believe, all the duties we have to perform, all the motives to engage us to perform them; there Christ treats with us as Moses formerly treated with the Jews. He is the prophet like unto Moses. He comes with a divine commission to redeem slaves from sin, a tyrant worse than Pharoah. He sets before us a heavenly country, and shews us in his own example the direct road to it. He removes all the difficulties of the passage, and guards us through the wilderness with an outstretched arm. He gives us a law, not a burthensome ritual; but a law of love. With him God is well pleased, him let us hear. Let us choose rather to suffer affliction with the people of God, than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, for the reproach of Christ is greater riches than the treasures of Egypt.

Secondly. Let us try to simplify religion, to reduce it to its first principles, and to understand it by its elements. Let us form a body of divinity for our own private use. Let us extract, arrange, and analogize the ideas of sacred records. Let us study the God of the New Testament, we shall find him more a parent than a judge. Let us learn the Mediator of the New Testament, we shall find him in the amiable person of Jesus Christ, in a priest not stained with the blood of bulls and goats; but in one who by his own blood obtained redemption for us, and ever liveth to make intercession for all that come unto God by him. Let us form a just notion of New Testament worship, we shall find it does not consist of

ritual observances of days, and months, and times, and years, it is not a subjection to worldly rudiments, to ordinances of touch not, taste not, handle not; but the fruit of the spirit of christianity is love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against such there is no law.

Thirdly. Let us remember whose we are, and whom we serve. Christians are not their own, they are bought with a price. They are not the servants of men in matters of religion and conscience, Liberated both by price and power they are bound by every sacred tie to serve him, who lived and died, and rose again for their deliverance. His revealed will, Christian, and not fashion, is your ecclesiastical law. Fashion! popular custom! What an empty unprincipled mind must that man have, who knows no other law in in religion! Go, if you can allow yourself, go, follow the multitude, imitate fashion in your dress, your furniture, your amusements: but in religion it is at the peril of your salvation to go after such a guide.

Finally. Let us exert ourselves to the utmost to support and propagate primitive Christianity. Let us contribute cheerfully to the expence of disseminating the gospel of Christ. Let us have no share in the superstitions, none in the vices of the times. Let us go forth without the camp bearing his reproach; animated with the joy that is set before us, let us endure the cross and despise the shame. Let us be followers of them who

through faith and patience inherit the promises. Methinks, we stand, to-day on hallowed ground, whence motives to zeal from all parts arise. This was the first nonconformist meeting-house tolerated in this city by royal indulgence. Hither your ancestors came, groaning under fines and exactions to pray, and hither your ministers came out of prison to preach. Times are happily altered, and we are thankful to God for the change; yet never let us forget that observation, which a pupil* of the first minister in this place made on our text, and with which we finish: "Christ's de

sign by his gospel is to make a glorious discovery "of of God to the minds of men. The design of "the devil is to keep men in ignorance, and as "he could not keep the gospel out of the world, "he maketh it his great business to keep it out of "the hearts of men."

* Matthew Henry, who was educated by Mr. Doolittle.

APPENDIX.

The following Hints concerning the Reading proposed in the Sermon are submitted, with all possible deference, to the Reader.

2 Cor. iv. 3. Το ευαγγελιον εν τοις απολλυμένοις επι κεκαλυμ μενον. 4. ἐν οἷς ο θεος—ετύφλωσε, &c.

THE present reading of these words in our English translation is, The gospel is hid to them that are lost. In whom the God of this world hath blinded, &c.

This translation does not seem good English. The gospel is hid To them.The god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, IN WHOM. There is, then, at least inaccuracy enough in the translation to induce any man to examine the original.

The reading we propose is this: The gospel is hid, concealed, or vailed, AMONG or BY THE THINGS THAT ARE ABOLISHED, BY WHICH THINGS the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not.

Three things must be examined.

απολλυμι.

1. The mean

ing of the verb aμ. 2. The gender of the participle aλs, and of the articles os, 15: and 3. The sense of the preposition .

εν.

abolish. 1. The

I. We render the verb aroλλ English word abolish (which generally signifies to annul, to make void, to repeal, to abrogate) comes from this very word. The Romans rendered it aboleo, and we make it abolish. No violence, therefore, is done to the verb by our translation. 2. Aμ is a derivative, and the true primitive is auw, solvo, to loose. Thus Mat. xvi. 19. Whatsoever thou shalt loose, or repeal, on earth, shall be loosed, or annulled, in heaven. Thus arova, Mat. i. 19. Joseph was minded to put her away, to loose, or annul the marriage contract. As therefore both the primitive and the derivative are used in the New Testament in our sense, the translation given above is not forced and unnatural. See Luke vi. 37.-ii. 29.-xiii. 12, &c.

3. The words au and aroλuw are used in our sense in profane authors uus Bagos. Sophoc. Elect, 945.-oxyou σe Avow. Sophoc. Trachin. 184.-adıxovrlas areλugav. Xenoph. Mem. iv. 8. 5, &c.

945.—οκνου σε λύσω.

μας απέλυσαν.

We conclude, therefore, that the word MAY be rendered abolish-repeal — abrogate-annul― make void.

II. In regard to the gender of the participle, and the articles, nothing can be determined from the terminations. In this case they may be masculine, they MAY be neuter. Here then is no ar] gument against our translation.

III. The meaning of the preposition, is our last inquiry. Greek prepositions are in general of vague and uncertain meaning. This is remarkably so. Luke xiv. 1. As he went.-Rom. viii. 29. Among many brethren.-Luke iv. 32. His word was with power.-Mat. xxiii. 20. Swear by the altar.-Mat. vi. 7. For much speaking.John v. 4. Into the pool.-1 Cor. vii. 15. God hath called us to peace.-Rom. viii. 34. At the right hand of God.-Mat. x. 32. Confess me before men. - Rom. xi. 2. What saith the scripture of, or concerning Elias ?-Rom. xv. 5. wards another, &c. It should seem then there is no impropriety in rendering the words in question thus: The gospel is hid AMONG the things that are abolished, BY which things, and so on.

One to

We say, the words may be rendered thus; but in this, as in all other cases of vague, indeterminate single words, how they must, and ought to be rendered, can only be determined by the con