agents, are, God-Jesus Christ-the Gospel-the Present state, and the World to come. The declarations or doctrines respecting these points of Revelation must be the topics of our inquiry. We must use our reason or judging faculty, not only to ascertain the evidences with which the Gospel is attended; but also to find out the specific meaning of the inspired penmen, concerning these interesting subjects.

This spirit of investigation should be also applied to the practical branches of Revelation. Is it of consequence to know what we are to believe? It is equally important that we know what we are to practise. In perusing the Scriptures, we must use our reason to ascertain the nature, number, and importance of the precepts, moral and positive, which it is incumbent upon us to obey. We must inquire into the origin of these duties, into the motives by which they are enforced, and into the advantages with which the discharge of them is accompanied. The duties we owe to God, to ourselves, and to our fellow-creatures, together with the right administration of Baptism and the Lord's Supper, claim our attention. These precepts and institutions, as well as the doctrines which have been already mentioned, are contained in the word of God.

But, alas !—in all ages of the church, different opinions have been entertained respecting them, and this dissonance of sentiment has given rise to violence, and even to the shedding of blood! The SCRIPTURES were wrested out of the hands of the

people. A particular interpretation was imposed upon their contents. Some dared not to judge even of themselves. Others who dared were punished with an inquisitorial severity. But Religion is a personal concern; the Scriptures should be in the possession of every individual, and our reason should be exercised in the fear of God, to ascertain its true meaning. The inspired writers would not communicate error for our belief; nor recommend evil for our practice. But unless we are attentive, cautious, and humble, we may misinterpret their writings, and yet confidently imagine ourselves to be acquainted with their genuine sentiments.

So far was JESUS CHRIST from prohibiting, or even discouraging the exercise of reason in matters of Religion, that he exhorts his disciples to the use of it, and condemns his enemies for the neglect of it. Prophecies and Miracles, the two capital evidences of the MESSIAHSHIP, were an address to this ennobling principle of our nature. His apostles also, in their epistles to the primitive churches, inculcate the same important doctrine, and press it home upon the hearts and consciences of the first converts to the Christian religion. Nor in the succeeding ages of the church have those ministers of the Gospel, who understood the commission of their Divine Master, ceased to appeal, upon the awful topic of religion, to the understandings of mankind:

'Tis reason our great Master holds so dear;
'Tis reason's injured rights his wrath resents;
'Tis reason's voice obey'd his glories crown'd.

YOUNG.

Many, indeed, are the inducements which should operate with Christians, to judge even of themselves what is right in matters of Religion. A few of the obvious, and most intelligible, are here submitted to the attention of the rising generation.

1. We should judge even of ourselves concerning the religion of Christ; because the faculty of judging lies in our possession.

The Divine Being gives nothing in vain. It is the characteristic of wisdom to adapt means to certain ends. The possession of a mean indicates an end. Whoever doubted that the eye was formed for seeing, the ear for hearing, and the other senses to perform their respective functions? Equally improper would it be to doubt whether reason was given us to ascertain what REVELATION presents to the human mind. We find ourselves in the possession of a faculty by which we receive ideas-compare them with one another, and then draw a conclusion respecting the whole. In common life we exercise this discriminating faculty, to determine what is good and what is evil. Is it said, that reason should be laid aside when RELIGION claims our

attention? For what purpose? Are you afraid

that the Christian faith should be scrutinized? If you are, you do it a manifest injustice. If you are not afraid, for God's sake, do not subject your religion to cruel and unjust suspicions. "It is an error," says an excellent divine,* "to discard the

*Grove of Tauntor.

use of reason in religion, and inveigh against nature, out of respect to revelation and the grace of God. It is not more certain that the eye could do little, in some cases, without a telescope, than that the telescope can be of no use without the eye; and our calling in the mechanism of art to improve that of nature, is a concession that nature is the foundation of art, which alone finishes what the other begins.. Thus REVELATION is a kind of supplement to reason, and grace to nature; the gospel brings new light, and new enforcements of strength; but the old faculties are still employed, and Divine assistance to be expected upon no other terms but our making the best use of these." It is, indeed, only by the use. of reason, that we can judge of the external and the internal evidences of the gospel, and maintain our ground against Infidels, Jews, and Pagans. That reason should lie dormant respecting the doctrines and duties of this same gospel, is a position at once absurd and ridiculous. Reason indeed has its limits, and these limits are known to wise and good men. The sober use of this faculty in all our affairs, and especially in the concerns of the soul, cannot be too much commended. Both the doctrines and the duties of the gospel of Jesus Christ should be carefully examined, firmly believed, and zealously maintained. Our RELIGION has nothing to fear from the minutest inquiry, or from the severest investigation. Like the works of nature, the further we examine it, the more fully will its excellence appear, and the more effectually will its glory be displayed!

2. By not judging even of yourselves concerning the religion of Christ, you are exposed to error in belief, and to folly in practice.

Whence arose the absurd dogmas and superstitious fooleries of Popery? From having given up. the use of reason in the affairs of religion. Reason is the monitor placed by Almighty God in the breast of every individual, to preserve his intelligent and. accountable creatures from the commission of evil. In this present state, we are deceived by appearances, and examination becomes necessary to rectify even our ordinary judgments. Does not the ignorant and uninformed contemplator of the heavens imagine a star to be no bigger than a diamond, and supposes the sun to be no larger than a circular plate about twelve inches in diameter! Philosophy, however, has pronounced both these judgments to be erroneous. In a similar manner, a superficial acquaintance with the scriptures has led thousands to believe that they contained sentiments which are incompatable with the perfections of God, and inimical to the best interests of mankind. It is not so much the possession, as it is the proper use of reason, which constitutes the superiority of man over the brute creation. The freaks of enthusiasm, and the mummeries of superstition, arise from the dormant state of this faculty. In ecclesiastical history we uniformly find, that reason is decried by enthusiasts and impostors; but our blessed Saviour JESUS CHRIST acts a different part, and manifests a different spirit. He calls on all to examine. He condemns