to heaven, and who ought to go to hell; or who ought to be happy, and who ought to be miserable, to all eternity. Such a clear and full exhibition of facts, will clear the innocent, and condemn the guilty, in the minds of all intelligent beings. And from the day of judgment, to all eternity, every intelligent being will possess clear light respecting himself, his God, and his fellow-creatures. This will give an emphasis to the joys of heaven, and the miseries of hell, and serve as bars and bolts to sever the righteous and wicked, to interminable ages. This will shut fear out of heaven, and hope out of hell, forever and ever.

6. We learn from what has been said, that all who go to heaven, will go there by the unanimous voice of the whole universe. They will be judged to be fit for heaven, by God, by Christ, by angels, by devils, by the finally miserable, and by themselves. It will be the real opinion of all, after attending the process of the great day, that every one, who shall have received the approbation of the final Judge, should be exalted to the honors, and distinctions, and enjoyments of the heavenly world, and there forever live under the smiles of their heavenly Father. And such a clear and decided opinion in the favor of the blessed, will add an inconceivable satisfaction to their minds for

ever.

7. We learn from what has been said, that all, who are excluded from heaven, will be excluded from it, by the unanimous voice of all moral beings. There will not be a dissenting voice in the dreadful sentence, "Depart ye cursed into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." All who shall meet with the disapprobation of the final Judge, will equally meet with the disapprobation of all the inhabitants of heaven and hell, together with the condemnation of their own enlightened consciences. It will appear clearly to the view of the universe, that all, who are condemned and punished, ought to be condemned and punished forever. Not one who is lost, will have one in heaven or in hell to take his part, or complain of his final and eternal destination. And what an intolerable weight will this add to that great and endless punishment, which shall fall upon the vessels of wrath, who are fitted for destruction!

This subject now admonishes all those, who trifle with moral things, and make a mock at sin, of their extreme guilt and danger. "Wo unto them that call and light for darkness; that put bitter sweet for bitter." The great day of which will dissipate the mists and c stupid sinners have concealed themsel will expose their stupidity and guilt bot and to the universe. Then erroneou sinners, secure sinners, and skeptical s pear to themselves, and to all intellige their depravity, folly, and guilt, and be nesses against themselves, that they ha united, and eternal displeasure of the Then it will be beyond their power to * and wrong, good and evil; or to despi awful serftence, which will fix them i ness, guilt, and despair. "Wo unto now! for ye shall mourn and weep." contempt of God, of angels, and of me than your wounded, guilty souls car man may sustain his infirmity; but a who can bear!"

SERMON IV.

ON THE DOCTRINE OF THE TRINITY.

1 JOHN V, 7.

For there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost: and these three are one.

IN treating on revealed religion, men have often run into two extremes. Some have been fond of finding mysteries every where in the Bible; while others have been equally fond of exploding all mysteries from divine revelation. Here the truth seems to lie in the medium. Many parts of Scripture are plain and easy to be understood; but some parts are truly mysterious, and surpass the utmost limits of human comprehension. Of all religious mysteries, the distinction of persons in the Divine nature, must be allowed to be the greatest. Accordingly upon this subject, there has been the greatest absurdity as well as ingenuity displayed, in attempting to explain a real mystery. But though a mystery cannot be comprehended, nor consequently explained; yet it may be stated, and distinguished from a real absurdity. And this is the only object of the present discourse.

The words, which I have read, plainly represent the Divine Being as existing in a mysterious manner; though their primary intention is, to point out the united testimony of each person in the Godhead to the divinity of Christ. "There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost." The Father testified to the divinity of Christ at his baptism, when he declared with an audible voice from heaven, "This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." The Holy Ghost testified to his divinity at the same time, by descending upon him in the form of a dove." And Christ testified to his divinity, by his public declarations and miraculous works. "And these three are one;" that is, one God, one Divine Being. This indeed, is a profound mystery, which calls for peculiar precaution in both speaker and hearer, lest the one should say or the other receive any thing, which should be derogatory to the supreme and incomprehensible Jehovah.

I shall first attempt to state the doctrine of the Trinity according to Scripture, and then endeavor to make it appear, that there is nothing in this doctrine, which is repugnant to the dictates of sound reason.

I. I shall attempt to show what conceptions the Scripture leads us to form of the peculiar mode of the divine existence. And here I may observe,

1. The Scripture leads us to conceive of God, the first and supreme Being, as existing in three distinct persons. I use this word, because there appears to be no better, in our language, by which to express that Trinity in Unity, which is peculiar to the one living and true God. Indeed, there is no word, in any language, which can convey a precise idea of this incomprehensible distinction in the divine nature; for it is not similar to any other distinction in the minds of moral beings. So that it is very immaterial, whether we use the name person, or any other name, or a circumlocution instead of a name, in discoursing upon this subject. et me say, then, the one living and true God exists in such a manner, that there is a proper foundation in his nature, to speak of himself, in the first, second, and third person, and say I, Thou,