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H's defign, yet I am perfwaded I have justly reprefentcd what his words convey in their most common acceptation, and if this is befide his meaning,be must thank himself for it.

I bave made fome corrections in this edition of my jermons: Yet bave not altered a word in the paffages Mr. H. cenfures, except where I have given notice of it by a note in the margin, or by inclofing what I have added in crotchets. There are many things in the dialogue worthy of remark, which for the fake of brevity, I have not noticed; and thofe errors Ihave pointed our are not so much exposed nor fully confuted as might be. Yet enough, I hope, is faid to fhew the perfect abfurdity of Mr. H's fcheme of orthodoxy, and to bint at, if not open and clear the oppofite trubs.

Although Mr. H. calis on the churches to bear their teftimony against the doctrine in my fermons, yet for their own fakes, I beg they will not proceed to judgment, before they bear and carefully weigh my defence; and when they have. done this, they may more warrantably proceed to determine whether be or I have advanced the most dangerous berifies.

If I have advanced any thing inconfiftent with the word of truth, be that fhall point it out in a friendly manner,will be entitled to my gratitude and love, and the publick fhall have my acknowledgment when I am convinced. I have committed many blunders and errors in my life, and it is poffible there may be fome in this performance, which I may even blush at on further confideration, and therefore I defire. every reader carefully to examine every fentiment, new or old, and to treat the imperfections of the writer with candor.— The following pages are dedicated to the Churches of Chrift in New-England, especially thofe in the county of NewLondon in Connecticut, and in the county of Effex in the Maffachusetts-Bay, by

Their willing Servant,

in the Gospel of the Lord Jefus, Nath!, Whitaker..

Salem, January 4, 1770.

SERMON I.

2. COR. v. 19.

To wit, that God was in Chrift reconciling the world unto bimfelf, not imputing their trefpaffes unto them, and bath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

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HEprincipal fubject of which the gofpel treats, is reconciliation between God and man.This is the centre to which all the counfels and conduct of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit conftantly point, fo far as they relate to the falvation of finners; as the end next in view to the divine glory. And in this centers all the felicity of those who are faved, as they hereby come to the love and enjoyment of that God, whofe anger they had incurred, and under whose righteous curfe they were bound over to everlasting mifery.

The guilty confciences of men, when in any measure awakened,have always fuggested to them, and on good grounds too, that God their Lord and Creator is offended with them for fin, and that they are obnoxious to his wrath. The natural conceptions which men in all ages and nations have had of bis eternal power and Godhead, and of their being accountable to him, have filled them with a dread of falling into his hands; and therefore no inquiry ever was more interefting or made with greater folicitude by the awakened finner, than that recorded by the prophet Micah, (chap. vi. 6, 7.) Wherewith fhall I come before the Lord, and bow myself before the high God, &c. i. e. fo as to appease his anger, and find acceptance with him. A confcioufnefs of their defert of his wrath hath caused even the heathens

to

to offer thousands of rams, and as it were ten thousand rivers of oil, to give their first-born for their tranfgreffion, and the fruit of their body for the fin of their foul, that they might appease the Almighty, and lay fome foundation of hope for pardon and acceptance. Various, and almost numberlefs have been the methods contrived for this end; all of which manifeft a natural consciousness of injury done to the Deity, for which he is justly offended, and they exposed to his anger: and all with equal clearness, discover the good opinion men have always entertained of their own friendly difpofition towards God,and readiness to return to him, and be his loving and faithful fubjects, fo foon as he thould be appealed, and difpofed to forgive and receive them to favour. This is evident, because there hath never appeared among men fuch a concern to remove the enmity of their hearts against God, and reduce themfelves to a conformity to him and his law,as to remove God's anger against them. For as it is fhocking to reafon, that a creature should be an enemy to its Creator, and a rebel in heart to the great and glorious God; fo men have not eafily admitted the belief of this depravity, but readily conclude that if God would make up the affair with them, they should most heartily return to their allegiance to him, and accept the recon

ciliation.

Although they have been grofly mistaken in this, yet their conceptions of God as offended with them for fin, and the neceffity of an atonement in order to` bis being reconciled, were and ftill are according to truth; and are confirmed abundantly by divine revelation : for the gofpel fully answers the above inquiry,Wherewith ball I come before the Lord, &c. and fhews us the way to his favour through the atoning facrifice of Christ. It fhews that God is the firft mover in this affair; that he is more willing to be reconciled to finners through Chrift, than they are to be reconciled to him. This the apostle fhews in my text, and in a few

words,

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words,gives us a full account of this glorious doctrine of reconciliation between God and man.

The apoftle having in the 17th verse given the true character of all that are in Chrift, viz. that they are new creatures; that old things are passed away and all things become new; he, in the 18th afferts, that all things are of God, who hath not only provided a Saviour,but alfo reconciled us to himself by Jefus Chrift, and given us to the miniftry of reconciliation, to that in the apostle's view,God begins and finishes or perfects this whole work, and therefore the glory of it belongs, not to man as an agent in it, but wholly to God who alone is its author. And in my text, he informs us what the fum of this miniftry is; to wit, That God was in Chrift reconciling the world unto HIMSELF, not imputing their trefpaffes unto them, and bath committed to us the word of reconciliation. That which, in the 18th verfe, the apoftie calls the ministry, he here calls the word of reconciliation; and this teaches us, that the miniftry of the word, or its being publicly preached by the minifters of Chrift, is ordinarily neceffary, by God's inftitution, to bring about this reconciliation; and alfo that they who have this miniftry committed to them, are, as ambaffadors for Chrift, to befeech finners in his ftead to be reconciled to God.

Here then we have the ftate of the cafe quite altered. The enquiry of the natural confcience under guilt is, wherewith fhall I come before an offended God? And what facrifice fhall I bring that will appeafe him and turn his anger away from me? But behold, through Christ-be astonished O heavens, and hear O earth! God the offended Majefty comes down to fue and plead with offending man to be reconciled to him, to lay down his arms of rebellion, fubmit to, love and rest in him as his friend and all fufficient portion; with a promise, fealed in the blood of his own dear Son, that he will not impute his trefpaffes unto him, and that all things fhall work together for his good, from that moB

ment

ment he lays by his enmity, and is reconciled to his God. Now, as this is very wide of thofe notions which men naturally form of the cafe, and as it turns all the blame of continued enmity on man, and declares the Deity to be carrying on a defign of grace towards a world of rebels, and as this leaves nothing for men to do in order to appease his anger, or dispose him to receive them to favour, and as it requires nothing of them but to return, and laying by their enmity against God, to love and delight in him with all their hearts; I say, as the case stands thus, it is no wonder that fuch a change of the affair which cafts all the blame on men, fhould be generally disapproved and hated by those who are defirous to recommend themselves, and obtain forgiveness on the foot of their own works and well defervings and it may well become us to enquire into the grounds and reafons of this amazing change, which may be discovered by carefully attending to the words before us, in which we have, the parties at variance described; the reconciliation itself afferted; the author and alfo the purchaser of his favour mentioned; and the means of it ftated and appointed.

The parties at variance are, God the Creator, and man the creature; the fole author of this infinite privilege and favour is the eternal Jehovah. The purchafer is his own Son the Lord Jefus Chrift; and the means inftituted and appointed are the word and ministry of reconciliation.

As these words were defigned by the apoftle as a summary of the whole gospel or word of reconciliation, fo it is impoffible, in thefe few pages, to lay open all the glories contained in them, which indeed will never be fully comprehended till we shall fee as we are feen, and know as we are known. But what I design from the words at present, may be included in this general propofition.

DOCTRINE.

That the eternal Jehovah is carrying on a defign of grace,